
Skin swabs may help detect Parkinson's years before symptoms appear
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


BBC News
21 minutes ago
- BBC News
Suffolk care provider rated as inadequate by watchdog
A care provider that looks after people with dementia, mental health conditions and physical disabilities has been rated inadequate by a health watchdog. Hearts of Care Agency, based in Ipswich, Suffolk, was placed into special measures by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).The CQC said the firm, which provides cares for 16 people in their own home, was inadequate for being safe, effective, responsive and well-led. Hearts of Care Agency said it was "disappointed" by the CQC's rating but would "learn from our mistakes". The firm being placed in special measures means the business will be closely monitored and a timeframe has been set out for improvements to be made, the CQC said. A report, which was published by the watchdog, stated that a condition was placed on Hearts of Care Agency when it registered with the CQC to not provide services for autistic adults or adults with a learning however, found that these services were being carried CQC inspection, which was carried out in May, also found that the firm was supporting children and younger adults with personal care when it was not registered to do so. Poor leadership Hazel Roberts, the CQC deputy director of operations in the East of England, said: "When we inspected the Hearts of Care Agency, we were concerned to find the service wasn't always meeting people's needs safely, because leaders weren't managing the service well."Leaders had not registered with CQC to care for children, young people, autistic people, or people with a learning disability, but were providing care to them anyways. "We were deeply concerned to find staff didn't always understand how best to support their individual needs or respect their rights." Mark Elvidge, the director of Hearts of Care Agency, said: "Following our recent assessment Hearts of Care Agency are extremely disappointed with our rating of inadequate. "We have happy clients and happy staff and view this rating as harsh and unfair."However, we will not be complacent about our failings. As a director, I take full responsibility, but I can assure our clients, staff, and public we will learn from our mistakes and shortcomings."He said the firm has a plan in place to make improvements before the next inspection in August. Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.


BBC News
23 minutes ago
- BBC News
Medical trial for penis cancer 'gave me two more years'
A man who was the first to take part in a medical trial for penile cancer says it may have extended his life by two years. Eddie Baker, 83, was given immunotherapy alongside the usual treatment of chemotherapy as part of the clinical trial, named treatment was found to have extended the predicted lifespans of more than half of the participants in the study, which was carried out by University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Baker, from Yate, South Gloucestershire, said: "All I can say is, it is the most wonderful thing that ever happened to me because I know if I hadn't had that, I would not be on this planet to this day." Mr Baker told the BBC his cancer had been caught late because it took over a year for him to come forward with his symptoms. The NHS says symptoms can include bleeding, a rash, a lump or growth, and a change in skin colour."It didn't look very good," Mr Baker said. "The actual swelling got bigger and bigger and then I was trying to get somewhere to get my life sorted out and find out what it was. It was too late."He had to have an amputation and has been left with incurable cancer. Consultant oncologist and chief investigator of the EPIC study, Professor Amit Bahl, said the stigma around such symptoms often leads to late said: "In cancers like these, there is no support system, you can't go out and talk about it because most patients have never heard you can get cancer in the penis. "If you ask ladies, they have heard about cancer in the cervix, in the vagina, but cancer in the penis never gets talked about."The immunotherapy treatment used in the trial is not available on the NHS, but Professor Bahl is applying to the Cancer Drugs Fund to pay for the small number patients who may benefit. Using immunotherapy to treat cancer is still considered by doctors to be a relatively new more than 60 per cent of the patients in the trial, who all had advanced penile cancer, were found to have had a clinical these patients, predicted lifespans increased to 15 months on Bahl said: "Our aim is to improve outcomes in this rare cancer, which has limited treatment options."Penile cancer can be a very aggressive disease, but this study shows we might be able to give men a little more time."Penile cancer is rare, and it usually presents externally first, so when patients are diagnosed, early treatments which can cure the cancer are possible."The trial has proved so successful that Professor Bahl is now planning to start another trial to give immunotherapy at an earlier stage of the disease, in the hope that it will improve cure rates.


BBC News
23 minutes ago
- BBC News
Woking NHS nurse campaigns for 'urgent' train ticket reform
A Surrey NHS worker has launched a campaign calling for urgent train ticket reform after revealing she spends more than £200 a month commuting to her job at a London Arias moved from London to Woking a year ago to save on rent and said her train travel costs remains high despite using a discount Flexi Season campaign on has collected more than 24,100 signatures and she is urging rail bosses to introduce 24-hour train tickets.A Department for Transport (DfT) spokesperson said: "While we are not planning to introduce 24-hour return tickets, we are overhauling the complex fares system to make rail travel simpler and more flexible for passengers." Ms Arias, who works as a paediatric cardiac intensive care nurse at Great Ormond Street Hospital, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service she sometimes "regrets moving to Woking".She added she works 12-hour shifts, often overnight, and purchases two tickets for each shift, one to travel in and another to get home the next morning as existing train tickets expire at 04:29 BST."When we work a night shift, we don't have a break and then we have to pay for another ticket. It's just not fair," she there are other hospitals in Surrey, Ms Arias said she never wanted to leave her current job. 'Expensive and inflexible' "Working at Great Ormond Street Hospital is a great sense of achievement," she added. "It's the best thing I've ever done."Originally from Spain, Ms Arias moved to the UK 13 years ago and said she was "shocked" by how expensive and "inflexible" British transport added that in Madrid, commuters could purchase transport passes for bus, train and rail for £70 a month. Another campaign which Ms Arias started was a petition for an NHS railcard which has reached more than 3,000 signatures on the House of Commons DfT spokesperson added: "We've already delivered ticketing innovations such as contactless pay as you go to additional stations in Surrey this year. "This gives passengers the best value ticket for their journey, with additional stations expected to get the technology soon."