Displaying items by tag: United Kingdom

Hospitals are meant to start cancer treatment within 62 days of an urgent GP referral. Government cancer strategies have always insisted that meeting that deadline is vital in order to ease patient anxiety, lower the risk of complications, and improve outcomes. It is impossible to tell exactly what impact waiting longer might have: much depends on the type of cancer and whether it is diagnosed at an advanced stage or not. Nearly three-quarters of services are failing to meet that deadline. The worst performer was the Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells trust, which saw fewer than 61% of patients within 62 days. Bosses there said they had seen a larger surge in demand than in other services. Other trusts have also pointed to increased demand, with the biggest regional centres seeing the most complex cases that tend to take the longest time.

The New IRA claimed responsibility for a sophisticated high-powered bomb under the car of a police officer, who was lucky to escape with his life. The attempted attack, at a Belfast golf course, was the first carried out by the New IRA since journalist Lyra McKee was shot dead in April. The bomb contained a mercury tilt switch; any sudden movement triggers an explosion. The device would have exploded if it was not for the level terrain the car had travelled on. An IRA statement read, ‘We were unlucky this time but we only have to be lucky once’. Two cars linked to the bomb attack were set on fire in Belfast the following day. One of the vehicles had Dublin number plates. The conflict in Northern Ireland, which has killed thousands, has political and religious roots that are centuries old. Pray for God to remove ancient spiritual stubble and roots that are still producing hatred in the land (Malachi 4:1).

Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) borrowing includes catalogue credit, store cards and retailers finance at the point of sale. New measures require retailers to present BNPL offers more clearly, give adequate explanations of costs and negative consequences; and prompt people when the 0% interest period expires to allow them to repay the full balance before incurring charges. Debt charity StepChange welcomes the modest changes, but doubts whether they will fully achieve their objective. It would like to see a closer look at the use of discounts and incentives, and would like to see continued scrutiny in this area, to ensure consumers are protected against poor practice. Citizens Advice said, ‘The new rules won’t stop people being hit by unexpected costs on unpaid amounts. To protect people better, the FCA should only allow firms to charge interest once the promotional period ends.’

Theresa May’s announcement of resignation as leader of the Conservative Party on 7 June led to many candidates setting out their stalls to succeed her. In mid-June there will be successive rounds of voting with the losing candidate being removed after each ballot until only two remain. The final two will then be voted on by the entire Conservative Party membership. The cautious and sometimes ambiguous relationship Christians should have with power and authority is most apparent in Jesus’ words, ‘Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.’ There is a God-ordained place for earthly rulers, but their authority comes under God’s ultimate rule. 1 Timothy 2:1-2 ; we are to pray for them. We don’t know who will win the Conservative leadership election, but we could consider:- Who are they leading? What is their vision for society? What is their vision based on? Do they have the character for leadership and how have they demonstrated this?

Pilgrimages are fashionable. Across the world participation in religious pilgrimages has increased by up to four times in the last 20 years. This is indicative of a spiritual searching and represents an exciting new opportunity for rural mission. Pray for churches close to established routes to serve and reach out to pilgrims by providing resources, hospitality, accommodation and explanation. Pray also for initiatives to discover, develop and promote new routes.

A Southend library is teaching primary pupils about modern views on gender identity in story-telling sessions. The free sessions are hosted by flamboyant drag king Joey Bambino who is ‘gender fluid’ and drag queen Saffron Slayter. They aim to show children as young as five that it's OK to be different. One of the LGBT stories is called When Kyla Was Kyle. The children also dressed up and played games at the ‘family’ council-backed Drag Story Time session. Opinions are split about the sessions. Some compared it to Shakespeare plays where men dress up as women, others said primary school children were ‘way too young for this sort of thing’ and it was ‘sad that so much is being pushed on to our young children these days’. A Southend Pride representative, said, ‘We’re delighted to be able to bring Joey and Saffron to the forum to host this fun-filled event for all the family.’

Campaigners for better RE say the new school inspection framework will put more pressure on schools to prioritise the subject. It is understood that two-day-long inspections will now put greater emphasis on the broad curriculum while a small number of subjects will also be chosen as a focus for examination. These subjects could include religious education. Ben Wood from the National Association of Teachers of Religious Education said, ‘Ofsted are really pushing the sense that they want a curriculum to be broad. And that means that while English, Maths and Science are important so is RE, history, geography, art, music, and PE. They are all important, they all have a role to play. It is very heartening to hear Ofsted saying that within the curriculum, RE has a crucial role to play.’ Schools must now ensure pupils can reflect their own religious beliefs as well as having knowledge and respect for others.

Lambeth Palace has hosted a conference exploring links between mental health and gardening and has called for churches to use their green space to offer ‘therapeutic gardening’. Green Health Live 2, brought together chaplains, public health experts and healthcare professionals. They showcased innovative work being done by parishes to provide therapeutic gardening spaces - and encouraged more churches to work with local mental health charities and medical professionals to do the same. A survey of clergy revealed that mental health issues were at the top of the list of problems faced in their parishes. Research shows that gardening helps to relieve the effects of depression, loneliness and a range of mental health issues, but many people, particularly in towns and cities, do not have gardens of their own. However churches often have spaces where a garden can be created to offer basic gardening experience, access to nature and companionship.

One in five girls and young women aged 16 to 24 have cut, burned or poisoned themselves, according to research that mental health experts said was ‘very worrying’. The findings, published in the Lancet Psychiatry journal, show that self-harm has risen across both sexes and all age groups since 2000. In the population as a whole it almost trebled by 2014 with the number of people cutting themselves the highest category. . They harm themselves as a way of coping with anger, tension, anxiety and depression. However, a lack of NHS services and people’s unwillingness to seek help means that more than half of those who self-harm do not receive any medical or psychological care. It is most common among females aged 16 to 24. So many young people are self-harming that it risks becoming normalised and increasing the number who kill themselves when they are older. Pray for the NHS, Education Authority and Social Services to develop teaching plans that will help people learn more appropriate ways of dealing with stress.

Mr Trump sparked controversy minutes before he landed at Stansted Airport on his state visit by calling the London Mayor a ‘stone cold loser’ on Twitter. It followed Sadiq Khan's comments that the UK should not ‘roll out the red carpet’ for Mr Trump. Simon Barrow from Christian think tank Ekklesia said Mr Trump's language was unacceptable; saying, ‘It doesn't seem very presidential behaviour and I'm tempted to ask, 'who would Jesus call a loser?' that wasn't the language of Jesus. ‘Jesus blessed the poor, he welcomed the stranger, he called on his followers to put away the sword, he honoured God's creation and he blessed those who cursed him. He joined London’s protestors as an act of Christian witness against many of the things that President Trump stands for which he believes are anti-gospel and being promoted in the name of Christianity.