Jacqui Wise

Australia’s social media ban for under 16s has not curbed use among adolescents, new data indicate, with researchers concluding that the current platform age verification checks are “suboptimal.”1The finding, although preliminary, has implications for the UK, which is planning a similar blanket ban on under 16s using social media platforms such as Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and X.2The observational study included 436 people aged 12 to 17 in New South Wales who were surveyed shortly before Australia’s Social Media Minimum Age Act took effect in December 2025 and again around three months later.Participants were asked about their social media habits in the past seven days and their experiences with platform verification checks and any efforts to circumvent them.More than …

Obesity is rising fastest among younger adults in England as well as those from disadvantaged groups, new research has indicated.Inequalities in obesity rates have widened since the covid-19 pandemic, according to an analysis of the electronic health records of over 54 million adults in England between 2019 and 2025.1Ministers are increasingly turning to weight loss drugs such as GLP-1s as a way to treat obesity in the UK.But the study authors warned that relying solely on such life long drug therapies was unlikely to be sufficient, or sustainable, to tackle the obesity crisis.Instead, they called for urgent preventive action to deal with the social and economic drivers of obesity and a stronger focus on populations at greatest risk.New obesity cases, defined as having a BMI of at least 30, rose from 26.3% of adults in November 2019 to 30.3% in April 2025, the study by researchers from the UK, Europe, and Australia found.The results, however, published in the journal Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology , showed considerable variation by age, sex, socioeconomic status, and ethnicity.The largest rises …

A UK coroner has warned of possible future deaths unless changes are made to how critical GP information is carried forward to a hospital assessment.1The prevention of future deaths report was issued after the death of 8 year old Ethan Hanson, who died from septic shock and perforated appendicitis.Ethan was initially assessed by a GP, who raised the alarm about the child’s condition and advised urgent emergency treatment. But a later assessment by an advanced nurse practitioner saw him treated for constipation and sent home.The case comes amid ongoing concerns2 about the scope of practice of advanced nurse practitioners and how neurodivergent children are assessed. Ethan was autistic and awaiting an ADHD diagnostic assessment at the time of the incident.On the morning of 23 April 2025 he was seen by his GP because of abdominal pain, vomiting, and concern about a serious underlying cause, including appendicitis. The GP accurately recorded a raised temperature and tachycardia and advised that Ethan should go directly to hospital with his mother.However, Linda Lee, acting …

Two non-invasive tests can now be used to speed up the diagnosis of endometriosis in primary care while further evidence of their accuracy is collected, following a recommendation from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).The tests, called “game changing” by some experts, could help cut the lengthy waiting times for a diagnosis of endometriosis in the UK, which currently stands at over nine years.1 This average wait rises to 11 years for those from ethnically diverse communities.Endometriosis affects one in 10 women of reproductive age—around 1.5 million women in the UK—and is one of the leading causes of fertility problems. It is a chronic condition in which endometrium-like tissue grows outside the uterus, most commonly in the pelvis and on organs such as the ovaries, bladder, and bowel.Currently, the only way to definitively confirm an endometriosis diagnosis is through laparoscopy, but this is invasive, …

This year’s national catch up vaccination campaign will focus on the measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella (MMRV) vaccine after two measles deaths in the first half of the year and ongoing outbreaks, NHS England has said.A large measles outbreak, mostly affecting unvaccinated children, was confirmed in northeast London earlier this year.1In June the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) reported that two children in England died from measles so far this year.2 The latest UKHSA figures show there …

The head of the NHS has warned that staff could face the sack or even prison if they access patient records without a legitimate reason.Jim Mackey, NHS England chief executive, said that NHS staff looking at medical records for personal reasons or out of curiosity was “wholly unacceptable, a disgraceful breach of patient trust and against the law.”A crackdown on unlawful access of patient data follows several instances of staff being dismissed after accessing the medical records of victims of crimes.In May, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust fired 11 members of staff and issued warnings to 14 others for inappropriately accessing the medical records of …

Variants of sexually transmitted Shigella are spreading more rapidly among sections of gay men in England than variants contracted through traditional routes including travel abroad, a study has found.Shigella is a genus of bacteria that causes shigellosis, bloody or prolonged diarrhoea that can lead to severe dehydration. It is highly contagious and is transmitted through faecal-oral contact.It has historically predominantly affected children in low and middle income countries and been a sporadic travel associated illness in other countries. But sexually transmitted strains have been rising in high income countries since the 2000s.The UK Health Security Agency has warned of a recent “sharp rise “in laboratory diagnoses of Shigella . There were 2560 recorded cases in 2025, up from 2318 in 2024 and 2052 in 2023.1The new study, published in the journal …

Regular movement, no matter how small, can have considerable health benefits, say the four UK chief medical officers, who likened exercise to a “miracle cure.”Updated guidelines on physical activity,1 issued by the chief medical officers of Wales, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and England, highlight the health benefits of light intensity activity, reducing prolonged periods of sitting, and including strength and balance exercises as part of everyday life.For the first time the guidance also emphasises that people taking glucagon-like-peptide 1 (GLP-1) drugs to combat obesity should ensure that they do activities to maintain muscle mass.It says that evidence showing that physical activity has a very positive effect on physical and mental health has become even stronger in women and men, across all ages, since the guidelines were first published in 2019.Launching the update, Chris Whitty, chief medical officer for England, said, “Previously we said the evidence in women was weak: it is now strong.”He added, “Evidence continues to show that if physical activity were a drug, we would refer to it as …

Doctors’ lives were put at risk during the covid pandemic because of shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE) and a lack of adequate planning, the UK Covid-19 Inquiry has concluded.The inquiry chair, Heather Hallett, also criticised the “vast” waste of taxpayers’ money. Of the £14.9bn spent on PPE by the UK government and devolved administrations during the pandemic, nearly two thirds—almost £10bn—went unused.“These figures demand a fundamental change in how the UK prepares for emergency procurement,” said Hallett.1 Her scathing report, focusing on procurement, found that the plans in place to respond to a pandemic were inadequate, and those that did exist had not been properly stress tested.The existing stockpile of PPE and other equipment for the UK was “inadequate to meet demand,” and the UK government and devolved administrations were “wholly unprepared” to rapidly increase the scale and speed of procurement and distribution operations, said Hallett.The lack of plans and infrastructure meant that officials had been unable to respond with sufficient speed and efficiency …

Young people aged 16 and 17 will face a default overnight social media curfew, the UK government has announced.But teenagers in this age bracket will be able to opt out by changing their account settings.Under the proposals, apps such as Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube would be set to be unavailable by default to 16 and 17 year olds between midnight and 6 am.1Addictive features such as videos that automatically play one after another and feeds that continually serve up personalised content will also be switched off by default for older teenagers.The first set of regulations on the social media restrictions will be laid before Parliament by the end of this year, with measures expected to come into force in spring 2027.The proposed changes follow the recent announcement of a ban on social media services for under 16s from spring next year.2The government said that the measures looked “to protect the next generation” and ensure that when kids turn 16 “they don’t face a cliff edge” of being exposed to the most addictive features online. …