Private Patients In NHS Beds

Diabetes Is Being Misdiagnosed.
The Royal College of General Practitioners and NHS Diabetes published evidence from an audit of five GP practises in Surrey, covering 45,000 patients.
It revealed that 2% of those diagnosed with type 2 diabetes didn’t have diabetes at all – the equivalent of 50,000 misdiagnoses nationally.
Some experts now believe this figure could be the tip of the iceberg.
According to charity Diabetes UK, the number of cases of diabetes in the UK has soared to 2.9 million, a 50% rise since 2005, costing the NHS £9billion a year, or £1million an hour.
A staggering £130million is spent just on tablets to control type 2, which accounts for 90% of the 150,000 new diagnoses in the past 12 months.
Understandably, it has been heralded as the epidemic of the 21st Century.
But now, questions are being asked about how sound many of these diagnoses actually are.

The End Of Obesity And Diabetes?
Scientists believe an anti-flab jab which mimics the effects of exercise could spell the end of obesity and diabetes.
A natural hormone in muscle cells was found to trigger the benefits of physical fitness.
Named Irisin, researchers discovered that injecting it into mice it converted white fat into healthier brown fat – which burns off excess calories instead of storing them.
Within 10 days of injecting Irisin into obese and pre-diabetic mice they had better control of insulin levels – preventing the onset of diabetes – and started to lose weight.
Because the hormone is a natural substance, tests on humans could start within two years.

Private Patients In NHS Beds.
It’s ironic that just days after Prince Philip underwent heart surgery at Papworth Hospital, we learn that 50% of hospital beds could be occupied by private patients under plans to ‘reform’ the NHS.
When it comes to emergency procedures, the NHS is the best in the world so it’s important that we stop David Cameron privatising it through the back door.
( Eileen Fletcher )
Isn’t it heartening that a 90-year-old member of the royal family can have chest pains and get rushed to the very best heart hospital in the country right away, have life saving surgery immediately and the next morning have his family taken to visit him by helicopter.
And mostly at the expense of us taxpayers.
Would a member of the public receive the same treatment?
( David Motherwell )
The NHS was created in 1948 by a Labour Government to ensure people from all walks of life would receive equal medical treatment regardless of their financial status.
However, the Tories have once again revealed their belief there should be one law for the rich and another for the poor by allowing the better off to jump the queue.
This undermines the very fabric of the greatest national institution in the world.
( Roger Grant )

Pneumonia Kills One In Twenty.
Pneumonia is an inflammation of one or both lungs that starts with shivering, fever and coughing.
Sufferers gasp for air, go blue in the lips and nails, become confused and get an outbreak of coldsores.
It affects 11 in 1,000 adults every year in the UK and kills one in 20 people who develop it.
At-risk groups include children, the elderly, people with chronic diseases and alcoholics, plus those with a weak immune system, such as HIV patients.
It is caused by viruses and parasites but more than half of cases are down to the bacteria streptococcus pneumoniae.
Inhaling corrosive chemicals or vomit can also lead to it.
Bacterial cases are treated with antibiotics.
Oxygen may be given and a drip will be used if the patient is dehydrated.
A prompt diagnosis is vital and involves chest x-rays and examination of spit in the laboratory to identify the micro-organism behind the condition.

Hope For HIV Vaccine.
A vaccine against HIV worked on 90% of volunteers in the first human tests.
Scientists say it could turn the virus into a “minor chronic infection” like herpes.
Nine out of ten volunteers given the MVA-B vaccine developed an immune response against the virus – with 85% maintaining immunity for at least a year.
HIV attacks the immune system and has led to millions of deaths.
Further tests will be carried out.

Painkillers May Increase The Risk Of Kidney Cancer.
Common painkillers triple the risk of kidney cancer if taken for more than 10 years.
Patients who regularly take anti-inflammatory analgesics including ibuprofen are 51% more likely to develop renal cell cancer, a study of more than 125,000 people has found.
But taking them for over a decade increases the risk three times.
Aspirin was the only one of the NSAIDS (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) found to be safe.

Help For Emphysema Sufferers.
Micro-fine coils that change shape are being used on the lungs of British patients crippled by severe respiratory disease.
Once in place, the coils compress the diseased areas so that healthy parts can work more effectively and the patient can breathe more easily.
The procedure is designed to have the same effect as traditional surgery for emphysema, but without the risks and complications.
Emphysema is a chronic lung disease that results from the destruction of the Alveoli, or small air sacs, in the lungs.
When the air sacs break down, large air spaces are formed, reducing the surface area available for gas exchange between oxygen and carbon dioxide.
Along with chronic bronchitis, it is classified under the umbrella term chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) – the two diseases often appear together within a sufferer’s lung.
There are 3.7 million Britons with some form of COPD.
About nine in ten cases diagnosed are a result of heavy and prolonged tobacco-smoking.
However, inhaling pollution can also be a contributor.
The main symptoms of emphysema are coughing up mucus or phlegm and shortness of breath.
Other signs can include loss of weight, loss of energy, excessive tiredness and swollen ankles.
Damaged lung tissue cannot be replaced, so there is no cure for the condition.

Caesarean Birth On Demand.
Hospital waiting lists are back, vital drugs are not being prescribed because they’re too expensive, cancer patients are waiting more than two weeks for referrals, yet the National Institute for Clinical Excellence has decided pregnant women can demand a caesarean birth on the NHS even if there’s no medical reason for doing so.
Well, when push comes to shove, I’d suggest that those who fear natural birth go private, leaving the spare cash for treatment of desperately ill patients who are truly terrified of a life being taken, not given.
( Fiona Phillips )

Too Much Sugar May Increase The Risk Of Womb Cancer.
It’s no secret that scoffing cakes and biscuits adds inches to waistlines – but women will be horrified to hear it may also increase the risk of womb cancer.
A study has found that women who eat sugary snacks several times a week are 33% more likely to get womb cancer.
And for those who indulge more than three times a week, that risk jumps to 42%.
The 10-year study in Sweden, involving more than 60,000 women, examined the links between sugary diets and the development of womb cancer.
Also known as endometrial cancer, this disease affects 6,400 women a year in the UK and kills 1,000.