Showing posts tagged with: government

Beta-blockers 'may lower dementia risk'

Taking beta-blocker drugs may cut the risk of dementia, a trial in 774 men suggests.

The medication is used to treat high blood pressure, a known risk factor for dementia.

In the study, which will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's annual meeting in March, men on beta-blockers were less likely to have brain changes suggestive of dementia.

Experts say it is too early to recommend beta-blockers for dementia.  The findings are preliminary and larger studies in men and women from different ethnicities are needed to see what benefit beta-blockers might offer.

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Health regulator problems 'persist'

The health and care regulator for England has yet to win the public's confidence, according to a report by a committee of MPs.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) was only created in 2009 but has been under fire virtually ever since.

The House of Commons' Health Select Committee said the CQC had still failed to grasp its primary role to ensure patient safety.

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Latest life-extending cancer drug 'rationed by postcode': Dozens of hospitals refuse to hand out treatments

Hospitals are denying patients the latest  life-extending cancer drugs, a report reveals.

Dozens of trusts are failing to hand out  treatments for bowel, ovarian, lung and brain cancer that have been approved by  the NHS watchdog NICE.  Some of these drugs have been shown to boost  survival rates by a quarter while others have extended the lives of  terminally-ill patients by over a year.

The report - commissioned by the Department  of Health - also reveals that many hospitals are failing to prescribe the latest  treatments for heart attacks, asthma, multiple sclerosis, arthritis and Crohn’s  Disease.

In fact some of the drugs were approved for  use by NICE more than seven years ago.

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17 hospitals with unsafe staffing says Care Quality Commission

Seventeen NHS hospitals are among 26 healthcare providers in England failing to operate with safe staffing levels, the Care Quality Commission has said.

The health watchdog issued the hospitals with warnings in November, after carrying out inspections.

About 16% of hospitals failed to come up to the necessary levels.

To read more click here.

Disabled people 'could be forgotten' amid social care reform

Adults with disabilities in England are being deprived of basic care and support and are at risk of being forgotten in the wider reform of the social care system, campaigners say.

Much of the focus on care has been centred around the crisis facing the elderly.

But a coalition of charities has warned people with disabilities under the age of 65 are being neglected too.  They said the squeeze on council care meant many were already missing out.

And the groups, including Mencap, Scope, the National Autistic Society, Leonard Cheshire Disability and Sense, warned the situation could deteriorate under the forthcoming reform of the system.

Ministers are soon expected to announce a cap will be placed on the costs people face for care. 

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