Category Archives: Society

Council providing three-minute care visits to vulnerable – ombudsman

Posted on by

Overworked staff allocated extremely short care calls by local authority struggling to meet users’ needs

Care workers are taking as little as three minutes to help vulnerable people in their own homes, the social care ombudsman has found, after discovering a council was allocating extremely short visits to hundreds of people.

Amid chronic staff shortages and rising unmet care needs nationwide, a homecare worker commissioned by Warrington borough council sometimes stayed for just three minutes, despite the family paying for the full visit. The council was found to have allocated 15-minute care calls to more than 300 people in the region, despite national guidance stressing these were “not usually appropriate”.

Continue reading...

PPE Medpro: UK government alleges firm supplied defective gowns to NHS

Posted on by

Exclusive: DHSC alleges gowns were not sterile, could not be used within NHS ‘for any purpose’, and technical labelling was ‘invalid’

The UK government has accused a company linked to the Conservative peer Michelle Mone of supplying defective gowns that could have compromised the safety of patients had it been used in the NHS.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) paid the company, PPE Medpro, £122m for 25m sterile surgical gowns under a contract awarded in June 2020 after Mone first approached ministers offering to supply PPE. However, the DHSC has alleged the gowns were rejected because they were not sterile, their technical labelling was “invalid” and “improper”, and they “cannot be used within the NHS for any purpose”.

Continue reading...

Rising number of foreign objects found in patients after surgery in England

Posted on by

In what NHS calls ‘never events’, items including swabs, blades and drill bits left in patients 291 times in England in 2021-22

A rising number of medical foreign objects, including wire cutters, scalpel blades and drill bits, have been left inside hospital patients after surgery in England, new figures reveal.

Blunders involving a “foreign object accidentally left in body during surgical and medical care” led to 291 “finished consultant episodes” in 2021-2022, official data shows.

Continue reading...

Disabled people among hardest hit by cost of living crisis, finds study

Posted on by

People with disabilities more likely to cut back on energy use and food, Resolution Foundation says

Disabled people in the UK are much more likely to struggle to heat their homes and cut back on food this winter, according to a report highlighting “massive” income gaps amid the cost of living squeeze.

Research from the Resolution Foundation found people with disabilities had an available amount to spend that was about 44% lower than that of other working-age adults, exposing them hugely to the rising cost of essentials.

Continue reading...

Tobacco companies to be billed for cleaning up cigarette butts in Spain

Posted on by

Ruling is part of a package of measures designed to reduce waste and increase recycling

Tobacco companies are to be forced to foot the bill for cleaning up the millions of cigarette ends that smokers discard every year under new environmental regulations in Spain.

The ruling, which comes into force this Friday, is part of a package of measures designed to reduce waste and increase recycling. It includes a ban on single-use plastic cutlery and plates, cotton buds, expanded polystyrene cups and plastic straws, as well as cutting back on plastic food packaging.

Continue reading...

‘Intolerable’ NHS crisis to continue until April, health leaders warn

Posted on by

Ministers urged to recall parliament amid warnings patients are dying needlessly due through inaction

The crisis engulfing the NHS will continue until Easter, health leaders have warned, as senior doctors accused ministers of letting patients die needlessly through inaction.

More than a dozen trusts and ambulance services have declared critical incidents in recent days, with soaring demand, rising flu and Covid cases and an overstretched workforce piling pressure on the health service.

Continue reading...

Ministers studying plans for UK child-specific terrorism orders

Posted on by

Exclusive: Official adviser recommends giving those arrested for low-level crimes a choice to accept help or face jail

New legal terrorism orders specifically for children should be brought in to tackle the growing numbers being arrested, the official adviser on terrorism law has told the government.

Ministers are studying plans that would result in children being compelled to accept help or face jail, devised by Jonathan Hall KC, the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation.

Continue reading...

People turning to DIY health treatment amid shortage of GP appointments

Posted on by

Lib Dems say face-to-face GP bookings ‘almost extinct’ in some areas as their survey shows a rise in self-prescribing

Almost one in four people have bought medicine online or at a pharmacy to treat their illness after failing to see a GP face to face, according to a UK survey underlining the rise of do-it-yourself treatment.

Nearly one in five (19%) have gone to A&E seeking urgent medical treatment for the same reason, the research commissioned by the Liberal Democrats shows.

Continue reading...

A&E delays causing up to 500 deaths a week, says senior medic

Posted on by

President of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine believes waiting times for December will be the worst he has ever seen

As many as 500 people could be dying each week because of delays to emergency care, a senior healthcare official has said.

The president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, Dr Adrian Boyle, believes waiting times for December will be the worst he has ever seen, with more than a dozen NHS trusts and ambulance services declaring critical incidents over the festive period.

Continue reading...

Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler sued for 1970s sexual battery and assault of minor

Posted on by

Suit alleges ‘various acts of criminal sexual conduct’ were committed against teenager by singer over three-year period

A woman who says she had a sexual relationship with Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler when she was 16 is suing him in California, under a state law that has temporarily extended the statute of limitations for adults to take legal action on sexual abuse they suffered as children.

Julia Holcomb Misley, who has spoken out publicly for years about Tyler’s treatment of her as a teenager, filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles on Tuesday alleging sexual battery, sexual assault and intentional infliction of distress during a three-year period in the 1970s.

Continue reading...

New year honours list includes outspoken critics of government

Posted on by

Chris Bryant and Julian Lewis receive knighthoods while Michael Marmot gets Companion of Honour

Sir Michael Marmot, the world-leading expert on health inequalities, has been made a Companion of Honour in the new year honours, among a series of people to be rewarded despite their often outspoken criticism of ministers and government policy.

Marmot, who headed a landmark inquiry into UK health inequalities and has since been vocal about the lack of action to address them, receives one of the most prestigious honours in existence.

Continue reading...

Community champions dominate new year honours list

Posted on by

Charity fundraisers and volunteers supporting refugees among those recognised for their contribution

The theme of public service is at the forefront of the new year honours list, with the majority of those receiving awards nominated for their work in their local communities.

Tricia Ward-Jones, 69, from Shropshire, receives the British empire medal (BEM) after 17 years as a volunteer fundraiser for Promise Dreams, a charity based in Wolverhampton, which helps the families of children who are seriously or terminally ill create memories.

Continue reading...

Ministers criticised as 200,000 eligible children in England miss out on free school meals

Posted on by

Around one in 10 pupils who would qualify for assistance are not registered with the scheme

The government has been accused of “standing idly by while children go hungry” after new analysis showed that more than 200,000 of pupils eligible for free school meals (FSMs) in England are missing out because they are not registered.

Campaigners have urged ministers to automate the enrolment process using social security records, amid fears that children from disadvantaged backgrounds are going hungry because they have not signed up.

Continue reading...

Faint hopes that Taliban will relax ban on NGO women after UN condemnation

Posted on by

Security council’s rare display of unity adds pressure after most aid groups in Afghanistan suspend services

Faint hopes exist that the Taliban may relax its ban on all women working for the non-governmental aid agencies in Afghanistan after the UN security council condemned the ban in a rare show of unanimity.

Almost all the large NGO aid agencies operating in Afghanistan have suspended almost all their work while talks continue to persuade the Taliban to rescind or clarify their decision. Tens of thousands of aid workers – many of them the chief breadwinners for the household – have been told to stay at home during the suspension, as the UN seeks to persuade the Taliban of the consequences for ordinary people in Afghanistan.

Continue reading...

NHS on track to eliminate hepatitis C five years ahead of global targets

Posted on by

England to become first country to eliminate virus thanks to targeted screening campaigns and effective treatments

The NHS is set to eliminate hepatitis C in England by 2025 due to targeted screening campaigns for those at risk and effective drug treatments, according to health officials. NHS England said the measures are helping to dramatically cut deaths from the virus five years ahead of global targets.

Deaths from hepatitis C – including liver disease and cancer – have fallen by 35% since NHS England struck a five-year deal worth almost £1bn to buy antiviral drugs for thousands of patients in 2018.

Continue reading...

‘Go for it now’: 74-year-old graduates with merit after once failing 11-plus

Posted on by

John Wilsher admits there were hurdles to overcome, but hopes his story will inspire others to get back into education

“Time goes quickly” according to septuagenarian John Wilsher who failed his 11-plus, but now at 74 has graduated from university with merit, and is encouraging others to seize the chance to follow their passions.

His return to higher education however was not without its setbacks. It wasn’t easy, Wilsher told PA news, concerned about taking exams for the first time in 35 years and aware his memory was not as sharp as it once was.

Continue reading...

Jamie Oliver calls for expansion of free school meals in England

Posted on by

Tory ex-chancellor George Osborne also suggests free meals for ‘larger group of the population is the right way forward’

Jamie Oliver has renewed pressure on the government to expand free school meals, with George Osborne suggesting widening the programme could be the right way forward and Tony Blair saying the money could be found if politicians wanted to do it.

The television chef highlighted the issue as he was guest-editing BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Tuesday as part of his long-term campaign on free school meals.

Continue reading...

UK student housing reaching ‘crisis point’ as bad as 1970s, charity warns

Posted on by

Growing numbers of students are experiencing hidden homelessness or accepting poor accommodation

Student housing is reaching a “crisis point” not seen since the 1970s, when students slept in sports halls and their cars, and is set to worsen in the new year, a charity has warned.

Since the start of the academic year, students at universities across the UK have complained of fierce competition for rooms in flatshares for the 2022 and 2023 academic years.

Continue reading...

Ministers plan to scrap NHS England targets to ‘boost efficiency’

Posted on by

Labour says plan to ditch national targets equates to ‘scrapping standards altogether’ , after review by Patricia Hewitt

The government is preparing to ditch NHS national targets in an attempt to “boost efficiency”, as part of recommendations from a review led by a former Labour health secretary.

Patricia Hewitt led the government-commissioned review into the NHS in England, looking at how the new integrated care systems (ICSs) could operate efficiently. The chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, announced the assessment during the autumn budget.

Continue reading...

Boxing Day strikes: thousands face travel chaos across Britain as action by railway and Border Force workers continues

Posted on by

Railways closed because of RMT strike while 1,000 Border Force staff in PCS union continue action

Here is a reminder of the upcoming strikes which have been announced by up until January.

Shoppers hoping for a Boxing Day bargain could face traffic jams as rail strikes bring train services to a halt, with the AA saying it expects 15.2m cars on UK roads on Boxing Day, with shoppers and football fans among those likely to travel.

Continue reading...