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Leak reveals priorities of long-term plan refresh
A document leaked to the Health Services Journal (HSJ) has revealed a drive to “transform” access to urgent, emergency and planned care will be added to the goals of the NHS long-term plan (LTP).
The LTP was originally published in January 2019. Last September, NHS England said it was reviewing the commitments made within the plan, with senior officials warning that many of them could not be met after the damage of the pandemic.
NHSE and the Department of Health and Social Care had hoped to publish the “refresh” of the LTP before the summer parliamentary recess. However, HSJ understands the involvement of the Treasury and No. 10 means it could be delayed until early autumn.
HSJ has seen a document prepared for the most recent meeting of the NHS Assembly which sets out NHSE’s approach to the refresh. The brief reveals the refresh will have six overarching “strategic developments” which map closely to the original LTP’s six “chapters” with one exception.
The document reportedly sets out four main challenges to achieving the goals of the LTP: “backlogs across a range of services, recovering from enormous disruption on service patterns, the ongoing need to respond to covid-19 as an endemic disease and the impact on staff”, and four “opportunities” that have been highlighted by the pandemic.
Source: HSJ, 24 June 2022
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Study: Public health cuts associated with worse health
New research published by the Lancet has found cuts to public health spending during the period of austerity were associated with increases in poor health.
The authors of the study, which was funded by the Medical Research Council, urged policy makers to “consider the potential health consequences of local government expenditure cuts and knock-on effects for health systems”.
When the researchers examined the relationship between changes in overall council spending over an eight-year period from 2009-10 with multi-morbidity and health-related quality of life, they found that a 1% cut in per capita total service spending was associated with a 0.1% increase in multi-morbidity, but there was no association with health-related quality of life.
However, when they looked at budget lines and controlled for other spending, they found a 1% cut in public health expenditure was associated with a 0·15% increase in prevalence of multi-morbidity, and a 1% cut in adult social care expenditure was associated with a 0·01% decrease in average health-related quality of life.
They wrote: “Our findings suggest that cuts to total local government spending are associated with increased prevalence of multi-morbidity. […]Our estimates suggest that the average cut to total service spending of 22% between 2009-10 and 2017-18 was associated with an average increase of 2.2 percentage points in prevalence of multi-morbidity.”
Source: Local Government Chronicle, 20 June 2022
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Study: Rejected minorities turn to risky coping behaviours
A Greek study has found people experiencing social rejection on account of their sexual orientation are more likely to engage in risky behaviours.
The study, which analysed 866 survey responses, found that experiencing rejection such as being spurned by friends, treated unfairly in an educational or workplace environment or by public services, is associated with a 9.1% increase in the consumption of tobacco, a 7.1% increase in the consumption of alcohol and a 12.5% increase in the use of cannabis.
Men are particularly prone to increases in consumption. The association between social ostracization and drinking is 12.3% higher in men than in women. For consumption of cannabis, the association is 9.5% higher in men than for women, and for tobacco it is 20.6% higher in men than women.
Author Professor Nick Drydakis, Director for the Centre of Pluralist Economics at Anglia Ruskin University (ARU), says that
"Results suggest that sexual minorities appear to be more likely to turn to smoking, drinking and cannabis use to buffer the negative effects of stress associated with rejection, victimization, and internalized stigma."
Source: Medical Xpress, 23 June 2022
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Juul e-cigarettes officially banned in the US
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has officially ordered Juul to remove its e-cigarettes from the US market.
In a press release issued on Thursday 23rd June, the FDA ordered Juul to “stop selling and distributing these products” and noted that anything “currently on market must be removed, or risk enforcement action.”
They emphasised that the products that fall under the ban include the Juul device and four types of “Juul pods: Virginia tobacco flavoured pods at nicotine concentrations of 5.0% and 3.0% and menthol flavoured pods at nicotine concentrations of 5.0% and 3.0%.”
Earlier this week, The Wall Street Journal reported that the ban was expected, and that the FDA may reveal its decision as soon as Wednesday. The rejection would come following a review lasting two years of data presented by the company.
In a statement to The Independent, Joe Murillo, the Chief Regulatory Officer at Juul Labs, said the company, “respectfully disagree with the FDA’s findings and decision and continue to believe we have provided sufficient information and data based on high-quality research to address all issues raised by the agency”.
Source: The Independent, 24 June 2022
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New Zealand: Hospital Leads the Way by Giving Vapes to Patients Who Smoke
The Whanganui District Health Board (DHB) has announced that its hospital on New Zealand’s North Island will go smoke-free on 27th June.
It also announced that patients will be given free vapes and encouraged to use them while in the Te Awhina acute mental health ward.
A representative said: “We have a comprehensive support cessation process in place and Vorteke disposable vapes being offered to assist with the stopping process”. “For those who would normally smoke, it won’t be a ‘cold turkey process.’”
Staff who work in the ward are also being encouraged to go smoke-free and they, too, will be offered free nicotine products.
Source: Filter Magazine, 23 June 2022
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Housing LIN HAPPI Hour - Smoking and social housing: Supporting residents, addressing inequalities
In collaboration with ASH, the Housing Learning and Improvement Network (LIN) will be hosting a webinar as part of their HAPPI Hour series, taking a detailed look at their recent report, ‘Smoking and social housing: Supporting residents, addressing inequalities’.
The webinar will take place Tuesday 28th June 16:00 – 17:15 and is free to attend.
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Report: Public mental health and smoking: A framework for action
The Mental Health and Smoking Partnership (coordinated by ASH) and the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ Public Mental Health Implementation Centre (PMHIC) have published a joint report calling for the government’s upcoming tobacco control plan to tackle smoking in all people with a mental health condition, through targeted investment and effective data monitoring systems.
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Report: Is there a causal effect of smoking on mental health? A summary of the evidence
A new review conducted by researchers at the University of Bristol and presented at the Royal College of Psychiatrists International Congress 20 June, has found a causal relationship between smoking and mental illness, particularly schizophrenia.
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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.
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