New victims of female genital mutilation seen by NHS services in Northamptonshire

New victims of female genital mutilation seen by NHS services in Northamptonshire New victims of female genital mutilation in Northamptonshire were seen by NHS services last year.

The figures show the ongoing scale of the challenge to fight FGM across the UK, where thousands of new cases were recorded, shortly after the first person to be convicted was jailed.

NHS Digital figures show that victims of FGM – where female genitals are cut, injured or changed for no medical reason – in Northamptonshire were seen by NHS Services on at least 50 appointments in 2018. Daventry Express

Care not containment: Setting a radical vision for transforming mental health support

Care not containment: Setting a radical vision for transforming mental health support Care not containment is an independent report developed by an expert group to explore how mental health services could be changed to reduce the reliance on restrictive environments and shift to earlier interventions.

The report has profound and wide ranging implications for mental health policy nationally and for the commissioning and development of services locally. The Centre endorses the report’s conclusions and we hope it will stimulate more debate and bring about change in the support people experience. Centre for Mental Health

Joined-up care in action: An integrated approach to meeting the needs of homeless people

Joined-up care in action: An integrated approach to meeting the needs of homeless people Every week across the country, homeless people are discharged from hospital back to the streets or an unstable housing situation. For many, hospital readmission is likely and death a real possibility, particularly in winter. Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows that in 2017, 597 homeless people died in England and Wales, a 24% increase since 2013. It’s a shocking example of how gaps in service provision make it harder to support people with complex health and social problems, and underlines the urgent need for holistic and integrated care. The Health Foundation

What is rapid research and why is it relevant for health care?

What is rapid research and why is it relevant for health care? Changing climates and priorities in health care require fast, actionable findings. Dr Cecilia Vindrola-Padros explores what rapid research is, and why these shorter study timeframes are increasingly relevant. Nuffield Trust

The state of ageing in 2019

The state of ageing in 2019 This report brings together public data across four areas: work and finances, housing, health and communities. It reveals vast differences in how people experience ageing depending on factors such as where they live, how much money they have or what sex or ethnicity they are. Today’s least well-off over 50s face far greater challenges than their wealthier peers and are more likely to die younger, become sicker earlier and fall out of work due to ill health. Centre for Ageing Better

Gene-editing babies: Call to pause humanity-altering research

Gene-editing babies: Call to pause humanity-altering research Leading scientists have called for a ban on research to "re-engineer the human species" for the next five years.

Two babies were born last year in China who had been genetically altered to protect them against HIV.

The scientists, writing in the journal Nature, said "major speed bumps" needed to be put in front of such research.

The US National Institutes of Health said a ban should start immediately, but others have criticised the idea. BBC News

Assaults on mental health staff in Wales halved

Assaults on mental health staff in Wales halved Attacks by mental health patients on NHS staff at Wales' largest health board have halved in five years.

Assaults on Betsi Cadwaladr staff fell from 559 in 2013-14 to 278 in 2017-18.

It attributed the fall to a team of specialist nurses who train carers and frontline staff in ways to avoid confrontation and improve care.

Ward manager Matt Jarvis, who was punched in the head by an "acutely psychotic" patient, said restraining people created distrust of staff. BBC News

See also:

• 'How my life turned around with new treatment' BBC News

Egg freezing considered by almost half of young women, study finds

Egg freezing considered by almost half of young women, study finds Almost half of young women would consider freezing their eggs in future, new research has shown.

The data, which has been released by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG), demonstrates the concern that many young women feel about their fertility.

According to the study, 25 per cent of women aged between 18 and 24 are worried about their ability to conceive, a concern also shared more widely by 49 per cent of women of all ages in the UK. The Independent

See also:

• Confusing fertility advice sparking unnecessary worry among UK women Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists

NHS data shows rise in homeless patients returning to streets

NHS data shows rise in homeless patients returning to streets Exclusive: number of hospital discharges of people of no fixed abode up 30% since 2014

Thousands of homeless patients have been discharged from NHS hospitals directly back to the streets in the past five years, despite some being in recovery from major surgery and mental health crises, the Guardian can reveal.

Experts have warned of a growing humanitarian crisis in England after instances of patients leaving hospital with nowhere to go rose by nearly a third between 2014 and 2018. Thousands of homeless patients were readmitted within six months, according to figures obtained by the Guardian.

Halt privatisation of cancer screening or risk patient harm, MPs tell NHS England

Halt privatisation of cancer screening or risk patient harm, MPs tell NHS England Doctors say awarding PET-CT contracts to private firms ‘will undoubtedly cause clinical harm’

Government and opposition MPs are urging NHS bosses to halt the privatisation of cancer screening services in Oxford, which doctors are warning will damage patients’ health.

Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat MPs in the area have united in protest at the deal. The private firm InHealth has controversially been handed a contract to deliver positron emission computerised tomography (PET-CT) scanning in the Thames Valley. The Guardian

See also:

• NHS cancer centre loses scanning contract to private firm The Guardian

Junk food giants must stop marketing to children - or see their ads banned entirely, says health chief

Junk food giants must stop marketing to children - or see their ads banned entirely, says health chief Junk food firms must stop marketing their products to children - or face a total advertising ban, health chiefs have said.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) said food giants are exploiting loopholes in regulations to bombard children with adverts on YouTube and Facebook.

And one of Public Health England’s advisers called for the rules to be redrawn - with advertisements for fatty and sugary foods banned entirely if children were found to be being exposed to them. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• Monitoring and restricting digital marketing of unhealthy products to children and adolescents (2019) World Health Organization
• Junk food companies target children by using a loophole in advertising regulations, experts warn The Daily Mail
• Children face growing deluge of junk food ads online, public health experts warn The Daily Telegraph