Friday, July 23, 2010
Saturday, July 10, 2010
CONDEMS-NHS
So Mr Andrew Lansley, the health secretary, raises the spectre of job losses in the NHS as he pledges to cut £1bn a pa in "central bureaucracy".
Rising demand for health services, means that major savings must be found in the NHS's "ring-fenced" budget.
In reality tens of thousands of jobs could go.
Are we seeing the beginning of the end of the NHS as we know it ?
Rising demand for health services, means that major savings must be found in the NHS's "ring-fenced" budget.
In reality tens of thousands of jobs could go.
Are we seeing the beginning of the end of the NHS as we know it ?
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Mental illness will rise as millions struggle with debt
Depression and mental illness will increase as millions struggle to cope with debts and money problems during the economic downturn, according to a study.
People who owe money are more likely to suffer from psychological problems, the study from the Nottingham School of Economics found.
Researchers examined information from the Families and Children Survey, which questions about 8,000 people a year on issues including their financial situation and health.
In 2007 13% of respondents who reported debt problems and 17% of those reporting financial stress also reported mental health and psychological concerns.
At the same time less than 3% of those who did not report debt or financial stress said they were suffering from psychological problems.
With the new governments tight fiscal controls the personal debt problem will only increase in the short term so we have a ticking time bomb
People who owe money are more likely to suffer from psychological problems, the study from the Nottingham School of Economics found.
Researchers examined information from the Families and Children Survey, which questions about 8,000 people a year on issues including their financial situation and health.
In 2007 13% of respondents who reported debt problems and 17% of those reporting financial stress also reported mental health and psychological concerns.
At the same time less than 3% of those who did not report debt or financial stress said they were suffering from psychological problems.
With the new governments tight fiscal controls the personal debt problem will only increase in the short term so we have a ticking time bomb
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Mental illness research warning
The following article comes from the BBC news web page it is very thought provoking and well worth a read
Mental illness research warning
VIEWPOINT
Professor Til Wykes
Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London
Poor mental health affects 16.7 million people in the UK today.
In this week's Scrubbing Up, clinical psychologist Professor Til Wykes says strategies for funding research into mental health need to be overhauled.
Patients and their families deserve better, she says.
When it comes to thinking about mental health, I'd like to believe we've come a long way from the Victorian stereotypes of hysterical women and crazed madmen languishing in Bedlam.
But while physical diseases like cancer are managing to throw off the stigma they carried in previous centuries, mental illnesses are still too often ignored or misunderstood.
Not only does this lead to prejudice and discrimination, it also seems to make it harder to find funding for research into the causes of, and treatments for, mental ill health.
Improving care and treatment for people with mental health problems requires the same rigorous research as demanded for tackling physical illness.
However, despite the huge burden that poor mental health represents to society - from the disabling effects on individuals and their families, to the financial costs of dealing with mental illness - mental health research is incredibly underfunded.
“ In these austere times, it is worth bearing in mind that in England alone mental health issues cost us £77bn a year ”
Only 5% of medical research in the UK is into mental health, despite 15% of disability resulting from disease being due to mental illness.
It's estimated that one in four of us - 15 million people of all ages in the UK - will experience a mental health problem this year.
That's substantially more people than will have a heart attack or a stroke, and yet twice as much research goes into heart disease and stroke than is carried out in mental health.
It's more people than will be diagnosed with cancer this year, and yet cancer gets more than 25% of medical research funding - five times as much as mental health.
In these austere times, it is also worth bearing in mind that in England alone mental health issues cost us £77bn a year.
If we had a better understanding of mental health and better treatments for specific conditions, it would go a significant way to easing the nation's financial situation, as well as our states of mind.
Last week, one of the major research funders, the Medical Research Council, published one of the most up to date reviews of the strengths and challenges of mental health research in the UK.
It not only showed that the research that does get funded is world-class but that the UK is well-placed to lead the way in this area.
The review concludes that there are several opportunities to fund more research in the UK that would help accelerate progress in developing new treatments, or lead to better ways of preventing mental illness in the first place.
It means we have to set priorities. We have to direct the funding that is available into the research most likely to help.
But (and there always is a but) it sets the bar high in terms of funding decisions over the next few years and challenges the UK to really pull its weight in this much needed research arena.
Mental health problems frequently start in childhood and persist throughout the rest of a person's life. Finding better ways to treat - or preferably prevent - poor mental health as early as possible will bring enormous benefits to individuals, their families and society as a whole.
We simply can't afford to ignore this problem any longer.
Provocative thoughts from experts in the worlds of health and medicine
Mental illness research warning
VIEWPOINT
Professor Til Wykes
Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London
Poor mental health affects 16.7 million people in the UK today.
In this week's Scrubbing Up, clinical psychologist Professor Til Wykes says strategies for funding research into mental health need to be overhauled.
Patients and their families deserve better, she says.
When it comes to thinking about mental health, I'd like to believe we've come a long way from the Victorian stereotypes of hysterical women and crazed madmen languishing in Bedlam.
But while physical diseases like cancer are managing to throw off the stigma they carried in previous centuries, mental illnesses are still too often ignored or misunderstood.
Not only does this lead to prejudice and discrimination, it also seems to make it harder to find funding for research into the causes of, and treatments for, mental ill health.
Improving care and treatment for people with mental health problems requires the same rigorous research as demanded for tackling physical illness.
However, despite the huge burden that poor mental health represents to society - from the disabling effects on individuals and their families, to the financial costs of dealing with mental illness - mental health research is incredibly underfunded.
“ In these austere times, it is worth bearing in mind that in England alone mental health issues cost us £77bn a year ”
Only 5% of medical research in the UK is into mental health, despite 15% of disability resulting from disease being due to mental illness.
It's estimated that one in four of us - 15 million people of all ages in the UK - will experience a mental health problem this year.
That's substantially more people than will have a heart attack or a stroke, and yet twice as much research goes into heart disease and stroke than is carried out in mental health.
It's more people than will be diagnosed with cancer this year, and yet cancer gets more than 25% of medical research funding - five times as much as mental health.
In these austere times, it is also worth bearing in mind that in England alone mental health issues cost us £77bn a year.
If we had a better understanding of mental health and better treatments for specific conditions, it would go a significant way to easing the nation's financial situation, as well as our states of mind.
Last week, one of the major research funders, the Medical Research Council, published one of the most up to date reviews of the strengths and challenges of mental health research in the UK.
It not only showed that the research that does get funded is world-class but that the UK is well-placed to lead the way in this area.
The review concludes that there are several opportunities to fund more research in the UK that would help accelerate progress in developing new treatments, or lead to better ways of preventing mental illness in the first place.
It means we have to set priorities. We have to direct the funding that is available into the research most likely to help.
But (and there always is a but) it sets the bar high in terms of funding decisions over the next few years and challenges the UK to really pull its weight in this much needed research arena.
Mental health problems frequently start in childhood and persist throughout the rest of a person's life. Finding better ways to treat - or preferably prevent - poor mental health as early as possible will bring enormous benefits to individuals, their families and society as a whole.
We simply can't afford to ignore this problem any longer.
Provocative thoughts from experts in the worlds of health and medicine
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Charity funding cuts
THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE IS TAKEN FROM THE WILTSHIRE TIMES
A leading voluntary sector worker fears Wiltshire Council is preparing to make big cuts that could affect many west Wiltshire organisations.
Veronica McAndry, director of the Bridge House Community Trust, in Stallard Street, Trowbridge, which provides assistance to the voluntary sector, says funding could be at risk after Wiltshire Council changed the way it awards grants.
Bridge House has already lost all of its public funding and is now relying on its own assets and fundraising efforts to stay afloat.
Mrs McAndry said: “I suspect that they will be cutting to the bone and I think they will find it difficult to do anything other than what they really have to do as a statutory requirement.
“We lost all of our public funding in April because of the changes they have been making, but we will continue to try and provide a service here in west Wiltshire. We have gone from having 11 people working here to just me and one other person. I just don’t know how they are going to deliver services here by bypassing us.”
There will now be a single process for grant applications, after councillors approved the changes at a cabinet meeting on Monday.
The council had been relying on five existing processes, a legacy of the former district councils.
A report outlining the changes encourages organisations to consider their priorities for the future, suggesting that cuts to non-essential projects could be made.
The council said that future funding decisions will have to be made “within budget availability”. The amount the council will fund the voluntary sector is to be decided upon in the current financial year.
A decision may be made once the national coalition government reveals its Emergency Budget on June 22.
Council leader Jane Scott said: “These changes are going to make it clear to the voluntary sector how we can fund and support them.
“It is not talking about taking money away from them but about how we will do business with them in the future. For the last two years we have kept up our level of funding.” The government has this week announced £6.2bn in savings in a bid to tackle the £156bn national deficit.
Of this, £1.165bn will come from the cutting of grants to local authorities.
Brian Deeley, chief executive of Age UK Wiltshire, added: “Any potential cuts in funding of the help Age UK Wiltshire offers to older people is obviously worrying.
“However our priority will be to continue to provide and develop services in response to the needs of people in the county within the resources available to us.”
A leading voluntary sector worker fears Wiltshire Council is preparing to make big cuts that could affect many west Wiltshire organisations.
Veronica McAndry, director of the Bridge House Community Trust, in Stallard Street, Trowbridge, which provides assistance to the voluntary sector, says funding could be at risk after Wiltshire Council changed the way it awards grants.
Bridge House has already lost all of its public funding and is now relying on its own assets and fundraising efforts to stay afloat.
Mrs McAndry said: “I suspect that they will be cutting to the bone and I think they will find it difficult to do anything other than what they really have to do as a statutory requirement.
“We lost all of our public funding in April because of the changes they have been making, but we will continue to try and provide a service here in west Wiltshire. We have gone from having 11 people working here to just me and one other person. I just don’t know how they are going to deliver services here by bypassing us.”
There will now be a single process for grant applications, after councillors approved the changes at a cabinet meeting on Monday.
The council had been relying on five existing processes, a legacy of the former district councils.
A report outlining the changes encourages organisations to consider their priorities for the future, suggesting that cuts to non-essential projects could be made.
The council said that future funding decisions will have to be made “within budget availability”. The amount the council will fund the voluntary sector is to be decided upon in the current financial year.
A decision may be made once the national coalition government reveals its Emergency Budget on June 22.
Council leader Jane Scott said: “These changes are going to make it clear to the voluntary sector how we can fund and support them.
“It is not talking about taking money away from them but about how we will do business with them in the future. For the last two years we have kept up our level of funding.” The government has this week announced £6.2bn in savings in a bid to tackle the £156bn national deficit.
Of this, £1.165bn will come from the cutting of grants to local authorities.
Brian Deeley, chief executive of Age UK Wiltshire, added: “Any potential cuts in funding of the help Age UK Wiltshire offers to older people is obviously worrying.
“However our priority will be to continue to provide and develop services in response to the needs of people in the county within the resources available to us.”
Monday, April 26, 2010
FAMILY CARERS AND THE ELECTIION
So we are just over two away from the general election and I'm wondering which of the main parties will be most supportive of family carers ?
I'm drawn to the sad conclusion that the Tory and libdem parties really don't give a toss !
I'm drawn to the sad conclusion that the Tory and libdem parties really don't give a toss !
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Anti-psychotic pneumonia warning
The following is from the BBC news site , it makes interesting reading
Anti-psychotic pneumonia warning
The use of anti-psychotic drugs in the elderly doubles the risk of potentially fatal pneumonia, say Dutch researchers.
A study of almost 2,000 patients found the increased risk starts soon after treatment begins and concluded that patients should be closely monitored.
An expert review published in 2009 found the drugs are overused in many cases and are responsible for up to 1,800 deaths in the UK every year.
Ministers have said they want to see a significant cut in their use.
The latest research published in the Annals of Internal Medicine compared the health records of 258 over-65s with pneumonia with 1,686 patients without the infection.
“ This paper yet again gives us evidence why we should not prescribe them unless absolutely necessary ”
Professor Steve Field, Royal College of GPs
Of those with pneumonia, a quarter died within a month.
When they looked at prescribed drugs, they found current use of anti-psychotics was associated with a roughly two-fold increase in the risk of pneumonia.
Those on the newer types of anti-psychotic drugs were slightly less likely to have the infection than those on the older class of drugs but were still at significant increased risk.
The risk was found to start soon after treatment and increased the higher the dose of drugs the patient was prescribed.
Evidence
The researchers from Erasmus University Medical Center in Rotterdam said: "Clinicians who start treatment with anti-psychotic drugs should closely monitor patients, particularly at the start of therapy and if high doses are given."
Last year's UK review found that around 180,000 dementia patients a year are given the drugs in care homes, hospitals and their own homes to manage aggression but only around 36,000 would actually benefit from them.
Measures suggested in the report and accepted by the government included better monitoring of prescribing practices and ensuring that, where necessary, they were prescribed for short periods of time.
Professor Steve Field, chair of the Royal College of GPs said: "Antibiotics are prescribed too frequently without doctors thinking about the consequences.
"This paper yet again gives us evidence why we should not prescribe them unless absolutely necessary and if you do you should closely monitor the patient."
Story from BBC NEWS:
Anti-psychotic pneumonia warning
The use of anti-psychotic drugs in the elderly doubles the risk of potentially fatal pneumonia, say Dutch researchers.
A study of almost 2,000 patients found the increased risk starts soon after treatment begins and concluded that patients should be closely monitored.
An expert review published in 2009 found the drugs are overused in many cases and are responsible for up to 1,800 deaths in the UK every year.
Ministers have said they want to see a significant cut in their use.
The latest research published in the Annals of Internal Medicine compared the health records of 258 over-65s with pneumonia with 1,686 patients without the infection.
“ This paper yet again gives us evidence why we should not prescribe them unless absolutely necessary ”
Professor Steve Field, Royal College of GPs
Of those with pneumonia, a quarter died within a month.
When they looked at prescribed drugs, they found current use of anti-psychotics was associated with a roughly two-fold increase in the risk of pneumonia.
Those on the newer types of anti-psychotic drugs were slightly less likely to have the infection than those on the older class of drugs but were still at significant increased risk.
The risk was found to start soon after treatment and increased the higher the dose of drugs the patient was prescribed.
Evidence
The researchers from Erasmus University Medical Center in Rotterdam said: "Clinicians who start treatment with anti-psychotic drugs should closely monitor patients, particularly at the start of therapy and if high doses are given."
Last year's UK review found that around 180,000 dementia patients a year are given the drugs in care homes, hospitals and their own homes to manage aggression but only around 36,000 would actually benefit from them.
Measures suggested in the report and accepted by the government included better monitoring of prescribing practices and ensuring that, where necessary, they were prescribed for short periods of time.
Professor Steve Field, chair of the Royal College of GPs said: "Antibiotics are prescribed too frequently without doctors thinking about the consequences.
"This paper yet again gives us evidence why we should not prescribe them unless absolutely necessary and if you do you should closely monitor the patient."
Story from BBC NEWS:
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