Monday 30th November 2015- BBC News: NI abortion law ‘breaches human rights’

‘Abortion legislation in Northern Ireland is in breach of human rights law, the Belfast High Court has ruled.

Currently, termination of pregnancy is only allowed if a woman’s life is at risk or there is a permanent or serious risk to her mental or physical health.

The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (NIHRC) brought the case to extend abortion to cases of serious foetal malformation, rape or incest.

The 1967 Abortion Act does not apply to Northern Ireland.’

‘A judicial review found the grounds for abortion should be extended in Northern Ireland.

Northern Ireland’s Attorney General John Larkin said in a brief statement that he was “profoundly disappointed” by the decision and was “considering the grounds for appeal”.

In his ruling on Monday, Mr Justice Horner said women who were the victims of sexual crime and cases of fatal foetal abnormality were entitled to exemptions in the law.

He said given that the issue was unlikely to be addressed by the Northern Ireland Executive in the foreseeable future, and that Northern Ireland citizens were entitled to “have their [European Convention on Human] rights protected by the courts”, the current legislation was in breach of their human rights.’

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NI abortion law ‘breaches human rights’

Northern Irish women deserve full access to abortion. Today they inched one step closer- The Telegraph

Monday 30th November 2015- The Guardian: Doctors’ strike called off after Hunt lifts threat to impose new contract

‘Junior doctors called off three days of planned strikes that would have seriously disrupted NHS services after a last-minute agreement to hold further talks with Jeremy Hunt to try to agree the details of a new contract.

The dramatic breakthrough in the increasingly bitter dispute arrived only hours before the first strike was due to begin at 8am on Tuesday, which would have left many hospitals in England offering only the very limited range of services usually seen on Christmas Day.’

‘It came following five days of discussions, overseen by the independent Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas), between the British Medical Association (BMA), NHS Employers and Hunt’s Department of Health (DH).

The BMA agreed to call off walkouts planned for 1, 8 and 16 December after the health secretary finally bowed to their repeated request to drop his longstanding demand – albeit temporarily – to impose a punitive new contract on England’s 45,000 junior doctors if agreement was not reached, largely on terms he had dictated. His stance had sparked huge anger among the affected doctors in training, 98% of whom voted for strike action in protest.

However, an estimated 20,000 patients will not have non-urgent operations that were planned for Tuesday, such as cataract and skin lesion removals and hip and knee replacements, as the decision – announced at 7.05pm on Monday evening – came too late. They will have their procedures rescheduled.

An Acas spokesman said: “Following five days of productive talks under the auspices of Acas, the BMA, NHS Employers and the Department of Health have reached an agreement. Acas is pleased that the talks have been held in a constructive manner and cooperative spirit between the parties, that will allow an improvement in industrial relations.”

A detailed memorandum of understanding, which the three parties agreed, makes plain that agreement over junior doctors’ new terms and conditions must be reached “without undue delay”.’

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Doctors’ strike called off after Hunt lifts threat to impose new contract

Junior doctors’ strike called off but disruption still widespread- The Guardian

Disruption expected as junior doctors’ strike called off- BBC News

Junior doctors strike called off to grant more time for talks- The Independent

Junior doctors dispute: talks to resume in attempt to avert strikes- The Guardian

 

Friday 27th November 2015- The Telegraph: Junior doctors explain why they are striking

‘Faced with contract proposals they say would mean working longer hours for less pay, four junior doctors explain why they want the Health Secretary to look again at the issue’.

See:

Junior doctors explain why they are striking

Thursday 26th November 2015- The Independent: New treatment could free type-1 diabetics from ‘daily grind’ of insulin injections

‘Hundreds of thousands of diabetics could potentially be freed from the “daily grind” of insulin injections after research suggested a new treatment was safe.

Scientists at the University of California, San Francisco, developed a way of restoring the ability of people with type-1 diabetes to produce insulin for a year or more using their own immune cells, The Times newspaper reported.

A type-1 diabetic’s immune system attacks the pancreas but the researchers cultivated billions of T-regulatory immune cells, known as Tregs, that do not have this trait and gave them to the patients.

Professor Jeffrey Bluestone, one of the scientists involved in the work, said their findings could be a “game-changer”.

“For type-1 diabetes, we’ve traditionally given immunosuppressive drugs, but this trial gives us a new way forward,” he said.

“By using Tregs to re-educate the immune system, we may be able to change the course of this disease.”

In the first clinical trial of the technique, 14 people were treated without any serious side-effects, the researchers reported in the journal, Science Translation Medicine. They now plan a larger trial.

The method involves taking a pint of blood from the patient, removing up to 4 million Tregs and then increasing that number by 1,500 times in a test tube.

They are then returned to the patient and do not attack the pancreas. Up to 25 per cent were found to be still there after 12 months.

The procedure could potentially be used to treat other conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, cardiovascular disease and even obesity.’

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New treatment could free type-1 diabetics from ‘daily grind’ of insulin injections

End of daily injections for diabetes as scientists restore insulin production- The Telegraph

Thursday 26th November 2015- The Guardian: Fewer obese children starting school, but third leave overweight

‘Fewer obese children are starting in school reception classes in England, according to results from the school measurement programme, but a fifth still start their school life overweight and a third are overweight or obese by the time they leave for secondary school.

In the last year, 9.1% of children starting reception were obese, compared with 9.5% in 2013-14, according to the health and social care information service that collects the data from the national school measurement programme. In 2005-6 when significant data was first collected, the figure was 9.9%.

Over a fifth of the children (21.9%), who are aged four and five, are still overweight or obese, but that, again, is a drop from last year, when it was 22.5%.

By the time children leave primary school, aged 10 or 11, the situation has always been worse, with a third either overweight or obese. The new figures show there is no change in the proportion of obese children in year 6, which is 19.1%, the same as last year. But there is a slight drop again in the numbers who are either overweight or obese, from 33.5% to 33.2%.’

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Fewer obese children starting school, but third leave overweight

One in five children obese leaving primary school- BBC News

Thursday 26th November 2015- The Guardian: Rules banning gay and bisexual men from giving blood to be reviewed

‘The government will conduct a review of the rules prohibiting gay and bisexual men from donating blood, the public health minister Jane Ellison has announced.

Under current legislation, men who have sex with men (MSM) are banned from giving blood for 12 months after having sexual intercourse.

Responding to a question from the Conservative MP for Lichfield, Michael Fabricant, during women and equalities questions in the House of Commons, Ellison said making sure the blood supply was safe was an absolute priority.

“Donor deferral for men who have sex with men was changed from lifetime to 12 months in 2011, but four years later it is time to look again at the question. Public Health England has just undertaken an anonymous survey of donors and I am pleased that the Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs [Sabto] will review the issue in 2016.”

Ellison added: “It is important to put it on the record that the blood service does not discriminate on sexual orientation. Lesbians are free to give blood and their blood donations are extremely appreciated. The deferral period is based on sexual activity, and it applies to a number of other groups other than just men who have sex with men.”

Others who are prohibited from giving blood include those who have had sex with a commercial sex worker in the past 12 months, who have ever injected themselves with drugs, or who have been sexually active in parts of the world where HIV/Aids is very common. The policy is based on the statistical likelihood of certain groups being HIV-positive, as the virus does not show up in blood tests immediately.’

 

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Rules banning gay and bisexual men from giving blood to be reviewed

Rules stopping gay men from giving blood to be reviewed- The Independent

Thursday 26th November 2015- The Independent: HIV infections hit record level across Europe

‘The number of newly diagnosed HIV cases in Europe has hit an all-time high of 142,000, it has been revealed.

The World Health Organisation said the figure was the largest the continent had suffered since case reports began in the 1980s.’

‘“Despite all the efforts to fight HIV, this year the European Region has reached over 142,000 new HIV infections, the highest number ever,” says Dr Zsuzsanna Jakab, WHO Regional Director for Europe.

“This is a serious concern”.

This rise of the epidemic is primarily attributed to Eastern Europe, where new diagnoses have more than doubled in the past decade.’

‘WHO says the increase in the Eastern region is mainly due to heterosexual transmission and injected drug use.

However, sex between men is still the most common mode of HIV transmission across the continent.

European Centre for Disease Prevention Control acting director Andrea Ammon said: “Europe has to scale up its efforts to reach out to this group. This includes looking at new strategies such as pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV and access to care for EU citizens residing in other EU countries.”’

See:

HIV infections hit record level across Europe

Wednesday 25th November 2015- The Guardian: Doctors ordered to report patients unfit to drive to DVLA

‘Doctors will be obliged under new guidelines to report patients who continue to drive even though they are not medically fit to do so.

Elderly drivers are expected to be among those particularly affected as a result of the draft guidance from the General Medical Council (GMC), which described the issue as “difficult territory” for doctors.

The guidance states that GPs have to tell the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) if a patient is driving against medical advice.

As it stands doctors do not need a patient’s consent to inform the DVLA, which is legally responsible for deciding whether a person is medically fit to drive, when a patient has continued driving in such instances.

The strengthened advice obliging them to do so is part of a public consultation on the GMC’s core guidance on confidentiality. It aims to help doctors balance their legal and ethical duties of confidentiality with wider public protection responsibilities.

Niall Dickson, the chief executive of the GMC, said: “This is difficult territory. Most patients will do the sensible thing but the truth is that a few will not and may not have the insight to realise that they are a risk to others behind the wheel of a car.”

“A confidential medical service is a public good and trust is an essential part of the doctor-patient relationship. But confidentiality is not absolute and doctors can play an important part in keeping the wider public safe if a patient is not safe to drive.

“We are clear that doctors carrying out their duty will not face any sanction – and this new guidance makes clear that we will support those who are faced with these difficult decisions.”

The guidance says doctors must disclose information if there is a need to protect individuals or the wider public from the risks of death or serious harm. This can include risks of violent crime, serious communicable diseases, or risks posed by patients who are not fit to drive.’

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Doctors ordered to report patients unfit to drive to DVLA

GPs urged to report unfit drivers to DVLA- BBC News

Wednesday 25th November 2015- The Telegraph: Doctors ‘naive’ to think no harm will come to patients during strikes, says Harvard

‘Doctors are ‘naive’ if they think no harm will come to patients during strikes, analysts at Harvard Medical School have said, after studying the impact of previous walkouts.

Although industrial action does not usually result in extra deaths, it nevertheless leaves health services severely disrupted and delays medical procedures, they warn.

Dr David Metcalfe of Harvard, and colleagues, looked at the legacy of doctors’ strikes in high-income countries going back to the 1970s.

 They concluded that patients would not come to ‘serious harm’ provided that adequate provisions are made for emergency care.

However they warned that in South Africa, where only one emergency unit remained open for an entire province during a 10 day strike in 2010, the death rate rose by 65 per cent, mainly because people avoided using services until they were desperate.’

‘Under General Medical Council rules, British doctors are not allowed to strike unless they are certain that emergency rooms are staffed sufficiently and no patient is placed in danger.

However Dr Metcalfe said: “It would be naïve to imagine that industrial action can be undertaking without causing any harm to patients.[“]’

 

‘Around 98 per cent of doctors voted in favour of strike action earlier this month. The first day of action in December 1 would see junior doctors providing emergency care only, meaning planned operations and all routine appointments will be cancelled.

Further ‘all out’ strikes are planned for December 8 and 16 which would mean junior doctors will withdraw their labour entirely. The GMC has warned that they will take action if patients are left at risk during the walkout.

Doctors are angry about changes to their working contracts designed to provide a health services which operatres ‘seven days a week’. Jeremy Hunt, the Health Secretary, claims that staffing shortages at the weekend lead to 11,000 lives being lost each year. Patients admitted at the weekend are 15 per cent more likely to die.

Mr Hunt planned to raise overall pay, but stop doctors being able to claim generous overtime packages at the weekend. However he has since backed down and said that doctors can still receive overtime for working Saturday evening.’

See:

Doctors ‘naive’ to think no harm will come to patients during strikes, says Harvard

Wednesday 25th November 2015- BBC News: Patients should have ‘right’ to end-of-life care, say MSPs

‘Everyone should have access to specialist end-of-life care, not just cancer patients, according to MSPs.

Holyrood’s Health and Sport Committee has published the findings of its report into palliative care.

It said there may be 10,000 people in Scotland not getting care they need.

It said those with terminal illnesses other than cancer, the homeless and those with learning disabilities were less likely to receive palliative care at the end of their lives.

The committee stressed that care for those who are approaching the end of their life should be based on need, and not what condition they are diagnosed with.

The MSPs said there is “a perception that cancer patients receive better palliative care”.’

‘While increasing numbers of people with other terminal conditions are on the palliative care register, the committee’s report said “there still remains an issue with access to palliative care for people with non-malignant diseases”.

Calling for palliative care to be a right, committee convener Duncan McNeil said: “Our committee came to a firm conclusion that everyone who needs it should be able to access high quality, person-centred palliative care.

“We heard that this is not happening on a consistent basis and that people across Scotland have a different experience depending on where they live, their age and their condition.”

A report for the committee by Prof David Clark of Glasgow University suggested that more than 10,000 Scots who could benefit from palliative care towards the end of their life died without receiving it.

The committee also heard evidence that the homeless and people with learning difficulties were less likely to receive this form of care.

They argued there was a “need for access to palliative care to be more consistent across all conditions, ages and locations”, calling for this to be addressed in the framework for palliative and end-of-life care being developed by the Scottish government.

The framework should also look at training, with the committee saying there was a need for all health professionals to be “comfortable in initiating conversations around death and dying”.’

See:

Patients should have ‘right’ to end-of-life care, say MSPs