Category Archives: Health

Solar energy could power all health facilities in poorer countries and save lives, experts say

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Move would cost less than $5bn and cut toll of deaths from power outages and lack of supply, Cop28 delegates will hear

All healthcare facilities in poorer countries could be electrified using solar energy within five years for less than $5bn, putting an end to the risk of life from power outages, experts will argue at Cop28 this month.

“I would like the international community to commit to a deadline and funding to electrify all healthcare facilities,” said Salvatore Vinci, an adviser on sustainable energy at the World Health Organization and a member of its Cop28 delegation. “We have solutions now that were not available 10 years ago – there is no reason why babies should be dying today because there is not electricity to power their incubators.

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UK medicines regulator approves gene therapy for two blood disorders

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MHRA authorises uses of Casgevy as a potential cure for sickle cell disease and beta thalassemia

The UK’s medicines regulator has authorised the use of a world-first gene therapy as a potential cure for two inherited blood disorders.

The treatment, Casgevy, for sickle cell disease and beta thalassemia, is the first to be licensed that uses the gene-editing tool known as Crispr, whose inventors were awarded the Nobel prize in 2020.

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Private firms harming NHS patients by failing to deliver medicines, Lords report warns

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‘Real and serious problems’ in UK medical homecare sector going unaddressed due to failures in regulation, damning review says

Private healthcare companies are harming NHS patients in their own homes by failing to deliver vital medicines, and then escaping censure amid an alarming lack of oversight by ministers and regulators, members of the House of Lords have warned.

More than 500,000 patients and their families rely on private companies paid by the NHS to deliver essential medical supplies, drugs and healthcare to their homes. The homecare medicines services sector is estimated to be worth billions of pounds.

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NHS lifestyle scheme has ‘huge benefits’ for people at risk of diabetes, study finds

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International study finds those on England programme have bigger drops in BMI, blood sugar and bad cholesterol

People at risk of diabetes reduce their weight and levels of bad cholesterol after undergoing “lifestyle counselling” in the NHS’s diabetes prevention programme, a major international study has found.

The health service launched the programme in 2016 to help prevent patients in England from developing diabetes through intensive weight loss, diet and exercise goals. Prediabetic patients referred to the scheme attend at least 13 group sessions over nine months. Latest figures from NHS England show that 1.3 million people have been referred to the scheme so far and 120,000 patients are due to take part this year.

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Head injuries in Australia rise nearly 7% after Covid dip, new report finds

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The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare has found head injuries were responsible for 17% of all injury deaths, with falls, transport and assault the leading causes

Every four minutes an Australian is hospitalised with a head injury, with cases rising nearly 7% after dropping during Covid-19 lockdowns and disproportionately affecting the most vulnerable Australians, new data shows.

A report from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (Aihw) published on Thursday has found in 2020-21, head injuries accounted for more than one in five of all injury emergency department presentations.

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Australia’s overuse of antibiotics found to be driving rate of drug-resistant infections

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Report finds more than one-third of population had at least one antimicrobial prescription subsidised by Australian government in 2022

Australia’s continued overuse of antibiotics is driving common and potentially dangerous infections to become increasingly resistant to drugs, including last resort treatments.

A major government report on antimicrobial use, published on Wednesday, found more than one-third (36.6%) of the population had at least one antimicrobial prescription subsidised by the Australian government in 2022, up from 32.9% in 2021.

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Antibiotic-resistant infections rise in England but still below pre-Covid levels

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Number of antibiotic prescriptions also up and officials warn against giving leftovers to friends and family

Giving leftover antibiotics to friends and family risks fuelling a surge in infections resistant to the drugs, officials have warned, as data shows a rise in related cases in England – with people of Asian heritage at greater risk than those who are white.

While severe antibiotic-resistant infections – such as bloodstream infections, UTIs, surgical site infections and respiratory infections – remained below 2018 levels last year, the latest estimates suggest there was a 4% rise between 2021 and 2022, from 55,792 to 58,224. The uptick follows a notable decline during the height of the Covid pandemic.

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NHS England boss to say cervical cancer can be eliminated by 2040

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Amanda Pritchard will say combination of vaccination and screening means goal within two decades is realistic ambition

Cervical cancer can be eliminated in England by 2040, saving thousands of women’s lives, the head of NHS England will say on Wednesday.

A combination of HPV vaccination and screening for the disease means that elimination of it is a realistic ambition, Amanda Pritchard, NHS England’s chief executive, will say.

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Victoria Atkins: the steady, ‘able’ minister promoted to health secretary

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The barrister has been welcomed as a competent and intelligent choice by centrist Tories

Victoria Atkins might not have the public profile of cabinet peers, but her appointment as health secretary caps several years of steady, if unshowy, handling of briefs in junior ministerial roles.

An MP since 2015 and a backer of Rishi Sunak in the 2022 Conservative leadership contest, her elevation has been warmly welcomed by colleagues in the centrist wing of the Conservative party, who also emphasised what they regarded as her competence.

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Millions of UK households forced to unplug fridge to cope with rising bills

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Families resorting to ‘desperate measures’ and struggling with ‘frightening’ level of hardship amid cost of living crisis

About 2m UK households have been forced to turn off their fridge or freezer to save money as they continue to struggle with what poverty campaigners called a “frightening” level of hardship.

Nearly half of those households said that since May they had to disconnect their fridge or freezer for the first time, a sign the cost of living crisis was still hurting low-income families, according to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) charity.

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US health officials warn of fruit pouches tainted with lead after 22 toddlers fall ill

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WanaBana, Schnucks and Weis fruit puree recalled as reported symptoms include headache, vomiting and diarrhea

US health officials are warning doctors to be on the lookout for possible cases of lead poisoning in children after at least 22 toddlers in 14 states were sickened by lead linked to tainted pouches of cinnamon apple puree and applesauce.

Children ages one to three were affected, and at least one child showed a blood lead level eight times higher than the level that raises concern, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said.

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‘Alarming’: convincing AI vaccine and vaping disinformation generated by Australian researchers

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Experiment produced fake images, patient and doctor testimonials and video in just over an hour

Researchers have used artificial intelligence to generate more than 100 blog posts of health disinformation in multiple languages, an “alarming” experiment that has prompted them to call for stronger industry accountability.

Artificial intelligence platforms such as ChatGPT contain safeguards that stop it from responding to prompts about illegal or harmful activities, such as how to buy illicit drugs.

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Doctors plan to leave NHS in growing numbers due to burnout, GMC warns

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Workforce report says government strategy to boost staff numbers may have come too late

A growing number of doctors plan to leave the profession due to burnout and dissatisfaction, the General Medical Council has said, highlighting fears that the government’s long-term strategy for the NHS may have come too late.

The GMC’s annual report on the medical workforce said the benefits of measures announced by the government in the NHS long-term workforce plan in June, such as the ambition to create more medical school places, “will only start to be seen a decade from now”.

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Sunak’s waiting list pledge ‘downgraded’ as NHS is told to control costs

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With waiting times on the rise and a challenging winter ahead, analysts claim the ‘financial bottom line’ is being prioritised

Rishi Sunak’s pledge to slash NHS waiting lists has effectively been downgraded, the Observer has been told, amid an increase in the number of patients in England waiting longer than 18 months for treatment.

Hospital leaders are warning that morale is low, staff absences are high, and funds for new equipment and repairs are having to be raided ahead of winter. They have now been told to prioritise controlling costs in favour of some of the extra work being done towards the prime minister’s pledge to bring down waits.

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A dirt jumping accident left 17-year-old Fletcher Crowley a paraplegic. He’s determined to ‘prove everyone wrong’

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Just nine weeks after breaking his back during a horror bike accident, this Sydney teen is ready to show the world what he can do

Fletcher Crowley is in many ways like any other 17-year-old boy growing up on Sydney’s northern beaches.

He loves hanging out with his mates, cracking jokes, riding bikes and being outdoors. He’s just started year 12. He’s close with his mum and dad, who he says are “so chill” – although he was still nervous about them finding out he had a tattoo.

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Patients may shun new NHS data store over privacy fears, doctors warn

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BMA raises concerns with minister about planned data platform, which could be run by US firm Palantir

Patients fear that their personal information may be misused by the NHS’s new data store, especially if the US spy technology company Palantir runs it, doctors’ leaders have warned ministers.

The planned creation of the “federated data platform” (FDP) has prompted concerns about privacy and trust in the NHS and suggestions that suspicion around it will lead patients to refuse to share their data.

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Colombia passes ambitious ‘junk food law’ to tackle lifestyle diseases

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The Latin American country is one of the first in the world to introduce a health tax targeting ultra-processed foods

A new law in Colombia making it one of the first countries in the world to explicitly tax ultra-processed food has been hailed by campaigners and health experts who say it could set an example for other countries.

After years of campaigning, the “junk food law” came into force this month and a levy will be introduced gradually. An additional tax on affected foods will begin at 10% immediately, rising to 15% next year and reaching 20% in 2025.

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Prioritise quality of life over prolonging it for elderly, Chris Whitty tells medics

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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.

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Simple blood tests for dementia to be trialled in NHS

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£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.

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Most foreign doctors in NHS face ‘racist microaggressions’, survey shows

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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.

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