Latest news with #AlderHeyChildren'sNHSFoundationTrust
Edinburgh Reporter
a day ago
- Health
- Edinburgh Reporter
Scottish Government appoints new Chief Scientific Adviser
The Scottish Government has appointed a new Chief Scientific Adviser who will take up his new position on 5 August. Professor Calum Semple, OBE, is appointed for an initial three year term. Professor Semple is a Consultant in Paediatric Respiratory Medicine at Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust and became Professor of Outbreak Medicine and Child Health at the University of Liverpool in 2018. He has helped the UK Government through the Swine Flu pandemic in 2009, and was on the World Health Organisation Scientific Advisory Committee during the Ebola Emergency and as a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies during the Covid pandemic. Business Minister Richard Lochhead said: 'Science is the bedrock of our society and economy and at the heart of government decision making. From health to the economy to the environment and everything in between, it is a fundamental part of our everyday lives. 'I am delighted to welcome Professor Semple to the role of Chief Scientific Adviser and look forward to his valuable insight and advice as the Scottish Government continues to work with our world leading science sector to highlight Scotland's strengths as a science nation and ensure it is front and centre of everything we do.' Professor Semple said: 'I am thrilled to have this opportunity to work for the people and government of Scotland, providing evidence and scientific advice to support our policymakers. I particularly look forward to collaborating with Scotland's vibrant communities of scientists and engineers in our schools, universities and industries, who inspire and drive the innovation essential for future economic growth. I will ensure that science and evidence remain at the heart of how we shape a fairer, greener, and more prosperous Scotland. 'I would like to thank my wife, friends, and colleagues at the University of Liverpool and Alder Hey Children's Hospital who support my career and enabled this important appointment. Their encouragement and collaboration have been vital to my journey.' Professor Semple will advise the government with independent scientific advice on 'issues of strategic importance'. He will also have a role in inspiring new scientists and championing the country's leading science and research base. He qualified from Oxford with a PhD in Clinical Virology at University College London and a Bachelor's Tripos in Cell Pathology, immunology and virology at Middlesex Hospital Medical School. He became Consultant in Paediatric Respiratory Medicine at the University of Liverpool and Alder Hey Children's Hospital in 2002. He is also Professor of Outbreak Medicine and Child Health at the University of Liverpool. He will retain these posts although his principal appointment will be with The Scottish Government. He was appointed OBE in 2020 for his contributions to the COVID-19 response and was elected a Fellow of the Faculty of Public Health by distinction in 2022. Like this: Like Related
Yahoo
26-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Remove harmful online content now, says MP
Southport's MP Patrick Hurley has urged online platforms to remove harmful online content immediately in the wake of the knife attack carried out last year in the town. Axel Rudakubana was jailed for a minimum of 52 years for the murders of three young girls and the attempted murders of 10 other people, including eight children. He was found to have watched graphic footage of a knife attack in Australia and had also downloaded an al-Qaeda training manual from the internet. Hurley said the removal of harmful content "needs to happen now" and online platforms should not wait until the Online Safety Act comes into force in March. The act requires social media platforms to take "proportionate measures" to protect users from illegal content. But the government said there was "no justification for waiting for laws to kick in" and wants platforms to act now. A letter sent to technology companies by Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said access to harmful content was "unacceptable" and firms had a "moral responsibility to act". Hurley said: "We need to put as many barriers in place as possible to make sure that that person who is thinking of some similar atrocity doesn't... become radicalised to the same extent." Rudakubana, now 18, was 17 when he carried out the attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance workshop on 29 July. At Liverpool Crown Court on Thursday he was convicted of three counts of murder, 10 of attempted murder, one of producing the biological toxin ricin and one of possessing an Al Qaeda training manual, an offence under the Terrorism Act. Young girls Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, Bebe King, six, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, were murdered in the attack. Ten other people including dance class leader Leanne Lucas and businessman Jonathan Hayes were also seriously wounded. The government has announced a public inquiry will take place to look at failures to identify the risk posed by Rudakubana, of Old School Close in Banks, West Lancashire. He had been referred to the Prevent programme on three occasions between 2019 and 2021. Hurley called for this inquiry to be "speedy", with interim recommendations where appropriate to ensure "we don't let this drag on into the long grass". He said the families "need to know the answers and they need to have justice". "But we need to get to the bottom of what the state was doing wrong and what the government did wrong, to ensure there are no repeat attacks," he said. Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust confirmed Rudakubana had been under its care between 2019 and 2023. A trust spokesperson said it welcomed the independent public inquiry announced on Monday. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Merseyside on Sounds and follow BBC Merseyside on Facebook, X, and Instagram and watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer. Southport killer was under NHS mental health care How red flags over Southport killer were repeatedly missed 'Evil' Southport killer jailed for minimum 52 years
