Approach to treating high blood pressure ‘not fit for purpose’, say researchers, with 59% of cases undiagnosed Only half of people being treated by a GP for high blood pressure in England have it under control, and millions more are completely unaware they have the “silent killer” condition, research reveals. Most people with hypertension (59%) are in the dark and undiagnosed, raising their risk of stroke, heart attack and early death, according to the largest ever study of its kind. Continue reading...

County’s first such clinic, at Alder Hey in Liverpool, treating children suffering from chronic bladder problems with severe cases needing dialysis Children as young as 13 in the UK have been referred to a specialist clinic for a “devastating” bladder condition linked to sustained use of ketamine. Medics at Alder Hey children’s hospital in Liverpool opened the first ketamine clinic in the UK for young people amid a surge in urology problems linked to addiction of the drug. Continue reading...

Test using urine and vaginal fluid samples raises hopes thousands of lower-risk women could be spared internal ultrasounds and hysteroscopies Doctors have developed a simple test that could help rule out womb cancer in women who experience bleeding after menopause. The approach has the potential to transform care for thousands of women each year and spare them from invasive and uncomfortable tests that can also be costly for healthcare systems. Continue reading...

System gives patients, loved ones and health workers the right to ask for a second opinion on care Martha’s rule, which lets NHS patients, staff and relatives request a review of their care, is being expanded to every A&E in England, health officials have announced. The system gives patients, their loved ones and health workers the right to ask for a different medical team to examine the care being provided on inpatient wards and to recommend changes. It has already potentially saved hundreds of lives, official figures show. Continue reading...

Organ kept Tim Andrews off dialysis and acted as a ‘bridge’ while he waited for a human transplant in the US A genetically modified kidney from a pig called Wilma has kept a 66-year-old man with kidney failure alive for a record nine months and successfully acted as a “bridge” to a human transplant in a world first. Tim Andrews was seriously ill with end-stage kidney disease caused by type 2 diabetes and had only a 9% chance of receiving a human kidney within five years, against a more than 40% risk of dying or being removed from the waiting list. Continue reading...