Friday, March 24, 2006

Contents

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National News

Comment is free: A clean bill for health - The Guardian 24/03/06

Sixty years after the national health service bill, a new white paper is needed to make good recent damage.

Protests bring end to Mental Health Bill dropped - Independent 24/03/06

One of the most controversial Bills in the parliamentary timetable has been dropped in a spectacular U-turn by ministers.

'Draconian' Mental Health Bill scrapped - the Daily Mail 23/03/06

No evidence oily fish have health benefits, study finds - Independent 24/03/06

For at least 20 years doctors have been urging their patients to eat more oily fish to benefit the heart. Adding two servings a week of mackerel, salmon and similar fish to the family shopping list was believed to help fend off cardiovascular disease.

Omega 3 may not prevent heart disease - The Guardian 24/03/06
Nice idea, but where's the proof? - The Times 24/03/06
The benefits of fish and linseed oils as elixir of life are another health myth - The Times 24/03/06
Doubts cast on oily fish benefits - BBC Health News 24/03/06
Oily fish on the menu despite doubts about benefits - Reuters 24/03/06

20,000 job cuts forecast as more NHS hospitals join critical list - The Times 24/03/06

Brown denies ignoring health funding in Budget, saying trusts have been promised an extra £12 billion over next two years ONE of the largest staff culls in recent NHS history worsened yesterday as more hospitals announced cuts and politicians gave warning of a final total of up to 20,000 job losses.

Thousands of jobs go in NHS cash crisis - The Guardian 24/03/06
Fortnight of job cuts across financially ailing NHS - The Guardian 24/03/06
Tories furious as NHS sheds more jobs - the Daily Mail 23/03/06

Mentally ill face new detention powers - The Times 24/03/06

MENTAL health patients living in the community will be compelled to take medication or face detention in hospital, under radical government plans disclosed yesterday.

Dentists braced for NHS budget shake up - the Daily Mail 24/03/06

The NHS is facing the prospect of a mass walkout by its dentists next month as new budget-based contracts force them to focus on finance as much as fillings. According to one dentist who's worked in the NHS for 25 years, the scheme threatens to throw the entire profession into disarray. But he's still pledged to stick with the NHS. Here's why...

Care home residents sedated by untrained staff - the Daily Mail 24/03/06

People living with dementia in care homes are given too many sedatives because staff are not given enough training. Medical experts found staff regularly resorted to giving drugs to calm people with dementia showing disruptive behaviour. However, the proportion of residents given sedatives was almost halved when staff were given adequate support and training.

A birth control nurse set for all schools - the Daily Mail 24/03/06

Every school in England will have a nurse who can arrange secret abortions and hand out contraception, it emerged yesterday. New guidelines will allow them to help pupils get the morning-after pill, pregnancy tests and terminations without their parents' knowledge. Family campaigners condemned the controversial guidance from the Department for Education and the Department of Health as "disgraceful".

Chernobyl linked to British baby deaths - the Daily Mail 23/03/06

The Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986 may have caused more than 1,000 infant deaths in Britain. Researchers found a 'remarkable fit' between areas where 'black rain' clouds passed in the wake of the Soviet blast and irregular death figures. Study leader Mr Urquhart said that while public perception was that fall-out had affected only small parts of the UK, official maps showed two clouds potentially affected around half the land mass of England and Wales.

Drug can double breast cancer survival - the Daily Mail 23/03/06

Combining a drug with chemotherapy can double the survival of women with breast cancer. Scientists found Avastin kept the cancer under control for twice as long with only 'minimal' side effects. The drug blocks the growth of new blood vessels that are needed for the cancer to grow and spread beyond the breast. The chemotherapy treatment attacks the tumour.

Smokers 'risk impotence' - the Daily Mail 23/03/06

Men who smoke 20 or more cigarettes a day should consider kicking the habit, after a study found they are almost 40 per cent more likely to be impotent. Researchers have discovered one of the strongest links yet between the number of cigarettes smoked and the level of erectile difficulty.

Young 'won't wait to see doctor' - BBC Health News 24/03/06

A "can't queue, won't queue" generation of Britons are neglecting their health, hygiene and happiness because they cannot bear to wait, a survey suggests.

'No one cause' for Gulf illness - BBC Health News 24/03/06

There is no single cause for Gulf War illness, researchers have concluded. The journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society has published 16 papers outlining research into possible causes, such as exposure to chemicals.

Major study on smoking ban impact - BBC News 24/03/06

One of the largest studies in the world into the impact of banning smoking on the health of bar staff is to take place in Scotland.

Urgent Action Needed To Increase Consultant Numbers In Scotland - Medical News Today 24/03/06

The BMA in Scotland on Thursday 23 March 2006 welcomed news that the number of NHS consultants working in Scotland had increased.

Talking Treatments ‘Cut Alcohol Intake By A Quarter' - Medical News Today 24/03/06

Simple advice and brief interventions - 'talking treatments' - could reduce the amount of alcohol individuals consume to low risk levels, the British Society of Gastroenterology's Annual Scientific Meeting heard today. The effect could be to cut consumption by up to a quarter.

RCN Response To Healthcare Commission NHS Staff Survey, UK - Medical News Today 24/03/06

Dr Beverly Malone, General Secretary of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), said: “We welcome this report and support the call for more action on issues such as violence against NHS staff and bullying, nurse appraisal and infection control standards.

Health Protection Agency Introduces New Technology To Help Control Tuberculosis, UK - Medical News Today 24/03/06

In a drive to reduce levels of tuberculosis in the UK, the Health Protection Agency's network of laboratories have introduced technology to enable better identification of the different strains of the bacteria that cause tuberculosis

Fewer NHS Workers Report Violence And Abuse From Patients And Relatives - NHS Staff Survey, UK - Medical News Today 24/03/06

The disturbing number of NHS workers who face violence and abuse from patients and their relatives has fallen, the Healthcare Commission said on Wednesday.

Drinking - Young British Women, Matching And Overtaking Men - Medical News Today 24/03/06

Britain's growing binge drinking culture is likely to create future health problems such as liver disease at a much faster rate and younger age than ever before, the Royal College of Nursing's 2006 International Nursing Research Conference will be told this week. The four-day conference kicks off in York today.

Rare sexual syndrome needs more research: doctors - Reuters 24/03/06

Doctors called on Friday for more research into a very rare, poorly understood syndrome that is the opposite of the most common sexual complaint in women.

International News
Not All Breast Cancers' Risk Are Increased By HRT - Medical News Today 24/03/06

Recent research presented today at EBCC-5 from the million women study found that taking Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) increased the risk of some types of breast cancer, but not others.

Exercise Unlikely To Cause Sudden Cardiac Death In Women - Medical News Today 24/03/06

Sudden cardiac death during exertion is an extremely rare occurrence in women, and regular moderate to vigorous exercise may significantly lower the long-term risk, according to a study in the March 22/29 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on women's health.

Ensuring A Patient's Consent Is Truly Informed: ECRI Offers Guidance On Improving The Informed Consent Process - Medical News Today 24/03/06

Many U.S. patients do not receive the information they need to make meaningful decisions about healthcare treatment. Inadequate informed consent can increase the risk of harm to patients and expose healthcare providers to liability. Healthcare facilities can improve the informed consent process, enhancing patient safety and protecting themselves against liability, according to a new report from ECRI, an independent, nonprofit health services research agency.

Elderly Women More Likely To Quite Smoking Then Elderly Men - Medical News Today 24/03/06

Research published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society found that elderly women are more likely to quit smoking than elderly men, while results are just the opposite for studies among younger populations.

Don't Let Hand Arthritis Slow Down Your Golf Game - Medical News Today 24/03/06

Arthritis can affect any joint in the body, but it can really affect your golf game when it strikes the wrists, hands and fingers. The American Society for Surgery of the Hand (ASSH) encourages individuals to educate themselves on the signs and symptoms of arthritis of the hand and seek treatment from a qualified hand specialist. Arthritis pain does not have to be permanent, and a hand specialist can get you back on the course sooner than you might think.

Cheaper And Simpler Keyhole Surgery - Medical News Today 24/03/06

Endoscopic surgery brings many advantages for patients but is very difficult for the surgeon. Working at the Academic Medical Centre in Amsterdam, Joris Jaspers has developed two instruments which make this approach easier and also cheaper than with existing surgical robotics. Jaspers was awarded his doctorate on Wednesday 22 March at Delft University of Technology.

Scientists One Step Closer To Cancer Vaccine - Medical News Today 24/03/06

Scientists at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have helped to identify a molecule that can be used as a vaccination agent against growing cancer tumours. Although the results are so far based on animal experiments, they point to new methods of treating metastases

Hopkins Study Shows Low-dose Aspirin Suppresses Clumping Of Blood Platelets In Both Sexes - Medical News Today 24/03/06

A once-daily pill of low-dose aspirin helps lower the potential for clot-forming blood cells - in both men and women - to stick together in narrow blood vessels, a study from Johns Hopkins shows.

X Chromosomes Key To Sex Differences In Health - Medical News Today 24/03/06

Females have two X chromosomes and males only have one - and this simple fact, along with the occurrence of what geneticists call mosaicism, may not only explain why women are less susceptible than men to certain genetic diseases, but also may account for the female prevalence in the incidence of other conditions and even sex differences in behavior, according to a special communication in the March 22/29 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on women's health.

Jefferson Neurosurgeons Using Innovative Stent To Open Clogged Brain Arteries, Prevent Strokes - Medical News Today 24/03/06

Neurosurgeons at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia are the first in the region and among the first in the nation to successfully use a new stent specifically designed to open potentially life-threatening clogged arteries in the brain, preventing a stroke.

Egypt close to eradicating curse of elephantiasis - Reuters 24/03/06

Egypt is close to eliminating elephantiasis -- one of the world's most disfiguring diseases -- which has plagued the country since the time of the pharaohs, scientists said on Friday.
Cheshire and Merseyside News
Chernobyl link to city baby deaths - Daily Post 24/03/06

RADIATION from the Chernobyl disaster caused a rapid increase in the numbers of infant deaths in Liverpool, a report claimed yesterday.

City kids 'to miss out on dental care' - Liverpool Echo 23/03/06

THOUSANDS of children could miss out on free dental treatment after a busy city centre practice announced it would have to close its door to NHS patients for up to three years.

Drugs test firm in city move - Daily Post 24/03/06

A COMPANY specialising in finding human guinea pigs to test cutting-edge drugs is to move into Liverpool. Hi-tech company Chimatica has signed a five-year lease to establish its headquarters in Liverpool's new Science Park, creating more than 30 highly skilled jobs.

Greater Manchester News

10m a year cost of 999 hoax calls - Manchester Evening News 24/03/06

HOAX callers are putting lives at risk and costing Greater Manchester's emergency services more than 10m a year.

Padlock on ward shut in cash row - Manchester Evening News 23/03/06

ONE of the Greater Manchester hospital wards at the centre of an NHS cash row has been closed - with a padlock and chain on the door. Bosses at Trafford Healthcare Trust - which is 9 million in the red - say it is necessary to close the remaining two in-patient wards at Altrincham General for safety reasons.

Smoking 'can spoil sex life' - Manchester Evening News 23/03/06

MEN who smoke 20 or more cigarettes a day are almost 40 per cent more likely to be impotent, says a study. Researchers discovered the strong link when they quizzed more than 8,000 Australian men aged 16 to 59.

Infirmary's over-50s care 'poor' - Wigan News 24/03/06

WIGAN'S hospital has been ranked just above the worst in the country for its care of the over-50s.

Posted by Kieran at 10:49 am

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