http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8078500.stm http://www.politics.co.uk/news/2013/09/23/mmr-jab-or-else-cruddas-alarms-labour-with-benefit-claimant http://blogs.crikey.com.au/croakey/2011/11/25/new-immunisation-incentives-are-good-policy-but-merit-sensible-debate/ http://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2013/06/24/jaana-ahlblad-and-paivi-hietanen-finnish-baby-boxes-could-this-joy-be-reproduced/ http://www.hpa.org.uk/webc/HPAwebFile/HPAweb_C/1317135476062
Continue Reading →Inside Health 8/10/13 – Shingles and caffeinated alcohol
Shingles https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/239892/2013181_Shingles_QA_for_healthcare_professionals_final.pdf http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Shingles/Pages/causes.aspx http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/vaccinations/Pages/shingles-vaccine-questions-and-answers.aspx https://www.gov.uk/government/news/phe-welcomes-changes-to-the-uk-vaccination-programme http://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/medicine/25927 http://www.immunisationscotland.org.uk/vaccines-and-diseases/shingles.aspx https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/shingles-vaccination-training-slideset-for-healthcare-professionals http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD008858.pub2/abstract;jsessionid=3EF93E51CA456D8329387F2C82B3ED40.d01t01 Caffeinated alcohol http://cot.food.gov.uk/pdfs/cotlaystatementcaffalco201204.pdf http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm350570.htm http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/PublicHealthFocus/ucm234900.htm http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3038341/ http://www.bmj.com/content/347/bmj.f5345
Continue Reading →NHS Healthchecks – what’s the evidence?
Free link to BMJ feature
Continue Reading →Inside Health 1st October
Calcium supplements http://archinte.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1568523 http://annals.org/article.aspx?articleid=1655858 http://www.bmj.com/content/341/bmj.c3691.long http://cjasn.asnjournals.org/content/5/Supplement_1/S3.abstract
Continue Reading →Inside Health 23/9/13
Sunscreens http://dtb.bmj.com/content/49/6/69.abstract http://dtb.bmj.com/content/49/6/61.extract http://jco.ascopubs.org/content/29/3/257.long http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140673698121682 http://cebp.aacrjournals.org/content/15/12/2546.long Breast cancer screening http://www.cancerscreening.nhs.uk/breastscreen/publications/ia-02.html http://www.cochrane.dk/screening/mammography-leaflet.pdf
Continue Reading →References for Daily Mail – the health tests that make you sick with worry 24/9/13
cervical screening http://www.cancerscreening.nhs.uk/cervical/about-cervical-screening.html http://www.bmj.com/content/326/7395/901 http://www.bmj.com/content/339/bmj.b2968 bowel screening http://www.cancerscreening.nhs.uk/bowel/bowel-scope-screening.html http://gut.bmj.com/content/early/2011/11/22/gutjnl-201 http://www.cancerscreening.nhs.uk/bowel/publications/the-facts.html1-300843.full http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD001216.pub2/full dementia Click to access ess-dementia.pdf http://www.bmj.com/content/345/bmj.e8588?ijkey=d9TRTbB8ZT4ym82&keytype=ref http://www.gponline.com/News/article/1175972/GPs-check-millions-dementia-DES-plans-show/ health checks http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3607818/ Click to access ta094guidance.pdf http://www.thennt.com/nnt/statins-for-heart-disease-prevention-without-prior-heart-disease/ AAA screening http://aaa.screening.nhs.uk/aaascreening http://www.bmj.com/content/338/bmj.b2307 Breast Click to access breast-screening-review-exec.pdf
Continue Reading →This is not informed choice.
GPs are now paid to chase up people who have not returned their bowel cancer screening pack. This is the letter that we are being sent from the screeners when a patient doesn’t sign up. There is no room for the possibility that some people might weigh up the pros and the cons […]
Continue Reading →Dear Public Health England/Scotland/my GP
Thank you for inviting me for an NHS Health Check. Your invitation letter says that this is “helping you prevent heart disease, stroke, diabetes and kidney disease.” However, there is no randomised controlled evidence that this is the case. There is evidence that population screening like this results in overtreatment and overdiagnosis. You have provided […]
Continue Reading →Comment is free
RE Ruby Wax on Today this am (at 1 hr 44 mins, here http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-23663295) and Giles Fraser here (http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2013/aug/09/pills-unhappiness-reinforces-sad-human) Comment is free : http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/aug/12/depression-unhappiness-antidepressants-overprescribed http://jaha.ahajournals.org/content/2/2/e000068.full http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15920049 http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-244X/10/77/ http://www.bmj.com/content/339/bmj.b3999 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2629838/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2734353/ I recommend www.scottishrecovery.net and don’t forget the http://www.samaritans.org/. Mental illness is one of the most rewarding conditions to be privileged to help people with. People […]
Continue Reading →Patient information leaflets: “a stupid system” – Free BMJ Link
The NHS’s multifarious patient information leaflets are inaccurate, inconsistent, and confusing, finds Margaret McCartney, and effort is duplicated because each trust commissions its own, often from the private sector Patient information leaflets: “a stupid system” – Free link
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