52. UK's alcohol blind spot

In this episode of Prevention is the New Cure, former Health Ministers Steve Brine and Lord James Bethell join from around the world: James from Blackpool and Steve from North Macedonia.They dive into the looming GP contract ballot and the threat of industrial action, the "quiet war" on air pollution, and the surprising health outcomes of North Macedonia. James shares a personal announcement regarding his future in the House of Lords and his decision to step away from the hereditary peerage to focus on health innovation.Stay tuned until the end to hear about the "Pigs in Space" of medicine: manufacturing cancer drugs in microgravity.In this episode, we discuss:The health disparity between Blackpool and Notting Hill.The BMA GP contract referendum: Is a "work to rule" coming?Why Lord Bethell is leaving the House of Lords.Air quality: From "dirty air denier" to clean air evangelist.Bio-Orbit and the future of protein folding and drugs made in space. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy…

The £200bn Question: Why Isn’t the NHS Getting Healthier?In this episode of Prevention is the New Cure, former Health Ministers Steve Brine and James Bethell take analyse the status quo of UK health policy. With NHS spending in England projected to reach £217 billion by 2025/26, the debate isn't about if we have the money, but how we are wasting it.James Bethell argues that the doubling of the NHS budget over the last 17 years has had "zero impact" on the nation's healthy longevity. We dive deep into why the political obsession with "40 New Hospitals" was a strategic blunder and why the future of the NHS depends on a "Cavalier vs. Roundhead" battle over health data and early intervention.Also inside This Episode:The Hospital Trap: Why 80% of funding goes to acute care while community health "puddles" dry up.The Weight-Loss Jab Dilemma: Is paying GPs to prescribe drugs like Monjuro a breakthrough or "pharma capture"?The MAHA Movement: We look across the Atlantic at RFK Jr.’s "Make Ameri…

Can we "prescribe" our way out of a national health crisis?In this episode, former Health Ministers James Bethell and Steve Brine are joined by Charlotte Refsum (Head of Health at the Tony Blair Institute) to dissect the week's biggest headlines in health policy.In this episode:The Tobacco & Vapes Bill: Why 74 Tories voted against the generational smoking ban.The "Fat Jab" Debate: Should GPs be paid to prescribe GLP-1s, or is there a better way?National Security: Why "Vaccine Sovereignty" is as important as energy or food security.NHS Tech: Why the NHS App feels like it’s built for the system, not the patient.🎧 Listen, subscribe, and join the conversation📩 Email: preventionisthenewcurepodcast@gmail.com📱 WhatsApp the show: 0333 404 6507 Did you know? This podcast is one of the top health and social care podcasts around. Help make us #1 by following our show today. This episode is produced by Shortbread Media; producer, Calum Macdonald. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more inf…

In this episode of Prevention is the New Cure, former Health Ministers Steve Brine and James Bethell chat to Sarah Woolnough, Chief Executive of The King's Fund.Sarah Woolnough argues that health is not made in hospitals — it is shaped by housing, education, environment and regulation. The discussion explores whether the UK needs a fundamental shift away from a “sickness service” towards long-term health investment.🔍 Key topics include:Whether Keir Starmer’s proposed social media age limits represent real reform or political signallingThe impact of the Online Safety Act 2023 on child protectionA new £20m addiction and gambling prevention fundWhy health tech innovation struggles inside the NHSWhether NICE’s new HealthTech Access Programme could transform adoptionWhy prevention always loses to acute pressures like A&E and GP accessThe political risks of continuing to expand NHS spending without structural reformPlus: why dog ownership may reduce dementia risk by 40%.This episode celebrat…

In this episode of Prevention is the New Cure, former Health Ministers Steve Brine and James Bethell sit down with Sir Jim Mackey, Chief Executive of NHS England, for a wide-ranging and candid discussion about the future of the NHS.Sir Jim addresses the crisis facing NHS demand, the limits of hospital-centric care, and why prevention, neighbourhood health systems, and disruptive reform are essential if the NHS is to survive the next decade.🔍 Key topics include:Why the NHS “can’t carry on doing things the same way”The reality behind the 10-Year NHS PlanShifting funding from hospitals into community and preventative careThe future of GP health checks — and why GPs are dividedCan prevention really reduce demand on hospitals?NHS productivity, technology, and patient-owned dataLessons from Northumbria’s whole-system health modelThe role of community pharmacy in preventionResident doctors’ strikes and workforce moraleMaternity safety, regulation, and patient trustHow political instability im…

A special episode this week of the health and politics podcast, Prevention is the new cure, as Ministers finally publish the National Cancer Plan.Steve & James talk exclusively to NHS National Clinical Director, Professor Peter Johnson, about the ambition which says 75% of people diagnosed from 2035 will survive long term and meeting the 62-days cancer waiting time standard by the end of this Parliament. In a wide-ranging conversation, they also talk wider cancer prevention, multi-cancer detection tests and the cancer workforce.And Professor Johnson responds to today's story that testing menstrual blood for signs of cervical cancer could be a new and accurate way of screening for the disease.In their look at this week's main news in health and politics, the former Ministers consider reports in The Times (£) which claim an 86,000 drop in waiting lists heralded by Ministers was achieved only by removing thousands of patients from the waiting list through a process known as ‘validation'.…

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 - preventionisthenewcurepodcast@gmail.comThanks for listening! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 t…

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 preventionisthenewcure@gmail.com 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 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 - preventionisthenewcurepodcast@gmail.comThanks for your support!Steve & James Hosted on Acast.…

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:preventionisthenewcurepodcast@gmail.comThanks for listening to our show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The main story in health and politics this week is the gathering flu epidemic and the impact it is already having on the acute sector. Steve and James talk to Dr Adrian Boyle, immediate past President of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, to get a view from the front-line.They also give their reflections on masks in public (disagree on cycle helmets!) and consider the maternity safety story also making the news this week as Baroness Amos releases her initial findings on her National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation.And finally, as it's their last episode together before the Christmas break, the pair consider their end of year awards and predictions for 2026.Thanks for listening; please follow our podcast so it appears in your feed each time a new episode drops.You can get in touch preventionisthenewcurepodcast@gmail.com and find our many social media channels via our LinkTree page. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As the increasingly bitter war of words between Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, and the British Medical Association hots up James and Steve discuss who really are the 'moaning minnies' of the NHS.They also consider the Government's new HIV Action Plan, published earlier this week and the highly significant US/UK deal on future medicines announced on Monday.The former Ministers also reflect on the initial decision from the National Screening Committee NOT to proceed with a new national screening programme for prostate cancer and agree it's soon all eyes (again) on the Secretary of State.And in other news, Steve reveals a personal detail about his already erected home Christmas tree and James explains why he's pro bongo when it comes to being a DJ.You can get in touch with your ideas and feedback via our socials Podfollow or LinkTree or email preventionisthenewcurepodcast@gmail.comThanks for listening, please remember to 'follow' our show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more…

The health and politics podcast moves into a new chapter as James Bethell joins the team and his first episode is a big one as he and Steve consider Budget 2025.You can get in touch podcast@stevebrine.com and find our socials via our LinkTree page.Thanks for listening! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sarah calls it a day as she swims away into cold water retirement. The pair discuss the latest strikes by Resident Doctors and some new polling from Future Health Research on what the public think about paying more tax at next week's Budget for the NHS.And they're joined by Sonia Pombo from Action on Salt & Sugar to discuss what we can learn from the 'sugar tax' and how we can use that to reach a consensus with the food industry and government over the harmful effects of a high salt diet, and bring about a reduction in the amount of salt in processed foods.For their final 'pod surgery' together, Steve and Sarah discuss a major new AI driven project to tackle drug-resistant superbugs, how hundreds of hospice beds are sitting empty due to NHS cut-backs and why children are being hit harder but the current flu wave sweeping across the country.You can find the podcast on all our social media channels via our LinkTree page and get in touch (including with Sarah) via podcast@stevebrine.comCh…