Displaying items by tag: United Kingdom

Covid is on the rise again, so those feeling unwell should avoid vulnerable friends, colleagues and relatives as a precaution, say experts. 1.3 million (one in 50) have Covid, with a ‘marked increase’ in infections among over-70s. There are no new restrictions, but people are being reminded to take extra care. There are fears of a flu and Covid ‘twindemic’ this winter, and those who qualify for free jabs should get them. NHS are sending reminders out to over six million people in at risk groups. Pray for very high levels of vaccine uptake across the UK. Covid hospitalisation rates are at their highest level in months. The NHS is asking people with respiratory infection symptoms to wear a face covering.

Tenants who complain of dangerous or potentially deadly faults in privately rented homes are being let down by councils. When landlords fail to fix hazards - including serious faults that pose an immediate risk to health - councils have a legal duty to act. But the number of times councils use enforcement powers is far lower than the number of reports made. In the last five years 135,687 hazards were recorded, including 42,654 which posed an immediate risk to safety, but council action was only taken on 25,243 occasions, while less than 1% of the registered faults led to a prosecution. The housing charity Shelter said the whole system was ‘a car crash’. The private rented sector is home to 11 million people: many are young professionals who are close to buying, but there are also families and older people who will be renting for many years.

The number of patients waiting for routine hospital treatment in England has reached seven million, and 387,257 have been on the list for over a year. One in every 18 has waited more than a year to begin treatment, and 2,646 people (down from 23,778 in January) have been waiting over two years. Ambulance waiting times are also high, and the number of people waiting longer than twelve hours in A&E for a bed after being seen by a doctor also reached a new high of 32,776. Of 255,055 urgent cancer referrals made by GPs in August, only 75.6% saw a specialist within the two-week target time, the second worst performance on record. Patients hospitalised with Covid have more than doubled since September to over 10,000.

Nicola Sturgeon has been accused by Nadhim Zahawi of using ‘really dangerous’ language after she decried the Tories at last week’s Scottish National Party conference. Addressing whether she would prefer a Labour or Tory government, Ms Sturgeon said, ‘I detest the Tories and everything they stand for, so it's not difficult to answer that question’. On Labour politicians, she commented, ‘Being better than the Tories is not a high bar to cross right now. I think we need to see more of a radical alternative from Labour rather than just a pale imitation’. Ian Murray, Labour's shadow Scottish secretary, said the next electoral contest in Scotland will be a UK general election between this rotten Tory government and a new energised Labour Party fit to govern the country. Pray for our politicians to demonstrate the Kingdom values of honour, righteousness and integrity, and that they all will be united with God-given insights.

The day after the Prime Minister said she was committed to the 45p income tax cut which Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng had announced ten days earlier, he reversed the decision, saying the plans had become a ‘distraction from our overriding mission to tackle the challenges facing the country’. A few hours later former culture secretary Nadine Dorries accused the Prime Minister of ‘throwing her Chancellor under a bus’, and called for a general election. Having backed Liz Truss for Tory leadership, she now said the PM ‘must take to the country’ if she wants a new mandate, adding that there was ‘widespread dismay’ that much of the work she had done while in office was now on hold. Meanwhile, Cabinet minister Penny Mordaunt called for benefits to be increased in line with inflation - a move promised under Boris Johnson's government. Liz Truss has said her priority is ‘growth, growth, growth’ and she will challenge anyone trying to stop it.

Ofgem has said that the UK is facing ‘a significant risk’ of gas shortages this winter due to Russia's war with Ukraine. It could possibly enter a ‘gas supply emergency’, leading to supplies being cut to the power stations using gas to generate electricity. This would place firms at risk of running out of money because of huge charges they must pay if they cannot deliver electricity. SSE,which operates four gas-fired power stations in the UK, is concerned that gas-fired power stations face millions of pounds worth of penalties ‘caused by events outside their control’.

When asked if he would allow fracking in the back garden of his home in Somerset, business secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg said, ‘Yes, of course I would, particularly if I get royalties’. Fracking has been a controversial subject within local communities and amongst MPs due to its association with minor earthquakes. In 2019, at oil and gas exploration company Cuadrilla's Lancashire fracking site, over 120 tremors were recorded. Most were too small to be felt. The government recently published a new review from the British Geological Survey, considering any changes to the science around the practice. The report concluded, ‘Forecasting the occurrence of large earthquakes remains a scientific challenge for the geoscience community.’ Mr Rees-Mogg also said that the UK would build a prototype nuclear fusion power plant - ‘the first of its kind’ - in Nottinghamshire by 2040.

On 2 October health leaders advised vaccination and began calling for a return to mask-wearing, as hospitalisations for Covid rose by 37% in a week to 7,024. They said ministers needed to address staffing shortages urgently, even though the Office for National Statistics said it was too early to say if an autumn wave had begun. The Nuffield Trust revealed that record numbers of nurses were quitting the NHS, with one in nine leaving their jobs. The Royal College of Nursing has called for nurses to have access to the highest-quality PPE. Covid is killing over 300 people a week, and a new variant has been detected. A rise in cases is expected as winter approaches. Acting now to prevent further hospitalisations and deaths is crucial as new variants are causing a slight increase in infections. We can only detect Covid variants by PCR testing, and with no free tests plus economic pressures, people have become quite relaxed about coronavirus. See also

The NHS needs more black blood donors to help people with sickle cell disease. The daily demand for donations to treat the blood disorder in England is 250, but only half of all hospital requests are being met with matched blood. Sickle cell mostly affects people of black heritage, and ethnically-matched blood gives the best treatment. The disease causes red blood cells to become sticky, blocking vessels and restricting oxygen supply, triggering excruciating pain. Sadeh needs all her blood replaced every four weeks. She says, ‘Some days I struggle getting out of bed due to pain in my limbs, some days I wake up feeling great, some days I wake up in hospital, connected to machines and told that days have passed. Transfusions have saved my life many times over’. The NHS has launched a Black History Month campaign, highlighting to black communities that they have the power to treat sickle cell with life-changing blood donations.

Striking rail maintenance workers are already paid almost a fifth more than those doing comparative roles, the industry regulator has said. Independent consultants looked at total rewards, including pay, pension costs and other measurable benefits, of 64,000 railway workers. The analysis shed fresh light on the bitter industrial dispute which has led to rail strikes across the country. Workers demanding double-digit pay rises already receive salaries 18% higher than ‘market comparators’. Station staff salaries are 12% higher, and train drivers average £66,043 a year (the average UK salary is £31,876). Liz Truss is under growing pressure to follow through on her pledge to crack down on unions, amid fears that the rail network could shut down completely over Christmas. She had promised to bring in ‘tough and decisive action to limit trade unions’ ability to paralyse our economy’.