Web watch
web watch Online resources and useful updates.
Poor care for older hospital patients Researchers from the London School of Economics (LSE) have published Older people’s experiences of dignity and nutrition during hospital stays: Secondary data analysis using the Adult Inpatient Survey. This report finds that older hospital patients in England face a ‘widespread and systematic’ pattern of inadequate care. An estimated one million people in later life are affected by poor or inconsistent standards of dignity or help with eating in hospitals. The report comes from data in the Adult Inpatient Survey for 2012-13 to provide a detailed picture of older people’s reported experiences during hospital stays. http://sticerd.lse.ac.uk/ dps/case/cr/casereport91.pdf GP Prescribing in 2014 The House of Commons library has published its latest briefing paper GP Prescribing in 2014: constituency statistics. Prescription rates for medicines and treatments provide one useful measure of the burden of illness and disease across the country. This paper provides statistics on prescriptions by GP practices in England as a whole and local variation for individual drugs and treatments. In 2014, an average of 18.4 items were prescribed in primary care for each patient registered with a GP practice in England. This amounts to a total of just over one billion items prescribed. The total list price
36
of these items was £8.6 billion around £152 per head, with an average cost per item of £8.20. http://researchbriefings.parli a-ment.uk/ResearchBriefing /Su m mary/CBP-7161
Pharmacists plan to ease GP workload Up to 250 clinical pharmacists are to be recruited to GP practices to provide direct patient care and help to ease workload. The £15m, three-year pilot project for England will see pharmacists support about one million patients with self-limiting illnesses or long-term conditions. It is part of the GP workforce 10-point plan agreed between the BMA GPs committee, Royal College of GPs, NHS England and Health Education England. http://bma. org.uk/news-views-analysis/ news/2015/july/pharmacistsplan-to-ease-gp-workload Mental health key facts app The Royal College of Psychiatrists has launched a new app giving access to the College’s mental health information leaflets, videos and podcasts. RCPsych Key Facts App is available from iTunes and Android Play Store. www.rcpsych.ac.uk/ healthadvice/atozindex.aspx Allergy sufferers put at risk from fast food takeaways An undercover investigation
NHDmag.com August/September 2015 - Issue 107
by the Royal Society for Public Health has found that just over two thirds of takeaways are not declaring the presence of any of the 14 major allergens used as ingredients in their food. The investigation, which included 10 types of takeaways, found chicken shops to be the worst offenders. Legislation introduced in 2014 requires takeaways to be able to declare the presence of any of the 14 major allergens, provide notices in a clear visible format and have a system in place to ensure information can be checked, is accurate and consistent. www.rsph.org.uk/ en/policy-and-projects/areasof-work/allergies.cfm
Oesophago-gastric cancer awareness campaign: interim results The National Cancer Intelligence Network has published Be Clear on Cancer: oesophagogastric cancer awareness regional pilot campaign: interim evaluation report. A regional oesophagogastric cancer awareness campaign ran in the North East of England from 10 February to 9 March 2014. This interim report provides available results to date from an evaluation of the effectiveness of the campaign. A full and final evaluation report will be published when the analysis of all metrics is complete. Available at www.web. nhs.net with user login.
