This year’s Bristol Radical History Festival focused on the persistent threats of racism, xenophobia and, of course, our radical collective resistance to it across Ireland and Britain, reports LYNNE WALSH
Latest editorial
The dangerous confusion over Covid transmission
The NHS continues to say Covid spreads primarily through ‘droplet and touch’ while the WHO emphasises airborne transmission, meaning vulnerable patients and healthcare workers face unnecessary risks, reports RUTH HUNT
A person placing a swab from a Covid 19 lateral flow test into a buffer tube contusing testing solution (picture posed by a model)
A maverick’s self-inflicted snake bites could unlock breakthrough treatments – but they also reveal deeper tensions between noble scientific curiosity and cold corporate callousness, write ROX MIDDLETON, LIAM SHAW and MIRIAM GAUNTLETT
The FBU is demanding 52 weeks of full pay for women firefighters, highlighting the unique health risks they face — and the continuing need to recruit and retain more women if policies like this are still not in place, writes SEONA HART
Israel continues to operate with impunity in what seems to be a brutal and protracted experiment, while much of the world looks on, says RAMZY BAROUD
A new report by Amnesty International pulls no punches in highlighting the Labour government’s human rights violations of those on benefits, says Dr DYLAN MURPHY
With Reform UK surging and Labour determined not to offer anything different from the status quo, a clear opportunity opens for the left, argues CLAUDIA WEBBE
A recent Immigration Summit heard from Lord Alf Dubs, who fled the Nazis to Britain as a child. JAYDEE SEAFORTH reports on his message that we need to increase public empathy with desperate people seeking asylum
WITH the official advice from the NHS saying that Covid is mainly spread by “droplet and touch” but the World Health Organisation saying the primary spread is “airborne,” the message to staff and patients is confused, leading to a lack of protective measures, putting staff and patients at risk.
As pressures in the NHS continue, with increasing admissions for infectious viruses, there are calls to improve the infection, prevention and control (IPC) measures within the NHS and social care.
That’s because flu, Covid RSV and norovirus (droplets can be airborne when a patient vomits) can be deadly for patients who are immunosuppressed, and those with conditions like cancer who, due to treatment, are more prone to infection.
More from this author
By making Personal Independence Payments harder to access, Labour is creating another barrier for those already struggling with soaring care costs, workplace discrimination and prejudiced employers, argues RUTH HUNT
Behind the Samaritans’ promise to always listen, callers face secret restrictions and automated blocks while the charity admits setting limits without clearly warning ‘frequent’ users they risk getting cut off — or why, writes RUTH HUNT
What’s needed are more truly accessible homes, radical reform of the private sector to protect disabled tenants, and a less myopic view of the housing market focused on ‘homeowners,’ argues RUTH HUNT
When over-fifties fracture bones from minor falls, scanning could show if they have this debilitating condition, and steps can be taken to treat it. Major delays and lack of scanners means this isn’t happening properly, writes RUTH HUNT
