Seven days in medicine: 28 Sep to 4 Oct 2022
BMJ 2022; 379 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.o2382 (Published 06 October 2022) Cite this as: BMJ 2022;379:o2382
Covid-19
NHS 111 failed some vulnerable patients
An investigation by the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch found that half of all calls to NHS 111 in one particular month early in the covid-19 pandemic were not answered at all, and some patients with underlying conditions such as diabetes did not undergo a clinical assessment. Many covid related calls were wrongly put through to NHS 111 rather than the covid response service that was set up to deal with queries about the disease. The branch’s national investigator, Amber Sargent, said that the findings emphasised the importance of future planning. (Full story doi:10.1136/bmj.o2368)
Cost of living
Patients cut back on drugs to avoid fees
The charity Asthma + Lung UK found that around a sixth of people with asthma (523 of 3471) were cutting back on using their inhaler to make it last longer. The poll found that 6% (196) said they had not been getting their prescriptions, one in 10 (356) had reduced their use of electrical devices such as nebulisers, and 5% (165) had been getting an inhaler from someone who did not have to pay for one. Martin Marshall, chair of the Royal College of General Practitioners, said that the government must tackle “the financial barriers that are restricting some patients’ access to the medication.” (Full story doi: …
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