Labour’s Legacy

The Poorest people in the UK are more than twice as likely to have diabetes at any age than the average person, a charity has warned, and those with the condition who live in the most deprived homes are also twice as likely to develop complications, Diabetes UK said.

Obesity, lack of exercise, poor diet and smoking are to blame, it added.

One public health expert said efforts to prevent and treat the disease should be targeted at the most vulnerable.

As of 2008, there were 2.5 million people diagnosed with diabetes in the UK.

Numbers have been climbing in recent years due to increased efforts to find people who were unaware they had the condition.

It has been predicted that by 2025, there will be more than four million people with diabetes in the UK.

The most common type is type 2 diabetes, which is generally associated with lifestyle factors, such as being overweight.

It is caused by the body not producing enough insulin or when the insulin that is produced does not work properly.

The report also found that women in England who live in homes with the lowest income are more than four times as likely to get diabetes as those who live in homes with the highest income.

And diabetes in Wales is almost twice as high in the most deprived areas compared to the least deprived.

Douglas Smallwood, Diabetes UK chief executive, said action is needed to prevent a generation of people living in deprivation "ending up in an early grave".

Professor Alan Maryon-Davis, president of the UK Faculty of Public Health, said the figures were not surprising as the risk factors for diabetes were very closely associated with deprivation and hard to tackle.

"We do need to target efforts at the most vulnerable."

He added that the national vascular screening programme which started in April and is still gearing up would help diagnose people and help them manage the illness.

"But we need to set up a proper call and recall system, we can't just wait for people to go to the GP, it has to be done in a more active way."

Good idea but, wouldn’t it be better for the Government to ensure that there is enough money for the “deprived”, and force the “Super” Markets to reduce prices, rather than spending billions on treatment?


Angus

Angus Dei on all and sundry

Angus Dei politico

In the Public Interest-The GMC decides

I am not a fan of the General Medical Council, since the abysmal decision regarding Mrs “As” treatment and subsequent demise, when they decided that no one was to blame, anyway that is another story which will be posted on the 30th of this month on Angus Dei on all and sundry.

That was back in 2007, and it seems that the single celled organisms that infest the upper echelons of that dysfunctional institution still don’t get it.

A couple of cases have been resolved by the Fitness to Practise Panel recently:

The first is that of “Dr” May Arnaot who has twice been convicted of assaulting people and accused of racial abuse and has been suspended since 2005, and in 2006 crushed a pregnant woman with her 4x4 car over a road rage incident.

During her trial it emerged Dr Arnaot was serving a suspended sentence for racially aggravated assault on a rail worker 10 months earlier.

At a General Medical Council fitness to practice hearing last week, Dr Arnaot angrily interrupted the panel chairman, Professor Kevin Dalton and vowed not to treat British patients.

She claimed she was suffering from extreme menopausal symptoms which caused mood swings and irritability.

She told last week’s hearing: “These matters are entirely anger management matters, or it was combined with gynaecology health issues which have now, with time, been surpassed.”

Professor Dalton told her: “The panel is concerned you have shown limited insight into the seriousness of your convictions and into your professional misconduct, and issues relating to your anger management are still apparent.”

Dr Arnaot was told she must continue anger management counselling and either work for the NHS or in private practice under a named supervisor for 18 months, who will report back to the GMC.

The full FTP decision is here the relevant paragraph is: “In the light of all the evidence presented, the Panel is satisfied that the imposition of conditions on your registration would prove constructive in enabling you to return to medical practice, and that it would allow sufficient objective monitoring of your practice to protect patients. In all the circumstances, the Panel has determined that is appropriate, proportionate and sufficient to impose conditions on your registration for a period of 18 months. In deciding on this period, the Panel has taken into account the time needed for any remedial action to work, and for any reports required to be prepared. Accordingly, it directs that the following conditions be placed on your registration for a period of 18 months.”

In the Public interest?


The second case is that of “Dr” Jonathan Chahal, A General Medical Council disciplinary panel ruled last week that Dr Jonathan Chahal’s fitness to practise had been impaired because of misconduct while working at Ormskirk Hospital.

Panel members had heard evidence he had indulged in “Entonox parties” while on duty at the hospital.

The hearing was told Dr Chahal, 33, used the medical anaesthetic Entonox from a gas canister on five occasions during the summer of 2007 – four of which were while he was on duty.

He also persuaded seven nurses to inhale Entonox – frequently administered in childbirth to alleviate pain – at the same time as him.

On one occasion he was heard giggling in the ward’s resuscitation room and told nurses the drug was “fun” and “made you feel floaty”.

Dr Chahal was sacked from Alder Hey Children’s Hospital – where he later transferred – after the allegations came to light. There were no patient safety implications at Alder Hey.

A General Medical Council (GMC) panel ruled yesterday that public interest was best served by imposing a number of conditions on his registration for the next 12 months.

So we have a “Dr” that is responsible for treating children who seems to be regularly using a noxious gas that impairs his abilities as a doctor, being allowed to continue to practise because according to the GMC “Public Interest” was best served.

Has any of the knobs at the GMC actually asked the Public what they think is in their interest?

Of course not they are far too arrogant for that.


Angus

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Angus Dei politico

National Flu service- It’s a one off

The National Flu Service is about to burst onto the web, and there will be telephones as well, and, thousands of swine flu sufferers will have access to drugs without needing to consult a GP.

The phone and website service, which will only cover England, is the first of its kind in the world.

It has been designed to relieve pressure on the NHS and will use a checklist to diagnose cases.

Pregnant women, people with health conditions and the under-ones will still all be referred to GPs.

The Department of Health has accepted that the service could be abused by people giving the answers they believe will give them access to anti-flu drugs.

But Chief Medical Officer Sir Liam Donaldson has said it is a price worth paying to help the NHS cope with its "biggest challenge in a generation".

I thought that when Bennie Lego Bradshaw departed things might improve in the NHS, but the knobs have really outdone themselves with this one.

What we will have is 1.500 “advisors” in the call centre, most of which apparently do not have English as a first language, and there is capacity for another 500 if necessary.

The free-phone number will only be operational during the day, but officials stressed that it will expand to meet the requirements of the pandemic.

The flu service is not covering the rest of the UK as Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland have all experienced much less demand. They will be able to plug into it if and when they need to.

Dr Richard Vautrey, of the British Medical Association, which has helped to design the checklist being used by the flu service, said: "What we have to remember is that this is a unique situation.

So sod the rest of the UK, and given the virulence of the Porkie Flu what happens when all fifteen hundred go down with it?

Good idea to take the strain off of GPs, bad idea to use this type of method to “diagnose” patients, and why isn’t it in Calcutta?


Angus

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Angus Dei politico

Young GPs split on how to revitalise general practice

From Healthcare Republic News

Earlier this month GP newspaper revealed exclusively that applications from doctors for general practice training had fallen by a third in 2009.

GP newspaper asked its GP35 panel of 35 GPs aged under 35 what action they would like to see.

East London GP Dr Osman Bhatti said: ‘Our leaders in the BMA, RCGP and LMCs need to look at the changing face of general practice. If it looks like the future is inevitably going to be salaried then there needs to be equilibrium gained within the profession to rid the increasing divide of salaried versus principals.

West Yorkshire GP Dr Johnson D'souza said: ‘I would like to see either a definitive role as a partner by the end of training to be facilitated by the deaneries or RCGP federated models, with no divide between partners and salaried.'

South London GP Dr Jessica Martin said: ‘A professional role needs to be created that attracts the right kind of doctor to general practice: younger GPs want to help develop the profession, receive a fair share of profits earned from their work, but may not want the responsibility of running a business: a fixed shared salaried partner scheme could be attractive to many.'


Well let’s hope they make their minds up soon.

Angus

Angus Dei on all and sundry

Angus Dei politico

Gosport Memorial Hospital-the case continues

Independent. Doctor-defends-drugs-policy-at-deaths-hospital

Arrogant?

Angus

Angus Dei on all and sundry

Angus Dei politico

Don’t Panic!

The scare mongers, and especially “Sir” Liam Donaldson the Chief Medical Officer, told the NHS to plan for the possibility of up to 65,000 deaths from the disease this winter – although he said as few as 19,000 could occur.

A national flu helpline will be set up within seven days to diagnose the condition and give out antiviral drugs such as Tamiflu. However, it will be staffed by people with no medical training. The move is designed to ease pressure on GPs.

Police chiefs in the West Midlands gave warning on Thursday that the pandemic poses a more serious threat to the country than terrorism.

A set of “planning assumptions” has been given to the NHS to ensure that hospitals, clinics and medical staff are ready if the worst transpires.

Under those assumptions, up to one third of the population could be infected this winter.

Up to half of all children could be infected during the first major wave of the pandemic, Sir Liam said.

Hospitals will be expected to ensure that plans are in place to deal with up to 360,000 patients who need hospital treatment, of which 90,000 could need critical care. The last two outbreaks of pandemic flu in this country – in 1958 and between 1968 and 1970 – both killed around 30,000 people.

The Jobbing Doctor as usual has a common sense approach to this, “We will just quietly get on with seeing the people, making assessments, being exposed to the virus (probably) on a regular basis. We hope that when the 'National Flu helpline' starts, being manned by non-medically trained people with a computer algorithm, it will deal with some of the more frivolous enquiries, without missing serious illness. I will still insist on seeing under 5-year-olds if there are any doubts, and we will get through this.”

So come on you “experts” let us just wait and see, yes plan for the worst but don’t try to scare the population into a panic.


Angus

Angus Dei on all and sundry

Angus Dei politico

Throwing money down the drain

The NHS in the North West has spent £30,000,000 on advertising campaigns that will include networking on Twitter and Facebook.

The budget, which will be spent over three years “will” help 50 organisations raise public awareness on such issues as healthy eating, the dangers of alcohol, and sexual health.

Up to eight public relations companies are being hired to devise suitable campaigns.

Susie Squire, of the The Taxpayers' Alliance said: "The NHS is under strain so we need to prioritise life-saving operations above frittering away money on this sort of PR.

"When it comes to delivering health care messages you should always go for the most efficient method and not the most fashionable."

She added: "The NHS needs to go back to listening to what patient’s want which is better quality health care and not swanky marketing.

"People are going to look at this and say 'Why are you spending £30 million on marketing and PR when I can't get the right cancer drugs or a hip operation?'"

NHS North West said the £30 million figure was an estimate of what might be spent if 50 or so organisations pooled their resources.

A spokesman added: "Social marketing is about influencing behaviour through different projects and different campaigns not just social networking or social media.

"The marketing may include social sites like Twitter and Facebook, but there is so much more (available). It works out at around £150,000 per year, per organisation, which is around £1.07 per year per head of population."

Why oh Why are the knobs in the NHS refusing to listen to common sense, the NHS budget is in for cuts regardless of the false promises of the Gov, this money should be used for patients not inane “trendy” advertising, as the now departed “Lord” Ara Darzi was so fond of saying “Quality” of treatment is what is needed, what we don’t need is advertising that most people will not see.

Angus

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Angus Dei politico

Have we learnt from the Mid Staffs massacre?

Apparently not:

Patients 'being hurried though casualty departments' - Telegraph

The inquiry into "appalling standards of care" at Mid Staffordshire hospitals Trust found that patients were being moved from A & E units before they were properly assessed because of pressure to hit a Government-set target to treat them within four hours.

But new statistics suggest that other hospitals are also hurrying patients though casualty departments.

Many show large spikes in the numbers leaving A&E after three hours and 40 minutes.

The figures, obtained by the Liberal Democrats under the freedom of information act, show that 16 hospitals across England had higher spikes than Mid-Staffordshire last year in the minutes before the target was due to be missed.

At a handful of hospitals more than one in every five patients left casualty in the 20 minutes before the target was due.

At 20 hospitals, more than 15 per cent of patients left A&E during that period.

The now defunct Healthcare Commission highlighted concern that one of the factors which could have led to deaths was the pressure put on doctors to meet the four-hour target.

The investigation into the deaths, between 2005 and 2008, found that doctors were diverted from treating seriously ill patients to attend to minor injuries to ensure that the Trust did not miss the Government-set target.

The report also found that doctors were put under pressure to make decisions quickly and that some patients were not properly assessed before they were moved.

The health watchdog also found a lack of staff, poorly trained nurses and receptionists expected to assess of a patient's condition was serious, all of which it said could have contributed to the high number of deaths.

Norman Lamb, the Liberal Democrat health spokesman, said: "Ministers claim that the tragic events at Mid Staffordshire were a one-off due to poor local management. But these figures suggest a widespread problem which must now be investigated.”

"The Government must admit that its obsession with targets is putting doctors and nurses under impossible pressure and patients' lives at risk.

"Patient safety should be the top priority for the NHS, not hitting targets."

Which is what the medical bloggers have been saying for years, but the “powers that be” have not listened, the “new” regulator, the Care Quality Commission is now responsible for Health and social care in England.

Do they have the intestinal fortitude to act on this information and lobby the Government in order to consign the “target led” philosophy of the NHS to the bin where it belongs, so that medics can return to treating patients to the best of their ability regardless of how long it takes?

Yet another “time will tell” post.

Angus

Angus Dei on all and sundry

Angus Dei politico

Now this is REALLY going to hurt

A senior male midwife has come to the conclusion that women should put up with childbirth pain because it serves a purpose and is a “rite of passage”.

Dr Walsh, a senior midwife and associate professor in midwifery at Nottingham University, said: "A large number of women want to avoid pain. Some just don't fancy the pain of childbirth. More women should be prepared to withstand pain.

And went on to say; "Pain in labour is a purposeful, useful thing, which has quite a number of benefits, such as preparing a mother for the responsibility of nurturing a newborn baby."

In an article for the journal Evidence Based Midwifery, published by the Royal College of Midwives, Dr Walsh argues that normal birth is in danger of being "effectively anaesthetised by the epidural epidemic."

He says a widespread "antipathy to childbirth pain" has emerged in the past 20 years which has combined with increased patient rights and risk-averse doctors to create a situation where almost all hospitals now offer epidurals on demand.

Instead the NHS should take a "working with pain" approach which would encourage women to use yoga, hypnosis, massage, support from their partners, hydrotherapy and birthing pools as natural ways of alleviating their pain, he said.

"Over recent decades there has been a loss of 'rites of passage' meaning to childbirth, so that pain and stress are viewed negatively," he added, arguing that patients should be told labour pain is a timeless component of the "rites of passage" transition to motherhood.


Any comments ladies?

Angus

Angus Dei on all and sundry

Angus Dei politico

NHS computers riddled with viruses

Following a freedom of information request it has been disclosed that More than 8,000 computer viruses have infected NHS computers over the last year, causing problems with patient records and appointments, according to official hospital documents.

The viruses caused appointments to be rescheduled without any prior notice given to patients, the loss of test results and NHS staff to be locked out of their computers for several days.

There is also the concern that personal information could have been at risk of theft, because the viruses that infected the computers are also used by hackers to steal personal information.

Because of the “infections” there were 12 incidents affecting clinical departments, therefore impacting on patient care. Some seventy-five per cent of NHS trusts across the UK responded to the request.

Fifty-one appointments or radio therapy sessions were rescheduled at Beatson cancer centre in Scotland without any prior warning. Patients showed up for critical treatment and had to be turned away.

At Barts, the Royal London and the London Chest Hospital, services were affected, including accessing blood tests, X-rays and patient administration.

A number of NHS trusts admitted in official reports that their networks were attacked because anti virus systems were turned off or not properly applied.

The NHS said that its new records system will have significantly higher levels of security than local NHS trusts have at the moment and that from this year strategic health authorities will be forced to regularly disclose when data is lost.

In a statement they said: "Electronic patient records systems are protected by the highest levels of access controls and other security measures. These levels of security are far higher than any which can be imposed on access to paper records or the majority of local NHS IT solutions."

Have you opted out yet?

Angus

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Angus Dei politico

Mental Health treatment, if you can afford it

A mother who spent £31,000 on life-saving treatment for her daughter while NHS bodies argued over funding is to get her money back.

Most of the article from the BEEB is below.

The daughter, who lived in south Wales, developed depression and anorexia while staying with a friend in Devon.

Ombudsmen found maladministration and service failure by NHS bodies in Wales and England against the unnamed women.

They criticised Health Commission Wales (HCW), Cardiff and Vale NHS Trust, and Plymouth Teaching Primary Care Trust.

The report, issued jointly by the public services ombudsman for Wales and health service ombudsman for England, report said the dispute caused the women "unremedied injustice and hardship".

The daughter, known as Miss S fell ill she came under the care of Plymouth TPCT.
She was initially an out-patient and then, from October 2006, an in-patient, the ombudsmen heard.

Plymouth TPCT then approached a consultant psychiatrist in Miss S's home area in south Wales to ask him to take over her care, but he declined.

As her condition deteriorated further, she was referred to the local specialist NHS eating disorders unit.

The referral was accepted, subject to funding, and an application for this was made to Health Commission Wales (HCW).

However HCW refused to fund the admission because Miss S had never been assessed by the services in Wales, and no follow-up plan had been put in place for when she was discharged.
At this stage the patient's mother, Mrs S, decided to pay to have Miss S admitted to a private eating disorders centre.

She complained to the ombudsmen that the NHS should have funded Miss S's care.
She added that it was out of the question for Miss S to have travelled to Wales for assessment, given her poor condition.

The ombudsmen recommended that HCW reimburse the money paid for Miss S's care, with interest, and that all three bodies pay the women £250 each to recognise the distress they had been caused.

The ombudsmen also made a number of procedural recommendations which were addressed to HCW.

Their investigation also identified concerns about the adequacy of provision for patients with eating disorders in the Cardiff and Vale area, and in Wales in general.

The ombudsmen recommended that the trust carry out an urgent review of the provision for eating disorder patients in its area.

It was also recommended that the Welsh Assembly Government consider a Wales-wide review of the adequacy of such provision, both from an out-patient and in-patient point of view.

HCW, the Trust, the PCT and the assembly government agreed to accept the ombudsmen's recommendations.

An assembly government spokesman said the health minister would formally launch a new framework for the provision of care for people with eating disorders on Friday.

The spokesman said £500,000 would be made available this year for the recruitment of additional staff and extra training, followed by a further £1m each year to sustain and develop services.

Yet another case of the left hand ignoring what the right hand is saying, and yet another case of “not my responsibility”.

“Lord” Darzi is still spouting BS about how much better the NHS is under his stewardship, and patients are still suffering, maybe it is time for his Lordship to actually get off his arse and do something about the failures arising from the over targeted, over regulated, under staffed and under performing trusts.

Angus

Angus Dei on all and sundry

Angus Dei politico

Sarah Thewlis- I resign; that will be £122,000 please.

The NMC has confirmed that former chief executive Sarah Thewlis received a pay off of almost £122,000 following her resignation last year.

Ms Thewlis resigned last year following scathing criticism of the NMC by the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence (CHRE).

NMC President Nancy Kirkland also retired after the CHRE found 'serious weaknesses in its governance and culture', during an investigation into allegations of racism and bullying. Financial accounts for the financial year 08/09, published this week show Ms Thewlis received £121, 825 in ‘compensation’ for the termination of her employment.

NMC president resigns along with chief executive and registrar Nancy Kirkland president of NMC, and Sarah Thewlis, chief executive and registrar; have announced their intention to resign from NMC following publication of the findings of the CHRE expanded performance review of the NMC.Commenting on her decision, Sarah Thewlis said: "Although CHRE's report identified some weaknesses in the NMC, it did not criticise individuals.

However, as the chief executive and registrar who has led the NMC since 2002, I share responsibility on behalf of the executive management team." Nancy Kirkland commented: "CHRE's report makes very tough reading for the NMC. Although the report identifies the NMC's strengths, I am concerned that some of the weaknesses identified appear to directly contradict CHRE's own performance review in March."In their recommendations to the NMC, CHRE have stated that collectively and individually office holders and other Council members should accept responsibility for the current difficulties and for their future resolution.

Ms Thewlis said: "Although I have only been president of the NMC for a short time (eight months), I share and take responsibility for the criticisms made by CHRE and I feel honour bound to do so.

I therefore intend to resign as president of the NMC in order to maintain public confidence in the NMC and the important work the organisation continues to do to safeguard the health and wellbeing of patients and the public.”

That’s not bad money is it, £122,000 for eight months.

Angus

Angus Dei on all and sundry

Angus Dei politico

Loony Tunes-GMC Decisions

I have some experience of the GMC and its mental thought processes and policies from a lay mans’/complainants point of view, and I was not impressed.

Below are some of the GMC Fitness to Practice Panel decisions, I make no comment, but leave the decision to you.

Mind you, the title may give a clue.

And of course the FTP Panel “courts” are being removed from the GMC and handed over to the The Office of the Health Professions Adjudicator but the pre FTP decisions are still going to rest with the GMC, who will decide which doctor is going to be referred to the new body,


There is a short or sometimes long synopsis of each decision.

First the blurb:

Bolton v The Law Society (Court of Appeal 1993) in which Lord Bingham stated

“The reputation of the profession is more important than the fortunes of an individual member. Membership of a profession brings many benefits, but that is part of the price.”

The Panel has a duty to protect the public interest. This includes the protection of patients, the maintenance of public confidence in the medical profession, and declaring and upholding proper standards of conduct and behaviour as set out in the GMC’s document ‘Good Medical Practice’. The Panel recognises that the purpose of sanctions is not to be punitive, although they may have a punitive effect.

Good Medical Practice, published by the GMC on 13 November 2006, and the supplementary guidance referred to therein entitled "Reporting criminal and regulatory proceedings within and outside the UK".


FTP Panel drunken driving- suspended

FTP Panel serious professional misconduct-sex with a patient-suspended

FTP Panel misconduct-attitude toward colleagues-conditions

FTP Panel possession of class A drug-suspended

FTP Panel assault- suspended

FTP Panel suspended-dishonesty-prescribing for herself-suspension lifted.

FTP Panel suspended to date of ftp-16 counts of making an indecent photograph of a child 5years on the sex offenders register-suspended for a further 8 months

FTP Panel professional performance was seriously deficient. Conditions were imposed on your registration for a period of 12 months. Your case was then reviewed in May 2003 and at that hearing the Committee varied the conditions on your registration for a period of five months. However this hearing was adjourned until June 2005 when it directed that the conditions on your registration be varied until 13 August 2005. Accordingly the Panel is satisfied that it is appropriate to suspend your name from the Medical Register for 12 months. This will ensure that patients are not put at risk of harm, and that the public and the public interest are adequately protected.
A Fitness to Practise Panel will resume consideration of your case before the end of the period of suspension. It will then consider whether it should take any further action in relation to your registration. You will be informed of the date of that hearing, which you will be expected to attend. The effect of the foregoing direction is that unless you exercise your right of appeal, your registration will be suspended 28 days from when this notice is deemed to have been served upon you. A note explaining your right of appeal will be sent to you.
The Panel is not minded to impose immediate suspension but is prepared to hear submissions on this matter.

FTP Panelconvicted of Assault by Beating, contrary to section 39 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, for which you were sentenced to six months' supervision and 120 hours unpaid work in the community. You were also convicted of failing, without reasonable excuse, to surrender to custody, contrary to section 6 of the Bail Act 1976, for which you were fined £250. Assault of your partner in a car park in August 2005. The Panel has noted from the notes of the Legal Adviser to the Magistrates Court, on which you wished to rely, that in the course of the assault you grabbed your partner around the throat and hit her a number of times. It has further noted that the assault was conducted in front of your young daughter. The GMC has conceded that assault by beating, or common assault, is at the lower end of the spectrum of assault offences. The effect of this direction is that Dr Vaghela's registration will be suspended with effect from today and, unless he exercises his right of appeal, the substantive suspension for nine months will take effect 28 days after notice of the outcome of this hearing is deemed to have been served upon him. The immediate order for suspension will remain in place until the substantive order takes effect.

FTP Panel possession on 23 November 2005 of 313 mg of methylenedioxymethylamphetamine (MDMA), a controlled drug of Class A, in contravention of section 5(1) of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, contrary to section 5(2) of and Schedule 4 to the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, Admitted and Found Proved, suspend your registration for a period of three months. The Panel having received submissions on immediate sanction, determined that it is not necessary for the protection of members of the public, nor in the public interest, nor in your interests to make an order suspending your registration forthwith.

GMC Role of the GMC


As I said, I will make no comment, but I am concerned that nothing will change.


Angus

Angus Dei on all and sundry

Angus Dei politico

ANOTHER HALF ARSED IDEA

This time from the Tories, who have decided that the £billions already spent on the “medical records” database, should be written off and our health records given to Google or Microsoft to look after.

The Conservatives, who have close links with Google, argue that developing a database would be unnecessarily expensive, and it would be more beneficial to hold the information on secure

systems which already exist, such as Microsoft Healthvault or Google Health. Patients would be given the choice of storing their records with private companies, although it is not yet clear what would happen to the notes of patients who do not consent.

The Tories estimate that if data were outsourced to sites such as these, the country would save half of the £1.65 billion it spends on IT annually.

The National Programme for IT, one of the biggest computer contracts in the world, is designed to link more than 30,000 GPs to nearly 300 hospitals.

Parliament's public accounts committee however warned in January that if the scheme was not showing signs of moving forward by July, hospitals should have the option to ditch the plans.
The new system is designed to provide an online booking system, centralised medical records for 50 million patients, e-prescriptions and fast computer links.

But the MPs' report found that progress was "very disappointing" with further delays expected. A revised completion target of 2014/15, already four years behind schedule, was "in doubt", while the report also found the scheme was now costing taxpayers an estimated £12.7 billion.

Do you want Google or Microsoft to hold your medical records?

I know I don’t.

Angus

Angus Dei on all and sundry

Angus Dei politico

The result of the Darzi reforms

A patient was so disgusted at the "filthy" hospital ward she was being treated on that she forced herself out of bed and cleaned it while still attached to a drip.

Tereza Tosbell, 48, who works as a cleaner, became angry as she watched hygiene staff at work and claims their brief visit left the room as dirty as they found it.

So she tracked down cleaning materials and attacked the sink, radiator and curtain rail she said had not been wiped by the official cleaners in Colchester General Hospital.

"The radiator was filthy, there were cobwebs on the curtain rail round my bed and you could write your name in the dust on the windowsill," said Miss Tosbell.

She was admitted for three days last week with an abscess when she decided to start cleaning as she waited for her test results.

"I was stunned to see how badly they cleaned – the ward was filthy. They didn't bother to clean the cabinets or wipe the chairs that visitors use.

"They didn't use any antibacterial fluids and just grabbed sheets of paper towel. I know because of my work that hygiene in such places is ultra important.

"During the three days I was there the floor wasn't vacuumed or washed. The only time it was wiped was when a bed was moved.

"I was not prepared to put up with such conditions but I couldn't walk out so I decided to do something about it myself."

Miss Tosbell, who described the medical care she received as first-rate, added: "Patients shouldn't have to keep the wards clean – that's the job of the cleaners and it's clear they are not doing it properly."

A spokesman for Colchester Hospital University NHS said: "We are always concerned to hear of any instances where its high standards are not being met.

"All of our staff are aware of their responsibilities towards cleaning and maintenance and regular monitoring of the environment involves clinicians, staff, management and board members.

"We have also had a number of unannounced hygiene and cleanliness inspections by the Healthcare Commission and all wards inspected have been found to have a good level of cleanliness and maintained in good general repair.

"In the annual health check ratings for 2007-2008 we scored maximum marks for safety and cleanliness and we have also been praised for our very low levels of infections such as C. difficile and MRSA.

"One of our senior matrons is dedicated two days a week looking at to ways of improving things for patients. We would ask Mrs Tosbell to contact us so that we can look at her experience in more detail."


Thanks again Ara.


Angus
Angus Dei on all and sundry

NHS Behind the headlines

Angus Dei politico

Statins 'cut risk of dying by more than a tenth'

Statins Even people not at risk of suffering a heart attack can benefit from the drugs, adding to a growing body of evidence that their use could be extended to millions of additional patients.

Previous studies have suggested that the drugs can substantially reduce the risk of a heart attack even in people with no obvious sign of illness.

The researchers believe that the drugs should now be given to people who do not have signs of heart disease but who do have other risk factors such as family history, high blood pressure and diabetes.

The review of 10 trials, involving more than 70,000 patients, found that statins cut the number of deaths from all causes by 12 per cent in patients without heart disease, according to the findings published online by the British Medical Journal.

The researchers, from the Erasmus Medical Centre in Rotterdam, say that it is not possible from the data to say who would benefit most, but suggest it would be men over 65 years with risk factors, or older women with diabetes and risk factors.

Cathy Ross, Senior Cardiac Nurse at the British Heart Foundation (BHF), said: "It is well established that most people with heart and circulatory disease benefit from taking statins.

They can also kill you in rare cases: NHS: STATIN INTOLERANT by Mois: Read the comment from Dr. Liz Miller a GP.

Both sides of the argument need to be looked at.



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