Banstead man cycles length of Britain in memory of his late wife
She also lived with arthritis, and helped the charity Versus Arthritis by reviewing research proposals.Sepsis, a condition in which the immune system reacts so violently to an infection it begins to damage its own body, is thought to be responsible for the deaths of five people an hour in the UK.
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Times
an hour ago
- Times
Hospitals face paying £8,000 a shift to cover striking doctors
Hospitals could be forced to pay as much as £8,000 to cover the shift of a single striking doctor if multiple consultants are needed to staff some wards overnight. Advice on the British Medical Association (BMA) website says consultants asked to cover shifts overnight in a hospital should have a second consultant on call with them to cover higher-level duties. According to the BMA's rate card, for each junior doctor's overnight shift during the strike, two consultants in London would cover it for £334 per hour, or £4,008 for an overnight shift, totalling £8,016 for both consultants. Hospital leaders described it as 'worrying' and said the funds needed to cover a striking doctor were 'unacceptable'. One junior doctor, who is not striking in this round of industrial action but did last year, said some consultants were 'slower' at day-to-day activities on the ward, which sometimes led to multiple consultants covering one overnight shift. 'The type of things that you are doing overnight [are] quite different to the job that you do as a consultant during the day [but] something that the junior, the resident doctors, core and foundation trainees do all the time. Some of these might be quite practical and logistical things that if you're a consultant [you are] not physically used to doing on the computer system. They're the kind of things you need to do quickly overnight,' the doctor said. While consultants could very ably clinically assess patients, they might be 'a bit slow' at the tasks needed overnight, the doctor suggested. 'Sometimes they feel safer, I think … having more of them on because, more from a speed perspective,' the doctor added. • How much do NHS doctors really earn? Here are the facts BMA guidance says some consultants may have 'concerns' about working on wards. ''Acting down' to provide cover for absent resident doctor colleagues may involve tasks that you have not had to perform for many years, and you may have concerns about the ability to carry out certain tasks involved in ward work,' the advice states. 'A consultant has a professional obligation to act within their sphere of competence. As such, you need to be clear with your employer that you do not feel that you can safely and competently perform the work required and that doing [so] may expose you to enhanced risk of medico-legal consequences. If your employer refuses to take the necessary action to make alternative arrangements […] then, as above, you will need to follow our guidance on raising concerns.' One hospital executive said that while the hospital had not used more than one consultant to cover shifts, the cost of cover ran 'into the millions' and further cuts to NHS services might be needed as a result. 'The cost of consultant cover during the period, which runs into millions of pounds, [is a] huge amount of money that is unfunded. It's well publicised that there's a real tension at the moment in the NHS between safe timely services and financial viability,' said the executive, who did not wish to be named. • Striking doctor called off picket line to treat 'very sick' babies 'We're trying to navigate our way along that. Inevitably, if we accumulate debt as a result of paying consultants more to pick up these shifts, that money is not going to be funded by our NHS. So it would be down for each individual NHS organisation to make further cuts to offset the cost of the strikes.' Saffron Cordery, the deputy chief executive of NHS Providers, said: 'Trust leaders are working to minimise the harm and disruption caused by the strike. Ensuring adequate cover to keep patients safe is expensive and there is no extra money to cover this so the unexpected cost is bound to impact on the services they can provide. 'It's really worrying to see the demands for excessive rates to provide this cover. The withdrawal of labour by one staff group should not be seen as a financial opportunity for another. That is totally unacceptable.'
The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
What to know about Ozzy Osbourne's rare form of Parkinson's disease
British heavy metal legend Ozzy Osbourne died earlier this week at 76 years old, more than 20 years since the 'Prince of Darkness' was first diagnosed with a rare form of genetic Parkinson's disease. The cause of the Black Sabbath frontman's recent death has not been made explicit. By this year, Osbourne told listeners of his SiriusXM radio show 'Ozzy Speaks' that he could no longer walk due to the condition he'd been diagnosed with in 2003. 'I have made it to 2025,' he said, according to People. 'I can't walk, but you know what I was thinking over the holidays? For all my complaining, I'm still alive.' Parkinson's disease is a degenerative neurological disorder that is characterized by slow movements, tremors, and balance problems, according to the Parkinson's Foundation. Most cases happen for unknown reasons, but some are inherited, the Cleveland Clinic notes. There are several types of Parkinson's disease, including genetic, early-onset, and sporadic: the most common. "Genetic forms of Parkinson's account for approximately 8 percent of individuals receiving a Parkinson's diagnosis,' Deputy Director of Research at Parkinson's UK David Dexter explained in a statement. Osbourne was impacted by a gene called PARK 2, which is also known as PRKN-2. When the gene is mutated, it is the most common cause of early-onset Parkinson's disease. A rare recessive form of the disease may be caused by that mutation. PARK 2 mutations cause about 15 percent of genetic and 4 percent of the most common disease cases with early onset Parkinson's. People are diagnosed with Parkinson's at an average age of 60, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. In Parkinson's disease nerve cells in the brain slowly break down and die. Many symptoms are caused by a loss of those cells that produce dopamine – a mood regulator – in the brain. Decreased dopamine leads to irregular brain activity, according to the Mayo Clinic. People with Parkinson's disease also lose another chemical messenger known as norepinephrine that controls blood pressure and other bodily functions. Parkinson's isn't curable, but there are many different treatment options, including brain surgery. Osbourne had been receiving stem cell treatments, which are used to supplement dopamine loss. Parkinson's disease impacts more than 1.1 million Americans, and it is the second-most common neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer's disease. An estimated 90,000 people in the U.S. are diagnosed with Parkinson's every year and death rates have surged by about 63 percent over the last 20 years. While Parkinson's itself is not considered fatal, people can die from complications of the disease, including lung problems tied to muscle weakness that impede the ability to cough and to swallow. Aspiration pneumonia accounts for 70 percent of deaths among Parkinson's patients, according to a federal study. That occurs when bacteria from the mouth is pulled into the lungs. "There's so many different types of Parkinson's; it's not a death sentence by any stretch of the imagination, but it does affect certain nerves in your body,' Ozzy's wife Sharon Osbourne previously told ABC News' 'Good Morning America.' 'And it's like you have a good day, a good day, and then a really bad day." Sharon also told RadioX that Ozzy had to work with a physiotherapist every day to keep his muscles moving. 'I may be moaning that I can't walk but I look down the road and there's people that didn't do half as much as me and didn't make it,' Ozzy said on SiriusXM.
The Guardian
3 hours ago
- The Guardian
Samaritans to close at least 100 branches across UK and Ireland
Samaritans has announced plans to close at least half of its 200 branches across the UK and Ireland, move volunteers into larger regional hubs and pilot remote call handling, in a shake-up that has left some volunteers dismayed. The mental health charity told volunteers in a video last week it hoped 'within the next seven to 10 years, our branch network will have reduced by at least half' and that it would move to 'fewer but bigger regions'. The charity's 22,000 listening volunteers answer calls and messages from people in mental health crisis at 201 branches across the UK and Ireland. It says its helplines receive a call every 10 seconds, while some branches also offer face-to-face services. Julie Bentley, the charity's chief executive, told volunteers that much of its fundraising income was going into 'maintaining bricks and mortar, rather than being used to improve our services'. The charity wants a 'smaller number of larger brick branches' meaning 'larger shifts open with more volunteers on duty together'. It also said it wanted to make sure its buildings and shifts were 'accessible to all' and hoped its 'volunteer numbers will have increased as we offer more flexibility', adding it had no plans to reduce the level of service it offered. Some volunteers have expressed fears the charity is moving to a 'call centre-style' model that would remove the 'camaraderie' found in smaller branches. There were also concerns that volunteers, many of whom are over 50, would be unable to travel large distances to branches in large towns and cities. They also raised concerns about the impact of a potential move towards remote volunteering, in which people would answer calls in their homes while in contact with another volunteer via video call. Some said they would feel uncomfortable taking distressing and sensitive calls at home. One volunteer said: 'It does change the absolute basis of how we have worked and the understanding of our need to be in a safe place where we have support as callers. Would the ambulance service suddenly decide to have people take calls in their home? 'The current system has operated very successfully for 70 years. Now they're thinking of dismantling it, and in a way that I think has upset a lot of volunteers. A lot of us are anxious and worried. 'Almost every single volunteer that I have spoken to have said if they introduce call centres, we're out. As well as helping others, people volunteer for their own mental health, to go to a safe space and meet like-minded people.' The charity said remote volunteering would allow people unable to travel to branches to give their time, particularly for night shifts that are more challenging to fill. Samaritans said it would consult volunteers about its plans before the trustees made a final decision in September, and any proposed changes that are confirmed will take place over a number of years. Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion Volunteers said they wanted clarity on how much money the charity spends on branches, and how much it was projected to save by closing half down. Samaritans' annual accounts for 2023-24 show it has a fund of £7m for fixed assets including branches, a property maintenance fund of £28,000 and a branch support fund of £287,000, while it received £24.6m in charitable income. In its last set of financial accounts, the charity said its 'income was down for the third year running, while costs continue to rise', and it had been forced to stop or postpone projects owing to lack of funding. In a statement, Bentley said: 'Samaritans provides a life-saving service, day and night, 365 days a year, but the changing needs of our callers and volunteers means thinking differently about the way our services need to work. 'We are engaging with our volunteers on proposed improvements that will mean we are able to answer more calls, have more volunteers on duty, and be there for more people in their darkest moments. Over 200 branches, varying in size from 10 to 300 volunteers, is not sustainable and hinders us providing the best possible service to people who need us.'
