Category: care
Guide for GPs About HIV
posted: 19/05/2011
The popular booklet HIV in Primary Care has a brand new edition ideal for the many GPs unfamiliar with HIV, to help GPs provide high quality care for people living with HIV.
Tell your GP to use this
People living with HIV can help their GP provide better healthcare by telling them about this booklet – it is free to download from MedFASH, or doctors can buy a copy for only £10.
Diagnose and Test
With over a quarter people with HIV in the UK still undiagnosed, the new booklet HIV in Primary Care will help doctors and practice nurses to consider HIV as a possible diagnosis and to test new patients. Testing all new patients is advised in the UK National Guidelines for HIV Testing, which recommend the routine offer of HIV testing for patients with certain conditions or risk factors, and particularly in areas such as Greater Manchester and Blackpool, where HIV prevalence is high.
Better care for patients with HIV
GPs can also help improve their services accessible to people living with HIV by reassuring patients about confidentiality in their practices and by making links with local HIV clinics.
As well as covering testing, the booklet also offers up-to-date information on primary healthcare for patients with HIV, covering day-to-day issues such as contraception, immunisation and cervical screening, as well as side-effects of HIV antiretroviral drugs and potential drug interactions.
GPs who have traditionally not had any or much contact with patients with HIV will see more people with HIV in their surgeries for non-HIV-related problems, because HIV clinics are no longer providing general medical care.
Doctor says
Dr Surinder Singh, a GP from Deptford in London and co-author of the booklet, said: “With the move toward shared care models for people with long-term conditions, GPs will undoubtedly find themselves dealing with people with HIV. In fact it is no more difficult than managing patients with diabetes. The essential element is trust. Ensuring that patients feel confident to disclose their positive HIV status is key, and we hope this booklet will give GPs the information they need to feel confident to provide primary care for HIV-positive patients. Remember that the local HIV specialist unit is available to answer questions from GPs.”
Over 25,000 copies of the first edition of HIV in Primary Care have been distributed since its launch in 2004 and it has received excellent feedback from users.
Getting HIV in Primary Care booklet
Copies can be obtained from MedFASH at £10 per copy, or it can be downloaded free of charge from MedFASH.
The direct download link is here
HIV in Primary Care: an essential guide for GPs, practice nurses and other members of the primary healthcare team by Dr Sara Madge, Dr Philippa Matthews, Dr Surinder Singh and Dr Nick Theobald.
Drs Matthews and Singh are practicing GPs, Drs Madge and Theobald are HIV specialists with a background in general practice. All the authors are involved in GP education.
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Have Your Say - Manchester Cuts
posted: 17/05/2011
People living in Manchester are asked for their views on the future of adult social care services in the city. The council has to save £109m this year, rising to £170m next – 25% of its whole budget.
The council’s plans for making cuts in adult social care are now available and there are 24 local events in May and June where council staff can explain the proposals, answer questions and help fill in questionnaires.
There are four main things the city council is asking residents about
- Supporting people services
- Cuts and changes in voluntary and community sector
- Changes to social care services
- Charges for social care services.
The city plans to change the way it allocates money to the voluntary sector and for supporting people, by assessing the quality and cost of services, and make more use of Telecare and equipment, and change the way it allocates money.
Manchester also proposes to change its charges for social care, for example, by ending its maximum charge so people who can pay more will pay the full cost, whatever that is.
How to have your say
You can read the proposals and then answer questions online, or you can visit one of the 24 events being held over the next three weeks.
Please take part
The more people with HIV living in Manchester who take part the better.
The main proposals and consultation for people with HIV is here. The last public event where you can ask questions is on Friday 3 June and you must send any comments in on this one by Wednesday 6 July.
Some of the documents are PowerPoint presentations that show you what they propose and you will need a computer programme to see this. Here is a link to the free Microsoft PowerPoint Viewer for you to download and install if you need this.
Councillor Glynn Evans, executive member for adults services at Manchester City Council said: "Manchester looks after a large number of vulnerable and elderly people who need support and care, and we remain committed to ensuring that we provide the best possible services, despite the very challenging circumstances.
"These proposals will affect people’s lives, so it is vitally important that all carers, residents and people who use our services themselves, tell us what they think and have their say.
"The council has to make significant savings to balance our smaller budget and we have seen a massive reduction in our budgets like supporting people. We believe these proposals are the fairest we could draw up in these very difficult times, but this is an open and genuine consultation process and all views and ideas will be considered."
Events across the city now
The adult social care consultation events began on 9 May and the last is on Friday 3 June.
Deadline for public comments varies with each of the consultations, two are on 14 June, another is 6 July, the last is on 8 August:
Social Care Consultations or phone the Contact Service on 0161 234 5001.
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Hospital Complaints and North Manchester
posted: 21/04/2011
Channel 4 TV’s Dispatches programme last week reported long waits and poor care of some people using North Manchester General Hospital’s Accident & Emergency and the associated Medical Assessment wards.
The TV undercover investigation did not look into HIV treatment and care at the hospital, which is a regional centre of HIV care excellence.
The Care Quality Commission has now been asked to investigate the problems in Accident and Emergency and Medical Assessment Unit care. The local NHS watchdog, Manchester LINks say “We would encourage the public to contact their local LINks at any time if they have a concern or to report such instances as seen on the Channel 4 programme last night without delay. Your local LINks will be able to investigate with the help of the Care Quality Commission and local Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committees. Your identity will always be protected and all information you provide treated confidentially when going through LINks.”
If you have any experiences you would like to tell Manchester LINks about regarding North Manchester General Hospital or any other Manchester Hospital, please contact Danny on 0161 874 2189 or email him.
Making complaints about the NHS, other hospitals and local social care
Each district has its own NHS LINk watchdog – Find your local LINk here
Manchester LINk
BHA, Democracy House
609/609A Stretford Road
Old Trafford, Manchester
M16 0QA
Contact the Manchester LINk team
Anthony Doggett - LINk Administrator 0161 874 2187
Naheed Akhtar - LINk Manager 0161 874 2188; Mobile:07855 233 462
Danny Gough - Community Engagement Officer 0161 874 2189
Valeska Matziol - Community Engagement Officer 0161 874 2190
Lydia Hurford Cato - Community Engagement Officer 0161 874 2191
email: manchesterlink@theBHA.org.uk
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Charging Migrants for HIV Treatment
posted: 04/04/2011
The government has said it will soon change the rules about charging people from abroad for most treatment at NHS hospitals in England. At the moment the rules do not affect many people in North West England with HIV but that is likely to change. New Rules will probably appear in June.
The government has also announced another, bigger review of NHS charges. This will look at anything and everything and is intended to save the NHS a lot of money.
The next step is the department of health will publish the new rules for NHS hospital and clinic charges and guidance quickly – probably before June.
They have just published their response to a public consultation so now we know something about what the new rules from June will probably say. George House Trust gave evidence and comments to this consultation.
The Department of Health's plans for the June rules are
- They won’t change which treatments will be charged for yet – but may do so later.
- The rules will be changed to make it clear that refused asylum seekers who get Section 4 and Section 95 payments do not pay for NHS treatment
- Unaccompanied children will no longer have to pay, but children with parents here can be charged
- They will make clear in the new rules that anyone who has begun HIV treatment that is free of charge (e.g. because they have an asylum claim which has not been finally decided) will continue to receive free HIV treatment
- They will keep putting up posters about charging for treatment in hospitals and clinics, even though they know this frightens some people that need treatment away and can lead to discrimination by hospitals
- They will change the guidance that tells doctors to think about the cost of treatment, because this encourages discrimination
- They will start a new system of telling the UK Borders Agency about the people who owe the NHS money. This will mean people will be refused permission to stay longer, applications for citizenship may be refused and people will be refused a visa to return to the UK if they leave
- They will consider introducing a rule that will force visitors from overseas to have health insurance
- They will look at charging people for primary care (treatment by family doctors)
Free HIV treatment for all?
The Government still has not decided whether to make HIV treatment free for everyone who needs this on public health grounds, like for all other sexually transmitted infections. They say they are still considering this and will report “in due course”.
Next, an even tougher review
They have also announced another major review which is designed to save the NHS a lot of money. This will look at
- Changing the residence rules, including the definition of ordinary residence
- Changing some or all of all the types of treatment and types of people who do not have to pay for NHS treatment
- Making people pay for primary care (that is treatment by family doctors and dentists)
- Changing which bit of the NHS has to pay when people cannot pay
- Making the procedures for checking who should pay tougher before treatment begins
Making the procedures for collecting charges tougher
- Using new ways to collect charges
- Requiring migrants to have health insurance
- They will consider anything and everything else.
They try to soften this tough new cost-saving review by saying “the NHS is, and must remain, ultimately a humanitarian organisation. In undertaking the review, we will be mindful of the NHS’s core values, in particular its obligations to provide urgent treatment to any person irrespective of their status or ability to pay, to protect the vulnerable and respect our obligations on healthcare provision under international treaties . There is no intention to consider policies that would deny access to any group, only whether an individual should be charged. It will consider the full benefits and costs of introducing new charges including risks of deterred or delayed treatment and any other societal costs. In addition, we will ensure that public health considerations are fully factored into proposed rules and processes (ensuring in particular that access policies do not compromise the identification and control of infectious diseases).”
A comprehensive package of confirmed proposals will be put to full public consultation on completion of the review work, in 2012. We may consult separately at an earlier stage on some options, such as primary care charging.
You can read the details of the government's proposals for the June regulations and this new review here. The new review details begin on page 24.
Proposals and Review report
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HIV Healthcare Training Online
posted: 03/03/2011
HIV and STI doctors and other healthcare staff have an engaging and extensive online learning programme called eHIV-STI. This e-training has been put together by the British Association for Sexual Health and HIV and the Federation of the Royal Colleges of Physicians. Keeping HIV clinic staff well trained is an important part of good HIV care.
This eHIV-STI training provides the knowledge healthcare professionals need for treating and supporting people with sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, and related conditions. It’s designed to be used alongside clinic training.
3 knowledge levels
They provide training to three levels of knowledge, from introductory, to more advanced and finally specialist knowledge, so people can learn in stages.
The 60 sessions of e-learning with video clips and case studies cover most of what HIV and STI clinic staff need to know. The training is open for doctors and NHS healthcare staff in England who register with the site.
HIV & STI e-Learning for Healthcare
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