TThe real worries about the Labor government’s uncertain start have nothing to do with the ridiculous talk about gifts and hospitality or Taylor Swift’s blue-light escort, but whether it will be able to deliver on its core promises on the NHS and the economy. is.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting is one of the new government’s brightest stars, fiercely focused on what works, regardless of Labor’s sentiments about the legacy of 1948. He wants to bring in the private sector to provide free NHS services to patients. To expand the capacity of health services.
But even he cannot perform miracles.
The scale of the coronavirus waiting list is daunting, with six million people in England – almost a tenth of the population – on waiting lists. Meanwhile, the decline in NHS productivity over the past few years has been mind-boggling. That is truly alarming.
There may be something that can be done about that. In most cases, there are more managers involved, rather than fewer. It is also good news that Mr Streeting is being advised by Alan Milburn, who some claim was the most successful health secretary in history. Equally encouraging is the fact that Michael Barber, head of the Prime Minister’s delivery unit during Tony Blair’s second term, has returned to government to advise No 10 and the Department of Health.
But the challenges remain enormous, and even if Mr Streeting is as good as I think he is, it will take years for him to improve the NHS in a way that patients will notice. Labor governments have done this before, but it took 13 years and twice as much NHS spending in real terms. This time it might be more difficult.
All the streets need is luck. And that could happen in the future.
A new generation of drugs developed to treat type 2 diabetes has been found to be effective not only in achieving weight loss, but also in treating heart failure, high blood pressure, kidney disease, stroke and coronavirus.
The first of these semaglutide-based drugs, commonly known as Ozempic or Wegovy, is starting to be used more widely in the UK (although only one drug is currently approved as a weight loss drug in the UK). It is important to note that it is only the latter (and also the only one currently available on the NHS).
Earlier this year, a similar tirzepatide-based drug, known by the brand name Mounjaro, also began hitting the market. However, like Ozempic, Munjaro is not currently available on the NHS, so on Tuesday this week Streeting announced a trial to examine the effects of this weight loss treatment on people getting off benefits and into work. Reduce demands on the NHS.
Mr Street speaks cautiously about the “long-term benefits of these drugs”, but says: “For many people, these drugs are life-changing, helping them get back to work and reducing pressure on the NHS.” It will be done,” he said.
He is right to be cautious.
Medicines are expensive. When using folk remedies, Ozempic and Wegovy cost patients around £200 for a month’s worth of injections. Many people who have tried them, including Boris Johnson, Robert Jenrick, Andrea Jenkins and James Corden, also find the reported side effects to be intolerable.
Additionally, there are supply issues that need to be addressed. There are concerns that some diabetics (for whom this drug was originally intended) have difficulty obtaining it and that these drugs are safe to treat others. There is also the fact that it will take several years of testing to confirm this. conditions.
That aside, there are reasons to be optimistic.
Just this month, new numbers were released suggesting that obesity levels in the United States are beginning to decline for the first time in history, perhaps thanks to the intake of weight-loss drugs. The cost of a new drug may come down over time, but even at current prices there are many people for whom the drug could postpone or alleviate illnesses that would cost the NHS significantly more.
Unpleasant side effects may be minimized with further innovation and experimentation. A study published in August suggested that these drugs have “far-reaching benefits beyond what was originally imagined,” said one of the authors, Professor Harlan M. Krumholz of the Yale School of Medicine. That’s what it means.
These days, any drug that seems to work tends to be hailed as a ‘magic bullet’, but these new weight loss drugs are actually doing wonders not only for the people they save from disease, but also for the NHS and society. may have a significant effect. whole.
Let’s hope so.
