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Children in some areas of England are waiting up to 18 months on average for dental general-anaesthetic treatment and teeth extractions, an investigation reveals. Some have been left with prolonged dental pain, according to information shared with BBC News.The parents of one girl who has waited three years for extractions say the pain keeps her up at night. At the start of this year, more than 12,000 under-18s were on waiting lists for assessment or treatment at community dental service (CDS) providers, data obtained by the Liberal Democrats from the NHS Business Services Authority and shared with BBC News earlier...

The victor of the 2024 election is set to face a number of new legislative deadlines immediately upon entering office that could have drastic effects on the country’s economy. More than a dozen candidates are eyeing the Oval Office in 2024, positioning themselves as the best choice to address the nation’s cultural and economic challenges. However, upon taking office in 2024, the winner of the presidential election must deal with the impending expirations of both the 2017 tax law as well as subsidies included in Obamacare. On top of that, the debt limit bill is also set to expire just...

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — British Columbia will send hundreds of cancer patients across the international border for treatment in Bellingham beginning this week in a multimillion dollar, desperate and controversial effort to restore government funded health care to some of its most vulnerable residents. It is a highly unusual, yet not entirely unprecedented effort by the free universal health care system Canadians have long enjoyed. It will also mean two Whatcom County clinics stand to make millions in payments from the BC government. “I don't think people who are suffering right now and in this immediate period should have to...

Billionaire Hansjörg Wyss, a Swiss national who lives in Wyoming, has become a “Democrat-aligned mega-donor,” according to the Associated Press (AP), thanks to his funneling hundreds of millions of dollars to left-wing groups. “Newly available tax documents show that his giving through the Berger Action Fund, which describes itself as advocating for ‘solutions to some of our world’s biggest problems,’ swelled in 2021 to $72 million, cementing Wyss’ status as a Democratic-aligned megadonor,” the AP reports. Wyss, who built his fortune creating the medical device company Synthes USA, which was sold in 2012 to Johnson & Johnson for $20 billion,...

Deaths in England and Wales have remained above average post-Covid lockdowns, with NHS delays likely to ‘have had substantial impact’The crisis in the NHS is leading to continued higher-than-usual death levels in England and Wales, experts have said. Figures from the Office for National Statistics reveal that almost 170,000 more people than normal died in England and Wales between March 2020, when coronavirus was declared a pandemic, and the end of 2022 – 11% higher than the five-year average. However, the new data also shows that the number of excess deaths has continued, even as the virus’s fatality rate has...

"We're grieving parents. I don't want to see any more grieving parents"The grieving parents of a 20-year-old Northampton amateur footballer have questioned health authorities about the sudden death of their son - and they want answers. Luke Abrahams, from East Hunsbury, died on the operating table at Northampton General Hospital on Sunday, January 23 after first complaining about a sore throat a week before. The former Abbeyfield School student was well-known in the Northants football community, playing for Blisworth FC and Hunsbury Hawks FC and also having associations with AFC Spinney. Dad Richard Abrahams and mum Julie Needham said: "We...

Another Nova Scotia family is speaking out about the death of a loved one following a lengthy wait at an emergency department -- and they’ve created a website where others can share their own stories. Katherine Snow says her mother-in-law, Charlene Snow, died suddenly at home on Dec. 30, 2022, after she waited seven hours in the ER at the Cape Breton Regional Hospital. “I’m mad. I’m angry,” says Snow, who lives in Donkin, N.S. “She should be here.” Snow says her 67-year-old mother-in-law had jaw pain and flu-like symptoms. She was triaged, but eventually gave up after being told...

Hannah Marie's heartbroken fiancé had only 10 minutes to say goodbye to herTributes have been paid to an 'amazing' mum-of-three who died just three days before Christmas. Hannah Marie had to wait 11 hours for an ambulance just days before her death. Now her heartbroken fiancé is calling for government intervention before more people lose their lives in the NHS health crisis. Hannah, 36, started to feel unwell on December 18, so partner James Jackman called for an ambulance at 7.20pm. The Mirror reports the ambulance would not arrive at their address until the following morning at 6.15am after it...

NHS hospitals are in crisis-mode because of 'structural' problems and Britons' poor health, a Tory MP claimed today. Hospitals are buckling under winter demand, soaring rates of flu and bed-blockers. Covid's resurgence and the emergence of the XBB.1.5 'Kraken' variant are expected to cause even more chaos. A&E patients have waited up to four days for a bed. Others are treated in cupboards, corridors, meeting rooms and even outside hospitals.... ...Nearly 3,800 flu patients were in hospital each day last week, on average — up seven-fold in one month. And around 8,600 Covid patients were taking up beds on December...

A disabled veteran in Canada has slammed her government for offering to euthanize her when she grew frustrated at delays in having a wheelchair lift installed in her home. Retired Army Corporal Christine Gauthier, a former Paralympian, testified in Parliament on Thursday that a Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) caseworker made the assisted suicide offer. After years of frustrating delays in getting the home lift, Gauthier says the caseworker told her: 'Madam, if you are really so desperate, we can give you medical assistance in dying now.' The worker who made the offer hasn't been named, but they are feared to...

Data stolen from a major Australian health insurer that had earlier refused to pay ransomSydney: Hackers on Wednesday began leaking sensitive medical records stolen from a major Australian health insurer that had earlier refused to pay the group's ransom demand. Medibank told investors and customers that a "sample" of data from some 9.7 million clients had been posted on a "dark web forum". Names, birth dates, addresses, passport numbers and information on medical claims were among the sensitive personal data posted anonymously early Wednesday. Medibank said more leaks were likely.

An acute nursing shortage is clogging or even closing hospital emergency rooms across Canada, pushing an already stressed national health system to the brink with potentially severe consequences for patient care. Burnout from the Covid-19 pandemic, abuse from patients and salary discontent have seen nursing staff quitting their jobs in droves, and experts say the situation is only likely to worsen. The impact on emergency care is such that Ottawa police recently had to take a shooting victim to hospital in their squad car, rather than wait for an ambulance, and an elderly woman who fell and broke her hip...

In 2015 Canada's Supreme Court struck down bans on medically assisted suicide as a violation of citizens' liberty, writing that "An individual's response to a grievous and irremediable medical condition is a matter critical to their dignity and autonomy. The prohibition denies people in this situation the right to make decisions concerning their bodily integrity and medical care and thus trenches on their liberty. And by leaving them to endure intolerable suffering, it impinges on their security of the person." Those quotes, in a nutshell, explain why the ability to end one's life is an important freedom. Our bodies belong...

The socialised healtchare system in England failed to meet its own cancer waiting time target in 98 per cent of areas, analysis has revealed. Only two of the 107 areas in England covered by the National Health System (NHS) met the cancer waiting time target set out by NHS ENgland, which states that no more than fifteen per cent of people who revieced an urgent warning should have to wait more than two months to begin treatment. The analysis of government figures, conducted by Sky News, found that only Bolton and Calderdale, both in West Yorkshire, actually met the target,...

The mother of a baby with Down's syndrome claims she was 'pressured' into terminating her pregnancy after being told her daughter was 'not going to live'. Hetty Blakey, from Lincolnshire, says she was left feeling suicidal after staff at Lincoln County hospital 'handed her an abortion leaflet' before even confirming her daughter's condition. After seeking a second opinion privately, Hetty was told her daughter had Down's syndrome - however doctors felt no need to terminate the pregnancy for medical reasons.

Telling people they cannot quit for a better opportunity is blatantly unconstitutional. But that just happened in Wisconsin. The Appleton, Wisconsin Post-Crescent reports Fox Valley Health Care Workers Now Playing Out in Court. The seven workers quit ThedaCare, applied for positions at Ascension, and received job offers. The seven did not have contracts or obligations at ThedaCare nor did Ascension recruit those workers. Nonetheless, ThedaCare filed a lawsuit seeking to block the move. Outagamie County Circuit Court Judge Mark McGinnis granted ThedaCare's request and until at least Monday. In the complaint, lawyers for ThedaCare wrote that Ascension had "shockingly" chosen...

A great-grandfather died the day after his 80th birthday while waiting for an ambulance that should have come within 18 minutes but took two hours to arrive. Sharon Day, 79, lost her husband Ian, after he experienced excruciating chest pains at their home in the quaint village of Sturry, near Canterbury, Kent. The 999 call at just before 1am was classed as category 2, meaning the ambulance service aimed to reach him within 18 minutes. But paramedics did not get to the address in Sturry, near Canterbury, until 2.55am, after Sharon had to call them back. By the time he...

The doctor performed Caesareans on both the women in 2018. The families, who were told there were no connections between the deaths, are calling for inquests to be opened. The East Kent Hospitals Trust says it could not identify the source of the infection, and the surgeon had no history of the virus. Deaths caused by HSV-1 - one of two strains of the herpes simplex virus - are almost unheard of in healthy people. It is a common infection that can cause sores around the mouth or genitals. Yet, in May and July 2018, two young mothers died from...

Cervical cancer has been virtually eradicated in young women because of the HPV vaccine's 'remarkable' success, a major study has found. Cases of the disease have plummeted by 87 per cent as a result of the NHS vaccine programme. Among women now in their twenties — the first generation to get the jab — cases have now dropped from about 50 per year to just five. Today's 'historic' findings by King's College London represent the first evidence the HPV vaccine is saving lives in the UK. The HPV vaccine prevents infection from human papillomavirus, a common group of viruses that...

The new figures come after the tragic death of Girls Aloud star Sarah HardingThree weeks after Girls Aloud singer Sarah Harding’s death, new figures have revealed how long people in Cambridgeshire are waiting for breast cancer treatment. NHS targets say most people urgently referred by their GP for suspected breast cancer should see a specialist within 14 days. Once they have been diagnosed, patients should start treatment within two months (62 days) of being referred. However, many people in England with suspected breast cancer are not being assessed and treated within these timescales – with chances of being seen quickly...