Digest News


NHS plagued with rota gaps and vacancies


OVER 70 per cent of hospital doctors reported rota gaps in their departments and a significant percentage believe that the delivery of care has worsened in several areas over the last year, according to figures published by the BMA. The figures come from the BMA’s latest quarterly online survey of 2,400 doctors from across all branches of practice. In the survey, 71 per cent of hospital-based respondents reported current rota gaps in their departments and 47 per cent of GP respondents reported vacancies in their practices. The survey also revealed that 71 per cent


of respondents felt that access to GP and primary care services has worsened, and 86 per cent thought that the NHS was less financially sustainable. Commenting on the report, Dr Chaand


Nagpaul, BMA council chair, said: “These figures highlight doctors’ concerns about a decline in services and widespread staff shortages. As doctors, we want to be able to provide the best possible care for patients, but access and quality of care are being affected by staffing and financial pressures. “The result is delays in patients being


treated, and doctors juggling large numbers of patients to compensate for staff shortages. This isn’t safe for patients and it isn’t sustainable for doctors.”


Mortality higher among women post heart attack


A STUDY conducted in Sweden has found that the mortality rate among women in the year after suffering a heart attack is three times higher than that of men. Scientists from the University of Leeds and the Karolinska Institute analysed the outcomes of 180,368 patients who suffered a heart attack over a 10-year period to December 2013. The data was drawn from Sweden’s online cardiac registry – SWEDEHEART – and the results published in the Journal of the American Heart Association. The researchers found


that women who had a heart attack resulting from a blockage in the coronary artery were 34 per cent less likely than men to receive corrective procedures, including bypass surgery and stents. Women were also 24 per cent less likely to be prescribed statins to help prevent a second heart


6 / MDDUS INSIGHT / Q1 2018 Pharmacist first for minor illnesses


A NEW health campaign in England is urging patients to first contact local pharmacists for clinical advice and treatment for minor health concerns. The Stay Well Pharmacy campaign was launched by NHS England and aims to increase public


trust in community pharmacy teams and encourage people to use pharmacies rather than visit GPs as the first port of call for minor illness. The campaign focuses on three key symptoms: sore throats, coughs/colds and tummy problems. A survey conducted as part of the campaign found that only 16 per cent of adults get regular advice from pharmacists for minor health concerns and only 6 per cent of parents concerned about young children. This is despite 79 per cent of adults being aware that pharmacists are qualified to give advice on most common illnesses and are able to identify more serious symptoms needing further medical care by a GP or emergency department. All pharmacies, GP and dental surgeries are to receive a campaign toolkit including posters, information cards and briefing sheets along with other resources. Professor Helen Stokes-Lampard, Chair of the Royal College of GPs, commented: “GPs and our teams across the country are currently facing intense resource and workforce pressures, and patients can certainly help to ease this pressure by seeking advice from a pharmacist where appropriate, before making an appointment to see their GP. “Pharmacists are highly-skilled medical professionals who play an important role in advising patients on a huge variety of minor illnesses and conditions…But of course, they are not GPs and in an emergency or situation where genuinely unsure, patients should always seek expert medical assistance.”


attack, and 16 per cent less likely to be given aspirin to help prevent blood clots. Professor Chris Gale, professor of


cardiovascular medicine at the University of Leeds and a co-author of the study, said: “We need to work harder to shift the perception that heart attacks only affect a certain type of person.”


Prescription drug addiction review launched


AN independent review into


the growing problem of addiction to prescription drugs has been


announced by the Government as statistics show that one patient in 11 was prescribed an addictive drug last year. The review will be undertaken by Public


Health England (PHE) and will address a number of issues, including why the prescribing of addictive medicines has increased 3 per cent over five years and how 8.9 per cent of patients were prescribed such drugs last year. It will also look at antidepressant prescriptions in England which have more than doubled in the past 10 years and a recent survey that found that 7.6 per cent of adults had taken a prescription- only painkiller not prescribed to them. PHE will assess the scale of the problem, the harms caused by dependence and withdrawal, how they may be prevented and the best way to respond. The findings of the


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