A revolutionary new gene therapy which restores sight will be provided by the NHS, chief executive Simon Stevens has announced today. Babies born with inherited retinal dystrophies disorder have poor sight which swiftly deteriorates, with most losing their vision completely in childhood. Until now no treatment has been available. The life-changing treatment for children and […]
The NHS is calling on parents to keep asthma medicine close at hand this week, with children up to three times more likely to need medical help as the school year starts. One in ten young people has asthma, with spikes in demand for help from GPs and hospitals in the weeks after school holidays, […]
Funding for children’s hospices will rise to £25 million a year, NHS England has pledged. Medical advances mean the NHS can help seriously ill children and young people with more complex health issues live longer, more fulfilling lives. NHS England’s hospice grant programme currently provides £12 million a year for children’s hospices, helping to provide […]
The first NHS gambling clinic for children will open this year as part of a new network of services for addicts being rolled out as part of the NHS Long Term Plan. The ground-breaking move comes amid growing concern that the scourge of problem gambling is being fuelled by online gaming sites and targeted adverts, […]
NHS England has outlined a series of practical plans and actions designed to help young carers who may be ‘hidden’, unpaid and under the age of sixteen. Coinciding with the health theme day of Carers Week, from Tuesday (June 11) family doctors across the country can volunteer to offer a new package of services for […]
NHS England will provide a promising new treatment which can prolong the lives of children with a rare genetic condition after negotiating a deal with the manufacturer. Nusinersen, also called Spinraza and made by Biogen, is the first treatment that targets the underlying cause of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). The condition affects the nerves in […]
A pioneering NHS pilot scheme to help vulnerable children improve their sleep patterns has delivered significant improvements to families’ health and wellbeing. The programme in Sheffield, developed by the NHS, the Children’s Sleep Charity and Sheffield City Council, delivers sleep clinics to children from troubled backgrounds or with very challenging behaviour, resulting in children sleeping […]
Pioneering brain surgery that allows children who are deaf to experience the sensation of hearing for the first time is being made routinely available, NHS England announced today. Two highly specialist teams at hospitals in Manchester and London will perform Auditory Brainstem Implants (ABIs) surgery for children who are deaf across the country. The surgery […]
Hundreds of people will receive therapy to counteract the impact of harmful social media, as part of a new NHS service for the rare eating disorder diabulimia. Patients will be coached to deal with unrealistic body images amid increasing concerns about the potential damage social media can have on young peoples’ mental health. Diabulimia is […]
Teenagers accounted for more than 1,000 admissions to hospital as a result of assaults with a knife or sharp object last year, NHS figures show. Admissions for all injuries caused by an assault with knife or other sharp objects have gone up by almost a third since 2012-13, from 3,849 to 4,986 last year. However, […]