Latest news with #LordDarzi
The National
a day ago
- The National
Former UK minister Lord Darzi robbed of £175,000 Richard Mille watch on Capri
Renowned surgeon and former UK minister Lord Darzi was robbed of his rare luxury watch during a holiday on the Italian island of Capri. The theft happened on Sunday evening near the island's main piazza as Lord Darzi and friends walked along Via Vittorio Emanuele, an upmarket street lined with designer shops, as they returned to his yacht. Two men attacked Lord Darzi and stole his Richard Mille RM 07 watch, valued at more than £175,000, from his wrist before escaping on a waiting motorboat, police said. Lord Darzi was not injured in the attack. Police are studying CCTV of the incident and have released images of two casually dressed men. Ara Darzi, 65, holds the Paul Hamlyn chair of surgery at Imperial College London, the Royal Marsden Hospital and the Institute of Cancer Research. He was knighted for his services to medicine and surgery in 2002 before being made a peer in 2007 when he joined Gordon Brown's government at a health minister. Speaking to MailOnline, Lord Darzi said his family were 'all shaken up' by the incident which happened while they were on holiday after 'a very busy year in the NHS'. 'The watch was a gift from the father of a patient whose life I saved six years ago,' he said. 'Sadly, like too many Brits abroad, I've now experienced street crime first hand. My advice to fellow holidaymakers is simple: be careful and leave your valuables at home.' Capri's mayor, Paolo Falco offered his sympathies to Lord Darzi 'on behalf of the entire administration and citizens' and 'our full willingness to co-operate with the investigation'. Mr Falco stressed such incidents were rare on the island, which is known as a popular destination for wealthy holidaymakers. 'What happened is certainly an anomaly for an island that is, and remains, profoundly safe and welcoming,' he said in a statement. 'Indeed, we fear that this was a targeted and planned action. In any case, we will strengthen security measures, even in the most central and tourist-frequented areas.'
Telegraph
2 days ago
- Telegraph
Lord Darzi robbed of €200,000 watch on Capri holiday
Lord Darzi was robbed of his €200,000 watch by thieves while he was on holiday on the Italian island of Capri. Lord Darzi, 65, a surgeon and former health minister, was relaxing with friends when he was targeted by two thieves as he left the island's main piazza around 10.30pm on Sunday. They were followed by two men as they walked along the Via Vittorio Emanuele street, which is lined with designer shops, towards Lord Darzi's yacht, which was moored offshore. Police said the thieves suddenly ran towards the group and grabbed the peer's Richard Mille watch, estimated to be worth more than €200,000 (£175,000), from his wrist. The thieves then fled down the street and through the nearby Augustus Gardens to a waiting motorboat in the small bay known as Marina Piccola. Lord Darzi does not appear to have been injured in the attack. Police are checking for CCTV video and have released images of two casually dressed men in shirts and shorts captured by the cameras. The Armenian-British surgeon, who holds the Paul Hamlyn chair of surgery at Imperial College, was understood to have been on holiday in the Gulf of Naples on his private yacht for several days. He visited the island's central piazza, which is surrounded by bars and restaurants, days after Boris Johnson, the former British prime minister, partied there with his wife, Carrie. The attack on Lord Darzi raises questions about security, particularly on the island of Capri, which is a magnet for the world's rich and famous, especially in the summer months. The island has a reputation for attracting VIPs and Hollywood billionaire Jeff Bezos and his new wife, Lauren Sánchez Bezos, visited Capri recently, and the Hollywood actors Leonardo DiCaprio, Matthew McConaughey and Reese Witherspoon have also been spotted on the island off the coast of Naples. Paolo Falco, Capri's mayor, declined to speak to The Telegraph but told Italian media that the island was safe enough 'to sleep with your doors open'. 'What happened is certainly an anomaly for an island that is and remains profoundly safe and welcoming,' he told the daily, La Repubblica. 'Indeed, we fear that it was a targeted and planned action. In any case, we will strengthen security measures, even in the most central and touristically frequented areas.' There is growing concern about violent attacks elsewhere in Italy, however, as tourism and hospitality continue to boom across the country. In July last year, thieves stole a diamond-studded Rolex watch from a tourist after tailing her down Rome's main shopping street, Via del Corso, and punching her in the stomach. Late last year, a 30-year-old German tourist was robbed at knifepoint by three teenagers who stole his wallet containing several hundred euros near the Colosseum.
Times
04-07-2025
- Health
- Times
10-year NHS plan: summary of the key points
I n 'critical condition' but not terminal. That was the diagnosis of the NHS last year from Lord Darzi of Denham, who Labour commissioned to assess the state of the crumbling health service. The government's line since then has been that the NHS must 'reform or die'. Its long-awaited ten-year plan will now attempt to breathe life back into the faltering service, providing a 'reformed, modernised and renewed' approach to healthcare in Britain. Reform, Labour has said, revolves around three pillars: moving care into communities, digitising the service and preventing sickness. Here are the key points of the plan that promises to 'fundamentally rewire' the health service. A recurring theme of the ten-year plan launch was patient empowerment. The reforms will deliver 'power and control in [patients'] hands', Starmer told NHS staff in Stratford on Thursday.
The Guardian
01-06-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
The Guardian view on alcohol and public health: the drinks industry must not control the narrative
When the government's 10-year health plan is published in July, prevention is expected to get a promotion. This won't be the first time that ministers will have stressed the importance of healthy lifestyles. But nine months after Wes Streeting announced that a shift from treatment to prevention would be one of the principles governing Labour's stewardship of the NHS, we are just a few weeks away from knowing how the idea will be put into practice, and turned into a narrative for voters. In recent years, obesity has dominated discussions of the rising burden of chronic illness. But alcohol, too, is expected to feature in sections of the plan dealing with public health. Alcohol-related deaths in the UK reached a record high of 10,473 in 2023, with men more than twice as likely to die as women, and over-55s drinking far more than younger adults. The highest death rates are in Scotland and Northern Ireland. In his review of the crisis facing the NHS, Lord Darzi highlighted that the rise in deaths in England coincided with alcohol's increasing affordability. By contrast, in Scotland, research suggests – though it does not definitively prove – that the introduction of minimum unit pricing has led to fewer deaths and hospitalisations. Pressure for a tougher approach from policymakers to alcohol is also growing internationally. Two years ago the World Health Organization (WHO) made a public statement that there is no safe amount of alcohol. Last month, in Amsterdam, a new European Health Alliance on Alcohol was launched. It plans to campaign for the reduction of alcohol-related injuries and illnesses. Later this year, a UN general assembly meeting on non-communicable diseases is expected to include discussion of alcohol-related illness. If governments decide to act in response to such pressure, the options open to them include minimum pricing, taxes, advertising restrictions and stricter guidelines (in the UK, adults are recommended not to exceed 14 units a week, while pregnant women are advised not to drink at all). Other public health interventions include specialist clinics and other local services for those who are already addicted or ill. Before last year's election, Labour ruled out minimum unit pricing in England, although this was introduced by a Labour administration in Wales. If this decision has not already been reviewed in connection with the 10-year health plan, then it should be. But lobbyists will ensure that this and other challenges to the industry won't be easy. Last month, the Guardian reported on how new restrictions on ultra-processed foods were watered down under pressure from the Food and Drink Federation. While the guidance to retailers was softened under the last government, these changes have not been reversed by Labour. Unsurprisingly, a government that has staked its reputation on economic growth is a good listener to businesses. Rules and regulations are not the only factor shaping habits and behaviour. The drinks industry is also pushing back with advertising campaigns that reach over politicians' heads and seek to influence the public directly. Central to these efforts is a message that moderate drinking is not harmful. While this is in direct contradiction to the WHO's stance, it may appeal to a public that enjoys drinking. Ministers must ensure that accurate information about risks is out there, too, and that government decisions are guided by health, not lobbying.
The Independent
19-05-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Mental health reforms ‘mark vital step' in improving care quality
The Government's attempts to modernise mental health legislation will 'not solve every problem' but mark a 'vital step' in improving quality of care, according to Wes Streeting. The Health Secretary said attitudes to mental health have 'come on leaps and bounds' since the Mental Health Act 1983 before warning that the law has been 'frozen in time'. Patients would be given a greater say over their care and treatment under the terms of the Mental Health Bill tabled in Parliament. Other changes include ensuring that detention and compulsory treatment are only undertaken when necessary, with provision for more frequent reviews and appeals, and limiting the time people with autism or a learning disability can be detained. The Bill has already been scrutinised in the House of Lords and it cleared its first hurdle in the Commons on Monday evening, when MPs approved it at second reading. Mr Streeting told MPs: 'The measure of a society is how it treats its most vulnerable citizens. When it comes to the treatment of people with serious mental illness, we are falling well short of the humane, compassionate society we aspire to be. 'Patients live 15 to 20 years shorter lives than the average. They are often accommodated far away from their family and loved ones. 'The facilities they are housed in can be completely unsuitable. Lord Darzi found during his investigation last year nearly 20 patients in a mental health facility forced to share two showers and live amongst an infestation of rats and cockroaches. 'Patients are denied the basic choice and agency that is awarded to NHS patients with physical illnesses. People from ethnic minority communities, and especially black African and Caribbean men, are more than three times as likely to be sectioned. 'Although they are very different conditions, people with a learning disability or autistic people are often lumped in with those who have mental illness – reflecting an outdated lack of medical understanding.' Mr Streeting added: 'While attitudes to mental health have come on leaps and bounds in the past four decades, the law has been frozen in time. 'As a result, the current legislation fails to give patients adequate dignity, voice and agency in their care. 'This is despite the fact that patients themselves have consistently told us that being treated humanely and making decisions about their own care plays a vital role in their recovery. 'When patients are detained and treated without any say over what is happening to them, it can have serious consequences for their ongoing health.' Mr Streeting went on: 'This Bill does not solve every problem in our mental health services, but it marks a vital step in our plans to improve the quality of care, combat long-standing inequalities and bring about a stronger focus on prevention and early intervention in mental health.' Mr Streeting said mental health professionals will 'have to consider the risk of serious harm when making decisions to detain' which will ensure 'any risks to the public and patients are considered as part of the assessment process'. He said: 'The vast majority of people with mental illness, including severe mental illness, present no risk to themselves or others and for the majority of people, treatment can be provided without compulsion. 'However, there are some people whose illness, when acutely unwell, can make them a risk to themselves and sometimes to others. 'No one knows this better than the families of Ian Coates, Barnaby Webber or Grace O'Malley Kumar, the victims of Valdo Calocane's violent rampage in Nottingham, whose campaign for justice and accountability has been truly awe inspiring, or indeed the family of Valdo Calocane, who I have also spent time with listening to their experience of feeling badly let down by health services. 'As the independent investigation into the murders found, both he and his victims were failed by the health service, and the families are left to live through the consequences in a level of pain the rest of us could scarcely imagine.' Shadow health secretary Ed Argar welcomed the Bill, saying it's 'not only important but right that our laws are updated to reflect the modern world and the knowledge we have today'. He said: 'I believe it is right that we took the time to get this right. That work updating the Mental Health Act started under the previous government, and we had a commitment in our election manifesto to update the laws in this area, and that is something that has been carried on by the new government, and we continue to believe this is the right thing to do. 'So I want to put on record our in principle, support for the Government in this legislation.' He told MPs the Conservative 'welcome efforts to improve the patient's voice involvement in their own care' through 'greater use of advanced choice documents'. The Bill will undergo further scrutiny at a later date.
