Health

Arguments about benefits always revolve around a single concept: fairness. There are timeless questions – who is deserving and who is not? It provokes sharp opinions and so is among the sharpest of domestic political decisions a government ever has to make. There is a direct if not immediate consequence of a decision taken in Westminster on the money in …

Becky Morton Political reporter House of Commons The government has unveiled sweeping changes to the benefits system, aimed at saving £5bn a year by 2030. Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall said the overhaul would create a more “pro-work system” to encourage people to take up jobs, while protecting those who cannot work. The changes will make it harder for …

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the nation’s top health official, has an unorthodox idea for tackling the bird flu bedeviling U.S. poultry farms. Let the virus rip. Instead of culling birds when the infection is discovered, farmers “should consider maybe the possibility of letting it run through the flock so that we can identify the birds, and preserve the birds, that …

Jonathan Geddes BBC Scotland News Getty Images The three deaths occurred between 2019 and 2021 “Reasonable precautions” could have prevented the deaths of three newborn babies, a fatal accident inquiry has found. Leo Lamont, Ellie McCormick and Mira-Belle Bosch all died within hours of their births in two Lanarkshire hospitals, in 2019 and 2021. The report found all three deaths …

Brian Wheeler Political reporter PA Media The government has announced plans for major changes to the benefits system aimed at cutting the growing amount the UK spends on welfare. Stricter tests for personal independence payments (Pips) Pip is paid to people in England and Wales who have difficulty completing everyday tasks or getting around as a result of a long-term …

A Centres for Disease Control (CDC) scientist measures the amount of H7N9 avian flu virus which was grown and harvested in an unnamed CDC laboratory in 2013. — Reuters  The United States reported the first outbreak of the deadly H7N9 bird flu on a poultry farm since 2017, as the country continues to grapple with another bird flu strain that …

Some current recipients of health and disability benefits are likely to lose out under a planned overhaul of the welfare system, which is expected to tighten eligibility criteria for the Personal Independence Payment (PIP). Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall will set out how the government intends to reform the health benefits system on Tuesday afternoon, in a move aimed …

Getty Images About 6,000 community pharmacies in England are, for the first time, being advised to start “working to rule”, in two weeks, unless an agreement can be reached with the government on a new NHS contract. The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) is urging its members to limit opening hours to 40 a week, as set out in the current …

The Department of Veterans Affairs is phasing out gender-affirming medical treatments for veterans, including hormone treatment for patients newly diagnosed with gender dysphoria, the V.A. announced on Monday. The V.A. will continue hormone treatment for veterans who currently receive it or were receiving it when they separated from the military. The rationale is that abrupt cessation can be harmful to …

An Afghan girl receives a loaf of bread in front of a bakery among the crowd in Kabul, Afghanistan, August 5, 2022. — Reuters KABUL: The World Health Organisation said on Monday 80% of services that it supports in Afghanistan could shut down by June due to a funding shortage. The UN health agency said the cash shortfall, which comes …