Exclusive: survey finds 57% of people have never heard of physician associates even though they are widely used
Many people are deeply confused about the growing number of “physician associates” in the NHS and wrongly assume they are doctors, research suggests.
Around 4,000 physician associates work in the NHS in England. Ministers and health chiefs plan to increase the figure to 10,000 to help plug widespread gaps in the NHS workforce.
Continue reading...Researchers say ‘astounding’ inequalities are widest where risk can be cut with lifestyle changes
The risk of dying from cancer in England “varies massively” depending on where a person lives, according to a study that experts say exposes “astounding” health inequalities.
Researchers who analysed data spanning two decades found staggering geographical differences. In the poorest areas, the risk of dying from cancer was more than 70% higher than the wealthiest areas. The findings were published in the Lancet Oncology.
Continue reading...Nice guidelines for GPs ‘placing CBT on a par with HRT’ are criticised as ‘patronising’ and ‘scaremongering’
New official guidance on treating menopause will harm women’s health, experts, MPs and campaigners have warned.
Last month, new draft guidelines to GPs from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) said that women experiencing hot flushes, night sweats, depression and sleep problems could be offered cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) “alongside or as an alternative to” hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to help reduce their menopause symptoms.
Continue reading...Researchers find turning to fatty and other unhealthy foods for solace reduces vascular function and raises risk of heart disease
Using fatty foods to comfort eat during times of stress can impair the body’s recovery from the pressure, research suggests.
Many people turn to unhealthy foods such as chocolate or crisps when they are feeling the strain, but researchers have found that this can reduce blood flow to the brain and cause poorer vascular function – which in turn can have a negative effect on mental health and cognitive function, and increase the risk of heart disease.
Continue reading...Shadow minister tells health service ‘money is tight’ and that it must provide better value for taxpayers
The shadow health secretary has accused the NHS of using every winter crisis and challenge it faces as an excuse to ask for more money.
Speaking on a visit to Singapore, Wes Streeting said the health service needs to accept “money is tight”, and that it must rethink how the care it provides could provide better value for money for the taxpayer.
Continue reading...Research by centre-right thinktank says gap between the mainstream and poorest in society is widening
Covid lockdowns had a “catastrophic effect” on the UK’s social fabric and the most disadvantaged are no better off now than at the time of the financial crash, a new report claims.
The country is in danger of sliding back into the divisions of the Victorian era, marked by a widening gap between the mainstream and the poorest in society, according to an inquiry by the centre-right thinktank the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ).
Continue reading...In a recording in 2020, the actor made a case for giving ‘human beings true agency over their bodies at the end of life’
• Read more: ‘Push me over the edge’ – Diana Rigg’s daughter Rachael Stirling writes about her mother’s dying wishes
Diana Rigg made an impassioned case to legalise assisted dying in a message recorded shortly before her “truly awful” and “dehumanising” death from cancer three years ago.
The actor’s statement calling for a law that gives “human beings true agency over their own bodies at the end of life”, published today in the Observer, adds to the ongoing debate on assisted dying, with MPs expected to publish recommendations to the government within weeks.
Continue reading...Blood disorder that can lead to premature death affects estimated 100,000 people in the United States, most of whom are Black
The US Food and Drug Administration has approved a pair of gene therapies for sickle cell disease, including the first treatment based on the breakthrough Crispr gene-editing technology, opening up two “transformative therapy” avenues for some patients.
The FDA approved Lyfgenia from Bluebird Bio, and a separate treatment called Casgevy by partners Vertex Pharmaceuticals and Crispr Therapeutics. Both therapies are made from the patients’ own blood stem cells and were approved for people aged 12 and older.
Continue reading...Former Victorian premier gives first interview after resignation, saying ‘the haters hate and the rest vote Labor’. Follow the day’s news live
James Ashby to stand for One Nation in Queensland seat
James Ashby, the chief of staff to One Nation leader Pauline Hanson, will stand for the party in the seat of Keppel at next year’s Queensland state election, AAP reports.
The Nationals are dead in Queensland’s parliament while the Liberals are lurching further left in their attempts to secure inner-Brisbane seats.
Continue reading...African-led trial ended a year early as researchers conclude there is ‘little or no chance’ new combination vaccines cut HIV risk
The first trial in Africa of two combination vaccines to prevent HIV has been halted after researchers concluded it was not working.
The vaccines (part of the PrEPVacc study) were being tested on 1,500 people aged between 18 and 40 in Uganda, Tanzania and South Africa.
Continue reading...This blog is now closed.
MPs don casual wear for late-night sitting
Given the late sitting (the house has been doing “family friendly” hours for most of the year, which has made sittings past 8pm or 8.30pm rare) there were a few more casual looks on the benches than we are used to.
Continue reading...Ex-PM tells inquiry abusive messages between staff were inevitable passion of people ‘doing their best’ under great stress
Boris Johnson has insisted he was not properly warned about the potential seriousness of Covid during early 2020, as he dismissed abusive messages sent between his staff as the inevitable passion of people who were “doing their best”.
In a sometimes combative start to his evidence before the Covid inquiry in London, which began with protesters being removed from the hearing room, Johnson apologised for mistakes made, but then argued that these were not necessarily errors that could have been avoided.
Continue reading...Research says funding cuts and poor organisation stop Canadians from accessing healthcare – and 20% have no doctor at all
Funding cuts, fewer generalists and inefficient organisation are preventing more and more Canadians from accessing public primary healthcare, according to a new study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) which compares Canadian healthcare unfavourably with public systems in nine Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries.
About 20% of Canadians have no family doctor at all, and many more have irregular access to clinicians – a reality likely to worsen if not properly addressed now, said Dr Tara Kiran, a family physician in Toronto and one of the authors of the study.
Continue reading...Follow the day’s news live
Nature repair bill ‘proof’ good-faith negotiations can work, says Bandt
The interview moves to the nature repair bill, which Tanya Plibersek won support for, after making a deal with the Greens. Adam Bandt says it is further proof that good faith negotiations can work:
The Greens pressure has worked. And the Greens have secured some significant wins. There’s been a blow against new gas and oil projects. Previously you could frack areas, so drill down to extract gas, including in farmland, and the government didn’t even have to consider whether that was going to affect our precious water supplies.
We know in many places it would have, that’s why so many farmers have been against fracking.
Continue reading...Nearly one in 10 patients are waiting longer than a year to be admitted, according to Australian Institute of Health and Welfare
Elective surgery wait times are at their highest level on record, while nearly one in two patients are spending more than the recommended time in emergency departments, new data shows.
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfareon Wednesday released figures on public hospital performance from July 2022 to June 2023 that the Australian Medical Association said “paints a grim picture” of hospitals struggling more than ever.
Continue reading...Open letter to government from experts and politicians says rising usage ‘is a clear example of over-medicalisation’
Medical experts and politicians have called for the amount of antidepressants being prescribed to people across the UK to be reduced in an open letter to the government.
The letter coincides with the launch of the all-party parliamentary group Beyond Pills, which aims to reduce what it calls the UK healthcare system’s over-reliance on prescription medication.
Continue reading...Chair of Haemophilia Society says government stance is ‘huge error’ and hails Commons defeat as ‘victory for democracy’
Rishi Sunak will be on the “wrong side of history” in his handling of the infected blood scandal, the head of a charity has warned, after his government suffered its first parliamentary defeat over when to compensate victims.
The scandal, now the subject of an inquiry, unfolded in the late 1970s and early 80s, after about 4,800 people with the blood-clotting disorder haemophilia were given blood donated – or sold – by people infected with HIV and hepatitis C.
Continue reading...Care workers banned from bringing over relatives, and minimum salary threshold increased in other sectors
The home secretary, James Cleverly, has announced a five-point plan aimed at delivering the biggest ever cut in net migration to the UK, prompting fears of heightened staff shortages in the NHS and social care.
Cleverly announced that the minimum salary requirement for a skilled worker visa would rise to £38,700, while a rule that allows for people in professions with the greatest need to be hired at 20% below the going rate will be scrapped.
Continue reading...CEO of University Hospitals Sussex urges staff to have courage to raise concerns, despite whistleblowers previously being sacked
The boss of a hospital trust being investigated by police for alleged negligence over 40 patient deaths has been accused of sending a hypocritical email urging staff to have the courage to raise concerns despite the dismissal of whistleblowing doctors.
Last week the Guardian revealed that the University Hospitals Sussex trust is under pressure to suspend surgeons whose cases are being reviewed by Sussex police in an investigation that involves more than 100 patients who either died or were seriously harmed between 2015 and 2021.
Continue reading...Staff at Iceni Care Home say vulnerable residents were treated as if they were ‘on a farm’ to reduce workload
Care workers at a private care home forced dementia sufferers out of bed as early as 5am and woke them by blasting loud radio music to save money, whistleblowers have alleged.
The management of Iceni Care Home in Swaffham, Norfolk, received repeated complaints about the practice this summer, as concerned staff said vulnerable residents were being treated as if they were “on a farm” in order to reduce the workload on daycare staff.
Continue reading...