Airedale Hospital among first to trial cancer care app
A Keighley hospital has become the first in the North to pilot a new app to support cancer patients.For the next 14 months the cancer team at Airedale General Hospital will offer the Careology app, which provides round-the-clock support.The app is designed to help users manage their treatment and side-effects, as well as update their records between appointments.Lead cancer nurse Caroline Salt successfully bid for £238,000 of funding for the trial from the West Yorkshire and Harrogate Cancer Alliance.
She said: "We're the first hospital in the North to be able to trial it which is very exciting."This isn't about substituting any nursing or medical staff, this is about supplementing the care we can already give."Every new and current patient at the hospital receiving cancer care can download the app which was created by private firm Careology but is run by the NHS.They can use it to get information and guidance about how they are feeling and whether or not they need to contact the hospital.Friends and family can also use a Caregiver app to get help or advice with the consent of the patient.Ms Salt joined Airedale NHS Foundation Trust in 2023 and hers was among 57 bids for the Cancer Alliance's innovation competition last May.Only four were chosen for funding.She said: "If you are a cancer patient, or a carer of someone with cancer, and you are being treated at Airedale I would definitely urge you to download the app."This is a pilot and we are really keen to hear our patients and make sure we provide the best cancer care possible at Airedale Hospital."
'Improve care'
The Careology app is used by the Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust and the Royal Marsden Hospital, both in London.Jason Pawluk, managing director of the West Yorkshire and Harrogate Cancer Alliance, said: "We invested in this impressive proposal because of the opportunities to improve care for people receiving mainly non-surgical oncology treatments."And also the possibility of sharing learning from Airedale more widely across the patch, subject to evaluation."There are 21 Cancer Alliances in the UK which were set up to improve diagnosis, treatment and care for cancer patients in their local area.Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North or tell us a story you think we should be covering here, external.
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The Guardian
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- The Guardian
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Two summers ago, I met a man on a dating app who would become my boyfriend. The red flags were there from the start, but I ignored them all. When I stayed at his, he didn't have a towel to offer me, and he never changed his sheets. It became obvious that he didn't know how to look after himself. Even though, in reality, he could survive without me (similar to how a teenage boy would survive on his own, eating burgers in bed), I felt like, if I wasn't there to buy groceries, cook and clean, he might die. He would disappear for days, on a drink- or drugs-fuelled bender, and I'd assume he'd overdosed in a basement somewhere. I lived in fear that something terrible would happen to him. I became his boyfriend and his caregiver. This was a familiar role for me: I'd done it in all my previous relationships. I needed to be needed. If the person I was dating didn't need me, then what value did I have? I found safety in taking care of someone. This started as a family dynamic: as the eldest child, I had to look out for my younger brothers, and learned to overlook my own needs. Then, when I was 14, my girlfriend died in a drug-related car accident. My therapist helped me to see the connection; that because I couldn't save her, I sought romantic relationships with men or women I thought I could save instead. One evening, after being recommended it by Netflix, I began watching Beautiful Boy, a film about the breakdown of a father's relationship with his son, who is an addict. It was about halfway through that I decided to leave my relationship. When Steve Carell's character (David) hangs up on Timothée Chalamet (Nic), saying, 'I wish I could help you, but I can't do that,' I knew I couldn't either. I admired the strength it took to end the cycle of trying (and failing) to save his son. Even though he was my boyfriend and three years older, I related to the father-son dynamic in Beautiful Boy. I felt responsible for him, and he would tell me that he would die without me, threatening to take his own life. Until then, I hadn't seen how much I was damaging myself by trying to help him. And that I would never be able to, not really. He had to learn how to take care of himself. As David says: 'I don't think you can save people.' Despite deciding to end the relationship in September 2023, I didn't take action until October, when I cheated on him. I felt I had to do something irreparable that would make it impossible for us to stay together. I told him what I'd done over the phone, then I called his mum to tell her about his drug problem. I don't think she knew: she lived in another country and he hid it from her. Finally, I called a psychiatric facility and did all of the admin to make sure that he would be taken care of, and then never spoke to him again. The guilt I felt was overpowered by the feeling that this was something I had to do. That was my last codependent relationship. I have a new boyfriend, who tells me that my company alone is enough. I'm the most peaceful I've ever been, but sometimes the voice that says I'm only lovable if I'm useful comes back. If I try to cook for my boyfriend when I'm tired and he tells me I don't have to, I can spiral. But slowly, with help, I'm building a sense of self that doesn't rely on being of service. Beautiful Boy helped me see that I don't need to take care of someone else to have value. Sign up to Inside Saturday The only way to get a look behind the scenes of the Saturday magazine. Sign up to get the inside story from our top writers as well as all the must-read articles and columns, delivered to your inbox every weekend. after newsletter promotion You can tell us how a cultural moment has prompted you to make a major life change by filling in the form below or emailing us on Please include as much detail as possible Please note, the maximum file size is 5.7 MB. Your contact details are helpful so we can contact you for more information. They will only be seen by the Guardian. Your contact details are helpful so we can contact you for more information. They will only be seen by the Guardian. If you include other people's names please ask them first. Action on Addiction is available on 0300 330 0659.
Daily Mail
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The unhealthiest ready meals ranked by salt content
By JOHN ELY DEPUTY HEALTH EDITOR FOR MAILONLINE Published: | Updated: Ready meals sold in Britain can be saltier than ten portions of McDonald's fries, a damning audit has revealed. The probe, by campaign group Action on Salt, looked at the nutritional content of more than 1,500 meals sold by more than 30 brands and supermarkets in the UK. Results showed that the saltiest option contains a whopping 6.1g per serving—nearly twice as salty as seawater, two margarita pizzas (5.2g) or almost ten servings of chips at the fast-food chain. By comparison, the NHS recommends adults only eat 6g of salt for the entire day, for children the limit is even lower. One in five ready meals for sale in Britain exceeded the recommended daily limits for salt, fat and unsaturated fat, Action in Salt found. Even some seemingly healthy dishes contained far more of all three nutrients than recommended. 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Royal also took another top spot with its Chicken Tikka Masala with Saffron Rice which had almost 4.7g of salt per serving. Iceland's Taste of Italy Vegetable Lasagne was another high scorer with 3.9g of salt per serving, over half of an adult's daily recommended salt limit. By supermarket, Iceland had the most salty ready meals with 86 per cent of its products high in salt. This was followed by Aldi (70 per cent), Lidl (64 per cent), and M&S and Sainsbury's (54 per cent each). Morrisons performed the best of out of the supermarkets, with only 40 per cent of its ready meals high in salt. Action on Salt also found substantial variation on salt content within different types of ready meals. For example, Sainsbury's Free From Spaghetti Bolognese contained 4.35g of salt per serving. This was 8.5 times more salt than another product Kirsty's Pasta Bolognese Gluten Free which only had 0.5g of salt. Trendy ready meals made by Charlie Bingham weren't far behind Jamie Oliver's in terms of salt content with 91 per cent high in salt. Of the 1,511 ready meals analysed Action of Salt found 56 per cent were high in salt, 42 per cent high in saturated fat and 71 per cent low in fibre. One in five were found in be both high in fat and salt simultaneously. Action on Salt's head of impact and research Sonia Pombo said voluntary targets for producers to reduce salt content introduced in 2006 were clearly not working. 'With over half of ready meals found to be unacceptably high in salt, consumers' health are being put at serious risk, often without realising it,' she said. 'It should not be this hard to eat healthily. 'We now need the government to stop pandering to industry interests and introduce mandatory salt reduction targets with real consequences for non-compliance.' Dr Pauline Swift, chair of the charity Blood Pressure UK, also called for action. 'Excess salt in our food is directly linked to raised blood pressure–the biggest risk factor for strokes, heart disease and kidney disease–all of which are completely avoidable,' she said. 'The government must act now to enforce stronger salt reduction targets and protect public health before even more lives are needlessly lost.' Professor Bryan Williams OBE, chief medical and scientific officer at the British Heart Foundation, added: 'This concerning data shows it is not always straightforward for people to find ready meals which are low in salt. 'Food companies must do more to reduce salt in their products, so that the healthy options are more easily available.' The NHS warns that too much fat in your diet, especially saturated fats, can raise your cholesterol, which in turn increases the risk of heart disease. On the other hand, getting enough fibre, also called roughage, helps with digestion, preventing constipation and is also linked with a lower risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and bowel cancer. Ready meals are now considered a staple of the modern British diet with surveys suggesting three out of four people consuming at least one per week. The Department of Health and Social Care was contacted for comment. Action on Salt's analysis of ready meals was based on products surveyed in January of this year.
Daily Mail
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saltier than ten portions of McDonald's fries, a damning audit has revealed. The probe, by campaign group Action on Salt, looked at the nutritional content of more than 1,500 meals sold by more than 30 brands and supermarkets in the UK. Results showed that the saltiest option contains a whopping 6.1g per serving—nearly twice as salty as seawater, two margarita pizzas (5.2g) or almost ten servings of chips at the fast-food chain. By comparison, the NHS recommends adults only eat 6g of salt for the entire day, for children the limit is even lower. One in five ready meals for sale in Britain exceeded the recommended daily limits for salt, fat and unsaturated fat, Action in Salt found. Even some seemingly healthy dishes contained far more of all three nutrients than recommended. Experts today labelled the probe's findings 'concerning' and 'unacceptable', arguing manufacturers must reduce the salt content of their meals and protect public health. Having excess salt in your system leads to water retention in the blood raising your blood pressure. This can, subsequently, raise the risk of a potentially fatal heart attack or stroke. Heart disease and strokes are one of Britain's biggest killers, killing about 160,000 a year, with the American death toll about five times higher. Action on Salt's investigation found all of the ready meals produced by chef and healthy eating campaigner Jamie Oliver were dangerously high in salt, containing more than 1.5g per 100g. Eighty-three per cent were also found to be high in both fat and saturated fat, and all were found to be low in fibre. Meanwhile, Royal's cottage pie, sold by the likes of Sainsbury's, topped the list for salt content at 6.12g. Royal also took another top spot with its Chicken Tikka Masala with Saffron Rice which had almost 4.7g of salt per serving. Iceland's Taste of Italy Vegetable Lasagne was another high scorer with 3.9g of salt per serving, over half of an adult's daily recommended salt limit. By supermarket, Iceland had the most salty ready meals with 86 per cent of its products high in salt. This was followed by Aldi (70 per cent), Lidl (64 per cent), and M&S and Sainsbury's (54 per cent each). Morrisons performed the best of out of the supermarkets, with only 40 per cent of its ready meals high in salt. Action on Salt also found substantial variation on salt content within different types of ready meals. For example, Sainsbury's Free From Spaghetti Bolognese contained 4.35g of salt per serving. This was 8.5 times more salt than another product Kirsty's Pasta Bolognese Gluten Free which only had 0.5g of salt. Trendy ready meals made by Charlie Bingham weren't far behind Jamie Oliver's in terms of salt content with 91 per cent high in salt. NHS guidelines suggest adults should consume no more than 6g of salt per day. The WHO, however, recommend just 5g. A diet too high in salt is linked to high blood pressure, hypertension, as the sodium in salt leads to more water in your blood vessels. Studies have suggested a high an intake of salt is associated with a 23 per cent increase in the risk of stroke and a 14 per cent increase in the risk of cardiovascular disease. Other research has indicated that high salt intakes cause stiffening of blood vessels and arteries. In turn, these changes may result in a higher risk of heart disease. What is the maximum amount of salt a child should eat per day? Age Salt One to three Four to six Seven to 10 11 to 18 2g 3g 5g 6g Source: The British Heart Foundation and NHS Of the 1,511 ready meals analysed Action of Salt found 56 per cent were high in salt, 42 per cent high in saturated fat and 71 per cent low in fibre. One in five were found in be both high in fat and salt simultaneously. Action on Salt's head of impact and research Sonia Pombo said voluntary targets for producers to reduce salt content introduced in 2006 were clearly not working. 'With over half of ready meals found to be unacceptably high in salt, consumers' health are being put at serious risk, often without realising it,' she said. 'It should not be this hard to eat healthily. 'We now need the government to stop pandering to industry interests and introduce mandatory salt reduction targets with real consequences for non-compliance.' Dr Pauline Swift, chair of the charity Blood Pressure UK, also called for action. 'Excess salt in our food is directly linked to raised blood pressure–the biggest risk factor for strokes, heart disease and kidney disease–all of which are completely avoidable,' she said. 'The government must act now to enforce stronger salt reduction targets and protect public health before even more lives are needlessly lost.' Professor Bryan Williams OBE, chief medical and scientific officer at the British Heart Foundation, added: 'This concerning data shows it is not always straightforward for people to find ready meals which are low in salt. 'Food companies must do more to reduce salt in their products, so that the healthy options are more easily available.' The NHS warns that too much fat in your diet, especially saturated fats, can raise your cholesterol, which in turn increases the risk of heart disease. On the other hand, getting enough fibre, also called roughage, helps with digestion, preventing constipation and is also linked with a lower risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and bowel cancer. Ready meals are now considered a staple of the modern British diet with surveys suggesting three out of four people consuming at least one per week. The Department of Health and Social Care was contacted for comment. Action on Salt's analysis of ready meals was based on products surveyed in January of this year.
