All posts tagged: patients

NHS faces ‘ticking bomb’ with number of heart failure patients set to soar | Heart disease

NHS faces ‘ticking bomb’ with number of heart failure patients set to soar | Heart disease

The health service faces a “ticking time bomb” over people suffering from heart failure, with diagnosed cases predicted to nearly double by 2040, medical experts have warned. The British Society for Heart Failure (BSH) warns there are an estimated 400,000 people with undiagnosed heart failure in the UK. It warns there is an urgent need for a national initiative to detect these cases or NHS services face being overwhelmed in future years. Heart failure happens when the heart is unable to properly pump blood around the body. It is a long-term condition that cannot be cured, but early diagnosis and treatment can reduce the risk of hospitalisation and death. Treatments include medication to improve heart function and surgery, implanting a pacemaker to control heart rate or heart surgery to improve blood flow. About 80% of patients with heart failure are diagnosed after emergency admission to hospital. About one in 10 die in hospital and about a third who are discharged will die within the year. Doctors say patients are not being effectively diagnosed in the …

What does the London NHS hospitals data theft mean for patients? | Cybercrime

What does the London NHS hospitals data theft mean for patients? | Cybercrime

A Russian criminal gang has stolen highly sensitive NHS patient data, including the results of blood tests for HIV and cancer, after a cyber-attack this month. The group posted nearly 400GB of data overnight from a hack of Synnovis, a private/NHS joint venture that provides pathology services such as blood tests and transfusions. Seven hospitals run by two NHS trusts, Guy’s and St Thomas’ and King’s College, have been affected by the ransomware attack. Qilin, the Russian gang that carried it out, has now released data it extracted during the cyberheist. The release of private information suggests that Synnovis has refused to pay a ransom to Qilin to decrypt its systems and delete any stolen data. Synnovis said that an analysis of the data was under way in conjunction with the NHS, the National Cyber Security Centre and other partners which “aims to confirm whether the data was taken from Synnovis’ systems and what information it contains”. What data has been stolen?  The hackers have a huge cache of data they have stolen from Synnovis, …

Nurses declare ‘national emergency’ as NHS patients treated in ‘cupboards and car parks’ | UK News

Nurses declare ‘national emergency’ as NHS patients treated in ‘cupboards and car parks’ | UK News

Hospital patients are “dying in corridors”, nurses have warned as they declared a “national emergency” in the NHS. Patients are regularly treated on chairs in corridors for extended periods of time – and sometimes even days, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has said. They are also receiving cancer diagnoses in public areas, and may have to undergo intimate examinations there too, the union added. A survey of almost 11,000 frontline nursing staff across the UK shows the practice has become widespread, the RCN said. When asked about their most recent shift, almost two in five reported delivering care in an inappropriate area, such as a corridor. Patient privacy and dignity had been compromised, almost seven in 10 said. “You wouldn’t treat a dog this way,” one nurse said. Another nurse recounted a patient with dementia being in a corridor for hours without oxygen. They said: “When I arrived, she was in a wheelchair on a corridor with her daughter. She was extremely agitated, crying and confused. This care environment for any patient, never mind …

Record number of NHS mental health patients kept in hospitals longer than necessary | Mental health

Record number of NHS mental health patients kept in hospitals longer than necessary | Mental health

The number of patients stuck in NHS mental health units in England despite being clinically ready to leave has reached its highest level in at least eight years. “Delayed discharges” of patients from hospitals in NHS mental health trusts reached 49,677 days in March, according to an analysis – a higher figure than in any month since at least January 2016, when NHS Digital started publishing the data. Delayed discharges stood at 39,098 in April 2023, having risen from a pandemic low of under 17,000 in July 2020. Before the pandemic they ranged between 20,000 and 30,000 days a month. “Delayed discharges” are recorded when a patient is ready to leave hospital but is unable to for non-clinical reasons, leaving them in effect stranded. This can reduce the availability of beds for incoming patients. The figures show the number of days in which patients who were clinically ready to leave hospital were not discharged. If five patients each had their discharge delayed by 10 days, this would count as 50 days in the monthly figures. …

NHS patients in England to be offered trials for world-first cancer vaccine | Cancer research

NHS patients in England to be offered trials for world-first cancer vaccine | Cancer research

Thousands of patients in England are to be fast-tracked into groundbreaking trials of personalised cancer vaccines in a revolutionary world-first NHS “matchmaking” scheme to save lives. The gamechanging jabs, which aim to provide a permanent cure, are custom-built for each patient in just a few weeks. They are tailored to the individual’s tumours and work by telling their body to hunt and kill any cancer cells and prevent the disease from coming back. Under the new scheme, the first of its kind in the world, patients who meet the eligibility criteria and agree to have a blood test and sample of their cancer tissue analysed will gain immediate access to clinical trials for the new vaccines that experts say represent a new dawn of treatments for cancer. The head of NHS England, Amanda Pritchard, hailed the development as a “landmark moment” for patients. “The NHS is in a unique position to deliver this kind of world-leading research at size and scale,” she said. Research into cancer vaccines is at an early stage, but trials have …

The human side of technology: how AI research is putting patients centre stage | Driving Change. Inspiring Potential

The human side of technology: how AI research is putting patients centre stage | Driving Change. Inspiring Potential

Most people with eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa never seek help, says Dr Dawn Branley-Bell, a cyberpsychologist at Northumbria University. “But what is shocking is that eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of all mental health conditions.” If more sufferers could be encouraged to seek support, might this change? It’s a question Branley-Bell hopes to answer through her research into how technology can improve health and wellbeing, and is part of a wider focus at Northumbria University examining the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) to transform healthcare. The university’s new Centre for Doctoral Training in Citizen-Centred Artificial Intelligence, which has received £9m in government funding through UK Research and Innovation, will enable doctoral students to specialise in areas such as AI for digital healthcare, robotics, decision making and sustainability. The centre brings together academics from across the university and will focus on the inclusion of citizens in the design and evaluation of AI. Branley-Bell has been looking at whether AI could be used, in some cases, as a first port of call for …

Neuralink Admits That Implant’s Threads Have Retracted From First Patient’s Brain, Possibly Due to Air in Skull

Neuralink Admits That Implant’s Threads Have Retracted From First Patient’s Brain, Possibly Due to Air in Skull

In January, multi-hyphenate billionaire Elon Musk announced that his brain-computer interface startup Neuralink had successfully implanted a wireless brain chip into a human subject for the first time. Over the next couple of months, 29-year-old Noland Arbaugh was shown moving a cursor with his mind, playing Civilization VI and even a fast-paced round of Mario Kart. But as the Wall Street Journal reports, there have been complications behind the scenes. After it reached out to Neuralink, the company conceded in a blog post that there have been issues with the implant. Concerns started when the rate at which data was being streamed from Arbaugh’s implant declined over time, indicating something was off with the quarter-sized device. The N1 chip that was robotically implanted in Arbaugh’s skull is made up of a microprocessor, a battery, a communications chip, and 64 threads that are thinner than a human hair. The ends of these threads were inserted into the brain’s motor cortex, allowing it to relay Arbaugh’s intentions wirelessly. Some of these threads, though, have since retracted. One prominent theory is that …

Patients forced into ‘pharmacy bingo’ – as survey says medicine shortages ‘beyond critical’ | UK News

Patients forced into ‘pharmacy bingo’ – as survey says medicine shortages ‘beyond critical’ | UK News

People are having to play “pharmacy bingo” – going from shop to shop to find stocks – as medicine shortages are worsening, experts have said. Health leaders say some patients are even having to “ration” their drugs, with a new poll suggesting shortages are a “daily occurrence” for many of England’s pharmacies. Treatments for ADHD, diabetes and epilepsy are among those affected this year, according to trade body Community Pharmacy England. Its survey of more than 6,000 pharmacies and 2,000 staff found shortages are “wreaking havoc” on patients. Nearly all (97%) of staff said patients were being inconvenienced, while 79% said health was being put at risk. Some 98% said they were also giving out more “I owe yous” – where they can only fulfil part of the prescription. Nearly all (99%) pharmacies reported supply problems at least weekly, and 72% said they were having “multiple issues a day”. Another survey last month, by the Nuffield Trust thinktank, said drug shortages had more than doubled between 2020 and 2023 and that Brexit was likely to …

Life-changing clinical trial yields significant vision improvement for blind patients

Life-changing clinical trial yields significant vision improvement for blind patients

Trial participant Michael Kalberer at a follow-up appointment after receiving the experimental CRISPR-based therapy. (CREDIT: Mass Eye and Ear) In a groundbreaking clinical trial, 79% of participants exhibited significant improvements after receiving an experimental CRISPR-based gene therapy designed to correct a rare genetic form of blindness, detailed in a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. There are currently no FDA-approved treatments for this disorder, which affects approximately 2 to 3 in every 100,000 newborns. The study marks a pivotal moment in medical research, representing the first use of in vivo CRISPR gene editing—modifying genes within the human body. Dr. Mark Pennesi, an ophthalmologist at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) and a lead scientist in the trial, expressed the profound impact of these medical advancements. “There is nothing more rewarding to a physician than hearing a patient describe how their vision has improved after a treatment,” said Pennesi. He shared anecdotes from trial participants, including one who was able to locate their phone and visually confirm their coffee machine’s operation through its …

Some asthma inhalers emit greenhouse gases. But can patients afford to switch? : Shots

Some asthma inhalers emit greenhouse gases. But can patients afford to switch? : Shots

Miguel Divo shows his patient, Joel Rubinstein, a dry powder inhaler. It’s an alternative to some puff inhalers that emit potent greenhouse gases, but is equally effective for many patients with asthma. Jesse Costa/WBUR hide caption toggle caption Jesse Costa/WBUR Miguel Divo shows his patient, Joel Rubinstein, a dry powder inhaler. It’s an alternative to some puff inhalers that emit potent greenhouse gases, but is equally effective for many patients with asthma. Jesse Costa/WBUR During an asthma check-up at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Joel Rubinstein gets a surprising pitch — for the planet, as well as his health. His pulmonologist, Dr. Miguel Divo, explains that the familiar boot-shaped respiratory inhalers, which represent nearly 90% of the U.S. market for asthma medication, save lives but also contribute to climate change. Each puff from that type of inhaler releases a hydrofluorocarbon gas that is 1,430 to 3,000 times as powerful as the most commonly known greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide. “That absolutely never occurred to me,” says Rubinstein, a retired psychiatrist. “Especially, I mean, these are …