Don’t leave social care out of the equation | Letters

The NHS’s year-round hospital overcrowding is not the product of a single failing, but the result of two interdependent systems under pressure: health and social care (NHS corridor care now year-round crisis in England, experts say, 1 September). The government’s ambition to build an “NHS fit for the future” through prevention, neighbourhood services and digital tools is welcome, but this vision risks treating symptoms rather than causes if social care is left out of the equation.Unless there is sufficient capacity in community-based social care to support people recovering at home, the logjam will persist, and “corridor care” will remain a reality. The evidence is clear: timely investment in community services such as reablement and intermediate care prevents unnecessary admissions, speeds up safe discharges, and delivers strong returns on investment for the NHS.Reform is overdue

Women in UK with polycystic ovarian syndrome facing widespread failures in treatment, report finds

Women living with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) face prolonged delays in diagnosis and limited access to treatment, according to a report by a parliamentary group.More than a third of women with the condition had to wait longer than four years for a PCOS diagnosis, according to the report, and after diagnosis almost two-fifths (38%) of respondents were not provided with any resources.PCOS is a common condition that affects about one in eight women of childbearing age in the UK. The main features of the condition include irregular periods; excess of the hormone androgen, which is linked to excess facial or body hair; and polycystic ovaries, which are when the ovaries are enlarged and contain many fluid-filled sacs.Published by the all-party parliamentary group on PCOS, the report consists of oral evidence sessions, a survey of more than 2,000 patients on their experiences, as well as freedom of information requests to all 42 Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) in England

Emergency alert: millions of UK mobile phones to receive test message on Sunday

Millions of mobile phones will vibrate and make a siren sound across the UK on Sunday afternoon during a test of a nationwide emergency alert system.Handset users will also receive a message on their screens reminding them the 10-second alert, which will happen at 3pm, is a test. There are about 87m mobile phones in the UK.The government has said not all devices will receive the alert, including older phones and those not connected to 4G or 5G networks. The alert will not work on a phone that is switched off or in airplane mode

A new dream man has dropped – the laid-back, confident beefcake | Emma Beddington

How do you like your men? Yes, obviously, we shouldn’t be dismissively taxonomising a whole gender like boxed Barbies. But in the era of tradwives and nu-gen gold diggers, in which the manosphere remains alive and kick(box)ing, telling teenage boys lies about women, I reckon there’s a way to go before we reach reductive objectification parity. Does that make it OK? No. Am I going to do it anyway? Yes, a bit.So, returning to the question, my answer is “like my coffee”: small, strong, dark and highly over-stimulating, brewed by my sister’s boyfriend in Scarborough … No, hang on, this is falling apart

Private menopause tests risk undermining NHS care, doctors say

Expensive, over-the-counter hormone tests for menopause are clinically useless and risk undermining women’s healthcare, senior doctors have warned.The testing kits, offered by private clinics and available to buy for self-testing, claim to offer tailored insights through measuring hormone levels. But they have been described by experts as misleading and medically unnecessary.“There are lots of private healthcare and telehealth clinics offering tests and increasing numbers of medically untrained, self-proclaimed ‘experts’ giving advice on social media and podcasts to get these tests done,” said Dr Stephanie Sterry, who recently co-wrote an editorial for the BMJ titled Menopause Misinformation is Harming Care.“Unfortunately, these tests are not evidence-based,” she added

‘I still want to achieve’: people living with stage 4 cancer embrace Chris Hoy charity ride

Mel Erwin is pragmatic about what it took to get her on a bike. “I have one and a half lungs. I’m on a treatment drug. I don’t identify as sporty. I wouldn’t have done it without a goal