Top NHS hospital on how to help stop rising measles cases
The top NHS hospital attributes the rise in cases to declining measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccine coverage across England, which currently stands at 88 per cent, below the 95 per cent World Health Organisation target.
Senior directors at Alder Hey have issued an urgent plea for parents to get their children vaccinated to help combat the spread of the highly contagious disease.
The UK Health Security Agency reported 133 measles cases between 26 May and 29 June, and 420 cases in England from January to May 2025, with the majority affecting children aged 10 and under.
Health officials, including Liverpool City Council and the UK Health Security Agency, are concerned that low vaccine uptake could lead to further outbreaks, especially as families travel during summer.
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Sky News
44 minutes ago
- Sky News
'My voice box was removed after the NHS missed my throat cancer'
Steve Barton is angry, and he has every right to be. The 68-year-old retired engineer stares at his medical notes that, he says, expose in black and white the moment his life changed forever. "I have somehow missed… due to my mistake," a doctor writes in one of the notes, after it became apparent that Mr Barton had not been urgently referred to specialists over what later became an aggressive form of throat cancer. Steve now has a prosthetic voice box and is one of many British patients fighting medical negligence claims after being misdiagnosed. NHS officials in Scotland are dealing with thousands of cases annually. Meanwhile, Westminster's Public Affairs Committee (PAC) recently disclosed England's Department of Health and Social Care has set aside £58.2bn to settle clinical lawsuits arising before 2024. Mr Barton, who lives in Alloa near Stirling, repeatedly contacted his doctors after he began struggling with his breathing, speaking and swallowing. His concerns were recorded by the NHS as sinus issues. As panic grew and his voice became weaker, Mr Barton paid to see a private consultant who revealed the devastating news that a massive tumour had grown on his larynx and required part of his throat to be removed immediately. "I am angry, I am upset, I don't want anyone else to go through this," Mr Barton told Sky News. "There were at least four, possibly five, conversations on the phone. He [the doctor] said to me that it sounds like I've got reflux." 'He was palmed off' Mr Barton is now unable to work and cannot shower by himself because if water enters the hole in his neck, he could drown. And a windy day can cause a debilitating coughing fit if a gust catches his prosthetic voice box. Asked if he believes this was avoidable, Mr Barton replied: "Absolutely. 100%." His wife, Heather, told Sky News: "He hates this. You see him crying. It breaks my heart. It's been hard emotionally." She added: "Everybody knows their own body. He was palmed off and the consequence is a neck dissection. It [life] changed overnight." Legal battle over compensation The Barton family have been locked in a legal battle over their ordeal with the Medical and Dental Defence Union Scotland (MDDUS) - a body which indemnifies GPs. It has not admitted formal liability in this case but has agreed to settle financial compensation to Mr Barton. Izabela Wosiak, a solicitor from Irwin Mitchell who represents the Bartons, said: "Cases like Steve's are complex and usually quite difficult, but solicitors have accepted there was no defence to this case. "They have arranged to make an interim payment; however we are still in the process of negotiating final settlement." A MDDUS spokeswoman refused to comment while talks are being finalised. What is the scale of medical negligence in Britain? The NHS in Scotland is under the devolved control of the Scottish government. Figures suggest there were almost 14,000 clinical negligence claims and incidents in 2023/24, an increase on the previous year. It comes as PAC warned that the total liabilities in England's health service has hit £58.2bn. PAC chair Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP told Sky News: "I extend my sympathies to Steve and his family. Unfortunately, he is not alone. "Some are really heart-wrenching tales. Every single claim somebody is involved, someone has been in some way injured, so this is a terrible thing. "We are going to be working on how we can make the whole system less litigious and get compensation paid out quickly because if the state does harm to somebody, the least they could do is to compensate them as quickly as possible." Paul Whiteing, the chief executive of patient safety charity Action Against Medical Accidents, told Sky News: "The NHS itself last year [in England] paid out just over £5bn in compensational set aside money for compensation that it would need to pay out. "It's a huge cost and of course that doesn't speak to the cost to every individual, every family, every person who is impacted by the consequences of some form of medical accident and the trauma that can go with that."
Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Daily Mirror
Child with measles dies in UK as officials fear it's 'spreading like wildfire'
This year there have been 529 confirmed measles cases, the majority, 357, were children under ten. But cases of measles are increasing in Britain because low vaccination rates leave children vulnerable A child has tragically died at a UK hospital after contracting measles, making them the second child to died following an acute measles infection in Britain this decade. The child, who has not been formerly identified, sadly died in Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool. While no details have been released about their medical treatment, it is understood that they were ill with measles and it is believed they also had other health problems. It is not known whether the child who died had been vaccinated, but the jab provides 97 per cent protection against getting ill. The number of children being treated at Alder Hey has public health officials worried that the virus could take hold and "spread like wildfire". It suggests Merseyside could be on the cusp of an outbreak, The Times reports. Measles is highly contagious and an infected person remains infectious for up to ten days. With Liverpool's low vaccine uptake, about 288 people in every 1,000 across the region are at risk. Professor Matt Ashton, director of public health for Liverpool, said: "I'm extremely worried that the potential is there for measles to really grab hold in our community. My concern is the unprotected population and it spreading like wildfire. That's why we're trying to be proactive. It's really important that people understand the seriousness of this." Bosses at NHS Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool have taken the unprecedented step of sending an open letter to parents after kids were left 'seriously unwell' with measles infections. The letter says the reason there has been more cases of measles in children and young people is because fewer people are having the MMR vaccine, which protects against measles as well as two other viruses called mumps and rubella. What are the symptoms of measles? Measles usually starts with cold-like symptoms, followed by a rash a few days later. Some people may also get small spots in their mouth. The first symptoms include a runny or blocked nose, a high temperature, a cough, sneezing, and red, sore, watery eyes. A rash usually appears a few days later, starting on the face and behind the ears before spreading to the rest of the body. Spots of the rash are sometimes raised and joined together to form blotchy patches, and they're not normally itchy. The rash looks brown or red on white skin and may be harder to see on brown or black skin, NHS guidance states, adding: "It's very unlikely to be measles if you've had both doses of the MMR vaccine or you've had measles before." What you should do if you think you have measles You should contact 111 or ask for an urgent GP appointment if you think you or your child may have measles, if your child is under one year old and has come into contact with someone who has measles, or if you've been in close contact with someone who has measles and are pregnant or have a weakened immune system. You should also seek urgent medical advice if you or your child have a high temperature that has not come down after taking paracetamol or ibuprofen; you or your child have difficulty breathing – you may feel more short of breath than usual; your baby or young child is not feeding well, or taking less feeds or fluids than usual; you or your child are peeing less than usual (or your baby has fewer wet nappies); you or your child feels very unwell, or you're worried something is seriously wrong. Anyone with measles should stay off work, school or nursery for at least four days from when the rash first appears, and try to avoid close contact with babies and anyone who is pregnant or has a weakened immune system. Children are vaccinated after their first birthday and then again at 18 months. Anyone can request a jab if they missed out as a child.
BBC News
3 hours ago
- BBC News
NHS doctors' strike: Health secretary and BMA to meet next week
Talks between Health Secretary Wes Streeting and the British Medical Association (BMA) will take place next week in a bid to avert strike action in England's NHS, the BBC doctors, previously known as junior doctors, announced earlier this week that they will walk out for five consecutive days from 25 July until 30 July over a dispute about pay with the BMA said strikes would only be called off if next week's talks produce an offer it can put to its government has insisted it cannot improve its offer of a 5.4% increase for this year. Resident doctors were awarded a 5.4% pay rise for this financial year - which will go into pay packets from August - following a 22% increase over the previous two they are arguing that pay in real terms is still around 20% lower than it was in 2008 and have called for the government to set out a pathway to restoring its believe that this year's 5.4% increase doesn't take them far enough down that department sources have told the BBC the health secretary is sympathetic to improving working conditions for resident doctors, but he won't budge on the BMA's strike announcement, Streeting called the strike "unnecessary and unreasonable", adding: "The NHS is hanging by a thread - why on earth are they threatening to pull it?"He said the government was "ready and willing" to work with the BMA, but any further strike action would be a disaster for patients and push back the progress made in reducing waiting lists in resident doctor committee co-chairs, Dr Melissa Ryan and Dr Ross Nieuwoudt, said on Wednesday they had been left with "no choice" but to strike without a "credible offer to keep us on the path to restore our pay".Lord Robert Winston, a professor and TV doctor who was a pioneer of IVF treatment, resigned from the BMA on Friday over the planned an interview with The Times, he urged against strike action and said it could damage people's trust in the doctors took part in 11 separate strikes during 2023 and order to end the previous strikes last year the incoming Labour government awarded a backdated increase worth 22% over two action in England will not affect resident doctors in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, who negotiate directly with their devolved governments on doctors' basic salaries in England range from £37,000 to £70,000 a year for a 40-hour week, depending on experience, with extra payments for working nightshifts and does not include the latest 5.4% average pay award for this year which will start to be paid into wage packets from August.
