‘It restored my hope’: how community action is confronting racism in Belfast

As a black woman in Northern Ireland, Maureen Hamblin knows that racism comes in many forms. “It’s not just the smashing in of shop windows,” she says. “It can be quiet, it can be silent.”Bystanders who hear racist remarks and remain mute, as if oblivious, amplify the hurt and leave victims feeling alone and isolated, a recurring experience that left Hamblin drained. “There was a time when I’d lost a lot of faith in white people, in white men

‘The NHS would collapse within hours’: BME staff say Britain fails to appreciate their roles

“I am fed up of being called names. I know I am Black. I was born Black. And I love being Black. So tell me something I don’t know

Foreign medics shunning NHS because of anti-migrant rhetoric, says top doctor

Foreign doctors and nurses are increasingly shunning the NHS because anti-migrant rhetoric and rising racism have created “a hostile environment”, the leader of Britain’s medics has warned.The health service is being put at risk because overseas health professionals increasingly see the UK as an “unwelcoming, racist” country, in part because of the government’s tough approach to immigration, Jeanette Dickson said.Record numbers of foreign-born doctors are quitting the NHS and the post-Brexit surge in those coming to work in it has stalled. At the same time, the number of nurses and midwives joining the NHS has fallen sharply over the past year.Dickson is the chair of the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, which represents the professional interests of the UK and Ireland’s 220,000 doctors, including GPs, surgeons, anaesthetists and A&E specialists

Abuse survivors need safe housing above all | Letters

The government’s new violence against women and girls strategy sets out welcome ambitions to strengthen protection and tackle misogyny, but the real test will be in delivery (UK government strategy to protect women and girls from violence ‘seriously underfunded’, 18 December). Housing remains one of the most critical yet underfunded parts of the national response to abuse. Without a secure home, survivors cannot rebuild their lives, access work or engage with support services.Every week, too many women and families seeking help are turned away because there simply isn’t enough safe, suitable housing available. A survivor can’t start again if they have nowhere to go

Blood test could predict who is most at risk from common inherited heart condition

Scientists are developing a simple blood test to predict who is most at risk from the world’s most common inherited heart condition.Millions of people worldwide have hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), a disease of the heart muscle where the wall of the heart becomes thickened. It is caused by a change in one or more genes and mostly passed on through families.Some feel fine most of the time and have few or no symptoms. But others can suffer complications, such as heart failure and abnormal heart rhythms, which can lead to a cardiac arrest

Inside the US’s psychedelic church boom, where taking drugs is legal

The Church of Gaia in Spokane, Washington, has all the makings of a traditional place of worship: regular gatherings, communal songs and member donations – except they also serve ayahuasca, a psychedelic substance that can induce nausea and, at times, projectile vomiting.“This is a purely spiritual practice,” said Connor Mize, the ceremonial leader of the Church of Gaia. “It’s not a thing you do just for fun.”Psychedelics are classified as schedule 1 substances and banned throughout most of the US. But a small number of churches have won the right to use them as sacraments: since the 2000s, four organizations have secured legal protections for psychedelic use after protracted battles with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)