Blackpool Council

Background: Pneumonia remains a major contributor to emergency department morbidity, and timely administration of antibiotics is a key determinant of outcomes. Conventional radiograph workflows often delay interpretation during high-volume periods, prolonging clinical decision-making. Recent advances in artificial intelligence have enabled automated prioritization of imaging studies, yet evidence from randomized trials assessing its real-time clinical impact remains limited. Objective: To evaluate whether AI-assisted triage of chest radiographs in the emergency department reduces time-to-antibiotics and improves early clinical outcomes in patients with suspected pneumonia compared with standard workflow. Methods: A randomized controlled trial was conducted over a six-month period, enrolling adult patients presenting with symptoms suggestive of pneumonia who received chest radiographs as part of routine evaluation. Participants were randomized in a 1:1 ratio to AI-assisted triage or standard radiograph workflow. The AI system automatically flagged radiographs with suspected infiltrates, prioritizing them for expedited radiologist review. Data collected included baseline demographics, time-to-antibiotics, radiologist report turnaround time, length of stay in the emergency department, and early clinical response at 48 hours using a standardized ordinal scale. Statistical analyses were performed using independent t-tests and chi-square tests, with significance set at p < 0.05. Results: A total of 140 participants were analyzed. The AI-assisted group demonstrated a significantly shorter time-to-antibiotics compared with the standard workflow group, along with faster radiology reporting times and modest reductions in emergency department length of stay. The proportion of patients demonstrating early clinical improvement at 48 hours was also higher in the AI-assisted arm. No adverse effects related to AI implementation were observed. Conclusion: AI-assisted triage of chest radiographs meaningfully improved critical process measures and early clinical outcomes in suspected pneumonia, supporting its integration into acute-care imaging workflows.

An advisory board meeting was held with five participants living with chronic respiratory conditions or having experienced a severe episode of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection, to understand the challenges faced by such individuals and their experiences with lung health. In this podcast, we relate the points discussed during that meeting, providing further reflections from a patient and a physician on awareness, the lived experience of RSV, the risks it poses to adults living with chronic respiratory conditions and healthcare system support in managing lung health. Experiences shared by participants illustrate how RSV and chronic respiratory conditions can impact many aspects of a person’s life, beyond the acute illness, such as feelings of isolation. While many individuals are at risk of severe outcomes from RSV infection, the general population and healthcare practitioners (HCPs) are often unaware of the disease and its potential consequences in adults. Knowing the risk factors for severe RSV and exacerbation of underlying conditions, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma and cardiovascular diseases, could support physicians in discussing risks and preventive measures with their patients. This could help align patients’ expectations of HCPs and the healthcare system with the care they receive by providing more guidance on the multifactorial management of their respiratory health. Discussions about the preferred sources of information identified patient groups as the most trustworthy source, followed by HCPs, who can play a key role in helping patients to identify reliable sources of information. Despite involving only a small group of people, the discussion provided valuable insights from participants which can raise awareness about the risks and impact of RSV on people’s lives and empower healthcare professionals to better support their patients in managing their patients’ lung health.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40121-025-01216-0.

Health inequalities are where we see differences in health across the population, and between different groups in society, that are systematic, unfair and avoidable (1). They need a long-term systemic response to support people to value their health and wellbeing (2). These social, economic environmental, cultural and commercial factors, known as the wider determinants of health, are unequally distributed across the UK population (3). This is despite numerous attempts to address them at a local, national and internationally (4, 5).

Climate change is one of the biggest threats to public health in the 21st century. To date little action has been undertaken globally to mitigate the risks of climate change. The aim of this systematic review is to synthesise the qualitative literature on people’s and the health care systems’ lived experiences of climate change with a focus on health and health inequalities. We employed a narrative synthesis approach utilising a chronological perspective to frame the results. Seven electronic databases were searched for eligible studies which included Academic Search Ultimate; CINAHL; Embase; MEDLINE; PsycINFO; PubMed; Scopus; and Web of Science. The primary outcomes were lived experiences of the health/health inequalities effects of climate change. We identified 473 original records and eight papers met the inclusion criteria. Study quality was assessed by the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme for qualitative research. Seven studies focused on extreme weather events related to climate change with six of these looking at flooding and one at heat waves. One study examined perceptions and practice of people working in public health to adapting to climate change. Overall the results show challenges with perceiving and identifying risks of climate change which impact on preparedness for extreme weather events. The social determinants of health such as gender, housing, and community cohesion impact on people’s experience of climate change potentially exacerbating inequalities. Social capital and how widespread the extreme weather event was in the community impact on how people feel after the event and the rebuilding process. Trust in local government was also a key factor in shaping people’s perception of recovery. These findings can be used to help frame the dialogue around climate change mitigation and adaption to reduce the negative health and health inequality impacts.

ABSTRACT Youth unemployment rates in the United Kingdom are almost triple that of adults (11.3% vs. 4%), particularly impacting the employability of young people with complex needs, of whom 61.8% are unemployed. Interventions facilitating transition into work can operate at individual, community and government levels. The main objectives of this review were to explore current practices, identify factors affecting and strategies used to improve employability, and classify strategies at multi-levels. Findings suggest that collaborative strategies covering training, work practices, therapeutic support and creating appropriate work environments, with active involvement of young people, are key in supporting young people with complex needs into employment. Classification of factors indicated four categories: skills-based approaches, job/work experience accessing approaches, therapeutic interventions, and supportive working environments.

This paper describes the design and construction of Blackpool Council's new household waste recycling centre. The scheme demonstrates the incorporation of sustainability considerations through design, construction and commissioning. Seeking to reduce the amount of household waste sent to landfill sites, the provision of a high-quality facility for recycling will encourage increased sustainability awareness and participation within the community. As a means of delivering a quality scheme, the challenge of ensuring high durability in combination with aesthetic and environmental enhancement has been met with innovation. Use of polymer fibre reinforcement in the heavy-duty apron slabs provides high durability under aggressive service loads. Elsewhere, incorporation of sub-surface skips facilitates spatial optimisation and allows significant noise attenuation with minimal visual impact. Where possible, materials won from the demolition of existing time-expired structures were incorporated in the new scheme or distributed for reuse elsewhere.

This paper details the design of the reinforced concrete sculptural climbing structures that will form a key feature of Blackpool's Central Gateway scheme. The scheme constitutes a major element in Blackpool Council's master plan for regeneration of the town. The structures are intended to serve as both a functional resource for climbers and as individual pieces of art. Throughout the design process, engineers have worked with artists and planners to create unique features that are both structurally efficient and elegant. Working in a partnering environment, the project has benefited from early contractor involvement, allowing for optimal ‘buildability’ in design.