Newspaper headlines: Nurses' strike warning and PM's maths promise
- Published
The NHS features on many front pages in a variety of stories. The Daily Express says, external a warning that nurses in England could be staging walkouts until Christmas will strike fear into people who rely on the health service. But the "I" newspaper says, external ministers are hopeful that divisions among unions over the government's pay offer will bring an end to the industrial action. The paper says the health secretary, Steve Barclay, expects the GMB and some smaller unions to join Unison in accepting his offer - which would leave the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) and potentially Unite opposing it.
An opinion poll for the Times suggests, external a majority of people continue to support those health workers who are on strike. The poll found that 59% of voters back the junior doctors' walkout - even though one in ten of those surveyed said their treatment had been affected by the strike. Support for nurses' industrial action is even higher, at 67%.
The Guardian says , external250,000 children with mental health problems have been denied help by the NHS as it struggles with a drastic increase in cases. The paper says some trusts across the UK are failing to offer treatment to 60% of those referred by GPs. The government tells the Guardian it is working closely with NHS England to ensure quicker access to high-quality care.
The Daily Mail leads on a report, external which says that dozens of rapes and other sexual assaults take place in hospitals every week. The data has been gathered by the campaign group, Women's Rights Network, using freedom of information requests to police forces in England and Wales. Between January 2019 and last October, on average, there were 33 assaults reported every week. The data doesn't detail if the offences were carried out at NHS or private hospitals.
According to the Daily Telegraph, external Scotland's former first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, is under growing pressure to quit the SNP - even though she plans to remain in Holyrood until at least 2026. The paper says her successor, Humza Yousaf, is facing demands to suspend her if she refuses to walk away. A senior SNP source said that any contribution by Ms Sturgeon as a backbencher would be leapt on by opposition to draw attention to the turmoil within the party.
The Times reports, external that security staff and cleaners have been sacked from the Conservative Party's headquarters in London to save money before the local elections next month and the general election expected next year. The paper says Tory sources fear that donors might be spooked by the move which is unlikely to save vast sums.
The Daily Mirror has sent, external a 13-year-old girl to try to buy vaping pens that are illegal to sell to under-18s. Half of the sixteen shops she visited in Manchester sold her vapes, and she ended up with products containing as much nicotine as 100 cigarettes. The report prompted an anti-smoking campaigner to declare "it's the Wild West out there".