Help & Advice

Doctors welcome car smoking ban.....

Tuesday 23 December 2014 - by Barbara Cockburn - Health Insurance & Protection Daily

Smoking banned in cars carrying children in steps to reduce harmful effects

Doctors and other health professionals have welcomed new regulations to ban smoking in cars with children inside. - click to read more

The regulation prohibits smoking in cars with children under 18. A fine of £50 will be issued to those breaking the ban.

In Parliament, the primary legislation was approved on a free vote, held in February, by a majority of 376 to 107.

OnMedica, the news site for healthcare professionals reported explained that the new law will be voted on before the General Election and put in place from October 1, 2015.

Professor Sheila Hollins, the British Medical Association (BMA) board of science chair, said: “The BMA strongly supports a ban on smoking in cars when children are present, as it is an important step in reducing tobacco harm by restricting the prevalence of second hand smoke in private vehicles.

“Children are still developing physically and biologically and compared to adults they breathe more rapidly, absorb more pollutants and have less developed immune systems. As a result, they are more susceptible to the harmful effects of second hand smoke and are less likely to be able to choose to move away from it.

“Adults who smoke in the presence of children are not acting in the children’s best interest; therefore it is encouraging that the government has brought forward these regulations in order to protect them.”

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) also welcomed the regulations.

Dr Peter Carter, Chief Executive and General Secretary of the RCN, said: “Smoking in cars when there are child passengers present can be immensely harmful. Children have a right to breathe clean air and protecting children’s health should be prioritised.

“These regulations are a positive step forward as banning smoking in cars would be of great benefit to many children and young people.

“Nurses witness first-hand the devastating effects that smoking can have on people’s lives. Smoking still causes a huge number of unnecessary deaths every year in the UK and depletes the health service of significant resources.

“More must be done to tackle this major public health challenge and the government now needs to commit to requiring cigarettes and other tobacco products to be sold in plain packaging, which would make cigarettes less appealing to children and help encourage smokers to quit.”

To see original artical - click here

CANCER IN THE UK.....

Cancer Research UK is the UK’s leading cancer charity. They reported that there were over 156,000 deaths from cancer in the UK in 2009 – with someone being diagnosed with a type of cancer once every two minutes.......click to read more

Cancers of the lung, bowel, breast and prostate accounted for almost half of those deaths – with 22% of all cancer deaths being due to lung cancer, largely due to smoking.

Colorectal cancer was the second most common cause of cancer death (10%), with breast cancer being the third most common cause of cancer death (8%)

However, between 1980 and 2009, mortality rates from cancer fell by just over a fifth (21%) – partly due to advances in medical technology, and the clinicians’ ability to diagnose and treat cancer much earlier than previously.

For more information about cancer, we recommend the Cancer Research UK website.

The information above was taken from the Aviva Health website.

Waiting Times - How Private Medical Insurance can help....

You may not have thought about what it means to wait for non-emergency care. From January 2009, the Government declared that no-one should wait more than 18 weeks from referral to treatment (RTT) in England unless it was clinically appropriate to wait longer. But that means clients could wait over three months or more to have an operation in some cases. Examples in England, in March 2011, include:- click to read more

Trauma & Orthopaedics – of the 62,611 people admitted, 81.6% were seen within 18 weeks – but the average waiting time was 12.5 weeks

Oral Surgery – of the 19,829 people admitted, 88.4% were seen within 18 weeks – but the average waiting time was 11.2 weeks

Gynaecology – of the 29,791 people admitted, 93.3% were seen within 18 weeks – but the average waiting time was 6.3 weeks

General Surgery – of the 47,816 people admitted, 89.1% were seen within 18 weeks – but the average waiting time was 7.6 weeks

Gastroenterology – of the 10,517 people admitted, 98.6% were seen within 18 weeks – but the average waiting time was 4.2 weeks

Private Medical Insurance helps you get access to prompt, private treatment without needing to join waiting lists. Surprisingly though, according to Datamonitor, just 14% of the UK population have Private Medical Insurance policies in place. Forthcoming changes to the NHS may prompt more people to explore Private Medical Insurance – and it’s worth noting that the UK PMI market grew by 4.9% in 2010.

For more general information about waiting times, we recommend the Office of Health Economics publication, OHE Guide to UK Health and Health Care Statistics, and the Dr. Foster Intelligence website.

The above information is from the Aviva Health website.

MENTAL HEALTH.....

When we refer to mental health, we’re talking about the way we think, feel and behave. The NHS estimates that one in four of us is suffering with some form of mental health problem – ranging from mild depression to a more serious condition – which can affect our daily lives, relationships, and physical health. Every year, over 250,000 people are admitted to psychiatric hospitals and over 4,000 people commit suicide......read more

According to the Mental Health Foundation, mixed anxiety and depression is the most common mental disorder in Britain. Women are likely to be treated more for mental health issues than men, and about 10% of children are suffering from a mental health issue at any one time.

Suicide rates show that British men are three times as likely to die by suicide than British women, and self-harm statistics show that the UK show one of the highest rates in Europe: 400 per 100,000.

Mental health problems can affect anyone. Perhaps due to the stigma surrounding ‘an inability to cope, mentally’, individuals can ignore symptoms that could be treated relatively easily. That’s one of the reasons we offer a 24 hour Stress Counselling Helpline with all our private medical insurance policies. It’s a way for your clients to get confidential advice on dealing with matters that are affecting their mental health.

For more information about mental health issues, we recommend the Mental Health Foundation’s website.

The above is an extract from the AVIVA Health website.

BUPA FREE INFO - Reclaim the Lunch Break

from Tony Wood, Bupa sales director

At Bupa, we are committed to understanding employee welfare and how working conditions can impact upon our health and wellbeing. The Reclaim the Lunchbreak report examines the productivity levels of UK workers, exploring the barriers that prevent businesses from achieving sustained productivity throughout the day.......read more

We commissioned this latest piece of research to analyse the nation’s current working routines and highlight any potential negative affects these are having on UK businesses. The findings of our study demonstrate that many employees are working too hard without taking a break, causing their energy levels to crash.

The Reclaim the Lunch break report has found that more than six million employees skip their lunch break. As a

result productivity levels are plummeting significantly in the afternoon, affecting employees’ ability to work effectively.

It is not healthy for workers or businesses, bottom lines to skip the lunch break. In fact, it is costing UK companies £50 million a dayin lost productivity – something no business will be keen to hear.

We believe companies should look to adopt some healthy habits to help keep employees refreshed and to sustain productivity. These might be simple measures for a more productive office life, through to introducing healthcare products and services for their people.

Read the full report HERE

Report provided by BUPA