Latest news with #hospital
BBC News
2 hours ago
- Health
- BBC News
Carrickfergus: Child taken to hospital after water incident at marina
A child has been taken to hospital after a water related incident near the Carrickfergus Marina in County incident involved nine children and an adult. The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), Northern Ireland Ambulance Service, Fire and Rescue Service, and the Maritime and Coastguard attended the assessment and initial treatment at the scene, one patient was taken by ambulance to the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick rest were discharged at the scene.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Heston Blumenthal reveals impact of being sectioned in BBC bipolar documentary
Heston Blumenthal has spoken of his struggles with mania and the impact it had on the people he loves, 18 months after he was sectioned. The 59-year-old chef, known for his Channel 4 shows Heston's Fantastical Food and Heston's Feasts, was hospitalised in November 2023 following a severe manic episode. He was subsequently diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Now, Blumenthal is sharing his story in BBC documentary Heston: My Life with Bipolar, airing 19 June on BBC Two at 8pm. Filmed over six months, Blumenthal reflects on how bipolar disorder has shaped both his personal life and professional success. Blumenthal was sectioned after he showed his wife, French businesswoman Melanie Ceysson, a drawing of a gun he'd hallucinated. Fearing he was a danger to himself, Ceysson contacted the mayor of their village in France for urgent help. Soon after, police, firefighters and a doctor arrived. Blumenthal was sedated and spent two weeks in a psychiatric hospital, followed by six weeks of intensive treatment at a specialist clinic. "It was a dark period," he recalled. "The psychiatrist diagnosed me as bipolar; it was a surprise. I started looking back more and more to my life pre being sectioned, and how come it's taken me until 57 years of life to discover I have bipolar." The intervention followed months of increasingly erratic behaviour. Now stabilised on medication, Blumenthal says those manic phases are behind him. "When I first came out of the hospital in the beginning, it felt like I was slightly zombie-fied from the medication. I've changed a lot, in the sense of my massive highs and lows have been ironed out. I'm much calmer, I don't have those manic phases," he explained. "Would I have sectioned myself? No way [but] she had to do it for me and for herself as well. Looking back at it, the alternative was not an option because I wouldn't be here anymore." Bipolar disorder involves extreme mood swings, which Blumenthal says often fuelled his work. At times, his productivity felt "unstoppable". "The depression [gave] way to what I now recognise as periods of mania … with hindsight, when I was in a manic state, there were so many ideas," the chef, best known for his experimental dishes including snail porridge and bacon and egg ice cream, shared. He added: "I had these feelings of grandiosity or like Superman. I believed that I could change the world." It was during those periods that he developed some of his most daring and unconventional culinary ideas. But by 2020, the mood swings were becoming more frequent – and more severe. During the height of his career, the chef said he became "a hamster on a wheel," and self-medicated with cocaine. He explained: "I didn't realise I was self-medicating at the time ... The more time goes on since I've come out of the hospital, the more I can see how extreme those [manic episodes] were." Also in the documentary, Blumenthal revisits some of his past television appearances, offering a stark glimpse into his mental state at the time. Watching a 2019 episode of the cooking show Crazy Delicious, he recalled being in a "dark place." "I was probably quite overly depressed then," he said. "I thought, 'I wondered if there was a gun here, would I use it?' There wasn't, and then I thought of other ways of ending it and decided at the end that I wasn't ready for that." In sharp contrast, he also rewatched a 2020 BBC interview where he discussed using robots in the kitchen, speaking rapidly and using surreal metaphors throughout. The clip was difficult for him to watch. "To live with me, if I was talking like that all the time, that brings tears to my eyes, of the thought of what they had to put up with," he said. "The potential that I might have upset, troubled, worried, emotionally harmed the people that love me and that I love." The chef is a father of four: Jack, 32, Jessie, 30, and Joy, 28, from his first marriage to ex-wife Zanna; and Shea-Rose, eight, with his former partner, Stephanie Gouevia. In the documentary, he sits down with his son Jack to discuss what life was like before his bipolar diagnosis. "We just wanted a relaxing conversation with our dad, and we weren't able to have one. It was horrible and it was constant,' Jack recalled. "We'd plan it three weeks in advance, getting prepared just to see you for half an hour. And there was nothing I could do to help you." Heston wiped away a tear and apologised to his son. Jack, in turn, acknowledged that he now understands his father's behaviour was the result of an undiagnosed mental health condition. Blumenthal now serves as an official ambassador for Bipolar UK, a charity that estimates around 1.3 million adults in the UK live with the condition. In the documentary, he raises concerns about the lack of adequate support and resources for people living with bipolar disorder. At one point, he meets a mother whose daughter, Rebecca, died by suicide. "I was lucky in that with my sectioning, I was being monitored and afterwards I had support," he explained. "But with the nature of this condition, if there isn't the care, the support network around individuals with bipolar, then people like Rebecca will take their lives. The longer it takes to get this sorted out, the more lives will be lost." Blumenthal also admitted that he initially worried medication might dull his imagination or take away his creativity, fears that, he now says, were unfounded. He concluded: "I still have bipolar, and I had bipolar before, I just don't have those manic states. The peaks and my manic highs have shrunk and the depths of the lows have risen, but I'm still Heston." Read more about Heston Blumenthal: Heston Blumenthal's wife 'saved his life' by having him sectioned for bipolar disorder (Yahoo Life UK, 4-min read) Mood swings fuelled Heston Blumenthal's genius. But the highs got higher and the lows got darker (BBC News, 5-min read) Heston Blumenthal's 'unfiltered' story after life-changing diagnosis (Yorkshire Live, 2-min read)
Irish Times
2 hours ago
- Health
- Irish Times
Hospital apologises after misdiagnosis of seven-year-old's appendicitis
A hospital has apologised to a girl whose appendicitis was misdiagnosed at its emergency department in July, 2022, before her appendix later ruptured. A letter of apology from University Hospital Galway (UHG) was read in the High Court as Ariana Mocanu settled a legal action against the Health Service Executive (HSE) for €64,000. Jeremy Maher SC, instructed by PBN Litigation for Ariana, told the court the girl – who was seven years old at the time – had been incorrectly diagnosed with a urinary tract infection and discharged after midnight with antibiotics. Nine hours later, counsel said, she was brought back to the hospital but her acute appendicitis had progressed to a perforated appendix and peritonitis. She required urgent surgery. READ MORE Counsel said the girl's father had, on a number of occasions, raised the possibility of appendicitis with the hospital's treating medic but was told it was a urinary tract infection. Mr Justice Paul Coffey was told that liability and causation in the case are contested. In a letter, UHG said Ariana had been assessed by an emergency medicine doctor who formed the opinion, based on her presenting complaints, that the diagnosis was more likely to be a urinary tract infection than appendicitis. 'On this occasion, the diagnosis turned out to be incorrect. The hospital apologises for this initial misdiagnosis,' the letter from hospital manager Chris Kane said. It added: 'We regret what Ariana and her family went through and we wish Ariana and her family the very best.' Mr Maher told the court that experts on their side would say there was never a case where she should have been sent home. He said the HSE contended surgery would not have been possible at the hospital before morning in any event, which counsel said he found to be bizarre. Ariana had to have open surgery the next day and counsel said she had shown incredible courage. Ariana, from Gorey, Co Wexford, sued the HSE through her father. Outside court, the girl's parents, Diana and Petru Mocanu, through solicitor Piarais Neary, said they had brought the case for Ariana and to highlight to other parents the risk of appendicitis and to know the signs and when to seek urgent medical treatment. They said they welcomed the apology after three years. The young girl was brought to UHG on July 23rd, 2022 complaining of acute central abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting. In the proceedings, it was claimed there was afailure to take any reasonable care for the safety of the girl and an alleged failure to exercise an appropriate level of skill, competence and diligence in or about the diagnosis, assessment, management and treatment of the child when she presented at the hospital. It was claimed she had been discharged with an incorrect diagnosis whereas she should have been admitted. All of the claims were denied. Approving the settlement, Mr Justice Coffey said he was satisfied it was fair and reasonable.
RNZ News
2 hours ago
- Automotive
- RNZ News
Person in critical condition after car fire
(File photo) Photo: RNZ One person has been flown to hospital in a critical condition after a car fire in Otago. Emergency services were called to the blaze shortly after 6am on Coast Road in Karitane, north of Dunedin. A St John ambulance spokesperson said multiple crews responded including a helicopter, and one critically injured patient was flown to Dunedin Hospital. Fire and Emergency shift manager Lyn Crosson said the car was 'well-alight' when firefighters from Waikouaiti arrived. "We didn't have to remove anyone from the car," Crosson said. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
CBC
3 hours ago
- Automotive
- CBC
Highway 417 reopened after serious crash sends man to hospital
A man has been hospitalized with potentially life-threatening injuries following a crash on Highway 417 late Thursday morning that closed the eastbound lanes through downtown Ottawa for several hours. First responders were called to the scene of the two-vehicle crash near the Metcalfe Street exit at around 11:55 a.m., an Ottawa Paramedic Service spokesperson told CBC. One vehicle was rear-ended, paramedics said, causing it to spin out and hit the highway's guard rail. The critically injured man was inside the vehicle that was struck, paramedics said. It's believed he was also injured by personal objects that were inside the vehicle, they added. The man was the only person taken to hospital. The highway's eastbound lanes were closed near the Metcalfe exit after the crash. They were reopened shortly after 4 p.m., although Ontario Provincial Police warned that traffic would be heavy until the backlog was cleared.
