[ad_1] Michelle RobertsDigital health editor, BBC NewsGetty ImagesMPs have voted in favour of proposals to legalise assisted dying in England and Wales. The bill will now face many more months of debate and scrutiny by MPs and peers, who could choose to amend it, with the approval of both Houses of Parliament needed for it to become law.It is also possible the bill could fall and not become law at
[ad_1] The NHS in England came within “six or seven hours” of running out of gowns and other protective equipment during the Covid pandemic, Matt Hancock has said.The former health secretary was giving evidence for the third time at the Covid inquiry, about the impact on healthcare systems.He stated there was never a “national shortage” of PPE for healthcare workers but “in some places, they did run out - and
[ad_1] Jim ReedHealth reporter, BBC NewsCovid inquiryBoris Johnson’s government blocked a request to fund another 10,000 hospital beds at the height of the Covid pandemic, the chief executive of NHS England has said.Amanda Pritchard told the UK Covid-19 Inquiry the decision, made by the Treasury in July 2020, had been “very disappointing”.Extra beds and staff would have been used to cut waiting lists for planned care and “build resilience” going
[ad_1] Pallab GhoshScience CorrespondentSPLArtwork: Uranus and its five largest moons had been thought to be inactive and sterile. The planet Uranus and its five biggest moons may not be the dead sterile worlds that scientists have long thought.Instead, they may have oceans, and the moons may even be capable of supporting life, scientists say.Much of what we know about them was gathered by Nasa’s Voyager 2 spacecraft which visited nearly
[ad_1] Covid inquiryProf Sir Stephen Powis, national medical director at NHS England, was giving evidence to the Covid inquiry in west London.The most senior doctor in NHS England has said he was "personally terrified" that hospitals could have been overwhelmed in the early stages of the pandemic.Prof Sir Stephen Powis told the Covid inquiry officials had drawn up a draft document advising whose care should be prioritised if the NHS
[ad_1] Alison Holt,Social affairs editor and Becky Morton,Political reporterGetty ImagesThe Liberal Democrats have called on the government to exempt social care from the rise in National Insurance. The party said the chancellor had provided extra funding for the NHS and other public sector organisations to cover the cost of the tax rise - but because the vast majority of care providers are private they would not benefit from this.Speaking to
[ad_1] Jim ReedHealth reporter BBCListen to Jim read this articleFive times Prof Kevin Fong broke down in tears in a nondescript hearing room in West London, while giving evidence to the Covid inquiry.The 53-year-old has the kind of CV that makes you pay attention: a consultant anaesthetist in London who also works for the air ambulance service and specialises in space medicine.In 2020, as Covid spread around the world, he
[ad_1] Fergus WalshMedical editorBBCThere is nothing in life that is free of risk. That includes vaccines. But the evidence is compelling that the benefits of getting immunised with those vaccines recommended in the UK far outweigh the possibility of serious side effects.The level of benefit from Covid vaccines is well documented. And the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine is credited with saving more lives in the first year of its use than any
[ad_1] James GallagherHealth and science correspondentBBCWe are now in the era of weight-loss drugs.Decisions on how these drugs will be used look likely to shape our future health and even what our society might look like.And, as researchers are finding, they are already toppling the belief that obesity is simply a moral failing of the weak-willed.Weight-loss drugs are already at the heart of the national debate. This week, the new
[ad_1] An urgent review is needed to make sure people in England can get weight loss jabs such as Wegovy and Mounjaro on the NHS, top experts warn. It comes a day after the prime minister said such injections could boost Britain's economy by getting obese unemployed people "back into work". More than 200 doctors and specialists have now written to the health secretary to say how stretched NHS obesity
