GP articles from June 2007

GP archives from June 2007

Exclusive: Pay rise is number one priority for GPs.(Survey)
June 29, 2007... More than a third of GPs believe that the top priority for GPC negotiators for 2008/9 should be to achieve a pay rise, a GP survey has revealed. This is an increase of 16 per cent compared with survey results from last year (GP, 1...

Meldrum backed to lead BMA.(Hamish Meldrum, British Medical Association)(Brief article)
June 29, 2007... Two thirds of LMC representatives believe that GPC chairman Dr Hamish Meldrum should be the next BMA chairman, according to the results of a GP survey. Sixty-eight per cent of GPs said that Dr Meldrum should be elected, ahead of the...

Behind The Headlines: Do fad diets cause bowel cancer?
June 29, 2007... Do low-carb dieters face a higher risk of bowel cancer? Jacky Law investigates. WHAT IS THE STORY? Low-carbohydrate diets such as the Atkins diet could increase the risk of colon cancer, according to media reports. Scottish...

Opinion: The best days of your life.(surgery skills)(Viewpoint essay)
June 29, 2007... I had an A-level student in for work experience last week. It's not that I particularly enjoy having a nauseating adolescent about the place, but, you know, we have to live up to our responsibilities in the community, noblesse obligay and all...

Opinion: If I could hone this blunt instrument.(significance of the sense of smell)(Viewpoint essay)
June 29, 2007... People smell. This is never more apparent than when Mr Whiffy comes to call, bringing the overwhelming odour of unwashed pants even though he isn't wearing any. Mr Whiffy's pants are long gone, but they have imparted their unique smell to...

Clinical: Journals Watch - Laxatives, memory and depression.(research on mental disorders)
June 29, 2007... Too busy to read all the journals? Let Dr Nicolette Price keep you up to date with the research. MEMORY AND WELL-BEING IN OLDER ADULTS - AGING MENT HEALTH 2007; 11: 291-300 When I began reading this, I hoped to discover a conclusion...

Clinical: The treatment of febrile convulsions.
June 29, 2007... THE BASICS Dr Laurence Knott outlines how to diagnose and treat febrile convulsions. Febrile convulsions are seizures associated with a high temperature, precipitated by an infection arising outside the nervous system, in a child...

Clinical: Heavy menstrual bleeding.
June 29, 2007... Centre for Women's and Children's Health and Professor Mary Ann Lumsden, professor of gynaecology, University of Glasgow. 1. AETIOLOGY AND EPIDEMIOLOGY Studies show that heavy menstrual bleeding has an adverse effect on the quality...

Clinical: Tips for diagnosing Parkinson's.(Disease/Disorder overview)
June 29, 2007... Early referral to a specialist is key to managing Parkinson's disease, says Dr Nick Lance. A recent survey showed that 94 per cent of GPs felt they had no specialist knowledge of Parkinson's disease and under a third did not refer...

Clinical: A guide to drug therapy in HIV.(human immunodeficiency virus)(Drug overview)
June 29, 2007... Since its first identification, treatment of HIV has been revolutionised, write Dr Lance Turtle and Dr Raj Thakkar. Since the advent of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) for the treatment of HIV infection this area of medicine...

Clinical: Websites on heavy menstrual bleeding.
June 29, 2007... Dr Keith Barnard recommends websites related to this week's Clinical Review. ASSESSING FLOW What constitutes heavy menstrual bleeding may often be in the eyes of the patient. The perceived severity of menstrual blood loss...

MedEconomics: Recruitment - How to... recruit your perfect practice partner.
June 29, 2007... Choosing a partner can be daunting, but it is worth taking your time, says Richard Banyard. Although not quite an endangered species, new GP partners are a lot less common than they used to be - mainly because of the steady increase in...

MedEconomics: Mentoring overseas medical students.
June 29, 2007... Sharing your GP knowledge with students in the developing world is rewarding, says Dr Vibhore Prasad. Have you reached a stage in your career at which you feel able to help a younger or less experienced health professional? If so, have...

MedEconomics: Vista's attractions remain obscure.
June 29, 2007... Microsoft has issued a new version of Windows, Vista. Dr Fraser Hadden tried it out. As a shameless techie, I have been using Microsoft's Vista operating system since it was launched in January. However, the previous incarnation, XP,...

MedEconomics: Profit shares, retirement and premises.
June 29, 2007... PROFIT SHARES I initially joined my practice as a fixed-share partner on a profit share of pounds 65,000. I was not told that I would be responsible for making the full 20 per cent NHS superannuation payments (employer's 14 per cent and...

MedEconomics: Do your sums before buying second home.
June 29, 2007... A second home should be a place to relax, not an additional source of stress, warns Liz Willis. Many people like the idea of a second home as a bolt-hole from the stresses of everyday life. Indeed, in the UK, there are more than 350,000...

GP Life: Greening the luxury saloon.(Lexus GS 450h)(Product/service evaluation)
June 29, 2007... Small Mercedes saloon cars have always been popular with GPs. The C-Class too small? Try the new B-Class hatchback. It may have been the sheer poise and elegance of the GS450h that first impressed me, but the true beauty of this car is...

GP Life: We emigrated to Tasmania.
June 29, 2007... GPs thinking of a move overseas would do well here, says Dr Andrew Croft. I first visited Tasmania in 1988 during my elective, returned on honeymoon and later with the children. When we tired of the stresses of general practice in the...

GP Life: My Favourite Gadget... Leica pocket binoculars.(Leica Leitz Trinovid and Leica Leitz Ultravid)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
June 29, 2007... Leica Leitz Trinovid 10x25 BCA pounds 340 Leica Leitz Ultravid 10 x 25 BR pounds 449 Leica's lens technology and obsessive attention to quality have made my Trinovids lifelong companions on many adventures. There are bigger,...

GP Life: My favourite software... Serif PagePlus.(Serif Page Plus 11)(Product/service evaluation)
June 29, 2007... If you have ever tried to produce more than a single-page leaflet or newsletter in Microsoft Word you know its limitations. But look at professional leaflets or this magazine - you can create this quality on your PC with PagePlus. Last...

Plain Tales from the Surgery.
June 29, 2007... OVER EXPOSURE A young lady came to see me recently with a vaginal discharge. I gave her some metronidazole but she returned two days later to say the problem had not cleared up. I advised her to stick it out for a little bit longer....

'Pharmacists should do GPs' work, say MPs.(Brief article)
June 29, 2007... GPs may lose quality framework work worth up to pounds 8,000 to community pharmacists, a report this week by parliament's All Party Pharmacy Group (APPG) has suggested. GPC negotiators have warned that handing GP services to pharmacists...

BMA conference calls on CMO to resign over GMC.(Sir Liam Donaldson, British Medical Association, General Medical Council)(Conference news)(Brief article)
June 29, 2007... Doctors' leaders have called for the 'immediate resignation' of CMO Sir Liam Donaldson. At the 2007 BMA Annual Representatives Meeting in Torquay this week, they called for new leadership to allow confidence in the post to be rebuilt....

Rheumatoid factor increases CHD risk.(coronary heart disease)
June 29, 2007... Healthy men who have the natu-rally occurring autoantibody rheumatoid factor in their blood are three times more likely to develop heart disease than men who do not have the factor, according to a UK study. Previous research has shown...

Maternal depression increases risk of SIDS.(sudden infant death syndrome)(Brief article)
June 29, 2007... Depression during pregnancy and after birth can increase the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), particularly if the mother is depressed in the year before delivery, UK research has suggested. Findings, presented at the Royal...

Self-monitoring in doubt for type-2 diabetes.(Brief article)
June 29, 2007... Self-monitoring of blood glucose levels does not improve blood glucose control in non-insulin using type-2 diabetics, claim UK researchers. The findings, presented at the American Diabetes Association Conference in Chicago last week,...

Research brief: Gene therapy brings relief to Parkinson's sufferers.(Brief article)
June 29, 2007... Injecting a gene directly into the brain can substantially relieve the symptoms of Parkinson's disease, claim US researchers. For the study, 12 Parkinson's sufferers were treated with different doses of the gene, which was injected into the...

Research brief: Weight management outdoes weight counselling.(Brief article)
June 29, 2007... Children who participated in a family-based weight-management programme had better outcomes for weight gain, body fat, BMI and insulin sensitivity compared with children who received traditional weight counselling in a clinic. The US study...

Research brief: Echinacea halves risk of catching colds.(Brief article)
June 29, 2007... Taking the herbal remedy echinacea can more than halve the risk of catching a cold, according to US research. The researchers combined the results of 14 different studies on echinacea's anti-cold properties Using echinacea alone was found to...

Research brief: Darts doubles players' heart rates.(Brief article)
June 29, 2007... Playing a game of darts can be bad for your heart, according to UK research. Researchers found that a game of darts could more than double the average player's heart rate, to a level found in football players. A combination of hot venues, the...

Patients fight for small practices.
June 29, 2007... A PCT with an explicit policy not to replace single-handed practices is subject to a High Court challenge by patients. Islington PCT closed Dr Mrigendra Nandi's Finsbury Park practice in north London shortly after he died on 23 January....

Insulin pump therapy saves pounds 38,000 a year.(Brief article)
June 29, 2007... Using insulin pump therapy could save PCTs up to pounds 38,000 per 100 patients per year, UK research has shown. The findings add to increasing evidence for the use of insulin pumps in type-1 diabetics, which has led to a re-appraisal of...

DoH is second worst performer says Cabinet.(United Kingdom Department of Health)(Brief article)
June 29, 2007... The DoH is the second worst performing government department, with problems or morale and delivery, according to a Cabinet report. The Capability Report commissioned by Cabinet secretary Sir Gus O'Donnell outlines a raft of key failings...

DoH extends APMS in north west of England.(Brief article)
June 29, 2007... The DoH is pushing ahead with controversial plans to introduce APMS contracts in notoriously under-doctored areas. Plans for 12 new GP practices in four areas: Ashton, Leigh and Wigan; Bolton; Accrington, East Lancashire; and Manchester...

A helping hand in Bangladesh.(William Dunne helps in raising funds for medical center)(Brief article)
June 29, 2007... A remote village in Bangladesh is celebrating the opening of a medical centre thanks to the work of a Wirral GP. Dr William Dunne and a Bangladeshi friend raised funds to provide the impoverished village of Teghoria in the north east of the...

Doctors to see closed e-records.
June 29, 2007... Clinicians anywhere in England will be able to access summary care records - even for patients who choose to restrict access to their data, Connecting for Health has admitted. The NHS IT agency believes measures to protect patient data...

NICE decision on osteoporosis drug challenged.(United Kingdom. National Institute for Clinical Excellence)(Brief article)
June 29, 2007... The National Osteoporosis Society will appeal a decision by NICE that could leave hundreds of thousands of people without viable treatment options. A spokesperson on behalf of the bone health charity said it welcomed a change in the...

HPV vaccine plan may hit smear test uptake.(Brief article)
June 29, 2007... HPV vaccination for schoolgirls aged 12 and 13 will be introduced as early as autumn next year, after receiving the green light from the DoH. But experts have stressed the importance of continuing the national cervical cancer-screening...

Online surgery is a winner.(Brief article)
June 29, 2007... The Marple Cottage Surgery, Stockport, has won a Connecting for Health prize for IT innovation for its secure online consultation system for patients. Practice manager Johan Taylor said: 'This is a great way to tap into people who can't or...

BMA backs patients buying non-NHS services.(British Medical Association Annual Representative Meeting )(Brief article)
June 29, 2007... Patients should be able to buy medication not available on the NHS and remain NHS patients, doctors' leaders believe. Doctors at the 2007 BMA Annual Representative Meeting called for all UK health department to change their rules on this...

Judicial review of GP pensions agreed.(British Medical Association, general practitioners)(Brief article)
June 29, 2007... The BMA has been granted a judicial review of the DoH's decision to cap GP pensions. GPC chairman, Dr Hamish Meldrum: 'There is a very important principle at stake which is that when the government makes agreements it should stick to them.'...

Hewitt dismisses Conservative 'rhetoric' on health.(Patricia Hewitt)(Brief article)
June 29, 2007... Health secretary Patricia Hewitt dismissed the content of the Conservative Party health White Paper as 'more rhetoric than real' Speaking at the NHS Confederation conference in London last week, she said the core of 'NHS Autonomy and...

GPs called to front line of domestic abuse.(Brief article)
June 29, 2007... GPs have been called on to take the lead in the fight to tackle domestic abuse. The BMA warned last week that the UK is in the grip of an 'unspoken' epidemic of domestic abuse with 350,000 cases reported each year. It is urging GPs to call...

Online map pinpoints specialist MS centres.(Brief article)
June 29, 2007... An interactive map enabling GPs to locate specialist MS centres throughout the UK has been produced by the MS Trust and MS Society. This goes some way to enabling the first recommendation of the NICE MS guidelines - that patients should have...

NHS told to reduce its carbon footprint.(Brief article)
June 29, 2007... An independent think tank has warned the NHS Confederation that lives will be lost if the health service fails severely to reduce its carbon footprint. The New Economics Foundation's 'Taking the Temperature: towards an NHS response to global...

BMA calls for part-time training for junior doctors.(British Medical Association)(Brief article)
June 29, 2007... Junior doctors should be allowed to train part-time, according to the BMA. Three in five doctors graduating from UK medical schools are now women and the NHS could face a staffing crisis because many opt to go part-time after having children

Reports firms owe GPs pounds 600,000.
June 29, 2007... Thousands of GPs are owed around pounds 2,000 on average after two medical reporting firms went into administration. Administrators from auditing firm KPMG are investigating after IMS, trading as IMS Indem-nity Ltd and IMS Litigation,...

GPs urged to update breastfeeding help.(survey)(Survey)(Brief article)
June 29, 2007... More than half of all healthcare professionals are giving new mothers outdated breastfeeding advice - with GPs and paediatri-cians scoring far worse than health visitors and midwives. According to research from Coventry University's...

Hewitt slams GP reps.(Patricia Hewitt )(Brief article)
June 29, 2007... Health secretary Patricia Hewitt launched a veiled attack on GP representatives whose political designs she said blurred the real picture of opinion on the NHS front line. Earlier this month the LMCs conference passed a motion of no...

HRT therapy can cut calcification of the arteries.(hormone replacement therapy )(Brief article)
June 29, 2007... Oestrogen-only hormone repla-cement therapy (HRT) has been shown to significantly reduce the risk of one predictor of heart attacks, calcification of the arteries - in post-menopausal women. Results from the Women's Health Initiative...

Lansley promises clinician-led NHS.(health secretary Andrew Lansley)(United Kingdom. National Health Service)
June 29, 2007... The Conservatives' pledges put GPs in the spotlight by challenging Labour's stronghold writes Prisca Middlemiss. GPs are set to oust PCTs as the NHS' key commissioners and budget-holders in England, if the Conservative Party has its way....

Editorial: PCT policy gives patients Hobson's choice.(primary care trust)(Editorial)
June 29, 2007... The DoH may have been criticised last week for having too many initiatives but no clear prioritisation or implementation strategy, but we are all clear on the overriding vision behind this chaos - patient choice. Delivering choice...

Opinion: Free markets in the NHS.(National Health Service)(Viewpoint essay)
June 29, 2007... Good heavens. I actually agree with something Patricia Hewitt has said. Commenting on Gordon Brown's idea of removing the NHS from direct political control, she said it would be better to build on existing reforms. In particular, she...

Independent Nurse: Health visitors should focus on children, says DoH review.(Department of Health)(Brief article)
June 29, 2007... Health visitors should focus primarily on child health according to a review of the service commissioned by the government. The review says that research shows health visitors make the biggest difference working with pre-school children and...

Independent Nurse: HPV vaccination campaign likely to start in 2008.(human papillomavirus)(Brief article)
June 29, 2007... The government has agreed, in principle, to introduce an HPV vaccine into the childhood immunisation schedule for all girls aged between 12 and 13 years. However, its final decision will rest on an independent peer review of a cost...

Independent Nurse: Nurse prescribers still use CMPs.(clinical management plans)(Survey)
June 29, 2007... A substantial number of nurses still use supplementary prescribing, six months after the full formulary was opened to nurse prescribers. Researchers from Reading University conducted a national survey of 1,400 nurse prescribers and found...

Independent Nurse: Dementia - Two-stage screening improves diagnosis.(Brief article)
June 29, 2007... A two-stage screening method helps primary care clinicians detect up to 70 per cent more cases of dementia, a Dutch study has revealed. The method, which involves identifying high-risk patients with a postal questionnaire followed by...

Independent Nurse: Government scraps CVD screening plan.(cardiovascular)(Brief article)
June 29, 2007... The government's planned national CVD screening programme for over-40s has been scrapped. The programme was originally mooted for a national roll-out in England in April this year, but a DoH spokeswoman has confirmed that it had been...

Independent Nurse: Scotland.(Nicola Sturgeon, health minister)(Brief article)
June 29, 2007... The new Scottish health minister has announced she will not advocate the private sector competing with the NHS. Nicola Sturgeon told the NHS Confederation annual conference in London last week that she did not believe markets in healthcare...

Independent Nurse: Breastfeeding.(Brief article)
June 29, 2007... New research from Coventry University has found that almost half of all midwives, health visitors and GPs are not aware of current UK and WHO guidance on the ideal length of time for babies to be exclusively breastfed. Mothers should...

Independent Nurse: Controlled drugs.(regulation for nurses prescribing controlled drugs)(Brief article)
June 29, 2007... The RCN has told the Home Office that current restrictions around nurses prescribing controlled drugs could be contravening the human rights of patients in terms of equal access to treatment. RCN general secretary Peter Carter said there was...

Independent Nurse: NHS Direct.(National Health Service)(Brief article)
June 29, 2007... Doctors are calling for an inquiry into NHS Direct claiming that it is referring too many patients and putting a strain on GPs and emergency services. However, latest figures show NHS Direct deals with 34 per cent of all calls, 34 per cent of...

Independent Nurse: TB.(care for tuberculosis patients)(Brief article)
June 29, 2007... Specialist nurses should be employed by PCTs as case managers for TB patients even in those areas with low-incidence of the disease. The recommendation is part of a new government tool kit for commissioners and providers of TB services which...

Independent Nurse: Advanced nurse practitioner register delayed until 2009.(Brief article)
June 29, 2007... The NMC's register for advanced nurse practitioners is likely to be put on hold until 2009, a summer school at London Southbank University was told this month. RCN nurse practitioner adviser Katrina Maclaine said a DoH and stakeholder...

Independent Nurse: Journals watch.
June 29, 2007... CHILDREN OF SMOKERS SUFFER HIGHER LEVELS OF NICOTINE TOXIN UK researchers examined 104 urine samples from 12-week old infants. They found children with at least one parent who smoked recorded 5.5 times higher levels of cotinine, a...

Independent Nurse: Vital statistics - Diabetes.(Brief article)
June 29, 2007... 1 in 4 diabetic patients aged 16 to 34 are unaware whether they have type-1 or type-2 diabetes 26.5% of diabetes patients over the age of 70 are also unsure of their disease type 750,000 people with type-2 diabetes do not know they...

Independent Nurse: Tool kit offers guide to commissioning.(Brief article)
June 29, 2007... A tool kit has been published for primary care nurses to advise them on how to take advantage of current government reforms around commissioning and providing services. The London Network for Nurses and Midwives has devised the tool kit,...

Independent Nurse: Wales follows lead of Scotland over pay.(Brief article)
June 29, 2007... Wales is aiming to follow Scotland's lead in implementing the 2.5 per cent nurse pay rise in full. New Welsh Assembly health minister Edwina Hart has promised to examine current budgets to see if the pay rise can be given in full to...

Independent Nurse: GPs press for sick note reform.(general practitioners)(Brief article)
June 29, 2007... GPs are pushing the government for an overhaul of the medical certification system so that nurse practitioners can sign off sick notes. In fact, the BMA's GP Committee (GPC) wants to see an end to short-term sickness certification as the...

Independent Nurse: World outbreak information - Week beginning 25 June.(Brief article)
June 29, 2007... VIETNAM Media sources have reported a further two human cases of avian influenza in Thanh Hoa and Ha Nam provinces in the north of the country this month. This brings the total incidence to 93 cases with 42 deaths in the country....

Independent Nurse: GPs support nurse practitioner register.(general practitioners)(Brief article)
June 29, 2007... GPs have thrown their weight behind the NMC's proposed standards for advanced nurse practitioners. At the LMC conference they called for a nationally defined system of training and accreditation for nurse practitioners working in general...

Independent Nurse: Fight to keep nurses attached to practices.(Brief article)
June 29, 2007... GPs will fight to ensure community nurses remain attached to individual practices. The LMC conference was told that the move to centralise district nurse and health visitor teams had led to the demise of an effective primary care team. The...

Independent Nurse: News focus - NICE's decision-making under fire.(National Institute for Clinical Excellence)
June 29, 2007... NICE is facing judicial and parliamentary investigation of its decision-making ability. Prisca Middlemiss investigates. NICE's recent draft recommendation on bortezomib (Velcade) has been seen by many as an acknowledgment that it needs to...

Independent Nurse: News focus - UK action plan fails to halt TB spread.
June 29, 2007... Cases of TB continue to rise at an alarming rate in the UK, despite a government action plan. Jennifer Veitch investigates. Half a century ago, hopes were high that tuberculosis, a deadly disease that had claimed the lives of countless...

Independent Nurse: Editorial - The ANP register is of vital importance.(advanced nurse practitioners, Nursing and Midwifery Council )(Editorial)
June 29, 2007... This week's news that the NMC's register for advanced nurse practitioners (ANPs) looks likely to be put on hold until 2009 (page 5) is disappointing. While it is understandable that the register may have to wait until the issue of...

Independent Nurse: Opinion - What will Mr Brown have in store for us?(Gordon Brown)
June 29, 2007... Gordon Brown takes over as prime minister this week. So what will it mean for us? One thing we can be almost certain of is that there will be a new secretary of state for health under Mr Brown, but will there be other changes? Mr Brown...

Independent Nurse: Opinion - Contraception has become a forgotten service.
June 29, 2007... When contraceptive services are compromised, it stores up problems for years to come, says Anne Weyman. In November 2004, the DoH made a remarkable announcement: to implement the Choosing Health white paper, pounds 300 million would be...

Independent Nurse: The big question - Should child obesity be treated as neglect?
June 29, 2007... Media reports this month revealed obesity has played a part in at least 20 child protection cases in the past year. Meanwhile, the BMA will debate whether child obesity should be a child-protection issue at its conference this week. Is this...

Independent Nurse: Clinical - Weighing up the use of LABAs asthma.(long-acting beta agonists)
June 29, 2007... Long-acting beta agonists may be associated with asthma exacerbations. Mr Bhavin Upadhyay and Dr Neil Upadhyay investigate. Long-acting beta-2 agonists (LABAs) are widely used. The BTS/SIGN guidelines on asthma suggest commencing LABAs...

Independent Nurse: Clinical Diabetes - Understanding the risks of tighter glycaemic control.
June 29, 2007... The push for tighter glycaemic control may have disadvantages, write Dr Praveen Pathmanaban and Professor Steve Bain. There is an increasing push to-wards tighter control of blood glucose levels in patients with diabetes, leading to...

Independent Nurse: Clinical Orthopaedics - Anterior shoulder dislocation.(Clinical report)
June 29, 2007... Shoulder dislocation requires careful rehabilitation, write Dr Suneeta Kochhar and Mr M Haydar Hassan. A shoulder will usually dislocate anteriorly, which means the head of the humerus will be in front of the glenoid. This can occur due...

Independent Nurse: Clinical Q&A - Practice dilemmas.(treatment for menorrhagia)(treatment for urinary incontinence)(treatment for the intravenous urogram)
June 29, 2007... Norethisterone use in a patient with menorrhagia, managing a patient with nocturia and normal blood tests, plus investigating and referring a possible case of ureteric stones. Our experts answer your queries. Q: A 45-year-old female...

Independent Nurse: Clinical focus - Infected atopic eczema.(Disease/Disorder overview)
June 29, 2007... OVERALL KEY POINTS - Atopic eczema is one of the most frequent dermatological consultations in primary care. - Golden crusts, oozing, pustulation and/or cellulitis with erythema suggest bacterial infection. - For limited...

Independent Nurse: Clinical - Male cancer awareness - Oncology.(Clinical report)
June 29, 2007... Lung and bowel cancers are among the most common cancers in men Professor Morag Gray provides an overview. Most lung cancers start in the lining of the bronchi, but they can also begin in areas such as the trachea, bronchioles or alveoli....