Saturday 28 April 2012

Price rise

Minimum pricing for alcohol, a key element in the Government's new alcohol strategy, has been questioned by the Local Government Association, over concerns that this will "cause a surge in counterfeit wine and spirits", the BBC reports.  A study from British Columbia, Canada, where minimum pricing has been in force for many years, suggests that it is effective in reducing alcohol consumption.  Approaching the problem from another perspective, a new Public Health Responsibility Deal pledge aims to make lower strength drinks more widely available.  A paper from the University of Sheffield considers the health economic assessment of public health alcohol harm strategies.  Minimum pricing has found support amongst pub landlords in Wales, who have blamed supermarket sales for a fall in their trade.  A study in Alcohol and Alcoholism examines trends in home drinking in the UK. 

Friday 27 April 2012

Named and shamed

Several UK supermarkets were on the receiving end of the wrath of the Children's Food Campaign for undermining parents' efforts to encourage their children to eat healthily.  The report, Checkouts Checked Out, was highly critical of how much junk food is displayed at checkouts, both in supermarkets and non-food stores.  One of its recommendations is that removal of this kind of food from checkout areas should be included in the Public Health Responsibility Deal, the latest element of which (a calorie reduction initiative) was announced by DH recently. Public Health features an evaluation of the MEND (Mind, Exercise, Nutirition ... Do it!) healthy living programme as delivered in the West Midlands.  A systematic review of evidence about the association of childhood obesity with primary school built environments finds little to commend in the literature.  Community Practitioner offers an overview of the Food Dudes school-based healthy eating programme. 

Thursday 26 April 2012

Integration ahead

DH's recent evaluation of  the integrated care pilots has been found wanting in several quarters.  GP magazine put in a Freedom of Information Act request for clarity on DH's claim that this telecare route will offer £1.2 bn savings, but was turned down.  A lesss investigative approach from Nick Goodwin of the King's Fund echoes the less than enthusiastic response: "It is fair to say that the collective results of these pilots have been mixed."  He also observes that these pilots suffered from a common problem with integrated care, where the process of integration gets priority over the experience of care.  Another significant finding from the report was that emergency admissions increased over the period studied, while outpatient and elective admissions decreased.  The King's Fund is itself currently looking for case sites in its study of co-ordinated care for people with complex chronic illnesses.