By Jasmine Andersson & Andre Rhoden-PaulBBC News
2 hours agoAbout sharingThe NHS is to close the UK's only dedicated gender identity clinic for children and young people.
Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust has been told to shut the clinic by spring after it was criticised in an independent review.
Instead, new regional centres will be set up to "ensure the holistic needs" of patients are fully met, the NHS said.
The trust said it supported plans for a new model due to a rise in referrals.
The changes will take place after an independent review,
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By Michelle RobertsDigital health editor
13 hours agoAbout sharingUS health officials say they have found a rare but dangerous type of bacterium in soil and water samples in the Gulf Coast region of Mississippi.
The bug, called Burkholderia pseudomallei, can make some people extremely sick if they become infected.
Most healthy people who come into contact will not develop the serious illness called melioidosis, which can be treated with antibiotics.
Medics are now on alert for any possible cases.
Melioidosis can occur in people who have
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19 hours agoAbout sharing
Women going through menopause should be given greater rights and protection in the workplace, MPs say.
The Women and Equalities Committee said a lack of support in the UK was pushing women out of work.
The cross-party group wants menopause to become a protected characteristic like pregnancy, to give working women more rights.
Offering menopause leave should also be piloted at a large public-sector employer, the MPs said.
Trans menCaroline Nokes, who chairs the committee said: "Stigma, shame and dismissive cultures can, and must, be
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2 days agoAbout sharingEd Sheeran is currently on his Mathematics World Tour
Some NHS and emergency service workers who received promo tickets for Ed Sheeran's Glasgow concert have had them cancelled hours before the gig.
They were bought under the Blue Light Card scheme - which also offers discounts to staff from social care sector and armed forces.
Ticketmaster said that its allocation of Blue Light tickets had been cancelled by the event organiser.
AEG Presents said the event at Hampden Park had been oversubscribed.
Sheeran played the first of two dates on
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By Jim ReedHealth reporter
3 days agoAbout sharingDelays unloading ambulances at busy hospitals are causing serious harm to patients, a safety watchdog is warning.
The Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch has been investigating how the long waits are delaying 999 emergency response times across England.
Kenneth Shadbolt, 94, waited more than five hours for an ambulance after a bad fall - an accident that proved fatal.
Logs show that in his final 999 call he asked: "Can you please tell them to hurry up
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By Michelle RobertsDigital health editor
3 days agoAbout sharingTwo new fast-spreading subvariants of Omicron are causing fresh surges of Covid around the world.
BA.4 and BA.5 were first identified in South Africa and may soon become the dominant strains in Europe and the US, health experts say.
What exactly are BA.4 and BA.5?Ever since it first emerged, Covid has been mutating or shape-shifting. The new genetic versions that keep appearing are called variants.
There have been a few major variants already, such as alpha and delta, that have caused massive waves
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By Smitha MundasadHealth reporter
2 days agoAbout sharingDame Lesley has 42 years' experience working in women's healthEngland's first women's health ambassador is calling for "one-stop shops" where women can sort out their health needs.
Dame Lesley Regan, also a practising doctor, wants to make it easier for women and girls to access care such as contraception and smear tests in the community.
Her new role aims to close the "gender health gap".
She will also support the upcoming government-led
By Michelle RobertsDigital health editor
2 days agoCommentsAbout sharingCrowds flocked to the Mall leading up to Buckingham Palace to get an early taste of the Jubilee celebrationsCovid infections are up across the UK, according to latest figures that capture the Jubilee weekend of partying.
An estimated 1.4
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By Michelle RobertsDigital health editor
1 day agoAbout sharingWomen are wasting their time and money buying do-at-home menopause-testing kits, top UK doctors say.
The urine tests are not predictive enough to tell whether a woman is going through the phase when her periods will stop, they warn.
Results could cause anxiety and confusion, and might even contribute to unplanned pregnancies, says the British Menopause Society.
Manufacturers say the kits should never replace medical advice.
One company that makes them said the tests could help
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21 hours agoAbout sharing
The government is expected to reject proposals to introduce a new salt and sugar tax in England when it announces its food strategy next week.
Monday's policy paper comes after Henry Dimbleby's review recommended taxing salt and sugar used in processed foods, restaurants and catering.
Boris Johnson previously called the proposal "unattractive". But a government source stressed its strategy would promote healthier diets.
Labour said it "failed to deliver".
The government-commissioned
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By Jim ReedHealth reporter
1 day agoAbout sharingAn "unprecedented shortage" of a substitute for illegal heroin in England is putting hundreds of lives at risk, say drug workers.
Diamorphine is a pharmaceutical form of the drug prescribed when methadone and other medications are ineffective.
Former heroin users have told the BBC they have relapsed for the first time in decades as a result of the shortage.
Doctors say the problem is also affecting some end-of-life patients who are given diamorphine for pain relief.
The Department of Health says alternative
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By Nick TriggleHealth correspondent
3 days agoAbout sharingA shortage of GPs has left some areas of England having to cope with half the number of doctors than other areas, an analysis for the BBC has found.
The Nuffield Trust data showed Portsmouth, Brighton, parts of Essex and Hull had the
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By Patrick Jackson and Zubaidah Abdul JalilBBC News
2 days agoAbout sharingWatch: Cheers and beers as Shanghai eases lockdownThe Chinese city of Shanghai, the country's economic centre and a global trade hub, has eased Covid curbs after a two-month lockdown.
At midnight local time (16:00 GMT Tuesday), restrictions were relaxed to allow most people to move freely around the city of
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