• The teenager is being assisted in his fight for action by The Good Law Project
• It says the NHS has ‘legal obligation’ to provide specialist care within 18 weeks
• But the average waiting time for a first appointment is 18 months, group says
• NHS England insists an independent review into the service is already underway

A transgender teenage boy is launching legal against against NHS England over delays to gender reassignment treatment, having waited more than a year for a referral to the specialist clinic.

The 14-year-old is being assisted in his fight by The Good Law Project, which says the NHS has ‘a legal obligation’ to provide specialist care, or an alternative, within 18 weeks.

However, the average waiting time for a first appointment with the Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS), based at London’s Tavistock Centre, is 18 months, the organisation says, with some even waiting up to four years.

This is not even to actually get what the NHS describes as fully reversible puberty blockers, but just to begin the process of being assessed for eligibility.

Some 10,000 more young people have been referred to the already over-subscribed GIDS, according to figures obtained by the BBC.

NHS England says an independent review into the service has been launched, and insists any legal action ‘will only cost taxpayers’ money and not help the actions already under way’.

The service, which is run by the Tavistock and Portland NHS Foundation Trust, provides support to people under the age of 18 who experience difficulties related to their gender identity.

Reece, who came out to friends and family in primary school, told the BBC he would not want to bring such action ideally, but felt he didn’t have a choice as ‘nobody else is sticking up for trans young people’.

He added: ‘I know more than 30 trans people, from school and LGBT groups. Everybody’s been waiting for months, or even years, but nobody’s been able to get in yet.

‘It’s scary because it shows the service isn’t available to the people who need it.’

In a statement he added: ‘The length of the NHS waiting list means the treatments which are essential for my wellbeing are not available to me.

‘By the time I get to the top of the list it will be too late, and in the meantime I suffer the fear and terror that gender dysphoria causes, every day.’ 

Gender dysphoria is when a person feels a sense of unease because of a mismatch between their biological sex and their gender identity.

The NHS announced in September that an independent review into GIDS would be carried out.

An NHS England spokesman said it would include ‘how and when’ young people are referred to specialist services.

Jolyon Maugham QC, director of the Good Law Project said: ‘Whatever your views about the right treatment regime for young people with gender dysphoria, it can’t be right that they face lengthy waiting lists – on some reports up to four years – for a first appointment.

‘Children are losing the opportunity to be seen within a window in which they can secure effective treatment and so are, in practice, being denied access to that treatment.’

The Good Law Project said the case was not about the treatment GIDS should provide, but the ‘lengthy delays’ in accessing it.

The GIDS’ website says it is aware that young people are having to wait a ‘long’ time for their first appointment. 

An NHS England spokesperson said: ‘There has been more than a 500% rise in the number of children and young people being referred to the Tavistock’s gender identity service since 2013 as more people come forward for support and treatment.

‘The NHS has already asked Dr Hilary Cass to carry out an independent review including how and when children and young people are referred to specialist services, so legal action against the NHS will only cost taxpayers’ money and not help the actions already under way.’

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• Dawn Wilson, from South Lanarkshire, received leaflet on weight loss after birth
• Claimed was visited only once by health visitor after birth of her daughter Ava
• Said the NHS should be more understanding and supportive of new mothers

A new mum has slammed her local NHS trust for fat-shaming her with an ‘insulting’ weight loss leaflet just seven weeks after she gave birth. 

Dawn Wilson, from Forth, South Lanarkshire, received the ‘cheeky’ fact sheet titled ‘top 10 tips for achieving a healthy weight after having a baby’ on Friday morning. 

The 29-year-old gave birth to her first child Ava McGilvray in August and claims she has only been seen once by a health visitor. 

When she read through the list, she noted it advised mums to ‘attend a postnatal exercise class’ despite most being cancelled. 

The senior care assistant has now called on the NHS to ‘be more forgiving’ of new mums and stop shaming them for eating a ‘chocolate biscuit’. 

NHS Lanarkshire said sending out leaflets like this was ‘not their usual practice’ and confirmed they were looking into the circumstances. 

Dawn said: ‘I was shocked to receive this. How cheeky of them to insinuate I need to lose weight, given that nobody has seen me for almost six weeks. 

‘I find it rather insulting. My health visitor has seen my baby once at one-week-old and is due on Monday for her development check at seven-weeks-old. 

‘They have no idea the efforts I may or may not be doing to already lose weight. 

‘It would also be nice to get something about mental health in there [on the list]. I don’t think my main focus right now is on my body. 

‘It took nine months of stretching my stomach – it won’t go down overnight. 

‘Of course my stomach is still wobbly, it had a baby grow in there for nine months and not even two months later it’s expected to be back to normal. 

‘I think personally maternity services are shocking during this. Then to add insult to injury I get a letter implying I could use losing some weight when woman’s mental health is under stress with everything else. 

‘They need to be more forgiving to people who have just had babies. Focus more on being positive and promoting positive mental health than making mums feel guilty for having a takeaway or a chocolate biscuit.’

Since going on maternity leave and giving birth to little Ava, Dawn admits she has sometimes turned to convenience foods if the infant is ‘grumpy and crying’. 

But despite her occasional quick meal, Dawn believes mums shouldn’t be shamed – especially when most of their options for socialising with new mums have been cancelled. 

Dawn said: ‘Newborns are stressful to the best of minds, never mind during a global pandemic with cheeky letters saying to put down the chocolate bar. 

‘If my baby is grumpy and crying and just wants to be held, then of course I’m going to make chicken dippers and chips for me and my partner over a homecooked lasagne. 

‘[They] don’t know if I have gone down to my pre-pregnancy weight, which I feel I have. All my clothes fit me again.

‘The healthy eating part isn’t really even the insulting part, but I find it highly ironic they are recommending fitness classes given they are all shut due to COVID. 

‘We’ve had no antenatal classes, no normal maternity services, there are no baby classes currently. 

‘The wording could be less [focused on] you needing to lose weight after having a baby and [instead] “Here are the tips we have and the classes you need”. 

‘It could have something a bit more positive like “we understand focus is on your newborn and time is mainly on their needs, but think about your own”. 

‘I feel a bit robbed of maternity leave given that I’m stuck at home with my baby. I’m not allowed visitors, no classes and I can’t visit anyone.’ 

Lynsey Sutherland, associate nurse director of children’s services and family nurse partnership, South Lanarkshire Health and Social Care Partnership, said: ‘We aim to provide the highest standard of care to all our patients and we regret any instance where someone feels we have not met this standard. 

‘We do not routinely send out letters to new mothers but information is provided as part of a ‘first visit’ pack issued by health visitors during home visits. 

‘If Dawn wishes to provide any feedback in relation to her recent post-natal care, I would ask that she contact our patient affairs department who will be happy to assist. 

‘We cannot confirm sending out the leaflet as it is not our usual practice, but we are currently looking into the circumstances.’ 

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Up for sale or not, the National Health Service was unsurprisingly a key battleground in the UK election campaign.

It was mentioned no less than a combined 78 times in the Conservative and Labour Party manifestos.

Political leaders understand the importance to voters of the health systems upon which they rely. But the economic burden of ill health, and particularly obesity, is not something that has been debated at length.

This despite the fact that a failure to address the challenge posed by the obesity epidemic will place an even greater strain on NHS resources.

Passing mentions to the prevention of disease in their manifestos aside, our would-be leaders could do so much more to highlight the human and financial toll of obesity and how by addressing these, the NHS could be made more economically viable and sustainable.

The costs of obesity are well known, not least to the current government. Public Health England states that the “annual spend on the treatment of obesity and diabetes is greater than the amount spent on the police, the fire service and the judicial system combined”.

Nearly a third of children in the UK are overweight or living with obesity and that figure rises to two thirds in adults. The UK is unlikely to meet the World Health Organization target of halting the rise of childhood obesity by 2025. It is not alone.

The post Why Britain’s government should prioritise obesity to relieve NHS pressure appeared first on MyMedicPlus.

A letter dated January 1990 shows a Scottish facility had spare capacity to produce the blood clotting agent Factor VIII, used to treat haemophiliacs.

Instead, English health authorities continued to import large amounts of Factor VIII from risky sources abroad.

Much of this blood was contaminated with HIV, the virus that causes Aids.

The contaminated blood scandal has been labelled “the worst treatment disaster in the history of the NHS”, leaving thousands of patients infected with hepatitis and HIV, and causing many early deaths.

Most of those involved had the blood-clotting disorder haemophilia and relied on regular injections of Factor VIII.

In the 1970s and 80s the UK was struggling to keep up with demand, and imported supplies from the US where blood plasma often came from donors such as prison inmates or drug addicts, who were at higher risk of blood-borne viruses.

‘Grave error of judgement’

Haemophiliacs were unaware they were receiving contaminated Factor VIII, and even after the risks became better understood, some of these products remained in circulation.

• What is the contaminated blood scandal?
• Blood inquiry seeks answers at last

The latest document was released under the Freedom of Information Act to campaigner Jason Evans, whose father died in 1993 having contracted hepatitis and HIV.

In it, Prof John Cash, a former director of the Scottish Blood Transfusion Service, said the decision not to use Scotland’s spare capacity to produce Factor VIII for England was “a grave error of judgement”.

Scotland had been virtually self-sufficient in the manufacture of its Factor VIII which took place at the Protein Fractionation Centre (PFC) in Liberton, a suburb to the south of Edinburgh.

The letter said the Scottish PFC had “very substantial” spare capacity, which had been verified during an experiment at the centre.

Mr Cash wrote: “It was assumed by those of us on the shop floor that this experiment would expedite arrangements to give England and Wales assistance – but nothing materialised.”

Mr Cash also spoke of “serious defects in the operational liaison” between the Scottish Home and Health Department and the Department of Health and Social Services in England.

He had attempted to “persuade on numerous occasions” those higher up of the need for joint working, but to no avail.

He added: “I sense the ineptitudes of the past – 1970s and 1980s – are about to catch up with us.”

Mr Evans, founder of the Factor 8 campaign group, said: “This is an incredible piece of evidence.

“We have testimony in black and white here, from a very senior source, which effectively shows hundreds of HIV infections within the haemophilia community could and should have been prevented.

“The statistics say it all – 59 haemophiliacs were infected with HIV in Scotland, as opposed to 1,243 in England, where a high proportion of HIV-infected Factor VIII from the US was used.

“It fills me with a distinct sense of horror that so many of these people would still be alive if it were not for the total negligence that took place.”

Janet and Colin Smith’s son Colin died aged seven.

Colin was born with haemophilia – but it was the treatment he was given that killed him.

In June 1983, eight weeks before he was first treated, a letter was sent out to haemophilia centres recommending children should be treated with NHS concentrates, not US Factor VIII.

But the guidelines were not followed and Colin was given his first dose of American concentrate shortly before his first birthday.

The couple were eventually told in a hospital corridor their son had tested positive for HIV.

The couple say they became known as “the Aids family” and were forced to move. “It was written on the side of the house… just ‘AIDS’ in big capital letters.

“Towards the end, we were picking up our son in sheepskin because we’d hurt him – he’d lost so much weight,” Mrs Smith says.

“I miss him so much some days… he could have lived a normal life. Such a lovely little boy. Just so unnecessary.”

Des Collins, senior partner of Collins Solicitors, representing 1,400 victims and families, said self-sufficiency in Factor VIII was one of the main issues being investigated by the current public inquiry into contaminated blood.

He added: “It is obvious that had the UK produced more of its own Factor VIII products, which this evidence makes clear was entirely possible, there would have been far fewer HIV infections.”

In 2016, former health minister Lord Owen said his pledge to make the country self-sufficient in Factor VIII was derailed in the early years of Margaret Thatcher’s first government.

He said “that programme was effectively starved of money, blocked and they gave up self-sufficiency”.

In 2017, Prof Cash told a BBC Panorama programme that “if you look at the difference between England and Scotland in terms of the outcomes, you have to conclude, that it was not unavoidable, it was avoidable.”

A Department of Health and Social Care spokeswoman said: “The infected blood tragedy should never have happened and the ongoing public inquiry was set up to get to the truth and give families the answers they deserve.

“We are committed to being open and transparent with the inquiry and have waived the usual legal privileges to assist the process.”

The infected blood inquiry will resume its public hearings in February.

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The number of people in England who are obese has almost doubled over the past 20 years to 13 million, which is just under 30% of the population.

Health experts said the dramatic rise in the number of dangerously overweight people was a damning indictment of the government’s failure to tackle the obesity crisis.

While about 6.96 million people aged 16 and above in England were obese in 1997, that had soared to just over 13 million by 2018, according to analysis by the charity Diabetes UK.

Over the same period the proportion of people over 16 who had a body mass index (BMI) of at least 30 – the definition of obesity – also increased sharply from 18% to 29%.

The surge in obesity is adding to the strain on the NHS because it is leading to more patients needing care for related conditions such as cancers, heart attacks and strokes, and also knee replacements.

“The rise in obesity in England is alarming, and shines a harsh and necessary light on the need for urgent, decisive, action from government and industry to make our society healthier,” said Chris Askew, Diabetes UK’s chief executive.

The Obesity Health Alliance, a coalition of health and medical groups, said the increased prevalence of foods high in fat, salt or sugar was an important factor.

“In the last 20 years our food environment has become increasingly flooded with calorific and sugary processed food and we are now paying the price with our health,” said Caroline Cerny, the OHA’s alliance lead.

The number of people who are obese topped 10 million for the first time in 2008. Since then it has risen again to the 13 million seen in 2017, according to Diabetes UK’s calculations.

The charity arrived at the figures by applying statistics from the annual Health Survey for England showing the percentage of the population who are obese, to Office for National Statistics data for the size of England’s population every year since 1997.

“People want to make healthier choices. But without bold measures in place to support this on a societal level, individuals are left confused, stigmatised and unsupported,” added Askew. “It’s easy to blame individuals, but we need to look at the environment we all exist within to understand how we’ve reached this point. And we need bold leadership from the very top to turn the tide on the obesity and type 2 diabetes crises.”

Rachel Batterham, the Royal College of Physicians’ special adviser on obesity, said: “This report offers a truly damning picture of the state of our nation’s health. Obesity not only drastically diminishes the quality of people’s lives, often leading to devastating diseases such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and certain cancers and causing people to die prematurely. It is a complex, chronic, progressive disease driven by factors such as genetics, environment, and health inequalities.

“It is governments, not individuals, which can have an impact on the food environment through regulation and taxation, and by controlling availability and affordability.”

Being obese represents 80% to 85% of a person’s chances of developing type 2 diabetes, according to Diabetes UK.

The spread of obesity has been accompanied by a sharp rise in the number of people diagnosed with diabetes. There are thought to be 3.7 million diabetics in England, though of those 850,000 remain unaware that they have it, the charity said.

Simon Stevens, chief executive of NHS England, has warned that “obesity is the new smoking” and has called for bolder action to reduce sugar intake and promote healthier diets.

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The NHS has responded to research which has found the best time of day to take blood pressure medication.

The information comes following a new study conducted by several institutions in Spain. The results suggest tablets for high blood pressure worked significantly more when taken before bed.

The Spanish government-funded research involved roughly 20,000 participants whose condition was monitored during a six-year follow-up period while using the medication.

The findings of the study suggest there is nearly a fifty percent less chance of suffering a stroke or heart attack if tablets are taken at night.

And now the NHS has shared its own thoughts on the strudy explaining weather or not it agrees the medication is best taken later in the day.

The study was a randomised controlled trial which aimed to see if blood pressure tablets worked better if taken in the morning or the evening.

It was conducted across forty Spanish GP surgeries  for ten years from 2008, with the subjects being adults who had been diagnosed with high blood pressure.

These 19,084 participants had been prescribed various types of medication for the condition prior.

Half of the participants, who had an average age of 60, were told to take the medication once awake in the morning, while the rest were told to take it before bedtime.

The group were followed up with a clinic assessment once a year – including having blood tests – with researchers having a particular interest strokes, heart attacks, or death from cardiovascular disease.

What were the findings?

The average follow-up was around six years, during which nine percent of participants experienced at least one of the main cardiovascular outcomes.

Researchers found those taking blood pressure tablets at night had a 45 percent lower risk of any of these events, compared to those who took medication earlier on. 

Clinical assessments during follow-up included a 48-hour blood pressure monitoring, which revealed that patients taking their tablets at bedtime had lower blood pressure during the night.

However, there was no discernible difference in the rate of blood pressure or side effects from treatment experienced between the groups.

The researchers concluded that taking blood pressure medication at bedtime results in “improved blood pressure control” and a “markedly diminished occurrence of major cardiovascular disease events.”

What has the NHS said?

The NHS primarily had praise for the new study, referring to it as a “valuable trial” in investigating the best time to take blood pressure medication.

It stated that the research had “particular strengths,” such as a long duration of follow up, and a large sample size.

The health body said that the results “suggest that the timing of taking medicines can make a real difference,” commenting that this “lends support” to previous studies with similar findings.

And for patients considering changing their routine, the NHS reminded that, under current guidelines, the various blood pressure medicines “do not have strict prescribing information on when during the day they need to be taken.”

People taking diuretics (water tablets) are warned to continue taking the medication in the morning, to prevent the need to urinate throughout the night.

But whilst there appears to be some flexibility in when to take blood pressure medication, the NHS asserted that the recent findings need to be “validated in other study populations” aside from those in Spain.

It said that, once further conclusive evidence had been recorded, changes to how professionals prescribe such medication could change.

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High blood pressure rarely shows noticeable symptoms so the only way to find out if your blood pressure is high is to have it checked, either by a GP or pharmacist or using a blood pressure monitor at home. Uncontrolled high blood pressure can cause the arteries to thicken, increasing the risk of heart attack and stroke, so doing what you can to lower a reading after a diagnosis or keeping blood pressure in check is very important. A healthy diet low in salt and high in fruit and vegetables, regular exercise and not smoking are three major ways to lower blood pressure, according to the NHS. But research over the years has also suggested a natural supplement can have a positive effect on blood pressure.

Garlic has been used as a spice, food and medicine for over 5000 years and is one of the earliest documented herbs utilised for the maintenance of health and treatment of disease.

Proponents suggest that consuming boric as food or taking garlic extract in dietary supplement form can help treat high blood pressure or stop high blood pressure setting in.

According to the National Institutes of Health, garlic seems to be able to modestly reduce blood pressure.

A lot of research has thrown up exciting possibilities for individuals wishing to take a natural approach to blood pressure control.

One of the best natural remedies for lowering blood pressure is taking a garlic supplement.

It’s recommended that a dose of 600-900mg per day of garlic has been shown to bring about significant reductions in blood pressure in those suffering from hypertension.

A study by the US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health looked at the potential of garlic in lowering high blood pressure.

The study examined garlic supplements and how they could help treat uncontrolled hypertension and lowering blood pressure. The conclusion of the study indicates that garlic can have an affect on blood pressure, even in people who have high blood pressure.

The study proved that garlic, in particular in the form of the standardisable and highly tolerable aged garlic extract, has the potential to lower blood pressure in hypersensitive individuals similarly to standard blood pressure mediation. 

The available research on garlic and blood pressure includes a report published in BMC Cardiovascular Disorders. In the report, scientists analysed 11 previously published clinical trials and found that garlic was superior to placebo in reducing blood pressure among people with hypertension.

Results revealed that the use of garlic was associated with a decrease in blood pressure among patients with elevated systolic blood pressure. participants without elevated systolic blood pressure.

While increasing your intake of garlic may help enhance your health and protect against high blood pressure, garlic supplements should not be used as a substitute for standard care of hypertension.

In addition to raising your risk of heart disease, heart attack, and stroke, uncontrolled high blood pressure may lead to major health issues like kidney damage and vision loss.

Uncontrolled high blood pressure is also linked to memory impairment.

If you’re considering the use of garlic in the treatment of high blood pressure, make sure to consult your GP prior to starting your supplement regimen.

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Halsey has had some great news about her fertility following an an agonising battle with endometriosis. The ‘Nightmare’ singer has been extremely honest about her condition, which has caused her chronic pain. She has also donated and raised over $300,000 for endometriosis research and support.

Endometriosis is when tissue similar to the lining of the womb starts to grow in other places, like the ovaries and fallopian tubes. Endometriosis can have a significant impact on a woman’s day-to-day activities and, according to the NHS, can cause difficulty getting pregnant. Research from Endometriosis UK suggests that the condition affects 10% of women world wide. 

Halsey has always thought she would struggle to have children because of the condition and had plans to freeze her eggs this summer. She has also previously spoken about how endometriosis could have caused her three miscarriages and it’s possible it could have stopped her from ever carrying a child full term.

Thankfully, Halsey (who has previously admitted to having had four surgeries for endometriosis) revealed that following surgery and some lifestyle changes her health has drastically improved and she no longer dreads her periods, that have hospitalised her in the past. 

Speaking to Rolling Stone, Halsey said that her doctor has advised that she doesn’t even need to freeze her eggs when she wants to conceive.

“I was like, ‘Wait, what did you just say? Did you just say I can have kids?’ It was like the reverse of finding out you have a terminal illness,” she explained. “I called my mom, crying.” 

Halsey, who is currently dating musician YUNGBLUD, has previously said in a since-deleted Instagram post she’s “dying” to have her own baby after spending some time with her manager’s adorable daughter. In the interview, she then joked with her assistant Maria that they had a “pregnancy pact” which means they have to get pregnant together.

She continued: “Never mind. I don’t need to put out a third album. I’m just going to have a baby.”

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