Storage limit for frozen eggs, sperm and embryos to be reconsidered

Storage limit for frozen eggs, sperm and embryos to be reconsidered The government is seeking views on reviewing the current 10-year storage limit for eggs, sperm and embryos, to give more people the opportunity to start a family. Department of Health and Social Care

See also:

• Open consultation: Egg, sperm and embryo storage limits Department of Health and Social Care

Prioritising health in our future relationship with the EU

Prioritising health in our future relationship with the EU Following the ratification of the Withdrawal Agreement, the UK now has until the end of this year to define its future relationship with the EU. The Brexit Health Alliance is concerned that the safety and health of patients and citizens could be overlooked during the negotiations over the next eleven months and has produced a briefing and summary to highlight why time is of the essence and health must be a priority in the future relationship negotiations. Brexit Health Alliance

Super-spreaders: Why are they important?

Super-spreaders: Why are they important? Super-spreading, where individual patients pass on an infection to large numbers of people, is a feature of nearly every outbreak.

It is not their fault but can have a significant impact on how diseases spread.

There are reports of super-spreading during the new coronavirus outbreak, which has centred on Wuhan, in China.

Briton Steve Walsh, who had been in Singapore, has been linked to four cases in the UK, five in France and possibly one in Majorca. BBC News

See also:

• Coronavirus: British patient named as businessman Steve Walsh BBC News
• China launches coronavirus 'close contact detector' app BBC News
• Coronavirus: Senior Chinese officials 'removed' as death toll hits 1,000 BBC News
• Coronavirus death toll surpasses 1,000 as more than 100 people died in the China in one day The Daily Mail
• What the British government will do if coronavirus spreads The Daily Telegraph
• Coronavirus: a quick guide to the outbreak sweeping the world The Daily Telegraph
• GP practices forced to close as healthcare staff diagnosed with coronavirus GPonline

Child sexual abuse: Just 16% say NHS mental health services meet needs for adult survivors

Child sexual abuse: Just 16% say NHS mental health services meet needs for adult survivors Just 16 per cent of child sexual abuse victims say NHS mental health services meet their needs, according to a new report demanding ministers act urgently over insufficient funding for adult survivors.

The All-Party Parliamentary Group on adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse – led by the Labour MP for Rotherham, Sarah Champion – heard from nearly 400 victims from across the country in its inquiry.

It found that male survivors wait an average of 26 years before disclosing their abuse and that one in five did not report abuse to the police due to fear of further violence from perpetrators. The Independent

Matt Hancock’s local hospital faces inquiry on fingerprinting claim

Matt Hancock’s local hospital faces inquiry on fingerprinting claim West Suffolk hospital admits regulator did not approve tactics used in hunt for whistleblower

Misleading claims by bosses at the health secretary Matt Hancock’s local hospital that the NHS and regulators approved a controversial decision to fingerprint doctors in a hunt for a whistleblower are to be investigated.

In an urgent inquiry the accuracy of a statement by West Suffolk hospital will be examined after the Guardian revealed in December it had demanded fingerprints and handwriting samples from staff.

Don't trust apps that claim to spot skin cancer: Two miss the disease up to 21% of times

Don't trust apps that claim to spot skin cancer: Two miss the disease up to 21% of times Smartphone apps cannot be relied on to spot skin cancer, experts have warned.

Popular apps used as 'early warning systems' for suspicious moles do not pick up all cancers, according to a paper published in the British Medical Journal.

Experts from the universities of Birmingham and Nottingham said regulation of the apps - which take pictures of moles and tell people whether they are at risk - do 'not provide adequate protection to the public'. The Daily Mail

See also:

• Algorithm based smartphone apps to assess risk of skin cancer in adults: systematic review of diagnostic accuracy studies (open access) The BMJ
• The poor performance of apps assessing skin cancer risk (editorial) The BMJ
• Phone apps unreliable for detecting all cases of skin cancer OnMedica