Prevention is the new cure

Steve & James return with episode 82 of the health and politics podcast, Prevention is the new cure.

This week, to mark Stroke Prevention Day on Thursday, the guys talk to Juliet Bouverie from the Stroke Association about signs, symptoms and red flags.

And they look ahead to the long-awaited National Cancer Plan which is expected to be published next week. What can we expect from the first plan since 2018?

Also on this episode; the WHO confirms the UK has lost its measles elimination status, James speaking at the counter-fraud conference next month and NHS England is set to significantly enhance its bowel cancer screening programme, aiming to detect thousands more cases at an earlier, more treatable stage.

You can access the archive via Podfollow and find us on all social at our LinkTree page.

You can email the team - [email protected]

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Steve and James return with episode 81 of the health and politics podcast, Prevention is the new cure.

They chat just hours after James (Lord Bethell) led the charge on a debate in the House of Lords which saw Peers vote through an amendment which would ban under-16's from social media across the UK.

Also, as nearly a quarter of hospitals in England report waiting times have worsened since the government published its plan to tackle the backlog a year ago, the pair discuss whether Ministers have chosen the right path given A&E waits - and corridor care - continue to hit the headlines.

And, given the ongoing broader debate around immigration policy as the main parties chase Reform, Steve's Thursday rant focuses on health and care workforce shortages and asks whether we have a race to the bottom healthcare recruitment which is harming the service in the short-term.

Finally, in good news corner, Steve and James talk about an international trial that is examining whether a finger-prick blood test called Bio-Hermes-002 could be used to help diagnose Alzheimer's disease. BBC News story link.

You can email us : [email protected]

You can listen to our archive via Podfollow and find our social media channel via LinkTree. And our You Tube channel is here.

Thanks for listening!

Love Steve and James
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The health and politics podcast reaches its 80th episode! Steve and James discuss Kemi Badenoch's social media ban proposal, the high-wire act of negotiating a new GP contract and what Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, meant when he cited GIRFT (get it right first time) at a major conference this week.

Also, this week saw a genuine medical breakthrough as a patient at Manchester Royal Infirmary became the first in the UK to receive a new CAR-T treatment for aggressive blood cancer. The pair discuss what this means.

And James owns up to progress on his 'Dry January' efforts this year!

We welcome your feedback on our discussions and suggestions for what we might discuss next and who we might interview. You can email [email protected] or find us on any of our social media channels.

You can access our archive via Podfollow.

Thanks for listening to our show.

Love Steve & James
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For their first episode of 2026, Steve & James pick over the big stories in health and politics this week including the new NHS Online service, junk food advertising ban and the rollout of a new chicken pox vaccine for children.

They also pick up on a huge story concerning Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) after Little Mix star, Jesy Nelson, said her twins had been diagnosed with the rare muscle disease. We talked to Giles Lomax from the charity SMA UK in February 2025 for episode 49.

And we have a great guest to start the year as the author of the UK government's National Food Strategy, Henry Dimbleby, pops in for a chat about 'fat jabs' and how we might get ourselves, and the planet, into shape at the start of the new year. Find Henry on X here.

You can access our archive via Podfollow and find all our social media channels via LinkTree.

Please follow our show for regular updates and get in touch - [email protected]

Thanks for your support!

Steve & James
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After a busy year, which saw Steve team up with Lord James Bethell for chapter three of THE health and politics podcast, it's time for some festive fun as an old friend joins.

Original co-host, Dr Helen Stokes-Lampard, dials in from her home in New Zealand to play a special game of snap with a Kiwi twist - Yeh / Yeh-Nah - which looks at the current similarities between the two countries in health and politics. Discussion ranges from health service reorganisation and workforce strife to public health outbreaks.

And Pod Surgery makes a one-off return as the pair discuss the flu epidemic hitting England's hospitals and whether it really did come from the southern hemisphere?

You can find our archive courtesy of our Podfollow and follow all our social media channels via our LinkTree page. You can get in touch with the team:

[email protected]

Thanks for listening to our show!
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