Another 15 Minutes...Health News from Fade
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Campaigners today call for urgent tests on the UK's farm animals after the emergence of a new strain of MRSA which has spread rapidly among farmers in Europe, causing an array of serious infections. The drug-resistant bug is thought to have arisen in pigs fed antibiotics to protect them against farm-borne diseases and boost their growth. The emergence of the new strain backs up fears voiced by some experts that the heavy use of antibiotics in farm animals could lead to a drug-resistant bug capable of infecting humans.
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MRSA strain may spread to Britain - The Times 25th June 2007
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Supermarket meat 'could be MRSA infected' - The Telegraph 25th June 2007
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MRSA strain may spread to Britain - The Times 25th June 2007
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Supermarket meat 'could be MRSA infected' - The Telegraph 25th June 2007
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In a speech to the NHS Confederation (NHS head hits back over union leaders' claims, June 22), the NHS chief executive David Nicholson claimed that the health trade unions are damaging staff morale and public confidence in the health service, and that they "put their own vested interests in the way of patients and the wider interests of the NHS". Nothing could be further from the truth.
Zombies in the workplace and the rise of safety culture - The Guardian 25th June 2007
Not for the first time, Simon Jenkins completely misrepresents the Health and Safety Executive's standpoint on risk both as regards to theory and practice (The zombie health inspectors should be replaced with a risk commission, June 22). HSE's role is not to seek to eliminate all risk but rather to help ensure that risks are identified and managed in a sensible manner. Far from being "an unregulated, unaccountable realm of the state" we are accountable to ministers through the Health and Safety Commission and are the subject of full parliamentary scrutiny.
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Refusal to fund medication sees regulator facing pioneering legal action. The decision to deny hundreds of thousands of people with Alzheimer's disease drugs that can improve their condition will be condemned in the high court tomorrow as callous, irrational and deeply flawed.
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Parents warned not to smoke at home - The Observer 24th June 2007Additional Story
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It's not Nice... but the alternative is worse - The Sunday Telegraph 24th June 2007
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Alzheimer's sufferers have their day in court - Daily Mail 24th June 2007
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Alzheimer's drugs fight goes to court - The Telegraph 25th June 2007
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Decision to restrict dementia drugs ‘ignored the carers’ - The Times 25th June 2007
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Alzheimer's sufferers have their day in court over NHS drug veto - The Guardian 25th June 2007
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Alzheimer's sufferers have their day in court - Daily Mail 24th June 2007
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Alzheimer's drugs fight goes to court - The Telegraph 25th June 2007
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Decision to restrict dementia drugs ‘ignored the carers’ - The Times 25th June 2007
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Alzheimer's sufferers have their day in court over NHS drug veto - The Guardian 25th June 2007
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Children are developing diseases because adults light up in front of them. Children are contracting serious illnesses because of their parents smoking at home, says the government's chief medical officer, who has warned adults not to light up in front of their sons and daughters.
Britain is undergoing an epidemic of food allergies in children, and no one knows why. But one doctor thinks he may have the answer
In the last month, the authorities have prohibited the promotion of both full-fat milk and 'going to work on an egg'
Thousands of gravely ill older people will no longer have to spend their savings or sell their homes to pay for round-the-clock medical care, under government guidelines to be revealed this week. Ministers are unveiling measures to tackle the 'postcode lottery' that gives pensioners in some areas free nursing care, but forces others in England to fork out tens of thousands of pounds.
Now the elderly will get equal rights - The Observer 24th June 2007
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'No one is left without care if they are poor' - The Observer 24th June 2007
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Huffing and puffing on my last cigar - The Observer 24th June 2007
For Ned Temko, closure of the Havana haven The Humidor may just prompt a spot of law-breaking. It is late on Friday afternoon and, amid the hedgefunders and lawyers and literary types, I feel lucky to claim one of the soft leather armchairs in what is probably the most famous - and certainly the most comfortable - cigar smokers' haven in the world.
No longer can you enjoy summer walks in the British countryside without a thought for dangerous creepy-crawlies. The number of people catching diseases from ticks, which wait in undergrowth and attach themselves to passing humans, is soaring. The bite is painless, but can spread Lyme disease and tick-borne encephalitis, both of which can damage the nervous system and can lead to meningitis. British hotspots include the South Downs, the New Forest, Exmoor and the Highlands.
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Scientists claim to have found a way to stop hospitals losing or mixing up patients' tissue samples, a problem that can have fatal consequences. North Middlesex Hospital in London will next month become the first hospital in Britain to trial Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), a tracking system in which tiny tags respond with a unique identity when scanned, much like a barcode.
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What's in your basket? - The Observer 24th June 2007
Grammy winner Kelly Rowland loves her Southern comfort food, and everything sweet. Dr John Biffa isn't too worried I never really thought about what I was eating when I was younger, I just liked food. I had to clean my plate and my mom was adamant about vegetables. Thank God for my grandmother, she gave me some good genes and a high metabolism.
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Drugs firm Goldshield has settled a price-fixing lawsuit with the Department of Health and has opened talks with the Serious Fraud Office concerning a parallel criminal charge, against which it entered a not guilty plea two months ago. At the same time, founders Ajit Patel and Kirti Patel - both of whom have also pleaded not guilty to related SFO charges - have resigned as chief executive and chief operating officer respectively. Goldshield, which until yesterday had a stock market value of less than £70m, has agreed to pay £4m to the DoH to settle cartel allegations relating to the price charged to the NHS for the blood thinning drug warfarin. It is the third such settlement, all of which have come without admissions of liability. The British subsidiary of German group Merck has already agreed a £12m deal with the DoH and Indian firm Ranbaxy paid £4.5m. Shares in Goldshield yesterday closed up 16%, at 218p.
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Cartel case drugs firm agrees £4m settlement - The Telegraph 23rd June 2007
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'Alleged drug cartel' settlement - BBC Health News 22nd June 2007
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Cartel case drugs firm agrees £4m settlement - The Telegraph 23rd June 2007
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'Alleged drug cartel' settlement - BBC Health News 22nd June 2007
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In spite of record spending on health, NHS staff across England are in revolt. Nurses are heading for industrial action if Mr Brown does not jettison his decision to delay part of their 2007 pay increase until November. Doctors are furious with what they regard as political meddling in the NHS. Unions want an end to privatisation and reform. Mr Brown in a BBC interview stressed he favoured independent treatment centres, but said A&E centres could not be solely left to market forces. His advisers set a hare running before Labour's annual conference in September, suggesting he might free the NHS from ministerial control. David Cameron is heading to adopt this policy, but Mr Brown looks unlikely to do so. Instead he will almost certainly propose an NHS constitution setting out patients' rights and responsibilities. The BMA said: "Parliament should establish and appoint an NHS board of governors, responsible for ensuring compliance with an NHS constitution. An executive management board, appointed by the governors, would guide the performance and national operation of the NHS." Mr Brown has made it clear that he will not change policy on giving patients more choice between competing NHS and private hospitals.
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How Brown can solve the problems Blair has left behind - The Sunday Times 24th June 2007
Can public services save the planet? It's a bit like asking if Gordon Brown can do cabaret. Both seem unlikely. Who'd expect such large, solid entities to do something that they weren't designed for? Yet the public sector represents about a third of the economy, so without it on board, environmentally speaking, we're not going to make a difference. And, as the image makers get to work on turning Brown into an electable future prime minister, who knows what tricks he may pick up?
Women pursuing a career as a doctor now outnumber men by almost three to two, according to research published yesterday. The poll, conducted by the British Medical Association (BMA), found that 58 per cent of doctors graduating from medical schools around the country in 2006 were female - up from 51 per cent in 1995. The poll also highlighted that there was a need for funding flexible training schemes for those working in the NHS.
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'Majority of medical graduates are women' - The Independent 23rd June 2007
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New women doctors 'outnumber men' - BBC Health News 22nd June 2007
Thousands of people who take prescription medicines for everyday conditions are gaining large amounts of weight as an unexpected side effect, scientists have warned. Researchers, who found that some patients were putting on up to 22lbs in a year, say that the drugs may even be contributing to the nation's rocketing obesity epidemic.
Children as young as four are being treated in increasing numbers for injuries caused by too much physical exertion. Contrary to a growing perception that young people are increasingly becoming sedentary couch potatoes fixated by the internet and video games, new research from Europe and the US reveals that the past 20 years have seen a rise in the number of children seeking medical help for chronic injuries caused by long-term overexercise.
Coins can harbour the superbug MRSA, researchers have discovered. Health workers have been urged to be extra careful to wash their hands thoroughly after handling change. "This study indicates that contaminated coins may serve as a potential source for MRSA," say researchers from the Northern Ireland Public Health Laboratory, Belfast City Hospital.
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Paedophilia in Britain: the victim's story - The Independent on Sunday 24th June 2007
The smashing of an internet ring sheds new light on a dark secret. Peter Saunders was seven when it started, and he weighed just four stone. Even today, it is the memory of his abuser's body pressing down on his slight frame that makes him shudder most. His abuser was a male relative, and he would get Peter to babysit and then pounce on him after returning home with his wife. As she slumbered upstairs, her husband would assault him in the living room. So why didn't Peter tell someone, anyone?
Teenagers who play sport should have heart tests to rule out the possibility of sudden collapse. Stowe School is housed in one of the finest early-18th century Palladian houses in Britain. It is surrounded by outstandingly beautiful parkland, now owned by the National Trust.
As a GP who is expecting a baby, Kate Johnson is overwhelmed and distinctly unimpressed by the vacuous advice being doled out to mothers to be I have become public property. Nine months ago I could not imagine that a stranger would smile at me, then reach out to tenderly pat me on my abdomen. But now strangers do, with no obvious sense of reticence or embarrassment – instead they just ask whether I know if it is a boy or a girl and am I resting enough?
Our cups runneth over - The Times 25th June 2007
The average breast size has swelled from 34B to 36C in five years, but Lisa Armstrong reports that women still buy bras that are too small. So times2 sent six women to find out if bra fitters could give them the support they need Are women really flocking to surgeons to get their breasts reduced simply because they haven’t had the correct bra fitted? According to the British Medical Association, “many women requesting breast reduction surgery are wearing bra sizes several times too small”. It goes on to recommend that “the services of bra fitters should be available on the NHS as the first step in the referral for breast-reduction surgery”.
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Marriage is the bedrock of a healthy society and we should give parents much more support In March of this year a report was presented to the Archbishops’ Council of the Church of England exploring modern-day attitudes to marriage in a society where marriage is in decline. The research confirmed not only that the social context in Britain is one of growing instability within long-term relationships as society becomes increasingly individualistic, but also that there is a continuing desire for the security and companionship that marriage provides.
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Urban parks and green spaces can make exercise enjoyable as well as healthy, but only if they are well maintained Doctors prescribing country walks instead of drugs (News, last week) is not new. A GP at Sonning Common, Oxfordshire, Dr William Bird, set up Health Walks 11 years ago to help his patients regain fitness and lose weight. Today the organisation, entirely voluntary and costing the NHS nothing, is thriving with at least one walk every day of the week and hundreds of people involved in the course of a year. It has been copied in many other parts of the country.
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I’m encouraged by the July smoking ban to stop. I’ve tried patches, inhalers, gum, even hypnotism but never managed to go more than two months. What else can I try?
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MILLIONS of people are to be prescribed cholesterol-busting drugs on the NHS in Britain’s biggest mass medication programme for adults. The government’s drugs watchdog is expected this week to recommend the systematic screening of all adults at 40, 50 and 60 for heart disease. Those found to have a 20% chance of developing it over the next 10 years will be prescribed statins, the cholesterol-lowering “wonder drugs” that have had dramatic results in preventing heart disease.
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All over-40s 'to be screened for heart disease' - The Telegraph 25th June 2007
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14m could be given heart drug in mass screening for over-40s - Daily Mail 24th June 2007
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All over-40s 'to be screened for heart disease' - The Telegraph 25th June 2007
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14m could be given heart drug in mass screening for over-40s - Daily Mail 24th June 2007
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What happens when you have an abortion? How do you feel? As the abortion debate kicks off again, one woman describes the pain, the shame and the sense behind her decision This isn’t a pretty picture. I’m lying on a surgical couch with my legs in stirrups. They’re shaking, jumping uncontrollably, cartoonishly. I can feel the sweat pooling, sticky under the small of my back. I’m breathing so fast, my head is spinning. I think I may be sick. The nurse beside me asks if I’d like to hold her hand. I seize it gratefully, but I dig my nails so hard into her palm that she has to tell me to stop.
Keeping a hospital clean does not require a lot of money or complicated equipment. It does require will. It requires someone to exercise authority and take responsibility. In the same week that saw the Conservative party announce its plans for the National Health Service came news that one in four NHS organisations in England is failing to comply with basic hygiene standards. Survey after survey reveals that patients are more concerned about catching an infection in hospital than any other issue.
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Doctors at limit over job fiasco - The Times 23rd June 2007
Junior doctors caught up in the fiasco over training jobs are suffering serious psychological symptoms, a survey has shown. Online responses from 680 trainee doctors from all specialities indicate that one in five feels life is not worth living. Two thirds are experiencing poor sleep and three quarters reported low energy levels. More than a third reported making more mistakes at work in the past six months.
Students say they are turning to a powerful prescription drug that is stocked by the Army to keep combat troops alert. Modafinil, used to treat sleep disorders such as narcolepsy, appears to be overtaking the antihyperactivity medicine Ritalin as the “smart drug” of choice on university campuses.
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It might be useful for judges and soldiers - but there are drawbacks - The Times 23rd June 2007
As the Chancellor moves into No 10 next week, the first and most enduring measure of his premiership will be the choice of people he makes to serve in the Gordon Brown government. Inevitably, attention will be paid to the politicians he puts into key jobs at the Treasury, the Foreign Office and at Home. But if the new Prime Minister wants to show that he understands the real business of modern government, then he will pay personal attention to an all-too-easily forgotten but critical appointment: director of IT at the NHS.
Robert Vincent says (letter, June 21) that the private health sector may present the same risk of contracting MRSA and other “superbugs” as the NHS because “many share the same consultants”. This presupposes that the root cause of hospital infection comes from the nursing and medical staff themselves. While it is possible that a minority of staff may be carriers of pathogenic bacteria, the vast majority of infections arise in the patients and are brought into hospital by them.
Is critical-illness cover is a ‘non-essential luxury’? Many of us would love to be able to fritter our money away on non-essential luxuries, such as flashy cars or bling jewellery. But many workers will be surprised to learn that the premiums they pay for critical-illness cover is also being bracketed as a nonessential luxury by Which?, the magazine of the consumer watchdog. It said that consumers may be better off buying life insurance and income protection rather than investing in cover that pays out if they become ill.
... we're heading for a break-up. How one young couple saved their marriage. Less than a year after they were married, Simon Hackett and his wife Coco were sleeping in separate rooms. It wasn’t that they had gone off each other, but Simon’s snoring was driving them apart at night and causing arguments during the day.
The Department of Health is the second worst-performing government department, lacking in leadership, vision and clear plans for the future. A review by senior business-men and public sector chiefs found that there was no clear strategy for the department, and although the criticisms do not cover ministers, they will add to the woes Patricia Hewitt, who is expected to be removed as Health Secretary next week.
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NHS can expect a new boss and a new bedside manner - The Times 23rd June 2007
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Why do rural children have fewer allergies than townies? The answer lies in the cowshed. The mystery of why farm children have far fewer allergies may have been solved. For years scientists have speculated that something in the rural environment protects against allergies such as hay fever, asthma and eczema, with some research showing the risk is half that of someone living in a city. But exactly what is responsible for such an effect has not been tracked down.
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This week we had the launch of yet another NHS initiative. Patricia Hewitt, who I hope is writhing in her last throes as Secretary of State, was diverted temporarily from her scrutiny of the “Help Wanted” ads to demonstrate the new NHS Choices website (www.nhschoices.nhs.uk). This offers cataract operation comparison, information about hospital performance and gives hypochondriacs a choice of diagnoses from a selection of online medical textbooks.
A 15-year-old friend is pregnant after a drunken one-night stand in which she lost her virginity. She’s too embarrassed to tell her parents; any advice for her?
There are a billion overweight people in the world, most of them on my train. They are all – common wisdom tells us – hastening the onset of disease by their oversize. So indeed they are; being overweight increases the risks of heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke and some types of cancer. But there is a bit more to the obesity question than these statistics. A study published this week showed that if overweight or obese people suffer unstable angina or survive a heart attack, and are treated appropriately, they survive longer than do people of normal weight.
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Hands off eggs – they’re nutritious and they keep us sunny side up Vivienne Parry Coined in 1957 by an aspiring young copywriter called Fay Weldon, “Go to work on an egg” was one of the best-known advertising slogans on television. But plans to revive it have been scuppered this week by the Broadcast Advertising Clearance Centre, which says that it does not reflect the requirement for a varied diet. Oh, phooey.
The Tories offer doctors and patients more say in treatment priorities, says Max Pemberton My world has turned on its head. I can no longer tell up from down, or, more importantly, left from right. From my disorientated state, I can only conclude one thing: I am falling head over heels in love.
More people than ever are suffering from hay fever ... and praying for rain, says Chloe Rhodes Rain always feels wrong in June. Like a great, primordial party-pooper it spoils hats at Ascot, soaks tents at Glastonbury and renders Wimbledon a washout.
Henrietta Lovell is one of the first in Britain to benefit from pioneering surgery that conserves, rather than destroys, breasts, says Victoria Lambert Henrietta Lovell is giggling about her "marvellous" new breasts. It is a triumphant response given that, two and a half years ago, Lovell was diagnosed with a serious form of breast cancer and feared that she would lose them altogether in a mastectomy.
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Smoking at home - and especially parents who light up in front of children - will be the target of the next stage of the Government's health drive, the chief medical officer has announced. Sir Liam Donaldson said the measures he plans follow on from the legal ban on smoking in public places from July 1 but would fall short of legislation.
Bonuses awarded to NHS bureaucrats have soared by nearly a third as thousands of health workers have lost their jobs. Nearly £1.5 million was paid in bonuses to 231 "senior" civil servants in the Department of Health and related agencies last financial year, a rise of 29 per cent.
The 2012 Olympics could bring an epidemic of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) to Britain, a leading charity has warned. Despite evidence from other countries that the Olympics brings a surge in promiscuous sex between athletes, casual workers and prostitutes, the risk assessment carried out in support of the bid makes no mention of the problem.
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It may be on the way out, but the thrill lives on. Frances Wilson salutes cinema's nicotine-stained history and scoffs at recent moves to clean up the screen 'Anybody got a match?' it is one of those moments which, after next Sunday, we will rarely have again. Lauren Bacall leaning in the doorway of the room, cigarette hanging from her mouth, voice full of smoke, snake-eyes fixed on the Bassett-hound features of Humphrey Bogart.
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Nish Joshi's Q&A - The Sunday Telegraph 24th June 2007
I'm 22 and have had acne on my chin since I was 15. I've tried lotion antibiotics, which dried out my skin, and had many courses of oral antibiotics, which helped for a while, but the spots have always returned. I've also been on the pill. This worked, too, but I had to come off it because I was getting migraines. I'm so fed up of being the only one of my friends still to suffer from this. What do you recommend?
The Tories offer doctors and patients more say in treatment priorities, says Max Pemberton My world has turned on its head. I can no longer tell up from down, or, more importantly, left from right. From my disorientated state, I can only conclude one thing: I am falling head over heels in love.
More people than ever are suffering from hay fever ... and praying for rain, says Chloe Rhodes Rain always feels wrong in June. Like a great, primordial party-pooper it spoils hats at Ascot, soaks tents at Glastonbury and renders Wimbledon a washout.
Henrietta Lovell is one of the first in Britain to benefit from pioneering surgery that conserves, rather than destroys, breasts, says Victoria Lambert Henrietta Lovell is giggling about her "marvellous" new breasts. It is a triumphant response given that, two and a half years ago, Lovell was diagnosed with a serious form of breast cancer and feared that she would lose them altogether in a mastectomy.
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Smoking at home - and especially parents who light up in front of children - will be the target of the next stage of the Government's health drive, the chief medical officer has announced. Sir Liam Donaldson said the measures he plans follow on from the legal ban on smoking in public places from July 1 but would fall short of legislation.
Bonuses awarded to NHS bureaucrats have soared by nearly a third as thousands of health workers have lost their jobs. Nearly £1.5 million was paid in bonuses to 231 "senior" civil servants in the Department of Health and related agencies last financial year, a rise of 29 per cent.
The 2012 Olympics could bring an epidemic of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) to Britain, a leading charity has warned. Despite evidence from other countries that the Olympics brings a surge in promiscuous sex between athletes, casual workers and prostitutes, the risk assessment carried out in support of the bid makes no mention of the problem.
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It may be on the way out, but the thrill lives on. Frances Wilson salutes cinema's nicotine-stained history and scoffs at recent moves to clean up the screen 'Anybody got a match?' it is one of those moments which, after next Sunday, we will rarely have again. Lauren Bacall leaning in the doorway of the room, cigarette hanging from her mouth, voice full of smoke, snake-eyes fixed on the Bassett-hound features of Humphrey Bogart.
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Nish Joshi's Q&A - The Sunday Telegraph 24th June 2007
I'm 22 and have had acne on my chin since I was 15. I've tried lotion antibiotics, which dried out my skin, and had many courses of oral antibiotics, which helped for a while, but the spots have always returned. I've also been on the pill. This worked, too, but I had to come off it because I was getting migraines. I'm so fed up of being the only one of my friends still to suffer from this. What do you recommend?
Government campaigns aimed at persuading people to stop drinking and smoking have little or no effect on poorer people, it was claimed yesterday. Michael Marmot, a professor of epidemiology at University College London, said those on low wages or benefits ignore the health warnings.
One in five junior doctors has considered suicide over the "deeply flawed" application system for training posts, according to a survey. Preliminary results from 680 respondents to a Royal College of Psychiatrists questionnaire reveal that six months of uncertainty over training posts is taking its toll on doctors, and may be starting to affect patient care.
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Doctors 'are suicidal' because of the recruitment fiasco - Daily Mail 23rd June 2007
Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a new and controversial technique used in cases of post-traumatic stress disorder. Patients recount their trauma while moving their eyes back and forth, a process that is said to enable them to recall lost memory. It is a technique that is not widely embraced.
Cigarettes should be removed from display in shops and supermarkets, says the Government's chief medical officer. Sir Liam Donaldson suggested that keeping them under the counter would start to "denormalise" the habit and help smokers resist temptation.
A mother has been forced to sell her home to pay for private treatment with a cancer "wonder drug" after funding for it was denied. Debbie Mitchell, 39, said she was "left to sit in the corner and die" after her local primary care trust refused to pay for Sutent for her stomach cancer.
The 'green' light bulbs which will be made compulsory in British homes can cause people with epilepsy to experience symptoms similar to the early stages of a fit. The charity Epilepsy Action says that those with the condition are complaining of dizziness, loss of focus and discomfort after being exposed to light from the energy-saving bulbs. The cause of the problem is not known as the bulbs do not flicker at the rate that would normally cause ill-effects.
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Will Lady Windsor be the first Royal to give birth in NHS hospital? - Daily Mail 23rd June 2007
For generations, the Royal Family have given birth at home - or, more recently, in a private hospital away from the public spotlight. But Lord Nicholas Windsor, the Queen's second cousin, appears to be breaking with tradition for his first child.
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Diabetics may soon be able to take a pill to control the disease instead of daily injections after research by Jersey-based company Diabetology. Dr Steve Luzio, part of a team from Cardiff University that has carried out trials, will present the results at the American Diabetes Association in Chicago today.
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'Insulin pill' hope for diabetes - BBC Health News 22nd June 2007
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Smokers in last gasp stand on ban - BBC Health News 24th June 2007
Smokers' rights campaigners are to make a last stand against the 1 July ban in England by urging the government to make some exceptions. Lobby group Forest will call for legal amendments so some pubs and private clubs can provide smoking areas.
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Doctors threaten attack on reform - BBC Health News 24th June 2007
Doctors are threatening an all-out attack on the government's NHS reform programme, labelling it "not fit for purpose" and damaging to patients. Hundreds of medics will debate the critical motion at the start of the British Medical Association's four-day annual conference in Torquay.
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Four in 10 people in England do not believe the NHS has got better under Labour, a poll says. The British Medical Association said the findings should act as a "stark message" to Gordon Brown as he prepares to become prime minister this week.
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Doctors' survey finds public unhappy with NHS reforms - The Guardian 25th June 2007
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More than half of people back new NHS charges - The Independent 25th June 2007
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Only one third say NHS better under Labour - The Telegraph 25th June 2007
How should the authorities treat people with infectious diseases who might put others at risk? This tricky question is being considered by health officials in England. Their consultation about new laws on the control of disease and other hazards closes this week. Parts of the legislation date back to Victorian times and have suitably archaic wording.
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Hearing aid priority for veterans - BBC Health News 23rd June 2007
War veterans will be able to go to the front of the queue for digital hearing aids on the NHS, say ministers. Half a million people are currently waiting for a hearing aid, with some having waited more than two years.
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'Insulin pill' hope for diabetes - BBC Health News 22nd June 2007
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Smokers in last gasp stand on ban - BBC Health News 24th June 2007
Smokers' rights campaigners are to make a last stand against the 1 July ban in England by urging the government to make some exceptions. Lobby group Forest will call for legal amendments so some pubs and private clubs can provide smoking areas.
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Doctors threaten attack on reform - BBC Health News 24th June 2007
Doctors are threatening an all-out attack on the government's NHS reform programme, labelling it "not fit for purpose" and damaging to patients. Hundreds of medics will debate the critical motion at the start of the British Medical Association's four-day annual conference in Torquay.
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Four in 10 people in England do not believe the NHS has got better under Labour, a poll says. The British Medical Association said the findings should act as a "stark message" to Gordon Brown as he prepares to become prime minister this week.
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Doctors' survey finds public unhappy with NHS reforms - The Guardian 25th June 2007
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More than half of people back new NHS charges - The Independent 25th June 2007
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Only one third say NHS better under Labour - The Telegraph 25th June 2007
How should the authorities treat people with infectious diseases who might put others at risk? This tricky question is being considered by health officials in England. Their consultation about new laws on the control of disease and other hazards closes this week. Parts of the legislation date back to Victorian times and have suitably archaic wording.
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Hearing aid priority for veterans - BBC Health News 23rd June 2007
War veterans will be able to go to the front of the queue for digital hearing aids on the NHS, say ministers. Half a million people are currently waiting for a hearing aid, with some having waited more than two years.
A longstanding theory of how HIV slowly depletes the body's capacity to fight infection is wrong, scientists say. HIV attacks human immune cells, called T helper cells. Loss of these cells is gradual, often taking many years.
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Drug workers have called for users in Swansea to be issued with a heroin antidote to help save their lives. The Swansea Drugs Project wants them to carry Nalaxone and will ask the Welsh Assembly Government to begin a trial.
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Parents are being advised to give a dummy to newborn babies every time they sleep to reduce the risk of cot death. The government recommendations come after a review of current evidence found dummies halved the risk sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
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Noel Gallagher would no doubt agree with a study showing that elder siblings really are more intelligent than their younger brothers or sisters. An analysis of almost a quarter of a million teenagers found that first-born children have a noticeably higher IQ on average than their siblings.
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First-borns have higher IQ scores - BBC Health News 22nd June 2007
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Echinacea can cut risk of colds by 50 per cent - The Independent 25th June 2007
A popular herbal remedy can cut the risk of catching a cold by more than a half, according to a scientific assessment of the supposed health benefits of the echinacea plant. Scientists reviewed 14 previous trials of echinacea to assess whether the herb really works against the common cold virus and concluded that it can reduce the risk of infection by 58 per cent. The researchers also found that echinacea remedies can reduce the time that a person, once infected, is affected by a cold virus by an average of 1.4 days - a statistically significant reduction.
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Herbal remedy really does cure a cold - The Times 25th June 2007
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Echinacea puts colds on the run - The Telegraph 25th June 2007
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Scientists confirm echinacea halves the risk of catching the winter sniffles - Daily Mail 25th June 2007
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Echinacea 'can prevent a cold' - BBC Health News 25th June 2007
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BUPA plans expansion in India and Middle East - The Times 25th June 2007
BUPA, Britain’s largest private health insurer, is planning to plough some of the £1.44 billion raised by the sale of its 25 UK hospitals last week into an expansion drive in the Middle East and India. The group hopes to cash in on booming demand for healthcare services across the region driven by rapidly rising populations and a growing number of newly affluent consumers.
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First-borns have higher IQ scores - BBC Health News 22nd June 2007
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Echinacea can cut risk of colds by 50 per cent - The Independent 25th June 2007
A popular herbal remedy can cut the risk of catching a cold by more than a half, according to a scientific assessment of the supposed health benefits of the echinacea plant. Scientists reviewed 14 previous trials of echinacea to assess whether the herb really works against the common cold virus and concluded that it can reduce the risk of infection by 58 per cent. The researchers also found that echinacea remedies can reduce the time that a person, once infected, is affected by a cold virus by an average of 1.4 days - a statistically significant reduction.
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Herbal remedy really does cure a cold - The Times 25th June 2007
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Echinacea puts colds on the run - The Telegraph 25th June 2007
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Scientists confirm echinacea halves the risk of catching the winter sniffles - Daily Mail 25th June 2007
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Echinacea 'can prevent a cold' - BBC Health News 25th June 2007
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Swans at a lake in Nuremberg, southern Germany, where two swans and a duck have died from the H5N1 strain of bird flu. Katja Gönther, a health official, said that tests were being carried out on seven other wild birds that had been found dead near the city to establish whether they also carried the strain, which is potentially fatal for humans. Exclusion zones were being set up in an attempt to stop the virus from spreading. (AFP)
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BUPA plans expansion in India and Middle East - The Times 25th June 2007
BUPA, Britain’s largest private health insurer, is planning to plough some of the £1.44 billion raised by the sale of its 25 UK hospitals last week into an expansion drive in the Middle East and India. The group hopes to cash in on booming demand for healthcare services across the region driven by rapidly rising populations and a growing number of newly affluent consumers.
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AstraZeneca could be forced to pay out hundreds of millions of dollars in damages if a ruling by a court in Massachusetts that the company had overcharged for some drugs paid for by Medicare is followed across the United States. A judge in Boston said that the Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical giant, along with the American drug firms Schering-Plough and Bristol-Myers Squibb, had broken state laws by engaging in “unfair and deceptive trade practices”.
Compulsive video game playing should be officially declared a psychiatric disorder and treated as such, according to a proposal to be debated by the American Medical Association tomorrow. If it were classified as a mental illness health insurance companies would be forced to pay for treatment. Backers of the proposal say being hooked on computer games can be as dangerous and devastating as heroin addiction and the disorder should have its own entry in the authoritative guide to mental disorders published by the American Psychiatric Association.
British passengers could soon enjoy more legroom on flights under new proposals by Europe's air safety authorities to extend seat pitches in economy cabins. Most airlines offer economy passengers a seat pitch (the distance from one seat to the next) of around 30 inches, with some no-frills carriers offering as little as 28 inches.
Police in France are investigating a trade in young children which has seen babies offered for sale at £7,000 each. Detectives believe that eastern European gangs are holding impromptu 'auctions' in supermarket car parks across the south of the country and in Portugal.
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Pregnant women who suffer from morning sickness have a lowered risk of breast cancer - Daily Mail 24th June 2007
Pregnant women who suffer from morning sickness can be consoled with the knowledge they have a lowered risk of breast cancer, new research has shown. A study of 3,000 women found nausea during pregnancy was associated with a 30 per cent reduced chance of developing the disease in later life.
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A jab to halt Alzheimer's could be available within a few years - Daily Mail 23rd June 2007
A revolutionary drug that stops Alzheimer's disease in its tracks could be available within a few years. It could prevent people from reaching the devastating final stages of the illness, in which sufferers lose the ability to walk, talk and even swallow, and end up totally dependent on others.
The World Health Organization has unveiled a two-year plan to combat the spread of drug-resistant tuberculosis. It is hoped the measures will prevent hundreds of thousands of cases of drug-resistant TB - and save as many as 134,000 lives world-wide.
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Doctors in India's oldest semen bank say that a growing number of couples from Afghanistan are visiting the country to look for donor sperm. Unable to conceive, these couples look to Indian semen banks for help as India is the only country in South Asia where the banks are located.
The US House of Representatives has voted to overturn a ban on aid to overseas groups practising abortion. The move was approved by 223 votes to 201, but it is unlikely to be signed by President George W Bush.
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Zimbabwe dentist: 'We persevere' - BBC Health News 22nd June 2007
In response to a recent report suggesting the health service has collapsed in Zimbabwe, the BBC News website asks a dental surgeon (name withheld for safety concerns), 55, about how he keeps his private practice going. Inflation is already 3,714% - the highest rate in the world, and just one adult in five is believed to have a regular job.
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Cheshire and Merseyside News
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New ‘chat clinics’ cut drinks abuse - Liverpool Daily Post 23rd June 2007
A TWENTY-MINUTE chat with a GP or healthcare worker for people who drink too much could see alcohol abuse in Wirral cut significantly, according to the Primary Care Trust. The PCT yesterday launched its “brief interventions” programme with 25 GP practices already signed up and more expected to join in coming months.
FORTY Liverpool doctors’ surgeries need to be closed, say health officials. Proposals for the biggest NHS shake-up for 30 years are revealed today by the primary care trust. Controversial plans to provide GP services from 20 super surgeries have been scrapped.
LIVERPOOL has the highest sick rate in England. New Department of Health figures show almost one in seven residents - 13.8% - are in poor health. The key factors are smoking, alcohol, junk food, stress, heart disease and other issues related to poverty and low expectations. The sick rate for the north west region is twice the national average, according to a "health of the nation" report launched today.
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.
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STRONGER bonds between Warrington Council and Warrington Primary Care Trust (PCT) have been cemented in a bid to improve health services in the town. There are already links between the council and PCT in mental health and equipment for people with disabilities and the initiative seeks to build on this foundation.
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Zero tolerance on mistreating elderly - Warrington Guardian 23rd June 2007
COUNCIL bosses say they will not tolerate the mistreatment of older people. A report funded by Comic Relief revealed that significant numbers of older people are experiencing mistreatment in their own homes.
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Cumbria and Lancashire News
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New health centre set to open - Lancashire Telegraph 23rd June 2007
A NEW £2million primary care health centre in Burnley is to be officially on Monday. The Briercliffe Primary Care Centre, which houses a four-GP practice, replaces the former surgery, which was housed in a 1930s semi and a small terrace house.
A NEWLY-ELECTED Allerdale councillor has pledged to donate this year’s allowance to help a Cumbrian pensioner pay for vital cancer drugs. Harry White, 73, of West field Drive, Workington, was diagnosed with an incurable form of lung cancer last May. But since starting to take the drug Tarceva just over a month ago his condition has improved dramatically.
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Mental support service moving - Lancashire Telegraph 22nd June 2007
A VITAL support service for people with mental health problems in Blackburn is on the move - after watchdogs raised concerns about a lack of disabled access. Patients using the Lancashire Care NHS Trust drop-in centre at the Ragged School, at Bank Top, were full of praise for the care and support offered by staff.
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Greater Manchester News
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Praise for Bolton's health care - The Bolton News 23rd June 2007
Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt has praised the treatment of orthopaedic patients in Bolton. Ms Hewitt was speaking to health service managers at the national conference of the NHS Confederation earlier this week.
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A VACCINATION against cervical cancer, which will be given to 12-year-old girls, has been welcomed by Bolton's health bosses. The jab, which could be given to youngsters as soon as next autumn, has been recommended for use by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).
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Smoke causes child illness - report - The Bolton News 22nd June 2007
Shock figures have revealed that more than 17,000 under-fives are admitted to hospital every year, because of respiratory illness caused by exposure to second hand smoke. But health bosses in Bolton are confident the smoking ban, which will be introduced on July 1, will not see people lighting up in their own homes more regularly.
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