Just one in five (21%) people don’t expect to need residential social care in their old age. Of those who believe they may, two-thirds (67%) thought it most likely they would need it from age 80 or older. 80% of people think average time needing care is over three years and 30% believe the average is more than five years. With a growing elderly population in the UK, social care is a key subject on the political agenda. As highlighted in the...

ONE in five people will live with sight loss in their lifetime despite at least half of all cases being avoidable[i], warns a new report published by charity Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) and high street opticians Specsavers. The alarming new statistics show that every day 250 people start to lose their sight in the UK. Women, who tend to live longer, are at greater risk than men, with one in four women set to develop sight...

Trials and tribulations on the left Health Service Journal columnist Andy Cowper says in his latest blog that Labour’s policy of saving the NHS from privatisation does not have much traction beyond the party’s political base. Can we be so sure? Is Prof Steven Hawking part of Labour’s political base? An astonishingly clever man, Hawking repeats the Tolkienesque story that all changes in the NHS are designed to replace it with a US-style health...

New data has revealed that cases of suspected carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning in children are on the rise across the UK, with cases in the West Midlands up by 58%. Campaign group Project SHOUT tracks the numbers of those attending A&E with suspected carbon monoxide poisoning, which has exposed an increase in the total number of cases of under 18s since 2015 throughout the UK, with more than 500 cases reported in the last year alone....

Rural residents are more concerned about declining healthcare services than any other issue, according to the preliminary results of a wide-ranging survey. Health topped the list of the topics of most concern to rural residents – ahead of public transport, rural housing and rural crime. The survey of 1901 people was conducted on behalf of Rural England Community Interest Company [1] by researchers from the Countryside and Community Research...

Life sciences, the development of cutting-edge medical innovations in exciting areas like biotech and genomics, is one of the most successful sectors of the UK economy. The industry generates around £66 billion each year, is twice as productive as America’s equivalent and three times more productive than Germany’s. But we can do better still, and the NHS can play a vital role in driving Britain’s future prosperity in this area. With the aim of...

People in the UK are underestimating the cost of elderly care by £7bn[i] every year, according to research from Scottish Widows’ independent think tank, the Centre for the Modern Family. On average, UK adults estimate that residential care would cost £549 a week – when in reality it costs on average £866 for a place in a nursing home – leaving a shortfall of £317 every week[ii]. More worryingly, the deficit could be significantly higher in...