and equipment and achieve poor outcomes in some vital areas like cancer survival.”


Call for stricter rules on online drug sales


TOUGHER safeguards are needed to protect people buying medicines online, including a ban on the sale of drugs such as antibiotics and opiates, the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) has warned. The regulator said it is concerned that it can be “too easy” to purchase drugs on the internet that are not clinically appropriate. It has published a consultation paper calling for stricter guidance for UK-based online pharmacies. Among the proposals is a ban on online sales of medicines such as opiates, antibiotics, asthma inhalers and Botox without first contacting the patient’s GP. A recent BBC Panorama investigation also highlighted the online sale of prescription- only medications to potentially vulnerable patients, and The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has advised patients to use only CQC- registered sites. GPhC chief executive Duncan Rudkin


said: “Medicines are not ordinary items of commerce, and must not be treated as such.”


Mandatory recovery period for trainees


JUNIOR doctors in Scotland are to be given a mandatory 46-hour recovery period after a run of night shifts before they can return to work. The move will take effect by August 2019 and is the result of ongoing discussions between the BMA, Scottish Government and NHS boards. Fatigue has been linked to the deaths of a number of junior doctors in recent years. An inquest into the 2015


death of Suffolk doctor Ronak Patel found he had crashed his car after falling asleep at the wheel while driving home from a third consecutive nightshift. Chair of BMA Scotland’s Junior Doctors Committee Dr Adam Collins said the recovery period would make a “tangible difference” to the working lives of trainees. He said: “Evidence shows that moving from night shifts to day shifts is one of the biggest causes of exhaustion we face in our working patterns. Fatigue is a risk to junior doctors and a risk to our patients”.


Lower death rates with continuity of care


A NEW study looking at continuity of care has concluded that patients who see the same doctor over time have lower death rates. Researchers analysed the results of 22 “high


quality” studies with varying time frames from nine countries and found that – in 18 (82 per cent) – there were statistically significant reductions in mortality with increased continuity of care. The effect applied across different cultures and was true for family doctors as well as for specialists, including psychiatrists and surgeons. The study published in BMJ Open was a collaboration between St Leonard’s Practice in Exeter and the University of Exeter Medical School. Professor Philip Evans commented: “Continuity of care happens when a patient and a doctor see each other repeatedly and get to know each other. This leads to better communication, patient satisfaction, adherence to medical advice and much lower use of hospital services. “As medical technology and new treatments dominate the medical news, the human aspect of medical practice has been neglected. Our study shows it is potentially life-saving and should be prioritised.”


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NEW DENTAL AMALGAM RESTRICTIONS NEW regulations on the use of dental amalgam in treatment came into effect on 1 July. UK law now states that dental amalgam should not be used in the treatment of deciduous teeth in children under 15 years old and in pregnant or breastfeeding women. Access implementation advice and supporting tools at tinyurl.com/ y7yhgx4u


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HOMEOPATHY CHALLENGE REJECTED BY HIGH COURT A LEGAL challenge by the British Homeopathic Association to overturn plans to no longer routinely fund homeopathy on the NHS has been rejected by the High Court. NHS chief Simon Stevens has welcomed the decision on measures adopted to curb prescriptions for medicines that can be bought over the counter or are of low value. Stevens said: “There is no robust evidence to support homeopathy which is at best a placebo and a misuse of scarce NHS funds”.


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GMC REDUCES ARFs REGISTERED doctors with an annual retention fee (ARF) date of 1 April or later will pay a reduced fee of £390 instead of £425 this year. Newly qualified doctors will receive a fixed-term discount, and those with an annual income less than £32,000 can also apply for a discount. Full details are available www.gmc-uk.org.


MDDUS INSIGHT / 7


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