Prime Minister to review why Londoner faces £54,000 cancer treatment bill
Albert Thompson*, a 63-year old Londoner has been asked to pay £54,000 for prostate cancer treatment because he lacked proof of residency. Mr Thompson has lived in the UK for 44 years, working as a mechanic and paying taxes, until his illness left him unable to work. Mr Thompson has been denied radiotherapy for his cancer, raising questions about the NHS being free at the point of care. His case was brought to the attention of Theresa May at PMQs, and the Prime Minister has promised to look into it and wants “to ensure that all those who are entitled to treatment with the National Health Service are able to receive it.”
*name changed due to legal reasons
Read more on The Guardian.
Evening Standard launches investigation into opioid overuse
The Evening Standard has uncovered an alarming opioid trend – 3 million people are taking the drugs that have a failure rate of 90 per cent. Many patients are prescribed opioids for chronic pain, in the case of Philip Hopwood, it was after an appendectomy operation. He became addicted after two weeks, spending over £150,000 in the course of a year on illegal ‘oxy’. With more than 60 hospital overdose admissions a day, the opioid epidemic is a serious concern to Briton’s health.
Read more on Evening Standard.
Breast implant safety register missing thousands of women
The breast implant safety register launched in the wake of the PIP scandal is missing thousands of women’s details. The register’s purpose is to track the safety of implants; however, details can only be added with women’s consent – NHS Digital has found that 39% of NHS providers and 24% of private clinics are not fully using the register. NHS Digital is asking women to make sure that their surgeons have registered their details.
Read more on Sky News.
Kernow Clinical Commissioning Group pressing ahead with Accountable Care System despite Council’s rejection of plans
Kernow Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) told the HSJ that Cornwall Council’s rejection of their plans to become an accountable care system “doesn’t change any off the plans”. The Council released a statement outlining their decision and stating that they did not believe a new organization or committee for strategic commissioning was needed. The CCG plans to continue their move towards delivering accountable care.
Read more on HSJ (£).
Major homeopathy centre in London to lose NHS funding
The Royal London Hospital for Integrated Medicine will no longer be able to spend NHS money on homeopathic treatments from April 2018. A move that campaigners are crediting as “hugely significant and long overdue”. This is the latest in a series of moves against homeopathy by the NHS, who banned the practice in the Wirral in 2016, and a consultation by NHS England concluded that “GP’s should not be routinely prescribing homeopathy”.
Read more on BBC.
Quote of the week – Richard Graham on the use of technology affecting our health:
“I had quite a nice discussion with a young man and his mother. She told me she only has a Kindle, and I replied that the later models will disrupt your sleep as much as anything else. This absolutely thrilled the adolescent, who was much more willing to change his behaviour because I’d caught his mum out. And she was up for changing, too.”
Read more on The Guardian.