Current NHS policies designed to improve care for people taking multiple medicines may not be effective, according to new research.   In England, more than one in seven people take five or more medicines daily, leading to growing concerns over the overuse of medicines – known as polypharmacy – because of potential side effects and patient harms.   The new study is funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and led by the universities of Exeter and Bristol. Published in The Lancet Healthy Longevity, it looked at how medication…

A children’s book written by a renowned author at the University of Exeter has been named as one of the most ‘essential’ titles of the genre. Lubna and Pebble, by Professor Wendy O’Shea-Meddour, and illustrated by Daniel Egnéus, was chosen by The Atlantic as one of its 65 most essential children’s books. The 2019 story about a child refugee who finds comfort and friendship in a pebble was described by the magazine as “offering ‘a child’s view of a global crisis” and was praised for the way it reminds readers “that…

The growing age imbalance in the duty solicitor scheme in England and Wales risks eroding trust in the criminal justice system, a new study warns. Most duty solicitors are aged 45 and over, putting at risk the ability of vulnerable suspects to access timely and effective legal representation at the police station. The study says the Ministry of Justice’s failure to offer training grants to criminal law firms to support trainee solicitors with Solicitors Qualifying Examination fees is likely to contribute to the growing shortage of younger duty solicitors. Without the…