Getty Images Fixing the struggling palliative care system must be an immediate priority for the government, now that MPs have backed changing the law to allow assisted dying, senior doctors say. The Association for Palliative Medicine (APM) says there is a risk the funding needed to pay for doctors and the courts to oversee assisted … Read more
Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust Dr Mike Blaber has called for more funding and more focus on improving end-of-life care The state of end-of-life care needs needs to be “fixed” before considering legalising assisted dying, a palliative care specialist has said. MPs across the country are set to vote on Friday whether to take … Read more
Getty Images GPs, care homes and hospices have voiced concerns about the impact of the rise in employer National Insurance contributions announced in the Budget. The NHS and rest of the public sector are exempt from the tax rise – but that does not cover private care homes or hospices which provide NHS services. There … Read more
Getty Images The Liberal Democrats have called on the government to exempt social care from the rise in National Insurance. The party said the chancellor had provided extra funding for the NHS and other public sector organisations to cover the cost of the tax rise – but because the vast majority of care providers are … Read more
PA Media Donna Ockenden says the NHS failed to provide safe care for her daughter Phoebe when she was rushed to A&E A leading midwife who has led reviews into care failings in the NHS has criticised the health service for “failing” to give her daughter safe care. Donna Ockenden, from Sussex, says her daughter … Read more
Cheshire Police New evidence seen by the BBC suggests more babies in Lucy Letby’s care were harmed – and in one case poisoned with insulin. The former nurse was found guilty of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder seven others – including trying to kill two with insulin at the Countess of Chester Hospital … Read more
FAMILY HANDOUT Nicole, who has severe ME, is looked after by her daughter Maeve Boothby-O’Neill’s final days were harrowing. The 27-year-old was confined to bed all day, unable to chew food and no longer able to sit up – she was severely ill with myalgic encephalomyelitis, or ME, and as a consequence severely malnourished. Her … Read more
Getty Images The focus on puberty blockers in the gender-care debate is disproportionate, the paediatrician who led the NHS review into children’s services, says. Dr Hilary Cass said the merits of the treatment used to delay the onset of puberty had been “oversold” and there was “very limited” evidence they were of use. Adults with … Read more
Family handout/PA Media Maeve Boothby-O’Neill died at home in Exeter in October 2021 A coroner has highlighted the lack of specialist care for patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) after the death of a 27-year-old woman. Deborah Archer has spoken out following the death of Maeve Boothby-O’Neill, who had suffered with ME for a decade before … Read more
BBC Rita Orr said she pleaded for two years to get extra support for her son, Callum The mother of a teenager with severe learning difficulties says she was so desperate for help from social services that she felt she had “no option” but to drop him at school and not return to pick him … Read more