In this week’s health news (15 February 2019) we cover A&E waiting times, knee and hip replacement research and brains of early risers and night owls.
A&E waiting times at worst level for 15 years
Waiting times in A&E departments have reached their worst level since the Government introduced the four-hour target in 2004.
During January, only 84.4% of patients were treated or admitted in four hours. This is well below the 95% target threshold. In essence, over 300,000 patients are waiting longer than they should. Coupled with this, hospitals report difficulty in finding beds for patients who need to be kept in hospital following an A&E admission.
Read more about increased A&E waiting times here
Knee & hip replacements lasting 25 years
A study conducted at University of Bristol which looked at over 500,000 patients who had a knee or hip replacement and found that 8 out of 10 knee replacements and 6 out of 10 hip replacements last as long as 25 years. This is much longer than believed, the researchers said.
Hip and knee replacements are two of the most common forms of surgery in the NHS.
Read more about knee and hip replacement research here
Brains of early risers and night owls differ
According to a study, the brain function of very late risers and “morning larks” during the hours of the working day is different.
The study found that night owls had less connectivity in brain regions linked to maintaining consciousness.
They also had poorer attention, slower reactions and increased sleepiness.
Read more about the brain function of early risers and night owls here
If you struggle with sleep, you may want to join the FREE talkhealth mywellbeing support programme. The first week of the programme is all about sleep and how to get a better quality of sleep. Check out mywellbeing
We hope you’ve had a good week, a good Valentine’s day and are looking forward to the weekend.
Stay well, happy and healthy!
talkhealth
This is the talkhealth blog spot, where we post on a wide range of health conditions, topics, issues and concerns. We post when we see something that we believe is of interest to our visitors. Our posts do not reflect any particular view or standpoint of talkhealth, but are merely to raise attention and awareness.
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