Almost three in 10 conceptions ended in legal terminations, ONS figures show, as provider says women struggling to access contraception
The number of abortions in England and Wales reached a record high in 2022, with a leading provider stating that women are facing “significant barriers” in access to contraception.
Almost three in 10 conceptions ended in legal abortions in the two nations in 2022, up from about two in 10 a decade earlier, according to new figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Continue reading...The union bases its claims of a real-terms cut on the retail prices index – ditched as a national statistic in 2013
The British Medical Association (BMA) is demanding a 29% pay rise for resident doctors, formerly known as junior doctors, in England, to prevent strikes. The union claims the increase is needed to reverse cuts to the real-terms value of their pay since 2008. But how credible are its calculations?
Continue reading...Brian Langstaff urges overhaul of compensation system, which report says was designed without consulting victims
Victims of the infected blood scandal have “not been listened to” by ministers, the chair of the inquiry has said in a report urging an overhaul of the compensation system.
The additional report lays bare the failings of the government’s detailed compensation scheme, and sets out recommendations to make it fairer and faster. In particular, it criticises ministers for designing the scheme without consulting the scandal’s victims, as was recommended in the inquiry’s May 2024 report, which it says has led to “obvious injustices” that could have been avoided.
Continue reading...BMA union says it is giving Wes Streeting two weeks to come to the table to negotiate ‘a path to pay restoration’
Resident doctors in England will strike for five days later this month in their campaign for a 29% pay rise. Wes Streeting, the health secretary, denounced the move as “completely unreasonable”.
Resident doctors – formerly known as junior doctors – working in the NHS will withdraw their labour from 7am on Friday 25 July and not return until 7am the following Wednesday.
Continue reading...We need to confront the social conditions that impact them – and the toxic workplaces they’re trying to push back against
Last month, new figures showed that one in four young people in England have a mental health condition. An unwillingness to examine the challenging social and economic conditions – from housing insecurity to financial concerns – means there can be a tendency to explain this rise as a result of overdiagnosis, although there is little evidence for this claim. Clinicians cite the criteria for diagnosis to show that overreporting is not substantiated – if anything, the severity of reported conditions has increased, in part due to a reduced stigma resulting in more people seeking help.
Young people with poor mental health are nearly five times more likely to be out of work, and there is a growing understanding that inadequate support around young people’s mental health in the workplace is driving them to leave or consider leaving their job. In response, the government has proposed cuts to under-22s’ health support.
Fran Boait is a leadership coach, freelancer and writer
Continue reading...One thing I’ve noticed is that as they grow older, people tend to care less about others’ opinions. Sometimes that’s liberating
I started learning about ageing and ageism – prejudice and discrimination on the basis of age – almost 20 years ago, as I entered my 50s. That’s when it hit me that this getting older thing was actually happening to me. I was soon barraged by advice on how to age well. Many concepts, like “active ageing”, were obvious. (Don’t be a couch potato.) Some, like “successful ageing”, were obnoxious. (In my opinion, if you wake up in the morning, you’re ageing successfully.) One, “ageing gracefully”, was intriguing.
Although I’ve written a whole book about ageism, I wasn’t sure I knew how to go about ageing gracefully. For starters, it didn’t seem as though I qualified. When I was speaking at a conference a few years ago, a woman in the elevator recognized my name from my badge. “Are you the one talking about ageing gracefully?” she asked. “If that’s what you’re looking for, you’ve got the wrong person,” I blurted. My clumsiness, like my bluntness, is legendary.
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