Justice delayed: 140 000 forensic cases trapped in SA's laboratory backlog
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an hour ago
- Yahoo
More checks, tests and scans to be offered out of hours at local health centres
Patients in England can get checks, tests and scans done out of hours at 100 community-based diagnostic centres which are now open 12 hours a day seven days a week, it has been announced. Extending the opening hours for Community Diagnostic Centres (CDCs) is increasing access to health services and speeding up diagnosis for thousands of patients, according to the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) Some 7.2 million CDC tests and scans have been delivered since July 2024. Shopping centres, community hospitals and university campuses are among the venues closer to people's homes where the centres are based and open out of hours for health appointments. Health Secretary Wes Streeting said the Government is 'determined to offer healthcare that fits around working people's lives and not the other way around'. He added: 'From early morning MRI scans to late evening blood tests, we're meeting patients where they need it most by extending the operating hours for community diagnostic centres and putting patients first.' The NHS delivered more than 1.6 million more tests and scans from July 2024 to June 2025 and there were 218,463 people who had cancer ruled out or diagnosed within 28 days, the DHSC said. Improved performance on the faster diagnosis standard means that nearly 97,000 more people had cancer diagnosed or ruled out within 28 days between July 2024 and June 2025, compared to the same period last year. At Oldham CDC in Greater Manchester, extended opening hours have cut lung cancer diagnosis times from 42 days to just 18.8 days, while Queen Victoria Hospital CDC in East Grinstead, West Sussex, is recording five times more respiratory patient interactions per session, with 92% avoiding the need for hospital outpatient appointments. Patients can be referred to CDCs through their GP or hospital-based clinical teams. Mr Streeting said the Government's 10-year health plan is 'revolutionising how healthcare works' and the measures are helping to bring care closer to the community. Professor Meghana Pandit, NHS England national medical director, said: 'We know people are living incredibly busy lives and it's vital NHS care reflects that. 'The services provided by Community Diagnostics Centres enable people to receive the all-clear or a diagnosis at a time and location that suits them, whether before a school drop off or after a work shift, and extending their opening hours means more people are being seen more quickly.' CDCs can provide a range of tests including MRI and CT scans, echocardiography and phlebotomy services. Wayne Rowlands, who visited the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital Community Diagnostic Centre for an emergency CT scan, described it as a 'pleasant experience' in a setting that was 'very bright and not at all like a hospital'. The Government's plan for change is backed by more than £6 billion of additional capital investment to improve capacity for elective, diagnostic, and urgent care services over five years, with more than £600 million capital funding committed for 2025/26 to transform diagnostic services. This includes funding up to five additional CDCs in 2025/26 and extending opening hours for all CDCs at evenings and at weekends. Laura Challinor from the Blood Cancer UK charity welcomed the move but said more must be done to tackle regional variation and speed up testing. She said: 'It's imperative that everyone affected by blood cancer can readily access the diagnostic tests and appointments they need. 'With blood cancer being the UK's third biggest cancer killer and survival lagging behind countries of similar wealth and health, doing all we can to turn that tide is critical.'
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Trump's Foreign Aid Cuts Are Ruining Ethiopia's Progress on Maternal Mortality
And enabling the country's anti-abortion movement. Since January, Donald Trump has–surprise!–inflicted an innumerable amount of devastation on reproductive rights and maternal health. If you're a regular Jezebel reader, you know this is nothing new. But a new report by the Independent reveals the wickedness isn't just barbaric–it's global. The article focuses on Ethiopia, how it once 'won the battle against its maternal deaths crisis,' and well, how Trump's foreign aid cuts might just ruin the progress. In 2005, the country repealed its draconian abortion ban, which only permitted the procedure to save the mother's life or her health (sound familiar?). In the two decades since, abortion has been legal in cases of rape, incest, fetal abnormalities, among other exceptions. The progress thereafter was significant. A paper published in May 2024 revealed that during the first 20 years of the 21st century, the country had slashed its maternal death rate by 72% and neonatal death rate by 44%—an impressive feat compared to other governments in sub-Saharan Africa. Most Popular George Clooney Sounds Like a Lovely House Husband Ohio Woman Faces 'Abuse of a Corpse' Charge for Miscarriage in Another Post-Roe Nightmare Abortion Access Will, Once Again, Be Decided by the Supreme Court But between canceling 83% of USAID programs in March and slashing away billions of aid through the One Big Beautiful (I-am-so-sick-and-tired-of-this) Bill, legislators have essentially deserted aid organizations around the world and left thousands to cope without life-saving treatments. For Ethiopia, one of the largest beneficiaries of U.S. aid dollars, it has also meant shutting down healthcare providers. Funding cuts have 'significantly affected accessibility of services including family planning, maternal health services, even newborn, child health, adolescent, and youth health services,' Dr. Hailemariam Segni, the president of the Ethiopian Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology, explained to the outlet. Still, he predicts that 'the number of pregnancies will increase'—and with it, so will the complications. The Independent writes: With the dust settling after Trump ordered all foreign aid work to stop in January of this year, Ethiopia has come out as one of the biggest losers in the cuts. By March, the country had seen the second biggest cut by dollar amount, tied with the Democratic Republic of Congo and exceeded only by funding cuts to Ukraine, according to the Center for Global Development. Dr Shibru says 85 per cent of NGOs, crucial in the delivery of many of the country's health services, had stopped work or were shuttered. A quick refresher that foreign aid cuts aren't just sadistic and cruel, they're unnecessary. It's not about 'fiscal conservatism': the federal government spends just a paltry 1% of its budget on foreign aid—a literal drip in the bucket. It's not 'America First': it's a huge erosion of U.S. influence and a huge shake-up to the very institutions it set up in the first place (not that any said institutions are perfect–but that's a fight for another time). And any reproductive health or family planning organization abroad that so much as whispers the word 'abortion' gets its funding slashed by Trump's global gag rule. So much for the party of 'family values. Unfortunately, funding cuts are just the tip of the iceberg. Conceringly, there's a growing 'resurgent anti-rights movement' that wants to roll back the country's 2005 law–and with it, access to safe abortion. Because of this, fewer Ethiopians are accessing abortions through public facilities, according to data collected by the country's Ministry of Health, That's right, anti-abortionists in America are enabling a global ripple effect. And because aid cuts are creating a vacuum, another doctor explains, anti-abortion groups are getting new energy—and the opportunity—to step in. Even if Ethiopia manages to stave off its anti-abortionists, none of the cuts bode well for a country whose maternal mortality rate was steadily decreasing up until now. So well done, America. You've not just managed to up your own maternal death crisis–but you've sabotaged others', too. Yay. Like what you just read? You've got great taste. Subscribe to Jezebel, and for $5 a month or $50 a year, you'll get access to a bunch of subscriber benefits, including getting to read the next article (and all the ones after that) ad-free. Plus, you'll be supporting independent journalism—which, can you even imagine not supporting independent journalism in times like these? Yikes.
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
The 7 dietitian-backed foods to eat for a balanced breakfast
Your mornings are busy enough without having to spend the time to decide what to make – and then having to actually make – a healthy, well-balanced breakfast. That's further complicated by the fact "healthy" can mean different things to different people. Some may be trying to lose weight. Some may be trying to gain weight. Some may be trying to increase the amount of nutritious food they eat in a day. Some may just need to grab anything they can get their hands on to make sure there's something in their stomach before running out the door. Marisa Moore, MBA, RDN, LD, a registered dietitian nutritionist and author of "The Plant Love Kitchen," breaks down everything you need to know about best breakfast nutrition practices. Looking for a healthy breakfast? Here's what to eat in the morning for a nutritious meal. How many calories should I eat for breakfast? The amount of calories someone should eat in a given meal can depend on several factors, including age, sex, height, weight, physical activity, pregnancy or lactation status and individual goals. For example, the current Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends that a moderately active (defined as the equivalent to walking between 1.5 and 3 miles per day at 3 to 4 miles per hour) 35-year-old man should be consuming about 2,600 calories a day, while a moderately active 35-year old woman needs about 2,000. Women generally need fewer calories than men, and older adults generally need fewer calories than younger ones. These recommendations can also vary depending on whether a person is trying to lose, maintain or gain weight, too. Rather than focusing on how many calories someone should be eating at breakfast, nutrition experts suggest paying more attention to the variety of macronutrients you're serving yourself. "Start the day with a protein- and carbohydrate-rich meal for sustained energy until lunch time," Moore suggests. Adding healthy fats, such as chia seeds, walnuts, olive oil, avocado or full-fat yogurt to the equation is helpful. What is meal sequencing? Health experts explain whether the rising diet trend works. What should I eat for breakfast? Your morning menu doesn't have to be boring. These balanced breakfast options will give you the energy you need to get through the day. Vegetable-packed omelet with a side of fruit (pick your favorites!) Protein-rich Greek yogurt with walnuts and berries (a quick, no-cook option that Moore says will keep you full "for hours"). Oatmeal with a creamy nut or seed butter with a handful of berries (this one's vegan, if that's something you're looking for in a recipe). Leftover beans and rice or roasted broccoli with scrambled eggs or tofu ("Remember that breakfast can be anything you want it to be," Moore says). The U.S. Department of Agriculture's MyPlate (which in 2011 replaced the food pyramid you might be more familiar with) also offers dozens of healthy breakfast recipes, including apple oatmeal muffins, black bean burritos and Spanish omelets. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What to eat for breakfast, according to a dietitian
