Health Policy InsightHealthcare management online analysis and intelligence
Health Policy InsightExclusive: Analysis by Royal Society for Public Health suggests obesity rates will rise in 90% of the country
The majority of children will be overweight or obese in nine areas of England by 2035, according to “deeply concerning” projections showing child obesity rates are set to worsen across 90% of the country.
More than a third of primary school children (36%) are already overweight or obese, figures from the government’s national child measurement programme show.
Continue reading...About 220,000 patients expected to receive Mounjaro over three years as GPs can prescribe the drugs for the first time
Thousands of patients in England will be able to access weight-loss jabs via their GP from Monday for the first time.
The mass rollout on the NHS means family doctors will be allowed to prescribe the drugs for the first time. About 220,000 people with “greatest need” are expected to receive Mounjaro, also known as tirzepatide and made by Eli Lilly, on the NHS over the next three years.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Analysis finds domestic abuse training for staff in England and Wales ‘sporadic and inconsistent’
Domestic abuse is a public health emergency, experts have claimed, after a report concluded that the NHS is failing victims by not training staff to spot and respond to the signs of domestic violence.
About one in four people (21.6%) in England and Wales aged 16 years and over have experienced domestic abuse, affecting 12.6 million people, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics.
Continue reading...Visitors staying at ‘healing retreats’ bring vital income to the diverse cultures of the region, writes Enrico Malatesta, while Emily Webster says there is no need to leave the UK to find shamanic healing. Plus, a letter by John Lowrie
Your article (‘Ayahuasca tourism’ is a blight on Indigenous peoples and our environment, 17 June) brings up important concerns but it looks at a complicated issue too narrowly. It is worth remembering that the word “ayahuasca” itself is not a modern invention, but a Quechua term meaning “vine of the soul”. It is just one of many names used for the ceremonial medicine across different Indigenous cultures – others include yagé, kamarampi, caapi, oasca and daime. Suggesting that only “hayakwaska” is “correct” erases the diversity of ancestral traditions across the Amazon basin.
The claim that ayahuasca is marketed as a “mystical shortcut” overlooks the reality: real work with this medicine is neither quick nor easy. True healing through ayahuasca involves deep inner effort, often accompanied by discomfort, surrender and courage – whether one is Indigenous or not.
Continue reading...From medically unqualified influencers pushing expensive supplements online, to nurses peddling myths about pregnancy, I had to find out all I could about my condition myself. This is what I’ve learned
I suspected I had polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) long before it was confirmed. The signs were there: the acne scars that littered my back, the irregular periods, the hair in places on my body that I didn’t see on many of my friends. I suspected it from the moment that one of my best friends, who as a girl taught me about bleaching my body hair and waxing my legs, was diagnosed with it as a teenager.
Admitting all this publicly feels like an unburdening, but also an invitation to more shame. But I write this because my experience is far from unique. As many as one in 10 women have PCOS, a condition associated with hormonal disturbances that can range from weight gain, “unwanted” body hair and hair loss, to irregular periods and struggles to conceive children (including an increased risk of miscarriage). It can leave women more likely to develop high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes and heart disease. It is not clear what causes PCOS, but it is known to be passed down generational lines and can be influenced by lifestyle.
Continue reading...‘There isn’t a budget for this,’ health secretary says after MPs vote to legalise procedure in England and Wales
Wes Streeting has voiced doubts over whether the NHS can afford to establish an assisted dying service, after MPs passed a bill to legalise the procedure last week.
The health secretary was previously a supporter of assisted dying but switched sides last year, expressing concerns about the ethics of offering such a service before significant improvements could be made to the NHS.
Continue reading...The Maha campaign seeks to warn Americans of the dangers of ultra-processed foods
Federal health officials are seeking to launch a “bold, edgy” public service campaign to warn Americans of the dangers of ultra-processed foods in social media, transit ads, billboards and even text messages.
And they potentially stand to profit off the results.
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