Health

How the UK planned for the wrong pandemic

[ad_1] Getty ImagesEven as Covid hit, the government and its health officials were bullish in their confidence about their ability to cope.Dr Jenny Harries, then the deputy chief medical officer for England, hailed the UK as an “international exemplar” in its preparedness at one of the early TV press conferences.She was not the only one who thought like this – after all, just a year before the pandemic a government
Health

UK ‘failed citizens’ with flawed pandemic plans

[ad_1] Significant flaws in the UK’s pandemic planning meant Covid caused more deaths and economic costs than it should have, the first report of the Covid Inquiry says.The 217-page report called for radical reform of the systems in place, saying the UK government and devolved nations “failed their citizens”.It said the UK planned for the wrong pandemic – a mild one where spread of a new virus was inevitable -
Health

First report to show UK’s planning failures

[ad_1] 42 minutes agoBy Nick Triggle, Health correspondent, BBC News, @nicktriggle • Jim Reed, Health reporter, BBC NewsPAThe failures and weaknesses in the UK's pandemic preparations are expected to be laid out in the first report published by the Covid inquiry.Baroness Hallett, who is chairing the public inquiry, will set out her findings at lunchtime.Her report will cover the state of the healthcare system, stockpiles of personal protective equipment (PPE) and the planning that was in
Health

BMA debates response to child gender care review

[ad_1] British Medical Association (BMA) leaders have met to discuss the approach being taken to children and young people struggling with their gender identity. The union’s senior doctors debated the Cass review on Wednesday at a meeting of its council – the BMA's top decision-making body.Ahead of the meeting, a council member questioned the way the review was carried out and called the ban on puberty blockers "terrible". Meanwhile, the
Health

Cobra venom neutralised by common blood-thinning drug Heparin

[ad_1] Getty ImagesA spitting cobra's incredibly potent venom can quickly destroy skin, muscle and bone around the site of a biteA drug commonly prescribed to thin blood can be repurposed as a cheap antidote to cobra venom, a team of scientists based in Australia, Canada, Costa Rica and the UK has discovered. Snakebites kill about 138,000 people a year, mostly in poorer rural areas in low- and middle-income countries in
Health

‘Supermodel granny’ drug extends life in animal tests

[ad_1] MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences/Duke UniversityTwo mice, both the same age, the one on the left has aged normally, but the one on the right has been given an anti-ageing drug. A drug has increased the lifespans of laboratory animals by nearly 25%, in a discovery scientists hope can slow human ageing too.The treated mice were known as "supermodel grannies" in the lab because of their youthful appearance.They were
Health

More money and staff – why isn’t the NHS more productive?

[ad_1] Getty ImagesThe new government has made tackling NHS waiting times a key priority - and this week appointed NHS surgeon and former health minister Lord Ara Darzi to investigate what is going wrong. Is productivity the place to start?The scale of the challenge facing Health Secretary Wes Streeting was made clear as he announced the review on Thursday. The latest performance figures – the first published since the election
Health

NHS rolls out “speedy” MS injection

[ad_1] NHS EnglandNin Sambhi says the jab could make a difference to her and her familyThousands of people with multiple sclerosis (MS) in England, Wales and Northern Ireland will be offered a a new 10-minute injection that can help slow progression of the disease, NHS England says. The medicine, called ocrelizumab, is normally given as an infusion through a vein - a process that can take up to four hours