Daily digest March 11 2015
Older and vulnerable patients to get 30-minute GP appointments
Older and vulnerable people will be offered longer GP appointments – including at weekends – in an attempt to reduce the chances of them ending up in hospital.
They will have 30-minute in-depth appointments which will try to pick up any underlying problems before they require emergency admission. As part of a £200 million scheme aimed at providing better care for the most vulnerable, some patients will also undergo consultations with A&E nurses via webcams to establish whether it is necessary for them to go to casualty.
NHS chief executive Simon Stevens yesterday announced the pilot scheme, which will be rolled out in 29 parts of England covering 5 million patients.
Read more on the Daily Mail website: click here
Vaccine could effectively cure diabetes
UK scientists are working on a jab that could provide a diabetes cure.
Launching the project today, Diabetes UK's director of research Alasdair Rankin said: 'This research is hugely exciting because it has the potential to transform the lives of hundreds of thousands of people living with type 1 diabetes, as well as leading us towards a longed-for cure.'
The vaccine would work in harmony with other treatments that reduce damage to insulin-producing cells in the pancreas.
Read more on the Express website: click here
'Worried well' overwhelm dementia clinics
Thousands of middle-aged 'worried well' who fear they have dementia are overrunning UK clinics set up to diagnose the disease, doctors claimed yesterday.
The number of people visiting specialists for tests has quadrupled in four years, leading to waiting times of up to six months as well as reduced quality of care for existing patients, official figures reveal.
Experts said that some people were attending clinics after forgetting where they had put their keys, for example, as dementia replaced cancer as the nation’s greatest fear.
(£) Read more on the Times website: click here
Conservative MPs to rebel over plain cigarette packs
As many as 100 Conservative MPs are planning to vote against government plans forcing tobacco companies to sell cigarettes in plain packaging. The move could cause embarrassment for prime minister David Cameron just weeks ahead of the general election.
There was widespread surprise last week when a junior health minister, Jane Ellison, said that MPs would be given a vote on whether to introduce plain packaging for cigarettes.
Read more on the Telegraph website: click here