The UK government will soon be asking lots of cat and dog owners to collect and send their pet’s poo for laboratory testing. Experts worry that some domestic animals might carry hard-to-treat superbugs – bacteria that have become resistant to common antibiotics. These can spread to people through close contact with pets, such as kissing […]

Jan, from Kent, was one of the first people in the world to take part in the trials of semaglutide. It is sold as Wegovy for weight-loss and as Ozempic for diabetes, although some people have been buying this version to lose weight. We all know somebody like Jan, who has tried every diet, and

Philippa Roxby Health reporter BBC They are the bête noire of many nutritionists – mass-produced yet moreish foods like chicken nuggets, packaged snacks, fizzy drinks, ice cream or even sliced brown bread. So-called ultra-processed foods (UPF) account for 56% of calories consumed across the UK, and that figure is higher for children and people who

BBC It had been the NHS’s longest-running and bitterest pay dispute – responsible for hundreds of thousands of cancelled operations and appointments. And then, suddenly, word came on Monday that the British Medical Association was recommending that its 50,000 junior doctor members accept a fresh offer from the new government. It sounded almost too good

Catherine Burns Health Correspondent BBC The number of people taking ADHD medication is at a record high – and the NHS is feeling the strain as it tries to diagnose and treat the condition. Since 2015, the number of patients in England prescribed drugs to treat ADHD has nearly trebled, and BBC research suggests that

Covid Inquiry Tamsin Mullen was giving evidence to the Covid inquiry about the impact on maternity services A mother of premature twins has told the Covid inquiry she did not feel like she was treated as a parent after giving birth in the early stages of the pandemic. Tamsin Mullen said she was kept in

Getty Images Intensive-care units came under severe strain during Covid, the inquiry has heard (stock photo) At least one NHS trust put in place a blanket “do-not-resuscitate” order for sick patients in the pandemic, the Covid inquiry has heard. It would mean individuals were considered ineligible for potentially lifesaving CPR, solely on the basis of

An urgent review is needed to make sure people in England can get weight loss jabs such as Wegovy and Mounjaro on the NHS, top experts warn. It comes a day after the prime minister said such injections could boost Britain’s economy by getting obese unemployed people “back into work”. More than 200 doctors and

BBC We are now in the era of weight-loss drugs. Decisions on how these drugs will be used look likely to shape our future health and even what our society might look like. And, as researchers are finding, they are already toppling the belief that obesity is simply a moral failing of the weak-willed. Weight-loss

Fergus Walsh Medical editor BBC There is nothing in life that is free of risk. That includes vaccines. But the evidence is compelling that the benefits of getting immunised with those vaccines recommended in the UK far outweigh the possibility of serious side effects. The level of benefit from Covid vaccines is well documented. And