Good report from @nuffieldtrust.org.uk and @instituteforgovernment.org.uk on the abolition of NHS England. Strikes a sceptical tone about rationale, process and likely impact. I'd probably be more sceptical. Full report at www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/sites/defaul.... I liked this graphic!

7/ The UK must choose: 🔹 A public health system balancing innovation & affordability OR 🔹 A US-style model of soaring costs & widening inequalities. Transparency & accountability are non-negotiable. Read the full article here: www.bmj.com/content/391/...

6/ Big selling point - increase in NICE cost effectiveness threshold. But £30k to £35k a 16% increase and if prices increase by 25%, well ... something commentators seem to have missed (emphasising need to question what one is told)

🧵1/ The UK-US pharma deal is being sold as a “landmark” win for patients and innovation. But behind the headlines lies a costly surrender, as @elstorreele.bsky.social & I explain @bmj.com

Did you catch Mike Ormerod’s powerful testimony at the Covid Inquiry last week? Mike has Long Covid and volunteers with Long Covid Support. He gave evidence on behalf of Long Covid groups at Module 9 “Economic Response”. Standout quotes (there are many!) Part 1 🧵👇

This year has broken wind and solar energy generation records.

We've responded to reports that the NHS will pay a higher price for branded new medicines as a condition of a UK-US trade deal. Read the statement from @sallygainsbury.bsky.social 👇

More progress internationally on next generation Covid vaccines – with a setback in the US: - More good news on the vaccine for people with immunosuppression - Progress in intranasal vaccine trials in France & the US ....1/2 absolutelymaybe.plos.org/2025/11/30/m...

Proud to have co-authored this paper on experiences of #LongCovid and work: “I've done my job for 30 years and I'm very competent at it, but I couldn't understand what some of the words were meaning… It's almost having to recognise things again and relearn things”

New data that supports metformin as a potential intervention to reduce #LongCovid www.authorea.com/users/100423...

📣 Shout out to Mike Ormerod from Long Covid Support who is giving evidence to the @ukcovid-19inquiry.bsky.social today. Thank you Mike for all your incredible hard work, despite your own battle with #LongCovid. Link for #CovidInquiry livestream below. ⬇️

Let’s never forget rationing ventilators and Zoom funerals. Boris Johnson and his cronies partied while our loved ones lay dying alone. COVID-19 was the worst public health crisis in a century. We should have locked down earlier. To some of us, PPE was not a get-rich-quick commodity.

Powerful piece by @drrachelclarke.com on the COVID inquiry. Those who say it’s easy to be wise in hindsight are being utterly disingenuous. Many of us spoke out at the time, and it’s in the public record. @independentsage.bsky.social observer.co.uk/news/nationa...

"Increasing NHS drug costs would cause thousands of preventable deaths, widen health inequalities and harm the British economy – whilst doing nothing to encourage genuine life sciences investment"

1/ How does the COVID Inquiry's Module 2 report align with what we said in @independentsage.bsky.social at the time? A 🧵on Transparency, Early & Decisive Action, Scientific Advice, Integration of Social & Economic Harms, Communication and Behavioural Science, Governance, Data and Preparedness

Afternoon low tide on Quendale Beach #Shetland

1/ The Covid Inquiry's Module 2 report confirms critical failures at the highest levels of government, failures that have left millions with Long Covid and inadequate support. We've drafted a press release in response: www.longcovid.org/impact/news/...

“TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE”, VALIDATION FOR PEOPLE WITH LONG COVID The Covid-19 Inquiry has found that the UK Government should have acknowledged Long Covid and made the risks clear to the public. It has found that by Oct 2020 the UK Government knew #LongCovid was a significant health and policy issue.

Snow on Quendale Beach #Shetland #SnowDay

3 papers @thelancet.com today on the health dangers of ultraprocessed foods and a call for action The health risks www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

Available to buy now: One Red Leaf at a Time Greetings Cards. All proceeds go to our #MEcfs research @uoe-igc.bsky.social. Thank you @drjogreer.bsky.social & Dr Clare Raynor! theredtreeandme.substack.com/p/one-red-le... #oneredleafatatime

2 #LongCovid randomized trials published today —Online cognitive training, negative jamanetwork.com/journals/jam... —Resistance training, modest benefit jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

In the BMJ a new umbrella review of systematic reviews found no clear evidence of any link between maternal acetaminophen (Paracetamol/Tylenol) use and autism or ADHD in children @bmj.com

2025 Lancet Countdown on health & climate change www.thelancet.com/journals/lan... plenty of countries that spend significantly more on fossil fuel subsidies than their healthcare budget Esp see heat related mortality indicator (new) & air quality related mortality from burning fossil fuel

"The path we must choose, and be faithful to, is to think first of the world we’re bequeathing to our children and future generations."

Here’s the direct link to my introduction chapter to ‘Long COVID and Society’, open access and free to read for all, either directly online or downloaded as a PDF link.springer.com/chapter/10.1...

Flu is spiking up unusually early this year. The chart below shows hospital admissions, compared to six recent flu seasons. Other indicators like flu test positivity paint the same picture. From today's @ukhsa.bsky.social surveillance update: www.gov.uk/government/s...

The early flu season in England continues to build, while the latest Covid wave continues to recede. Latest UKHSA hospital admission data up to 27 Oct.

The PCR positivity map is out, and you might notice something a bit different this week. From now onwards the map includes Scotland, using the same metric: PCR test positivity. jamestindall.info/skeuomorphol... 1/10

My latest update on nextgen Covid vaccines is a whopper, in part thanks to catching up with a new vax tracker: - Trial results for 2 vaxes - 3 new clinical trials - 26 preclinical reports Highlights follow....1/2 Now @plos.org: absolutelymaybe.plos.org/2025/11/06/a... #Covid #Covid19 #Vaccines

We are proud to share a deeply meaningful publication: the final paper co-authored by our late co-founder, Ondine Sherwood. The paper identifies the nine top priorities for Long Covid research. This work honours her legacy and the power of patient-led science. 🧵

Many cost analysis for vaccines focus on risks of mortality or serious disease resulting in hospitalisation, not risks of post infection sequelae. Should we be doing this though instead? If so, how will cost analysis calculations work to justify larger initial cost of vax vs longer cost poor health?

That Covid infection in non-immune people is linked to enhanced risk of cardiovascular disease is known. Whilst reports have shown risks linked to other respiratory infections, A new systematic review adds weight to this showing a range of respiratory infections are risks 🧪🧵#HealthPolicy

Bottom line of systematic assessment of studies on Covid vaccinations/boosters: ~50% reduction of hospitalization, across all adults (not just older) who are not immunocompromised Real data on vaccine-induced myocarditis: occurred in 1-3 per 100,000 male adolescents www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....

Neeps or pumpkins for #Halloween? I usually carve both. Although neeps are a pain to carve I love the rather unsettling results #Shetland

On our #LongCovid clinical trial launched today! thesicktimes.org/2025/10/30/w... @julialmv.bsky.social @scripps.edu

Covid in England is definitely on the way down, but Flu is on the way up - and over a month early. My latest substack open.substack.com/pub/christin...

The prostate cancer PSA screening story over 23 years of follow-up for >166,000 participants: more detection, small reduction of mortality www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....

Since 2015, the number of GP partners in England has dropped by almost 25%. An article in The Telegraph (£ at buff.ly/9Frirfc) this week cites our briefing on the range of options that could be tested to find a solution. Read our analysis 👇

Want authoritative, critical overviews of major improvement approaches in healthcare? The @thisinstitute.cam.ac.uk-edited Cambridge Elements series is free to access, and covers everything from culture change to statistical process control - & most recently, Lean. www.cambridge.org/core/publica...

Do you do systematic reviews? You might like this excellent comparison of 8 GenAI/LLM tools that could assist with systematic reviews, published by the Health Equity Evidence Centre at Queen Mary University of London. lnkd.in/gwj57RTw

Same storm different boats hawksmoorpublishing.com/book/same-st... @jasonstrelitz.bsky.social Want to know how a public health team works in the middle of a pandemic? This is about as good a telling of the story as you'll find anywhere.

There will be relentless lobbying from tobacco companies who are all out to kill this bill but obvious commercial reasons. 3/

The tobacco and vapes Bill is back in the House of Lords tomorrow I remain of the view that health impact wise it is the most consequential bill for a generation. There will be proposed amendments to fatally weaken or kill the bill and some amendments to strengthen it. 1/

'Targeted screening for #prostatecancer carries “significant overdiagnosis risks,” + this must not be ignored amid intense cross party lobbying for a national screening service.' Experts warn of limited evidence www.bmj.com/content/391/...

Quick update on Covid in England - hospital data showing that the latest significant Covid wave is - thankfully - on its way down. This chart by @bob-hawkins.bsky.social and his substack bhawkins3.substack.com/p/covid-situ...

The tenth series of BBC crime drama Shetland is set to hit screens across the UK in a couple of weeks. The first episode of the six-part series is scheduled to air on BBC One on Wednesday 5 November at 9pm. shet.news/grxw8

What did the largest trial of an early detection of cancer blood test show? erictopol.substack.com/p/the-larges...

An interesting piece on how many people aren’t aware of how tides work and how to stay safe at the seaside. I’m fascinated by tides. A highlight of our year was walking the final section of St Cuthbert’s Way over to Lindisfarne. theconversation.com/misunderstan...

Great to see this published and out there. It's a simple paper that shows us that folks with #LongCOVID, #MECFS and other complex chronic illnesses can benefit from using symptom tracking apps like Visible, designed FOR patients, BY patients. www.frontiersin.org/journals/dig... 1/