July/August 2003

What the Newspapers said (Mainly the Evening Post) in July/August 2003

General

A Company in Bitton has been prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive. The Company makes dashboards for Vauxhall Astra along with other interior fittings. North Avon magistrates were told that some workers were operating a rivet gun up to 6,500 times during an 8-hour shift – ie. about 13 times a minutes. The firm admitted a Health and Safety offence and admitted that they had failed to introduce measures which would reduce the risk of RSI. A Crown Court will decide the sentence to be imposed.

A new form of treatment for patients with severe rheumatoid arthritis is becoming available in Bristol. The drug, known as anti-TNF therapy, is given by drip every 6 weeks. The sessions cost £9000 a year per person. Twenty patients are currently being treated.
It will shortly be up to local health authorities and the general public to decide whether or not our drinking water should have fluoride added to it. The Evening Post has been conducting a debate on the subject.
28 men with cancer donated sperm samples before undergoing cancer treatment. The sperm was stored in the Regional Fertility Unit at Southmead Hospital. However the samples were destroyed when the freezer tank holding them broke down.
A House of Commons Committee, which includes Dr Doug Naysmith, a Bristol North West MP, has criticised the abolition of Community Health Councils (CHCs). The CHCs are to be scrapped and will be replaced by a number of other bodies which include the PALS (Patient Advice and Liaison Service), the PPIF (Patient and Public Involvement Forums), the OSCs (Overview and Scrutiny Committes), and an Independent Reconfiguration Panel. Dr Neysmith described the current situation as "quite devastating" and "a dog’s breakfast". (The Med-Chi website intends to cover this matter in a future issue of the site.)
Residents and relatives from the Rushlands Elderly People’s Home are protesting against the planned closure of the Home.
The Galleries shopping centre in Broadmead is raising money to pay for a defibrillator. Nine members of staff have been trained to use the machine.
A group of residents in Wesbury in Trym have begun a campaign to prevent a doctor’s surgery and apartments being built near their homes.
Few figures show that more than 12,000 people in Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire have managed to stop smoking during the last year. Figures were release by the Department of Health as part of its Smoking Cessation Service which was set-up in 2001.
The Times reported that more than 2 million patients a year are being banned from making advanced appointments with their general practitioner so that surgeries can meet the latest Government times target.
The charity Tenovus are supporting a campaign to help cancer patients cope with some of the symptoms caused by chemotherapy – including particularly anaemia and tiredness.
The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) is appealing for people to run the BUPA Bristol Half Marathon for them on January 7^th.
The Vassall Centre Trust in Fishponds has received a lottery grant of £234,000. The building is currently home to 7 voluntary organisations and is visited by more than 7,000 each year. The regeneration of the whole building will cost an estimated £3 million. So far – £1.3 million has been raised.

Dr Liam Fox has called for compulsory health checks for all new immigrant and asylum seekers before they are allowed to remain in Britain.
A Kingswood pharmacist has warned that community chemists could be under threat if supermarkets and other stores are allowed to sell prescription drugs.
A Report by the Broadcasting Standards Commission found a worrying trend in growing numbers of people who watch television medical shows believing that they have learned enough to deal with emergencies or even carry out surgery. Paramedics are concerned that viewers could be making the situation worse by trying out procedures that they have seen on TV. St Johns Ambulance runs life-saver courses which teach members of the public basic First Aid skills. The Learning Skills Council has awarded funding for this course. The next course will be held on Sunday September 7^th at 9.30 a.m in Bedminster. Other courses are planned. For information call 953 3880.
The new commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection is wanting a Chief Executive – salary about £150,000. The 12 commissioners are chaired by Professor Sir Ian Kennedy.
The Industrial Therapy Organisation (ITO) is due to close – leaving 70 mentally disabled adults without jobs.
Plans for a Mental Health Unit in Brislington have been improved despite a protest campaign by residents. Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust can now go ahead with the 122 bed scheme on former allotments in Callington Road.
A specialist team is to be set-up in the Bristol area to step in if terrorists attack the region with a deadly disease. The team will cover the same area as the former Avon Health Authority and will be one of 36 set-up by the new Health Protection Agency (HPA). The HPA has produced an 80 page plan which highlights the need to develop standardised laboratory tests for biological and chemical agents.
A survey of families using car seats in the Bristol area has found that only 13% of users have them properly fitted. The checks were carried-out by technicians from Britax – manufacturers of child car seats. (For more information – www.childcarseats.org.uk.

Hospital

On July 16^th the Evening Post stated – "Hospitals in Bristol have been branded the worst in the country by NHS chiefs as they published the latest health league tables". Both acute hospitals trusts have been given no stars in the tables. (This matter is discussed further elsewhere in this issue of the website.)
Under the Patient Power section of the NHS plan – North Bristol NHS is obliged to implement a bedside television and telephone system. The system is to be installed and operated at no cost to the Trust by a Company called Patient Line – instillation was about to start. (Your Editor visited a hospital in Houston, USA, in 1981, where each patient had his own telephone and television. Ed)
180 people attended a public meeting in Keynsham to oppose cuts in the number of beds at the town’s community hospital. The East Somerset NHS Primary Care Trust aims to save more than £0.5 million by cutting up to 10 beds at Keynsham Hospital and another 6 at Paulton Hospital.
Parliament’s public administration Select Committee visited Bristol recently and produced a report. It is said that at least 25 patients have gone blind because their treatment was delayed at the Bristol Eye Hospital because they were trying to hit waiting list targets. The UBHT said that of more than 70,000 people seen at the hospital over a year – almost 60,000 are follow-up appointments. Around 1,000 follow-up appointments are cancelled out of 5,000 scheduled each month. Mr Harrad, Consultant at the BEH, said that there were serious concerns that the targets that staff were expected to meet for first time appointments were not followed-up with hefty investments.
The North Bristol NHS Trust has been awarded a grant of £90,000 to help it develop an integrated service for patients with gallstones.
An independent survey of patients at the BRI and the Bristol Eye Hospital has been undertaken. Nearly 1,000 patients who attended the 2 hospitals were surveyed and most said that they were absolutely satisfied with their care and treatment. The surveys were carried out by the Commission for Health Improvement (CHI). Patients were asked a range of questions about their wait in the Department, the quality of care, the information received, the manner of staff, the surroundings and their overall impression of the care.
The Bristol Cancer Help Centre has launched a new qualification for complementary therapists. Those receiving the certificates include massage therapists, counsellors, nutritional therapists and reflexologists.
Nurses in Bristol are being encouraged to leave their posts in the City and start a new life in Australia. Firstpoint Health Care has won a contract to supply nurses for a group of hospitals in Perth. They have started a recruitment drive in Bristol.
Over 1000 people have signed a petition calling for a community hospital in South Bristol. Ms Primarola plans to present the petition to the Strategic Health Authority shortly.
A recent survey into hospital cleanliness has been undertaken. Assessment was undertaken using a "traffic light" system of red (poor), amber (acceptable) and green (good). All hospitals were given a green mark apart from the BRI which received an amber rating.
A survey has been undertaken as part of the NHS data accreditation process. The North Bristol NHS Trust and the BUPA private hospital were awarded top health quality service accreditation.
A recent survey of waiting times across the 5 PCTs in Avon show that more than 1400 patients had waited between 9 and 11 months. Nine patients had waited more than one year for their operations.
Steve Webb, Liberal Democrat MP for North Avon has "vowed to fight plans that could see Frenchay Hospital close". He is surveying 43,000 householders for their opinions.

Research

Researchers at the Department of Social Medicine in Bristol studied 4,300 women from 23 towns across the country. Their studies suggest that taller women may be more prone to breast cancer than shorter ones. They claim that women are 25% more at risk for every 2½ in increase in height above 5 ft 2 in.
Cancer patients and their families in Bristol are being given the chance to keep diaries of their illnesses so that doctors can gain a better insight into their problems and the care needed.
Patients with suspected skin cancer in Bristol could benefit from a new device being tested at Frenchay. The machine is said to increase detection of the most dangerous form of skin cancer without the necessity for a biopsy. The machine produces a computer-generated image of the composition of the skin and can demonstrate any potentially cancerous areas.
Researchers at St Michael’s Hospital are looking for women who have had an emergency birth. The aim of the study is to identify the strengths and weaknesses in care from the mother’s prospective.
The debate over the need for toddlers’ eye tests has been revived by a research paper published by the Bristol-based Children of the 90s Project. The study found that children with amblyopia who had been tested and treated at age 3 got better results in vision tests. The prevalence of amblyopia was 45% lower in the children who had received the 3-year eye test. However, because only two-thirds of children actually attended for their eye test at the age of 3 – there are doubts about the practicalities and overall population benefit of testing at 3 rather than at school entry. On a population level – the 3-year eye tests made little difference to the total number of children with sight problems by the age of 7 because a third of children who were offered the early test did not attend. The results are said to emphasise that the patching treatment is more effective the earlier it is given but clearly this requires parental cooperation.
A study by Bristol University on working mothers has been undertaken. The message for mothers is mixed. A child’s educational development is adversely affected only if the mother works full-time before the baby is 18 months old. The negative effects of an early return to full-time work are cancelled out if the mother uses paid child-care. Baby boys are more sensitive to the quality of child-care than girls.
Bristol University’s Centre for Deaf Studies have been undertaking work designed to improve understanding of how deaf people communicate. A recent study found that deaf people do not look at each other’s hands when using sign language but look at people’s faces instead. Further information about the centre can be found by visiting www.bri.ac.uk/deaf or by telephoning 954 6900.