If you have any departmental or Trust news you'd like to share, please get in touch.
- Details
Tens of thousands of children and adults living with type 1 diabetes across England are set to receive an ‘artificial pancreas’ in a world-first initiative being rolled out by the NHS.
The groundbreaking device continually monitors a person’s blood glucose, then automatically adjusts the amount of insulin given to them through a pump. Local NHS systems will start identifying eligible people living with type 1 diabetes who health chiefs believe could benefit from the Hybrid Closed Loop system- sometimes called an artificial pancreas – from today. There are currently 269,095 people living in England with type 1 diabetes.
The technology will mean some people with type 1 diabetes will no longer need to inject themselves with insulin but rely on technology to receive this life saving medication. This can also help prevent life-threatening hypoglycaemic and hyperglycaemia attacks, which can lead to seizures, coma or even death for people living with type 1 diabetes.
- Details
Hundreds of NHS patients with advanced Parkinson’s disease are set to benefit from a portable drug infusion that is gradually released around-the-clock to help better control their symptoms. The treatment, called foslevodopa–foscarbidopa, will now offer an additional option for certain patients experiencing movement-related symptoms and whose condition is no longer responding to their oral medicines.
The easy-to-use infusion is delivered through a cannula under the skin and controlled by a small automatic pump worn 24 hours a day to help steadily manage patients’ symptoms with fewer side effects. It works by releasing a combination of medications into the body, with the drug foslevodopa being turned into the chemical dopamine, which can better transmit messages between the parts of the brain and nerves that control movement.
Read more: NHS rolls out ‘wearable’ 24-hour infusion for advanced Parkinson’s
- Details
Urinal mats in public places in England will begin to carry blood in pee cancer warnings for men, as part of a major new NHS earlier diagnosis drive.
The NHS and P-Wave, a leading urinal products brand, are working together to put the message “Blood in your pee? Contact your GP practice” on urinal mats in thousands of men’s toilets across the country. Pubs, restaurants, shops, hotels and sports stadiums will be among the public places using the lifesaving mats with men’s workplaces also targeted.
Passing blood in pee – even just once – is a common symptom for bladder, kidney or prostate cancers, which are all among the ten most prevalent cancers in the country, and generally affect men more than women.
An ultrasound of the urinary tract can help assess the size of a bladder tumour and whether a bladder cancer has spread. Ultrasound is able to differentiate between fluid-filled cysts and solid tumours, however, it cannot determine if a tumour is cancerous.
- Details
The expansion means people can remain active and maintain their independence in their own home, while undergoing medical treatment. New NHS clinical guidance published this week asks local health systems to expand their use of virtual wards to include heart failure patients who often spend a lot of time in hospital and can now get specialist care from the comfort of their own homes.
Around 200,000 people a year are diagnosed with heart failure, and people living with the long-term condition requiring significant input from NHS services make up 5% of all emergency hospital admissions in the UK attributed to the condition. The new service offer comes after the NHS hit its target of delivering 10,000 virtual ward beds last month, with more than 240,000 patients treated successfully on virtual wards since April 2022. The innovative hospital at home service already provides treatment for respiratory issues and frailty and has been shown to reduce recovery times, as well as easing pressure on hospital beds. There are around a dozen heart failure virtual wards up and running, and the Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (LUHFT) and Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust (MCFT) are already taking part in the scheme.
- Details
New figures show that the NHS has delivered on its ambition to roll out 10,000 virtual ward beds by the end of September 2023. More than 240,000 patients have now been treated on virtual wards thanks to the world-leading initiative, with research showing people who are treated at home recover at the same rate or faster than those treated in hospital.
England’s top doctor has praised the work of local NHS teams in introducing 10,421 virtual ward beds for patients who can get expert treatment for illnesses such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), heart failure or frailty conditions at home. The ambition was delivered despite considerable pressure on urgent and emergency care – September was the busiest month for ambulance services so far this year with 827,690 calls to 999 and a record September for the most serious ambulance incidents, with 77,553 category one callouts.
