Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes begins prison sentence in Texas
- Disgraced founder of the discredited blood testing service has been sentenced to 11 years in prison.
- She became a sensation when she claimed her company Theranos could scan for a range of diseases with just a few drops of blood.
- Despite raising almost one billion dollars from investors, she was soon exposed by The Wall Street Journal.
Latest mpox cases a reminder that the infection has not gone away
- UKHSA is urging people to remain vigilant to mpox ahead of the summer months, as the latest data shows an increase in cases in London over the past 4 weeks.
- A further 10 cases of mpox have been diagnosed in the UK since the last epidemiological update on 4 May. This brings the total number of new cases in the UK since the beginning of the year to 20.
- All the cases were diagnosed within London, with half of them in unvaccinated individuals and 2 in those who had only received one dose. Five of the cases acquired the infection in the UK, 4 are thought to have acquired the infection abroad and one remains under investigation.
Plans for virtual wards across the UK by Christmas in jeopardy due to staffing concerns
- Concerns around staffing levels mean healthcare leaders cause are fearful that the target to utilise thousands more virtual ward patient beds throughout NHS organisations by this coming Christmas.
- The current national target for ICSs to run up to 50 virtual wards per every 100,000 patients by December 2023. Moreover, the attempt to scale up capacity to above 10,000 beds by Autumn is also at risk.
- Despite these concerns, virtual wards have expanded successfully across the NHS over the past year, with 100,000 patients being treated through virtual wards in the last 12 months.
NHS England workforce plan delayed amid rumours of cost issues
- Health Secretary Steve Barclay refused to state when the workforce plan would be published, with rumours suggesting it is too costly.
- The long-delayed plan, which was meant to be released this week having originally meant to be released last year, aims to fix the staffing gaps plaguing many NHS departments.
- Mr Barclay has blamed the pandemic and “various things that have been happening in recent years” for the delay.
Labour’s health mission: toward the right diagnosis but what about the treatment?
- In this piece, Jamie O’Halloran delves into Labour’s health policies and identifies why focusing on health will be crucial to Labour’s electoral success.
- There is a clear link between health and wealth, by improving the nation’s health Labour can also boost the economy, particularly the billions lost through long-term suickness.
- Prevention is, of course, an important objective – but how far will Labour go in its funding towards it?
UK’s first post-Brexit trade deals came into effect this week
- From this week, UK businesses will be able to sell to Australia and New Zealand more easily as the UK’s trade deals with the countries, the first negotiated from scratch since the UK left the EU, come into force.
- Under the deals’ beneficial terms tariffs on all UK goods exports to Australia and New Zealand will be removed, unprecedented access to these markets for services unlocked, and red tape slashed for digital trade and work visas.
- Each region and nation of the UK is expected to benefit. Tailored to the UK’s strengths, the deals are set to deliver an economic boost by driving bilateral trade up by 53% with Australia and 59% with New Zealand.
- A unique group of antibodies can be used to predict whether someone will develop multiple sclerosis – they were present in about 10 per cent of people with MS years before they developed symptoms.
Cancer patients diagnosed in pandemic less likely to survive (paywall)
- This Times article demonstrates the impact that the pandemic had upon cancer diagnoses.
