Given the growing popularity of sleep trackers, it’s worth asking whether a sensor on your wrist or finger can really tell you how your brain was sleeping last night.
[noscript_1]
US officials have determined that public health emergencies now exist in Florida and Alabama as a result of Hurricane Isaias.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) declared public health emergencies in the two states on Tuesday, following President Donald Trump‘s emergency declaration for the states last week.
The public health emergency declaration helps cut through red tape so healthcare facilities can keep operating during and after a disaster.
Specifically, it authorizes temporary waivers for and modifications to certain health-related requirements.
This is to help the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to support healthcare providers and suppliers serving people enrolled in Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) in the covered emergency areas.
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response Sean Kaufman said: ‘When a storm disrupts someone’s ability to get care, the need is immediate and personal.
‘I want the people affected by Hurricane Isaias to know that we are here to help. Our federal teams worked alongside state and local partners to understand what communities needed and to support the healthcare services they depend on.’
Hurricane Isaias brought wind gusts that exceeded 100 mph in parts of the Florida Panhandle. Pictured above is a destroyed convenience store in the aftermath of the hurricane in Milton, Florida
Pictured above is an aerial view of a tree that landed on a home in the aftermath of the hurricane in Milton, Florida
HHS’s declaration of the public health emergencies allows federal health officials to temporarily waive certain rules, making it easier for hospitals, nursing homes and other healthcare providers to continue treating patients despite storm-related disruptions.
This gives hospitals and healthcare providers more flexibility if buildings are damaged, staff can’t reach work, patients need to be moved, or normal healthcare operations are disrupted by the hurricane.
For example, if a hospital has to evacuate patients, operate from a temporary location or cope with staffing shortages, it may be able to do so without facing some of the normal federal requirements.
HHS Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr said: ‘Under President Trump’s leadership, HHS is giving healthcare providers in Florida and Alabama the flexibility to keep caring for patients in the wake of Hurricane Isaias.
‘We are helping them maintain essential services, respond quickly as needs change, and keep care available throughout the response and recovery.’
Hurricane Isaias was the first Atlantic hurricane in an unusually quiet hurricane season.
The storm developed in the southwestern Gulf of Mexico in early October, quickly strengthened and made landfall near Destin, Florida, on October 9 as a Category 2 hurricane.
Isaias brought damaging winds, storm surges, heavy rainfall and tornado threats to parts of Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and the broader Southeast.
Wind gusts exceeded 100 mph in parts of the Florida Panhandle and hundreds of thousands of customers lost power as the storm moved inland.
There were at least four storm-related deaths attributed to the hurricane after it made landfall.
A fifth of England faces a ‘rural penalty’ that threatens to deprive residents of doctors and crucial NHS funding, a damning report warns.
Millions of patients in rural and coastal areas stand to lose out under Labour’s plans to shift more care from hospitals in to the community, it adds.
The Policy Exchange think tank accuses the government of designing one of the core aims of its 10 Year Health Plan around the needs of major towns and cities, such as the Prime Minister’s beloved Manchester.
These typically have multiple health facilities and well-functioning public transport systems that allow patients to travel easily between sites.
But the report warns 116 constituencies across England are ‘far removed from this’ and that funding formulas and workforce policy included in the plan around neighbourhood health ‘have all neglected this reality’.
This risks creating an ‘increasing divide’ between rural and urban areas, as the plan fails to recognise the higher costs of caring for older, more isolated populations.
The new model of care is organised around populations of 50,000 or more, raising fears that smaller local services could be consolidated into larger health hubs.
However, researchers say this could backfire in rural communities, forcing patients to travel further for appointments as smaller GP practices disappear and the ‘brain drain’ from hospitals accelerates.
Millions of patients in rural and coastal areas stand to lose out under Labour’s plans to shift more care from hospitals in to the community, the report warns
The report, titled The Rural Penalty, notes: ‘Closing three village surgeries and sending everyone to a centre in town would be a curious way of bringing care closer to home.’
It highlights figures showing that coastal communities have 15 per cent fewer medical consultants, 14.6 per cent fewer postgraduate medical trainees and 7.4 per cent fewer nurses per patient than the national average, despite having older and less healthy populations.
And it warns funding formulas, NHS pay deals and workforce policies are reinforcing geographical inequalities instead of tackling them.
NHS staff working in inner London can receive salary top-ups of up to 20 per cent but those outside the capital receive no equivalent geographical allowance.
Meanwhile, only around 50 to 60 per cent of GP practice income is covered by the Carr-Hill formula, which includes an adjustment for rurality.
Other income fails to consistently recognise the additional expense of delivering care across sparsely populated areas.
The report said that the ambition to move care into the community ‘is welcome in theory’, but for it to succeed, ‘rural and coastal areas need to be able to compete on a level playing field in recruitment and retention and need to be funded according to their local conditions’.
It added: ‘If this does not happen then for all the 10-Year Health Plan’s commitments to localism, the reality for many patients will be reduced local services, longer journey times and an increased divide between better resourced areas in cities and under-provisioned rural and coastal areas.’
Report author Gareth Lyon, head of health and social care at Policy Exchange, warned patients in rural areas may face longer journeys for care
The report’s authors call for an ‘unavoidably small practice adjustment’ to protect rural GP surgeries that cannot realistically merge or achieve economies of scale without leaving communities cut off.
They also call for changes to NHS pay arrangements, stronger protections against local service closures and a dedicated minister responsible for rural and coastal healthcare.
Report author Gareth Lyon, head of health and social care at Policy Exchange, said: ‘The Government has the right ambition to want to move more care out of hospitals and into communities but that shift needs to recognise the different needs and cost of serving dispersed, older and seasonally fluctuating populations.
‘Pay structures which incentivise working in London over remote and coastal areas also makes it harder for rural providers to recruit and retain staff.
‘Unless that changes, the 10-Year Health Plan risks meaning fewer local services and longer journeys for large parts of England.
‘Ending the rural penalty is essential to the plan’s success.’
The Policy Exchange report has been backed by former health secretary Sir Jeremy Hunt and Layla Moran, chairwoman of the Commons Health and Social Care Committee.
Ms Moran said: ‘No one should face poorer access to healthcare or worse health outcomes simply because they live in a rural or coastal community.
Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran, chairwoman of the Commons Health and Social Care Committee
‘Everyone deserves a fair chance of a healthy life, wherever they call home.
‘Recognising the different circumstances of these communities is not special treatment.
‘It is how we make fairness a reality in the care people receive and the lives they are able to lead.’
Sir Jeremy said: ‘Having seen the difference continuity of care can make over many years, I know that general practice is about far more than treating an illness.
‘It is about knowing someone as a person, understanding their family, their circumstances, their wishes, and what matters most to them.’
Tory MP Joe Robertson, who represents Isle of Wight East, a member of the Commons Health and Social Care Committee and co-author of the report, said: ‘Health policy is too often designed as though every patient lives in a city, within easy reach of several hospitals and a choice of GP surgeries.
‘For my constituents on the Isle of Wight, and for many other parts of the country that is not true.
‘Closing three village surgeries and sending everyone to the nearest large town for treatment would be a curious way of bringing care closer to home.
‘If neighbourhood health is to mean anything in rural and coastal England, care has to be local by default, and NHS funding and pay structures need to reflect this.’
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: ‘We know there is more to do to ensure that GP services in every area of the country are properly staffed and providing a better service, including in rural areas, and we will continue working to address those challenges.’
CVS Pharmacy Inc. has agreed to pay $315 million to settle allegations it unlawfully filled unnecessary opioid prescriptions.
The settlement resolves a 2024 US Justice Department lawsuit accusing the pharmaceutical giant of dispensing massive quantities of opioids that fueled America’s addiction crisis since 2013.
Under the settlement, CVS also agreed to new safeguards with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to ensure opioids and other controlled drugs are only filled when medically necessary.
It’s the latest effort by the federal government to hold accountable companies that officials have alleged helped fuel the US addiction and overdose crisis.
‘Today’s settlement is a significant milestone in the Justice Department’s efforts to combat the opioid epidemic by cracking down on pharmacies who unlawfully fulfill prescriptions for controlled substances,’ Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward said in a statement.
In a statement to the Daily Mail, CVS said its pharmacists are ‘highly trained in the safe and appropriate use of all medications.’
‘We’ve implemented best-in-class and first-of-their-kind programs to help our pharmacists make the best decisions on behalf of patients,’ a spokesperson said.
‘We strongly disagree with the claims made in this case, and our settlement with the DOJ admits no wrongdoing. We’re pleased to move forward and put this litigation behind us.’
CVS Pharmacy Inc has agreed to pay $315 million to settle allegations it unlawfully filled unnecessary opioid prescriptions (file photo)
The Justice Department’s lawsuit, which was filed in federal court in Rhode Island, began as a whistleblower complaint brought by a former CVS employee.
The lawsuit accused CVS of filling prescriptions for excessive amounts of opioids and other drugs, including those from ‘pill mills,’ where doctors handed out large amounts of addictive painkillers without a legitimate medical reason.
It also accused the company of imposing ‘unsafe performance targets and staffing levels’ that ‘pressured pharmacists to fill prescriptions as quickly as possible’ without checking whether they were valid.
The prescriptions were often billed to and reimbursed by Medicaid and other federal healthcare programs, the lawsuit says.
Over the past decade, drugmakers, wholesalers, pharmacies and other companies have agreed to more than $50 billion in opioid-related settlements with US governments.
Most of the settlement money is intended to help address the addiction crisis, which has been linked to more than 100,000 deaths in some years, although fatalities have fallen sharply in recent years.
According to recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), prescription opioid overdose deaths rose from 3,442 in 1999 to 17,029 in 2017.
From 2017 to 2023, there was an overall decline to 13,026.
The majority of the deals have been reached with state and local governments, but the federal government has also struck several agreements, including with pharmacy chains Walgreens and Walmart in the past two years.
Opioids are prescription painkillers that act similarly to heroin in the body, producing pain relief and a euphoric high that can be highly addictive.
Recent data from the CDC showing using overdose deaths involving prescription opioids from 1999 to 2023
Opioids are prescription painkillers that act similarly to heroin, producing pain relief and a euphoric high that can be highly addictive (stock)
They work by attaching to proteins called opioid receptors on nerve cells in the brain, spinal cord and gut.
When opioids bind to these receptors, they block pain signals and trigger the release of dopamine, a brain chemical linked to pleasure and reward.
This creates feelings of relaxation and euphoria, which can make people want to keep taking the drugs to recreate the pleasurable effects.
However, opioids are addictive and can cause harmful side effects, including nausea, constipation, confusion and drowsiness. Misusing them can also slow breathing, depriving the brain of oxygen in a condition called hypoxia. In severe cases, this can lead to brain damage, coma or death.
Drugs such as Vicodin, OxyContin and Percocet are typically prescribed for short-term pain relief after major surgery, serious injuries or dental procedures.
The lawsuit noted that CVS had been among the top dispensers of opioids in the nation, selling over 12 billion doses of the drugs from 2015 to 2020.
It also noted that CVS is the largest pharmacy chain in the nation. It is wholly-owned by the sixth largest corporation in the US, which reported over $116 billion in Pharmacy & Consumer Wellness revenue for 2023.
CVS operates more than 9,000 pharmacies and fills more than a billion prescriptions each year.
Children today face a tougher upbringing than the privileged older generations who insultingly brand them ‘snowflakes’, Professor Peter Fonagy said.
The child psychologist, who chaired the Independent Review into Mental Health Conditions, ADHD and Autism, said adults use the slur because they cannot face up to their own responsibility for making children’s lives more difficult and depriving them of the opportunities they enjoyed.
He told MPs on the Commons health and social care committee this morning: ‘The [phrase] “snowflake generation” is an insult to young people.
‘I challenge all of you here to cope with the pressures that young people are under and sustain the quality of childhood and young adulthood that you all were privileged to experience.’
Professor Fonagy said younger generations face growing financial pressures, insecure employment, unaffordable housing and ‘incessant’ social comparisons, while receiving less support than previous generations.
‘Therefore, it’s much easier for us to say they are a “snowflake generation” than for us to say “actually we’ve really messed it up for them, and it’s our fault”,’ he added.
He argued that older generations had grown up expecting their lives to be better than those of their parents, while youngsters today face a bleaker future.
‘We are currently with a generation who are convinced, and rightly so, that they will not have the opportunities that their parents had.’
The Duchess of Cambridge sits alongside Professor Peter Fonagy (front left), chair of the Independent Review into Mental Health Conditions, ADHD and Autism
Professor Fonagy said young people are also being deprived of the support networks and opportunities for recovery that helped previous generations cope with stress, including a 73 per cent reduction in youth services funded by local authorities since 2011.
He further warned that social media was damaging sleep and replacing face-to-face contact with friends, undermining young people’s ability to cope with increasing pressures.
He told the cross-party committee: ‘If you have social media that actually keeps you awake and it stops you from sleeping, and also reduces face-to-face interactions, you will have less capacity to cope.’
Professor Fonagy criticised the treatment of children during the Covid pandemic, suggesting that adults had prioritised their own health at the expense of younger generations.
Restrictions aimed at slowing the spread of the virus, such as school and playground closures and bans on visiting friends and family, are believed to have harmed their education and personal development.
‘Mostly, the priority is given to the new generation, but for whatever reason, and I am not here to blame anyone, we decided that our priority, our health, was more important than theirs,’ he stressed.
He urged adults to take greater responsibility for their own behaviour, particularly their use of mobile phones in front of children, which he described as ‘appalling’.
‘One thing that we could all do in relation to discouraging children to overuse social media is to use our own social media less.
‘The number of people who are engaged – rather than face-to-face interactions – with their cell phones over meals is actually appalling, and of course, it sets a model for young people because they are there to learn from us, and that’s how human beings learn – looking at adults and see what they do.
‘If we set an appalling model, can we be surprised that they do appalling things?’
He called for a fundamental change in how parents and society treat young people, arguing that encouragement rather than criticism was needed.
‘I think we need to be less spiteful and less depriving in our approach to young people, and far more encouraging,’ he added.
Professor Fonagy’s landmark review – published last week – found Britain risks harming a generation of children by overdiagnosing ADHD and autism.
He found parents have been incentivised to secure a diagnosis for their children by misguided schools and welfare systems that reward such ‘labels.’
Youngsters have also been influenced by social media posts that wrongly present common traits as evidence of the conditions, it cautioned.
And there were warnings from MPs that children face being defined by such definitions, putting them on the path to a life of unemployment and benefits.
Britain risks harming a generation of children by over-diagnosing ADHD and autism, a major review warned (stock photo)
Diagnosis rates have soared up to 40-fold in recent years but the government-commissioned review found no evidence that the number affected has actually increased.
Professor Fonagy raised concerns about the ‘consistency and quality’ of ADHD and autism assessments being carried out by private providers, who have exploded in number as the NHS struggled to cope with demand.
Private firms now conduct more than half of NHS-funded ADHD and a third of autism assessments but they are poorly regulated and allowed to advertise their services directly to potential customers, with the NHS often picking up the ballooning bill.
Last month, a survey of GPs said many have never known a private provider reject a diagnosis request.
Prof Fonagy’s report stresses that misdiagnosis and overdiagnosis are ‘harmful’, as it may lead to unnecessary or inappropriate treatment, delay appropriate support for other issues and lower expectations of what children can achieve in life.
The review notes that children diagnosed with ADHD before 17 are around four times more likely to not be in education, employment or training in early adulthood, with each additional young person in this situation costing taxpayers £244,000 over their lifetime.
In his foreword to the report, he writes: ‘Life has become harder since I was a young man: more uncertain, more relentlessly observed and appraised, with less belonging and fewer opportunities to take time-out, to recuperate and recover.
‘The cacophony of voices now available to a young person – most of them digital, many of them confident, few of them accountable – has made the ordinary developmental process of understanding oneself far harder than it was for me, and the consequences for how young people function are correspondingly greater.
‘Young people today are contending with more powerful forces than I ever faced. They are not fragile. They are outnumbered.’
The independent review stresses that this is not simply a matter of greater awareness but young people really are becoming more distressed.
[noscript_1]
An outbreak of life-threatening bacteria has prompted the shutdown of shellfish harvesting in Virginia after at least five people have fallen ill.
State health officials closed the Little Wicomico River in Northumberland County, a rural region in northern Virginia, after they traced an outbreak of salmonella in Pennsylvania back to shellfish harvested from those waters.
The closure to harvesting began October 9, just eight days into Virginia’s oyster season. It will be in effect through November 7.
The outbreak in Pennsylvania has sickened at least five people so far.
The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) said: ‘Effective October 9, out of an abundance of caution… VDH announced that the waters in the Little Wicomico River in Northumberland County are closed to the harvesting of oysters and clams due to a link to a Salmonella outbreak in Pennsylvania.
‘VDH was recently notified of a Salmonella outbreak in Pennsylvania that has been epidemiologically linked to shellfish harvested from this area. VDH is currently conducting testing of shellfish in the implicated area.’
The harvesting shutdown applies to bivalve mollusks, including oysters and clams, but not crabs or finfish.
The river closure, which is being made also in conformance with recommendations from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), has no impact on drinking water, the VDH added.
The harvesting shutdown applies to bivalve mollusks, including oysters and clams, but not crabs or finfish
The above map shows the areas of the Little Wicomico River in Virginia that are closed to shellfish harvesting
This is not the only closure in the area, according to notices from VDH.
The department also issued a second emergency shellfish closure on October 9 temporarily barring harvesting in portions of Lower Machodoc Creek in nearby Westmoreland County, a coastal county in northern Virginia, through October 29.
While in effect, it is illegal to harvest, store or transport shellfish from the areas without a special permit from the Marine Resources Commission.
Foods contaminated with salmonella bacteria can smell, taste and look fine, but still pose a health risk.
Salmonella can cause diarrhea, fever, stomach cramps and dehydration – symptoms that require medical attention, particularly for children under five, adults over 65 and those with weakened immune systems.
The bacteria can also spread into the bloodstream and cause the life-threatening complication sepsis, when the immune system overreacts to an infection.
Many salmonella cases resolve with just supportive care, primarily hydration and rest, and healthy adults should recover from the infection within a week.
For more severe cases, doctors can also use antibiotics to help clear infections.
Children under five years old, older adults and those who are immunocompromised are at higher risk of a severe infection or complications.
Salmonella is one of the leading causes of foodborne illness in the US, triggering about 1.35 million infections, 23,000 hospitalizations and 450 deaths every year.
Pope Leo XIV has been diagnosed with lung cancer (Image: Vatican Pool, Getty Images)
It was announced at the weekend that Pope Leo XIV has been diagnosed with lung cancer, although the Vatican confirmed in a medical bulletin this week that he underwent successful surgery to remove a lower lobe of his right lung.
The Pope had the operation on October 13, 2026, to address lung cancer after a concerning growth was identified during routine medical checks. Laboratory examination confirmed the growth was lung adenocarcinoma, a prevalent type of non-small cell lung cancer.
Medical staff at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital required approximately 90 minutes to carry out the procedure. The 71-year-old pontiff is now anticipated to remain in hospital for roughly a week while recuperating.
Given that the lesion was detected early and remained localised, oncologists observe that early-stage surgical intervention offers a favourable prognosis.
Additional examination of extracted lymph nodes will establish whether any supplementary follow-up treatments (such as targeted therapy or chemotherapy) are necessary.
Dr Amir Khan shares five ‘uncommon’ symptoms of the disease (Image: Getty)
Following the Pope’s health announcement, we’re revisiting guidance from Doctor Amir Khan regarding the typical lung cancer symptoms to watch for.
The doctor, who regularly features on ITV daytime programmes This Morning and Lorraine, shared five unusual symptoms of the disease on his Instagram account that the public should recognise.
Dr Khan stated in the video: “When it comes to lung cancer, many of us know the more common ways it might present, particular in those who smoke, such as a cough that’s been present for three weeks or more, or coughing up blood.
“But here are five ways you may not know about and should get checked by a clinician.”
1. Unexplained chest or shoulder pain
The first symptom the doctor highlighted was unexplained chest or shoulder pain.
“If it’s not your heart or a pulled muscle, get unexplained chest, shoulder or upper back pain checked out,” said the expert.
Unexplained shortness of breath is one symptom worth checking out, according to the expert (Image: Organic Media via Getty Images)
2. A new, persistent and unexplained hoarse voice
“Sometimes you can get a tumour in the top of you lung which sits on a nerve that goes to your voice box and that can change your voice, so get this checked,” advised the medic.
3. Unexplained weight loss
Dr Khan noted this symptom is particularly crucial to investigate in those who smoke.
4. Swollen lymph glands in the neck or clavicle area
The doctor said that it’s even more vital to get this issue checked if they’ve been there for three weeks.
5. Unexplained shortness of breath
Dr Khan advised that if everyday activities are leaving you breathless when they ordinarily wouldn’t, the matter warrants further investigation.
He concluded: “Remember, it’s probably not cancer, but it’s best to get these things checked out early.”
In its early stages, lung cancer often produces no noticeable symptoms at all, which is why early detection (such as during routine scans) is so important.
When symptoms do develop, you should look out for:
It’s best to check with your GP if you’re worried about any health issues you’re having.
Ensure our latest DWP headlines always appear at the top of your Google Search by making us a Preferred Source. Click here to activate or add us as Preferred Source in your Google search settings
As a doctor, I have one piece of advice which – more than anything else – can help maximise the chances of a long and healthy life.
The British student staple is now available in a range of low-fat, ‘lighter’ flavours, and has ditched plastic in half of its infamous pots in a major green-friendly drive.
Help us create an environment in which people fifty and over can fulfill their aims and objectives in life. Fight age discrimination and help preserve and promote the independence, dignity and positive image of people fifty and over and work to ensure that they have appropriate and adequate public care provision.
All Right Reserved. Designed and Developed by Martyn Jones.
