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NHS to cut increased cancer testing so it can fund pay rises
The NHS is to scale back plans for increased cancer testing in order to fund staff pay rises, with Britain’s leading expert warning that more cases could be missed.
Prof Sir Mike Richards, Chair of the UK National Screening Committee, said the plans – which will see money earmarked for cancer diagnostics diverted to cover pay increases – could damage services that were already “woefully” under-funded.
Writing for The Telegraph, Richards said it was right that NHS staff should be properly rewarded but funding for diagnostic capacity “must not be compromised” as a result.
The Telegraph reveals that the number of patients waiting at least two months for cancer treatment, despite being given an urgent referral, has doubled since the start of the pandemic.
Almost 27,000 patients with suspected cancer faced such waits by the end of May – up from around 13,000 in February 2020.
Amanda Pritchard, NHS Chief Executive, wrote to hospital bosses this week warning that almost nine in 10 of those enduring such delays were waiting for diagnostic tests.
Source: The Telegraph, 29 July 2022
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Number of Scots trying to quit smoking drops by more than half
Data from Public Health Scotland has revealed that between 2018/19 and 2021/22, the number of attempts to quit smoking dropped from 51,115 to 23,503.
The data also revealed there were 3,913 successful attempts at quitting which lasted more than 12 weeks in 2021/22 – a fall from 7,258 in 2018/19.
However, Public Health Scotland notes that the measurements were changed in 2018/19 to exclude attempts at quitting in prisons, meaning figures prior to this period are based on different definitions and therefore cannot be directly compared.
The Scottish Government is aiming to reduce the number of smokers in Scotland to 5% of the population by 2034.
Source: The Scotsman, 29 July 2022
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Opinion: Boris Johnson is planning to fill the Lords with his cronies and legitimise bribery
Former Prime Minister and Labour leader Gordon Brown, alleges that Boris Johnson is planning to appoint up to 50 new Conservative Peers to the House of Lords before leaving office, in violation constitutional convention. The plans are allegedly outlined in a leaked document prepared for Boris Johnson by Lynton Crosby’s lobbying firm, CT Group.
According to Brown, the document proposes that Johnson should “ride roughshod over every convention and standard of propriety” by appointing political nominees who will be required to give a “written undertaking to attend and vote with the [Conservative] government.”
Brown also alleges that “compliant lords” will be rewarded with positions, while those who do not attend votes will be put on a “name and shame”.
Brown states that: "The report is also useful cover for Crosby, whose firm has had close links with the tobacco industry, when it states that the creation of Tory peers is also justified by the refusal so far of the Lords to vote for a “laissez-faire attitude to tobacco manufacturers and importers”."
Brown concludes this document is powerful leverage for Keir Starmer’s leadership commitment to abolish the House of Lords.
Source: The Guardian, 29 July 2022
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Bigger warnings and no branding on Jersey cigarette boxes from today
Packaging on cigarettes in Jersey will be standardised from today (1 August) in a bid to reduce the number of smokers in the island.
The move will see branding removed, with new, bigger warnings and information on how to quit.
ITV Channel has spoken to shops who are unsure if they will be reimbursed by suppliers for the old stock they have remaining.
Director of Public Health, Professor Peter Bradley, said: "Quitting smoking is one of the most important things people can do to improve their health."
"We have ongoing support for smokers to stop through the Island’s Help2Quit service and we are hopeful that all these actions together will work towards a generation of non-smokers".
Source: ITV, 1 August 2022
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