Scientists develop AI tool to spot heart failure risk five years before it strikes

Oxford scientists have developed a simple AI tool that can predict the risk of heart failure five years before it develops.More than 60 million people worldwide have the condition in which the heart cannot pump blood around the body as well as it should. Spotting cases before they develop into heart failure would be a big step forward, experts say. Doctors could prepare better for and manage the condition at an earlier stage or even prevent it entirely.The AI tool, developed by a team at the University of Oxford, looks for signs in fat around the heart that indicate whether it is inflamed and unhealthy

Landlords evicting tenants before law to prevent practice comes into force in England

Increasing numbers of landlords are evicting tenants at the last minute before the law changes to outlaw the practice in next month, charities have said.The renters’ union Acorn told the Guardian that no-fault evictions made up one in five of the reports they received from members in October, rising to nearly one in three by January.The Renters’ Rights Act, which was in development last year and will come into effect on 1 May 2026, will abolish section 21 of the existing Housing Act, which allows landlord to evict without providing a justification to the court.“This isn’t a coincidence. Landlords are clearly rushing to force through last-minute evictions before the ban comes into force

Charity cleared after false claims online over migrant welcome project

A refugee charity subjected to vicious social media attacks over a migrant welcome project in schools has been cleared of wrongdoing after watchdogs found allegations it encouraged pupils to send Valentine’s Day cards to asylum seekers were misleading and false.City of Sanctuary UK came under fire last year after rumours spread online that under its schools programme, children were being “forced” to write heart-shaped welcome cards to adult migrants, including cards addressed to “my fiance”.The Tory MP Gavin Williamson made a formal complaint against City of Sanctuary last August in the wake of the online attacks, claiming the charity had acted inappropriately and breached the law by acting in a “highly politicised” manner.However, in a finding published on Tuesday, the regulator rejected Williamson’s complaint and said the charity had been the victim of a baseless misinformation campaign that resulted in its staff and trustees receiving threats.Helen Earner, the director of regulatory services at the Charity Commission, said: “In this case, concerns about the charity’s work were fuelled by online misinformation, something charities are increasingly subject to and a concern for us as regulator

People living with incontinence face shortage of sanitary pads as NHS limits supplies

Millions of people across the UK living with incontinence are facing shortages of sanitary products due to supplies being rationed by NHS trusts, according to a coalition of charities.The shortages are leading to a “pad gap” where people are having to pay for incontinence products themselves, according to an open letter from organisations including the Royal College of Nursing, Prostate Cancer UK, and Bowel and Bladder UK.Around 14 million people across the UK experience incontinence. Healthcare workers in the NHS expect to fit up to five pads a day for patients who experience incontinence, according to research, but freedom of information data from 110 NHS trusts show that more than half (53%) have a cap on the availability of products.Of these trusts, 34% have a cap of three products a day, while the remaining 66% have a cap of four products a day, which is lower than the expected need

‘Young people want to come together’: experts respond to mass teen meet-ups in Clapham

It started with a flyer sent around on Snapchat. Teenagers were invited to gather at a south London basketball court to celebrate the start of the Easter holidays. They were told to bring their own weed and laughing gas because it was going to be a late one.What followed in the hours after was chaos. Hundreds of young people came to the “link-up” last Saturday, and then gathered on Clapham High Street

Alarm in health service over Palantir staff being given NHS email accounts

Health service staff have expressed alarm that engineers working for controversial tech company Palantir have been given NHS email accounts.Employees using NHS.net email accounts have access to a directory with the contact details of up 1.5 million staff. Sources believe Palantir staff were granted the same access