#GPnews: BMA firearms guidance ‘absolutely unacceptable’, say GP campaigners

15:05 GP Survival has also been tweeting, and seemingly after reading Pulse.

The GP campaign group is not happy at all with the BMA’s updated firearms guidance.

They say they are ‘deeply disappointed that our designated trade union has chosen to withdraw its previous guidance’ and replaced it with guidance that they think is ‘absolutely unacceptable, in every possible way’.

Our response to the change in Firearms guidance by @BMA_GP

“Absolutely unacceptable, in every possible way”https://t.co/CpAGvosE9E

— GP Survival (@cgps_gp) November 16, 2016

14:45 It’s not just Alcohol Awareness Week but also Self Care Week, as BMA points out with a tweet.

It’s #selfcareweek– find out what you can do to encourage patients to develop a self-care strategy #GPworkloadhttps://t.co/pxLu3FNJYHpic.twitter.com/x8XrHq8RTY

— General Practice (@BMA_GP) November 14, 2016

13:10 An MP is calling for all schools to have defibrillators after a petition was signed by 110,000 people.

The BBC reports that this followed the death of Liverpool schoolboy Oliver King, who suffered a cardiac arrest in 2011.

‘He died when no defibrillator was available and when paramedics took 24 minutes to get to the scene,’ Ms Caulfield told fellow MPs as her motion to bring a bill was passed yesterday.

Her bill is due for a House of Commons debate on 27 January but, as the Beeb points out, it is unlikely to be successful unless the Government lends its support.

12:35 Cervical cancer screening rates have dropped, as we report here. Unsurprisingly, the Mail blames GPs… 

‘Most surgeries offer the checks only during office hours and many women are reluctant to take time off work. Some are too embarrassed to tell bosses why they need to be absent while others don’t want to use up a day’s holiday,’ the article says.

10:10 Apparently it is Alcohol Awareness Week this week. In the Pulse office we are all too aware with sore heads all round following editor Nigel Praities’ achievement of scooping the BSME ‘Editor of the Year’ award last night.

Read the full story here

09:50 The Government has been accused of putting patients’ lives at risk because of low numbers of qualified nurses in NHS hospitals.

The Independent reports on a study which found death rates increases when staff is ‘diluted’ with other health professionals who are not qualified.

It said this comes as England has one the lowest rates of qualified nurses in its hospitals compared to other European countries.