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Hans India
11-05-2025
- Health
- Hans India
A salute to the ‘Lady with the Lamp', pioneer of modern nursing
For nearly two centuries, the name Florence Nightingale has been synonymous with compassion, care, and transformative impact on healthcare. Rising to prominence in the mid-19th century, Nightingale's work during the Crimean War and beyond made her one of the most celebrated women of her time, second only to Queen Victoria. Born on May 12, 1820, in Florence, Italy, to wealthy British parents William and Frances Nightingale, Florence received a privileged upbringing. Her father, an advocate of education, provided her and her sister Parthenope with a robust curriculum, including mathematics, a subject that would later play a crucial role in her career. Despite her family's objections, Florence was determined to become a nurse, a profession considered disreputable for women of her social class. Overcoming these barriers, she trained in Germany and France, eventually becoming the superintendent of a hospital in London for distressed gentlewomen. Transformative work during the Crimean War In 1854, Nightingale and a team of 38 nurses were sent to Scutari Barrack Hospital in Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul) to care for British soldiers during the Crimean War. They found appalling conditions: overcrowded wards, poor sanitation, and rampant disease. Nightingale's emphasis on hygiene, clean bedding, proper nutrition, and medical supplies drastically reduced death rates, earning her the titles "Angel of the Crimea" and "Lady with the Lamp". Champion of sanitation and public health Nightingale's experience in the Crimean War solidified her commitment to hygiene and sanitation. When the British government sent a Sanitary Commission to Scutari in 1855, the mortality rate further plummeted as they improved drainage, purified water, and ensured cleaner living conditions. Nightingale's advocacy for such measures influenced hospital practices worldwide. Pioneering the use of statistics in healthcare Beyond her nursing achievements, Nightingale was a pioneer in the use of statistics for healthcare improvements. Collaborating with statistician William Farr, she used data to demonstrate that most deaths in the Crimean War were caused by preventable diseases rather than battle injuries. Her innovative visual representation, known as the "coxcomb" diagram, made her findings understandable to a broader audience. In recognition of her contributions, Nightingale became the first female fellow of the Royal Statistical Society in 1858. Her statistical methods extended to other areas, including hospital administration, public health, and disease prevention. Proponent of nursing Education In 1860, Nightingale established the Nightingale Training School for Nurses at St. Thomas' Hospital in London, the world's first formal nursing school. Her curriculum emphasized both scientific knowledge and compassionate patient care, setting the foundation for modern nursing education. Graduates of the school, known as "Nightingales," became leaders in nursing across the world. A lasting legacy Confined to her home in later years due to chronic illness, Nightingale continued to influence health care through her writings, correspondence, and mentorship. She passed away on August 13, 1910, leaving a legacy of dedication, compassion, and pioneering reforms in nursing, healthcare, and public health. Florence Nightingale's life is a testament to the transformative power of determination, knowledge, and compassion. Her story remains a beacon of inspiration for those in the fields of nursing, medicine, and public health. (The writer is a retired principal from Hyderabad)
BBC News
09-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
ONS head Sir Ian Diamond steps down for health reasons after data controversy
The head of the UK Office for National Statistics (ONS), Sir Ian Diamond, has resigned with immediate effect due to health reasons, at a time when the ONS faces a crisis of confidence in its work."Due to ongoing health issues, Sir Ian has decided he is unable to give the full commitment he would like to drive the organisation forward," the ONS month, a report from the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) laid out its concerns about the quality of the ONS's concerns focused on, but were not limited to, the widely recognised problems with the Labour Force Survey which is used to measure the unemployment rate in the UK. Dr Sarah Cumbers, chief executive of the Royal Statistical Society, said: "Sir Ian Diamond showed outstanding leadership of the ONS and the wider statistical system during the pandemic, helping to make the UK a world leader in delivering timely data in a rapidly changing environment."Dr Cumbers also acknowledged the OSR report."Given the recent scrutiny of the system, we look forward to engaging with the Cabinet Office and the UK Statistics Authority to consider how the National Statistician role should evolve, and to working with Sir Ian's successor to address the ongoing challenges," she report looked at concerns around business surveys and found that ONS staff were not always being listened to when flagging emerging problems to senior managers.A lack of confidence in the quality of data makes it more difficult for the government and companies to make fully informed the pandemic, statistics agencies around the world have struggled to get the response rates that they would like to ensure their data is of the quality they would regulator said it would like more assurance that the ONS has sufficient steps in place to regularly review and improve sample design and representativeness, bias, survey methodology, and imputation.
Yahoo
05-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
There's no time to delay. The Letby case needs an urgent review
Lucy Letby is once again back in the public eye, after a panel of 14 experts methodically and forensically demolished the medical case presented at her trial. Dr Shoo Lee, author of a 1989 paper that played a substantial role in the evidence which persuaded the jury that she had injected air into the veins of the babies she is alleged to have killed, was extremely clear that this was a misrepresentation and so served as an expert witness. He arranged the aforementioned medical panel, made up of some of the most eminent doctors in the world. These medical professionals came together in pursuit of the truth. They had agreed at the outset that they would publish their findings, whether they exonerated Lucy Letby or incriminated her. The truth, they have concluded, is that the babies at the Countess of Chester Hospital were not murdered, and died from either natural causes or poor medical care. As you read this article, there is a tsunami of coverage on the injustice of Lucy Letby's conviction and the outcry for this case to be looked at again has reached a fever pitch. From a position where most of us were certain that she was guilty of the most heinous crimes, it is now abundantly clear the verdict is one of the worst miscarriages of justice in modern times. I was made aware of the case when I heard about a 13,000-word New Yorker article, which raised serious concerns about Letby's trial in May last year and was unavailable for UK readers to read due to reporting restrictions. I questioned this restriction in parliament. Immediately my inbox was flooded by leading statisticians, neonatal specialists, forensic scientists, legal experts and those who had served at the Chester hospital and were afraid to come forward. The experts included a past president of the Royal Statistical Society and a past president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health – people who were more knowledgeable than the purported experts whose evidence convicted Lucy Letby. They were all concerned by what they perceived as the false analyses and diagnoses used to persuade a lay jury to convict Letby. I spent the summer finding out for myself – initially reading the account of every day of the trial but eventually getting my hands on the bulk of the court transcripts from the original trial. I came to the conclusion that Lucy Letby is innocent. After the press conference, I hope many of you are reaching the same conclusion. Miscarriages of justice are not uncommon. The Birmingham Six, the Guildford Four and the Post Office scandal all show the dangers of flawed prosecutions. Letby, perversely, is only the fourth woman in UK history to be told she will never be released from prison. Mark McDonald, Letby's new barrister, has now filed an application for the Criminal Case Review Commission to review the case. The CCRC has already established a team to review Letby's case, and they should quickly complete their review and refer the case back to the Court of Appeal. As we learnt from the case of Andrew Malkinson, the CCRC can be slow to act. In his case, DNA evidence proving him innocent was available four years after his conviction, yet it took a further 13 years to release him. That cannot be allowed to happen in Letby's case. A referral should be in months, not years. Rt Hon David Davis MP is former Shadow Home Secretary Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
