In the news w/e 19 April

Your media headlines roundup, week ending 19 April…

Princess Alexandra Hospital: The heartbreaking reality of looking after Essex’s sickest babies in the neonatal unit
EssexLive – 13 April 2019
The Newborn Intensive Care Unit (NICU), where babies go if they were too eager to come into the world, or had to be delivered before they were expected. Read the full story.

£18m leisure centre to be built on St John’s Road, Epping after 10-year campaign by Epping Forest District Council
Epping Forest Guardian – 13 April 2019
During Epping Forest District Council’s (EFDC) cabinet meeting on Thursday, April 11, the estimated £18 million facility will be built on St John’s Road, Epping. Read the full story.

Life expectancy has stopped rising – what should we do?
Epping Forest Guardian – 14 April 2019
The recent news that life expectancy has stopped rising in the UK hardly got a mention in a news agenda dominated by Brexit. Read the full story.

Novelists set to talk about their new works at book shop
Saffron Walden Reporter – 14 April 2019
A debut novelist who has written a book about four female scientists inventing a time travel machine, and an occupational psychologist who has documented decades of work supporting junior doctors, are giving talks at Hart’s Books in Saffron Walden. Read the full story.

More GP appointments available due to success of pilot scheme
BBC Health – 13 April 2019
An NHS scheme that has enabled GP practices to free up more time for doctors to see their patients is to be extended following a successful pilot. Read the full story.

Gene-silencing: ‘New class’ of medicine reverses disease porphyria
BBC Health – 13 April 2019
Doctors have used a new type of medicine called “gene silencing” to reverse a disease that leaves people in crippling pain. Read the full story.

Regulator criticised for ‘unbelievably arrogant’ approval process
HSJ – 15 April 2019
Patient groups have called NHS England “unbelievably arrogant” for failing to listen to patients during drug funding reviews. Email for the full story.

Measles cases triple globally in 2019, says UN
BBC Health – 15 April 2019
The number of measles cases reported worldwide in the first three months of 2019 has tripled compared with the same time last year, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Read the full story.

Statins ‘don’t work well for one in two people’
BBC Health – 15 April 2019
Cholesterol-lowering “statin” drugs taken by millions of Britons may not work well enough in about half of those prescribed them, research suggests. Read the full story.

Clampdown planned for British online pharmacies
BBC Health – 16 April 2019
New rules to keep people safe when buying medications from online pharmacies have been described as a “big step forward” by Britain’s pharmacy regulator. Read the full story.

Sleep myths ‘damaging your health’
BBC Health – 16 April 2019
Widely held myths about sleep are damaging our health and our mood, as well as shortening our lives, say researchers. Read the full story.

Free sanitary products plan extended to primary girls
BBC Health – 16 April 2019
Free sanitary products will be offered to girls in all primary schools in England from early 2020. Read the full story.

CCGs could face fresh pressures to fund costly drug
HSJ – 16 April 2019
Clinical commissioning groups could face renewed pressure to fund an expensive thyroid drug under NHS England revised guidance, due to be published shortly. Email for the full story.

One in four NHS wards has dangerously low numbers of nurses, researchers find
The Independent – 16 April 2019
One in four NHS wards routinely operates at staffing levels so low that patient safety is threatened, experts have warned. Read the full story.

Temporary security lanes at Stansted Airport will provide ‘additional capacity’ during improvement works
Saffron Walden Reporter – 16 April 2019
Stansted Airport is creating temporary security lanes outside on the terminal forecourt while construction work takes place in the departure area. Read the full story.

Technology to keep dementia patients out of hospital
BBC Health – 17 April 2019
Sensors small enough to fit in the ear, robotic devices and sleep monitors could all become standard technology in the homes of people with dementia, scientists say. Read the full story.

Breech baby scan ‘would save lives’
BBC Health – 17 April 2019
Mums-to-be could be routinely offered an ultrasound scan at 36 weeks to help spot risky breech deliveries, when a baby’s bottom or feet will emerge first, say UK researchers. Read the full story.

Trust picks ‘NHS option’ for pathology network
HSJ – 16 April 2019
A hospital trust has chosen an “NHS option” for its pathology work in the shape of a large provider outside its local area. Email for the full story.

Road set to close for six months to replace ‘deteriorating’ bridge
Saffron Walden Reporter – 17 April 2019
A road in Elsenham will be closed for six months for engineers to replace a “weak and deteriorating” 140-year-old bridge. Read the full story.

Picture gallery: Saffron Walden mayor officially opens new playground
Saffron Walden Reporter – 17 April 2019
The new playground at Saffron Walden Common was officially opened by the mayor of Saffron Walden, Paul Fairhurst, and competition winner Noah Thompson. Read the full story.

A rasher of bacon a day ‘ups cancer risk’
BBC News – 17 April 2019
Even small amounts of red and processed meat – such as a rasher of bacon a day – can increase the risk of bowel cancer, according to research. Read the full story.

HIV used to cure ‘bubble boy’ disease
BBC News – 17 April 2019
US scientists say they used HIV to make a gene therapy that cured eight infants of severe combined immunodeficiency, or “bubble boy” disease. Read the full story.

Patients struggling to contact new provider after service transfer
HSJ – 18 April 2019
Patients have claimed they have been left hanging on the telephone for hours after a dermatology service was transferred to a new provider. Email for the full story.

Details of health services in Harlow over Easter
Your Harlow – 17 April 2019
WITH the four-day Easter holiday fast approaching, local doctors have issued advice to help you to stay well and make sure you have enough medicines to see you through the holiday period. Read the full story.

Support available for patients when leaving hospital
Your Harlow – 17 April 2019
The team of staff who are specifically engaged in ensuring good care after a hospital stay consists of nursing staff, social care workers and liaison staff. Read the full story.