With over 1 million more people visiting A&E compared to three years ago, last year's harsh winter put exceptional pressure on urgent and emergency wards.
The new funding will go to A&E departments identified as being under the most pressure and be targeted at 'pinch points' in local services.
The aim is for patients to be treated promptly, with fewer delays in A&E, and for other patients to get the care, prescriptions or advice they need without going to A&E.
Local initiatives: how extra A&E funding could be spent
Parents are being warned of an 'asthma attack time-bomb' potentially facing the 1.1 million children with asthma in the UK when they go back to school after the summer holidays.
Leading charity Asthma UK has today released alarming new data showing a dramatic surge in children's hospital admissions that coincides with their return to school.
In England, more children are rushed to hospital with an asthma attack in mid-September than any other week during the year. Over 4.6 times as many children in England were hospitalised because of their asthma in the third week of...
Nature has beneficial effects that help us cope with stress at work, according to new research funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). The research, conducted by Dr Valerie Gladwell at the University of Essex, highlights the power of the 'great outdoors' to improve both physiological and psychological wellbeing.
"The modern era has brought a decline in levels of physical activity, accompanied by huge increases in physical disability and diseases, as well as an increase in cases of mental ill-health," says Dr Gladwell. "Today, not only are rates of obesity,...
Painful varicose vein treatments such as vein stripping may become a thing of the past, following the news that NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) have announced that doctors should use heat ablation as their first choice of treatment.
Varicose Veins is a condition that affects 3 out of 10 adults in The UK.
The NHS say varicose veins are caused by weak vein walls and valves.
Although some people find the condition does not cause them any problem others find they can suffer from complications, such as bleeding and swelling.
Construction work on the new £6.5 million Russell Seal Fitness Centre at the University of Exeter’s Streatham Campus is nearing completion.
Opening on 23 September, the Centre marks the final stage of the University’s £8 million redevelopment of Streatham Sports Park, and promises to bring a world-class training facility to the city for the first time.
“The project is going exceptionally well,” Commented Director of Sport Phil Attwell.
“The Centre will house over 200 pieces of Life Fitness™ equipment, a new fitness studio, changing rooms and improvements to the...
After terrible embarrassment on a holiday flight where she couldn’t fit into her seat, Devon woman Claire Coles has lost an amazing 11 stone and 9 dress sizes.
“I couldn’t fit into the seat, and after the embarrassment of asking for a seat belt extender, it was still a very tight fit, my legs were pinched and I couldn't even lower the tray, it was very uncomfortable. I was so embarrassed and unhappy, I just wanted the floor to open up and swallow me, I spent the five hours of the flight in tears," Claire said.
The Nuffield Health Exeter Hospital has invested over £30,000 in a state-of-the-art high definition camera stack to help with keyhole surgery.
The new Karl Storz camera stack is now in use for laparoscopic procedures and operations such as gall bladder removal, hernia repair and gynaecology procedures.
Theatre Manager Jason Finney said “This new camera stack will be of great benefit to the surgeons, giving an even clearer image for them to work to and providing greater detail.
Patients may experience quicker operation times, and so even shorter waits.
More than a quarter of over 70s with type 2 diabetes could benefit simply from improving communication and education in the clinic, new research has revealed. A study led by the University of Exeter Medical School and published in the Lancet found that 27 per cent achieved better glycaemic control through individualised care alone.
At the moment, patients over the age of 70 are treated using a blanket method of aggressively reducing blood glucose levels, but that does little to take their complex needs into account.
Dr David Strain, from the University of Exeter Medical...
A revolutionary new nasal spray at the dentist could signal the end of the "dreaded" needle.
Scientists at the University at Buffalo have pioneered the spray to replace the need for needles, a move that could encourage 15 million people in the UK with dental anxiety to visit the dentist.
The nasal spray, called Kovacaine Mist, appeared to be just as, if not more effective than a standard anaesthetic, with more than four in five patients (83 per cent) requiring no further anaesthetic. Founder Dr Mark Kollar, DDS, noted the spray provided anaesthesia of the teeth 'sufficient...
Devon County Council has today (Wednesday, 3 July) won an award for excellence for a pilot project to tackle smoking and protect children from harm.
The award from the CLeaR Partnership, which works with local authorities across England to assess progress in reducing smoking, was given for Devon’s pioneering work with children’s centres.
At the seven pilot sites across the county, the Council has installed specially designed signage to advise people not to smoke on site and provided bespoke training for staff to raise the issue with parents and offer support to parents who...
