GP articles from February 2007

GP archives from February 2007

PMS GPs want MPIG to aid switch to GMS.(Personal medical services )(general medical services )
February 23, 2007... More than half of PMS GPs would consider returning to GMS contracts if they were guaranteed an MPIG or protected growth funding. Half would consider returning with an MPIG, and 59 per cent if growth money was protected. Practices...

Change quality targets to avert CHD time bomb.(coronary heart disease)(Brief article)(Clinical report)
February 23, 2007... GP appointments for CHD will rise by 40 per cent by 2020 unless the GMS quality framework is changed, according to a report by the charity Heart UK. GPs could face an extra 678,000 appointments every year, it warns. Professor Andrew...

Herpes treatment impedes HIV.(human immunodeficiency virus )(Brief article)
February 23, 2007... HIV-1 replication can be reduced with antiviral therapy directed at herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2), say US researchers. Treating HSV-2 infections was found to reduce genital and systemic levels of HIV-1. They concluded that more routine...

Adrenal gland gene therapy cuts HF risk.(heart failure)(Brief article)
February 23, 2007... Using gene therapy to reduce the adrenal gland's output of fight or flight hormones could protect against heart failure, US research suggests. The findings offer a strategy to treat heart failure and help to explain why sympatholytic...

Cell count predicts AMD.(age-related macular degeneration)(Brief article)
February 23, 2007... Elevated white blood cell (WBC) count can predict the risk of developing early age-related macular degeneration (AMD), Australian findings suggest. For the research, 3,654 people aged 49-97 had WBC count measured at baseline and rates of...

Research Brief: Chronic dizziness linked to psychiatric conditions'.(Brief article)
February 23, 2007... Chronic dizziness that cannot be ruled out as vertigo may be due to underlying psychiatric and neurological conditions, say US researchers. The study involved 345 patients aged 15-89 who had been referred for evaluation of dizziness for three...

Research Brief: Pulse pressure predictor of AF.(atrial fibrillation)(Brief article)
February 23, 2007... Increased pulse pressure is a good predictor of new onset AF, according to data from the US Framingham Heart Study. Among 5,331 adults, aged an average of 57, follow-up over 16 years showed that 363 men and 335 women developed AF. Analysis...

Research Brief: Prolactin treatment for MS.(multiple sclerosis)(Brief article)
February 23, 2007... Prolactin, a key pregnancy hormone, could be a treatment for MS because the hormone could boost myelin production. The latest study follows findings that MS goes into remission when a woman is pregnant Comparison of pregnant and virgin female...

Research Brief: Office pets cut stress.(Brief article)
February 23, 2007... Having a cat around the office could ease work place tension, suggests a stress-busting guide from New Scientist magazine. Animals are known to relieve stress. In Tokyo, Japan, an 'animal therapy' centre has been set up. Office workers can...

Male patients to sue over equality.
February 23, 2007... GPs could face legal action from patients if they fail to treat men and women equally, a men's health charity has warned. From 6 April, when the Equality Act 2006 comes into force, GPs and primary care organisations (PCOs) across the UK...

Screen for COPD in smokers over 40.(Brief article)
February 23, 2007... Smokers over 40 should be screened for COPD, say experts after UK research showed such a programme could detect up to 20 per cent of undiagnosed cases. It is hoped that a COPD screening programme will be included in the modified quality...

Records help target CKD.(chronic kidney disease)(Brief article)
February 23, 2007... Readily available clinical data can be used to identify most elderly patients at risk of rapid progression to kidney dysfunction, Canadian research suggests. It follows calls from the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh for GPs to...

DoH set to back five-yearly GP revalidation plan.(United kingdom Department of Health, General Practitioners)(Brief article)
February 23, 2007... A plan for five-yearly revalidations of GPs was expected from the DoH, which was due to publish its professional regulation White Paper as GP went to press. It is a response to the recommendations of the CMO's report, 'Good Doctors,...

GPs keen to cut carbon footprint.(general practitioners go for environmental friendly policy)
February 23, 2007... Nearly half of GPs want to go green by installing solar panels in their practice and one in three wants a wind turbine. A quarter want to set up a carbon offsetting policy for their practice, which could involve investment in development...

Time Warp.(Andrew Sanderson warned patient about adverse drug reaction)(Brief article)
February 23, 2007... A County Durham GP was stunned to receive a response to a yellow card warning he sent more than 23 years ago. Dr Andrew Sanderson reported a suspected adverse drug reaction in December 1983 after a patient taking an osteoarthritis drug gained...

Formula wait in Scotland and NI.(implementation of a global sum formula)(Brief article)
February 23, 2007... GPs in Scotland and Northern Ireland may have to wait a year longer than the rest of the UK for a new global sum formula to be implemented. The UK formula review team published proposals to update the Carr-Hill formula this month....

COPD remains underdiagnosed.(Chronic obstructive lung disease)(Brief article)
February 23, 2007... The latest GMS prevalence figures for COPD and asthma suggest that diagnostic confusion still exists, say respiratory experts. For COPD, overall prevalence was recorded at 1.7 per cent in 2005/6. This is an improvement on the figure...

GP firm wins controversial tender.(ChilversMcCrea Healthcare get contract with county councils)
February 23, 2007... The GP-owned firm ChilversMcCrea Healthcare has won a hotly disputed contract to run primary care services in Derbyshire. In December 2005, the European arm of UnitedHealth, a pounds 16 billion corporation, was awarded a contract to run...

Vaccine storage examined throughout Scotland.(Brief article)
February 23, 2007... Every GP practice in Scotland is to have their vaccine storage inspected by their health board after one board found serious flaws. An NHS Grampian review was launched after it emerged in November 2006 that vaccine had been stored at the...

The NHS fails to improve quality of care.(UK National Health Service)(Brief article)
February 23, 2007... Labour has failed to reform the NHS, according to an online poll of more than 3,000 doctors carried out for The Times newspaper which also found funding by taxation alone will not improve quality of care More than half of respondents said...

GP trainers' leadership network.(British Medical Association is setting up a network of General practitioner trainers)(Brief article)
February 23, 2007... The BMA is setting up a network of GP trainers. It will be made up of 19 GP trainers elected on a geographical basis by trainers in the BMA's database in each area. The network will operate as a 'virtual, electronic group' and the deadline...

GP rewarded for his contribution to health services.(General practitioner)(Brief article)
February 23, 2007... An east London GP received an award at the House of Lords from former health minister Lord Warner for his contribution to health services. Dr Bhupendra Sinha, of the Birchdale Road Medical Centre in Forest Gate, provides health awareness...

24-hour surgery plan.(Brief article)
February 23, 2007... Hospitals are being asked to consider round-the-clock surgery to help meet 18-week waiting targets. The 18-week target measures waiting times for hospital operations from a patient's first GP appointment Prime minister Tony Blair said that...

Civil service loses confidence in DoH.(UK Department of Health)
February 23, 2007... More than five in six of the DoH's senior civil servants do not think that it is well managed, according to figures from its own survey. The figure of 84 per cent compares to 49 per cent of all senior civil servants for the civil service...

Light bulbs hit by NHS cuts.(UK National Health Service)(Brief article)
February 23, 2007... Service cuts, minimum waiting times and even removing light bulbs from corridors are just a few of the NHS cost-cutting measures reported last week. Epsom and St Helier NHS Trust in Surrey, which needs to save pounds 24m, removed about...

High statin dose cuts risks in CHD.(coronary heart disease)(Brief article)
February 23, 2007... CHD patients should be kept on a high dose of statins by GPs to reduce the risk of heart failure, according to US research. The subgroup analysis of 10,000 men and women, aged between 35 and 75, found that patients with CHD, but without a...

Call to target adult Down's patients.(Down syndrome)
February 23, 2007... Primary Care Genetics Society - Down's syndrome treatment, funds and genetics referrals. GPs have been challenged to take on the long-term health surveillance and treatment of adults with common genetic disorders such as Down's syndrome....

Cash boost promise is only for Scotland.(Brief article)
February 23, 2007... The Primary Care Genetics Society (PCGS) launched last week amid concerns that in England the money behind the initiative to bring genetics into every GP practice is drying up. Meanwhile, the Scottish Executive has pledged an extra pounds...

Wide variation in genetic referrals between doctors.(Brief article)
February 23, 2007... Repeated surveys have shown that GPs are more confident than competent when dealing with genetic aspects of illness. Fifteen per cent of questionnaire respondents in South Derbyshire showed that they were 'confidently incompetent'. ...

Keep it in the family.(midwives services)(Brief article)
February 23, 2007... A retired Suffolk GP delivered his grandson Felix because midwives were overstretched. Dr Bill Pagan arrived at daughter Alison's home while she was in labour. She planned a home birth but midwives could not attend and sent an ambulance....

Computer survey is alternative for sexual histories.(Brief article)
February 23, 2007... A computer-based survey could help GPs gather sexual history information from patients, Australian research suggests. The study of 611 patients attending a sexual health centre showed that computer-assisted self-interview was acceptable...

Sterilisation rule changes will cost pounds 10k per practice.
February 23, 2007... GP practices that sterilise medical equipment on site face increases of more than pounds 10,000 a year in costs when European Union (EU) rules take effect in April, LMC leaders warn. The rules will force the 90 per cent of practices with...

Behind the Headlines: Could breast cancer drug save lives?(new drug for breast cancer treatment)
February 23, 2007... Media reports claim a new drug could save thousands of breast cancer patients. WHAT IS THE STORY? A new breast cancer drug could save the lives of more than 1,000 women a year, according to media reports. An eight-year study has...

Catch the doodle bug.(Public notice)
February 23, 2007... GPs wishing to reveal their daydreams in doodle form are invited to enter a fundraiser for charities Epilepsy Action and The Neurofibromatosis Association. Winners' work will be featured at www.nationaldoodleday.org.uk

Patient makes High Court bid for 'euthanasia'.(euthanasia for a terminally ill patient)
February 23, 2007... A 30-year-old terminally ill woman has begun a landmark legal action against several doctors, including her GP practice, for 'medical assistance to relieve her suffering'. Kelly Taylor, who suffers from Eisenmenger's syndrome, affecting...

More funds needed for new formula.(General Medical Service global sum formula)
February 23, 2007... The revised GMS global sum may be fairer but problems will not be solved without more investment, says Nick Bostock. After 18 months of work, a shiny new version of the Carr-Hill formula for England and Wales at least sits on the...

Letter: Encourage weight loss through price of flights.
February 23, 2007... Dear Editor Telling people that obesity can kill them doesn't really work. Apart from the threat of death, what incentive is there for the obese? Perhaps the government could use airlines to help save the effort and money wasted...

Letter: PBC delivery needs adequate premises.
February 23, 2007... Dear Editor I am a reluctant enthusiast for practice-based commissioning (PBC). As an ex-fundholder (like DoH primary care czar Dr David Colin-Thome), I believe that we could take resources from secondary care by doing work that is...

Opinion: Hips trump Reiki every time.(new medicine services planned for people in Northern Ireland)
February 23, 2007... Janet is in her mid-sixties and in chronic pain with osteoarthritis of the hip. She has other medical conditions, which are being further compromised by her lack of mobility. Instead of waiting months for an appointment and then months for an...

Opinion: Purchasing eggs for my chickens.(Viewpoint essay)
February 23, 2007... Sometimes in life we just go round in circles - like when Mr Scurvy can't get a dentist because his teeth are too disgusting, so I get asked to examine his gingivitis - but never has this been more obvious than at Selby Towers this weekend....

Editorial: An opportunity to abolish correction factor.(Editorial)
February 23, 2007... The GMS global sum review team have unveiled their bright and spanking new Carr-Hill formula, guaranteed to distribute funding more fairly in the future. Putting aside the information that Scotland and Northern Ireland might have to wait...

Opinion: Becoming a Salaried Service.(general practitioners service)
February 23, 2007... The media seems to be full of comments from high-profile medico-political GPs. Dr Eric Rose suggested in The Times that GPs are being softened up by the government for something - possibly the introduction of privatisation. But it could...

Clinical: Journals Watch - Cleft palate, condoms and DVT.(significance of folate intake during pregnancy)(duration of anticoagulation for patients of deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolus)(report on efficiency of condoms when used late during coitus)
February 23, 2007... Running short of time to read the journals? Allow Dr Gwen Lewis to be your guide to the latest findings. MORE BENEFITS OF FOLIC ACID IN PREGNANCY BMJ online doi: 10.1136/bmj.39079.618287.0B For some years pregnant women have been...

Clinical: Lung volume reduction surgery is effective.(evaluating efficiency of Lung volume reduction surgery on emphysema patients )
February 23, 2007... Growing evidence suggests lung surgery in emphysema patients is effective, say Dr Suneeta Kochhar and Mrs Karen Harrison-Phipps. Emphysema is a chronic lung disease largely attributable to smoking, characterised by alveolar wall...

Clinical: The management of pernicious anaemia.(Disease/Disorder overview)
February 23, 2007... THE BASICS Pernicious anaemia may present with neurological symptoms, reports Dr Laurence Knott. Pernicious anaemia is caused by impaired absorption of vitamin B12 in the terminal ileum. The process of absorption requires a...

Clinical: Websites about Parkinson's disease.(Clinical report)
February 23, 2007... A selection of websites relating to Parkinson's disease are recommended. PATIENT INFORMATION I complained recently about a dull charity website, so I suppose I must not complain about this rather garish bright purple homepage that...

Clinical: Parkinson's disease.(Disease/Disorder overview)
February 23, 2007... Contributed by Dr Katherine Grosset, a GP in Glasgow and hospital practitioner in neurology and Dr Donald Grosset, consultant neurologist at the Institute of Neurological Sciences, Southern General Hospital, Glasgow. 1. EPIDEMIOLOGY AND...

Clinical: Practice Dilemma - A case of confusion in a patient.
February 23, 2007... A home visit request for a confused elderly patient comes during a busy surgery. How should you proceed? THE DILEMMA On a busy day recently I was the duty doctor for the practice. I was in the middle of the Friday-afternoon surgery...

Registrar: Medico-Legal - Avoid relationships with patients.
February 23, 2007... Attitudes are changing towards dating patients but GPs should still play it safe, says Dr Michael Devlin. A GP registrar rang the MDU for advice after he met a woman he wanted to invite out on a date. This is not normally the sort of...

Registrar: MRCGP Exam Update - Management of epilepsy.(Member of the Royal College of General Practitioners)
February 23, 2007... WHAT IS THE SITUATION? - Epilepsy is a common, serious condition, affecting around 400,000 people in the UK. - It is estimated that 400 deaths a year due to epilepsy are avoidable. - GPs play a big role in making the initial...

MedEcomomics: Environment - How To ... go green at your surgery.
February 23, 2007... There are many options to help GP practices become more environmentally friendly. Carole Slingsby reports. Welcome to our 'Green GP' series. Over the coming weeks we will help practices to become more environmentally friendly, and to do...

MedEcomomics: How environmentally friendly are practices?
February 23, 2007... GPs want their surgeries to have less negative impact on the environment, says Carole Slingsby. Earlier this month, over 130 GPs took part in our survey about how environmentally friendly their surgeries are. The aim was to provide a...

MedEcomomics: The future of drug misuse services.
February 23, 2007... As one drugs strategy comes to an end, plans for a new one are in motion, Dr Linda Harris reports. The government's first ever 10-year drugs strategy will come to an end in 2008. Sub-groups and think tanks are already gathering to...

MedEcomomics: Avoid religious bias among your staff.
February 23, 2007... Rehan Pasha advises GPs on avoiding religious discrimination at the practice. It is now over three years since religious discrimination was outlawed in the workplace through the Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations. ...

MedEcomomics: Competing for primary care.
February 23, 2007... GPs are joining forces using APMS and commissioning consortia to fend off rivals, says Fiona Barr. Many long-standing traditions are disappearing and so it is when replacing GPs. The traditional approach to filling a vacant practice when...

MedEcomomics: Subletting, pensions and housing letters.
February 23, 2007... PRACTICE TENDER We are a two-partner practice and hear that when one partner leaves or retires the PCT may take the practice over leaving out the remaining GP. Is this correct? In a two-partner practice, when one leaves, the...

MedEcomomics: Software tool will check data entry.
February 23, 2007... Dr Paul Roper foresaw hospital data validation issues and asked his IT colleagues to provide a solution. Validation of hospital data is a must if practice-based commissioning is to succeed and money is not to be lost. The data comes...

GP Life: The joys of farm life and fresh air.(general practitioner)
February 23, 2007... A relocation to a wonderfully rustic farm was just the change needed, says Dr Bruce Herriot. In 1998, having been the village GPs and living next to the surgery for 10 years, my wife and I decided that a move away from our workplace was...

GP Life: Classical CD of the month.(Schumann and Schubert Works for Cello and Piano)(Sound recording review)
February 23, 2007... Name: Schumann & Schubert Works for Cello and Piano Composers: Robert Schumann, Franz Schubert Artist: Antonio Meneses (cello), Gerard Wyss (pianoforte) Label: Avie Restrained but profound, the pair find the deep reflections on...

GP Life: Quick cook tips for busy GPs.(general practitioners)
February 23, 2007... A team effort can keep ready meals at bay even for busy parents, says full-time GP Dr Anita Sharma. With a husband who is a physician, I took the lion's share of housework and childcare. As both mother and a GP, my main duty was towards...

Plain Tales from the Surgery.
February 23, 2007... MECHANICAL RESPONSE A patient presented herself to me with a 'problem downstairs'. When I asked her for more details, she enlightened me further by saying: 'I have a very red, irritating Volvo.' I must admit that my Mondeo is ready...

Independent Nurse: Regulation - White Paper could spell end of professional self-regulation.(Trust, Assurance and Safety - The Regulation of Health Professionals)(Brief article)
February 23, 2007... The government is to publish a White Paper on healthcare regulation this week, which will decide the future of the NMC. The White Paper, Trust, Assurance and Safety - The Regulation of Health Professionals in the 21st Century, is the...

Independent Nurse: Prescribing - DoH to consult on nurse prescribing of CDs.(Department of Health)(controlled drugs)(Association for Nurse Prescribing conference)(Brief article)
February 23, 2007... The DoH is expected to consult on allowing independent nurse prescribers to prescribe all controlled drugs (CDs) in the near future. When questioned by substance misuse nurses at the Association for Nurse Prescribing (ANP) conference in...

Independent Nurse: Heart Disease - SIGN: screen over 40s for CHD.(coronary heart disease)
February 23, 2007... Scottish guidance on cardiovascular disease recommends all patients over 40 be screened for CHD and stroke and that patients with a risk of 20 per cent or more over 10 years should be considered for statins. The guidance broadly supports...

Independent Nurse: Quality Framework - QOF targets for CKD come under attack.(quality and outcomes framework)(chronic kidney disease)(Brief article)
February 23, 2007... Quality and outcomes framework (QOF) targets for chronic kidney disease (CKD) are 'dangerous' a consensus group has decided. Practices are given four QOF points for managing hypertensive CKD patients with ACE inhibitors or angiotensin...

Independent Nurse: Quality Framework - Screening tools rule depression out not in.(quality outcome framework)(Brief article)
February 23, 2007... The depression screening tools used in the QOF should only be used to rule out a diagnosis of depression according to a systematic review. As many as 62 per cent of patients identified as depressed by two-item screening tests will...

Independent Nurse: Children's services.(Sheila Shribman's views)(Brief article)
February 23, 2007... All staff working in GP practices and health centres need paediatric skills according to the DoH's director of children's services Dr Sheila Shribman. In her 'Clinical case for change' document, she says staff working in first contact care...

Independent Nurse: Nurse practitioners.(Jenny Aston has been elected chair of the Nurse Practitioner Association)(Brief article)
February 23, 2007... Jenny Aston has been elected chair of the RCN's Nurse Practitioner Association. Ms Aston is a nurse practitioner at the Grove Surgery, Thetford, Norfolk and works in A&E as an emergency nurse practitioner She replaces Benny Harston who will...

Independent Nurse: Nice.(National Institute for Clinical Excellence)(Brief article)
February 23, 2007... The DoH has asked NICE to produce a clinical guideline on rheumatoid arthritis in adults and evaluate certolizumab pegol as a treatment. NICE has also been asked to produce recommendations on diarrhoea and vomiting in children as well as...

Independent Nurse: Education.(Brief article)
February 23, 2007... Two nurse academics have called for a complete overhaul of nursing education. Writing in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine Professor Linda Shields, of the University of Hull, and Professor Roger Watson, of the University of...

Independent Nurse: Sexual health.(Brief article)
February 23, 2007... The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is looking at making more medicines for women available OTC, including treatment for heavy periods and the contraception pill. It has initiated discussions with industry,...

Independent Nurse: ANP Conference - ANP holds first debate on CPD standards for nurse prescribers.(Association for Nurse Prescribing )(Brief article)
February 23, 2007... Nurses are divided on whether prescribing CPD should be undertaken in addition to the current CPD requirements of the 150 hours over three years needed for PREP. Liz Plastow, the NMC lead on standards for prescribing, is conducting...

Independent Nurse: Vital Statistics - Third sector.(Brief article)
February 23, 2007... 60% of third sector companies are successful when they bid for healthcare services. 1,600 third sector companies intend to move into health and social care over the next three to five years 80% satisfaction rates among commissioners...

Independent Nurse: Journals Watch - Antibiotics do not increase a child's risk of asthma.(Brief article)
February 23, 2007... UK researchers studied the records of 642 children and their parents and found that, although the children had more infections before the age of five and more antibiotic treatment than their parents, there was no link to increased atopy and...

Independent Nurse: Journals Watch - Teen smokers should be informed of blindness risk.(Brief article)
February 23, 2007... A study of 260 clubbers aged between 16 and 18 across the UK found most feared blindness more than cancer or stroke but nine out of 10 were unaware smoking was linked to age-related macular degeneration. The figure dropped to 2 per cent among...

Independent Nurse: Journals Watch - Early onset Parkinson's link to pathological gambling.(Brief article)
February 23, 2007... A US study of 62 outpatients found Parkinson's patients who become pathological gamblers were more likely to have suffered onset of the disease at age 60, compared with age 66 in non-gamblers. Gamblers were also more likely to be taking...

Independent Nurse: Journals Watch - Hospital stays have silver lining.(Brief article)
February 23, 2007... Researchers from Bart's Hospital and the London NHS Trust are to test the infection-resistance of silver to MRSA. They intend to make silver fabrics into pyjamas and bed linen for 300 patients who have tested positive for MRSA on their skin

Independent Nurse: Nurse prescribers cut errors and save beds.(Brief article)
February 23, 2007... Employing diabetes specialist nurse prescribers in secondary care reduces costs, prescribing errors and length of stay according to research presented to the ANP conference in London last week. The study, carried out in Peterborough,...

Independent Nurse: Staff nurses to access community formulary.(Nursing and Midwifery Council)(Brief article)
February 23, 2007... The NMC is proposing that all staff nurses working in the community should be able to prescribe from the Nurse Prescribers' Formulary for Community Practitioners. The change will speed up care, allowing them to prescribe dressings and...

Independent Nurse: GMS Contract - Global sum review will hit practice income.(General Medical Services)
February 23, 2007... Core pay for GMS practices in rural areas or with large elderly populations could fall by up to 30 per cent under proposed changes to the global sum formula. Joint proposals from the BMA and NHS Employers, which are now out for...

Independent Nurse: World Outbreak Information - Week beginning 19 February.(Brief article)
February 23, 2007... CHINA Health officials in Beijing have reported a case of rabies in the capital. Rural/long-stay travellers may wish to consider pre-exposure rabies immunisation. All travellers should know what steps to take if bitten. JAVA ...

Independent Nurse: 40% cut in health visitor training places.(Brief article)
February 23, 2007... The number of health visitors being trained in England this year has been cut by 40 per cent according to figures obtained by Amicus/CPHVA under the Freedom of Information Act. More than three-quarters of higher education institutions...

Independent Nurse: Nurses should copy patients in on letters.(Brief article)
February 23, 2007... Nurses and doctors need to make more effort to routinely copy letters to their patients health minister Rosie Winterton has warned. Her comments follow a DoH survey that showed nearly seven out of 10 patients referred to a specialist in...

Independent Nurse: News focus - Time to link health and social care.
February 23, 2007... The government's lead GP has launched a clinical case for a change in primary care. Judy Sands looks at his ideas. The national director for primary care, Dr David Colin-Thome believes enough money has gone into primary care practices and...