Exclusive: walkout over pay due to take place before Christmas
The biggest nursing strike in NHS history is set to take place before Christmas after union officials said that “large swathes of the country” had voted for industrial action.
Patients who are already facing record waiting lists are now likely to see operations and appointments delayed or cancelled. This is set to be the first national strike in the history of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN).
Continue reading...‘Systemic’ failures at Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys trust found to have contributed to self-inflicted deaths
Three teenage girls died after major failings in the care they received from NHS mental health services in the north-east of England, an independent investigation has found.
“Multifaceted and systemic” failures by the Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys (TEWV) NHS trust contributed to the young women’s self-inflicted deaths within eight months of each other, it concluded.
In the UK, the youth suicide charity Papyrus can be contacted on 0800 068 4141 or email pat@papyrus-uk.org, and in the UK and Ireland Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or by email at jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is at 800-273-8255 or chat for support. You can also text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis text line counsellor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org
Continue reading...‘Complexity and uncertainty’ ahead as NHS struggles to deliver standard of care patients deserve, says Amanda Pritchard
The NHS in England is facing even tougher challenges now than when Covid-19 struck, the service’s boss has said.
The many problems confronting the health service meant it was harder now for it to do its job, and it would become even more difficult, said Amanda Pritchard, NHS England’s chief executive.
Continue reading...Inspectorate for England and Wales says potentially thousands officers cleared who should have failed checks
Defective vetting and failures by police leaders have allowed a “prevalent” culture of potentially thousands of officers who are “predatory” towards women to join and stay in the ranks, a damning official report has concluded.
Officers staged unwarranted stops of women in an abuse of power known as “booty patrols”, with crimes such as sexual assault covered up and ignored along with large-scale harassment of female officers and members of the public.
A special constable cleared to join despite a past conviction for indecent exposure seven times over a two-week period as a juvenile, when he had masturbated at his bedroom window, coughing to attract the attention of a woman. He also had a caution for threats to commit criminal damage.
A support officer cleared to join after slapping his partner in the face.
A police officer allowed to join despite robbing an 80-year-old woman, who was knocked to the ground and had her handbag stolen.
A police officer cleared to join despite concerns he had a theft conviction and potential criminal links.
A police officer arrested twice for assaults on women who were left with marks on their necks, and witness intimidation, as well as having a historical drink-driving conviction.
An officer cleared to join despite an arrest for rape while a juvenile, about 20 years earlier.
An officer, who still works with vulnerable people, given a final written warning for sending extremely sexually explicit and racist messages to a female colleague.
Continue reading...Councils receiving 5,400 new requests for help each day while capacity has reduced significantly
The state of social care in England has “never been so bad”, the country’s leading social services chief has said, with half a million people now waiting for help.
Sarah McClinton, president of the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS), told a conference of council care bosses in Manchester: “The shocking situation is that we have more people requesting help from councils, more older and disabled with complex needs, yet social care capacity has reduced and we have 50,000 fewer paid carers.”
Continue reading...Boy recorded telling guard he was told he could move from Manston holding centre more quickly if he said he was over 18
Child asylum seekers who have recently arrived in the UK on small boats say screening officials have put pressure on them to say they are adults, the Guardian has been told.
In some cases, the children say they were told that if they said they were over 18 they would be able to leave the troubled asylum processing site of Manston in Kent more quickly.
Continue reading...Mandatory programme named after Oliver McGowan, whose mother led a campaign after his death in 2016
Mandatory training for health and care staff in England to support people with a learning disability and autistic people has been launched following a grieving mother’s four-year campaign.
Paula McGowan’s 18-year-old son, Oliver, who had a mild learning disability and autism, died after doctors “arrogantly” gave him antipsychotic medication despite his family’s warnings that they were unsuitable.
Continue reading...Footballer Marcus Rashford’s victory on school meals is crumbling as English councils drop schemes
Councils across England are “quietly” axing holiday food voucher schemes for children on free school meals, which has left many families desperate this half-term, headteachers and charities warn.
It took a massive public campaign, led by the Manchester United and England footballer Marcus Rashford, to force Boris Johnson into a U-turn in November 2020 on feeding children from the lowest-income families during the school holidays.
Continue reading...Split over colour of heart symbol – and who it represents – and date of annual commemoration
An emotionally charged dispute over how best to memorialise Covid in the UK risks dividing people bereaved over the course of the pandemic.
A split has emerged over whether a red or yellow heart should become the long-term symbol of loss, and over the date of an annual commemoration. The crux of the dispute is a claim from some people who lost loved ones to Covid that their experience “needs to be treated differently” than those bereaved during Covid.
Continue reading...Catherine Poole tells prime minister to pay staff more, raising a finger and saying: ‘You need to try harder’
Rishi Sunak got a tase of how the “difficult decisions” he has said will guide spending cuts may go down with the public, when he was challenged by a hospital patient about nurses’ pay.
During a tour of Croydon University Hospital in south London, Sunak met NHS workers and posed for smiling selfies with them, but was confronted by 77-year old Catherine Poole.
Continue reading...Data suggests hospital admission rates among children under five have almost doubled in two weeks
Parents are being urged to get their young children vaccinated against flu as data suggests hospitalisation rates among under-fives have almost doubled in England in the space of two weeks.
Data suggests the UK could face a triple whammy of respiratory illness this winter. While experts are concerned there could be another Covid wave, levels of both flu and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) are increasing. The latter is a common winter virus that typically affects young children and can cause bronchiolitis.
Continue reading...Notice issued to Rajasthan state government demanding police inquiry into ‘abominable’ practice
Young girls in the northern Indian state of Rajasthan are being sold as “repayment” for loans their parents cannot afford, the national body that protects human rights has said.
The National Human Rights Commission has issued a notice to the state government demanding a police inquiry and answers within a month to what it called an “abominable” practice.
Continue reading...Royal College of Midwives will soon ballot English and Welsh members after below-inflation offer is rejected in Scotland
Midwives in Scotland have voted overwhelmingly in favour of industrial action over what they described as an “insulting” pay offer.
More than 88% of midwives and maternity support workers (MSWs) in Scotland, who are part of the Royal College of Midwives (RCM), voted to strike in a turnout of 61% of eligible voters.
Continue reading...One minister resigned to vote against making it easier for transgender people in Scotland to change their legal sex
The Scottish National party suffered its largest backbench revolt in its 15 years in power over the vote on its bill making it easier for transgender people to change their legal sex, with one minister resigning in order to vote against the plans.
The community safety minister, Ash Regan, quit, prompting Nicola Sturgeon, the first minister, to accuse her of failing to raise her concerns with colleagues. Seven SNP members voted against the party whip and two abstained.
Continue reading...Protesters turn out in dozens of towns and appear to take control of largely Kurdish city of Mahabad
Protests against the Iranian government have suddenly regained momentum as funerals for those killed and a highly emotional commemoration of the movement have stretched security forces drawn into a further cycle of arrests and repression.
Dozens of towns were rocked by protests on Wednesday night as mainly young crowds used the cover of darkness to mark the 40th day since Mahsa Amini, a young Kurdish woman, died in police custody, sparking unprecedented unrest.
Continue reading...With fiscal statement deferred and mixed government messaging on tax and spending the BoE has little to go on
The Bank of England will next week consider how much to raise interest rates without having received any guidance from the government about its tax and spending policies, after Jeremy Hunt pushed back the date for this year’s “autumn statement”.
Its policymakers meet on 3 November to decide the increase in the cost of borrowing required to tackle a rate of inflation that climbed above 10% in September.
Continue reading...Minister says legalisation could set precedent for rest of Europe, though plan is still subject to EU approval
Germany wants to make it legal for adults to purchase and own up to 30g of cannabis for recreational use and to privately grow up to three plants, the country’s health minister has announced, saying the intended outcome could set a precedent for the rest of the European continent.
“If this law comes to pass, it would be the most liberal project to legalise cannabis in Europe, but also the most regulated market”, the Karl Lauterbach said at a press conference in Berlin on Wednesday. “It could be a model for Europe.”
Continue reading...Teargas also used against protesters gathered in home town of 22-year-old Kurdish woman, says rights group
Iranian security forces have clashed with protesters who had gathered in their thousands in Mahsa Amini’s home town to mark 40 days since her death, with reports that shots were fired.
“Security forces have shot teargas and opened fire on people in Zindan Square, Saqqez city,” Hengaw, a Norway-based group that monitors rights violations in Iran’s Kurdish regions, tweeted without specifying whether there were any dead or wounded. It said more than 50 civilians were injured by direct fire in cities across the region.
Continue reading...Move will help up to 150 patients a year whose condition has not responded positively to anti-seizure drugs
Up to 150 people a year with epilepsy will have a potentially life-changing new form of surgery on the part of their brain that is causing their seizures, in an NHS initiative.
NHS England is making available a “world-leading” fibre-optic laser beam surgery that would let epilepsy sufferers avoid having to undergo neurosurgery, which is much more invasive.
Continue reading...Lawyers criticise ‘loopholes’ in call for mandatory reporting in England and Wales
Managing the seven-year inquiry into child sexual abuse to a set of conclusions will itself be seen as a triumph for Prof Alexis Jay. Its findings, however, have not gone far enough for many victims.
Lady Jay took over in November 2016 amid concerns the inquiry would have to be abandoned. She joined after three high-profile resignations of previous chairs over a three-year period.
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