NEWS
‘Social media influencers’ recruited to extend reach of NHS app
The search is on for nurses and other health professionals across England to become the face of the NHS App on social media and in their communities, helping people to take back control of their own health. NHS England reports that England’s chief nursing officer, Ruth May, has launched the drive to find 10 passionate NHS ambassadors - including nurses, midwives, allied health professionals and doctors - to promote the use of the new app, which marks a step change in how people are able to engage with the NHS and access their medical records. The free app (available on Google Play and Apple app stores) will be key to transforming people’s experience of services as well as the way they access care making it more convenient and available at the touch of a button. First launched in January 2019, it is now available to the vast majority of people across England, and particularly useful for people who use NHS services regularly, including those with long-term health conditions and pregnant women.
Ambassadors for the app will be drawn
from a range of different backgrounds, locations and clinical roles, and will play a critical role in promoting the NHS App to family, friends, colleagues, patients and the public. They will encourage downloads of the app by using a range of different channels to talk about the benefits, including on social media channels like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Chief nursing officer for England, and lead ambassador for the NHS App, Ruth May, said: “The best advert for our NHS is our extraordinary staff who continue to be the envy of the world, and with some of our leading lights soon to be promoting the next generation
Life-changing treatment for children
with rare disease available on NHS Children in England with a rare condition which leads to early death are set to receive treatment on the NHS, after the health service struck a deal with manufacturers.
NHS England has announced that young people with Batten Disease – an incurable illness which affects the nervous system, causing seizures, visual impairment, mobility loss and early death – will now be offered a drug to slow the onset of sickness. Batten Disease usually starts in childhood, with an estimated 25 – 40 children living with the condition in England. Confirmation of the deal to bring the treatment onto the NHS follows negotiation between NHS England and the manufacturer Biomarin who have agreed a fair price that the NICE committee was able to recommend as an effective use of NHS resources.
Cerliponase alfa has been shown to extend the lives of youngsters who take it, and thanks to a new deal, patients will be able to get access to it.
The NHS will now be able rapidly to offer this treatment to Batten disease sufferers not currently receiving treatment, by Christmas at the latest.
The deal to treat Batten Disease is the latest successful negotiation led by NHS
England, which has seen new and life- changing drugs come on stream for patients in England, after treatments for rare cancers, sight loss, haemophilia, multiple sclerosis and a rare muscle wasting disease in children have all been approved within the past year. Simon Stevens, NHS chief executive,
said: “This is another concrete step towards ensuring NHS patients with rare conditions get access to important new treatments. Over recent months there’ve been a series of successful deals as NHS England works closely with the life sciences sector to make life changing new drugs available for haemophilia, MS, rare cancers and other conditions. Coming after extended negotiation, the new deal reached today is a reminder that in order to succeed, companies must be flexible and realistic, because the NHS in England cannot and will not simply write blank cheques at taxpayers’ expense.” Professor Stephen Powis, NHS national medical director, said: “This is important news for children and their families suffering from this devastating disease who can now have access to a life-changing treatment, having endured a long wait for the company to make a fair offer. “This latest deal coming on the back of a number of other recent successful
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negotiations demonstrates that there is no reason for other companies not to show equivalent flexibility in order to benefit NHS patients, taxpayers and indeed themselves.” Batten Disease is caused by low levels of an enzyme called ‘tripeptidyl peptidase 1’ which means that fatty substances build up in the brain, nervous system and eyes. There is currently no cure or life- extending treatments for Batten Disease, only symptom relief and supportive care. But cerliponase alfa, also called Brineura, is an enzyme replacement therapy administered directly into the brain via a surgical implant which clinical evidence has shown can slow the deterioration of mobility and speech in the short-term. NHS England has reached a confidential deal with the company which benefits patients and taxpayers so it is available on the NHS while further evidence is collected. NHS England has agreed the terms of a commercial deal which has allowed NICE to confirm that it can now recommend this treatment as part of a managed access agreement (MAA), while additional evidence about its effectiveness is gathered over the next four and a half years. During this period, patients will be able to receive this treatment where clinicians and parents agree that it is suitable.
OCTOBER 2019
of health care tech across social media, the benefits of the NHS App will be experienced by even more people across England. “The NHS App is transforming people’s experience of our health service, making it more convenient and available at the touch of a button, and as it continues to grow and improve, it will increasingly play a leading role in how we meet the ambitions set out in the NHS Long Term Plan, to help people stay well and manage their long-term conditions, and give new mums and their babies the very best start in life.
“So it’s time now to get the word out, and that’s where frontline NHS staff come in – whether it’s acting as social media influencers or using good old-fashioned word of mouth, our search is on for nurses, doctors and other members of staff who are passionate about helping people make the most of this new and exciting advance.”
The chief nursing officer is looking to hear from a diverse range of NHS staff and backgrounds. Staff can apply at:
digital.nhs.uk/ AppAmbassador
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