Jamie Pearson killed himself in toilet at Blackpool Victoria hospital after being admitted over painkiller overdose
The death of a 27-year-old man who killed himself in a hospital toilet after waiting 22 hours to be seen by the mental health team was “contributed to by neglect”, a coroner has ruled.
Jamie Pearson was admitted to Blackpool Victoria hospital’s A&E department after taking an overdose of high-strength painkillers on 17 August 2024.
Continue reading...Queensland woman says its time for clinic to destroy 30-year-old samples as state and federal health ministers meet to push for reform
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Queensland woman Jessica Hamilton has 77 half-brothers and sisters. But this week she learned that number could grow even further – swelled by new births.
In 1995, the year she was born, Queensland Fertility Group told Hamilton’s mother that she could expect to have between three and five siblings to other families.
Continue reading...Caesareans drive rise in assisted deliveries as experts warn of complex pregnancies linked to age, obesity and other conditions
More than half of women having a baby in Britain now do so with the help of medical intervention, an audit of NHS maternity care has revealed.
Of the 592,594 births that took place in 2023, 50.6% involved either a caesarean section or the use of instruments such as forceps or a ventouse suction cup.
Continue reading...New blow to UK’s key life science sector as industry body says country is losing ground on investment and research
The US drugmaker Merck has scrapped a £1bn London research centre and is laying off 125 scientists in the capital this year, in a big blow to the UK’s important life science sector.
Keir Starmer’s government has described life sciences as “one of the crown jewels of the UK economy” and the previous Conservative government had vowed to turn the country into a “global science and technology superpower” by 2030.
Continue reading...More than 1,000 patients to take part in trial to see if the approach leads to faster and more reliable diagnoses
Doctors have launched a clinical trial of a £100 blood test for Alzheimer’s disease in the hope of transforming diagnosis of the devastating condition in the NHS.
More than 1,000 patients with suspected dementia are being recruited from memory clinics across the UK to see whether the test leads to faster and more reliable diagnoses and better care for those found to have the disease.
Continue reading...Report omits limiting pesticides and ultra-processed foods even as RFK Jr pledges to fight against childhood obesity
The Trump administration released its second Make America Healthy Again (Maha) report, this time on chronic illnesses in children, confirming a leaked report from last month that the administration would stop short of proposing direct restrictions on pesticides and ultra-processed foods.
On Tuesday, the Make America Healthy Again commission published a 20-page report that attempts a balance for the priorities of health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr’s supporters with the interests of influential farming corporations. It also urges an overhaul of the nation’s vaccine injury system and tighter oversight of certain prescriptions.
Continue reading...The new system resembles Tony Blair’s star-rating regime, which was eventually scrapped. Whether naming and shaming leads to improvements remains to be seen
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) was glowing in its description of the league tables by which all of England’s 205 NHS trusts are now being judged: a “landmark” moment, a “pioneering new system” and “a new era of transparency”.
Wes Streeting, the health secretary, said that “sunlight is the best disinfectant” in his zeal to expose, and drive out, poor care.
Continue reading...Loughborough University and ONS study of 1 million school-age children reveals risks increase with longer absence
School absences “significantly contribute” to children’s mental ill health, according to research backed by the Office for National Statistics that shows the risks increase the longer a child is absent.
“Our research shows that the more times a child is absent from school, the greater the probability that they will experience mental ill health,” the authors, from Loughborough University and the ONS, concluded.
Continue reading...Campaigners fear plans to make people wait longer for leave to remain could cost tax-paying skilled workers dearly
Every two-and-a-half years, Uche and her husband pay more than a combined £5,000 for NHS care, on top of the tax and national insurance deducted from their salaries as a care worker and an IT worker.
Now, thousands more skilled workers face having to “pay twice” for services for 10 years or more, campaigners fear, as the government considers extending the qualifying period for indefinite leave to remain (ILR) – and eventually citizenship – in an immigration crackdown.
Continue reading...Expert says self-testing kits are clinically useless and can be a distraction from evidence-based treatment
Expensive, over-the-counter hormone tests for menopause are clinically useless and risk undermining women’s healthcare, senior doctors have warned.
The testing kits, offered by private clinics and available to buy for self-testing, claim to offer tailored insights through measuring hormone levels. But they have been described by experts as misleading and medically unnecessary.
Continue reading...Jerome Adams cites vaccine policy and chaos at CDC and joins other officials in saying Kennedy is risking US health
The surgeon general from the first Trump administration on Saturday said that the US president should “absolutely” fire health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr over his “dangerous” policies on vaccines and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Jerome Adams, who has become a pointed critic of the controversial public health decisions being swiftly rolled out in the second Trump administration, made his most fierce attack yet on what has been unfolding.
Continue reading...Former chief executive left the airline after a series of corporate decisions sparked a reputational crisis. Follow today’s news live
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Coalition of the willing meeting a ‘positive sign’ for Ukraine, former ambassador says
The former Australian ambassador to Russia, Peter Tesch, has appeared on ABC News Breakfast after Anthony Albanese joined a virtual meeting with world leaders signed up to the coalition of the willing for Ukraine on Thursday night.
The issue is that we are still no closer to a credible and durable peace settlement, because Moscow keeps walking both sides of the street, and that is provoking a degree of frustration. But in the absence of serious, additional pressure upon Moscow, it’s difficult to see a near-term solution here - notwithstanding Ukraine’s clear willingness to engage seriously in discussions.
And importantly, although the details are vague … President Trump at least remains engaged in that dialogue and that’s very important.
Our case for a 35% pay increase over three years will begin in the NSW Industrial Relations Commission later this month. As part of this case, which is one of the biggest industrial cases this state has seen, we will present evidence around the gendered undervaluation of nurses and midwives’ work and the work value changes our professions have seen over the past 16 years.
Continue reading...Doctors say NHS rollout not fit for purpose with fewer than half of commissioning bodies prescribing Mounjaro
Thousands of patients in England are unable to access weight loss jabs via their GP, figures reveal, as doctors warn that the NHS rollout is “not fit for purpose”.
Family doctors got the green light to prescribe the drugs for the first time in June. About 220,000 people with “greatest need” were set to receive Mounjaro, also known as tirzepatide and made by Eli Lilly, on the NHS over the next three years.
Continue reading...If Greg Abbott signs, state would become first to try to crack down on the most common abortion method
A measure that would allow Texas residents to sue out-of-state abortion pill providers advanced to the desk of the governor, Greg Abbott, on Wednesday, setting up the state to be the first to try to crack down on the most common abortion method.
Supporters say it’s a key tool to enforce the state’s abortion ban, protecting women and fetuses.
Continue reading...Joseph Ladapo, a long-time vaccine skeptic, says that every state vaccine requirement would be repealed
Children in Florida will no longer be required to receive vaccines against preventable diseases including measles, mumps, chicken pox, polio and hepatitis said Joseph Ladapo, the state’s surgeon general, on Wednesday in a speech during which he likened vaccine mandates to “slavery”.
Ladapo, hand-picked for the role by Ron DeSantis, Florida’s Republican governor, is a long-time skeptic of the benefit of vaccines, and has previously been accused of peddling “scientific nonsense” by public health advocates.
Continue reading...Government to ban sale of energy drinks with more than 150mg of caffeine, citing concerns over obesity and lack of concentration
Under-16s in England will be banned from buying energy drinks such as Red Bull and Monster because they fuel obesity, cause sleep problems and leave them unable to concentrate.
Health experts, teaching unions and dentists welcomed the ban and said it would boost children and young people’s health. It fulfils a pledge Labour included in its manifesto for last year’s general election.
Continue reading...‘I’m really touched,’ Kath & Kim favourite tells 10-year-old, adding that cancer treatment ‘is smacking me around right now’
Magda Szubanski has shared an update about her health from her hospital bed as she continues treatment for an aggressive form of blood cancer.
Szubanski, well-known for her roles in Kath & Kim and Babe, posted a video to Instagram on Sunday to thank a young fan who had “really cheered me up” with her Book Week costume of Szubanski’s Kath & Kim character, the hapless netball fan Sharon Strzelecki.
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Continue reading...About 74,150 patients waited at least 12 hours on trolleys in June and July, a situation almost nonexistent 10 years ago
Corridor care in the NHS is now a year-round crisis, experts have warned, as analysis showed nearly 3 million patients attended A&E over the first two months of the summer.
The latest NHS figures in England, analysed by the Liberal Democrats, show that since 2015 the number of people going to A&E in June and July has increased 15% to 2.9 million – the highest level recorded over the past decade.
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Asked about the planned anti-immigration protests across Australia today, Julian Leeser says he’s concerned about some of the anti-Indian and antisemitic sentiment being expressed. But he also adds that there are people who will be attending these protests with “goodwill”:
There are people there of goodwill who want to change policies in relation to this country. But I would say to them be careful of the company you keep. I’ve seen some of the material for that particular protest and I’m really concerned about the anti-Indian sentiment that is being expressed and some of the antisemitic undertones of some of those protests.
We are working through this legislation through our processes but I will say this: This cohort of people have had ample opportunities to put their case. They have exhausted all appeal avenues and the question now is whether they can be removed to another country.
This is a legitimate arrangement. The only reason people can remain in Australia – and this is very well established under the migration law of this country – is if they have an Australian citizen or on a valid visa.
Continue reading...Vermont senator says Kennedy is endangering the health of the American people as head of the US health department
Bernie Sanders has joined in on growing public calls for Donald Trump’s health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, to resign, after recent chaos across US health agencies.
In an op-ed published in the New York Times on Saturday, the Vermont senator accused Kennedy of “endangering the health of the American people now and into the future”, adding: “He must resign.”
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