Rishi Sunak says timing of action days before general election appears to be ‘politically motivated’ to help Labour
Up to 100,000 patients in England face having their NHS care cancelled days before the general election after junior doctors announced a fresh wave of strike action, with Rishi Sunak saying it appeared to be politically motivated.
Health leaders expressed alarm, warning the five-day strike would jeopardise efforts to tackle the record waiting list and “hit patients hard”.
Wes Streeting says another Conservative term could result in waiting list swelling to 10m cases
Labour has promised to clear the NHS waiting list backlog in England within five years, with Wes Streeting warning that the health service risks becoming “a poor service for poor people” while the wealthy shift to using private care.
In an interview with the Guardian, the shadow health secretary said that in another Conservative term the total waiting list in England could grow to 10m cases, with healthcare becoming as degraded as NHS dental services.
Victims of the contaminated blood scandal finally got some of the justice they have been seeking this week when Sir Brian Langstaff published the final report of his inquiry. The Guardian’s John Harris speaks to the Greater Manchester mayor, Andy Burnham, who has campaigned for those affected by the disaster and was the health secretary from 2009-10
Models suggest deaths in poorer countries could be cut by 18% – or about 750,000 a year – with preventive measures
Every year 750,000 deaths linked to drug-resistant superbugs could be prevented through better access to clean water and sanitation, infection control and childhood vaccinations, research suggests.
Antimicrobial resistance, or AMR, is a huge global challenge, with the evolution of drug-resistant superbugs, driven by factors including inappropriate and excessive antibiotic use, raising the prospect of a future where modern medicine fails.
The struggling NHS, the climate crisis, education and childcare will be among the issues on voters’ minds
Rishi Sunak has sought to frame the Conservatives as the party of the future and one that can be trusted with the economy and national security.
The prime minister, who once billed himself as the “change candidate” and unsuccessfully tried to distance himself from years of Conservative rule, now claims his party’s experience in government makes it more likely than Labour to have a secure plan for the future.
Last September, the MP was admitted to hospital with septic shock, which resulted in kidney and liver failure, as well as blood clots that made his limbs turn black.
Open letter by Royal College of GPs says system fails to equitably distribute money and contributes to wider health inequalities
Ministers must “radically” reform the way GP funding is allocated across the country because it results in the poorest areas receiving inadequate healthcare, family doctors have warned.
The Royal College of GPs (RCGP) wrote in an open letter that the Carr-Hill formula, which has been used to allocated core GP funding since 2004, is outdated as it does not equitably distribute funds and as a result has contributed to the widening of health inequalities across the country.
Diagnoses up 39% in six years, with condition fuelled by obesity, health inequalities and junk food, study finds
The number of people under 40 being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in the UK has risen 39% in six years, fuelled by soaring obesity levels and cheap junk food.
Britain has one of the highest obesity rates in Europe. Two in three adults are overweight or obese and the NHS spends £6bn a year treating obesity-related ill-health. That is forecast to rise to £10bn a year by 2050.
Stuart Bolitho on why his life is still a ticking timebomb, more than 30 years after he was given contaminated blood, Marjorie Haynes on her father, who she believes died from Aids in the days before blood was tested, and Christine Hancock on a warning that wasn’t heeded
On Monday, I learned that 33 years after I was given a contaminated blood transfusion, the government has admitted that I and thousands of others were victims of a corrupt, careless system, and that we should receive compensation (UK infected blood scandal made worse by ‘chilling’ cover-up, inquiry finds, 20 May). It is a hollow victory.
I received a transfusion that contained hepatitis C after a stomach operation. I was fortunate to survive, unlike many others. My thoughts go out to their families. Although I have survived so far, hepatitis C can lead to liver cancer at any time. It’s a time bomb and is so frightening.
Minister to set out £10bn scheme after pledge from Rishi Sunak to pay ‘whatever it costs’
Thousands of victims of the infected blood scandal and their families are to learn how ministers plan to compensate them for their suffering and loss of earnings after Rishi Sunak pledged to pay “whatever it costs”.
The details of the long-delayed scheme, which is expected to cost more than £10bn, will be set out by the Cabinet Office minister John Glen on Tuesday.
The final report on the infected blood scandal details the litany of government and healthcare failures which led to thousands of people being infected with HIV and Hepatitis C. It contains harsh words for doctors, ministers and civil servants, but it also aims to shine a light on the heartbreaking stories of pain and loss from victims and their families. Here are some of their reactions to the report in Westminster on Monday.
‘We must make sure nothing like this happens again’, Rishi Sunak exclaimed. Except it will
Remember Hillsborough? Remember Grenfell? Remember the Post Office Horizon scandal? Of course you do. So you probably don’t have much faith in organisations and government to tell the truth. Because on every occasion, what you get from politicians is a lot of hand-wringing. Bucketfuls of faux piety. Verging on the lachrymose. Not forgetting the sincerity. Always the sincerity.
“This. Must. Never. Be. Allowed. To. Happen. Again,” they say. Talking extra slowly and over-emphasising each word. Because this time they think the public might be watching them. Because this time they expect to be believed. “Read my lips. I’m an honest broker.” Except we all know they’re not. That every time they say this mustn’t happen again, there’s another thing coming just round the corner they had said must never happen again.
The grave failures of politicians, civil servants and the NHS over decades must lead to change
Nothing can bring back the 3,000 or so people who died as a result of contaminated blood products given to them by the NHS from the 1970s to the early 1990s. Thousands of others continue to struggle with viruses acquired in the same way, while others live with the knowledge that loved ones, including children, died or were infected needlessly. The report of the infected blood inquiry, published on Monday, has been far too long in coming. Victims of this disgraceful episode were fobbed off for decades, before the then prime minister Theresa May agreed to a public inquiry in 2017.
That decision was taken under strong pressure from campaigners. Andy Evans, who was infected with hepatitis C and HIV as a child, has described the official response as “kicking and screaming” all the way. The statement by the inquiry’s chair, Sir Brian Langstaff, on Monday was greeted with a standing ovation. But campaigners’ relief is mingled with anger and sadness. Truth, justice and accountability should not have been delayed for so long.
Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.
Key people and groups involved in perpetuating and covering up the public health disaster, and those who brought it to light
The infected blood scandal could largely have been avoided and there was a cover-up to hide the truth, an inquiry has concluded.
Patients were knowingly exposed to unacceptable risks of infection, the inquiry found, and deliberate attempts were made to conceal the disaster, including by Whitehall officials destroying documents.
Groups representing victims say trust in government can no longer be taken for granted after report finds evidence of cover-up
Politicians “should hang their heads in shame” over the contaminated blood scandal, victims’ groups have said, and warned of future disasters because lessons have not been learned.
Groups representing those infected with HIV and hepatitis C while being treated between 1970 and 1991 said the public inquiry’s final report vindicated victims who were “gaslit” and treated like “conspiracy theorists” for calling out the worst treatment disaster in NHS history.
PM gives statement following report that found ‘subtle, pervasive and chilling’ cover-up by NHS and government
GB News has described the Ofcom ruling against it today (see 10.51am and 11.01am) as an “alarming development” that should “terrify” anyone who believes in a free media. Here is its response to the judgment in full.
Ofcom’s finding against GB News today is an alarming development in its attempt to silence us by standing in the way of a forum that allows the public to question politicians directly.
The regulator’s threat to punish a news organisation with sanctions for enabling people to challenge their own prime minister strikes at the heart of democracy at a time when it could not be more vital.
In considering whether the programme was duly impartial, we took into account a range of factors, such as: the audience’s questions to the prime minister; the prime minister’s responses; the presenter’s contribution; and whether due impartiality was preserved through clearly linked and timely programmes. Our investigation found, in summary, that:
-while some of the audience’s questions provided some challenge to, and criticism of, the government’s policies and performance, audience members were not able to challenge the prime minister’s responses and the presenter did not do this to any meaningful extent;
Given the very high compliance risks this programme presented, we found GB News’s approach to compliance to be wholly insufficient, and consider it could have, and should have, taken additional steps to mitigate these risks.
We found that an appropriately wide range of significant viewpoints were not presented and given due weight in the People’s Forum: The Prime Minister, nor was due impartiality preserved through clearly linked and timely programmes. As a result, we consider that the prime minister had a mostly uncontested platform to promote the policies and performance of his government in a period preceding a UK general election.
A day of reckoning has arrived, more than 50 years since the first victims received infected blood. The UK public inquiry has published its final report, which it is hoped will provide a measure of justice to the thousands of people affected by apportioning blame to the government and health service, and paving the way for a formal apology and compensation scheme. Here are the main points covered.
Chair to share findings of investigation into NHS infection of thousands with HIV or hepatitis C over more than 20 years
The infected blood public inquiry is to publish its final report on the failings that led to the deaths of more than 3,000 people in the UK and ruined many more lives.
The report will detail how more than 30,000 haemophiliacs or transfusion recipients were infected with HIV and/or hepatitis C over more than two decades, and is seen as a seismic moment for the victims and their families.
Exclusive: Experts call for higher taxes and tougher regulation as research shows cost to NHS, other public services and economy
The cost of alcohol abuse is laid bare in a new study that shows £27bn a year being spent in England on the health and social harms of drinking.
The research that found the extra burden on the NHS, social services, the criminal justice system and the labour market cost at least 37% more than in 2003, when comparable research by the Cabinet Office estimated the costs at between £18.5bn and £20bn.
Login
