Pulse articles from May 2006

Pulse archives from May 2006

Jobs bombshell as 7,000 GPs set to quit within 2 years.
May 4, 2006... Further Government efforts to cut cost of the contract may lead more GPs to retire or resign Exclusive By Ian Cameron More than 7,000 GPs are set to retire or quit in the next two years, a major Pulse survey has revealed. Some 17...

That's it, I've had enough.(Brief article)
May 4, 2006... Dr Chris Clark is retiring early because of the rise of `bean counting' and targets which are `seen as more important than individual care'. A sign informing patients at his practice in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, of his decision also...

Ministers told to act on depression.(Brief article)
May 4, 2006... Pulse Action on depression A senior Government adviser has urged ministers to develop 250 psychological treatment centres to transform GPs' access to talking therapy. Lord Richard Layard recommended a network of centres across the country...

QOF depression screening `waste of time and cash'.
May 4, 2006... Cochrane researchers say screening will have no benefit for patients By Nerys Hairon Screening for depression under the revised quality and outcomes framework will be a waste of money with no benefit for patients, a new assessment...

Lack of action post-Shipman.(Shipman Inquiry)(Brief article)
May 4, 2006... Dame Janet Smith, chair of the Shipman Inquiry, has launched an outspoken attack on the Government for failing to implement her recommendations on regulation of GPs. Speaking at the first major conference on the aftermath of Shipman, she...

Government to stop paying DTB subs.(Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin)(Brief article)
May 4, 2006... GP access to independent prescribing advice is under threat after the Government decided it would no longer pay for subscriptions to the respected Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin. The Department of Health insisted it was up to individual GPs...

Out-of-hours service failings prove costly.
May 4, 2006... New out-of-hours services are far more expensive than the Government or PCTs predicted and are failing lamentably to hit quality targets, writes Joanna Clarke-Jones. A damning report from the National Audit Office, due out later this week,...

GP axed for not being sufficiently `corporate'.(Brief article)
May 4, 2006... Dr Jane Elliott believes she was axed from her PCT's professional executive committee because her views on its plans to close community hospitals were not `corporate' enough. Dr Elliott, a GP in Farnham, Surrey, had sat on the committee at...

12.9% pensions dynamising factor agreed.(Brief article)
May 4, 2006... GPs' pensions will be uplifted by 12.9 per cent for 2003/04, the BMA has revealed. The long-awaited `dynamising' factor, based on average pay rises for the first year of the new contract, was last week signed off by ministers. The...

InBrief: Home O2 transition over.(Brief article)
May 4, 2006... Transitional arrangements for home oxygen provision - introduced after the chaotic handover to direct supply - are to end by August. But NHS Primary Care Contracting admitted `further work is still required' to ensure the new arrangements...

InBrief: Smear test explanations.(Brief article)
May 4, 2006... Women with abnormal smear tests need more reassurance and information to help them understand the results, researchers say. Their study, in the British Journal of Cancer, found up to 43 per cent of 3,500 women with `slightly abnormal' results...

InBrief: Welsh GP figures.(Brief article)
May 4, 2006... The number of GPs in Wales aged under 40 plummeted by more than one- third in the year to September 2005, new figures from NHS Wales reveal. Overall, the number of full-time GPs dropped 4 per cent, but total GP numbers rose 6 per cent to 1,849....

InBrief: Choose & Book referrals.(Brief article)
May 4, 2006... Nearly 300,000 outpatient referrals have been made via Choose and Book and the average number of daily referrals is 4,000, new figures show. Connecting for Health said the daily figure had doubled since January. GPs are now meant to offer...

InBrief: GPs saving lives and cash.(Brief article)
May 4, 2006... The new GP contract will save more than 800 Scots from `potentially life-threatening' cardiovascular events, according to BMA Scotland. It extrapolated from previous data to estimate the number of events to be prevented over five years by...

InBrief: BNP apologises to GP.(British National Party)(Brief article)
May 4, 2006... A GP falsely accused by the British National Party of giving a patient drugs in return for sex has won a public apology and libel damages at the High Court. Solicitors for Dr Raj Chandran, a GP in Gedling, Nottinghamshire, and also mayor...

InBrief: NHS deficits inquiry.(Brief article)
May 4, 2006... The Health Select Committee has launched an inquiry into NHS deficits, deficit sizes, the reasons for them, their consequences and the period over which balance should be achieved. Submissions must be made by 6 June. E-mail:...

InBrief: New prescribing powers.(Brief article)
May 4, 2006... Nurse and pharmacist independent prescribers formally gained sweeping new prescribing powers from the start of this week. They will have access to the full formulary apart from some controlled drugs under new legislation. Copyright: CMP...

NICE to look again at its osteoporosis rules.(National Institute for Clinical Excellence)
May 4, 2006... Institute to rethink after criticism of secondary prevention appraisal By Nerys Hairon NICE is planning an overhaul of its technology appraisal on the secondary prevention of osteoporotic fractures after research found it was denying...

Council tax as risk-score aid.(Brief article)
May 4, 2006... Council tax bands could be used to correct the much-maligned Framingham risk charts for levels of deprivation. NICE is to consider new research finding that a patient's banding can simply and accurately predict risk of coronary heart...

A towering achievement.(Brief article)
May 4, 2006... Having your practice located across two rundown floors of a tower block has few benefits, but the St Anne's surgery in Herne Bay, Kent, has made it work. The practice, which has been housed in the seafront tower for more than 30 years,...

`New law threatens patient trust'.
May 4, 2006... Scottish LMCs debate a range of issues, from opposing a new law on children's records to abandoning GPASS By Rob Finch A new Scottish law allowing public bodies to examine children's medical records without first gaining consent will...

GPC is shown `yellow card'.(Brief article)
May 4, 2006... GPC negotiators have admitted they are `on a yellow card' from the profession over changes to the quality framework. Dr Hamish Meldrum, GPC chair, told Scottish GPs he accepted criticism of the changes, which mean extra work with no extra...

Demand to kill off GPASS.(General Practice Administration System for Scotland)(Brief article)
May 4, 2006... Scottish GPs have demanded the GPASS IT system be abandoned. LMC representatives called for the software, used in 850 Scottish practices, to be scrapped after hearing how it cost two-thirds more than previously believed. Dr John Ip,...

Warfarin interaction alert.(Brief article)
May 4, 2006... GPs have been warned to double-check the potential for interactions with warfarin after a new audit uncovered `very high' levels of potentially dangerous co-prescribing. Some 60 per cent of patients on warfarin received potentially...

Penicillin use in meningitis `may harm'.
May 4, 2006... GP administration of penicillin injections before sending children with suspected meningococcal disease to hospital may be of no benefit and could even be harmful. A new GP study found parenteral penicillin appeared to increase the risk of...

Meningitis litigation costs.(Brief article)
May 4, 2006... * 2 per cent of all GP files opened in last five years involve meningococcal disease, with MDU receiving average of one new notification a week * Settlements are higher than for any other category of claim, ranging from over #1,000 to in...

MediaWatch: `Jab to cure hay fever'.(Brief article)
May 4, 2006... The story A new vaccine will cure hay fever, report The Times, Daily Mail, Daily Express, BBC News online and Reuters. The source Research shows allergen tolerance is increased 100-fold at eight months in 19 subjects given the...

MediaWatch: `Screening for Alzheimer's'.(Brief article)
May 4, 2006... The story Screening for tiny blood clots in the brain could be used to detect those at risk of Alzheimer's disease, according to the Daily Mail and BBC News online. The source Research published early online in the BMJ found...

MediaWatch: `Emphysema drug hope'.(Brief article)
May 4, 2006... The story A new drug could offer a cure for emphysema, the Daily Mail and BBC News online report. The source Researchers at Birmingham University Hospital are working on an as-yet- unnamed drug which aims to stimulate lungs to...

Cox-2 risk `overblown'.
May 4, 2006... Study finds NSAIDs and cox-2s carry minimal risk of heart attack By Daniel Cressey Conventional NSAIDs and most cox-2 inhibitors carry a `minimal to non- existent' risk of heart attacks, a major new assessment of all available evidence...

End appeal on pension or else.(Brief article)
May 4, 2006... PCT `gets nasty' with PMS practices By Ian Cameron A PCT has threatened to force all of its PMS practices to switch back to GMS if they do not stop pressuring it for unpaid superannuation. The 15 practices in Suffolk West PCT claim...

DoH to amend regulations on PCTs' performers lists.(Department of Health)(primary care trusts)(Brief article)
May 4, 2006... The Department of Health is to amend its regulations for PCTs on how they manage their performers lists. The move comes after two recent legal cases in which PCTs were found to have acted wrongly in the way they handled the suspension of...

Most prescribed drug categories in 2005.(Brief article)
May 4, 2006... Most prescribed drug categories in 2005 Items 1 Cardiovascular system 218,043,500 2 Central nervous system 124,597,800 3 Endocrine system ...

Loss-leader ploy as private firms eye GP practices.
May 4, 2006... Private providers may cross-subsidise takeovers By Helen Crump Private providers may bid to run GP services as `loss leaders' in order to gain a foothold in primary care, the GPC fears. It said the advent of a primary care market...

GPC guidance on APMS.(alternative providers of medical services)(Brief article)
May 4, 2006... * PCOs can enter into contracts with any individual or organisation meeting provider conditions * GMS and PMS providers can hold APMS contracts * When tendering, cost all components of any service * BMA salaried contract's minimum...

JournalWatch: Calcium curbs fractures.(Brief article)
May 4, 2006... Calcium supplements can reduce the risk of fractures in a relatively low-risk population provided patients take them, an Australian study reports. The researchers randomised 1,460 ambulant women over the age of 70 to 600mg calcium...

JournalWatch: Wetted wounds no worse.(Brief article)
May 4, 2006... Allowing wounds to get wet in the first 48 hours after minor surgery does not increase the risk of infection, an Australian trial concludes. Researchers studied 857 patients who had minor surgery in general practice, half of whom removed...

JournalWatch: Statins much of muchness.(Brief article)
May 4, 2006... There are no significant differences in the effectiveness of the three most commonly used statins, a new comparative analysis concludes. Canadian researchers conducted a meta-analysis of eight studies reporting clinical outcomes with statin...

JournalWatch: Education aids eczema.(Brief article)
May 4, 2006... Structured education programmes for young patients or their parents improve long-term management of atopic dermatitis, German research concludes. The study randomised 823 child or adolescent patients with atopic dermatitis to age-related...

JournalWatch: Vitamins no pregnancy aid.(Brief article)
May 4, 2006... Vitamins C and E have no effect on the risk of pre-eclampsia and perinatal complications, Australian researchers report. Their study randomised 1,877 women 14 to 22 weeks into gestation to daily supplements with 1,000mg vitamin C and 400IU...

Obese patients should not be denied hip ops.
May 4, 2006... Study finds no justification for refusing hip replacements on basis of weight By Nerys Hairon The NHS should not deny obese patients hip replacement surgery simply on the basis of weight, a new study concludes. The research found...

NICE ruling on self-inflicted treatments.(National Institute for Clinical Excellence)(Brief article)
May 4, 2006... * NICE and its advisory bodies should avoid denying care to patients with conditions that are, or may be, self-inflicted * If, however, self-inflicted causes influence the clinical- or cost- effectiveness of an intervention, it may be...

GP scripts for herbs soaring.(Brief article)
May 4, 2006... GP prescribing of herbal and homoeopathic medicines has soared over the last decade. A Scottish audit found more than half of practices now offer herbal and homoeopathic remedies, compared with rates of just a few per cent reported in the...

Guidelines holding back RA patients.(rheumatoid arthritis)(Brief article)
May 4, 2006... GPs' patients with rheumatoid arthritis are deteriorating while waiting for treatment because guidelines are causing unnecessary delays. British Society for Rheumatology guidelines require patients with severe arthritis to have two...

Urinary incontinence failure.(Brief article)
May 4, 2006... Only a third of women with stress urinary incontinence are receiving recommended treatment, a new audit reveals. The researchers identified a `substantial unmet need' and warned many women could be relying on self-management techniques that...

Is NHS ready for bowel screening?
May 4, 2006... Questions remain over the effect of bowel cancer screening on endoscopy services and GP workload By Anna Hodgekiss The future of the national bowel cancer screening programme was secured last week, with the Government finally agreeing...

Letter: NICE smart move on inhaled insulin.(National Institute for Clinical Excellence )(Letter to the editor)
May 4, 2006... From Dr Matthew Kiln London SE21 The ruling by NICE on inhaled insulin (News, 20 April) is absolutely correct. It is sensible and should help GPs from being pushed to waste potentially vast amounts of money on something that is very...

Letter: Caution on herbal medicine.(Letter to the editor)
May 4, 2006... From Dr David Church (no known conflicts of interest) Machynlleth I am afraid I don't agree with the advice the researchers have extrapolated from their study of certain herbal medicines (News, 20 April). They appear to have shown that...

Letter: Joined-up thinking over depression.(Letter to the editor)
May 4, 2006... Pulse Action on depression From Alison Leyland Primary care counsellor Wells, Somerset While I applaud your clear reporting on the inadequate provision of therapeutic care within primary care, I read your article (2 March) with...

Letter: Play fair by overseas doctors.(Letter to the editor)
May 4, 2006... From Dr Kamalpreet Sidhu Newcastle upon Tyne I am surprised Pulse hasn't taken notice of recent changes in immigration rules for overseas, non-EU doctors. The abrupt implementation of these rules have left thousands of overseas doctors in...

Letter: Tuberculin tests in BCG vaccination.(Letter to the editor)
May 4, 2006... From Dr M Barrie Kingston upon Thames Surrey Dr Moffitt says tuberculin testing is no longer performed (prior to BCG vaccination) in children under the age of six (Letters, 13 April). I run a TB vaccination service in Kingston upon...

Letter: More pain ahead for NHS.(Letter to the editor)
May 4, 2006... From Dr Paul Charlson Brough East Yorkshire If you think the NHS is bad now wait until after 2008 when it is set to get a lot worse. The rises in NHS spending of 4.5 per cent per year are set to slow after 2008 to about 2 per cent. ...

Money, money, money.
May 4, 2006... Of course Phil isn't earning #250k, and neither are most GPs, but it does make him think Well, that's it. I think I've looked just about everywhere. I've searched all the drawers in my desk, looked all around the office, and checked the...

SecondOpinion - Andy Jones: Martyrs no more.
May 4, 2006... By the time you read this the story may be getting a bit jaded and the popular press may well have lost interest - but at the time of writing everyone seems to be talking about the GP who earns #250,000 a year. It's admitted that they're...

PulseFinancial: Practices must grow or die.
May 4, 2006... It seems clear that development funding and access to capital will be channelled increasingly to expanding practices and that it will no longer be enough for practices simply to consolidate existing work, says Dr Jim Sherifi The current...

PulseFinancial: Importance of telephone skills in practice.
May 4, 2006... Like any good business a practice must satisfy its customers and good telephone skills by every practice member are vital, says Dr Nicholas Norwell of the MDU Telephones are an important tool in primary care. They are used for everything...

PulseFinancial: New regulations tighten ABPI code of practice.(Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry)
May 4, 2006... Recent changes have been made to the ABPI code of practice and many areas have been tightened - GPs need to know what can now be done and what can't, says Dr Peter Burrows `Why don't we get a drug rep to sponsor our practice trip to...

PulseFinancial: General practice as business.
May 4, 2006... Improve your negotiation skills and prosper In the third of his six-part series on the strengths necessary to ensure business success in general practice, Dr Sohail Butt highlights the importance of effective negotiation As GPs we...

PulseClinical: Learning from illness Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma.
May 4, 2006... Dr Bob Grant explains how personal experience of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and a subsequent amputation have affected him as a GP At the age of 14 I started to develop a limp. Walking home from school became an effort and the ache in my knee...

PulseClinical: Raising the profile of peripheral arterial disease.
May 4, 2006... Disappointed by the non-inclusion of PAD in the new QOF, Professor Cliff Shearman stresses PAD should be considered as much a priority in the fight against CVD as diabetes or hypertension There are clear indications that peripheral arterial...

IS H. PYLORI ERADICATION EFFECTIVE IN N0N-ULCER DYSPEPSIA?(Brief article)
May 4, 2006... Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is the main cause of peptic ulcer disease, but the role of H. pylori in non-ulcer dyspepsia is less clear. Our objective was to determine the effect of H. pylori eradication on dyspepsia symptoms in patients with...

DOES ANY THERAPY CLEAR MOLLUSCUM?
May 4, 2006... Molluscum contagiosum will usually resolve within months in patients with a normal immune system. Many treatments have been promoted but a clear evidence base supporting them is lacking. Method We searched the Skin Group Specialised...

PulseClinical: Need to know MS.
May 4, 2006... Dr Carolyn Young answers questions from GP Dr Alastair Bint highlighting the importance of the GP's role in identifying and sharing care for patients Take-home points * Care should be taken to distinguish between relapsing-remitting,...

PulseRegister: Patient in remission want you to sign him off work.
May 4, 2006... 3 GPs' views Case history Brian Jones is 55 and had a lobectomy for lung cancer six months ago. He appears to be in remission but has seen you for a number of non- specific complaints since he returned to work. Mr Jones's employer...

Time to review your spouse's pension?
May 4, 2006... Last month's pension rule changes make a pension plan for your spouse very attractive, says Stuart Smith By now most readers will be aware of the new pension rules that took effect on 6 April. While some doctors may have already discovered...

PulseCareers: Why I set up a chambers for locums.
May 4, 2006... Taking the innovative step of setting up a locum chambers two years ago was a big gamble that has paid off and transformed his freelance career - Dr Richard Fieldhouse explains Apart from a six-month stint trying to be a GP principal, I've...

PulseCareers: CV Dr Howard Freeman.(Brief article)
May 4, 2006... What/who made you decide to go into general practice? At the time it was the in career option for medical students. Amazing how the wheel turns full circle. What would you have done if you hadn't been a doctor? Probably would have...

PulseCareers: Let's practise in Carlisle.(Brief article)
May 4, 2006... Factfile Population 101.480 Unemployment 4.9% Residents over 65 18% Each week we take a GP's-eye view of an area of the UK, this time we visit Carlisle Where? In Cumbria, close to the border between England...

PulseComment: Act to stop GP exodus.(Brief article)
May 4, 2006... With so many other calamities and catastrophes to deal with, the last thing on the Government's mind at the moment will be a potential crisis in retention of GPs. After all, getting GP numbers up has been one of its success stories. ...

Specialists prepare to dump kidney workload on GPs.
May 11, 2006... Renal units impose tough new referral guidelines and plan to shunt patients back to GPs Exclusive By Daniel Cressey GPs will be forced to take back up to half of their renal patients currently treated by specialists - and must...

Hewitt criticises GP depression care.(Brief article)
May 11, 2006... Pulse Action on depression Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt has claimed GPs are at least partly to blame for the crisis in access to depression services. In a letter to fellow minister Hilary Benn about Pulse's campaign on depression...

Study sparks fear over effectiveness of MMRschedule.(Measles-mumps-rubella )
May 11, 2006... Researchers find `concerning' lack of immunity in vaccinated children By Emma Wilkinson The Health Protection Agency is investigating whether two doses of MMR are sufficient to protect against mumps after its researchers found a...

NICE forced to delay its BP guidance.(National Institute for Clinical Excellence )(Blood Pressure)(Brief article)
May 11, 2006... NICE has delayed publication of its updated hypertension guidance after receiving a flood of consultation responses to the controversial draft document. The final guidance, which was due at the end of this month, will not be published...

GP's filly hits #1 million jackpot.(General Practitoners)(Brief article)
May 11, 2006... What started as a `bit of fun' has turned into a #1 million-plus goldmine for Dr Tom Davies after his horse won the 1,000 Guineas. Dr Davies, a GP in Hillingdon, London, watched in delight as three-year- old filly Speciosa romped home in...

GPs are offered #30 `bribe' for private centre referral.(General Practitioners)
May 11, 2006... GPs are being offered a #30-per-patient `bung' to refer patients to an underused independent sector treatment centre, writes Ian Cameron. Ashton, Leigh and Wigan PCT is offering the payment for every patient referred to the Greater...

Claim your pension without quitting.(Brief article)
May 11, 2006... GPs wanting to claim their pension and return to work no longer have to resign from the NHS first under new HM Revenue and Customs regulations. Until 5 April this year, GPs were required to leave their job for at least one day and then...

Pulse columnist wins top award.(Phil Peverley has scooped the top prize )(Brief article)
May 11, 2006... Dr Phil Peverley has scooped the top prize for columnists at the magazine industry's Oscars. The Sunderland GP, whose weekly column has appeared in Pulse since March last year, beat off six shortlisted rivals to become Columnist of the...

Even the keen pass up commissioning.(Brief article)
May 11, 2006... Even the most enthusiastic GPs are giving up on practice-based commissioning because of heavy-handed implementation of the scheme by PCTs. GPs are reporting a host of constraints being put on what they can do, including restrictions on...

InBrief: GP primary care in danger.(General Practitioners)(Brief article)
May 11, 2006... The GP-owned model of primary care is under threat from providers who can `offer a much wider range of services', primary care tsar Dr David Colin-Thome has warned. He told the Primary Care 2006 conference: `We may want and value GPs as...

InBrief: Profits average #118,000.(GMS partners)(Brief article)
May 11, 2006... Profits for GMS partners in the North-East of England increased 21 per cent to #118,000 on average in 2004/5. PMS GPs' profits increased 18 per cent to just under #129,000, figures from accountants R-M-T based on 102 practices showed. Fewer...

InBrief: BP checks missed in RA.(Blood Pressure)(Rheumatoid arthritis)(Brief article)
May 11, 2006... More than a third of rheumatoid arthritis patients do not have regular blood pressure checks, despite their increased cardiovascular risk, a new survey shows. Two-thirds of patients said their cholesterol was not checked and 69 per cent...

InBrief: Choose and Book easier.(Software released)(Brief article)
May 11, 2006... A new version of Choose and Book software released this week is modified to make it easier for GPs to use, Connecting for Health says. Release 3 requires GPs to make fewer mouse clicks to make a referral. Information, such as indicative waiting...

InBrief: No rush on rosuvastatin.(Brief article)
May 11, 2006... The National Prescribing Centre has warned a study suggesting intensive treatment with rosuvastatin could reverse atherosclerosis should not change practice. In a MeReC briefing, the centre said that although the ASTEROID study appeared to...

InBrief: Rotavirus vaccine move.(Brief article)
May 11, 2006... A vaccine to protect infants against rotavirus infection has been recommended for licensing by European Medicines Agency experts. The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use concluded marketing authorisation should be granted to RotaTeq,...