NEWS DIGEST


GPs call for early warnings on violent patients


OVER three out of four GPs (79 per cent) have felt threatened by a patient at some point in their career and over a quarter within the last year, according to a survey by GP magazine. Nearly 20 per cent of the 610 GPs in the


survey reported being attacked by a patient at some point in their careers and over 10 per cent reported attacks on staff within the past 12 months. Over 90 per cent of GPs believe that they should be warned when patients convicted of violent crime register with practices on release from prison. Deputy chairman of the GPC Dr Richard


Legal duty to consult over DNR Doctors now have a legal duty to


consult with patients before placing a do not resuscitate (DNR) order in medical records. The Court of Appeal in England made the ruling in a landmark case involving Janet Tracey, a 63-year-old care home manager who died soon after fracturing her neck in a car accident. She had also recently been diagnosed and under treatment for lung cancer. The court found that doctors at


Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge had acted unlawfully in placing a DNR order without consulting her and her family. Lord Dyson ruled in his judgment that the hospital trust had violated Mrs Tracey’s right to respect for her private life under Article 8 of the European Convention of Human Rights.


He said: “Since a [DNR] decision is one which will potentially deprive the patient of life-saving treatment, there should be a presumption in favour of patient involvement. “There need to be convincing reasons


not to involve the patient.” Doctors are already advised to inform


patients and their families in most cases before a DNR is applied. The ruling makes this now a legal requirement.


l NES FUNDS DENTAL RESOURCES NHS Education for Scotland (NES) is to fund additional educational resources to dental training practices to support the learning needs of the entire dental team. The range of new materials will include an


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Vautrey commented: “There must be proper resources available and easily accessible violent patient schemes in every area, so those particularly difficult patients can receive appropriate care with the right level of support and protection for the individual who is providing that care.” But he added it is important not to


place barriers to healthcare access for patients with prison records. “We need to be very careful not to pre-judge a situation and almost make it impossible for patients to register when their behaviour has been questioned.”


Child tooth whitening still illegal DENTISTS are being told they can


now offer tooth whitening to patients under the age of 18 following an apparent change in position by the GDC. Under the revised rules, bleaching can be used in low concentrations on diseased teeth - but clarity is still needed on the legal position. In a statement on its website, the GDC


states: “Products containing or releasing between 0.1 per cent and 6 per cent hydrogen peroxide cannot be used on any person under 18 years of age except where such use is intended wholly for the purpose of treating or preventing disease.” The move has been welcomed by


organisations including the Faculty of Dental Surgery (FDS) and the British Society of Paediatric Dentistry (BSPD) who spent two


interactive programme on oral cancer and a suite of modules on communications skills. The intention is to give training practices appointed for the August 2014 to July 2015 training year priority access free of charge.


Complacency leads to asthma deaths POOR standards of care in the


treatment of asthma are leading to unnecessary deaths according to an inquiry from the Royal College of Physicians. The National Review of Asthma Deaths


found that nearly half of patients included in the study who died from asthma did not receive medical help during their final asthma attack. Among asthma deaths, some 80 per cent of children under age 10 and 72 per cent of young people aged 10–19 died before they reached hospital. Deficiencies were found in both routine


care and in the treatment of attacks, and there was widespread under-use of preventer inhalers and excessive over-reliance on


HALF OF CANCER PATIENTS SURVIVE 10 YEARS Over 50 per cent of people diagnosed with cancer today will survive their disease for at least 10 years compared to 25 per cent in the early 1970s, according to Cancer Research UK. Improvement has


been measured across a range of cancers but survival rates for some cancers are still poor. Just one per cent of pancreatic cancer patients and five per cent of lung cancer patients diagnosed today are expected to survive 10 years.


SUMMONS


years campaigning for a relaxation of the rules. A recent FDS report on tooth whitening argued that EU legislation effectively banning the treatment in under-18s could lead to bullying in young patients with discoloured teeth. The report noted that “when it comes to considering dental bleaching for under-18s in the UK, serious dilemmas have arisen from various European Community (EC) directives and how they are interpreted.” But MDDUS is reminding members that this is professional guidance from their regulatory body and not the legal position - which remains that use of products of greater than 0.1 per cent hydrogen peroxide on under-18s is illegal. MDDUS has requested clarification from the GDC on the definition of ‘disease’ in this context, but provision of this type of treatment could still lead to a criminal prosecution by Trading Standards. MDDUS would advise not offering such treatment at this time.


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