Phage therapy: ‘Viral cocktail saved my daughter’s life’

Image copyright Jo Carnell Holdaway Image caption Isabelle Carnell-Holdaway is now 17 and learning to drive An experimental cocktail of viruses has saved the life of a teenager who had a deadly and seemingly untreatable infection. Isabelle’s body was being attacked by bacteria and she was given less than a 1% chance of survival. But […]

GP pressure: Numbers show first sustained drop for 50 years

Image copyright Getty Images The NHS is seeing the first sustained fall in GP numbers in the UK for 50 years, the BBC can reveal. An analysis by the Nuffield Trust think tank for the BBC shows the number of GPs per 100,000 people has fallen from nearly 65 in 2014 to 60 last year. […]

British people ‘having less sex’ than previously

Image copyright Getty Images British people are having less sex now than in recent years, according to a large national survey. The findings, published in the British Medical Journal, suggest nearly a third of men and women have not had sex in the past month. That’s up from around a quarter in 2001, according to […]

Newcastle stroke treatment trial results ‘phenomenal’

Image copyright MicroTransponder Image caption Vagus Nerve Stimulation has been used to treat people with epilepsy A stroke treatment trial has produced results that clinicians have described as “phenomenal”. An implanted device sends electrical pulses via a nerve to the brain, stimulating it to bypass damaged areas. Colin Clough, who is on the trial, can […]

Food outlets ‘should list all ingredients’ says food agency

Media caption“This will help so many allergy sufferers,” said Tanya Ednan-Laperouse Food outlets should list all ingredients in order to protect customers with allergies, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) has proposed. The FSA has recommended ministers adopt strict new rules, which include highlighting the 14 major allergens. The proposals follow the death in 2016 of […]

Social media effect ‘tiny’ in teenagers, large study finds

Image copyright Getty Images The effects of social media use on teenage life satisfaction are limited and probably “tiny”, a study of 12,000 UK adolescents suggests. Family, friends and school life all had a greater impact on wellbeing, says the University of Oxford research team. It claims its study is more in-depth and robust than […]

Assisted suicide: Paul Lamb renews bid for right to die

Media captionPaul Lamb: “It can be construed as torture”. A man who lives with chronic and excruciating pain has begun a fresh legal challenge to the law that criminalises assisted suicide. Paul Lamb, 63, was paralysed from the neck down following a car crash nearly 30 years ago. He lost a Supreme Court case in […]

False allegations of fabricated illness ‘ripped family apart’

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Fabricated or Induced Illness (FII) is a rare form of abuse Campaigners are calling for an inquiry into concerns that families have been wrongly accused of inventing or causing illnesses in their children. Fabricated or Induced Illness (FII) is a rare form of abuse where parents exaggerate or cause […]

Waste collection costs double after firm’s collapse

Image copyright Reuters The cost of collecting hospital medical waste in Scotland has more than doubled since the collapse of Healthcare Environmental Services, figures show. The Lanarkshire-based company went to the wall after becoming embroiled in a waste stockpiling scandal. Contingency measures to remove waste from every hospital, GP surgery, dental practice and pharmacy in […]

Minister considers ‘all options’ to boost vaccine uptake

Image copyright Science Photo Library Health secretary Matt Hancock has said he is willing to look at “all options” to boost England’s vaccination levels, including compulsory immunisation. Mr Hancock told the BBC he did not want to “reach the point” of imposing jabs, but would “rule nothing out”. More than half a million children in […]

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