Published24 minutes agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, PA MediaBy Smitha MundasadHealth reporter It has been almost three months since King Charles was diagnosed with an unspecified type of cancer. At the time the monarch, 75, said he remained “wholly positive” about his treatment and looked forward to returning to public duties as soon as possible. And although he postponed his public-facing duties, he continued with his constitutional work as head of state, including doing paperwork and private meetings. He is now “greatly encouraged” to be resuming some public duties while continuing treatment for cancer. How is the King doing now? Buckingham Palace’s tone is positive.It says the King’s medical team is “very encouraged” about his continued recovery and that his doctors have been “sufficiently pleased” with progress made so far. Some of his engagements will be adapted, if needed, “to minimise any risks to His Majesty’s continued recovery”. For example, he will not take on a full summer programme.The King, has generally led a fit and active life, with few reported medical problems.His cancer was discovered incidentally during a procedure for a benign (non-cancerous) prostate enlargement. As soon as the cancer was spotted he quickly started a course of treatment. Experts know that catching and treating cancer early gives the best chance of a good recovery. Is he still having treatment?The Palace says his “treatment programme” will continue and it is too early to say how long that might last. It has not given any details about the type of treatment the King is having.Cancer treatments can come in many different forms.Some are more intensive – requiring lots of hospital trips – and have more side effects than others. Other ones can be given at home.What will the King’s public duties be after return?There are many different ways of tackling cancer, including surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy to remove or destroy cancerous cells. Often a combination of different approaches is used. Follow-up care can be very important too – including scans and regular checks. Some people may receive cancer treatment for weeks, months or years. This might be to prevent cancer from returning, put cancer into remission or help control the progression of cancer, for example.Some rounds of treatment can dampen the immune system for a while – meaning the risk of infections can be increased. Is there a risk the King may be taking on too much? Buckingham Palace says the King’s diary will be “carefully calibrated” as his recovery continues. His medical team will be in close consultation and make sure he gets all the treatment he needs. They won’t want any of his duties to hinder that progress and his engagements can be adapted, if necessary. Cancer, and the treatments given to stop it, can cause extreme tiredness or fatigue. And that can vary throughout the day, with each day being different. What type of cancer does the King have?The palace has not disclosed details about the type of cancer the King has but has said it is not prostate cancer. Like any patient, medical details are private. Buckingham Palace says: “His Majesty is greatly encouraged to be resuming some public-facing duties and very grateful to his medical team for their continued care and expertise.”What is it like to live with cancer? The King joins the legions of people around the world living with cancer. One in two people in the UK develop some kind of cancer during their lifetime.It’s a diagnosis that impacts not just your health but your social, family and working life too. After taking some time off, His Majesty will shortly return to public-facing duties. Notably, his first visit next week will be to a cancer treatment centre. He now understands first-hand what living with cancer can entail, although the journey is different for each individual affected. His may not be the typical story, but he says he is deeply grateful for the kindness and good wishes he has received since going public about it.There is practical support and information out there for people trying to navigate their way, juggling cancer treatment alongside all the daily responsibilities of life, like paying the bills.Emotional support is vital too. You may want to talk to someone you know well – a partner or friend – or perhaps someone you do not know so well, like your doctor or a specialist nurse. Some organisations such as Mind and MacMillan can offer this type of support too. More on this storyWhat do we know about the King’s cancer diagnosis?Published22 minutes agoKing Charles diagnosed with cancerPublished6 February

Published10 minutes agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingThis video can not be playedTo play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.By Smitha MundasadHealth reporter The government is making progress on cutting NHS waiting lists in England, the prime minister insists, as latest figures show targets are being missed. Rishi Sunak said: “While we haven’t made as much progress as I would like, today’s figures show we are making headway towards that goal.”Waiting lists for routine treatments were around 7.54 million in February, down from 7.58 million in January.Opponents say waiting times are still too long.Labour highlighted that waiting lists were still higher than when Mr Sunak pledged to bring them down at the start of 2023.The Liberal Democrats accused the prime minister of “living in a parallel universe”.Mr Sunak said long-running strikes by consultants and junior doctors had had an impact on patients.Referring to the overall waiting list for treatment of 7.54 million, the PM said: “A drop of almost 200,000 in the last five months shows what the NHS can do for patients. Had there been no strike action, an extra 430,000 patients could have been treated.”We still have more work to do, but our plan is working.”He added: “When I became prime minister, I made cutting the NHS waiting lists one of my top five priorities. Today’s statistics clearly show we are making headway towards that goal.”The NHS recovery plan set a target for the end of March for 76% of patients attending A&E to be admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours.Another target in the plan was to eliminate all waits of 65 week or more for treatment by March this year. This has been pushed back to September.In an exclusive interview, the BBC’s Health Editor Hugh Pym challenged the prime minister, asking him what he would say to patients who have waited longer than 65 weeks, often in pain. Mr Sunak said: “None of this is acceptable and I’m doing absolutely everything I can to bring the waiting list down.”The latest NHS England figures show:an estimated 7.54 million planned treatments were waiting to be carried out in February, involving 6.29 million patientsthe number of patients waiting more than 65 weeks for treatment was 75,004 at the end of February, down from 92,213 (19%) in January there were 2.35 million visits to Accident and Emergency in March, 8.6% higher than the number of attendances in March 2023some 74.2% of patients were seen within four hours in A&Es in March, up from 70.9% in February and the highest figure since April 2023Wes Streeting, Labour’s shadow health secretary, said: “Rishi Sunak has failed on the NHS. He’s missed his own targets to cut ambulance waits and A&E waits. “Patients with suspected heart attacks or strokes are waiting almost double the safe amount of time, when every minute matters.”Doctors have said that patients in desperate need of care have been left waiting for 24 hours in A&E, while relatively healthy patients have been seen faster in order to hit this four-hour target.”Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey said: “This week we uncovered that over 150,000 people waited over 24 hours in A&E last year. Now we find that waiting lists have gone up by 330,000 after Rishi Sunak pledged to cut them.”To add insult to injury, the Conservatives have cut NHS spending while millions of patients are suffering in pain on endless waiting lists.”Rishi Sunak is living in a parallel universe if he thinks our National Health Service is recovering. “The Conservative Party and the prime minister are out of touch, out of ideas and deserve to be kicked out of office.”More on this storyThe NHS hidden waiting lists terrifying patientsPublished19 FebruaryNeed an op? The hospitals with the worst waitsPublished14 March

Published28 minutes agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, PHSOBy Smitha MundasadHealth reporter Cancer patients could be at risk due to overstretched and “exhausted” health staff in a “system at breaking point”, England’s NHS ombudsman has warned. Rob Behrens’ office carried out 1,019 investigations related to cancer between April 2020 and December 2023 – with 185 upheld or partly upheld. Issues included delays in diagnosis, treatment and pain management. The Department of Health and Social Care said record numbers of people had been treated in the last two years.Meanwhile recent analysis by the BBC revealed cancer waiting times in England last year were the worst on record. Mr Behrens, the parliamentary and health service ombudsman who investigates unresolved complaints against NHS England, said everyone deserves safe and effective care. He added: “But patient safety will always be at risk in environments that are understaffed and where staff are exhausted and under unsustainable pressure.”He called for concerted and sustained government action to ensure NHS leaders could prioritise the safety of patients. “A key part of this is investing in the workforce, for today and for the long term, including providing full funding for the long-term workforce plan,” he added.Problems investigated by his team included concerns about poor communication, end-of-life care and how complaints were handled.Most were about lung cancer, followed by breast cancer and colorectal cancer – some of the most common cancers in the UK. Image source, PrHOOne investigation involved the death of Mrs Sandra Eastwood, whose rare cancer was not diagnosed for nearly a year, after scans were not interpreted correctly. The delay meant she missed out on the chance of very effective treatment that could have prolonged her life, according to the report. Mrs Eastwood, who lived in York, died in 2022, with a rare digestive system cancer called gastrointestinal stromal tumour. In June 2020 she went to hospital with abdominal pain. CT scans showed a mass which medics put down to a blood clot caused by medication she was taking for a unrelated heart valve replacement.The following May her symptoms worsened and she returned to hospital and was diagnosed with GIST. The report found that if Mrs Eastwood had been diagnosed earlier and scans interpreted correctly, the cancer might not have spread and she may have been eligible for surgery. John, her husband of 54 years, said: “Sandra was wonderful. I worked away a lot when our two children were young and she did absolutely everything for them. She loved baking, making jams and chutneys, and travelling.The 79-year-old continued: “I feel absolutely disgusted with the care she received from the hospital. They didn’t investigate the scan results and just put it down to Warfarin [her medication] straight away. “It seemed like the medical teams did not communicate with each other and everything felt very disjointed. They left her in agony for months before she died.”The whole experience was very distressing, which is why I went to the ombudsman. I didn’t want this to happen to anybody else.”A spokesperson for York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said it “fully accepts” the ombudsman’s findings and apologised for the distress caused to Mrs Eastwood and her family.The spokesperson added that the trust has made a number of improvements and agreed to change its practice following the case.Mr Behrens said: “What happened to Mrs Eastwood was unacceptable and her family’s grief will no doubt have been compounded by knowing that mistakes were made in her care.”Her case also shows, in the most tragic of ways, that while some progress has been made on my recommendations to improve imaging services, it is not enough and more must be done.”Government must act now to prioritise this issue and protect more patients from harm.”The Department of Health said: “The NHS has seen and treated record numbers of cancer patients over the last two years and cancer is being diagnosed at an earlier stage, more often, with survival rates improving across almost all types.”We have invested £2.3bn into speeding up diagnosis and launched 154 community diagnostic centres across England.”The NHS long-term workforce plan will boost the number of healthcare workers diagnosing and treating cancer, doubling the number of medical school and adult nurse training places.”More on this storyCancer waiting times in 2023 worst on recordPublished8 FebruaryNHS struggling to provide safe cancer care, say doctorsPublished8 June 2023Key cancer waiting target set to be missed in EnglandPublished7 March 2023Related Internet LinksPHSOThe BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.

Published3 hours agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, Getty ImagesBy Smitha MundasadHealth reporter More than a billion people are living with obesity around the world, global estimates published in The Lancet show.This includes about 880 million adults and 159 million children, according to 2022 data.The highest rates are in Tonga and American Samoa for women and American Samoa and Nauru for men, with some 70-80% of adults living with obesity.Out of some 190 countries, the UK ranks 55th highest for men and 87th for women. The international team of scientists say there is an urgent need for major changes in how obesity is tackled.Obesity can increase the risk of developing many serious health conditions, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes and some cancers.Ranking global obesity rates (the percentage of population classed as obese, after age differences are accounted for), researchers found:The US comes 10th highest for men and 36th highest for womenIndia ranks 19th lowest for women and 21st lowest for menChina is 11th lowest for women and 52nd lowest for menSenior researcher Prof Majid Ezzati, of Imperial College London, told the BBC: “In many of these island nations it comes down to the availability of healthy food versus unhealthy food.”In some cases there have been aggressive marketing campaigns promoting unhealthy foods, while the cost and availability of healthier food can be more problematic.”Prof Ezzati, who has been looking at global data for years, says he is surprised at the speed the picture has changed, with many more countries now facing an obesity crisis, while the number of places where people being underweight is regarded as the biggest concern, has decreased. Half of world could be overweight by 2035Obesity ‘linked to cancer rise’The report, spanning 1990 and 2022, found the rate of obesity quadrupled among children and adolescents. Meanwhile for adults, the rate more than doubled in women and nearly tripled in men.At the same time, the proportion of adults classed as underweight has fallen by 50%, but researchers emphasise it still remains a pressing problem, particularly among the poorest communities.World Health Organization (WHO) director general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said: “This new study highlights the importance of preventing and managing obesity from early life to adulthood, through diet, physical activity, and adequate care.”He added that it would take the work of governments and communities and “importantly requires the co-operation of the private sector, which must be accountable for the health impacts of their products”.Study co-author Dr Guha Pradeepa, from the Madras Diabetes Research Foundation, says major global issues risk worsening malnutrition caused by both obesity and being underweight.She said: “The impact of issues such as climate change, disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine risk worsening both rates of obesity and underweight, by increasing poverty and the cost of nutrient-rich foods.”The knock-on effects of this are insufficient food in some countries and households, and shifts to less healthy food in others.”The network of more than 1,500 researchers, collaborating with the WHO, analysed height and weight measurements from some 220 million people aged five and over.They used a measure called body mass index.While they acknowledge this is an imperfect measure of the extent of body fat, and say some countries had better data than others, they argue it is the most widely used, making this global analysis possible.More on this storyHalf of world could be overweight by 2035Published3 March 2023Obesity ‘linked to cancer rise’Published7 January 2016Related Internet LinksThe LancetThe BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.

Published38 minutes agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, Niall McCanBy Smitha MundasadInside Health Presenter, BBC Radio 4It’s not often you meet someone who gets a round of applause for farting on stage. “I was giving a talk in London and I had mentioned earlier about my flatulence,” Niall McCann says. He’d explained to the audience that a speed flying accident in 2016 – in which he smashed into the Brecon Beacons mountains at 50mph – had left him with bladder, bowel and sexual dysfunction.”And then it happened very prominently and everyone started clapping,” he says.We met for an episode of BBC Radio 4’s Inside Health. In the programme he spoke very candidly – and with surprising humour and positivity – about his accident, the surgery to reconstruct his spine and his remarkable recovery.One of the things we spoke about was what it’s been like for him living with bladder and bowel and sexual problems – the intimate challenges that don’t often get talked about.He says he’s happy to talk because “there’s stigma and there shouldn’t be”, and he hopes that by being open maybe he will help others.And while he recognises many others are less fortunate, as spinal injuries can often cause lasting paralysis, he wants to shine light on things people often deal with silently.’Trying to be a hero when I was a beginner’On that day eight years ago, Niall decided the conditions were perfect to go speed-flying.He says it is a bit like paragliding, except that instead of gliding, you run off a cliff and plummet to the ground, but on that day he was “trying to be a hero when I was really a beginner”. Niall accidentally turned a few degrees too far, smashing into the Brecon Beacons mountainside. Listen to Inside Health podcast: Bowels, bladders and sex: learning to live after my mountain accidentNiall spent 38 days at the University of Wales Hospital in Cardiff, having operations on his spine and learning how to use his legs again. The major concern was how much damage had been done to his spinal cord, which is a bundle of nerves that transmits information between the brain and the body. If damaged, there can be a range of problems, including paralysis. But because Niall had bruised his, rather than cut it, the chance of recovery – although often incomplete – was greater. Image source, Niall McCannThere were many considerable challenges in hospital but once home, there were even more adjustments to be made – not least to his relationship and how he saw himself. “At first I had the overwhelming sense of being utterly dependant. I couldn’t reach around my backside – so I couldn’t take myself to the toilet,” he says.His wife, mother and brother all helped out. “This wasn’t part of the marriage vows,” he reflects, “But they did it without complaining.”There was one particular incident that he credits for giving him motivation to regain his independence in the bathroom.His mother-in-law, who was a nurse, was due to come round just weeks after the accident.”So she had wiped many bottoms of course, but I didn’t want one of them to be mine,” he says. First disabled team crosses Europe’s largest ice cap in just 11 daysNiall McCann joins mountain rescue team who saved himHumour aside, learning to live with a loss of control of his bowels was not easy. “What many spinal cord injury patients do is manually evacuate their bowels – using their hands to pull out whatever is in their rectum at the time,” he explains. “It took a bit of time for me to learn to do this.” One of the funniest moments, he recalls, was a few weeks after the accident when he attempted a pull-up at his mum’s house.”My brother had a pull-up bar on the door-frame. “Of course I wanted to see if I could do it. So I did very cautiously.”This put pressure on Niall’s core so he checked his incontinence pad – and it was empty. “But my brother was stood right behind me and he watched as I curled out a very large stool on the dining-room floor,” he recalls.’Minor imposition’Over time, accidents like this became less frequent. And Niall says while it did not feel good to have a “poo in his pants”, he needed to manage this “by-product” of his accident as best he could. Now it is just “a minor imposition” that he is mindful of at certain moments.”For example, when my daughter wants me to throw her in the air, I need to think about when I last opened my bowels.”Another consequence of the damage to the nerves in this area is that he cannot relax his bladder to pee, something he has in common with many people with spinal cord injuries. Niall now uses an intermittent catheter – a tube that allows him to empty his bladder.Image source, Niall McCannBut he thinks many people do not realise that spinal cord injuries often cause lasting problems with your bladder and bowels. And even less frequently spoken about is sex. ‘Stepping into the unknown’For every spinal cord patient the situation is unique – but for some it is an inability to get aroused and there can be ejaculation issues, he explains.This has been one of the most challenging aspects of his recovery. “So much starts afresh in terms of your married life when you come home with a life-changing injury.”You are learning a lot of new things about each other. It is almost like being teenagers.”At the beginning Niall slept downstairs, because the stairs were a challenge. But when he was able to climb them, he had mixed emotions, Downstairs, it turned out, had become a bit of a sanctuary.”It almost felt like a pressure to go back into cohabiting after having had my own space. That almost felt like stepping into something new and unknown again.” But if you really want to pursue an intimate relationship with your partner – then just trying things and finding out what works is so important, he says. “And this will probably take some experimentation and some frustration and some embarrassment. But the other person is learning at the same time – you are both learning together.”I am very lucky at how patient, accommodating and accepting my wife has been,” he adds.In Niall’s case, he was warned very early on that having children might be difficult. So the couple immediately registered for IVF. Niall says he knows how lucky it is that Phoebe was born three years after his accident.Image source, Niall McCann”If I hadn’t had my accident we wouldn’t have Phoebe – we would have had another child probably – but we wouldn’t have had her, and she is the best thing to come out of this.”Niall acknowledges his recovery has had ups and downs, but he says talking about it has been so important.”A lot of people don’t feel like they can, and I am in the fortunate position of being able to. I hope my openness allows other people to share with their loved ones too.” More on this storyFirst disabled team crosses Europe’s largest ice capPublished29 April 2023Rescued man joins team who saved himPublished13 May 2017Drug ‘repairs spinal cord injuries’Published4 December 2014’The cough that paralysed me’Published26 May 2013

Published31 minutes agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, Getty ImagesBy Smitha MundasadHealth reporter An expert microbiologist has hailed the discovery of a potential new class of antibiotics that could treat lethal hospital infections as “very exciting”.The new compound, zosurabalpin, worked “extremely well” in test-tubes and mice, Global Antibiotic Research and Development Partnership scientific director Prof Laura Piddock said.The research offered “definite hope” for other hard-to-treat infections, she told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.It is published in the journal Nature.US researchers focused on finding a new way to treat infections caused by the carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (Crab) bacterium.The organism, classed a “priority-one critical pathogen” by the World Health Organization, can cause very serious invasive blood and chest infections in critically ill hospital patients.It is resistant to many known antibiotics.Drug-resistant infections killing millions – studyWarning of antibiotic-resistant infection pandemicAnd about 40-60% of those infected die.A key reason it is so hard to find new drugs that neutralise it is because of the bacterium’s tricky structure – with a double walled “membrane” surrounding it and protecting it from attack.This configuration “makes it very difficult to get drugs into it and to get drugs to stay inside”, Prof Piddock told BBC News.But zosurabalpin, found after screening about 45,000 small molecules with potential antibiotic properties, appears to destroy the organism’s ability to successfully assemble this key protective membrane.’First-in-man’ studies”What is exciting about this discovery is that one of the building blocks that are part of the outer part of this bacterial cell is disrupted by this new drug,” Prof Piddock said.In laboratory experiments, the compound stopped a critical building block – a lipopolysaccharide – being transported to the outer part of the cell, preventing the protective membrane from forming properly and ultimately leading to cell death. It was “exciting” the researchers had already completed some “first-in-man” studies – on a relatively small number of healthy people – and were “set up now to go on and do full clinical trials in people with the infection”, Prof Piddock said.But “we are a very long way” from it being used in hospitals.’Definite hope’Prof Piddock said: “Full clinical trials… take a lot of time, several years. And indeed, they cost millions of pounds to do. And even if the trial is successful, then the drug has to be approved for use and then made accessible to those that need it – and that is all over the world not just in a few countries that can afford it. “Therein is the big problem – the economics of making antibiotics.” But despite the considerable hurdles, there is “definite hope”.”It is really exciting – and not only is it good for this type of bacteria, but this could be built upon for others as well,” Prof Piddock added.More on this storyDrug-resistant infections killing millions – studyPublished20 January 2022Warning of antibiotic-resistant infection pandemicPublished17 November 2021Related Internet LinksNature.websiteThe BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.

Published11 minutes agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, Getty ImagesBy Smitha MundasadHealth reporter Some parts of the UK could become home to mosquitoes capable of spreading dengue fever, chikungunya and zika virus by the 2040s and 2050s, health officials warn.The UK Health Security Agency’s report is based on a worst-case scenario, which would see high emissions and temperatures rising by 4C by 2100.It says other impacts include a rise in heat-related deaths and flooding.But many potential problems are still avoidable with swift action, it says.Steep cuts to greenhouse gas emissions could avert some of the worst consequences, it adds.The report, involving 90 experts, pulls together the “substantial and growing” evidence of the current effects of climate change on our health.It also makes projections based on what it says is a “plausible worst-case scenario” that could happen if international commitments to tackle climate change are not properly kept.Current United Nations Environment Programme estimates suggest the world is on track for about a 2.7C warming by 2100, based on current pledges, although the exact numbers are uncertain.Prof Nigel Arnell, professor of climate change at the University of Reading, says: “Whilst we clearly hope temperatures won’t get that far, it is prudent to prepare for the worst case when planning health resources, if the consequences of us underestimating the risk are so significant.”Mosquito-borne diseases risk increasing in EuropeHow scientists are fighting climate-fuelled diseaseFive climate change solutions under the spotlight at COP28One major health concern is the UK becoming more suitable for invasive species such as the Asian tiger mosquito, also known as Aedes albopictus.While the mosquito only carries harmful viruses after biting infected people, London could see regular cases of dengue fever by 2060, the report says.The virus is most commonly seen in tropical regions and can make people seriously ill. England would be the first country in the UK to be affected, with Wales, Northern Ireland and parts of the Scottish Lowlands also becoming suitable habitats later in the century.The mosquitoes have already been responsible for cases of dengue in France and chikungunya virus in Italy in recent years. Image source, Getty ImagesThe UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) already has a surveillance system in place to rapidly spot invasive mosquitoes, including a network of traps placed at UK borders that detect mosquito eggs. This would need to be expanded in the worst-case scenario, says Dr Jolyon Medlock, from the UKHSA..If the insects go on to establish a home in the UK, people would also need to consider how to store water safely, as it is a common breeding ground for mosquitoes.This would mean making sure buckets are not collecting stagnant water in gardens, paddling pools being covered and any potential rain-collecting vessels being upturned, he added. Slower and reduced warming is likely to delay these risks by decades or beyond this century – but once these mosquitoes have arrived, their establishment is largely irreversible, the report says. Under the high-warming scenario and without action, it says there could be:up to 10,000 excess deaths a year due to extreme heat by the 2050ssubstantial number of deaths related to the cold, particularly for an ageing populationeffects on the price and supply of fruit and vegetables due to extreme weather events in countries the UK relies on for importschanging rainfall patterns increasing the risk of floodingbig impacts on mental health and wellbeing of young people in particularExperts also warn the impact of climate change will be unequal, with the worst effects felt by vulnerable people, including older people, those with medical conditions or living in deprived areas and children. Some risks, such as drought and wildfires, will likely emerge earliest in the southern regions of the UK. Image source, Getty ImagesUKHSA says targeted interventions and adaptations are key and many of the risks can be averted.It says actions that may help include:national heat and cold alert systems like UKHSA ones already in placeincreasing green spaces appropriately and improving flood defencesputting protection in place for the most vulnerable, for example – improving energy efficiency in care homesMore on this storyMosquito-borne diseases risk increasing in EuropePublished22 JuneHow scientists are fighting climate-fuelled diseasePublished3 DecemberRelated Internet LinksUK Health Security AgencyThe BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.

Published2 days agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, Getty ImagesBy Smitha MundasadHealth reporter More support is needed to prevent babies and young children developing mental health problems in later life, leading doctors say.Their report shows there is growing evidence that intervening very early on – from conception to the age of five – may help stop conditions arising or worsening. The Royal College of Psychiatrists is calling for more specialist services. The government says the mental health of children and parents is paramount.Officials say they are investing more in expanding NHS services, alongside funding programmes designed to support children and caregivers.NHS data shows about 5% of two to four-year-olds struggle with anxiety, behavioural disorders and neurodevelopmental conditions including ADHD. The Royal College of Psychiatrists’ report suggests half of mental health conditions arise by the age of 14, and many start to develop in the first years of life, making early action “vital”.Dr Trudi Seneviratne, from the Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCPsych), said the majority of under-fives with mental health conditions were not receiving the level of support needed “to help them become productive, functioning adults and reach their full potential”.She added: “The period from conception to five is essential in securing the healthy development of children into adulthood. “Unfortunately, these years are often not given the importance they should be, and many people are unaware of what signs they should be looking out for. “Parents, carers and society as a whole have a critical role to play. This includes securing positive relationships and a nurturing environment that supports the building blocks of a child’s social, emotional and cognitive development.”Dr Seneviratne says anyone concerned about a child’s persistent behavioural issues or eating and sleeping problems should seek health advice. RCPsych experts suggest a number of ways to prevent mental health issues in babies and children, including providing support for the mother in pregnancy, working with parents to promote attachment to their child and recommending parenting programmes in the early stages of a child’s life. They say many factors can increase the risk of problems developing in childhood, such as alcohol or substance misuse during pregnancy and adverse experiences in childhood including domestic violence, physical and emotional neglect and abuse. The report’s recommendations include:New specialist services across the UK for under-fives, their parents and carers, with timely access to a team of people including speech and language therapy, psychologists and social workersMore training for healthcare workers on how to spot and support under-fives with mental health problemsMore research on the best ways to help young childrenBetter data collection on young children experiencing problemsSupport to help the wider population gain a greater understanding about mental health of under-fivesThe wide-ranging report is backed by a number of organisations including Unicef UK, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.Joanna Moody, from Unicef UK, said: “Mental health in infancy and early childhood is often overlooked, yet it lays the foundations for a child’s future.”She said the report provided “a strong evidence base for action to prioritise mental health right from the start of children’s lives”.She added many services have a “vital role” in supporting children’s mental health, including early education, social services, maternity, health visiting and primary care.If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this story you can visit BBC Action Line.More on this storyHuge leap in children in mental health crisisPublished4 February 2022Quarter of 17-19-year-olds may have mental disorderPublished29 November 2022Mental health patients ‘at risk’ in child wardsPublished25 May

Published11 hours agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingThis video can not be playedTo play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.By Smitha MundasadHealth reporter The parents of a teenager who died in hospital two years ago are calling for patients to be given the right to an urgent second opinion, if they feel their concerns are not being taken seriously by medical staff.Martha Mills, who would have been 16 on Monday, died after failures in treating her sepsis at King’s College Hospital.An inquest said she could have survived had her care been better.Martha’s mother, Merope, has been speaking exclusively to the BBC.She told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that her family were not listened to by senior doctors on several occasions and were “not given the full picture” about Martha’s deteriorating condition – leaving them unable to speak up for better treatment.She wants hospitals around the country to bring in “Martha’s rule”, which would give parents, carers and patients the right to call for an urgent second clinical opinion from other experts at the same hospital if they have concerns about their current care.The hospital that looked after Martha has admitted mistakes were made and the trust said in a statement that it “remains deeply sorry that we failed Martha when she needed us most”.An NHS spokesperson said: “All patients and families are able to seek a second opinion if they have concerns about their care and, as professional guidance for doctors in England sets out, it is essential that any patient’s wishes to seek a second opinion are respected.” Martha’s storyThe happy 13-year-old had been enjoying her summer holidays – “her days filled with books and memorising song lyrics”, Merope, an editor at the Guardian, recalls.But while Martha was on a family holiday in Wales, cycling on a flat and “family friendly” path, she slipped on some sand. She fell on to the handle bars of her bike, with her abdomen taking the full brunt of the tumble.Merope told the BBC: “At first, we thought she was just winded because there wasn’t any blood or [a] cut. “It didn’t look like anything serious. But it turns out that the force of the fall pushed her pancreas against her spine, causing a laceration.”It was a difficult, tricky injury, but it did not have to be a fatal one,” Merope says.Martha was transferred to the children’s liver team at King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust – one of the few teams in the country that specialises in dealing with young people with pancreatic trauma.After a few weeks on the ward, she developed an infection that would not go away and her condition worsened drastically.Martha had developed signs of sepsis – when the body’s response to an infection is overwhelming and ends up injuring its own tissues and organs. A subsequent inquest and medical reviews into her death revealed this was not managed properly. One of the major failings was Martha not being transferred to intensive care quickly enough to support her organs as they became overwhelmed.The coroner said; “If she had been referred promptly and had been appropriately treated, the likelihood is that she would have survived her injuries.”Reviews suggest there had been several missed opportunities to act. Image source, Merope MillsMerope said as her daughter’s condition started to worsen, the family’s concerns were not taken seriously.”She started bleeding out of the tube in her arm… and one in her abdomen as well.”It was a lot of blood as well, you know, soaking her sheets, and at night, we had to keep changing them.”The doctors just told us it was a normal side effect of the infection, that her clotting abilities were slightly off.”But Merope says some experts have advised her that this is the point her daughter should have been moved to intensive care – as the bleeding was probably a sign of very disordered clotting and severe sepsis taking hold. The bleeding did stop, but the infection did not go away and Merope was concerned that the August bank holiday weekend was approaching, when it might be more difficult to get hold of certain staff. “We started putting two and two together and started using the word sepsis ourselves. “I said to the consultant, ‘I’m worried it’s going to be a bank holiday weekend, and she’s going to go into septic shock, and none of you will be here’.”But she was “reassured again”.”And so we weren’t listened to and Martha herself was ignored.”Martha had further worrying signs of sepsis including a rash that that was mistaken for an allergic reaction, but it was after Martha had a fit in her mother’s arms that she was finally transferred to intensive care.Merope said: “The thing that I find most unforgivable, is that they left her so long, she knew she was going to die.”She lay in bed and she said to me it feels like it’s unfixable.”By this point “it was too late for them to do anything and a day later, she was dead”.The day before her death, Martha was moved to London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital as an emergency transfer.Merope wants to speak out to avoid others going through the same agony. “Even if you were to give the doctors the benefit of the doubt and say they were trying not to worry us, the result is that they did not give us any agency in demanding the correct treatment for our daughter – and that control – that overconfidence in yourself and your decision-making – is absolutely fine if the system works perfectly, but the system is so far from perfect.”This video can not be playedTo play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.Merope has helped the think tank Demos write a report which is calling on NHS England to urgently put in place Martha’s rule. This would “effectively formalise the idea of asking for a second opinion, from a different team outside the team currently looking after you if you feel you are not being listened to”, she said.She added that asking for a second opinion when there is a deterioration “shouldn’t be a problem and it shouldn’t involve confrontation”.It might be that a patient or family could escalate to another team over the phone to get an urgent critical care review. Some similar systems exist already around the world, including one at the UK’s Royal Berkshire Hospital.Here people who are worried a patient is deteriorating, but that the healthcare team is not recognising their concerns, can ring a critical care hotline for immediate help.In Australia, hospitals in Queensland have a process called Ryan’s rule, which came into effect after the tragic death of a boy called Ryan who also had a poorly managed serious infection.Merope acknowledges that some medics would have concerns that the system could be overrun, but reviews have shown this not to be the case. When the Royal Berkshire NHS Trust first tried it, there were just 37 calls to the system in the first year – some resulting in life-saving interventions. She said: “I genuinely believe that good doctors should welcome good input from patients or family members – who are the other experts in the room – and they should certainly welcome the input and second opinion of another doctor.”King’s College Hospital said it had put several measures in place since Martha’s death, including sepsis training for all clinical staff looking after children.Best of Today: Martha’s Rule – BBC SoundsNew hospital guidelines recommend the “escalation of a child’s care in those cases where we are unable to provide sufficient reassurance to parents”.And the trust has introduced a specially trained team to review seriously unwell children on wards.BBC Radio 4’s Mishal Husain asked Merope how she is coping now. She said: “In all honesty, her sister is what gets me through the day. “Martha would be 16 and I think about her all the time, every day.”I think about what she’d been doing and how much fun she would be having and how much fun she has already missed. “I hope in having these conversations we can stop other people going through this horror.”Sign up for our morning newsletter and get BBC News in your inbox.More on this story’Doctor knows best’ attitude must be challenged. Video, 00:02:18’Doctor knows best’ attitude must be challengedPublished6 October 20222:18Related Internet LinksDemos.website’We had such trust, we feel such fools’: how shocking hospital mistakes led to our daughter’s death – The GuardianThe BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.

Published10 AugustShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, Getty ImagesBy Smitha MundasadHealth reporter The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared a new sub-variant of Covid called EG.5 – unofficially named “Eris” – a variant of interest and is asking countries to monitor it as cases grow globally.But the organisation says it poses a low risk to public health, with no evidence that it causes more severe disease than other variants circulating at the moment. What is EG.5 and why has it been dubbed Eris? Ever since it first emerged, Covid has been mutating or shape-shifting and becoming incrementally different. The new genetic versions that keep appearing are called variants.EG.5 is another off-shoot of the Omicron variant of Covid. According to the WHO, it was first seen in February 2023 and cases have been increasing steadily.It has been dubbed Eris on social media – also the name of a goddess in Greek mythology. The unofficial nickname may follow on from the WHO convention of using letters of the Greek alphabet to assign, “simple, easy-to-say labels” for key variants.The WHO naming system arose after experts agreed scientific names were difficult to remember and prone to misreporting. It was also intended to stop variants being named after the countries they were first spotted in.In its latest assessment, the WHO includes EG.5 and sub-variants very closely related to it, including 5G.5.1. According to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), 5G.5.1 now makes up about one in seven cases of Covid picked up by hospital tests.Dr Meera Chand, the agency’s deputy director, said “it was not unexpected” to see new variants emerge. She continued: “EG.5.1 was designated as a variant on 31 July 2023 due to continued growth internationally and presence in the UK, allowing us to monitor it through our routine surveillance processes.”Cases of EG.5 are also rising in the US, where it has narrowly surpassed other circulating omicron sub-variants, according to estimates published by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Is Eris more dangerous? Based on the available evidence, WHO officials say there is no suggestion the sub-variant is causing more severe disease and the risks are no higher than other current variants of interest.Some tests suggest it can evade our immune systems more easily than some circulating variants but this has not been translated into people becoming more seriously ill. In the UK, there has been a small increase in people in hospital in recent weeks, particularly those aged over 85, but experts say the numbers remain lower than previous waves. There has been no increase in people severely unwell in intensive care.Experts around the world will continue to monitor the sub-variant and assess its impact, particularly as schools and universities reopen.Where is EG.5 spreading? According to the WHO, infections have been reported in 51 countries, including China, the US, the Republic of Korea, Japan, Canada, Australia, Singapore, the UK, France, Portugal and Spain. Image source, ReutersWhat are the symptoms? Experts say there is no evidence to suggest it causes any new Covid symptoms. Have I got Covid, a bad cold or something else?Symptoms of Covid can include:fevercontinuous coughchange in sense of taste or smell fatiguerunny nosesore throatImage source, PA MediaHow can you protect yourself?As with other Covid variants, the risk of serious illness remains highest for people who are elderly or have significant underlying health conditions.UKHSA officials say vaccination remains the “best defence against future Covid waves, so it is still as important as ever that people take up all the doses for which they are eligible as soon as possible”.Winter Covid vaccines axed for under-65sCovid vaccine safety – What we knowPeople eligible for Covid vaccines this winter include all adults aged 65 and over, adults living in care homes and a number of people who have health conditions that put them at increased risk. The WHO says it continues to assess the impact of variants on the performance of vaccines to inform decisions on updates to vaccine composition.UKHSA experts recommend regular handwashing and staying away from others where possible if you have symptoms of a respiratory illness. More on this storyHave I got Covid, a bad cold or something else?Published5 April 2022Winter Covid vaccines axed for under-65sPublished8 August