Patients with diabetes advised to take extra care in summer holiday heat

on 06 August 2018.

Patients with diabetes are being advised to take precautions during hot weather if they are enjoying the sun at home or during the summer holiday overseas.

Many of the favourite holiday hotspots in Europe are currently experiencing a heatwave, with temperatures likely to stay warm in the UK too.

Around six per cent of the population of Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent has a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes, the most common kind, and the number is growing year-on-year.

Hot weather can affect diabetes control and make blood sugar levels higher than normal.

Just one way to follow NHS commissioners on Twitter in Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent

on 02 August 2018.

Social media users now have a new way of finding out about the latest news and information from NHS commissioners across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent.

A new Twitter account - @StaffsCCGs – will combine news and information from the area’s six clinical commissioning groups (CCGs). Previously the CCGs had separate accounts.

Sue Harper, Chair of the CCG’s Communications and Engagement Committee and Lay Member for Patient and Public Involvement with Stafford and Surrounds CCG said: “Last year the six CCGs agreed that we would collaborate more closely in the interests of improving services for our patients.

NHS England consults public about Evidence-Based Interventions

on 31 July 2018.

People are being asked for their views about plans to stop offering treatments that are clinically ineffective.

NHS England is proposing that the following interventions should no longer be routinely commissioned by CCGs because they are ineffective or have been superseded by a safer alternative:

Snoring Surgery (in the absence of Obstructive Sleep Apnoea)
Dilatation and curettage for heavy menstrual bleeding in women
Knee arthroscopy for patients with osteoarthritis
Injections for nonspecific low back pain without sciatica

They are also recommending that thirteen other interventions should only be performed in specific circumstances where they have been proved to be clinically effective.

For more information and to respond, please visit: https://www.engage.england.nhs.uk/consultation/evidence-based-interventions/

The deadline for responding is Friday 28 September 2018.

Local GPs encourage patients to ‘look before they flush’

on 27 July 2018.

Public Health England (PHE) has launched a new ‘Be Clear on Cancer’ campaign in the West Midlands, to highlight blood in pee as a key symptom of bladder and kidney cancers. The campaign will encourage everyone to ‘look before they flush’ and visit their GP without delay if they notice blood in their pee, even if it’s just once or only a little bit.

A new survey reveals that only 19 per cent of adults aged 50 and over (those most at risk of these cancers) in the West Midlands region say they check the colour of their pee every time they go to the toilet. If people don’t look before they flush, they may not notice blood in their pee.

Don’t let a child’s summer holiday start the wrong way – avoid sunburn during the heatwave

on 25 July 2018.

Parents and guardians are being urged to take extra care of vulnerable young skin as the first week of the summer holidays sees the heatwave continue.

Temperatures are expected to peak later this week, and West Midlands Ambulance Service has reported an increased workload due to calls about children suffering sunburn and dehydration.

With youngsters now having more time to run around outdoors there are fears this could increase.

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