Healthy Me - At Home and Away: David Cameron

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Thursday, October 1, 2009

GPs to ask for donor consent

ORGAN DONATION
Guidance aims to stem transplant supply shortage, doctors 'uneasy' at having to broach sensitive issue

The NHS hopes more patients and their families pick up organ donor application leaflets. The NHS hopes more patients and their families pick up organ donor application leaflets.

LONDON - Doctors in the United Kingdom will be told to routinely ask dying patients and their relatives about organ donation in a controversial move that is intended to help prevent 1,000 people a year dying because of the National Health Service's chronic shortage of body parts.

New guidance for doctors, being finalised by the General Medical Council (GMC), will for the first time make it part of their duty to instigate conversations about the possibility of retrieving someone's organs after their death.

At the moment, it is down to individual doctors whether or not to discuss the matter with patients and their families.

At present 1,000 people a year die because of the shortage of body parts.

"As a doctor, it could be one of the most difficult conversations you could ever have, but there is no doubt that the more doctors and patients have conversations about organ donation the more organs will be donated," said GMC senior policy adviser Sharon Burton.

The move is proving to be a controversial one as the GMC wants all the UK's practising doctors, and not just those who deal with dying patients in hospitals, to raise the subject with patients who might be suitable donors.

Ms Burton said that the country's 56,000 GPs should explore the potential for organ donation with patients who have recently been diagnosed with either a terminal condition, such as cancer, motor neurone disease, or an illness which could result in their sudden death.

The number of seriously ill people on the transplant waiting list has risen from 5,700 in 2004 to more than 8,000, mainly due to the ageing population and growing number of diabetics.

Dr Tony Calland, of the British Medical Association's medical ethics committee, said: "While we are very keen to see the number of organs available for transplantation increased, in no way would we want to cause any additional distress to patients who are already suffering from fatal conditions." THE GUARDIAN

From TODAY, World – Wednesday, 02-Sep-2009

Friday, August 7, 2009

The trouble with Tamiflu

Image via Wikipedia

Not the latest news, but not a week old yet, so it is still timely. For those who haven't read about this news, it is a priceless piece of info, so we don't just administer the medicine to our kids…
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Flu drug 'linked to side effects among children': Reports

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH

Recent studies have led to growing concern about Tamiflu's side effects on children.

MORE than half of the children taking Tamiflu to combat H1N1 flu suffer side effects such as nausea, insomnia and nightmares, new research claims.

The anti-viral drug, which is being handed out to hundreds of thousands of Britons, can also produce stomach pains, vomiting and diarrhoea, research suggests.

A study found that almost one in five youngsters experience neuropsychiatric side effects, such as poor concentration, confusion, and sleeping problems.

Thousands of schoolchildren were given the drug as a preventive measure during the early stages of the H1N1 flu pandemic in Britain.

The findings are likely to lead to concern among parents that their children's performance at school has been jeopardised by taking the drug.

Only people with suspected or confirmed H1N1 flu are now being prescribed Tamiflu.

Two studies from experts at the Health Protection Agency (HPA) showed a "high proportion" of British schoolchildren reporting problems after taking Tamiflu.

Data was gathered from children at three schools in London and one in south-west England who were given Tamiflu earlier this year after classmates became infected.

One study, of 248 children aged 11 and 12 at a school in south-west England, which was closed after a pupil contracted the virus, found that more than half suffered side effects from taking Tamiflu.

The researchers said "likely side-effects were common" and the "burden of side effects needs to be considered" when deciding on giving Tamiflu to children prophylactically.

Another study of 103 schoolchildren found that 45 suffered side effects such as nausea, stomach pain, problems sleeping, vomiting and diarrhoea.

Almost one in five (18 per cent) reported a neuropsychiatric side effect, such as poor concentration, inability to think clearly, problems sleeping, feeling dazed or confused and nightmares.

The report concluded: "This may be of particular concern to exam-year students (and their parents)."

The studies were carried out in the early stages of the pandemic, when everyone sharing a classroom with a child who had developed the H1N1 flu was given the drug, even if they did not show any symptoms.

The findings were disclosed as it emerged that the Japanese authorities are advising doctors not to prescribe Tamiflu to youngsters between the ages of 10 and 19 over fears of neuropsychiatric side effects.

A statement from Roche, which manufactures Tamiflu, said the contribution of Tamiflu to neuropsychiatric effects "has not been established".

A spokeswoman for Britain's Department of Health said: "As is the case with many medicines, nausea is a known side effect of Tamiflu, in a small number of cases.

"Symptoms may lessen over the course of the treatment, and it may help to take Tamiflu either with or immediately after food, and drinking some of water may also lessen any feeling of nausea."

From TODAY, News – Weekend, 01-Aug-2009

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Over 18,000 calls made to H1N1 hotline since it was activated

The new 15-story Tan Tock Seng Hospital was ma...

Image via Wikipedia

By Hoe Yeen Nie, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 09 June 2009 2226 hrs

Hospital staff wearing mask screen patients with a thermal scanner at the Tan Tock Seng hospital

SINGAPORE: Over 18,000 calls have been made to the H1N1 hotline since it was activated in late April - an average of 450 a day.

About half are prank calls, or people who dialled the number by mistake.
But what happens when there is a genuine case?
It starts with a phone call to the 993 hotline, regarding a suspected case of the H1N1 flu.

The case is routed to the designated ambulance service, and moments later, the crew spring into action.

Civic Ambulance has a fleet of 30 vehicles, of which five can be deployed to pick up cases at any time. Another seven can be activated at short notice, and should the need ever arise, two other ambulance services will be roped in as well, adding a further 10 vehicles to the pool.

The number of despatches has more than doubled since the first case of H1N1 was reported on May 27- from 10 to 25 a day on average.

On Monday alone, Civic Ambulance picked up over 60 cases, the highest so far. Civic Ambulance said numbers tend to spike each time a case is reported.

Civic Ambulance said about 70 per cent of requests come from clinics; it also ferries patients from airports.

Pritpal Singh, operations director, Civic Ambulance, said: "We had a case where this guy was complaining that, why should he go to CDC and get tested when he knows there is nothing wrong with him.

"And last night, we had this very funny case where this guy actually called in, insisted to go to hospital simply because he feels he has got too many American friends."

When the ambulance reaches a housing estate, for example, the lights and siren are switched off. The driver and medic suit up in protective gear, and patients are asked to meet them at the void deck. The point is to be as discreet as they can.

Mr Singh said: "When people get frightened, they all start to call in thinking they are sick. We had a very similar instance like this during SARS when people started to panic. And people called 993 and everybody wanted to go hospital."

On the way to the Communicable Disease Centre (CDC), windows are kept open to minimise the spread of viruses. At the CDC, the patient will undergo tests which will take several hours. - CNA/ms

From ChannelNewsAsia.com; see the source article here.

Monday, May 4, 2009

RISE OF SUPER-RATS IN BRITAIN

The rodent population is exploding, partly due to their growing resistance to poisons

LONDON

IN A worrying development that may spread beyond its shores, rats in Britain appear to be growing resistant to poisons previously used to control their population effectively, reported the Guardian.

The emergence of the so-called super-rats means that the authorities are likely to be forced to use more powerful poisons – with potentially harmful effects on the environment.

The number of rats in Britain is already booming as the climate warms and the frequency of rubbish collection is scaled back in some areas.

Two powerful rodenticides that may salvage the situation – brodifacoum and flocoumafen – are so toxic that their use is currently allowed only indoors.
This is because of fears that these poisons could endanger birds, pets and wild animals.

However, rat-catchers in Britain are now appealing for permission to use the poisons outdoors. They point out that other countries in the European Union already allow this.

The British authorities may have little choice.

Last year alone, the rat population in the country rose by a shocking 13 per cent, hitting an estimated high of 50 million animals, the Daily Mail reported.
In the worst-hit cities, like York in northern England, rat infestation has more than doubled.

Perhaps most troubling of all, the British Pest Control Association has reported that there are at least two towns in Berkshire county in south-east England where rats have become totally immune to existing poisons.

"We are very concerned about this from a public-health point of view," Ms Oliver Madge, chief executive of the association, told The Guardian.

The trade body will hold urgent discussions this week with the Department of Health about implementing emergency measures to beat back the super rats. The Fact that some water companies have stopped putting poison in sewers has been mentioned as a contributing cause for the plague of rats.

So-called "green" moves like compost heaps are also said to worsen the problem, as the rats are tunnelling into the compost and finding abundant food.

As for the more powerful poisons that may be approved for wider use, rat-catchers say they need to be applied in smaller amounts.

From myPaper, My News, World – Tuesday, 05-May-2009

Thursday, April 30, 2009

Khaw: Play safe, assume the worst

SWINE FLU ALERT
Neo Chai Chin, chaichin@mediacorp.com.sg

His ministry is working "round the clock" to stay abreast of swine flu developments around the world. And Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan yesterday sounded a reassuring note, saying the nation is in a better position to deal with a global pandemic compared to six years ago when Sars hit.

Back then, 33 people here died from the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome. Since then, progress has been made in laboratory capabilities and as well as alertness levels at hospitals and airports.

The Ministry of Health (MOH) is also looking at restricting the number of visitors for hospital patients — if developments over the next two days warrants it.
"As a general principal, if you don't have to visit hospitals, don't visit because it's not exactly a clean place. Why expose yourself unnecessarily?" said Mr Khaw.

Those who need to visit loved ones should maintain a high level of personal hygiene including frequent hand-washing.

Singapore also has a stockpile of Tamiflu — one of the antiviral drugs found to be effective against the swine flu virus — as well as personal protective equipment for hospital staff, he said.

MOH is likely to request hospital staff working in high-risk areas such as accident and emergency (A&E) wards and intensive care units to wear the personal protective equipment.

At least one hospital has already taken the initiative. Since Saturday, National University Hospital staff at the A&E temperature screening area have put on protective gowns in addition to the face mask routinely worn.

NUH and the Singapore General Hospital said patients are also asked about their travel histories. "Patients ... with travel history to Mexico, USA and Canada will be asked to alert our staff. Visitors with travel history and who are feeling unwell are advised not to visit patients, and to seek medical attention," said SGH chief executive Prof Ang Chong Lye.

Indeed, disclosure of travel history becomes "very important", said Mr Khaw, given how swine flu symptoms such as fever, cough and sore throat are similar to that of regular flu.

And while the swine flu outbreak could be "just a very localised" one that will "eventually burn itself out", Mr Khaw said Singapore will "play safe and assume the worst."

From TODAY, News – Monday, 27-April-2009