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Review of health regulator proposals launched

Review of health regulator proposals launched

Yahoo2 days ago
A review of draft legislation to regulate hospital, mental health and ambulance services has been launched.
A scrutiny sub-panel has been formed to consider the proposal that Jersey Care Commission becomes the independent regulator of these services on the island.
The States Assembly said the panel would hold public hearings with key stakeholders as well as invite feedback from private sector service providers who would fall under the remit of the new regulations.
The sub-panel chair Deputy Tom Coles said it was "an extremely important piece of legislation because it aims to protect every islander who uses our key health services".
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Formed as a sub-panel of the Environment, Housing and Infrastructure scrutiny panel, the chair is Deputy Tom Coles, the vice chair is Deputy Karen Wilson and the panel members are Deputy Helen Miles and Deputy Jonathan Renouf.
Scrutiny panels work on behalf of the States Assembly and examine the work of the Government, holding ministers to account for their decisions and actions.
Follow BBC Jersey on X and Facebook. Send your story ideas to channel.islands@bbc.co.uk.
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Panel to discuss role of regulation in Jersey
Watchdog looks to expand remit to include hospital
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Inside Prisons: Europe's New Front Line in Hepatitis Fight
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Inside Prisons: Europe's New Front Line in Hepatitis Fight

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the European Union Drugs Agency (EUDA) launched a new toolkit on August 7, 2025, ahead of Prisoners' Justice Day on 10 August. The launch of the European Toolkit for the Elimination of Viral Hepatitis in Prisons (EuroHePP) aims to support local efforts to eliminate viral hepatitis in prison settings in accordance with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal on Good Health and Well-Being. The EuroHePP provides practical guidance on preventing, evaluating, and treating hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) in prisons. Tackling viral hepatitis in these prison settings is essential to reach the UN target of eliminating hepatitis as a public health threat by 2030. Individuals in prison experience a higher incidence of viral hepatitis than the general population, making them a key group for targeted prevention and treatment of the disease. In Europe, individuals entering prisons are also more likely to have a history of injecting drug use, a major risk factor for HBV and HCV transmission. Sharing of injecting equipment and other risk factors, such as unsafe tattooing or body piercing practices, sharing of razors, and unprotected sex, make prisons a priority setting for targeted viral hepatitis prevention and treatment interventions. The toolkit was developed in collaboration with European experts and practitioners. The toolkit comprises four key sections: background, strategy development, strategy implementation, and monitoring and evaluation. It includes links to relevant public health guidance and practical tools to understand the context and define and implement an elimination strategy in prisons. Examples from prisons in Germany, Spain, France, Italy, and Luxembourg are provided to illustrate the models of care. Using this toolkit, the EUDA and ECDC provide practical, evidence-based information for those working in prison healthcare on how to establish interventions to prevent and control viral hepatitis in these settings. The information is also likely to be relevant to other audiences, including policymakers, security staff, people living in prisons, peer support workers, and voluntary workers. Further support for people working in prison healthcare will be available in the form of dedicated training sessions provided by the EUDA and ECDC in the coming months to facilitate the effective implementation of the toolkit and scaling up of services. Addressing Inequity The project highlights the principle of equivalence of care recognised in European and international law, which states that individuals in prison should receive the same healthcare as those in the community. As the ECDC stated: 'People deprived of their liberty must not also be deprived of their right to health.' A dossier titled Invisible Populations in Epidemiologia & Prevenzione , the journal of the Italian Association of Epidemiology, shows that infectious diseases remain a leading cause of preventable death in prisons. This research, led by Erica De Vita, MD, a resident in Hygiene and Preventive Medicine at the University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy, highlights how prison conditions, such as overcrowding, poor sanitation, rapid turnover, and fragile health, make inmates particularly vulnerable. These factors create a high-risk setting for the spread of infections, including hepatitis B, influenza, human papillomavirus, COVID-19, and pneumococcal disease. The article describes the RISE-Vac project, Reaching the hard-to-reach: increasing access and vaccine uptake among prison populations in Europe , coordinated by the University of Pisa. The project ended in November 2024 after working in six countries: Italy, the UK, France, Germany, Cyprus, and Moldova. Key outcomes included the establishment of vaccination clinics in prisons, such as in Milan, combined with awareness campaigns and health empowerment programs. The project also studied vaccine hesitancy among inmates and staff, showing that health literacy is crucial for improving vaccine acceptance and vaccination coverage. Public Health Impact The scope of the new European 'toolbox' goes beyond the prison walls. Short sentences and repeated incarcerations mean that the same group of people often move between prison and the community. Therefore, addressing health problems, such as viral hepatitis, in prison settings can also deliver health benefits to the wider community by reducing the overall disease burden and preventing future transmission of infections. According to ECDC experts in Stockholm, Sweden, the new toolkit is well-structured, adaptable, and evidence-based. They emphasised the need for political and organisational courage to make it central to public health efforts to fight viral hepatitis in prisons.

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Phone Support Lowers BMI in Preschool Kids

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Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Just Bought Into Beaten-Down UnitedHealth. Should Investors Follow Suit?

Key Points Warren Buffett and a few other high-profile investors bought UnitedHealth stock in Q2. The company has been struggling after it did a poor job of forecasting medical cost trends. However, it should have a clear path to fixing some of the issues it is facing. 10 stocks we like better than UnitedHealth Group › UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) has run into a very difficult stretch, with the stock price cut nearly in half over the past year. However, a few well-known investors scooped up shares of the stock in the second quarter, including Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A) (NYSE: BRK.B). Buffett, through Berkshire, bought more than 5 million shares of the managed care company, worth an estimated $1.6 billion. Meanwhile, Michael Burry, who became famous in the book and movie The Big Short for his bet against subprime mortgages, bought 20,000 shares. Billionaire David Tepper also increased his stake in the name during the quarter. 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This is a systemic issue impacting the whole U.S. healthcare system, but if UnitedHealth can find a way to incentivize members to use telehealth or urgent care, it could go a long way in helping to keep medical costs down. Repricing some plans should lead to a quick improvement, while changing consumer behavior will take longer. However, I think the worst should be over for UnitedHealth this year. As such, with the stock cut in half and trading at a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 16 times 2026 analyst estimates, I think investors can look to follow Buffett and these other well-known investors into the stock. Should you buy stock in UnitedHealth Group right now? Before you buy stock in UnitedHealth Group, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and UnitedHealth Group wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $671,466!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $1,115,633!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 1,077% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 185% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of August 18, 2025 Geoffrey Seiler has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Berkshire Hathaway. The Motley Fool recommends UnitedHealth Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Just Bought Into Beaten-Down UnitedHealth. Should Investors Follow Suit? was originally published by The Motley Fool Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data

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