RAF jet was taking defence secretary back to UK from Poland, and flying near Russian exclave of Kaliningrad

Russia is believed to have jammed the satellite signal on an RAF aircraft carrying Grant Shapps back from Poland, according to government sources.

Defence sources said there was no danger to Shapps, who was travelling back to the UK, though they called it a “wildly irresponsible” act of electronic warfare.

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Squeezing high-end features into a more affordable frame makes for an excellent mid-range smart sports tracker

Garmin’s latest smart sports watch condenses all the great features from its higher-end Forerunner models into a cheaper, simpler running tracker with a bright OLED screen and long battery life.

The Forerunner 165 is the new base model in Garmin’s new lineup, priced from £250 (€280/$250/A$429) compared with the £430 Forerunner 265 .

Screen: 1.2in AMOLED

Case size: 43mm

Case thickness: 11.6mm

Band size: standard 20mm

Weight: 39g

Storage: 4GB

Water resistance: 50 metres (5ATM)

Sensors: GNSS (GPS, Glonass, Galileo), compass, thermometer, heart rate, pulse Ox

Connectivity: Bluetooth, ANT+ (wifi with music)

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Exclusive: findings raise concerns over ‘two-tier service’ with poorer people also feeling less heard by medics

Poorer people find it much harder to access NHS care than the well-off and have a worse experience when they do get it, research by the health service’s consumer watchdog has found.

Those on the lowest incomes have much more difficulty getting a GP appointment, dental care or help with mental health problems, according to a survey by Healthwatch England.

42% of those who described their financial situation as “really struggling” said they had trouble getting to see a GP, double the 21% of those who were “very comfortable”.

38% of the worst-off found it hard to get NHS dental care, compared with 20% of the better-off.

28% of the very poor had difficulty accessing mental health treatment, whereas only 9% of the very comfortable did so.

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NHS aims to tempt at least five doctors to move to the Uists and Benbecula amid recruitment crisis

Wanted: family doctors to enjoy a life of adventure, “shimmering beaches” and an idyllic landscape. And if that is not enough, what about earning nearly £150,000 a year to work a 40-hour week?

That record salary is being offered by NHS executives in the Outer Hebrides in a fresh effort to solve a recruitment crisis at one of the remotest medical practices in the UK, serving the dispersed communities of the Uists and Benbecula.

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A groundbreaking study shows that having a regular GP helps people stay well. Policymakers should take note

In the book that Anatole Broyard wrote about being diagnosed with cancer, he described wishing that his doctor “would brood on my situation for perhaps five minutes, that he would give me his whole mind just once … survey my soul as well as my flesh, to get at my illness, for each man is ill in his own way”. Given the desperate state of the UK’s health services, such appeals for personalised attention might sound like messages beamed in from another world. But a new study from the University of Cambridge offers some of the strongest proof to date that strong doctor-patient relationships contribute positively to health.

The research, which focused on GPs, found that seeing the same one on each visit meant patients chose to wait on average 18% longer between appointments. While this study did not look at outcomes, it treated the frequency of visits as a proxy on the basis that patients in better health are less likely to seek help. An existing body of evidence has highlighted the benefits of continuity of care in primary (non-hospital) settings, including higher patient satisfaction and reduced hospital admissions . This latest study points to the advantages within primary care, as patients leaving longer gaps between visits could free up millions of appointments.

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Study analysing data from 10m consultations in England also says practice can free up millions of appointments

Seeing the same GP improves patients’ health, reduces doctors’ workloads and could free up millions of appointments, according to the largest study of its kind.

Primary care is under enormous strain, with patients struggling to book consultations, GPs quitting or retiring early, and financial pressures causing some practices to close. Four-week waits hit a record high in 2023, with 17.6m appointments taking place at least 28 days after being booked in England last year.

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The little-known digestive disease is hard to diagnose but can affect swallowing and require emergency treatment

Lisa Thornton was heavily pregnant and in her early 30s when she noticed the feeling of a blockage in her oesophagus, the muscular food pipe that connects the mouth to the stomach. “At the time, I just thought it was just the pregnancy,” says Thornton, now 50, who lives in the New Forest in Hampshire. “I thought it was everything pushing up. But a few years later, things started to get worse.”

During a Sunday roast with her family, a chunk of broccoli suddenly lodged in her throat, causing spasms that persisted for hours. Any attempts to wash it down with water failed as the fluid simply came straight back up. Thornton drove to a nearby drop-in centre, where doctors tried, without success, to free the blockage with muscle relaxants.

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Poll finds more than half of male respondents would not seek doctor’s advice, as NHS England seeks to promote early diagnosis

Millions of people would not go their GP with possible cancer symptoms, according to new research.

A poll for NHS England of 2,000 adults found that more than two in five wouldn’t visit their GP if they had possible cancer symptoms. The figure is particular high among men, with more than half saying they wouldn’t speak to their doctor, compared with 35% of women.

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Bye bye le compteur classique, le GPS vélo est devenu en quelques années l’accessoire indispensable pour ne plus se perdre et s'entraîner. Car au-delà de ses qualités de guide, il s’est aussi transformé en véritable coach grâce à l’ajout de nombreuses fonctionnalités et l’évolution des technologies embarquées dans son cockpit. [Lire la suite]

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