Pulse articles from December 2005

Pulse archives from December 2005

Exposed: officials' flu vaccine failure.
December 3, 2005... Angry GPs demand apology as Pulse investigation disproves Government claims of surplus EXCLUSIVE By Emma Wilkinson The Government failed to secure enough flu vaccine to cover all its target groups - contrary to its claims of a surplus....

`Salisbury should go'.(David Salisbury must resign)(Brief Article)
December 3, 2005... Dr Peter Madden insists Dr David Salisbury must resign for getting his flu vaccine figures wrong and falsely blaming GPs for shortages. Dr Madden, a GP in Chelford, Cheshire, said: `If they can't include carers and they don't know the...

BMA warns on underage sex guide.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2005... Proposed Government guidance urging GPs to report underage sexual activity could destroy young people's confidence in GPs and conflict with GMC rules, the BMA warns. The guidance, which is under consultation, sparked controversy after...

GPs face pay cut as Brown puts brake on public sector.(general practitioners)
December 3, 2005... Below-inflation rises make GPs suspect they are victims of own success By Ian Cameron Thousands of GPs are set for a virtual pay cut next year after Chancellor Gordon Brown ordered public sector pay rises to be pegged at 2 per cent -...

Pensions deal puts Scots on par.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2005... GPs in Scotland are finally to receive superannuation funding for new work in a deal which brings them on a par with the rest of the UK. Under a deal struck this week, practices will get an extra #2.52 for each quality point they earned...

GP waxes lyrical over bulb syringe.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2005... Dr Richard Coppin, a GP in Basingstoke, believes this cheap, simple tool could save hours of practice time. His trial of 220 patients found that plastic bulb syringes for ear wax removal could dramatically reduce workload for practice...

GPC refers QOF telephone review row to arbitration.
December 3, 2005... The GPC has referred for formal arbitration an escalating row over whether telephone reviews can count for QOF points, writes Daniel Cressey. Some PCTs have sparked anger after refusing to pay GPs who used telephone reviews to meet QOF...

MPs prepare for vaccine pay fight.
December 3, 2005... PULSE VACCINE PAY campaign Influential MPs have pledged to take the Government to task over controversial changes to GP childhood vaccine pay. Members of the House of Commons health select committee attacked the Government's...

Points for referral to a jobs adviser.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2005... GPs are set to get quality points for referring patients to an employment adviser. A Department for Work and Pensions submission to the quality framework review calls for points for GPs who help patients, particularly those with chronic...

In Brief: College fights inequalities.(health inequalities )(Brief Article)
December 3, 2005... The RCGP has called on the Government to do more to tackle health inequalities in inner-city and rural areas in its submission to the community health White Paper. The college also demanded that registration with practices must be...

In Brief: Most want smoking ban.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2005... The Government has admitted the `vast majority' of the 57,000 responses to its consultation on smoking called for a complete ban in all enclosed public places and workplaces. The Department of Health published the responses this week,...

In Brief: Take-care-of-yourself cash.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2005... Patients are to be given an individual budget to help them take care of themselves in whichever way they choose under a Government pilot. Older people, people with physical and learning disabilities and patients with mental health problems...

In Brief: Green Book major update.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2005... The Department of Health has updated 20 chapters of the Green Book on immunisation against infectious diseases. The revised chapters, which are available on the department's website, cover areas such as the distribution and disposal of...

In Brief: Award for top examinee.(MRCGP exam)(Brief Article)
December 3, 2005... Dr Clare Winslade has been awarded the Fraser Rose Medal by the RCGP for the best performance in its membership exam. Dr Winslade, a GP in Ramsgate, received the highest score out of the 1,743 GPs that took the MRCGP exam. Copyright:...

In Brief: `Obligatory' dermatology.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2005... GPs are critical of the lack of compulsory vocational training in dermatology, a new survey reveals. Of nearly 400 GPs who responded, 71 per cent said dermatology was not only an essential part of the core curriculum but should also be included...

In Brief: All the best in Pulse.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2005... Pulse editor Phil Johnson has been named business magazines editor of the year by the British Society of Magazine Editors. Nerys Hairon, senior reporter, also won feature writer of the year at the Medical Journalism Awards. Copyright:...

National Care Record hit by data setback.
December 3, 2005... Means to protect confidentiality while giving GPs access is under threat By Ian Cameron Technical problems with the planned national electronic patient record mean there will be no `sealed envelope' of sensitive patient information...

GP data payment.(general practitioners)(Brief Article)
December 3, 2005... An enhanced service to pay GPs for ensuring the quality of their patient data is close to being agreed, Connecting for Health has said. Dr Gillian Braunold, GP clinical lead for Connecting for Health, said getting data accredited before...

MI5 is rebuffed.(patient information )(Brief Article)
December 3, 2005... The Security Service approached Connecting for Health in a bid to gain access to patient information contained in its databases. Harry Cayton, the Department of Health's patients' tsar and chair of the Care Record Development Board, said...

Pulse is out to put GPs in the frame.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2005... Pulse has won a #5,000 grant to commission a series of portraits of GPs in three different surgeries around the country The photography project, run in collaboration with the National Portrait Gallery, aims to extend the audience for...

Practice is a walking centre.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2005... Post-MI patients at Dr Sue Potter's practice can take a weekly stroll with her as part of an exercise referral scheme. Dr Potter and several staff at the Moss Grove practice in Dudley, West Midlands, have been trained by the British Heart...

Don't treat lingering coughs.
December 3, 2005... Antibiotic use, or overuse, comes under the spotlight again from two research teams By Emma Wilkinson GPs should steer clear of prescribing antibiotics for lower respiratory tract infections even when symptoms have lasted three weeks...

GUM clinics fail to follow up with GPs.(Genito-urinary medicine clinics )(Brief Article)
December 3, 2005... Genito-urinary medicine clinics are failing to collaborate with primary care over follow-up care for patients with recurrent genital herpes, new research warns. The study, based on a survey of 159 GUM clinics in the UK, found only 47 per...

Factors that increase length of cough.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2005... * Longer illness before consulting GP - 0.1 days longer for each day before appointment * Severe cough - 0.66 days longer for each point on a seven-point scale * Restriction of activities on the day of consultation - 0.8 days longer...

Limit use of antibiotics to three days with UTIs.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2005... GPs should limit courses of antibiotics to three days in most women with urinary tract infections, Cochrane researchers conclude. Their analysis of 32 trials, published in the latest issue of the American Journal of Medicine, found a...

MediaWatch: `Homoeopathy works'.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2005... The story Homoeopathic remedies work for nearly three-quarters of patients, the Daily Mail claims. The source A study published in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine found 71 per cent of patients noted positive...

MediaWatch: `Dolphins beat depression'.(Swimming with dolphins beat depression)(Brief Article)
December 3, 2005... The story Swimming with dolphins can beat depression, The Times, Daily Mail and Independent report. The source A study published in a special issue of the BMJ found patients who went swimming with dolphins had a much greater...

MediaWatch: `How to stop miscarriage'.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2005... The story A treatment to stop recurrent miscarriages may follow the discovery of the cause, the Daily Express, Daily Telegraph and Daily Mail claim. The source An Australian study of 400 women found women who miscarried averaged...

MediaWatch: `Noise causes heart attack'.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2005... The story Loud noises increase the risk of a heart attack, The Times and BBC News Online report. The source German researchers found environmental noise increased the risk of myocardial infarction more than three-fold in women and...

Scrapping boundaries `would harm patients'.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2005... GPs fear for continuity and patients living a long way from practices By Ben Cook Government plans to scrap practice boundaries would do patients more harm than good, GPs are warning. Ending GPs' right to set a boundary is set to...

`Avoid antibiotic use in acute conjunctivitis'.
December 3, 2005... GPs issue three million prescriptions a year - but Cochrane says No By Nerys Hairon GPs should avoid topical antibiotics for treatment of acute conjunctivitis, an updated Cochrane review concludes. The recommendation comes after a...

Chatty nurses take twice as long as GPs over consultations.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2005... Nurse practitioners take twice as long to carry out consultations as GPs, research has found. The study comparing the content of consultations found nurses `talked significantly more than doctors', particularly about how to apply or carry...

The top 5: Days that GPs prescribe antibiotics.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2005... Days that GPs prescribe antibiotics Percentage of complaints treated with antibiotics 1 Monday 15.1 2 Wednesday 12.6 3 Friday 12.0 4 Thursday 11.0 5 Tuesday 11.0 Source: Y. Chong British...

New aid to identify rectal bleeding risks.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2005... New research will help GPs accurately identify which patients with rectal bleeding have high risk of cancer and require urgent referral. A study of 319 patients aged over 34 presenting in primary care with rectal bleeding found only 3.4 per...

BNP testing improves GP care for heart failure.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2005... The use of brain natriuretic peptide tests can help GPs improve their diagnosis and management of patients with heart failure, new research concludes. The study of 2,889 patients on heart failure registers at 24 practices found the use of...

Two-week Ca rule is only helping minority.
December 3, 2005... The vast resources ploughed into two-week clinics for colorectal cancer are only benefiting a minority of patients, a new study reveals. The audit of 151 colorectal cancer patients, the first to evaluate the two-week rule using primary care...

JOURNAL WATCH: ICS more effective in men.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2005... Inhaled steroids slow lung function decline in asthmatic men but not women, a Dutch study reports. The researchers conducted a 23-year follow-up study of 71 men and 51 women diagnosed with moderate to severe asthma who had an average of 37 and...

JOURNAL WATCH: Muscle training for COPD.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2005... Long-term inspiratory muscle training in patients with COPD increases exercise capacity, improves quality of life and decreases dyspnoea, according to Israeli research. A group of 42 patients with FEV1 less than 50 per cent were randomised to...

JOURNAL WATCH: Breast-feeding benefit.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2005... Breast-feeding significantly protects infants against diarrhoeal disease, a UK study of general practice reveals. Researchers analysed data on 167 cases and 137 controls at 34 practices in England. Infants who received no breast milk...

JOURNAL WATCH: Fewer falls with vitamin D.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2005... Giving vitamin D supplements to older people in residential care reduces the incidence of falls, research from Australia suggests. In a two-year randomised controlled trial, 625 care-home residents with a mean age of 83 were randomised to...

JOURNAL WATCH: Exercise capacity boosted.
December 3, 2005... Rosiglitazone improves exercise capacity in patients with type 2 diabetes, US researchers report. In a double-blind study, 20 patients with uncomplicated type 2 diabetes were randomised to 4mg/day of rosiglitazone or placebo. Patients in...

End of road for GP specialists?
December 3, 2005... Cheap, effective and patient-friendly or an expensive distraction from medical generalism? Rob Finch reports on how NHS reforms could decide the fate of the GP with a special interest By Rob Finch When the GPs with special interests...

Letter: How to reduce depression overload on GPs' practices.(Letter to the Editor)
December 3, 2005... From Dr C Goldsmith Norwich At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I am still bewildered as to why some readers are still in the dark over CBT (News, 26 November). Margaret Hodge has proposed CBT for some patients demanding...

Letter: Clearing confusion on contraception.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2005... From Dr Christopher Wilkinson, Faculty of Family Planning and Reproductive Health Care; Toni Belfield, Family Planning Association; Dr Martin Dougherty, National Collaborating Centre for Women's and Children's Health The item `Wisdom...

Letter: Keep out of the statins debate.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2005... From Dr Paul Harris Norwich Never mind the bollocks about NICE's `ruling' on statins, and its financial and workload implications (News, 12 November), why should general practice be involved at all? Why not give patients their...

Letter: Ditch slick gimmicks.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2005... From Dr Angus Carnegy Basingstoke, Hants Despite massive evidence on the health risks of smoking, Patricia Hewitt has decided not to pursue a complete ban in enclosed public places. Similarly, she continues to press for the NHS to...

Letter: Allocations still with us.(Letter to the Editor)
December 3, 2005... From Dr Stephen Fox Leigh, Lancashire Forced allocations have not disappeared (Comment, 19 November). I have, yet again, tabled this thorny subject for discussion at our LMC/PCT liaison meeting next week. This week I have had four more...

Letter: I'm a pharmacist - not an amateur.(Letter to the Editor)
December 3, 2005... From Phil Reeder Superintendent community pharmacist Welbourn, Lincolnshire What arrogance! For a `professional' who should understand that he could not function as a GP without the support of other health care professions, Phil Peverley's...

Phil Peverley: True family planning.(Column)
December 3, 2005... Phil is flummoxed by a mother's request for the Pill for all three daughters Three young sisters book in to see me in three consecutive appointments. Should be an easy one. No doubt they've got colds and their mother wants them sorting out...

Second Opinion - Andy Jones: Sick as a parrot.(influenza vaccines)(Brief Article)
December 3, 2005... GPs are being accused of wasting flu vaccine supplies. It is being suggested we did not order enough vaccines and have given too many to the wrong people. My surgery, like many others, ordered roughly the same number as last year and we...

FINANCIAL: Understanding current account balances.
December 3, 2005... To new partners, the concept of the individual current account balance within the partnership accounts is often difficult to grasp. Dr John Couch sheds light on the problem The individual partner's current account balance within the...

FINANCIAL: Manage your time efficiently.
December 3, 2005... Time management is crucial in running an efficient business, especially an operation as complex as general practice. Dr Tillman Jacobi gives advice `Avoid setting up long daily to-do lists - they can be demoralising' Most GPs and...

Financial: Keep your phone costs under control.
December 3, 2005... Telephone bills in busy practices can be very high indeed. Try to minimise them, possibly by linking up with others to bargain for discounts,says Rachel Stark Getting a good deal * Don't agree to any contract over the phone. Ensure you...

PulseClinical: Adhesive capsulitis.
December 3, 2005... Dr Alistair Bint shares his best tips from working as a GP with an interest in musculoskeletal medicine and acupuncture 1 Look for a typical history of sub-acute onset, unilateral, with little or no history of trauma. It will be...

Answerback: Coeliac disease.
December 3, 2005... What is time from onset to diagnosis? With increased awareness of coeliac disease, more patients are being diagnosed in later life. Sometimes it is with vague symptoms, such as diarrhoea of apparently relatively short duration. When...

How does active excipient work in products for head lice?
December 3, 2005... I understand some head lice products contain active excipients or can be used at higher strengths. What should I know about this in terms of effectiveness, and how do they work? Some head louse preparations contain excipients that either...

FACTS & CURIOS: How loud are common things in decibels (dba)?(Brief Article)
December 3, 2005... How loud are common things in decibels (dba)? Inaudible 0 Just audible 10 Whispering at five feet 20 Soft whisper 30 Average living room 40 Refrigerator ...

You are ordered by MP to prescribe drug you've never heard of.
December 3, 2005... Three GPs share their approach to a practice problem Case history You are running through the mail and discover a handwritten note to start Mrs Jones on a drug you have never heard of. There is no other information except to say a...

Pulse Comment: Apologise for flu gaffe.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2005... The Government seems to like nothing better than provoking GPs, but even by its confrontational standards, last week was shocking. As practices struggled to contain an unprecedented surge in demand for the flu vaccine, Dr David Salisbury, the...

GPs set to get #2 per patient in new push on commissioning.
December 10, 2005... Exclusive By Ian Cameron GPs are set to be paid around #2 per patient to take part in practice- based commissioning under an enhanced service to start next April, Pulse can reveal. The Department of Health has reached agreement with...

Listening exercise sham confirmed.(Brief Article)
December 10, 2005... EXCLUSIVE The Government never intended its high-profile public consultation on the community health White Paper to be a free debate, writes John Robinson. A briefing document inviting tenders to run the consultation, obtained by...

Childhood asthma safety warning.
December 10, 2005... Increasing numbers of children with asthma are receiving prescriptions for potentially dangerous doses of inhaled steroids, a new study warns. GPs were three times as likely to prescribe `very high' doses of inhaled steroids in 2004 as in...

Study urges audit of winter respiratory risk in elderly.
December 10, 2005... GPs should audit practice data in the run-up to Christmas to identify elderly patients at high risk of hospitalisation over the winter, Health Protection Agency researchers urge. Their study, presented at the British Thoracic Society...

MEDIA WATCH: `Abortion pills warning'.(Brief Article)
December 10, 2005... THE STORY Abortion pills could cause fatal infections, according to the Independent and Reuters. THE SOURCE An editorial in the New England Journal of Medicine details four deaths from sepsis in women who had used mifepristone and...

MEDIA WATCH: `Slimline gin and tonic?'.(Brief Article)
December 10, 2005... THE STORY Drinking alcohol helps you stay slim, according to the Daily Mail, Daily Express and Mirror. THE SOURCE A study of 8,236 Americans, published in BMC Public Health, found current drinkers were 27 per cent less likely to...

GPs in overspent PCTs brace themselves for hit squads.(primary care trusts)
December 10, 2005... GPs in PCTs with huge deficits are bracing themselves for further cuts in services after the Government announced it was sending in management `turnaround teams'. NHS chief executive Sir Nigel Crisp told the health select committee the hit...

JOURNAL WATCH: Antipsyphotic death risks.(Brief Article)
December 10, 2005... Conventional antipsychotics may be associated with a higher risk of death than atypicals, a US study concludes. Researchers carried out a retrospective cohort study of 22,890 patients aged 65 or older who began antipsychotic medication between...

JOURNAL WATCH: HRT cuts lung Ca survival.(Brief Article)
December 10, 2005... HRT appears to reduce survival from lung cancer. US researchers collected data from a chart review of 498 women diagnosed with lung cancer between 1994/9. Women who had received HRT were diagnosed five years younger on average than those...

JOURNAL WATCH: Fentanyl patches effective.(Brief Article)
December 10, 2005... Fentanyl patches are as effective as slow-release morphine for the treatment of chronic low back pain and are better tolerated, European researchers report. A trial of 680 patients with non-responsive chronic low back pain compared...

JOURNAL WATCH: Sleep disorder stroke risk.
December 10, 2005... Sleep-disordered breathing is strongly associated with risk of stroke, a Canadian study concludes. The researchers conducted cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses of 1,475 and 1,189 patients respectively. Risk of stroke was increased...

Independent review of complaints doubles.
December 10, 2005... The proportion of complaints against GPs being referred for independent review has rocketed in the last year, figures show. Government statistics on written complaints about family health services, released last week, show the total number...

Surgery delayed to plug PCT deficits.(Brief Article)
December 10, 2005... Hospitals are delaying operations and removing patients from waiting lists to help PCTs claw back multi-million pound deficits. A letter from Harrow PCT to GPs states that patients sent for outpatient appointments at local hospitals will...

Legal worry over referrals policies.
December 10, 2005... Joanna Clarke-Jones GPs are demanding clarity over where legal responsibility lies after they have made a referral, because PCTs and hospitals are increasingly bouncing patients back. Trusts around the country are implementing referral...

GP cleared of all blame in polio vaccination case.(Brief Article)
December 10, 2005... Appeal court judges have exonerated a Devon GP of all blame in the case of a boy who was severely disabled by polio following a routine immunisation. Dr Hugh Bradford, a GP in Braunton, vaccinated Hamish Thompson against polio in December...

Sexual health needs new approach in primary care.(Brief Article)
December 10, 2005... A fresh approach to sexual health is needed in primary care if rocketing rates of sexually transmitted infections are to be reversed, the NHS Confederation has warned. More sexual health promotion in GP surgeries, local enhanced services...

`Let patient pick length of GP appointment'.
December 10, 2005... NHS managers are calling on the Government to allow patients to decide the length of their GP appointment, writes Emily Wright. The NHS Confederation's submission to the consultation on the community health White Paper said the move was key...

Superannuation tax relief muddle.(Brief Article)
December 10, 2005... Employers' superannuation contributions for GP partners will be tax deductible, the BMA believes. GPC negotiators said they had been advised that partners would be able to claim tax relief on the payments, `even in a worst-case scenario'....

Nurses and therapists to contract out own services.(Brief Article)
December 10, 2005... GPs in Surrey have given a cautious welcome to plans by nurses and therapists to set up a `not for profits company' to contract out their services. The company, Central Surrey Health, will be co-owned by 700 nursing and therapy staff...

Spotlight on flu vaccine supply.
December 10, 2005... Vaccine shortages, angry recriminations and fears of a disease pandemic - this year's flu campaign has been even more difficult than usual. The Government has hardly helped by choosing to make GPs the scapegoats, blaming them for failing...

NI saves with central orders.(Brief Article)
December 10, 2005... The Department of Health in Northern Ireland claims it has saved #1.50 per flu vaccine and avoided the shortages elsewhere by switching to a central ordering system. It decided on the change after it emerged during last year's Chiron-...

Letter: PCI better than CABG on achieving targets.(Letter to the Editor)
December 10, 2005... Dr Rubin Minhas, CHD Clinical Lead, Medway PCT, Gillingham, Kent Dr Millar (Letters, 12 November) has raised the comparison of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. Recent reports...

LETTER OF THE WEEK: Take the vaccines burden off GPs.(Brief Article)
December 10, 2005... From Margaret Hooper, Practice Manager, Lowestoft, Suffolk The Government reaction to the lack of flu vaccines is disgraceful. In Lowestoft we were the first practice to run out as deliveries from MASTA were on time. We ordered last year...

Letter: Open all hours? Let's make it resignation issue for GPs.(Brief Article)
December 10, 2005... From Dr Martin Seely, Urmston, Manchester When did Patricia Hewitt renegotiate our new contract? I thought we were able to opt out of working from 18.00 to 08.00, the time being classed `out of hours'. Where will the funds come from to...

Letter: Prescribing: don't call me amateur.(Letter to the Editor)
December 10, 2005... From Margaret Briggs, RMN RGN BSc SpQ GPN Dip Travel Medicine, Nurse prescriber, by e-mail I have to register my disappointment and disquiet after reading Dr Phil Peverley's piece (26 November) regarding extending prescribing rights to...