Chris Mahony

Should patient groups be more transparent about their funding

Patient groups often shout loudly for access to drugs but are quieter about their links to industry. Sophie Arie and Chris Mahony ask whether this is acceptable given increasing demands for transparency elsewhere in medicine

2013 was a horrible year for nursing--nurses are "burnt out," says chief.

Nurses have been scapegoats in scandals over poor quality care when the main problem is understaffing, Peter Carter, head of the Royal College of Nursing, tells Chris Mahony

Second study on valsartan is threatened with retraction over alleged data manipulation

A second major study linking the antihypertensive drug valsartan to a reduced incidence of angina and stroke in high risk patients has come under scrutiny amid claims of data manipulation and undeclared conflicts of interests. Industry website Pharmaceutical Processing said that a committee commissioned by Tokyo’s Jikei University School of Medicine reported on 30 July that the Jikei Heart Study on the Novartis drug Diovan, was “basically defective and lacks credibility.”1 The study was published in the Lancet in 2007.2 Diovan has been a major earner for Novartis. The criticisms come just four months after the European Heart Journal retracted a 2009 paper reporting the Kyoto Heart Study, also based on Japanese research.3 In March the European Cardiology Society, which publishes the journal, referred to “critical problems” …

Public health marketing campaigns: who profits?

For several years the UK government has used corporate advertising agencies to deliver public health campaigns. But how do we know whether they work and offer value for money, asks Chris Mahony

Acute trust takes over treatment centre after £53m pay off to private company

An “undesirable” payment of £53m (€61m;

Sir Bernard Tomlinson

81m) to a private company to withdraw from an underperforming independent sector treatment centre (ISTC) highlights the risk of commercial organisations winning NHS contracts, the BMA has said. Clinicenta, which is owned by property support services company Carillion, will be paid £53m to hand over the Lister surgicentre in Stevenage to East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust, the local acute trust where it is sited. The bulk of the money, £46m, represents the cost of purchasing the building and equipment but the deal includes £3m compensation to the company for ending the contract early. An additional £4m …

Nurses’ leader warns government not to pick fight with profession over seven day working

Pathologist, researcher, and administrator

Gastroenterology Team of the Year

The new leader of the nurses’ union talks to Chris Mahony about a seven day NHS, the axing of the student nurse bursary, and, whisper it, the green shoots of recovery in nursing numbers

Primary care team of the year: saving money and improving care

The nominees for the gastroenterology team award have all improved services by making care more patient centred, finds Chris Mahony

England ends the ban on healthcare workers with HIV performing certain procedures

The BMJ Primary Care Team of the Year Award recognises primary care teams who through some project or initiative have had a substantial effect on the health and wellbeing of the wider community. Judges will be looking for teams who identified a need within a population, created a programme or intervention to meet that need in some way, and can demonstrate that their work produced results that are relevant to UK healthcare. This project seeks to tackle the rise in the numbers of people with impaired glucose tolerance and type 2 diabetes by making dietary treatment a reality for this group. David Unwin and colleagues at Norwood Surgery in Southport sought to educate and support 18 patients with impaired glucose tolerance or diabetes as they tested a low carbohydrate, higher fat diet that international studies have suggested could benefit them. Little research has been done in the UK. A lot of the work was done in groups with patients’ families, which staff say was scary at first but became great fun. Several members of staff also joined the patients on the diet. By using group work and a relatively pleasurable diet emphasising food with healthier fats, vegetables, and protein, the team hoped that the process would be enjoyable for participants. Around half of the 18 met as a group for reviews of progress while the remainder had individual meetings with a GP or practice nurse. Over nine months there were clinically and statistically significant improvements in weight, waist circumference, glycated haemoglobin, and γ-glutamyl transferase results. Mean weight fell from 100.2 kg to 91 kg and glycated haemoglobin levels also fell steadily. There has …