Welcome to the first Healthcare edition of the Friday Five, your weekly rundown of the healthcare news items we think are worth knowing about. We’ve done the work and trawled through the news, so you don’t have to!
1. King’s Speech: No Mental Health Bill
One of the big healthcare news items of the week is that there was no Mental Health Bill included in the King’s Speech. Charities and healthcare leaders alike have been calling for reform to the Mental Health Act 1983, which has several issues, including:
- People not having enough say when they’re detained
- Racial disparities in terms of how the Act is applied
- Disproportionately affects people from deprived areas
The exclusion from the speech indicates it’s outside the government’s immediate priorities to address in the upcoming parliamentary year. Tim Nicholls, from the National Autistic Society, had this to say:
“The King’s Speech was a vital opportunity for the government to commit to reforming the outdated Mental Health Act, and address the ongoing crisis of autistic people being stuck in mental health hospitals. The government has failed to keep its promises.”
2. King’s Speech: Smoking Ban
What was included in the King’s Speech was news that people who turn 14 this year (or who are younger) won’t be able to buy tobacco products at all. This forms part of the government’s plan to create a smoke-free generation.
Check out our comprehensive article running down what was included in the King’s Speech (and what wasn’t) here.
Hazel Cheeseman, from smoking health charity ASH, said:
“Tobacco has blighted so many lives … All the major political parties recognise this impact and are committed to a smoke-free future for Britain. Now parliamentarians have a historic opportunity to set this country on a path to end smoking.”
3. Waiting Lists Reach Record High
Waiting lists have unfortunately continued to rise in England, with September seeing record waits for routine procedures. As per the Financial Times, “Patients were waiting for almost 7.8mn appointments, up from 7.75mn in August, according to NHS England data”.
The NHS is under immense pressure, with more than one million patients waiting for more than one procedure, operation or treatment. Healthcare leaders have warned that the government is losing control over the situation, with staff shortages contributing significantly to the issue.
Professor Nicola Ranger, the RCN’s Chief Nurse, has responded to the new, unwanted record:
“The government has lost control of NHS waiting times and the record numbers waiting increases each month on their watch … To grip this crisis, the prime minister must deliver what nurses have been demanding for more than a decade: safe staffing, fair pay and removing nursing student debt. These are critical to ensuring there are enough nursing staff to give patients the timely treatment they need and deserve.”
4. New Weight Loss Jab Approved
The UK has just authorised a medication named tirzepatide (brand name: Mounjaro) for sale and prescription throughout the country.
The diabetes drug has been proven safe by regulators and works by making people feel fuller. The theory goes that they then, in turn, eat less.
This theory seems to hold in practice, too, with evidence from the trials indicating that people on the drug lost a fifth of their body weight.
There are side effects to other weight loss jabs like Ozempic and Wegovy, though, and there have been experts warning that Mounjaro may have an impact on how well the contraceptive pill works.
5. Alzheimer’s Blood Tests to Be Trialled
The NHS is launching a study to investigate whether blood tests could be used to determine Alzheimer’s disease within patients potentially.
The study, which has multi-million-pound funding from the People’s Postcode Lottery, could see blood tests being rolled out within five years.
The current means of diagnosing Alzheimer’s involves either brain imaging or drawing spinal fluid, both of which are more complex than a simple blood test.
Having a disease like Alzheimer’s be diagnosable by a quick blood test, rather than having to wait for weeks or months for a more complex procedure, would be a game-changer for the healthcare sector.
Final Thoughts
So, there you have it! Five of the healthcare news stories we thought were worth knowing about from this week. Tune in next week for another edition of the Friday Five: Healthcare!
