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** 08 September 2021
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** UK
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** Nurse shortage 'delaying treatment for 21% of UK cancer patients' (#1)
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** E-cigarettes should come with tobacco-style warnings on packaging, doctors say (#2)
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** Kent fire fighters warn of dangers of discarded cigarettes after stubble fire (#3)
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** COVID-19: Pandemic left northern England with higher death rates and longer rates (#4)
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** Date set for spending review and autumn budget (#5)
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** Study finds growing government use of sensitive data to 'nudge' behaviour (#6)
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** UK
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** A new report has stated that more than 600,000 cancer patients in the UK are facing treatment delays or missing out on vital support because of a shortage in specialist nurses. The analysis by Macmillan Cancer Support found that one in five of all those living with cancer are lacking dedicated support and that the NHS is suffering from a ‘’shocking’’ shortfall of 3,000 specialist nurses in England alone.
The report found that consequently cancer patients were struggling with medication, were having hospital appointments cancelled because of staff shortages, or were experiencing devastating delays to chemotherapy treatment. It found that in some cases patients were ending up in A&E.
The report found that the problem had worsened considerably during the COVID-19 pandemic with the number of people lacking support from a specialist cancer nurse rising to one in four of all those diagnosed in the last two years, including at least 75,00 people diagnosed since the start of the pandemic. It found that almost half (44%) of patients diagnosed with cancer in the last two years who lacked support from a specialist nurse experienced potentially harmful problems as a result.
Amongst other findings, it found that patients lacking specialist nursing support were much more likely to experience depression or anxiety after their cancer diagnosis and that almost one in three (31%) of cancer patients in the UK felt the nurses looking after them had unmanageable workloads. Macmillan is calling on the Government to launch a cancer nurse fund of £124m and to train an extra 3,371 specialist cancer nurses in England at the upcoming comprehensive spending review.
Source: The Guardian, 8 September 2021
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** E-cigarettes should come with tobacco-style health warnings on the packaging in the opinion of a group of public health experts in 15 countries. They claim that there is enough concern about the risks of vaping to justify it. Th experts also say that warnings on heated tobacco vapes “should not be softer” than real cigarettes and want vaping outlawed in indoor public spaces.
However, UK public health authorities ([link removed]) say that the use of e-cigarettes should be encouraged as they are widely recognised as being far safer than smoking tobacco and can help smokers quit.
Source: The Sun, 7 September 2021
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** The Kent Fire and Rescue Service is warning the public to take extra care with discarded cigarettes following a stubble field fire in Maidstone caused by a discarded cigarette. Firefighters were called to the incident last night (7th September) with one fire engine attending and a hose used to fight the blaze. No casualties were reported.
Source: Kent Live, 7 September 2021
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** A new report commissioned by the Northern Health Science Alliance has found that people in the North of England were more likely to die from COVID-19, spent longer in lockdown, and were made poorer by the pandemic than the rest of the country. The report blamed ''potentially preventable deprivation and worse pre-pandemic health’’ for the disparities.
The report used government statistics to compare the North East, North West, and Yorkshire and the Humber to the rest of England. The report found that people in the north had a 17% higher COVID-19 mortality rate, spent an average of 41 more days in lockdown, and suffered an unemployment rate 19% higher than the rest of England.
The report also found that care home mortality was 24% higher in the north, 10% more hospital beds were occupied by COVID-19 patients in the North, and that the north had experienced a larger drop in mental wellbeing and a greater rise in antidepressant prescriptions following COVID-19. It further found that wages had fallen in the north whilst rising in the rest of the country.
The report argued that over half of the increased COVID-19 mortality and two-thirds of all-cause mortality in the North was potentially preventable, with pre-pandemic health inequalities playing a key role in the unequal impacts of the pandemic.
The report made several suggestions for improving the system in the North. It called for increased mental health provision for NHS and local authorities, increased capacity in northern hospitals, more funding for northern NHS trusts, the creation of northern ''Health for Life’’ centres, and to make health a key part of the ''levelling up’’ agenda.
Source: Sky News, 8 September 2021
See also: NHSA - A year of COVID-19 in the North: Regional inequalities in health and economic outcomes ([link removed])
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** The Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced that he will provide details of a three-year spending review and unveil the Autumn budget on 27 October. The date was set following the prime minister’s announcement that the Government will introduce a new levy of 1.25% to fund NHS and social care.
Source: LGC, 7 September 2021
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Researchers from the Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research (SCCJR) have warned that the rise of big tech firms has supercharged a new form of ‘'influence government’’ in which personal data is used to craft campaigns aimed at altering behaviour. The researchers say that national and local governments have turned to targeted adverts on search engines and social media platforms to try to ‘'nudge’’ the behaviour of people and the country at large.
The researchers argue that the shift to this new brand of governance has been facilitated by the introduction of nudge theory in policymaking together with an online advertising infrastructure that provides unforeseen opportunities for behavioural adjustment campaigns. The SCCJR cite the ‘'Cyber-Prevent’’ programme aimed at deterring young people from becoming online fraudsters as an example of the new ‘'nudge’’ governance.
The SCCJR warns that this kind of governance could cause harm. They say that it encourages departments to unquestioningly use personal data deduced from other parts of a person’s life without their knowledge or consent. They say that this policy can also focus negative attention on vulnerable and disadvantaged groups in ways that could be counterproductive. The researchers also argue that such campaigns should not be outsourced to third-party marketing groups.
Source: The Guardian, 8 September 2021
See also: SCCJR Briefing Paper - Influence government: Exploring practices, ethics, and power in the use of targeted advertising by the UK state ([link removed])
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