What the papers said in the week ending 16 October 2021
Not a week for faint hearts – Finding the good news stories relating to older people is not easy:
A parliamentary report tells us the Covid-19 Pandemic has been very badly managed in this country: Covid response ‘one of UK’s worst ever public health failures’ | Health policy | The Guardian
- Yet there is little hope that lessons will be learned: The Covid report should damn this government: it’s tragic that it won’t | Marina Hyde | The Guardian
- Current figures show that Covid-19 is present in larger numbers here than in other West Europe countries: UK’s high Covid case rates buck trend as western Europe outperforms east | Coronavirus | The Guardian
- Why Britons are tolerating sky-high Covid rates – and why this may not last | Coronavirus | The Guardian
- The richest people live ten years longer than the poorest – a life-expectancy gap which has widened Life expectancy gap in England ‘a growing chasm’ exacerbated by Covid | Life expectancy | The Guardian
- We have confirmation that poor housing contributes to poor health (of the poor) Poor housing harms health of 20% of renters in England, says Shelter | Housing | The Guardian
- And an analysis concludes that austerity measures have contributed to the early deaths of 57,550 people – often old and poor Austerity in England linked to more than 50,000 extra deaths in five years | Public sector cuts | The Guardian
Care Homes are short of staff and so are unable to accept admissions: hospital beds are compromised NHS faces beds crisis as care homes stop taking patients from hospitals | Social care | The Guardian
The Care Quality Commission finds that care homes serving more self-funders provide better quality of care than those used by more residents dependent upon local authority funding Worst care homes more likely to have poorest residents, official data shows | Social care | The Guardian
Many people have begun to complain that they have difficulty obtaining an appointment with their GP. A response to this has revealed a complicated situation GPs warn face-to-face appointments plan could lead to exodus of doctors | GPs | The Guardian
Looking up and taking a wider view:
A plan to claim that IMF cash can be counted towards aid for poor counties is not well received: Rishi Sunak to save billions by counting IMF cash as aid for poor | Rishi Sunak | The Guardian
The business world is told that blind pursuit of profit is damaging the natural world: Halt destruction of nature or risk ‘dead planet’, leading businesses warn | Biodiversity | The Guardian
Similar wisdom is offered as an observation on business models which have a narrow perspective on value for money: The Guardian view on Amazon’s shops: benefit society, not just consumers | Editorial | The Guardian
The report last week about the scale of historical child abuse by the Roman Catholic Church in France, has been followed by a directive that priests must share information about such abuse even if given in a confessional Catholic priests in France ‘must report abuse allegations heard in confession’ | Catholicism | The Guardian
Some good news:
Using a cocktail of anti-cancer drugs is showing success New treatment destroys head and neck cancer tumours in trial | Cancer | The Guardian
Ultra-sound is being used to break the blood-brain barrier and allow therapies through to tumours Ultrasound trial offers hope for brain cancer patients | Medical research | The Guardian
Prisoners are allowed to join international online chess tournaments UK prisoners allowed to play chess in global online tournament | Prisons and probation | The Guardian
Finances:
The current crisis leads the Chancellor of the Exchequer to consider asking for higher taxes – but even so there is the probability of cuts in national funding for local government, further education, prisons and courts Sunak ‘planning £2bn in cuts and the UK’s highest peacetime tax rate’ | Autumn budget 2021 | The Guardian
It is difficult to understand or accept delay in the payment of state pensions UK state pension payment delays leave many in ‘dire financial straits’ | State pensions | The Guardian
Women teachers receive lower pensions than their male equivalents – Teachers’ pension scheme: female retirees receive 28% less than men | Pensions | The Guardian
Some history:
Ruthie Thompson an animator who worked with Disney from the every earliest years, has died age 111. Walt Disney Company | Film | The Guardian
Louie Wain’s cats are to feature in an exhibition – a demonstration of mental health and art Louis Wain’s anthropomorphic cats to go on display at Bethlem museum | Drawing | The Guardian
David Jolley
