'Complacency' leads to asthma deaths

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota
6 May 2014 Last updated at 07:19 By Dominic Hughes Health correspondent, BBC News There are 5.5 million people in the UK with asthma People suffering from asthma are dying unnecessarily because of complacency among both medical staff and patients, according to the first national study of asthma deaths in the UK.

Researchers found that in nearly half of the cases they looked at, asthma sufferers did not receive any medical help during their final asthma attack.

The National Review of Asthma Deaths says sufferers and medics must be better at recognising the danger signs.

The UK has 5.5 million asthmatics.

Continue reading the main story

It's time to end our complacency about asthma, which can, and does, kill”

End Quote Dr Kevin Stewart Royal College of Physicians Complacency Although deaths linked to the condition have been falling, there were 1,242 in 2012 - meaning the UK has some of the highest asthma death rates in Europe.

This study involved a detailed examination of the circumstances of 195 cases.

Among the review's key findings were:

The standard of care received was less than satisfactory in a quarter of cases where people died and there was "room for improvement" in the care received by 83% of those who died. Triggers for asthma attacks had not been documented in more than half of the cases and 57% were not recorded as being under specialist supervision in the year before death. Deficiencies were found in both routine care and in the treatment of attacks. There was widespread under-use of preventer inhalers and excessive over-reliance on reliever inhalers. 10% of those who died did so within one month of discharge from hospital following treatment for asthma; at least 21% had attended an emergency department at least once in the previous year.Over half of those who died were being treated for mild or moderate asthma at the time; experts concluded that this was mostly because neither doctors nor patients themselves recognised how serious their asthma really was.Of those who died, 19% were smokers and others, including many children, were exposed to second-hand smoke in the home.Some patients had not collected their prescriptions for preventative treatment or did not attend regular asthma check-ups.Continue reading the main story 5.5 million people are treated for the conditionOn average, three people per day or one person every eight hours dies from asthmaAn estimated 75% of hospital admissions for asthma are avoidable and 90% of deaths are preventableOne in 11 children and one in 12 adults has asthma It is more common in women than men The NHS spends around £1 billion a year treating and caring for people with asthmaResearchers found that clinicians and patients alike had become complacent about the illness.

Their report calls for better monitoring and improved education for doctors, nurses, patients and carers.

Dr Kevin Stewart of the Royal College of Physicians, which managed the review, said: "It's time to end our complacency about asthma, which can, and does, kill. There are important messages in this report for clinicians, for patients and their families and for policy-makers.

"We haven't paid enough attention to the importance of good routine asthma care by clinicians with the right training and experience and the part that patients themselves play in this.

There were 1,242 deaths linked to asthma in 2012

"Too often we have also been slow to detect signs of poor asthma control and slow to act when these have been present, with tragic consequences for some families."

'Damning indictment'

Prof Chris Griffiths of Queen Mary University of London was also involved in the report.

He said it revealed that care had deteriorated since the last national analysis in 2005.

Prof Griffiths said: "These worrying statistics can and must be turned around in the next decade.

Continue reading the main story

It's heart-breaking that the review has found 46% of deaths could have been avoided with better routine care”

End Quote Kay Boycott Asthma UK "Those of us who work in general practice must implement the recommendation to have a named clinician responsible for asthma in each practice.

"Despite facing huge challenges as we work to meet current NHS organisational change, we need to prioritise asthma care in order to reduce deaths in the UK."

Kay Boycott, chief executive of the Asthma UK says the charity "wholeheartedly endorses" the report.

She said: "This confidential enquiry has identified prescribing errors of a frankly horrifying scale and is a damning indictment of current routine practice."

In many of the cases the experts examined, warning signs were found to have been ignored.

Ms Boycott added: "Past attacks are a clear risk factor for future attacks, but more than two-thirds of the people hospitalised in the month before they died did not get properly checked up afterwards.

"It's heart-breaking that the review has found 46% of deaths could have been avoided with better routine care."

Have you been affected by any of the issues raised in this story? Email haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk with 'asthma' in the subject.

View the original article here

Beyonce leads 100 influential people must visit

Beyonce on the cover of Time Singer Beyonce has been selected as the cover star for Time magazine's special 100 most influential people issue.

She was profiled by Facebook executive Sheryl Sandberg, who said the 32-year-old "doesn't just sit at the table. She builds a better one."

The pair recently collaborated on a campaign to ban the use of the word "bossy" to describe women at work.

Others who made the list included Pope Francis - profiled by Barack Obama, who also featured - and Pharrell Williams.

British stars considered among the world's most influential people include Sherlock's Benedict Cumberbatch - championed by fellow actor Colin Firth - and 12 Years a Slave director Steve McQueen, dubbed "a visionary" by one of the film's star Lupita Nyong'o.

Scandal actress Kerry Washington, American Hustle star Amy Adams and intelligence whistleblower Edward Snowden also made the list, as did Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez who wrote the soundtrack to hit Disney film Frozen.

Miley Cyrus was championed by her godmother Dolly Parton who said: "If I didn't know how smart and talented Miley is, I might worry about her", before adding "I did it my way, so why can't she do it her way?"

Beyonce was credited with having "shattered music-industry rules - and sales records" when she released her surprise album in December last year.

Sandberg, who shared her own perspective on women in the workplace in her book Lean In last year, championed Beyonce as "The Boss".

"She raises her voice both on and offstage to urge women to be independent and lead," she wrote.

Beyonce's career has gone from strength to strength since her days in Destiny's Child. It has taken in film roles and a fashion line, alongside sold out world tours such as last year's Mrs Carter Show.

Sandberg added: "Her secret: hard work, honesty and authenticity."

Director Steve McQueen and Benedict Cumberbatch were among the Brits on the list 'He made me fearless'

Oscar-winning actor Matthew McConaughey, House of Cards star Robin Wright and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Donna Tartt are also regarded as hugely influential.

Gravity director Alfonso Cuaron made the list for providing "some of the most arresting, visually stunning work in recent cinema", according to Star Trek director JJ Abrams.

Photo messaging app Snapchat creators Evan Spiegel and Bobby Murphy and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos also featured on the list, alongside politicians like Hilary Clinton, Germany's Angela Merkel and Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

Actor, director and Sundance Film Festival creator Robert Redford - "the godfather of indie film" according to Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein - was also honoured, as was fashion designer Phoebe Philo and American Idol winner and country star Carrie Underwood.

Super-producer Pharrell Williams made the list for "having way too much fun", according to Justin Timberlake, whose debut solo album was produced by Williams.

"He made me fearless, and I've carried that with me the rest of my life," he said.

View the original article here

Indonesian opposition leads poll must visit

Mr Widodo said his party was open to the idea of a coalition Indonesia's opposition Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) leads parliamentary polls but its star candidate may face a tougher path to the presidency, early election results indicate.

The party secured about 19% of the vote, unofficial tallies show.

But it is not clear if it will meet the 25% voting threshold to enter Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo in the 9 July presidential election by itself.

The official election results will be announced in May.

Some 19,000 seats were contested across Indonesia in Wednesday's polls, including the 560 seats in the national parliament.

A poll by Jakarta think tank, the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), put the opposition Golkar party in second place with 14% of the vote, followed by the Great Indonesia Movement Party with 12%.

Islamic parties also appeared to have performed better than expected, together grabbing about a third of the national vote.

Support for the ruling Democratic Party of Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono - who cannot serve a third term as president - fell by half. His party came in fourth with 10% of the vote.

Unofficial tallies were based on samples from around 2,000 polling stations

Mr Yudhoyono told reporters that he respected the early results.

"Let's honour the result of this election and be ready to accept new national leadership that will lead the nation to be better," the Associated Press news agency quoted him as saying.

CSIS political analyst Philips Vermonte told Reuters news agency: "Parliament is likely to be very fragmented because many parties have gotten a relatively big share of votes."

Political uncertainty

The parliamentary polls are key to deciding which parties can field presidential candidates. Parties must either secure 25% of the total vote or 20% of the seats in parliament.

Candidates whose parties fail to meet these thresholds must form or enter a coalition before they can run for president.

Indonesian stocks fell over 3% on Thursday, after expectations PDI-P would secure enough votes to put Mr Widodo, the Jakarta governor, straight through to presidential polls were dashed.

"We see the possible formation of a weak government with limited ability to push through necessary reforms and policies ahead," Bahana Securities research head Harry Su told Reuters news agency.

Mr Widodo is seen by many as Indonesia's next president. He told reporters on Wednesday that his party was "widely open" to a coalition.

"It is not possible for PDI-P to work alone. We have to co-operate with those having the same platform," he said.

View the original article here