Net zero – bad for your health
25 February 2025
Energy efficiency schemes launched in the name of the drive to net zero are creating health problems. The government has now acknowledged the wide-scale issues after complaints and media reports.
Health
Health
Doctors progress with focus on pay
10 July 2024
Doctors have kept their focus on pay, making significant progress. They have not been diverted by the change of government; settlement for junior hospital doctors in England is a priority.
Hacking threatens health
25 June 2024
A cyberattack on outsourced testing services in London has significantly affected patients. Resources for IT security do not match the risks of future attacks.
Junior doctors to strike before election
30 May 2024
The junior doctors’ long-running pay dispute is still not resolved. In the absence of a credible offer they are returning to strike action ahead of the general election.
Measles epidemic follows cuts in health visitors
8 February 2024
Measles was eradicated from Britain in 2017, but it has come back. That’s due to a cut in health visitors, which needs to be reversed.
A&E waiting times in Wales figures miss thousands of hours
20 October 2023
An FOI request from the Royal College of Emergency Medicine has revealed the true extent of waiting times in Welsh Accident and Emergency departments.
NHS safety – collective organisation the only guarantee
8 September 2023
Safety in the NHS is ensured by the collective organisation of professional skilled workers, the scandal of Lucy Letby's murders at the Countess of Cheshire hospital shows.
Health workers need a plan
Faced with an enemy operating a scorched earth policy, all NHS trade unions need to plan. And struggle will need to be persistent and protracted.
Nurse shortages – retain, don’t plunder
6 June 2023
Importing nurses from other countries is no answer to NHS staff shortages. Retaining nurses already working would be a step in the right direction.
Physiotherapists’ first-time strike
16 February 2023
Physiotherapists and support workers at over 60 NHS Trusts across England began a rolling programme of strikes on 26 January in pursuit of their pay claim – the first time they have ever taken strike action.
Deadly consequences of failure to treat early
28 January 2023
A major study shows that the rush to prevent deaths from Covid-19 raised the risk of dying from the more well known killers of undiagnosed high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
Another medical school denied support for British student doctors
20 January 2023
The government has told another new medical school that no British students will be supported – although it can recruit overseas students.
Medical Schools - Only for foreign students
The good news: new medical schools are operating in Britain. The bad news: they are unable to accept British students, and will be recruiting only applicants from abroad.
NHS: collective action is the route to control
The NHS is a prime example of what happens when governments refuse to govern or indeed make any decision. Now the government is attacking the very people struggling to keep providing care in a mess of its own making…
Surgeons take the initiative
22 December 2022
The idea of separating emergency and elective (planned) care is not new but the genuine determination to improve services after the Covid pandemic has given this impetus.
Medical training capped again
A month after praising Guy’s and St Thomas’s Hospital as “amazing” for the treatment his wife had received, Education Secretary James Cleverly has re-imposed the cap on medical training places.
Unequal access to GPs: a radical solution needed
Across Britain people are finding it harder and harder to access primary health services. It should not be a battle just to see your GP. Health service workers must take the lead in sorting this out…
Shameful overseas nurse recruitment continues
16 June 2022
Britain continues to recruit nurses and other health staff from countries also short of health staff.
Unequal access to GPs: a radical solution needed
15 June 2022
Access to primary health care services is a concern across Britain. Those who work in NHS must take charge of this emergency to rectify the situation.
Maternity wards close in Wales
17 May 2022
Expectant mothers in South Wales face uncertainty about midwifery services. Fine words from the health board aren't going to help.
Nursing shortages: move on from the blame game
14 September 2021
The shortage of nurses is worldwide. There’s no future in leaving it to the SNP or the British governmemt to resolve.
Would-be doctors face squeeze while NHS continues to hire from abroad
Medical schools saw an astonishing 21 per cent surge in applications to train to be a doctor for entry in 2021. But most applicants will be turned away – while Britain continues to import doctors trained abroad.
Diet and obesity – an issue for the working class
Obesity in Britain is increasing, especially in children. This is a relatively recent development, but the trend is clear and persistent…
Protocol denies life-saving drug to Northern Ireland
16 May 2021
A hard border for medicines between Northern Ireland and Britain imposed by the EU is denies people in the province early access to a new life-saving cancer drug.
Nurses need action, not outrage from the sidelines
8 March 2021
The government’s proposed 1 per cent pay rise for nurses and other NHS staff – a reduction in real terms – has naturally provoked outrage among workers. But it should provoke some soul-searching too.
Applications flood in for medical schools
Applications to UK medical schools have increased by over 20 per cent, according to figures published by the Medical Schools Council.
Workers’ health in South Wales [print version]
With another set of reforms to the NHS in prospect, it’s worth looking at what workers did for themselves in the past…
Health: Breast screening returns [print version]
Breast screening has restarted. But almost a million women have missed mammograms due to the pandemic.
Workers’ health and safety in South Wales
23 February 2021
Before the Second World War there was no comprehensive healthcare system, and workplace safety was ineffective. Miners in South Wales showed the way to improve both.