Katie Tidmarsh found guilty of killing ‘defenceless young child’ she had been in the process of adopting
A woman has been sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 17 years for murdering the one-year-old baby she was in the process of adopting, after failing to disclose mental health problems to the adoption panel.
Katie Tidmarsh, 39, was convicted of murdering Ruby Thompson, who sustained catastrophic brain damage and died in hospital in August 2012.
Continue reading...England’s chief medical officer says more realistic conversations needed about some treatments’ side-effects
England’s chief medical officer, Prof Chris Whitty, has called for a cultural shift in medicine away from maximising lifespan and towards improving quality of life in old age, arguing that sometimes this means “less medicine, not more”.
Speaking before the publication of his 2023 annual report, which this year focuses on health in an ageing society, Whitty said doctors needed to have more realistic conversations with patients about the risk of some treatments extending life at the expense of quality of life and independence.
Continue reading...Method could be used to stop people from unlocking cars or to support bartenders serving alcohol
Whether it is the story of Peter Piper and his pickled peppers or a woman selling sea shells on the seashore, tongue-twisters tackled when sober can sound rather different after a drink.
Now researchers believe such changes, in particular those relating to pitch and frequency, could be used to alert people to their level of intoxication.
Continue reading...£5m project launched with aim of having reliable tests within five years to provide quick diagnosis
Scientists are to begin piloting simple blood tests for dementia that could revolutionise detection of the disease and within five years lead to people being diagnosed in seconds by the NHS.
Currently, getting a formal diagnosis in the UK relies on mental ability tests, brain scans or invasive and painful lumbar punctures, where a sample of cerebrospinal fluid is drawn from the lower back.
Continue reading...Findings of ‘thinly veiled, everyday instances of racism at work’ raise fears medical graduates may avoid UK
Three in five foreign doctors in the NHS face “racist microaggressions” at work, such as patients refusing to be treated by them or having their abilities doubted because of their skin colour.
The widespread “thinly veiled, everyday instances of racism at work” experienced by medics trained overseas has been uncovered by a survey of more than 2,000 UK doctors and dentists.
Continue reading...Thinktank says stronger than expected tax revenues have given chancellor scope for bold package in autumn statement
Jeremy Hunt risks condemning Britain to a decade in the doldrums unless he uses this month’s autumn statement to announce a £30bn-a-year investment plan to upgrade public infrastructure, a leading thinktank has warned.
The National Institute for Economic and Social Research (NIESR) said the chancellor should ignore calls by Tory MPs for pre-election tax cuts and instead focus on measures to boost growth through improvements to transport, digital networks, skills and housing.
Continue reading...OECD says 26% have at least six alcoholic drinks in a single session at least once a month
British women top the list for the world’s biggest female binge drinkers, a report has found.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) compared alcohol consumption across 33 countries.
Continue reading...Covid investigation also told taskforce coordinating pandemic policy had no warning of ‘eat out to help out’
Rishi Sunak and Boris Johnson pushed repeatedly against lockdown measures during the second wave of Covid in autumn 2020, with the government’s chief scientist accusing the then chancellor of using “spurious” arguments against new rules, the inquiry into the pandemic has heard.
In a day of evidence that placed increasing focus on Sunak’s role, the inquiry also heard that his flagship “eat out to help out” hospitality scheme was imposed without consulting the government’s Covid taskforce, leaving officials “blindsided” by the Treasury.
Continue reading...Anastrozole to be made available to women who have been through the menopause and have family history of breast cancer
Almost 300,000 women at higher risk of developing breast cancer are being given access to a drug that can halve their risk in a “major step forward” in the fight against the disease.
An estimated 289,000 women in England who are at moderate or high risk of breast cancer will from Tuesday be able to take the tablet to try to prevent it from developing, NHS bosses said.
Continue reading...António Guterres calls for more aid trucks to enter besieged territory and calls for end to ‘dead end of destruction’
The United Nations secretary general, António Guterres, has warned that the Gaza Strip is becoming “a graveyard for children” as he called again for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire to allow aid into the embattled territory.
The UN chief’s comments came on Monday after Gaza health authorities said the death toll had now exceeded 10,000 people and the heads of all the major UN humanitarian organisations made an unprecedented joint statement calling for a ceasefire.
Continue reading...MP offers ‘sincerest apologies’ for social media post and pays compensation into BMA strike fund
The Conservative deputy chair, Lee Anderson, has apologised to a doctor after he made a “misleading” social media post about him.
The MP for Ashfield said he wanted to offer his “sincerest apologies” to Dr Tom Dolphin for “any distress caused” by his post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Continue reading...Daye’s product doubles as PCR test for chlamydia, gonorrhoea and other common infections
A tampon is being repurposed to screen for sexually transmitted infections, with the at-home test aiming to encourage more women to seek treatment.
The gynaecological health startup Daye has launched an STI diagnostic tampon, which uses a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test to check for chlamydia, gonorrhoea, trichomonas, mycoplasma and ureaplasma, with the tampon used in place of a swab or speculum.
Continue reading...Exclusive: recruitment and retention crisis means only 17% of nurseries say they could offer extra entitlement
A mass exodus of childminders and nursery staff risks scuppering the government’s flagship new funding for parents of young children in England, according to a new coalition of early years providers and campaigners.
More than half of all nursery workers surveyed by the Early Education and Childcare Coalition (EECC) said they were considering or planning on leaving the sector in the next 12 months.
Continue reading...Experts in public health say that commercial interests engage in practices harmful to health and the environment
It’s a “risky business” for the government to work with the food industry to tackle health crises like obesity, an international public health conference has been told, with effective food packaging labels already jeopardised.
Dr Dori Patay, a researcher with the Menzies Centre in Sydney, said despite ample evidence of the harmful influence of the food industry on health policy, governments increasingly regard the food industry as “partners” in addressing chronic diseases.
Continue reading...Healthcare workers say clinics are being overwhelmed by women seeking help, amid lack of staff and facilities to back programme
Pregnant women across the Democratic Republic of the Congo are to be offered free healthcare in an effort to cut the country’s high rates of maternal and neonatal deaths.
Women in 13 out of 26 regions in the country will, by the end of the year, be entitled to free services during pregnancy and for one month after childbirth. Babies will receive free healthcare for their first 28 days under the scheme, which the government plans to extend to the rest of DRC – although there is no timetable for that yet.
Continue reading...Campaigners accuse government of failing to stick to promises made at Cop26 climate summit in 2021
Beef, soy and palm oil products driving deforestation are still being imported into the UK, despite government promises this practice would end, data has revealed.
Campaigners have criticised the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) for failing to put practices in place to stop the import of goods from areas with high deforestation rates. This is despite the government having promised at the Cop26 climate conference in 2021 to implement the rules.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Regulator extends part suspension of licence to July 2024 after IT blunder led to incorrect dosage of cancer treatment
A private health company paid millions by the NHS has failed to fix safety defects that led to the death of a cancer patient, the Guardian can reveal.
Three patients were hospitalised and a fourth died when they were given the wrong doses of a powerful chemotherapy drug after a catastrophic IT failure at the medicine manufacturing unit of Sciensus in April this year.
Continue reading...Leaked documents spark furious backlash from groups who fear freedom of expression could be suppressed
Government officials have drawn up deeply controversial proposals to broaden the definition of extremism to include anyone who “undermines” the country’s institutions and its values, according to documents seen by the Observer.
The new definition, prepared by civil servants working for cabinet minister Michael Gove, is fiercely opposed by a cohort of officials who fear legitimate groups and individuals will be branded extremists.
Continue reading...Senior Conservative says home secretary should not discuss complex issue in such terms and advised her to use ‘wiser’ language
Suella Braverman has been rebuked by a senior Tory campaigner on homelessness after the home secretary provoked outrage by describing rough sleeping as a “lifestyle choice.”
Bob Blackman MP, head of the all-party parliamentary group for ending homelessness, said Braverman was wrong to discuss a complex and serious issue in such terms and advised her to use “wiser” language.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Measure in planned bill stopping sale of new properties under leasehold in England and Wales likely to only cover houses
Tory MPs are preparing to force the government to toughen up its planned leasehold reforms in England and Wales, with Downing Street expected to launch a bill that falls short of campaigners’ demands.
Conservative backbenchers say they are ready to bring amendments to the long-awaited leasehold reform bill, which will be one of the centrepieces of next week’s king’s speech but will not end leasehold on the majority of properties.
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