Prescription charges frozen in England
Prescription charges in England will be frozen this year – for the first time since 2022.The charge for a single item will remain at £9.90 in 2025-26, the government has announced.Three-month and annual prescriptions prepayment certificates will also be frozen and existing exemptions will continue. Charges only apply in England as prescriptions are free in the rest of the UK.Nearly nine in 10 prescriptions in England are already dispensed free of charge, with children, over 60s, pregnant women, people with certain medical conditions and those on lower incomes exempt from paying.
A three-month prescription prepayment certificate costs £32.05 while a 12-month certificate costs £114.50.Rachel Power, chief executive of Patients Association which campaigns for improvements in health and social care, said freezing the charges was a "positive step". But she warned that it did little to tackle the "deep inequalities" in what she described as an outdated system.She said the medical exemption criteria had remained virtually unchanged since the late 1960s, with nearly three million people in England living with long-term conditions not eligible for an exemption because they were not recognised 60 years ago or people rarely survived into adulthood. Conditions which are not currently on the medical exemption list include Parkinson's disease, cystic fibrosis and motor neurone disease."We urge the government to go further - to commit to a full review of the medical exemption list and prescription charges," Ms Powers added.Health is a devolved area of government. Prescription fees were abolished by Wales in 2007, Northern Ireland in 2010 and Scotland in 2011 under the powers available to their respective governments.
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Scottish Sun
11 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Elderly patient's drinking water infested with ants during stay at Scots hospital
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Daily Mirror
2 days ago
- Daily Mirror
'I thought I'd burnt toast but it was symptom of very serious condition'
Gareth Evans, 57, from Cardiff, was diagnosed with Parkinson's in 2018 after he started to show symptoms in his mid 40s - including depression and unusual smells When Gareth Evans, a staunch rugby fan and carpenter, reached his mid-40s, peculiar signs began to emerge, indicating something was amiss. Known for his activity levels and joyful nature both at work and at home, Gareth suddenly found himself grappling with inexplicable sadness and unprovoked tearfulness while on the job. Experiencing involuntary arm twitches and sensing the phantom scent of burnt toast further compounded his confusion. Despite the jigsaw of symptoms, it wasn't until medical professionals stepped in that the perplexing picture was completed with a diagnosis of Parkinson's – an illness with no known cure. Gareth grappled with depression, one of the initial indicators of his condition but remained without answers for some time. "Depression... it comes with Parkinson's," he recounted. The reality of the disease dawned on him as he tried to cope with overwhelming emotions. "I didn't understand it. I'd go into work and I'd feel very sad and I would cry." Concealing his struggle became second nature to Gareth, who worked at the Cardiff and Vale University Health Board. "I would come home and I'd cry in the shower, but I was very good at hiding it, didn't talk about it, and didn't get any help and that just got worse and worse." He was acutely aware that something was amiss but couldn't pinpoint the problem. "I just knew there was something wrong. I just didn't know what." It wasn't until unmistakable physical manifestations became evident that Gareth sought assistance. Now 57-years-old, he reflects: "I worked for 34 years for the health service. So I was actually at work and I looked down onto my left arm, and I could see the muscle just on the forearm... it was twitching, twitching a lot. "I couldn't control it, couldn't stop it and I had this for a while, you know, for a couple of days." "So actually, I went to see a friend of mine who worked in the hospital and I asked her advice and she told me I needed to get it sorted." Gareth ultimately sought help from his GP and was referred to a specialist at the University Hospital of Wales, ,reports Wales Online. After receiving his diagnosis on September 21, 2018, he admits he "cried like a baby". The revelation offered clarity for his past ailments, but the subsequent reality of living with the condition has drastically impacted his life. "First of all, the depression just wasn't me, because I've always enjoyed life to the full," Gareth shared. He explained that the emotional toll of depression hit him harder than the Parkinson's itself, saying, "The depression knocked me for a six, more so than the actual Parkinson's, to be honest." Now, years after the diagnosis date, he faces significant challenges: "But it affects me now, like 10 years on if you want to go from the diagnosis date. I can't walk properly. If I don't take my tablets, I get these terrible cramps." Recalling a harrowing episode, Gareth said, "I was walking the dog one day and I forgot to take my tablet and I was stuck in the field for 40 minutes. I just couldn't move." Compounded by bad weather, his situation worsened: "It was tipping down with rain and all my muscles had seized up." Painfully immobilised by cramps, Gareth described the recurring struggle: "I had a terrible cramp and it was very, very painful. This sort of thing happens quite a lot. It affects your internal organs as well. "It affects you bladder. So you're constantly back and forth to the toilet. You think you need a wee, but then you don't, and then you do, and that affects you there. But I must admit, I don't really let it get to me too much now. I'm in control of it." Nearly 8,300 people in Wales are currently living with Parkinson's. The progressive neurological condition caused by a lack of dopamine in the brain. The disease causes both motor symptoms such as tremor, stiffness, and slowness of movement, as well as less commonly recognised non-motor symptoms including sleep disturbances, memory issues, and constipation among others. It can also sometimes lead to phantosmia – where patients perceive smells, such as burnt toast, that aren't actually there. In recent years, Parkinson's has come to renewed public attention as a result of Michael J Fox's campaigning on the issue. The Back to the Future star has been open about his experience with the condition, and has won awards for his advocacy for a cure for the disease. For Gareth, once he had fully taken in the advice from experts and come to terms with the diagnosis, he felt he could move on and get back to work. But while Gareth's return was accommodated well by his employers, in light of his diagnosis he soon had to retire upon his doctor's advice. Recalling how he dealt with his retirement, he said: "The first few months, I just sat in the window, looking out at the rain, beating down onto the patio, and I'm thinking, 'Is this it? Is this what retirement is about?' "Like I said, I'm a very headstrong person, and I've been involved in team sports all my life, mostly rugby. So you know when you're down, and you know you can do something about it. "So, I decided to... enjoy as much as possible and get out and about if I can. Look after my grandchildren and my wife."It was a case of, 'it's not going to get better. So I've got to live with it and work with it'." It wasn't long before he found solace in his retirement, and found surprising new ways of coping. "I started painting, believe it or not," he said. "Another symptom I've got with Parkinson's is insomnia. I don't sleep very well. So I get up at night and I paint, painting by numbers. "I find that quite relaxing. Now that you might think is strange because I've got a tremor. I tremor most of the time. "So when I actually paint, because your brain tells you to concentrate and you literally go in and you paint, the painting by number is a very fine painting. You don't tremor because you use your brain." One of his favourite creations is a painting of his wife's grandfather, a World War two veteran. He explained: "I've got a painting on my wall in my kitchen and it's my wife's grandfather. He was just a couple of days short of 102 before he passed and I painted him and he's sitting in an armchair with his World War two medals across his chest." Gareth also now helps other people diagnosed with Parkinson's to come to terms with their diagnosis. He explained: "Funny enough, I actually do talk to people who are recently diagnosed and need help. "They'll come over to my house or they'll phone me. We tend to stick together, belong to a Facebook page for Parkinson's. "We all stick together and we help each other out... talking's the best thing." Newly diagnosed patients often went through similar emotions, he added. "The biggest thing is fear, knowing it's not going to get better, it's going to get worse, and there is no cure. The tablets I take actually work for me but, believe it or not, they've been out since the '60s annd '70s with all these tablets, they'd been around for years and years, and [doctors working in the field of] Parkinson's are trying to find a cure. "I'm hoping come September to actually go on a trial with my consultant. I've asked to put my name forward and become a guinea pig, so to speak. Because you've just got to try something, you've just got to give it a go." Gareth has thrown his weight behind fundraising, raising significant funds for Parkinson's charities through quizzes, marathons, and rugby matches. Earlier this month – on May 4 – Gareth raised £8,000 when he underwent a sponsored head shave and wax at the Maltsters Arms pub in Whitchurch, Cardiff. He said: "I'll always help, no matter what charity, and if I am able to do anything, I'll do it. "This last one, this one we've done, all I had to do was sit down and have my hair cut. It was the easiest £8,000 I've ever been involved in making! "I've done charity rugby games as well because, when I was first diagnosed, I wanted to raise some money for Parkinson's, so I organised a rugby game. All the people I've been involved with over the years, coaching, playing with, playing against, they all turned up for me. We raised £1,680 that day. That was just one day. "Another time in work, when I used to work, I used to have a 'fat club', we used to call it the 'Big Boy's Belly Fat Club' and the boys used to pay a pound a week and I would have my scales in work and I'd weigh them and I'd write their weight down on the board to encourage them for next week to come in lighter. "This went on for a couple of years and a lot of people got to know about it. Again, we raised money and it was all sent over to Parkinson's." This Friday, Gareth is organising an auction in aid of Parkinson's charity, where shirts donated by Wales rugby stars Rhys Patchell and Ben Thomas will go under the hammer. Meanwhile, Gareth wishes people were more aware of Parkinson's and how to approach people with the disease. He recalled: "(At) Christmas time, I went to watch Cardiff rugby play. I wasn't feeling well. I couldn't explain why I was feeling like it, but I wasn't very well and I decided to leave the rugby halftime. "My wife was picking me up in town because of my condition. I became so bad quickly and I didn't know what it was. I had a chest infection as well. "I approached a man in Queen Street and I asked him for help because I was walking with cramps and I was stiff. I wasn't drunk by any means but this guy thought I was drunk, and I asked him for his help. He gave me the F-word, told me to go away. "It made me cross, because that was the first time that had ever happened. So I just want people, you know, who haven't got Parkinson's, to just realise when you look at somebody and they're a little bit different to normal, just think to yourself it could be something medical. "It could be something causing that problem. Give them a chance, there's always a story behind everybody." In the meantime, Gareth says he's had amazing support from his family. He said: "My wife, she keeps me motivated. My family, my children, my grandchildren. I'm a very lucky man. I've got a fantastic family and I've got a fantastic circle of friends and colleagues. I've been fortunate enough to be recognised in work and I actually went to meet the royal family at a garden party a couple of years ago. " Gareth added: "I've got three granddaughters and they're brilliant, six, four, three, and 18 months - nearly two. And my wife looks after them on a Tuesday, they come here to our house every Tuesday and I sit there and I just watch them and it makes me happy because I live through them. "You look at your children and you... You see them doing well, and you just think to yourself, 'I've done something right in life, having a good family'. That's my unit, what I call my unit. My children."
Daily Mirror
3 days ago
- Daily Mirror
UK tampons found with pesticide levels 40 times more than drinking water limits
Scientists have discovered dangerously high levels of a cancer-linked pesticide in UK tampons — tested at 40 times the safe limit for drinking water — raising urgent concerns over health risks Brits have been alerted by scientists after they found toxic pesticides in tampons at staggering levels that are 40 times the limit set for drinking water. Upon testing 15 boxes of tampons bought from UK shops and supermarkets, including various popular brands, experts detected glyphosate — a widely used herbicide linked to cancer and other severe health conditions like Parkinson's — in one of the tampon boxes at quantities significantly exceeding safety levels for drinking water. Glyphosate, the world's most commonly used herbicide, was proclaimed a "probable carcinogen" by the World Health Organization (WHO) back in 2015 due to its association with cancer. The alarming findings were part of research conducted by Pesticide Action Network UK (Pan UK), the Women's Environmental Network, and the Pesticide Collaboration. They uncovered amounts of glyphosate at a worrying concentration of 0.004 mg/kg in tampons. The findings on the tampon residue goes vastly beyond the UK and EU maximum residue level for drinking water, which stands at just 0.0001 mg/kg. These levels are a stark 40 times higher than what is allowed in drinking water. This discovery has raised serious concerns considering half the global population experience periods and likely use around 11,000 disposable menstrual products in a lifetime, suggesting there's a severe oversight. Experts have warned that this is a "blatant gap in health and safety regulation", reports the Manchester Evening News. The report emphasised the gravity of the situation, stating: "Given the global concern around the impact of glyphosate on human health, finding it in tampons is particularly alarming. "Unlike when ingested through food or water, chemicals absorbed via the vagina directly enter the bloodstream, bypassing the body's detoxification systems and therefore posing a significant health risk." Pesticide residues are finding their way into period products due to their use in cotton cultivation, a primary component of tampons. Researchers detected aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA), a breakdown product of glyphosate, in the tampons, suggesting that the cotton was treated with glyphosate at some point in the supply chain according to the report. Amy Heley of the Pesticide Collaboration commented: "If this level of glyphosate is deemed to be unsafe in the water we drink, why is it allowed to appear in our period products? "Our investigation reveals that women, girls and those who menstruate may not be protected from exposure to harmful chemicals. And yet, most people remain completely unaware that this is even an issue." The report notes that the lab was unable to determine whether the glyphosate was present in a single tampon or all of them in the box. Josie Cohen, interim director at Pan UK, stated: "We were genuinely shocked to find glyphosate in tampons sitting on UK shelves. This harmful chemical is already impossible to avoid since it's sprayed by councils in streets and parks and contaminates much of our food and water due to its overuse in farming. "We urgently need to reduce our overall toxic load and shouldn't have to worry about glyphosate and other highly hazardous pesticides in our period products. This is a blatant gap in health and safety regulation that the government urgently needs to address." Previous research conducted last year revealed that various types of tampons may contain as many as 16 metals or metalloids, including toxic substances such as lead and arsenic. The study suggested that using tampons could be a "potential source of exposure to metals in menstruating people".
