NHS corridor care now year-round crisis in England, experts say

Corridor care in the NHS is now a year-round crisis, experts have warned, as analysis showed nearly 3 million patients attended A&E over the first two months of the summer.The latest NHS figures in England, analysed by the Liberal Democrats, show that since 2015 the number of people going to A&E in June and July has increased 15% to 2.9 million – the highest level recorded over the past decade.Whereas 12-hour trolley waits were almost nonexistent a decade ago, with just 47 recorded throughout June and July in 2015, in June 2025 38,683 patients, 7.2% of all those attending A&E, had to wait 12 hours or more to be admitted

Teenagers with period pain more likely to have chronic adult pain, study says

Teenagers who have moderate or severe period pain are much more likely to develop chronic pain as adults, according to research.Researchers said the findings should serve as a wake-up call to improve menstrual education, reduce stigma, and ensure young people have access to effective support and treatment early on.Academics at the University of Oxford analysed data from more than 1,100 participants in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children and found that, compared with those who did not have painful menses, those with severe period pain (dysmenorrhoea) at 15 years old had a 76% higher risk of chronic pain by the age of 26, while those with moderate period pain were 65% more likely to have chronic pain as adults.While previous research has focused on pelvic pain, the authors say this study, funded by the Medical Research Foundation and published in the Lancet Child & Adolescent Health journal, is the first to reveal a link between adolescent period pain and chronic pain in other parts of the body.Moderate to severe period pain was strongly associated with the risk of developing chronic pain in the lower back and abdomen

Give more respect to women killed by their family | Brief letters

Re your article (Domestic violence screening tool should be replaced, Jess Phillips says, 26 August), can we please not use the word “honour” in the context of violent crimes against female family members, either as part of the Dash questionnaire used by police and social services or in new guidance for a legal definition of “honour-based” abuse. Call it what it is: family violence. The girls and young women mutilated and murdered deserve respect. Lynne Scrimshaw London I was puzzled by your article (Activists hope to shift Venice film festival focus on to crisis in Gaza, 27 August). Why should the festival have to take a position on Palestine any more than on other tragic problems like Myanmar, Sudan or Tibet? It’s a film festival, not the UN

Doctors find drug that is better than aspirin at preventing heart attacks

Doctors have found a drug that is better than aspirin at preventing heart attacks and strokes, in a discovery that could transform health guidelines worldwide.For decades, millions of people have been advised to take aspirin to reduce their risk of experiencing a serious cardiovascular event. A daily low-dose aspirin makes blood less sticky and helps prevent heart attacks and strokes.But now a new study, presented at the world’s largest heart conference, has found that clopidogrel, a commonly prescribed blood thinner, is more effective – and with no extra risk.The stunning discovery was revealed at the European Society of Cardiology congress in Madrid, with the data behind the findings simultaneously published in the Lancet medical journal

Christopher Roles obituary

My friend Christopher Roles, who has died aged 63 of glioblastoma, was head of the UK-based charity Age International from 2012 to 2022. It supports older people around the world, including through humanitarian responses to disasters and emergencies.He brought to that position a characteristic combination of calm authority, moral clarity and quiet humour that left a lasting mark on colleagues and friends – qualities that also led him to become a valued member of organisations in other settings. He served on the BBC Appeals Committee and was a trustee of the Disasters Emergency Committee until his retirement in 2022, when he took up trustee roles at Winchester Cathedral, Wesley House Cambridge and the Pensions Trust.Chris was born in Southampton to Margaret (nee Pragnell), a piano teacher and organist, and her husband, Bill, a research chemist

British baby dies from whooping cough as vaccination rates fall

A baby in the UK has died from whooping cough, marking the first such death in the country this year.The infant’s mother had not been vaccinated against the highly infectious disease, which affects the lungs and airways. This death occurred as vaccination rates among children and pregnant women in the UK have fallen to their lowest levels in 15 years.Whooping cough, or pertussis, can be fatal for babies, who are at the highest risk of severe illness or death. The child, thought to be under the age of one, was taken ill and died between March and June this year, according to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), which is responsible for protecting the public from infectious diseases and other threats