Concerns raised after some brands sold in shops in England and Wales found to exceed legal limits
Some high street vapes claiming to be nicotine-free actually contain the same level of addictive substances as full-strength e-cigarettes, tests shows.
Data shared with the Guardian by Inter Scientific – which offers analytical testing of products to check whether they are following regulations – examined dozens of vape brands sold in shops across England and Wales.
Continue reading...Why is the government promoting vapes for smokers in England while discouraging them for youth?
E-cigarettes are being promoted in England as part of the government’s efforts to help people quit smoking tobacco at the same time as it cracks down on youth vaping. We take a look at why there are two very different campaigns on the devices.
Continue reading...Doctors could join coordinated strike as Royal College of Nurses announce national ballot on mass action
England’s biggest nursing union is to ballot its members on whether to join a “make or break” mega-strike that would lead to mass action by nurses in every hospital trust in the country, the Observer can reveal.
The move by the Royal College of Nursing to “up the ante” by holding a single national vote – rather than conducting ballots in each individual trust as it did last October – would, if passed, mean twice as many trusts being hit by industrial action by nurses as have been so far.
Continue reading...NHS leader says threat of joint strike with junior doctors could pose hardest challenge yet
A 48-hour nurses’ strike in England in May will present “severe challenges”, and the threat of coordinated industrial action with junior doctors could pose the “most difficult challenge” to date, an NHS boss has said.
Speaking after a four-day junior doctors’ strike ended at 7am on Saturday, Sir Julian Hartley, the chief executive of NHS Providers, said fresh strike action announced by the Royal College of Nursing from 30 April until 2 May, and the possibility of stoppages continuing into next winter, was “extremely worrying and concerning”.
Continue reading...Temporary pause on lower court rulings gives court additional time to consider a longer stay
Danco Laboratories has said that they will continue to distribute the abortion pill, according to an email from the company.
Reuters reported that the company emailed a statement confirming that they will still continue to dispense Mifeprex to its customers.
Continue reading...RCN members refuse offer recommended by union leaders by 54% to 46% in ballot
Nurses are to launch fresh strike action across England later this month after rejecting the government’s pay offer, sparking fears stoppages could go on until Christmas.
In a major blow to ministers, union leaders and health service bosses, members of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) voted narrowly, by 54% to 46%, on a turnout of 61%, to reject the government’s offer of a 5% pay rise this year and a cash payment for last year.
Continue reading...This live blog has now closed, you can read more on this story here
Nurses in England are preparing to go on strike until Christmas after members of the country’s biggest nursing union voted against the government’s pay deal, the Guardian has learned.
The Royal College of Nursing will announce that members have rejected the government’s offer and will at the same time announce a new ballot for more aggressive strikes likely to last for the next six months.
The vote has closed and the figures are being verified. There is no result until that point. We will make an announcement later today and tell our members first.
Members of the GMB union at the company’s Coventry fulfilment centre will walk out on Sunday for three days.
Further strikes are planned from April 21 to 23.
Continue reading...Rejection of pay deal underlines nurses’ fury at state of health service as RCN’s handling of dispute is questioned
Friday’s announcement by the Royal College of Nursing that its members had rejected the pay offer on the table for NHS workers dashed any remaining hopes in Downing Street of drawing a neat line under months of debilitating strike action across the public sector.
As nurses kicked off the first strike action in the RCN’s history before Christmas, the union was demanding a pay rise of 19%. In January, its general secretary, Pat Cullen, urged the health secretary, Steve Barclay, to “meet me halfway here”, and conceded that 10% might be acceptable.
Continue reading...This blog is now closed
Kerrynne Liddle says ‘prove it’s not happening’ on child sexual abuse in Alice
Liberal senator Kerrynne Liddle, the first Indigenous senator from South Australia, and a name being touted as a contender for shadow minister for Indigenous Australians after Julian Leeser’s resignation.
I think we have to be really careful about politicising this issue, because matters related to any form of assault are sensitive, but important to understand and respond to.
… I think what’s really important though, is it can’t ignore the issue of sexual abuse, but you must also tackle those issues, alongside other issues which include [service] delivery and decision dysfunction.
Do you encourage your leader to temper his language given we haven’t yet seen evidence to say that there is a widespread phenomenon of this?
I say prove it’s not happening. And then we can have a conversation about the kind of language that we can actually use for this.
… You’ve got you’ve got the statistics, which everyone accepts are underreported and underrepresented. You’ve got to have relationships with communities to enable people to start talking about these safe spaces for young people to raise this issue of need to support people to have housing so that young people and older people are not at risk of this.
It’s possible to be optimistic about Australia’s economic future, and to be realistic about a global slowdown.
Continue reading...Union to announce result of vote on Friday after its leaders recommended that ministers’ offer be accepted
Nurses in England will go back on strike this month if RCN members reject ministers’ latest pay offer, with officials saying the result of the three-week ballot is too close to call.
The Royal College of Nursing will announce the results of its vote on Friday after a lengthy consultation period in which many members have opposed the recommendation of union leaders to accept the government’s proposed deal.
Continue reading...US president praises emerging relationship with Ireland to taoiseach Leo Varadkar
Chris Philp, the policing minister, has published an article in the Telegraph today explaining the changes being introduced to the way that police record crimes in England and Wales. The changes are being introduced following recommendations from the National Police Chiefs’ Council.
Philp says:
Firstly, we are dropping the requirement for police to record some crimes twice or more, reintroducing the previous “principal offence” rule. This will remove multiple entries on the database which effectively re-record the same incident many times.
Accurate crime recording is vital, and these changes will better reflect victims’ experience. Recording crime does not equate to investigating crime and the police will continue to pursue all offences involved in the incident.
Accurate records of crime must be kept, and crimes will be recorded. These changes to the crime-recording rules will enable police to target and focus investigations and provide victims the service they deserve.
Ambulance response times for all types of emergencies have got longer, including for life-threatening illnesses and injuries, but remain below record levels.
Meanwhile around one in 10 people arriving at major A&E departments are having to wait more than 12 hours before being admitted, transferred or discharged – the first time data of this kind has been published.
Continue reading...Appeals to pay for private care linked to waiting lists or cost of living crisis have soared since Covid pandemic
The number of Britons crowdfunding for private medical care has soared since the Covid-19 pandemic, as NHS waiting lists continue to reach record lengths.
Figures provided to the Guardian by GoFundMe, a website that helps people raise money, show 84% more medical crowdfunders mentioning “waits” or “waiting lists” were launched this March than in January 2019, before the pandemic.
The number of medical campaigns containing the words “go private” or “privately” had also doubled.
The creation of a facility such as the Hamilton centre was a key finding of Victoria’s mental health royal commission
When Benn Veenker first confided in his GP about his struggle with depression and alcohol, he was holding back the full extent of his addictions.
“I was so scared of being able to say to somebody, ‘I can’t get through a day without drinking’,” he remembers.
Continue reading...A Sydney woman in her 80s died earlier this month from tetanus, acquired from a minor leg wound
NSW Health is urging people to get vaccinated for tetanus after three recent cases in NSW, including the first death in 30 years.
The director of communicable diseases, Dr Christine Selvey, said older Australians in particular should ensure they are up to date with their tetanus jab.
Continue reading...Kathleen Corradi is the city’s first director of rodent mitigation, tasked with rooting out the city’s infestation of vermin
Every New York City mayor has waged war – and mostly lost – against one of humanity’s most cunning and enduring foe: rattus norvegicus. But has the city’s vilest enemy, better known as the common brown rat, finally met its match?
Mayor Eric Adams introduced a former elementary school teacher and anti-rat activist as his new “rat czar” on Wednesday. Officially, Kathleen Corradi, the mayor’s new hire, will be known as the director of rodent mitigation.
Continue reading...Government sleepwalking, junk food and rising inactivity have created a health emergency that has been warned of for decades
The warnings about a looming, large and potentially lethal diabetes crisis in the UK have been sounded for years. Tragically, there is no longer any need for warnings.
Diabetes UK’s grim report confirms the worst: 5 million people are now living with diabetes, a major cause of blindness, kidney failure, heart attacks, stroke and lower limb amputation.
Continue reading...Diabetes UK study also expresses concern about growing number of younger people with type 2
The UK is experiencing a “rapidly escalating” diabetes crisis, with cases topping five million for the first time and under-40s increasingly affected, a report has revealed.
About 90% of diabetes patients have type 2, a condition much more likely to develop if people are overweight. About two-thirds of adults in the UK are overweight or obese.
Continue reading...Government sets start date for its move towards a public health approach to public intoxication
The criminal offence of public drunkenness will be abolished in Victoria from Melbourne Cup Day.
Victorian tender documents show the criminal justice response to public intoxication will be replaced with a health-based approach from 7 November.
Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup
Continue reading...Researchers say improved health screening of people arriving in small boats is needed to prevent outbreaks
Health experts are calling for better care for asylum seekers as research reveals small boat crossings have been linked to a sharp increase in diphtheria cases in the UK and across Europe.
Reception centres in the UK have hit by a series of scandals in recent months, including outbreaks of disease and reports that offers of assistance from public health leaders have been declined by the Home Office.
Continue reading...Conciliation service urged to look for ways to end logjam with government over demand for 35% pay rise
The junior doctors’ union has asked the conciliation service Acas to look into ways of breaking the deadlock in their dispute with the government over their claim for a 35% pay rise.
Tens of thousands of junior doctors in England are on the second day of a four-day strike in pursuit of their campaign to achieve “full pay restoration” after a significant loss of earnings since 2008-09. It is expected that up to 350,000 appointments and operations could be cancelled as a result.
Continue reading...