Rough sleepers offered emergency shelter as UK temperatures plummet

Rough sleepers across the UK have been offered emergency shelter amid freezing temperatures.Councils have used the severe weather emergency protocol (Swep) to provide a bed for the night for rough sleepers as much of the country experiences a cold snap.Each council has its own criteria for deploying Swep, but it is generally adopted when temperatures fall below 0C or an ice and snow weather warning is issued. Sweps have also been used during heatwaves to prevent heatstroke and dehydration.A spokesperson from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said: “We know, as the temperature drops, things become even more difficult for those on the streets, and councils will be considering whether to activate their severe weather emergency protocol

‘Clear creative abuse’: UK gravestone carvers condemn blatant reproduction of their designs

A walk down a churchyard path, passing other memorials and plaques, can be an important, meditative time for bereaved relatives. But some have had an unpleasant surprise when they find that the carefully chosen design and inscription on the headstone they have come to visit has been copied elsewhere.“When a design is copied, it is not just your design but your time and your creativity that is stolen,” said Teucer Wilson, a master stone carver. “You can try to see it as a compliment to your work in a way, of course, but it can be very upsetting for the family that you originally worked with.”Seeing a gravestone as a work of art, protected by copyright, is often hard for those who are making a significant and emotional decision about how to commemorate a life

Keir Starmer to announce radical NHS changes to cut waiting times

Keir Starmer will attempt to reset his premiership next week by setting out a series of radical NHS changes aimed at reducing waiting times for millions of patients in England.The shake-up comes after a torrid first six months in government and amid mounting frustration among patients. More than 6 million are waiting for care.Under the new plans, patients will be able to get direct referrals for tests and scans for a range of ear, nose and throat, gynaecological, urological, bowel and lung conditions – without seeing a consultant first.Thousands of patients in England will also be offered a “same-day service”, with follow-up consultations on the same day as their scans or tests, enabling more people to start treatment or get the all-clear quicker, the prime minister will announce

Commons to Lords: the timeline for assisted dying bill’s progress

The bill to legalise assisted dying in England and Wales will begin its next parliamentary stage this month as a committee of MPs chosen by the bill’s sponsor, Kim Leadbeater, begins taking evidence.MPs voted for the assisted dying bill to proceed in late November but there are still significant hurdles in the Commons and the Lords for it to become law.The bill passed at second reading in the Commons with a 55-vote majority – though dozens of MPs have said they might change their minds and vote against the bill unless changes were made in the forthcoming parliamentary stage. The bill would allow assisted dying for terminally ill adults with less than six months to live.The bill will go to committee stage, where MPs go through the bill line by line and discusses possible amendments

Government would be ‘foolish’ to ignore palliative care warnings over assisted dying

It would be “foolish” for the government not to heed warnings from doctors about palliative care as MPs press ahead with assisted dying legislation for England and Wales, the chair of the health and social care committee has said.The bill, which passed its first parliamentary hurdle in November, would give terminally ill adults with six months to live the right to end their lives. It will now be examined by a committee of MPs, who will hear public evidence, starting this month. It is likely to take a number of amendments before it returns to the Commons at the end of April.The health committee chair, Layla Moran, who voted in favour of the bill, said the government’s aim should be to ensure as few people used the assisted dying mechanism as possible if it passed into law

Hospital admissions for flu quadruple in England as NHS bosses warn of ‘huge’ strain

The number of people admitted to hospital with flu in England has quadrupled in a month, as health leaders said “huge” pressure in the NHS will only get worse as temperatures plummet this weekend.Figures from NHS England show that there were 4,102 patients in hospital with flu on Christmas Day, rising sharply to 5,074 by Sunday 29 December.There were an average of 4,469 flu patients in hospital every day last week, including 211 in critical care.This was up 17% from 3,818 the previous week, when 184 were in critical care, and was more than four times the number on 1 December, when the figure was 1,098. However, the figure was lower than this point in 2022, when it stood at 5,441