NHS | Westminster World

Dec122022 by Zuzana RevayovaNo Comments

Ambulance strikes: Elderly feel unwanted

Image credit: Unsplash The Health Secretary, Steve Barclay, has announced that elderly people who fall are unlikely to get an ambulance during the planned strike action. Barclay, told Sky News that only "life-threatening conditions" will be covered during the industrial action. Paramedics and 999 operators from Unite, Unison and GMB unions will be striking on 21 and 28 December. Unions have confirmed that only category one emergencies, such as strokes and heart attacks will be covered. This comes amidst a range of other strikes planned for December. NHS nurses and RMT rail workers are also planning to strike. Janet Baker, 86, Harrow, is worried that if she has a fall, she won’t be able to cope without medical attention. She said: “I live alone, my family is

Are COVID Tests Reliable?

Covid-19, Health, London, NHS, virus

Photo Credit: Colin D Photo Credit: Raimond Spekking COVID test results in the UK are believed to be inconsistent. There are two main types of diagnostic tests, the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and the antibody tests. These tests detect whether a person has the virus now or had it previously. According to the NHS: the PCR detects the presence of the Ribonucleic acid (RNA) in a swab sample from your nose or throat. Whilst the antibody test searches for the virus in a blood sample. PCR tests are the most used in the UK. Though the NHS data suggests that the PCR test has a high reliability rate, the COVID results are thought to unreliable, as results sometimes indicate that people do not have the virus when they do. This is identified as a ‘false negative’. Research shows t

Apr152020 by Editor2No Comments

Explainer: Why you need to put on a mask to prevent Coronavirus

Covid-19, Explainer, Explainers, Health, NHS

Since the outbreak of the global coronavirus pandemic, the British government has been insisting on there is no need for regular people to wear masks unless they are really ill, taking care for patients or working in health care. There even were face mask banned for “misleading” claims and officials have urged more hand-washing to delay the spread of the virus. The reasons given by them include: masks don’t offer significant protection from germs and the most efficient models need special fitting to work but normal people rarely wear it right. But most importantly, the shortage of face masks had put health-care workers who desperately need them into dangerous situation. But in the States, which do not support general wearing just two weeks ago, now has a new policy. The

Apr142020 by Juliane SonntagNo Comments

Obesity in childhood

children, Data Journalism, Education, Explainer, Explainers, Fitness, Food, Health, Medical, NHS, Obesity, Sport, youth

The numbers for people who are obese in the UK again saw a record high in 2019; it is the fourth consecutive year that a new national record was set. Around 20 percent of UK's school children aged 8 to 11 are obese, according to the NHS’s National Child Measurement Programme. In other words, every fifth child is severely overweight. This puts the UK on rank 33 out of 191 surveyed countries (Global Obesity Levels). Obesity in childhood increases the risk of obesity in adulthood and can cause serious illnesses such as Type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease. Often, it also triggers mental health issues such as depression or fatigue. Especially now that schools, playgrounds and gyms are closed due to the coronavirus, it is vital to provide a healthy diet and as much

Dec142019 by Laura HarmanNo Comments

What does a Conservative Government mean for the NHS?

Breaking News, Explainers, Health, News, NHS, Politics, ReportingWeek2

A group of doctors in scrubs (Image from Unsplash) How will the National Health Service be affected, now that the Tories are in power? In the early hours of Friday 13 December, it was announced that the electorate had voted for a majority Conservative Government. With 365 seats, the Conservative party had well surpassed the 326 seat target needed to hold a majority government. This result has many people speculating about what this will mean for the UK’s National Health Service. In his Prime Minister’s victory speech on 13 December, Johnson stated: “I’ve heard it loud and clear from every corner of the country that the overwhelming priority of the British people now, is that we should focus above all on the NHS, that simple and beautiful idea that repre

Dec142019 by Claudia DashwoodNo Comments

Wait times for A&E are at their worst

Breaking News, Health, News, NHS

NHS data revealed it's "on its knees" this winter as patients are facing the worst A&E waiting times in a decade. Every major A&E department failed to meet the target waiting time of four hours for the first time ever. Only 81.4 percent of patients were seen within the four-hour threshold, a record low against the national target of 95 percent. The NHS standard has not been met since July 2015. Made with Visme Infographic Maker Since the same month last year, the new NHS numbers revealed that major A&E departments have seen 5.2 percent increase in attendances, totalling 2,143,336 in November 2019. The 559,556 emergency admissions saw a 4.3 percent increase over the last 12 months. Knee and hip replacement waiting lists have soared, with a record breaking 4.45m patien...

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,

NHS’ lack of registered nurses threatens UK’s health system

Breaking News, Health

Nurses’ shortage is forcing the NHS into hiring nursing assistants to fill the gaps, according to the Health Foundation report. The NHS is currently facing a considerable deficit of nurses, a situation which is expected to worsen as a result of poor workforce planning. Alarmingly, the demands on nurses are disproportioned to the existing nursing workforce. Therefore, it is considered one of the lowest in the clinical workforce. It is estimated that the number of doctors employed in hospitals and other healthcare institutions has increased by ten percent in the last five years as opposed to nurses who have only registered an increase of three percent. As demands on qualified nurses and midwives increase, the NHS is under considerable pressure to address the issue because of

Cannabis legalised for medicinal use

Breaking News

Two types of cannabis-based medicines have been approved for use by the NHS to treat the symptoms of multiple sclerosis and epilepsy. Epidyolex, containing the cannabis extract CBD (short for cannabidiol) can now be prescribed to children due to the newly released guidance of the NHS. Epidyolex is a medicine used to soothe spasms caused by epilepsy. Similarly, the spray Sativex, also containing cannabis-based medicine, was recommended to treat muscle spasms caused by multiple sclerosis. According to the BBC, clinical trials have proven that with these drugs, seizures can be reduced by 40% for children who suffer from Lennox Gastaut syndrome and Dravet syndrome. Both of the newly approved medicines do not contain THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol), this is the psycho-active c

Two cannabis-based drugs approved by NHS – is this decision satisfactory for Britons?

Health

The National Health Service (NHS) approved two cannabis-based drugs for treating epilepsy, specifically children with epilepsy. Now doctors can prescribe medicines called Epidyolex and Sativex to patients with childhood epilepsy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=togxqM2qM_8&app=desktop On 11 November 2019 BBC published an article revealing the approval of cannabis-based drugs by NHS. Although Epidyolex was approved by the European Union in September 2019, NHS has not approved the use of cannabis-based medicines due to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines. British citizens had mixed views on the approval of medicines that have cannabis, but none of the responses were negative. One person said: “If that works, I don’t have