Category: Health
It’s fair to say that the line between due diligence and potential medical negligence is thin. We all know that the NHS is stretched, and services like GPs and A&E Departments must remain efficient and well-funded.
It’s therefore understandable that NHS campaigns nowadays sometimes try and persuade people to only use NHS services where it’s absolutely necessary. In days gone by, doctors may have frowned upon patients Googling their symptoms and jumping to irrational conclusions, but in today’s increasingly digital age, patients are actually encouraged to look online before they use NHS time.
But, the line between this is worryingly thin.
Read More “The line between due diligence and medical negligence is thin”
The UK has reportedly failed to adequately improve on cancer survival rates, according to a global study. Potentially thousands of people are dying as a result of inadequate care when compared to other wealthy countries who are said to be improving at a better rate, leaving Britain behind.
Although survival rates have improved, the UK is falling behind when compared to similar nations.
With patients in Britain said to still be dying earlier when compared with other countries, it seems like we have cause for concern.
Read More “UK Cancer care criticised as survival rates fall short”
America is currently suffering with what is widely reported as an “opioid crisis” off the back of what some have alleged is a simple case of over-prescribing medications to patients for an array of ailments that can be treatable by other means. In the UK, there are concerns that doctors are relying on prescription drugs too much to treat people with ailments or issues they could use alternative help for, and the upshot is patients getting addicted to such medication.
Whether it’s a case that the dangers of such medications need to be better explained or better controlled, or where it’s down to the need to prescribe less medication – or both – doctors are worried that the lack of help for patients hooked on drugs is putting lives at risk.
Read More “Doctors concerned people addicted to prescription drugs may not be receiving enough help”
Missed diagnosis claims, and claims where patients are misdiagnosed, are unfortunately common. One of the biggest problems with such incidents is where the misdiagnosis or missed diagnosis is for something as serious as cancer, where the window of opportunity for cancer care or treatment to start can be very slim.
Unfortunately, in many cancer misdiagnosis or missed cancer diagnosis cases, it’s too late for the victim by the time the error is recognised.
Because of this, some say that good quality cancer care should be introduced as law in the UK. But, will it help?
Read More “Should good standards of cancer care be made law?”
New waiting times for routine operations in some parts of the country could see patients having to wait up to a minimum of three months before their procedure takes place.
Hip operations and cardiac procedures are among those that fall within the new lengthier patient waiting times, which could lead to complications arising as patients have to wait longer for treatment.
Patient waiting times average is around seven and a half weeks, but new measures introduced in Lincolnshire mean patients may be waiting almost twice as long in efforts to cut costs as lawyers warn that the new measures may see incidents increase.
Read More “NHS pushing patient waiting times to three months may see rise in incidents, lawyers warn”
The principle of only seeing your doctor if you need to, and only going to hospital or dialling 999 in an emergency, is sensible.
As many ambulances often advertise: you wouldn’t call the fire department to blow out a candle, would you?
The idea is that you should try and help yourself before using the NHS; but what about the dangers of diverting patients for self-care or private care? What are we risking here?
Read More “The dangers of the NHS diverting people away to private services”
According to the latest report from our National Health Service, we are statistically obese; spend way too much time sat down; and take far too many prescribed drugs.
So, just to reiterate, many of us overeat, barely do enough exercise, unless it’s walking towards the fridge and back which then creates health problems that leads to us apparently swallowing prescribed pills like they’re mints and thus contributing towards the nation’s growing drug-dependency problem.
Much like the reported opioid crisis in America, the U.K. may not be far behind a similar drugs crisis either…
Read More “NHS statistics say we are obese, sedentary and drug-reliant”
The ‘Keep Antibiotics Working’ campaign is urging patients not to ask their GP or doctor for antibiotics in a bid to tackle the reported growing resistance to the medicine.
When we have an infection, antibiotic treatments can help to kill the bacteria. However, around 5,000 people reportedly die each year in England because antibiotics don’t work for some infections because they’ve grown a resistance to the medicine.
The campaign was launched by Public Health England in recognition that overuse of antibiotics – and other factors – has helped infections strengthen their resistance to the medicines.
Read More “Calls for people to stop using – or reduce the use of – antibiotics”
AmerisourceBergen Specialty Group admitted to a court that its subsidiary company, Medical Initiatives Inc (MII), illegally distributed misbranded a cancer drug for 13 years.
They were reportedly shipping the drugs from a facility that wasn’t registered with regulators, and following the conviction, the company has been ordered to pay almost £200m in fines.
The guilty company was found to have been working outside of regulatory review and scrutiny as its facility was never registered with regulators as either as a manufacturer or a re-packager.
Read More “Medical company guilty of distributing misbranded cancer drug for 13 years”
Popular social media platforms like Instagram are full to the brim with perfectly sculpted bodies, specifically angled to show toned arms, perky bums and flat stomachs. Some Instagram models and celebrities swear by drinking detox teas to help them get rid of water weight and achieve that “impossibly flat” stomach.
However, when things look too good to be true, it’s because they normally are…
In the firing line are weight loss detox teas that have been reported as being bad for you. Here’s why…
Read More “Weight loss detox teas reportedly contain laxatives that can lead to heart and kidney problems”