Category Archives: Health

Sunak braces for backlash as smoking ban bill to be introduced in Commons

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Libertarian faction of Conservatives expected to stage a rebellion but measure has widespread support

Rishi Sunak’s public health policy banning the next generation from being able to buy cigarettes is to be introduced in parliament this week, with officials braced for a backlash from Conservative rebels.

While the policy commands considerable support in Conservative ranks, the scale of an expected rebellion by libertarian Tories – whose ranks includeLiz Truss – has yet to become clear.

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Australia politics live: Steven Miles says Suncorp Stadium will host Brisbane Olympics opening and closing ceremonies

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Follow the day’s news live

‘There’ll be a lot of people grieving today’

Both Barnaby Joyce and Tanya Plibersek were asked about soldier Jack Fitzgibbon, the son of former defence minister Joel Fitzgibbon.

The Fitzgibbon family are a family of honour. Jack died in service to our nation. Joel has served our nation. The family will be absolutely grieving. We hope and pray Jack is with our maker, give comfort to them. You’ve seen the Fitzgibbons, you’ve watched them on television. They’re a great family. He is also my mate. We’ll turn up and give what support we can to Jack’s family.

It’s just the worst thing that any parent can imagine and so our hearts go out to Joel and Diane and their family and the friends and comrades that Jack had in the service as well. We know there’ll be a lot of people grieving today.

Well, first of all, of course it’s not on government devices in Australia either. We’ve got a ban here in Australia on government devices. But there are 8.5 million Australians who are using it.

We’ll take the advice of our security and intelligence agencies on anything we need to do around TikTok. I think people should be careful of the data that they put online in general. Like I say, if the security and intelligence agencies give us advice on TikTok, we’ll take it.

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Government urged to tackle poverty to help the NHS

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Healthcare delays in deprived communities mean greater need for expensive emergency treatment, research finds

People living in poverty find it harder to live a healthy life and face barriers to accessing timely treatment, new research suggests.

A report by the King’s Fund, commissioned by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, finds that the delays people living in deprived communities face for healthcare mean they are more likely to need expensive emergency treatment.

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UK scientists working on breast cancer monitor fitted in bra

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Researchers at Nottingham Trent University hope device used at home will improve tracking of tumours

Scientists are developing a device that fits inside a bra and could monitor whether a breast cancer tumour is growing.

Researchers hope the device will provide a new non-invasive method of detecting tumour growth that patients can use “in the comfort of their own homes”.

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Haiti healthcare system on verge of collapse as gang warfare rages on

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Only a single hospital in Port-au-Prince remains open, with others devoid of staff as patients look for care and the dead pile up

Haiti’s healthcare system has all but collapsed amid the ferocious gang insurrection which forced the resignation of the country’s prime minister, leaving victims of the violence with little hope of medical attention, according to aid workers in the stricken Caribbean country.

In the past two weeks hospitals have been set ablaze, doctors murdered and the most basic medical supplies have now dried up. Only a single public hospital in Haiti’s capital now remains operational – and that too is expected to shut its doors soon.

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Europe’s champion sitters: Even the sporty Dutch are falling victim to ‘chair-use disorder’

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Long hours spent at desks and sofas leads to 21,000 deaths a year in the Netherlands from cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer

The Dutch are perceived as a nation of healthy giants, leaping on their bikes to cycle energetically across flat lands. But new research suggests they are in fact the “sitting champions of Europe”, with a sedentary lifestyle that causes thousands of early deaths.

Health experts are calling for urgent action to stop so-called “chair-use disorder” spreading across western countries. A report by the research organisation TNO, published on Friday, found too much sitting costs the Netherlands €1.2bn (£1bn) annually and leads to 21,000 premature deaths a year from cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and cancer. It is riskier, researchers found, to be a lawyer than a lorry driver.

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Severely injured patients trapped in Gaza’s hospitals as evacuations are halted

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Destruction of buildings, too few ambulances and having to work in ‘red zones’ all adding to trauma

There have been no medical evacuations from northern Gaza for more than a month so severely injured people are trapped in damaged hospitals where they cannot get adequate treatment, a leading medical charity has warned.

Ambulances need urgent access to take the most vulnerable patients for specialist care, said Patrick Münz, head of mission in Gaza for German medical charity Cadus.

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Global eradication of polio ‘tantalisingly close’ with UK urged to keep up funding

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After no reported cases of wild polio for 19 weeks, vaccination efforts boosted at last endemic spots in Pakistan and Afghanistan

The world is “tantalisingly close” to eradicating polio – with no confirmed cases of wild polio anywhere so far this year. But experts warn that vaccination efforts – and funding – must not falter if the world is to rid itself of a human infectious disease for the second time in history, after smallpox.

There have been no reported cases of wild polio infection in people for the last 19 weeks. Figures from the World Health Organization reveal that the last confirmed cases were on the borders of Pakistan and Afghanistan in October and September 2023 respectively; these are the last nations on Earth where polio is endemic.

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‘More than the usual gastro’: at least 260 people report symptoms after outbreak at Victorian music festival

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Those who attended the Esoteric festival in Donald on 8-12 March warned about Shigella bacteria

Victoria’s health department says at least 260 festival goers have reported gastroenteritis symptoms after attending a dance music festival, with authorities urging anyone showing signs of shigellosis to be tested.

Those who attended the Esoteric festival in Donald on 8-12 March have been warned that the Shigella bacteria had been detected in a number of those with gastroenteritis. Symptoms could take up to a week to emerge after exposure.

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Health workers’ unions call for Frank Hester to lose NHS contracts

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BMA says Tory donor should resign from his company as questions grow about how many times Hester has met Sunak

Unions representing GPs and health workers have called on the Conservative donor Frank Hester to stand down from running NHS contracts, saying his “racist and misogynistic comments” breach its fit and proper person test.

Hester’s company TPP runs the electronic patient records of almost half the medical practices in the UK. His remarks about Diane Abbott have prompted calls for him to step aside amid a growing political row.

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Aged care workers to get 23% average pay rise as union heralds move as ‘one of the best outcomes’ ever achieved

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Health Services Union secretary says new benchmark pay rate will make sector competitive with public health system

Aged care workers will receive an average pay rise of 23% after the Fair Work Commission delivered its decision in a long-running work value case.

The commission’s expert panel said those involved in direct care including nurses and home care workers deserved pay rises “substantially” higher than the interim 15% pay rise ordered in November 2022.

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Victorian doctor suspended amid investigation into woman’s death after abortion

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Women’s health clinic boss claims ‘witch hunt’ after Dr Rudolph Lopes suspended in weeks following 30-year-old’s death

A doctor working at a women’s health clinic in Melbourne has been suspended as a regulator revealed it was aware of concerns about other practitioners there. The facility’s boss claims it is a “witch hunt”.

It follows the death of 30-year-old mother Harjit Kaur, who died in January at the Hampton Park Women’s Clinic after what was described as a “minor procedure”.

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Chuck Schumer’s call for new Israeli elections condemned as ‘grotesque’ and ‘inappropriate’ by Republican leaders – live

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Senate majority leader’s scathing speech draws criticism from Mitch McConnell and Mike Johnson as well as Israel’s ambassador to the US

Chuck Schumer, the Senate majority leader, has called for Israel to hold new elections, arguing that prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government “no longer fits the needs of Israel”.

Schumer, long a strong supporter of Israel and the highest-ranking Jewish official in the US, strongly criticized the Israeli leader in a 40-minute speech on the Senate floor.

If prime minister Netanyahu’s current coalition remains in power after the war begins to wind down, and continues to pursue dangerous and inflammatory policies that test existing US standards for assistance, then the United States will have no choice but to play a more active role in shaping Israeli policy by using our leverage to change the present course.

As a democracy, Israel has the right to choose its own leaders, and we should let the chips fall where they may. But the important thing is that Israelis are given a choice.

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Air pollution levels have improved in Europe over 20 years, say researchers

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But 98% of Europeans live in areas WHO says have unhealthy levels of PM2.5

Air pollution levels have improved in Europe over the past 20 years, research has found.

However, despite these improvements, most of the European population lives in areas exceeding the World Health Organization’s recommended levels. About 98% of Europeans live in areas the WHO says have unhealthy levels of small particles known as PM2.5, 80% for larger ones known as PM10, and 86% for nitrogen dioxide.

See how polluted your part of Europe is

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Overweight girls ‘more likely to see GP about musculoskeletal problems’

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Study finds reception-age girls with obesity 67% more likely to see doctor about musculoskeletal issues than those at healthy weight

Girls aged between four and 11 who are overweight or obese are more likely to see a GP at least once about musculoskeletal problems than their healthy weight peers, research suggests.

Pupils in reception year who had a body mass index considered overweight were 24% more likely to see a doctor at least once for a musculoskeletal issue while their peers who were living with obesity were 67% more likely to do so than girls with a healthy weight, the study found.

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Pet perils: injuries from animals are on the rise after Australia’s surge in dog and cat ownership

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Animal-related hospitalisations have been increasing for years but have surged since the start of the pandemic, AIHW study finds

In the north-west New South Wales town of Gunnedah, there are much deadlier things than a puppy. They are used to deadly brown and red-bellied snakes.

So Sarah Carter was surprised when her corgi Maxi landed her in hospital.

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South Korea doctors’ strike: government moves to suspend thousands of medical licences

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Almost 12,000 doctors have walked out over planned changes, as the country’s health ministry denies services have descended into chaos

South Korea’s government has started taking steps to suspend the medical licences of thousands of striking doctors, as concern grows that the month-long dispute is affecting frontline health care services.

The walkout by almost 12,000 doctors from 100 teaching hospitals has led to surgery cancellations, longer waiting times and delays in treatment, including for patients seeking emergency care, according to media reports.

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TGA investigating telehealth websites prescribing nicotine vaping products for exclusive pharmacies

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GPs say patients should be able to fill scripts at any pharmacy and that a health professional should be consulted first

Australia’s drugs regulator is investigating several telehealth platforms that offer prescriptions only for nicotine vaping products, which experts warn could compromise patient care.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) confirmed it was assessing the vaping prescription telehealth sites medicalnicotine.com.au, myduke.com.au, quitmate.com.au and a site related to quitmate, medmate.com.au.

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Coroner criticises benefits rules after vulnerable claimant’s death

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DWP missed many chances to act as woman’s mental health declined while under overpayment investigation

A coroner has criticised the Depart­ment for Work and Pensions (DWP) after a woman died from an overdose in the wake of a six-month official investigation that left her with soaring universal credit debts.

Fiona Butler, the assistant coroner for Rutland and North Leicestershire, wrote a Prevention of Future Deaths (PFD) report to the DWP highlighting its failures to respond to the victim’s mental health issues.

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Blind people in England at risk from ‘shocking’ social care delays, finds report

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At least a quarter of councils are taking more than a year to provide vital support to people with a new visual impairment diagnosis

The lives of thousands of blind and partially sighted people are being put at risk by delays in vital care that they have a legal right to after being assessed as visually impaired, according to a report.

More than a quarter of English councils are leaving people who have just been diagnosed as blind waiting more than a year for vision rehabilitation assessments and potentially life-saving support, the report by the RNIB revealed.

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