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UK to get 'world class' health care
Although the UK's healthcare system has improved substantially, it does not yet provide "world-class care", it is to be argued today.
Professor Sir Ian Kennedy, chairman of the Healthcare Commission, plans to make the claim as he launches an independent report on the state of healthcare in England and Wales.
Granting that life expectancy has risen significantly, the report nevertheless underlines that a "huge disparity" exists between areas of differing wealth.
Furthermore, despite improvements in the performance of NHS Trusts, many primary care trusts are apparently failing to understand the needs of their communities.
"People are living longer because of improvements in health and in the quality of care," Sir Ian admitted.
He continued: "We should acknowledge and celebrate these successes, but we should also be clear that there is still some way to go before everyone gets world-class care.
"People are getting healthier, but there is serious disparity in both general health and in the care available to the haves and have-nots."
According to the report, there are 18 per cent fewer GPs in poorer areas of England and Wales, as well as a considerable lack of attention shown to the UK's growing obesity crisis.
Direct Life and Pensions Services Ltd are one of the UK's leading providers of life insurance, term life assurance, mortgage protection, critical illness and life insurance advice online
Survey shows stroke ignorance
British people need to be more aware of ways to avoid a stroke, according to a new survey of European stroke awareness.
The study by The Stroke Association, assessed 3,155 people in the UK, Germany, Spain, Italy, and the Netherlands and found a distressingly low level of public awareness of stroke risks in Britain.
Only 64 per cent of British respondents were correctly able to define a stroke as a brain attack caused by a blood clot or bleed in the brain, while 83 per cent of Germans could identify the condition.
Joe Koerner, director of communications at The Stroke Association, was troubled by the figures, which included the revelation that just under one fifth of Britons would not take regular exercise, even in the knowledge that it would reduce the risk of a stroke.
"This survey highlights a worrying lack of understanding about how serious a stroke is amongst the British public and the risks that people are prepared to take with their health," he said.
"Even more worryingly, one in four British people said they would not take regular prescription medicine even if they knew it would reduce their risk of stroke."
Hypertension, the single biggest risk factor for stroke, was found to be more common among British respondents than among any of the other nationalities questioned.
'Drug shown to lower heart attack risk'
Trials of a drug in America have shown a reduction in the risk of heart attacks and strokes among heart disease patients, scientists claim.
The news may affect the life insurance policies of heart disease sufferers, as despite widespread use of statins - cholesterol-lowering drugs - some patients continue to suffer from heart attacks and strokes.
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine believe that high levels of an enzyme, known as Lp-PLA2, found in coronary plaques may make them more likely to rupture and block blood flow.
The drug darapladib was found to reduce the activity of Lp-PLA2 when tested on patients already taking statins.
"This is an exciting new area of medical treatment for cardiovascular disease," said the study's lead author, Professor Emile Mohler.
"It is hoped that this drug will stabilize artery plaque and prevent heart attack and stroke," she added.
According to the British Heart Foundation, heart and circulatory disease is the UK's biggest killer.
Coronary heart disease causes over 117,000 deaths each year in the UK.
Although the UK's healthcare system has improved substantially, it does not yet provide "world-class care", it is to be argued today.
Professor Sir Ian Kennedy, chairman of the Healthcare Commission, plans to make the claim as he launches an independent report on the state of healthcare in England and Wales.
Granting that life expectancy has risen significantly, the report nevertheless underlines that a "huge disparity" exists between areas of differing wealth.
Furthermore, despite improvements in the performance of NHS Trusts, many primary care trusts are apparently failing to understand the needs of their communities.
"People are living longer because of improvements in health and in the quality of care," Sir Ian admitted.
He continued: "We should acknowledge and celebrate these successes, but we should also be clear that there is still some way to go before everyone gets world-class care.
"People are getting healthier, but there is serious disparity in both general health and in the care available to the haves and have-nots."
According to the report, there are 18 per cent fewer GPs in poorer areas of England and Wales, as well as a considerable lack of attention shown to the UK's growing obesity crisis.
Direct Life and Pensions Services Ltd are one of the UK's leading providers of life insurance, term life assurance, mortgage protection, critical illness and life insurance advice online
British people need to be more aware of ways to avoid a stroke, according to a new survey of European stroke awareness.
The study by The Stroke Association, assessed 3,155 people in the UK, Germany, Spain, Italy, and the Netherlands and found a distressingly low level of public awareness of stroke risks in Britain.
Only 64 per cent of British respondents were correctly able to define a stroke as a brain attack caused by a blood clot or bleed in the brain, while 83 per cent of Germans could identify the condition.
Joe Koerner, director of communications at The Stroke Association, was troubled by the figures, which included the revelation that just under one fifth of Britons would not take regular exercise, even in the knowledge that it would reduce the risk of a stroke.
"This survey highlights a worrying lack of understanding about how serious a stroke is amongst the British public and the risks that people are prepared to take with their health," he said.
"Even more worryingly, one in four British people said they would not take regular prescription medicine even if they knew it would reduce their risk of stroke."
Hypertension, the single biggest risk factor for stroke, was found to be more common among British respondents than among any of the other nationalities questioned.
Trials of a drug in America have shown a reduction in the risk of heart attacks and strokes among heart disease patients, scientists claim.
The news may affect the life insurance policies of heart disease sufferers, as despite widespread use of statins - cholesterol-lowering drugs - some patients continue to suffer from heart attacks and strokes.
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine believe that high levels of an enzyme, known as Lp-PLA2, found in coronary plaques may make them more likely to rupture and block blood flow.
The drug darapladib was found to reduce the activity of Lp-PLA2 when tested on patients already taking statins.
"This is an exciting new area of medical treatment for cardiovascular disease," said the study's lead author, Professor Emile Mohler.
"It is hoped that this drug will stabilize artery plaque and prevent heart attack and stroke," she added.
According to the British Heart Foundation, heart and circulatory disease is the UK's biggest killer.
Coronary heart disease causes over 117,000 deaths each year in the UK.