Sectioned children face more trauma in the institutions supposed to protect them | Letter

I read with deep sadness the article by Kate Szymankiewicz about the death of her 14-year-old daughter Ruth (‘The ward felt like a prison. What had I let them do?’: how my daughter was crushed by a health service meant to help her, 8 November).As a parent of a child who has also suffered with an eating disorder, I recall the same feelings of horror at the loss of control while we saw our daughter sectioned three times under the Mental Health Act.Our daughter ended up in locked institutions for 15 months, where self-harm, suicide attempts and attempts at absconding were the norm.She was the same age as Ruth when sectioned, far away from home, and without access to therapeutic support because she was deemed too ill

Ultra-processed foods may help explain rising bowel cancer in under-50s, study suggests

Women under 50 who have a diet high in ultra-processed foods (UPFs) stand a greater risk of having abnormal growths in their bowel that can lead to cancer, research suggests.Ultra-processed foods are typically defined as industrially produced products that are often ready-to-eat, contain little in the way of whole foods, fibre and vitamins, and are typically high in saturated fat, sugar, salt and food additives.While the concept is not without controversy, not least around whether all UPFs are unhealthy, studies have suggested such foods are associated with a host of health problems, from higher risk of heart disease to early death.Now researchers say women who have a greater intake of UPFs have a greater risk of the early onset of a common type of bowel polyp known as conventional adenomas.Dr Andrew Chan, the lead author of the study based at Massachusetts General hospital in the US, said the study was prompted by an effort to understand what was driving rising rates of bowel cancer in younger people

Shelter should follow Crisis and directly house homeless people | Letters

I was most interested to read your report about the decision made by Crisis to start directly providing accommodation for homeless people (Crisis charity to become a landlord in attempt to rectify ‘catastrophic’ housing in UK, 10 November). Faced with the growing impossibility of securing accommodation via housing associations or local authorities, Crisis sees this as the most direct way of helping. Isn’t it time that Shelter, with its history of supporting other homelessness organisations, arrived at a similar conclusion?Many people are under the impression that Shelter houses homeless people. Despite having financially supported many frontline housing organisations and related projects during the 1960s and 70s, it pulled back from this role in the 80s. It now works with its 900-plus staff and its £80m income to provide housing advice and to undertake research and campaigning

Call for inquiry after families stripped of child benefit due to flawed travel data

Calls are being made for an urgent independent inquiry after thousands of families were stripped of child benefit due to flawed Home Office travel data that claimed to show parents going on holidays and not returning.Andrew Snowden, the Conservative MP for Fylde and the party’s assistant whip, said the government “must take immediate and transparent action” to address the failures of the anti-fraud benefits crackdown.“Thousands of families have had essential child benefit payments wrongly suspended because of unreliable or incomplete data,” he said.Snowden called for “a full, independent review of how this system was authorised, including how such unreliable travel data was used to make decisions on family benefits”. He said the findings must be published in full

English councils plan to sell off social clubs and sports centres to balance books

English councils are planning to sell social clubs, sports centres and shopping arcades as they bet on a fire sale of assets to balance the books, according to a survey of local authorities.The key cities group of councils, which represents second-tier cities in England, said 60% of councils were planning to sell assets to meet the escalating costs of adult and children’s social care.Councils have in the past come under fire for selling playing fields and land to shore up their finances, but argue they must continue to raise vital cash from asset sales or declare themselves bankrupt.The group said a high proportion of councils seeking to raise money from a fire sale of assets marked “a distinct shift from 2024, when the majority (60%) of local leaders said they would prioritise service redesigns and utilising financial reserves to weather increasing financial challenges”.Medway council in Kent said its property management strategy included the sale of a shopping centre in Rainham and a social club in Rochester to raise £20m over five years

Why the NHS doctors’ strikes look set to continue

As resident doctors began a new round of industrial action on Friday, it felt very like the other 49 days of strikes since March 2023, with medics in scrubs on picket lines outside hospitals across England amid a battle for public sympathy.The British Medical Association claimed the stoppage was wholly justified while the health secretary, Wes Streeting, riposted that it was irresponsible and risky.Meanwhile, many thousands of patients had their appointments or surgery cancelled as hospitals attempted to minimise the disruption. They were collateral damage, as usual.It is now one of the longest-running disputes in NHS history

UK hospitals bracing for once-in-a-decade flu surge this winter

Hospitals are bracing for a once-in-a-decade flu season, with a mutated version of the virus that is spreading widely in younger people expected to drive a wave of admissions when it reaches the elderly.The threat has prompted NHS managers to redouble efforts to vaccinate staff and communities, expand same-day emergency care and treat more patients in the community to reduce the need for hospital stays.As resident doctors in England continue a five-day strike over pay, hospitals are turning to contingency plans to bring in consultants and other staff for extra shifts and reschedule appointments where necessary.“Last flu season was particularly nasty and we’re very concerned that this year could be even worse,” said Elaine Clancy, the group chief nursing officer for St George’s, Epsom and St Helier university hospitals. “We’re preparing for a spike of flu on to our wards

Hospital consultants gearing up to join resident doctors in striking over pay

Hospital consultants are gearing up to join resident doctors in striking over pay in a move that could cause huge disruption for the NHS and present ministers with a major new headache.In addition, resident doctors – who will tomorrow embark on their latest strike – have decided to adopt a more militant approach in pursuit of their 26% pay claim in which they strike every month, to put pressure on the government.In a hardening of their tactics, resident – formerly junior – doctors will stage a walkout every month in 2026 if, as they expect, they get a fresh legal mandate to continue their long-running campaign of industrial action. They went on strike 11 times in 15 months between March 2023 and June 2024 but only once since, in July this year.Thousands of them will take part in what will be the 13th strike of their campaign, starting at 7am on Friday and running until 7am on Wednesday 19 November

‘It was the last time Mum smiled at me’: the choirs singing to the dying in three-part harmony

A worldwide movement to sing gentle songs to the dying provides comfort, peace and release to both the suffering and the singersIt’s a warm morning in suburban Ballina, in northern New South Wales, and Joy Hurnall is lying in a recliner in her lounge room, wearing a pale blue dressing gown and a woollen shawl made by her daughter Cheryl.Having been discharged from the palliative care unit of a local hospital the previous day, the 92-year-old is relieved to be back home, surrounded by people she loves: her cousin and best friend since childhood, three of her six adult children, and dozens of long-gone relatives smiling down from framed black-and-white photographs in the bookcase behind her.The small room is full but quiet, the air infused with the gentle voices of three women from Ballina’s Threshold Choir who have come to sing to Joy. She closes her eyes and rests her hands on her lap, listening.For the next 20 minutes, the women sing four lullaby-like songs with names as soothing as they sound: You Are Not Alone, Love Transcends, Healing Light and You Are So Loved