2002
AD
November.......
HSSG closes
For the past three years this web site has been here for
information and will continue to be so.
However the real work that took place off the web e.g
contacting groups and doctors, handling telephone calls from sufferers and
mailing information packs has had to cease. This is mainly due to
deterioration in health due to the strain of running the group but also
the financial cost to those few who ran the group.
You will be able to find numerous groups by visiting Yahoo
Groups at www.yahoo.com
March.......
More Help for Carers
There are over six million carers in the UK and 60% of
them do not claim the allowances they are entitled to and they save the
government an estimated £34 billion a year.
This has led the Department for work and pensions to
launch a new campaign to highlight recent changes in benefits.
Disability Minister Maria Eagle said "There are thousands
of people in this country who give their time to care for others and in
doing so make a vital contribution t society".
The government recently pledged a three year package worth
£500 million pounds that will benefit carers.
The carers and disabled children's act 2000 introduced
various changes to benefits including more direct help with housework
gardening and traveling. There is also extra income support for
those on invalid care allowance together with an increase in the earnings
limit from £50 to £75 per week.
For more information contact your local carers bureau.
Research in the UK
Some people are under the impression that HIDE
International and its affiliates is only a web-based mailing list!.
What those individuals don't see is the work going on in the background,
which has created an international board of Doctor's (some of whom are
considered to be the leading authority on HS) and a registered charity (in
Canada).
Also for the past few years Hide International and its
affiliates have been involved in research into the possible genetic cause
of HS, which is being carried out in Scotland by Dr ???????????.
Research is also being carried out in Germany.
If the outcome of this research is positive then we will
be a step nearer to understanding HS and if negative then genetic causes
can be ruled out leaving more time to focus on other avenues of
research.
Skin Campaign Book
For the past two years H.S.S.G have had a section for HS in the Skin Campaign
book, which is produced yearly as a reference for the medical community
and distributed to surgeries and hospital's throughout the UK.
Emiss Sytem - Doctors ONLY
The emiss system is set up for the use of the medical profession only
and most surgeries in the UK are linked to this, the H.S.S.G is currently
listed on this for the referral of patients who have been diagnosed as
suffering from HS.
CANNABIS TRIALS - Update
We have had a lot of enquiry's as to the outcome of the cannabis
trials, at present we have no further information but are assured some
will be available mid May 2002 - We wish to point out that even if the
trials are positive then it will be sometime before it will be generally
available on prescription. Even then the government will be implementing a
list of illnesses for which it may be prescribed - using
cannabis is and will still be illegal in the UK apart from these
exclusions.
2001 AD
CANNABIS
TRIALS
Initial trials funded by the Medical Research Council have taken place
in January 2001 involving 20 people with multiple sclerosis at the
Derriford Hospital in Plymouth.
In April this will be extended to 660 people in 40 centers around the
country.
It will be interesting to see how long it takes the government to
realise that this drug is beneficial to some people with certain
conditions.
But before you rush out to find your local dealer - the government have
rejected the idea that people using it for medical purposes should not be
liable to prosecution and said it would not reclassify cannabis as a class
C drug.
THE EXPERT PATIENT
In a recent survey undertaken by the
Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI), published March
27 2000. Both doctors and health managers believe
that moves to inform patients better will result in more treatments
becoming available and better health outcomes for patients.
But the survey also reveals a division
between the two groups over their support for increasing the expertise of
patients, with managers overwhelming in favor of the 'expert patient'
while a third of doctors are opposed.
The results are part of a report, published
by the ABPI, which examines the issue of the expert patient and forecasts
that providing better information to patients could result in cutting
chronic disease and promoting preventive medicine. It follows
publication of the Government's proposals in its White Paper, Saving Lives
: Our Healthier Nation.
The survey results, conducted among GP's
and NHS managers, showed that the latter are very positive about many of
the likely results of the Government proposals on the issue, as set out in
its recent White Paper.
