Daily digest September 21 2015

The NHS could collapse within two years, former health minister Norman Lamb warns

Former health minister Norman Lamb said the NHS faces a make-or-break crisis and that it is heading for a ‘crash’.

As The Independent reports, the Liberal Democrat MP who was minister for care and support in the coalition government, said without the necessary funds it will be mental health service users who are hit hardest by an NHS crisis because this is 'where the squeeze always comes'.

Mr Lamb accused the Conservative government of failing to own up to the scale of the problem and that the extra £8 billion it has pledged for the service by 2020 will neither be enough nor come soon enough.

Read more on the Independent website

Charity predicts a third of British people born in 2015 will develop dementia

The charity Alzheimer’s Research UK has warned of a ‘looming national health crisis’ as the population ages, and is calling for greater efforts worldwide to help develop treatments for the disease.

Figures published today by the charity show 37% of girls and 27% of boys born this year will develop dementia in their lifetime, the Guardian reports.

Dementia affects 850,000 people in the UK and the most common type is Alzheimer’s disease. The charity estimates that the development of a drug that could delay the onset of dementia by five years would cut the number of cases by a third.

Read more on the Guardian website

Rugby's top medic calls for rule change to make game safer

Martin Raftery, chief medical officer for World Rugby told the BBC that action needs to be taken to reduce brain injuries in the game, with tackles the most likely focus of any change.

Reported concussions in rugby have doubled in five years, and a UK expert said that on average one player at every Six Nations match sustained a brain injury.

The English and Scottish rugby unions said they are trying to make the game safer and increase awareness of concussion. The number of reported concussions in English rugby rose by 59% in 2013-14, and in Scotland the figure has almost doubled in the past two years.

Read more on the BBC News website

Sex does not trigger heart attacks even after health scare

A study has found no evidence that sex can trigger a heart attack, even in patients who have had one already, the Telegraph reports.

The scientists rated sexual intercourse as 'moderate' activity, equivalent to climbing two staircases or taking a brisk walk.

The researchers compared sexual activity and rates of fatal heart attack, stroke and death from heart disease in a group of 536 heart patients aged 30 to 70.

Participants were asked about their levels of sexual activity in the 12 months before a heart attack. Over a period of 10 years, no correlation was found between having sex and adverse cardiovascular events.

Read more on the Telegraph website