Pulse articles from April 2005

Pulse archives from April 2005

Gestapo-style onslaught on singlehanders.
April 2, 2005... PCTs are using `gestapo' tactics to drive singlehanders out of business as part of a Government-inspired crusade to push GPs into bigger practices. Singlehanded GPs have accused trusts of bullying and intimidation and even of suspending...

Manifesto in hands of your MP.(Brief Article)
April 2, 2005... Pulse this week presented every MP in the country with details of our Manifesto for General Practice as the campaign gathered momentum. Petition forms posted by GPs in waiting rooms have been flooding in with pledges of support from...

Reid ushers in private companies.(Brief Article)
April 2, 2005... The Government has given private firms the green light to set up new NHS practices offering essential GP services. A new programme will incentivise PCTs to bring in new providers under alternative provider medical services (APMS) contracts to...

Call for BMA to ally with unions over pensions.(British Medical Association)
April 2, 2005... Manifesto for General Practice * Safeguard the core values of general practice * No work without pay * Protect GPs' pension rights * Scrap Choose and Book plans * A fairer NHS complaints system * Stop GPs paying the price for...

`I'm not working until 65'.(Richard Westrop )(Brief Article)
April 2, 2005... Dr Richard Westrop is among swathes of GPs who are vowing to retire early if the Government forces through its plan to raise the retirement age from 60 to 65. He said he was particularly concerned about how the change would affect him...

Retirement age is bound to rise.(Brief Article)
April 2, 2005... GP representatives of the main political parties say GPs must resign themselves to a retirement age of 65 and save their energy for other, more winnable, battles. Speaking in a debate arranged by Pulse, Labour MP Dr Howard Stoate said it...

New pension paperwork will cost GPs hundreds.(Brief Article)
April 2, 2005... Complex forms for working out GPs' pensionable income are set to add hundreds of pounds to practices' accountancy bills. Medical accountants said the new forms, drawn up by the BMA in conjunction with accountancy firm Ramsay Brown, would...

Pension fears grip GPs in all age groups.
April 2, 2005... The results of Pulse's Agenda 2005 survey reveal the enormous anxiety among GPs of all ages at the Government's proposed changes to the NHS pension. Almost half of GPs said they were `very concerned' at the plans to increase the normal...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Warning on GP minor surgery.(Brief Article)
April 2, 2005... New draft NICE guidance on skin cancer warns GPs against dabbling in minor surgery. NICE says only `active' members of skin cancer teams should carry out surgery and claims GPs are less likely to completely excise lesions. NICE also...

NEWS IN BRIEF: NHS `coped well' with winter.(National Health Service)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2005... The February and March cold snap sparked a significant increase in demand for primary and secondary care from people suffering cardiovascular and respiratory problems, the Government's annual winter report reveals. But the report claims...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Patients say, poetry please.(Brief Article)
April 2, 2005... Practices that offer poetry leaflets to patients while they are waiting for a GP consultation have found the response is overwhelmingly positive. More than 1,200 surgeries offer free pamphlets from the charity Poems in the Waiting Room and...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Multivitamins `ineffective'.(Brief Article)
April 2, 2005... Use of multivitamins in elderly patients is unlikely to help prevent infections, according to UK researchers. A meta-analysis published online in the BMJ this week found evidence for routine use of multivitamins to reduce infections in...

NEWS IN BRIEF: GPs miss out on travel data.(Brief Article)
April 2, 2005... GPs in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are losing out on travel vaccine information compared with their Scottish colleagues, the RCGP claims. Scottish GPs receive a free subscription to the TRAVAX web service but GPs elsewhere have to...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Rare disease in gay men.(Brief Article)
April 2, 2005... The first UK cases of a previously rare disease have been reported in gay men. Lymphogranuloma venereum is a genital infection caused by a particularly invasive strain of Chlamydia trachomatis. It was first reported to the Health...

Tougher action is ordered over poor vaccine uptake.(Brief Article)
April 2, 2005... Ministers are urging PCTs to consider alternative providers for immunisation, potentially including private firms, in areas where GPs' standards are `poor'. The edict comes as new data shows MMR uptake at 24 months plunged by a further 0.5...

Plan for extra contract poverty pay.(Brief Article)
April 2, 2005... GPs in deprived areas could be paid more per quality point than those in affluent areas under proposals for the next draft of the quality and outcomes framework. Professor Martin Roland, one of the architects of the framework, told...

GP grills Tony Blair on live TV about key manifesto issues.(Brief Article)
April 2, 2005... Dr Jamie Macpherson grilled Prime Minister Tony Blair on national television this week about how the obsession with targets was distorting clinical priorities. Dr Macpherson, medical secretary of Coventry LMC, used a Sky TV debate to voice...

LMC survey echoes workload complaints.(Brief Article)
April 2, 2005... A new survey provides further backing for the Pulse campaign after finding growing workload pressure is GPs' greatest concern. Two-thirds of GPs put workload in their top five concerns in the Nottingham LMC survey, which polled 223 GPs. ...

PMS practices outstripping GMS in taking on new staff.(Premenstrual Syndrome)
April 2, 2005... PMS practices are employing far more practice staff than their GMS equivalents, Government statistics have revealed. The NHS Census for 2004 showed PMS practices accounted for 36 per cent of all GPs but employed 44 per cent of practice...

Ministers `misled GPs over new Care Record System'.(Brief Article)
April 2, 2005... Ministers have misled GPs and patients about whether confidential patient data is put on the new National Care Records System, a senior Government official has told a GP. Phil Walker, head of digital information policy at the Department of...

COMING YOUR WAY: `Osteoporosis risk in dieting'.(Brief Article)
April 2, 2005... THE STORY A quarter of teenage girls are risking osteoporosis in later life by cutting out dairy products to stay slim, the Daily Express reports. THE SOURCE A survey from the Milk Development Council found only one in four girls...

Antibiotics not needed in children's conjunctivitis.(Brief Article)
April 2, 2005... Children with conjunctivitis do not need antibiotics, a new trial concludes. Children treated with chloramphenicol recovered no more quickly than those on placebo, according to the first study to assess the effectiveness of GP treatment....

COMING YOUR WAY: `Wonder-pill adds 30 years'.(Brief Article)
April 2, 2005... THE STORY A new `wonder-pill' could add 30 years to the average lifespan, the Sun, Daily Mail, and Daily Express report. THE SOURCE Professor John Speakman at the University of Aberdeen is giving a lecture this week at the...

COMING YOUR WAY: `Cure on way for cat allergy'.(Brief Article)
April 2, 2005... THE STORY Scientists are on the verge of developing a cure for allergies to cats, report the Guardian, Daily Telegraph and the Sun. THE SOURCE A research letter published in Nature Medicine described a novel technique using a...

COMING YOUR WAY: `Sudan 1 warning too late'.(Brief Article)
April 2, 2005... THE STORY The cancer-causing dye Sudan 1 may have been in food for years, putting public health in danger, the Sun and the Daily Mirror report. THE SOURCE The Environment Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee published a report...

GPs are left open to legal action by PCTs' vaccine policy failure.(Brief Article)
April 2, 2005... GPs could be left open to legal action because PCTs are failing in their duty to offer immunisation training, a new audit by the Health Protection Agency reveals. The HPA found more than two-thirds of PCTs had no programme to keep GPs...

GPs need better systems to help spot depression.(Brief Article)
April 2, 2005... GPs are struggling to diagnose depression and need improved systems to identify patients who would benefit most from drug treatment, a new study concludes. Researchers claimed GPs were `not very accurate' at identifying depressed patients...

JOURNAL WATCH: Antipsychotic heart risk.(Brief Article)
April 2, 2005... Conventional antipsychotics substantially increase the risk of heart problems but atypical antipsychotics do not, US researchers conclude. Their study examined drug use in 649 nursing home residents hospitalised for ventricular arrhthmias...

JOURNAL WATCH: Anxiety after breast Ca diagnosis.(cancer)(Brief Article)
April 2, 2005... Almost half of women with early breast cancer experience depression or anxiety in the year after diagnosis, according to a new study. UK researchers evaluated psychological health in 222 women diagnosed with early breast cancer, 170 of whom...

JOURNAL WATCH: Simvastatin safe in kidney patients.(Brief Article)
April 2, 2005... Simvastatin is safe and effective in patients with chronic kidney disease, researchers conclude. The UK study used a 2x2 design to compare the use of 20mg simvastatin and aspirin with placebo in 448 patients with chronic kidney disease....

JOURNAL WATCH: Sibutramine in teenage obesity.(Brief Article)
April 2, 2005... Sibutramine is highly effective for promoting weight loss in obese adolescents without adversely affecting heart function, a study finds. Brazilian researchers randomised 60 obese subjects aged 14 to 17 to 10mg/day sibutramine or placebo....

JOURNAL WATCH: Abortion doesn't raise breast Ca risk.(Brief Article)
April 2, 2005... Abortion and miscarriage do not increase the risk of breast cancer, a new study concludes. UK researchers conducted two separate case-control analyses, the first examining miscarriage in 2,828 breast cancer cases and 9,781 controls, the...

Big variations in STIs with ethnic groups.(Brief Article)
April 2, 2005... Sexual behaviour and prevalence of sexually transmitted infections vary significantly between the UK's different ethnic groups, a new study reveals. But the researchers found there was no simple relationship between risky behaviour and...

GP-to-GP records trialled.(Brief Article)
April 2, 2005... Two GP software companies are to begin trials of systems to allow computerised patient records to be transferred between practices. The technology should save practices time and cut bureaucracy by enabling them to pass on the records of...

Reprieved GP who hit child says `I was near suicidal'.
April 2, 2005... A GP has voiced his relief at being allowed to continue his career despite being found guilty of serious professional misconduct for hitting a three-year-old girl. A GMC professional misconduct hearing this week reprimanded Dr Martin...

Financial collapse looms for GP-led out-of-hours.(Brief Article)
April 2, 2005... GP-led out-of-hours services are in danger of financial collapse because of funding shortages, doctors are warning. The quality of services is also suffering because PCTs are not investing enough cash in new providers. In a BBC survey...

Row over QOF visit advice.(Brief Article)
April 2, 2005... The GPC has criticised the Government for failing to agree strong guidance on GPs' right not to disclose data during PCT visits to assess their quality performance. Negotiators branded ministers' drafts of the guidance, which advises on...

Pay delays drag on.(Brief Article)
April 2, 2005... Practices that were underpaid by as much as #2,000 in their second- and third-quarter payments will have to wait for the problem to be rectified. The GPC has advised practices that problems with the Exeter payment software have still to be...

Spinwatch Your guide to the week's pre-election hype.(Brief Article)
April 2, 2005... The spin The Tories plan to do away with NHS Direct as part of their swinging cuts to NHS services, Labour claims. Health minister Melanie Johnson said the Conservative pledge to `rationalise' the nurse-led triage service disguised the...

GP methadone maintenance `compares with specialists'.
April 2, 2005... GP prescribing of methadone can have dramatic long-term benefits for the health of drug misusers, a new trial reports. The Scottish Executive-funded study found a GP-led programme could reduce injecting drug use by three-quarters and cut...

Warfarin patients `poorly controlled'.(Brief Article)
April 2, 2005... Patients on warfarin are often poorly controlled with some spending as much as three-quarters of the time outside the target INR range, researchers conclude. Their study found patients spent an average of a third of the time outside the...

GPs' pension battle is set to grow in intensity.(general practitioners)
April 2, 2005... New pension plans are downright theft and a breach of contract say angry GPs - Ian Cameron reports The Government's plan to overhaul the NHS pension scheme is shaping up to be one of the most controversial issues to affect GPs in years....

GP politicians face off over your manifesto concerns.(Interview)
April 2, 2005... Richard Hoey grills Labour MP Dr Howard Stoate, Conservative Medical Association deputy chair Dr Paul Charlson and LibDem candidate Dr Ian Mack Pulse What do you feel is the most pressing issue facing GPs today? Howard Stoate Workload....

CAMPAIGN COMMENT: BMA must protect GPs' pension rights.(Brief Article)
April 2, 2005... Younger people do not usually get agitated about pensions. So it is a measure of the significance of Government proposals to overhaul the NHS pension that GPs of all ages registered major concerns in Pulse's Agenda 2005 survey. The central...

Letters: You sound off - from PGEA to pensions.(Letter to the Editor)
April 2, 2005... * Does this constitute proof that PGEA is paid in arrears? When I started as a principal I expected to be paid PGEA in instalments during the year. After the first two quarters it became apparent I was not being paid it. When asked why...

ANDY JONES: It's hard to tell what NICE really stands for.
April 2, 2005... Dr Andy Jones is a GP in Stamford, Lincolnshire `When in charge, ponder. When in trouble, delegate. When in doubt, mumble.' It has been quite refreshing to observe NICE eat humble pie recently and follow the age-old advice of the New York...

PHIL PEVERLEY: Channel hopping.
April 2, 2005... Dr Phil Peverley is a GP in Sunderland Some highlights from the upcoming TV channel with a solely medical slant Due to unprecedented demand for medical programmes on the television, TV moguls are launching a new channel featuring only...

How to ensure that staff bonuses will benefit you too.
April 2, 2005... Bonus schemes motivate staff, reduce absenteeism and increase employee commitment to practice goals - but they need to be thought out carefully, say Deb Farnworth-Wood and Andrew Spears Bonus schemes can be used to achieve one or several...

GPs' views: Suckered by `MS' patient who goes jogging every day.(multiple sclerosis)
April 2, 2005... Case history An ex-GP who worked in a neighbouring practice and who is one of your patients has fallen on hard times because her MS has made it difficult for her to work. She is single and has no other family in the area. She is still...

MedNet - a safety net for a high-wire profession?
April 2, 2005... Earlier this year in Pulse we considered evidence showing that GPs' personalities are a bigger cause of burnout and stress than pressure of work - here Dr Julia Bland looks at those pressures, which are very real, and advises GPs that help is...

Should GPs be working with pharmaceutical companies to reach targets?
April 2, 2005... GlaxoSmithKline claims 50 per cent of primary care trusts are already working with pharmaceutical companies and sees such `partnerships' increasing. But this escalation is dividing GPs between those who feel the extra help makes sense and those...

Ethical dilemmas posed by genetic testing.
April 2, 2005... Genetics is no longer `out there'. The Department of Health has announced it wants to establish a number of GPwSI in genetics and says the majority of people will be suffering from conditions with a significant genetic component by the age of...

New genetics and the challenge for primary care.
April 2, 2005... Dr Hilary Burton outlines some of the developments set to bring genetics further into general practice Many GPs view genetics as a small clinical specialty dealing with rare diseases, mainly single-gene disorders with patterns of dominant,...

ANSWER BACK: What is the timeframe for treating nasal fractures?
April 2, 2005... Q: How soon can a nasal fracture be treated and at what stage are the child's nasal bones developed? A: Management of a suspected nasal fracture involves excluding other injuries, checking for a septal haematoma and assessing the nose for...

ANSWER BACK: What is the cause of `morning glory' disc?(Brief Article)
April 2, 2005... Q: A 20-year-old patient has had a `morning glory' disc found in her right eye. What is this? She presented with intermittent, transient blurring in this eye only but has been told this is not the cause of her visual disturbance which remains...

TOP TIPS: Genital warts.
April 2, 2005... Dr Richard Burack passes on his tips gained as a GP - he works in Romford, Essex, and is a member of the RCGP adolescent task group ONE Genital warts are caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and transmitted by very close...

CLINICAL PITFALLS: Renal problems in children.
April 2, 2005... Dr Ian Ramage outlines five conditions in children that are easily missed or where complications can occur 1 Nephrotic syndrome Presentation Periorbital oedema is reported in a myriad of conditions, with the commonest aetiology in...

Settling in more quickly when you join a practice.
April 2, 2005... Dr John Couch shows how making a little effort at the start can reap huge benefits in the weeks ahead No matter how skilled you have become during your GPR year and any subsequent posts, you will still face a learning curve at your new...

CV: Professor Martin Roland.(Interview)
April 2, 2005... Professor Martin Roland answers the Pulse careers questionnaire What/who made you decide to go into general practice? The experience I had as a medical student in a rural singlehanded practice in Wales. I always disliked the...

LET'S PRACTISE IN CHESTER.(Brief Article)
April 2, 2005... Where? `Chester is the UK's definition of where north meets south. The real, honest beauty of the north, uncluttered, scenically constantly changing with all of the perceived sophistication of the big city south.' - Chester.com Really?...

Parties act on GP concerns.
April 9, 2005... The three main political parties kick-started their general election campaigns this week with promises to act on Pulse's manifesto for general practice. The Conservatives led the way, launching a series of proposals under the banner `Save...

`I will stand if other GPs back me'.
April 9, 2005... Dr Ivan Benett will stand as an independent candidate in the election in support of the Pulse manifesto and to stop privatisation of the NHS - but only if 500 GPs back him. Dr Benett, a GP in Manchester, said: `I want to gauge support from...

Blair promises fewer targets for GPs.(Tony Blair)(Brief Article)
April 9, 2005... Tony Blair has spelled out a plan for fewer GP targets. Responding to questions from Pulse editor Phil Johnson, the Prime Minister said targets had been necessary to justify the extra spending but he now wanted to relax the regime. ...

Battling GPs win Choose and Book concessions.
April 9, 2005... Manifesto for General Practice * Safeguard the core values of general practice * No work without pay * Protect GPs' pension rights * Scrap Choose and Book plans * A fairer NHS complaints system * Stop GPs paying the price for...

GPs' demands for changes to Choose and Book.(Brief Article)
April 9, 2005... GPs' demands for changes to Choose and Book - and how Connecting for Health has responded * GPs should be able to fax or post referral letters and not be constrained by automated e-referrals - GPs can refer in the same way as they always...

Government's entire approach to IT is condemned by GPs.(Brief Article)
April 9, 2005... GPs condemned almost every aspect of the Government's approach to modernising IT in the NHS in Pulse's Agenda 2005 survey. Of the 1,003 respondents, half strongly agreed that the Government's IT policy `badly' needed revising with a further...

No effort is being made to consult the profession.(Brief Article)
April 9, 2005... Dr Paul Taylor feels GPs' views have been ignored by NHS IT policymakers who have made no effort to consult the profession. Dr Taylor, a GP in Bristol, said he was unconvinced about any of the plans coming out of Connecting for Health and...

Confidentiality goes top of GPs' list of worries.(Brief Article)
April 9, 2005... A `chasm' is developing between Government demands for the new National Care Record and what doctors and patients want, GPs believe. GPs complain they are being kept in the dark over the development of the care record - the national...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Liver patients to get flu jab.(Brief Article)
April 9, 2005... Patients with chronic liver disease are to be added to the list of high- risk patients eligible for flu vaccination next winter. The Joint Committee for Vaccination and Immunisation has recommended that all patients with chronic liver...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Medical training widened.(Brief Article)
April 9, 2005... Chief Medical Officer Professor Sir Liam Donaldson has hailed a new training programme for junior doctors as `a new era in UK medicine'. The foundation programme, part of the Modernising Medical Careers scheme, aims to give junior doctors...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Cash for osteoporosis care.(Brief Article)
April 9, 2005... The Government has announced #20 million of investment in DEXA scanners and improvements in osteoporosis services. The Department of Health said it would spend #3 million this year on new DEXA scanners and a further #17 million would be...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Large PCTs no more efficient.(Primary care trusts)(Brief Article)
April 9, 2005... Large PCTs are no more efficient than their smaller counterparts, a new study shows. The research, commissioned by the NHS Alliance, found the average PCT merger saved just 1 per cent of the trusts' combined budgets. Robert Sloane,...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Over-65s' pneumococcal.(Brief Article)
April 9, 2005... The Government has confirmed it is extending the pneumococcal vaccination campaign for elderly people in England. GPs should offer every patient over 65 the vaccine this month. The pneumococcal programme was launched for patients over 80 in...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Warning over GP computers.(Brief Article)
April 9, 2005... GPs who upgrade computer equipment are being urged to consider keeping their old systems in case they need to rely in court on patient data created on them. Electronic data is only admissible in court when accompanied by a clear audit...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Hypertension race variables.(Brief Article)
April 9, 2005... Different races respond significantly differently to hypertension treatments, a major clinical trial reveals. Diuretics were better than ACE inhibitors and calcium channel blockers for treating hypertension in black patients, according to the...

Commons report signals GP prescribing controls.
April 9, 2005... The Government is considering stringent new controls on prescribing after a report by MPs accused GPs of being unduly influenced by pharmaceutical companies. The influential Commons Health Select Committee blamed GPs for widespread...

GP shrugs off plane fuel drama.(Brief Article)
April 9, 2005... Dr Peter Hill and his family were returning home from a relaxing holiday in Thailand when disaster nearly struck. After a refuelling stop in the United Arab Emirates, Dr Hill's plane tried to take off with fuel pouring out of a wing. The...

Pfizer suspends valdecoxib.(Brief Article)
April 9, 2005... GPs are set to face a fresh wave of patients alarmed over cox-2 inhibitors after the UK's drug regulator announced use of valdecoxib (Bextra) was being suspended. The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency is urging all...

Why I support the Pulse Manifesto for General Practice.(Brief Article)
April 9, 2005... `It's a very commendable set of priorities, especially the one about premises. If people don't understand what they have got, the baby can be thrown out with the bath water.' Professor Roger Jones, professor of general practice at King's...

Warning on NSAIDs and renal disease.
April 9, 2005... NSAIDs appear to interact with some antihypertensive drugs to strongly increase the risk of acute renal failure, according to a large-scale study of UK general practice. The researchers said the interaction meant NSAIDs should be used with...

Study exposes PSA policy as haphazard.(Brief Article)
April 9, 2005... `Haphazard' policy on PSA testing is causing wide variation between PCTs in the number of men diagnosed and treated for prostate cancer, researchers conclude. Between 1993 and 2002, rates of diagnosis more than doubled in some areas but...

GPs condemn NICE on skin cancer guidelines.(National Institute for Clinical Excellence)(Brief Article)
April 9, 2005... GPs have condemned new draft NICE guidelines on skin cancer as `ridiculous' for forcing them to become GPs with a special interest to carry out skin cancer surgery. The guidelines, published last week, said only doctors who were `active...

COMING YOUR WAY: `Viagra aid during pregnancy'.(Brief Article)
April 9, 2005... THE STORY Viagra could be used to treat pre-eclampsia in pregnant women, The Times reports. THE SOURCE Research presented at the International Union of Physiological Sciences in San Diego this week found Viagra eliminated foetal...

Patients don't want league tables of GP performance.
April 9, 2005... Patients do not want simplistic league tables of GPs' performance because they do not believe the data reflects their practice, research has found. The Government-funded study also revealed patients feel a strong sense of responsibility...