English law in West Africa: The limits of its application.

Many people know that English law has been received in the four countries of West Africa, namely. The Gambia, Sierra Leone, Ghana and Nigeria; but few people realise that English law applies in West Africa "so far only as the limits of the local jurisdiction and local circumstances permit and subject to any existing or future local Ordinance". The object of this thesis, therefore, is to show the limits placed on the application of English law in West Africa. It is divided into four train parts. Part One deals with the evolution of the judicial systems which are modelled on the English pattern. A separate chapter gives a synopsis of the present judicial systems. Part Two is devoted to the general principles governing the reception of English law in the former British colonies with special reference to West Africa. English law comprises the common law, the doctrines of Equity and statutes. Succeeding chapters deal with the reception of each of the three elements of English law in West Africa. Part Three relates to the application of the common law of England in West Africa and the condition of its applicability. Some distinctive features of the common law, for example, judicial precedents, the jury system, prerogative writs, the independence of the judges, contract, tort and criminal law are discussed. Part Four deals with the influence of equity both on the general law and on the application of customary laws in West Africa. Part Five relates to the application of English statutes of general application, some of which are deemed to be in force in West Africa depending on the date of the reception of English law. The common law of West Africa can, therefore, be defined as embracing the three elements of English law and the local modifications made on their application

Prevalence of physical frailty, including risk factors, up to 1 year after hospitalisation for COVID-19 in the UK: a multicentre, longitudinal cohort studyResearch in context

Summary: Background: The scale of COVID-19 and its well documented long-term sequelae support a need to understand long-term outcomes including frailty. Methods: This prospective cohort study recruited adults who had survived hospitalisation with clinically diagnosed COVID-19 across 35 sites in the UK (PHOSP-COVID). The burden of frailty was objectively measured using Fried's Frailty Phenotype (FFP). The primary outcome was the prevalence of each FFP group—robust (no FFP criteria), pre-frail (one or two FFP criteria) and frail (three or more FFP criteria)—at 5 months and 1 year after discharge from hospital. For inclusion in the primary analysis, participants required complete outcome data for three of the five FFP criteria. Longitudinal changes across frailty domains are reported at 5 months and 1 year post-hospitalisation, along with risk factors for frailty status. Patient-perceived recovery and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) were retrospectively rated for pre-COVID-19 and prospectively rated at the 5 month and 1 year visits. This study is registered with ISRCTN, number ISRCTN10980107. Findings: Between March 5, 2020, and March 31, 2021, 2419 participants were enrolled with FFP data. Mean age was 57.9 (SD 12.6) years, 933 (38.6%) were female, and 429 (17.7%) had received invasive mechanical ventilation. 1785 had measures at both timepoints, of which 240 (13.4%), 1138 (63.8%) and 407 (22.8%) were frail, pre-frail and robust, respectively, at 5 months compared with 123 (6.9%), 1046 (58.6%) and 616 (34.5%) at 1 year. Factors associated with pre-frailty or frailty were invasive mechanical ventilation, older age, female sex, and greater social deprivation. Frail participants had a larger reduction in HRQoL compared with before their COVID-19 illness and were less likely to describe themselves as recovered. Interpretation: Physical frailty and pre-frailty are common following hospitalisation with COVID-19. Improvement in frailty was seen between 5 and 12 months although two-thirds of the population remained pre-frail or frail. This suggests comprehensive assessment and interventions targeting pre-frailty and frailty beyond the initial illness are required. Funding: UK Research and Innovation and National Institute for Health Research