Teenagers are some of the best rescuers because of their willingness to help and their general sense of fearlessness. Wouldn’t it be logical if, in addition to learning grammar, science and maths, every student across the UK also learnt basic CPR and first aid skills? Well, that’s exactly what the free student first aid e-learning programme from ProTrainings aims to do! Student First Aid is designed to teach first aid to secondary school students throughout the UK while overcoming the time and cost obstacles with which schools are often faced.
New online course Information Governance
We have added another online course on Information Governance. This is a good add on to sell to people in the healthcare sector to enable them to comply. Information governance, is an emerging term used to encompass the set of multi-disciplinary structures, policies, procedures, processes and controls implemented to manage information at an enterprise level, supporting an organisation’s immediate and future regulatory, legal, risk, environmental and operational requirements. This course covers the basics to enable learners to understand the policies required to implement or understand Information Governance.
Some statins ‘raise diabetes risk’
Statins are part of many people’s daily routine. Some drugs taken to protect the heart may increase the risk of developing type-2 diabetes, according to researchers in Canada.Their study of 1.5 million people, in the British Medical Journal, suggested powerful statins could increase the risk by 22% compared with weaker drugs. Atorvastatin was linked to one extra case of diabetes for every 160 patients treated. Experts said the benefits of statins still outweighed any risks. Statins are a group of commonly prescribed drugs that lower the levels of bad cholesterol in the blood. This reduces the chances of a heart attack or stroke.
Should we worry about H7N9?
There is a new disease in town – at least there is if you live in eastern China. Long after most people had lost interest in – and the media had stopped writing about – H5N1 bird flu, we now have to get used to another assortment of letters and numbers. So should we all worry about H7N9? “Yes and no” seems to sum up the view of experts. Yes, because of the potential of flu viruses to cause global disease outbreaks – pandemics. No, because the virus is still confined to China and has no ability at present to …
New ProTrainings Safeguarding of Vulnerable Adults (SOVA) online course now available
We have now launched an new video online course for Safeguarding of Vulnerable Adults (SOVA) course at www.prosafeguarding.co.uk. We also offer SOVA through some of our national network of instructors, contact us for more details. This course aims to promote awareness of what constitutes abuse and neglect, promote understanding of the different types of abuse and neglect, promote understanding of what makes individuals vulnerable, promote understanding of what disclosure and whistleblowing are, and detail legislation relevant to Safeguarding of Adults. By the end of this session, candidates will be able to identify types of abuse, identify when abuse has happened/is happening, …
Can potassium in bananas cut your stroke risk?
‘More bananas and fewer crisps can help ward off strokes’, the Daily Mail reports, saying a study has found that people with high potassium intake have a 24% reduced risk of stroke. Researchers are also reported to say that lowering salt intake could increase benefits further. Advice to switch from eating crisps to eating bananas is sound, but do we really need to boost our potassium intake? The headlines stem from a well-conducted systematic review of global evidence on the effects of higher potassium concentration on cardiovascular health in healthy adults. Good quality evidence suggests that boosting potassium intake to the recommended …
The health benefits of exposing skin to sunlight may far outweigh the risk of developing skin cancer, according to scientists
Edinburgh University research suggests sunlight helps reduce blood pressure, cutting heart attack and stroke risks and even prolonging life. UV rays were found to release a compound that lowers blood pressure. Researchers said more studies would be carried out to determine if it is time to reconsider advice on skin exposure. Heart disease and stroke linked to high blood pressure are estimated to lead to about 80 times more deaths than those from skin cancer in the UK.
Parasite ‘resistant to malaria drug artemisinin’
New drug-resistant strains of the parasite that causes malaria have been identified by scientists. Researchers found parasites in western Cambodia that are genetically different from other strains around the world. These organisms are able to withstand treatment by artemisinin – a frontline drug in the fight against malaria. Reports of drug resistance in the area first emerged in 2008. The problem has since spread to other parts of South East Asia. The study is published in the journal Nature Genetics. The lead author, Dr Olivo Miotto, of the University of Oxford and Mahidol University in Thailand, said: “All the most effective …
NHS 111 is the new three-digit telephone service that’s being introduced to improve access to NHS urgent care services
NHS 111 is the new three-digit telephone service that’s being introduced to improve access to NHS urgent care services. Patients can use this number when they need medical help or advice and it’s not urgent enough to call 999. NHS 111 operates 24/7, 365 days per year and is free to use from a landline and a mobile. When to use it You should use the NHS 111 service if you urgently need medical help or advice but it’s not a life-threatening situation. Call 111 if:
Brain implant ‘predicts’ epilepsy seizures
A brain implant may be able to predict epilepsy seizures by picking up the early warning signs, a small study suggests. The device uses the brain’s electrical activity to tell patients if their risk of a seizure is high, moderate or low. The study on 15 people, published in the Lancet Neurology, showed the device worked in some patients. The charity Epilepsy Action cautioned that it was still early days, but said it could be an “exciting development”. Epilepsy is thought to affect 50 million people worldwide. Abnormal activity in part of the brain causes seizures involving involuntary shaking. Independence impact signals …
The ASPOD facilitates ‘immediate’ aspirin
Research shows that it takes 14 minutes for a chewed soluble tablet to produce maximal platelet inhibition, and a swallowed tablet 26 minutes. Demonstrating that, when chewed, soluble aspirin is the most effective way of accelerating absorption of aspirin into the blood and shortening the time required for an anti-platelet effect, the anti-platelet effect stops an existing clot from worsening. The ASPOD facilitates ‘immediate’ aspirin. THE PROBLEM WITH CARRYING ASPIRIN IN FOIL: There are several issues connected with carrying soluble aspirin in pockets, bags or wallets: * During a suspected heart attack the patient may …
The science behind immediate aspirin
A summary of the supporting evidence that immediate aspirin really can save lives. There is strong evidence that aspirin, taken during a heart attack, can reduce the size of the thrombus (clot) causing the attack [1,2] and may even cause the platelets in the clot to disperse [3,4]. Aspirin also has effects on processes other than clotting [5,6], suggesting that if taken very early in an attack, the damage to the heart could be reduced and additional lives saved. Patients known to be at risk of a heart attack, including all persons over about 50 years of age, would be well advised to carry …