Seven days in medicine: 15-21 February 2017
BMJ 2017; 356 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.j915 (Published 23 February 2017) Cite this as: BMJ 2017;356:j915
Youth suicide
Same sex marriage policies cut youth suicides
US researchers estimated that same sex marriage policies were associated with a 0.6% drop in suicide attempts, representing a 7% fall in the proportion of high school students reporting a suicide attempt in the past year. The study, published in JAMA Pediatrics, looked at changes in suicide attempts among all public high school students before and after 32 states introduced policies permitting same sex marriage, comparing them with 15 states without such policies.
Social care
One in eight over 65s has unmet care needs
A report by Age UK called for a cash injection for the adult social care system in the spring budget and for a long term solution to care provision. It said that almost one in eight people over 65 (nearly 1.2 million) do not receive the support they need for everyday tasks such as eating, dressing, and bathing. This is up 17.9% from last year and 50% from 2010.
Council tax rises will not meet social care needs
Most social care authorities in England (147 of 151) are planning or considering a 2-3% social care tax in 2017-18, an analysis by the Local Government Authority found. This would raise £543m (€643m; $676m), but this would all go towards paying for the national living wage, which will cost more than £600m next year. Because of a £5.8bn funding gap by 2020, councils will have to continue cutting local services to plug …
Log in
Log in using your username and password
Log in through your institution
Subscribe from £173 *
Subscribe and get access to all BMJ articles, and much more.
* For online subscription
Access this article for 1 day for:
£38 / $45 / €42 (excludes VAT)
You can download a PDF version for your personal record.