Health Policy InsightHealthcare management online analysis and intelligence
Health Policy InsightWhen our teenage son was diagnosed with cancer, we joined the 3 million-strong army of unpaid carers in Australia. Now the TV series Dying for Sex gives caregiving the value it deserves
When I started watching the Disney+ show Dying for Sex, I was wary that the cancer storyline might hit a bit too close to home, after our teenage son was diagnosed with cancer in 2022.
The series follows Molly (Michelle Williams) who decides to leave her marriage and pursue sexual pleasure after being diagnosed with stage four cancer. And yet while it’s a difficult watch for obvious reasons, it wasn’t the “cancer stuff” that hit me where it hurts (everywhere); it was the portrayal of Nikki (Jenny Slate), Molly’s best friend, who takes over as carer when Molly leaves her husband. Nikki loses her job, her relationship, her house, her own mental health. And it’s very rare that we see the role of a carer highlighted in pop culture in this way.
Continue reading...Cancer Research UK says this is more than any other health condition and 350,000 years of productivity are lost
People dying early of cancer costs the UK economy £10.3bn a year, more than any other health condition, a study has revealed.
That is the total cost of the 350,000 years of lost productivity recorded across Britain every year because adults have died prematurely of the disease, according to Cancer Research UK (CRUK).
Continue reading...Rates are higher in young women as in young men and mental ill health up across age groups, study shows
Sharp rises in rates of anxiety, depression and other disorders have led to one in four young people in England having a common mental health condition, an NHS survey shows, with young women more likely to report them than young men.
The study found that rates of such conditions in 16- to 24-year-olds have risen by more than a third in a decade, from 18.9% in 2014 to 25.8% in 2024.
More than a fifth (22.6%) of adults aged 16 to 64 have a common mental health condition, up from 18.9% in 2014.
More than one in four adults (25.2%) reported having had suicidal thoughts during their lifetime, including about a third of 16- 24-year-olds (31.5%) and 25- to 34-year-olds (32.9%).
Self-harm rates have quadrupled since 2000 and risen from 6.4% in 2014 to 10.3% in 2024, with the highest rates among 16- to 24-year-olds at 24.6%, especially young women at 31.7%.
Continue reading...Decision to restrict thimerosal in immunizations could impact future vaccine availability on a global scale
A critical federal vaccine panel has recommended against seasonal influenza vaccines containing a specific preservative – a change likely to send shock through the global medical and scientific community and possibly impact future vaccine availability.
The panel was unilaterally remade by health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, a vaccine skeptic who has urged against the use of thimerosal despite a lack of evidence of real-world harm.
Continue reading...Pediatric health experts slam ACIP’s plans to reassess current vaccination schedules for children
Robert F Kennedy Jr’s newly appointed vaccine advisory panel is facing criticism from pediatricians after its announcement of plans to reassess the current vaccination schedules for children and adolescents.
Experts warn that the move appears designed to undermine public trust in immunization.
Continue reading...Steve Wilkinson says young pupils’ poor fitness is a cultural challenge that can only be resolved by parents’ choices
Once again, primary schools are expected to “fix” the obesity problem affecting young children (Majority of children will be overweight or obese in nine areas of England by 2035, study shows, 23 June). As a primary teacher and PE specialist, I know that this is largely ineffective.
While half an hour or even 45 minutes of vigorous exercise a day sounds like the answer, one has only to observe three things that completely undermine this: how the children travel, what is in their lunch box and what they do when they get home.
Continue reading...US health secretary says US will decline to renew funding for Gavi, a partnership that works to provide vaccines for poorest countries
Robert F Kennedy Jr will be “personally responsible” for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of children after he refused to renew US funding for a global vaccines body, public health experts said.
The US health secretary said Wednesday that the United States would halt funding for Gavi, the vaccine alliance that has immunised more than one billion children since 2000, in a statement that has also been criticised for spreading disinformation on vaccine safety.
Continue reading...PM says conversations over changes to bill will ‘continue in coming days’ with more than 120 MPs poised to rebel
Keir Starmer has confirmed Downing Street is offering concessions to rebel Labour MPs to get his welfare bill over the line.
The prime minister told the Commons he wanted “values of fairness” to underpin the legislation so the government could “get this right” on fixing the broken benefits system.
Continue reading...Few patients will be eligible for the drugs. Better food regulation and social policy are more likely to give lasting results
A medicine that takes away your appetite by making you feel full and a bit nauseous doesn’t sound very attractive, but it is a price many people are ready to pay for the chance to lose weight. Although widely available privately, until this week only doctors in specialist clinics were allowed to prescribe tirzepatide (Mounjaro) to treat obesity on the NHS and it was almost impossible for GPs to get their patients into these clinics. People up and down England will no doubt rejoice at the news that their own doctor can now prescribe it.
Any celebrations may be premature, as the criteria for prescription in the first phase of the rollout are so tightly drawn that few patients will qualify. You need a body mass index (BMI) of more than 40, which corresponds to a weight of 102kg (16st) for a woman of average height or 123kg (more than 19st) for a man. (The BMI criterion is slightly lower if you come from a high-risk group.)
Continue reading...Recognition remains an ‘urgent safety risk’ and relatives’ concerns are too often ignored, says Health Services Safety Investigations Body
Sepsis is causing thousands of deaths a year, a charity has said, as the NHS’s safety watchdog warned that doctors and nurses are too often slow to identify and treat it.
“The recognition of sepsis remains an urgent and persistent safety risk”, despite previous reports highlighting the large number of deaths it causes when diagnosed too late, according to the Health Services Safety Investigations Body.
Continue reading...Proportion of women giving birth after fertility treatment up by more than a third in a decade, figures reveal
The proportion of women giving birth after fertility treatment in the UK has increased by more than a third in a decade, with the equivalent of one child in every classroom now born as a result of IVF, figures show.
One in 32 births in 2023 were the result of in vitro fertilisation, up 34% from one in 43 in 2013, according to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA).
Continue reading...UK health officials launch study into side-effects of weight loss drugs after increased reports of acute pancreatitis
Hundreds of people have reported problems with their pancreas linked to taking weight loss and diabetes injections, prompting health officials to launch a study into side-effects.
Some cases of pancreatitis reported to be linked to GLP-1 medicines (glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists) have been fatal.
Continue reading...Health secretary unilaterally appointed ACIP’s eight new members, several of whom are critical of immunizations
The first meeting of a critical federal vaccine panel was a high-profile display of how the US health secretary and vaccine skeptic Robert F Kennedy Jr has injected chaos into vaccine policy infrastructure.
Wednesday’s meeting was held amid controversy, not only regarding the new members unilaterally appointed by Kennedy, but also the questions they would consider, their conflicts of interest and views on vaccines, and the scheduled speakers.
Continue reading...Dr Michael Ross was involved in multiple private healthcare firms and withdrew after a review of financial holdings
A member of the health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr’s newly overhauled federal vaccine advisory panel withdrew after a conflict of interest review, a spokesperson has told the Guardian.
Dr Michael Ross, who was involved in multiple private healthcare companies, withdrew after review of his financial holdings.
Continue reading...Five-year £1.25bn pledge to Gavi is 40% cut in real terms, which experts say will cost lives in developing countries
The UK has cut its funding to a leading global vaccination group by a quarter, a move that experts say will directly lead to the avoidable deaths of many thousands of children in developing countries.
The Foreign Office billed the £1.25bn commitment over five years to the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (Gavi) as a major boost to the group’s work as well as to the UK’s status as a developer of vaccines. A series of aid agencies praised the decision.
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