The Medical Negligence Blog

Two-year wait for mental-health treatment not good enough

According to a BBC Freedom of Information request, a third of NHS Trusts are missing the government guidelines for psychological therapy, which should start within six weeks for 75% of referrals.

What’s more concerning is that, in some cases, there were patients waiting more than two years for the vital mental health treatment they needed.

Mental health intervention is key to saving lives. Although we all know the NHS is stretched right now, lives are clearly at risk if some patients are having to wait too long for the psychological treatment they need.
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The worrying trend of data breaches will not help the NHS funding situation

Data breaches are practically the new norm, and with healthcare sector breaches at the top of the pile, we have a lot of reasons to be worried as a nation relying on a public-funded healthcare system.

For the private healthcare systems like they have in the U.S., the liability and the costs can fall on a private organisation or their insurance. In the U.K., the taxpayer picks up the tab.

The increasing numbers of healthcare sector data breaches is not helping the NHS funding situation at all.
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Medical negligence compensation claims – a few facts

Medical negligence compensation is a hotly-debated topic. On the one hand, we have a stretched and underfunded public health service that could do without legal cases eating up millions of taxpayers’ pounds in pay-outs and legal fees, but on the other hand, we have the victims.

One of the major problems with medical negligence claims is that they’re often complex to run. Unlike a road accident where someone hits the back of another driver and it’s usually obvious who is at fault, in a medical negligence claim, it can be far harder to determine whether any negligence has occurred. The case often requires in-depth investigations and an expert lawyer representing you for the case; both of which costs money.
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NHS statistics say we are obese, sedentary and drug-reliant

According to the latest report from our National Health Service, we are statistically obese; spend way too much time sat down; and take far too many prescribed drugs.

So, just to reiterate, many of us overeat, barely do enough exercise, unless it’s walking towards the fridge and back which then creates health problems that leads to us apparently swallowing prescribed pills like they’re mints and thus contributing towards the nation’s growing drug-dependency problem.

Much like the reported opioid crisis in America, the U.K. may not be far behind a similar drugs crisis either…
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Calls for people to stop using – or reduce the use of – antibiotics

The ‘Keep Antibiotics Working’ campaign is urging patients not to ask their GP or doctor for antibiotics in a bid to tackle the reported growing resistance to the medicine.

When we have an infection, antibiotic treatments can help to kill the bacteria. However, around 5,000 people reportedly die each year in England because antibiotics don’t work for some infections because they’ve grown a resistance to the medicine.

The campaign was launched by Public Health England in recognition that overuse of antibiotics – and other factors – has helped infections strengthen their resistance to the medicines.
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Medical company guilty of distributing misbranded cancer drug for 13 years

AmerisourceBergen Specialty Group admitted to a court that its subsidiary company, Medical Initiatives Inc (MII), illegally distributed misbranded a cancer drug for 13 years.

They were reportedly shipping the drugs from a facility that wasn’t registered with regulators, and following the conviction, the company has been ordered to pay almost £200m in fines.

The guilty company was found to have been working outside of regulatory review and scrutiny as its facility was never registered with regulators as either as a manufacturer or a re-packager.
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Serious side-effect warnings may be getting diluted on medication labels

Pharmaceuticals have a responsibility to tell doctors and users about any side-effects a drug might have.

But what if the list contains over 20 or 30 potential side-effects?

Even when just taking a paracetamol tablet we may be faced with a long list of potential reactions and potential problems of varying degrees. Are pharmaceutical companies doing this to cover their backs, or are they doing it to confuse the user by downplaying the risks?

Some are suggesting the latter…
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U.S. to take steps to tackle the opioid crisis – will U.K. follow suit on medication problems?

The U.S. has reportedly acknowledged the problem of quadrupling opioid-related deaths, as well as the fact they now account for the majority of fatal overdoses. It’s been declared as a national public health emergency.

Various federal institutions are to be involved in taking measures to combat the problem. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will require pharmaceutical drug companies that make prescription opioids to “provide more training to prescriber’s”.

As Britain faces its own battles with the overuse of prescription medication – including opioids – will we see similar action here?
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NHS pushed into upgrading its monitoring system following avoidable death

A 42-year-old woman was admitted to East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust hospital on a Friday evening with a liver abscess and sepsis. Her condition rapidly deteriorated over the weekend and she tragically died two days later of multiple organ failure.

This death was confirmed to have been entirely preventable.

This incident was apparently the last straw for the Trust’s critical-care lead, Dr Kate Murray. Prior to this incident, Murray was unhappy with an abundance of problems with how the hospital take patient observations, and as a result of the incident, she sought to do something about it.
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Weight loss detox teas reportedly contain laxatives that can lead to heart and kidney problems

Popular social media platforms like Instagram are full to the brim with perfectly sculpted bodies, specifically angled to show toned arms, perky bums and flat stomachs. Some Instagram models and celebrities swear by drinking detox teas to help them get rid of water weight and achieve that “impossibly flat” stomach.

However, when things look too good to be true, it’s because they normally are…

In the firing line are weight loss detox teas that have been reported as being bad for you. Here’s why…
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Antidepressant side effects may increase risk of suicide by triggering “akathisia”

Mental health care has gained more recognition and dedication of resources to help those who suffer from mental illness over the last few decades. Antidepressants can be used to treat symptoms of depression and can help the body to produce hormones that promote positive mood-levels and emotions and can even reduce pain. However, as with many drugs, this kind of medication can have potentially dangerous side effects such as “akathisia”.

Although the drug carries warnings of potentially increasing the risk of depression and suicidal thoughts in people under the age of 25, recent developments suggest that it could also impact those over 25 as well…
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Medical Negligence: Misdiagnosis compensation claims

“Because someone is in a white coat and uses big medical instruments, doesn’t necessarily mean they’re right” – this is what Kylie Minogue said about her misdiagnosis experience. The Australian celebrity singer was told by her doctor that everything was fine, but her own “gut feeling” led her to being retested, and in 2009, she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

It can happen to anyone, and it does happen. It’s real, and the problems that can be caused can lead to serious health complications, and even death.
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