Gen-Z islanders co-create questionnaire for young voters
A questionnaire co-created by Gen-Z islanders from Jersey has been released by University College London (UCL) to better understand their voting behaviour.Vote.je - the States of Jersey's official election guide- said participants would be asked for their views in areas such as their voting mindset, the influence of social media and their exposure to politics in education. Researcher Hazel Stutz said only 17% of 16 to 34-year-olds voted in the 2022 Jersey election compared to the 53% of islanders over the age of 65."This project aims to investigate why that might be and recommend ways to improve that figure for future elections," said Ms Stutz.
"Getting the views of young islanders is vital in understanding how they currently perceive voting and what may be preventing them from doing so, in order to suggest improvements."Head of digital and public engagement, Jenny O'Brien, added: "We're excited to support this research project and look forward to seeing what recommendations are made that can help inform our work and, in turn, empower Jersey's next generation of voters."Anyone aged between 18 and 24 who is eligible to vote is being encouraged to complete the questionnaire by 10 March.
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The Guardian
02-06-2025
- The Guardian
CPS criticised for dropping assault charge after officer allegedly gave CPR while man was awake
A leading academic of English literature has criticised prosecutors for dropping an assault charge against a police officer who allegedly gave him forceful chest compressions meant for a heart attack victim while he was awake. John Sutherland, 86, emeritus Lord Northcliffe professor of modern English literature at University College London, fell ill on a London underground train in May 2023. An off-duty Metropolitan police constable, Sam Wilks, performed chest compressions on Sutherland, meant to revive a stopped heart, breaking a number of ribs. Sutherland's witness statement said he was conscious when the chest compressions started and that the 'pain was excruciating'. He said: 'I was screaming as loud as I can to stop him. I screamed: 'Stop, kill me, kill me, I can't stand this.' I was dissenting at the top of my voice.' Cardiopulmonary resuscitation or CPR is usually used on someone who has stopped breathing and is unconscious. The Met accepted the officer's actions caused injuries but said Wilks had every reason to think Sutherland's life might be in danger and he was trying to help. Wilks was investigated by the British Transport Police and charged with inflicting grievous bodily harm, but Sutherland was informed two working days before the scheduled trial date last Tuesday, that the CPS had dropped the case. The Met said Wilks had been treated unfairly, facing almost two years under the threat of conviction and jail. Sutherland said emails from his solicitors to the CPS to explain its decision went unanswered, meaning he could not seek any review of the decision. During a brief hearing last Tuesday, the judge, HHJ Kelleher, asked the prosecutor representing the CPS if the decision to drop the case 'had been communicated to Prof Sutherland'. Prosecutor Michael Shaw, who made it clear he was acting on instructions, claimed Sutherland and his partner had not responded to emails. Sutherland told the Guardian this claim was untrue and 'misleading', and after questioning by the Guardian the CPS accepts it sent no emails. He said: 'The assault and its after-effects have been the greatest trial of my life. The statement by the prosecutor has added to it. The excuse for no actual trial taking place has added to my injury.' Just after 8.45pm on 27 May 2023 Sutherland fell ill while on an underground train. His wife called for help, believing he could be suffering from a cardiac arrest, and a doctor and Wilks responded. Sutherland was taken off the train and a defibrillator kept at the station was attached to his torso. The machine gave spoken instructions wrongly saying no heartbeat was present and that emergency chest compressions should begin. Sutherland was breathing, conscious and able to talk. According to Sutherland, Wilks took charge and decided the instructions from the defibrillator to perform chest compressions should be followed. Sutherland and his wife pleaded for the chest compressions to stop. A note by doctors who later treated Sutherland for his injuries describes them as coming from an 'assault/chest compressions while awake … had chest compressions WHILST AWAKE …' After the criminal case was dropped, the Met on Friday decided Wilks should not face any disciplinary action and returned him to full duties: 'PC Wilks intervened off duty during what he had every reason to believe was a life-threatening medical episode. There is no evidence to suggest he had any ill intent. He believed he was trying to save a life. We did not feel this case should have been pursued through the courts. 'Even though the case has now been dropped, we should not underestimate the impact it will have had on him to this point. 'We of course also recognise the unintended impact on the gentleman who had fallen ill and who sustained injuries as a result of PC Wilks's intervention.' The CPS did not respond directly to Sutherland's view that the court and judge had been misled. A spokesperson said: 'After carefully reviewing the case, including the medical evidence and witness statements, we concluded that there was no realistic prospect of conviction in this case. 'The complainant was informed of our decision last week and we will be writing to him to further explain our decision.' Sutherland, both of whose parents were police officers, now plans to sue the Met and has formally complained to the CPS about its conduct.
The Independent
30-05-2025
- The Independent
AI to help more patients get prostate cancer drug that cuts risk of death
AI could eliminate the "postcode lottery" surrounding a life-extending treatment for advanced prostate cancer, researchers have said. A recent study found that AI can identify patients who will benefit most from Abiraterone, a "game changer" drug. Abiraterone, a hormone therapy, functions by blocking testosterone production to prevent the growth of prostate cancer. It is approved for NHS use in England for patients with advanced prostate cancer that has spread. However, despite being available in Scotland and Wales for the past two years, it is not approved for men newly diagnosed with high-risk prostate cancer that has not yet spread. The new test, developed by Artera, uses AI to detect features invisible to the human eye on images of tumour samples. The study, led by The Institute of Cancer Research, London, and University College London (UCL), ran the test on biopsy images from more than 1,000 men who took part in the Stampede trial. Patients were given a score of either biomarker-positive or biomarker-negative. Researchers found abiraterone reduced the risk of death among biomarker-positive patients from 17 per cent to 9 per cent. In biomarker-negative patients, the drug cut death risk from 7 per cent to 4 per cent, with researchers suggesting this indicates these men would benefit from standard therapy. Nick James, a professor of prostate and bladder cancer research at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, and consultant clinical oncologist at The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, is chief investigator of Stampede and co-led the new study. He said: 'This research shows that we can pick out the people who will respond best to abiraterone, and those who will do well from standard treatment alone – hormone therapy and radiotherapy. ' Access to this life-extending drug is currently a postcode lottery – with those living in Scotland and Wales able to receive the treatment for free. 'The NHS in England has previously decided that it would be too expensive to offer the drug. Since the patent expired in 2022, abiraterone costs just £77 per pack – compared with the thousands of pounds that new drugs cost. 'Previous research by my team has shown that preventing cancer relapses for these men would save more money than the drug costs to purchase. 'I truly hope that this new research – showing precisely who needs the drug to live well for longer – will lead to NHS England reviewing their decision not to fund abiraterone for high-risk prostate cancer that has not spread.' Prof James also highlighted that while abiraterone can have 'spectacular' results, it does have side effects. 'Abiraterone has already hugely improved the outlook for hundreds of thousands of men with advanced prostate cancer,' he said. 'We know that for many men with cancer that has not yet spread, it can also have spectacular results. 'But it does come with side effects and requires additional monitoring for potential issues with high blood pressure or liver abnormalities. 'It can also slightly increase the risk of diabetes and heart attacks, so knowing who is most likely to benefit is very valuable.' Experts hope the findings, presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting in Chicago, may lead to a change in the availability of abiraterone in England. Prof Kristian Helin, chief executive of The Institute of Cancer Research, said the drug has been a 'game changer for treatment of prostate cancer'. 'Alongside our mission to find smarter, kinder treatments, we must ensure we are matching the right drugs to the right patients,' he added. 'This research, using artificial intelligence, provides an innovative route to testing prostate cancer patients to determine their treatment. 'I hope that this can be implemented so that all men with prostate cancer who will benefit from abiraterone can do so.' Dr Matthew Hobbs, director of research at Prostate Cancer UK, said: 'Prostate Cancer UK has been calling on the UK Government to approve this life-saving, cost-effective drug for over two years. 'These exciting results suggest a way to make this an even more cost-effective approach. 'We therefore echo the researchers' urgent call for abiraterone to be made available to those men whose lives it can save – men who, thanks to this research, we can now identify more precisely than ever before.'
Telegraph
30-05-2025
- Telegraph
Give prostate cancer patients drug that halves risk of death, NHS told
Men with aggressive prostate cancer should be given a drug that halves their risk of death, experts have urged the NHS. British scientists have used AI to identify which men could most benefit from a treatment which is currently denied by the NHS in England. Researchers found that one in four men with high-risk prostate cancer, which has not yet spread, could see their risk of death halved if they were given the hormone treatment abiraterone. The rest could be spared such treatment, which can cause distressing side effects including loss of libido, as well as fatigue and weakness. The drug is routinely offered to men in Scotland and Wales with newly diagnosed high-risk prostate cancer which has not yet spread. However, the NHS refuses to fund it in England, even though it costs just £2.75 a day. As a result, around 8,400 men a year are denied the drug, which is only given to some men with advanced disease. Prostate cancer in numbers The new study shows just how powerful the drug can be if targeted at the right candidates, in conjunction with standard therapy - cutting deaths by half among those with aggressive disease, while slashing the cost to the NHS. Experts said the findings from The Institute of Cancer Research, London, and University College London (UCL) should prompt NHS officials to review the funding of the drug. The results will be presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting [MUST KEEP] which opens in Chicago on Friday. Abiraterone, discovered in the UK at The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR), works by inhibiting the production of testosterone in all tissues throughout the body, including in the tumour. The new test, developed by Artera Inc,. uses artificial intelligence to study images of tumour samples and pick out features that are invisible to the human eye. It was tested on biopsy images from more than 1,000 men with prostate cancer who were taking part in a major trial. Men were given a score depending on whether their disease was fuelled by male hormones known as androgens. In cases which were fuelled by the hormones - which makes the disease more aggressive - giving men abiraterone cut the risk of death after five years from 17 per cent to 9 per cent. Prostate cancer cases and rates In cases which were not, the risk went from 7 to 4 per cent among those given the drug, which experts said was not statistically or clinically significant. Such men would benefit from standard treatment, which would spare them the side effects which come with abiraterone, experts said. The current research received funding from Artera Inc., UK MRC and Prostate Cancer UK. Professor Nick James, Professor of Prostate and Bladder Cancer Research at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, who co-led the study said that the drug had already been found to have 'spectacular results' for many men. He said the new findings allowed the treatment to be far more narrowly targeted, to pick out those who would respond best, and spare others from side effects. The Consultant Clinical Oncologist at The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust said access to the life extending drug was currently 'a postcode lottery' despite the fact the drug costs just £2.75 a day. He urged NHS England to fund the drugs. Professor Kristian Helin, Chief Executive of The Institute of Cancer Research, said: 'Abiraterone has been a game changer for treatment of prostate cancer, and I'm proud of the ICR's role in discovering and testing this drug which has extended the lives of so many men. 'Alongside our mission to find smarter, kinder treatments, we must ensure we are matching the right drugs to the right patients. This research, using artificial intelligence, provides an innovative route to testing prostate cancer patients to determine their treatment. I hope that this can be implemented so that all men with prostate cancer who will benefit from abiraterone can do so.' Study co-leader Professor Gert Attard, at the UCL Cancer Institute said advanced and aggressive prostate cancer could take a 'highly variable' path, with the new evidence showing how algorithms could extract information from routinely available pathology slides to tailor these treatments to specific patients. Dr Matthew Hobbs, Director of Research at Prostate Cancer UK, said: 'Prostate Cancer UK has been calling on the UK Government to approve this life-saving, cost-effective drug for over two years. These exciting results suggest a way to make this an even more cost-effective approach. We therefore echo the researchers' urgent call for abiraterone to be made available to those men whose lives it can save – men who, thanks to this research, we can now identify more precisely than ever before.' 'Treatment has cost me £20,000 so far' Giles Turner, 64, who lives in Brighton, was diagnosed with prostate cancer in March 2023. He has been taking abiraterone for almost two years and has spent £20,000 on his treatment so far. He said: 'This is great research and adds even more reason for NHS England to start funding this treatment now. 'I find it very difficult to come to terms with having to pay for this treatment whereas if I was with the NHS in Scotland or Wales I would not. 'Even more importantly are the thousands of men in England who are missing out on this cheap, life-saving and cost-saving drug. Action must be taken by NHS England and DHSC right now.'
