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The government's £12.7bn upgrade of the NHS's IT systems suffered yet another setback yesterday as the programme's contractor in the south of England, Fujitsu, had its £896m contract terminated. With the project already over budget and far behind schedule, the withdrawal of Fujitsu is likely to add further delays. There are now only two main contractors left on the world's largest non-military IT scheme, which began with four. US-based Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC) runs the programme in the north, Midlands and east of England; BT runs it in London and has built the nationwide infrastructure.
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Additional Stories
National NHS database plans delayed again - The Telegraph 29th May 2008
New blow for NHS e-record system - BBC Health News 28th May 2008
Are the age discrimination laws working, and should they be extended, asks Audrey Williams Within the next few weeks the government is expected to announce details of a new equality bill to simplify and improve upon existing discrimination laws. One of the more controversial issues that the government has been grappling with is whether age-discrimination laws should be extended.
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He was a loving and happy child. Now, at 16, he is morose, uncommunicative, scarring his arms and confused about his gender. How can we help him?
The benefits of organic milk have been highlighted by a study showing milk from cows which graze outside on grass and clover contains more antioxidants and vitamins than that from conventional dairy farms. An al fresco diet in cows results in milk with up to 60 per cent higher levels of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA9) which has been linked to a reduced risk of cancer, according to research from Newcastle University. The same study found 39 per cent more omega-3 fatty acid and 33 per cent more vitamin E, which are also thought to reduce the risk of cancer and cardiovascular disease. During the summer, when there is the most discrepancy between feeding techniques, the widest difference emerges between organic and non-organic milks.
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Radical Islam is threatening to fill a “moral vacuum” in Britain as a result of a decline of Christian values, a senior Church of England bishop has said. The Bishop of Rochester, the Right Rev Dr Michael Nazir-Ali, claims that the Church dissolved its influence over the country’s morals during the social and sexual revolution of the 1960s. He said that the waning influence of Christianity had created a lack of principles that was allowing radical Islam to push its “comprehensive” claims.
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Additional Stories
Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali: Radical Islam is filling void left by collapse of Christianity in UK - The Telegraph 29th May 2008
Bishop says collapse of Christianity is wrecking British society - and Islam is filling the void - Daily Mail 28th May 2008
A company that promoted a “miracle cure” for dyslexia has gone into liquidation. Thousands of parents and staff may have been left out of pocket by the collapse of the company, which was taking advance payments until the day it closed. Dore, named after its founder Wynford Dore, had set up clinics around the world offering an exercise-based treatment for dyslexia. The treatment has been ridiculed by critics, who say there was never any convincing evidence that it worked.
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Gordon Brown faced more anger over public sector pay yesterday when midwives turned down the Government's offer of a three-year deal. The Royal College of Midwives said that a consultation of its members in England and Wales showed a 99.7 per cent rejection of the plan, worth just under eight per cent. Midwives supported a one-year increase of 2.75 per cent, which was recommended by a pay review body before the Government intervened to press for a longer deal.
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Claims that contaminated cabin air is making pilots and passengers ill on planes are to be investigated for the first time by the Government. Official figures suggest that the air in one in 2,000 flights is polluted with engine oil. But unions claim so-called 'dirty air' occurs much more frequently, causing both pilots and passengers to suffer nausea, headaches, dizziness and lethargy. Last year, there were 116 contaminated air events reported to the Civil Aviation Authority, out of 1.3million passenger and cargo flights.
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A mother took her eight-year-old daughter to a clifftop - then jumped to her death. Tansy Langton, 50, had written family phone numbers on a piece of paper and put them in little Olivia's pocket so she could be returned home, an inquest heard yesterday. Miss Langton, who had a history of depression, had earlier asked a conservation ranger where the 120ft cliffs were steepest.
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Schoolchildren as young as seven have been given a booklet containing graphic information about sexual abuse. The guide, produced by the charity ChildLine, a branch of the NSPCC, tells youngsters what sexual abuse is and includes a quiz asking them to identify situations that constitute abuse. In one chapter, children are asked to spot the abuse situation out of three scenarios. A goodnight cuddle from mum and a trip to the doctor are the first two options. The third states: 'Your uncle promises you a new MP3 player if you take your knickers off and sit on his lap.'
This is teenager Cody Hall stepping out for her school leavers prom and she looks just like any other 15-year-old. But Cody was born with a severe facial disfigurement and it has taken 18 operations over 14 years, costing a massive £190,000, to make her look like this. As a baby, Cody's birthmark was so severe that it distorted the shape of her face and her family was told by doctors that there was nothing they could do.
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Hundreds of GPs' surgeries are threatened with closure to make way for the first 'superclinics', it emerged last night. Campaigners fear some hospitals are in jeopardy because cash may be diverted from them to fund the 'polyclinics'. Opposition among patients and family doctors is also mounting over Government plans to appoint commercial providers to run the superclinics.
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Sun-lovers could be at risk with evidence that leading brands of lotion do not offer the protection claimed on the bottle. A study by Which? found three leading products failed to deliver the sun protection factor promised against burning. The findings, which have been challenged by the retailers, may mean that people will spend longer in the sun than is good for them.
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People suffering from memory loss need to act more quickly in seeking medical advice, experts warn. The Alzheimer's Society said up to two-thirds of people in England with dementia are never diagnosed as they do not recognise the symptoms. The charity is giving GPs in England posters and leaflets to raise awareness about the issue and a toolkit to support diagnosis.
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Many long-term survivors of cancer are not getting the help they need to cope with the after-effects of the disease, experts warn. More than 60% of adults with cancer can expect to live five years or more, according to an article in the European Journal of Cancer. Yet they are left "in limbo" to deal with ongoing symptoms from their disease or harsh cancer treatments.
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Most stroke patients struggling with communication problems receive little support, the Stroke Association says, despite groups available to help them. One carer, Julia Hilder, explains how her husband was helped by the association after his stroke left him almost speechless.
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Young people in the north east of England are being offered the chance to win a holiday if they are willing to take a Chlamydia test. Health bosses in Northumberland and Tyne and Wear have said the incentive will help them meet national targets. They want more 16 to 24 year olds to be tested for the STI and are offering to send out results via text message.
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The Health Protection Agency (HPA) is urging parents to have their children vaccinated against measles, after two confirmed cases of the illness. Both were reported in Manchester in the past three weeks and are the first in the city since 2006. The HPA says it is vital that children are given two doses of the MMR vaccine to protect them against the disease.
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The naturally-occurring chemical bicarbonate, used to make baking soda, could help detect cancer using sensitive scanning, research suggests. Bicarbonate is involved in the body's balancing of acid and alkali. But cancerous tissue is known to turn it into carbon dioxide.
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A common painkiller may give protection against Alzheimer's, researchers say. Regular use of ibuprofen, aspirin and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs reduces the risk of developing the disease by almost a quarter, according to a study. But doctors say they cannot advise people to start taking over-the counter pain remedies to ward off dementia.
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Lead exposure during childhood is associated with brain shrinkage and violent criminal behaviour, research has shown. Scientists based the conclusion on two US studies of families from a poor area of Cincinnati where many houses were old and contaminated with lead. In one, blood lead levels of pregnant women and 250 children born in the early 1980s were matched against information from local criminal justice records.
Stressed mothers-to-be are at almost double the risk of stillbirth, research shows. A study of almost 20,000 women revealed that those who were stressed, anxious or lacked self-esteem in the last weeks of their pregnancy were more likely to suffer a stillbirth. It is thought that rising levels of hormones in the mother result in the developing baby being deprived of oxygen.
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Many GPs, and even some hospital specialists, are failing to follow guidelines for managing heart failure, a Europe-wide survey suggests. British GPs frequently did not use recommended tests or drugs, which the researchers said could be unsafe.
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A FORMER Liverpool student who has been given weeks to live is asking readers of the Liverpool Daily Post to help his campaign to increase bone marrow donations. Huddersfield Examiner journalist Adrian Sudbury has leukaemia and is calling on the Government to ensure all sixth form and college students are given at least one talk a year about the importance of bone marrow donation, what it involves and how they can sign up.
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TWO thousand girls in Wirral have been identified to be immunised in the first wave of a mass vaccination programme against cervical cancer. An army of school nurses are now getting ready to vaccinate girls aged 12 and 13 against the human papillomavirus (HPV) which can cause the condition.
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HEALTH experts have been probing the part cooked meats might have played a part in big increases in listeria infection in the North West. And they say that while they are quite safe to eat immediately, storing them in the fridge for too long could lead to problems.
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SHOPPERS in the Port Arcades and the market had a chance to gather information from a Breastfeeding awareness event organised by Ellesmere Port Bosom Buddies group. Staffing the stalls are volunteers Catherine Poole, Karen Keenan, Kerry Franks with Aidan Yates, eight months, Paula Finlay, Linda Gendler, and Margaret Redman.
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LEIGHTON Hospital in Crewe has been voted into the top 20% in the country in terms of patient satisfaction. The findings, published by the Healthcare Commission, show that 93% of the 455 patients who responded rated the hospital “good”, “very good”, or “excellent”.
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WHEN actress Liz Dawn turned up on Ann Dennis’s doorstep it wasn’t just Coronation Street the two women had in common. Both have had their lives changed by emphysema, a progressive lung condition which leaves sufferers struggling for breath.
CAN we as a community/ town sort out the car parking charges at Leighton Hospital? I got charged £3 for 25 minutes and I am so angry that they are profiting from illness. It’s a hospital – we are not going there by choice. It’s out of order. About a year ago my wife gave birth and had complications. Due to visiting times and other commitments my car parking charges totalled £66!
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Articles relating to mass media Health Stories about the Cumbria and Lancashire patch of the NHS in the North West of England.
AN UPCOMING awards ceremony for health workers in North and West Cumbria will recognise numerous teams and individuals for their hard work and dedication to the NHS. cemcquire Midwife Julie McQuire: Nominated in the Midwife/Nurse of Year category in the NHS Excellence Awards. But perhaps the category that means the most to finalists is the Patients Award, as the nominations have come directly from the people using the local health service.
OLDER Cumbrians are being encouraged to help shape future health care for the next generation of pensioners. Over 65s will make up a quarter of the UK adult population in 20 years’ time and the number of people over 85 will have doubled. In Cumbria, one in three people are expected to be of retirement age by 2028.
CLAIMS of increased risk of leukaemia near nuclear facilities will be on the agenda at a Cumbrian conference next month. International health researchers will present the latest evidence of health effects at the 20th Low-Level Radiation and Health Conference, at the University of Cumbria’s Ambleside campus on June 7-8.
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COMMUNICATIONS difficulties have been reported around Choose and Book – the national NHS system of booking appointments. At this week’s North Cumbria Acute Hospitals Trust board meeting Christine Wharrier, the Unison union representative, said there seemed to be a staffing issue with the system. She said that members of the public were not getting their calls returned and that the number of staff had decreased in the booking centre.
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Health professionals are warning parents that due to lack of sufficient exercise, obesity and sugar diabetes amongst school children is rising steadily to worrying levels. Knowing this, it is disturbing to learn that the council at looking at the possible closure' of one of Blackpool's swimming pools. Even though sport and exercise is beneficial for everyone and therefore should be encouraged.
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IT'S truly horrifying to think that one in every ten community health workers across East Lancashire admits to being physically attacked at work last year. And it is hardly comforting to be told that the results to this and other questions asked in an annual sample survey of staff of East Lancashire Primary Care Trust are in line with the rest of the UK.
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Articles relating to mass media Health Stories about the Greater Manchester patch of the NHS in the North West of England.
BEREAVED families in Greater Manchester who object to post mortem examinations on religious grounds will be able to opt for an electronic body scan instead, the MEN can reveal. Coroners in the region are backing an initiative spearheaded in Bolton which will offer greater choice to grieving relatives.
The Health Protection Agency (HPA) is urging parents to have their children vaccinated against measles, after two confirmed cases of the illness. Both were reported in Manchester in the past three weeks and are the first in the city since 2006. The HPA says it is vital that children are given two doses of the MMR vaccine to protect them against the disease.
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To listen to this podcast (click here) or to download this episode (right click and save).
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Want to keep up-to-date with mass media news on a particular topic? Ask your health librarian about RSS and check out the RSS directory from the Fade Library.
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A new King's Fund report presents a comprehensive long-term view of mental health services and warns the government that expanding demand will require sustained funding increases
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Additional Stories
Think-tank claims dementia will affect 1m elderly in a generation and cost the NHS £47billion a year - Daily Mail 28th May 2008
Mental health bill 'will spiral' - BBC Health News 27th May 2008
During six weeks on an NHS ward, 83-year-old Joan Dorling endured a lack of care that appalled her family. Dick Skellington charted her rapid decline and unexpected death
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There is no shortage of data about our ageing population. If the government's consultation on reforming the care and support system in England ends up going nowhere, it won't be for lack of facts and figures about present and future numbers of over-65s, over-85s and over-100s (a staggering 57,000 by 2031, it is projected), their life expectancy and, more pertinently still, their healthy life expectancy.
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Now that Gordon Brown has finally decided he is a Blairite and that large chunks of the public sector are fair game for outsourcing after all - just when they thought they were safe - the talking heads in the voluntary sector are holding forth about the rightful relationship between third sector organisations and government. "Should charities deliver more public services or stick to our post-war role as social Polyfilla, filling the cracks in state provision?" is the familiar refrain.
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The ad watchdog has ordered John Lewis not to repeat an ad for a bracelet that claims to counteract positive ions from electronic equipment. John Lewis's brochure for the Trion:Z bracelet stated that the absorption of positive ions into the body led to fatigue, lack of concentration, muscle and joint aches and nausea.
pssLeeds' childhood obesity project is trying some unusual steps to improve child health, finds Heather Welford There's nothing especially different about levels of child obesity in Leeds, or about the concern expressed in professional circles. Just like in any other area, all the research shows there are more overweight children than 20 years ago.
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The number of patients undergoing weight-loss stomach surgery has increased by 41 per cent, prompting claims the Government is not doing enough to persuade people to change their lifestyles. More than 3,400 gastric bypass operations for obesity were carried out in 2006-07, marking a huge rise over the previous year, according to figures published in Parliament.
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Additional Story
Number of NHS stomach-stapling surgeries nearly doubles in ONE year - Daily Mail 27th May 2008
A ten-year-old girl with a genetic condition that will almost certainly make her infertile will be forced to decide whether to conceive a test-tube baby before she turns 18 because of egg-freezing laws. While the girl’s mother has frozen some of her own eggs to donate to her daughter, a strict ten-year limit on storing them means she must choose whether to use them before she is old enough to vote. Any child born after such a procedure would be the girl’s biological half-brother or half-sister.
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A woman patient who had to endure two nights on a mixed-sex ward was kept awake by a prisoner discussing violent crimes with his security guards. Collette Davies, herself a senior nurse in the Health Service, was upset after being told she was to be placed on a ward containing three men. But she was left horrified when, on the second day of her stay, a young male prisoner was admitted to one of its five bays.
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You're meant to feel happy when you have a new baby. So why did Stephanie, a successful writer, want to throw herself under a train? This is the moving story of how she fought back from the brink (and eventually fell in love with her son)
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Most of us think we're pretty savvy about skin cancer but there remains much confusion and misinformation. Here one of Britain's top dermatologists debunks the myths...
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A young woman died after pretty student died after three A&E doctors failed to spot the tell-tale signs of meningitis, it has emerged. Natalie Naylor, 20, was said to be 'far too well' to have the disease despite suffering from a severe headache, stiff neck and a rash on her legs that did not fade under pressure.
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Many stroke patients with speech problems are being left isolated once they are discharged from hospital, campaigners say. The NHS offers those with communication problems access to community support groups led by stroke specialists. But the Stroke Association estimates 90% of patients in England who need such help are not getting it.
Waiting times are down and so-called "hidden" waiting lists have been abolished, according to the Scottish Government. The statistics were revealed by Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon during a visit to Monklands Hospital in Airdrie. She said all waiting time targets had now been effectively met.
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An HIV-positive Ugandan woman's claim to stay in the UK has been rejected by the European Court of Human Rights. Her lawyers argued that a lack of medical care in Uganda would lead to her early death, and this would amount to cruel and degrading treatment.
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Lord Crisp has done it again. He's produced another accurate, insightful and, most importantly, practical report on improving healthcare systems in the developing world (Grand-scale model, May 21). Now what we need is action. The UK has the opportunity to lead the world in finding the "drastic measures" to address the global health staff crisis. Not just by providing funding but also personnel in the form of skilled volunteers. With 50 years' experience recruiting skilled volunteers, VSO knows that the NHS provides an invaluable source of skills, experience and knowledge that can make a real, tangible difference to the education and training of healthcare staff in the developing world.
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The number of troops diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder jumped by roughly 50 percent in 2007, coinciding with the most violent year so far in Afghanistan and Iraq, Pentagon records show. In the first figures on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) from the two wars disclosed by the Defence Department, officials said nearly 40,000 troops have been diagnosed with the illness since 2003, and they believe many more probably are keeping their illness a secret.
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Active men are less likely to die from cancer than couch potatoes, research shows. It reveals that men who take regular exercise are up to a third less likely to die from cancer than those who do not. Researchers monitored the health and physical activity of 40,708 men aged between 45 and 79 for seven years.
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Adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder do 22 fewer days of work per year than people who do not have the condition, a study says. The research, which looked at 7,000 workers in 10 countries, found an average of 3.5% had ADHD.
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A nasal spray which increases our trust for strangers is showing promise as a treatment for social phobia, say scientists from Zurich University. They found that people who inhaled the "love hormone" oxytocin continued to trust strangers with their money - even after they were betrayed.
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Articles relating to mass media Health news about the Cheshire and Merseyside patch of the NHS in the North West of England.
A BARRISTER who demanded information from the Liverpool Women’s Hospital about the use of “gagging clauses” on doctors has been made the subject of a professional complaint. Andrew Bousfield, who grew up on the Wirral, has been reported to the Bar Standards Council essentially for allegedly using behaviour unbecoming of a barrister.
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HOSPITAL officials today promised lessons had been learned after the death of a great-gran who fell three times while in hospital. Agnes Lee, of Kirkby, was admitted to Fazakerley hospital with a chest and water infection on December 11, 2007. Six days later the 82-year-old was dead after suffering three falls leading to emergency surgery on a broken hip. A hospital investigation revealed a catalogue of failings in the care the pensioner received.
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A SHOP has revolutionised Liverpool’s ability to care for disabled people. Liverpool Wheelchair Service, part of the Lifehouse Centre on Brunswick Dock, was once one of the UK’s worst performers. But since moving to the new base it has transformed, allowing users to get the perfect chair on the same day.
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YOUR correspondent D.V. Hall (Humiliating defeat awaits doctors', Mailbox, May 7) is in direct opposition to West Wirral Group Doctors Practice intentions, subject to approval, to build a health centre on land known as Warren Nurseries. He expounds a paranoid hatred of the doctors, combined with the politics of envy' which completely invalidates any form of sensible debate. Is it not pertinent to ask: How would he feel if a similar degree of hate were to be directed at his occupation?
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Articles relating to mass media Health Stories about the Cumbria and Lancashire patch of the NHS in the North West of England.
PREVENTING rather than treating illness is to become a priority for health professionals across Cumbria. The shift in focus is part of an action plan which looks at how to improve public health throughout the county. It identifies the three major challenges currently facing the area – its aging population, differences in life expectancy in richest and poorest communities and the vast rural geography. Cumbria Primary Care Trust’s public health director, John Ashton, also wants to see people better educated to deal with minor conditions without seeing their GP.
MORE than one in ten community health staff were physically attacked at work last year, a survey has revealed. East Lancashire Primary Care Trust, which runs GP surgeries, clinics and NHS home care throughout Burnley, Hyndburn, Pendle, Rossendale and the Ribble Valley, is to hold investigations into improving safety and give training in mediation after the problem was uncovered in its annual survey of staff.
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Articles relating to mass media Health Stories about the Greater Manchester patch of the NHS in the North West of England.
A HEALTH boss who quit after a patient abuse scandal is working for the NHS again. Andrew Butters left as chief executive of Manchester Mental Health and Social Care Trust in 2004 after the M.E.N. revealed that elderly, mentally-ill patients at Withington Hospital had been slapped, hit, starved, kicked and taunted by staff.
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The Charles Vites Memorial surgery in Miles Platting, which has 4,500 patients and is one of the best established practices in Greater Manchester, was served with a compulsory purchase order (CPO) earlier this year.
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HARD-hitting Government proposals to deter youngsters from smoking last night won the backing of health experts in Bolton. A package of measures has been unveiled by Health Secretary, Alan Johnson, in a bid to reduce the number of teens lighting up. Among them is a ban on the sale of packs of 10 cigarettes, the removal of cigarette machines from pubs, and a ban on shop displays of tobacco.
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Trafford Healthcare NHS Trust is holding an open evening from 5pm-7pm on Thursday (May 29) for anyone interested in joining its board as a non-executive director. The drop-in event takes place in the non-executive directors' room, 1st floor, trust HQ, Trafford General Hospital, Moorside Road, Davyhulme and is a chance for potential applicants to meet the chairwoman and current non-executives and find out more about what the role involves.
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More than 650,000 people with obesity-related diabetes are risking serious health problems such as stroke and blindness because they do not take their medicines, a charity says today. Type 2 diabetes, which is rapidly on the rise as the adult population gains weight, can lead to a range of complications, such as heart disease, kidney problems and amputations, unless it is kept under control. Some 2 million people suffer from type 2 diabetes but the charity Diabetes UK says 650,000 of them are not taking their medication as they should.
Hospitals and NHS managers were pressured into spending hundreds of millions of pounds before the start of the financial year to “hide” a £1 billion surplus. Opposition parties have accused the Government of encouraging NHS financial mismanagement after it emerged that some trusts had been ordering millions of pounds of equipment “as long as they could be invoiced before the end of March” – the end of the financial year.
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Victims of gum disease have a higher cancer risk, scientists say. Researchers found men with unhealthy gums had a 14 per cent greater chance of developing the cancer. The findings are likely to apply to women too, they said. Gum disease causes bad breath and bleeding gums. If it goes untreated, cavities, receding gums and tooth loss can follow, as bacteria or plaque settles between teeth and under the gum line.
The current 'obsession' with breastfeeding is inadvertently endangering the health of many babies. This is the surprising view of one of its leading supporters. Clare Byam-Cook, a retired midwife, has spent the past 20 years helping thousands of women - including celebrities such as Kate Winslet and Helena Bonham Carter - to breastfeed. But while a major proponent of the 'breast is best' message, she believes that some midwives are now so dogmatic about it, that they refuse to recognise when mothers are struggling, with serious consequences for the baby.
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A hospital has made almost £250,000 in one month from parking charges levied on patients, visitors and staff. Recent fee increases have put Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge on course to take around £3million this year, which would be a record for an NHS trust. The hospital said any profit was being invested in patient care and improving car park safety.
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If you hear a telltale whine then spot this striped insect inching towards your arm, be very concerned. For this is the Asian tiger mosquito, which can carry a host of potentially deadly diseases - and it could be heading our way. The mosquito has already established itself in Northern Italy, where it has transmitted chikungunya fever to scores of victims.
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Cancer treatment is rarely quick and easy. First you have a biopsy, then you wait for the results. Then you undergo the harsh therapie - surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy - to cut out or poison the tumour. But for some cancers that regimen could be about to change; earlier this month a new clinic opened offering a breakthrough treatment that relies solely on light to diagnose and treat the disease. Photodynamic Therapy (PDT) is much gentler on the patient, and can be more effective than standard cancer treatments.
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On July 5, the NHS celebrates its 60th birthday. In the years since its birth there have been incredible advances in medicine, from transplant surgery to chemotherapy drugs. These have greatly improved a patient's chances. But how has the actual experience of being a patient changed? Has it also improved? Drawing on interviews with hospital staff who worked in the NHS at its inception, ANGELA EPSTEIN paints a fascinating portrait of life then and now.
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Mental health services in prisons are not getting the investment they need to provide adequate care, experts say. Researchers found £300 a year is spent per prisoner on mental health care - a third what is spent on people with severe problems in the community. The Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health and Lincoln University team also identified regional variations in spending after analysing NHS figures.
Patients in five English hospitals have been incorrectly diagnosed as being dead over the past five years, the BBC has discovered. The information was obtained under the Freedom of Information Act by the Donal MacIntyre programme. In each case the mistake was later realised, the programme reports.
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The H5N1 strain of bird flu that has killed 241 people is not the only one that could trigger a pandemic, according to research in America. A few H7 strains of the flu virus have started to evolve some of the traits they would need to infect people easily, scientists have discovered. The findings, from a team led by Terrence Tumpey, of the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, show that while there is no immediate indication that H7 flu is about to acquire potentially damaging mutations, it is critical that global surveillance and research covers this virus class as well as the more obvious H5N1, scientists said.
It sounds like the answer to a dieter's prayers - a once-a-day pill which can help a woman drop two dress sizes in six months. Scientists say they are astonished by the success of trials on tesofensine, a drug which could be on the market in three years. By targeting part of the brain which controls appetite, it makes the user feel full soon after starting a meal and cuts the urge to snack.
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Articles relating to mass media Health news about the Cheshire and Merseyside patch of the NHS in the North West of England.
A TEENAGE soldier told how he was diagnosed with a rare cancer two days before he was due to fly to Iraq. Signals specialist Robert Newman found a lump in his neck while training with the Royal Horse Artillery in Germany. Doctors told the 18-year-old he had Hodgkin’s lymphoma cancer.
IT MAY sound like a scene from a sci-fi film, but Robbie the Robot really is revolutionising hospital prescriptions for East Cheshire NHS Trust. To celebrate the second birthday of the pharmacy prescription dispenser, staff at Macclesfield District General Hospital are about to increase Robbie's robotic responsibilities. Affectionately nicknamed by pharmacy staff, Robbie' the robot is the very latest technology for improving the effectiveness and accuracy of dispensing drugs, approx 800 each day.
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HEALTH experts are warning Cumbrian consumers about the possible dangers of cooked sliced meats bought at supermarket and shop counters. It follows a new study – conducted at laboratories in Carlisle, Preston and Chester – to determine how quickly listeria bacteria builds up in these products after purchase. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) currently advises that the vast majority of perishable chilled foods, including sliced-at-the-counter meats, are consumed within 48 hours unless otherwise stated. But the latest laboratory tests found that 7.3 per cent of freshly sliced cooked meats tested were contaminated with the germ listeria monocytogenes on their day of purchase.
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A SENIOR councillor has warned it is vital that Cumbria finds ways to cope with the pressure of its ageing population. Experts predict that one in three people in the county will of retirement age by 2028 – much higher than the national average. Across the country, it is estimated that a quarter of the population will be aged over 65 – with the number of over-85s doubling – within 20 years.
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COUNCILLORS building a dossier of allegations against hospital bosses received a fresh blow when community health chiefs accused them of leaving patients "in limbo". East Lancashire Primary Care Trust chief executive David Peat said he had written to both Burnley Council and Pendle Council three times in the last six weeks.
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Articles relating to mass media Health Stories about the Greater Manchester patch of the NHS in the North West of England.
A MUM has frozen her eggs to allow her infertile daughter a chance of her own baby. Ten-year-old Mollie, from Hazel Grove, has a rare condition that means she will never be able to conceive naturally.
FORMER sailor Steve Rumble is back on course after drugs almost wrecked his life. The ex-Royal Navy man now hopes to gain a master's qualification in yachting after beating his addiction. Salford council's Drug and Alcohol Action Team rescued Steve when he asked them for help two years ago.
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With age comes discrimination, and not always of the positive kind. Experience of life can bring wisdom and taste, but also a degrading decline in respect, categorising people not by what they know or what they can do, but by how many years they have lived. Perhaps in such a work-obsessed society it is predictable that productive life is assumed to end at the mandatory retirement age. What is undeniable is the intolerance of age, and the unblushing discrimination that accompanies it. Pensioners carry political clout: as a group they are more likely than the average to vote. But that does not help them get them better treatment.
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A ban on cigarette vending machines is being considered by the government in a package of dramatic anti-smoking measures, the health secretary, Alan Johnson, said today. Cigarettes could be removed from public display and packs of 10 outlawed under measures being unveiled for consultation this week. Johnson backed a decision in Scotland to force cigarettes under the counter. "I think they are right to do that and indeed we are considering that as well. We will launch a consultation document on that next week," he told BBC1's Andrew Marr Show.
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Experts warn care bill will hit £35bn by 2026 as cases rise by 60 per cent Almost a million people in England will have dementia within a generation and the bill for dealing with the disease will rise to £35bn a year, a major new study reveals. The document, drawn up by experts in ageing and health for the King's Fund think-tank, highlights the huge practical and financial challenges posed to the NHS, social services and the government by the brain and body-wasting conditions collectively known as dementia.
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Care of the elderly: Britain counts the cost of rise in dementia - The Independent on Sunday 25th May 2008
Alcoholic drinks should display the number of calories contained in them to help tackle the growing obesity crisis, say council leaders. They want bottles of wine and cans of beer to carry labels to help drinkers who may not realise how many calories are in their favourite tipple. 'An average pint of beer has around 250 calories in it and yet most alcoholic drinks don't have to put any kind of ingredient labelling on cans and bottles,' said David Rogers, public health spokesman for the Local Government Association, which represents 400 local councils in England and Wales.
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Doctors said cancer treatment might give Clare Ginns's son Joshua 18 more months, but she couldn't face seeing him in any more pain. She tells Amelia Hill how she took the most heartbreaking decision imaginable, and how she lives with that choice
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As a long-time Brit expat, I read Mary Warnock's article 'Women, not the unborn, deserve our sympathy' (Comment, last week) with awe and nostalgia. The merits of her argument may be debated, but her tone is rational, civilised, empathetic. Lady Warnock's 1984 report stands as a model of how such issues need to be examined. How good to see that her insistence on this approach has not wavered since.
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First cousin marriages are perfectly legal in Britain and have been for centuries. But today they are the subject of increasing hysteria. Emma Cook investigates the genetic risks and cultural taboos - and finds some very happy couples
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Boots, the high street chemist, is becoming the country's largest seller of quack medicine, according to Britain's leading scientific expert on alternative therapies. Talking at the Hay literary festival today, Edzard Ernst, professor of complementary medicine at Exeter University, is to criticise the company for selling alternative medicines, in particular more than 50 homeopathic remedies, which are shown by clinical trials to be no more effective than sugar pills.
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Your article (Health threat of nanotubes may be similar to asbestos, study warns, May 21) is a good example of the payback from international collaboration in the areas of emerging technology. The study was conducted in Edinburgh, published in a British science journal, and included a co-author from the Woodrow Wilson Centre's project on emerging nanotechnologies in the US. There is, however, an urgent need for more effective international coordination on key science policy issues, collaborative research efforts across borders and multinational oversight of this new, emerging technology and its products. Over the past eight years the US has been neglectful of international cooperation across the wide range of scientific, environmental and emerging technological issues, like climate change, energy and nonproliferation.
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