Exclusive: PM’s outspoken attack on stoppages planned for 17-22 December risks inflaming tensions with medics * Keir Starmer: Resident doctors, a fair deal is on the table. Please do not strike at this moment of crisis for the NHS Keir Starmer has said it is “frankly beyond belief” that resident doctors would strike during the NHS’s worst moment since the pandemic, in remarks that risk inflaming tensions with medics. Writing for the Guardian, the prime minister made an outspoken attack on the strikes planned for 17-22 December for placing “the NHS and patients who need it in grave danger”. Continue reading...

Some businesses still waiting for final EHRC guidance while firms that moved early to exclude trans people show no sign of backtracking

Researchers say low- and no-calorie sweeteners appear to affect thinking and memory in middle age

A plain English guide to what the Peggie judgment actually decided

Health secretary has asked experts to investigate whether normal feelings have become ‘over-pathologised’ The health secretary, Wes Streeting, has ordered a clinical review of the diagnosis of mental health conditions, according to reports. Streeting is understood to be concerned about a sharp rise in the number of people making sickness benefits claims because of diagnoses for mental illness, autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), the Times reported. He has asked leading experts to investigate whether normal feelings have become “over-pathologised”, the newspaper said, as he seeks to grapple with the 4.4 million working-age people now claiming sickness or incapacity benefit. The figure has risen by 1.2 million since 2019, while the number of 16 to 34-year-olds off work with long-term sickness because of a mental health condition is said to have grown rapidly in the same period. Streeting told the Times he knew from “personal experience how devastating it can be for people who face poor mental health, have ADHD or autism and can’t get a diagnosis or the right support”. He added: “I also know, from speaking to clinicians, how the diagnosis of these conditions is sharply rising. “We must look at this through a strictly clinical lens to get an evidence-based understanding of what we know, what we don’t know, and what these patterns tell us about our mental health system, autism and ADHD services. “That’s the only way we can ensure everyone gets timely access to accurate diagnosis and effective support.” The review, which is expected to be launched on Thursday, is set to be led by Prof Peter Fonagy, a clinical psychologist at University College London specialising in child mental health, with Sir Simon Wessely, a former president of the Royal College of Psychiatry, acting as vice-chair. Continue reading...