#GPnews: Scary Halloween contact lenses are causing eye conditions

Chief GP inspector admits practices have received unfair CQC ratings

15:45 Wearing scary contact lenses for Halloween can cause sight loss, reports the BBC and others.

Mr Badrul Hussain, consultant ophthalmic surgeon at Moorfields Eye Hospital, said that every year he treats people with eye conditions related to novelty contact lenses.

He said: ‘Some of the cases we see, like patients sharing lenses with friends, wearing the same pair year after year well past the expiry date, and storing them in tap water, have devastating effects.

‘Not knowing the basics of using contact lenses safely can put you at higher risk of developing painful eye injuries and, in the worst cases, risk of permanent sight loss.’

12:00 Some 50,000 deaths in the UK last year can be attributed to air pollution, according to New York researchers.

Around the world, nine million deaths – one in six – were attributed to air pollution, they added. Most of the pollution was from vehicles and factories, reports the Evening Standard.

In the UK, 8.9% of deaths were due to pollution, worse than in many other European countries and less than in the US (at 5.74%).

London mayor Sadiq Khan is introducing the ‘T-charge’ next week, a £10 surcharge for the most polluting vehicles driving in central London.

The Standard says this comes as 9,000 people a year die from air pollution in London every year.

Jonathan Bartley, co-leader of the Green Party, said: ‘Britain is falling woefully behind other countries when it comes to cleaning up our air, with the Government’s plans to tackle the crisis so bad they have been found illegal. This is shameful. We must learn from cities like Paris taking bold measures to cut pollution.’

In the worst-affected countries, such as Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, China, Kenya and Madagascar, up to a quarter of deaths were attributed to poor air quality.

09:30 GP leaders in Northern Ireland have warned patients that practices may have to turn them away this winter due to workload pressures.

In some cases they may have to close early, while in other cases practices may send patients ‘directly to hospital’, says the letter from BMA.