Over 60s warned about taking aspirin to prevent heart attacks October 13, 2021 People over 60 have been warned about regularly taking aspirin as a way to prevent heart attacks. According to the US Preventive Services Task Force, the risks of internal bleeding would cancel the benefits of taking aspirin to prevent cardiovascular diseases in people over 60. As reported by the Telegraph, the US health task group [...]
Swelling NHS and social care costs will force Sunak to more than double new levy, warns IFS October 12, 2021 Chancellor Rishi Sunak will have to more than double a levy on employers and employees to meet the cost of an-ever demanding health and social care system. Ongoing cost pressures generated by the UK’s ageing society are likely to force Sunak to hike the newly created health and social care levy to 3.15 per cent [...]
Sajid Javid: Long Covid is affecting huge numbers of people October 11, 2021 Health secretary Sajid Javid is reportedly concerned about the increasing numbers of people suffering from long Covid symptoms. As reported by the Independent, the secretary told a private meeting of health officials that the problem was “huge” and “getting bigger”. During the private meeting, which was set up to give an update regarding long Covid [...]
Undisclosed companies gain access to facial data collected by NHS app September 24, 2021 Undisclosed companies are reportedly analysing facial data collected by the NHS app, which has gained popularity after becoming the easiest way to access Covid-19 vaccine certificates. The NHS app, separate to the Covid-19 app and downloaded by some 16m, uses facial verification software for ID checks when signing up. French call centre specialist Teleperformance, which [...]
Boris Johnson: ‘Concerning’ number of unvaccinated Covid patients in hospital September 8, 2021 The Prime Minister has said he is concerned by the number of unvaccinated people being hospitalised with coronavirus. Three quarters of those hospitalised had not had a Covid jab, Boris Johnson told the BBC, in an interview at St Thomas’ Hospital, London. Johnson’s message to the unvaccinated was “come on now,” as he urged people [...]
Government wins vote on National Insurance hike September 8, 2021 The Prime Minister has won a vote to raise National Insurance for workers and employers to fund NHS and social care costs. The government won the vote by 319 to 248 votes after Boris Johnson said the 1.25 percentage point increase would raise £12bn a year. Opposition MPs criticised the government for breaking a manifesto [...]
National Covid-19 antibody surveillance programme launched by government August 22, 2021 A nation-wide antibody surveillance programme for the public has been launched by the UK Health Security Agency to collect data to build the government’s understanding of immunity against Covid-19. The government today announced that free home antibody tests kits will be offered to adults in the UK who test positive for the virus from Tuesday. [...]
Pingdemic: Hancock was urged to ‘tweak’ Covid-19 Test and Trace app August 17, 2021 Former Health Secretary Matt Hancock was reportedly asked whether the NHS Covid-19 app should be amended to alert contacts of positive cases from two days back rather than five days, but no change was made. The app was tweaked earlier this month amid the so-called “pingdemic”, which had seen hundreds of thousands of alerts sent [...]
Sajid Javid cuts cost of NHS Covid test for travel to £68 August 14, 2021 In a bid to help holidaymakers and drive down the market rate for Covid tests for travel, the health secretary has cut the cost of the travel tests that the NHS provides from £88 to £68 each. Travellers returning from green and amber list countries to England will now pay £20 less per PCR test, [...]
NHS waiting list could top 13 million, says IFS August 8, 2021 IFS modelling has confirmed Sajid Javid’s stark warning that the number of people on the NHS waiting list could reach 13 million. Last month the Health and Social Care Secretary quoted “shocking” government data which estimated waiting lists could more than double in a matter of months. Today, analysis published by the IFS reiterated that [...]