'Unpalatable' cuts for Powys health board to find £35m savings
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Daily Mirror
4 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
'I cracked my tooth and it nearly cost me my life'
Graham Bell was preparing for a Welsh getaway with his wife when he was rushed to hospital after complaining of pains - but doctors later made a grim discovery A dad-of-two's cracked tooth nearly cost him his life after doctors made a chilling discovery. Graham Bell and wife Sue were getting ready for a trip to Wales when Graham started experiencing a severe headache. Sue also spotted that one side of Graham's face had begun to droop. The pair rushed to hospital in mid-March, where medics ruled out a stroke – but scans later showed a 3cm brain abscess. Graham recalled: "It was a lot of information to take in a short time. I had the family around me, but I think we were all in a bit of shock. I was not well, so finding out what was going on quickly was key for all of us." Following the scans, Graham was sent to the Walton Centre in Fazakerley, Merseyside. Sue explained that when she realised the ambulance had taken her there, she "knew it was serious". She added: "Graham was prepped for surgery right away. The team was so professional, but it was obvious that speed was of the essence." Several days after his first A&E visit, Graham underwent emergency surgery to drain the abscess. This provided temporary relief, but within days his health started to deteriorate – sepsis had taken hold, reports the Liverpool Echo. He had to be rushed back into surgery to drain the abscess again. "They gave me high doses of antibiotics to help tackle the infection," Graham recalled. "My clinical team worked to understand what was going on and found that the infection had actually come from an infection in a cracked tooth I had." Graham had no inkling of the serious damage that a seemingly harmless crack in his tooth would bring. Although it's uncommon, dental infections can escalate and lead to brain abscesses. "It was bizarre because I had no pain or swelling in my mouth to tell me there was something wrong," he said. Following this second procedure, Graham spent six weeks in hospital receiving continuous, comprehensive care from a multidisciplinary team. The treatment significantly reduced the abscess, but he was left with cognitive difficulties due to scar tissue. Last month, Graham underwent another assessment of his condition, which Sue described as "encouraging". She continued: "He still has issues with communicating and moving around, but we're following the therapy and on our way to getting back to as close to normal as possible." Sue said the couple where "incredibly grateful" for the Walton Centre for being there at Graham's hour of need. "The hospital saved his life. For that there is nothing we can do to thank them enough," she said. "But as a family we can raise some money and give something back to support the outstanding care they give to patients every day." Graham's children Rob and Aimee, along with friends, completed a sponsored 50k walk for the Walton Centre around the Wirral on June 21. At time of writing, they smashed their original fundraising target of £2,500 by more than £700. They collected £3,203 and continue to welcome donations – click here to make a contribution.
Wales Online
6 hours ago
- Wales Online
Brits face £5,000 fines for bringing five items back from holiday in UK customs crackdown
Brits face £5,000 fines for bringing five items back from holiday in UK customs crackdown The government has introduced tough new rules earlier this year as a result of an outbreak of a serious disease across Europe, which means that anyone returning from affected areas must ensure they are not carrying any banned items in their luggage People coming back to the UK from holidays in Europe have been banned from bringing a number of items in due to new laws (Image: Getty) Holidaymakers have been warned they could be hit with fines reaching £5,000 for trying to bring five particular items through customs - even if they bought them from duty-free stores. The government brought in strict new rules earlier this year to tackle an outbreak of a serious disease spreading across Europe. This means that anyone coming back from affected regions such as Spain, France, Italy and Greece must make sure they don't have any prohibited items in their luggage. A foot and mouth disease warning was issued to Welsh farmers earlier this year. The current restrictions mean that anyone found carrying items including sandwiches, cheese, cured meats, raw meats or milk into the country will be stopped at the border. It remains forbidden for travellers from all EU countries entering Great Britain to bring items such as sandwiches, cheese, cured meats, raw meats or milk into the country. This applies regardless of whether the products are wrapped or packaged, or whether they were bought at duty-free shops. Officials said that those caught with these products will be required to either surrender them at the border or have them seized and destroyed, reports Bristol Live. In serious cases, those found with these items run the risk of incurring fines of up to £5,000. The government has put measures in place to stop the spread of foot and mouth disease (FMD) following a rising number of cases throughout Europe. Read the biggest stories in Wales first by signing up to our daily newsletter here Travellers are barred from bringing in meat from cattle, sheep, goats, and pigs, as well as dairy products, from EU countries into Great Britain for personal use. This is to safeguard the health of British livestock, the livelihoods of farmers, and the UK's food security. Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) poses no threat to humans, but it is a highly infectious viral disease that affects cattle, sheep, pigs and other cloven-hoofed animals such as wild boar, deer, llamas and alpacas. Despite there being no current cases, the outbreak on the continent presents a significant risk to farm businesses and livestock in the UK. The disease can cause substantial economic losses due to production shortfalls in the affected animals, as well as loss of access to foreign markets for animals, meat and dairy. In response to confirmed outbreaks of FMD in Germany, Hungary, Slovakia and Austria earlier this year, the Government has already prohibited personal imports of cattle, sheep and other ruminants and pig meat as well as dairy products from these countries. The new restrictions apply only to travellers arriving in Great Britain, and will not be imposed on personal imports arriving from Northern Ireland, Jersey, Guernsey, or the Isle of Man. Farming Minister Daniel Zeichner stated at the launch: "This government will do whatever it takes to protect British farmers from foot and mouth. "That is why we are further strengthening protections by introducing restrictions on personal meat and dairy imports to prevent the spread of the disease and protect Britain's food security UK Deputy Chief Veterinary Officer for international and trade affairs Dr Jorge Martin-Almagro said: "Following the detection of foot and mouth disease in EU countries resulting in a rising risk of introduction into Great Britain, we have extended restrictions on the personal imports of food products that pose a risk in FMD transmission. "Robust contingency plans are already in place to manage the risk of this disease to protect farmers and Britain's food security. This biosecurity measure combined with all others we have implemented are critical to limit the risk of FMD incursion. "I would urge livestock keepers to continue exercising the upmost vigilance for signs of disease, ensure scrupulous biosecurity is maintained and to report any suspicion of disease immediately to the Animal and Plant Health Agency." However, certain exemptions to these regulations remain in effect. Small quantities of baby formula, medicinal foods and specific composite items such as chocolate, sweets, bread, cakes, biscuits and pasta are still permitted. Article continues below
Telegraph
7 hours ago
- Telegraph
Antimicrobial resistance and the fight to prevent a real-life The Last of Us
In the popular zombie-apocalypse TV show The Last of Us, humans become infected with parasitic fungi, causing a blooming fungal amour to sprout from their skulls. It's gripping TV but in the real-world, deaths from fungal infections have doubled in the last decade and drug-resistant fungi are showing an alarming upward trajectory, making this fictional threat feel uncomfortably close to reality. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR), when fungi, bacteria, viruses and parasites evolve to resist the antimicrobial medicines designed to kill them, is quickly accelerating, fuelling a 'silent pandemic'. Since 1990, at least one million people have died from AMR every year. In the next 25 years, it could cause the deaths of almost 40 million people. Low- and middle-income countries like my own, Nigeria, face a dual challenge. First, a lack of access to antimicrobials leads to more deaths from AMR and actually makes the resistance problem worse. And overuse of antimicrobials in other parts of the world – particularly in healthcare and agriculture – is also fuelling resistance. The result is not just a health crisis but a development emergency. A recent study found that AMR economically hits low- and middle-income countries the hardest. Today, it costs approximately $66 billion and this is set to rise to $159 billion if action is not taken to effectively curb it. In the midst of this worsening crisis, the UK Government recently announced that it is shutting the Fleming Fund – named after the discoverer of penicillin and a key player in the fight against AMR. While bad for UK science and the broader global effort to tackle AMR, it now falls on others to take up the baton to tackle one of the world's most existential threats. The good news is that new leadership is emerging in the countries hit the hardest. This month, the Government of Nigeria announced it will host the fifth Global High-Level Ministerial Conference on AMR in 2026 – the first time the event will be held in Africa. While promising developments, such as the antibiotic zosurabalpin, currently undergoing human trials, or the use of artificial intelligence in drug discovery, give reason for cautious optimism, there is much more to be done to ensure that life-saving treatments are available to the people that need them. First, we must prioritise access to quality diagnostic tools, our first line of defence against AMR. Diagnostics ensure that antimicrobials are used appropriately, increasing patients' chances of recovery while slowing resistance. They also protect new discoveries by preventing unnecessary use. Diagnostics are not just critical for individual patients, they are vital for tracking resistance patterns across animal, and environmental health; sectors which are deeply interlinked in our fight against AMR. Today most of the world is fighting AMR without access to diagnostics. Without them, we're not just under-equipped – we're fighting blind. Second, we must expand access to antimicrobials, create the market conditions needed for further drug development, and ensure that every country implements and enforces a national action plan for AMR. Research in the Lancet across eight low- and middle-income countries found less than seven percent of people with drug-resistant bacterial infections could access the antibiotics they needed. Without these medicines, both patients and the wider community are at risk, as pathogens spread and evolve. Third, we must dramatically increase investment in innovation and strengthen the fragile antimicrobial pipeline. New antimicrobials are urgently needed to meet growing global demand and unmet needs. At the fourth Global High-Level Ministerial Conference on AMR in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, leaders acknowledged the weak pipeline for new antibiotics and the market failures holding back development. The economic model is broken. Antibiotic research is costly, slow, and high-risk: for new classes of antibiotics, only one in 30 candidates will reach patients, and these are often reserved as a last resort. Government and industry must act urgently and ambitiously to reform the market to mobilise innovation. We need new economic models that reward long-term public health benefits, not just short-term profits. Finally, diagnostic and antimicrobial access and innovations must be backed by strong national action plans. At the second high level meeting on AMR at the 79th United Nations General Assembly, global leaders committed to developing or implementing national AMR action plans. At that time, while 178 countries had developed multi-sectoral national action plans, only 68 percent were implementing these plans. Last year, Nigeria launched its second national action plan on AMR, building on efforts to curb overuse and misuse of antimicrobials across human and animal health. But as we have learnt from Covid-19, pathogens do not know borders. Containing AMR demands global, coordinated action and accountability. We're not in the apocalyptic world of The Last of Us just yet but AMR has long been claiming lives, and is a blight on our health systems and economies. The decisive action we take in the next year will be key to preventing the unravelling of modern medicine.
