Trump picks former anti-abortion leader for health and human services post

Donald Trump has appointed the former president of a leading anti-abortion group to the top communications role at the Department of Health and Human Services (DHSS).

Charmaine Yoest, who for several years was head of Americans United for Life (AUL), will be HHS assistant secretary for public affairs. AUL played an instrumental role in the recent wave of anti-abortion laws by feeding model legislation to state lawmakers.

Under Yoest, the group pushed model bills that outlawed abortion after 20 weeks, required abortion providers to gain admitting privileges at local hospitals, and mandated counseling and waiting periods for women seeking abortions. AUL is also opposed to the use of the morning-after pill and IUDs.

Between 2010 and 2016, states have enacted 288 restrictions on abortion. The AUL directly credits its own work for several dozen of those laws. Its model legislation may have inspired countless more. Abortion rights advocates have managed to block many such measures in court.

As AUL president, Yoest played a key role in framing abortion restrictions as necessary to protect women’s health, although the medical evidence for such claims was often dubious. AUL’s ultimate goal is to end abortion.

Since leaving AUL, in 2016, Yoest has been a senior fellow at American Values, an anti-abortion, anti-same-sex marriage nonprofit. In her new role, she will set communications strategy for the entire health department.

The agency is headed by another staunch opponent of reproductive rights, former Georgia congressman Tom Price, who as chair of the House budget committee oversaw passage of a measure that defunded Planned Parenthood.

Price has also voiced hostility toward the requirement, put in place by the Obama administration, that health insurance plans cover contraception with no co-pay, once challenging a reporter to “bring me one woman” who struggled to afford contraception on her own.

Trump picks former anti-abortion leader for health and human services post

A single in 16 sufferers in NHS hospitals picks up infection, warns watchdog

The Nationwide Institute for Overall health and Care Excellence mentioned physicians and nurses have to ‘redouble’ hygiene efforts to bring costs down. Photograph: Dominic Lipinski/PA

One particular in every single sixteen people taken care of at an NHS hospital fall unwell with an infection, in accordance to a government health company report. The Nationwide Institute for Well being and Care Excellence (Nice) mentioned the charge of infections, which are a “quite actual threat” to patients’ lives, was “unacceptably large”.

Infections can happen in healthy men and women, specially if they are undergoing invasive surgery or making use of catheters or tubes inserted into veins. Children, the elderly and the ill are even much more susceptible.

Common varieties of infection contain pneumonia, reduce respiratory tract infections, urinary tract infections and surgical internet site infections.

While steps have been taken to reduce infection prices of hospital bugs such as MRSA and Clostridium difficile, other infection rates are nonetheless also substantial, Great explained. A spokeswoman stated that doctors and nurses must “redouble” hygiene efforts to deliver the rates down.

Nice has set out new suggestions to handle the difficulty, including advising healthcare employees to clean their hands totally and often and to use catheters or vascular access devices securely and hygienically.

Professor Gillian Leng, deputy chief executive and director of wellness and social care at Nice, stated: “It is unacceptable that infection charges are nevertheless so large inside the NHS. Infections are a pricey and avoidable burden. They hinder a patient’s recovery, can make underlying situations worse, and minimize high quality of lifestyle.

“Though there have been key improvements within the NHS in infection control, specifically in relation to Clostridium difficile and MRSA bloodstream infections in the final few many years, healthcare-linked infections are nevertheless a very real threat to individuals, their families and carers and staff. This top quality regular offers major, local community and secondary care services the most up-to-date guidance on the very best approaches to minimise the dangers of infections.”

The number of deaths from MRSA and Clostridium difficile has fallen in successive many years. According to the ONS, the variety of sufferers in hospitals in England and Wales who died from MRSA fell by 25%, from 485 in 2010 to 364 in 2011.

There have been two,053 deaths relevant to the C difficile infection, compared with two,704 the year just before. The number of sufferers who died after contracting C difficile represented 1% of all hospital deaths in between 2009 and 2011.

Regardless of the fall in the two kinds of infection, wellness officials warn that extreme use of antibiotics has led to an enhance in new strains of infections that are resistant to treatment.

The government uncovered final month that sixteen folks have died in the Manchester region in the past 4 years from a hugely resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase. Most have been really sick and could have been colonised by the bacteria just before admission to hospital. The infection is resistant to carbapenems – antibiotics that, in numerous circumstances, are regarded as the final successful defence towards multi-resistant bacterial infections.

Carol Pellowe, senior lecturer at Guy’s &amp St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust and member of the committee that designed the standards, extra: “This good quality standard will market very best practice in infection prevention and control and by offering crucial regions for action, motivate organisations to sustain their efforts in ensuring patient security.”

A single in 16 sufferers in NHS hospitals picks up infection, warns watchdog

Taxpayer picks up bill for hundreds of police officers signed off with tension

The highest sick charge was in Derbyshire, which reported thirty officers have been signed off with anxiety, amounting to one.64 per cent of their total amount.

It was followed by a massive metropolitan force, West Midlands, with 1.58 per cent.

And the third highest proportion was in rural Bedfordshire – the fourth smallest force in the nation – which reported one.56 per cent, or 17 of its 1,092 officers.

In comparison, the Metropolitan Police – by far the greatest force in England and Wales – reported 101 officers had been off with tension, amounting to just .33 per cent of their total numbers. Higher Manchester Police, the 2nd greatest, had 71 off with pressure, or .99 per cent of their 7,200 complete.

Knowledgeable police constables earn £36,500 a yr that means the wage bill for the 787 officers would be just beneath £29 million over a yr, or £552,000 a week. A lot of officers earn significantly more, with the pay out scale for a superintendent growing to £72,585 a 12 months.

However, the true value to the taxpayer is unattainable to estimate because there are no figures on how lengthy each and every officer has been off sick.

Spending budget cuts have witnessed the total number of police officers fall by sixteen,000 because the Coalition came to electrical power, according to official figures published last month.

There were 128,350 officers at the finish of September 2013, a drop of virtually 3,500 in 12 months and the lowest quantity because September 2002.

A spokesman for the Police Federation, which represents rank-and-file officers, said: “The unprecedented cuts to the police support have meant that officers are under a lot more strain now than ever just before, with 16,000 officers getting been lost in the final 3 years.

“Our members are currently being asked to do more and much more with fewer assets and even though they have risen admirably to the challenge it is inevitable that the elevated pressures they’re dealing with will have an impact on their overall health and wellbeing.

“The Police Federation is doing work closely with the Association of Chief Police Officers and the School of Policing on measures to fight officer stress and played a crucial part in the introduction of new flexible doing work tips.”

Phil Mason, Derbyshire’s head of human assets, mentioned: “We are amazed that our anxiety-relevant absences are higher than other police forces as we do benchmark overall absence with other forces and there has been no indication that our absence levels are significantly higher.

“Derbyshire Constabulary delivers all workers a full confidential care worker support programme which contains counselling and emotional help. We offer you referrals to our Occupational Support Unit to aid officers with tension-connected problems, recovery and a return to operate strategy.”

Most current figures have also shown the quantity of community help officers in England and Wales has fallen by 859 12 months-on-12 months and police personnel by one,300.

Last week it emerged that police forces could be forced to spend out hundreds of thousands of lbs in compensation to former officers who have won age discrimination claims after currently being forced to retire.

A ruling on test circumstances brought on behalf of 250 officers found that five chief constables improperly utilized police laws to get rid of the officers on age grounds.

Taxpayer picks up bill for hundreds of police officers signed off with tension