Latest news with #RoyalCollegeofPhysicians
The Guardian
21-07-2025
- Health
- The Guardian
NHS must adapt to work better in heatwaves
Higher temperatures are becoming more frequent with climate change, and our patients are paying the price ('Profound concern' as scientists say extreme heat 'now the norm' in UK, 14 July). Increasingly, physicians are seeing more patients whose health is affected by extreme heat. During heat periods in the summer of 2022, there were 3,271 excess deaths in England and Wales, and last month's heatwave alone will cost hundreds of lives. Demand for healthcare will rise as a result of extreme temperatures. It is not only people's health at risk, but our ability to care for patients too. About 90% of hospitals in England alone are at risk of overheating, making it harder to keep services running safely. We need to get serious about adapting the NHS to cope with changing conditions. The climate crisis is a health crisis. Preventing disruption in the NHS, by investing in building upgrades, workforce preparedness and adequate resilience planning, is no longer optional – it is essential, so the NHS can continue to provide healthcare when Mark HarberSpecial adviser on healthcare sustainability and climate change, Royal College of Physicians Have an opinion on anything you've read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.
The Independent
09-07-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Top doctors issue warning over weight loss jabs in call to tackle UK's ‘broken food system'
The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) warns that weight loss injections alone will not make lasting progress in tackling the obesity epidemic. The RCP urges the government to address the nation's "broken food system" by reducing aggressive marketing of unhealthy foods and increasing the availability of healthy options. They also call for equitable access to comprehensive weight management services, including crucial wraparound support to prevent weight regain. A survey by the RCP found that 80 per cent of UK doctors have observed an increase in patients with obesity over the last five years. The College stresses that obesity is a complex chronic illness driven by social and environmental factors, which also makes treating other conditions more difficult.
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Weight loss jabs alone will not be enough to turn the tide on obesity
Weight loss jabs will not be enough to make 'lasting progress' on tackling the obesity epidemic, leading medics have said. The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) called on the Government to make sure people across the country have equal access to weight management services. It should also make sure people have wraparound support to help ensure they do not pile back the pounds on after they have lost weight, the RCP said. It also called for action to tackle the nation's 'broken food system' to help people make healthier choices, including reducing 'aggressive' marketing and advertising of unhealthy food. In a new position statement, the College said: 'Medication alone will not be enough to make meaningful and lasting progress on tackling obesity.' It said that the Government must also tackle the 'social and environmental drivers of obesity'. The position statement adds: 'Policies should reduce aggressive marketing and advertising of foods high in fat, salt, and sugar, while increasing the availability and affordability of healthy foods from an early age. 'We must tackle our broken food system and ensure it is easier for all to choose to eat healthily.' #BetterHealth offers a range of free NHS apps to help people eat better and get active, including the NHS Weight Loss Plan app. Data shows it can help people lose 5.8kg on average over just 12 weeks. Find out more: — NHS London (@NHSEnglandLDN) July 25, 2023 Last week the Government pledged to 'launch a moonshot to end the obesity epidemic' in its 10 Year Plan for Health. Now the College has urged ministers to set out details and timelines of how it will deliver this commitment. It comes as the College released a poll of members and fellows, showing that four in five (80%) of almost 19,000 doctors in the UK, surveyed by the RCP, said that the number of patients they see with obesity has increased over the last five years. The RCP warned that treatment for other illnesses is less effective as a result of obesity. Dr Kath McCullough, special adviser on obesity for the RCP, said: 'The narrative that obesity is about personal responsibility or that new medications will solve the problem is misleading. 'Obesity is a chronic illness shaped by a range of factors and influences – and it's on the rise. 'We are seeing daily how obesity causes and makes it harder to treat conditions, from diabetes and arthritis to heart disease and cancer. 'The NHS 10 Year Plan rightly sets out a suite of measures that can be used in the fight against obesity, but the armoury is far from complete. 'Weight loss drugs can be part of the solution for some patients, but our efforts must focus on preventing people developing obesity and overweight in the first place. 'We welcome the measures Government announced last week – they have great potential. We look forward to seeing the detail on how we will translate that ambition into reality.' RCP president Dr Mumtaz Patel said: 'Doctors are telling us loud and clear about the scale and impacts of obesity. It is undermining treatment, driving up complications and placing additional pressure on an already overwhelmed NHS. 'In less affluent communities, we're watching obesity fuel a vicious cycle – people are getting sicker, their care becomes harder to deliver and the system just can't catch up. 'We welcome steps the Government is taking. No few individual measures will be enough. It is a complex problem that requires multifaceted solutions. 'We need bold, joined-up preventative action that tackles the genetic, social, economic and commercial factors that drive obesity.' An estimated 1.5 million are taking weight loss jabs in the UK. Around 29% of adults in the UK are obese.
CTV News
02-07-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Ottawa's downtown office vacancy rate at 15 per cent through the spring
Ottawa's office vacancy rate improved slightly in the spring, with a new report suggesting there is demand for mid to large-sized office space in the core and in Kanata. CBRE Canada's second-quarter Canada Office Figures report shows Ottawa's vacancy rate dropped from 12.7 per cent in the January-March period to 12.5 per cent in the April-June period. 'Uncertainty regarding the economic landscape continued to obfuscate occupier decision making, although demand still exists for mid to large-sized space, as observed in the core and in Kanata,' the report says. The vacancy rate in downtown Ottawa was 15 per cent in the second quarter, while the office vacancy rate in the suburbs was 10.5 per cent. Toronto's downtown vacancy rate was 18.5 per cent in the spring, while Montreal's downtown vacancy rate was 18.6 per cent. CBRE Canada says 'sizeable deals' were reported at 160 Elgin Street in the spring, with the Royal College of Physicians taking 62,000 sq. ft. of space and Telesat occupying 28,000 sq. ft. of space. According to the report, there was 'notable activity within the submarket' in the spring, including the sale of a full vacant building on Solandt Road to the Manitoba Metis Foundation for potential owner occupancy and Mitel sublisting 33,000 sq. ft. of space on Innovation Drive. CBRE Canada says industrial construction 'has hit a peak' in Ottawa, with Amazon starting construction on their third distribution facility. That will add a proposed 3.1 million sq. ft. to Ottawa's future industrial inventory. 'While trade negotiations have resulted in some short-term supply and increased uncertainty, many deals are still being completed or remain in the pipeline,' CBRE said. The industrial vacancy rate in Ottawa was 2.2 per cent in the spring.
BBC News
01-07-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Clean air bill known as Ella's Law championed by cross-party MPs
A proposed law is being championed by a cross-party group of London MPs to establish clean air as a human bill is known as "Ella's Law", in memory of nine-year-old Ella Adoo-Kissi-Debrah who became the first person to have air pollution listed as a cause of death. Since Brexit, the EU has pushed ahead with tighter air pollution targets than the UK. This bill would force England to follow suit, by meeting strict new World Health Organization limits by Clean Air (Human Rights) Bill is being reintroduced in the Commons by the former Green party co-leader and London Assembly member Sian Berry, after parliamentary time ran out during previous attempts. Speaking in the Commons on Tuesday, Berry said British people should have "the right to grow up and grow old without stunted lungs, without preventable diseases like asthma, and without disabling and potentially lethal harm being done to our lungs, hearts and brains by preventable air pollution".She quoted a new report by the Royal College of Physicians, which said evidence gathered over the past decade suggested there were now "links between air pollution and almost every organ in the body and the diseases that affect them". Families were still losing loved ones, she argued, to dementia, cancer and heart disease made worse by who is now the Green MP for Brighton Pavilion, did however praise recent improvements in London's air quality. The Ultra Low Emission Zone (Ulez), which charges the most polluting vehicles, was introduced by London's Labour mayor, Sir Sadiq Khan, in 2019, and expanded to include outer London in said she hoped the government would get behind the new bill. London MPs also backing it include Labour's Stella Creasey, Uma Kumaran, and Bell Ribeiro-Addy. The Clean Air (Human Rights) Bill, will get its second reading in the Commons on 7 November 2025.
