Fears for patient safety as resident doctors ready for strike
Professor Tim Briggs, NHS England national director, warned that the industrial action will harm patients, stressing doctors' primary duty to patient care.
While the BMA cites pay as the reason, Professor Briggs suggested resident doctors' concerns are more focused on non-pay factors such as rotas, training bottlenecks, and funding for courses.
NHS England plans to cover emergency services and some elective care, but the BMA argues this could put patients at risk as senior doctors cannot cover both emergency and routine demands.
NHS England has advised the public to use 111 online for non-emergencies during the strike.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
13 minutes ago
- The Independent
Study warns of the hidden dangers of ChatGPT
A new study, co-authored by NHS doctors, warns that AI chatbots like ChatGPT could contribute to the onset or worsening of psychotic symptoms in vulnerable users. The research suggests that large language models (LLMs) can "blur reality boundaries", leading to what has been termed "chatbot psychosis". Neuropsychiatrist Hamilton Morrin from King's College London described "chatbot psychosis" as a "genuine phenomenon" that is only beginning to be understood. Co-author Tom Pollack urged AI companies to implement more safeguards and include psychiatrists in their safety teams to address these risks. OpenAI chief Sam Altman has acknowledged the difficulty in implementing effective safeguards for users in a fragile mental state.
STV News
13 minutes ago
- STV News
'Chronic pain put my future on hold - I want the chance to take my life back'
A woman says her life has been 'ripped away' after being diagnosed with a rare chronic pain condition. Mairead Keen has lived with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CPRS) – a persistent, severe pain condition which is usually caused by injury – for eight years. At the age of 14, she suffered severe headaches, which doctors identified as a viral infection damaging her nerves, disrupting the signals travelling from the brain to the body. The CPRS diagnosis left the then-teenager confused as she had never heard of the incurable condition, which is estimated to affect 26 in 100,000 people. Now aged 22, Mairead feels like she is 'walking on glass' and that her future has been put on hold. 'I had a lot of plans when I was younger for what I wanted to do with my life', Mairead told STV News. 'That has all been ripped away from me. Now I live on painkillers and rarely get to leave the house. 'I only get one or two days every couple of months where the pain is easy to deal with. Other times I'm in bed or on the couch, with a lot of painkillers. 'It feels like a stabbing pain and an intense burning sensation. It started in my feet and my legs, they have always been the main point of pain, but a year after that spread all over my body. 'I am able to walk, but it just feels like I am walking on glass. Supplied The 22-year-old feels like she is 'walking on glass' and that her future has been completely put on hold. 'My stomach even hurts when I eat. It just makes me sad, there is just a lot of sadness.' For the first two years following her diagnosis, Mairead underwent numerous therapies with the help of NHS staff. However, after she started receiving care as an adult, a lot of her support network was taken away. The 22-year-old's mum, Marie Keen, believes there is 'no help out there' for people living with a chronic pain condition. Marie Keen told STV News: 'When Mairead was first diagnosed, she was in paediatric care, she got water therapy, physiotherapy and a psychiatrist. 'As soon as she turned 16, all that was taken away from her. She has never had physio since, and there is no support anymore. 'It feels like there is nothing in Scotland to help people like Mairead. There is just no help out there. 'My daughter is 22, but she feels like an 80-year-old.' Mairead is now raising money to undergo Calmare Therapy in Ireland. The treatment, also known as scrambler therapy, works by replacing pain signals with 'non-pain' information, potentially offering relief for various conditions like nerve pain, cancer pain, and opioid-induced pain. It involves applying electrodes to the skin around the painful area and delivering low-level electrical impulses that are designed to override the pain signals. The NHS has not yet approved it for routine commissioning due to insufficient evidence of its effectiveness and cost-effectiveness. But, the leading UK specialist clinic, the London Spine Unit, believe the treatment is an 'efficient and safe alternative for several different types of refractory chronic neuropathic pain, with a very rare possibility of adverse events'. Mairead hopes the therapy, which is available in the US, Australia, Ireland, Germany and Italy, will give her the chance to 'live a normal life'. 'We have tried different things over the last eight years, but nothing has ever worked', she explained. 'I feel like I am currently not living my life properly. We researched scrambler therapy, and it had a success rate between 80% to 90%. 'So I see this as a last chance to get my life back. I want to live a normal life. 'I want to have a family, a home and a job. All these simple things that were taken from me. 'It is a very lonely condition.' Public health minister Jenni Minto said: 'I am determined to improve care and support for people living with chronic regional pain syndrome. Everyone should be able to access the services they need, when and where they need them. 'We continue to work closely with the NHS to improve how services are accessed and delivered for patients, and we are making progress on the issues that people with lived experience of chronic pain have told us matter most to them.' Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
North Wales Live
43 minutes ago
- North Wales Live
Tesco giving away free food at stores this summer
Children will be able to get free fruit at the checkout at branches of Tesco during the summer holiday as part of a new campaign announced by the retailer. The initiative, which will run from August 4 to August 17, will see the supermarket chain give away an estimated 3.5 million apples over the two-week period. Tesco has launched the campaign, which has been backed by the Government, in response to figures showing fewer than one in 10 children and one in five adults eat the recommended five-a-day. Heath and social care secretary, Wes Streeting, said: 'Obesity has doubled since the 1990s and costs our NHS £11 billion a year. "Unless we curb the rising tide of cost and demand, the NHS risks becoming unsustainable. But we can't do this alone. 'The declining health of the nation requires a national mission, working with all parts of our society – from industry to influencers – to reverse the decline and make sure that kids today grow up to be part of the healthiest generation ever. 'Our brilliant supermarkets already do so much work for our communities and are trying to make their stores healthier, and we want to work with them and other businesses to create a level playing field.' In addition to the free fruit at the checkouts, Tesco will also offer around four million customers the opportunity to earn personalised Clubcard stamps on fresh fruit and veg, which can be converted into bonus Clubcard points and vouchers to spend in store, while millions of customers will also be able to earn extra points through new Clubcard Challenges on frozen fruit and veg, beans, and pulses. The campaign builds on the Stronger Starts Fruit & Veg for Schools which has seen free fruit and vegetables and other resources provided to schools in areas where there is a higher-than-average free school meal ratio. Ashwin Prasad, Tesco's UK CEO, said: 'We understand that for many, there are barriers that make healthy eating feel hard. "We want to help our customers make small changes that amount to big health benefits for themselves and their families. 'That's why we're setting out to make healthy choices easier every day, starting with new offers and support for families in store this summer. 'We're bringing customers new ways to earn Clubcard points and vouchers as a fun and engaging way to help them towards their five-a-day, on top of new and existing great value offers on healthy staples.'
