Covid inquiry chair defends cost and length of process on final day

“Cervical screening can be difficult for some women for many reasons, like if they have had a bad previous experience, they are menopausal, they have a physical or learning disability, cultural barriers, or are a survivor of sexual violence,” says Athena Lamnisos from charity The Eve Appeal.

A charity is to open the region’s first centre to support women with endometriosis. The condition causes tissue, similar to the lining of the uterus, to grow elsewhere in the body, including the ovaries, pelvis, bladder and bowel. It can cause extreme pain, fatigue, heavy periods and can make it difficult to get pregnant. Helen…

Oliver Picard, chair of the National Pharmacy Association, told BBC Radio 5 Live that his pharmacies were getting a booking for a jab every two to three minutes with more than 100 overnight. “It is unsustainable,” he said. “We don’t have any vaccines. We always keep a small stock which was used up very quickly.”

Some 380 hospice beds out of around 2,000 lie empty in England because of financial pressures, say bosses. Hospice UK has told BBC News this is up from 300 a year ago and illustrates the severe challenges facing the sector. Beds are left empty to save money – since staffing and caring is costly –…

A Georgia man who blamed the COVID-19 vaccine for his mental health problems opened fire on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Atlanta headquarters on August 8, killing a police officer before he died from gunshot wounds, according to media reports. The man, Patrick White, 30, had five guns on him during the…

A hospital boss has apologised after a Kent emergency department resorted to using its cafe as a makeshift ward. A&E staff at William Harvey Hospital in Ashford decided to screen off the building’s cafe on Tuesday to create space for treating patients. East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust said the move was due to…