NHS Staff Could Be Trained To Plug Skills Gap

Newly approved plans could see nurses, pharmacists and other healthcare professionals being trained to fill in for doctors in England.

A report by the Nuffield Trust says equipping NHS nursing, community and support staff with additional skills to deliver care is the best way to develop the capacity of the health service workforce.

But the Patients Association has warned against the plans being used as a "quick fix" and say they should not be seen as a cheaper alternative to hiring highly qualified staff.

Katherine Murphy, chief executive of the Patients Association, said: "These proposals will not solve the shortage of skilled doctors and nurses across the health service and should not aim to do so.

"Instead, the Government needs to do more to invest in the training and retaining of these qualified practitioners."

The Nuffield Trust was told to examine how best NHS staffing can be reorganised - and it found the best way to "grow" the workforce is by expanding the skills of those already employed.

Report author Candace Imison, director of policy at the health think-tank, said: "Our research shows that reshaping the NHS workforce can offer huge opportunities - for patients, through improved health outcomes, and for staff, through more rewarding roles and better career pathways.

"But we stress in our report that this is not simply a 'nice to do' - it is urgent, and essential if the health service is to find a sustainable balance between available funding, patient needs and staff needs, and deliver services fit for the 21st century."

Saffron Cordery, director of policy and strategy for NHS Providers, said: "Today's report rightly makes it clear that this is not just about training more staff, or even about creating new roles, it is also about developing, training and equipping the existing workforce, especially the vast non-medical workforce.

"This should result in a more stable substantive workforce with reduced reliance on temporary staff and outsourcing."

Bomb Parts Discovered In NI Terrorist Hide

A terrorist hide containing bomb-making components has been found in woodland in Northern Ireland.

The discovery at Capanagh Forest near Larne, Co Antrim, was made by two members of the public on Saturday.

Detectives are investigating whether the find is linked to bomb-making items uncovered at nearby Carnfunnock Country Park in March.

The latest haul has been taken away for further forensic examination.

Detective Inspector Adrian Brown said: "This investigation is at a very early stage and we are working to establish whether this find is linked to a terrorist hide that was discovered at Carnfunnock Country Park near Larne in March 2016.

"I would ask the public to remain vigilant wherever they are and whatever they are doing.

"If you see any suspicious activity, or have seen anything unusual in this area, please contact police so that we can act on the given information."

The find comes amid a continuing upsurge in violence by dissident republican groups, with the current threat level In Northern Ireland set at severe.

Last week, MI5 raised the threat level to Great Britain from Northern Ireland-related terrorism from moderate to substantial.

At the weekend a man was shot in the ankles in Londonderry in an attack police believe was carried out by paramilitaries.

The shooting in Derry was the latest in a string of gun attacks in recent days, including the murder of takeaway delivery driver Dan Murray, 55, in west Belfast.

Man Receives First Penis Transplant In US

A Massachusetts man has received the first penis transplant in the US.

Thomas Manning, who survived potentially fatal penile cancer, received the organ from a deceased donor last week.

Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston confirmed it carried out the 15-hour procedure, connecting the complex nerve and vascular structures of the donor penis.

Dr Curtis Cetrulo, who helped lead the surgical team, told the New York Times that normal urination should be possible for 64-year-old Mr Manning in a few weeks.

Sexual function should be possible in weeks to months, said Dr Cetrulo.

Mr Manning, a bank courier, had most of his penis removed - in an operation called a partial penectomy - during his battle with cancer, the Times reports.

His illness was discovered in 2012 after he was badly injured in a work accident.

He told the newspaper that after the penectomy he was left with a stump about an inch long and had to sit down to urinate.

The Halifax man said he hopes to go back to work and eventually find love. 

"If I'm lucky, I get 75% of what I used to be," he said. "Before the surgery I was 10%."

The world's first successful penis transplant was performed in South Africa in December 2014.

The University of Stellenbosch carried out the operation on a 21-year-old man who had had his penis amputated after a botched circumcision.

A man in China received the world's first penis transplant in 2005 at Guangzhou General Hospital.

It appeared to be a surgical success, but doctors said the patient asked them to remove his new organ two weeks later because of "a severe psychological problem" experienced by him and his wife.

Cameron stands by his criticism of Trump over Muslims

British Prime Minister David Cameron has refused to retract describing US presidential candidate Donald Trump's proposed Muslim ban as "divisive, stupid and wrong".

Cameron is, however, "committed to maintaining special relationship" with the United States no matter who wins the presidential election, his spokesman, Dan York-Smith, said on Monday.

"He has been clear that he will work with whoever is president of the United States," York-Smith said.

Cameron's latest comment came in response to Trump's interview with ITV's "Good Morning Britain", broadcast on Monday.

"It looks like we are not going to have a very good relationship," Trump said in the interview conducted in New York.

"Who knows, I hope to have a good relationship with him (Cameron) but he's not willing to address the problem either."

In the interview conducted on Saturday, Trump also described London's new mayor, Sadiq Khan, as "rude" for calling him ignorant.

The real estate tycoon said he would "remember" the mayor's hostile reaction to the idea that Khan, a Muslim, would be given an exception to the temporary ban.

'Rude statements'

"He doesn't know me, hasn't met me, doesn't know what I'm all about. I think they were very rude statements and, frankly, tell him I will remember those statements," Trump said. "They are very nasty statements."

Trump denied he was "at war" with Khan.

"I just think it's very rude of him. In fact it's the opposite," he said. "I wished him well when I heard he won, he's a Muslim, I think it's ignorant for him to say that."

Khan's office said American voters would reject Trump's views.

"Sadiq has spent his whole life fighting extremism, but Trump's remarks make that fight much harder for us all - it plays straight into the extremists' hands and makes both our countries less safe," his office said in a statement.

When reminded Khan has described Trump as ignorant, Trump shook his head and said: "Let's do an IQ test."

The mayor's office rejected the idea, saying "ignorance is not the same thing as lack of intelligence".

Philippine President-Elect Rodrigo Duterte Plans to Bring Back the Death Penalty

The tough-on-crime presumptive winner of the Philippine presidential election, Rodrigo Duterte, has told reporters in his first post-victory comments that he intends to bring back capital punishment.

According to Philippine news outlet GMA, Duterte told reporters in Davao City that he would “urge Congress to restore the death penalty by hanging, especially if you use drugs.”

Other local news outlets reported that he would give police shoot-to-kill powers against mobsters and those violently resisting arrest.

“If you resist, show violent resistance, my order to police (will be) to shoot to kill,” he declared, adding: “Shoot to kill for organized crime. You heard that? Shoot to kill for every organized crime.”

Duterte’s election success has been credited to his promise to eradicate crime in a country that has the world’s 11th highest homicide rate. During his campaign, he said he would “fatten the fish” of Manila Bay with the bodies of criminals.

The president-elect’s 22-year track record as the mayor Davao City gives him enormous credibility with Philippine voters. Before he took mayoral office, Davao was known for its war-zone-like lawlessness, but last year, a crowd-sourced poll declared it fourth safest city in the world.

Human-rights activists have decried his allegedly shady tactics — claiming that Duterte hired mercenary “death squads” to execute violent criminals in Davao — but Duterte is unabashed and voters apparently unconcerned.

He is due to be sworn in as president on June 30 for a six-year term.

Prisoners At Risk Of 'Escalating Violence'

Safety in jails in England and Wales continues to deteriorate "significantly" despite reforms designed to rein back control, a parliamentary report has said.

The House of Commons Justice Committee said rising levels of violence, self-harm and suicides behind bars are "a matter of great concern" and threaten to undermine the Government's penal reform agenda.

Unveiled by David Cameron earlier this year, the shake-up includes the creation of new "reform" jails, the introduction of league tables to assess prisons and moves to give governors greater control.

Justice Secretary Michael Gove has also set out plans to transform the education system in prisons and to increase the number of inmates let out on temporary licence.

Tory MP Bob Neill, chairman of the committee, said: "The ministry hoped that prison safety would stabilise.

"In reality it has deteriorated further and continues to do so.

"This is a matter of great concern and improvement is urgently needed.

"We will examine the details of the Government's ambitious penal reform agenda in due course.

"But this cannot wait.

"It is imperative that further attention is paid to bringing prisons back under firmer control, reversing recent trends of escalating violence, self-harm and disorder.

"Without such action, the implementation of these wider reforms will be undermined."

Last month, statistics published by the Ministry of Justice showed there were 100 apparent self-inflicted deaths in the year to March - the highest level for more than a decade.

There were more than 20,000 assaults in 12 months to December, a rise of 27% year-on-year, and nearly 5,000 attacks on staff - a jump of more than a third compared with 2014.

Earlier this month, staff at Wormwood Scrubs prison in west London walked out over health and safety concerns.

In a speech last week, Mr Gove conceded the figures for deaths in custody and violence in prisons are "terrible", adding: "There's no point trying to minimise, excuse or divert attention away from the increasing problems we face."

Shadow justice secretary Lord Falconer said: "This devastating report exposes the full extent of the Tory prison crisis.

"Staff shortages, overcrowding and a rise in violence have left many of our jails ungovernable and out of control.

"Self-harm and suicides are now at record levels and serious assaults on hardworking prison officers have surged."

Antonov An-225 Mriya touches down in Australia

Thousands of Australian aircraft enthusiasts have watched the world's largest plane, the Antonov An-225 Mriya, arrive in Perth.

The 84m-long plane, which weighs 175 tonnes without cargo or fuel, was transporting a 117-tonne generator. 

Traffic blocked roads on Sunday as crowds gathered to watch the plane's arrival. 

The plane picked up its cargo in Prague and stopped at locations in the Middle East and Asia on its way to Australia.