Category Archives: England

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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Regulator vows crackdown on ‘squeamish’ charities rejecting donations

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Chair of Charity Commission says funds should not be rejected due to the views or preferences of donors

The head of England’s charity regulator has promised to crack down on “squeamish” charity boards who reject large cash donations from corporations or wealthy philanthropists on moral grounds.

Orlando Fraser, the chair of the Charity Commission, said the regulator may intervene where trustees have rejected or returned donations simply because their “personal worldviews or preferences” were incompatible with those of the donor.

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Sunak accused of ‘silly posturing’ by ex-Tory minister after climbdown over pro-Palestine rally

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PM backs down over march on Armistice Day after meeting Met chief, with senior party figures critical of his handling of the issue

Rishi Sunak has been accused of “silly puffed-up posturing” by senior Tories after being forced to concede at the 11th hour that a pro-Palestine march planned for Armistice Day will go ahead.

For days minsters have insisted that the march through central London should not proceed out of respect for commemorations being held on 11 November.

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Captain Tom’s family lose appeal against demolition of spa complex

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Planning Inspectorate says ‘Captain Tom Building’ harms Grade II-listed home where Moore’s daughter and her family live

The family of Captain Sir Tom Moore have lost a planning application appeal for a spa complex in their garden and have been given three months to demolish the structure.

Moore’s daughter Hannah Ingram-Moore, 53, and her husband, Colin, 66, appealed against a demolition order by Central Bedfordshire council for what they have called the Captain Tom Foundation Building in the grounds of their Bedfordshire home.

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Tory deputy chair Lee Anderson apologises to doctor over ‘misleading’ remark

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MP offers ‘sincerest apologies’ for social media post and pays compensation into BMA strike fund

The Conservative deputy chair, Lee Anderson, has apologised to a doctor after he made a “misleading” social media post about him.

The MP for Ashfield said he wanted to offer his “sincerest apologies” to Dr Tom Dolphin for “any distress caused” by his post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

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Staff exodus could hinder expansion of free childcare in England, providers say

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Exclusive: recruitment and retention crisis means only 17% of nurseries say they could offer extra entitlement

A mass exodus of childminders and nursery staff risks scuppering the government’s flagship new funding for parents of young children in England, according to a new coalition of early years providers and campaigners.

More than half of all nursery workers surveyed by the Early Education and Childcare Coalition (EECC) said they were considering or planning on leaving the sector in the next 12 months.

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Thousands without water after Storm Ciarán disrupts Surrey treatment works

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Thames Water has provided bottled water to people in Guildford, Godalming and surrounding areas

Thousands of people have been left without water after Storm Ciarán caused problems at a treatment works in Surrey, Thames Water has said.

A major incident was declared as at least 13,500 homes in Guildford, Godalming and the surrounding areas were left without water or with low pressure by 2.50pm on Sunday, while a further 6,500 were expected to lose supply later in the day.

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‘I feel like I’ve lost him twice’: daughter pleads for return of father’s stolen ashes

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Nigel Hill’s ashes were taken along with power tools from garage in Bury, Greater Manchester, in September

A woman whose father’s ashes were stolen in a burglary has urged the culprit to show compassion, saying: “I feel like I’ve lost him twice.”

Nigel Hill’s ashes were stolen along with some power tools from a garage at the home in Bury, Greater Manchester, that he had shared with his wife, Susan. He died aged 72 in January.

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Flood warnings issued for south England amid heavy rain after Storm Ciarán

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Met Office issues yellow weather alert as heavy rain forecast to fall on already saturated ground

Heavy rain is forecast across south and south-west of England, with 38 flood warnings and 160 flooding alerts in place days after Storm Ciarán hit the UK.

Although Storm Ciarán has largely eased, the Met Office issued a yellow weather notice on Saturday to last until 11.59pm, stretching from Kent to Cornwall.

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Trying to choose a school in England? Don’t rely on Ofsted reports

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School leaders say parents should do their own homework to build an accurate picture of which is best for their child

If Ofsted inspection reports do not paint an “accurate picture” of schools in England, how are parents able to choose one that suits their child? Headteachers and existing research suggests Ofsted judgments may not play as large a role as its defenders think.

Chris Ashley-Jones, the executive head of Hitherfield primary school in Streatham, south London, said he had shown 100 parents around the school during recent open days. “Not a single one of them mentioned Ofsted,” he said.

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Martha’s rule must be available 24/7, England’s patient safety commissioner says

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Patients and relatives must be able to request second opinion from critical care team at any time of day or night, government told

Patients and their relatives will be able to request a second opinion from senior medics around the clock when the “Martha’s rule” system starts in hospitals in England.

The government’s patient safety commissioner, asked by the health secretary, Steve Barclay, to advise on how to implement the change, has said access to a medic’s opinion must operate 24/7.

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Storm Ciarán: ‘danger to life’ warnings for England and rail disruption across Scottish border

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Large waves and winds of up to 85mph forecast for England’s south coast with rain warnings in place and trains slowed or cancelled

Storm Ciarán is forecast to bring a fresh bout of strong winds and heavy rain to the UK – with “danger to life” amber weather warnings issued for Thursday.

Two amber warnings, the second-highest level of alert, are in place for parts of the south coast of England on Thursday, with further yellow rain warnings, the lowest level, meaning some disruption could be on the way.

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One in 10 biggest English councils risk bankruptcy over child protection bill

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County Councils Network says local bodies facing insolvency after increase in children being taken into care and ‘out of control’ costs

“Out of control” increases in child protection spending since the outbreak of the Covid pandemic have put one in 10 of England’s biggest councils at risk of effective bankruptcy in the next few months, a survey has revealed.

Many county councils and unitary authorities are “running out of road” to avoid insolvency as they grapple with high inflation, increases in children being taken into care, and massive bills for children’s homes, the County Councils Network (CCN) said.

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Ticket office U-turn ditches hated rail policy but where will savings come from now?

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Unpopular proposal for England came on back of crisis that has engulfed the industry in Britain since Covid hit

So, welcome back, ticket offices – not yet four months after their wholesale closure across England was announced by train operators. Back then rail executives breezily assured us that virtually no one bought an actual ticket from a person in an office: just for 13% of journeys, in an era of trains filled by happy smartphone users.

But then it turned out, according to the passenger watchdogs who compiled and analysed 750,000 responses to the public consultation, every single one of the 1,007 menaced offices needed to stay open after all. Transport Focus – independent, but not notable for outspoken condemnation of either industry or government – said serious concerns remained despite long discussions over the detail of options proposed by train operators to serve all passengers.

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Rail ticket office closures in England scrapped in government U-turn

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Watchdogs say they received 750,000 responses to consultation, 99% of which were objections

Plans to close railway station ticket offices in England have been scrapped, in a government U-turn.

The transport secretary, Mark Harper, said the “government had asked train operators to withdraw their proposals”.

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Police investigate UK ice hockey tragedy amid tributes to Adam Johnson

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South Yorkshire force looking into death of American Nottingham Panthers player during match in Sheffield

Police have said they are investigating the death of a professional ice hockey player during a match in Sheffield on Saturday night and have encouraged people to avoid speculation about the incident.

Adam Johnson, 29, died after appearing to receive a catastrophic cut to his neck from the skate blade of another player during the Challenge Cup game between his team Nottingham Panthers and Sheffield Steelers.

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More than 4,000 English flood defences ‘almost useless’, analysis finds

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Exclusive: Hundreds of ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’ defences are in areas battered by Storm Babet, according to analysis by Unearthed

More than 4,000 of England’s vital flood defences are so damaged they are almost useless, including hundreds in areas battered by Storm Babet.

Nearly 800 critical assets – defined as those where there is a high risk to life and property – were in a “poor” or “very poor” condition in the 10 English counties worst affected by last week’s historic downpours.

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UK drivers make claims of ‘dangerous’ electric car faults

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Motorists locked inside their cars, while an NHS doctor said her BMW iX accelerated to 65mph and then crashed

An electric car owner has claimed her vehicle’s autopilot engaged without warning and accelerated to 65mph, zigzagged across the road and caused a serious crash, the Guardian can reveal.

The alleged incident involved a doctor, Ravpreet Kaur, who was travelling in Buckinghamshire with her son in the family’s £80,000 BMW iX. Her husband said they were lucky to escape unhurt.

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‘Misleading’ A&E figures in England hiding poor performance

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Emergency doctors say figures are aggregated with those of minor injury centres to get closer to targets

NHS bosses are using misleading figures to hide dangerously poor performance by A&E units in England against the four-hour treatment target, emergency department doctors claim.

Some A&Es treat and admit, transfer or discharge as few as one in three patients within four hours, although the NHS constitution says they should deal with 95% of arrivals within that timeframe.

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