Category Archives: England

Most NHS users in England affected by dysfunctional admin, report finds

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About 64% of people had difficulties with health service last year relating to communication about care

Patients routinely have to chase up test results, receive appointment letters after their appointments and do not know when their treatment will occur because the NHS is so “dysfunctional”.

That is the conclusion of research by two major patients’ organisations and the King’s Fund, which lays bare a host of problems with the way the health service interacts with it users.

32% had to chase up the results of a test, scan or X-ray.

32% had not been told how long they would have to wait for their care or treatment.

23% were unaware of who to contact while they waited.

20% received an invitation to an appointment after the date had passed.

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NHS England launches first advertising drive to boost breast cancer screenings

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TV, radio and online adverts aimed at increasing uptake of routine mammograms for women aged 50 to 71

Women in England will be encouraged to attend potentially life-saving screenings for breast cancer in TV, radio and online adverts as part of the first NHS awareness campaign for the disease.

Women in the UK are invited for their first routine mammogram between the ages of 50 and 53, with further invitations arriving every three years until they reach 71, after which they can request screening.

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Parents working from home is affecting school attendance, says Ofsted chief

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Martyn Oliver says less office-going since pandemic has led to a shift in attitudes among pupils in England

School attendance rates are being affected by parents working from home after the pandemic, the head of Ofsted has said.

The chief inspector of the schools watchdog in England, Martyn Oliver, told the Sunday Times that the widespread change in working habits after the pandemic had led to a shift in attitudes among pupils.

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Lucy Letby’s acting was Oscar-worthy if she really is guilty, former boss says

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Former head of nursing at Countess of Chester says Letby ‘cried in my arms’ after being removed from the ward

Lucy Letby’s former boss has said “if she was acting she deserves an Oscar” as she described tearful meetings with the neonatal nurse after accusations against her first emerged.

Karen Rees, the head of nursing at the Countess of Chester hospital before her retirement in March 2018, revealed to the Sunday Times that she had always believed in Letby’s innocence. The pair developed a close relationship in the months after Letby was removed from the ward over concerns she was connected to a sharp rise in infant deaths.

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JD Vance decried as extremist over attack on UK abortion clinic safe zones

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US vice-president’s comments, part of a wide-ranging tirade against Europe, called inaccurate and misogynistic

JD Vance has been labelled an “extremist” after he launched a broadside against the UK’s efforts to protect women seeking an abortion.

The US vice-president’s criticisms of UK and Scottish policies on safe access zones around abortion clinics – part of a wide-ranging tirade against Europe on Friday – were derided as inaccurate and misogynistic by a number of groups, politicians and governments.

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Two Darlington councillors investigated after ‘wrestling’ in parish meeting

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Exchange of insults between David Darling and Colin Pease, both in their 70s, led to scratches, bleeding and broken spectacles

The agenda for the Middleton St George parish council meeting was quite dull: village show costs, condition of footpaths and a quote for a flagpole inspection.

But the meeting itself was more lively, with two councillors exchanging insults before a “wrestling match” that led to scratches, bleeding, a bruised finger and the destruction of spectacles said to be worth £325.

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Student died from sepsis after antibiotics error in London hospital, inquest hears

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Potentially life-saving drug was prescribed for William Hewes but not given quickly enough due to communication mix-up

A consultant paediatrician warned medical colleagues treating her son that they had failed to give him life-saving antibiotics hours before he died from sepsis, an inquest has heard.

William Hewes, 22, a history and politics student, died on 21 January 2023 of meningococcal septicaemia at east London’s Homerton hospital, where his mother, Dr Deborah Burns, worked.

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Colleagues of soldier, 19, found dead criticise response to sexual assault claims

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Jaysley Beck’s friends tell inquest she did not report her boss because her previous complaint was ‘squashed’

Colleagues of a 19-year-old soldier found dead in her barracks room after allegedly being sexually assaulted by an officer twice her age have strongly criticised how her complaint about the incident was dealt with.

One colleague of Gnr Jaysley Beck confirmed at her inquest he was “incensed” that WOI Michael Webber was only subject to a “minor sanction” after he allegedly pinned the teenager down and tried to kiss her during an adventure training exercise.

In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at www.befrienders.org.

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Sacking of Christian school worker over posts about LGBTQ+ lessons unlawful, court rules

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Kristie Higgs was dismissed after sharing posts on plans to teach equalities programme at her son’s C of E school

A Christian school worker who was sacked after she shared Facebook posts raising concerns about lessons in LGBTQ+ relationships for primary schoolchildren has won her battle in the court of appeal.

Kristie Higgs was dismissed from her role as a pastoral administrator and work experience manager at Farmor’s, a secondary school in Fairford, Gloucestershire, in 2019 after an anonymous complaint from a parent at the school.

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Nottingham attacks public inquiry to begin within weeks, Starmer says

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Judge-led statutory inquiry announced into killings of three people by Valdo Calocane in June 2023

A judge-led public inquiry into the Nottingham attacks will start in “a matter of weeks”, Keir Starmer has told the families of the three people killed and the injured survivors.

At a meeting at No 10 on Wednesday, the prime minister said the inquiry would scrutinise a “number of different agencies” and a retired judge would soon be appointed to lead the process.

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Philippines storm survivors join climate protest outside Shell HQ in London

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Greenpeace protest draws attention to worsening typhoons and demands accountability from major polluters

For two days and two nights, Ronalyn Carbonel and her four children clung to the roof of their home as a huge storm raged around them. With the wind battering her village of Rizal, about 10 miles east of Manila in the Philippines, and water swirling through the rooms below them, they had no choice but to wait, hoping that someone would come to rescue them and hundreds of their neighbours.

“We did not have shelter, we did not have food … we just had to wait for the government for two days,” Carbonel said. “It is not easy, no electricity, no light, we just wait for the sun to rise. The children were scared, we had never experienced anything like this.”

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Life satisfaction among over-50s in England higher than before pandemic, study finds

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Research shows happiness levels have bounced back post-Covid, although depression also remains more common

People 50 and over in England have greater life satisfaction and sense life is more worthwhile than before the Covid pandemic, although depression is more common, researchers have found.

Prof Paola Zaninotto, first author of the research from University College London, said the study showed wellbeing and mental health worsened between the early stages of the pandemic and later in 2020, contrary to some reports. However, this situation subsequently improved.

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Court rules against Metropolitan police crackdown on officers

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Force faces having to reinstate officers and staff removed under scheme launched in wake of Sarah Everard case

The Metropolitan police have lost a high court case over whether they can oust officers and staff deemed unsuitable through enhanced vetting procedures.

Scotland Yard had used the scheme, which effectively dismisses officers by removing their vetting clearance, to get rid of scores of staff, some of whom had faced allegations of sexual assault.

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Burnley MP Oliver Ryan suspended by Labour over messages on WhatsApp group

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Ryan is second MP to face sanctions after emergence of details of Trigger Me Timbers group

The Labour MP Oliver Ryan has been suspended by the party over his membership and comments on a WhatsApp group that featured offensive messages, including alleged racism and sexism.

The party took action against the Burnley MP after the emergence of details about the Trigger Me Timbers group, mainly involving a group of councillors and party activists in Greater Manchester.

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GB Energy faces ‘challenging’ task to find CEO for Aberdeen HQ, sources say

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Industry insiders say it will be ‘tricky’ to find suitable candidate who would agree to location and civil service pay

Britain’s state-owned energy company faces a “challenging” task to find a chief executive for its Aberdeen HQ when it begins recruiting this month, senior industry sources have said.

Great British Energy is poised to begin the hunt, but sources claim there are still no obvious frontrunners for the top job almost six months after the £8.3bn publicly owned clean energy company was formed.

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Children still being sent far from home for mental health care in England

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Figures show practice continues eight years after pledge to end it, potentially impeding young people’s recovery

Children and young people in England with serious mental health problems are still being sent for treatment many miles away from their homes because bed shortages in some areas remain so severe, despite a pledge to end such practices eight years ago.

NHS England promised in 2017 to stop forcing highly troubled under-18s to leave family and friends after some received care more than 300 miles from where they lived.

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‘Repeated failures’ at Nottinghamshire prison where three inmates took their lives

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Inquest into deaths of three prisoners within three weeks at HMP Lowdham Grange in 2023 criticises ‘poor leadership’

There were several failings and missed opportunities at an overwhelmed prison where three inmates took their lives in the space of three weeks, an inquest jury has found.

Anthony Binfield, 30, Rolandas Karbauskas, 49, and David Richards, 42, were found in their cells at HMP Lowdham Grange in Nottinghamshire between 6-25 March 2023.

In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org

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‘Strong reasonable doubt’ over Lucy Letby insulin convictions, experts say

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Exclusive: ‘No scientific justification’ to say former nurse definitely poisoned babies with insulin, according to study authors

The claim that Lucy Letby definitely poisoned babies with insulin has “no scientific justification whatsoever” and there is a “very strong level of reasonable doubt” about the convictions, according to the authors of a 100-page study on the case.

Prof Geoff Chase, one of the world’s foremost experts on the effect of insulin on pre-term babies, told the Guardian it was “very unlikely” anyone had administered potentially lethal doses to two of the infants.

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Grenfell Tower demolition would risk fire being forgotten, some survivors say

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Grenfell United says voices of bereaved have been ignored and they fear disaster could be ‘put out of mind’

The demolition of Grenfell Tower could mean that the injustice of the fatal fire is “put out of sight and out of mind” and forgotten, some survivors have said.

The deputy prime minister, Angela Rayner, told a meeting on Wednesday that the 24-storey block in which 72 people were killed in June 2017 would be dismantled to ground level. The decision has prompted anger and claims that the government has failed to listen to the views of the bereaved and survivors.

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