Women in poorest parts of England and Wales ‘will spend only two-thirds of life in good health’

Healthy life expectancy for women in the most deprived areas of England and Wales has fallen to the lowest level since recent records began, with those women now likely to spend only two-thirds of their lives in good health.Women living in wealthier parts of England are likely to enjoy about two more decades of healthy life, the latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) data has shown.Female babies born between 2020 and 2022 in the most deprived areas of England were likely to spend just 65.1% of their lives in good health, compared with 81.5% in the least deprived areas, the ONS found

Vital steps to move the NHS from cure to prevention | Letters

Your articles on health inequality this week included excellent coverage of the government’s project to shift the emphasis of healthcare from treatment at the clinic and hospital to prevention through public health initiatives (Downing Street’s radical plan for the NHS: shifting it from treatment to prevention, 29 June). However, one key element is missing from the analysis that has frustrated the implementation of such necessary innovations: the way that undergraduate students are educated and socialised into medicine within longstanding conservative curricula.Historically, doctors gain an identity that is grounded in the sanctity of the “clinic” (primarily the hospital) as a well-patrolled territory with idiosyncratic rituals and language. Patients are kept on the other side of the fence. Medical education traditionally affords little work-based experience in the first two years, but after that students gain increasing exposure to clinical work

Young Europeans losing faith in democracy, poll finds

Only half of young people in France and Spain believe that democracy is the best form of government, with support even lower among their Polish counterparts, a study has found.A majority from Europe’s generation Z – 57% – prefer democracy to any other form of government. Rates of support varied significantly, however, reaching just 48% in Poland and only about 51-52% in Spain and France, with Germany highest at 71%.More than one in five – 21% – would favour authoritarian rule under certain, unspecified circumstances. This was highest in Italy at 24% and lowest in Germany with 15%

Labour’s 10-year health plan for the NHS is bold, radical – and familiar

The government’s 10-year health plan to revive, modernise and future-proof the NHS in England has arrived as the service is facing a dual crisis. It has been unable for a decade now to provide the rapid access – to GPs, A&E care, surgery, ambulances and mental health support – which people need and used to get.Normalisation of anxiety-inducing, frightening and sometimes fatal delay has produced a less tangible, but also dangerous, crisis: of public satisfaction, born of a profound loss of trust that the NHS will be there for them or their loved ones when they need it.Barely one in five people in Britain are happy with the NHS. Polling by Ipsos this week, just before the NHS’s 77th birthday on Saturday, found that about 60% of voters have seen little improvement in it during Labour’s first year in office

Twelve key takeaways from Labour’s 10-year NHS plan

The 10-year NHS plan aims to make healthcare more digital, focus on preventing ill health and provide more services locally, rather than in hospitals. It will greatly expand the NHS app and increase the use of AI and other technology.Structural changes aim to bring routine healthcare closer to patients, with the aim that most outpatient care will happen outside hospitals, while new neighbourhood health centres will provide most services so that acute hospitals can focus on looking after the most unwell.The main measures include:The NHS app will be expanded to become a “doctor” in patients’ pockets. A new part of it, My NHS GP, will use AI to help people navigate the service better, taking patients’ symptoms, asking questions and providing guidance

Starmer outlines 10-year plan to change NHS ‘from sickness service to health service’

Keir Starmer has outlined a 10-year plan for the NHS based on a shift from hospitals to community health hubs, a renewed focus on prevention and an embrace of technology, which was billed as perhaps the last chance to save the health service in its current form.Speaking at a health centre in Stratford, east London, alongside Wes Streeting, the health secretary; and Rachel Reeves, the chancellor – who had not been expected to appear – Starmer insisted this would be different to the long list of previous NHS revamps that achieved little.“We’re putting in the resources, we’re putting in the priorities and we’ve got the resolve to see this through,” he said. “In the end, I genuinely think it is only Labour governments that can do this.“I want in 10, 20, 30 years for people to look back and say this was the government that seized the moment and reformed the NHS so it’s fit for the future