Health Foundation paper argues health is an economic asset and improving it could generate £72bn for public finances
Restoring the deteriorating health of the UK’s population to the level of 2014 would boost GDP by 2% and generate a £72bn dividend for the public finances, research suggests.
A paper by the Health Foundation thinktank, published on Sunday, argues the nation’s health should be valued by policymakers as an economic asset.
Continue reading...For one placement, black applicants had a less than 1 in 100 chance of being offered a place, NHS data shows
Black doctors in England are four times less likely to be offered a training place than their white counterparts, according to analysis.
As part of their medical training, doctors across the NHS are able to apply to placements within specific branches of practice such as psychiatry, obstetrics and gynaecology, and emergency medicine.
Continue reading...Doctors say survey shows need for morning-after pill to be available at corner shops, petrol stations and supermarkets
Almost half of the UK population believe it would be difficult to access emergency contraception on a Sunday, while nearly two-thirds think they would struggle after 10pm, according to a survey.
The research, carried out by YouGov, found that only 7% of people believe it would be difficult to access emergency contraception during the daytime on a weekday.
Continue reading...Polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome is underdiagnosed and inconsistenly managed, according to Nice
Up to 4 million women with irregular periods should be investigated for polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome, according to new NHS guidance.
PMOS, previously known as polycystic ovarian syndrome, is believed to affect up to 13% of reproductive age women, the World Health Organization estimates.
Continue reading...British-born, older men among those most likely to have disease found only postmortem, say researchers
One person a week dies with undiagnosed and therefore untreated tuberculosis in England, a study has found.
British-born, older men were among those most likely to have TB diagnosed only after death, researchers said, suggesting healthcare workers could be overlooking the possibility of the disease in these patients.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Royal College of Nursing says 1.5m vulnerable people not getting the right care, as specialism is ‘consistently undermined’
The specialist learning-disability nurse workforce is in “absolute crisis” with the number of specialist nurses falling by a third across the UK since 2009, leaving many vulnerable adults with inadequate care, according to a report by the largest nursing union.
The Royal College of Nursing review revealed that the number of learning-disability nurses employed by the NHS has fallen from 7,083 in 2009 to 4,768 in 2026. As a result of these falling numbers, 1.5 million people with learning disabilities were not being provided with their legal right to equitable access to health and care services.
Continue reading...Doctors say therapy that genetically modifies person’s T-cells could offer cure for chronic autoimmune disease
Five lupus patients in England are in remission after being treated with a revolutionary therapy that genetically modifies their own cells, in a medical breakthrough that could offer people a cure, doctors have said.
CAR (chimeric antigen receptor) T-cell therapy involves removing a type of white blood cell also called T lymphocytes, which are crucial for hunting out infected or damaged cells, and engineering them to spot and destroy disease. The T-cells are then fed back into the patient via an infusion to reset their immune system.
Continue reading...One in five of the 1.92m patients on list wait longer than six weeks for tests such as CT and MRI scans, analysis shows
A record number of people are waiting for a diagnostic test on the NHS, triggering fears that delays in accessing CT and MRI scans could endanger patients’ health.
A total of 1.92 million patients in England are waiting to have a test to diagnose their illness such as by an ultrasound scan, assessment of their hearing, bone scan or various tests for cancer.
The diagnostic waiting list has grown by 500,000 since 2022.
It is 83% higher than before the Covid pandemic.
On current trends the waiting list will hit 2 million in March 2027.
Continue reading...Lord Mann’s review prompts new training for health bosses and restrictions on political symbols on uniforms
The NHS is taking action to tackle antisemitism after a government-ordered report found that Jewish patients and staff face “routine ostracism” in the service.
Anti-Jewish hatred in the NHS means some patients hide their identity and staff “suffer in silence”, a review by Lord Mann, the government’s adviser on antisemitism, has found.
Continue reading...Research suggests NHS trusts with higher empathy ratings also benefit financially and have improved staff wellbeing
Patients and staff fare better at hospitals that rank highly on empathy, research suggests, with institutions also benefiting financially by spending less on agency staff, locums and consultants.
The finding comes from the first study to rate NHS trusts in England according to an empathy score that is drawn from information on the organisation’s culture, leadership behaviour and practitioner empathy, among other factors.
Continue reading...Elahere is first new drug for chemotherapy-resistant ovarian cancer to be approved by NHS for 20 years
Hundreds of women with hard-to-treat ovarian cancer can now be offered a new life-prolonging treatment, after NHS England approved its introduction. It is the first new drug for resistant ovarian cancer to be approved for more than 20 years.
Ovarian is the 18th most common type of cancer globally, affecting more than 300,000 women a year. More than three-quarters of patients are diagnosed at an advanced stage, making it harder to treat.
Continue reading...Health secretary announces expansion of Transform trial but does not back population-wide testing
Thousands more black men will be invited to take part in a prostate cancer screening trial as the health secretary insisted he was “following the science” in not backing population-wide testing.
James Murray accepted a recommendation from the UK national screening committee (UKNSC) that will result in only a few thousand high-risk men with a gene mutation being screened for the disease.
Continue reading...NHS bosses giving evidence to public accounts committee admit current position is unacceptable
GPs in England are so “overloaded” that they cannot help older people who are at risk of falling in what NHS bosses accept is an unacceptable failure of care, the House of Commons’ public accounts committee has said.
Pressure on GPs’ time has intensified as a result of the government’s decision to give patients online access to their services, according to a report by the influential cross-party group of MPs.
Continue reading...Health organisations refute assertion by Sunbed Association that tanning is protective and warn it could increase risk of skin cancer
The body that represents the UK’s sunbed salons is wrongly insisting that a tan protects against sunburn, even though leading medical bodies (contacted by Full Fact) say that claim is untrue.
Health organisations have challenged the accuracy of information being disseminated by the Sunbed Association, which on its website asks: “Is it true there is no such thing as a safe tan?”
Continue reading...Government will consider committee’s guidance, which says mass screening ‘likely to cause more harm than good’
Most men in the UK will not be offered prostate cancer screening if the government accepts the final recommendation of an expert committee.
The UK National Screening Committee (UKNSC) said attempting to detect the disease using the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test was “likely to cause more harm than good”.
Continue reading...Union to urge ministers to bring in mandatory minimum staffing, as ageing population increases demand for care
Almost two-thirds of nurses believe there are too few of them working in the NHS to keep patients safe and give them proper care, a survey has revealed.
Understaffing and the increasingly complex medical needs posed by an ageing population are creating a “deadly mix” for patients, the Royal College of Nursing warned on Monday.
64% expected to cut services this year.
83% feared financial constraints will impact planned patient care and 78% worry it will affect emergency care.
57% expected to cut their clinical staffing this year to save money.
Continue reading...Medicines watchdog approves two treatments for patients with spinal muscular atrophy
Hundreds of children with a rare muscle-wasting disease will be able to receive two drugs that can improve their survival in a move parents hailed as a “lifeline”.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) has published final draft guidance recommending that any patient who would benefit can have either drug.
Continue reading...Wes Streeting says legislation will save lives, but GPs are concerned about liability for errors introduced by other providers
GPs and hospitals will be required to share patient data under legislation to be announced in the king’s speech on Wednesday.
Legislation to create a single patient record (SPR) for each person, which would be used across all healthcare providers, is part of a £10bn digitisation of the health service.
Continue reading...Half of respondents to RCN poll said patients ‘frequently come to harm’ because caseloads are too high
Mental health patients in the UK are routinely coming to harm because of high caseloads, understaffing and overwhelming administrative work, according to a poll that found only a fifth of specialist nurses felt their workload was manageable.
Prof Nicola Ranger, the general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, said mental health nurses were caught in a “perfect storm” and unable to keep up with rising demand, with patients paying the price by missing out on crucial care.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Health Foundation says Britain is ‘going backwards’ compared with most other rich countries
People in the UK are spending fewer years in good health than a decade ago, prompting concern that the population’s health is “going backwards”.
The sharp decline in Britain’s healthy life expectancy, the amount of time someone spends free of illness or disability, is in sharp contrast to its recent rise in most other rich countries globally.
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