Patients needlessly sent to hospital

Nearly 75 per cent of people told to go to hospital after calling an NHS helpline did not actually need emergency treatment, according to a new study, the Independent has reported.

The research suggests hundreds of thousands of hospital trips could be a waste of time that is adding pressure to the NHS amid the dire financial crisis affecting the health service.

Cambridge University researchers looked at 1,474 people who were told to go to accident and emergency by the NHS 111 service in Cambridgeshire.

Pharmacy software provider commits to independence

PharmAssist Solutions is now completely independent following a financial overhaul.

The restructuring of the tech company that offers software to the independent pharmacy market has resulted in the management team owning 100% of share capital and the exit of the additional original shareholders.

Amar Randhawa, commercial director of PharmAssist Solutions, said: “We are a truly independent business serving independent pharmacies.”

Patients warned about online HIV test kits

Members of the public ordering HIV self-test kits online have been warned to look out for the CE mark. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency are reminding people to check their kits are intended for self-testing on World AIDS Day.

To receive approval for sale in the UK, HIV self-test kits must meet a number of requirements concerning test performance, labelling and directions for use.

The CE mark carried by approved HIV self-testing kits shows they have gone through the proper regulatory processes and, when used in accordance with their instructions, can be used safely.

Government must take urgent action on childhood obesity

The scale and consequences of childhood obesity demand bold and urgent action from the government, a report published by The Health Select Committee claims.

Chair of the Committee, Dr Sarah Wollaston MP, says, “One third of children leaving primary school are overweight or obese, and the most deprived children are twice as likely to be obese than the least deprived.

“This has serious consequences for both their current and future health and wellbeing and we cannot continue to fail these children.

“There are many causes and no one single or simplistic approach will provide the answer.

“We therefore urge the Prime Minister to make a positive and lasting difference to children’s health and life chances through bold and wide ranging measures within his childhood obesity strategy.”