Supporting clinical trials in primary care

I was at St. Mary's Hospital earlier this week to attend a meeting with Professor Neil Poulter and the Imperial Clinical Trials Unit team. We discussed methods of boosting recruitment to clinical trials - particularly industry sponsored trials - and how hospitals and general practices could work together to achieve this objective. Research on new drugs is a key area for the UK both for the benefits it can bring for people's health and the NHS, and also for its economic benefits.

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Protecting Against the "Quad-demic": Influenza, Covid-19, Norovirus and RSV

As the NHS braces for a challenging winter season, it is grappling with a "quad-demic" of health emergencies caused by influenza, Covid-19, norovirus, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). This confluence of viral threats poses a significant risk to public health in the UK as well as putting strain on healthcare resources, emphasising the importance of preventive measures to safeguard public health. Public health measures such a vaccination and good personal hygiene are pivotal in reducing the impact of these illnesses, particularly for vulnerable groups. The Four Viruses: What Are They? Influenza: A highly contagious respiratory infection that causes significant illness each winter. It can lead to severe complications, particularly in the elderly, young children, pregnant women, and those with chronic health conditions. Covid-19: Though its most acute phase has passed, Covid-19 remains a concern, especially as new variants of SA...

MPH Student Presentations on the NHS Care.Data Programme

As part of a session on primary care data in the Health Informatics module on the Imperial Master of Public Health Programme, I asked students to work in two groups to present arguments for and against the NHS Care.Data programme. Care.Data is an NHS programme that will extract data from the medical records held by general practitioners (GPs) in England. The Care.Data programme takes advantage of the very high level of use of electronic medical records by GPs in England. After extraction, data will be uploaded to the NHS Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC). The data will then be used for functions such as health care planning, monitoring disease patterns and research. The programme has been controversial with proponents arguing that the programme will bring many benefits for the NHS and the population of England; and opponents arguing it is a major breach of privacy. You can view the two presentations to help inform you further about these arguments: Arguments fo...

Improving discharge planning in NHS hospitals

Factors that need to be considered in discharge planning that have been identified in previous projects include: Ensuring that discharge arrangements are discussed with patients, family members and carers; and that they are given a copy of the discharge summary. Adequate coordination between the hospital, community health services, general practices, and the providers of social care services. There is a follow-up after discharge of patients at high risk of complications or readmission - either in person or by telephone - to ensure that the discharge arrangements are working well. Medicines reconciliation is carried out. This is the process of verifying patient medication lists at a point-of-care transition, such as hospital discharge, to identify which medications have been added, discontinued, or changed from pre-admission medication lists. Ensuring that any outstanding test results at discharge are obtained and passed on to primary care teams; and ensuring there are clea...

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