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NHS 111 helpline 'dangerously understaffed' whistleblower says

A woman who worked at an NHS non-emergency call centre says it is "dangerously understaffed" with 75% of calls going unanswered. Former NHS 111 call handler, Irsah Tahir, said the Derby centre was "swamped" with calls and staff were under "massive" pressure. She said staff had to give medical advice when nurses were unavailable. Derbyshire Health United, which runs the centre, said it had investigated and refuted the claims. Ms Tahir, 21 from Derby, told the Daily Mail: "I feel the service is completely unsafe. "We were always short-staffed. There was never enough nurses. "I'm not medically trained and I just don't think I was equipped to make those decisions." In her interview Ms Tahir clai

One in three people born in the UK in 2015 could get dementia

One in three people born in the UK this year is projected to develop dementia in their lifetimes, according to Alzheimer’s Research UK. The charity described the forecast as a “looming national health crisis”. The figures were based on current life expectancies and the risk of people developing dementia as they age. However, there is acknowledgement that the figures - projecting what could be happening 100 years in the future - are only an estimate. More than 800,000 people in the country are already affected by the disease, which is caused by the destruction of brain cells. Age is the biggest risk factor for dementia and rising life expectancies could increase the number of people living wi

Outdoor play 'good for the eyes'

Getting children to play outside for 40 minutes a day could be a way to curb growing rates of short-sightedness, according to Chinese researchers. They asked six schools to test the strategy over three years and it appeared to be beneficial. The findings in Jama support the theory that children need to balance "close up" work, like reading, with activities that use distance vision. Experts say although myopia is now very common, the cause remains unknown. Short-sightedness or myopia is thought to affect up to one in three people in the UK and is becoming more common. Short vision In myopia, the eye is unable to focus in the normal way which makes objects in the distance appear blurred. It ru

Implant 'traps' spreading cancer cells

A small sponge-like implant that can mop up cancer cells as they move through the body has been developed by US researchers. So far tested in mice, it is hoped the device could act as an early warning system in patients, alerting doctors to cancer spread. The implant also seemed to stop rogue cancer cells reaching other areas where new tumours could grow. The findings appear in Nature Communications. Cancer Research UK said nine in 10 cancer deaths were caused by the disease spreading to other areas of the body. About 5mm (0.2in) in diameter and made of a "biomaterial" already approved for use in medical devices, the implant has so far been tested in mice with breast cancer. Experiments show

UK national sperm bank has just nine donors

It is now planning a recruitment drive, with chief executive Laura Witjens saying that appealing to male pride may be an effective way to boost donations. She has suggested a new campaign featuring a cartoon superhero, echoing a successful strategy in Denmark. A change in UK law in 2005, removing anonymity for sperm donors, is thought to have led to a drop in volunteers. Ms Witjens said she hoped adopting the "superman" message would help, but it could still take five years before the national sperm bank had enough donors. She told the Guardian: "If I advertised saying 'Men, prove your worth, show me how good you are', then I would get hundreds of donors. "That's the way the Danish do it. Th

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NHS 111 helpline 'dangerously understaffed' whistleblower says

One in three people born in the UK in 2015 could get dementia

Outdoor play 'good for the eyes'

Implant 'traps' spreading cancer cells

UK national sperm bank has just nine donors

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Coronavirus: Should I start taking vitamin D?

Singing 'no riskier than talking' for virus spread

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Breast screening women in their 40s 'could save lives'

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