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Mar 21 2023
Hundreds of people have lost sight due to NHS treatment delays | UK News

Hundreds of people have lost their sight due to treatment delays caused by NHS backlogs, it has been revealed.

NHS England figures, released after a Freedom of Information request by the Association of Optometrists (AOP), showed that more than 200 eye care patients had suffered because of long waits for care since 2019.

Of those, 99 incidents involved “severe harm” and 120 “moderate harm” – including one patient who went blind in their left eye after going three months without what should have been a monthly injection.

Hundreds more people are suspected to have been affected by what the AOP described as a “health emergency”.

The backlog for ophthalmology appointments in England is the second-largest in the NHS, standing at 628,502 – with 27,260 waiting a year or more.

Nearly half of UK optometrists are now seriously concerned about the number of patients who could lose sight unnecessarily because of NHS backlogs, the AOP warned.

People ‘terrified’ of going blind

It comes after a poll revealed more than half of Britons who have needed treatment for macular eye conditions in the past two years have experienced a delay waiting for an appointment or care.

Nearly half of the 498 people surveyed have experienced a loss or decline in vision during this time.

Cathy Yelf, chief executive of eye charity Macular Society, said people are “terrified” at the prospect of going blind.

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The AOP is calling on the government to adopt a “national strategy for eye care” to tackle the issue, including allowing more community optometrists to provide care and follow-up services to reduce pressure on the NHS.

AOP chief Adam Sampson said: “There are good treatments available for common age-related eye conditions like macular degeneration, but many hospital trusts simply do not have the capacity to deliver services.”

“It’s incomprehensible and absolutely tragic that patients are waiting, losing their vision, in many parts of the country because of the way eye healthcare is commissioned,” he added.

The Department of Health and Social Care said the NHS was making good progress in reducing wait times and is working towards eliminating delays of a year or more for elective care by March 2025.

The government plans to spend more than £8bn between 2022 and 2025 to support elective recovery.

“No one should have to suffer avoidable sight loss, and we are taking action to improve access to services, including appointing a national clinical director for eye care to oversee the recovery and transformation of services, so patients receive the care they need,” said a spokesperson.

“We are also investing in the ophthalmology workforce, with more training places provided in 2022 – and even more planned for 2023 – alongside improved training for existing staff.”

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Dec 11 2022
Teenager is ‘leukaemia-free’ after revolutionary cell-editing treatment | Science & Tech News

A 13-year-old has become leukaemia-free with help from a revolutionary new treatment, doctors say.

Alyssa, whose family did not want to give their surname, was diagnosed with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in 2021.

Conventional treatments, including chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant, failed to prevent the disease from returning.

In May, Alyssa was given universal CAR (chimeric antigen receptor) T-cells that had been pre-manufactured from a healthy donor, as part of a clinical trial.

Twenty-eight days later, she was in remission and was able to have a second bone marrow transplant.

She is said to be “doing well” recovering at home, while her condition is monitored by Great Ormond Street Hospital, where she received the treatment.

Alyssa’s mother Kiona said the family were “on a strange cloud nine”, adding: “Hopefully this can prove the research works and they can offer it to more children – all of this needs to have been for something.”

Alyssa, from Leicester, said: “Once I do it, people will know what they need to do, one way or another, so doing this will help people – of course I’m going to do it.”

Without the treatment, the next step was palliative care

The pre-manufactured cells were edited using new technology.

The edited CAR T-cells can then be given to a patient so that they quickly find and destroy T-cells in the body, including cancerous ones.

Then the person can have a bone marrow transplant to restore their depleted immune system.

Without the treatment, Alyssa’s only next step would have been palliative care, scientists said.

Dr Robert Chiesa, consultant in bone marrow transplant and CAR T-cell therapy at GOSH, said the outcome was “quite remarkable”, but said Alyssa’s condition must continue to be monitored over the next few months.

He said: “Since Alyssa got sick with her leukaemia in May last year, she never achieved a complete remission – not with chemotherapy and not after her first bone marrow transplant.

“Only after she received her CD7 CAR-T cell therapy and a second bone marrow transplant in GOSH she has become leukaemia-free.”

‘Ultimately better futures for sick children’

Professor Waseem Qasim, consultant immunologist at GOSH, said: “This is a great demonstration of how, with expert teams and infrastructure, we can link cutting-edge technologies in the lab with real results in the hospital for patients.

“It’s our most sophisticated cell engineering so far and paves the way for other new treatments and ultimately better futures for sick children.”

The research will be presented at the American Society of Haematology’s annual meeting in New Orleans this weekend.

Great Ormond Street Hospital wants to recruit up to 10 patients with T-cell leukaemia who have exhausted all conventional options for a clinical trial. They will be referred by specialists.

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Nov 7 2022
Duran Duran’s Andy Taylor forced to miss Hall of Fame induction due to stage 4 cancer treatment | Ents & Arts News

Duran Duran’s original guitarist Andy Taylor was forced to miss the band’s induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame due to ongoing treatment for stage 4 metastatic prostate cancer.

The British new wave group revealed Taylor, 61, was ill by reading a letter from him to the audience at the ceremony at the Microsoft Theatre in Los Angeles.

Taylor had been due to reunite with his former bandmates – singer Simon Le Bon, keyboardist Nick Rhodes, bassist John Taylor and drummer Roger Taylor – but they said he had suffered a setback that would not allow him to travel to Los Angeles from his home in Ibiza.

The ceremony was set to be the first time the five-piece band from Birmingham had played together in 17 years, having last reformed for a world tour and the album Astronaut in 2004.

John Taylor, Nick Rhodes, Simon Le Bon, and Roger Taylor of Duran Duran on stage in LA
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John Taylor, Nick Rhodes, Simon Le Bon, and Roger Taylor of Duran Duran on stage in LA

The group were the first act inducted during Saturday’s ceremony and took the stage by performing their 1981 breakthrough hit Girls On Film.

They continued with a set that included Hungry Like The Wolf and Ordinary World before addressing Taylor’s absence by reading the letter.

Taylor wrote: “Just over four years ago I was diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic prostate cancer.

“Many families have experienced the slow burn of this disease and of course we are no different; so I speak from the perspective of a family man but with profound humility to the band, the greatest fans a group could have and this exceptional accolade.

“I have the ‘Rodgers and Edwards’ of doctors and medical treatment that until very recently allowed me to just rock on.

“Although my current condition is not immediately life-threatening, there is no cure.”

Rodgers and Edwards refers to Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards, the pop producers and founders of Chic, who worked with Duran Duran throughout their career.

Taylor added that he was “truly sorry and massively disappointed” he could not attend the ceremony, noting he had even bought a new guitar for the occasion, but that he was “very proud of these four brothers” and “overjoyed” they were accepting this award.

“I often doubted the day would come. I’m sure as hell glad I’m around to see the day”, he added.

Also inducted during the ceremony were Lionel Richie, Pat Benatar, Eminem, Carly Simon, Eurythmics, Harry Belafonte, Judas Priest and Dolly Parton.

Duran Duran formed in Birmingham in 1978 and were one of the biggest acts of the 1980s, with hits including Rio, Wild Boys and Bond theme A View To A Kill. The three Taylors are not related.

The group has risen to prominence again recently, releasing their 15th studio album, Future Past, last year and undertaking a 40th anniversary celebration tour, including headlining the British Summer Time festival in London’s Hyde Park this year.

They also performed at the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee concert at Buckingham Palace and starred in the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony in Birmingham.

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Sep 3 2022
Music’s power to ‘unlock memories and emotions’ helps in dementia treatment, survey suggests | UK News

The power of music to treat dementia has been further reinforced by a new survey.

In a collaboration between the charity Music for Dementia and the keyboard manufacturer Casio, more than 100 dementia patients were enrolled in six months of musical therapy.

Care homes were sent specialised keyboards that allowed residents to play along to their favourite songs in the presence of a musical therapist.

At the end of the six-month period, 79% of musical therapists reported their patients showed improved memory and recall, and more than 70% saw reductions in anxiety and depression.

The survey builds on a number of recent scientific studies, such as one published in the Lancet earlier this year.

It found that music had a clinically significant impact on reducing depression and other symptoms in care home residents suffering from dementia.

There are several reasons music may be an effective method of treatment.

Clare Barone, musical therapy lead at Methodist Homes, said: “From a therapeutic perspective, music can touch emotions, unlock memories, and the two go hand-in-hand really.

“So positive memories can just bring somebody alive, reminiscence, positive wellbeing, the engagement in something, a meaningful activity – like we saw with Jill – playing the keyboard actually brought back memories of her children and playing in the past and the importance of that song for her.”

Jill is an 82-year-old resident living with moderate-stage mixed dementia.

Over the course of her treatment, she saw a marked cognitive improvement, going from being able to recognise and whistle along to a familiar melody, to playing parts of it with the keyboard’s assistive technology.

During a demonstration for Sky News, Jill played much of the piece before admitting with a wry smile: “I don’t know how the hell I did that.”

Grace Meadows, campaign director at Music for Dementia, said: It’s innovative, creative initiatives like this which demonstrate how easy it can be for carers to make music a part of good dementia care.

“We would like to see this programme rolled out nationwide as a way of supporting carers to provide the best possible personalised care for those living with dementia.”

In April, Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries backed a plan to create a “power of music commissioner” to promote the benefits of music in a variety of healthcare settings.

The political will, it appears, is there, if it can survive the imminent arrival of another new Conservative administration.

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Jul 31 2022
Archie Battersbee set to have treatment withdrawn on Monday after life support battle | UK News

Archie Battersbee, who is on life support, is set to have treatment withdrawn at 2pm on Monday unless the government complies with an injunction from the United Nations’ High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Barts Health NHS Trust, which is treating the 12-year-old, said in a letter to his parents that “no supplemental oxygen will be given” after the endotracheal tube of the mechanical ventilator is removed.

Archie has relied on the machine to breathe since being admitted to hospital on 7 April after being found unconscious at home by his mother.

“The time it takes for the heart to stop beating is often a matter of minutes, but in some cases, this can take longer,” the letter continued.

“A doctor will assess Archie regularly to confirm that the heart has stopped beating but with consideration of the family’s need not to have too much intrusion at such a difficult time.”

Archie’s parents Hollie Dance and Paul Battersbee will be told on Monday morning how the withdrawal process is to be performed, with the aim to “preserve Archie’s dignity”, the letter read.

It went on: “You or any of the family may wish to lie on Archie’s bed with him or have him in your arms, if that should be practically possible.”

More on Archie Battersbee

A High Court judge had ruled that ending treatment is in Archie’s best interests, after reviewing evidence from clinicians and said the boy’s prognosis was “bleak”.

The family says doctors should give Archie a chance to recover and have made an application to the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, citing Articles 10 and 12 of the Convention (UNCRPD) which call on nations to ensure the right to life and equal rights for disabled people.

In a letter to Ms Dance and her barrister Mr Bruno Quintavalle, the committee writes it has “requested the state party [the UK] to refrain from withdrawing life-preserving medical treatment, including medical ventilation and artificial nutrition and hydration from the alleged victim while the case is under consideration by the committee”.

Read more:
Archie Battersbee’s mother appeals for help from health secretary
Supreme Court refuses to intervene in life-support battle for brain-damaged boy

Archie's parents Paul Battersbee and Hollie Dance
Image:
Archie’s parents Paul Battersbee and Hollie Dance

On Saturday the government told Sky News it has received correspondence from the UN which it is carefully considering.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “We recognise this is an exceptionally difficult time for Archie Battersbee’s family and our thoughts are with them.

“We have received the letter and will respond in due course.”

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Archie’s mother makes plea

Ms Dance told Sky News she is waiting anxiously for the British government to comply with the UN request.

Barts Health NHS Trust said delaying the start of palliative care would “not be appropriate without an order of the court.”

The family said the assertions were misleading, adding: “We as a family are very disappointed that the Trust’s management has chosen to hide behind euphemisms and to mislead the public.

“It is hard to see any reason for that behaviour except knowing that what they are doing is cruel and wrong.”

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