Digital imaging service slashes waits for skin cancer checks
Fiona Hayward-Lyon, from Farndon in Nottinghamshire, is one of nearly 2,000 patients seen by the trust with suspected skin cancer who have benefitted from faster access to diagnosis. The service was fully introduced in June 2024 and one year on, has been described as a "big success" by the trust. Mrs Hayward-Lyon had become concerned about a lesion on her forehead.The 63-year-old's appointment for photographs was arranged within three days of seeing her GP, and it took just over four weeks to get the surgery, which took place in October."I'd had a red blemish on my forehead for a while and I suddenly noticed it was getting raised," she said.A dermatologist then examined her images remotely.Only three per cent of patients under the trust's care require a face-to-face follow-up appointment after the initial photography, and some like Mrs Hayward-Lyon go on to require surgery. In her case, a basal cell carcinoma - a type of skin cancer - was diagnosed needing removal. She said: "I didn't expect to be seen so quickly. I can now move on and be a little more careful in the Sun."
Consultant dermatologist Dr Ritu Singla, who treated Mrs Hayward-Lyon, said the photography service allowed medics to reassure patients sooner if they did not have cancer."We can rule out lots of benign [non-cancerous] lesions, which are the bulk of cases," she said."It also enables us to start treatment sooner for those patients where cancer has been diagnosed."
Dr Singla said: "Patients are more aware of skin cancer these days, [but] at the same time in the aftermath of the pandemic we had long waiting lists. "We prioritised but some patients were waiting months for treatment." There is a national NHS target for 96% of skin cancer cases to treated with 31 days of a decision to treat. Prior to the introduction of the photography service, the trust achieved 72% in the first quarter of 2023-24. Latest figures show 100% of patients in February 2025 were treated within the target time.
Clinical photographer Jason Randall says he uses a special polarised light, a device called a dermatoscope, to help produce high-resolution images. He said: "It enables the camera to see into the first layer of the skin not clearly visible to the naked eye and crucially the edges of the lesion." Greater use of technology is one of the themes of the government's new NHS 10-year plan, which looks to improve efficiency, productivity and outcomes for patients.
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The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Ex-GP found guilty of sex offences after carrying out ‘unnecessary' genital exams
A former GP is facing jail after conducting 'unnecessary' genital examinations on patients, including two teenage boys. Gregory Manson, 56, has been found guilty of conducting groin exams even when his patients came in with coughs, headaches, back pain and knee sprains. Some of his accusers said he pulled down their underwear without asking their permission. Manson told jurors at Canterbury Crown Court that his medical examinations were 'not sexually motivated at all' and were instead based on ruling out rare diseases which he had misdiagnosed in the past. After originally working in South Africa, Manson qualified as a GP in the UK in 1998 and also worked as a GP trainer, programme director of GP training and GP appraiser for the General Medical Council before his dismissal in 2017. Manson, of Tower Way, Canterbury, denied 18 offences of sexual assault and six of indecent assault in respect of nine victims. On Thursday, he stared at the floor as jurors at Canterbury Crown Court returned their verdicts after 10 hours and 29 minutes of deliberation. Manson was convicted by majority verdict of 12 sexual assaults and four indecent assaults against nine men which took place over almost two decades. He was found not guilty of six offences, and two others were alternative charges which did not require verdicts. Judge Simon Taylor KC warned Manson: 'It will be a prison sentence, so you need to prepare for that.' During the trial, the prosecution noted that 'many examinations he performed were not medically justified' and that other GPs would not have carried them out. 'In truth Dr Manson took frequent opportunities to examine patients' genitals, not because he needed to but because he wanted to,' said Jennifer Knight KC, prosecuting. The earliest two victims of the former GP were brothers, and he was their doctor before and after they were 16, the court heard. They both remember being taken to an examination room next to the consultant room before being told to sit on the bed and pull down their trousers and boxer shorts. The older brother's medical notes suggests that he was seen 11 times by Manson between the ages of 14 and 19, and he remembered his genitals being examined on 'over half' of those visits. Ms Knight said: 'The examinations seemed to him (the victim) to be done professionally and as a young teenager, he assumed they were required. 'As he got older however, he became uncomfortable about these examinations and wondered whether they should be so frequent.' Their mother told investigators she never met the former GP when they were young teenagers as she would stay in the waiting room. Many of the examinations relate to what the former GP called 'well person checks' which were offered to new patients at the surgery he worked for, the court heard. Giving evidence last week, Manson said: 'Part of your work as a GP is disease prevention and health promotion, we do that all the time. 'You're looking for any pathology or disease that may be asymptomatic that somebody is not necessarily aware of.' A professor of forensic medicine and GP, Ian Wall, was 'surprised' that Manson considered testicular examination part of a new patient check during his review of Manson's medical notes, jurors heard during the trial. Manson added: 'When I worked in South Africa, particularly in many hospitals that didn't have facilities to further investigate things, your training was very much in examination and being thorough with examinations. An MRI was not available in Soweto.' He told the court about his early work as a GP and why losing patients had made him conduct more 'thorough' investigations. The former GP said that every doctor remembered their 'first death', and his was a man who had arrived with what was initially thought to be a stomach ulcer but was in fact an abdominal aortic aneurysm. 'When you have experiences like this and you examine an abdomen you are haunted,' said Manson. Opening the case, Ms Knight told jurors: 'Dr Manson performed unnecessary examinations of male patients' genitals without offering a chaperone or providing any proper explanation to the patients involved of the reason for the examination, and without wearing gloves. 'Dr Manson also failed to document in patients' notes the fact that such examinations had taken place or what his findings if any were.' Following his conviction, Will Bodiam from the Crown Prosecution Service said: 'These patients trusted Manson as he was their GP and he abused that trust in an appalling way, carrying out intimate examinations which were not all medically justified. 'They described their discomfort at what happened to them and some of them actively tried to avoid seeing Manson because of their previous experiences with him. 'On several occasions, the victims were not even given the option to consent to the examinations and had their underwear removed with no warning.' He added: 'This is not what patients should expect from their GPs.' Manson will be sentenced on July 4, and remains on bail until then, with new conditions of residence and that he does not enter an international airport, train station or port.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE I visited the world's fattest town... where residents eat McDonald's four times a day and 80% of people are obese
Will Tennyson traveled thousands of miles to visit a town known as the 'fattest in the world' and challenged himself to eat like the residents. Eighty percent of people in the UK town of Ebbw Vale in southeast Wales are considered overweight or obese and the California content creator spent a day indulging in their favorite meals. Upon on arrival, Tennyson, 30, immediately noticed the smell of different foods wafting in the streets and counted at least 15 kebab houses as he walked. He said 73 percent of restaurants in Ebbw Vale are considered fast food restaurants, 'which is ridiculous. That is the most in the UK.' In the UK, approximately 26.5 percent of adults are classified as obese. Meanwhile, in the US, the obesity rate is higher, with around 42 percent of adults considered obese. During his 24-hour stint in Ebbw Vale, Tennyson indulged in a number of high-calorie treats including a donut, sausage roll, pizzas and a fried breakfast. While these were novelties for him, he learned these fatty foods are common staples in the Welsh town of close to 20,000 residents. The first stop on his tour was the popular British bakery chain Greggs. One of the first things he notices is the lack of fresh, healthy food options, and the only salads he can find are pasta salads. He does, however, find some chopped fruit. At the counter, he orders a sausage roll - one of the most popular Greggs items - and a worker also suggests he get a caramel custard donut and lemon meringue muffin. The three items, he estimates, come in at more than 1,000 calories. Next up, he ventured to another popular food spot in Ebbw Vale called Frenchie's. After reading rave reviews online about the Acafe's 'Big Daddy' breakfast, Tennyson puts in an order for one and he is astounded by the size of the morning platter. His plate contains four sausages, three hash browns, four pieces of bacon, several fried eggs, baked beans and two helpings of black pudding. It also comes with a 'tray of toast' topped with a 'diabolical amount of butter,' Tennyson showed off in a YouTube video. He said: 'Look at that! That is crazy... we're like well over 2,000 calories for sure. 'Absolutely it doesn't even look like I got this at a restaurant, looks like I served myself at a buffet. Like this isn't an English breakfast, this is a full empire. I'm going to get high school acne for a week after this man.' Between his bakery stop and behemoth breakfast, Tennyson has already consumed more than 3,000 calories. The average recommended daily calorie intake is 2,000 for women and 2,500 for men, but individual needs vary based on factors like age, activity level, and body size. Defeated by his two heavy breakfasts, Tennyson goes for a walk around town to work them off and talk to some locals about their views on diet and fitness. Many people reveal that there are high unemployment rates in the area and money is a struggle, therefore fast food is a cheap and easy convenience. Along with kebab stores, McDonald's appears to be a very popular spot. One man Tennyson speaks to says he ate McDonald's up to five times a week when he weighed 266lbs but he has since tried to cut back. In the local McDonald's, Tennyson finds long lines at the drive-thru during a lunchtime rush and it is packed with customers inside. One of the workers says that she has many repeat customers during the day, and some people come in up to four times to have meals from dawn to dusk. Reflecting on why Ebbw Vale has been plagued by obesity, one local woman says: 'Obesity is normalized, everybody's obese. 'It's a lack of education and social normality in the environment that you're living in.' Meanwhile, the receptionist at the hotel Tennyson checks into, muses: 'There isn't a great deal around here other than kebab shops and vape shops.' After popping into McDonald's, where he resists the urge for a familiar taste from home, Tennyson ventures to Southern Fried Chicken for lunch which has a bountiful selection of foods on the menu. Tennyson says: 'They're known for pizza, burgers, kebabs and fried chicken. That's an elite lineup back where I'm from. 'If a place served up all those things I would see that as a warning and I'd probably never go but here I think that just means there's a master at work in there.' Tennyson gets a buy one get one free pizza deal and he opts for one with chicken and another with a cheesy beef topping. He is impressed by the amount of meat that the pizzas are dressed with, and the store owner also throws in some fries and soda. The fitness enthusiast doesn't give a calorie estimate for the meal but a whole pizza typically contains up to 3,000 calories, while a serving of fries typically contains an average of 300 calories. Throwing in two cans of Pepsi (150 calories per can), brings the lunch to more than 6,000 calories. Concerned about his high calorie intake, Tennyson finds a gym in town but he is too full to get any serious exercise in. He is surprised to see a few people in the gym but he notes that it is still fairly quiet considering it is a 'peak time'. 'Everything's sloshing around,' the fitness influencer says, as he goes for a run on the treadmill. After a gym session, he looks for somewhere for dinner to round out his day and he settles on an Indian restaurant. He estimates his meal of chicken and rice contains around 1,500 calories. This brings his daily total to more than 10,000 calories. But back in his hotel room, Tennyson can't resist ordering dessert. A sweet medley eventually arrives and he shows off his picks; a melted ice cream, a 'brownie explosion tray', and a 'Biscoff heaven'. In total, it's estimated that Tennyson consumed more than 11,000 calories after a day of dining in Ebbw Vale with baked goods and a fry up for breakfast, pizza for lunch, Indian for dinner and a medley of desserts in bed. The foods also served up more than 300g of fat. For a balanced diet, most adults should aim to get 20-35 percent of their daily calories from fat, with a focus on unsaturated fats. For a 2,000 calorie diet, this translates to roughly 44 to 78g of total fat. A high calorie, high fat diet generally leads to people becoming obese, especially when no exercise is factored in. Obesity significantly increases the risk of developing various serious health problems, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke, certain types of cancer, and osteoarthritis. It can also lead to sleep apnea, liver disease, kidney disease, and pregnancy complications. Research showed that adults living in the most deprived areas in Wales are about 50 percent more likely to have obesity than those in the least parts. Blaenau Gwent, which is the county Ebbw Vale sits in, has higher than average rates of both heart disease and cancer, particularly when looking at premature deaths. Touching on his experience of the town, he concludes: 'You know, [spending] around 24 hours in the UK's most obese town was eye opening. 'People here are kind of trapped they have limited choices to healthy food. 'Breaking the norm is extremely difficult and when financial troubles are in the mix, it isn't about health it's purely about survival and putting food on the table.'
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
New NHS plan shows ‘future already looks better' under Labour
The 'future already looks better for the NHS' under Labour, Sir Keir Starmer has said, as he published a radical plan to transform the health service. The new 10-year plan for the NHS sets out a series of shifts to bring care much closer to people's homes, reducing the reliance on hospitals and A&E. Under the changes, there will be fewer staff working in the NHS than previous projections said were needed, with far more providing care closer to home and fewer working in hospitals. Key reforms include a greatly enhanced NHS app to give patients more control over their care and more data at their fingertips, new neighbourhood health centres open six days a week and at least 12 hours a day, and new laws on food and alcohol to prevent ill health. The Prime Minister was accompanied by Chancellor Rachel Reeves as he set out the plans on Thursday – she was making her first appearance since she was seen crying in the Commons on Wednesday. Speaking in east London, Sir Keir said: 'It's all down to the foundation we laid this year, all down to the path of renewal that we chose, the decisions made by the Chancellor, by Rachel Reeves, which mean we can invest record amounts in the NHS. 'Already over 6,000 mental health workers recruited, 1,700 new GPs, 170 community diagnostic centres – really important – already open. 'New surgical hubs, new mental health units, new ambulance sites. Record investment right across the system.' Sir Keir acknowledged improvements were needed in the NHS but said the situation was better than when Labour first took power. 'I'm not going to stand here and say everything is perfect now, we have a lot more work to do and we will do it,' he said. 'But let's be under no illusions: because of the fair choices we made, the tough Labour decisions we made, the future already looks better for our NHS. 'And that is the story of this Government in a nutshell.' Health Secretary Wes Streeting told NHS staff gathered at the event that Labour rejected the 'pessimism' which says the 'NHS is a burden, too expensive, inferior to the market'. Ms Reeves embraced Mr Streeting as he came away from the podium and told those at the launch event: 'Our 10-year plan will get the NHS back on its feet and make it fit for the future, led by our fantastic NHS staff, and a huge thank you to every single one of you.' Ms Reeves smiled and was upbeat as she added: 'I want to be clear, we are spending money on taxpayers' priorities, but that wouldn't have been possible without the measures that we took in the budget last year. 'We fixed the foundations and we've put our economy back on a strong footing.' The new health plan sets out how the NHS will move from analogue to digital, treatment to prevention, and from hospital to more community care. The 'status quo of hospital by default will end' and by 2035, the intention is that the majority of outpatient care will happen outside of hospitals. New neighbourhood health services will give people access to a full range of services, leaving hospitals to focus on the sickest. New services will also include debt advice, employment support and stop smoking or obesity services – all of which affect people's health. Community outreach, with people going door to door, could also reduce pressure on GPs and A&E. The plan sets out: – By 2028, the NHS app 'will be a full front door to the entire NHS' and act as a 'doctor in my pocket' for patients. A new part of the NHS app called My NHS GP will 'help patients better navigate the health service', powered by artificial intelligence (AI). Those who do not have an urgent or emergency need, but who are struggling to find an alternative to A&E, will be signposted to places they can get care. The app will use AI-algorithms to take a patient's symptoms, ask follow-up questions and provide guidance. The app will also help patients book a remote consultation if they need one, or a face-to-face appointment if they prefer. – Patients will be given more app support to book their own urgent appointments rather than facing long waits in A&E. Clinical professionals will also be able to triage patients in advance. – In order to make the move 'from bricks to clicks', the plan said people will have a single patient record combining their health records plus personalised information to help improve their health. – Patients will be able to use the app to choose their preferred provider, see whether it delivers the best outcomes, has the best feedback or is simply closer to home through a section called My Choices. The app will also show data on clinical teams and clinicians. – Wearable technology will become the 'standard in preventative, chronic and post-acute NHS treatment by 2035'. All NHS patients will have access to these technologies, which will be part of routine care. The NHS will provide devices for free in areas where health needs and deprivation are highest. – People will be able to use the My Consult area of the app to hold consultations, or book directly into tests where clinically appropriate through My Specialist. – My Medicines will help people with drugs and prescriptions, while My Vaccines will provide clear information of current jabs. – Parents can manage their children's health through My Children, or co-ordinate the care of a loved one or relative through My Carer. – New mental health emergency departments will be created so people do not end up in A&E. Over the next five years around 85 will be established – close to or inside half of major A&Es. – Over time, hospitals will get less of the NHS budget as it is redirected to community care, which means 'less acute space, fewer emergency staff based in hospitals and fewer outpatient departments in future'. The process of booking appointments will become automatic rather than involving lots of staff. – An end to the 8am scramble for GP appointments by training thousands more GPs and building online advice into the NHS app. AI will be used for notes and letters to free up GPs' time. – A new 'moonshot to end the obesity epidemic'. The Government will restrict junk food advertising targeted at children, ban the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks to under 16-year-olds, and reform the soft drinks industry levy. It will introduce mandatory health food sales reporting for all large companies in the food sector and introduce a 'mandatory requirement for alcoholic drinks to display consistent nutritional information and health warning messages'. More support will be given to the no and low-alcohol market. – Dentists could be forced to work for the NHS for at least three years if they have been trained at taxpayer expense. – Hospital patients will not be booked in by default for follow-ups, with 'patient-initiated follow-up a standard approach for all clinically appropriate pathways by 2026'. – A new campaign will motivate millions of people to move more on a regular basis. – Expansion of mental health support, including in schools. – Lung cancer screening for those with a history of smoking will be fully rolled out across England. – An end to the 'disgraceful spectacle of corridor care' and ensuring 95% of people wait no longer than 18 weeks for routine care. – Higher standards will be set for NHS leaders to reward good performance and penalise poor work. – Patients to be given more say on whether the full payment for the costs of their care should be released to the provider. – Efforts to cut the NHS sickness absence rate and more power to managers 'to reward high performing staff, and to act decisively where they identify underperformance'. – Priority given to UK medical graduates and an ambition to reduce international recruitment to less than 10% by 2035. Nuffield Trust chief executive Thea Stein said she did not agree with the 'prophecy of extinction' in the report, which says the NHS is at an 'existential brink'. She added: 'This plan contains a litany of initiatives and the belief that they will be the NHS's saviour, with little detail on how the ailing health service is to deliver these changes.' Sarah Woolnough, chief executive of the King's Fund, said: 'There are more than 150 pages of a vision of how things could be different in the NHS by 2035, but nowhere near enough detail about how it will be implemented.' Royal College of Nursing (RCN) general secretary, Professor Nicola Ranger, said: 'Nursing staff are crying out for change and we stand ready to get behind this plan. 'Modernising services, bringing care closer to home and helping people to lead healthier lives couldn't be more necessary… 'Nursing staff are identified today as the expert leaders to deliver a neighbourhood health service and that should be truly empowering. As the professionals delivering the vast majority of care, we know what keeps patients safe and well.'
