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Jasmine is in so much pain she can hardly get out of bed.

She’s clutching a hot water bottle and taking morphine, a strong painkiller which she says turns her into “a zombie”.

“It’s like there’s like a ball of acid in the middle of my torso and it’s burning its way through each of my organs. And it feels like that 24/7,” said the 23-year-old.

The pain Jasmine is describing is caused by endometriosis, a debilitating condition where cells similar to the ones lining the womb are found elsewhere in the body.

This can lead to inflammation, pain and the formation of scar tissue.

“It feels like there’s just searing, stinging, burning pain constantly. And that’s not even the worst of it,” she tells me.

She said symptoms started when she was about 12 years old and have worsened as the years have gone on.

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For years she has had appointments, consultations and surgery on the NHS. But her experiences have left more than physical scars.

“I’ve been made to feel like I’m taking up their time. I’ve been made to feel like I’m not important and that my issues should just be medicated and that’s it.”

Read more: The search for a cure for endometriosis

Jasmine waited a year and seven months for an operation, but only after surgery was cancelled six times.

“There was never really a good explanation as to why the surgery was cancelled. I’d just get called up by someone and told it wasn’t happening.”

Jasmine, who is suffering with endometriosis, hugs her boyfriend Alex
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Jasmine with her fiance Alex

7.5 million waiting for treatment

Jasmine is one of millions of patients waiting months, sometimes years for NHS treatment. And the numbers have soared since the pandemic.

The number of people waiting for treatment on the NHS has doubled to 7.5 million and even though targets state that 92% of patients should begin treatment within 18 weeks, that target has not been met for nearly a decade.

Which is why the NHS will be one of the big issues for voters in the general election.

Labour said it will cut NHS waiting times with 40,000 more evening and weekend appointments each week, paid for by cracking down on tax avoidance and non-doms.

Meanwhile, the Conservatives and Lib Dems have also promised to cut waiting lists by pouring an extra £1bn into the NHS.

Endometriosis

Tackling waiting lists is also the public’s top priority – the highest number of those polled, 39%, say reducing them is the thing they most want the next government to deliver for the NHS, followed by 26% saying making it easier to get a GP appointment.

Endometriosis

Twenty-five per cent who responded said the NHS is completely broken, with 61% saying it’s in a poor state and parts of it are broken. Only 1% of people said the NHS is healthy and has very few problems.

Endometriosis

Thirty-two per cent of people said they most trusted Labour to reduce waiting times, with just 9% saying they trust the Conservatives most to do it.

Most tellingly, just over a quarter of those who responded, 26%, said no party can be trusted to solve the problems with the NHS.

‘Life seems quite bleak now’

It currently takes an average of eight years and 10 months to get a diagnosis of endometriosis, according to the charity Endometriosis UK.

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, gynaecology waiting lists have increased by over 60%, the biggest increase in any specialism. In England alone, there are nearly 600,000 people on gynaecology waiting lists.

An NHS spokesperson said: “The NHS takes endometriosis very seriously and it is essential that staff support women experiencing cyclical pain as well as the psychological effects associated with their symptoms.

“The health service is committed to meeting women’s individual healthcare needs and is rolling out dedicated pelvic health clinics – bringing together specialist healthcare staff – to provide further support for women living with endometriosis, as well as supporting all local areas to develop a women’s health hub, to help deliver better menstrual health services and improve women’s health outcomes.”

Jasmine is still waiting for her operation to ease her symptoms of endometriosis.

“It has taken a massive physical toll. But I suppose mentally maybe worse. Life seems quite bleak now. I used to have a lot of dreams wanting to travel the world. But I don’t have the energy for that anymore.”

Read more on Sky News:
Bodies decomposing in hospitals, report finds

E.coli cases ‘likely to rise’ after outbreak

Jasmine, who is in bed with endometriosis, speaking to her boyfriend Alex.

She says she hopes whoever wins the general election focuses more on the NHS.

“I’d like to believe that there was some sort of superhero to swoop in and save the NHS but I don’t feel in this current climate that that’s even remotely possible.

“I think the current government have run the NHS into the ground, but I don’t have much faith in any of the other parties to do much better.”

Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.

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500 families in Oxford call for maternity unit to be investigated

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500 families in Oxford call for maternity unit to be investigated

Hours after giving birth, with her son rushed away to a high dependency unit, as she lay broken and bleeding, Morgan Joines overheard a midwife blaming her. 

Her son had been born with wet lung after an emergency and traumatic caesarean section.

“I overheard [the midwife] tell a student nurse I was the reason my son was ill, because I was too lazy to push,” she told Sky News.

“I was broken. I genuinely believed for ages afterwards that I had failed my son.

“I thought I was the reason he was ill.”

Her son was born at John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, part of the Oxford University’s Hospital Trust. Morgan is one of more than 500 families who say they have been harmed by maternity care at the Trust.

On Monday, the health secretary, Wes Streeting, announced a “rapid” national investigation into NHS maternity services.

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A taskforce, chaired by Mr Streeting and made up of experts and bereaved families, will first investigate up to ten of the most concerning maternity and neonatal units.

And campaigners – calling themselves the Families Failed by OUH Maternity Services – are calling for Oxford to be on that initial list.

‘I thought I was going to die’

Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust has been rated "requires improvement" for its maternity services

The unit was rated “requires improvement” in its last inspection by the government’s watchdog, the Care Quality Commission, in April 2023.

The CQC flagged issues around maintaining patient dignity, and said medicines were not always safely stored and managed. The unit did not manage the control of infection consistently it said, and wards were not always kept clean.

One mum told the campaign group she thought she was going to die after being left alone while in labour and denied pain relief.

Another said she is reluctant to consider having another child and feels a “profound loss of trust in the NHS”.

Trust to meet campaign group

Yvonne Christley, Chief Nursing Officer at OUH, said she apologised “for not being able to respond in detail about individual patient cases”.

“We regret any instance where we fail to provide the service that women and their families should expect. When this happens, we make every effort to review individual cases to understand what went wrong and how we can improve.”

She said the trust “make every effort” to keep women and families informed of what action it has taken, and said it is committed to maintaining an open dialogue with community groups.

“The Trust has agreed to meet with the campaign group and is eager to collaborate with them to implement the necessary changes and restore confidence in our services. These meetings are currently being scheduled.”

Caesarean sections account for approximately 40% of all births at OUH.

A ‘degrading strip wash’

A few hours after Morgan’s son had been whisked away to another part of the hospital, a nurse tried to force her to take oramorph, a high strength painkiller, she said.

When she declined to take the drug, having previously had a bad reaction, she said staff “claimed I was being difficult”.

“[They said] to just take the meds and get it over and done with.”

Morgan Joines overheard a midwife blaming her for her son's condition when he was born
Image:
Morgan Joines overheard a midwife blaming her for her son’s condition when he was born

When Morgan was unable to get out of bed, she says the same nurse then gave her a “degrading” strip wash, without her consent.

The unit, she said, felt like it was against C-sections.

“Even though it was recommended by doctors that I had caesarean, it was medically necessary, I felt I should have done more to help him,” Morgan said.

Waiting eight hours for a C-section

When Kate* was 38 weeks pregnant with her third IVF baby, she was induced.

The doctors had tried to burst her waters, but realised her daughter was breech when the midwife felt her feet near the bottom of the birth canal, telling her: “I’m glad those didn’t break, I think I just felt a foot.”

At 11pm Kate reluctantly agreed to a C-section, but was told it was “safer to wait until the light of day” to go down to theatre.

She was sent away to an observation area experiencing intense contractions for more than six hours. In those hours, she said she was abandoned without pain relief and was bleeding.

“I felt so alone in the dead of night. My husband had been sent home, and I just wanted someone to talk to, someone to help me.

“I was in so much pain labouring but the midwife made me feel like a hypochondriac.”

CQC safety ratings

She said the situation was escalating, she was becoming dehydrated, and her daughter’s heartrate was climbing, yet no one intervened.

A registrar who began his shift at 7am, examined her and rushed her immediately to theatre.

At this point she was 9cm dilated and the registrar was “shouting at me, telling me not to push.”

Kate’s daughter was her third IVF pregnancy, and she became emotional when she talked about what might have happened, had that registrar not examined her so quickly in the morning.

“They gambled with her life,” she said.

“If my waters had broken and that registrar wasn’t there, she would have started to come with her feet first. Both my boys had shot out, so I could be talking now as a mum who lost her child.

“It didn’t need to even get to that point.

“I should have had my C-section five hours earlier.”

A chart showing the ongoing independent investigations into maternity care - starting with Morecambe Bay in 2015 and ending with Nottingham

After she had given birth, she was left “in a pool of my own blood, just covered in blood” and had to pull herself out of bed to clean up.

She said she joined the campaign in the hopes women will be listened to in the future and not have to endure what she did.

‘I can’t get my baby out’

Annika Weldon had three miscarriages before giving birth to her son.

“I remember lying on the ward, screaming in pain and none of the other ladies around me were screaming like I was,” she said.

“It didn’t feel right, obviously when you go into labour you expect you are going to be in pain, but I just knew there was something not right.”

The midwife who checked her when she was in active labour could not tell her if she was 1cm or 10cm dilated, she said.

“We spent 45 minutes trying to get my baby out but this midwife that I was with was just so uncaring, she didn’t really explain what I should be doing.”

Annika Weldon miscarried three times before giving birth to her son
Image:
Annika Weldon miscarried three times before giving birth to her son

She had said early in the pregnancy she told doctors she wanted a C-section and “was told I couldn’t have one”.

“I kind of accepted that unless it was an emergency situation, I wouldn’t be able to have one but then in that moment I was like, I don’t know what else I can do here. I feel completely exhausted; I can’t get my baby out.

“I was just so tired and exhausted.”

Her son was born not breathing and she was haemorrhaging blood.

She was taken to emergency surgery and the last thing she remembers before waking up in the ward is throwing up in her hair.

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Maternity services investigated

She wasn’t told until much later the extent of her blood loss (2.5L) when she was struggling to pick up her own baby: “When I asked for help, I was made to feel like an inconvenience.”

‘OUH is particularly bad’

For Kim Thomas, co-founder of Families Failed by OUH Maternity Services and CEO of the Birth Trauma Association, these stories are nothing new.

But Oxford University Hospitals Trust is “particularly bad”, she says.

“They seem to have this incredibly arrogant attitude. They won’t take criticism.

Kim Thomas, from the Birth Trauma Association
Image:
Kim Thomas, from the Birth Trauma Association

“Women who complain are routinely dismissed. There’s a failure to learn from mistakes.”

She says OUH also has “poor postnatal care”: “Dirty wards, blood on the floor, women left in their own blood, women not helped.”

Yvonne Christley, from OUH, said: “We are never complacent and welcome all feedback, whether positive or negative, as we learn from both.”

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “Too many families have been devastated by serious failings in NHS maternity and neonatal care.

“They deserve swift answers, and urgent action is essential to prevent future tragedies.”

They said the government was “immensely grateful” to families for sharing their experiences.

“[We] will work closely with families on this journey to help ensure no parent or baby is ever let down again.”

The Oxford campaign group is growing daily, with more like Kate, Morgan and Annika joining the ranks of those calling for change.

And each day that passes without answers is a reminder of the trauma they endured.

“It still hurts to look back on. It’s taken a while for me to stop blaming myself, but it doesn’t get easier,” Morgan said.

*Some names have been changed.

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Weight loss and diabetes jabs linked to potentially fatal side effect

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Weight loss and diabetes jabs linked to potentially fatal side effect

Weight loss and diabetes jabs taken by more than a million people in the UK have been linked to a potential serious side effect, with some deaths, according to data from the UK medicines regulator.

New figures from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) show the group of drugs that includes Mounjaro, Wegovy, and Ozempic may be associated with inflammation of the pancreas.

According to the MHRA, there have been 181 reported cases of acute or chronic pancreatitis linked to Mounjaro, with five deaths.

Wegovy and Ozempic have been linked with 113 reports of pancreatitis and one death.

Other, less widely used versions of so-called GLP-1 drugs have also been linked to cases and deaths.

There is no evidence that the drugs directly caused the deaths. And the evidence isn’t strong enough for the MHRA to restrict access.

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Weight loss drugs compared

That’s because pancreatitis also occurs in people who aren’t taking the GLP-1 drugs, with about 560 cases for every one million people in the general population. Gallstones and alcohol are the biggest causes.

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But the MHRA and Genomics England are launching a new study to see whether some people have genes that put them at higher risk of developing pancreatitis if they take GLP-1 drugs.

People reported through the MHRA’s ‘yellow card’ alert system to have pancreatitis while using the jabs will be asked to provide a saliva sample and their genes tested.

Professor Matt Brown, chief scientific officer of Genomics England, said: “GLP-1 medicines like Ozempic and Wegovy have been making headlines, but like all medicines, there can be a risk of serious side effects.

“We believe there is real potential to minimise these, with many adverse reactions having a genetic cause.

“This next step in our partnership with the MHRA will generate data and evidence for safer and more effective treatment through more personalised approaches to prescription.”

Assortment of weight loss and diabetic drugs. Pic: iStock
Image:
Assortment of weight loss and diabetic drugs. Pic: iStock

The main symptoms of pancreatitis are severe pain in the centre of the tummy area, fever and nausea. Acute cases are treated in hospital with fluids and oxygen, and generally make a recovery within a few days.

But there can be complications, and around 5% of acute cases are fatal.

With all medicines, there is a balance of risk and benefit.

For people with type 2 diabetes or obesity, there are clear benefits to using the jabs.

They lower blood sugar levels, lead to rapid weight loss and reduce deaths from cardiovascular disease by a fifth.

Read more:
Weight loss jab warning from watchdog over unborn babies

GPs can prescribe weight loss jabs on the NHS
Ozempic to Wegovy – what are the weight loss injections?

But for people who are a bit overweight and have sourced the jabs privately to lose a few pounds ahead of their summer holiday, the health benefits are far less clear.

This is a wake-up call for them.

These are powerful medications with effects not just on appetite, but on lots of body organs, including the brain.

And pancreatitis is just one of many possible side effects.

Lilly, the UK manufacturer of Mounjaro, has said patient safety is its “top priority”.

The drug’s patient information leaflet “warns that inflamed pancreas (acute pancreatitis) is an uncommon side effect (which may affect up to 1 in 100 people),” the statement continued.

Lily “also advises patients to talk to their doctor or other healthcare professional before using Mounjaro if they have ever had pancreatitis,” it added.

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Hainault sword attacker Marcus Monzo found guilty of murdering boy, 14, and three attempted murders

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Hainault sword attacker Marcus Monzo found guilty of murdering boy, 14, and three attempted murders

A man has been found guilty of murdering a 14-year-old boy with a samurai sword as he walked to school in east London.

Marcus Arduini Monzo, 37, nearly decapitated Daniel Anjorin and attacked five others during a 20-minute rampage in Hainault on 30 April last year.

Prosecutors said he skinned and deboned his pet cat Wizard before trying “to kill as many people as he could” while under the influence of cannabis.

Monzo, a Spanish-Brazilian national from Newham in east London, admitted two charges of possessing an offensive weapon relating to two swords, which he said he bought for display purposes.

He claimed he had no memory of carrying out the attacks denied Daniel’s murder along with four charges of attempted murder, wounding with intent, aggravated burglary and possession of a bladed article.

He was cleared of one count of attempted murder – instead found guilty of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm – and convicted of all other charges following a trial at the Old Bailey.

Daniel Anjorin was attacked in Hainault, northeast London, and suffered fatal wounds on 30 April last year. Pic: Metropolitan Police.
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Daniel Anjorin, 14, died in April last year. Pic: Metropolitan Police

The court heard Monzo was a “talented martial artist” and the jury was shown footage of him unboxing a samurai sword on 4 April last year.

In the four-minute video clip, he calls the weapon “freaking sexy” as he lunges towards the camera and makes different moves.

Marcus Monzo
Image:
Marcus Monzo with a samurai sword in footage shown during the trial

The court was also shown CCTV footage from the morning of 30 April, with audible screams in one clip as Monzo drove his grey Ford Transit van at speed into pedestrian Donato Iwule.

Mr Iwule told jurors: “I thought I was dying” and “I saw blood coming out of my neck”, after he was struck with a sword before running away.

Witnesses described how Monzo was running around “like a maniac” and “looked a bit mad, like there was nothing there”.

Daniel, who had left home at around 7am wearing headphones and school sports clothes, suffered “a near-decapitation” when Monzo attacked him with the weapon from behind, prosecutor Tom Little KC told the jury.

 Handout footage from a doorbell camera of police officers tasering a sword-wielding man in Hainault, north east London, after a 14-year-old boy died after being stabbed following an attack on members of the public and two police officers. Pic: PA
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Monzo was tasered by police. Pic: PA

PC Yasmin Mechem-Whitfield chased the armed attacker through alleyways before Monzo struck her three times with the 60cm blade using “extreme force”, the court heard.

He then entered a nearby house through the back door and walked upstairs before attacking sleeping couple Sindy Arias and Henry De Los Rios Polania, who he asked: “Do you believe in God?”

Mr Little said their lives were only spared because their four-year-old daughter, who was sleeping nearby, woke up and started to cry.

Monzo, who had been cornered by police, also struck Inspector Moloy Campbell once with the sword before he was finally disarmed and arrested after trying to climb onto a garage to escape.

Doorbell footage shows the moment officers shout: “Don’t move, don’t f****** move”, after he was brought to the ground by three separate taser discharges.

Monzo told police he had “many personalities”, including a “professional assassin”, and compared the events to The Hunger Games film franchise.

He wept while giving evidence as he said he did not intend to harm anybody and told jurors he had no memory of what happened.

He told how he had previously used psychedelic drugs and smoked cannabis “three or four times a week” before the attack, but denied doing so on the day.

Prosecutors said he likely suffered from a psychotic disorder with “schizophrenic-like symptoms”, including “delusional beliefs” that both he and his family were in “mortal danger”.

But Mr Little said his psychotic state was self-induced and did not meet the threshold for diminished responsibility.

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