Britain could hand out smart watches for patients to monitor their health at home under plans to ease pressure on the struggling National Health Service.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting said his plans to overhaul the NHS will be “powered by cutting-edge technology, that helps us stay healthy and out of hospital”. Patients could be alerted via their smartphone if they have unusually high blood pressure or glucose levels.
Patient data and test results will be rolled into an app under Mr Streeting's plans to “shift from analogue to digital” in the NHS. However, he refused to rule out cuts to the UK's science and research funding in a belt-tightening budget on October 30, the first under Britain's Labour government.
Prominent scientists and universities have written to Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves warning that Britain's economic growth could be “undermined by the false economy of short-term cuts”. They said spending on research would “drive high-skill sectors and cutting-edge technologies”.
Mr Streeting said on Sunday that the Chancellor “has had more letters than Father Christmas at this stage of the year”. He told the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme that research and innovation were important for growth but “so is good transport infrastructure, so is education and skills”.
“We can’t fund everything, everywhere, all at once, so you’ve got to bear with us here because we inherited a real state,” Mr Streeting said. “We can’t have a situation where the NHS budget balloons and balloons and balloons because we don’t reform the system.”
A review by Iraqi-born professor Lord Darzi informed Mr Streeting last month that the health service, founded in 1948, was “in serious trouble” due to long waiting lists, overburdened hospitals, growing ill health and public dissatisfaction with the NHS. Labour is looking at expanding the use of private providers.
Despite the potential research cuts, Mr Streeting said there was money for technology within the health budget as he predicted it would “transform how patients are cared for, making their lives infinitely easier and the NHS fit for the future”.
“One of the things that we’ve prioritised during the budget round is making sure that we’re taking steps particularly on capital and tech that will enable us to run a more productive, a more efficient NHS so that we get both better outcomes for patients but also better value for taxpayers’ money,” Mr Streeting said.
He said his 10-year plan to make the NHS a “neighbourhood health service” would include a “shift from analogue to digital, with the NHS not just benefiting from but actively driving the revolution in life sciences, med tech and data”.
Britain's health department will “look at the options for expanding access” to wearable technology such as smart watches, it said. Patients with type 2 diabetes are among those who could be encouraged to see their doctor less frequently, freeing up appointments.
The G7 countries last week threw their support behind using artificial intelligence in health care, saying the technology should be used “to its full potential” in diagnosing illnesses, recommending treatments and developing new medicines.
Ministers from Britain, France, Germany, Italy, the US, Canada and Japan said the first task was to gather data on patients to be processed by AI algorithms, in a way that “respects security and privacy”. They acknowledged this would come with “technical and cultural challenges” over trust in the technology.
Doctors in the UAE have used AI to improve success rates for IVF. Trainee eye doctors were outsmarted by ChatGPT in a study published in April. Britain recently announced funding for a promising AI-assisted blood test that could detect 12 cancers.
Who are the Sacklers?
The Sackler family is a transatlantic dynasty that owns Purdue Pharma, which manufactures and markets OxyContin, one of the drugs at the centre of America's opioids crisis. The family is well known for their generous philanthropy towards the world's top cultural institutions, including Guggenheim Museum, the National Portrait Gallery, Tate in Britain, Yale University and the Serpentine Gallery, to name a few. Two branches of the family control Purdue Pharma.
Isaac Sackler and Sophie Greenberg were Jewish immigrants who arrived in New York before the First World War. They had three sons. The first, Arthur, died before OxyContin was invented. The second, Mortimer, who died aged 93 in 2010, was a former chief executive of Purdue Pharma. The third, Raymond, died aged 97 in 2017 and was also a former chief executive of Purdue Pharma.
It was Arthur, a psychiatrist and pharmaceutical marketeer, who started the family business dynasty. He and his brothers bought a small company called Purdue Frederick; among their first products were laxatives and prescription earwax remover.
Arthur's branch of the family has not been involved in Purdue for many years and his daughter, Elizabeth, has spoken out against it, saying the company's role in America's drugs crisis is "morally abhorrent".
The lawsuits that were brought by the attorneys general of New York and Massachussetts named eight Sacklers. This includes Kathe, Mortimer, Richard, Jonathan and Ilene Sackler Lefcourt, who are all the children of either Mortimer or Raymond. Then there's Theresa Sackler, who is Mortimer senior's widow; Beverly, Raymond's widow; and David Sackler, Raymond's grandson.
Members of the Sackler family are rarely seen in public.
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Neil Thomson – THE BIO
Family: I am happily married to my wife Liz and we have two children together.
Favourite music: Rock music. I started at a young age due to my father’s influence. He played in an Indian rock band The Flintstones who were once asked by Apple Records to fly over to England to perform there.
Favourite book: I constantly find myself reading The Bible.
Favourite film: The Greatest Showman.
Favourite holiday destination: I love visiting Melbourne as I have family there and it’s a wonderful place. New York at Christmas is also magical.
Favourite food: I went to boarding school so I like any cuisine really.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
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Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
Three ways to limit your social media use
Clinical psychologist, Dr Saliha Afridi at The Lighthouse Arabia suggests three easy things you can do every day to cut back on the time you spend online.
1. Put the social media app in a folder on the second or third screen of your phone so it has to remain a conscious decision to open, rather than something your fingers gravitate towards without consideration.
2. Schedule a time to use social media instead of consistently throughout the day. I recommend setting aside certain times of the day or week when you upload pictures or share information.
3. Take a mental snapshot rather than a photo on your phone. Instead of sharing it with your social world, try to absorb the moment, connect with your feeling, experience the moment with all five of your senses. You will have a memory of that moment more vividly and for far longer than if you take a picture of it.
Miss Granny
Director: Joyce Bernal
Starring: Sarah Geronimo, James Reid, Xian Lim, Nova Villa
3/5
(Tagalog with Eng/Ar subtitles)
Mica
Director: Ismael Ferroukhi
Stars: Zakaria Inan, Sabrina Ouazani
3 stars
Naga
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Results:
5pm: Handicap (PA) | Dh80,000 | 1,600 metres
Winner: Dasan Da, Saeed Al Mazrooei (jockey), Helal Al Alawi (trainer)
5.30pm: Maiden (PA) | Dh80,000 | 1,600m
Winner: AF Saabah, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
6pm: Handicap (PA) | Dh80,000 | 1,600m
Winner: Mukaram, Pat Cosgrave, Eric Lemartinel
6.30pm: Handicap (PA) | Dh80,000 | 2,200m
Winner: MH Tawag, Richard Mullen, Elise Jeanne
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) | Dh70,000 | 1,400m
Winner: RB Inferno, Fabrice Veron, Ismail Mohammed
7.30pm: Handicap (TB) | Dh100,000 | 1,600m
Winner: Juthoor, Jim Crowley, Erwan Charpy
