Category Archives: NHS

Veteran trans campaigner: ‘Cass review has potential for positive change’

Posted on by

Stephen Whittle talks about life for young trans people in the 1970s and now, and the influence of ‘anti-trans’ views today

When Stephen Whittle transitioned as a teenager in 1975, he was one of only a handful of young people in the UK to be offered hormone treatment and, later, surgery.

Almost half a century later – much of it spent fighting for trans rights – he said there was “masses” he agreed with in this week’s review of the NHS’s gender identity services by Hilary Cass. He said he also believed the report had been influenced by groups and individuals with “transphobic” views, and said the “potential for positive change must be backed with resources”.

Continue reading...

Wes Streeting defends Labour plan to use private sector to cut NHS backlog

Posted on by

Exclusive: Failure to do so would betray working-class people, shadow health secretary says

Wes Streeting has defended Labour’s plans to use the private sector to help cut the NHS care backlog, arguing that a failure to do so would result in a “betrayal” of working-class people who cannot afford to pay for care.

The shadow health secretary said his approach was a “pragmatic but principled one” as he doubled down on his remarks this week about “middle-class lefties” whom he said risked putting ideological purity ahead of patient care.

Continue reading...

Adult transgender clinics in England face inquiry into patient care

Posted on by

NHS England to review seven specialist services after staff share misgivings privately

Adult transgender clinics in England are facing a Cass-style inquiry into how they treat patients after whistleblowers raised concerns about the care they provide.

NHS England has announced that it is setting up a review of how the seven specialist services operate and deliver care after past and present staff shared misgivings privately during a previous investigation.

Continue reading...

Thousands of children unsure of gender identity ‘let down by NHS’, report finds

Posted on by

Leading consultant paediatrician says unproven treatments and ‘toxicity’ of trans debate damaging outcomes

Thousands of vulnerable children questioning their gender identity have been let down by the NHS providing unproven treatments and by the “toxicity” of the trans debate, a landmark report has found.

The UK’s only NHS gender identity development service used puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones, which masculinise or feminise people’s appearances, despite “remarkably weak evidence” that they improve the wellbeing of young people and concern they may harm health, Dr Hilary Cass said.

Continue reading...

Mother criticises ‘agenda from above’ after release of Cass report

Posted on by

Parent of trans girl says report promotes agenda that ‘things need to be made more difficult’ for children with gender dysphoria

While the Cass report’s 400 pages will be pored over and debated, one thing is certain – young trans people face an anxious future.

The mother of a 17-year-old trans girl who was a patient at the now-shut Gender Identity Development Service (Gids) at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust said she had initially welcomed Cass’s inquiry, but had been left “disappointed”.

Continue reading...

Review of gender services has major implications for mental health services

Posted on by

Cass report calls for move away from mainly medical treatment as part of dramatic shift in approach to gender dysphoria

A long-awaited review by consultant paediatrician Hilary Cass into the NHS’s gender services for children calls for a dramatic shift in the type of treatment offered to children and young people with gender dysphoria.

The report proposes that instead of being offered mainly medical treatment, young people referred to NHS gender services should “receive a holistic assessment of their needs to inform an individualised care plan”, meaning that questions of gender identity should be treated alongside other possible mental health concerns.

Continue reading...

What are the key findings of the NHS gender identity review?

Posted on by

Report by Dr Hilary Cass finds young people being let down by lack of research and evidence on medical interventions

A review into the NHS’s gender identity services has found that children and young people have been let down by a lack of research and evidence on medical interventions in a debate that has become exceptionally toxic.

Dr Hilary Cass said her report was not about defining “what it means to be trans” or “undermining the validity of trans identities”, but about “how best to help the growing number of children and young people who are looking for support from the NHS in relation to their gender identity”. Here are the review’s key findings.

Continue reading...

NHS testing initiative to eliminate hepatitis C in England by 2025

Posted on by

Liver scanning and portable testing units to be rolled out in communities where people may be at a higher risk

Thousands of people who are unknowingly living with hepatitis C in England could be identified and treated due to an expanded NHS testing initiative.

The initiative includes new liver scanning and portable testing units to be rolled out in communities where people may be at a higher risk of contracting the infection.

Continue reading...

Labour reveals plan to digitise NHS personal child health records

Posted on by

Parents and NHS would be able to monitor vaccinations and checkups through digital version of ‘red book’

Labour plans to digitise the NHS “red book” that parents use for their children’s medical records as part of a series of changes to the NHS app.

Parents and the NHS would be able to see if children are behind on jabs or checkups through a new digital record, with automatic notifications to prompt them to book appointments under the party’s plans.

Continue reading...

Hundreds of thousands face being denied revolutionary new dementia drugs in England

Posted on by

Exclusive: Treatments near approval but lack of diagnostic capacity means NHS unprepared for rollout, report says

Hundreds of thousands of dementia patients in England face being denied access to revolutionary new drugs because the diagnostic capacity of the NHS lags behind every other G7 country, according to a damning report.

After decades of research to find a cure for the condition projected to affect 153 million people worldwide by 2050, scientists have successfully developed the first treatments to tackle the underlying causes rather than only relieve the symptoms. Two new drugs could get the green light for use on the NHS within weeks.

Continue reading...

Covid boosters are a gamechanger – if they are free for everyone

Posted on by

Only private jabs are available to most, but annual shots could reduce healthcare costs and prevent deaths

Private Covid boosters are available for people who do not qualify to receive these vaccines on the NHS. But is it worth paying for a shot?

With most people now having been exposed to Sars-CoV-2 through previous vaccination and/or infection, our immune systems are generally well equipped to recognise and kill the virus if we become infected.

Continue reading...

Nearly 1,000 pharmacies in England closed since 2017, with poorer areas more affected

Posted on by

Exclusive: Millions more GP appointments potentially created as a result of closures

Almost 1,000 pharmacies in England have closed since 2017, potentially leading to millions of extra GP appointments, the Guardian can exclusively reveal.

There are more than 11,000 pharmacies in England. Guardian analysis of the official register of these chemists has found that parts of the country have lost more than one in five pharmacies in the last six years, with poorer areas experiencing proportionally more closures.

Continue reading...

NHS England to review ADHD services amid concerns about rise in diagnoses

Posted on by

Taskforce will aim to improve care for people living with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

The NHS in England is to launch a major review of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) services amid concerns about a rise in diagnoses.

ADHD is a condition that affects people’s behaviour. People with ADHD can seem restless, may have trouble concentrating and could act on impulse, according to the NHS.

Continue reading...

Tory donor Frank Hester raised complaint about NHS contract with health secretary

Posted on by

Exclusive: Man who has now given party at least £10m copied Steve Barclay into email about problems with bid, documents show

The Conservative mega-donor Frank Hester complained to the NHS and the health secretary last year over problems his IT business had bidding for a contract, documents show.

The Leeds businessman, who owns a healthcare tech firm responsible for 60m UK medical records, raised a complaint about procurement in December 2022 with the chair of NHS England, copying in Steve Barclay, the then health secretary, saying he was an “interested party”.

Continue reading...

Thousands of foreign nurses a year leave UK to work abroad

Posted on by

Exclusive: Surge in nurses originally from outside the EU moving overseas prompts concern Britain is a ‘staging post’ in their careers

Almost 9,000 foreign nurses a year are leaving the UK to work abroad, amid a sudden surge in nurses quitting the already understaffed NHS for better-paid jobs elsewhere.

The rise in nurses originally from outside the EU moving to take up new posts abroad has prompted concerns that Britain is increasingly becoming “a staging post” in their careers.

Continue reading...

More than half of England’s army veterans have health problems – report

Posted on by

Survey finds many ex-military personnel fear being misunderstood and are reluctant to seek professional help

More than half of England’s army veterans have experienced mental or physical health issues since returning to civilian life, and some are reluctant to share their experiences, a survey has revealed.

The survey of 4,910 veterans, commissioned jointly by the Royal College of GPs (RCGP) and the Office for Veterans’ Affairs (OVA), found that 55% have experienced a health issue potentially related to their service since leaving the armed forces. Over 80% of respondents said their condition had got worse since returning to civilian life.

Continue reading...

Junior doctors in England vote to continue striking until mid-September

Posted on by

BMA members overwhelmingly back further stoppages and overtime bans in long-running pay dispute

Junior doctors in England have voted to keep on striking until the middle of September in their long-running pay dispute, bringing a fresh wave of disruption to the NHS.

Those belonging to the British Medical Association voted overwhelmingly to stage further stoppages in addition to the 41 days of strikes held since last March.

Continue reading...

Government urged to tackle poverty to help the NHS

Posted on by

Healthcare delays in deprived communities mean greater need for expensive emergency treatment, research finds

People living in poverty find it harder to live a healthy life and face barriers to accessing timely treatment, new research suggests.

A report by the King’s Fund, commissioned by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, finds that the delays people living in deprived communities face for healthcare mean they are more likely to need expensive emergency treatment.

Continue reading...

Labour MP Foy says she has breast cancer and urges others to get checked

Posted on by

Mary Kelly Foy, the MP for Durham, is recuperating from surgery and is expected to make a full recovery

A Labour MP has urged women to attend breast cancer screenings as she revealed her own diagnosis.

Mary Kelly Foy, the City of Durham MP, said she was recuperating from surgery and was expected to make a full recovery thanks to an early diagnosis.

Continue reading...

Health workers’ unions call for Frank Hester to lose NHS contracts

Posted on by

BMA says Tory donor should resign from his company as questions grow about how many times Hester has met Sunak

Unions representing GPs and health workers have called on the Conservative donor Frank Hester to stand down from running NHS contracts, saying his “racist and misogynistic comments” breach its fit and proper person test.

Hester’s company TPP runs the electronic patient records of almost half the medical practices in the UK. His remarks about Diane Abbott have prompted calls for him to step aside amid a growing political row.

Continue reading...