All posts tagged: NHS

Tim Horlick, investment banker who won a Covid contract for PPE masks that were unusable

Tim Horlick, investment banker who won a Covid contract for PPE masks that were unusable

Published by Sam Flores

Tim Horlick, who has died aged 65, was an investment banker who secured, through the controversial “VIP lane”, a huge supply contract for Covid PPE masks which turned out to be unfit for use by frontline healthcare workers. Horlick’s company, Ayanda Capital, is a private equity fund (with a parent company in the tax haven of Mauritius) which focuses on “high-growth sectors such as fintech, digital platforms, energy and natural resources”, aiming to generate superior returns “while positively impacting society”. His own career had been spent entirely in the financial sphere until the opportunity arose in April 2020 to source 50 million high-protection “FFP2” masks and 150 million looser-fitting “IIR” masks from a Chinese company, Zhende Medical. The official who approved the order – processed in three weeks, with limited due diligence, amid frantic international competition to secure bulk PPE supplies – noted that “Ayanda was not a business which had any direct experience in the manufacture, supply or distribution of PPE… but that… did not unduly concern me.” The value of the contract was …

NHS shingles jab could lower risk of stroke and heart attacks, study finds

NHS shingles jab could lower risk of stroke and heart attacks, study finds

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the Well Enough newsletter with Harry Bullmore for tips on living a healthier, happier and longer life Get the Well Enough email with Harry Bullmore Get the Well Enough email with Harry Bullmore Fresh research indicates that the shingles vaccination currently administered by the NHS could significantly reduce the likelihood of suffering from stroke, heart failure and heart disease. Experts suggest that tens of thousands of lives could be saved if every person aged over 60 received the immunisation. The condition itself is a viral infection that results in a painful rash. The NHS offers the protective jab, known as Shingrix, to people who have turned 65, those aged between 70 and 79, and adults aged 18 and over with a severely weakened immune system. Nearly three years ago, the health service phased out its previous vaccine, Zostavax, replacing it with Shingrix. As a non-live vaccine constructed from a specific protein on the surface of the virus, Shingrix is safer for patients with compromised immune systems. A study has found the current NHS vaccine …

How can I convince NHS pensions that I am not dead? | Pensions

How can I convince NHS pensions that I am not dead? | Pensions

Published by Sam Flores

I stopped receiving my NHS pension in May and, when I rang to ask why, I was informed that I was deceased. I have repeatedly called to no avail and my emails have received auto-generated responses. The same thing happened last December and I was without my pension for four months, during which I had to borrow from my brother. That time, I was told that someone had changed my account details and my pension had been paid to the wrong person. The problem was sorted out after I sent identity verification, and now here I am again, only this time I’m apparently dead. My husband and I are under severe financial distress because of this error and are in dread of the end-of-month bills. IM, Cape Town Your plight has echoes of the Teachers’ Pensions fiasco in which retired teachers had their income stopped after they were declared dead by the system. You worked in the NHS for 11 years before retiring to your native South Africa in 2015. The blunder has left you …

NHS rolls out new treatment to prevent kidney transplant rejections

NHS rolls out new treatment to prevent kidney transplant rejections

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the Well Enough newsletter with Harry Bullmore for tips on living a healthier, happier and longer life Get the Well Enough email with Harry Bullmore Get the Well Enough email with Harry Bullmore The NHS is introducing a “double matching” blood process for kidney transplant patients to help ensure donated organs are less likely to be rejected. In addition to ensuring blood types match, scientists will now align white blood cells as closely as possible. NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) stated that the initiative could potentially prevent 100 kidney transplants from being rejected each year. Health leaders also hope the move will decrease the number of individuals waiting years for an organ, with some patients currently remaining on the waiting list for decades. Health service officials are rolling out the scheme nationwide for all kidney transplant patients following a successful pilot at London’s Hammersmith Hospital and the Royal Free. Approximately two in every five kidney transplant recipients require blood transfusions either before or after their operation. After a transfusion, some individuals produce antibodies; if …

‘We’re seeing lots of people who feel dizzy’: how heatwaves are taking a toll on people’s health and the NHS | NHS

‘We’re seeing lots of people who feel dizzy’: how heatwaves are taking a toll on people’s health and the NHS | NHS

Published by Jenni Sidey

“The big thing A&E doctors are seeing during extreme heat now is falls in the elderly,” says Dr Adrian Boyle, an A&E consultant at Addenbrooke’s hospital in Cambridge. “During this summer’s five heatwaves I’ve seen elderly people get light-headed and dizzy and fall down a whole flight of stairs and break multiple bones, purely because of the heat. The last fall down stairs because of the heat resulted in multiple broken ribs, a wrist and her lower leg. “These are often elderly people who are taking diuretics – water tablets, to get rid of body fluid – or drugs for high blood pressure. It’s a good thing, most of the time, to be taking them. “But in this weather, that can make people feel very, very light-headed quickly. We’re seeing lots of people who feel very dizzy, some of whom have fallen over and hurt themselves as a consequence. “I’m struck by how quickly such accidents happen and how long they take to get over. A wrist fracture can take a couple of months and …

NHS midlife health MoT slashes risk of early death, study reveals

NHS midlife health MoT slashes risk of early death, study reveals

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the Well Enough newsletter with Harry Bullmore for tips on living a healthier, happier and longer life Get the Well Enough email with Harry Bullmore Get the Well Enough email with Harry Bullmore Attending a midlife health MoT reduces the likelihood of dying in the decade following the appointment, according to new research. The NHS Health Check provides a 20-minute consultation for people aged between 40 and 74, aimed at identifying their risk of developing specific medical conditions. Following their assessment, patients receive personalised guidance tailored to their personal results. The study analysed records from more than 150,000 London residents compiled between 2009 and 2023. Investigators evaluated the mortality risk of 42,000 individuals who accepted an invitation for an NHS Health Check, contrasting their outcomes against 116,000 people who chose not to participate. Those who underwent at least one appointment were projected to have a 32 per cent lower risk of death over a 10-year period compared with those who never attended a check. Older people eligible for the check appeared to reap the …

Patients refusing to be treated by non-white staff as NHS reports shocking rise in racism | UK News

Patients refusing to be treated by non-white staff as NHS reports shocking rise in racism | UK News

Published by Sam Flores

NHS staff have been called “dirty foreigners” and “monkeys” amid a “noticeable” and “unacceptable” rise in racism from patients, a survey has found. The Society of Radiographers (SoR) said the trend over the past 18 months is a “poor reflection” on society and described the behaviour as “unconscionable”. Some have even been refused to be treated by non-white staff, a poll of its members revealed. A sonographer in the Midlands, of Asian descent, said several patients have said to her: “This country isn’t the same, with all those people coming over here, taking our jobs.” She said such incidents had become “more prevalent”, blaming “the media and certain political parties” where people “are openly expressing” such views. Paul Awah, a Bedfordshire-based diagnostic radiographer originally from Nigeria, added: “It’s definitely got worse – people are more expressive now. “What used to be something people wouldn’t say – now the rhetoric has changed.” Mr Awah also claimed he had experienced patients telling him they cannot understand him, even though English is the only language he speaks. Other …