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National News
International News
Cheshire and Merseyside News
Cumbria and Lancashire News
Greater Manchester News

Panic stations - The Guardian 04/12/06

Why would a grown woman suddenly become terrified of escalators - especially after 20 years using the London Underground? Linda Grant looks back on a summer of fear, inconvenience and embarrassment

Doctors say Scaramella suffering no ill-effects from radiation poisoning - The Guardian 04/12/06

Doctors treating Mario Scaramella said yesterday he was suffering no ill-effects from radiation poisoning, but experts warned that although his health had not deteriorated as Alexander Litvinenko's did he is still not in the clear.

Mind over matter - The Guardian 04/12/06

Stress, anxiety and depression are on the rise, but, as David Batty discovers, not all employers know the best way to support staff with mental health problems

Who'd be a boss? I mean, it's just not worth the risk - The Guardian 04/12/06

For no reason that I can discern, I've been thinking about accidental death a lot recently. I have this recurring daydream where I watch in horror as a colleague gets his tie accidentally fed into the document shredder. Although he calls frantically for help, no one seems to move quick enough and in seconds his face gets pulped into a horrific, ruddy cheese-string. It completely ruins his tie as well.

Show us your drawers - The Guardian 04/12/06

Pills and thrills and Sellotape ... all in a day's work

Health officials reject requests to opt out of patient database - The Guardian 04/12/06

Patients who have complained about the idea of having their confidential medical records uploaded on a new centralised NHS database were sent letters over the weekend flatly rejecting their concerns.

Patients will be ignored over privacy of records - The Sunday Telegraph 03/12/06

The choice for too many is food or fuel - The Guardian 04/12/06

Thousands of low-income households will be facing a hard decision to buy food or fuel this winter. Their struggle to pay fuel bills must be a priority in Gordon Brown's pre-budget report.

Scientists find genetic key to some breast cancers - The Guardian 04/12/06

Cancer specialists will announce today that they have discovered a gene which may hold the key to a treatment for up to 10% of all breast cancers. The development could - in time - lead to treatments that would make chemotherapy unnecessary.

Milk gland cancers treatment clue - BBC Health News 04/12/06

Inquiry launched into maternity ward deaths - The Guardian 04/12/06

An inquiry into maternal deaths will be launched today amid increasing fears that cuts to maternity services are putting the lives of mothers and their babies at risk.

Cost of selling ban on smoking will burn a hole in healthcare budgets - The Observer 03/12/06

The cost of advertising to prepare the public and businesses for the new anti-smoking laws will top £12 million between now and next July, making it one of the most expensive public health campaigns ever.

A crusader to his last breath - The Observer 03/12/06

The anti-smoking guru Allen Carr died last week after battling lung cancer. In what was to be his final interview, he told Jasper Gerard that he didn't consider his illness a cruel twist of fate, but instead a useful aid in spreading his message

Health panel: How can I help my baby to sleep well? - The Observer 03/12/06

Our daughter wakes up throughout the night. But my husband and I can't agree on how to break this nightmarish pattern. I find the idea of leaving her to cry very upsetting ...

One person a week killed by mentally ill - The Observer 03/12/06

The tragic scale of failures in the mental health system is to be revealed in a new report showing that one person a week in Britain is killed by a psychiatric patient who has been assessed as being low risk, often only days before.

'One murder a week' by psychiatric patients' - The Independent 04/12/06

Mental health peril 'not spotted' - BBC Health News 04/12/06

Mentally ill murder 400 - The Sunday Times 03/12/06

Community care problems admitted - BBC Health News 03/12/06

Leading article: Mentally scarred - The Sunday Times 03/12/06

Babies at risk as doctors spend time in meetings - The Observer 03/12/06

Mothers and babies are being put at risk because consultants are too busy in meetings and working in clinics to spend enough time on the delivery wards, a study of senior doctors has revealed.

Jumble sales offer hope to cystic fibrosis sufferers - The Observer 03/12/06

More than £20m is being raised at jumble sales and shops by charity workers to fund trials of a revolutionary cystic fibrosis treatment developed by British scientists. By contrast, the government has pledged only £2m to back the project.

About a boy - The Observer 03/12/06

Born with a rare syndrome that left him profoundly autistic, seven-year-old Luke was trapped in his own body. But then his dad took him surfing.

Mental illness can tear families apart - with your help, they can be rebuilt - The Observer 03/12/06

This year's appeal will provide vital support for children and their families with psychiatric problems, writes David Smith

'I had lost every hope. My personality had been wiped' - The Guardian 04/12/06

New Philanthropy Capital - The Observer 03/12/06

Family Welfare Association: Building Bridges projects - The Observer 03/12/06

Mental Health Foundation - UK - The Guardian 02/12/06

Mind - England and Wales - The Guardian 02/12/06

Practical Action - The Guardian 02/12/06

The exhaustion epidemic - The Observer 03/12/06

Money, status, better health ... But if we've never had it so good, why do we all feel so wrecked? Louise Carpenter looks at the last taboo of our age - tiredness.

Super skinny me - extreme dieting - The Observer 03/12/06

Its followers claim that it boosts your sex life and makes you live longer. Julian Dibbell tries Calorie Restriction, the world's most extreme diet

Eyeing up online bargains - The Observer 03/12/06

Two-thirds of the British population needs to wear spectacles or contact lenses. The average glasses-wearer will fork out more than £200 each year on eye care and products. Those who prefer contact lenses can spend three times that much.

What baby Fraser can teach his father - The Observer 02/12/06

You wake up as normal, stir, stretch, blink your eyes open. And then - bang! - a heavy weight falls on you: the realisation that something terrible has happened - your son has been diagnosed with a serious medical condition.

UK's largest hospital trust faces big cuts - The Guardian 02/12/06

Britain's biggest NHS hospital trust is poised to announce plans for sweeping job cuts and the closure of key services in an attempt to reduce spending by nearly £50m over the next two years, the Guardian has learned.

Joanna Hall: All you need to know about Ashtanga yoga - The Guardian 02/12/06

John Scott is a world-renowned practitioner and teacher of ashtanga yoga, and was certified by Sri K Pattabhi Jois, who is considered to be the founder of this style of yoga. Scott will be touring the UK in January. For information, visit triyoga.co.uk.

Thin women risk losing babies - The Independent 04/12/06

Skinny women who get pregnant are at a far greater risk of miscarriage than those of normal weight, a study has found. But they may be able to reduce the risk significantly by eating the right food or taking vitamins, say researchers.

Underweight women '72% more likely to miscarry' - The Times 04/12/06

Thinness 'poses miscarriage risk' - BBC Health News 04/12/06

Strictly NHS: Ministers plan to get unfit Britons dancing in the streets - The Independent on Sunday 03/12/06

National Health Service to fund dance classes to fight obesity epidemic as Ministers order national campaign to get Britain off the couch

Dance class war: The new battle against obesity - The Independent on Sunday 03/12/06

NHS pays for tango lessons to sidestep obesity - The Telegraph 04/12/06

NHS dance classes for obese patients - Daily Mail 03/12/06

George Best's doctor warns women over binge drinking - The Independent on Sunday 03/12/06

George Best's surgeon yesterday warned that increasing numbers of young women risk premature death by drinking to excess. Professor Roger Williams said female drinkers are a third less resilient to the effects of alcohol than men.

Mental health tsar resigns over 'scandal' of black patients - The Independent on Sunday 03/12/06

The death of 'Rocky' Bennett in 1998 sparked concerns over discrimination in psychiatric units.

Blair tells Vatican to 'face up to reality' on condoms - The Independent 02/12/06

Tony Blair has told religious leaders to "face up to reality" and drop their opposition to condoms to help the fight against Aids.

Church head makes Aids cash call - BBC Health News 03/12/06

Neighbours may get right to paedophile checks - The Independent 02/12/06

People will be given the right to seek information about paedophiles living in their neighbourhoods under Home Office proposals released yesterday.

NHS changes - The Times 04/12/06

Clinical safety and delivering care to the highest standard are at the heart of a changing NHS (“Labour’s health chaos: you couldn’t make it up,” Nov 29). Doctors are telling us that acute care, such as A&E and specialist surgery, needs to be concentrated in fewer locations so that clinicians with the right skills, experience and equipment are available to treat the sickest patients safely. Professor George Alberti, the national director for emergency care, and Roger Boyle, the national director for heart disease, will soon outline the clinical case for reconfiguration, particularly around A&E.

DNA spray offers cystic fibrosis hope - The Sunday Times 03/12/06

BRITISH researchers are to trial a new gene therapy for cystic fibrosis in which sufferers simply inhale a spray laden with DNA.

Health charities get 'covert' aid from drug firms - The Sunday Times 03/12/06

BRITAIN’S chief drug regulator has accused pharmaceutical companies of covert and distasteful tactics in funding patient groups that campaign for wider use of the medicines they manufacture.

Skinny models are innocent, okay - The Sunday Times 03/12/06

A Sunday supplement ran an article a couple of weeks ago called “I’m size 14 and I don’t care”, as though its subject were a fat-pride heroine parading her monstrous girth without dying of shame. I can’t have been the only woman to read it with incredulity. Having recently shrunk down from a gruesome size 22 to a size 14 (at 5ft 10in), I was astonished by the article. Size 14 is a great size to be; why go on as though it were heffalumphood?

Accepting suicide - The Sunday Times 03/12/06

I AM the retired GP who helped Dave Richards travel to Zurich recently for a doctor-assisted suicide (News, November 19). With his advanced symptoms of Huntington’s disease, he was determined to end his life this way — he had been in communication with Dignitas since June. His final breakfast, on the day he died, consisted of two soft-boiled eggs, fruit salad, sweet semolina pudding, rolls, and English breakfast tea.

Contraceptive pill; natural breath-fresheners; herbs for colds - The Sunday Times 03/12/06

I am 24 years old, and have recently come off the contraceptive pill after taking it for five years. I did this because, over the last four months I was taking it, I totally lost my sex drive, and I gather this can be one of the side effects of the pill. Up until then, I enjoyed a perfectly normal sexual relationship with my boyfriend of five years. I am not feeling under any stress, and my lifestyle has not changed. Can you give me any advice?

Health: Get fit for: hockey - The Sunday Times 03/12/06

With no offside rule and a ball that can travel at 90mph, hockey can make football look as tame as a vicar’s tea party. Yet despite the obvious danger of being on a field with a horde of other stick-wielding players, with only shinpads for your protection, hockey has become Britain’s most popular team sport after football.

BUPA takes a stand against 'poor surgeons who charge excessive fees' - The Times 02/12/06

BUPA, Britain’s biggest medical insurer, has declared war on surgeons who charge too much and are not as good as they think they are.

Secret file shows risk 'vastly overstated' - The Telegraph 04/12/06

Criticism of the Government for unnecessarily alarming British Airways passengers last week about traces of alpha-radiation found on jets will be strengthened by the discovery of top secret files from the Atomic Weapons Establishment.

Trust me, I'm a junior doctor - The Telegraph 04/12/06

The NHS isn't solely to blame for MRSA, says Max Pemberton

Boy left disabled after doctor's mistake - The Telegraph 02/12/06

A boy was left severely disabled after a doctor mistakenly allowed his mother to go ahead with a home birth.

City life raises the risk of bulimia - Daily Mail 01/12/06

Women living in large cities are five times more likely to suffer from bulimia than those living in rural areas, a new study has found.

How to reduce your risk of catching MRSA - Daily Mail 01/12/06

MRSA is a super bacteria that can cause serious infections which are resistant to antibiotic treatments.

Ambulance 'crisis' findings due - BBC Health News 04/12/06

The results of an official inquiry into the state of the Welsh Ambulance Service are due to be revealed later.

Disability duty comes into force - BBC Health News 04/12/06

A new duty for public bodies to promote the rights of disabled people has come into effect.

Annual check for nation's health - BBC Health News 04/12/06

A public review will take place every year to monitor the state of Scotland's health, the first minister is to say.

Psychopaths' brains 'different' - BBC Health News 04/12/06

There are biological brain differences that mark out psychopaths from other people, according to scientists.

Help needed so smokers can quit - BBC Health News 03/12/06

A University of Bath researcher is urging the government to ensure the NHS can cope with the predicted high number of smokers trying to give up next year.

Hope of lung cancer therapy boost - BBC Health News 03/12/06

It may be possible to save more lives by reversing drug resistance in lung cancer patients, scientists say.

Care staff 'should get flu jabs' - BBC Health News 02/12/06

Giving care home staff flu jabs can cut the number of illnesses and deaths among residents, a study has shown.

Union calls for more funds to NHS - BBC Health News 02/12/06

The country's biggest union is calling on the government to give more money to the NHS, amid fresh protests across the UK against plans to cut services.

Hospice patients 'missing' care - BBC Health News 02/12/06

Patients in hospices in the UK and the Republic of Ireland may not be receiving the psychiatric care they need, a study has suggested.

Ambulance sent off course by GPS - BBC Health News 01/12/06

A London Ambulance crew was sent 200 miles to Manchester by a faulty satellite navigation system while transferring a patient to hospital.

'Not enough' funds in STI battle - BBC Health News 01/12/06

Not enough resources are being allocated to deal with the rise in sexually transmitted infections (STIs), a specialist in the field has said.

Spy post-mortem due to take place - BBC Health News 01/12/06

A post-mortem examination is to be carried out on the body of the former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko, who died from radiation poisoning.

Russian cocktail of mystery, spies and radiation poisoning, riddle and enigma - The Telegraph 04/12/06

International News

Portly politicians begin online slim in land of the rising tum - The Guardian 04/12/06

It isn't often that senior politicians vow to transform themselves into lightweights. But two Japanese health vice-ministers hope to do just that from today with the launch of a weblog documenting their efforts to fight the flab.

Drug pirates leave death in their wake - The Guardian 04/12/06

No one will ever know how many Chinese men - and women - were sexually satisfied after taking the American Number One, Male Exclusive, Great Big Brother pills sold by Xi Yongli.

Women who eat slowly stay slim - The Independent on Sunday 03/12/06

Eating slowly at the dinner table rather than bolting your food down will keep you slim and make dining a far more enjoyable experience, a new study has found.

New heart drug dropped after patients die - The Times 04/12/06

British patients are among thousands around the world who may have been harmed by a new drug withdrawn from trials by Pfizer, the world’s biggest pharmaceutical company. Pfizer confirmed yesterday that it had abandoned development of torcetrapib after evidence from a trial involving 15,000 patients showed that it increased death rates from heart attacks and stroke.

Trial collapse is a big setback - The Times 04/12/06

Pfizer shares hit by drug failure - BBC Health News 04/12/06

Abortion pill holds hope for breast cancer sufferers - Daily Mail 01/12/06

The abortion pill could hold the key to preventing hereditary breast cancer, it emerged yesterday.

Obese should exercise not 'diet' - BBC Health News 04/12/06

Women who are clinically obese don't need to diet to improve their health, say UK researchers.

Revamp of brain 'could slow CJD' - BBC Health News 04/12/06

Scientists believe they could slow the progress of "mad cow disease" by genetically "revamping" the brain.

Hypnosis 'aids breast biopsies' - BBC Health News 02/12/06

Hypnosis can help women cope with breast biopsies, researchers find.

Cheshire and Merseyside News

Mersey blind people in protest - Liverpool Daily Post 04/12/06

A COACHLOAD of blind and partially sighted people from Merseyside are expected to join what could be the biggest protest in Britain by visually impaired people at Parliament.

iPod lessons - Liverpool Daily Post 04/12/06

DYSLEXIC trainee police officers in Merseyside are to be given photo iPods to help them learn the Highway Code.

Safer sex message targets Christmas party drinkers - Liverpool Daily Post 04/12/06

DRINKERS in Wirral pubs will find an unusual message beneath their drinks in the run-up to Christmas this year.

The NHS failed my dear daughter - Liverpool Echo 01/12/06

A MERSEYSIDE man today said the health service could have saved his 12-year-old daughter from dying of a heart condition.

Nowhere to go for disabled partygoers - Chester Chronicle 01/12/06

ORGANISING a Christmas party for Chester's disabled rights centre proved harder than expected - because almost everywhere was inaccessible to the guests.

Cancer patient is on song after treatment - Chester Chronicle 01/12/06

THE joy of singing kept a Chester woman going throughout her treatment for cancer.

No cash to build medical centre - Runcorn Weekly News 30/11/06

DOCTORS fear plans for a pioneering medical centre for Frodsham could be shelved.

Father may take action after death of daughter - Daily Post 01/12/06

THE family of a 12-year-old girl who died suddenly from viral heart condition have said they hope the health service can learn lessons from their experience.

Cumbria and Lancashire News