Prof Sir Roy Calne performed gamechanging operation in 1968, and was responsible for other surgical ‘world firsts’
Prof Sir Roy Calne, the pioneering surgeon who led a team which performed the first liver transplant in Europe, has died at the age of 93.
On 2 May 1968 Calne performed the gamechanging operation at Addenbrooke’s hospital in Cambridge, a year after the US’s first successful liver transplant.
Continue reading...Ambulance Victoria says woman and baby taken to hospital after incident in town of Ocean Grove
A newborn baby is in a critical condition in hospital after being delivered in an apparent “freebirth” in regional Victoria.
The medical industry has expressed concern about the practice, which is typically characterised as a birth without help from a healthcare professional.
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Continue reading...Pedro, five, was diagnosed with neuroblastoma; a fund has been set up so that his family can afford expensive chemotherapy drug
Leading artists, Indigenous activists and politicians across Brazil are urging people to contribute to a fund to help the son of the slain Amazon activist Bruno Pereira, who has been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer.
Pedro Pereira, five, the son of anthropologist Beatriz Matos and Bruno Pereira – who was ambushed and killed in the western Amazon in June 2022 alongside the British journalist Dom Phillips – was diagnosed with stage four neuroblastoma last year.
Continue reading...State will be first to import drugs under federal program that Florida governor says could save consumers $150m in first year
A public health policy that won rare backing from both the Biden and Trump administrations looks ready to open a flow of cheaper prescription drugs from Canada to Florida, ending a decades-long block on the importation of certain pharmaceuticals to the US.
The federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted the state approval under a drugs importation program that seeks to lower the cost of medicines for US consumers without imposing additional risks to their health or safety.
Continue reading...Researchers report drop in incidents of incivility among staff at facilities with eye signs on the walls, but say further measures are needed
Researchers have found a unique way to tackle “sexist” and “humiliating” behaviour by surgeons in operating rooms across Australia.
It is “not uncommon” for surgeons to describe fellow medical staff in the operating theatre as “incompetent”, to roughly grab surgical instruments or to discredit nurses, says Rose Petrohilos, a junior doctor and intern representative for Bairnsdale Regional Health Service.
Continue reading...Row breaks out on first day of NHS’s longest ever stoppage as requests to return to work rejected
Junior doctors’ leaders have said they are prepared to stage yet more strikes after the longest stoppage in NHS history, as health leaders warned that this week’s action alone could cripple the health service until spring.
The dire warnings came as Rishi Sunak faced fresh pressure over his pledge to reduce waiting times. Since he made his vow exactly a year ago, the list has gone up, not down – and by 500,000, official figures reveal.
Continue reading...Co-chair says members ‘very happy to look over deals that would span a number of years’
Victoria Atkins, the health secretary, has restated her call for the BMA to call off the junior doctors’ strike in England. Speaking to Sky News she said:
We’re very concerned about the consequences [the strike] will have, not just for this week of industrial action, but also in the weeks following, because consultants and other clinicians who are picking up the slack as junior doctors, doctors in training, are not at their work – that will be reflected in the weeks coming up with people trying to catch up with the lost time.
So it’s going to have a huge impact on our health system. My ask of the junior doctors committee is to call off these strikes and get back round the negotiating table.
Six days of Junior Doctor strikes in England, all because of a UK Government that chooses tax cuts for the wealthy over paying NHS staff fairly.
We have taken different choices in Scotland and avoided a single day of NHS strikes. Our budget gives the NHS a real-terms increase.
Health bosses raise alarm as junior doctors begin the longest strike in NHS history. But how will the action actually affect patients?
Almost a year after the first strike over pay and conditions, junior doctors in England are going out on strike again for six days. (A pay deal has already been reached in Scotland, while doctors in Wales are due to strike later this month and those in Northern Ireland are being balloted.)
While the new health secretary, Victoria Atkins, is on slightly better terms with the British Medical Association (BMA), which represents junior doctors, than her predecessor, Steve Barclay, the doctors and the government are still a long way apart. As the two sides make their case, here’s some help with interpreting what they have to say.
Six days of strike action following bank holidays at a time of enormous pressure, there are real issues around patient safety”
NHS Confederation chief executive, Matthew Taylor, 23 December
Junior doctors’ pay has been cut by more than a quarter since 2008”
The public know the only way to have a healthcare system that looks after them is to have enough doctors. And they can completely appreciate [that junior doctors’ pay] is just not enough”
Dr Vivek Trivedi, co-leader of the British Medical Association, 20 December
They have taken the decision to walk away from the discussions we were having, which were live”
The health secretary, Victoria Atkins, 13 December
I mean even recently the secretary of state has said they have a final offer to give. Well then give it and let’s solve the dispute”
Dr Rob Laurenson, co-leader of the British Medical Association, 30 December
Continue reading...In today’s newsletter: Health bosses raise alarm as junior doctors begin the longest strike in NHS history. But how will the action actually impact patients?
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Good morning. It is never a good time to be seriously ill, but this week is worse than most. The NHS is in the grip of its customary winter crisis, which typically peaks in early January. More than 125,000 posts are vacant, and about 6.5m people are on waiting lists for routine appointments, more than a million of them for more than one procedure.
Today, junior doctors in England go out on strike again, for six days. (A pay deal has already been reached in Scotland, while doctors in Wales are due to strike later this month and those in Northern Ireland are currently being balloted.) Almost a year after the first strike over pay and conditions, the dispute still appears a distance from being resolved.
Israel-Gaza war | One of Hamas’s most senior officials, Saleh al-Arouri, was killed in an Israeli drone strike in Beirut that threatened a significant and dangerous escalation of Israel’s war against Hamas and its related conflict with the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. Read Jason Burke’s analysis.
Japan | A passenger jet that collided with a coast guard plane in a catastrophic accident at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport had been given permission to land, Japan Airlines executives have said. Five crew members on the coast guard plane were killed while all 379 passengers evacuated from the burning Japan Airlines jet.
UK news | Camila Batmanghelidjh, who created the Kids Company children’s charity and became one of the UK’s best known and most powerful campaigners for disadvantaged youngs people, has died aged 61.
Climate Crisis | The UK had its second hottest year on record in 2023, according to provisional data from the Met Office, as the climate crisis continued to deliver elevated temperatures. Such a warm year would have occurred only once in 500 years without human-caused global heating, the scientists said.
US news | The president of Harvard University has resigned amid pressure over her response to questions about antisemitism at US colleges and allegations that she has plagiarized some of her academic work. Claudine Gay’s six-month tenure is the shortest in the university’s history.
Six days of strike action following bank holidays at a time of enormous pressure, there are real issues around patient safety”
NHS Confederation chief executive, Matthew Taylor, 23 December
Junior doctors’ pay has been cut by more than a quarter since 2008”
Continue reading...NSW Health issues warning after multiple people who visited CBD were hospitalised for pneumonia caused by legionella bacteria
Sydneysiders have been urged to stay alert for symptoms of legionnaires’ disease after seven people were hospitalised after contracting the respiratory illness over Christmas and the new year.
New South Wales Health issued an alert on Wednesday afternoon, warning those who had been in the Sydney CBD area in the past 10 days to monitor for symptoms, which can include fever, chills, cough and shortness of breath. The disease can lead to severe chest infections.
Continue reading...The ruling by a unanimous panel of fifth US circuit court of appeals comes amid a wave of lawsuits focusing on abortion exceptions
The US government cannot enforce federal guidance in Texas requiring emergency room doctors to perform abortions if necessary to stabilize emergency room patients, a federal appeals court ruled on Tuesday, siding with the state in a lawsuit accusing Joe Biden’s administration of overstepping its authority.
The ruling by a unanimous panel of the fifth US circuit court of appeals comes amid a wave of lawsuits focusing on when abortions can be provided in states whose abortion bans have exceptions for medical emergencies.
Continue reading...Highly contagious virus could bring “one of largest ecological disasters of modern times” say scientists
A polar bear has been killed by bird flu as the highly contagious H5N1 virus spreads into the most remote parts of the planet.
The death was confirmed in December by the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation. “This is the first polar bear case reported, for anywhere,” Dr Bob Gerlach, Alaska’s state veterinarian, told the Alaska Beacon.
Continue reading...Hospital bosses worry BMA will not honour agreement to return junior doctors to work in event of major incident
NHS bosses fear patient safety could be compromised during this week’s junior doctors strikes if medics do not honour an agreement to abandon picket lines if hospitals become overwhelmed during the winter crisis.
Hospital bosses can ask the British Medical Association (BMA) to allow junior doctors to return to work to help if an emergency arises during their six-day strike starting on Wednesday.
Continue reading...Crisis in NHS contributing to nurses being spat at and punched, leading some to leave the profession, Prof Nicola Ranger says
Nurses are being put in increasing danger from shocking levels of violence and aggression by patients, a senior nursing leader has warned.
Prof Nicola Ranger, the Royal College of Nursing’s (RCN) director of nursing, said the crisis in the NHS had fuelled bad behaviour by patients frustrated by worsening delays for treatment since the Covid pandemic.
Continue reading...Pioneering initiative to consider children’s addresses after coroner ruled air pollution a factor in death of Ella Adoo-Kissi-Debrah, nine
Doctors at Great Ormond Street are being encouraged to consider air pollution levels at their patients’ home addresses when assessing the causes of their illnesses, under an innovative pilot scheme.
Data showing the average annual air pollution rates at patients’ postcodes has been embedded in patients’ electronic files, so that clinicians can help families understand whether their child has been exposed to elevated risk.
Continue reading...Despite a surplus of eggs at fertility clinics around the country, very few end up being donated to research or other prospective parents
The vast majority of eggs frozen by prospective mothers go unused, causing headaches for IVF clinics and preventing potentially groundbreaking research.
Scientists are decrying a wasted opportunity as thousands of frozen eggs sit unused in storage instead of being used in potentially valuable medical research.
Continue reading...Average of 3,631 patients in hospital with Covid during Christmas week, data shows, a rise of 57% in a month
A surge in the number of flu and Covid admissions to hospitals in England is adding to a “storm of pressure” facing the health service, NHS leaders have said.
Figures released on Friday showed that in Christmas week, there were on average 3,631 patients with Covid in hospital, up 57% from the same week in November.
Continue reading...Smith’s Snackfood Company says it is installing extra fans in Adelaide factory where some workers reported symptoms including eye and skin irritation
Smith’s is installing extra fans in an Adelaide factory after workers claimed they were having difficulty breathing and experiencing skin irritation from dealing with the seasoning used to make “flamin’ hot” Doritos.
SafeWork SA is looking into the claims after the United Workers Union alleged employees at the Smith’s Snackfood Company factory raised significant safety concerns about the “improper handling of strongly irritating substances”.
Continue reading...Exclusive: lack of resources to treat people whose ill health is often worsened by poverty is taking a heavy toll on medics’ wellbeing
Two in three UK doctors are suffering “moral distress” caused by the enfeebled state of the NHS and the damage the cost of living crisis is inflicting on patients’ health, research has found.
Large numbers are ending up psychologically damaged by feeling they cannot give patients the best possible care because of problems they cannot overcome, such as long waits for treatment or lack of drugs or the fact that poverty or bad housing is making them ill.
Continue reading...Gracell Biotechnologies acquisition marks China’s growing importance to the Anglo-Swedish drugmaker
AstraZeneca has struck a deal to buy a Chinese cancer therapy company for up to $1.2bn (£950m), as Britain’s biggest drugmaker expands its footprint in its second-largest market.
The Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical firm announced on Tuesday it would acquire Gracell Biotechnologies, which is focused on a type of cancer therapy known as CAR-T that modifies a patient’s cells to fight the disease.
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