The UK government has announced plans to update legislation to enable more services and individuals to provide take-home supplies of naloxone - a life-saving
opioid overdose antidote - over the next few weeks.
Naloxone can immediately reverse the effects of an opioid overdose by reversing breathing difficulties. The medicine can be administered by anyone in an emergency.
However, current legislation allows only drug and alcohol treatment services to supply it without a prescription to individuals for future use.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) confirmed on Tuesday (14 May) that more professionals, including nurses, paramedics, police officers, probation
officers and pharmacy professionals, will be able to supply the medicine without a prescription to save lives.
Health and Social Care Secretary Victoria Atkins warned that opioid addiction can ruin lives and it accounts for the largest proportion of drug-related deaths
across the UK.
The topic of death is often a sensitive and somber one, but it is also a reality that we must face. When someone passes away, there are many legal
considerations that come into play surrounding their assets, property, and final wishes.
Before delving into the specifics, you must first understand that laws and regulations surrounding death and inheritance can vary greatly depending on location.
Different countries, states, and even cities may have their own unique set of laws and procedures in place. involved. That's why you need a legal overview to
guide you through the process of protecting your rights in the case of death.
Wrongful death Lawsuits and Compensation
In the unfortunate event of a wrongful death, where a person dies due to the negligence or misconduct of another, the bereaved family may seek compensation
through legal action. Hiring a lawyer for wrongful death is the best course of action to navigate the complex legal process and ensure that your rights are
protected. Wrongful death lawsuits can cover a wide range of incidents, from car accidents to medical malpractice. The compensation awarded in these cases may
include funeral expenses, lost wages, and loss of companionship. Know that each case is unique and the amount of compensation awarded will depend on the
deceased's income and potential earnings, their age, and the extent of their financial support to their dependents.
The outbreak of Burkholderia cepacia complex (Bcc) in the UK, which is associated with contaminated eye gels imported from India, has led to the death of
one person, and many others falling ill, according to a government report.
Bcc is a group of antibiotic-resistant bacteria that are widely found within the environment. Although it rarely causes infection, it can result in severe ones in
individuals with compromised immune systems and those living with cystic fibrosis, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said.
Between January 2023 and February 2024, there were 52 confirmed and six probable cases across the UK linked to the bacteria outbreak, as revealed in the Health
Protection Report published by UKHSA.
Forty-one of these cases were hospital inpatients, 38 of which were in critical-care settings.
Twenty-five cases were considered to have "clinically significant infections attributable to Bcc", out of which 11 had eye infections, nine had respiratory
infections and four had bacteremia (bacteria entering the bloodstream).
Two individuals with cystic fibrosis (CF) were infected, and while one was treated, the other died, with the report indicating Bcc infection to have "contributed
to the death."
In 2023, almost 14,000 people in England are estimated to have died due to excessive waits in emergency departments, averaging more than 260 deaths per week,
according to new figures from the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM).
The RCEM estimate is based on a large study of NHS patients published in the Emergency Medicine Journal in 2021, which found one excess death for every 72 patients
who spent eight to 12 hours in an A&E department.
Following a Freedom of Information audit of NHS trusts, the college has found that 65 per cent of people waiting 12 hours or more in A&E were patients waiting for
a hospital bed.
NHS data for England revealed that over 1.5 million patients waited 12 hours or more in major emergency departments last year. Based on the RCEM calculation, this
indicates that over a million of those patients were waiting for a bed.
Labour's Paulette Hamilton has raised concerns regarding the increasing reliance on pharmacy technicians in clinical practice due to staffing shortages
within pharmacies.
At the recent Pharmacy Inquiry session, Hamilton highlighted the mounting pressure on technicians to take on more responsibilities beyond their qualifications,
attributing it to the launch of Pharmacy First in January.
With almost 50,000 Pharmacy First consultations conducted in the first month alone as per a report by the Company Chemists' Association, Hamilton expressed
apprehension about technicians being classified under the broad term of "pharmacy professionals," blurring the distinction between their roles and those of
clinical pharmacists.
She further drew parallels between this situation and the scrutiny faced by physician associates (PAs) in GP practices following a patient's death due to
misdiagnosis and cautioned against technicians performing tasks beyond their expertise and urged policymakers to prevent similar incidents in pharmacy settings.
Health Minister Dame Andrea Leadsom responded by defending the current approach, denying any "blurring of the edges" and emphasizing patient safety as the
top priority.
The Scottish government has appointed Christina McKelvie MSP as the new Minister for Drugs and Alcohol policy, following the resignation of Elena
Whitham MSP due to health reasons.
In a letter to the First Minister, Whitham said she was receiving treatment for post-traumatic stress, which had "greatly" affected her wellbeing.
Commenting on the news, Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) Scotland thanked Whitham for supporting them, particularly for her "efforts to bring in a new
national service to provide emergency access to supplies of naloxone."
RPS Scotland has continuously advocated for the accessibility of naloxone through all community pharmacies (for supply to people who use drugs, family, healthcare
professionals and carers), and to make it available in all clinical settings for use in emergencies.
It was also the top recommendation of their policy on Pharmacy's role in reducing harm and preventing drug deaths.
More than 7,000 hospitalisations and deaths in the UK could have been averted in summer 2022 if people had received their recommended COVID-19 vaccine doses,
a new study published in The Lancet has revealed.
The largest ever study carried out in the UK found that between a third and a half of the UK population had not had the recommended number of COVID vaccinations and
boosters by summer 2022.
In Northern Ireland, nearly 50 per cent of the population were under-vaccinated, while the proportion of under-vaccinated people in England was 45.7 per cent,
34.2 per cent for Scotland and 32.8 per cent Wales.
Researchers from the Health Data Research UK (HDR UK) and the University of Edinburgh analysed the electronic health records of 67 million residents aged 5 and
older from across the four countries during June 1 to September 30 2022.
A new study has revealed that the risk of death from COVID-19 decreases significantly after vaccination, but this protection diminishes after six months,
providing evidence for continued booster doses.
Researchers from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), who analysed more than 10 million cases of COVID-19 in adults in England between May 2020 and February
2022, found a clear association between vaccination and reduced mortality.
But they also highlighted a crucial timeframe - within six months of the last vaccine dose - when Case Fatality Risk (CFR) - the proportion of cases that resulted
in death - was consistently at its lowest across all age groups. After this, the protective benefit of the vaccine began to wane and CFR increased.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) on Thursday (30th November) announced the launch of a new suicide surveillance system, bolstering its
efforts to tackle emerging methods of suicide and clamp down on those seeking to sell dangerous products to vulnerable people.
For now, the DHSC will work with the National Police Chiefs' Council to gather near to real-time data from across the country on deaths by suspected suicide
by gender, age group and method.
The data will be obtained from individual police forces in England and the government will get it within three months of a suspected suicide, the DHSC said in
its release.
Previously, the only suicide data available at a national level was provided by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), but it could take up to 2 years for
the official ONS data to come through.
The UK is lagging behind comparable countries when it comes to cancer survival, Cancer Research UK (CRUK) has said, calling on all political parties to make
cancer a top priority in their party manifestos.
While cancer survival rates in the UK have doubled over the last 50 years, the charity warned that the hard-won progress is at risk of stalling, with NHS cancer
services in "crisis" and around half a million cancer cases a year projected by 2040.
The charity has published an ambitious cancer plan which, if adopted by the next UK government, could dramatically improve cancer outcomes and prevent 20,000
cancer deaths a year by 2040.
Called "Longer Better Lives: A Manifesto for Cancer Research and Care", the plan has been developed with the insights of cancer patients and experts from across
health, life sciences, government and academic sectors, it said.
Long waits for an ambulance or surgery led to the death of 112 people, and nearly 8,000 more people suffered harm while waiting for help in England last year.
The data from NHS England, obtained by The Guardian, show that patient deaths arising directly from care delays have risen more than fivefold over the last
three years.
In 2019, there were 21 patient deaths due to NHS care delays, and 96 people suffered "severe harm" as compared to 152 last year.
Adult mental health care was mostly affected with 471 patients experiencing harm due to delays, followed by childbirth care (253), eye problems (221), and
trauma and general surgery (207).
There has been increase of 97 percent in the overall number of people suffering some degree of harm, from 3,979 in 2019 to 7,856 in 2022.
The National Health Service (NHS) has said that the roll-out of blood-thinning drugs has helped save thousands of lives.
In January 2022, the NHS launched a drive to rapidly expand the use of life-saving direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) in people who are at increased risk of strokes.
Since then, more than 24 million prescriptions have been given to such patients and around 460,000 more people have started taking the drugs.
This prevented an estimated 17,000 strokes and 4,000 deaths in the last 18 months, as revealed by the new NHS data.
Amanda Pritchard, the NHS chief executive, hailed the "lifesaving NHS rollout" at the King's Fund annual conference.
It is part of a major NHS drive on "prevention" - to catch more killer conditions earlier and save more lives.
Scottish community pharmacies will now hold two Naloxone kits, available in either nasal spray or injectable form, essential for reversing opioid overdoses.
The Emergency Access Naloxone Scheme, which is backed by £300,000 of Scottish Government funding, began on Monday (30 October).
Drugs and Alcohol Policy Minister Elena Whitham said, "Through our National Mission to reduce drug deaths and harms, we have invested more than £3 million in
widening access to Naloxone, including through our emergency services."
Witham said this new nationwide service is a welcome addition to existing services. "Police Scotland recently completed a force-wide rollout to 12,500 officers
who have used the kits more than 300 times. According to the most recent statistics, 70 per cent of those who are at risk of opioid overdose are being provided
with a lifesaving kit," she added.
"It provides a substantial increase in life-saving emergency access and I'm grateful to all those in community pharmacies who are supporting our £250 million
National Mission to reduce drug deaths," Whitham said.
The Indian government has suspended manufacturing in over 40 pharmaceutical companies based on a risk-based assessment conducted earlier in the year across 162
firms, according to the data provided by Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya in Parliament on Thursday (Aug. 10).
"Overall, a sum of 143 show-cause notices has been issued," Mandaviya said.
There have been numerous recent incidents involving accusations from foreign countries regarding the contamination of syrups, eye drops, and ointments manufactured
in India. Countries such as the Gambia, Uzbekistan, and Cameroon have linked the deaths of 70, 18, and six children, respectively, to cough syrups contaminated in
India.
Licenses for specific products have been either temporarily suspended or fully revoked for an additional 66 companies. In one case, an FIR has been registered,
and in 21 cases, warning letters have been issued following inspections by both the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization and State authorities, the Minister
added.
Meanwhile, the Indian government has mandated rigorous testing for cough syrups before export. Starting June 1, any cough syrup must possess a government
laboratory-issued certificate of analysis before being exported, the government said in a notice dated May 22.
Cardiac surgery refers to a range of surgical procedures performed on the heart and blood vessels. These surgeries are typically performed by a cardiac surgeon, a medical professional with specialized training in the diagnosis and treatment of heart conditions.
Community pharmacies are well placed to play a role in preventing deaths from cardiovascular disease (CVD) said Director of NHS Services.
The recent analysis by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) revealed that nearly 100,000 more people with cardiovascular disease than expected have died since the
start of the pandemic in England.
Latest figures show that the number of people waiting for time-sensitive cardiac care was at a record high of nearly 390,000 at the end of April in England.
Average ambulance response times for heart attacks and strokes have consistently been above 30 minutes since the beginning of 2022, and in December 2022 they even
breached 90 minutes. The target is 18 minutes, though the Government has set a new average target of 30 minutes over 2023/24.
Director of NHS Services, Alastair Buxton, said: "It is concerning to hear that there have been tens of thousands of preventable deaths from cardiovascular
disease (CVD) since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. We share BHF's desire to see more action on preventing the causes of CVD and, subject to appropriate
funding being in place, community pharmacy teams are well placed to play a role in this.
Health authorities in India have launched an inquiry into an allegation that a local pharmaceutical regulator, in return for a bribe, helped switch samples of
cough syrups that the World Health Organization (WHO) had linked to the deaths of children in Gambia before the samples were tested at an Indian laboratory,
according to two government officials and documents reviewed by the Reuters news agency.
In an April 29 letter to the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) in Haryana state reviewed by the news agency, a lawyer named Yashpal accused the state's drug controller,
Manmohan Taneja, of taking a bribe of 50 million rupees (£481,600 approx.) from local manufacturer Maiden Pharmaceuticals to help it switch the samples before an
Indian government laboratory tested them. Maiden's factory is based in Haryana state.
Reuters points out that it was unable to independently establish that any bribes were paid.
Taneja did not respond to phone calls, messages or emails seeking comment. Maiden did not respond to requests for comment. The WHO said it had no knowledge of the
allegation.
Yashpal - who like some Indians uses only one name - did not say in the letter where he got the information, or provide evidence for his claim about the syrups made
by Maiden.
Reuters was unable to independently establish that any bribes were paid.
Pfizer said on Thursday (June 1) data from late-stage trials showed its experimental combination of antibiotics was effective in treating deadly infections caused by drug-resistant bacteria.
Deaths from antibiotic-resistant bacteria, also known as superbugs, have been on the rise globally, and health regulators have called for the development of newer
treatments as resistance to older antibiotics grows.
The late-stage studies compared the experimental combination of the antibiotics aztreonam-avibactam (ATM-AVI) and existing generic drug metronidazole with a
combination of two older antibiotics - meropenem and colistin - to treat complicated intra-abdominal infections and types of hospital-acquired pneumonia.
Hospital-acquired pneumonia occurs in patients at least two to three days after being admitted, or in those who have life-threatening lung infections with high
mortality rates and who are on mechanical breathing machines.
Pfizer said the data from the studies shows the antibiotic combination of ATM-AVI is effective and well-tolerated in treating infections caused by gram-negative
bacteria.
The cure rate in patients with complicated intra-abdominal infections with Pfizer's combination therapy, along with existing generic drug metronidazole, was 76.4%,
versus 74% using the other antibiotics.
India will make tests mandatory for cough syrups before they are exported, a government notice showed on Tuesday, after Indian-made cough syrups were linked
to the deaths of dozens of children in Gambia and Uzbekistan.
Any cough syrup must have a certificate of analysis issued by a government laboratory before it is exported, effective June 1, the government said in a notice dated
May 22 and shared by the health ministry on Tuesday.
India's $41 billion pharmaceutical industry is one of the biggest in the world but its reputation was shaken after the World Health Organization (WHO) found toxins
in cough syrups made by three Indian companies.
Syrups made by two of these companies were linked to the deaths of 70 children in Gambia and 19 in Uzbekistan last year.
"Cough syrup shall be permitted to be exported subject to the export sample being tested and production of certificate of analysis," said the notice issued by the
trade ministry.
The health ministry did not immediately respond to a query on whether testing would be required for cough syrups sold in the domestic market.
