Lessen The Pain Of Your Hospital Stay

The government has recently announced that car parking charges for hospitals in England are to remain in place.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, which advises the NHS in England and Wales, believes the measures may help to tackle obesity, smoking and drinking. They describe cash incentives to reward changes in lifestyle as an “Idea whose time has come” and are looking to gather additional evidence before submitting a formal recommendation.

This is not the first time the body has considered rewarding people for change; they have previously encouraged the scheme to help people beat drug addiction.

In a bid to determine public reaction, NICE is planning to push role out the concept in front of its citizen’s council on Thursday and Friday.

Head of public health for NICE, Professor Mike Kelly says; “We will want to see evidence that it provides value for money, there is a question over whether behaviour is sustained when incentives end. Humans respond to incentives, we know that. What we now need to see is whether the economic behaviour can be repeated in terms of health behaviour. It is an idea whose time has come.”

* Medicash hospital terms and conditions 1. Inpatient – Medicash cover you for treatment when you are hospitalised overnight for medical treatment or a continuation of medical care. We do not cover the first night or single night stays. 2. Parental stay – Medicash cover you when one adult covered by the plan stays with their child under the age of twelve when they are admitted as an inpatient. We do not cover the first night or single night stays. 3. Hospital daycase – Medicash cover any daycase admission to a hospital or recognised medical centre to attend an appointment for diagnosis, treatment, investigation or minor surgery. Your attendance must be pre-planned with no intended overnight stay. 4. Please note that hospital benefits are not included on all Medicash health plans.

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Cosmetic Surgery – The Truth

The image of perfection has never been as strong as it is in the media today, turning an increasing number of people to cosmetic surgery, in the quest for physical improvement.

More than 7 million has been awarded to the sufferers of botched surgery in the last 13 years. In 2005 there were 22,000 cosmetic procedures in the UK, and though many were seen through properly and professionally, some were unlucky enough to be blighted by surgical errors and negligence.

Channel 4′s documentary, The Ugly Face of Beauty, uncovers the misleading and overpowering sales techniques used by clinics to drum up business. Some less reputable clinics fail to offer any aftercare at all which can pose a serious danger to a patient’s recovery. Wounds can be infected and lead to permanent disfigurement in extreme cases.

All surgeons should not be tarred with the same brush however. There are many that ensure patients are fully informed of the procedures and their risks, and that also provide excellent aftercare. The General Medical Council require cosmetic surgeons to register their practice, to ensure that the minimum standards of care are continuously met.

However, a report by the Chief Medical Officer in 2005 found that surgeons who only did cosmetic surgery were the least likely to have registered as specialists. This perhaps explains why so many patients are rushed in with promises of guaranteed results, and rushed out with no aftercare, resulting in infections that require serious operations and disfigurement.

The consequences of cosmetic surgery clinical negligence, range from mismatched and lopsided breast implants to tummy tucks with sickening scars. Wound infection and bleeding (haematoma) are risks of any surgery and can occur without negligence, but the lack of aftercare and follow-up with timely intervention to treat problems can be negligent and can make the consequences long-lasting.

If a clinic is registered with the Healthcare Commission they must have a complaints procedure in place. As a result if the clinic is unhelpful the Healthcare Commission can be asked to review the case. The difficulty for many patients is that most clinics will get payment upfront for the procedure, leaving the patient with little effective remedy when things go wrong. The frustration of getting no compensation for botched surgery adds insult to injury and leaves patients with fragile self-esteem in need of an understanding, sympathetic and effective solicitor.

The frustration of getting no compensation for botched surgery adds insult to injury and leaves patients with fragile self-esteem in need of an understanding, sympathetic and effective solicitor. All too often legal action is the only way to get an answer.

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Reward For IVF Pioneer

Professor Robert Edwards, the British pioneer of reproductive medicine, has been awarded the 2010 Nobel Prize for Medicine for his groundbreaking work into treating infertility.

Prof Edwards has long been at the forefront of reproductive medicine, from his early exploration of the biology of fertilization to his key role in developing and refining IVF.

Their success means that today, the probability of an infertile couple taking home a baby after a cycle of IVF today is one in five; about the same that healthy couples have of conceiving naturally. The pair faced numerous challenges in their quest, including opposition from churches and governments, as well as scepticism from scientific colleagues.

Since then, about four million people have been born using IVF techniques, and it has a live birth rate of about 27 percent, though that varies dramatically based on the demographics and background of the parents.

“Today, Robert Edwards’ vision is a reality and brings joy to infertile people all over the world,” the assembly said. People who worked with Prof Edwards describe him as an inspirational man Prof Edwards, who is ill, was not available to speak to the media.

The Manchester-born scientist undertook postgraduate, then post doctoral, research at the Institute of Animal Genetics at Edinburgh University from 1951-57. He said: “Edinburgh is where it all started – everything was in my head, but not on paper, by the time I left.”

Hugh Edmiston, the university’s College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine registrar, said: “Professor Robert Edwards began his research career in Edinburgh and we are delighted to see the importance of his work has been recognised by the Nobel committee.

He recalled the thrill of relaying this to a seriously ill Dr Steptoe, shortly before Dr Steptoe’s death. ”I’ll never forget the look of joy in his eyes,” Prof Edwards said. “No-one deserves this award more, and we congratulate him.”

“Edwards and Steptoe were real pioneers, and the award of the Nobel Prize honours not just their work, but the whole field of reproductive science. “After their breakthrough work, Robert went on to nurture the development of the assisted reproduction. “No-one deserves this award more, and we congratulate him.” Source BBC

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When Stress Is A Danger To Health

At some points in life, all individuals are likely to suffer periods of stress or anxiety, but at what stage does it become a danger to your health?

Research from the University of Bologna in Italy has suggested that while a small amount of stress can be beneficial in providing motivation, an accumulation of allostatic load (a reflector of the collective effect of stress) can have a serious impact on a person’s physical and mental health. Psychotherapists think that an allostatic load is prompted by constant exposure to stress in any given period.

It has been proven that when faced with chronic stress and an over active nervous system, people begin to experience physical symptoms. The first symptoms appear to be relatively mild, with disturbances such as chronic headaches and an increased susceptibility to colds and viruses. As exposure to stress increases however, more serious health problems may develop.

Hair loss, diabetes, obesity, heart problems and even cancer are thought to be influenced by the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines, which are small chemical messengers made by the body. Too many of these cytokines are bad news for the body as their main role is to cause changes and inflammation in cells and blood vessels.

Stress can have such an impact that in extreme cases sufferers can experience what is known as a nervous breakdown. While in this state everyday functions become impracticable as the person cannot adapt to their changing surroundings. More common though, are minor psychological illnesses such as depression or anxiety disorders such as GAD. GAD, or Generalised Anxiety Disorder is a chronic problem with symptoms including excessive and unrealistic anxiety about a simple situation which has been blown out of proportion, and constant worry about day-to-day activities.

9 in 10 visits to the doctors are thought to concern stress-related symptoms.

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