A new report by the International Longevity Centre – UK (ILC-UK) demonstrates that a failure to prevent, diagnose, and treat depression, diabetes and urinary tract infections in people with dementia could be costing the UK’s health and social care system up to nearly £1 billion per year. The report, Dementia and Comorbidities: Ensuring parity of [...]
Statistics obtained by BBC Wales have found that a number of patients suffering mental health problems are having to wait several years for treatment. Although patients experiencing chronic problems are often seen within a week, some waits are mounting to over four years. Aneurin Bevan Health Board is reported as making sufferers endure the lengthiest [...]
Half of people suffering a heart attack (50 per cent) may be putting their life and future recovery in danger by delaying seeking medical help for their symptoms for more than an hour, according to a new survey of British Heart Foundation (BHF) supporters. The survey of heart attack survivors showed that over 80 per [...]
A project to reduce the number of people dying prematurely from cardiovascular disease in some of the most deprived communities in Cwm Taf is to be extended across Wales, the Welsh government has announced. Lessons learned in the pilot schemes in Cwm Taf and Aneurin Bevan University Health Board areas will now support other boards [...]
A new drug to treat Morquio Syndrome, a rare life-limiting inherited disease, will be available on the Welsh NHS, Health and Social Services Minister Mark Drakeford has announced. The Minister has approved a recommendation from the All Wales Medicines Strategy Group (AWMSG) that Vimizim® (elosulfase alfa) should be available in Wales. Morquio Syndrome is a [...]
Sir Derek Jones, the Permanent Secretary to the Welsh government, was impressed during a busy tour of hospital departments. He visited the Emergency Unit, the Welsh Blood and Bone Transplant Unit and the Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospital for Wales to learn more about their work. Sir Derek said, ‘I was grateful for the opportunity to [...]
Action is needed to inform and boost the number of people in Wales who make Advance Decisions to Refuse Treatment (ADRT), according to a new report. An Advance Decision is a legally binding record of the treatments that someone wishes to refuse should they lose the ability to make such decisions for themselves in the [...]
Patients are getting faster access to consultants, tests and treatment at Singleton Hospital, thanks to a new Ambulatory Emergency Care Service (AEC). The pilot service, which started in the autumn, has already resulted in scores of fewer patients being admitted; because they get the care they need at the front door, instead of becoming an [...]
Both start-ups and big companies are moving into the liquid biopsy market today, but now Birmingham, Alabama-based Circulogene Theranostics has entered the arena with its promise of tools that use small blood samples to screen for tumour DNA! The company has announced the commercial launch of its cell-free DNA (cfDNA) liquid biopsy products for the [...]
