NHS ‘broken’ says Starmer as report warns children’s health facing deadly crisis

Published

9 months ago

September 8, 2024

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Children’s health is facing a deadly crisis, with life-threatening illnesses, obesity, eating disorders, and infectious diseases soaring, a shock new government report reveals.

Sir Keir Starmer is blaming the Conservatives for a “broken NHS” and claims the Tories’ NHS reforms are “unforgivable and “hopelessly misconceived”.

The shocking findings on the deteriorating health of the nation’s children are revealed in a study by leading cancer surgeon and former health minister Lord Darzi.

He is raising the alarm bell on issues including:

• Falling vaccination rates for key childhood vaccinations – some declining for a decade – making measles and other infectious diseases more common;

• Prescriptions for ADHD medication for children and young people up 10% in the past year;

• Hospital admissions for children and young people with eating disorders up 82% since 2019-20;

• Children from most deprived backgrounds are now twice as likely to be obese by age five, and one in three children is obese by 11 in the poorest communities;

• Life-threatening and life-limiting conditions among children are up 40% in the past 20 years.

“Too many are being let down,” Lord Darzi says in his report.

“Childhood is precious because it is brief; too many children are spending too much of it waiting for care. It is apparent that the NHS must do better,” he adds.

Lord Darzi’s report for Health Secretary Wes Streeting also reveals that more than 100,000 infants up to the age of two were left waiting for more than six hours in A&E departments in England last year.

He found a 60% rise in waiting times for that age group over the past 15 years, and 800,000 children and young people on NHS waiting lists for hospital treatment.

Some 175,000 were waiting between six and 12 months, and 35,000 waiting for more than a year, the report says.

He also uncovered that nearly 500,000 children and young people were on waiting lists for mental health support and that 160,000 of them had been waiting for over 12 months.

NHS is ‘broken’

Speaking ahead of the report’s publication, Sir Keir said: “The impacts of a broken NHS are being felt across the whole of our society – our children included.

“The challenges we’ve inherited are stark, but I’m determined to fix the foundations so that we not only rebuild our health service, but crucially also reform and renew it for the benefit of future generations.

“That also means equipping the NHS to prevent ill health, not just to treat it – so that all of us can live longer, healthier lives, from childhood to old age.”

And in a TV interview, the prime minister said: “Everybody watching this who has used the NHS, or have relatives who have, know that it’s broken, they know that it’s broken, that is unforgivable, the state of our NHS.”

On the reasons for the crisis, Sir Keir said: “The money that was taken out of the NHS, particularly in the early years of the coalition from 2010 onwards, the Lansley reforms, which were hopelessly misconceived, and then of course COVID on top of all that, which has put us in this awful position for the NHS.”

He added: “It’s the last government that broke the NHS. Our job now, through Lord Darzi, is to properly understand how that came about and bring about the reforms, starting with the first steps – the 40,000 extra appointments. But we’ve got to do the hard yards of reform as well.”

Responding to the report, general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing Professor Nicola Ranger said that “patient care is not at the standard it should be”.

“School nurse levels were slashed by the last government and that has had direct consequences on children’s health,” she said.

“Today’s children and adolescents, without early years or mental health support, pay a price similar to the most vulnerable adults without care packages.

“This week’s report must begin to provide answers and health and care professionals will look closely at where ministers see their role. A chronically understaffed NHS will remain a broken NHS.”

Shadow health secretary Victoria Atkins said: “After 14 years in opposition, with time to think about the issues facing modern-day healthcare, Labour’s instinct is to politicise children’s health, rather than provide solutions and reform of our NHS.”

She said that the Tories “always acknowledged there are pressures” on the health service, including the “impact of social media” and “growing reluctance in some parts of society to vaccinate children”.

“To find solutions to these issues requires serious and sober thinking, not headline chasing,” she added.

“Sadly, all Labour has done in health since the election is issue press releases, appoint cronies and give a budget-busting pay rise to striking junior doctors, with no plans for reform.”

Politics

Ubyx raises $10M to standardize stablecoin redemption and drive adoption

Published

55 mins ago

June 17, 2025

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Ubyx raises M to standardize stablecoin redemption and drive adoption

Ubyx, a startup aiming to standardize stablecoin redemption at face value, raised $10 million in seed funding led by Galaxy Ventures to launch in Q4 2025.

Politics

US-UK trade deal ‘done’, says Trump as he meets Starmer at G7

Published

6 hours ago

June 17, 2025

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US-UK trade deal 'done', says Trump as he meets Starmer at G7

The UK-US trade deal has been signed and is “done”, US President Donald Trump has said as he met Sir Keir Starmer at the G7 summit.

The US president told reporters: “We signed it, and it’s done. It’s a fair deal for both. It’ll produce a lot of jobs, a lot of income.”

As Mr Trump and his British counterpart exited a mountain lodge in the Canadian Rockies where the summit is being held, the US president held up a physical copy of the trade agreement to show reporters.

Several leaves of paper fell from the binding, and Mr Starmer quickly bent down to pick them up, saying: “A very important document.”

Sir Keir said the document “implements” the deal to cut tariffs on cars and aerospace, adding: “So this is a very good day for both of our countries – a real sign of strength.”

Mr Trump added that the UK was “very well protected” against any future tariffs, saying: “You know why? Because I like them”.

However, he did not say whether levies on British steel exports to the US would be set to 0%, saying “we’re gonna let you have that information in a little while”.

What exactly does trade deal being ‘done’ mean?

The government says the US “has committed” to removing tariffs (taxes on imported goods) on UK aerospace goods, such as engines and aircraft parts, which currently stand at 10%.

That is “expected to come into force by the end of the month”.

Tariffs on car imports will drop from 27.5% to 10%, the government says, which “saves car manufacturers hundreds of millions a year, and protects tens of thousands of jobs”.

The White House says there will be a quota of 100,000 cars eligible for import at that level each year.

But on steel, the story is a little more complicated.

The UK is the only country exempted from the global 50% tariff rate on steel – which means the UK rate remains at the original level of 25%.

That tariff was expected to be lifted entirely, but the government now says it will “continue to go further and make progress towards 0% tariffs on core steel products as agreed”.

The White House says the US will “promptly construct a quota at most-favoured-nation rates for steel and aluminium articles”.

Other key parts of the deal include import and export quotas for beef – and the government is keen to emphasise that “any US imports will need to meet UK food safety standards”.

There is no change to tariffs on pharmaceuticals for the moment, and the government says “work will continue to protect industry from any further tariffs imposed”.

The White House says they “committed to negotiate significantly preferential treatment outcomes”.

Mr Trump also praised Sir Keir as a “great” prime minister, adding: “We’ve been talking about this deal for six years, and he’s done what they haven’t been able to do.”

He added: “We’re very longtime partners and allies and friends and we’ve become friends in a short period of time.

“He’s slightly more liberal than me to put it mildly… but we get along.”

Sir Keir added that “we make it work”.

The US president appeared to mistakenly refer to a “trade agreement with the European Union” at one point as he stood alongside the British prime minister.

Mr Trump announced his “Liberation Day” tariffs on countries in April. At the time, he announced 10% “reciprocal” rates on all UK exports – as well as separately announced 25% levies on cars and steel.

In a joint televised phone call in May, Sir Keir and Mr Trump announced the UK and US had agreed on a trade deal – but added the details were being finalised.

Ahead of the G7 summit, the prime minister said he would meet Mr Trump for “one-on-one” talks, and added the agreement “really matters for the vital sectors that are safeguarded under our deal, and we’ve got to implement that”.

Politics

Abortion debate reignited as Sky poll reveals public’s view on decriminalisation ahead of Commons vote

Published

6 hours ago

June 17, 2025

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Abortion debate reignited as Sky poll reveals public's view on decriminalisation ahead of Commons vote

A small group have gathered in the main square in the centre of Birmingham, and it’s a real mix of people. There are older figures from the community, young students, as well as groups of friends and some families.

On closer inspection, you can make out candles and rosary beads, signalling it’s some kind of vigil. As hymns start to be sung, it’s revealed to be a gathering to protest against abortion.

Nearly 90% of this country is pro-choice, but a small, vocal minority is becoming more organised in the UK.

Energised by the Trump administration, young and old activists in the UK anti-abortion movement have become more motivated to get their message across.

And all this is happening just as abortion laws in the UK could be about to go through the most significant change in over 50 years.

Nearly three years on from the ruling reversing Roe v Wade – a landmark case that once made abortion legal in the US – the age-old abortion debate has become even more political in the UK.

A breakthrough moment came when Vice President JD Vance criticised the UK laws on abortion buffer zones – areas outside clinics where police are allowed to use their discretion to stop anyone harassing women entering abortion clinics.

Explained: What are the UK’s abortion laws?

One of the cases cited by the vice president was that of Isabel Vaughan-Spruce.

She’s a lifelong anti-abortion activist who has been handing out leaflets outside clinics for 20 years. Since buffer zones came into force, she now visits to silently pray once a week. In 2022, she was arrested outside an abortion clinic for silent prayer and taken to court, although the charges were later dropped.

She also received £13,000 in a civil claim against West Midlands Police, which did not admit liability.

“They actually asked me what I was doing, and I said, well, I’m just physically standing here. I might be praying in my head, but nothing out loud. And on that basis, they made an arrest. I was heavily searched, I was taken to the police station, locked in a police cell for hours before being questioned under caution. And then, eventually, I went to court.

“I believe that abortion centres are like the modern-day Calvary. This is where the innocent are being put to death. I might not be physically interacting with anybody or stopping anyone or talking to anyone, just to be there in prayer is really, really important from a spiritual perspective.”

For people like Ailish McEntee, any type of protest is a distraction, which she says is not wanted by the women who come to the clinic she works at in London. She’s hoping that this week MPs will go further on abortion laws and pass an amendment through the Commons to decriminalise abortion for anyone seeking an abortion up to 24 weeks.

“The law itself works very well for the majority of people, but for those individuals in those kind of really high-risk domestic abuse situations… they maybe can’t make it to a clinic, they might seek abortion care from those kind of unregulated providers.

“So this amendment would take away that decriminalisation of women themselves. And it’s a really strange part of the law that we have.

“I think particularly in recent years, with Roe v Wade overturning and Donald Trump winning the election again, I think it’s really pushed forward the anti-choice rhetoric that has always been there, but it’s absolutely ramping up.”

According to polling by Sky News and YouGov, 55% of people are in favour of the law changing to stop women being criminalised for their own abortion before 24 weeks.

Surprisingly though, 22% said they believe women should be investigated or imprisoned for abortion after 24 weeks.

Stella Creasy is one of the MPs laying down an amendment to try to decriminalise abortion.

“There’s no other health care provision that we see with a criminal foundation in this way and it has a very real practical consequence.

“We’ve seen some incredibly vulnerable women and girls who didn’t even know that they were pregnant who have late-term miscarriages finding themselves with police officers rather than counsellors at their hospital beds finding themselves under suspicion for months, if not years, and I just don’t think that’s where the British public are at.”

But Rachel is concerned by this amendment. She runs sessions at the UK arm of Rachel’s Vineyard – a faith-based organisation originally founded in the United States, dedicated to, in their words, “healing the trauma of abortion”. They frame abortion not as a medical procedure, but as a harm to mothers and fathers.

“With all sudden deaths, whether you are 80 years of age or you’re 26 weeks born, you know, out of the womb, and you’ve died, you’ve sadly died, we need to be able to investigate that. For us to have compassion, we need to have justice.”

In Northern Ireland, where the decriminalisation battle was won in 2019, I met Emma, who fought on the campaign at Alliance for Choice.

She says police searches were a daily routine for her, and since 2019, she has been able to continue helping women navigate abortion care without the threat of being investigated.

Orfhlaith Campbell should have been one of the lucky ones. She was able to seek a medical abortion at 23 weeks in Northern Ireland, two years after it had been decriminalised, but she says she had to fight to get the care she needed.

She was on the cusp of the medical time limit when she suffered a premature rupture of membranes, went into labour and was told she would likely develop sepsis.

“I would have died and my daughter was dying, I could feel her dying, and it was a compassionate choice. When we got the post-mortem after, the infection had went into her wee body too, and she had nuclear debris in her lungs. If she had survived at all, it would have been a very, very painful existence.

“So yes, I had to break through the stigma that had been ingrained in me in Northern Ireland. I had to break through legal fights and the barriers that were being put in place. But I was strong enough to know that that was compassionate and that healthcare was needed both for me and her.”

The UK is majority pro-choice, and our polling shows the majority are for decriminalising abortion.

But activists who are against abortion are energised by the changing landscape of the debate in the US.

As parliament sets to vote on two amendments on abortion laws this week and potentially pulls in one direction, activists will likely only get louder and become more effective at getting their message across.