Call for action to prioritise self-care; NHS registry for AI tools; New patient involvement e-book
Report reveals the importance of self-care
A new report from the consumer healthcare association PAGB emphasises the importance of self-care in reducing pressure on the NHS and improving public health. The report is titled 'The economic and growth value of the over-the-counter (OTC) sector'. Key findings include how self-care, enabled by OTC products, saves the NHS £6.4 billion annually in avoided prescription and appointment costs. The report also shares how:
- More than 9 in 10 of the UK population will experience at least one self-treatable condition per year.
- 4.2 is the average number of self-treatable conditions a year per person.
- More than 9 in 10 people use OTCs each year to treat self-treatable conditions.
In a call to action, the PAGB report says: "The 10 Year Health Plan sets out a strong foundation for self-care. The priority now is delivery. By embedding self-care across the system and supporting an enabling regulatory environment for reclassification, the Government can unlock significant value for patients, the NHS and the wider economy." The Government is also being urged to recognise the OTC sector’s value by including PAGB on the Life Sciences Council to represent the views and needs of the sector.
Read the full report on the PAGB website here.
New NHS registry lists AI notetaking tools
NHS England has launched a registry for AI notetaking technology, which can help doctors spend more time with patients. The national registry includes 19 suppliers for ambient voice technology, which captures clinician-patient conversations and uses AI to generate real-time transcriptions and clinical summaries. NHS organisations across England are being urged to take advantage of the registry and embrace the tools.
The move comes after AI notetaking technology tested across 9 NHS sites was proven to free up clinicians to spend nearly a quarter more time with patients. The study, led by Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust’s Innovation Unit. evaluated more than 17,000 patient encounters. It found increases in patient interaction time and the number of patients seen per shift. The registry also follows the publication of NHS guidance last year advising NHS organisations to use AI notetaking tools which are safe, evidence-based and deliver benefits for patients.
Find out more on the NHS England website here.
Resource explores patient and public involvement
A new resource from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) provides an in-depth look at successful patient and public involvement (PPI) within health and social care research. The new e-book includes key excerpts from the NIHR PPI in action webinar series to showcase practical examples and insights. The webinars presented cover a diverse range of projects and approaches to PPI, including:
- Engaging policy makers and practitioners in research: Lessons from the Active-6 study.
- Voices of experience: Involving young people in childhood obesity prevention research.
- Building capacity and inclusion: Insights from the SCRiPT study on adult social care research.
- Embedding co-design and co-production in practice: Learning from refugee mental health research.
The webinars highlight the value of lived experience as expertise; the importance of building strong relationships; the necessity of accessible and tailored communication and involvement methods; and the constant process of learning and adapting based on feedback and experience. The next free webinar in the series is called How to develop a PPI group and will be held on 18 February.
Find out more on the NIHR website here.
- A free webinar for NHS workers is also being held on how to meaningfully involve patients and the public in improvement. The interactive session, at 11am on 25 February, is followed by a group discussion and is for anyone working in the NHS who wants to find out more. Reserve a place via the NHS England website here.
'Life-saving' campaign launched in GP surgeries
Posters are being sent to every GP surgery in England to raise awareness of a new campaign which urges clinicians to take a "fresh-eyes" approach. Jess’s Rule asks GPs to think again and challenge assumptions if, after three appointments, they have been unable to offer a patient a substantiated diagnosis or their symptoms have escalated. The initiative is named in honour of Jessica Brady, who died of cancer in December 2020 at the age of 27. In the five months leading up to her death, Jessica had more than 20 appointments at her GP surgery but was eventually forced to seek private healthcare. She was later diagnosed with stage 4 adenocarcinoma – a type of cancer – which was so advanced there was no available treatment, and she died in hospital three weeks later.
In practice, Jess’s Rule will encourage GPs to arrange face-to-face consultations if previous appointments were remote. They should also conduct thorough physical examinations; order additional diagnostic tests; and seek second opinions from colleagues. Jess’s Rule will particularly benefit younger patients and those from ethnic minority backgrounds who often face delays in diagnosis of serious conditions.
Read more about the campaign on the GOV.UK website here.
Toolkit pulls together community wellbeing resources
A toolkit which helps people work together to find, collect and share information about health and wellbeing resources in Scotland has been relaunched. The Asset Mapping Toolkit has been updated and refreshed by the ALISS team (A Local Information System for Scotland) which is delivered by Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland (The ALLIANCE). The toolkit is designed to help service providers and members of the community to explore and capture information about the things that keep people well in the local area. The toolkit can be used to:
- Prompt conversations about community wellbeing.
- Discover examples of local support.
- Start developing ideas about how to use this new information to benefit your community.
- Identify any gaps in service delivery.
- Share your discoveries with others by adding them to ALISS.
- Support planning, funding applications, or service design.
Read more and download the toolkit on The ALLIANCE website here.
Autistic adults urged to share experiences for study
A research study exploring how NHS Talking Therapies can be more inclusive is searching for participants to share their experiences. The National Autistic Society's evidence and research team is supporting the Inclusive Talk project, which has been funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The study aims to increase inclusiveness of NHS Talking Therapies for anxiety and depression, particularly for autistic adults, adults with learning disabilities, and adults with ADHD. These groups of people are at increased risk of mental health difficulties but many also have negative experiences of talking therapies, such as poor accessibility. The project is now keen to speak to autistic adults to find out whether they have different experiences of talking therapies compared to the rest of the population.Those interested will be invited to an online interview to share their experiences.
Find out more on the National Autistic Society website here.
- In a separate study, researchers have examined the language and imagery used in trustees’ annual reports and accounts of 11 large English and Welsh autism charities. The authors said the findings identified that autistic people are constructed as impaired, needing to change and lacking agency. The study said autistic people’s voices are being excluded from these discourses, in favour of those of their families or carers, or the charity themselves. Read the full report via The Patient Experience Library website here.
Study: Challenges of virtual consultations
Researchers from Imperial College London used online focus group discussions to explore the communication challenges and gaps of virtual consultations compared with face-to-face interactions. While virtual consultations offer convenience, their use should be tailored to individual patient needs and clinical contexts, the study says. GPs highlighted missing visual cues, affecting message clarity in remote communication channels. Patients reported difficulties explaining symptoms remotely, reduced emotional connection and perceived empathy. The study identified mitigation strategies from both GPs’ and patients’ perspectives, including training and skill development, enhancing communication through supplementary materials and addressing barriers to effective communication.