Including an expanded Mounjaro rollout and 'online hospital'
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Hello everyone, It's party conference season, and for me the standout moment from Labour's event had to be health secretary Wes Streeting belting out Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me at the final night's big bash. If his promise to fix the NHS doesn't work out, he could certainly have a second career on stage. I wrote about some of the behind-the-scenes conversations regarding health policy at the conference – you can read more on that in my piece below. There were two main health announcements: the launch of an "online hospital" and a pledge of fair pay for social care staff. On the latter, the Health Foundation think tank was clear that the £500 million promised would not be enough to make a meaningful difference to salaries in the sector. Streeting also suggested that an expanded rollout of weight-loss jabs could be on the horizon. Addressing inequality was another major theme of the conference, and with that in mind I want to leave you with a piece from my colleague and Independent columnist James Moore, who examines the state's ongoing failures in supporting people with autism. He writes: "The story of how the autistic teenager Tamzin Hall came to die in November last year still shocks me." Autistic people with high support needs are being failed by multiple agencies across the UK, Moore argues – a fight he knows all too well, having battled for his own child's care for several years. See you next week... |
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| Well Enough by Emilie Lavinia | Monday |
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Last week, I focused on Donald Trump's "nonsense" claims about paracetamol, autism and children's vaccines. At the Labour Party conference – held in the same city where a child recently died from measles – the fear of health "misinformation" and its growing reach was palpable. The issue gave Wes Streeting the chance to take aim at Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, criticising both his failure to challenge Trump's claims and the platform his party provided to the now infamous anti-vaxxer Dr Assem Malhotra. At several of the conference fringe events I chaired, experts voiced serious concerns about how this rhetoric – and the growing confidence of those spreading it – could damage public health. |
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The anti-oxidents in fresh fruit could combat harmful air pollution, scientists have suggested |
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During one session on air pollution, we also tackled climate change denial, another of President Trump's favoured talking points. The discussion highlighted that introducing new public health measures – from tackling air quality to regulating healthy eating – requires bringing the public with you, rather than leaving people feeling something is being done to them. Bradford Council leader Susan Hinchcliffe spoke about this challenge first-hand when introducing a clean air zone in her city. And with the ban on "buy one get one free" deals on junk food coming into effect this week, the question remains: will the public back the push to tackle obesity? |
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Do you support mandatory online GP booking? |
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From October, every GP practice in England must offer online appointment booking – a move designed to end the dreaded "8am scramble". But doctors' leaders say it could put patients at risk, and the BMA is even threatening industrial action. What do you think – is mandatory online booking a good idea? Cast your vote here. Last week, I asked what you felt was an acceptable wait for a routine NHS appointment, after news that the government is on track to miss its pledge to cut waiting times. The results were mixed: 34% said a week was long enough, 47% said within a month, 17% were happy to wait up to three months, and just 2% thought long waits were unavoidable. Reader Steve Hill responded: "If a GP appointment, it should be same day or next – that used to be normal here and still is across much of Europe. For a hospital consultant, a month is reasonable at most, and far quicker if it's something urgent like suspected cancer." |
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