Published10 hours agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, NHS EnglandBy Aurelia FosterHealth reporter Male cancer warnings are to appear on urinal mats in public toilets as part of an NHS England drive to increase early detection of the disease. The mats will carry a message urging men to seek help if they notice blood in their urine, which can be a symptom of bladder, kidney or prostate cancer.They will be installed in thousands of toilets in pubs, restaurants, hotels, football grounds and some workplaces.The NHS hopes to diagnose 75% of cancers at early stages by 2028. The mats are placed in urinals and designed to reduce odours.This awareness campaign follows recent NHS England research which revealed nearly half of men (49%) did not know blood appearing in urine was a cancer symptom.The survey also found that more than a third of men (39%) would wait for a recurrence of the symptom before visiting a doctor.NHS chiefs believe the scheme will take “vital cancer awareness messaging” into locations where symptoms such as blood in pee may first be noticed. Early cancer diagnosis blood test shows promiseProf Peter Johnson, NHS England’s National Clinical Director for Cancer, said the symptom “shouldn’t be ignored” and urged anyone experiencing it to “get checked out early”, as it could be life-saving.Image source, NHS EnglandAdil Malik, a kidney cancer patient from London, welcomed the initiative, after himself experiencing the symptom.Mr Malik, who was diagnosed aged 28, said: “My story shows that cancer can affect people of any age…”Prostate cancer patient Michael Sloane, 67, from Buckinghamshire, said the initiative was “an important way to ensure men get the message that if they have blood in their pee, they really need to get it checked out”. Bladder, kidney and prostate cancer are among the 10 most prevalent types of the disease in England, and generally affect men more than women. Other common symptoms include urinating very often, sudden urges to urinate, a burning sensation while urinating, a lump or swelling in the back, under the ribs, or in the neck, and pain in the side between the ribs and the hip.Under its long-term plan, NHS England set itself a goal for 55,000 more people annually to survive their cancer for at least five years after diagnosis by 2028.Plans to detect more cancers earlier include the rollout of a blood test which could detect up to 50 cancers before symptoms appear. NHS England is also planning to launch lung health checks by 2029 in order to detect lung cancer early more often.More on this storyThousands of men miss out on prostate cancer drugPublished23 OctoberBBC presenter Nick Owen reveals cancer diagnosisPublished7 AugustBlood test for 50 cancers excites scientistsPublished2 JuneTrial detects lung cancer earlier, NHS trust saysPublished17 November 2022NHS not making progress on early cancer diagnosisPublished5 April 2022Related Internet LinksNHS EnglandThe BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.

Published1 hour agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, Getty ImagesBy Aurelia FosterHealth reporter, BBC NewsA drug which stops HIV infecting the body has proved to be a highly effective “real-world” preventative treatment, a study has confirmed.The results of the research on 24,000 people taking it across England, have been described as “reassuring”.Thousands of people are already taking PrEP through sexual health clinics.HIV charity the Terrence Higgins Trust wants easier access to the drug, since many people, including women, do not know it exists.The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), which led the PrEP Impact Trial with the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, said it was the largest ever real-world study of its kind.It was carried out at 157 sexual health clinics across England between October 2017 and July 2020.The study found use of PrEP, also known as pre-exposure prophylaxis. reduced the chances of getting HIV by 86%. Clinical trials suggested it was 99% effective.Dr John Saunders, a consultant in sexual health and HIV who worked on the study, said: “This trial has further demonstrated the effectiveness of PrEP in preventing HIV transmission and has, for the first time, shown the protective effect reported by earlier trials, but at scale, and delivered through routine sexual health services in England.”The Terrence Higgins Trust HIV charity welcomed the study’s publication, but said there was “more to be done” to increase access to, and awareness of, the drug, particularly among some minority groups.Debbie Laycock, head of policy, said: “We think that there are certain communities and individuals at the moment who could benefit from PrEP but aren’t accessing it.””Many women just don’t know PrEP exists,” she added.She said the charity was calling for PrEP to be made available in pharmacies and online to widen access to it.Dr Saunders said that although the clinical success of the drug had been proven, this study revealed other important information about how it is used. “Before, we didn’t know how many people would want it, take it, or how long they would stay on it for,” he said. “Now we know who is being prescribed it and we can work with clinics to try and get more people to take it.”He said that “real-world effectiveness” was dependent on many factors, particularly whether the drug is taken correctly. Image source, Harry Dodd’Liberating’Harry Dodd, who has taken part in several PrEP trials, said taking the drug has been “empowering” for him as he no longer fears catching HIV.”I haven’t thought about that for the best part of a decade and that’s liberating. I have had long-term partners who have HIV since [taking the drug] and that would not have been on my radar before. I now have the confidence to love freely.”However, Mr Dodd, 33, from north London, said he believed there was a “stigma” attached to the drug as it was “sexually related and historically connected to gay communities”. The UKSHA said the effectiveness of the drug would help achieve the government’s aim of zero HIV transmissions by 2030, but that more people needed to take it.Dr Saunders said that while gay and bisexual men were most likely to use the drug, many people from other groups, such as straight women, would benefit from taking it.PrEP, which contains existing HIV treatment drugs tenofovir disoproxil and emtricitabine, works by stopping HIV from entering the body and making copies of itself. It can either be taken as a daily pill or an “event” basis before sexual intercourse.The decision to make the treatment widely available on the NHS in England in 2020 was partly based on earlier findings from this research, as well as results of earlier clinical trials.The results of this study, published in the Lancet HIV, have only just been released because of the large sample size and the time taken to peer review it. NHS England has been approached for comment. More on this storyPreventative HIV drug to be available in EnglandPublished15 March 2020HIV ‘game-changer’ to arrive next monthPublished3 August 2017HIV drug ‘gave me confidence to trust’Published2 August 2016Related Internet LinksHomepage — Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation TrustUK Health Security Agency – GOV.UKThe BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.

Published19 minutes agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, Getty / Science Photo LibraryBy Aurelia FosterBBC NewsToo many people are still dying from sepsis due to “the same mistakes” highlighted more than 10 years ago, the UK’s health ombudsman has warned. Rob Behrens, who handles complaints about the NHS, said sepsis diagnosis and treatment was taking too long.The UK Sepsis Trust estimates about 48,000 people die each year from sepsis-related illnesses, “thousands” of which are preventable.NHS England said it was working to improve sepsis management.Sepsis develops when the body’s immune system overreacts to an infection and starts attacking its own tissues and organs. Symptoms can be similar to those of flu and include severe breathlessness and a high fever.In 2013, the ombudsman looked into several sepsis deaths and concluded patients were not being diagnosed or treated quickly enough.A series of recommendations were made at the time. However, in a new report the service found that although some improvements had been made in the past decade “significant improvements” were urgently needed to avoid more deaths.’Harrowing stories’Mr Behrens found there were still delays in spotting and treating the condition in hospitals.He also identified issues with insufficient staff training, poor communication, poor record-keeping and missed opportunities for follow-up care.”I’ve heard some harrowing stories about sepsis through our investigations and it frustrates and saddens me that the same mistakes we highlighted 10 years ago are still occurring,” he said.Mr Behrens highlighted a series of deaths that he believed may have been preventable. Image source, Merope MillsAmong the cases he examined was that of a patient named in the report as Kath, who died at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals Trust after being admitted with pneumonia two weeks earlier.After her death it was revealed that medical notes showed sepsis was suspected by clinical staff but this was not acted upon. This was a “missed opportunity” to spot and treat the condition, Mr Behrens said.The patient’s daughter said the report’s findings had left the family “grieving all over again”.Another patient, named in the report as “Ms R”, died of sepsis which developed after she was discharged from hospital, having had bowel cancer surgery. She had suffered complications in hospital but her recovery was not monitored.The ombudsman concluded her death may have been avoided if follow-up appointments had been arranged.Mr Behrens also said the NHS needed to “listen to patients and their families when they raise concerns”.He said: “Crucially, NHS staff must be sepsis-aware.”Image source, Philliskirk familyThe UK Sepsis Trust said there was now a need for sepsis to become a “key priority” for healthcare.Dr Ron Daniels, the charity’s CEO, said: “Although progress was certainly made in the years following the report up until the time of the pandemic, not only is it clear that there is significant opportunity for greater improvement but we are also gravely concerned that attention to sepsis is being afforded lower priority in the wake of the pandemic and in an already emburdened NHS.”NHS England said there had been improvements in sepsis care but admitted more work was needed. In a separate case that was not investigated by the ombudsman, the family of a 16-month-old boy who died from sepsis after hospital failings recently told the BBC their “parental concerns were dismissed” by medics when their son was ill.James Philliskirk was wrongly diagnosed with chicken pox by doctors at Sheffield Children’s Hospital in May 2022.James’s mother Helen Philliskirk said: “On both trips to the hospital we feel like it was quite a blinkered approach.”Recently, the ombudsman said he wanted to see the introduction of “Martha’s rule”, which would entitle patients to a second medical opinion about their hospital care. The rule, which is to be introduced by the NHS, is named after 13-year-old Martha Mills, who died from sepsis following a cycling accident in 2021. An inquest found she would have survived if her care had been better.What is sepsis?Sepsis is known as the “hidden killer” because it can be so hard to detect.It is caused by the immune system going into overdrive. Instead of just fighting an infection, it starts attacking other parts of the body too.Ultimately it causes organ failure. Even survivors can be left with long-term damage and disability.Bacteria and viruses that cause diarrhoeal infections or lung diseases are the leading triggers of sepsis.The symptoms include loss of consciousness, severe breathlessness, a high temperature, slurred speech, nausea and vomiting, diarrhoea and severe muscle pain.More on this storyBoss of NHS complaints calls for Martha’s rulePublished5 SeptemberAmputee musician’s call for sepsis awarenessPublished13 SeptemberSepsis victim describes impact of losing both legsPublished2 AugustConcerns dismissed before toddler sepsis – parentsPublished19 MayWoman, 24, dies of sepsis weeks after flu symptomsPublished6 AprilHospital missed sepsis signs before girl, 4, diedPublished28 January 2022Related Internet LinksNHS EnglandHealth Service Ombudsman – Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO)The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.