Helena Vesty - Manchester Evening News

On average, it takes EIGHT years from onset of symptoms to get a diagnosis, says one expert

'1.5 million affected by awful condition, but many still don't know what it is'

Lunch break read ❤️‍🩹 Bryony should have been having the time of her life - going through university, graduating, beginning her life in a new city. Instead, she was consumed by an illness she didn't even realise the true extent of

'I missed parties, I'd dread being asked to drinks: I didn't know how ill I was' "I always compare it to an addiction - you don't have a clue how ill you are, it creeps up on you and then it takes somebody else to point it out to you"

After being sent home from hospital with tablets, his toes started turning black and he was diagnosed with gangrene

Grandad sent home from hospital with painkillers ended up needing leg amputated

Inspectors found 'disproportionate levels of restraint', 'care plans not being followed', 'people spending most of their time alone in their rooms' in what they called a 'worrying' visit

'We saw staff laughing at the people they were supposed to be looking after' Inspectors found 'disproportionate levels of restraint', 'care plans not being followed', 'people spending most of their time alone in their rooms'

Phil Frost was diagnosed with bladder cancer in 2019, and the beloved granddad-of-five's future looked uncertain as he started developing more tumours and was not responding to chemotherapy. Now, he is one of the first people in the UK to not go to hospital for vital tests because of one incredible reason

'I am one of the first to not go to hospital for cancer tests - here's why' Phil Frost was diagnosed with cancer in 2019 - and has an amazing reason why he's not going to hospital now

EXCLUSIVE: Manchester's building boom belies the reality of many people living in poverty in the city neighbourhoods. There is a chasm in life expectancy depending on where you live in Manchester and leaders want to change that

Mancunians are dying too soon... this is the bold - and risky - plan for change EXCLUSIVE: Manchester's building boom belies the reality of many people living in poverty in the city neighbourhoods. There is a chasm in life expectancy depending on where you live in Manchester and leaders want to change that, Helena Vesty reports

Olivia started feeling tingles in her face one evening but went to bed, thinking she must be tired. She was horrified when she randomly woke up with a droopy eye and half of her face slowly became paralysed while she was getting ready for the day in 2019, at age 25

'I was known for my smile, then one morning I woke up with my face paralysed' Olivia watched half of her face slowly become paralysed while she was getting ready one morning, aged just 25

Did you have care disrupted by the doctors' strike? Have you had an operation postponed? Get in touch to talk (can be anonymous) by dropping me a message on here or emailing [email protected] 🏥

Hospitals see busiest Monday of the year at A&Es - despite doctors' strike The busiest Monday of the year for some A&Es coincided with the start of the 72-hour strike by doctors

Hospital's urgent warning over A&E pleading public not to attend unless in life-threatening and serious cases

Hospital's urgent warning over A&E pleading public One A&E in Greater Manchester is 'extremely busy' this evening

The death of an 87-year-old woman - who 'couldn't afford to hear her home' - after she developed hypothermia has shocked Greater Manchester, but professionals feared a tragedy was inevitable amid the cost of living crisis. RIP Barbara Bolton 🤍

She died because she couldn't afford heating - how many more suffer in silence? The death of an elderly woman - who 'couldn't afford to hear her home' - after she developed hypothermia has shocked Greater Manchester, but professionals feared a tragedy was inevitable amid the cost of living crisis. Helena Vesty reports.

🦠 The Evening News will be live on our page this lunchtime, speaking to GP Dr Helen Wall and ’s Director of Public Health David Regan on the 'twindemic' of Covid and flu
🩺 The experts will tell us how to best protect ourselves against winter bugs
🌡️ Message in your questions to us or reply below!

If you spot the early signs, doctors advise you take a Covid test

The rare symptom that is an early sign you have Covid as cases climb

"I’ve looked at the data for the last seven days and I don’t think we’re telling the public enough about this. It’s having a massive impact"

As we head into winter this is what Covid looks like now in Greater Manchester Using the latest figures we attempt to assess how coronavirus is affecting Greater Manchester currently

'Covid claps don't pay the bills': Questions answered about what an NHS nursing strike might mean for patients - will it leave patients at risk, will any nurses be working?

What striking nurses could mean for Greater Manchester Will any nurses be working during the strike? And what will happen to patients? The big questions answered...

Long Covid has a much more extensive list of symptoms than originally thought, new research has revealed

Long Covid is impacting men’s s*x lives, warns GP

The number of patients well enough to go home but ‘stuck’ in hospital now ‘more than in any other year - not by a few but double, triple what we would expect’

'Winter will be a humanitarian crisis unless dangerous hospital quagmire solved'

'Those symptoms aren’t just part and parcel of getting older - don’t dismiss them if there’s clearly been a change'

Hidden heart problem with almost 'no symptoms' that 'can be worse than cancer'

"A pothole that size is nonsense in a public place like that, hundreds of people pass through there every day”

Mum's fury after she breaks both ankles falling in pothole

There will be more clinics over the next week in Manchester for those wanting to get the jab

Where to get monkeypox jab as Manchester becomes first place to use smaller dose

Karen is warning others of the symptoms you should look out for

'I thought I just had a bad cough, then got a life-threatening diagnosis'

Inpatient beds are scarce as some 17 per cent of all beds in Greater Manchester are being taken up by Covid positive patients, according to the incoming Greater Manchester NHS boss, Sir Richard Leese. That figure translates to around 1,000 of all general, acute and adult critical care beds in the region.

Covid-19 staff absences and bed shortages piling pressure on strained NHS Some 17 per cent of all beds in Greater Manchester's hospitals are currently occupied by Covid positive patients

“People don’t want to wait for a GP appointment so end up going to A&E. And people are still coming in now with stubbed toes, demanding to be seen, and then wondering why they're not being seen for 12 hours.
“It’s because we're incredibly busy with some very sick people."

Stop going to A&E with 'stubbed toes' if you can't see GP, urges paramedic The warning comes as the NHS faces huge pressure as temperatures soar

Ambulances are being treated like ‘extra wards’ as patients are left outside hospital for up to three hours, say paramedics. Staff have told how ambulance handovers are taking hours, claiming ‘it isn’t safe’ as the NHS struggles under severe pressure.

Ambulances treated as 'extra wards' as patients stuck outside A&E for '3 HOURS' In the second instalment of this special report, Helena Vesty shares how paramedics are queueing to offload patients because 'there isn't a safe place to put them'

Paramedics say they are arriving at work to face 150, 200+ calls - hundreds of people who could have been waiting hours, incl overnight, for an ambulance. That figure used to be a manic NYE, now it's a regular weekday.

Patients wait hours as ambulance pressures hit 'New Year's Eve levels' every day 'If you'd have asked me three years ago, four years ago, 150 people waiting would be New Year's Eve. Everybody's working. The sky is falling'

Greater Manchester's NHS appears to be creaking under pressure as it deals with 'extremely busy' emergency departments, ambulances queueing up outside A&Es, and the region's ambulance service declaring its version of a 'black alert'. The huge demand typically relents in the summer giving the NHS precious time to recover before winter hits again, but challenges remain as the health services battles through a heatwave.

Ambulances queuing and 'extremely busy' on highest possible alert NHS bosses from hospitals and ambulance services alike are urging people to only use 999 and A&E services in an emergency

Paramedics say they are arriving at work this week to face more than 100 patients who are waiting for an ambulance. On Tuesday, the North West Ambulance Service ( NWAS ) declared it would escalate to its highest level of alert as heatwave pressures pile yet more demand on an already overstretched system.

Patients wait hours as ambulance pressures hit 'New Year's Eve levels' every day 'If you'd have asked me three years ago, four years ago, 150 people waiting would be New Year's Eve. Everybody's working. The sky is falling'

I, seemingly out of nowhere, started with hay fever this year and it’s been so enjoyable that I made a point of asking the head of Greater Manchester’s allergy centre why I had been so blessed. The answer is a bit more complicated than I thought. 🙃

'Allergy epidemic': Why you've got hay fever this year despite never having it Why we get hay fever, how to know its hay fever and what we can do to treat hay fever - all answered by a leading consultant

If you're feeling overwhelmed by mad/sad news at the moment, here's one for you. Jasmin was given a year to live as her cancer spread. She joined a clinical trial to help the next generation, assuming there was no hope for her. Now she's planning her future - cancer free 💙

Mum with devastating 'one year to live' diagnosis - now miraculously cancer free "Two and a half years ago I thought it was the end and I now feel like I’ve been reborn"