Thursday, December 28, 2006

Contents

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National News
New Story
Generic statins could save NHS £85m a year - The Guardian 28th December 2006


The NHS could save at least £85m a year if doctors prescribed the cheapest cholesterol-busting statins instead of branded alternatives, ministers say today. Figures published as part of the health service's biggest productivity drive yet show that if all GPs prescribed two generic statins - pravastatin and simvastatin - in 69% of all cases the annual drugs bill would be at least £84.7m less.


Additional Story
GPs told to save cash by using generic statins - The Telegraph 28th December 2006


Additional Story
NHS urged to 'reduce drugs bill' - BBC Health News 28th December 2006

New Story
Rise in hospital bug deaths alarms coroner - The Guardian 28th December 2006


The potentially fatal hospital-acquired superbug Clostridium difficile may cause huge problems for the NHS, a coroner warned yesterday, as he reported that the infection had been linked to 12 deaths in a month in two city hospitals. The Nottinghamshire coroner, Nigel Chapman, said C diff had been contracted by nine patients who died at Nottingham's Queen's Medical Centre and three who died at the City Hospital in four weeks over November and December.


Additional Story
How you catch it - The Telegraph 28th December 2006


Additional Story
Fears as superbug linked to 15 deaths - The Telegraph 28th December 2006

New Story
The worst day to go into hospital - The Guardian 28th December 2006


A thinktank has a stark message for NHS patients in a report out today: if possible, do not go into hospital on a Thursday. Patients admitted then stay on average a day longer than those admitted on a Sunday, increasing their risk of being infected by the superbug MRSA, says the left-leaning Institute for Public Policy Research.


Additional Story
Patients admitted on Thursdays stay longer - The Independent 28th December 2006


Additional Story
Hospital care fear over Thursdays - BBC Health News 28th December 2006

New Story
NHS suspects fraud in £61m stop smoking programme - The Guardian 28th December 2006


Counter-fraud specialists are investigating claims that pharmacists are stealing money from the NHS by fiddling figures on the number of people they have helped to give up smoking. The Guardian has learned of inquiries in five primary care trusts in London into allegations that chemists have fraudulently claimed thousands of pounds, claiming cash rewards of up to £85 for each patient they help to stop smoking for at least four weeks.

New Story
Cabinet minister joins protest over hospital - The Guardian 28th December 2006


The cabinet minister Hazel Blears is petitioning the health secretary to stop the closure of maternity services in her constituency under an NHS reorganisation. Her intervention is deeply embarrassing for the government, coming at a time when it is attempting to prove to the public that reconfiguration of the health service is vital to improving care. Ms Blears joined picket lines in Salford last week to protest against the withdrawal of maternity care as part of a £60m overhaul of mothers' and children's services across Greater Manchester, east Cheshire and High Peak, Derbyshire.


Additional Story
Minister in NHS hospital protest - BBC Health News 28th December 2006

New Story
Food agency takes on industry over junk labels - The Guardian 28th December 2006


Consumers are to be presented with two rival new year advertising campaigns as the Food Standards Agency goes public in its battle with the industry over the labelling of unhealthy foods. The Guardian has learned that the FSA will launch a series of 10-second television adverts in January telling shoppers how to follow a red, amber and green traffic light labelling system on the front of food packs, which is designed to tackle Britain's obesity epidemic.


Additional Story
Why Kellogg's saw red over labelling scheme - The Guardian 28th December 2006


Additional Story
How constipation cure became huge business - The Guardian 28th December 2006


Additional Story
Just add milk ... among other things - The Guardian 28th December 2006

New Story
Rise in child abuse cases puts pressure on legal aid budget - The Times 28th December 2006


A large rise in the numbers of children at risk of abuse is threatening a fresh crisis for the cash-strapped legal aid system. The cost of court hearings over whether a child should be removed from his or her home has soared by 62 per cent in five years, to £208 million last year in England and Wales.

New Story
NHS takes cash meant for charity - The Times 28th December 2006


A pioneering scheme to help mental patients may have to close because the Department of Health has pocketed money promised by the Treasury.

New Story
Public sector staff on six-figure salaries trebled - The Telegraph 28th December 2006


The number of public sector workers earning at least £100,000 a year has more than trebled in five years, according to new figures. The increasing prevalence of six-figure salaries among the ranks of senior civil servants was criticised by the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats. In 2001, there were 320 staff across 25 key bodies earning £100,000 or more. By this year the figure had grown to 996, according to figures obtained by London's Evening Standard.

New Story
Failing drug test at work can lead to the sack - The Telegraph 28th December 2006


Workers were warned yesterday that they faced more random drug testing in the workplace after it was revealed one company sacked more than 10 per cent of employees it screened for cocaine and cannabis use. Laing O'Rourke, the construction group, like many other firms, has introduced testing of its 23,000 workers on the grounds that its industry is "safety critical" and employees need clear heads.

New Story
Government consider plans to deny NHS treatment to smokers and obese - Daily Mail 27th December 2006


The obese and smokers could be denied priority NHS treatment if they do not change their lifestyles, under plans being considered by ministers. The controversial idea to crack down on illnesses which are deemed to be self-inflicted is one of a number of plans to reform Britain's arcane public services.

New Story
HIV home screening kit launched - BBC Health News 28th December 2006


The first home test which says it can reassure patients they are free of HIV has been launched in the UK. The public can send in a saliva sample to a laboratory, and, if negative for HIV, receive results via e-mail.

New Story
'Many children' being sold drink - BBC Health News 27th December 2006


Almost a quarter of pubs, bars and off-licences in England and Wales are selling alcohol to children, according to a survey. The Liberal Democrats found 23% of licensed premises looked at were supplying drink to under-18s.
New Section
International News
New Story
Creation of new organs a step closer - The Guardian 28th December 2006


Scientists are a step closer to growing replacement organs and tissues which can be transplanted into patients. Their breakthrough uses tiny protein scaffolds that encourage stem cells to grow into three-dimensional structures for the first time. Growing organs that are genetically matched to patients is one of the great hopes of research using stem cells.

New Story
Slim pill that cuts weight by 12pc 'a success' - The Telegraph 28th December 2006


Trials of a new type of slimming pill have been even more successful than its researchers had hoped and further tests are now being planned. The once-a-day pill called Excalia helped slimmers to lose 12 per cent of their body weight in under a year by tricking the body into feeling full and by keeping the metabolism lively.


Additional Story
Pill that tricks you into losing weight - Daily Mail 27th December 2006

New Story
Daily dose of olive oil 'cuts risk of cancer' - Daily Mail 27th December 2006


Four teaspoons of olive oil a day can help protect against cancer, scientists claim. A study of 182 European men found a diet rich in olive oil reduced levels of chemicals in the blood which can trigger cancer.

New Story
New Yorkers given rabies warning - BBC Health News 28th December 2006


Health officials in New York are warning residents to stay away from stray animals over the holiday period. The advice follows a large increase in the reported number of rabies cases, including seven in December alone.

New Story
Double hand transplant 'success' - BBC Health News 27th December 2006


A woman who became the first in the world to receive a double hand transplant has left hospital. A team of surgeons at Hospital La Fe in Valencia carried out the pioneering operation.
New Section
Cheshire and Merseyside News
New Story
Health experts braced for mass flu outbreak - Liverpool Echo 28th December 2006


HEALTH experts are drawing up plans to tackle a flu pandemic that could hit within months, affecting up to 100,000 people in Liverpool alone, and causing massive disruption to the city's Capital of Culture plans. Hospitals, GPs, councils, ambulance trusts, firefighters and the military are preparing the UK response to a global flu pandemic which experts warn is likely to hit in the next year or so.
New Section
Cumbria and Lancashire News
New Story
Hospital staff are wonderful - Lancashire Telegraph 27th December 2006

RECENTLY I was admitted to the new Royal Blackburn Hospital Ward D3 for an operation under the care of Mr Willett and his team. Everything was explained fully to me and I had lots of opportunities to ask any questions I might have. I was put in a side ward which was as nice as any hotel room.
New Section
Greater Manchester News
New Story
Grim discovery of body 'left for a year' - Manchester Evening News 27th December 2006


A PENSIONER could have lay dead at his Manchester home for up to a year, the M.E.N can reveal. George Sutton’s badly-decomposed body was discovered in an upstairs room after police broke into his home in Cromwell Grove, Levenshulme on Christmas Eve. Although a post mortem examination is yet to establish how long he had been dead, unopened post found piled up behind his front door suggests the 81-year-old may have died at the beginning of this year.

New Story
Christmas joy for back to front heart baby family - The Bolton News 27th December 2006


WHEN Star Regan was born with her heart back to front, doctors told her parents that without risky surgery she would die. Tiny Star arrived in the world with her heart, arteries and veins the wrong way round, so her blood was not being pumped with oxygen from her lungs.

New Story
Doors open on revamped health centre - Prestwich and Whitefield Guide 27th December 2006


A HEALTH centre for people with mental health problems has been re-opened after a massive refurbishment. The centre has undergone an extensive refurbishment, giving it new facilities and improving access for people with mobility problems.

New Story
Cabinet minister joins protest over hospital - The Guardian 28th December 2006


The cabinet minister Hazel Blears is petitioning the health secretary to stop the closure of maternity services in her constituency under an NHS reorganisation. Her intervention is deeply embarrassing for the government, coming at a time when it is attempting to prove to the public that reconfiguration of the health service is vital to improving care. Ms Blears joined picket lines in Salford last week to protest against the withdrawal of maternity care as part of a £60m overhaul of mothers' and children's services across Greater Manchester, east Cheshire and High Peak, Derbyshire.


Additional Story
Minister in NHS hospital protest - BBC Health News 28th December 2006
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Posted by Kieran at 8:38 am

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