Hello and welcome back to the weekly News Summary here at The Medic Portal. This week’s blog will cover the highlights in medical and health news from the 27th June to the 3rd of July. This week has seen the effect of Brexit withholding vital treatments for patients and the potential for teaching mindfulness to health care workers to improve outcomes.
Brexit To Curb Lifesaving Drugs?
News announced this week suggested that price increases caused by Brexit could deny patients life-saving drugs, which are currently available on the NHS. Following Brexit, the pound’s value dropped meaning that the relative price of drugs has increased. A 13-year-old patient contacted the press to express her concern that the cost of her medication for a rare form of kidney disease was increased by £16,000 overnight. The NHS will now need to reassess whether the drug will be available which may cause the treatment to be delayed or denied. NHS England’s Chief Executive Simon Stevens had warned that Brexit would be a “terrible moment” for the NHS. The Leave campaign had suggested that funding currently spent on the EU would be redirected to the NHS however, since the referendum result announcement they have back tracked on this statement.
Mother to Have Daughter’s Baby
A woman in the UK has won an appeal to use her dead daughter’s eggs. The 60 year old woman appealed against the UK regulator’s refusal. The woman’s daughter died in 2011 and is said to have asked her mother to carry her children. This was refused by the UK regulator, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) as the daughters eggs are not allowed to be released from storage without her full written consent prior to her death. The mother is hoping to take the eggs to a clinic in New York to be used with donor sperm. Evidence heard at the appeal suggested that although there was no informed consent, this was the wishes of the woman’s daughter.
Mindfulness and Medicine
It is thought that teaching doctors and nurses mindfulness could decrease the number of mistakes they make during work. Experts argue that teaching mindfulness to the medical profession could help reduce errors such as providing an incorrect prescription and increase the quality of care for patients. It is hoped that mindfulness will help to increase the focus and attention given to a patient as it prevents the mind from being distracted. Some research has already shown the benefits of mindfulness for medical staff, a US study published back in 2013 showed that physicians that practice mindfulness have higher levels of patient satisfaction. It has also been suggested to combat both burnout and stress.
Uploaded by Joelle on 4th July, 2016
