Meningitis is the inflammation of the membranes that surround and protect the brain and spinal cord, and can be viral or bacterial. It is potentially fatal and can also result in severe disabilities. It is vital to ensure early diagnosis to prevent long-term disabilities or injuries. Children and young adults are at high risk of contracting the disease, but the risk increases for young adults when they leave home to go to university. This is partly because the large number of students living in close proximity to each other encourages germs and illness to spread (hence the infamous Fresher’s flu!), which can include germs or illnesses that students haven’t previously come into contact with.
Many of the symptoms of meningitis are similar to those of a cold or a hangover, which can make it difficult to detect. Meningitis Now is working to inform young people about the symptoms of meningitis so that it can be caught early and treated effectively, but also about the preventative measures that can be taken.
A vaccination is freely available from local GPs for first year undergraduate students, under the age of 25. It was encouraging for our staff who attended the Fresher’s Fair to see that most of the students were aware of this, and had already been vaccinated.
Our Personal Injury and Clinical Negligence team are currently working on behalf of a 16 year old, ‘Master A’, and his family to help obtain the support he needs. ‘Master A’ contracted meningitis when he was a baby but, due to delays in his treatment, he now has severe learning disabilities and will need support throughout his adult life. Our team are working to obtain funding for his lifetime support and needs to ensure that his family are confident that his future is secure, and that he receives the care he both deserves and requires.
For more information
For more information relating to the issues discussed, please contact Sarah Huntbach.
Aside from the COVID-19 pandemic, a key theme of 2020 has been diversity and inclusivity. This two-part update addresses this theme in detail
Covid-19 has resulted, on the whole, in a marked co-operation between contracting authorities and their suppliers as everybody focuses on maintaining delivery as far as possible.
Employment Tribunal rules in favour of claimants in minimum wage case – has the interpretation of “working time” changed?
As we enter a recession, we have been here before, and a key question is what did we learn and how can we benefit from that learning?
It is anticipated that as lockdown restrictions ease, and particularly with children and young adults returning to education, cases of meningitis will start to rise.
As we continue to emerge from lockdown measures and deal with local measures and the short and long term economic impact of Covid-19, local authorities will need to re-assess how services will be delivered for years to come.
The Government first announced plans for a shared ownership right to buy in October 2019. At the time the sector raised concerns about the impact the plans would have on housing associations ability to borrow. An election and a pandemic later the Government announced, during the CIH Housing Festival last week, the return of the right to shared ownership as part of its Affordable Homes Programme (AHP).
Two final pieces of the possession jigsaw have been published on 15 September 2020. Mr Justice Knowles’ working group on possession proceedings has issued its guidance on the “overall arrangements” for possession proceedings.
One change proposed by the Building Safety Bill is the introduction of a duty holder regime, which will see statutory responsibility for the safety of higher risk buildings placed on key individuals
Throughout this pandemic, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has been publishing various “Statements on Coronavirus” (Statements) which provide guidance on consumer rights during this time.
To receive invitations to our events, as well as information and articles on legal issues and sector developments that are of interest to you, please sign up to Newsroom.