Measles outbreak leaves several children ‘seriously unwell' as alert issued by NHS
The rise in cases, according to an alert on Alder Hey Children's Hospital websites, is also driving an increase in patients attending its A&E.
In an open letter, published on Monday, the trust's senior directors warned: 'Measles is putting children and young people at risk within our communities and our hospital. Several children are seriously unwell and receiving treatment at Alder Hey Children's Hospital.
'Measles is on the rise amongst our children. We can all help stop it. Get vaccinated now.'
It warned that the reason there are more cases of the virus is because fewer people are having the Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccine.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Brentwood charity helps bereaved dads in the construction sector
A labourer whose baby boy was stillborn has welcomed an initiative that supports bereaved fathers in the construction Layton from Chelmsford lost his son Simba in 2022, halfway through his wife's is backing a campaign by charity Aching Arms that aims to help men within the sector."If I didn't talk about it, I'd probably curl up into a ball and have a mental breakdown," he told the BBC. Self-employed Aran, 33, went back to work the day after losing Simba – partly for financial reasons but mostly as a way to cope with the trauma."My focus wasn't really on work – I was ringing my wife probably every hour just to make sure she was all right," he said."My head just wasn't in the game, but I needed to do it… for my mental health, I just needed to get out of the house and just focus on something different."Aran said having a safe haven or an on-site counsellor could help workers dealing with the loss of a child. More than one in five pregnancies ends before 24 weeks, according a recent a recent report by the House of Commons Women and Equalities Arms said the father's grief was often not recognised or acknowledged in those situations, especially in traditionally male-dominated Brentwood-based charity has launched a campaign called Offload, which aims to break the silence around the impact of baby loss on fathers in the construction industry."The construction sector is where the culture is around secrecy and machoistic attitudes," said Leanne Turner, founder of Aching Arms."[It's] where you can suppress your feelings and not feel comfortable to talk about what's happened, particularly for such a personal thing like pregnancy and baby loss, in a culture where it's deemed a women's health issue." 'My turn to grieve' Aching Arms provided counselling sessions for Stephen Brown, an electrical site manager from and his wife Ally wanted a third child but were told their twin sons had to be terminated at 17 weeks because they were 41, said the counselling gave him the strength to carry on with his job."Once I'd stopped being a 'carer's role' - helping my wife get through it – then it was my turn to grieve, and it was particularly difficult for me," he told the BBC."Until you've actually been and walked a mile in our shoes, you'll never understand quite what we've gone through." The Construction Industry Council said it supported the Offload campaign, adding that "the loss of a child is devastating for any parent".A spokesperson said: "Many of our member institutions have benevolent funds in place, ready to provide compassionate, practical support to those navigating this time of great personal trauma."They added that the industry had a "collective commitment to mental health and wellbeing".Aran said that the more he talked about Simba, the more it helped him process what and his wife Deborah now fundraise for Broomfield Hospital's maternity unit under the Simba's Pride initiative."Simba's the brightest star up there, so when it's a clear sky he's always looking down on us," he said. Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Women's health campaigners want results for pelvic mesh victims
A woman has criticised the government for "dragging its feet" when it came to making reforms for women harmed by pelvic mesh years ago, the Cumberlege First Do No Harm report found two drugs and the medical device had caused women or their babies report made recommendations to support victims, but most key proposals have been ignored, said Kath Sansom, a Sling The Mesh campaign founder from March, Cambridgeshire.A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said: "This is a complex area of work and the government is carefully considering the patient safety commissioner's recommendations in full." Baroness Cumberlege and her team spoke to more than 700 women and their families who experienced complications linked to pelvic mesh implants and the drugs Primodos and sodium mesh was used to give weak or damaged tissue extra support, but the net-like implant could erode and harden, cutting through tissue and leaving women in permanent pain, unable to walk, work or have a hormonal pregnancy test, is thought to be associated with birth defects and miscarriages and the epilepsy drug sodium valproate was found to cause major birth defects - but pregnant women were not properly warned about the report said thousands of lives were ruined because officials failed to listen to female patients. Accidental advocate Since 2020, three of the report's nine key recommendations were fully implemented, said Ms included a government apology, mesh complication centres and appointing a patient safety commissioner for England.A fourth recommendation, a database to track patients who have had a medical device was still Sansom became an "accidental advocate" when a pelvic mesh procedure to fix her bladder leaks caused by childbirth left her in "terrible pain".She said: "The institutional inertia amplifies the suffering – especially the lack of compensation for the harm caused to thousands of women who innocently trusted their doctor that they were being given a safe treatment. "Five years ago, Baroness Cumberlege laid bare the systemic failures that caused irreparable harm yet here we are in 2025, and the government has dragged its feet on the most critical reforms. "Women are still being failed by a healthcare system that was supposed to protect them." Considering proposals Ms Sansom criticised the government's decision to move the patient safety commissioner role from the DHSC to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, as she believed it "silences the patient voice instead of strengthening it".Sharon Hodgson, the Labour chair of the all-party parliamentary group First Do No Harm – Mesh, Primodos, Valproate, said it was "hugely disappointing" to have so little progress."Five years ago today, things felt hopeful," she said. "The review marked what we thought would be the beginning of real systematic change, the start of building a system that listens to women when they report harm – an end to defensiveness and denial."She added thousands of women and families who were "irreversibly harmed through no fault of their own" were yet to see compensation. A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said: "The harm caused by pelvic mesh continues to be felt today. "Our sympathies are with those affected and we are fully focused on how best to support patients and prevent future harm."The Department of Health and Social Care is considering the recommendations in the report and will provide a further update."Health Minister Baroness Gillian Merron met patients affected and has committed to providing a further update." Follow Cambridgeshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Detained migrants deprived of medicines, report says
The health of detained migrants is put at risk because their medication is confiscated at ports and airports, a report has Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) inspected facilities at Bristol and Cardiff airports and at Newhaven, Poole and Portsmouth ports, where migrants can be detained for up to 24 for assessing and treating health conditions at all sites was inadequate, the South and West Short-Term Holding Facilities IMB Border Force, which runs the units and has refused to comment, was found by inspectors to be treating those in detention well. In their annual report, IMB inspectors said: "The current arrangements, where possession of medication is not allowed... may present risks to health."On one occasion, a new arrival at Bristol Airport was prevented from taking post-operation antibiotics, they holding unit had no hot water or soap, while the one in Poole had no heating at all, inspectors Bristol, there were no plans to expand the detention unit in line with the approved increase in the number of airport passengers, they IMB said Border Force (BF) had sometimes hampered the work of said: "BF have consistently failed to give the IMB access to detention records, primarily at Poole and Cardiff."In addition, during the year the IMB access to the offices at Poole was withdrawn."The board's chair, Di Askwith, said: "People in immigration detention can be anxious and vulnerable and may have had a challenging journey to reach that point."Our observations indicated that people in detention were being treated well by Border Force. However, we would like to see more consistent record keeping and for the IMB to be able to access all records."Bristol was the busiest site in the year to the end of January, with 356 detentions for longer than two were 63 detentions in Portsmouth, 12 in Cardiff, eight in Newhaven and two in number was lower than the previous year when 582 people were detained, according to Border Force.
