Pulse articles from July 2005

Pulse archives from July 2005

GMC to weed out frivolous complaints.(General Medical Council)
July 2, 2005... GPs are on the verge of winning their battle to change the GMC's heavyhanded approach to frivolous complaints. The time taken to close such complaints should be slashed from six months to just two weeks under new fast-track procedures due...

Inaccurate cholesterol tests hit use of statins.
July 2, 2005... Hundreds of thousands of patients in the UK could be missing out on treatment with statins because of inaccurate cholesterol testing, a major new analysis concludes. Some testing procedures could be out by as much as 30 per cent, according...

One in 10 admissions related to medications.
July 2, 2005... As many as one in 10 of all hospital admissions are related to medications, according to stark figures from a new analysis of medical records. Experts in drug safety branded the figures `appalling' and blamed a breakdown in communication...

Mumps outbreak revives MMR uptake.(Measles-mumps-rubella vaccines)(Brief Article)
July 2, 2005... MMR uptake has jumped by 0.9 per cent - the biggest increase for 18 months - as media coverage of the mumps epidemic drives home the benefits of vaccination. In the three months from January to March, 81.7 per cent of children in the UK...

Dame Janet softens Shipman criticisms.(Brief Article)
July 2, 2005... Dame Janet Smith has downplayed the criticism levelled at GPs in the Shipman Inquiry's final report. Dame Janet, who was chair of the inquiry, denied she had set out to present GPs as murderers and insisted her recommendations would only...

Two-hour hostage ordeal drives GP to sell partnership.
July 2, 2005... Dr Vanessa Doel has spoken of her absolute fear when she was held hostage by a psychotic patient for two-and-a-half hours. Dr Doel, whose 6,000-strong list at the time made her one of the UK's busiest GPs, said the event prompted her to...

More opt for GP career.(Brief Article)
July 2, 2005... A BMA survey that has followed a group of doctors since their graduation in 1995 has discovered that general practice is an increasingly attractive career option. The annual survey of 486 doctors has found that the proportion who plan to...

NEWS IN BRIEF: NICE is losing its credibility.(National Institute for Clinical Excellence)(Brief Article)
July 2, 2005... NICE is `losing credibility' as an independent prescribing adviser and must not become a regulatory body, the BMA annual conference has concluded. Delegates voted for a motion criticising NICE for undermining doctors' prescribing freedom,...

NEWS IN BRIEF: STIs are continuing to rise.(sexually transmitted infections)(Brief Article)
July 2, 2005... Latest figures from the Health Protection Agency show sexually transmitted infections are continuing to rise. The HPA said the figures were `disappointing' but stressed that rates had slowed in recent years and there were fewer new...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Mentally ill get poor care.(Brief Article)
July 2, 2005... People with severe mental illness are still receiving substandard care and have death rates three times those of the general population, according to a new report. In particular, poor physical care is helping to reduce patients' life...

NEWS IN BRIEF: GP fears on centralised notes.(Brief Article)
July 2, 2005... GPs have warned the BMA conference that putting patients' notes in a central computer system could threaten privacy and confidentiality. Patients are themselves unconvinced that Government plans for a centralised system will be secure,...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Asthma surges in the storms.(Brief Article)
July 2, 2005... High pollen counts and recent thunderstorms have caused a surge in the number of asthma attacks. The MET office reported that the recent storms had coincided with a six- fold increase in the number of hospital admissions for breathing...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Nurse prescribing supported.(Brief Article)
July 2, 2005... Doctors are generally positive about nurse supplementary prescribing but are not convinced it reduces their workload, a new Department of Health report has concluded. The University of Southampton study also reported doctors' concerns that...

Retirement timebomb goes off as GPs leave in droves.
July 2, 2005... The retirement `timebomb' among Asian GPs has already detonated in parts of the UK, the GPC is warning. Problems filling GP vacancies are being reported in London, the Medway towns, Leeds, Liverpool and Bradford - all areas with high...

We can't do without her.(Brief Article)
July 2, 2005... Dr Louise Hammersley says her combined nurse practitioner/independent prescriber is so successful locum GPs have to be hired when she is on holiday. Dr Hammersley, a GP in Lichfield, Staffordshire, said Sandy Reid sees acutely ill...

Diuretics effective in diabetes.(Brief Article)
July 2, 2005... Diuretics are just as effective as calcium channel blockers and ACE inhibitors in patients with diabetes, an analysis of the landmark ALLHAT trial concludes. The researchers said treatment should be initiated with diuretics because they...

Mission statement for NHS Ltd.(Brief Article)
July 2, 2005... An eight-point manifesto for wider private involvement in the NHS has been set out by former BMJ editor Dr Richard Smith. Private companies would bring many benefits to the NHS, he told GPs at Avon LMC's annual conference. Dr Smith,...

COMING YOUR WAY: `Blood test predicts stroke'.(Brief Article)
July 2, 2005... THE STORY A simple blood test could identify those at high risk of stroke six years beforehand, the Daily Mail reports. THE SOURCE Manufacturer diaDexus claimed the US Food and Drug Administration had approved the test, which...

Warning over workload surge from statins ruling.
July 2, 2005... New NICE proposals to extend the use of statins will only be implemented successfully if GPs are paid for the extra work, researchers warn. Their study of GP adherence to the previous national service framework guidance on statins found...

COMING YOUR WAY: `Autism may cause anorexia'.(Brief Article)
July 2, 2005... THE STORY Autism is being missed in women and may contribute to anorexia, the Times, Daily Mail, Herald and Scotsman report. THE SOURCE Professor Chris Gillberg, visiting professor of child and adolescent psychiatry at the...

COMING YOUR WAY: `Vitamin C theory goes cold'.(Brief Article)
July 2, 2005... THE STORY Taking vitamin C regularly does not reduce the risk of catching a cold, report the Times and New Scientist magazine. THE SOURCE A review published in PLoS Medicine of 23 studies concluded that using doses of up to 2g of...

COMING YOUR WAY: `Shou Wu Wan damages liver'.(Brief Article)
July 2, 2005... THE STORY A type of Chinese herbal medicine called Shou Wu Wan can cause severe liver damage, the Daily Mail reports. THE SOURCE The story is based on the case of a women called Jeanette Tarbuck who took the pills to deal with her...

GPs top league for skills in consultations.
July 2, 2005... British GPs are rated among the best communicators in Europe by their patients, reveals a major new survey. Only the Swiss rated their doctors' communication skills more highly than the British in the telephone survey of 8,000 patients in...

Revalidation spoils GP faith in appraisal.(Brief Article)
July 2, 2005... Appraisal is at risk of being `hijacked' by revalidation, warn leaders of two separate studies. Dr Agnes McKnight, who interviewed 20 GPs, said undue emphasis on competence meant GPs viewed appraisal as a form of performance management and...

GP gets set to grill Opposition leader.(Dr Gary Calver to take Michael Howard on rounds)
July 2, 2005... Dr Gary Calver plans to ensure Tory leader Michael Howard is left in no doubt about the scale of the threat to traditional general practice when they meet in the first wave of MPs' practice visits arranged by Pulse. Dr Calver, who...

GPs told to do unpaid hospital work to bail out overspent trust.(general practitioners )(Brief Article)
July 2, 2005... GPs are resisting attempts to force them to take over outpatient follow- up for no extra pay to help hospitals cut multi-million pound deficits. Under plans to be implemented this week in Surrey and Sussex, GPs will take over clinical...

BMA annual meeting: Hewitt admits to tension with GPs.(British Medical Association)(Patricia Hewitt)(Brief Article)
July 2, 2005... Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt has admitted there is a `tension' between the Government's patient choice agenda and continuity of care. But in answers to questions from doctors at the BMA's annual representatives meeting, Ms Hewitt said...

`Scrap super-regulator'.(Brief Article)
July 2, 2005... Doctors want to keep the GMC, but scrap the new super-regulator that can overrule its decisions. Responding to a motion by Somerset LMC for the GMC to be scrapped, Dr Hamish Meldrum, GPC chair, said the alternative would be much worse. `Do...

Joint two-dose plan for pneumococcal and Men C vaccines.(meningitis C vaccines)
July 2, 2005... Government immunisation advisers are considering giving pneumococcal and meningitis C vaccines together in just two doses, Pulse has learned. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation has reviewed new results from a Department of...

Sharp drop in HRT use since scare.(Hormone replacement therapy)(Brief Article)
July 2, 2005... GP prescriptions of all the main types of HRT have fallen sharply since publication of landmark studies questioning the treatment's safety, a new study reports. The drop was particularly marked for combination HRT, reflecting research...

Europe acts to restrict cox-2 use.
July 2, 2005... GPs face further restrictions on their use of cox-2 inhibitors after the release of the European Medicine Agency's long-awaited final judgment on the drugs. The EMEA added peripheral arterial disease to a list of contraindications that...

GP hearings resume over Shipman forms.(cremation forms)(Brief Article)
July 2, 2005... GMC hearings resumed this week against four GPs from Hyde who signed cremation forms for a number of Harold Shipman's victims. Dr Jeremy Dirckze, Dr Susan Booth, Dr Stephen Farrar and Dr Alistair MacGillivray were first charged in November...

GPs aghast at Government plans for home visits by paramedics.
July 2, 2005... GPs are warning that patient safety could be jeopardised by Government plans for paramedics to treat more people outside of hospitals. Under the proposals for reform of the ambulance service unveiled this week, paramedics could carry out...

`All GPs should care for teens'.(Brief Article)
July 2, 2005... Dr Ann McPherson has questioned comments by Patricia Hewitt that specialist GP surgeries for teenagers are needed to improve care for this hard-to-reach group. In a recent interview, the Health Secretary said GPs should question whether...

Lack of GP cover blamed for rise in death rate at weekends.
July 2, 2005... A shortage of GP cover at weekends could be causing more patients admitted on Saturdays and Sundays to die, new research concludes. The study by health thinktank Dr Foster found an 8 per cent rise in standardised mortality at the weekends...

Watchdog fails GPs over flucloxacillin risks.
July 2, 2005... The UK drug regulator has failed to provide sufficient warnings to GPs on the potential dangers of flucloxacillin, researchers conclude. A new prescribing analysis found UK GPs used the antibiotic as often as a decade ago, in `stark...

Diabetes ups risk of common infections.
July 2, 2005... Patients with type 1 and 2 diabetes are at increased risk of a range of common infections, a new study concludes. Infections of the urinary and lower respiratory tracts, skin and mucous membrane were all more common than normal in diabetes...

JOURNAL WATCH: Hay fever ups asthma A&E visits.(Brief Article)
July 2, 2005... Patients with asthma who also have allergic rhinitis are at increased risk of asthma attacks and A&E visits, a new study suggests. Swedish researchers conducted a post hoc, resource-use analysis of the IMPACT study of 1,490 patients aged 15-72...

JOURNAL WATCH: Hysterectomy safe long-term.(Brief Article)
July 2, 2005... Hysterectomy does not increase all-cause mortality in the medium- to long-term, a UK study concludes. The RCGP oral contraception study compared 3,705 women flagged at the NHS central registries for cancer and death who had a hysterectomy and...

JOURNAL WATCH: Drug combination cuts AF risk.(atrial fibrillation)(Brief Article)
July 2, 2005... ACE inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) appear to reduce the risk of atrial fibrillation. Canadian researchers conducted a meta-analysis of 11 randomised controlled trials on 56,308 patients. The trials examined the use of...

JOURNAL WATCH: Acne may protect against CHD.(Brief Article)
July 2, 2005... Acne in adolescence appears to decrease the risk of dying from coronary heart disease. UK researchers evaluated 11,232 male students who attended the University of Glasgow between 1948 and 1968. Men with a history of acne were at a 33...

JOURNAL WATCH: `UTIs trigger coronary syndrome'.
July 2, 2005... Urinary tract infections may trigger acute coronary syndrome, US researchers conclude. Their case-control study evaluated the incidence of UTIs in 100 consecutive patients with acute coronary syndrome and a contemporary control group...

Braunold prepared for rough ride on IT.(Gillian Braunold meets United States military officers regarding usage of electronic patient records)
July 2, 2005... Dr Gillian Braunold visited the Pentagon to hear how US military officials faced near mutiny when they brought in electronic patient records. By Ian Cameron Dr Gillian Braunold recently met senior US military officials. During the talks at...

Letter: Why NICE is nothing more than a rationing quango.(Letter to the Editor)
July 2, 2005... Your story regarding the NICE decision to agree a draft threshold for statin primary prevention that is much more restrictive than experts advise (News, June 25) illustrates one belief I have held all along. This is a rationing body. This is...

EDITORIAL COMMENT: Engage GPs for a more secure future.(general practitioners )(Brief Article)
July 2, 2005... In less than two months as Health Secretary, Patricia Hewitt has talked more about the need to consult with GPs than her predecessors seemed to manage in eight years. Having already held a summit with 50 GPs and become the first holder of her...

Letter: Why we're horrified by OTC chloramphenicol.(over-the-counter )(Brief Article)
July 2, 2005... I am a little horrified by the prospect of over-the-counter chloramphenicol eyedrops, a change that medical student Laura Weidner seemed to hail as a timesaving breakthrough (Letters, June 18). We commonly see patients in the eye clinic who...

Letter: `Shaming' GPs? No, we aim to support them.
July 2, 2005... I am writing regarding your report about Heart of Birmingham Teaching PCT's publication of QOF scores (News, June 18). We reported QOF scores in our Board papers as we believe that an open, accountable and supportive approach offers better...

Letters: Lighten up, Phil, and stop the whining.(Letter to the Editor)
July 2, 2005... I had to write to tell you how embarrassed I was when a social worker friend read Dr Phil Peverley's column (June 4). He should hear the cliches about arrogant and ignorant doctors that abound in social work lore - and he plays up to them...

Letter: I can't afford to work as a clinical assistant.(Letter to the Editor)
July 2, 2005... I read much about the problems of pay and conditions of associate specialist doctors, but not much about the pay of clinical assistants. Having nearly 40 years' experience, and as a director of a university health service and an FRCP, I was...

SOAPBOX: BMA is trying to take us back to the dark ages.(British Medical Association)
July 2, 2005... The BMA's recent warning on insurance reports beggars belief, writes Dr John Clayden Do you remember the bad old days when requests for insurance reports on Mr and Mrs Thickfile brought feelings of dismay at the soul-destroying effort...

Letter: Co-proxamol ban not too onerous.(Letter to the Editor)
July 2, 2005... Dr John Winter wrote a spirited criticism of my article about co- proxamol prescribing (Letters, May 28). I have to say I sympathise with his point of view. The work we did initially was intended to reduce co-proxamol prescribing to those...

Letter: How we tackled hepatitis C DNAs.(Letter to the Editor)
July 2, 2005... The story regarding hepatitis C and DNA rates at secondary care clinics took me aback (News, June 4). There are several issues to be raised in relation to this. If the GP does the PCR and hepatitis C is not detected then referral is not...

Letter: Fount of untapped skill.(Letter to the Editor)
July 2, 2005... The NHS presents a paradox - poverty in the land of plenty. So many doctors in the UK are unemployed and yet the NHS still keeps talking about recruiting medical manpower from overseas. The Government must be aware there is an army of...

Letter: Solution to H. pylori kit availability.(Letter to the Editor)
July 2, 2005... I was interested to read that many GPs find it hard to access H. pylori breath testing services (News, June 18). Many of your readers may be unaware that breath test kits are prescribable on FP10 (the list is on page 43 of the current BNF)....

Letter: Obesity is just not the GP's responsibility.(Letter to the Editor)
July 2, 2005... The recent debate on obesity between Dr David Haslam and Dr Colin Guthrie (Clinical, June 18) has completely changed my attitude to patients with obesity. Dr Haslam's statement that obesity is a chronic disease was an absolute revelation. ...

Letter: GMC should learn from other professions.(Letter to the Editor)
July 2, 2005... It is clear that the GMC is in crisis. You report it has altered its slogan to concentrate on `regulating doctors', having apparently dropped its previous pledges to support doctors and protect patients (News, June 11). Your letter pages...

ANDY JONES: Why Evercare will struggle over here.
July 2, 2005... Dr Andy Jones is a GP in Stamford, Lincolnshire I believe it will still be the district nurses - or their equivalents - who will do the hard work for patients In the interests of progress, one of our best local district nurses has...

How to budget for staff and resources.
July 2, 2005... Getting your staff mix right and finding the money to pay for it is a vital skill - Dr Peter Stott shows how to do it One of the benefits of being a PMS rather than a GMS practice is that for some years PMS practices have had the financial...

Treating temporary patients.
July 2, 2005... Treating temporary patients can often cause confusion among GPs - Dr Nicholas Norwell of the MDU gives advice Imagine the scene. Yours is a pretty seaside practice, you have just finished your morning surgery and are enjoying a cup of tea...

Case history: when police are investigating.(Brief Article)
July 2, 2005... A GP working in a seaside town called the MDU 24-hour advice line after he received a visit from a 22-year-old man who explained he was on holiday in the town and came to see him with an infected toenail. During the consultation the patient...

KENDRICK ON: the nonsense of the diet-heart hypothesis.(Column)
July 2, 2005... So you thought dietary cholesterol was linked to CHD risk? Well think again. Dr Malcolm Kendrick, our new clinical columnist, begins his mission to question the unproven orthodoxies of general practice by making the case that the diet-heart...

As GPs' HIV role widens - what you need to know.
July 2, 2005... As H48 infection rates continue to climb, GPs are being asked to share the care of those affected - in the fourth article of our sexual health series, Dr Olwen Williams offers practical advice on testing and treatment With more than 50,000...

Understanding medically unexplained symptoms.
July 2, 2005... Professor Francis Creed advises on managing patients who repeatedly present and for whom there is no simple diagnosis Every GP knows that patients with medically unexplained symptoms are commonplace - indeed they account for 10-20 per cent...

Two GP dilemmas.
July 2, 2005... A rather threatening man is convinced he has HIV. He has had loads of tests (all negative) and has no clear risk factors. He brings in internet articles saying tests are unreliable. He is contained by one partner but every now and then it all...

CLINICAL CASEBOOK: Patient's insomnia is making her desperate.
July 2, 2005... Case story Louise is a 46-year-old accountant who has been having periodic problems with insomnia for years. For the last two months the problem has worsened and she cannot get to sleep until the early hours. She is getting tired and...

GP OPTIONS: The inside track of what it's like as a prison GP.
July 2, 2005... Dr Janet Wilkinson describes life at HMP Holloway after giving up her practice Two years ago, while working as a GP in a suburban practice, I spotted an advert for a GP to work in Europe's largest female prison, HMP Holloway. ...

CV: Dr Graham Archard.(Interview)
July 2, 2005... Dr Graham Archard answers the Pulse careers questionnaire What/who made you decide to go into general practice? The independence of practice - away from hospital restrictions - and the ability to provide longitudinal holistic care. In...

LET'S PRACTISE IN: DUNDEE.(Brief Article)
July 2, 2005... Where? `Dundee is known as the "City of Discovery" and is situated on the banks of the River Tay on the east coast of Scotland. The city in past times was renowned for the three Js - jute, jam and journalism - and is the home of Desperate Dan...

GPs under fire over asthma fatalities.(general practitioners)
July 9, 2005... Three-quarters of asthma deaths are not sudden and could be prevented with more rigorous medical care, a confidential inquiry has concluded. The inquiry called for GPs to set up at-risk registers after finding `inadequate follow-up' and...

Shipman scapegoat case.(Harold Shipman )(Brief Article)
July 9, 2005... Three of the four GPs in the Shipman `scapegoat' case arrive at the GMC this week. After hearing the last of the evidence, a fitness to practise panel was considering whether Dr Stephen Farrar, Dr Jeremy Dirkze, Dr Alastair MacGillivray and Dr...

GPs on spot in terror blast.(general practitioners)(Brief Article)
July 9, 2005... GPs working in and around the BMA were among the first on the scene after a bus bomb exploded outside its headquarters during terrorist attacks on London last week. The BMA's courtyard was transformed into a triage area where patients were...

Legal battles as partners fall out over quality pay.
July 9, 2005... Practices are becoming embroiled in legal battles as partners dispute how much quality pay colleagues are entitled to. Arguments are intensifying over whether partners have pulled their weight in earning quality points, leading to an...

Cutting antibiotic scripts curbs consultation rates.
July 9, 2005... GPs can dramatically cut their consultation rates for acute respiratory infections by lowering their prescribing rates for antibiotics, according to a new study. Researchers found GPs who nearly always prescribed antibiotics for...

Health Secretary gets your campaign dossier.(Brief Article)
July 9, 2005... Pulse has handed a campaign dossier to Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt containing 4,564 pledges of support for our Manifesto for General Practice. The dossier contained details of the campaign, which seeks to safeguard the core values of...

Trimethoprim next for switch to OTC.(over the counter)(Brief Article)
July 9, 2005... The UK's drug regulator has sparked a new row on over-the-counter medicines after launching a consultation on plans to make an antibiotic for acute bacterial cystitis available in pharmacies. The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory...

NEWS IN BRIEF: NHS Direct lacks the capacity.(Brief Article)
July 9, 2005... NHS Direct may not have the capacity to manage out-of-hours care in England, a study has found. A study of 31 out-of-hours organisations, published in the BMJ, revealed most were not fully integrated with NHS Direct, forcing patients to...

NEWS IN BRIEF: No morning after for OTC Pill.(over the counter )(Brief Article)
July 9, 2005... The availability of emergency contraception over the counter has not encouraged unsafe sexual practices, UK researchers conclude. Their study, published in the BMJ this week, found use of emergency contraception had fallen from 8.4 per cent...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Tibolone warnings hardened.(Brief Article)
July 9, 2005... Warnings about the risk of endometrial cancer from tibolone will be strengthened next month, Pulse has learned. The UK's Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency will include new warnings in the next edition of Current Problems...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Global sum errors resolved.(Brief Article)
July 9, 2005... Practices that have received reduced global sums, because of errors in the software used to calculate them, will be reimbursed in full by the end of August, GPC negotiators have confirmed. Those practices that have been overpaid by less...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Registrars keep overpayment.(Brief Article)
July 9, 2005... GP registrars in Yorkshire have hit the jackpot after NHS managers were advised against clawing back massive overpayments of on average #15,000 in PCT supplements made during vocational training. A report to the board of South Yorkshire...

Two studies blow a hole in 48-hour access strategy.
July 9, 2005... Patients value seeing a GP they know and trust far more than getting 48- hour access to one that may be unfamiliar, two major new studies reveal. Being able to see their own GP is 3.5 times more important to the average patient than speed...

Primary care focus on mental health.
July 9, 2005... Improving treatment for patients with mental health problems is the focus of a major new primary care campaign. The National Primary Care Development Team is seeking to cut consultation rates and improve treatments and services for some of...

GP's Medical Ashes challenge.(Brief Article)
July 9, 2005... Dr Tim Scott is organising a `Medical Ashes' cricket match between British and Australian doctors. Dr Scott, a GP in Tibshelf, Derbyshire, wants to stage a one-day event that coincides with the actual Ashes which start later this month. `I...

GP concern on BCG restriction.
July 9, 2005... GPs have accused the Government of sending out `conflicting messages' after it scrapped universal BCG vaccination but said parents could still request the vaccine for their children. The BCG schools programme is to be replaced with targeted...