NHS to roll out new cholesterol-lowering drug that 'could save 30,000 lives' - Sky News

Hundreds of thousands of people will soon have access to a cholesterol-lowering drug that could save 30,000 lives within the next decade, it has been announced.

The NHS will make the treatment available to 300,000 patients with high cholesterol and a history of cardiovascular disease over the next three years.

The number of people benefiting from the new medication, inclisiran, could rise to nearly half a million beyond that initial period, bosses say.

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August: NHS faces huge backlog in wake of pandemic

The drug, which could prevent about 55,000 heart attacks and strokes, is delivered as an injection twice a year and can be used alongside existing treatments like statins.

Heart disease is the world's biggest killer and accounts for a quarter of all deaths in England each year, claiming about 140,000 lives.

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More than 40% of people in the nation have high cholesterol, which puts them at significant risk of developing heart disease.

About 6.5 million adults in England are currently taking drugs for the condition.

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Inclisiran will be administered as an injection in GP surgeries rather than hospitals to make it more convenient for patients.

After the first dose, the treatment will be given again after three months and then twice a year.

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June: Effect of lockdowns on life-saving treatment

Amanda Pritchard, chief executive of the NHS, said the rollout is part of the NHS's commitment to "using cutting-edge treatments to save and improve patients' lives".

"Heart disease is still one of the major killer conditions, so it is fantastic that we now have such an effective and convenient treatment for those living with dangerously high cholesterol levels," she said.

"This world-leading deal for the rollout of inclisiran will save lives and enable hundreds of thousands of people to benefit from this revolutionary treatment, while also being fair to taxpayers."

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May: NHS backlog leaves GP surgeries struggling

The treatment's rollout follows clinical trials that showed that the drug lowers the level of a type of fatty substance called LDL-C found in the blood by boosting the liver's ability to remove it.

High levels of LDL-C make people more likely to suffer a heart attack or stroke.

"Unprecedented" large quantities of the drug were secured in order to keep its cost "affordable", the NHS said.

Jules Payne, chief executive of HEART UK, welcomed the rollout, calling the medicine "an additional tool in the armour against cardiovascular disease".

"High cholesterol is very common and a major cause of cardiovascular disease, but the lack of symptoms means the first sign of the problem is often a heart attack," he added.

Health Secretary Sajid Javid said the "life-saving new treatment will make a difference to hundreds of thousands of people across England", and he added: "This is a huge step forward in tackling the scourge of heart disease, which tragically kills thousands every year."

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2021-08-31 23:52:52Z
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Afghanistan: The questions facing Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab - BBC News

Reuters

On Wednesday, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab will be grilled by the Foreign Affairs Committee over his handling of the UK's withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Here are some of the questions Mr Raab could face:

How many people have been left behind in Afghanistan?

Since April, more than 17,000 people have been evacuated from Afghanistan by the UK.

Around 5,000 were UK nationals, while the rest were mostly Afghans who worked for the British government, supported under the Afghanistan Relocation Assistance Policy (Arap).

Civilian evacuations came to an end at the weekend and Mr Raab has said it is difficult to ascertain how many people have been left behind, although he estimated that a few hundred British nationals still remain in the country.

Last week, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said there were around 800 to 1,100 Afghans eligible to come to the UK under the Arap scheme who would not be able to make it out of the country.

Mr Raab dismissed claims from MPs that there could be as many as 7,000 Arap-eligible applicants left behind.

The foreign secretary can expect MPs to push him on the most recent figures.

What will happen to Afghans trying to leave the country?

Reuters

In addition to the Arap scheme, the UK says its Afghan Citizens' Resettlement Scheme aims to allow 5,000 Afghans to settle in the UK, with the long-term goal a total of 20,000.

However, with the UK's airlift evacuations at an end, those hoping to leave may have to resort to escaping into neighbouring countries by land.

These journeys could be dangerous and would entail passing through Taliban checkpoints.

There is also no guarantee bordering countries would be willing to let in Afghan refugees or that the Taliban would let people leave.

Given the UK no longer has a diplomatic presence in Afghanistan, will it struggle to process resettlement claims from Afghans?

The UK has suggested it will try to process resettlement claims in neighbouring countries but will people have to risk making a potentially dangerous journey out of Afghanistan before they know if they are eligible to move to the UK?

Does the UK have deals with countries neighbouring Afghanistan?

The German Foreign Minister, Heiko Mass, has just completed a visit to the region taking in Turkey, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Pakistan and Qatar.

Germany says Uzbekistan has agreed to allow those identified to be at-risk to be flown in and on to Germany once flights restart from Kabul.

Speaking to the BBC on Tuesday, Mr Raab said he had spoken to all of the main third countries where the government expect people to flee and was "making sure we have got the practical arrangements to be able to identify those that are eligible so that they can get across the border".

Mr Raab could be pushed on the specifics of his contacts with countries in the region and whether any agreements have been put in place.

Why was the government's intelligence wrong?

EPA

The speed of the Taliban's advance to Kabul took many countries by surprise.

Mr Raab has acknowledged that the UK's assessment was "clearly wrong" but pointed out that other countries also failed to predict the pace at which the Afghan government would collapse.

He has also said intelligence gathering was not the Foreign Office's "lead responsibility"; however MPs will still want to know how the UK government got its assessment wrong.

Why were sensitive documents left in the UK embassy in Kabul?

Last week, The Times reported that documents with the contact details of Afghans working for - or applying to work for - the UK had been left behind at the British embassy in Kabul after staff evacuated the building.

It came as a UN report warned that the Taliban had been conducting door-to-door searches to find and threaten people who had worked for Nato forces or the previous Afghan government.

The Foreign Office insisted "every effort" was made to destroy sensitive embassy papers and that it had helped three of the affected families to safety.

MPs may seek assurances that others whose details were left behind have been offered help.

Should Mr Raab have returned from holiday sooner?

Earlier this month, Mr Raab faced criticism for being on holiday as the Taliban advanced on Kabul.

He has denied reports he was asked to return to the UK on 13 August but instead chose to remain abroad until 15 August.

Mr Raab subsequently admitted that "with hindsight" he would not have gone away, but dismissed suggestions he was "lounging on the beach" as nonsense, saying he was focused on the evacuation operation and the stability of Kabul airport.

Has the retreat from Afghanistan left the UK diminished and at greater risk than before?

PA Media

The decision to end the foreign involvement in Afghanistan was made by President Joe Biden.

The UK had no part in it. Boris Johnson's government was not even able to get the US to extend the airlift by a few days, and it couldn't assemble a group of other countries that could keep the airport open.

So MPs may want to know if this leaves the UK looking like a weaker power, unable to act independently if the US isn't involved.

And what about the threat that extremists will again have a haven in Afghanistan?

The Taliban's links with al-Qaeda are well known, it still has groups listed by the US as terrorist organisations in its ranks today and there are others, such as IS-K, now at large in Afghanistan too.

So MPs may want to know what the UK will realistically be able to do, to try to prevent new security threats emerging in the region now UK forces have had to leave, the UK's allies have been defeated, the UK has no bases in neighbouring countries, and no official relationship with Afghanistan's new rulers.

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2021-08-31 23:07:59Z
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'Life-saving' twice-yearly injections can replace daily statin tablets for thousands - Daily Mail

Statins in a jab: 'Life-saving' twice-yearly injections can replace daily tablets for thousands of patients after approval by watchdog

• National Institute for Health and Care Excellence approved cholesterol-lowering jabs
• Hundreds of thousands will receive the jabs from their GP twice a year
• The drug treatment cuts levels of 'bad' LDL cholesterol by around 50 per cent

By Eleanor Hayward Health Correspondent For The Daily Mail

Published: 00:01 BST, 1 September 2021 | Updated: 00:04 BST, 1 September 2021

Hundreds of thousands of people will receive cholesterol-lowering jabs from their GP twice a year as an alternative to statins, it was announced today.

The ‘game-changing’ treatment, called inclisiran, is now rolled out on the NHS after it was approved by the UK’s medical watchdog.

The drug cuts levels of ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol – a fatty substance which collects in blood vessels – by about 50 per cent, making it as effective as high-dose statins. It is delivered by injection once every six months, saving patients the need to take daily statin tablets.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) has initially approved the jab only for patients with high cholesterol who already have heart disease or have had a heart attack or stroke – about 300,000 in total.

Hundreds of thousands of people will receive cholesterol-lowering jabs from their GP twice a year as an alternative to statins, it was announced today (stock image)

Experts claimed it will save around 30,000 lives and prevent 55,000 heart attacks and strokes within the next decade.

Health Secretary Sajid Javid said the ‘life-saving’ treatment was a ‘huge step forward in tackling the scourge of heart disease’. Patients will be injected by nurses at GP surgeries across England, with a second dose three months later and then injections twice a year. Inclisiran is more effective if taken alongside statins – but it can be used on its own for those who do not tolerate the pills.

Research is ongoing to see if the drug could be used on a preventative basis to benefit millions who are at risk of heart problems.

High cholesterol affects around two in five adults and is a major cause of heart disease, which is responsible for one in four deaths in England.

Some 8million adults in the UK are prescribed statins – but some are put off by its side effects, such as headaches and the hassle of taking a pill every day.

Inclisiran is the first convenient and effective alternative to the pills. The drug helps the liver remove cholesterol from the blood by blocking the production of a protein called PCSK9 which reduces the organ’s ability to remove cholesterol.

Health Secretary Sajid Javid said the ‘life-saving’ treatment was a ‘huge step forward in tackling the scourge of heart disease’

Inclisiran is usually sold for nearly £2,000 per dose, meaning it would cost around £4,000 a year per patient. But NHS England said it had negotiated a confidential ‘world-leading’ deal with the manufacturer Novartis, and 300,000 patients will receive the drug over the next three years. Statins cost around £20 a year per patient.

NHS boss Amanda Pritchard said the deal will ‘enable hundreds of thousands of people to benefit from this revolutionary treatment, while also being fair to taxpayers’.

Meindert Boysen, deputy chief executive of Nice, said: ‘Inclisiran represents a potential game-changer in preventing thousands of people from dying prematurely from heart attacks and strokes.’

Professor Kausik Ray, from Imperial College London, who led research into the drug, said: ‘It’s great news for patients. It will reduce their medication burden and offer convenience.’

Working women heart risk 

The trend towards more full-time working among women may have raised their risk of heart attack and stroke, a Swiss study has suggested.

Stress, sleep disorders and fatigue have risen at an ‘alarming’ rate among this group in recent decades, experts warn.

These factors contribute to cardiovascular disease, alongside smoking, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Scientists from the University of Zurich analysed data on 22,000 men and women from 2007, 2012 and 2017 as the number of women working full-time rose from 39 to 44 per cent.

Meanwhile, those suffering work stress rose from 59 per cent in 2012 to 66 per cent in 2017 with the increases bigger in women. The results will be shown at the European Stroke Organisation Conference.

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2021-08-31 23:01:06Z
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Afghan heroes who risked lives helping UK troops are given permission to live here indefinitely - Daily Mail

A welcome to make us proud: Relief as 10,000 Afghan heroes who risked their lives helping UK troops are given permission to live here indefinitely

• Home Office said the status would be granted immediately to 10,000 refugees
• Johnson said decision reflected 'immense debt' owed to those who helped UK
• Policy has been codenamed Operation Warm Welcome and will be indefinite 

By Jason Groves and David Williams for the Daily Mail

Published: 00:00 BST, 1 September 2021 | Updated: 01:24 BST, 1 September 2021

Thousands of Afghans who risked their lives to help British forces will be allowed to live and work indefinitely in the UK.

The Home Office last night said the coveted status would be granted immediately – and automatically – to around 10,000 refugees.

It will allow them to work and enrol their children in school as they try to build a new life here.

The decision fast-tracks a process that can take years and with only a limited right to remain.

Boris Johnson said the policy reflected the ‘immense debt’ owed to translators and others who had helped the UK military during the 20-year engagement.

Thousands of Afghans who risked their lives to help British forces will be allowed to live and work indefinitely in the UK. Pictured: Afghan refugees arrive at Heathrow Airport, London

The Home Office said the coveted status would be granted immediately – and automatically – to around 10,000 refugees. Pictured: Afghan refugees arriving into Heathrow last week

A Whitehall source said that the package, codenamed Operation Warm Welcome, was ‘the least we could do’ following the chaotic and bloody withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Ministers are still however under pressure to do more to help hundreds, and possibly thousands, of Afghans now in hiding from Taliban reprisals for helping British troops. 

Its leaders have claimed they will not seek revenge but militants yesterday raided the homes of former translators in Kabul.

Former interpreters told the Mail they were living in fear for their lives after failing to secure a place among the 10,000 flown to Britain.

A 35-year-old who has qualified for relocation to the UK said: ‘No one believes the Taliban’s words of forgiveness. We helped the British kill and capture their men.

‘We provided the intelligence to fight against them. We questioned their captured and injured – so it is simple that they will want revenge.’

Refugees from Afghanistan arrive on a evacuation flight at Heathrow Airport on August 26

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab yesterday denied reports that more than 7,000 Afghans with links to UK forces had been left behind, but was unable to provide another figure.

He said the number of British citizens left in Afghanistan was in ‘the low hundreds’, following the evacuation of more than 15,000 people in the second half of August.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said around 300 Afghans granted refuge in the UK had been left behind, along with 700 relatives.

Normally, asylum seekers are banned from working while their claims are assessed. They are entitled to minimal financial support if they would ‘otherwise be destitute’.

Permission to work may be granted only if their claim has not been processed within a year through no fault of their own.

If they are eventually granted leave to remain it is typically capped at five years.

Dominic Raab (pictured with Borish Johnson) denied reports that more than 7,000 Afghans with links to UK forces had been left behind but was unable to provide another figure 

By contrast, those who have served British forces will immediately be granted indefinite leave to remain, which brings with it the right to work and the option to apply for British citizenship.

Those eligible under the Afghanistan Relocations and Assistance Policy will also be eligible for immediate access to NHS services.

Councils have been offered a modest £5million to help with housing. Officials said they were working with more than 100 town halls and had so far found accommodation for more than 2,000 people.

Councils will be given an extra £12million to provide additional school places for Afghan children and further funding will be provided to create 300 university places.

Arrivals from Afghanistan will also be offered the Covid vaccine and given access to a portal where members of the public will be able to share offers of work and housing and make donations.

A Whitehall source last night told the Mail the package was ‘likely’ to be extended to 20,000 Afghans expected to come under a wider resettlement scheme – but this has not been decided.

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2021-08-31 23:00:06Z
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Afghanistan: UK in talks with Taliban to ensure Britons get safe passage out of country - Sky News

The UK is in talks with the Taliban to ensure Britons can safely leave Afghanistan, the government has said.

Its special representative for Afghan transition, Sir Simon Gass, has met senior members of the hardline Islamist group in Doha, Qatar.

They also discussed safe passage for Afghans who have worked with the UK over the last 20 years.

Image: Sir Simon Gass has met senior Taliban members. File pic: EPA/Rex/Shutterstock

A Downing Street spokesperson said: "The prime minister's special representative for Afghan transition, Simon Gass, has travelled to Doha and is meeting with senior Taliban representatives to underline the importance of safe passage out of Afghanistan for British nationals, and those Afghans who have worked with us over the past 20 years."

It comes as Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab admitted it will be a "challenge" for Britons left in Afghanistan to find a route to the UK.

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He told Sky News the number of Britons who had not been flown out as part of the now-finished UK evacuation was in the "low hundreds".

Mr Raab acknowledged it was "unclear" when the airport in Afghanistan's capital, Kabul, would operate again and advised those who still sought to leave the country to find a route to the UK via neighbouring countries.

More on Afghanistan

More than 17,000 British nationals, Afghans who worked with the UK, and other vulnerable people, have been evacuated from the country since April, the foreign secretary said.

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Taliban celebrates as US troops depart

Of the UK nationals remaining in Afghanistan, Mr Raab said: "Most of those are difficult cases where it's not clear around eligibility because they're undocumented.

"We've now put in place the arrangements with third countries, or we're putting them in place.

"I've spoken to some of the key third countries, so have other ministers, to make sure we can have a workable route through for those outstanding cases."

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Destroyed military planes and vehicles left by US

Asked whether his advice for those UK nationals still in Afghanistan would be for them to head across one of the country's borders, Mr Raab added: "It depends if they are eligible or not and, of course, we're in contact with them to be able to establish that.

"That's made more difficult because we don't have the base at the airport.

"Certainly if they're eligible British nationals, there are embassies in those third countries - whether it's Pakistan or one of the stans."

Mr Raab said the UK would hold the Taliban to its "explicit assurances" that it "must allow safe passage not just for our nationals but other Afghans, particularly vulnerable ones, who wish to leave".

Image: Taliban forces patrol near the entrance gate of Hamid Karzai International Airport

He also said there was "a degree of scepticism" about the group's "capacity" to run Kabul's airport "safely".

"We know that some countries are trying to help them with that effectively functional capacity," he said.

"Of course the previous government had air traffic controllers and things like that. But at what stage that will be ready and viable for international travel, at this point, is unclear."

He added: "What support they get and how quickly they can then salvage a functional operational capacity remains to be seen.

"Which is why we're making sure - working with those third countries, working with our embassies - that, actually, if people can get to the border, we can process those cases."

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2021-08-31 21:00:00Z
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Afghanistan: Dominic Raab blames Ministry of Defence over 'clearly wrong' intelligence - The Times

Downing Street has insisted that Boris Johnson has “full confidence” in Dominic Raab as the foreign secretary blamed military intelligence failures for the west’s humiliation in Kabul.

As internal government recriminations intensified, Raab pointed the finger at the Ministry of Defence and the Home Office as he appeared to question the entire basis of Britain’s 20-year Afghan campaign.

Raab said that the military predictions about the speed of the Taliban takeover were “clearly wrong” and that Britain had not been “realistic” over 20 years about its ability to nation-build in Afghanistan.

Government briefings have suggested that Raab will be sacked over Britain’s chaotic departure from Afghanistan, but he dismissed anonymous critics today as “lacking in any credibility whatsoever”.

Johnson’s spokesman said that there were “no

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2021-08-31 16:00:00Z
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Dominic Raab: Number of Brits left in Afghanistan in 'low hundreds' - Daily Mail

Dominic Raab says the number of Brits left behind in Afghanistan is in the 'low hundreds' amid claims 9,000 British allies may be stranded

• Dominic Raab said number of British nationals in Afghanistan in 'low hundreds'
• He said the UK had brought home 5,000 British nationals since April this year
• However, it remains unclear how many UK allies have been left behind in Kabul 

By Jack Maidment, Deputy Political Editor For Mailonline

Published: 16:23 BST, 31 August 2021 | Updated: 17:31 BST, 31 August 2021

The number of British nationals left behind in Afghanistan is in the 'low hundreds', the Foreign Secretary said today. 

Dominic Raab said the number of Brits still in the country is 'now down at a very low level' after 5,000 were brought home since April this year. 

However, it remains unclear how many Afghan citizens who worked for the British Government are stranded after the withdrawal of Western forces was completed. 

Ministers had suggested last week that approximately 1,000 Afghans who were eligible to come to the UK may not make it out. 

Dominic Raab said the number of Brits still in Afghanistan is 'now down at a very low level' after 5,000 were brought home since April this year

It remains unclear how many Afghan citizens who worked for the British Government are stranded after the withdrawal of Western forces was completed

But Whitehall sources told The Guardian that the figure could actually be about 9,000. 

The Government has not given a concrete figure, with Foreign Office Minister James Cleverly saying yesterday that it was 'impossible' to put a number on how many people have been left behind.       

Asked how many eligible people had been left in the country by the UK, Mr Raab told Sky News: 'Look, of course, we lament the fact that anyone will be left behind.

'I would just say that since April when we have been planning and instituting this, over 17,000 British nationals, Afghan workers, vulnerable special cases are out.

'I know that the number of UK nationals, the particular responsibility of the Foreign Office, is now down at a very low level.'

Asked if he could be more specific on how many British nationals were still in the country, he said: 'Well, low hundreds given that we have taken in total 5,000 out, and most of those are difficult cases where it is not clear around eligibility because they are undocumented.

'We have now put in place the arrangements with third countries, or we are putting them in place.

'I have spoken to some of the key third countries, so have other ministers, to make sure that we can make sure that we can have a workable route through for those outstanding cases.

He told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: 'It's very difficult to give you a firm figure. I can tell you that for UK nationals we've secured since April over 5,000, and we're in the low hundreds (remaining).' 

It is unclear how many of those British nationals who are still in the country have decided to stay of their own volition.  

The Government has suggested that eligible people could cross into a third country next to Afghanistan in order to get to Britain now the airlift operation out of Kabul has ended. 

But Mr Raab conceded that such journeys could be a 'challenge', telling Sky News: 'Well, that is a challenge which is why we are holding very squarely the Taliban to their explicit assurances, they have made them bilaterally to us, they have made them to other countries… that they must allow safe passage, not just for our nationals but other Afghans, particularly vulnerable ones, who wish to leave.'

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2021-08-31 15:23:09Z
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