The Guardian Health

Girl, 5, traumatised after GP assistant wrongly prescribed vaginal pessary, report finds

Mother, who thought daughter was being examined by GP, says girl began to bleed and scream in pain after device was insertedA five-year-old was left traumatised, bleeding and in severe pain after a physician associate wrongly prescribed her a vaginal pessary, according to a damning report by the health ombudsman.The parliamentary and health service ombudsman said there were “multiple failures” in the care of the girl, who saw a physician associate (PA) at a GP practice in the East Midlands after

health  5d ago

The Guardian Health

The Guardian view on NHS records: patients are not raw material for big tech | Editorial

Ministers should end Palantir’s contract before medical confidentiality is sacrificed to Silicon Valley’s appetite for public dataAlarm bells ought to have rung when it emerged last month that Palantir engineers could gain “unlimited access” to identifiable NHS patient data. Such sensitive medical information was only supposed to be available either to someone involved in a patient’s care or with the patient’s informed consent. NHS England’s new position appears to have changed that, extending a

health  5d ago

The Guardian Health

Why is Andy Burnham talking about fixing England’s social care system?

Prospective MP and potential Labour leader has said tackling the issue is a priority. But why is the system in crisis and what can be done about it?‘I wouldn’t flinch’: Burnham on social care, markets, Brexit – and the prospect of a general electionAndy Burnham has signalled he would overhaul England’s social care system this year if he became prime minister, the biggest indication yet of what his main priorities would be.Work is already under way on updating the social care system under Keir St

health  5d ago

The Guardian Health

Reassurance for bladder cancer patients | Letters

Gail Cartmail offers a positive outlook to those facing life-changing bladder surgery, based on her own experienceThe report of treatment being trialled that could potentially spare bladder cancer patients life-changing surgery is welcome news (Doctors hail drug that spares bladder cancer patients ‘life-changing’ surgery, 2 June). Yet readers currently facing surgery that includes removing their bladder are likely to be concerned about the here and now.Like Tracey Emin, I was diagnosed with blad

health  5d ago

The Guardian Health

Three studies used by RFK Jr and allies to justify controversial vaccine policies changes facing new scrutiny

Scientists praise moves to investigate, retract or remove controversial studies. The authors stand by their workThree scientific papers that raised questions about vaccine safety and were used by the Trump administration to justify controversial changes to US vaccine policies have over the last two months been removed, retracted or placed under investigation by the journals that published them.In some cases, the actions occurred years after scientists first raised alarms about the studies’ scie

health  5d ago

The Guardian Health

'I've lost my butt': how rapid weight loss can leave you with less muscle and more fat

GLP-1 drugs such as Mounjaro are helping millions of people rapidly lose weight. But the changes happening inside the body go far beyond the number on the scale.Neelam Tailor investigates the growing debate around the possible risks of rapid weight loss from jabs and yo-yo dieting, which include loss of lean mass and consequences in older age. Experts say the debate isn’t just about weight-loss drugs, but about how modern dieting culture has shaped our bodies for decades Continue reading...

health  6d ago

The Guardian Health

The race to combat Ebola: what vaccines and treatments are being developed and how long will it take?

With the Bundibugyo strain of the disease spreading across the DRC and Uganda, scientists and researchers are trying to find rapid solutionsThere is no vaccine or treatment available for the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola that is spreading in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda, but this week three vaccine developers were awarded $60m (£45m) in emergency funding as the race to halt the outbreak ramps up.Security issues in the affected region of the DRC, where conflict has displaced

health  6d ago

The Guardian Health

Hospitals in England ranking highly for empathy ‘have better patient outcomes’

Research suggests NHS trusts with higher empathy ratings also benefit financially and have improved staff wellbeingPatients and staff fare better at hospitals that rank highly on empathy, research suggests, with institutions also benefiting financially by spending less on agency staff, locums and consultants.The finding comes from the first study to rate NHS trusts in England according to an empathy score that is drawn from information on the organisation’s culture, leadership behaviour and prac

health  6d ago

The Guardian Health

Life-prolonging drug for advanced ovarian cancer gets go-ahead in England

Elahere is first new drug for chemotherapy-resistant ovarian cancer to be approved by NHS for 20 yearsHundreds of women with hard-to-treat ovarian cancer can now be offered a new life-prolonging treatment, after NHS England approved its introduction. It is the first new drug for resistant ovarian cancer to be approved for more than 20 years.Ovarian is the 18th most common type of cancer globally, affecting more than 300,000 women a year. More than three-quarters of patients are diagnosed at an a

health  6d ago

The Guardian Health

NHS to tackle antisemitism after report finds Jewish staff and patients ‘routinely ostracised’

Lord Mann’s review prompts new training for health bosses and restrictions on political symbols on uniformsThe NHS is taking action to tackle antisemitism after a government-ordered report found that Jewish patients and staff face “routine ostracism” in the service.Anti-Jewish hatred in the NHS means some patients hide their identity and staff “suffer in silence”, a review by Lord Mann, the government’s adviser on antisemitism, has found. Continue reading...

health  6d ago

WHO News

Unsafe food causes 866 million illnesses and 1.5 million deaths annually, young children at highest risk

Children aged less than five years face almost three times the risk of illness from unsafe food than older children and adults, according to new estimates released today by the World Health Organization (WHO).

health  6d ago

The Guardian Health

DRC Ebola outbreak could have begun as early as January, WHO chief says

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says the virus ‘had a big head start’ but that the response was catching upThe Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo could have begun as early as January, the head of the World Health Organization said, giving the virus “a big head start”.Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also said the response was being hindered by blanket travel restrictions and highlighted high levels of community mistrust and low levels of contact tracing as key concerns. Continue rea

health  6d ago

The Guardian Health

Anti-abortion activists are trying to limit access in NSW – and they are just getting started

Obstetricians and gynaecologists say anti sex-selective abortions bill ‘predicated on misinformation’ and ‘underlying aim is to restrict access to abortion’Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe man who wants to ban “sex-selective abortions” is the first person who will tell you it won’t work.New South Wales Libertarian party MLC John Ruddick has introduced legislation that would see health practitioners sent to prison or fined thousands if they carry out a termination be

health  6d ago

The Guardian Health

Big tobacco uses cigarette playbook to help sell ultra-processed foods, journal reveals

New issue of the American Journal of Public Health focuses on parallels between marketing for cigarettes and UPFsThe new issue of the American Journal of Public Health focuses on ultra-processed foods, and reveals that big tobacco companies used strategies that helped them sell cigarettes to sell ultra-processed food products, including Lunchables, geared toward children.The parallels between ultra-processed foods (UPFs) and cigarettes include not only how UPF products were formulated and market

health  6d ago

The Guardian Health

Federal workers experiencing ‘PTSD-like symptoms’ after unlawful firings by Trump administration

In survey of more than 300 fired probationary employees, 95% reported continuing mental health effectsUS federal workers laid off by the Trump administration said they are experiencing mental health effects, including PTSD-like symptoms, from losing their jobs, according to a new survey.More than 300 fired probationary employees were surveyed, with 95% reporting ongoing mental health effects, according to 27UNIHTED, a network of former National Institute of Health (NIH) employees. Nearly half sa

health  Jun 3, 2026

The Guardian Health

The doctor who mends broken brains: why there is room for hope after a stroke or head injury

The neurologist Orlando Swayne doesn’t suggest everyone can recover. But he does argue that early, targeted and intense therapy can sometimes bring about life-changing improvements – and we have a moral obligation to provide itClaire was in bad shape. She had been brought to the ward on a stretcher and hoisted on to a bed where she lay curled up in a ball. She was unable to speak, her eyes flat and face expressionless. While she could move her right arm a little, her left arm and both legs were

health  Jun 3, 2026

The Guardian Health

Thousands more UK black men to be invited for prostate cancer screening

Health secretary announces expansion of Transform trial but does not back population-wide testingThousands more black men will be invited to take part in a prostate cancer screening trial as the health secretary insisted he was “following the science” in not backing population-wide testing.James Murray accepted a recommendation from the UK national screening committee (UKNSC) that will result in only a few thousand high-risk men with a gene mutation being screened for the disease. Continue readi

health  Jun 3, 2026

The Guardian Health

Weight-loss drugs may prevent thousands of knee replacements, study suggests

Patients with knee arthritis who took medications for at least three years at reduced risk of needing surgeryTaking weight-loss drugs for at least three years could prevent thousands of knee replacements a year, research suggests.Globally, more than 500 million people have osteoarthritis. Knee arthritis is the most common form, affecting about 14 million people in the US and more than 5 million in the UK. Many will require knee surgery. In the UK more than 120,000 knee replacements are carried o

health  Jun 2, 2026

The Guardian Health

‘My son is still suffering’: the ill effects of water contamination in ‘Brixham incident’

Physical and psychological impacts of a tap water parasite outbreak continue to be felt in south DevonSouth West Water fined £1.85m over parasite outbreak in DevonMost of the tourists milling around the busy fishing harbour or visiting Agatha Christie’s riverside holiday retreat have probably forgotten what South West Water euphemistically calls the “Brixham incident”.But for residents at the centre of the “incident” – a parasite outbreak that caused perhaps hundreds of people in south Devon to

health  Jun 2, 2026

The Guardian Health

‘A rude awakening’: more doctors running for office in rebuke to Trump’s health policies

Medical professionals are entering the political arena as funding cuts, layoffs and RFK Jr’s vaccine skepticism spur them to actionWhen Abdul El-Sayed walked into Detroit’s health department in 2015, he found about 85 employees crammed into the back of a municipal parking building. The city had recently gone bankrupt and the 185-year-old institution was placed under state emergency management. His job was to rebuild it from practically nothing.Within a year and a half, El-Sayed, who has a medica

health  Jun 2, 2026