Stafford Hospital: the scandal that shames the NHS. 4 February 2013Last updated at 00:12 ET The findings of the public inquiry into Stafford Hospital will be published on Wednesday It is easy to categorise the Stafford Hospital scandal as a one-off. But over the years as each and every aspect of the story has been uncovered, it has become clear it is a scandal that implicates the whole health service. We know from the investigations that have already taken place that in the years leading up to 2008 many needless deaths occurred because of "appalling" levels of care.
Receptionists were left to decide which patients to treat, inexperienced doctors put in charge of critically ill patients and nurses were not trained how to use vital equipment. Staff at the hospital, including doctors and nurses as well as managers, were clearly culpable - and some are still subject to investigations by professional regulators. But in the NHS control is so centralised that no hospital is left entirely to its own devices. Cost-cutting The Stafford Hospital scandal. NHS reform 'complete waste' warning.
1 March 2013Last updated at 05:57 ET Dr Michael Dixon said he feared GPs "will walk" from the clinical commissioning process Opening most of the NHS in England to private firms could alienate doctors and render the reforms "a complete waste of time", a GP who helped draft the plans has warned. Dr Michael Dixon told GPs' journal Pulse that he feared GPs "will walk". He says the legislation's wording on competition must be amended or doctors could get "bogged down" in the process and distracted from patient care. The government insisted there was no policy to privatise NHS services. Budget responsibility The balance of power is about to shift dramatically within the NHS, with GPs and other clinicians given much more responsibility for spending most of the budget in England.
There is already competition for services such as physiotherapy, hearing tests and dermatology - which could be expanded to many other areas of care. "Sadly, I think this is what one or two of the clauses might lead to. " Sexual healthcare 'at risk from NHS changes' 18 October 2012Last updated at 21:19 ET By Dr Stephen Taylor & Dan Hartland Sexual healthcare experts The experts fear pursuing profit will skew health priorities Many NHS services are being put out to tender - and private companies can bid.
In this week's Scrubbing Up, Dr Steve Taylor, a sexual health and HIV specialist from Birmingham Heartlands Hospital and Dan Hartland from the HIV awareness charity Saving Lives warn there are unique dangers in allowing them to run sexual healthcare. Many people may be unaware that one facet of the government's health reforms allows private companies to tender to provide NHS services - including sexual healthcare. Traditionally, such services have been paid for using an internal NHS tariff system which covered basic costs, but also factored in associated costs such as contact tracing partners and providing prevention messages.
However, as of April 2013 things will change. 'Envy of the world' 'Untenable' services The worried well are an easy market. Stoptober urges smokers to 'mass quit' 1 October 2012Last updated at 07:22 ET Smoking is the biggest cause of premature death in England Smokers are being asked to give up smoking for 28 days from 1 October in the first mass quit attempt. Stoptober, backed by Cancer Research UK and the British Heart Foundation, hopes a united effort will help many of England's eight million smokers to quit successfully. Research shows people who stop smoking for 28 days are five times more likely to stay smoke-free. It also shows mass movements and mass media campaigns can have a big impact. Public health experts say campaigns that include a combination of hard-hitting "why to quit" and supportive "how to quit" messages work best. Giving up smoking can be difficult. Continue reading the main story Quitting tips Be clear why you want to quit Tell people you are quitting and use their support Use stop smoking services Have a plan Smokers who join Stoptober are given free support to help them quit.
The founding hospital of the NHS faces tough questions. By Dominic Hughes Health correspondent, BBC News In 1948, the then health secretary Nye Bevan visited Park Hospital in Trafford, Manchester, to open what was the very first hospital in the new National Health Service. Now the hospital is known as Trafford General, but its place in the history of the NHS hasn't changed. The future, though, is looking a lot less certain. Like many other small district general hospitals across England, it must make some very tough choices if it is to survive. Trafford General is part of a network of at least 19 hospitals in the Greater Manchester area. Together they look after a population of around 2.7 million people. Continue reading the main story “Start Quote They want to save money and that means patient care is the thing that is actually being cut” End QuoteMatthew FinneganSave Trafford General Campaign From the roof of the BBC's Salford headquarters you can get a feel for how close some of these hospitals are to each other.
Too many hospitals? New services. UK life 'healthier for longer', ONS figures show. 29 August 2012Last updated at 12:32 GMT By Anna-Marie Lever Health reporter, BBC News Men spend a greater proportion of their lives in favourable health compared to women People in the UK are living in good health for longer, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reports. Healthy life expectancy (HLE) increased by more than two years in the period 2008-10 compared with 2005-07.
The proportion of life spent in good health has increased in England and Wales, but fallen in Scotland and Northern Ireland. The ONS figures also show that more than four-fifths of a lifetime in the UK is spent in good health from birth. Ed Jessop, Vice President of the Faculty of Public Health said: ""These figures are encouraging. "But the gap between the health "haves" and "have nots" has widened, particularly for men living in Northern Ireland.
"We need action now to address the root causes of these health inequalities. Gender gap Continue reading the main story Healthy life expectancy (years): Record fall in 'NHS satisfaction' 12 June 2012Last updated at 02:02 ET By Nick Triggle Health correspondent, BBC News The British Social Attitudes Survey has been running since 1983 Public satisfaction with the NHS has dropped by a record amount, the British Social Attitudes Survey suggests.
The poll indicates satisfaction fell from 70% to 58% last year - the largest annual drop since it started in 1983. The King's Fund think tank sponsored the NHS questions put to more than 1,000 people and said their answers appeared to be a comment on reforms and spending squeezes and not care quality. The government said the survey contradicted its poll among patients. The survey formed part of the wider British Social Attitudes Survey, which covers a whole host of policy areas. Continue reading the main story Analysis When asked what they think of their care, most patients are grateful for their treatment and give the NHS a thumbs up. Understandably, ministers have highlighted that research to suggest that all is rosy in the health service. Call for campaign to raise awareness of suicide in young men. NHS changes: The picture now.
20 February 2012Last updated at 06:10 ET By Branwen Jeffreys Health correspondent, BBC News GP groups get ready to manage budgets The law behind the largest reorganisation in the history of the NHS is still making its way through Parliament. To meet various deadlines set out in the government's plans significant change is already under way. The government says the bill will provide a sustainable structure and stability for the health service. Labour and other critics say the bill could be dropped, but certain changes kept.
GPs get ready to take on budgets Across England almost every GP practice has joined with neighbouring surgeries to form what are called Clinical Commissioning Groups, or CCGs. In some areas they had already been working together to spend small amounts of NHS money, so structures emerged quite quickly. They will have to plan and buy healthcare for their local community, everything from paying for routine operations to meeting the drugs bill for patients. Health reforms - where they stand. NHS changes 'won't be a market free-for-all' 28 February 2012Last updated at 20:42 Andrew Lansley said the bill would not mean any more charges for NHS patients Health Secretary Andrew Lansley has insisted that the government's plans to overhaul the NHS will not mean a "market free-for-all" in healthcare.
He told MPs that the Health and Social Care Bill, which has met large-scale opposition in Parliament, was about driving up standards in England. The comments come after Deputy PM Nick Clegg published a letter suggesting changes to allow the bill to pass. Labour accused the coalition of being in "complete disarray". Mr Lansley later said his belief in the benefit of competition in the NHS has changed since he first became shadow health secretary, seven years ago.
Asked by BBC political editor Nick Robinson if he had changed his mind since saying in 2005 that "the first guiding principle is to maximise competition", he replied: "Yes I have, I have, because competition is a means to an end - not an end in itself. " 'Foolish' Measures 'reduced suicide rate' 2 February 2012Last updated at 00:01 Measures introduced to lower the suicide rate in England and Wales in the past decade appear to have been successful, according to an analysis. It said interventions such as round-the-clock community "crisis teams" had led to 200-300 fewer deaths from suicide each year. The Royal College of Psychiatrists welcomed the findings. In 2001, a series of recommendations were made to reduce suicide in people receiving mental health care. It included setting up 24-hour crisis teams, plans for patients who refused treatment and holding reviews after all suicides. However, they were not instantly adopted, and NHS mental health trusts introduced the measures at different times.
This allowed researchers at the University of Manchester to analyse the impact of introducing the reforms. Prevention Continue reading the main story “Start Quote End QuoteProf Louis ApplebyUniversity of Manchester Nine of the recommendations were analysed. 'Planned 49% limit' for NHS private patients in England. 27 December 2011Last updated at 16:25 By Helen Briggs Health editor, BBC News website There are concerns about a two-tier NHS NHS hospitals in England will be free to use almost half their hospital beds and theatre time for private patients under government plans. A recent revision to the ongoing health bill will allow foundation hospitals to raise 49% of funds through non-NHS work if the bill gets through Parliament.
Most foundation trusts are now limited to a private income of about 2%. The Health Secretary says the move will benefit NHS patients but Labour claimed it could lead to longer waiting lists. The amendment to a clause of the Health and Social Care Bill was made shortly before Christmas by Health Minister Earl Howe. Commenting on the move, Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said lifting the private income cap for foundation hospitals would directly benefit NHS patients.
Continue reading the main story Health and Social Care Bill Critical services Continue reading the main story Dual role. Mystery kidney disease in Central America. 13 December 2011Last updated at 01:01 By Kate Sheehy PRI's The World A mysterious epidemic is sweeping Central America - it's the second biggest cause of death among men in El Salvador, and in Nicaragua it's a bigger killer of men than HIV and diabetes combined. It's unexplained but the latest theory is that the victims are literally working themselves to death. In the western lowlands of Nicaragua, in a region of vast sugar cane fields, sits the tiny community of La Isla. The small houses are a patchwork of concrete and wood. Pieces of cloth serve as doors. Maudiel Martinez emerges from his house to greet me. "The way this sickness is - you see me now, but in a month I could be gone. Maudiel's kidneys are failing.
When he got ill two years ago, he was already familiar with this disease and how it might end. All of them worked in the sugar cane fields. The epidemic extends far beyond Nicaragua. El Salvador's health minister recently called on the international community for help. Breast cancer patients 'stop drugs' due to side-effects. 9 December 2011Last updated at 20:30 Hot flushes were one of the symptoms experienced About a third of breast cancer patients stop taking medication because side-effects are more severe than they expect, US researchers suggest.
The Northwestern University team questioned 686 women who were taking aromatase inhibitors as treatment for oestrogen-sensitive breast cancer. It found 36% stopped their medication because of symptoms such as joint pain, hot flushes, weight gain and nausea. A UK charity said it was aware some women stopped their treatment early. Aromatase inhibitors are given to postmenopausal breast cancer patients to reduce the level of oestrogen in those whose tumours were fuelled by the hormone. About two-thirds of breast cancers are oestrogen-sensitive, and aromatase inhibitors have been shown to reduce the risk of cancer recurring. Information gap Continue reading the main story “Start Quote End QuoteDr Susie Jennings,Breakthrough Breast Cancer. Bowel cancer screening 'does cut deaths' 8 December 2011Last updated at 03:24 About 16,000 people a year die of bowel cancer in the UK A bowel cancer screening programme in England is on course to cut deaths by a sixth, say researchers studying results from the first million people tested.
However, the work, published in the journal Gut, has raised concerns that the programme, launched in 2006, misses tumours in certain parts of the colon. Testers checked a faeces sample for signs of abnormal bleeding. The researcher who analysed the results said money should be spent on bringing in more sensitive tests. Approximately 16,000 people a year die from bowel cancer, making it second only to lung cancer as a cause of death in the UK. Part of the reason for the high mortality rate is that symptoms often do not appear until cancer is advanced and harder to treat. The screening programme aims to catch the tumours earlier, meaning more patients can be cured.
Early stage cancers Continue reading the main story “Start Quote Questions remain.
NHS 'to undergo radical overhaul' 12 July 2010Last updated at 18:08 By Nick Triggle Health reporter, BBC News Health Secretary Andrew Lansley: "GPs will lead a bottom up design of services" The NHS in England is to undergo a major restructuring in one of the biggest shake-ups in its history, the government has announced. Hospitals are to be moved out of the NHS to create a "vibrant" industry of social enterprises under the proposals. And, as expected, GPs are to take charge of much of the budget. The move will lead to the abolition of all 10 strategic health authorities and the 152 management bodies known as primary care trusts.
Continue reading the main story GPs - Asked to get together in groups to take on responsibility for spending much of the NHS budget Hospitals - Encouraged to move outside the NHS to become "vibrant" industry of social enterprises Patients - More information and choice, including ability to register with any GP they want to Managers - Strategic health authorities and primary care trusts face the axe.
Commons clash over NHS shake-up. NHS sets £1.7bn aside for reform. Have Your Say: What is the best way to tackle the UK's health inequality gap? Health gap 'wider than in Great Depression' World News America - China battles obesity in growing economy. NHS reform plans will strengthen NHS, says government. Qatar's expanding health care system. Patients to control NHS records. Half of Europeans are overweight, a report shows. 'Ticking time-bomb' of UAE diabetes. 'We don't need so many hospitals'
Why business should be involved in public health. Chronic illness is the 'biggest killer', says WHO.