Midwifery students in Kent have been working incredibly hard for up to 3 years - many are weeks away from qualifying and many won't be able to finish the course, meaning they won't be able to practise. They have sacrificed other careers, time with family, have taken on debt and worked long hours for free at our local hospitals, some of them through the pandemic. Our local midwives have put hard work into mentoring them. Without a new pool of newly qualified midwives locally, out hospitals who already have low staffing levels will struggle to recruit to the levels they need, meaning that local families needing maternity care will suffer unless something can be done.

Our local NHS pharmacies are on the brink of collapse, despite having proven during the pandemic that they are more needed now than ever. Since 2015, their funding has been cut by 40% and 1400 pharmacies have permanently closed, putting vital NHS services at risk. Without fair funding from the Government, many more pharmacies will be forced to close. One important step the government can take is to commit to fully funding the 'Pharmacy First' Service in England so people with minor illnesses can be treated on the NHS by their local pharmacy, instead of having to wait to see a GP for a prescription. Community pharmacies provide vital health and social care in communities across the country, including the most deprived neighbourhoods. Please back our local pharmacies – so they can continue to keep people well and save lives!

Letting the suppliers of such new products having nicotine, have such free reign, is causing a problem for retailers' trading standards and guardians of children. The lack of rules and regulations compared to other nicotine products needs to be addressed. Promotion and marketing need to be closely monitored because of the tactics already used, and flavours such as sweets, confectionary, and desserts. They are all too appealing to young people. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-khan-review-making-smoking-obsolete/making-smoking-obsolete-summary? 3. Promote vaping The government must embrace the promotion of vaping as an effective tool to help people to quit smoking tobacco. We know vapes are not a ‘silver bullet’ nor are they totally risk-free, but the alternative is far worse.

Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK where an opt-out system for organ donation is not yet in place. This law has passed through the NI Assembly and been given Royal Assent, but is now delayed on a technicality because of the stalemate at Stormont. This law would give people like 6 year old Dáithí MacGabhann a better chance of a life-saving transplant. That's why people from all corners of the UK are demanding that the Secretary of State uses his powers to put this law in place now.

I have recently been diagnosed with cervical cancer at the age of 30. It was picked up on a smear test, I was very fortunate to be able to have an operation that has hopefully cured me (only time will tell). The age for smear tests is 25, yet the reason women get cervical cancer is due to the HPV virus that is in essence an STI (sexually transmitted infection). It starts as pre cancerous before it turns to cancer and there's not enough evidence to suggest that it takes 5 years to change from one to the other as that wasn't the case for me as i had a colposcopy in 2017, two biopsies and it came back clear. I was refused a smear in 2020 due to covid, yet I probably wouldn't have been in this situation had I have had one then. More and more younger girls are becoming sexually active. They are unknowing to whether they carry the virus or whether they have changes to their cells due to the fact they cannot have a smear because they are too young. I've met women that have had the vaccination and have still ended up with high risk HPV and changes to their cervix. Nothing is one hundred percent. Girls younger than 25 are dying or being diagnosed with cervical cancer because they haven't had the option of a smear test. Women are having babies earlier which also changes the cells in the cervix so smears should also be offered after having a baby. Something really needs to change. When I had my diagnosis I was told there's more and more women younger and of my own age that are in similar or the same situations as me. Everyone I've spoken with has agreed the age needs lowering. I have no idea where to start to but I'll try anything to try and get somewhere. I don't want anyone to go through what I have been through. I've been lucky enough to have children, but there's girls/women out there that may want a family some day and will lose that option due to the fact smears are not available to them all due to their age, plus taking into account having to potentially go through the menopause a lot earlier than the average age a woman goes through menopause and mental health that all comes with it. Please let's finally take this seriously. Let's think of the younger and older generation. Let's save lives. We need to change the age of smears, we need it lowering to stop so many cases of cervical cancer in younger women. Consider the ages of sexually active women/girls. The implications of not having a smear and having pre cancerous/cancerous changes go undetected. Women that miss out on having families, women going through early menopause, women dying. It's about time that it's looked at as an importance. Too many years have passed and it's spoken of but nothing ever gets done. Please let's make a change together to save lives.

The Epilepsy Society wants to revolutionise the treatment of epilepsy and give people hope of a life without seizures. They want to stop people dying from their epilepsy. By selling a part of their land in Buckinghamshire to house 975 homes they hope to raise £100 million which would be invested in cutting-edge research that would transform the diagnosis and treatment of epilepsy. Please sign our petition today and give people with epilepsy, hope.

Please sign this very important petition – it takes less than a minute – to improve men’s health and wellbeing in Scotland. With an alarming rise in suicide amongst Scottish men - 75% of the people who died by suicide in Scotland last year were male – and with already-stretched resources and reduced funding as demand for our services increases, the SMSA is lobbying for a directional change to ensure the charity is around to support future generations of Shedders and keep the spotlight on men’s health. The SMSA pledges to continue making a real difference by empowering thousands of men (our sons, brothers, fathers, uncles and grandfathers) and their communities - over the coming years - to play their part in a system change towards a wellbeing economy. By trailblazing this male health movement as we have from the beginning, we strive for social change to ultimately secure its future growth and the national statutory investment it rightly deserves. Kinross and District Men’s Shed’s Chairman David Conner said: “The SMSA has been a wonderful support and a great centre of information and advice. Without the SMSA, it is safe to say, we and some other local Sheds would not exist without their help steering us in the right direction—through the obstacles and bureaucracy that is thrown at you especially when starting something new— and enabling us to become self-sufficient.” Member Mike Kelly said: "Having a central driving force has been a huge asset to both new and established sheds. This is part of why men's sheds have been so successful in Scotland." #menssheds #menswellbeing #menshealth #menmatter #shedicine #nevermoreneeded

My handsome son Zak died because the health authorities and other institutions that were supposed to be caring for him, failed him miserably. A coroner has deemed the following: Healthcare failings in obtaining information so that a patient reveives their medication. Failings to provide patient discharge information relating to diagnosis, prescription and care plan details. Concerns relating to a lack of clarity over the meaning of the word "urgent" when a patient referral is made to the access and assessment team. Concerns that current healthcare guidelines, (in relation to patients that may be disengaging or non concorordant) are lacking and need perfecting. Zak's death was regarded as a Serious Incident by the trust that failed him. Zak was seen by a GP whilst under a trusts care, (6 weeks before he took his own life).The GP had serious concerns that Zak was paranoid, lacking capacity and dehydrated. Nothing was done and incredibly no notes seem to be available, to show if anything was done or what they did to help and support Zak. A different GP saw Zak again 18 days before he passed away. The GP made an urgent psychiatric referral but they did not have a clue about Zak's current medication or treatment plan because they had NO NOTES from the previous care provider. They had a legal duty of care to get Zak help and treatment. As it currently stands health authorities and other institutions where care is provided can say they have not got a patients notes or they cannot find them. There is a massive loophole in the current law which allows this to happen. The institutions and health authorities are allowed to say and I quote: " The notes may have been done or they may not have been done", as an excuse for not providing a patients notes. How can this be either morally or ethically right in 2022 when notes have been computerised to try to stop this from happening. How can they be allowed to get away with saying: " We do not have the notes, we had no access to that computer system or we cannot find the notes or they may have been done or they may not have been done". Please please stop this from happening any more. God forbid it happens to your loved one. Jo Farmer

This has always been an issue. Current rising costs in every other area of life leaves little or no room for personal health care costs. If you cannot afford to buy the more effective and secure incontinence wear available you will have to fall back on the NHS free product selection. Pads that require a net to hold them in place and which do not secure leak prevention, and cotton pull-ups, of which you get four, and that don't hold as much as the insecure pads. These pull up pants will leak without warning. Would you want to be thinking, all day every day, that you maybe about to soak leg wear/trousers and become the source of everyone's embarrassment. Its horrendous. You really don't want to be that person. However I am that person. I have soiled my bed so many times. I have been 'caught out' when a larger urinary discharge overflows from pad to clothes. Once you have 'wet' yourself it soon becomes obvious to all around you, the smell, the look, the wet foot prints that follow you to a safer dark corner. And, you still have to get home! There are far better products out there, but currently they have to be purchased. They are not cheap but, here's the rub, they are manufactured to work efficiently at retention and leak prevention, in other words THEY WORK. Help me, and every one like me, whether they be older or younger than 60, regain some dignity, reduce daily anxiety and improve immeasurably the quality and value of life.

People do not seem to be aware until they know of someone that has it, and has a reaction whilst they are present. With 1 in 20 people suffering from some degree of gluten intolerance. Firstly, the persons can become very sick from being glutened, sometimes for weeks. As the immune system attacks itself, other elements can become involved and worsen things. This can include Osteoporosis or Bowel cancer. Recently, a lady was in the hospital, possibly too ill to respond to the food choices that the nurses had made for her. They gave her Weetabix for her breakfast and a few days later sadly she died.

During the pandemic, and over the last 75 years, our NHS and its dedicated workers have provided us with the critical health care we need in our daily lives. But right now, the NHS is struggling and could reach breaking point unless we act. According to 38 Degrees research: • 45% of us in The Cotswolds have said that we or a family member had experienced difficulty booking an appointment with a local GP in the last year. • 11% of us in The Cotswolds are reporting bad or very bad health, up from 4% in 2011 • Nationally the number of people reporting bad or very bad health in Great Britain has DOUBLED since the 2011 census - from 6% to 12% • Up to 2 million people are effectively on an NHS “shadow waiting list”, waiting to be referred for primary care treatment The Government has failed to fix this problem in their backlog plan, and we need that to change. Steve Barclay, as Secretary of State for Health, is responsible for fixing the backlog in England. There's still no meaningful plan to address access to primary care, despite how important this is to the public. We are demanding that Steve Barclay urgently publish and deliver a REAL, properly resourced plan to tackle the backlog in primary care. Until then, we'll all still be waiting. Source: Large-sample research and MRP analysis on the NHS backlog conducted by Survation on behalf of 38 Degrees. Fieldwork was conducted between 8th and 21st of June 2022. Population sampled: 10,079 residents 18+ living in Great Britain.

During the pandemic, and over the last 75 years, our NHS and its dedicated workers have provided us with the critical health care we need in our daily lives. But right now, the NHS is struggling and could reach breaking point unless we act. According to 38 Degrees research: • 47% of us in West Worcestershire have said that we or a family member had experienced difficulty booking an appointment with a local GP in the last year. • 11% of us in West Worcestershire are reporting bad or very bad health, up from 5% in 2011 • Nationally the number of people reporting bad or very bad health in Great Britain has DOUBLED since the 2011 census - from 6% to 12% • Up to 2 million people are effectively on an NHS “shadow waiting list”, waiting to be referred for primary care treatment The Government has failed to fix this problem in their backlog plan, and we need that to change. Steve Barclay, as Secretary of State for Health, is responsible for fixing the backlog in England. There's still no meaningful plan to address access to primary care, despite how important this is to the public. We are demanding that Steve Barclay urgently publish and deliver a REAL, properly resourced plan to tackle the backlog in primary care. Until then, we'll all still be waiting. Source: Large-sample research and MRP analysis on the NHS backlog conducted by Survation on behalf of 38 Degrees. Fieldwork was conducted between 8th and 21st of June 2022. Population sampled: 10,079 residents 18+ living in Great Britain.