Over-60s who live apart from partners have better wellbeing, study finds

It’s known as living apart, together. Being in a serious relationship while remaining at separate addresses has long been a lifestyle more associated with people starting out in life.But those aged 60 and above who date like people in their 20s enjoy better mental wellbeing, the largest study of its kind has found.Couples who meet in later life and decide against moving in together experience mental health benefits comparable to marriage or cohabiting – but without the “frictions”, “intense day-to-day interactions” and care commitments that come with those relationships, the research showed.They also avoid the “legal obligations and institutional binding” that make it harder to get out of an unhappy marriage, according to the study from Prof Yang Hu at Lancaster University and Dr Rory Coulter at University College London

Counselling charity Relate goes into administration

Britain’s biggest relationship counselling charity is on the verge of insolvency after failing to overcome financial difficulties caused by a collapse in funding from NHS, school and local authority contracts.Relate has been put into administration, with staff told that it has four to six weeks to find a buyer or merger partner if it is to stay afloat. The 26 local branches of the charity, which are each independent, are not affected.There are fears hundreds of clients could have sessions cancelled after 80 staff – a third of the workforce at Relate’s central arm – including 40 counsellors were made redundant with immediate effect.The crisis facing the central charity comes amid growing concern about the future of many charities that are struggling to balance the books in the face of rising costs and demand, and declining donations and contract income

Whistleblowing reform must include GPs | Letters

As a whistleblower within general practice, I share the concerns many of us have about confidentiality. I have faced retribution and detrimental treatment (NHS bosses who silence whistleblowers face sack under government plans, 24 November).Both I and a colleague reported serious patient safety concerns and witnessed dishonesty. Unfortunately, we have experienced what is known in whistleblower circles as the “playbook” of mistreatment, while authorities slowly gather the evidence needed to act on our reports. This abuse has included the spreading of false rumours, slurs on our character and professional work, false referrals to regulatory bodies and bullying

NHS bosses reportedly worried about Starmer’s pledge to cut waiting lists

NHS bosses are said to be privately concerned about Keir Starmer’s ambitious targets to cut waiting lists for routine operations, set to be announced later this week, which will also include specific targets on living standards and housebuilding.The prime minister is expected on Thursday to set a target for 92% of routine operations and appointments in England to be carried out within 18 weeks by March 2029 – a goal that has not been achieved in almost a decade – the Times has reported.At Rachel Reeves’s October budget, the chancellor promised an extra £22bn for the NHS over the next two years to help cut waiting times. A source at the Department of Health and Social Care denied any specific concerns had been raised yet by NHS England leadership over the planned targets.No 10 insiders have said the new numerical targets, although risky, were a necessary recognition that Starmer’s “missions” which he set out in the run-up to the election were too conceptual for most people

Public services complaints in England soar by more than a third since 2016 – study

Complaints about public services have soared by more than a third since 2016 with substantial jumps in relation to benefits, prisons, the NHS and higher education, according to a leading thinktank.Demos, a cross-party organisation, found that between 2015-16 and 2023-24 complaints across key public services increased steadily by evermore than 100,000 from 309,758 to 425,624 – aside from a sharp drop during the pandemic.It said complaints about the Department for Work and Pensions doubled over this period, and those about higher education rose by 70%.The thinktank released the findings ahead of the publication of its year-long taskforce study into the future of public services with a final report launching this week, saying that politicians urgently need to embrace reform to rebuild trust.It found NHS written complaints rose during the period by 20% to 241,922, doubled at DWP to 120,509 and were up 94% in prisons and probation to 4,575

Is Conor McGregor verdict a watershed moment for the manosphere?

The ruling made headlines across Ireland and around the world, sending women spilling into the streets of Dublin with signs that read “Thank you Nikita”.Days after a civil court jury ordered mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor to pay nearly €250,000 over claims he had “brutally raped and battered” Nikita Hand, the case has prompted calls for a rethink of how society interacts with power, wealth and a “manosphere” intent on pushing its own notions of masculinity.The roots of the case trace back to a Dublin hotel penthouse in 2018, where Hand accused McGregor of raping her after she invited him to join her and a friend at a work Christmas party.For two weeks a jury heard Hand’s harrowing testimony: a paramedic who had examined her the next day told the court that she hadn’t seen such severe bruising for a long time, a psychiatrist diagnosed her with PTSD and told how Hand was unable to return to work as a hairdresser after being gripped with night terrors, panic attacks and anxiety.McGregor, a former star with the Ultimate Fighting Championship, denied the allegations, saying that he had “fully consensual sex” with Hand and she had concocted the assault to cover her cheating on her then boyfriend