View this email in your browser ([link removed])
** 16 December 2020
------------------------------------------------------------
** UK
------------------------------------------------------------
** England’s poorest get least GP time as rich get most, study reveals (#1)
------------------------------------------------------------
** Trusts told to make immediate improvements after maternity scandal report (#2)
------------------------------------------------------------
** International
------------------------------------------------------------
** US: BAT’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate gets FDA approval for human trials (#3)
------------------------------------------------------------
** Sri Lankan Study: Identifying and understanding the last mile smokers (#4)
------------------------------------------------------------
** UK
------------------------------------------------------------
**
------------------------------------------------------------
** People from the most deprived areas get the least amount of time when seeing a GP despite having the worst underlying health in the population, a study reveals. While those in the wealthiest areas get 11.2 minutes on average, people in the most deprived neighbourhoods get 10.7 minutes, according to the Health Foundation report.
The disparity underlines the inequality in access to NHS care and has prompted concern that people on low incomes are missing out on opportunities to improve their health.
Mai Stafford, a principal data analyst at the thinktank, uncovered the gap from studying records of 1.2 million consultations involving 190,036 patients from 2014/16. She said: “These findings add further detail to an already stark picture of health inequality in England. Those living in the poorest areas of the country already tend to experience worse health and have fewer doctors per patient. That they also tend to have less time with their GP, even when they have a greater need, is especially worrying at a time when COVID-19 has further widened the gap in health between the richest and poorest.”
Prof Martin Marshall, the chair of the Royal College of General Practitioners, said: “Access to GP care should not be dependent on where a patient lives. These findings are concerning, but not altogether surprising as we know that areas of high deprivation also tend to have some of the most pronounced GP shortages. The paradox is that people living in more deprived areas also tend to have a greater number of long-term health conditions and more complex health needs, and therefore often require greater access to GP care and services.” He called on NHS bosses to urgently try to attract more GPs to work in more impoverished areas.
Source: The Guardian, 15 December 2020
See also: BJGP - Primary care consultation length by deprivation and multimorbidity in England: an observational study using electronic patient records ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
Read Article ([link removed]. )
**
------------------------------------------------------------
** NHS England has ordered trusts to make immediate improvements to maternity safety following the publication of the report into the Shrewsbury and Telford maternity scandal.
In a letter sent to all trusts, NHSE said: “there continues to be too much variation in experience and outcomes for women and their families.” It identified “12 urgent clinical priorities” to be implemented by 5 pm on 21 December.
The letter, sent on Monday, 14 December, said the Ockenden report, published last week, must be used “to redouble our efforts to bring forward lasting improvements in our maternity services.” The report into 250 cases of poor maternity care at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust found “a lack of kindness and compassion” from midwifery staff and called for trusts to have “oversight” of neighbouring providers.
The urgent actions for trusts identified in the letter include appointing a named consultant lead to all women with complex pregnancies, implement twice-daily consultant-led labour ward rounds, ringfencing funding for maternity staff training, and regular training on foetal heart rate monitoring. It also said trusts should provide evidence that they have robust mechanisms for gathering feedback from women and their families and that all maternity serious incidents are shared with trust board at least monthly, as well as local maternity systems.
The letter, from NHSE chief operating officer Amanda Pritchard and chief nursing officer Ruth May, also called on trusts to implement all seven “immediate and essential actions” identified in the Ockenden report. Chief executives are asked to send confirmation of their compliance with these actions, signed by the chair of their local maternity system and regional chief midwife, to NHSE by 21 December.
Source: HSJ, 15 December 2020
See also: First report of the independent review into maternity services at the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
Read Article ([link removed] )
** International
------------------------------------------------------------
**
------------------------------------------------------------
** British American Tobacco (BAT) has said that its COVID-19 vaccine candidate has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Phase I human study. The company said the enrolment for the study is expected to begin shortly.
The COVID-19 vaccine is being developed by the company’s biotech arm Kentucky BioProcessing.
Source: Reuters, 16 December 2020
------------------------------------------------------------
Read Article ([link removed] )
**
------------------------------------------------------------
** A recent study funded by Cancer Research UK has found that smoking prevalence is higher among certain groups, and they want to quit smoking and require support measures to help them do so. These group of people are identified as “last mile smokers” (LMS). Last mile smokers are overwhelmingly male, concentrated among young men from a non-schooling background, but also those who are over 40, or from poorer backgrounds, rural areas, or working in agriculture, fisheries, or crafts. [statistical note - It’s estimated that less than 1% of women in Sri Lanka smoke].
According to the study, LMS want to quit smoking, and most of them had made at least one attempt to quit because of health concerns, financial reasons, and commitments towards their families and children. Additionally, the study finds that LMS are sensitive to price increases and that price plays a crucial role in shaping smoking patterns, both in relation to initiation and continuation.
The authors recommend that the Government needs to strengthen tobacco control policies and introduce targeted policy interventions that reach LMS groups.
Source: Daily FT, 12 December 2020
IPS report – Tobacco Smoking in Sri Lanka: Identifying and Understanding the Last Mile Smokers ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
Read Article ([link removed])
Have you been forwarded this email? Subscribe to ASH Daily News here. ([link removed])
For more information call 020 7404 0242, email
[email protected] (mailto:
[email protected]) or visit www.ash.org.uk
ASH Daily News is a digest of published news on smoking-related topics. ASH is not responsible for the content of external websites. ASH does not necessarily endorse the material contained in this bulletin.
============================================================
Our mailing address is:
Action on Smoking and Health
6th Floor New House
Hatton Garden
London
EC1N 8JY
Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can ** update your preferences ([link removed])
or ** unsubscribe from this list ([link removed])
