{"id":501,"date":"2024-01-05T11:57:44","date_gmt":"2024-01-05T11:57:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/surreycirclehealth.co.uk\/?p=501"},"modified":"2024-01-05T11:57:44","modified_gmt":"2024-01-05T11:57:44","slug":"health-news-january-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.surreycirclehealth.co.uk\/index.php\/2024\/01\/05\/health-news-january-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"Health News – January 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Dear SCH Reader,<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Welcome to the start of the 3rd<\/sup> year\u2019s monthly edition of your favourite health news roundup! With the wintery weather mainly still to come, the football season at the half-way mark and new year\u2019s resolutions in full effect, please enjoy these four selected articles from the past month :-<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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inews 5th<\/sup> Dec \u2013 <\/mark>Junior doctors set for longest ever NHS strike in December and January:<\/mark><\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Junior doctors will stage more strikes in England later this month and in January after talks between the Government and British Medical Association<\/em> broke down. The announcement of fresh walkouts during the \u201cbusiest time of the year\u201d dismayed senior NHS figures, with one describing it as the decision they were dreading.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new year walkout will be the longest experienced by the NHS, the BMA <\/em>has said. Junior doctors will strike from 7am on Wednesday 20 December to 7am on Saturday 23 December \u2013 running straight into the Christmas holiday season when hospitals are already short staffed \u2013 and then for six consecutive days from 7am on Wednesday 3 January to 7am on Friday 9 January.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Up to this point the longest ever strike in NHS history took place earlier this year for five consecutive days from 13 to 18 July. Sir Julian Hartley, chief executive <\/em>of NHS Providers<\/em>, said: \u201cThis is the outcome that trust leaders were dreading. This will be the longest strike in NHS history during the busiest and toughest time of the year for the NHS. These strikes will undermine efforts to cut waiting lists further, they\u2019ll have a knock-on effect on services right across the NHS, and they\u2019ll impact the quality of care for patients.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sir Julian<\/em><\/strong> added: \u201cIt isn\u2019t too late for the Government and unions to sort out this dispute and to prevent more strikes. Trust leaders hope the walkouts will be avoided.\u201d BMA junior doctors committee co-chairs Dr. Robert Laurenson<\/em> and Dr. Vivek Trivedi<\/em> said: \u201cWe have been clear from the outset of these talks that we needed to move at pace and if we did not have a credible offer, we would be forced to call strikes. After five weeks of intense talks, the Government was unable to present a credible offer on pay by the deadline. Instead, we were offered an additional 3 per cent, unevenly spread across doctors\u2019 grades, which would still amount to pay cuts for many doctors this year. It is clear the Government is still not prepared to address the real-terms pay cuts doctors have experienced since 2008.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Health and Social Care Secretary Victoria Atkins<\/em><\/strong> said the Government would \u201cimmediately look to come back to the table\u201d if the junior doctors strikes were called off. \u201cIt is disappointing that despite significant progress the BMA junior doctors committee <\/em>have walked away from negotiations and declared new strikes, which will result in more disruption for patients and extra pressure on NHS services and staff as we enter a busy winter period, risking patient safety,\u201d she said.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI have been clear that I respect the work of doctors in training and want to work with them to settle this dispute. We have agreed a fair and reasonable offer with the BMA\u2019s consultants committee <\/em>which is being put to members for vote following constructive talks.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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COVER Mag 8th<\/sup> Dec (2 articles) \u2013 <\/mark>One in five adults considering buying health insurance: AXA UK<\/mark><\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One in five adults are seriously considering buying health insurance in the next three months to achieve more convenient access to doctors\u2019 appointments, AXA UK found.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the insurer\u2019s second Customer Lifestyle Report,<\/em> which surveyed 2,000 UK adults, 40% have found their current financial situation to negatively impact their mental wellbeing. Spending cuts on the use of electrical appliances and gifts, alongside general concerns around costs, have impacted the mental wellbeing of respondents. Half of those surveyed agreed that not being able to afford things they want and need negatively impacts their self-esteem, and over half described themselves as \u2018getting by\u2019 in terms of mental health.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Insured private healthcare treatments hit record high in H1 2023<\/mark><\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Private healthcare treatments in H1 2023 reached a record number of 443,000, driven by an all-time high number of insured admissions, according to Broadstone\u2019s analysis of the latest data from the Private Healthcare Information Network (PHIN)<\/em> on private medical admissions.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 The data revealed a 7% increase on the 414,000 in H1 2022 and is 13% higher than the 391,000 admissions record in H1 2019 before Covid-19 caused significant disruption in the NHS. Insured admissions have been a major driver of the growth in private treatments, as they make up more than two-thirds (69%) of total treatments in H1 2023 and rose 12% year-on-year compared to 2022 while self-pay registered a small decline.   <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Times 16th <\/sup>Dec \u2013<\/mark> Rise of the month-long wait just to see your GP<\/mark><\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Millions of people are waiting more than a month for a GP appointment and more patients are going private. Some have given up trying to contact their NHS GP at all, a patient watchdog says, while others ae going instead to overstretched A&E departments.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Private health insurers report rising demand for GP appointments. About 14.9 million appointments took place more than 28 days after being booked in the first ten months of this year, analysis by The Times<\/em> found, already well above the 12.8 million such waits in whole of last year.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The total for the year is on course to pass any in comparable records. The previous highest was 15.2 million, in 2019. In October alone 2.6 million appointments took place more than 28 days after booking, one in 13. That was almost a million more than in the same month before the pandemic, and 200,000 more than in October last year.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Separate analysis of official statistics showed 28,000 excess deaths across the UK in the first six months of the year, with the biggest rise among adults aged 50 to 64. More of them were dying early from preventable conditions  such as heart disease and diabetes. The private health insurer Vitality<\/em> said that 40 per cent of claims were now for private GP consultations, up from 4 per cent in 2015, whilst Spire Healthcare<\/em> said its network of private GPs had provided 41 per cent more appointments than last year.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

GPs are dealing with rising demand for appointments but fewer full-time, fully qualified doctors to provide them. Some of the demand is due to an ageing population with more long-term problems, but GPs are also the first port of call for patients on hospital waiting lists enduring pain or poor mental health. Analysis by the IPPR <\/em>think tank of the national GP patient survey<\/em> this year found that about one in eight of those who could not get a GP appointment went to A&E instead, up from about one in 13 in 2021.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Times<\/em><\/strong> has uncovered a number of recent inquests of people who had struggled to get hold of their GP before they died. Ronald Leslie Harris<\/em> from Hereford killed himself in June while waiting weeks for a GP appointment to discuss mental health difficulties. Kaine Carlon<\/em>, 34, was found dead at his home in Kearsley, near Bolton, in January. He had undiagnosed type 1 diabetes, and his flatmate said he had tried to make an appointment with his GP but had been unable to do so.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

While most of the 34.2 million GP appointments in October took place within a week, a further 4.8 million patients faced waits of between 15 and 28 days. Of the 2.6 million GP appointments taking place more than a month after being booked, many will be for things like Covid-19 and flu vaccination, or checks that need to happen a number weeks after surgery.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

NHS and medical leaders said that problems could worsen amid falling GP numbers and suggestions that many surgeries could close. As of October, there were the equivalent of 27,368 full-time, fully qualified GPs in the NHS in England. This was 761 fewer than in December 2019, when the Tory manifesto promised an extra 6,000 GPs by 2024.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Ringing at 8am still gets you nowhere\u2019<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Getting a routine appointment with a GP has been \u201dfundamentally impossible\u201d, says Marianne, one of many Times readers who shared their difficulties. The booking system at Marianne\u2019s system is typical of many. \u201cThere are supposedly a limited number of routine appointments per day which cannot be booked in advance,\u201d she said.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHowever, even if you phone at 8am sharp these appointments have already been filled by the time I have got through and only urgent appointments remain. On some days even the urgent appointments have been filled.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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BBC News 28th<\/sup> Dec \u2013 <\/mark>Immunotherapy trial halves the size of woman\u2019s incurable tonsil tumour<\/mark><\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A woman with \u201cincurable\u201d mouth cancer has said seeing her tonsil tumour half in size as the result of a clinical trial was a cause for celebration. Jeanette Joyce <\/em>said she joined a trial at The Christie<\/em> in Manchester in 2022 because she \u201chad nothing to lose.\u201d She said it had been \u201ca 100% positive experience\u201d and she had \u201cnot experienced any side-effects.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consultant oncologist Dr. Robert Metcalf<\/em> said it was \u201cearly days\u201d but the trial was on \u201cthe right trajectory.\u201d The tumour on her left tonsil is the second Mrs. Joyce <\/em>has had to deal with, having previously been treated for an unrelated cancer on her right tonsil in May 2021. The 64-year-old, from Northwich in Cheshire, underwent 33 doses of radiotherapy and two cycles of chemotherapy for her first cancer and was given the all-clear in July 2021.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mrs. Joyce<\/em><\/strong> was then told the cancer was now in the other tonsil and was not curable. She was also told it was in three other places in her palate and  palliative care was her only option. \u201cI was so shocked, stunned and in disbelief,\u201d she said. She added that she felt like she was \u201cstaring into my own coffin\u201d and had \u201ceven started planning the music for my funeral.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, she did not accept her fate and asked to be referred to a clinical trial which she started in December 2022. The treatment involves having an immunotherapy drug intravenously every six weeks, which helps the immune system recognise cancer and kill it, and an injection of a protein into her leg every three weeks.   <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

She said she was \u201cliving life to the full, being able to eat anything I like, and that includes tucking into a nice juicy steak.\u201d Dr. Robert Metcalf said she was \u201cdoing very well and was on the right trajectory.\u201d He said the trial, which involved 150 patients, had \u201cshown some promising results with half the patients responding well. It\u2019s still early days, but we\u2019re hopeful this drug combination could become a standard treatment for some patients with head and neck cancer in the future,\u201d he added.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

  <\/mark>*******************************************<\/mark><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So that\u2019s a \u2018wrap\u2019 for the new year, trusting that you enjoyed those 5 articles with a variety of source and content. Until February, please steer clear of the usual seasonal lurgies, as well as staying dry and warm with the more wintery weather still to come, without any Covid related articles included this month, let\u2019s trust that they\u2019ll remain more on the \u2018back-burner.\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yours sincerely<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Daniel Donoghue<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

MD of Surrey Circle Health<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Specialist Whole of Market Private Medical Insurance Brokers<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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\"January<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dear SCH Reader, Welcome to the start of the 3rd year\u2019s monthly edition of your favourite health news roundup! With the wintery weather mainly still to [\u2026]<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":503,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[3,5,15,16,17,26,27,28,32,38,39],"class_list":["post-501","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorised","tag-axa","tag-bbc-news","tag-health","tag-health-news","tag-hospital-treatment","tag-nhs","tag-nhs-strike","tag-nhs-treatment","tag-private-healthcare","tag-the-independent","tag-the-times"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.surreycirclehealth.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/501","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.surreycirclehealth.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.surreycirclehealth.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.surreycirclehealth.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.surreycirclehealth.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=501"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/staging.surreycirclehealth.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/501\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.surreycirclehealth.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/503"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.surreycirclehealth.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=501"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.surreycirclehealth.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=501"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.surreycirclehealth.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=501"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}