Guardian’s Hope appeal raises more than £1m for charities opposing hatred

The Guardian has raised more than £1m in its Hope appeal to support grassroots charities whose work offers a positive antidote to social division, racism and hatred.The appeal, which closed on Thursday, had five partner charities that will share the donations: Citizens UK, the Linking Network, Locality, Hope Unlimited Charitable Trust and Who Is Your Neighbour?Katharine Viner, the Guardian’s editor in chief, said: “The theme of this year’s Guardian charity appeal was hope, supporting fantastic projects that foster community, tolerance and empathy.“Over the past year our reporting has captured the increased alarm most of us feel over the return of 1970s-style racist abuse, the demonisation of refugees and the resurgence of far-right marches in Britain’s streets.“I’m delighted that Guardian readers responded with such generosity, warmth and solidarity. Your donations will make a positive difference, sending a clear message about standing up to hate and bringing people together

NHS limiting ADHD assessments to save money despite soaring demand

The NHS is restricting people’s ability to be assessed for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in order to save money but not telling GPs or patients, despite soaring demand for the service.More than half of the NHS’s 42 integrated care boards (ICBs) in England have imposed limits on how many people can be assessed for ADHD during 2025-26, freedom of information responses show.Of the 22 ICBs who have imposed limits, 13 had not told GPs and 12 had not informed patients awaiting an ADHD assessment.The charity ADHD UK, which obtained the figures, said the NHS’s lack of communication showed it was trying to hide that “cruel” curbs on assessment were being widely used to help it cope with a squeeze on its budget.Henry Shelford, ADHD UK’s chief executive, said: “Waiting times for assessments are already horrendously long and it’s shocking to see how the NHS is further rationing people’s care to save money

NHS corridor care is ‘torture’ leading to patient deaths and staff nightmares

Corridor care is “a type of torture” that is leading to patients dying and causing NHS staff to have nightmares, the UK’s nurses union has warned.In one case, an elderly patient choked to death in a corridor, unseen by staff, according to a new dossier of evidence highlighting the problem published by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN).Demand for care is so intense that hospitals are having to turn dining rooms, staff kitchens and rooms for viewing deceased people into overspill care areas, the RCN reveals.Wes Streeting, the health secretary, has pledged to end the use of corridor care in England by 2029, if not sooner. However, NHS staff groups are sceptical that he can fulfil that promise, given that many hospitals are overloaded so often, and not just during the winter

Maternal death rate in UK rose by 20% over 14 years despite Tory pledge

The rate of women dying during or soon after pregnancy in the UK has increased by 20% over the last decade, despite the Conservatives having pledged to halve it, according to figures experts have described as “an absolute tragedy”.In 2015, the then Tory health secretary, Jeremy Hunt, vowed to reduce maternal deaths by 50% by 2030 and make the NHS “one of the safest places in the world to have a baby”. In 2017, he brought the date forward to 2025.However, figures from MBRRACE-UK, a research project led by the University of Oxford, show the rate of women dying during the Conservatives’ 14 years in government went up, not down.Health leaders and campaigners said the 20% increase between 2009-11 and 2022-24 was shocking and showed something had clearly “gone badly wrong”

ADHD care needs better regulation and fewer pills | Letters

As a UK-trained consultant psychiatrist, fully indemnified, appraised and regulated by the General Medical Council, with specialist expertise in adult attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) assessment and treatment, I read your article on rising ADHD care costs with concern and frustration (NHS ADHD spending over budget by £164m as unregulated clinics boom, 12 January).For the past eight months I have been navigating the opaque Care Quality Commission (CQC) registration process to provide high-quality, fully regulated ADHD assessments in an independent setting, alongside two similarly qualified colleagues. Until this process is complete, I am legally prohibited from seeing patients.It is therefore deeply troubling to learn from your article that multiple companies have been awarded NHS ADHD contracts despite not having CQC registration. In addition, some health professions fall outside the CQC remit and thus can set up a practice “diagnosing and treating” ADHD tomorrow – for example, a psychologist working with a prescribing pharmacist

Religious tradition, child safety and the law on circumcision | Letters

I would welcome criminalising circumcision if it was performed by an unqualified person – just as would be the case if someone unqualified conducted any other surgical operation (Circumcision classed as possible child abuse in draft CPS document, 10 January). But leaping from that to banning the practice altogether is not justified.Given that it is a longstanding and important tradition among Jews, Muslims and various other cultures, the best way forward is to only permit circumcision if it is practised by someone specifically qualified for it and who belongs to a nationally accredited scheme. This would involve compulsory training, monitoring all cases and producing annual reports.Such a step is vital if we value both the safety of children and the integrity of faith backgrounds, and should be implemented as soon as possible