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Wes Streeting warns against ‘killing NHS with kindness’ as health secretary vows reform
Giving a speech on the main stage of the Labour Party conference in Liverpool, the health secretary said the NHS is “broken but not beaten”, accusing the previous Conservative administration of having betrayed the service by leaving it “totally unprepared for tomorrow”.
Mr Streeting told delegates on the final day of the conference that the government won’t put “protecting the reputation of the NHS above protecting patients”.
This came after Ara Darzi’s independent investigation into the state of the NHS, published in September, concluded that the service is in a “critical condition” amid surging waiting lists and a deterioration in the nation’s underlying health.
Referencing the report, the health secretary said: “I know the doctor’s diagnosis can sometimes be hard to hear. But if you don’t have an accurate diagnosis, you won’t provide the correct prescription.
“And when you put protecting the reputation of the NHS above protecting patients, you’re not helping the NHS – you’re killing it with kindness.
“So I say respectfully, but unequivocally, I won’t back down. The NHS is broken but not beaten, and together we will turn it around.”
Mr Streeting told delegates that “a crack team” of senior doctors will be brought in to implement reforms aimed at getting patients treated faster and help people get back to work to reduce waiting lists, unemployment and economic inactivity.
According to the Office for National Statistics, some 2.8 million people are out of work due to ill health – 500,000 more than in 2019.
Some 85 per cent of those people are long-term sick, a report by the BCG and NHS Confederation published earlier this month found.
The Office for Budget Responsibility forecasts that the bill for sickness and disability benefits will soar by £30bn in the next five years.
“And I can announce today that the first 20 hospitals targeted by these teams will be in areas with the highest numbers of people off work sick.
“Because our reforms are focused not only on delivering our health mission but also moving the dial on our growth mission too.”
Source: The Independent, 26 September 2024
See also: Labour – Press Release: Wes Streeting speech at Labour Party Conference 2024 | Lord Darzi – Independent investigation of the NHS in England
Editorial note: Wes Streeting’s speech also reiterated the importance of prevention healthcare, stating that “Without action on prevention, the NHS will be overwhelmed” and concluding that “if we get this this right, we will end two-tier healthcare in our country for good. So that preventative care, precision medicine, personalised treatment are no longer just for the few, but for the many. That a fairer future is possible. But only if we act today. An NHS running on fax machines can’t seize these opportunities. But a reformed NHS can. From analogue to digital, from hospital to community, from sickness to prevention.”
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Pressure mounts on publisher of Economist over ties to tobacco
Last week, the Guardian revealed that Economist Impact, a division of the Economist Group that ran 136 events in its latest financial year, had been forced to cancel a high-profile world cancer conference in Brussels at the last minute after a backlash from speakers and those due to attend.
The investigation found that Economist Impact has deep ties with Philip Morris International (PMI), Japan Tobacco International (JTI) and British American Tobacco (BAT).
Now the future of two conferences due to take place in London also hang in the balance. Future of Health Europe was due to have more than 100 speakers and more than 550 people attending, while the AI in Health summit had about 60 speakers and more than 300 attending.
Seventeen leading UK health executives were due to speak at the two conferences. They included the chief scientific officer for England, the chief medical officer of the Scottish government, and NHS England’s national clinical director for infection management and antimicrobial resistance, as well as senior executives at a number of NHS trusts, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice).
But more than a dozen prominent health experts have so far pulled out of the conference this week after the Guardian’s revelations, including Sue Hill, the chief scientific officer for England, and Matt Inada-Kim, NHS England’s national clinical director for infection management and antimicrobial resistance, as well as speakers representing Nice, the UKHSA, the Greater Manchester Integrated Care Board, Imperial Healthcare Partners, and Guy’s & St Thomas’ NHS foundation trust.
International health experts have also withdrawn from the conference. A spokesperson for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) confirmed that Francesca Colombo, the head of its health division, was no longer speaking and that the OECD would “no longer be represented at the Future of Health Europe event”.
The three tobacco companies, which own some of the world’s most popular cigarette brands including Marlboro, Benson & Hedges, Dunhill and Pall Mall, have multimillion-dollar contracts with Economist Impact, extending to editorial coverage, which commonly has a pro-tobacco angle, and event sponsorship.
Source: The Guardian, 25 September 2024
See also: Tobacco Tactics – Tobacco industry tactics
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Opinion: As a doctor, I’m no apologist for Wes Streeting – but here’s where he’s right about the NHS
Writing for the Guardian, Dr Rachel Clarke, palliative care doctor and the author of Breathtaking: Inside the NHS in a Time of Pandemic, critiques anonymous NHS senior sources who expressed concern over health secretary Wes Streeting's blunt depiction of the NHS crisis. Dr Clarke, while not defending Streeting, dismisses fears that Streeting’s comments might demoralize staff and alarm patients, arguing this attitude has contributed to the system's decay.
Dr Clarke contrasts Streeting’s frankness with 14 years of Conservative denial about the NHS’s deteriorating state, which allowed the situation to worsen. Dr Clarke welcomes Streeting's approach, laying bare the grim realities of NHS failings such as long A&E waits and the UK's poor cancer survival rates. Despite objections to his tone, Dr Clarke, drawing on their experience as a palliative care doctor, believes that facts not tone should take precedence, arguing that acknowledging these realities is a crucial first step toward addressing the NHS crisis.
Dr Clarke, however, maintains that while Streeting’s honesty is a breath of fresh air, it lacks any concrete plan to inject the necessary resources for real reform. The NHS has a long history of prioritising reputation management over patient care and staff wellbeing, as seen in past scandals. Despite Streeting's candid remarks offering hope, Dr Clarke warns that without significant and genuine efforts to back his rhetoric with resources and real action, the NHS may face even deeper challenges under Labour's watch.
Source: The Guardian, 25 September 2024
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Obesity rates in England stabilise for first time in two decades
The number of children who are overweight has fallen to the lowest level since 2000, while obesity rates in adults have remained stable for the past five years.
The data from the annual NHS health survey indicates that a trend of gradually expanding waistlines, which has been continuing since records began in 1993, is finally levelling off. This reflects the impact of public health measures such as the sugar tax, as well as growing concerns over ultra-processed foods among the health-conscious middle classes.
The Labour government has vowed to go further by introducing measures including a watershed ban on junk food advertising. Experts hope that these measures, combined with new weight-loss injections such as Ozempic, mean obesity rates could be put into reverse for the first time.
The annual data published on Tuesday, covering 2022, measured the height and weight of 9,000 adults and children across England, to determine their body mass index (BMI). In total 27 per cent of children aged 2 to 15 were found to be overweight or obese, the lowest level since 2000, and down from 30 per cent in 2019 and a peak of 34 per cent in 2004.
Campaigners welcomed signs that obesity was plateauing, but said further public health measures were vital to help people lose weight and reduce the burden on the NHS.
Katharine Jenner, the director of the Obesity Health Alliance, said: “If there is any levelling off, it could be due to a number of factors, including healthier food becoming more visible with junk food removed from supermarket checkouts, and calories available on menus.”
However, she said that large disparities remained between the wealthiest and poorest in society. Thirty-six per cent of people in the most deprived areas are obese, compared with 22 per cent in the richest areas.
Ministers have announced that junk food products and services will be banned on social media and television next year, as the first of a raft of public health measures Sir Keir Starmer says are essential to save the NHS.
Source: The Times, 24 September 2024
See also: NHS England - Health Survey for England, 2022 Part 2
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Half of Premier League clubs breaking code on gambling ads for children
A review of gambling regulation published last year resulted in English football clubs avoiding any new government-imposed restrictions affecting their income from betting sponsorship.
Instead, Premier League clubs volunteered to forgo front-of-shirt betting logos from 2026 and also signed up to new rules for sponsorship, drafted in collaboration with the gambling industry’s lobby group, the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC).
The move was designed to show that clubs and gambling companies were acting responsibly, amid concerns about football promoting betting and the impact it could have on young and vulnerable people.
But 10 of 20 Premier League clubs did not appear to be abiding by their own code as of Monday. At least two clubs displayed members of their under-18 squad wearing shirts with betting logos on them, despite being underage.
The findings prompted concern from campaigners including former ITV football commentator Clive Tyldesley and former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith about allowing clubs to set their own rules on gambling sponsorship.
The voluntary code, published in July, states that clubs must ensure that “no gambling sponsor logos […] are included on any materials or section of a website which have been designed to be viewed or used specifically by children”.
But betting logos appear on club shop pages aimed at children, under-18 football content and even pages dedicated to “junior” fan forums and mascots, according to analysis by the Guardian and The Pitch Inspection, an online football investigations journal.
In September 2022, Betway was fined more than £400,000 after its logo was found on a page of the West Ham website where young fans were invited to colour in a teddy bear.
Charles Ritchie, of the campaign group Gambling With Lives, said fresh concerns about gambling logos attached to content aimed at minors indicated that “nothing’s been learned”.
“The gambling industry continues to use football clubs to ensure young fans are just a click away from harmful products,” he added.
Source: The Guardian, 26 September 2024
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