Former NHS HQ in Sheffield should be demolished due to safety risk
The trust's board of directors was told that the buildings on the site were highly accessible, which had created "persistent challenges" in securing it from trespassers.In recent months there had been escalating incidents of anti-social behaviour, including break-ins, vandalism and fire-related activity, it said.The report added: "These concerns have culminated in two significant fire events affecting the derelict buildings in late May and early July 2025, with the second incident severely damaging the original Fulwood House structure."
Housing plans
The meeting heard how an independent structural survey of the building had found it was "deemed at risk of imminent and progressive collapse."Board members were told the site had been earmarked for housing by a property developer and the trust was now looking at the most cost-effective way to demolish the house.This would include an assessment of any asbestos present in the building, although perimeter air monitoring found no detectable airborne fibres, the report said.It added: "The trust continues to monitor and adapt security arrangements and is actively reviewing alternative measures and providers to ensure effective risk management at the site."
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Sky News
25 minutes ago
- Sky News
Why are child vaccination rates the lowest they have been in more than a decade?
Child vaccination uptake is the lowest it has been in more than a decade, with a death from measles in Liverpool reigniting calls for increased awareness of the dangers of not getting jabs. A report from the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) this month reiterated that none of the routine child vaccinations have met the World Health Organisation's recommended target of 95% since 2021. Uptake in some local authorities is as low as 60%, while the England-wide rate for the final quarter of 2024/25 for measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) was 88.8%, down from 92.7% 10 years ago. The latest UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) figures show there were 145 new measles cases in England in July. With outbreaks across Europe and elsewhere, public health officials are concerned families may bring the virus back to the UK when they return to school from the summer holidays. We look at why vaccination rates have declined, and the reasons some parents are still hesitant to get their children immunised. When did uptake start declining - and where is it worst now? Routine childhood vaccinations largely consist of the 6-in-1 vaccine, which covers diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, Hib, and hepatitis B; the MMR vaccine for measles, mumps, and rubella; and the MenB vaccine, which covers the meningococcal group B bacterium that can cause meningitis and sepsis. They are all administered free of charge across two or three doses before children are five, with most in the first year. WHO recommends countries set targets of 95% coverage of all three to ensure herd immunity and to protect those who are immunocompromised and cannot have the vaccines themselves. In the UK, MMR rates have consistently been the lowest. The most recent decline began in 2013/14, when uptake at two years peaked at 92.7%. Overall, they have been lower in England than Scotland and Wales, with areas such as London and the North West seeing particularly low levels. In Hackney, east London, only 60% of children had received both their MMR jabs by their fifth birthday in the year 2023/24. The North West, and Liverpool in particular, also had lower uptake, with only 73% vaccinated against MMR by the age of five. Of the 674 measles cases reported in 2025, almost half (48%) have been in London, 16% in the North West, and 10% in the East of England. At local authority level, the most cases were reported in Hackney (12%), Bristol (7%), and Salford (5%), with almost all cases concentrated in either children under 10 or teenagers and young adults. 1:04 Why have rates declined? Although the recent drop began a decade ago, a much sharper decline happened in the 1990s. It saw the two-year MMR uptake in England go from 91.8% in 1995/96 to 79.9% in 2003/04. In 2006, person-to-person measles transmission was re-established in the UK, and a year later, rates exceeded 1,000 for the first time in 10 years. This came after the British doctor Andrew Wakefield published a now-discredited report in the prestigious medical journal The Lancet in 1998, which linked the MMR vaccine to autism. The study was reported by media outlets worldwide and resulted in the safety of the jab being questioned. After it proved baseless, The Lancet retracted the study in 2010. Wakefield was banned from practising medicine after being found guilty of dishonesty and the "abuse" of developmentally delayed children by subjecting them to unnecessary and invasive medical procedures without ethical approval. However, hesitancy around childhood vaccinations persisted. Professor Stephen Griffin, a virologist at the University of Leeds, says: "As widely debunked as it was, it set the cat among the pigeons and poisoned everything." 1:34 What could be behind the latest drop? The increased prevalence of vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic saw a resurgence in "anti-vax" sentiment, with many questioning the quick rollout of the jabs. Others pushed back against mandatory vaccines in certain settings, such as health and social care in the UK, and across most federal government departments in the US, citing a breach of freedom of choice. Hesitancy also proved stronger in some minority communities, which experts have linked to a general mistrust in healthcare services due to the disproportionate outcomes experienced by those groups. "Well-organised and well-funded anti-vaccine movements latched onto mRNA (messenger RNA) vaccines, because while it's not a brand new technology, COVID was the first time they had been used en masse," Professor Griffin says. "There was a lot of disinformation around them, and they just seized on it." However, WHO had already highlighted "vaccine hesitancy" as one of the top 10 global health threats in 2019, before the pandemic began. Some of this was attributed to Wakefield's study. Separately, with the rise of social media and misinformation, unevidenced conspiracy theories around vaccines have circulated, such as them being used by Microsoft founder Bill Gates to track people's movements. More recently, US President Donald Trump has expressed sentiments that nod to views shared by vaccine sceptics. In an interview with Time Magazine in 2024, he was asked if he would consider ending childhood vaccination programmes in the US. He said he would have a "big discussion" with Robert F. Kennedy Jr, who he appointed as his health secretary and who has consistently expressed vaccine sceptic views. Mr Trump said: "The autism rate is at a level that nobody ever believed possible. If you look at things that are happening, there's something causing it." While not directly referencing it, his comments appeared to echo the baseless claims made in Wakefield's study. Professor Griffin says that "reputable" figures, such as politicians and scientists who continue to endorse the view of Wakefield, and other false narratives around vaccine efficacy, have legitimised the anti-vax movement and "normalised" the decision not to immunise children. "They've essentially said 'there's no smoke without fire' and drawn attention to a question that they've created themselves," he says. "It's really upsetting because we've got this brilliant vaccine that people aren't taking because of basic nonsense, and that has serious consequences. A person infected with measles is likely to infect between 15 and 20 others if they are unvaccinated. "But the MMR vaccine is a victim of its own success. Measles was a large cause of infant mortality before we had the vaccine, but now people don't remember why we tried to make vaccines against it in the first place. "So we need to educate people because they aren't aware of how dangerous it is." 1:30 'Lack of access' One children's health expert told Sky News the main issue is a lack of access. Helen Bedford, a professor of children's health at the UCL Great Ormond Street Institute, says everything from knowing how to book an appointment, to having the means to get there can be a barrier to children getting vaccinated. "People may not know when vaccines are due, how to make an appointment, then there's actually getting to the appointment," she says. "For some parents who are suffering the impact of poverty, paying a bus fare to get your child to a GP surgery may be a step too far, even though they understand vaccination is very important." A shortage of health visitors and other staff who can answer questions from vaccine-hesitant parents is also having an impact, she says. "We want parents to ask questions but unfortunately, due to lack of personnel, they can't always get answers or even an opportunity to have a discussion," she said.
Sky News
an hour ago
- Sky News
90% of young carers could be under the radar - and missing out on vital support
Hundreds of thousands of young carers could be missing out on vital support because they are not registered with their local authority, according to new data seen by Sky News. A Freedom of Information request, carried out by the charity Action for Children and shared with Sky News, has found that 84,256 young carers are known to local authorities in England and Wales. The number is a fraction of the potential 800,000 young carers thought to be helping a loved one in England alone, according to a University of Nottingham study. It means that around 90% of young carers could be missing out on statutory help. "They don't get the time out from being a young carer, they don't get somebody to listen to - and almost, they just get forgotten," says Vicki Phillips from Action for Children. The stark findings come amid concern about extra support for young carers during the summer holidays. The FoI request - which had a response rate of 81.5% - also found that more than a fifth of councils either had no additional provision for young carers during the school break, or that the only extra provision was via services available to other children. Vicki said many young carers, aged under 18, are looking after siblings, parents, grandparents and other relatives while juggling their own lives. "When you think of that young carer is also in school 30 hours a week - is trying to do exams for example - is trying to have a social life and have friends and fit in and just do what everybody else is doing," she adds. "They really can't do that if they have 50/60 hours of caring responsibilities at home as well." Local authorities have a legal duty to assess the impact of caring on a young person, including the impact on education. But many children aren't aware that the help they give to a family member is a formal caring role. Meghan, 16, from Pembrokeshire, has looked after her 12-year-old sister Mia for years. She says: "Over time, as I got older and she got older, I started to notice more about her and how she was different from my friend's siblings and that I was looking after her more than being her sister. "I'm there as a support for her - emotional support - I think I understand her very well and I'm able to communicate with her on a different level." But it was only recently that she was identified as a young carer. "I was recognised as being a young carer for my role by one of the support workers - even before I realised I was doing anything. It was a bit shocking and a bit confusing," she adds. Being assessed and registered as a young carer unlocks a range of statutory and additional support. But that extra help is patchy across the country, with councils often reliant on grants or the charity sector to provide them. In Haverfordwest, Meghan and a dozen other young carers are meeting up at the start of the holidays for a BBQ and chat. It may only be a three-hour break, but it is a chance to get away from their responsibilities for a while. "Being able to come down here and do things like this kind of gives us that chance of a childhood that we may not have at home," said Elle, aged 15. She's here with her 13-year-old brother Charles. "I would say I feel refreshed because it gives me like a sort of restart to doing all the things I have to do at my house." In response to our story, the UK Department for Education said it urges "young carers or their families to contact their local authority for help and support". It added that the government has expanded data collection to better track how young carers are supported. It said it encourages the use of the Young Carer ID card scheme, which helps young carers to be identified, particularly within education.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Unhealthy diets fueling public health crisis in the North, research suggests
Unhealthy diets are to blame for a public health crisis in the North, research has suggested. People living in the North are more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes, develop cardiovascular disease and be obese because of poor eating habits. They consume less calcium, fibre and fruit than the average across the country, research by the Northern Health Science Alliance's Nutrition North network found. There are also 26 per cent more fast food outlets in the North than the UK average, with one for every 1,000 people, the study showed. Experts linked their findings on diet to the stark health challenges in the region. The three areas analysed – the North East, the North West and Yorkshire – have the highest mortality rates in the country for preventable cancer, liver disease and cardiovascular disease. High blood pressure rates are more than 50 per cent higher than the London average. Researchers say taking action will impact the whole country as the NHS is estimated to spend more than £11.4 billion a year treating and managing obesity alone, with the wider social costs estimated at £74.3 billion annually. Hannah Davies, chief executive of Northern Health Science Alliance and executive director of Health Equity North, said: 'In the North, communities face a huge variety of challenges when it comes to putting healthy food on the table. 'Northern regions experience higher levels of deprivation so it comes as no great surprise they also have some of the highest rates of food insecurity in the country, and some of the lowest weekly spends on food. 'It is therefore no surprise that we have the highest rates of preventable diseases, and of conditions such as childhood and adult obesity.' Si King, Hairy Biker and television presenter, said: 'Food should nourish us, bring us together, and help us thrive, but too many in the North are missing out on the basics: fibre, calcium, fresh veg and healthy fats. These aren't luxuries, they're essentials. 'We need action now... so that every family in the North has the chance to eat well and live well.'
