Medical | Westminster World

Apr122020 by Rui CaiNo Comments

All you need to know about Alzheimer’s disease

Breaking News, Explainers, Explainers, Medical

About 30 million people worldwide are living with Alzheimer’s disease, and there are nearly 10 million new cases every year. The disease is the main cause of disability and dependency among older people. Picture Source: verywell health In 1901, the German psychiatrist Alois Alzheimer, identified the first case of what came to be known as Alzheimer’s Disease. His patient Augustine Deter was 50 years old. She had memory loss, delusions and a number of disturbing behaviours. When asked to write her name in one examination, she found she had forgotten. “I’ve lost myself,” Augustine said. After one century, about 30 million people around the world are living with Alzheimer’s disease, and there are nearly 10 million ne

Dec92019 by Elza LopesNo Comments

General Election: Parties’ promises “unrealistic” warns NHS provider

Adults, Breaking News, Health, Medical, News, NHS, Opinion, Politics

University College London Hospital| Photograph by Elza Lopes Party leaders failed to address key NHS’ issues in health and social care on their election campaigns. UK’s main parties have made numerous promises to pour into the NHS funding and extra staff, however, concerns grow as “no credible answers” have been offered to deal with issues affecting the healthcare system, Chris Hopson, Chief NHS provider said. All main parties have made pledges on their manifestos to increase expenditure in the healthcare system, with emphasis on increasing NHS funding and workforce. The Conservatives have promised 50,000 staff nurses and 50 million GPs surgery appointments. In contrast to Labour which promised 24,000 more nurses, its manifesto top priorities also feature, reducing patients' charges,

Dec22019 by Juliane SonntagNo Comments

Make emergency contraception available in stores

Breaking News, Health, Medical, NHS

A report has been released advising government to sell the morning-after pill and abortion pills in health retailers without consultation The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) has stated in their 'Better for women' report that access to emergency contraceptive pills and abortion pills is currently too difficult for women in England. The report asked for easy access to reliable information on women’s health and to contraception, abortion and fertility services. The RCOG highlighted that if current system remained unchanged, the rate of unplanned pregnancies, abortions and poor parent experiences will not decrease. "Pregnancy should occur if and when women want to be pregnant," the report further stated. The Department of Health and Social Care released a r

Dec22019 by Benedict SteiningerNo Comments

Questions raised following death of two-year-old Amora Afobe.

Breaking News, Health, Medical, Sport, Sports, tragedy

An Article by Benedict Steininger. Amora Afobe, two-year-old daughter of football star Benik afobe passed away surrounded by her family, following a series of complications and an “unexpected infection” on Friday. Former Arsenal striker Benik Afobe released a statement, describing that both him and his family are left “devastated and heartbroken”, resulting the recent death of daughter Amora. Following an infection encountered on Friday, both parents brought Amora to a nearby hospital. The toddler past away after serious complications faced. Although the statement explains, that the doctors tried absolutely everything to save Amora’s life, her death still raises questions of the nature of complications and infection. How serious can infections be in today’s world for tod

Children’s use of medicinal cannabis sparks debate among Londoners

Breaking News, Health, London, Medical, NHS, youth

Londoners have been speaking out on the NHS’s decision to approve two new cannabis-based medicines to treat children with diseases like epilepsy and multiple sclerosis (MS). Our reporter, Veronica-Sofia Nitu, interviewed people in residential London to find out what they thought of the NHS’s decision. Many differentiated between medicinal cannabis and recreational cannabis, and opinions were divided. Some stressed the need for the treatment to be truly needed, proven to help and regulated by appropriate authorities. “I think if it helps, and they have proof that it helps, then they should [use medicinal cannabis to treat children],” said one mother outside the Portman Nursery School in Marylebone. One man who believes cannabis is usually prescribed irresponsibly said m

Apr172019 by Cristina EscobarNo Comments

Figures show a link between birth rates and ethnicity

children, Data Journalism, Education, Health, Housing, Medical, NHS, Racism

In contrast with previous studies, the recent figures show that socio-economic factors are more relevant than biological ones Babies born from Pakistani and Black African parents had the highest infant mortality rates. Meanwhile, those from white mothers and fathers have the lowest in England and Wales, according to 2013 figures provided by the Office of National Statistics (ONS). The white community (British and Irish) suffered only 2.6 deaths per 1,000 live births. However, the figure is quite different for other minorities. Pakistani babies had a mortality rate of 6.7, Black Caribbean of 6.6, and Black African of 6.3. These ethnic groups showed the most worrying probabilities of babies’ survival. The figures displayed a scary face of how inequality works even in t

Apr172019 by Editor2No Comments

Panic attack: a practical guide for getting through and understand it

Experience, Explainers, Health, Medical, NHS, Science

A recent psychiatric investigation made by Giovanni Mansueto and Fiammetta Consci revealed interesting information about panic disorder. But what is it? Is the same as a panic attack? Carol, 25 from London, told Westminster World about her experiences, but she preferred to not show her face. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfV5FZ0HmIE&t=2s

Apr132017 by Shiksha AroraNo Comments

The silent addiction to painkillers

Health, Medical, NHS, Radio

Shane D'Souza, a software engineer, has been treating himself with painkillers for 6 years. When he tries to avoid gulping two codeine containing pain killers frequently at work, the withdrawal symptoms consist of this unbearable pain. Ultimately he has no choice, but, to surrender to his addiction. From migraines to arthritis there is a pill available for every condition today, but, with a heavy price to pay. More and more people in the UK are becoming victims of an unseen addiction, The addiction to painkillers. While painkillers provide relief for acute conditions, a wide group of people misuse are dependent on them for long term, chronic pain relief. Opioid painkillers, such as those containing codeine, are known to initiate a dependency in the long run. According to Neal Patel ...

Mar252017 by Arifa KhanNo Comments

Do we appreciate having the NHS?

Health, Medical, News, NHS, Politics

The National Health Service (NHS) Confederation states that every 36 hours over 1 million patients are seen by the NHS. This clearly impersonates that the service is being used at a high demand and is regularly in use. The NHS was formed on the 5th July 1948 and aimed to provide a good standard healthcare for every citizen. However, presently, only after around 60 years, debates on the privatisation of the NHS have risen, leading to marches and protest on “save our NHS”. These marches included people who were wishing to have a high-quality service by the NHS which would be under democratic control. Moreover, they also wanted it to be a care free at the point of use. Other additional wants included to oppose Conservative Party privatisation drive and remove the Private Finance Initiative

Feb272017 by Blyth BrentnallNo Comments

What’s to blame for the NHS crisis?

Explainers, Health, International, Medical, News, Politics

People waiting in hospital corridors for hours on end, being sent home in taxis - the NHS is in crisis, but who's to blame? There is little agreement on the cause of the NHS' decline. On the one hand, the Daily Mail promotes the idea that immigrants are to blame. But protesters against cuts to the NHS and Labour politicians such as Clive Lewis, blame the Tories’ policies of austerity. Others, such as the GMB trade union worker, Gavin Davies, agree that immigrants are not to blame, but perceive the NHS crisis as a more nuanced problem. Right-wing news outlets such as The Daily Mail tend to point the finger at immigrants. One of their headlines proclaimed, “Sickly immigrants add 1 billion to NHS bill.” The Telegraph too has joined in the blame game, with stories such as one headlined, “N