Friday, June 29, 2007

Another 15 Minutes...Health News from Fade



Another 15 Minutes is currently experiencing navigation issues as a result of software changes, as soon as we identify a solution the navigation menu will return, we apologise for any inconvenience this causes.


Listen to this edition of Another 15 Minutes...Health News from Fade Listen to this edition of Another 15 Minutes...Health News from Fade

New Section


National News

New Story


Alan Johnson's background and personality equip him well to tackle an industrial relations crisis in the NHS that threatens to undermine the government's health reforms. In his last job as education secretary, he won praise from teachers' leaders for calming a troubled department by seeking stability instead of trying to make his name with untested initiatives. The former postman is straight-talking and was impressive as general secretary of the Communication Workers Union in the mid-1990s. He will need all the nous he developed then to stop the NHS descending into a summer of industrial chaos.


Additional Story



The number of people with Alzheimer's disease is due to soar as a result of the obesity epidemic, it was revealed yesterday, as evidence grows that dementia, like heart attacks and strokes, has lifestyle causes. The Alzheimer's Society, the British Heart Foundation and the Stroke Association joined forces to call for people to embrace healthier lifestyles in the hope of fending off all three devastating conditions.


Additional Story


Obese people twice as likely to get Alzheimer's - The Independent 29th June 2007


Additional Story


Obesity could leave 2.5m with dementia - Daily Mail 29th June 2007


Additional Story




New Story

IVF doctors last night called for resignations and a full investigation by the Department of Health after the high court ruled that the fertility regulator had unlawfully obtained warrants to search a clinic on the eve of a Panorama documentary. The British Fertility Society, representing the doctors, said the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority had lost the trust of the clinics it regulates following the high court victory of Mohamed Taranissi, the controversial IVF doctor who has the best success rates in the country.


Additional Story


Regulator's fertility clinic raids are ruled unlawful - The Independent 29th June 2007


Additional Story


Fertility watchdog facing £1m bill for raids on clinic - The Times 29th June 2007


Additional Story


IVF clinic raids ruled 'unlawful' - BBC Health News 27th June 2007


New Story



We write to express our concern at reports that some MPs may be aiming to further restrict the law on abortion (MPs to consider cut in abortion time limit, June 21). This year marks the 40th anniversary of the 1967 Abortion Act. In those 40 years a small yet well-funded and vociferous minority who oppose a woman's right to control over her own body has remained permanently active. It would be ironic if this year were to be marked by any success for them in their campaign to drive back women's rights to choose. Only a tiny proportion of abortions take place in the latest stages. All are subject to stringent medical requirements. The anti-abortionists focus on these for emotive reasons and to mislead public opinion.


New Story

Drinking probiotic yoghurt drinks can help to reduce sickness associated with the hospital superbug Clostridium difficile and the side-effects of antibiotics, a study suggests. Up to a quarter of patients experience diarrhoea, including C.difficile-associated diarrhoea, as a complication of treatment with antibiotics in hospital. But drinks containing the probiotic bacteria Lactobacillus helped to reduce the sickness, cut length of stay in hospital and could save the NHS money, researchers from Imperial College, London, said.


New Story


Craig Venter, the controversial biologist who led the private effort to map the human genome, has moved closer to his goal of creating the first artificial life form by replacing the entire genetic code of one microbe with that of another. The groundbreaking experiment has in effect turned a bacterium into a different species by substituting its DNA with that of a close relative. The success opens the way for doing the same thing with a genome that has been man-made from scratch, to create synthetic life.


New Story

The national smoking ban will end a way of life for thousands of London’s hookah users, says Michael Binyon The aroma of fresh strong Turkish coffee wafts through the door. Arabic music, the glitter of the geometric patterned ceiling and the ornate inlaid tables suggest Cairo, Beirut or Damascus. Cool, perfumed smoke curls into the air as attendants bring fresh charcoal to place on the tobacco burning in the hookahs beside each table. The lure of the East could not be more enticing.


New Story


Patients will be at greater risk of poor treatment if proposals to change the regulation of doctors are approved, the British Medical Association was told yesterday. After a passionate debate, the BMA put itself on a collision course with the Government by rejecting its proposals for changes to the General Medical Council and threatening to withhold subscriptions to the GMC if its demands are not met.


Additional Story


Doctor regulation reform 'fears' - BBC Health News 27th June 2007


New Story

There’s nothing predictable about eating Greek when the ingredients are really fresh People often say that Greek food is limited and predictable. But that could be because on holiday it’s hard to look beyond the addictive Greek salad, familiar dips, glorious filo pies from the bakery, and seafood and meat from the char-grill.


New Story


A desperately ill 18-month-old girl has had a heart transplant operation after being put at the top of the European waiting list. Zoe Chambers, from Hull, was kept alive with an artificial heart while she waited for a donor heart, after suffering six heart attacks. A spokeswoman for the Freeman Hospital, Newcastle, said the little girl was in a stable condition. Her parents, Rob and Julie, were at her bedside.


Additional Story


Heart transplant joy for baby Zoe - BBC Health News 27th June 2007


New Story


A GP is the new chairman of the BMA. Hamish Meldrum was elected on the first ballot in a meeting of BMA Council. He will succeed James Johnson, a consultant, who resigned after a letter he wrote to The Times about the junior doctors’ appointment chaos failed to reflect fully the anger felt by other members of council.


New Story


The fiasco surrounding junior doctor training deepened yesterday after it emerged that parts of the discredited application process are still in place. The online Modern Training Application Service was dropped in April after complaints that it did not take experience into account. Patricia Hewitt, the then Health Secretary, promised that those applying in the second round of interviews would be able to provide CVs.


New Story


Adopting a healthy lifestyle even when aged over 60 can still extend lifespan, scientists said yesterday. Researchers found that men and women aged between 45 and 64 who improved their diet and behaviour could substantially cut their risk of suffering cardiovascular disease and improve their life expectancy in four years.


New Story

A breakthrough in stem cell technology could sweep away ethical concerns over embryo research and speed the development of treatments for incurable diseases. Researchers from Oxford and Cambridge universities have discovered that mice can produce embryonic stem cells very similar to those found in human embryos.


New Story


A nurse has been awarded £27,000 compensation after claiming she was forced out of her job at a leading private clinic when she asked to work part-time following maternity leave. Kate Wellesley, 38, said she was made redundant by Dr Dee Dawson, a leading expert on childhood anorexia and bulimia, after requesting a cut in her hours.


New Story


Children with cerebral palsy are just as happy as children without the condition are, a study has shown. Their physical impairment does not have a negative effect on their relationships, moods or welfare, researchers report in The Lancet.


New Story


Vitamin C could help reduce some of the complications associated with diabetes, research suggests. However, a University of Warwick team found the blood pressure-lowering drug Telmisarten had the same effect - and might be a safer alternative.


New Story


Junior doctor application changes - BBC Health News 27th June 2007


Junior doctors in Scotland who fail to get a training post will have their contracts extended, Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon has announced. They will be paid until 31 October so they can apply for posts in England if they fail to get a job when Scottish recruitment ends on 1 August.

New Section


International News

New Story

Public sector unions have called off a nearly month-long strike that had shut down schools and affected hospitals across South Africa. Most of the unions agreed to the Government’s final offer of a 7.5 per cent wage increase. The rest will return to work while negotiations continue, the unions said yesterday.


New Story


'Better test' for cervical cancer - BBC Health News 28th June 2007


A new computerised test for cervical cancer detects more abnormalities than conventional smears, say experts. Currently in England, cells taken from the cervix are spread on a slide and studied under a microscope.

New Section


Cheshire and Merseyside News

New Story

A 200-STRONG council hit squad will patrol Liverpool’s pubs and restaurants for illegal smokers on Sunday – the largest such clampdown in the country. Cafes, shops and other public places will also be visited throughout the day by the “smokefree ambassadors”, staff from Liverpool City Council and the city’s Primary Care Trust, who have been specially trained to conduct the exercise.


Additional Story


Licensees frightened of enforcing smoking ban - Liverpool Daily Post 28th June 2007


Additional Story


A £200 fine if you smoke at bus stop - Liverpool Echo 28th June 2007


VULNERABLE elderly people in Liverpool will lose the carers who have become their friends as part of massive changes to the city’s care system, agencies warned last night. Liverpool’s care companies said many clients are being moved between agencies as part of the overhaul which will be implemented next week.


New Story

VICTIMS of domestic abuse can now get free help to take legal action against their attackers. The charity National Centre for Domestic Violence launches in Cheshire on Monday, and will mean women and men who are being abused by their partners can get free help in obtaining an injunction almost immediately by calling a 24-hour hotline.


New Story


AN OPERATION to save the life of a Merseyside man is being carried out live on camera. A top American specialist is flying in to help perform the procedure, which he will carry out with the surgeon who operated on Gerard Houllier. The action in the Broadgreen theatre will be watched by surgeons from across the world so they can learn the techniques.


New Story


UNDERPAID care workers may mount a wave of legal action against Liverpool care agencies if they see a 30% pay cut, it emerged last night. Private care companies say they have no choice but to cut staff pay after contract changes by the city council – which unions say could drive some workers to industrial action.


New Story


TWO nurses at a care home have been struck off after a pensioner suffered appalling neglect shortly before his death. Matron Patricia Price, aged 58, from Orford, and nurse Julie Chalmers who both worked at Park Manor Nursing Home, on Knutsford Road, Grappenhall, were found guilty of misconduct and kicked out off their profession on Thursday.


New Story


Brother of MMR judge linked to drugs firm - Warrington Guardian 28th June 2007


STOCKTON Heath parent David Thrower could not believe the news. The 52-year-old was one of 1,500 people suing three companies because they believed their children got autism through the MMR jab. His son, Oliver, now aged 20, cannot speak and has severe learning difficulties.

New Section


Cumbria and Lancashire News

New Story


PEOPLE who refuse to stick to the smoking ban at north Cumbria’s main hospitals will be asked to leave the premises – or may even face the police. A no smoking policy has been in operation at the Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle and Whitehaven’s West Cumberland Hospital since last September.


A NEWLY refurbished coffee shop is now up and running at the West Cumberland hospital in Whitehaven. The outlet sells Costa coffee and is open from 8.30am to 7pm weekdays and 11.30am to 6.30pm at weekends.


AN extra GP surgery has been promised for a town which is already preparing to benefit from two new health centres. New doctors will arrive in Accrington by spring 2008, as part of a scheme which will initially be overseen by the Department of Health.


New Story


Smoking ban - reaction in East Lancashire - Lancashire Telegraph 28th June 2007


FROM 6am this Sunday, England will follow the lead of the rest of the UK and Ireland and ban smoking in public places. But how will the ban will hit the pub and club trade and how are businesses gearing up for the shift to healthier living? Ben Briggs and Andrew Hewitt report.

New Section


Greater Manchester News

New Story

HUNDREDS of people have voted to save two closed hospital wards - which have already been at the centre of a High Court battle. The wards were the last two in-patient wards at Altrincham General to be closed last year, amid claims they were unsafe.


New Story


DISCOVERING you have cancer is traumatic enough, without the extreme physical side-effects, such as hair loss, caused by life-saving treatment. Gayle McBain talks to one woman who came up with her own solution. . . . WHEN Karen McGhee discovered she had breast cancer, she never imagined the fear of losing her hair would be equalled only by the trauma of wig shopping.


New Story


A record number of babies have been born in Bolton. The latest figures reveal 4,323 babies were born at the Royal Bolton Hospital between April 2005 and April 2006, compared to 4,213 in the same period the year before. Death rates in the borough are also increasing - with 2,757 people dying in 2004 compared to 2,790 in 2005 - but at a slower rate than birth rates, meaning Bolton's population is swelling.


New Story


The number of children being admitted to the Royal Bolton Hospital because of binge drinking or alcohol problems has rocketed by more than 400 per cent in the last decade. And the number of adults also being treated at the hospital for alcohol-related problems has soared by more than 200 per cent in the same period.


New Story


TRAFFORD Council has announced it's terminating its contract with a private care home in Sale Moor that's at the centre of a probe into the deaths of two elderly residents. Police launched an investigation last year into the deaths of an 84-year-old man and a woman of 89, after two coroners raised concerns about standards at Exeter House on Skaife Road.


New Story


Trafford goes smoke free - Altrincham Messenger 28th June 2007


THE new law that comes into effect today (Sunday, July 1) makes virtually all enclosed public places and workplaces smokefree. Public transport and work vehicles used by more than one person need to be smokefree, and staff smoking rooms and indoor smoking areas are no longer be allowed.

New Section


Podcast


Listen to this edition of Another 15 Minutes...Health News from Fade Listen to this edition of Another 15 Minutes...Health News from Fade

0 comments: