After terrible embarrassment on a holiday flight where she couldn’t fit into her seat, Devon woman Claire Coles has lost an amazing 11 stone and 9 dress sizes.
“I couldn’t fit into the seat, and after the embarrassment of asking for a seat belt extender, it was still a very tight fit, my legs were pinched and I couldn't even lower the tray, it was very uncomfortable. I was so embarrassed and unhappy, I just wanted the floor to open up and swallow me, I spent the five hours of the flight in tears," Claire said.
The Nuffield Health Exeter Hospital has invested over £30,000 in a state-of-the-art high definition camera stack to help with keyhole surgery.
The new Karl Storz camera stack is now in use for laparoscopic procedures and operations such as gall bladder removal, hernia repair and gynaecology procedures.
Theatre Manager Jason Finney said “This new camera stack will be of great benefit to the surgeons, giving an even clearer image for them to work to and providing greater detail.
Patients may experience quicker operation times, and so even shorter waits.
More than a quarter of over 70s with type 2 diabetes could benefit simply from improving communication and education in the clinic, new research has revealed. A study led by the University of Exeter Medical School and published in the Lancet found that 27 per cent achieved better glycaemic control through individualised care alone.
At the moment, patients over the age of 70 are treated using a blanket method of aggressively reducing blood glucose levels, but that does little to take their complex needs into account.
Dr David Strain, from the University of Exeter Medical...
A revolutionary new nasal spray at the dentist could signal the end of the "dreaded" needle.
Scientists at the University at Buffalo have pioneered the spray to replace the need for needles, a move that could encourage 15 million people in the UK with dental anxiety to visit the dentist.
The nasal spray, called Kovacaine Mist, appeared to be just as, if not more effective than a standard anaesthetic, with more than four in five patients (83 per cent) requiring no further anaesthetic. Founder Dr Mark Kollar, DDS, noted the spray provided anaesthesia of the teeth 'sufficient...
Devon County Council has today (Wednesday, 3 July) won an award for excellence for a pilot project to tackle smoking and protect children from harm.
The award from the CLeaR Partnership, which works with local authorities across England to assess progress in reducing smoking, was given for Devon’s pioneering work with children’s centres.
At the seven pilot sites across the county, the Council has installed specially designed signage to advise people not to smoke on site and provided bespoke training for staff to raise the issue with parents and offer support to parents who...
Is massage therapy a luxury reserved only for the ladies? Absolutely not!
Men can enjoy and reap the benefits of massage too, especially after a long workweek doing all that overtime! Some of the top companies in the world offer workplace massage because they know its powerful benefits including enhanced morale and ability to handle heavy workloads. What many people don't know is these benefits extend far beyond just the workplace. Massage reduces the stress hormone, cortisol and releases the 'feel-good' hormones, dopamine and serotonin. Too much cortisol in the...
Hundreds of thousands of women across England and Wales could be spared the distress and uncertainty of a breast cancer diagnosis by taking a daily pill to help prevent the disease. Updated guidance by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) says the NHS should give tamoxifen or raloxifene to particular groups of women with a family history of cancer [1] because the drugs can help stop them getting breast cancer if they are taken for five years.
Roughly 50,000 women and 400 men are diagnosed with breast cancer each year in the UK [2], making it the most common...
Northern, Eastern and Western Devon Clinical Commissioning Group’s (CCG) member GP practices have been rated among the highest in the country – by the patients they serve.
A national survey showed that patient experience of local doctors’ surgeries in Devon was consistently better than the England average.
Almost nine in ten Devon patients said they would recommend their GP surgery to someone who has just moved to the area and 95 per cent said they had confidence and trust in their GP.
A total of 84 per cent of patients in Devon reported they found it easy to get...
The Eastern Locality of Northern, Eastern and Western Devon Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) is looking forward to seeing members of the public at its Board meeting on Wednesday 26 June 2013.
Dr David Jenner, chairman of the Eastern Locality, said he hoped people would come along to the Board meeting to find out about healthcare in their area and how they can get involved.
The Eastern Locality covers Exeter, Mid Devon, East Devon, and as far west as Okehampton and Moretonhampstead (but excluding Ashburton and Bovey Tracey).
Over 100 people a month are now being given a personalized health MOT at the Nuffield Heath Exeter Hospital.
Paul Westoby is a Physiologist based at the Exeter Nuffield. He said: “There has been a significant increase in the interest of this new service. People are seeing the benefits of a health check, coupled with excellent practical, realistic lifestyle advice enabling them to achieve their desired goals and improving their health and wellbeing”.
The MOT includes a cholesterol check, blood tests, and ECG and personal coaching, and includes time with a specialist...
