Kent man to 'walk through life' for Prostate Cancer charity
Upon departure from the North East, Paul will then head to Birkenhead, where he will pay tribute to his parents, before a stop in the West Midlands at Aston University, where he previously studied. Before reaching the finishing mark, Mr Dennington will pass through Rickmansworth, where he owned his first home, and hospitals in Maidstone in Medway, to mark his cancer diagnosis.Paul, who has already raised £100,000 for Prostate Cancer UK, has regularly attended both during his diagnosis and four-and-a-half years of treatment including radiotherapy and hormone therapy.
'I did feel guilt'
Paul's challenge is due to finish on 7 September when he reaches his current home in Kent, where he has lived for the past 27 years. By then, he is expected to have scaled 27,375 ft (8,343m), just shy of the summit of Mount Everest.Paul said: "When I was diagnosed it felt surreal as I didn't have symptoms and thought I was pretty fit and healthy. "I did feel guilt, though, as it was my body that was the reason my family were going to have to go through this journey."Caught early, prostate cancer is very treatable."Without a screening programme in the UK we rely heavily on well informed and willing men to proactively get themselves tested. "That is why raising awareness of risk is so important."
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BBC News
27 minutes ago
- BBC News
Mental health waiting lists: Amy has complex PTSD but has seen a psychiatrist once in 10 years
As a child, Amy was often violently attacked. At 15, she was threatened with a knife. Now diagnosed with complex PTSD, she's spent over a decade isolated at home with her mum, desperately seeking help. She has seen a psychiatrist only once."I was self harming and felt suicidal and didn't want to be alive anymore," says Amy, who's stuck on the long waiting list for NHS mental health has bounced up and down the list for years despite being known by crisis teams at her local hospital and GP is one of thousands of patients across England caught in the backlog of mental health analysis for the BBC by charity Rethink Mental Illness reveals a stark - and widening - inequality between mental and physical healthcare. There are 12 times more patients waiting longer than 18 months for treatment compared to those with physical four emergency ambulance callouts this year, Amy remains on an indefinite waiting list for severe mental health treatment - with no timeline and no clear path out of crisis."I just get told to wait and that services are struggling," she says. "Sometimes I feel really angry and like screaming and cry all day because I can't move on with my life."Amy finally got onto a college course last year but was asked to leave after a crisis."I feel like I'm going round and round in circles and end up in the same situation every single day," she says. Amy's mum no longer works, in order to care for story reflects the harsh reality behind the statistics: lives unravelling while help remains out of reach. Mental health gap widening While the physical health waiting list in England is declining rapidly, the mental health backlog is not coming down rapidly and remains stubbornly high - leaving vulnerable people like Amy stuck and unsupported."This is an urgent wake-up call," says Brian Dow, deputy chief executive of Rethink Mental Illness. "Long delays worsen outcomes. It becomes more expensive to treat them. They end up in secondary care, which is more complex - and they fall further from work and become more reliant on benefits."The analysis uses data from NHS England's monthly statistics. It includes only adults with severe mental illness that have waited more than 78 be included on the waiting list numbers they have to have been referred by community mental health services for further treatment or assessment. Those waiting for talking therapy for mild anxiety or depression are not included in these statistics.A list of organisations in the UK offering support and information with some of the issues in this story is available at BBC Action the month of May there were 14,586 patients waiting longer than 18 months (78 weeks) for mental health treatment compared to 1,237 people waiting for a physical health operation or Becks Fisher of the Nuffield Trust health think tank said the government had made progress on a pledge to recruit 8,500 more mental health workers but added that access for people referred to mental health services "had not been as prominent" in recent planning and guidance as reducing physical health said that the share of health spending going towards mental health was set to fall in the financial year ending in effect that means departmental funding had been favouring physical health services."Mental health problems disproportionately affect young people," adds Mr Dow. "It makes huge health sense and huge economic sense to prioritise mental health access." What 'good' care looks like A new mental health hub in East London is offering a radically different approach - described as an example of what "good" mental health care could look for walk-in patients without appointments, it provides early intervention in a well-staffed, welcoming space. The effects are already visible - Dr Sheraz Ahmad, a consultant psychiatrist at the centre, says waiting lists have already fallen hub has three consultant psychiatrists and a number of mental health specialists that can offer around-the-clock care. The team here is stable."We want to have conversations early on," explains Dr Ahmad. "Once we understand the problem, we can point people in the right direction - avoiding that vicious circle."Here, it's not just treatment. It's the continuity of care that helps most. "Having access to the same clinicians that know your story everyday makes a huge difference. It builds trust," he says."I come every day and play pool," says Moyna, who is living with schizophrenia."Sometimes I watch TV, listen to music - and feel better."He credits the hub with helping him avoid relapse, and reducing his need for hospital care. He doesn't need an appointment any more to get support and care in times of crisis, and it is all within his neighbourhood. The facility is the first of its kind, with short-stay beds. It is only one of six planned by NHS England from Birmingham to Sheffield, York to hubs, which are tricky to set up and so are unlikely to be able to be scaled up drastically, unite the voluntary sector and the are limited with psychiatrists and infrastructure being the main outlays. Most other staff are volunteers and the east London venue has been provided by a growing calls for more low-cost, high-impact hubs like these, access to this kind of care remains a distant hope for thousands like Amy. Shifting care from hospitals to the community Health Minister Stephen Kinnock acknowledges the reality of mental health care in England: "For far too long people have been let down by the mental health system and that has led to big backlogs."He says the government has a plan to tackle the problems."We're seeing more people present with challenges, and the way to deal with that is shifting support from hospitals into the community," he mental health care, "it's all about prevention" adds Mr Kinnock. That's how he thinks the government can help reduce waiting lists. The gap between mental and physical health waits has grown since Labour came into month, when Amy's mum was discharged after a short hospital stay, she was given a consultant appointment for her physical condition - an undiagnosed heart problem - just a few weeks later. By contrast, Amy continues to wait."We don't know how we're going to get out of this situation," she says. "I want to get a job and go to college and things like that. But we're both just stuck living this life."
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Clinics to need licences for Botox fillers in cosmetics crackdown
The government has announced plans to crack down on dodgy cosmetic practitioners who it says are exploiting people and causing the new proposals, only qualified health professionals will be able to carry out risky non-surgical Brazilian butt lifts (BBLs) and clinics will need to meet strict rules to obtain licences to offer fillers and will also be protected from potentially dangerous beauty trends on social media with age restrictions on certain industry has welcomed the plans, although the government says it now needs to consult further to figure out exactly how this will work in practice. There has been concern over the lack of rules in parts of the non-surgical cosmetic industry for some procedures, such as liquid BBLs, are marketed as non-surgical but are invasive and carry serious risks, experts BBLs are one of the most high-risk procedures which involve filler being injected into the buttocks to make them bigger, more rounded or lifted. Women have told the BBC of dangerous complications, pain and permanent scarring after treatment by rogue operators. In September 2024, Alice Webb is believed to have become the first person to die in the UK after receiving this unregulated government says it will bring in regulations for the most dangerous procedures first - such as breast fillers and BBLs - which means only some qualified health professionals will be able to perform on who can offer lower-risk treatments such as lip fillers, Botox and facial dermal fillers will also change. A licensing scheme run by local authorities will require practitioners to meet strict safety, training and insurance standards before they can it could still be several years before any of these measures comes into force. The plans will be subject to public consultation and must go through Parliament before they are introduced. 'Wild west' Health Minister Karin Smyth said the industry had been plagued by "a Wild West" of "cosmetic cowboys causing serious, catastrophic damage".She said the government was taking action to protect people, support honest practitioners and root out the unqualified, dangerous ones, while also reducing the costs to the NHS of fixing botched procedures."This isn't about stopping anyone from getting treatments. It's about preventing rogue operators from exploiting people at the expense of their safety." A public consultation in 2023 demonstrated widespread support for tighter regulation across the Collins, director of Save Face, a register of approved clinics and practitioners, said she had seen first hand "the devastating impact these procedures can have on the lives of victims and their families"."I am delighted that the government has recognised the significant and potentially fatal risks posed by highly dangerous procedures like liquid BBLs, and has made it a priority to implement restrictions to protect public safety."There are thought to be around 16,000 businesses involved in non-surgical cosmetic procedures, which have seen a huge boom in popularity in recent Joint Council for Cosmetic Practitioners (JCCP) said ensuring all cosmetic practitioners were regulated and licensed, appropriately insured and worked from safe premises had become "imperative"."These proposals have our full support and we welcome the opportunity to engage in further consultation," says JCCP executive chair Prof David Sines. Health officials are currently investigating 38 cases of poisoning following suspected fake Botox public is reminded to make sure they only use registered and qualified practitioners and use products licensed for use in Scottish government recently set out measures to improve the safety and standards of the non-surgical cosmetic procedures industry, following a consultation.
The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
One in five NHS doctors considering leaving UK profession, report warns
The Government's pledge to cut hospital waiting lists is at risk unless more is done to retain doctors in the NHS, the medical regulator has warned. Almost one in five (19%) of doctors are considering quitting being a doctor in the UK, the General Medical Council (GMC) said. And one in eight (12%) are considering leaving the UK to work abroad, according to GMC figures. The main reason given for considering a move abroad was that doctors are 'treated better' in other countries, with an increase in pay cited as the second most common reason for plans to emigrate. Overall, some 43% of doctors told the GMC that they had researched career opportunities in other countries. Some 15% of doctors reported they had taken 'hard steps' towards leaving UK practice – such as applying for roles overseas or contacting recruiters. 'We must be alive to the ongoing risks to retention of doctors and the impact of losing talented staff,' the authors of the GMC's latest report wrote. 'This could threaten Government ambitions to reduce waiting times and deliver better care to patients.' Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has pledged that, by July 2029, 92% of patients will be seen within 18 weeks for routine hospital treatment such as hip and knee replacements. The GMC's latest report also raised concerns about career progression for medics. The report highlighted that 8% of doctors who felt they could progress their career said they were likely to leave the UK medical profession and had taken hard steps towards doing so, compared with 27% of those who did not feel this way. Overall one in three doctors said they are unable to progress their education, training and careers in the way they want, according to the report, which is based on responses from 4,697 doctors around the UK. It found that those who did not feel as though their careers were progressing the way they would wish were at higher risk of burnout and were less satisfied with their work. The GMC said that workloads, competition for posts, and lack of senior support for development are adversely impacting career hopes for UK doctors. Charlie Massey, chief executive of the GMC, said: 'Like any profession, doctors who are disillusioned with their careers will start looking elsewhere. 'Doctors need to be satisfied, supported, and see a hopeful future for themselves, or we may risk losing their talent and expertise altogether. 'Achieving this requires modernising the current training system, so it meets the needs of doctors and patients.' It comes as Health Secretary Wes Streeting and the British Medical Association are locked in talks to avert further strike action by resident doctors after a five-day walkout in July. Resident doctors, formerly known as junior doctors, are in a dispute with the Government over pay and a lack of places for doctors in training. Commenting on the GMC report, Billy Palmer, senior fellow at the Nuffield Trust think tank, said: 'Pay and industrial action have been a lightning rod for dissatisfaction among doctors but this survey puts a spotlight on the wider difficulties facing the medical profession. 'Job guarantees, better rotas and placements, and protection of training time all need to be on the table. 'Addressing the burden of medical graduates' student debt by gradually writing off loans could also be a promising way to reward doctors' NHS service. With fewer than three in five doctors in 'core training' remaining in the NHS eight years later, unless warnings from this survey are dealt with, we'll continue to lose these skilled clinicians.' A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: 'The findings in this report are further evidence of what we know, that after more than a decade of neglect, doctors have legitimate complaints about their conditions, including issues with training bottlenecks and career progression. 'We want to work with them to address these and improve their working lives, which includes our plans set out in the 10 Year Health Plan to prioritise UK graduates and increase speciality training posts. 'This Government is committed to improving career opportunities and working conditions, bringing in ways to recognise and reward talent – as well as freeing up clinicians' time by cutting red tape.'
