Measles vaccine push as case confirmed in Wirral
"There has been an increase across Cheshire and Merseyside over the last few months," he said."This is the first case that we have been notified of in Wirral this year."Measles is a highly contagious disease which is spread by coughs and sneezes.Mr Bradburn encouraged parents to be aware of symptoms.Common symptoms include high fever; sore, red and watery eyes; coughing; and sneezing.Small white spots may also appear inside the mouth.A blotchy red or brown rash usually appears after a few days, typically on the face and behind the ears, before spreading.
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The Independent
9 minutes ago
- The Independent
Poll of the day: Do you think resident doctors are fairly paid for the work they do?
Junior doctors are staging a walkout – but are they right to demand more pay? Talks between the British Medical Association (BMA) and the government have broken down, triggering a five-day strike starting on Friday and the threat of monthly walkouts until a deal is reached. The government has already awarded a 5.4 per cent pay rise this year, bringing salaries for foundation doctors to between £38,831 and £44,439, and up to £73,992 for those in specialist training. But the BMA argues this still falls short of where pay should be, after more than a decade of real-terms decline. It is calling for pay to rise to between £47,308 and £54,274 for foundation doctors, and up to £90,989 at the top end of specialist training – a 29 per cent increase phased in over time. Health Secretary Wes Streeting has called the strike 'completely unjustified' and says the current pay offer is fair. But the BMA insists current salaries don't reflect the demands of the job or the debt many junior doctors carry from medical school. The NHS Confederation warns that each 0.1 per cent pay rise across the service costs an extra £125 million a year, and with 75,000 junior doctors in England, meeting the BMA's request could run into the billions. So, are junior doctors being underpaid – or is their demand simply unaffordable?
Daily Mail
10 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
DIY health tests relied on by thousands could be delivering false results and putting lives at risk, major study reveals
Many DIY tests for the likes of high cholesterol, vitamin deficiency, fertility and prostate cancer are not fit for purpose, a study suggests. Researchers examined tests that patients can buy in supermarkets, pharmacies and shops which they then use at home. They found the checks risked giving users the wrong result and could delay diagnosis. Most of them recommended following-up with a doctor regardless of the result, prompting experts to question the point of using them in the first place. Scientists from the University of Birmingham are now calling for much tighter regulation of the sector, adding that the NHS may face additional demand after patients self-test. They said: 'In the absence of guidance from healthcare professionals, individuals might use tests inappropriately or without a clear understanding of the implications of the results. 'False positive test results can lead to unnecessary anxiety, increased healthcare usage, and additional costs, whereas false negative test results may delay appropriate treatment or engagement with screening programmes. 'Test errors can stem from inherent limitations in the accuracy of the test, as well as user-related issues such as sampling errors, incorrect processing, and difficulties in interpreting the results.' However, the team said that in the future home tests could have great potential for patient care. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said it would look at the findings. Self-testing is becoming increasingly popular and the UK market for self-tests is expected to reach £660million by 2030. Overall 30 self-tests costing £1.89 to £39.99 were included in the study, published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ). The tests covered 19 different conditions, including vitamin deficiency, blood sugar levels, cholesterol, thyroid function, prostate health, HIV, menopause and bowel cancer. Researchers said only eight of the 30 tests provided information about who should or should not use the test, while four specified the presence of symptoms. External packaging on fewer than half of the tests (14) included any statement about their accuracy. Meanwhile, 90 per cent of the tests recommended following up with a healthcare professional if results were positive or abnormal, while 47 per cent recommended this if the outcome was negative. Accuracy claims were made for 24 of the tests, including in pamphlets, and most (58 per cent) claimed a performance of at least 98 per cent accuracy, sensitivity or specificity. However, the researchers said evidence supporting accuracy claims was largely unavailable or did not provide sufficient information for people likely to purchase the tests. Professor Jon Deeks, from the University of Birmingham, said: 'A plethora of new health self-tests have emerged in recent years and are available to buy from many high street supermarkets and pharmacies in the UK. 'While these kits have been approved for sale, they are not subject to the same stringent regulations as pharmaceutical products. 'Our recent research raises concerns about the suitability, accuracy and usability of many of the self-testing products available that require users to sample, test and interpret results themselves. 'In some cases, it is unclear how accuracy claims are supported, and there is no requirement of manufacturers to share the evidence behind these claims.' Professor Deeks said the UK is looking at a 'new world' when it comes to self-testing, but there is more work to do to show claims made were robust. He said much of the literature contained with tests was 'not easy to understand', while some of the results could lead to a 'wrong diagnosis'. In one example, he said the self-tests for prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels, a marker of prostate health, were fixed at a certain concentration level. However, he said this depended on how old the patient was, adding 'if you're age 70 you need to have your PSA done at a very different level to when you're 20'. Professor Deeks added: 'Current regulations for the use of self-testing kits in a commercial setting are not adequately protecting consumers.' Dr Clare Davenport, clinical associate professor at the University of Birmingham, said: 'The wide range of off-the-shelf tests now available to the public are not endorsed by the NHS and evidence for their benefit is lacking. 'This is in contrast to well-established self-tests, such as pregnancy tests. 'We are worried that consumers concerned about their health and tempted by the convenience of buying a test over the counter may be harmed if they use these tests in the wrong way.' A spokesman for Suresign, which provides three of the self-tests studied, said: 'We find this blanket condemnation of a small range of home tests available to be unreasonable and unprofessional, since they admit they are content with many of those examined. 'This is not a clinical approach to a highly scientific subject. 'We are content our tests give the public access to healthcare screening not easily available with the NHS at the present time.' Joseph Burt, head of diagnostics and general medical devices at the MHRA, said the regulator is 'overhauling the medical device regulations to further strengthen standards'. He added: 'In the meantime, we strongly encourage anyone using a self-test to check for a CE or UKCA mark, read the instructions carefully, and seek medical advice if they're unsure about their result.'
The Independent
39 minutes ago
- The Independent
Plan to keep ‘business as usual' during doctor strike poses risk to patients, NHS warned
The British Medical Association (BMA) has said NHS England 's plan to carry on with business as usual during the resident doctors ' strikes poses a risk to patients. The public are being urged to keep coming forward for NHS care during a five-day strike by resident doctors. NHS England said hospitals and local teams have been preparing before the strike, which begins at 7am on Friday, and have plans in place to 'minimise disruption to patient care and ensure life-saving care continues'. Thousands of resident doctors are expected to join the strike, which is the 12th by resident doctors since March 2023. New NHS England boss, Sir Jim Mackey, has urged hospital leaders to keep routine operations and appointments going if possible and to only cancel if there is a risk to patient safety. During the strike, GP surgeries will open as usual and urgent care and A&E will continue to be available for those who need them, NHS England said. It urged the public to use 111 online as the first port of call for urgent but not life-threatening issues. Professor Meghana Pandit, NHS England national medical director, said: 'There is no doubt this industrial action will take a toll on patients and NHS staff, and it is disappointing it is going ahead. 'While it will mean some appointments won't be able to go ahead as planned, we are doing all we can to limit this, and patients should continue to use NHS services in the usual way. 'The public should dial 999 in an emergency, and otherwise use 111 online, your local pharmacist or GP, and patients should attend NHS appointments unless told otherwise.' Strikes by resident doctors last June led to 61,989 inpatient and outpatient appointments being rescheduled. Since the end of 2022, almost 1.5 million appointments have been rescheduled as a result of industrial action. The BMA said on Tuesday that talks with the Government aimed at averting the strike had collapsed over the core issue of pay. Dr Melissa Ryan and Dr Ross Nieuwoudt, co-chairs of the BMA's resident doctors committee, said in a statement: 'We have always said that no doctor wants to strike and all it would take to avoid it is a credible path to pay restoration offered by the Government. 'We came to talks in good faith, keen to explore real solutions to the problems facing resident doctors today. 'Unfortunately, we did not receive an offer that would meet the scale of those challenges. 'While we were happy to discuss non-pay issues that affect doctors' finances we have always been upfront that this is at its core a pay dispute.' Health Secretary Wes Streeting said 'we cannot move on pay after a 28.9 per cent pay rise' but added that the Government was looking at ways to improve resident doctors' working lives. He said there was an opportunity for the union 'to work with us on a range of options that would have made a real difference to resident doctors' working conditions and created extra roles to deal with the bottlenecks that hold back their career progression. 'Instead, they have recklessly and needlessly opted for strike action.' He added: 'All of my attention will be now on averting harm to patients and supporting NHS staff at work. 'After a 28.9 per cent pay hike in the last three years and the highest pay rise in the public sector two years in a row, strike action is completely unjustified, completely unprecedented in the history of British trade unionism and shows a complete disdain for patients and the wider recovery of the NHS.' It came after research suggested public support for the strike is waning. A YouGov poll showed about half (52 per cent) of people in the UK 'somewhat oppose' (20 per cent) or 'strongly oppose' (32 per cent) resident doctors going on strike over pay. A third (34 per cent) of the 4,954 adults surveyed either 'somewhat support' (23 per cent) or 'strongly support' (11 per cent) doctor strikes. YouGov said the proportion supporting the strike over pay has dropped five points since it last asked the question in May, when 48 per cent opposed the strikes and 39 per cent supported them. Daniel Elkeles, chief executive of NHS Providers, said the decision for strikes to go ahead 'is a crushing blow for patients and for the NHS'. Resident doctors are qualified doctors in clinical training. They have completed a medical degree and can have up to nine years of working experience as a hospital doctor, depending on their specialty, or up to five years of working and gaining experience to become a GP.
