Antisemitism an ‘urgent issue' for all of British society, Penny Mordaunt warns
Writing in the Telegraph newspaper, the pair described themselves as 'hard-nosed politicians' who are 'used to dealing with the extremes of human emotions and catastrophe'.
But they added: 'Even with decades of these experiences, we were still stunned into silence by the evidence that we received as independent chairs of the Board of Deputies Commission on Antisemitism, particularly from young people in the Jewish community.'
'This is an urgent issue not just for the Jewish community but for the United Kingdom as a whole,' the pair added.
They also said: 'We are all harmed if we tolerate the abuse of some of our fellow citizens by those who hold warped or extreme views.'
Their warnings of growing antisemitic prejudices across British society, from the NHS to arts organisations and the police, comes as the report they authored is set to be published on Tuesday.
Among its recommendations are that the NHS should hold a summit to tackle the 'specific unaddressed issue of antisemitism' within the health service.
Lord Mann and former defence secretary Dame Penny set out 10 recommendations calling for educators, public services and trade unions to do more to tackle antisemitism.
Among them was a recommendation for every NHS trust to have 'basic training on contemporary antisemitism'.
They stated: 'From evidence that we heard, we can identify that there is a specific unaddressed issue of antisemitism within the NHS. We recommend that a summit should be held with NHS leaders across the UK to begin to address this.'
They noted an 'identifiable lack of consistency and capacity in antisemitism training' and recommended the creation of a specific antisemitism training qualification, adding that such training should be included within equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in organisations and institutions.
Efforts to teach primary school teachers how to avoid passing on antisemitism and anti-Jewish tropes in their lessons should be rolled out in faith schools across the UK, the commission said.
It added that professional organisations and trade unions should ensure that all Jewish members are treated equally and with respect, while there must be a consistent approach taken by police when dealing with antisemitic crimes.
The commission said it had seen evidence of 'hidden barriers being put in front of Jewish involvement within the arts' and said there must always be a 'robust response for those who choose to discriminate and government at every level should ensure this'.
Lord Mann said: 'It is unacceptable that the Jewish community has faced an onslaught of antisemitism since October 7th.
'Whilst this is not new, the commission heard shocking experiences that we will not ignore. Antisemitism is racism and it must be treated as such. We hope these recommendations will provide additional guidance and action for civil society.'
Dame Penny said: 'No person should face abuse or discrimination whilst going about their business, whether it is pursuing the career of their choice or accessing public services.
'We wanted to suggest some very practical things that can be dealt with swiftly and will dramatically improve people's experiences.'
Board of Deputies president Phil Rosenberg said: 'Overall, the challenge in civil society can be summarised as one of a failure to apply the protections rightly afforded to different vulnerable groups equally to Jewish people in the same positions.
'Many sectors promote strong Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) processes, which are very important, but too often, these protections seem to exclude Jews.'
He said the board will insist that 'Jews must count' and will use the recommendations of the commission's report 'to ensure that they do'.
An NHS spokesperson said: 'It is completely unacceptable for anyone to experience racism, discrimination or prejudice in the health service, whether staff or patient, and the NHS takes any instance of antisemitism or discrimination extremely seriously.
'The NHS provides care and treatment for everyone regardless of race, faith, or background and all NHS healthcare providers should have policies in place to address issues like this in the workplace.'
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The Herald Scotland
14 minutes ago
- The Herald Scotland
Patients with penicillin allergy may benefit from further tests, study suggests
Removing incorrect labels could help improve care for patients while tackling antibiotic resistance and saving money for the NHS, they said. For the Alabama trial, published in the Lancet Primary Care and led by the University of Leeds, researchers recruited 823 patients from 51 GP practices in England. Those taking part had no history of severe reactions to penicillin. Some patients were tested for a penicillin allergy, with either an oral dose of the antibiotic or a small injection under the skin. If there was no immediate reaction, patients were given a three-day course of penicillin to take at home, where they were monitored by the research team. Of the 365 people tested for an allergy, some 234 had an oral test, with 13 testing positive, while 131 had a skin test, three of which were positive. Elsewhere, 128 patients had an oral test after a skin test, with 14 testing positive for an allergy. Overall, the study found 30 patients tested positive for a penicillin allergy, while 335 – or 92% – tested negative. After three months, 276 patients had the allergy removed from their medical records. And after 12 months, allergies were removed from the records of 321 patients, or 88% of the group that was tested. Dr Jonathan Sandoe, lead author and associate clinical professor in microbiology at the University of Leeds School of Medicine and Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, said: 'Antibiotics have been life-saving drugs since the late 1930s, but we are now in an era where microbes are evolving to resist the effects of current antibiotics. 'The global challenge of antibiotic resistance is causing people to die of common infections, so it is vital to find ways to improve how antibiotics are used. 'Assessing people with penicillin allergy labels is one way we can achieve this.' Patients who had the allergy check also had fewer antibiotics overall, the study suggests. As part of the study, researchers analysed the cost-effectiveness of allergy testing based on the NHS model. They said that although results may vary in different countries, the study observed 'tendency towards reducing consultations, days in hospital, and emergency admissions' which 'suggest that the penicillin allergy assessment pathway is cost-effective in the short run and increasingly likely to be so over longer follow-up periods'. Researchers now suggest that 'access to penicillin allergy assessment for patients should be widened'. Dr Sandoe added: 'This research shows that removing incorrect penicillin allergy labels has the potential to improve patient experiences, reduce health costs and tackle bacterial resistance. 'Now, we need to work together with policymakers and patients to help the NHS to address this issue.' Professor Sue Pavitt from the University of Leeds, who jointly led the study, said her mother Rosie Woollard had a penicillin allergy added to her medical records in the 1950s. She had been prescribed the antibiotic for mastitis – a common infection usually linked with breastfeeding – and developed a rash. Prof Pavitt said: 'My mum was vigilant and avoided taking penicillin from that day, but her allergy was never checked. 'It may have been a simple reaction to the other substances used in manufacturing the tablet or her rash was just a consequence of the infection. 'When my mum got older and had more underlying health problems, we noticed that when she had an infection, she often needed two or three courses of different antibiotics before the infection would clear. 'Each round of antibiotics took a toll on her wellbeing, appetite and ability to bounce back until the infection was under control.' Professor Sue Pavitt (right) with her mother Rosie Woollard and brother Bernard (left) (Sue Pavitt/PA) Ms Woollard developed repeated urinary tract infections later in life and died at the age of 91. Her cause of death was recorded as an antimicrobial infection. Prof Pavitt said: 'Antibiotic allergy and resistant bugs are complex concepts to understand – she was our barometer to see if we were explaining things clearly. 'She was also instrumental in making the Alabama trial open to older people with multiple long-term conditions, a group that is often excluded from research but important to reach. 'This research is in part her legacy and shows the value of preserving antibiotics, so that we can keep fighting infections with these important medicines.' Christopher Butler, a professor of primary care in the Nuffield department of primary care health sciences at the University of Oxford, said: 'It's this kind of research question that has a huge impact on improving care for individuals, improving cost-effectiveness of what we do as clinicians, and helps us preserve the precious shared resource of of antibiotics to all of us and to future generations.'
Times
21 minutes ago
- Times
What the neuropsychologist did to slow her mother's dementia
Catherine Loveday, a professor of neuropsychology at the University of Westminster and author of The Secret World of the Brain, has dedicated her career to the study of memory. So when she suspected early signs of Alzheimer's in her 70-year-old mother, Scilla, she was well equipped to help. After tests in 2011 showed 'targeted memory loss' in keeping with the disease, Loveday says, 'it was so early in the progression I knew there were evidence-based steps we could take to slow it. I was in the most amazing position to have this knowledge and experience.' When Scilla was eventually diagnosed with mild Alzheimer's after a brain scan in 2017, she was 'upset but pragmatic', Loveday says. Now 85, Scilla's illness has progressed, but Loveday, 56, believes she still enjoys a better quality of life as a result of those early steps. 'In parallel, in my professional life, I have seen people whose dementia has progressed much quicker.' Their journey has proved 'hugely bonding', Loveday says, enabling a more open relationship with Scilla, who was herself an NHS psychiatrist. 'Her vulnerability was something I never saw. She's allowed me to feel I can be close to her and protect her.' Loveday, who lives in London with her sons, aged 23 and 18, and her husband, Jeff, 52, a composer, has now recorded a podcast, Mempathy, 'to show understanding the science can lead to a better quality of life and potentially even slow progression'. She has also developed Memory Matters, a four-week course for the charity Age UK with tips and activities to help anyone worried about their memory. Helping other families in their situation is her way of coping, she says. 'What I'm doing in my working life has come together with what I'm doing with my mum. My work has taught me that there are science-backed steps we can all take to improve our brain health — not only through more exercise, better diet and improved sleep, but by keeping the stress and anxiety that accompany memory loss under control, because these increase levels of inflammatory markers in the body that in turn may accelerate dementia.' • 12 things that can put you at risk of dementia While there can be a 'benign forgetfulness' in the elderly, by 2011 recently widowed Scilla was often repeating herself. She ran a choir at her local church but was 'getting muddled', Loveday says, and got lost on a regular walk, which 'made her scared'. Cambridge-educated Scilla had always been 'independent and resilient', Loveday, one of three sisters, says. Had she voiced concerns about Scilla's memory to her GP, Scilla may have been offered a mini-mental state examination, a ten-minute questionnaire used by doctors to assess cognitive impairment. But as a highly intelligent woman, she would have passed 'with flying colours', Loveday says. 'Mum would not have been picked up by the GP for another six or seven years.' Instead, she suggested her mum complete a more detailed hour-long 'battery' of tests used to test for dementia in NHS memory clinics, 'put together by a colleague with my input'. Loveday's intention was to assess 'a specific pattern of strengths and weaknesses'. When she explained this to her mum, she says Scilla 'was nervous but trusted me'. Scilla did well with some tasks. 'If I gave her a list of words, she could read them back,' Loveday says. Yet when she gave Scilla a list of words, read her a story and asked her to recall those words half an hour later, 'she was performing worse than 99.9 per cent of people'. Scilla's prefrontal cortex — the area of the brain responsible for problem-solving — was working well but her hippocampus, which deals with memory and is usually the first affected by Alzheimer's, was not. 'What I was seeing was the early signature of Alzheimer's disease,' Loveday says. Her fear at her findings was tinged with 'relief' that 'we could do something about it'. • Read more expert advice on healthy living, fitness and wellbeing She gently told her mother 'a specific memory score was down in her test, which might explain why she was having difficulty in day-to-day life'. She was careful not to mention the disease by name at first, but when Scilla took the same test 18 months later her scores suggested 'a progressive condition like Alzheimer's'. After a subsequent hospital assessment in 2013 Scilla was diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment — a decline in cognitive function, for which there is no medical treatment, and from which, according to the NHS, 10-15 per cent of sufferers will develop dementia each year. Yet awareness of her condition empowered mother and daughter. 'It's felt like a shared project,' Loveday says. 'The measures we took have slowed decline but her Alzheimer's obviously continues to progress. Mum now has limited access to her past memories, but the work we did means we know exactly what makes her feel happy and we put that into practice every day. Last time I was with her, I asked, 'How do you feel?' and she said, 'Relaxed and at peace,' and I don't think we can ask for more. We were able to really make a difference.' Here's how. Scilla immediately started writing a journal of everything she could remember doing that day before bed. She would read what she'd written the previous evening before writing the next entry. By leaving 24-hour gaps between reading the information again she was practising 'spaced repetition', Loveday says, a learning technique that improves memory by reviewing information at intervals. For Scilla, who wrote her diary for eight years until her memory became too weak, it was 'transformational', Loveday says. Scilla's social life needed to be adapted. 'Book club was not working, because she couldn't remember what she was reading,' Loveday says, 'but going for a walk with people, playing online Scrabble or going for a cup of tea were good.' Scilla still sees friends at least once a week. Maintaining friendships is key to healthy cognitive function, Loveday says, because they can lower stress and so reduce inflammation in the brain that can be a precursor to Alzheimer's and is 'known to impact on progression'. • Want to stay sharp? How curiosity can boost the midlife brain Scilla and Loveday labelled the contents of cupboards so Scilla didn't forget where food was. Loveday bought her mum a dementia clock with the time and date in big letters and hung a white memory board with a pen in the kitchen. 'Each day she would make a note of things she had to remember to do. We made it a habit.' Loveday taught Scilla how to use Google Maps on her smartphone. Just knowing it was there 'made her more relaxed', she says. 'One of the worst things you can do when you're lost is panic.' She also started tracking her mum on iPhone's Find My app, 'so if she was stuck we could help'. Scilla's early memories were strong, which is 'typical' in early Alzheimer's, Loveday says. Sparking conversation about them with questions — or 'cues' — can help preserve identity. Recalling her 'scratchy' school uniform, for example, brought up stories about Scilla's schooling. Another good cue is music. 'I know from my research if you ask people to give their eight favourite songs, often one or two will prompt memories about a specific moment that was transitional or important in terms of who you became,' Loveday says. 'Nostalgic conversations are powerful social connectors.' Once a keen squash player, Scilla walked every day until Covid, when it was harder to get out. 'She now has limited mobility, which is partly a reflection of the progression of the disease and partly because she wasn't able to keep up the same level of exercise.' There is evidence that exercise improves brain-derived neurotrophic factor, a protein that supports cognitive function, Loveday says, and simply leaving the house can help because 'navigating stimulates the hippocampus. From an evolutionary point of view, the memory systems switch on because you need to find your way back to safety.' • 'They thought Dad was depressed. It was rare type of dementia' Scilla increased her intake of foods that contain flavanols and polyphenols — plant compounds 'which are probably supportive to brain health', Loveday says — such as berries and dark green vegetables and cut out sugary snacks to avoid glucose spikes, which are shown to reduce cognitive function. 'There is a comorbidity with dementia and diabetes.' She started taking fish oil and vitamin B supplements because there was 'some evidence they might support brain function' and Loveday encouraged her mum to keep to a stricter bedtime routine. While Alzheimer's sufferers often struggle to sleep, some evidence suggests improved sleep quality can improve progression. Loveday and her sisters ascertained their mum's wishes for her future care early on. This can be upsetting and 'we had to be gentle', Loveday says. She learnt that Scilla's main priority was remaining in her home in Devon, which she does, with the help of a carer since 2020. 'She was clear she didn't want any of her daughters to be giving up their life for her and it's helpful to have had that conversation.' Anyone struggling with recall should have their eyesight and hearing tested regularly — the NHS recommends annual hearing tests and eyesight tests every two years for those over 60 — because 'the richness of our sensory world impacts on memory', Loveday says. Although Scilla's hearing is 'brilliant' there is evidence that hearing impairment is linked with cognitive decline. 'We don't 100 per cent know why but it seems to be about social connection. If you can get hearing aids that reduces that.' Mempathy is available on Spotify
ITV News
43 minutes ago
- ITV News
Drug linked to cancer given to mothers nearly a decade after it was banned, ITV News can reveal
Up to 300,000 women are thought to have been prescribed Stilbestrol over four decades, as ITV News Social Affairs Correspondent Sarah Corker reports ITV News has discovered new evidence that a dangerous drug linked to cancer was given to mothers nearly a decade after it was supposed to have been banned. Now, in a major development, the Health Secretary Wes Streeting confirmed the government is considering enhanced cancer screening for those impacted by the use of Stilbestrol, also known as DES, and has vowed to "look seriously at these allegations." What is DES? Stilbestrol, also known as DES, was prescribed on the NHS to prevent miscarriage and to stop breast milk production from 1939 until the late 1970s. Marketed as a 'wonder drug' - a synthetic form of female hormone oestrogen - it has become one of the biggest drug disasters in the NHS's history. ITV News can reveal that doctors, regulators, and successive governments failed to act and protect women from the dangers. Other countries around the world, such as the United States, banned the drug in the 1970s as scientific studies linked the use of DES with breast, cervical, and vaginal cancers. In the UK, health authorities failed to do the same. The UK government claimed that in 1973, a letter was sent to all doctors telling them to stop using DES for pre-menopausal women, but ITV News has found dozens of women who say they were given it after that date, some as late as 1980. Susan Miller, 73, from London, believes she was given the drug in 1975 after the birth of her daughter to stop her breast milk – that is two years after the government said GPs were told to stop prescribing the drug. She recalls questioning the doctor about the drug's side effects whilst on the maternity ward, but told ITV News those concerns were dismissed. 'I was lied to. It's absolutely disgusting. I should have never been given the drug. It's ruined so many people's lives.' It's estimated that up to 300,000 women were prescribed Stilbestrol over four decades. Mrs Miller is among more than 200 people who have contacted ITV News after seeing our ongoing DES investigation. 'It's not just me, it's other women as well. They are walking around with time bombs in their breasts, because they don't even know, so they can't even get checked,' she said. The mother of one believes the effect on her health has been devastating. She's survived blood cancer but now has an aggressive form of breast cancer and is undergoing treatment. Research suggests that DES mothers may have a 30% higher risk of breast cancer. If the drug was taken while pregnant, the harm can be passed down through the generations. Daughters exposed in the womb are at increased risk of clear cell cancer of the cervix and vagina and reproductive abnormalities. Despite the known increased risks, successive governments have failed to introduce enhanced screening, which women say would be 'lifesaving.' ITV News has also spoken to former midwives who recall administering DES on maternity wards as late as 1979, and doctors who later treated women with aggressive forms of cancer which have since been linked to DES exposure. 'Massive regulatory failure' In 1971, US scientists proved DES was unsafe for use on pre-menopausal women. The medicines watchdog, the MHRA, repeatedly told ITV News that in May 1973, "the Committee on Safety of Medicines wrote to all doctors to advise against the use of DES in pregnancy and women who have not yet gone through menopause." No evidence of that letter can be found. A series of Freedom of Information requests and internal reviews from ITV News to the MHRA were rejected. Our team has searched through hundreds of pages of public health records at the British Library and National Archives, and there is no evidence of that 1973 letter. In fact, there is no evidence to show that DES was withdrawn or restricted, despite mounting evidence of the drug's sinister side effects. Dr Sonia Macleod, from Oxford University and an expert on pharmaceutical safety, said, "There are clear indications that more could and should have been done by the regulators at the time, and if you look at it in this way, that becomes a regulatory failure." Dr Macleod believes the government bears ultimate responsibility for the impact on women. "I think women have been hugely failed in the UK, and particularly because this was a drug that was developed through government funding," she said. "There must be accountability and responsibility. Compensation should come from the government. The impacts are horrendous and have been ignored and unseen. It is so wrong," she said. Dr Sonia Macleod, from Oxford University and an expert on pharmaceutical safety. On the south coast in Bognor Regis, Mary Jarman believes she was given DES in 1977, years after warnings about the drug. Then aged 19, she was prescribed the pills by her GP to stop her breast milk after giving birth prematurely. Ms Jarman later suffered a severe reaction, resulting in emergency breast surgery. 'It was a drug that nobody should have had, and they realised what it was doing, they should have stopped it. But I think because I had an old family doctor, they just kept handing it out,' she said. Decades later, in her 40s, she developed cervical cancer and had a full hysterectomy. "If that has caused all the trouble, now I can understand I wasn't just unlucky to have all those women's problems, it was all connected." Mary Jarman believes she was given DES in 1977, years after warnings about the drug. Poor NHS record keeping and the casual way DES was given out means women may never know for sure what they were exposed to or the long-term impact it has had. There are growing calls for a nationwide investigation. There has still been no attempt to trace and inform those exposed to this dangerous drug, and limited research into the long-term health implications. While thousands of DES victims have sued pharmaceutical companies in the US, France, and the Netherlands, there have been no successful cases in the UK. In response to our investigation, Dr Alison Cave, MHRA Chief Safety Officer, said: "We express our sympathies with those harmed by the historic use of Diethylstilbestrol (DES). "We are continuing to invest significant resources to locate historical documentation relating to regulatory decisions on DES made in the 1970s, over 50 years ago. Due to the age and format of the records, this is a complex and time-consuming process. "We are living now in a different regulatory era….Today, the requirement for patients to be directly provided with information about their medicine is underpinned by legislation." look seriously at these allegations. Health Secretary, Wes Streeting.
