
NHS doctors tell MPs assisted dying bill ‘is not the answer'
Over 1,000 doctors have urged MPs to vote against the assisted dying bill, claiming it poses a threat to patients and the medical workforce.
The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, set for a final vote on June 20, would allow terminally ill patients with six months to live to end their lives.
Doctors argue the bill will widen inequalities, lacks adequate safeguards, and is unsafe, with vulnerable patients at risk of coercion.
Kim Leadbeater, the bill's sponsor, argued legalising assisted dying was necessary to prevent desperate actions and 'traumatic' trips to Switzerland for terminally ill individuals.
TV medic Hilary Jones warned that rejecting the bill would regress medicine, stating that current laws cause healthcare professionals to fear legal repercussions, hindering optimal palliative care.
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The Sun
21 minutes ago
- The Sun
I'm a nanny & the NHS advice is right – I would NEVER feed a kid an Aldi pouch & here's the exact reason why…
A PROFESSIONAL nanny has revealed the Aldi kids' food she would never give her clients' children. Emily, who works with families all over the world, claimed that she would personally avoid 'pouches and meal trays' that you can pick up in supermarkets. 4 4 Over recent years, numerous companies have found success in convincing parents that feeding a baby with a quick and convenient processed pouch is easier and also nutritious. However, there have been growing concerns over whether they are nutritionally sufficient and if they hinder a varied diet. On her @thenosugarcoatnanny account, Emily, who is trained as a prestigious Norland nanny, held up two items from Aldi's Organia Mamia range, which are designed for children. Speaking of their 'super cheap' 65p apples, parsnips and carrots pouch (intended for ages four months and above) and their 95p chicken and vegetable cous cous (designed for 12 months and older), she said: 'These are products that I do not recommend to parents." PANORAMA INVESTIGATION Emily cited an investigation by BBC Panorama, which found that six leading UK brands did not meet their key nutritional needs for baby food pouches. The NHS website has published advice on commercial baby food, and said parents should not rely on shop-bought pouches as everyday meals. Some popular baby food pouches are labelled as being "perfectly balanced for growing babies" or "packed with goodness". Emily added: 'Lots of you know about the Panorama documentary that came out about pouches and food. 'I think if you haven't watched it as a parent, definitely go and watch it.' The study followed the World Health Organisation stating that it is "critical" that infants and toddlers get good nutrition in the first three years of life. Disgusted mom shares warning after finding mold inside her baby's food pouch and it was still in date Babies need food that is "pure, varied, minimally seasoned and nutrient-dense." Despite this, by the age of two to five, the average UK toddler has been found to get 61 per cent of their energy from ultra-processed foods, according to a 2022 study. IRON LEVELS Emily's next gripe was with the iron levels in baby meals, and claimed that 'a baby needs 7.8 mg a day.' In the Panorama documentary, Ella's Kitchen spag bol had just 0.7mg of iron, while Aldi's Bangers and Mash contained 0.5mg of iron and a Lidl meal had about 0.4mg. Emily claimed: 'Aldi's products were tested, and their iron levels in them were around 0.5 mg. 'So, if you give your child, let's say, this for breakfast, this for lunch, and a similar one for dinner, your child's, getting 1.5 milligrams of iron a day? 'That's so incredibly low. 'And obviously, children need iron to grow their blood cells. 'It's obviously to help with their oxygen and the flow around their body. 'So, that's something to really, really consider when thinking of these.' 4 Emily shared how she wasn't advising parents to avoid them completely, and said they are 'absolutely fine' for days out if you've not made anything or forgotten a snack. She explained: 'But what I don't want parents to be doing is stocking their cupboards full of these sorts of things, and then that's your go-to.' A spokesperson for Aldi said: 'Our range of products can help parents and carers to support a child's weaning journey by introducing a wide variety of food and flavours as part of a varied diet. "Any sugar in them is naturally occurring and would be the same in a fruit puree made at home.' NHS GUIDANCE The NHS Start For Life website states that parents should wait until their baby is around six months old before feeding them solid foods, even if labels on pouches say the products are suitable from four months. Experts say the products should only be used sparingly, and not as replacements for homemade meals. They also advised they can cause children health problems if used as their main source of nutrition. The six brands involved in the investigation were Ella's Kitchen, Heinz, Piccolo, Little Freddie, Aldi and Lidl, who all said their products were intended to be used as a complementary part of a child's varied weaning diet.


Daily Mail
28 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
BREAKING NEWS Major change to NHS smear tests that will see women screened LESS often
Women in England will now be screened for cervical cancer every five years, instead of every three, health chiefs announced today. The new protocol will be introduced from July, and applies to women aged 25 to 49 considered to be at low risk of the disease. This comes following recommendations by the UK National Screening Committee and is already used for older women, aged 50 to 64 in England. Modern cervical screening tests involve checking for an infection called human papillomavirus (HPV), which is the precursor to some 99 per cent of cervical cancers. If a test is negative, women will now undergo no further testing for five years. However those who test positive for HPV will continue to be invited for frequent check-ups to monitor any cell changes. According to the NHS, studies have shown that if a woman tests negative for HPV, she is extremely unlikely to develop cervical cancer within the next decade. Scientists at King's College London said the new five-year approach is as effective as the traditional screening cycle, and identifies the same number of cancers despite less frequent testing.


The Sun
36 minutes ago
- The Sun
Heartbroken mum describes ‘chaos' as her baby died after nurses mistakenly gave her ‘ten times' required drug dose
A NEWBORN baby girl passed away after accidentally being given "ten times" the required dosage of a drug. Polly Ida Lindop was barely a day old when she died at St Mary's Hospital in Manchester on March 13, 2023, having been born 10 weeks premature. 4 An inquest into her death at Manchester Coroners Court heard that nurses in the neo-natal intensive care unit mistakenly gave the tot 10 times the dose of a drug she was prescribed. Polly suffered a cardiac arrest 10 minutes after being given atracuriam - a muscle relaxant, so she could be put on a ventilator to help her breathe. But a medical expert testified that little Polly was already "very sick" and deteriorating. There was a "very low" chance of her surviving, even without the overdose, the BBC reported. Polly's heartbroken mum, Kimberley Lindop, described scenes of "chaos" at the hospital as doctors tried to save the baby's life. Kimberley checked into St Mary's hospital on March 11, after "showing signs of infections" 10 weeks before her due date, Manchester Evening News reported. Her water broke and she underwent an emergency caesarean and gave birth to Polly. It was suspected that she had the infection chorioamnionitis whilst she was in labour. Maternity guidelines state two types of antibiotics should be given to the mother whilst in labour to protect the baby, but Kimberley was only given one. Speaking in court, the mum told the coroner Zak Golombek she was initially told that Polly was healthy, and a rash that she had noticed on the baby's body was a "birth blemish". Polly later developed sepsis and was started on antibiotics. When she deteriorated on March 13, medics decided to attach her to a mechanical ventilator to help her breathe she was prescribed atracurium to relax her body. But the court heart that the nursing team made a mistake when inputting the dose details, meaning Polly received 10 times the amount she should have. Shortly afterwards, the tot suffered a cardiac arrest. Staff managed to resuscitate her but failed to notice Polly was being overdosed. During a nurse handover, approximately two hours later, the error was picked up on and the infusion was switched off. Minutes later, Polly suffered another cardiac arrest and tragically died at just 18 hours old. Kimberley described the ward as "chaotic", adding there were an "awful lot of people" in the unit when Polly suffered a "collapse". The overdose was not recorded in Polly's medical records and Kimberley and Jacob only became aware after overhearing a conversation between the nurses, lawyers representing the pair said. Recalling the moment in court, Kimberley remembered a nurse saying "0.33" and then saying "no, it's 3.33" when reading Polly's dosage details. The court heard the nurses involved and Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust had accepted the overdose mistake had been made. A post-mortem examination found the primary cause of Polly's death was sepsis and prematurity and that she had suffered severe lung damage. Dr Naomi Carter, a former Home Office forensic pathologist who jointly carried out the post-mortem examination, said it was "difficult to speculate" on how much difference the medication overdose had made in Polly's death. What is premature birth? Labour is deemed premature if it happens before the 37th week of pregnancy. About eight out of 100 babies will be born prematurely. Babies born before full term are vulnerable to problems associated with being born premature. The earlier in the pregnancy a baby is born, the more vulnerable they are. It's possible for a baby to survive if born around 24 weeks of pregnancy onwards. Babies born this early need special care in a hospital with specialist facilities for premature babies. They may have health and development problems because they have not fully developed in the womb. You should call your midwife or maternity unit if you're less than 37 weeks pregnant and you have: Regular contractions or tightenings Period-type pains A gush or trickle of fluid from your vagina – this could be your waters breaking Backache that's not usual for you "It may have hastened the event of the cardiac arrest," she told the hearing. However, Dr Carter said Polly had been "a very, very sick infant" in a critical condition who would "more likely than not died of her medical problems", even without the overdose. Greater Manchester Police launched an investigation into possible gross negligence manslaughter at the time of Polly's death, but earlier this year said no criminal charges were being brought. Detective inspector Mark Davies - who lead the investigation - spoke during the inquest. He said officers were told about the death "a few weeks after", and after speaking to multiple health officials and receiving the findings from Dr Carter, it was concluded that there was no cause for a criminal conviction. Kimberley said: 'Polly's death has not only affected us, but also our other children who still struggle to comprehend why their baby sister, whose arrival they were looking forward to so much, is not here with them. "We need answers so that we can try to find some closure about why she died even though we will never get over losing her. "Any parent who has lost child knows that the pain is indescribable but what drives us on is knowing that we have to be Polly's voice and help to ensure that lessons are learned, and the hospital and all the staff involved are held accountable for the mistakes that were made.' Rachael Heyes, a medical negligence solicitor at JMW who is representing Polly's family through the inquest process, said: 'Kimberley and Jacob have been through a hugely traumatic ordeal and are devastated to have lost Polly in such distressing circumstances. "To know that the care she received was not in line with NHS guidelines only compounds this for them. We welcome the inquest and will be cooperating fully with the coroner to ensure that no stone is left unturned in trying to find out why Polly died.' The inquest began on June 9 and is expected to go on for five days. St Mary's Hospital told Sun Health it wouldn't be providing an official comment until the conclusion of the inquest.