Record numbers in England taking ADHD medication, NHS data shows

A record number of people in England are taking medication used to treat ADHD, data shows, underlining a surge in the number of diagnoses.Almost 278,000 patients in England were prescribed central nervous system stimulants (CNS) and drugs to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) between April 2023 and March 2024, latest NHS Business Services Authority data shows.That is almost five people in every 1,000, an increase of 18% from the four in every 1,000 recorded last year, and the highest number since records began in 2016. The main increase is among women, the data shows, mainly those aged 25-40.During the same period, almost 3m CNS stimulants and drug prescriptions were dispensed in the community in England, another record since 2016 and 15% up from last year

Patients cannot trust CQC’s hospital safety ratings, says Wes Streeting

The healthcare regulator is so badly run that patients in England cannot trust the safety ratings it issues for hospitals, care homes or GP practices, the health secretary has said.Wes Streeting said the Care Quality Commission was in such deep crisis it was not able to do its basic job reliably. His warning came after an interim report by the public care doctor Penny Dash found the CQC was plagued by low levels of physical inspections, a lack of consistency in assessments and problems with a faltering IT system.Streeting told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Friday: “I would take those ratings today with a pinch of salt. One of the reasons why I’ve chosen to publish the interim report from Dr Penny Dash is, firstly, to be open and transparent and honest with the public urgently, but secondly, to make sure that we ask the CQC to urgently qualify those ratings by providing the background information on how the rating was determined, so that people can make more informed decisions

Assisted dying bill to be introduced into House of Lords

Keir Starmer is under pressure to fulfil a promise to allow a parliamentary vote on legalising assisted dying as a bill is to be introduced into the House of Lords on Friday.Lord Falconer, who was lord chancellor in Tony Blair’s government, will propose a private member’s bill to allow assisted dying for terminally ill adults after coming second in a ballot of peers last week.In March, Starmer said he was in favour of changing the law. He promised Esther Rantzen, the television presenter who has terminal cancer and is campaigning for assisted dying, that if he became prime minister he would ensure parliamentary time to debate the issue and allow a free vote. He repeated the pledge after winning the general election

Cost of England’s four biggest killer diseases could hit £86bn by 2050

The cost of England’s four biggest killer diseases could rise to £86bn a year by 2050, prompting calls for a crackdown on alcohol, junk food and smoking.The ageing population means the annual cost of cancer, heart disease, dementia and stroke combined will go from the £51.9bn recorded in 2018 to £85.6bn in 2050 – a rise of 61%.The four conditions together account for 59% of all deaths and result in 5

Inga Rublite timeline: events in run-up to death of woman in A&E waiting room

Inga Rublite was on a break at work when she came down with a sudden headache. Less than 24 hours later, she lay dying on the floor of an overcrowded A&E waiting room under a coat, hidden in plain sight. The sequence of events that led up to her death show an NHS under strain and the risk of patients falling through the cracks.Rublite is on a video call to her twin sister, Inese Briede, who lives in their home country of Latvia, when she is suddenly struck by a headache she likens to being “hit by a brick”. She finishes her shift at the Nottingham warehouse where she works distributing uniforms before going to her home nearby and sleeping for around five hours

Inga Rublite inquest: hospital missed two chances to treat woman dying in A&E

Staff at a hospital in Nottingham missed two opportunities to treat a woman found dying under a coat in a crowded emergency department, a coroner has concluded.An inquest into the death of Inga Rublite, 39, found she died of natural causes but medical staff failed to recognise “persistent and escalating symptoms of brain haemorrhage” as she waited in A&E for more than eight hours.Dr Elizabeth Didcock, an assistant coroner for Nottinghamshire, said Rublite should have been assessed by a senior doctor and sent for a head scan when she arrived at Queens medical centre (QMC) just after 10.30pm on 19 January this year.When Rublite was next assessed by a nurse, at about 2am, and reported to be in severe pain, this should have been escalated to a doctor, she said