Category Archives: Society

Prisons in England and Wales record rapid rise in drones delivering drugs

Posted on by

Exclusive: tenfold increase in drone incidents since 2020 leads MPs to call for urgent action over security concerns

Prisons will need more money to combat the rapid rise in drones delivering drugs, the head of an influential Commons committee has said, as figures showed the number of aerial incursions predicted to have tripled in two years.

A freedom of information request by the Guardian found there were 1,296 drone incidents at prisons in England and Wales in the 10 months to the end of October 2024, a tenfold increase since 2020.

Continue reading...

Thousands throng central Birmingham amid false rumour of New Year’s Eve fireworks

Posted on by

Revellers left disappointed after social media reports of display turn out to be a damp squib

Thousands of people gathered in the centre of Birmingham on New Year’s Eve despite a police warning that the announcement of a fireworks display was false.

Police and the city council had urged revellers not to travel after false reports there would be a spectacular show in Centenary Square.

Continue reading...

Belgium becomes first EU country to ban sale of disposable vapes

Posted on by

Products banned on health and environmental grounds, while Milan outlaws outdoor smoking

Belgium has become the EU first country to ban the sale of disposable vapes in an effort to stop young people from becoming addicted to nicotine and to protect the environment.

The sale of disposable electronic cigarettes is banned in Belgium on health and environmental grounds from 1 January. A ban on outdoor smoking in Milan came into force on the same day, as EU countries discuss tighter controls on tobacco.

Continue reading...

Man on the run after being recalled to UK prison indefinitely makes plea to minister

Posted on by

Matthew Booth, from Bolton, is facing further time in jail after claims he has restarted a relationship with an ex

A Bolton man who is on the run after being recalled to prison indefinitely has made a direct plea to the justice secretary to intervene in his case.

Matthew Booth, 33, is wanted by police on recall to prison for a crime he committed when he was 15 and for which he has served a sentence.

Continue reading...

Hospital admissions for lack of vitamins soaring in England, NHS figures show

Posted on by

Admissions for vitamin or iron deficiencies up by more than 10% year on year and as much as tenfold on 1998-99

The number of people admitted to hospital in England because of a lack of vitamins or minerals is soaring, according to analysis of NHS figures.

In 2023-24 there were 191,927 admissions where the main reason was a lack of iron, up 11% on 2022-23. The figure is almost 10 times the 20,396 hospital admissions for lack of iron in 1998-99.

Continue reading...

Ecuador confirms incinerated bodies belong to missing ‘Guayaquil Four’ boys

Posted on by

Sixteen air force personnel who apprehended boys being held in custody as inquiry into deaths continues

Ecuador’s attorney general’s office has confirmed that incinerated bodies found on Christmas Eve belong to the four children missing since early December, in a case posing a severe challenge to President Daniel Noboa’s “war on drugs”.

The four boys – all black, aged between 11 and 15, and residents of Las Malvinas, a poor area in the country’s largest city, Guayaquil – were returning from a football game on 8 December when they were apprehended by 16 air force soldiers.

Continue reading...

How soaring fees for private care are deepening England’s dentistry crisis

Posted on by

Ever growing numbers of people find themselves unable to get NHS treatment or pay for the alternative

Exclusive: patients unable to get dental care after ‘eye-watering’ rise in private fees

The inability of millions of patients to access an NHS dentist is one of the longest-running injustices in the history of the health service. The misery and the harm it causes is profound and well documented. The scandal is not new.

Going private is often the only alternative. If it means getting a checkup, a scale and polish, a filling, an extraction or if necessary a root canal, many will pay. Anything to keep your teeth in good nick.

Continue reading...

UK patients unable to get dental care after ‘eye-watering’ rise in private fees

Posted on by

Exclusive: warning that lack of NHS dentists and soaring cost of private work puts essential care out of reach for many

How soaring fees for private care are deepening England’s dentistry crisis

Private dentists are cashing in on the scarcity of NHS treatment by hiking their charges for fillings, checkups and extractions to “eye-watering” levels, research has found.

Patients are paying as much as £775 for root canal work, £435 to have a tooth out and £325 for a white filling due to fees for common dental procedures soaring since 2022.

A white filling has gone from £105 to £129 – up 23%.

An extraction has risen from £105 to £139 – 32% more.

A half-hour scale and polish is now £75, up from £65 – a 15% jump.

An initial consultation for a new patient is up 23% from £65 to £80.

Continue reading...

Lawmakers take on prior authorization reform as health insurance frustrations mount

Posted on by

Nearly one in four doctors say the practice of prior authorization has led to serious issues for patients

In the wake of the killing of Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, and the outpouring of frustration about insurance coverage, prior authorizations have emerged as a particular roadblock in healthcare.

Prior authorization requires medical providers to get an insurer’s approval before patients receive healthcare or medications.

Continue reading...

Big rise in people going to A&E in England for minor ailments, data shows

Posted on by

Stretched primary services causing increase in emergency visits for issues from coughs to hiccups, health leaders say

The number of people turning to A&E departments in England for minor ailments including hiccups, sore throats and coughs is soaring, as senior health leaders warn that NHS primary and community services are “massively overstretched”.

NHS data shows a large increase in people arriving at emergency departments for non-emergency ailments including backache, insomnia and earache.

Continue reading...

Welsh ambulance service declares ‘critical incident’ after demand soars

Posted on by

Patients waiting many hours for ambulances to arrive, while those phoning 999 struggle to get through

A “critical incident” was declared by the Welsh ambulance service on Monday evening due to significantly increased demand and extensive handover delays.

The ambulance service, which covers 3 million-plus people across Wales, said more than 340 calls were waiting to be answered at the time the critical incident was declared.

Continue reading...

Dominique Pelicot will not appeal against conviction for drugging and raping ex-wife

Posted on by

Lawyer says he wishes to spare Gisèle Pelicot a new ordeal after marathon trial convicted all 51 accused

Dominique Pelicot will not appeal against his conviction for drugging and raping his wife and inviting strangers to rape her, his lawyer has said.

Béatrice Zavarro said the former electrician, 72, who was jailed for the maximum 20 years this month, wished to spare his now ex-wife, Gisèle Pelicot, a new ordeal but admitted there was also the risk a new trial in front of a public jury could mean a longer prison sentence.

Continue reading...

UK employers ‘risk losing good people’ without policies on infertility, say managers

Posted on by

Survey by Chartered Management Institute finds only 19% of companies have a policy in place

Employers should have formal policies in place to help workers who are undergoing fertility treatment, the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) has said, warning that businesses are increasingly losing talented people by failing to support them.

With NHS data showing that one in every seven couples have difficulty conceiving, the professional body urged companies to be understanding and supportive, and offer flexible work hours and paid time off to accommodate medical appointments, as well as paid compassionate leave when necessary.

Continue reading...

UK ministers warned housing crisis puts plans for NHS and economy at risk

Posted on by

Damning report reveals millions in England are living in poor-quality housing that threatens their health

Ministers have been warned that efforts to save the NHS and grow the economy will fail unless they tackle the housing crisis, as a damning report reveals millions of people are living in substandard homes that risk worsening their health.

In total, 4.5 million people aged 50 or above with an existing health condition in England are living in poor-quality housing with one or more problems such as rising damp, rot or decay that may be making them even sicker, the Centre for Ageing Better analysis found. Of those, 1.7 million are aged 70 or over.

Continue reading...

NHS delays may drive patients to buy unsafe weight-loss drugs, says top GP

Posted on by

People warned against buying illegal weight-loss medicines through beauty salons or fake pharmacy websites

Long waits for NHS services could lead people to take matters into their own hands by buying potentially unsafe weight-loss jabs online, Britain’s top GP has said.

Prof Kamila Hawthorne, the chair of the Royal College of GPs, warned that buying drugs online from unregulated retailers could put people at risk and they may also miss out on wraparound support offered alongside the medication.

Continue reading...

Up to 30 MPs who backed assisted dying bill could withdraw support at next vote

Posted on by

Several MPs preparing to suggest amendments on key concerns including coercion and role of medics

Up to 30 MPs who backed assisted dying could withdraw support at the next parliamentary vote, MPs have said, as several prepare to suggest amendments on coercion and the role of medics.

The committee that will examine the next stage of Kim Leadbeater’s assisted dying bill will begin hearings in the new year, with MPs coalescing around several demands for changes to the legislation.

Continue reading...

Councils failing to take homeless young people into care

Posted on by

Exclusive: UK teenagers placed in temporary housing until they are adults as there are fewer obligations to support them if they are not care leavers

Councils are treating teenagers like homeless adults and placing them in unsuitable temporary housing rather than taking them into care, new research has shown.

Local authorities are “waiting out the clock” when assessing vulnerable 16- and 17-year-olds until they can be classed as adults. The teenagers were kept in the dark about their rights after escaping “harrowing” family situations involving physical and emotional abuse, addiction and mental health problems, according to research by the Coram Institute for Children charity.

Continue reading...

Toddler wanders within feet of 400ft cliff near rim of Kīlauea volcano

Posted on by

Child had run off from family ‘in a split second’ as they admired lava within caldera at sunset on 23 December

Hawaii national park rangers have reissued warnings about volcano tourism after a small child wandered off and came within feet of a 400ft cliff near the rim of Kīlauea volcano, whose latest eruption had begun on 23 December.

“The hazards that coincide with an eruption are dangerous, and we have safety measures in place including closed areas, barriers, closure signs and traffic management,” said park superintendent Rhonda Loh in a statement.

Continue reading...

Former world’s tallest man calls for more compassion for vulnerable in UK

Posted on by

Hussain Bisad, who has had health problems, says government should do more for people with physical or mental illness

When Hussain Bisad first settled in north London as an asylum seeker after fleeing from war in Somalia 23 years ago, he did so in the hope of a new and more settled life. Little did he know that shortly after arriving he would be at the centre of the media spotlight, not for his story of escaping conflict but for something altogether different: his height.

Bisad had been in the UK for five months when Guinness World Records measured his height as 2.3 metres (7ft 6.5in), making him then the world’s tallest living man.

Continue reading...

Almost one in five children live in conflict zones, says Unicef

Posted on by

UN humanitarian body warns that dramatic increase in harm to children should not become the ‘new normal’

Nearly one in five of the world’s children live in areas affected by conflicts, with more than 473 million children suffering from the worst levels of violence since the second world war, according to figures published by the UN.

The UN humanitarian aid organisation for children, Unicef, said on Saturday that the percentage of children living in conflict zones around the world has doubled from about 10% in the 1990s to almost 19%, and warned that this dramatic increase in harm to children should not become the “new normal”.

Continue reading...