The department wants GPs on clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to redesign dementia services to cut the ‘unsustainable’ rise in costs to the NHS and social care, in line with the Quality, Innovation, Productivity and Prevention (QIPP) programme.

The Dementia Commissioning Pack says commissioners should focus on patient outcomes and improving cost effectiveness of services ‘across the whole spectrum of dementia, from early diagnosis to end-of-life care’.

Commissioners must also ensure GPs review all 180,000 patients with dementia taking antipsychotic drugs to reduce potential harm from inappropriate prescribing, as GP exclusively revealed in June.

Launching the toolkit on Thursday, care minister Paul Burstow said: ‘It will help CCGs avoid reinventing the wheel each time they provide a new service, will give patients the best outcomes and use money effectively’.

Guidance to the toolkit claims it will allow commissioners to focus on improving care ‘rather than on bureaucracy’.

The strategy highlights three areas of dementia care: early diagnosis, care for people at home and in care homes, and for those in hospital.

CCGs are also required to sign up a ‘call to action’ from the Dementia Action Alliance (DAA), a group of 50 organisations including the RCGP, the Alzheimer’s Society and the government.

The group had called for the reduction in use of prescribing of antipsychotics in line with NICE guidance.

Watch National Clinical Director for Dementia Alistair Burns introducing the Dementia Commissioning Pack

Service redesign
Dementia services need to be better integrated between the NHS, social care and local government against a backdrop of ageing population and NHS and local government budget cuts, the guidance states.

CCGs will be required to collaborate with social care and health and wellbeing boards on dementia services to inform the Joint Strategy for Health and Wellbeing, to be published by the boards.

The toolkit sets out details that commissioners will need to consider, including how to adhere to the national outcomes frameworks in NHS, adult social care and public health that will be used to hold commissioners to account.

Commissioners will also need to publish data on progress to reduce antipsychotic prescribing, as required by the NHS Operating Framework.

A ‘Commissioning Framework and Assessment Tool’, included in the toolkit, shows commissioners an indication of performance in these four areas relative to other areas.

It uses a traffic lights system to alert them to any area that may require ‘further local investigations’ to improve services.

The Alzheimer’s Society has produced patient leaflets to inform patients and carers what to expect from services.

Andrew Chidgey, head of policy and public affairs at the charity, said it hoped the toolkit will help ensure dementia care is prioritised locally.

He said: ‘The National Audit Office and the All Party Parliamentary Group on Dementia have both identified that only offering care and support for people with dementia at crisis point is far too late.

‘Millions of pounds are wasted on poor quality care when earlier intervention would save money in the long-term. By investing well in the righ

Read more…

A new target for nitric oxide has been revealed in studies of how it inhibits the growth of Salmonella. This bacterium is a common cause of food-poisoning.

“Nitric oxide is naturally produced in the nose and the gut and other tissues in the body to ward off infection,” explained the senior author of the paper, Dr. Ferric Fang. He is a University of Washington (UW) professor of laboratory medicine, microbiology and medicine.

Nitric oxide not to be confused with nitrous oxide, the laughing gas in dentists’ offices is similar to the preservatives in hotdogs, Fang said. Reactive nitrogen species, like nitric oxide, make brown meat an appetizing pink.

Read more…

Dr McCarron-Nash: GPs are feeling confused and uncertain about the reforms

GPC chairman Dr Laurence Buckman said short of getting the Health Bill scrapped, the GPC will call for clarity around the reforms.

He said the amendments to the Health Bill that were made following the listening exercise do not tally with the government’s rhetoric around the reforms.

He warned that the NHS is in a ‘fearful mess’ and in the midst of a ‘most peculiar arrangement for reform’.

GPC negotiator Dr Beth McCarron-Nash added that many GPs are feeling ‘confused and uncertain’ about the reforms.

‘They are reporting feelings of being led up the garden path, having been promised the panacea of having more clinical involvement.

‘

Read more…

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jelly_Fish2.JPG  Related Stories

• Fish could yield human daily rhythm clues
• Seafood ingredients can be hidden in food
• Invasive snakehead carp found in Maryland

Advertisement

LONDON, July 22 (UPI) — The widespread belief that urine can lessen the pain of a jellyfish sting is misplaced, and seawater or vinegar are more effective, the British Red Cross says.

The chemical makeup of human urine is unsuitable for the task, the organization said.

The advice was offered amid reports of increasing numbers of jellyfish off British beaches just as school summer holidays are beginning, The Daily Telegraph reported Friday.

“If people have been stung, they need to get out of the water to avoid getting stung again.

Read more…

WEDNESDAY, July 20 — Psoriasis and eczema both cause red, scaly skin rashes, but the similarities between the two common, distressing conditions typically end there.

And now, examining patients suffering from both ailments (a very rare phenomenon), German scientists have teased out the opposing immune system responses that prompt skin flare-ups for both diseases.

They believe the findings could one day lead to more targeted, effective treatments.

The findings suggest that these T-cells migrate to the skin in response to distinct environmental triggers, not that the skin cells themselves are abnormal in either inflammatory condition, the study authors said.

“It’s just another way for doctors to understand immune pathways and where they go awry,” explained Dr.

Read more…

SEATTLE July 20, 2011 The Treuman Katz Center for Pediatric Bioethics at Seattle Children’s Research Institute will host its Seventh Annual Pediatric Bioethics Conference on Friday, July 22 and Saturday, July 23. Conference participants will examine the various ethical and public policy boundaries and complexities of providing healthcare to children. The conference, entitled “Who’s Responsible for the Children? Exploring the Boundaries of Clinical Ethics and Public Policy,” will be held at the Bell Harbor International Conference Center on Seattle’s downtown waterfront. It can also be watched live via webcast at .

The conference will focus on the complex issues intensified by the current battle over healthcare dollars.

Read more…

Advertisement

DALLAS, July 20 (UPI) — When packing a child’s lunch, parents should remember choking on food is one of the most common pediatric problems seen in emergency rooms, a U.S. doctor warns.

Dr. Pam Okada, a pediatrician at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, says adults should avoid giving small children hot dogs, grapes, peanuts and chunks of apples and carrots. Toddlers lack molars and the coordination necessary to chew and swallow hard foods, she says.

“The pediatric anatomy is perfect for choking,” Okada says in a statement. “Their airway is approximately the diameter of their pinkie finger.”

Lunch can hold dangers for teenagers, too.

Read more…

MONDAY, July 18 — Supplements of milk and soy protein lowered blood pressure modestly among hypertensive patients, a small, new study found.

The researchers suggest that replacing some refined carbohydrates — such as white bread and white rice — in your diet with soy or milk protein “might be an important component of nutrition intervention strategies for the prevention and treatment of hypertension.”

While the reduction in blood pressure was small, study leader Dr.

Read more…