Foundation trusts slammed over data

The number of foundation trusts not submitting data on NHS complaints has risen in the last year, figures have shown.
Foundation trusts have more freedom than other trusts, including around control of finances.
Latest data from the NHS Information Centre shows 29 foundation trusts across England did not submit any data on complaints for 2010/11, up from 18 in the previous year.
Foundation trusts are not compelled to submit data but can do so voluntarily. Wednesday's report looked at just over 148,000 written complaints about the health service in 2010/11. Overall, there was a 2.4% (3,700) decrease in complaints compared with the previous year.
The subject most complained about was "all aspects of clinical treatment", which accounted for 44% of complaints (43,200), slightly up on the previous year.
Patients Association chief executive Katherine Murphy said: "This issue strikes at the heart of this Government's agenda for reform. The current plan is for all trusts to become foundation trusts and gain 'independence'. We need to make sure there are the right safeguards in place.
"You can have local management, local involvement, local anything you want. But if local people do not have access to data to enable them to make comparisons then it is a waste of time. We absolutely recognise that this data has its limitations, but that needs to be addressed nationally with proper performance measures."
Frances Blunden, senior policy manager at the NHS Confederation, said: "It is essential NHS organisations and individual staff make every effort to learn from when things go wrong and NHS trusts deal with patients' concerns promptly, effectively and appropriately. This is an important part of offering high quality, safe healthcare."
NHS Information Centre chief executive Tim Straughan said: "Data about 148,200 complaints was submitted to this report, but I would encourage all foundation trusts to report their complaints to us so that future reports can tell the complex story based on information from every trust."
Paul Hodgkin, chief executive of the website Patient Opinion, which enables patients to comment on their NHS experience, said: "We believe that the fact that so many trusts have refused to supply data on complaints means that this report simply cannot be treated as an accurate indicator of how well the NHS is performing."

 

How Safe is Nurofen Plus Use After Drug Mix-Up

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency issued a safety alert on August 26 warning consumers to check packs of Nurofen Plus after it emerged that thousands could mistakenly contain antipsychotic drugs
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency issued a safety alerted on August 26 warning consumers to check packs of Nurofen Plus after it emerged that thousands could mistakenly contain antipsychotic drugs.

Reports by the MHRA revealed that some batches contained Seroquel XL 50mg prescription-only anti-psychotic drug used to treat mental health conditions, instead of Nurofen Plus.
The mix up has seen some batches of Nurofen Plus which are small and have silver and black packaging contain individual blister packs of Seroquel XL 50mg Seroquel tablets which are larger and have gold and black packaging
Nurofen Plus is for pain relief and contains codeine and ibuprofen.
Reckitt Benckiser, manufacturer of Nurofen Plus, said in a statement that there have been three cases identified so far which have all been confined to south London, reported The Press Association.


Seroquel XL is used to treat several disorders including schizophrenia, mania and bipolar depression. Side effects of Seroquel can include dizziness, weight gain, rapid heart rate and blurred vision.
Two people are believed to have taken Seroquel by mistake, but are not thought to have experienced any ill-effects, reports BBC News.
People with the affected packets said to be in batches numbered 13JJ, 57JJ and 49JJ, were told to return them to their pharmacy immediately.
Each of the affected batches contains between 4,000 and 7,500 packs - around half a million in total. But not all the packs are affected, reported BBC News.
Confusion has occurred over how the mix-up occurred as it was revealed that Seroquel XL is ib fact manufactured by another drug firm, AstraZeneca.
Reckitt Benckiser early this morning ruled out a manufacturing error to explain how potentially harmful antipsychotic drugs used to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder were found in their products reported the Metro.
Ian Holloway, from the MHRA's defective medicines report centre (DMRC), said "if you have taken a tablet and you have any questions, speak to your GP", quoted BBC News.
Dr Aomesh Bhatt, medical director for Nurofen Plus, said: "We are taking this matter extremely seriously and we are working closely with the MHRA to investigate fully" quoyed BBC News.
"Additionally, we are in the process of working to ensure the Nurofen Plus packs are double-checked by pharmacy staff before they are handed to customers."
The mix-up is still under investigation.
 

By the year 2030, clinical researchers predict that a potential 26 million people living in the UK could be suffering from obesity.

A collation of studies published in The Lancet have drawn attention to the worldwide trend of increasing obesity and claim that in Britain alone, the health service could be forced into spending an extra £2 billion a year solely on weight-related complications.

The predictions for 19 years’ time also show that an additional 461,000 people would develop heart disease - “deeply worrying” news for The British Heart Foundation.

Publication of the papers comes ahead of the UN’s inaugural summit on non-communicable disease next month - aimed at discussing the potential financial and health complications which could arise if the issue of obesity is left untackled.

Already in the UK, around 15 million people class as medically obese. Estimates at this rate, would suggest an 11 million increase over the next two decades.

The British Heart Foundation’s Dr Mike Knapton said: “These predicted figures for obesity and heart disease in the UK are deeply worrying and show how urgently action is needed. And it’s not just the UK, obesity is now a global pandemic fuelling diseases such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer. If we fail to tackle it now we’ll leave a legacy of people living poor quality lives and dying young.

“In the UK, we need our government to take the lead and make it easier to be healthier, such as by ensuring children are fully protected from junk food marketing on and off line.”

Health minister Anne Milton said: “We have no current plans to impose a ‘fat tax’, but we are working with food companies to reduce fat, sugar and salt and ensure healthier options are available.

“We also want to see businesses use more consistent and informative front-of-pack nutrition labelling than has been achieved in the past. The new EU Food Information Regulation, which will be agreed before the end of the year, will strengthen legislation on food labelling, in particular nutrition labelling.”

1.1 million alcohol-related admissions in hospitals across the country last year — that means over 3,000 people were taken to health centres every day

Data available in Britain shows there were 1.1 million alcohol-related admissions in hospitals across the country last year — that means over 3,000 people were taken to health centres every day. 


Authors of the report at the Liverpool John Moores University believe this was due to the increased availability of cheap alcohol, Sky News reported.
The report of 2009-10 showed a wide variation across the country in rates of hospitalisation, with 3,114 admissions per 100,000 people in Liverpool, dropping to 850 per 100,000 on the Isle of Wight.
Mark Bellis, a university official, said: "Cheap alcohol is no longer a commodity that this country can afford. The scale of damage revealed by these profiles shows that alcohol is a problem for everyone in Britain."
"Even those families not directly affected by alcohol-related health problems, violence or abuse still pay towards the billions in taxes for the policing, health services and social support required to tackle this national problem."
Other details, drawn from official crime statistics, shows there were 392,787 crimes attributable to alcohol in 2010-11 – equating to 7.6 crimes per 1,000 people.

The highest rates of crime linked to drinking by region occurred in London, with 11.7 crimes per 1,000 residents.900 more people are admitted to hospital every day for drinking compared to five years ago, figures show.
A round-up of existing data shows there were 1.1 million admissions in England relating to alcohol in 2009/10 - 879 more per day than five years previously.
There is also wide variation across the country in rates of hospitalisation, with 3,114 admissions for alcohol per 100,000 people in Liverpool, dropping to 850 per 100,000 on the Isle of Wight.
Overall, in the five years to 2009/10, there was a 25% rise in the number of people admitted for reasons that were due to drinking.
Other figures show 7.6% of drinkers are now considered high risk, meaning they are at serious risk of jeopardising their health.
That is set against a backdrop of increasing numbers of people suffering and dying from chronic liver disease.
The report, from the North West Public Health Observatory at Liverpool John Moores University, also contains new estimates on the number of people in England who do not drink at all.
There are thought to be six million people over 16 who do not drink, with people from certain ethnic or religious backgrounds far more likely to abstain.
Other detail, drawn from official crime statistics, shows there were 392,787 crimes attributable to alcohol in 2010/11 - 7.6 crimes per 1,000 people.
The highest rates of crime linked to drinking by region occurred in London (11.7 crimes per 1,000 residents) while the north east had the lowest rate (5.7 per 1,000 residents).

 

Nearly 900 more people are admitted to hospital every day because of drinking than five years ago

Nearly 900 more people are admitted to hospital every day because of drinking than five years ago prompting calls by campaigners for new laws to curb the problem of excessive drinking.

According to new government figures there were 1.1m admissions in England in 2009/2010 - that's 879 extra a day than in 2004/2005 and a 25% rise in numbers.

This is the overall figure for across the country but regional variations are stark.

Nearly 900 more people are admitted to hospital every day because of drinking than five years ago

Nearly 900 more people are admitted to hospital every day because of drinking than five years ago prompting calls by campaigners for new laws to curb the problem of excessive drinking.

According to new government figures there were 1.1m admissions in England in 2009/2010 - that's 879 extra a day than in 2004/2005 and a 25% rise in numbers.

This is the overall figure for across the country but regional variations are stark.