Friday, September 29, 2006

Contents

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National News


NHS criticised over mental health therapy - The Guardian 29/09/06

Health inspectors criticise the NHS in England in a report today for failure to provide talking therapy for the mentally ill, as an alternative to medication.

Mental health services 'failing' - BBC Health News 28/09/06



Post-natal pounds heighten risk - The Guardian 29/09/06

Women who put on even a moderate amount of weight after having their first baby increase the risk of complications - such as stillbirth or needing a caesarean - in having a second child, scientists warn today.

Mothers who gain weight face risks in pregnancy - The Times 29/09/06

'Lingering pregnancy fat' danger - BBC Health News 28/09/06


US firm replaces Accenture on health service IT work at 'no cost' to taxpayer - The Guardian 29/09/06

US consultancy firm Computer Sciences Corporation has taken over as the largest regional contractor on the NHS's troubled £6.2bn IT overhaul after rival group Accenture yesterday exited two 10-year contracts with the health service worth £2bn.

Accenture to quit NHS technology overhaul - The Guardian 28/09/06

'Little delay' to NHS IT upgrade - BBC Health News 29/09/06

Accenture pulls out of NHS deal - The Telegraph 29/09/06

Accenture quits £1.9bn NHS deal - BBC Health News 28/09/06


No quick fixes for crumbling care structure - The Guardian 28/09/06

Society is to blame for inadequacies in the care system, not frontline staff, writes Nushra Mapstone


Drug firms' lobby tactics revealed - The Guardian 28/09/06

Documents show how companies try to get new medicines fast-tracked


Brown angry as unions deal blow to NHS plans - The Guardian 28/09/06

Row goes on after delegates reject use of private contractors

Reforms come under fire in angry debate on NHS - The Independent 28/09/06

Government loses health plan vote - BBC Health News 27/09/06

Labour defeated over health plans - BBC Health News 27/09/06


We simply believe that being active and fit is good for you - The Guardian 28/09/06

Health clubs aren't beyond criticism, but they play a crucial role in fighting obesity, says Andrée Deane


Brace yourself! - The Guardian 28/09/06

Autumn is upon us and the common cold is ready to inflict its misery. Is there anything we can do, asks Ian Sample


MMR jab take-up increases - The Independent 29/09/06

The number of children being given the controversial MMR jab has risen slightly in the past year. In 2005-06, 84 per cent of two-year-olds in England had the MMR jab, up from 81 per cent in 2004-05.

Faith in MMR is slow to recover - The Times 29/09/06

Confidence 'returning in MMR jab' - BBC Health News 28/09/06



Breast cancer cases rise 80% since Seventies - The Independent 29/09/06

It is the disease women fear more than any other, and its incidence is soaring. Breast cancer cases have hit a new record, official figures show, and the increase shows no sign of slowing.

Sharing stories of a deadly disease - The Independent 29/09/06

Now for the good news - death rates are falling - The Independent 29/09/06


Length of a woman's ring finger reveals her sporting ability - The Independent 28/09/06

For an instant guide to how fast a woman can run, take a look at her hands. Women whose ring fingers are longer than their index fingers are quicker on their feet, offering a simple way of predicting who will win a race, researchers have found.


Doctors hail lung cancer breakthrough - The Independent 28/09/06

An experimental drug that extends the lives of lung cancer patients by a third has impressed doctors, who say that it is one of the first signs of progress against the disease.

Lung cancer drug 'extends life' - BBC Health News 27/09/06



Mental health care now - or jail later? - The Times 29/09/06

Magnus Linklater (Comment, Sept 27) highlights some of the difficulties that mental health services have in managing complex individuals such as Michael Stone.



How Middle East, foxhunting and reckless GPs split Cabinet - The Times 29/09/06

PROPHETIC statements on conflict in the Middle East, foxhunting and the NHS were made more than 50 years ago by ministers in Clement Attlee’s Cabinet.

Mid-East in crisis and the NHS runs out of cash. Sound familiar? - The Telegraph 29/09/06


No easy answer to tennis elbow - The Times 29/09/06

THE old adage that tennis elbow takes six months to cure if it is treated, and half a year if it is left alone, has been borne out in a trial.

Best cure for tennis elbow? Nothing - The Telegraph 29/09/06


GPs do better - and get more for it - The Times 29/09/06

GPS ARE improving the quality of their services, new data published yesterday show — but they still prefer to deal with middle class, more affluent patients.

GPs 'are providing better care' - BBC Health News 28/09/06

'Richer' patients more attractive - BBC Health News 28/09/06


NHS trust £17m in red - The Times 29/09/06

IPSWICH HOSPITAL is in such deep financial trouble that it has no chance of recovering its accumulated deficit by the end of the year and is highly unlikely to break even.


Hospital under attack over 'painful, degrading deaths' - The Times 29/09/06

A CORONER has criticised a hospital for offering “despicable” and chaotic treatment after hearing that four elderly patients died in painful and degrading circumstances.


New mums tested to spot antisocial trend - The Times 29/09/06

NEW mothers will be given a 10-minute test developed by psychologists to help identify whether their babies risk developing antisocial behavioural problems later in life.


Cases of diabetes rise by 100,000 - The Telegraph 29/09/06

There were 100,000 new cases of diabetes in England in the past year as the epidemic of obesity continued.


IT providers left in the debris of NHS's 'big bang' - The Telegraph 28/09/06

The Government's hugely ambitious National Programme for IT, which aims to create electronic patient records and link all the NHS IT systems across the country, is a laudable attempt to drag the National Health Service kicking and screaming into the 21st century. However, the 10-year £6.2bn project has been beset with controversy and delays.


Hewitt faces fury of cancer patients 'given death penalty' - The Telegraph 28/09/06

Patricia Hewitt was confronted yesterday by three women dying from a rare form of cancer because the only licensed treatment is not available on the health service in England.

It's the injustice of another person receiving the drug you are denied - The Telegraph 28/09/06


Emergency staff to get anti-terror gas masks - The Telegraph 28/09/06

Paramedics are to be issued with special gas masks to protect them against deadly chemicals or nuclear radiation in the event of a terrorist attack, it will be announced today.


Single vaccine that could wipe out common allergies - Daily Mail 28/09/06

Allergies that blight the lives of millions could be wiped out with a vaccine that wards off asthma, eczema and hay fever.



Heart attacks prompt alert over ibuprofen - Daily Mail 28/09/06

Common painkillers such as ibuprofen are at the centre of a major health alert today.


Town planning blamed for obesity - BBC Health News 27/09/06

Poor town planning which limits opportunities for children to take exercise has been blamed for fuelling an increase in obesity.


Doctor criticised over fall death - BBC Health News 27/09/06

A coroner has criticised a Royal Glamorgan Hospital junior doctor after discharging a disabled patient who died following treatment for a fall.



Mum's 'quick thinking' saves baby - BBC Health News 27/09/06

A mother from Slimbridge managed to dislodge a piece of plastic from her nine-month-old daughter's throat hours after attending a first aid course.



Pesticides 'in a third of foods' - BBC Health News 27/09/06

Nearly a third of UK food and drink, including fruit and vegetables, contains pesticide, a government advisory body says.



International News


New York to outlaw trans fats in 24,000 restaurants - The Guardian 28/09/06

New York is set to become the first city in the US to ban all but tiny quantities of trans fats from being used in its 24,000 restaurants. According to plans agreed this week by the board of health, under the mayor, Michael Bloomberg, all the city's restaurants, cafes and street stalls will be forced to keep to a limit of half a gram of trans fats in any item served from their menus.



GSK claims victory in battle over drug prices - The Guardian 28/09/06

Britain's largest drug company has won a partial court victory in its attempt to block wholesalers from buying its drugs cheaply in Spain and selling them in the UK and other European countries where prices are higher.



'Weightless' surgery performed for first time - The Independent 28/09/06

A team of doctors have carried out the world's first "weightless" surgical operation in an aircraft diving steeply thousands of feet above France.


India to wage war on snake bites - The Telegraph 29/09/06

India is to adopt a national strategy to deal with snake bites, which kill 50,000 people a year, and debunk the superstitions that many rely on for "cures".


Geldof backs Bush's no-sex campaign in the battle against Aids - The Telegraph 29/09/06

President George W Bush's "no sex" campaign to stop the spread of Aids was hailed yesterday by Bob Geldof as a highly effective initiative.



1918 flu virus's secrets revealed - BBC Health News 27/09/06

An experiment to reconstruct the deadly 1918 flu virus has given a new insight into how the infection took hold.



IBS linked to low birth weights - BBC Health News 27/09/06

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is linked to low birth weights, according to a Norwegian study.



Organ sales 'thriving' in China - BBC Health News 27/09/06

The sale of organs taken from executed prisoners appears to be thriving in China, an undercover investigation by the BBC has found.



Painkillers safety to be probed - BBC Health News 27/09/06

The safety of common painkillers like ibuprofen is to be investigated, European regulators say.



First zero-gravity human surgery - BBC Health News 27/09/06

A team of French doctors are planning to carry out the first operation on a human being under weightless conditions in a specially adapted aircraft.



Cheshire and Merseyside News


Ormskirk Hospital is left £1m in doctor’s will - Ormskirk Advertiser 28/09/06

ORMSKIRK Hospital has received a £1m cash windfall from a former patient.


Call for new regional health plan - Ormskirk Advertiser 28/09/06

THE region’s new strategic health authority, NHS North West, says that a new health plan should be developed to tackle the major health problems that local people face.


Hospital ‘no longer linked’ to bones - Warrington Guardian 28/09/06

HEALTH chiefs want to reassure patients after Warrington Hospital was identified as a customer of a company linked to a stolen body parts scandal.


Midwives - St Helens Star 28/09/06

WITH regards to the two midwives who had to wait six months to get a job Our midwives land a job at long last' so training gives the right to a job, sorry I don't think so.


Bug alert closes leisure centre - Runcorn Weekly News 27/09/06

HEALTH chiefs are warning hundreds of people to seek medical advice after a suspected outbreak of legionnaires' disease at a Widnes leisure centre.


Bird flu could kill 7,400 in Cheshire - Northwich Chronicle 27/09/06

UP to 245,000 people could contract 'bird flu' in Cheshire with the potential for almost 7,400 deaths.


Plans expect bird flu to hit county hard - Crewe Chronicle 27/09/06

UP to 245,000 people could contract bird flu in Cheshire with the potential for almost 7,400 deaths.



£50m Alder Hey cuts - Liverpool Echo 27/09/06

THE bid to rebuild Liverpool's Alder Hey children's hospital on Springfield park could be scrapped as managers fight to slash costs.



Cumbria and Lancashire News


MP says PCT chairman won’t fight for West Lancs services - Ormskirk Advertiser 28/09/06

WEST Lancashire MP Rosie Cooper has launched a scathing attack over the choice of Judith Greensmith to spearhead local NHS services.


Health staff praised for bid to improve services - Ormskirk Advertiser 28/09/06

HEALTH staff were praised by West Lancashire PCT chairman Jim Barton for their work to improve services across the region.


UK hotspot for diabetes risk - Lancashire Telegraph 28/09/06

RESIDENTS in Blackburn and Darwen have been identified as among the most at risk people in the country of developing diabetes.



Hospital needs more car spaces - Lancashire Telegraph 28/09/06

NOW the disabled car park fee for the new Royal Blackburn Hospital has been axed I would like to congratulate all those disabled drivers etc, who complained about charging disabled people to park and those hospital bosses who saw sense and dumped the idea.



Greater Manchester News


Health boss says sorry to family of bug victim - The Bolton News 28/09/06

HOSPITAL bosses have admitted that levels of cleanliness and hygiene were below "acceptable standards" on the hospital ward where an 80-year-old man died.



Health trust names new boss - Altrincham Messenger 28/09/06

THE borough's new Primary Care Trust (PCT) has appointed Sheena Cumiskey as its chief executive.



Four inquests: One damning verdict - Manchester Evening News 28/09/06

A SCANDAL-hit hospital has been branded "despicable" and "chaotic" by a coroner - after he held inquests on four people who died on its wards.


Baby dies after labour problems - Manchester Evening News 28/09/06

A BABY starved of oxygen during the final stages of labour suffered multiple organ damage and died two weeks later, an inquest heard.

Hospital under attack over 'painful, degrading deaths' - The Times 29/09/06


Heart-swap Sholeh dies after 18 'extra' years - Manchester Evening News 28/09/06

A WOMAN who was once the youngest heart-swap patient in Britain has died in hospital.



Chance to comment on foundation plans - The Bolton News 27/09/06

HEALTH bosses are asking the public to tell them how they can improve services.


Wednesday, September 27, 2006

Contents

Click on content link below to go to the news from that section: this will open a web page if you receive this by email



National News


Prevention is the only long-term cure for NHS problems, says Howard Stoate - The Guardian 27/09/06

The problem with the NHS is that it focuses far too much on the hospital, at the expense of public health and illness prevention. And without a power shift from hospitals to community and primary care, the health service will fail.


Government hopes good manners can stop flu - The Guardian 27/09/06

The government will try to change the hygiene habits of the nation later this year in hopes of staving off a flu pandemic by urging people to cover their nose and mouth when they cough or sneeze.

Concern over pandemic flu plans - BBC Health News 26/09/06


Inquiry after bug implicated in 20 patient deaths - The Guardian 27/09/06

Health inspectors announced an inquiry yesterday into an outbreak of the hospital infection Clostridium difficile which contributed to the deaths of 20 patients at an NHS trust in Kent.

Inquiry into NHS trust hit by superbug - The Independent 27/09/06

Hospital is under investigation after 20 deaths in bug outbreak - The Times 27/09/06


Misplaced pride - The Guardian 27/09/06

Mental ill health indiscriminately affects the great and the good, as well as the less well known. But as Clare Allan can testify, its destructiveness is not something to celebrate


Douglas Smallwood, chief executive of Diabetes UK, is taking part in Health Hotel - The Guardian 27/09/06

Douglas Smallwood, chief executive of Diabetes UK, is taking part in Health Hotel


We need a debate about NHS reform - The Guardian 27/09/06

NHS Together is an alliance of all the health service unions and the TUC. We have formed to highlight our concerns about what is happening to the NHS and to press the government for honest and open discussion about its reform agenda.


You've never had it so good - The Guardian 27/09/06

Next week's careers show aims to build on the growing pulling power of public services - higher salaries than the private sector, more jobs and better prospects, says Debbie Andalo


The wanderers return - The Guardian 27/09/06

Many employers in public services are pulling out all the stops to attract ex-staff back into the sector


ISoft reveals Sir Digby stayed on - The Guardian 27/09/06

Sir Digby Jones was paid £45,000 for staying on at iSoft as a adviser after he resigned from the board in July last year.



Charities in fresh call for junk food ad ban - The Guardian 26/09/06

The National Heart Forum today renewed its call for a ban on junk food advertising at a fringe meeting at the Labour party conference



Menthol cigarettes harder to give up, study shows - The Guardian 26/09/06

Menthol cigarettes are as harmful to your health as conventional cigarettes - and even harder to give up, according to a study published yesterday.


Rhyme and reasons - The Guardian 26/09/06

As a member of the New Life for Health Commission on the NHS, which first proposed in 2000 that an independent board governed by an NHS constitution should be set up to run the health service, I would like to stress that both strands of this proposal are not just complementary, as New Labour spokespeople are saying, but are essential. An NHS board on its own would simply be yet another quango for which ultimately neither ministers nor board members could be held responsible. The constitution is vital to ensuring that the NHS remains as true as possible to principles that the public hold dear. I hope that the New Labour debate we are promised will also take on board our other proposals for grassroots elections within the service, viable watchdogs to represent patients' interests and an effective complaints procedure.


Computers may speed breast cancer detection - The Guardian 26/09/06

Thousands of women could have their breast cancer detected more quickly if computers are used to double-check mammograms, research indicates today.


Russell murders report lists sequence of failings in handling of violent drug addict - The Guardian 26/09/06

The husband of Lin Russell, who was bludgeoned to death with her six-year-old daughter, Megan, 10 years ago, said yesterday that his wife and child might be alive today if their killer Michael Stone had received better psychiatric care.

The Big Question: Should the severely disordered be locked up to protect the public? - The Independent 26/09/06


The question: What's the easiest way to get fit? - The Guardian 26/09/06

Please walk vigorously on the spot while reading this, because apparently 10,000 steps a day might not be enough after all (it always felt like a conveniently round figure anyway). A study by the University of Alberta has concluded that a six-month exercise programme of so-called moderate intensity is a better way of achieving what one researcher called "marked health benefits" than placing one foot in front of another ad, it seems, nauseam.


Why size matters - The Guardian 26/09/06

The row over ‘size zero’ models is an opportunity to explore issues of body image


Pesticide residues found in nearly a third of Britain's food and drink - The Independent 27/09/06

Nearly a third of food and drink products tested by a government watchdog body last year contained traces of pesticides, and in 1.7 per cent of cases the chemical residues exceeded maximum legal limits.



Why artificial daylight could brighten up your day - The Independent 26/09/06

Tired and depressed? The lights at work may be to blame. Is artificial daylight the answer?


After the crash: one man's recovery from a bike accident - The Independent 26/09/06

Steve Pape knows what lies ahead for Richard Hammond - he's been there himself


Your health questions answered - The Independent 26/09/06

Why is it that whenever I bend down and then stand up suddenly I feel dizzy?I have had a normal ECG and blood test. I am a 58-year-old man, a smoker, slim build and reasonably fit. I work in an office and walk for two to three hours a day.



No pain, more gain: Why exercise can transform your life - The Independent 26/09/06

Cycling, even for short periods, gives you an all-round aerobic workout. But cycling regularly and for long distances can strain your knees and, if you're a man, may put fertility at risk.


Teenagers beat ban by dialling a drink - The Times 27/09/06

After a clampdown on the sale of alcohol to under-18s, even young children devise a simple solution

Children ‘ordering alcohol over phone’ - The Telegraph 27/09/06

Children 'order alcohol on phone' - BBC Health News 26/09/06



Brown is right on the NHS - The Times 26/09/06

The Chancellor’s proposal to free the running of the NHS from direct political control should be enthusiastically welcomed. It may not be sufficient to cure all the ills that now afflict the NHS but is unquestionably necessary.


NHS faces ongoing infiltration - The Times 26/09/06

THE revolution is being carried out behind closed doors. But private companies are slowly and without consultation edging into the NHS.


NHS patients to get new blood cancer drug - The Telegraph 27/09/06

A blood cancer drug that keeps people well for nearly four times longer than standard treatments, has finally been approved for use on the NHS in England and Wales.



Specialist nurses targeted in NHS cuts - The Telegraph 27/09/06

Hard-up NHS trusts are cutting back on specialist nurses and reducing the quality of patient care, two organisations claimed yesterday.



Riding into trouble on the school run - The Telegraph 27/09/06

Viscount Linley's bicycle trip with his daughter clinging to the back was just a one-off, he says, but it set off alarm bells, writes Toby Clements



Hewitt rejects union demands over NHS contract - The Telegraph 27/09/06

Union leaders clashed with the Government yesterday over the £22bn health service contract awarded to DHL as the German owned freight carrier faced attacks from employees on two fronts.



Who is supposed to pick up the pieces? - The Telegraph 26/09/06

After Lifeclass featured the struggle of a young Army wife whose husband came back from Iraq a very changed man, Lesley Garner was inundated with letters from soldiers and their families. Here, we publish a selection


Care UK to benefit from health reforms - The Telegraph 26/09/06

Health and social care provider Care UK said it was well placed to benefit from the Government's commitment to improving health care services as it unveiled a raft of new contract wins.


Young doctors 'ready to quit if they can't land training posts' - The Telegraph 26/09/06

Nearly half of young doctors say they will leave medicine if they cannot get trainee consultant posts, as a modernised scheme creates unprecedented competition for training positions.


Activists fight increase in pension age - The Telegraph 26/09/06

Ministers suffered a setback last night when Labour delegates backed a motion opposing Government proposals to raise the state pension age to 68.


Blair faces defeat by unions on NHS plans - The Telegraph 26/09/06

Tony Blair is facing a final, humiliating conference defeat tomorrow by unions and the Labour Left over his controversial plans to extend the role of the private sector in the National Health Service.


Can you trust home blood pressure kits? - Daily Mail 26/09/06

It affects one in three adults in the UK, yet a third don't even know they have it because they never get their blood pressure checked and there are no obvious symptoms.


The NHS childbirth crisis - Daily Mail 26/09/06

After 50 hours of agonising contractions, Helen Baker was finally told she could start pushing.


Bandage that tells you: Your bone is broken - Daily Mail 26/09/06

A new bandage worn on the leg can detect hidden fractures using the same technology that measures earthquakes.


My living wills dilemma - Daily Mail 26/09/06

This guilt trip might strike a chord with some of you. I have in my desk drawer a document that has lain there for several months now.


My tumour was microwaved away - Daily Mail 26/09/06

When Kathlyn Taylor was diagnosed with liver cancer she was told she had just months to live.


Hospital demo over closure fears - BBC Health News 27/09/06

Campaigners are preparing to lobby health chiefs as they decide the fate of mid Wales community hospitals.



TV alcopops adverts 'broke rules' - BBC Health News 26/09/06

TV adverts for two alcopops have been the first to be banned under tighter rules aimed at protecting under-18s.



'Major' stem cell project planned - BBC Health News 26/09/06

Experts are set to make a significant announcement on the future of stem cell research in Scotland.



Striking NHS staff still hopeful - BBC Health News 26/09/06

Striking health workers will attempt to gain support at the Labour Party conference in their bid to block the sell-off of the NHS supply agency.



NHS accused of poor communication - BBC Health News 26/09/06

An ex-drinker with irreversible liver damage feared he was given a "death sentence" when told he would not get a transplant, according to a new report.


Drug 'may reverse liver disease' - BBC Health News 26/09/06

A cheap and readily available drug could reverse severe liver disease, even in patients who find it impossible to give up booze, research suggests.


Smokers given holiday incentive - BBC Health News 26/09/06

A health authority is offering free holidays to people who join its Stop Smoking Service and can prove they have given up cigarettes.


Inquiry over hospital bug deaths - BBC Health News 26/09/06

An investigation has begun at a Kent hospital where six people died from the diarrhoea bug clostridium difficile.


Ex-Beatle backs NHS campaigners - BBC Health News 26/09/06

Sir Paul McCartney has voiced support for a campaign against possible NHS cuts in Hastings after 5,000 people marched through the town last week.



Sulphasalazine Can Reverse Liver Disease Even For Heavy Drinkers - Medical News Today 26/09/06

Sulphasalazine, a cheap drug currently used for arthritis and IBS (inflammatory bowel disease) can reverse the scarring that comes with cirrhosis of the liver, say scientists from the University of Newcastle, UK. Doctors had always thought that fibrosis - scarring associated with cirrhosis - was irreversible. This new study on animals has shown the damage can be reversed with Sulphasalazine.


Comment On More Operational Independence For The NHS, UK - Medical News Today 26/09/06

Commenting on operational independence for the day-to-day running of the NHS, Nigel Edwards, Director of Policy at the NHS Confederation said: “We have long argued that the only way to improve the NHS is to give local boards, who know what their communities need, the freedom and power to run the NHS. Politics should be removed from the every day running of the service.


RCN Calls For Sensible Debate On Hospital Reconfiguration, UK - Medical News Today 26/09/06

Commenting on the Institute of Public Policy Research's Future Hospital project, Dr Beverly Malone, General Secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, said: “It is important that we have an open and sensible debate on the way NHS services are organised so we can ensure they meet the needs of patients today and in the future. The ippr briefing paper “Hospital Reconfiguration” is a welcome addition to that debate.


RCN Calls For Nursing Care Homes To Be Fully Funded By NHS, UK - Medical News Today 26/09/06

Commenting at the end of the consultation on the Department of Health's Proposed National Framework for NHS Continuing Healthcare and NHS-Funded Nursing care in England, Dr Beverly Malone, General Secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, said: “The RCN has serious misgivings about whether these proposals will end the continuing healthcare post code lottery that sees so many people being denied care they are entitled to on the NHS and having to sell their homes to pay for it.


Response To Conservative Figures On Hospital Bed Losses, UK - Medical News Today 26/09/06

Nigel Edwards, Director of Policy at the NHS Confederation which represents over 90 per cent of NHS organisations, said: “The reduction in the number of beds in the NHS is not a new trend. Figures show that the number of beds has fallen by 40 per cent since 1959 because of developments in technology and changes in the way we treat patients not because deficits. High bed numbers do not necessarily mean better patient care. We should judge the NHS on how many people we make better and keep well.



International News

Tobacco firms to face US class action over 'light' cigarettes - The Guardian 26/09/06

Leading tobacco firms in the US, including British American Tobacco, are to face a class action lawsuit seeking punitive damages of up to $200bn (£105bn) relating to the alleged fraudulent promotions suggesting "light" branded cigarettes are safer, or less addictive, than regular ones.

£100bn threat to tobacco firms over 'light' brands - The Telegraph 26/09/06


Pub smoking ban 'has improved health' - The Times 27/09/06

THE ban on smoking in public places will improve health, if a study in the Irish Republic is any guide.



First zero-gravity human surgery - BBC Health News 27/09/06

A team of French doctors are planning to carry out the first operation on a human being under weightless conditions in a specially adapted aircraft.



HIV measure called into question - BBC Health News 26/09/06

The merits of measuring HIV particles in the blood as a way to predict a patient's ability to fight off the disease have been challenged.


Can Aviation Safety Techniques Be Used For Medical Safety? - Medical News Today 26/09/06

The Aviation Consulting Group (TACG), a longtime leader in aviation human factors training and program development, is proud to announce its entry into the medical arena.


Menthol Cigarettes More Addictive Than Regular Ones - Medical News Today 26/09/06

If you regularly smoke menthol cigarettes you may well find it harder to give up smoking than if are a regular non-menthol smoker, say researchers from the University of California, San Francisco, USA. Menthol cigarette advertising is targeted at African-Americans, 89% of African-American smokers smoke menthol, compared to 29% of European Americans. This is probably the reason why African-Americans are more likely to die from smoking-related diseases, when compared to European Americans, say the researchers.


Alcoholics Anonymous Membership May Decrease Alcohol-related Homicides - Medical News Today 26/09/06

There is a strong association between alcohol use and violence.


Diabetes, Not Obesity, Increases Risk Of Developing Critical Illness And Early Death - Medical News Today 26/09/06

Diabetes puts people at risk of developing critical illness and dying early, but obesity without diabetes does not. A study published today in the open access journal Critical Care reveals that individuals suffering from diabetes are three times more at risk of developing critical illness and dying young than individuals who do not have diabetes. Obese individuals who do not have diabetes, by contrast, have the same risk of dying or of falling critically ill as non-obese patients who do not have diabetes. These results are surprising, as obesity is linked to diabetes. The authors of the study conclude that the relationship between obesity, diabetes and critical illness is complex and that obesity, per se, does not predict poor outcomes.


Disease Of Older Adults Now Seen In Young, Obese Adults - Medical News Today 26/09/06

Acute diverticulitis, a disease traditionally seen in patients older than 50 years old, is now being seen in younger adults who are obese, according to a study conducted by the University of Maryland Medical Center’s department of radiology in Baltimore, MD.


Risk Factors Linked To Pain After Breast Cancer Surgery: Stress Reduction, Drug Therapy, May Prevent Chronic Problems - Medical News Today 26/09/06

A woman's young age, extensive surgery, and whether she suffered severe, post-operative pain are risk factors for developing chronic pain after breast cancer surgery, a University of Rochester study found.


Study Finds All Intravascular Devices Pose Risk Of Bloodstream Infection To Patients - Medical News Today 26/09/06

All types of intravascular devices (IVDs) pose a risk of bloodstream infection to exposed hospitalized adult patients, finds a study published in the September issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings. What’s more, IVDs have become the leading cause of bloodstream infections in health care settings in the United States and worldwide. An IVD is described as any device that allows access to the bloodstream, but typically a catheter.


Early Statin Therapy For Patients With Acute Coronary Syndromes Reduces Death, Cardiovascular Events - Medical News Today 26/09/06

Early, intensive therapy with statin medications reduces death and cardiovascular events for patients who have had heart attacks or other acute heart events, according to an analysis of previous studies published in the September 25 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.



Cheshire and Merseyside News


Check how your health is doing - Northwich Guardian 26/09/06

CUTTING edge technology that could transform the way patients with long term conditions are cared for has been unveiled.



Cumbria and Lancashire News


Infirmary to remove its Mulberry unit - Carlisle News & Star 26/09/06

A TEMPORARY building used to cut waiting lists at Carlisle’s Cumberland Infirmary is to be removed – saving £250,000 a year.



Search to fill top NHS post - Lancashire Telegraph 26/09/06

EFFORTS are being made to appoint one of East Lancashire's top NHS jobs, 22 months after the last permanent holder left.



Greater Manchester News


Alcohol is the big threat now - health chief - The Bolton News 26/09/06

BINGE drinking, smoking and low life expectancy are the targets of the new regional director of public health.


Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Contents

Click on content link below to go to the news from that section: this will open a web page if you receive this by email




National News



NHS gets in step with diversity - The Times 26/09/06


THE NHS employs more than one million people and at some levels of the health service up to 40 per cent of those employees are from black and minority ethnic (BME) groups. But higher up the management tree the number of BME staff dwindles. Lubna Haq, a management consultant with Hay Group, says that there are just six working at chief executive level across the NHS.




One in 10 expectant mothers suffer depression - the Daily Mail 25/09/06


Depression during pregnancy may be almost as common as post-natal 'baby blues', new research suggests.




BA crew delivers baby during flight to America - Guardian 26/09/06


A British Airways flight crew delivered a baby girl with the help of two medical students while the pilot diverted the plane to Nova Scotia. The woman, who was travelling in the club class section of the aircraft, went into labour around five hours into the flight from Heathrow to Boston on Saturday night.




Computers may speed breast cancer detection - Guardian 26/09/06


Thousands of women could have their breast cancer detected more quickly if computers are used to double-check mammograms, research indicates today.




Osteoporosis risk formula devised - BBC News 26/09/06


A formula has been devised that can predict the risk of bone fractures in women suffering osteoporosis.



How Air Pollutant Helps Pregnant Women With Hypertension, Revealed By Researchers - Medical News Today 26/09/06


Nitric oxide (NO) is best known as an air pollutant produced by vehicle emissions and power plants but for pregnant women it is a crucial compound required to avoid hypertension and pre-eclampsia. Now researchers at the University of Warwick's Warwick Medical School have uncovered some of the secrets of what can interfere with the protecting properties of NO for pregnant women.



Serious Knife Injuries Are Increasing, UK - Medical News Today 26/09/06


Serious knife injuries are increasing, say trauma experts at the Royal London Hospital in a letter to this week's BMJ.



Response To Conservative Figures On Hospital Bed Losses, UK - Medical News Today 26/09/06


Nigel Edwards, Director of Policy at the NHS Confederation which represents over 90 per cent of NHS organisations, said: “The reduction in the number of beds in the NHS is not a new trend. Figures show that the number of beds has fallen by 40 per cent since 1959 because of developments in technology and changes in the way we treat patients not because deficits. High bed numbers do not necessarily mean better patient care. We should judge the NHS on how many people we make better and keep well.



RCN Calls For Sensible Debate On Hospital Reconfiguration, UK - Medical News Today 26/09/06


Commenting on the Institute of Public Policy Research's Future Hospital project, Dr Beverly Malone, General Secretary of the Royal College of Nursing.



RCN Calls For Nursing Care Homes To Be Fully Funded By NHS, UK - Medical News Today 26/09/06


Commenting at the end of the consultation on the Department of Health's Proposed National Framework for NHS Continuing Healthcare and NHS-Funded Nursing care in England, Dr Beverly Malone, General Secretary of the Royal College of Nursing.



Observer Article On Hospital Closures - Clarification, UK - Medical News Today 26/09/06


In response to the front page headline of the Observer on 17 September 'Doctors back mass hospital closures', RCP President Professor Ian Gilmore issued the following statement:



International News



Thailand reports bird flu death - BBC News 26/09/06

A 59-year-old farmer has died of bird flu in north-eastern Thailand, the third person to die of the disease this year, health officials say.




Gene Offers New Lead In Cleft Lip And Palate Research - Medical News Today 26/09/06


Researchers supported by the National Institutes of Health report in the current issue of the journal Science that a much-studied gene called SUMO1, when under expressed, can cause cleft lip and palate, one of the world's most common birth defects.




Race And Mental Health: There Is More To Race Than Racism - Medical News Today 26/09/06


Psychiatry services in England and Wales have been accused of being institutionally racist, but are these accusations justified?




National Survey Shows Women Overlook Common Warning Signs Associated With Poor Blood Sugar Management, Raising The Risk For Diabetes And Heart Disease - Medical News Today 26/09/06


For women, excess weight in the mid-section, frequent fatigue and carbohydrate cravings may be the warning signs of something more serious. A new survey commissioned by the not-for-profit National Women's Health Resource Center (NWHRC) showed that 75 percent of women ages 40-65 who had not been diagnosed with, but had a family history of diabetes or heart disease, reported that they experienced these symptoms.




Comment On More Operational Independence For The NHS, UK - Medical News Today 26/09/06


Commenting on operational independence for the day-to-day running of the NHS, Nigel Edwards, Director of Policy at the NHS Confederation said: “We have long argued that the only way to improve the NHS is to give local boards, who know what their communities need, the freedom and power to run the NHS. Politics should be removed from the every day running of the service.



Cheshire and Merseyside News


Have GPs' salaries now become too high? - Daily Post 26/09/06


Have GPs been the prime beneficiaries of Labour's huge investment in the NHS? Andy Kelly reports.



Wolfie rides into town to promote healthier living - Warrington Guardian 25/09/06


WARRINGTON Wolves mascot Wolfie got on his bike last weekend in a bid to promote healthier lifestyles.



More answers on SADS killer - Warrington Guardian 25/09/06


A WOMAN who lost her son to adult cot death has attended a national conference in a bid to find out more about what caused his untimely death.



Cumbria and Lancashire News



Baby was born in ambulance parked 40 miles from hospital - Carlisle News & Star 25/09/06


BABY Matthew Williams certainly knew how to make a dramatic entrance. Despite the careful plans of his parents for a carefully managed hospital birth in Carlisle the baby couldn’t wait a second longer – and arrived in an ambulance parked outside his Alston home.



Alarming figures on risks to kids who cycle to school - Carlisle News & Star 25/09/06


PUPILS who cycle to school are 55 times more likely to die in a road accident than children cosseted in cars, a new government-funded report has revealed.



Greater Manchester News



Brown sets out NHS stall - Manchester Evening News 25/09/06


CHANCELLOR Gordon Brown today began setting out his stall as Tony Blair's heir apparent, floating the idea of an independent board to take over day-to-day running of the National Health Service.

Monday, September 25, 2006

Contents

Click on content link below to go to the news from that section: this will open a web page if you receive this by email



National News


Unions fight to keep motion criticising cuts in NHS - The Guardian 25/09/06

A faultline opened up between the Labour leadership and the trade unions on the future of the NHS last night over the text of the motion to be debated by conference tomorrow.



Bad design is a health risk - The Guardian 25/09/06

Poorly conceived medical equipment and hospitals can directly contribute to the harm of NHS patients



Survey points to unsafe levels of pesticide residues in food - The Guardian 25/09/06

Consumers are being routinely exposed to unsafe levels of pesticide residues in their food which are nevertheless still within legal limits, campaigners warn today.



Vulnerable families need support, not blame - The Guardian 25/09/06

While we would wish to support the intentions of Tony Blair and Hilary Armstrong's Social Exclusion Action Plan (Report, September 13), we share major concerns about the message which some parents may take from their announcement. The proposal to provide early support for vulnerable families through health visitors is welcome, but the suggestion that they predict which parents are at risk of bringing up children who will be offenders is dangerous.



The disease that is destroying the NHS - The Guardian 25/09/06

Polly Toynbee is absolutely right in her analysis that "Labour's endless reforms will cause voters to abandon hope in a free health service and could lose them the election" (This brutal surgery is a godsend for those who wish to kill off the NHS, September 22). The government claims to be "reforming" the NHS, but has only succeeded in raising public anxiety and alienating health professionals.



Wait 'til your father gets home - The Guardian 25/09/06

Men are working more, not fewer hours, after they have children - despite high-profile paternity leave provision. Kate Hilpern finds out why women are the real losers



Live longer in Brighton and Banbury - The Observer 24/09/06

Free blood tests carried out on more than 70,000 people at over 150 places in Britain have revealed that more than half had high cholesterol, and two thirds had high blood pressure.



Training cuts a 'danger to surgery' - The Observer 24/09/06

Junior doctors falsify records to gain extra time in theatre as their working hours are cut


What happened to ... Stroud Maternity Hospital - The Observer 24/09/06

The Observer reported in June how Stroud Maternity Hospital, a centre run by midwives and renowned for its quality of care, was due to close because the local health service faces debts of £40m. Campaigners argued that for women at low risk of complications it was far better than going to the Gloucester Royal Hospital nine miles away.


The big issue: the NHS - The Observer 24/09/06

The 'medical establishment' may have thrown its weight behind the closure of 60 hospital units, but not in my name ('Doctors back mass hospital closures', News last week). It is spurious to suggest that the reason for this is to 'provide the highest standards of care for patients'.


Lucy Siegle: Can I ignore the best before date on food? - The Observer 24/09/06

A quarter of the food we throw away is still good enough to eat. So are sell-by dates just a sales wheeze, asks Lucy Siegle


Health panel: How can I cope with crippling migraines? - The Observer 24/09/06

The attacks began when he was in his forties, and now they're getting worse. At their most violent they're beyond the reach of medication. Can anything else help?


Food for thought - The Observer 24/09/06

The latest Google health news, dated 'three minutes ago', is that scientists have 'discovered' a link between oral sex and tonsillary cancer. This is a crass/cute example of the sort of up-to-date health information that has become the stuff of life, a regular source of terror and hope.


What's in your basket? - The Observer 24/09/06

Sir Ranulph Fiennes, explorer Since his heart attack, the adventurer, 62, keeps to a strict regime. Dr John Briffa largely approves


Jay Rayner on hospital food - The Observer 24/09/06

Thick, salty soup with the texture of wallpaper paste; a pie crust, hiding a serving of mechanically recovered 'meat' and dry mash. Is this the best patients can hope for?


Experts left killer Stone free to strike - The Observer 24/09/06

Major inquiry reveals that experts' inability to agree a psychiatric diagnosis led to double murder

Mental health report reveals failures that left killer at liberty - The Independent 24/09/06

Report reveals doctors failed to act in cases with a history of violence - The Telegraph 24/09/06

Russell murders report published - BBC Health News 25/09/06


When can you gather winter fuel payments? - The Observer 24/09/06

Happy birthday if you are 60 today - and congratulations on your timing. Your present from Chancellor Gordon Brown is a £200 winter fuel payment.


No 10 unveils plans for BBC style health service charter - The Guardian 23/09/06

A constitution for the NHS, similar to the BBC Charter, is to be proposed in a radical package backed by Tony Blair, the Guardian has learned. The constitution would set boundaries over the extent of privatisation, with Downing Street hoping the idea will appease critics of the pace of reform, while showing that Mr Blair intends to push an ambitious policy agenda before leaving office.


The public and the party will pay heavily for marketisation - The Guardian 23/09/06

A blinkered, ideological reform of public services has already created a breach with the voters

Striking out at NHS privatisation - The Guardian 23/09/06

Privatisation sparks biggest NHS strike in nearly 20 years - The Guardian 22/09/06

Second NHS strike to disrupt Labour conference - The Guardian 22/09/06

NHS national strike starts at 10pm tonight - The Guardian 21/09/06

NHS workers join biggest strike for 20 years - The Independent 22/09/06

NHS staff out in national strike - BBC Health News 22/09/06


Seven steps to better eating - The Guardian 23/09/06

The best thing about trying to eat more environmentally-friendly food is that one feels some of the old hunter-gatherer instincts re-awakening. Purely because you've gone out and tracked your dinner down, it tastes better than the usual supermarket offerings (and it will most likely be better quality, too). So don't delay, hunt and gather today ..


The big debate: home v office - The Guardian 23/09/06

I get a train from London to Brighton: it's an hour and three-quarters door to door. To be honest, quite often I end up getting a taxi to the station at the Brighton end, and sometimes I'll get one home when I'm back late, too.


The great outdoor gym - The Guardian 23/09/06

Gyms. You join, you pay, you never go. And if only they were as good for the environment as they are for your quads. Pool heating, refrigerated drinks machines, vast arrays of TVs: how ironic that gyms are so energy-hungry, when gym-goers waste so much running on the spot and riding bicycles that stand still. And the only thing that's recycled is the air.


Sam Murphy: Seven exercises to do at your desk - The Guardian 23/09/06

Are you among the 59% of the working population who sit down all day? You can still keep in shape, says Sam Murphy - and it's easier than you think.


Max H Pittler: Night cramps - The Guardian 23/09/06

I have recently been diagnosed with an acoustic neuroma. Are you aware of any treatment or therapy that might be beneficial, please?


Anne Karpf: Prudence, dear prudence - The Guardian 23/09/06

Parents should be able to exercise choice, says the government, often. Well, I'm doing very nicely on that score: I can choose whether to worry about my children's schooling, about the food they eat or about their mental health. But no, that's not enough. Last week a new report by a thinktank demanded that I now also worry about my children's financial future.


Our food culture is not up to scratch - The Guardian 23/09/06

A year ago, you published a letter on school lunches from my predecessor, Richard Ehrlich, which said: "If the government forces changes through with immediate effect, the children will simply start bringing packed lunch - or eat no lunch at all." School catering is now in disarray (Pay more or we quit, canteen operators to tell schools as vending machine purge hits profits, September 18). The ban on junk food in vending machines hits profits for both schools and catering companies, and the overnight imposition of healthier menus has led to rejection of school dinners.


How to avoid the bitter pill of regulation - The Guardian 23/09/06

So where were we? Oh yes. Durham council is running a highly dubious "trial" of a food supplement that is methodologically crippled, and largely incapable of giving meaningful data, but in the process Durham council staff are appearing all over the papers and television in news stories to promote a pill called Eye Q made by Equazen, suggesting it is effective at improving concentration and learning in normal children, an assertion that is not supported by published trial data, as we have discussed (although it might be if Durham simply did their trials properly).


Europe agrees sale of cervical cancer vaccine - The Guardian 23/09/06

A vaccine that should protect thousands of women against cervical cancer was yesterday approved by the European commission for sale across the UK and Europe. Women will be able to buy the vaccine privately, but it has not yet been decided whether it will be available on the NHS.

Cervical cancer vaccine granted licence - The Guardian 22/09/06

Cervical cancer vaccine approved - The Independent 23/09/06

Cervical cancer vaccine to be available in weeks - The Times 23/09/06

Cervical cancer vaccine licensed - The Telegraph 23/09/06

Cervical cancer jab can go on sale in UK - Daily Mail 21/09/06

EU approves cervical cancer jab - BBC Health News 22/09/06


Labour NEC may reject Blair's health reforms - The Guardian 22/09/06

Tony Blair is in danger of losing the support of the party's national executive for the government's controversial health policies at next week's Labour conference.


Patients are told bone grafts could have come from stolen US cadavers - The Guardian 22/09/06

Dozens of patients around the country were yesterday being told by their doctors that their bone grafts could have come from cadavers stolen in the United States.

Hospitals warn patients over 'stolen' body parts - The Guardian 21/09/06

At least 40 British patients given body parts stolen in United States - The Independent 22/09/06

Patients given bone transplants from corpse snatches - Daily Mail 22/09/06

More than 40 given ‘stolen bones’ - BBC Health News 21/09/06

'Stolen bones' used in operation - BBC Health News 21/09/06

‘Stolen bone’ hospitals revealed - BBC Health News 20/09/06


This brutal surgery is a godsend for those who wish to kill off the NHS - The Guardian 22/09/06

Labour's endless reforms will cause voters to abandon hope in a free health service and could lose them the election


I refuse to be a scapegoat for the government's NHS failures - The Guardian 22/09/06

Patricia Hewitt is blaming my hospital for financial chaos which her party created, says Calum Paton


Catherine Bennett: Beached in middle age - The Guardian 22/09/06

How comforting it is, in these hazardous times, to be beached in middle age, safe from the threat of skinny young models. Although it is unclear why some newspapers have suddenly become so vexed about a handful of girls whose bony attractions they had, hitherto, been eager to display, the main pretext for the urgent "size 00" campaign, appears to be a fear that these models, as well as being personally at risk of eating their own heart muscles, present a health hazard to other, impressionable young women who might try to copy them. Though there is no evidence to suggest that Lily Cole (generally agreed to have inherited the mantle of former prime suspects Jody Kidd and Twiggy) has an outbreak of anorexia to answer for, as well as a plague of adolescent discontent.

Ultra-slim models 'are preferred by women' - The Independent 21/09/06

Thin argument does a fat lot of good - The Times 23/09/06

Prove you are healthy, Milan tells models - The Independent 25/09/06


Deficits to blame for NHS bed losses, say Tories - The Guardian 22/09/06

The Conservatives today seized on the loss of 6,000 hospital beds over the past 12 months as proof that the NHS financial crisis is hitting patient care.


Trainees resort to caesareans too often, warn doctors - The Guardian 22/09/06

Many women in labour end up with an unnecessary emergency caesarean section because they are in the care of a trainee obstetrician and not an experienced consultant, senior doctors claim today.

Rise in Caesareans blamed on shortage of consultants - The Independent 22/09/06

Lack of senior doctors puts up caesarean rate - The Telegraph 22/09/06

'Unnecessary' Caesareans warning - BBC Health News 21/09/06


FSA rejects organic milk as healthier option - The Guardian 22/09/06

Britain's food watchdog has rejected a call by scientists to declare organic milk healthier than non-organic varieties.

Organic milk is not healthier, says food watchdog - Daily Mail 22/09/06


£15bn rethink on public spending - The Guardian 22/09/06

The Liberal Democrats want a £15bn reordering of public spending to ensure there would be enough cash for their favoured schemes, including free personal care for the elderly, extra spending on mental health and an end to tuition fees.


Brown accused of hiding full scale of PFI liabilities - The Guardian 21/09/06

The government was accused of deliberately underplaying the impact of the private finance initiative on the public finances by excluding most hospital projects from nearly £4.5bn worth of new annual liabilities.

Government accused of fiddling figures to hide scale of NHS debt - The Telegraph 21/09/06


Expert calls for complete overhaul of youth justice system - The Guardian 22/09/06

A leading youth justice expert has called on the government to raise the age of criminal responsibility to 14 years as part of a complete overhaul of the juvenile justice system.


Plastic surgeons issued with psychological checklist - The Guardian 21/09/06

People who want to look like Victoria Beckham may be unsuitable for plastic surgery, doctors warned today.

The 'nip and tuck' women who will never be satisfied - The Telegraph 23/09/06


Letter: Birthing pains - The Guardian 21/09/06

Your report (A&E and maternity units to be axed says new chief executive in first interview, September 13) made depressing reading. As doctors and midwives we have been trying to practise evidence-based care for at least 15 years. The evidence base for very large hospitals being more efficient is scant and what has been published is methodologically weak.


Real food isn't real life - The Guardian 21/09/06

Lectures on homemade meals for children are all very well, but they don't cook by themselves


Food labelling ad gets green light - The Guardian 21/09/06

The Food Standards Agency is launching its first TV ad to promote the controversial "traffic light" food labelling system it is pushing to be adopted as the standard for identifying levels of fat, salt and sugar in food.


Smokers unaware of lung disease - The Guardian 21/09/06

Four out of five adults with a long-term lung disease do not know they have the condition despite it being potentially fatal, according to research published today.


How to lose pounds fast - The Guardian 21/09/06

Finding a reasonably priced gym is a tricky business. Clubs are often reluctant to tell you what they charge and a 'no joining fee' is not always what it seems, finds Lucy Siegle


Patricia LeBlack may be the longest-surviving kidney dialysis patient in the world. Emine Saner meets her - The Guardian 21/09/06

Patricia LeBlack may be the longest-surviving kidney dialysis patient in the world. Emine Saner meets her


Chancellor to prioritise fight against poverty - The Independent 25/09/06

Gordon Brown will pledge today to bring in more "progressive" reforms than Tony Blair if he becomes Labour leader but will promise to keep the party firmly in the political centre ground.



WeightWatchers on the NHS - The Independent 24/09/06

Slimming clubs are being recruited by the NHS to provide thousands of overweight people with free fat-busting classes in an effort to avert Britain's obesity crisis. For the first time, doctors are to hand out vouchers to patients for WeightWatchers and Slimming World so they learn how to cut down on calories by ditching junk food and taking more exercise.


3,000% rise in workers who test positive for cocaine use - The Independent 24/09/06

Britain's cocaine crisis is hitting workplaces across the country, with record numbers of employees now testing positive for the class A drug. New figures reveal that there has been an increase of 3,000 per cent in the number of workers caught with cocaine in their system over the past decade.


Nurse wins legal fight against ward closures - The Independent 23/09/06

A nurse who left her job to campaign against NHS cuts has won a legal battle over the closure of two wards at the first health service hospital.

Hollow victory for nurse who risked savings on ward battle - The Times 23/09/06

Victory for nurse who risked all to fight ward closures - The Telegraph 23/09/06

Ex-nurse wins wards legal battle - BBC Health News 22/09/06


Potato firm bites back after Oliver's crusade cuts sales of chips - The Independent 23/09/06

He has championed the cause of healthy school dinners, leading the crusade against Turkey Twizzlers and chips with everything and extracting a pledge of £280m from Tony Blair to improve children's diets.


Revealed: watchdog’s damning verdict on Cadbury’s over salmonella scare - The Independent 23/09/06

Staff at the Government’s food watchdog were annoyed by Cadbury’s behaviour during the salmonella outbreak this summer that left dozens of people with serious poisoning, according to documents obtained by The Independent.


The Big Question: Is the BMI index the right way to tell what our weight should be? - The Independent 21/09/06

It is a calculation to determine the amount of fat in a person's body, and therefore their risk of weight-related diseases such as diabetes. The Body Mass Index was devised in 1840 by Adolphe Quetelet, a Belgian scientist, and has since been adopted worldwide as the standard way to measure obesity. To find your BMI, divide your weight in kilograms by your height in metres squared.


Drug that transforms lives of sick children 'too costly' - The Times 25/09/06

A NEW drug that could transform the lives of children with a rare genetic condition might be judged too expensive for the NHS.



Private centres 'waste NHS millions' - The Times 25/09/06

New operation surgeries are accused of missing their targets and diverting important resources



Elephant Man given drug 'too quickly' - The Sunday Times 24/09/06

A “RECKLESS” mistake apparently overlooked by government regulators lay behind the drug trial disaster that saw six young volunteers badly injured by an experimental medicine.


Drug may heal livers of chronic alcoholics - The Sunday Times 24/09/06

BRITISH scientists have discovered a drug that could cure liver disease, even in alcoholics who continue drinking.


Child safety booster - The Sunday Times 24/09/06

I would be the first to agree with Daisy Waugh that, in many respects, we live in an over-protected society (News Review, last week). However, on the subject of child booster seats in cars we should remember that 2,000-plus children are killed or seriously injured every year because they were wearing an adult seat belt which failed to afford them sufficient protection

Brussels is taking a big liberty with children’s booster seats - The Telegraph 21/09/06


Women die as NHS refuses £20 breast scan - The Sunday Times 24/09/06

THE National Health Service in Scotland is refusing to fund a £20 breast-screening test that would save the lives of up to 60 women a year and lead to hundreds more having tumours detected earlier.


Generation games - The Times 23/09/06

Baby-bookers are deciding to live for today - and why not?


Parents of under-12s face fines as truancy hits record high - The Times 22/09/06

PARENTS of truanting children at 1,000 primary schools face “fast-track” legal action and fines of £50 after figures indicated that a rise in absences among children under 12 had helped to push truancy figures to a record high.


Sperm donors and secrecy - The Times 22/09/06

Colin Campbell (letter, September 21) does not mention two other highly adverse effects of the regulations abolishing the anonymity of sperm and egg donors.

Donor identity rules and IVF - The Times 21/09/06


Emergency action failed 7/7 victims - The Times 22/09/06

MINISTERS will admit today that they failed to provide the victims of the July 7 bombings last year with proper help on the day.Survivors and bereaved families have said that the lack of emergency facilities in London caused them more distress.


Fears raised over access to children's database - The Times 21/09/06

THOUSANDS of town hall officials, charity workers and even careers advisers will be given access to the new national children’s database, raising doubts about its confidentiality.


Starship Social Enterprise - The Times 21/09/06

. . . may be landing near you if you are fighting a Tesco in Birmingham or building flats for the poor


Assisted suicide bid for the depressed - The Times 21/09/06

Founder of Swiss clinic that helped 54 Britons to die wants the law widened beyond the terminally ill

Depression is not a good reason to die - The Telegraph 22/09/06

Depressed 'could get help to die' - BBC Health News 20/09/06


Reason to hate... away days - The Times 21/09/06

JUST because you’re out of the office, don’t think they want you to enjoy yourself. Five reasons to hate away days . . .


The last thing the NHS needs is rule by quango - The Telegraph 25/09/06

The diagnosis is spot-on; it's the prescription that is awry. We are delighted that Gordon Brown now sees that the British state is over-centralised. Like the Tories and the Lib Dems, he has picked up the localist agenda that was first proposed in these pages last year. Mimicking this newspaper's language, he talks of "more accountability to both Parliament and the public... taking power out of the hands of the executive... the devolution of power to local communities and to individuals". Amen.

Devolve power in the NHS? It's just Brown re-inventing himself - The Telegraph 25/09/06

Brown plans independent NHS board - BBC Health News 23/09/06

Doctors sceptical over Brown plan - BBC Health News 23/09/06



Surgeries get a shot in the arm - The Telegraph 25/09/06

One of the largest pharmacies outside a hospital will be opened in Cheshire today by Medical Property Investment Fund as it capitalises on the increasing privatisation of the National Health Service.


Fans of Top Gear crash man raise cash for air ambulance - The Telegraph 25/09/06

Fans of Richard Hammond have raised a large amount of money for an air ambulance charity since learning that he was airlifted to hospital after his high-speed crash.


Splitting with husband 'is not a major worry for over-40s' - The Telegraph 25/09/06

Most women over 40 worry more about their children's future and breast cancer than breaking up with their husbands, says research.



Natural births at risk from NHS cuts - The Telegraph 24/09/06

Dozens of birth centres run by midwives could close because of staff shortages and the NHS's funding crisis.


They risk life and limb, and deserve our best care in return - The Telegraph 24/09/06

It is possible to glean some sense of the duress experienced by our troops in Basra from a paper in the Journal of the Royal Army Medical Corps last year. It reports how nearly a quarter required hospitalisation at some time for heat stroke or diarrhoea and vomiting. "Heat illness will inevitably occur in temperatures which regularly reach over 120 degrees Fahrenheit," writes Col Heber, especially when weighed down by all the high-tech gizmos of modern soldiering. As for the prevalence of D&V, that too is pretty inevitable when, as he describes, "the fly population was huge in the hospital area".


Nish Joshi's Q&A - The Telegraph 24/09/06

After suffering an upper-respiratory problem I was prescribed antibiotics, but they failed to clear up the cough.


400,000 children are given 'good behaviour' drug - The Telegraph 23/09/06

Zac Goldsmith, one of David Cameron's key policy advisers, yesterday backed the Hold on to Childhood coverage in The Daily Telegraph and said he was worried at the ease with which doctors prescribed pills to tackle children's emotional upsets.


Nature's bounty in the raw - The Telegraph 23/09/06

Unpasteurised milk is barely legal. Tom Petherick wonders why


Slim pickings - The Telegraph 23/09/06

Moyra Fraser continues her series on how to eat well and still lose weight


Students revise their attitude to health - The Telegraph 21/09/06

Graduates leaving behind the comforts of the union bar for the workplace fear job pressures could affect their wellbeing, says Roland Gribben


Queues for surgery are far from rare elsewhere - The Telegraph 21/09/06

Record numbers of immigrants are coming to Britain according to figures released last month, but less prominence is given to the record number of departure.


Mediterranean life can increase your healthy years - The Telegraph 21/09/06

The British expat community around the Mediterranean basin should stick to the local diet and leave their old eating habits in the UK, judging by a new study.

Try not to make a meal of finding the right food - The Telegraph 21/09/06


Cosmetic surgery boom for men - Daily Mail 22/09/06

Men desperate to look young are fuelling a boom in cosmetic surgery.


Pill 'defeats elephant disease' - BBC Health News 24/09/06

A cheap antibiotic not only prevents but also relieves the symptoms of a disfiguring tropical disease called elephantiasis, scientists say.


Web shoppers 'pick healthy foods' - BBC Health News 24/09/06

Most people shopping online for food will pick healthier options when offered a choice, research suggests.


School closures aim to curb flu - BBC Health News 23/09/06

Schools in England could be ordered to close to pupils to try to curb an "inevitable" flu pandemic.



Inventions to help stroke victims - BBC Health News 23/09/06

When Owain Morgan needed to come up with a design to help people who had suffered a stroke, he turned to his own family for inspiration.


Smokers 'at greater risk of HIV' - BBC Health News 23/09/06

Smokers may be at a greater risk of HIV infection, research suggests.


Healthy lunchbox advice offered - BBC Health News 23/09/06

Advice on making a healthy packed lunch is to be given directly to parents by the government, the BBC has learned.


Many would 'want to live to 100' - BBC Health News 22/09/06

Many Britons would give up favourite things, including sex, to reach 100 years of age, a poll suggests.


Pathologist resigns from register - BBC Health News 22/09/06

One of the UK's leading pathologists has resigned from the Home Office register after being severely criticised by a disciplinary hearing.


Way to check heart's energy store - BBC Health News 22/09/06

Scientists have found a way to measure energy levels inside living heart cells, using the chemical that causes fireflies to light up.


Notorious maternity unit praised - BBC Health News 22/09/06

A west London maternity unit where 10 women died has been taken off special measures after being praised for its improvements.


Fears over hospital bed occupancy - BBC Health News 22/09/06

Hospital bed occupancy rates are falling but are still near risky levels, figures show.


'Pack-a-day crisp habit' warning - BBC Health News 21/09/06

Half of UK children "drink" almost five litres of cooking oil every year as a result of their pack-a-day crisp habit, experts warn.


Stabbings ‘are on the increase’ - BBC Health News 21/09/06

Deaths and injuries from knife stabbings are increasing, according to doctors at one London hospital.


Hospital to lose A&E department - BBC Health News 21/09/06

The accident and emergency department of another North West hospital is to close, it has been announced.


Dentists' 'private work tops NHS' - BBC Health News 21/09/06

Dentists are earning more from their private work than NHS patients for the first time, figures show.


Food chemicals 'may harm humans' - BBC Health News 20/09/06

Low levels of man-made chemicals in basic foods such as brown bread, butter and milk could combine to harm humans, a conservation charity has warned.

Much lung disease 'undiagnosed' - BBC Health News 20/09/06

Four out of five adults with long-term lung disease do not know they are ill, research suggests.


‘Unlicensed’ drug websites raided - BBC Health News 20/09/06

A number of unlicensed internet sites allegedly selling prescription-only medicines illegally in the UK have been shut down following morning raids.


Cancer drugs usage ‘sees boost’ - BBC Health News 20/09/06

More patients are getting cancer drugs in England, according to a report by the government’s cancer tsar.


Trust patient unlawfully killed - BBC Health News 20/09/06

A young father who died from an infection that doctors failed to spot was unlawfully killed, an inquest jury has decided.


Renewed appeal over leukaemia boy - BBC Health News 20/09/06

A mother says time is running out in a worldwide search to find a suitable bone marrow donor for her son, who has been battling leukaemia since 2003.



International News


Fighting ignorance and prejudice - The Guardian 22/09/06

Stella Egidi, an MSF doctor working with commercial sex workers in Kinshasa, describes how HIV/Aids is not the only enemy

Progress - but obstacles remain - The Guardian 22/09/06


Cell swap may cure blindness - The Telegraph 23/09/06

The most common cause of blindness in old age could one day be reversed with cell transplants into the eye, according to scientists.


Why little Miss Li paid a man £1,600 to break her legs - The Telegraph 23/09/06

A year ago this month, Li Ping, an attractive 23-year-old from Beijing, split up with her boyfriend, checked into a clinic and paid doctors £1,600 to break her legs, just because she felt a little on the short side.


Parents kidnap their daughter for abortion - The Telegraph 21/09/06

An American couple kidnapped their daughter and tried to force her to have an abortion because her boyfriend was black and in prison.


Minister sacked in child HIV scandal - The Telegraph 21/09/06

The Kazakh president yesterday sacked his health minister and a regional governor over a growing scandal in which at least 55 babies and young children received blood contaminated with HIV.


Daytime napping is good for you, says study - Daily Mail 21/09/06

A brief nap could boost people's memory, according to new research.


Walking ‘not enough to get fit’ - BBC Health News 24/09/06

Walking may not be enough on its own to produce significant health benefits, research suggests.



Low lead levels 'still harmful' - BBC Health News 22/09/06

Lead may raise the risk of death from many causes at levels much lower than those widely thought to be safe, researchers suggest.


Indonesia bird flu toll hits 50 - BBC Health News 22/09/06

An 11-year-old boy has become Indonesia's 50th victim of birth flu, health officials say.


Mosquitoes' sweet tooth targeted - BBC Health News 21/09/06

Mosquitoes' thirst for sugar could prove to be the answer for eliminating malaria and other mosquito-transmitted diseases, say scientists.


Scientists develop a sunless tan - BBC Health News 20/09/06

Scientists have given mice a tan without exposing them to the sun.


Music training boosts the brain - BBC Health News 20/09/06

Music lessons can improve memory and learning ability in young children by encouraging different patterns of brain development, research shows.



Cheshire and Merseyside News


Surgeries get a shot in the arm - The Telegraph 25/09/06

One of the largest pharmacies outside a hospital will be opened in Cheshire today by Medical Property Investment Fund as it capitalises on the increasing privatisation of the National Health Service.



Pill 'defeats elephant disease' - BBC Health News 24/09/06

A cheap antibiotic not only prevents but also relieves the symptoms of a disfiguring tropical disease called elephantiasis, scientists say.



Jail for lover who gave HIV to girlfriend - Liverpool Echo 22/09/06

THE family of a woman whose boyfriend infected her with HIV today said: "He's taken her life away."


I hope henna tattoo won't scar for life - Liverpool Echo 22/09/06

A SKIN expert has warned Merseyside parents about the dangers of henna tattoos after two boys were left injured.


200 NHS workers walk out - Daily Post 22/09/06

MORE than 200 NHS workers in Runcorn walked out last night in the biggest strike action the health service has seen for almost 20 years.


No NHS dental places left in south Liverpool - Daily Post 21/09/06

NOT a single south Liverpool dentist is taking on new NHS dental patients, the Daily Post can reveal.


Hospitals named in body part scandal - Daily Post 21/09/06

A CHESHIRE hospital has been named as one of 25 UK hospitals where possibly contaminated human body parts stolen in America were grafted on to British patients.


Massive rise in tooth rot kids - Liverpool Echo 21/09/06

THE number of children having fillings or extractions has rocketed on Merseyside by 30%, new figures show today.


I found my husband dead in a hospital bath - Liverpool Echo 20/09/06

AN INVESTIGATION is under way after a patient was found dead in a hospital bath by his wife.


Healthy start to day - Liverpool Echo 20/09/06

TEACHERS have introduced pre-school gym sessions to slash rising rates of obesity.


Unused unit burning a hole in care budget - Chester Chronicle 22/09/06

A HEALTH watchdog cannot believe a £3m NHS unit built to ‘unblock’ beds at the Countess of Chester Hospital is still lying empty and unused.


Efficiency increases due to merger - Ellesmere Port Pioneer 21/09/06

THE recent tie-up of health authorities covering this borough and neighbouring Chester is already boosting efficiency and cutting bureaucracy.


Emergency course could prove to be a lifesaver - Ellesmere Port Pioneer 21/09/06

CHESHIRE County Council's road safety unit, the Cheshire and Merseyside branch of the North West Ambulance Service and Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service have joined forces to present an emergency aid course.


Healthy eating on menu at school - Runcorn Weekly News 20/09/06

PUPILS at Runcorn's St Chad's Catholic High School are enjoying a super-healthy start to the school year, with menus fully meeting the Government's national standards for school meals.


Mystery over fatal liver failure - Runcorn Weekly News 21/09/06

A MAN who went to the doctor's with heartburn died of unexplained liver failure a month later.


Carers praised for their efforts - Northwich Chronicle 20/09/06

THREE organisations in Northwich have received awards recognising the real difference they make to the lives of disabled people and carers in the North West.


New hope for teenager with terminal illness - Southport Visiter 22/09/06

A TEENAGER suffering a rare, terminal illness has been given new hope.


On board hospital NHS Trust - Ormskirk Advertiser 21/09/06

SOUTHPORT & Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust has welcomed a new face to its board.


GP move means better service - Ormskirk Advertiser 21/09/06

DR Akhilesh Kumar Varma, who has single-handedly run his Stanley Street practice in Ormskirk for 30 years, is moving to join new colleagues at the nearby Railway Road Surgery.


E’s not good for memory - Ormskirk Advertiser 21/09/06

PEOPLE who use the drug ecstasy may suffer memory problems.


Dangerous drink alert - Ormskirk Advertiser 21/09/06

BOTTLES of a potentially killer vodka are thought to have been supplied in St Helens.


We're not all overweight! - Runcorn World 22/09/06

FIRST of all, please do not cast the whole of Halton as being overweight.


'Eviction' claim denied by hospital - Warrington Guardian 21/09/06

BOSSES at Warrington Hospital have denied a patient was let down while in their care.


'Left alone to feed herself' - Warrington Guardian 21/09/06

THE family of an 84-year-old woman claim she was left to feed herself and suffered a fall while in the care of staff at Hollins Park Hospital.


Mews is home from home - Warringotn Guardian 21/09/06

A HOME specialising in caring for elderly people with dementia is being officially opened in Penketh on Monday.


Extra Care complex for elderly looks likely to go ahead - Nantwich Guardian 21/09/06

A NEW development to provide 'extra care' for elderly Nantwich residents looks set to get the go ahead today (Thursday).


Alarm raised over service - Knutsford Guardian 20/09/06

PEOPLE who helped a dying woman last week spoke of their concern that the ambulance drivers were unfamiliar with Knutsford.



Cumbria and Lancashire News


Pub’s plans to send smokers undercover - Smoking News & Star 22/09/06

A WORKINGTON pub is gearing up to beat next summer’s smoking ban by bringing the indoors outdoors for extradited smokers.


‘Injection can save your life’ - Carlisle News & Star 21/09/06

NEW students in Cumbria are being urged to get themselves immunised against life-threatening meningitis before starting university.


Burnley A&E axed - official - Lancashire Telegraph 22/09/06

THE axe has finally fallen on Burnley General Hospital's A&E department in what campaigners have called a "dark day" for the town.


‘No change’ was never an option - Lancashire Telegraph 22/09/06

THE biggest shake-up of hospital services ever in East Lancashire has been given the final stamp of approval by health bosses.


More Blackburn babies to be born in Burnley - Lancashire Telegraph 22/09/06

THOUSANDS of mums from Blackburn, Darwen, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley will have to give birth at Burnley General Hospital after a shock decision by health bosses.

NHS has birth of a new era - Lancashire Telegraph 20/09/06


Heart centre tackles big killer - Chorley Citizen 22/09/06

New figures have revealed that almost half of all deaths in Chorley are caused by or relate to heart disease.


New boss aims to put NW in ‘best of health’ - Lancashire Telegraph 21/09/06

A NEW head of public health for the North West has been appointed - three months after her predecessor walked out in protest at Government red tape.


Anger over hospital letter delay - Lancashire Telegraph 21/09/06

A NEWLY-diagnosed cancer patient missed a vital hospital appointment - because he wasn't told until a day after it took place.


Veins problem led to death - Lancashire Telegraph 21/09/06

A MAN who had smoked 50g of tobacco a week for 40 years died after developing severe problems with his veins.


Mystery bug kills 'perfect wife' - Lancashire Telegraph 21/09/06

A "PERFECT" wife and mother has died three days after being struck down by a mystery virus.



Greater Manchester News


Hospital headache - The Bolton News 23/09/06

HOSPITAL car parking is a serious issue that really sets the pulses racing.



Smoking is a threat to young eyes warns doc - The Bolton News 23/09/06

A TOP Bolton eye doctor says he has found evidence linking smoking to blindness in young people as well as older patients.


Nurse who risked ruin wins £80,000 case - Manchester Evening News 22/09/06

A PENSIONER who risked financial ruin in a High Court battle to save services at her local hospital has won in principle and may still see disputed wards reopened.

Nurse wins legal fight against ward closures - The Independent 23/09/06

Hollow victory for nurse who risked savings on ward battle - The Times 23/09/06

Victory for nurse who risked all to fight ward closures - The Telegraph 23/09/06

Ex-nurse wins wards legal battle - BBC Health News 22/09/06




It’s doctors orders - a good walk - The Bolton News 22/09/06

A TRIP to the doctor normally ends with patients clutching a prescription for medicine as they walk out of the door.


Children to brush up on dental hygiene - The Bolton News 22/09/06

CHILDREN in Bolton have been chosen to be part of a national pilot scheme to encourage them to brush their teeth in a bid to reverse the borough's appalling dental health record.


£50m extra for hospice revamps - The Bolton News 22/09/06

BOLTON MP David Crausby has welcomed the Government announcement that an extra £50 million will be ploughed into hospice and end of life care.


Conference over muscle weakness disease - The Bolton News 22/09/06

A MEDICAL conference for people suffering with Myasthenia Gravis is being held in Bolton next month.


No-smoking pubs ‘are reaping the benefits’ - The Bolton News 21/09/06

PUBS in England and Wales which have banned smoking ahead of new laws are reaping the benefits, according to a new survey.


Future’s healthy for Fairfield's A&E unit - Lancashire Telegraph 21/09/06

The Accident and Emergency department at Fairfield Hospital is safe for the foreseeable future.


Cancer patients views - Bury Times 21/09/06

CANCER patients are invited to have their say on how they are treated as Bury Primary Care Trust's Cancer Patient/User Partnership launches next week.


Will skinny models just fade away? - The Bolton News 20/09/06

IN these days of healthy eating, it's good to see that modelling - the last bastion of the anorexic - is finally getting its act together.


Junk food mums must be bonkers - The Bolton News 20/09/06

YORKSHIRE mothers have been denting their local school's low-fat dinners programme by taking orders for junk food from pupils. Are they bonkers, or just misguided?


Town test finds men feeling the pressure - The Bolton News 20/09/06

BOLTON'S men suffer the highest blood pressure, but but have cholesterol levels lower than their female counterparts.


Mum's warning on meningitis - Altrincham Messenger 20/09/06

A SALE mother whose son survived meningococcal septicaemia is backing a campaign to ensure other parents know the symptoms of the devastating condition.





International News


Cheshire and Merseyside News


Cumbria and Lancashire News


Greater Manchester News