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Call for faster action to improve NHS cardiac rehab services

Major failings in National Health Service provision for patients recovering from heart attacks and surgery are revealed in a new report on rehabilitation services in England launched today.

3 Feb 2005

Male surgeons report highest rate of mistakes in patient care

Male surgeons report the highest rate of mistakes in patient care, reveals a study of doctors' attitudes to "adverse events" in Quality and Safety in Health Care.

3 Feb 2005

NHS Trusts meeting government target on stroke units "in name only"

A large proportion of eligible NHS hospital trusts seem to be meeting the UK government target for setting up stroke units, but in name only, suggests a national audit, published in Quality and Safety in Health Care.

3 Feb 2005

Needlestick injuries in healthcare workers still occurring

The latest Health Protection Agency report on the occupational exposure of healthcare workers (HCWs) to bloodborne viruses (BBVs) shows that nine healthcare workers were infected with hepatitis C through needlestick injuries over the last six years, with seven reported between July 2003 and June 2004.

27 Jan 2005

British call for more sperm

The UK needs more sperm and egg donors to meet an increasing demand, the Government has announced.

26 Jan 2005

Minorities who experience pain don’t receive the same care as Caucasians

The first issue of Pain Medicine in 2005 will focus on the inequalities and differences in how pain is assessed and treated amongst various racial and ethnic minority groups. Data from the articles in this themed edition provide evidence that African Americans, Hispanics, American Indians and other racial and ethnic minorities do not receive optimal care in treatment for pain.

26 Jan 2005

BMA Scotland response to Health Committee workforce planning report

Welcoming the publication of the Scottish Parliament Health Committee's findings from its inquiry into workforce planning in the NHS, Dr Bill O'Neill, Scottish Secretary of the BMA, said:

25 Jan 2005

Community-based education programs can reduce falls and injuries among older people

Preliminary evidence suggests that community-based education programs can reduce falls and injuries among older people by as much as 33 percent. In these programs, health advocates introduce multiple fall-prevention measures as a package across an entire community.

24 Jan 2005

Consultation on NHS Pension Scheme Review opens in Scotland

Consultation on the NHS Pension Scheme Review for Scotland starts today (24 January 2005) with the publication of the long awaited consultation document. The BMA will be collecting the views of doctors in Scotland to feed into its formal response.

24 Jan 2005

Many of George Bush's health policies likely to be controversial in second term

Many health policies under George Bush's second term in office are likely to be controversial, warns a leading British doctor and an American colleague in this week's BMJ.

20 Jan 2005

BMA report shows how rural healthcare is being neglected

A new BMA report, released today (Friday, 21 January 2005) shows how rural healthcare is being neglected. A key message from the report, Healthcare in a rural setting, is that many health policies developed for urban areas do not work in rural ones.

20 Jan 2005

Medical specialities face crisis as research funding squeezed

Some medical specialities - such as anaesthetics and radiology - are facing crisis because the higher education funding system fails to recognise the true value of medical research, the British Medical Association said today (21/1/05).

20 Jan 2005

Australian Medical Association slams BUPA Australia

Australian Medical Association President, Dr Bill Glasson, today slammed claims by health insurer, BUPA Australia, that doctors are forcing up the cost of patient care in private hospitals by ordering the most expensive drugs and medical technology.

20 Jan 2005

Financial incentives will not address the fundamental problems that GPs have with the new choose and book system

Responding to the announcement by Health Secretary, John Reid, that £95m will be made available to reward GPs for using the new "choose and book" system, Dr Richard Vautrey, the BMA's GP negotiator with responsibility for IT said:

19 Jan 2005

BMA responds to National Audit Office report on patient choice

Commenting on the National Audit Office report "Patient Choice at the Point of GP Referral" published today (19/1/05), Dr Hamish Meldrum, Chairman of the BMA's General Practitioners Committee said:

19 Jan 2005

Screening tests find colorectal cancer in its earliest stages when it can be treated more successfully

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is second only to lung cancer as the leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States. In 2004, it’s estimated that CRC caused nearly 57,000 deaths.

18 Jan 2005

American endocrinologists aim to keep patients safe

As medicine becomes more complex and patients live longer and better lives, it also becomes more difficult to keep them safe.

17 Jan 2005

Millions of Canadians at risk because of avoidable delays in diagnosis and treatment of high blood pressure

New guidelines released by the Canadian Heart and Stroke Foundation reveal the health of millions of Canadians is being placed at risk because of avoidable delays in diagnosis and treatment of high blood pressure (hypertension).

17 Jan 2005

High health care burden of acute chest pain

Chest pain accounts for almost three quarter of a million emergency care visits in England and Wales every year - around double previous estimates - indicates research in Heart.

16 Jan 2005

Alarming ignorance about cancer in Britain

There is an alarming ignorance about cancer and how to reduce the risk of the disease which is Britain's biggest killer – a special survey reveals today.

13 Jan 2005