Batten disease 'one of the worst in the world'

Batten disease 'one of the worst in the world' In many ways, Isaac Tilley is like lots of boys his age. The six-year-old loves playing outside, football and rollercoasters. But in other ways he is very different.

Last summer, after testing following two years of mystifying seizures, his parents were told he had Batten disease - one of the symptoms of which is childhood dementia.

Mrs Tilley, 35, says the family, who live in Kettering in Northamptonshire, are doing everything they can to make sure his life is as rich as possible. BBC Northampton

Is an already tough year for the NHS about to get a lot tougher?

Is an already tough year for the NHS about to get a lot tougher? With talk of tax cuts proving popular in the race to become the next Conservative party leader, and pay rise expectations significantly higher than budgets allow, the NHS could be caught in the crossfire of conflicting demands. Sally Gainsbury describes how the health service is already having to deal with Covid, alongside rising levels of demand for care, with substantially less money than before. Nuffield Trust

Occupational mental health: addressing patients’ occupational, educational and psychosocial needs as an essential aspect of mental health care

Occupational mental health: addressing patients’ occupational, educational and psychosocial needs as an essential aspect of mental health care Being in a productive and supportive work environment is linked to better mental health. However, those experiencing mental health problems are often either excluded from the workplace or not supported appropriately when in work. This occupational health guidance sets out recommendations for the government, NHS, psychiatrists, and employers to provide better support so that work can consistently make a positive contribution to a person’s overall wellbeing. Royal College Psychiatrists

National Clinical Audit of Psychosis: England national report for the Early Intervention in Psychosis Audit 2021/2022

National Clinical Audit of Psychosis: England national report for the Early Intervention in Psychosis Audit 2021/2022 Based on data from 10,557 case-notes submitted by 54 trusts in England, this audit report presents national and organisation-level findings on services provided to people with first-episode psychosis (FEP). The report commends teams for maintaining early intervention in psychosis (EIP) service delivery at a high level in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic. It found that 66 per cent of teams had an increase in staff in the past year. The report also looked at the disparities in EIP care between different groups of people with FEP to highlight inequalities. Royal College of Psychiatrists

Government seeks views to improve lives of people with Down's syndrome

Government seeks views to improve lives of people with Down's syndrome People with Down’s syndrome, their families, professionals and charities are being invited to answer the government’s call for evidence to shape new guidance for authorities to follow.

The guidance will help to ensure those with Down’s syndrome receive the care and support they need to live longer, happier and healthier lives. Department of Health and Social Care

New taskforce to level-up maternity care and tackle disparities

New taskforce to level-up maternity care and tackle disparities The taskforce will explore inequalities in maternity care and identify how the government can improve outcomes for women from ethnic minority communities. Department of Health and Social Care

See also:

• Policy paper: Maternity Disparities Taskforce: terms of reference Department of Health and Social Care

Worrying number of slim children dieting

Worrying number of slim children dieting More than one in every four children in England are dieting, including some who are a healthy weight and as young as eight, research suggests.

Dieting can be risky and harmful.

But a survey of more than 34,000 children and teenagers, published in Archives of Disease in Childhood, shows the proportion trying to slim rose from 21% in 1997 to nearly 27% in 2016. BBC News

See also:

• Trends in weight loss attempts among children in England (open access) Archives of Disease in Childhood
• Number of healthy children trying to lose weight has TRIPLED in past 20 years, study finds The Daily Mail

‘I thought being black meant I couldn’t get skin cancer’

‘I thought being black meant I couldn’t get skin cancer’ When Isser Nener was in her late 20s, she was diagnosed with skin cancer.

"I found a little mole on the back of my leg. I was on holiday with a friend and they were like: 'You have to have that mole checked'," she says.

"So I went to the doctor's and they removed it straight away. And a week later they said it was skin cancer. Obviously I was quite shocked and upset."

She was surprised because she had believed a long-perpetuated myth that high levels of melanin in black skin meant it could not be damaged by the sun. BBC News

GMC warns of high risk of doctor burnout

GMC warns of high risk of doctor burnout The NHS backlog of care cannot be properly addressed with an “exhausted and depleted supply of clinicians”, the General Medical Council (GMC) has warned.

The UK doctors’ regulator said that the “risk of burnout is now the highest it has ever been” since it started tracking burnout risks in 2018. The Independent

See also:

• NHS backlogs threaten doctors as well as patients General Medical Council
• Burnout risk for GP trainees and trainers spiked in 2022, GMC survey reveals GPonline

STEVE BARCLAY: Covid has not gone away

STEVE BARCLAY: Covid has not gone away A year ago today, this country made a massive step forward in our path out of the pandemic, when we took Step 4 in our Covid roadmap. The Daily Mail

See also:

• The NHS is not living with covid, it's dying from it The BMJ
• A seven point plan to suppress covid infections and reduce disruptions The BMJ
• Bring Covid curbs back AGAIN, say top medical journals: Editorial calls for new clampdown on Britons The Daily Mail
• White House Covid chief warns that the virus is still a threat The Daily Mail
• How ‘living with Covid’ is helping keep England’s infections stubbornly high The Guardian
• New Covid variant is a 'significant new threat', says Australia's chief medical officer – video The Guardian
• How the UK’s rising Covid cases compare to other countries The Independent
• Covid vaccine protection ‘short lived,’ booster doses essential, study confirms The Independent
• Scars of COVID persist for sickest survivors, families The Independent

NHS 'gender health gap' that leaves women struggling to get good healthcare branded medical misogyny

NHS 'gender health gap' that leaves women struggling to get good healthcare branded medical misogyny Women face a greater struggle to get quality healthcare on the NHS because of a culture of ‘medical misogyny’, a charity claimed yesterday.

Doctors fail to treat men and women equally and are too often dismissive of the latter’s health problems, Engage Britain says. The Daily Mail