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Deaths linked to hospital superbug are up by 72% - The Guardian 29th February 2008

A 72% increase in deaths linked to the hospital superbug Clostridium difficile was disclosed yesterday by the Office for National Statistics. It said the infection, which causes severe diarrhoea among patients whose resistance has been weakened by antibiotics, was mentioned on 6,480 death certificates in England and Wales in 2006, compared with 3,757 in 2005.

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Big rise in deaths linked to C. difficile - The Independent 29th February 2008

C Difficile deaths up by 72 per cent - The Independent 29th February 2008

Clostridium difficile kills ten patients a day - The Telegraph 29th February 2008

Dramatic rise in C. diff deaths - BBC Health News 28th February 2008

Lansley's talk of spending cuts upsets Tory shadow cabinet - The Guardian 29th February 2008

David Cameron has been asked to rein in an "untouchable" member of his shadow cabinet who sparked a row yesterday by declaring that public spending cuts would be needed to pay for increases in health service funding. Angry members of the shadow cabinet complained to the leadership after Andrew Lansley, the shadow health secretary, said a Tory government would aim to spend an extra 2% of GDP on the NHS.

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Health plans will mean cuts, George Osborne says - The Times 29th February 2008

The Tories' £28bn NHS pledge - The Telegraph 29th February 2008

Lansley's £28bn pledge is 'a Letwin in reverse' - The Telegraph 29th February 2008

The £28bn goal of Tories' Andrew Lansley - The Telegraph 29th February 2008

Senior Tories fear health plans will harm party - The Telegraph 29th February 2008

Pregnancy rate among women over 40 reaches record high - The Guardian 29th February 2008

The number of women getting pregnant after the age of 40 has reached a record high after doubling over the past 15 years, official figures revealed yesterday. The Office for National Statistics said conceptions in England and Wales rose by 3% in 2006, and the fertility rate increased among women in all age groups over 20. But the biggest leap was among women over 40. About 25,400 of them became pregnant in 2006 - 6.4% more than in 2005 and 109% more than in 1991.

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Record number of babies for over-40s - The Independent 29th February 2008

My little mid-life surprise was such a fantastic experience - The Times 29th February 2008

Pregnancies rise among middle-aged women - The Telegraph 29th February 2008

More unmarried woment getting pregnant - The Telegraph 29th February 2008

Abortions more likely among young and unwed - The Telegraph 29th February 2008

Teenage pregnancy target will not be met - The Telegraph 29th February 2008

Record high for older pregnancies - BBC Health News 28th February 2008

A service for all vocations - The Guardian 29th February 2008

Due to television dramas like Casualty and Holby City, many pupils believe that the NHS only employs doctors and nurses. Debbie Andalo reports on how the health service, with the help of schools, is opening young peoples' eyes to the diversity of job opportunities

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Letter - The Guardian 29th February 2008

How can anyone make any assessment in 2008 on the health benefits of a contract implemented in 2004, with the principal aim of improving the health of a population (GP practices earning 58% for 5% less work, audit office finds, February 28)? The National Audit Office is certainly correct if it says the government under-estimated GPs willingness to work hard to reach agreed targets, but can have no idea yet whether there have been health benefits to patients.

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Letters - The Guardian 29th February 2008

As a GP and therapist with over 30 years' experience, I feel the media have, in the main, missed the point of Professor Irving Kirsch's recent work (Prozac, used by 40m people, does not work say scientists, February 26) - that it is not that antidepressants may not work but that, in many cases, placebo works just as well. Why has placebo such a bad press? Far from being something we should try to avoid or play down, the placebo effect should be celebrated. It is of supreme importance in medicine. Thirty years ago GPs could prescribe an innocuous vitamin pill with plentiful suggestion to generate expectation of healing and on many occasions it would work. But it was not "scientific" enough and with increasingly slavish adherence to "informed consent", and side-effect leaflets in all prescribed medications, it became no longer possible to use this.

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Letters - The Guardian 29th February 2008

I was stunned by the crass simplicity of the government's proposal to withdraw benefits from drug users who drop out of treatment (Report, February 27). I am the parent of a long-term drug user - and as a result I have 20 years' experience of the joining and leaving of drug programmes. My son, who recently dropped out of a drug programme yet again, has given up home, wife, career, loving contact with his immediate and extended families, delight in the natural and cultural worlds, to satisfy a craving for heroin. Who would consider that this was a choice based on reason? Or, that someone who has already sacrificed all that makes life worthwhile would make a sober decision to stay on a programme for fear of losing benefits?

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Glamorous ageing celebrities to blame for over-50s anorexia epidemic - Daily Mail 28th February 2008

It is a condition generally associated with teenage girls and impressionable young women. But more older women in their 40s and 50s are developing anorexia to try to emulate youthful looking celebrities, experts have warned.

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The curry spice that can help mend an unhealthy heart - Daily Mail 28th February 2008

The secret to a healthy heart could lie in your spice rack. Research shows that the curry spice turmeric can help prevent heart failure and repair damaged hearts.

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British scientists create 'revolutionary' drug that prevents breast cancer developing - Daily Mail 28th February 2008

A drug that could prevent thousands of young women developing breast cancer has been created by scientists. If given regularly to those with a strong family history of the cancer, researchers say it could effectively "vaccinate" them against a disease they are almost certain to develop.

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Could Ginko cause a stroke? - Daily Mail 28th February 2008

A herbal supplement taken by thousands of Britons to keep their memory sharp into old age may do more harm than good. Ginkgo biloba, first used medicinally by the Chinese more than 5,000 years ago, has been thought to stave off Alzheimer's disease and improve circulation.

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Call for more half wine bottles - BBC Health News 29th February 2008

British wine lovers may binge drink because they have little option but to buy large bottles, says the deputy editor of the British Medical Journal. Making half-bottles of wine cheaper and more available could quell the temptation to drink too much, Trish Groves said. Recent studies have found "hazardous" drinking is rife in wealthier areas.

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Maternity care 'should be safer' - BBC Health News 29th February 2008

Mothers and babies in England could be facing unnecessary risks in some maternity wards, a report claims. The King's Fund health think-tank said that most births are safe, but improvements were still needed. The report says that some staff are overworked, need more training, or could be better supported by managers.

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New clue in motor neurone puzzle - BBC Health News 28th February 2008

Researchers say they have made the most significant breakthrough for 15 years in the quest to understand the fatal condition Motor Neurone Disease (MND). A team says a mutated gene is behind one form of the disease - and can be used to understand it better.

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Is depression good for you? - BBC Health News 28th February 2008

Pills aren't the answer to helping many people recover from depression, says a report out this week. But there's growing evidence that gloominess could be a positive experience. What depressed the cavemen? It may strike us as a particularly modern malaise for a time-poor, fast-paced society but a new reappraisal of depression suggests it has always been around.

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NHS dentist access 'gets harder' - BBC Health News 28th February 2008

The government's reforms of NHS dentist care in England do not seem to have improved access, figures suggest. Over 500,000 fewer patients were seen in the last two years, compared to the 24 months prior to the introduction of a new contract in 2006.

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International Health News

Mass media stories about Health News from outside of the UK.

Days of the one-child rule could be numbered as Beijing considers change - The Guardian 29th February 2008

For three decades it has been the subject of intense debate and rancour, preventing as many as 400 million births - mostly of baby girls. But China is now considering axing its one-child policy, a senior family planning official said yesterday, amid concerns about the gender imbalance and the ageing population. Dr Zhao Baige, at the National Population and Family Planning Commission (NPFPC) said detailed studies into the environmental, social and other implications of changing the laws had begun.

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Baby survives after falling on to rail tracks after mother gave birth in moving train's toilet - Daily Mail 29th February 2008

A newborn baby girl survived for nearly two hours on train tracks after she fell through a moving train toilet when her mother prematurely gave birth. The child's mother, Bhuri Kalbi, 33, was travelling with relatives on an overnight train when she went to the bathroom shortly before midnight on Tuesday in India.

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Cheshire and Merseyside Health News

Articles relating to mass media Health news about the Cheshire and Merseyside patch of the NHS in the North West of England.

Liverpool's teenage pregnancy rate falls 28% - Liverpool Daily Post 28th February 2008

TEENAGE pregnancies in Liverpool have fallen by 28% since 1998, putting the borough ahead of all the other Merseyside authorities. Figures released yesterday put the city, which has traditionally had high numbers of teenage pregnancy, below the North West average.

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Cumbria and Lancashire Health News

Articles relating to mass media Health Stories about the Cumbria and Lancashire patch of the NHS in the North West of England.

Hospitals tackle staff sickness - Carlisle News & Star 28th February 2008

STAFF sickness at north Cumbria’s two hospitals is being measured as efforts continue to drive it down. “The trust’s most valuable asset is, and always will be, the dedicated staff who devote themselves to delivering the work of the organisation,” said Shirley Chipperfield, the North Cumbria Acute Hospitals Trust human resources director at a board meeting this week.

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Prince Edward to open health centre - Lancashire Telegraph 28th February 2008

ACCRINGTON'S new health centre will be given a Royal seal of approval. The £7.5million Accrington Pals Primary Health Care Centre - named in honour of the town's First World War heroes - will be officially opened by Prince Edward, the Earl of Wessex, on March 13.

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New mental health unit site revealed - Blackpool Citizen 28th February 2008

A new mental health hospital serving the Fylde coast is to be built at Wyndyke Farm, Blackpool. Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust today announced locations of three sites in the county where it will build its new mental health inpatient units.

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Greater Manchester Health News

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A taste of life as a patient - Manchester Evening News 28th February 2008

HOSPITAL catering boss Craig Bradford is leading by example in a bid to prove patients' food is tasty and nutritious. Craig is eating and drink exactly the same as patients at Stepping Hill Hospital, Stockport, for two weeks. He'll have three hospital meals a day and an optional snack box, but nothing extra - and absolutely no alcohol.

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UK Health News

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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GP practices earning 58% more for 5% less work, audit office finds - The Guardian 28th February 2008

GPs's earnings soared by more than half over the last two years, but they are doing 5% less work because they can opt out of responsibility for out-of-hours care, a spending watchdog will reveal today. A review by the National Audit Office will also say that the deal to improve pay and conditions for doctors cost £1.76bn more than the government intended, without producing the expected improvements in patients' health.

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Blunder on GPs' pay cost £1.76bn - The Independent 28th February 2008

Contract was a windfall for GPs but ‘not a good deal for patients’ - The Times 28th February 2008

Report faults GP pay contract as 'poor deal' - The Telegraph 28th February 2008

GP contract 'a bad deal for NHS' - BBC Health News 28th February 2008

Was the GP contract a bad deal? - BBC Health News 28th February 2008

Rise in A&E cases after dog attacks - The Guardian 28th February 2008

Nearly 3,800 people in England needed emergency hospital treatment after being attacked by dogs last year - a 40% rise over a five year period, NHS figures revealed yesterday. The Liberal Democrats said the rise was "enormously disturbing" and called for a review of the 1991 Dangerous Dogs Act to make owners more responsible. The number of under-18s admitted to hospital had risen by about 20% with a 58% rise in injuries to adults.

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Hospitals see rise in dog bites - BBC Health News 27th February 2008

Ben Goldacre: A quick fix would stop drug firms bending the truth - The Guardian 27th February 2008

Yesterday the journal PLoS Medicine published a study which combined the results of 47 trials on some anti-depressant drugs, including Prozac, and found only minimal benefits over placebo, except for the most depressed patients. It has been misreported as a definitive nail in the coffin: this is not true. It was a restricted analysis but, more important, on the question of antidepressants, it added very little. We already knew SSRIs give only a modest benefit in mild and moderate depression and, indeed, the Nice guidelines themselves have actively advised against using them in milder cases.

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The creation of the Prozac myth - The Guardian 27th February 2008

Drug giants warned: Tell the truth on medicines - The Independent 27th February 2008

The drug industry's long and ignoble history of secrecy - The Independent 27th February 2008

Forcing drug companies to publish negative trial results ‘is against law’ - The Times 27th February 2008

'Why anti-depressants have become the alcopops of mental health,' says former depressive - Daily Mail 27th February 2008

Hospitals do rig waiting lists to hit targets, ministers admit - The Guardian 27th February 2008

NHS hospitals across England are systematically rigging their waiting lists to make it look as if they are hitting key government targets, the Department of Health acknowledged yesterday. It said GPs were right to complain that it was becoming harder to make bookings for patients to get hospital treatment.

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NHS target 'is preventing choice' - The Telegraph 27th February 2008

Zoe Williams: Off message on maternity - The Guardian 27th February 2008

You just can't blame the NHS midwife shortage on mothers being too fat, too old or too feckless. I agree that there should be sufficient midwives to meet the obstetric needs of the women in this country, and I agree that those midwives should be paid in line with their extremely high level of skill within the nursing profession. On almost every other matter relating to childbirth, I find myself opposed to the prevailing maternity trend in this country.

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Nutella ad banned by Advertising Standards Authority over health claims - The Guardian 27th February 2008

A TV ad for Nutella promoting the spread as good for children for breakfast has been banned following 53 complaints to the advertising regulator that it is high in sugar and fat. The ad campaign, by ad agency Krow, used a split screen to show a number of mothers in kitchens with their children. Children were shown with cereal, orange juice and Nutella-covered toast.

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'Misleading' Nutella TV ad pulled - BBC Health News 27th February 2008

Interview with Peter Mason, chief executive, Secure Health Care - The Guardian 27th February 2008

Inmates have a right to good healthcare, says the founder of a prison-based social enterprise. Involving ex-offenders, fining mental health trusts and rewarding GPs could be the answer;

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Paul Keedwell on the good that depression can bring - The Guardian 27th February 2008

Focusing on depression in a purely clinical way is preventing us understanding our susceptibility to it and ignores the good it can bring, argues psychiatrist Paul Keedwell

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Ministers unveil drugs plan linking benefits to treatment - The Guardian 27th February 2008

A comprehensive package of measures designed to reduce the estimated £15bn economic and social costs caused by drug abuse was unveiled by ministers today. Under one of the many proposals, drug users will face losing welfare benefits if they repeatedly fail to take part in drug-treatment programmes.

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The new drugs strategy explained - The Guardian 27th February 2008

Anti-drug campaign to target children aged five - The Telegraph 28th February 2008

Stewart Dakers on boys and absent fathers - The Guardian 27th February 2008

Bloody men! It's a sentiment regularly expressed by half the planet and, on this occasion, by Chloe while we were talking about the learning problems of her seven-year-old, who is disaffectionately known as Spanner. His learning difficulties are less about his accessing education as education accessing him; he's never still for long enough for information to find an opening.

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Stephen Burke and Cathie Williams on what services for older people can learn from the Sure Start programme - The Guardian 27th February 2008

Services for older people could learn a lot from the Sure Start programme for children, say Stephen Burke and Cathie Williams Could the Sure Start approach, which has had a huge impact on children's lives, also transform services for older people? By 2011 people needing care and support will be living in a different country. That is the clear ambition of the Department of Health's Transforming Social Care programme launched in December.

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Army of therapists to push aside pills for depression - The Guardian 27th February 2008

The government yesterday released details of its £170m plan to train 3,600 more psychological therapists in the wake of a study showing that antidepressant drugs such as Prozac are no more effective than a placebo. About 900,000 more people will be treated for depression and anxiety under the plan, according to the Department of Health, which predicts that 450,000 of them will be completely cured. The department also believes that 25,000 fewer people will claim sick pay and benefits because of mental health problems.

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Anti-smoking drug linked to suicides given NHS approval - The Independent 28th February 2008

The anti-smoking drug Champix should be offered to smokers who want to kick the habit despite fears that it is linked to suicides, according to the Government's health watchdog. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) has recommended that the drug, which tests indicate can double the chances of a smoker quitting, be prescribed to those wanting to give up the habit.

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Anti-smoking drug backed by health watchdog - The Telegraph 27th February 2008

12-year-old smokers 'should get nicotine patches' - Daily Mail 27th February 2008

Child nicotine patches approved - BBC Health News 27th February 2008

Pressure to grow old beautifully drives over-50s to anorexia - The Independent 28th February 2008

Anorexia used to be regarded as a teenagers' disease. But now, the prevalence of youthful-looking older celebrities such as Sharon Stone and Madonna is being linked to a rise in the number of women in their 50s being treated for anorexia and other eating disorders. Glamorous images of celebrities in their 40s, 50s and 60s looking as slim and youthful as they did in their 20s may give older women unrealistic expectations of how they should look as they age, experts have warned.

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Actor backs cancer care campaign - The Independent 26th February 2008

Actor Hugh Grant has given his backing to a campaign by a leading charity to increase choice in end of life care. The star said his mother was cared for at home by a Marie Curie cancer nurse in the last stages of her illness. "This is about the precious last few days, hours of someone's life," he said.

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Hugh Grant calls for terminal care funds - The Telegraph 27th February 2008

Tories make £28bn pledge to set the pace on NHS spending - The Times 28th February 2008

A Conservative administration would increase health spending by up to an extra £28 billion a year, a leading moderniser has told The Times. Andrew Lansley, the Shadow Health Secretary, gave a long-term commitment that under the Tories health spending will rise to take up an extra 2 per cent of GDP. “I think we are bound to have rising real-terms health expenditure,” he said. “That means that health expenditure is going to be a rising proportion of total public expenditure.”

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IVF trial gives embryos a natural start in life - The Times 27th February 2008

A more natural approach to IVF that allows embryos to grow in the womb almost immediately after conception is to be offered to British couples for the first time. The Care fertility unit in Nottingham is recruiting 40 women for the world’s first clinical trial of the procedure, which intends to transform infertility treatment by exploiting the natural environment in which embryos develop.

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UK trial for IVF womb technique - BBC Health News 27th February 2008

British scientists create 'revolutionary' drug that prevents breast cancer developing - Daily Mail 28th February 2008

A drug that could prevent thousands of young women developing breast cancer has been created by scientists. If given regularly to those with a strong family history of the cancer, researchers say it could effectively "vaccinate" them against a disease they are almost certain to develop.

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Sex-starved divorcé who took extra Viagra because he 'was having too much fun' gets all-blue vision - Daily Mail 27th February 2008

A sex-starved divorcé who defied doctors to order an extra dose of Viagra online has blamed the sex drug for turning his vision blue. Heating engineer John Pettigrew, 58, ignored doctors' warnings and topped up prescription pills with tablets bought on the internet after enduring a year without sex.

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A pacemaker for your stomach - the pioneering surgery offering hope to diabetics - Daily Mail 27th February 2008

More than half of all diabetics suffer from damaged stomach muscles, causing weight loss. Margaret Burns, 38, from Liverpool, is one of the first patients in Britain to have a gastric pacemaker fitted. Here, she tells CAROL DAVIS about her experience, and her surgeon explains the procedure...

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The 13-year-old girl who is allergic to almost everything - Daily Mail 27th February 2008

Laura Weaver suffers a rare skin condition, which has left her allergic to almost everything. The brave teenager has finally been able to go back to school, after staff created a special 'clean room' to protect her from dozens or irritants. Laura, 13, is covered in painful, itchy eczema rashes and has to wear bandages 24 hours a day and apply creams every hour.

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Muslim medics refuse to roll up their sleeves in hygiene crackdown - because it's against their religion - Daily Mail 27th February 2008

Health officials are having crisis talks with Muslim medical staff who have objected to hospital hygiene rules because of religious beliefs. Medics in hospitals in at least three major English cities have refused to follow the regulations aimed at helping tackle superbugs because of their faith, it has been revealed.

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Woman told she was too anorexic to have children now has brood of NINE - with twins on the way - Daily Mail 26th February 2008

Melissa Cunsamy was devastated when doctors shattered her dream of having a big family. Her five-year battle with eating disorders had left its mark on her body, they said, and she was unlikely to conceive a child. But Mrs Cunsamy and her husband Mike proved the experts wrong - ten times.

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Why aren't cancer patients being told their breasts can be saved? - Daily Mail 26th February 2008

Jean Pearce isn't the least bit vain, she says, but has "always been proud of her breasts". So when she was diagnosed with cancer three years ago, retaining them was almost as important as surviving the disease. "It was a relief when surgery amounted to no more than a 2cm lumpectomy," recalls the 63-year-old receptionist from Worcester. "I thought I'd got away with it - but when they sent the tissue off for analysis, they found pre- cancerous cells around the incision and I was told to prepare for a mastectomy."

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Don't ignore your child's growing pains - it could be arthritis - Daily Mail 26th February 2008

Denise Jenkins looked on in alarm as her 18-month-old son Jack struggled to his feet. Although he was a happy and healthy baby, "he walked like a little old man, with his legs bowing," she recalls. "It was as if he could hardly bear the pain of moving.

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Pick up the ketchup and watch your fussy children eat their veggies - Daily Mail 26th February 2008

My nine-year-old daughter has never eaten any vegetables. I have tried disguising them in soup and other foods but she is not fooled. My biggest concern is whether she is doing herself lasting damage during this formative stage of her development. Do you have any hints?

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Our son's hidden world: Living with a child with autism - Daily Mail 26th February 2008

There are more than half a million people in the UK with autism. No one knows what causes it and there is no universally effective treatment. But what is certain is that living with an autistic child is a daunting challenge. In a new book, CHRISTOPHER STEVENS writes poignantly about life with his autistic son. It's a moving account of the boy's struggle to cope with a world that confuses him - and the extraordinary leap forward that gave them all hope...

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Congestion charge 'boosts health' - BBC Health News 28th February 2008

London's congestion charge may have delivered a small, unexpected health boost to the capital, say researchers. The charge was introduced to cut traffic, but a study in Occupational and Environmental Medicine says reduced pollution has aided health as well.

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Prescription charge review call - BBC Health News 27th February 2008

Prescriptions charges in England should be reviewed as thousands of people are not collecting medicines because of cost, Citizens Advice has said. It follows a poll of 880 people which found 2% were put off by the price - a total of 800,000 if the proportion were repeated across the whole of England.

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Brain damage boy awarded £5.4m - BBC Health News 27th February 2008

A "sparky young man" who suffered serious brain damage at birth has been awarded £5.4m in damages. Daniel Godfrey, 12, from Middleton Stoney, Oxfordshire, was not breathing when he was born at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, in April, 1995.

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Hospital parking 'a tax on sick' - BBC Health News 27th February 2008

The British Medical Association (BMA) has demanded car park charges are scrapped at Welsh hospitals, claiming they are "a tax on the sick". Welsh Assembly Government figures show NHS trusts took £5.4m last year, but that does not include private firms running car parks on their behalf.

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Increased chemo 'boosts survival' - BBC Health News 26th February 2008

More intensive chemotherapy can improve survival rates in young patients with a nervous system cancer, according to research at a Cambridgeshire hospital. A 10-year-study at Addenbrooke's showed about 66% more children with high-risk neuroblastoma survived.

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Call to protect workers from RSI - BBC Health News 26th February 2008

More needs to be done to protect workers from repetitive strain injury, health experts say. RSI rates have been rising in recent years and now costs the UK economy £300m a year in lost working time, sick pay and administration.

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War veteran wins eye fight battle - BBC Health News 26th February 2008

A Devon health trust that refused free treatment to save the sight of a former World War II pilot has made a U-turn. Jack Tagg feared he would go blind before Torbay Primary Care Trust (PCT) would fund vital treatment for wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

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International Health News

Mass media stories about Health News from outside of the UK.

Why are Google and Microsoft both so interested in health? - The Guardian 28th February 2008

Because it's a big market that, surprisingly, makes less use of IT than other industries of comparable size. Google has just announced its move into the market, codenamed "Weaver", saying that "health information should be easier to access and organise, especially in ways that make it as simple as possible to find the information that is most relevant to a specific patient's needs". Talk to anyone in the business of providing healthcare and you'll hear the same story: demographics are going to send healthcare costs through the hole in the ozone layer. As the demographic bulge of the baby boom reaches retirement age, many more people are living longer with chronic diseases.

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Our dinosaur NHS has the chance to lumber ahead - The Guardian 28th February 2008

America's National Academy of Engineering has set the planet's best brains 14 grand challenges for the 21st century. Along with "reverse-engineer the brain" and "provide energy from fusion" is one that will strike an immediate note in Britain: "advance health informatics". Healthcare, the academy explains (at engineeringchallenges.org) has largely escaped the information revolution. Medical information systems are "plagued" by mixtures of old and new technologies. "Computerised records are often incompatible, using different programs for different kinds of data, even within a given hospital." It calls for a concerted effort to develop ways of capturing information and making the right information available securely to the right person at the right time.

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Drug breakthrough 'could cure diabetes' - The Telegraph 28th February 2008

Diabetes sufferers have been given hope of a cure after scientists regenerated cells destroyed by the disease for the first time. Researchers have identified a cocktail of drugs that prevents the immune system malfunction that triggers Type 1 diabetes. They found that boosting levels of a chemical produced by the body to ease inflammation led to the regeneration of insulin-producing pancreatic cells. While the effect has been demonstrated only in animals so far, the researchers are planning human trials and hope the breakthrough could lead to a cure.

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Diabetic mice 'cured' with drugs - BBC Health News 27th February 2008

The teenage girl who is allergic to WATER - Daily Mail 28th February 2008

Teenager Ashleigh Morris can't go swimming, soak in a hot bath or enjoy a shower after a stressful day's work - she's allergic to water. Even sweating brings the 19-year-old out in a painful rash. Ashleigh, from Melbourne, Australia, is allergic to water of any temperature, a condition she's lived with since she was 14.

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Macular degeneration doubles risk of dying from heart attack or stroke, researchers say - Daily Mail 28th February 2008

An eye disease which affects half a million Britons doubles the risk of dying from a heart attack or a stroke, a study has found. Age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of sight loss, destroys the central region of the retina, leading to progressive loss of sight. Researchers at the University of Sydney found that those aged under 75 and suffering early AMD had double the risk of dying from a heart attack within the next decade.

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Heart risk link to eye condition - BBC Health News 28th February 2008

Diabetics urged to cut out the coffee to lower blood sugar levels - Daily Mail 27th February 2008

Cutting out tea and coffee could help diabetics cope with their disease, a study suggests. Researchers have shown that a daily dose of caffeine raises blood sugar levels by 8 per cent, undermining the effects of drug treatment. The U.S. findings back up a growing body of research suggesting that eliminating caffeine might be a good way to help manage type 2 diabetes, which usually develops in middle age.

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The Ginkgo you take for memory and circulation 'could do more harm than good' - Daily Mail 27th February 2008

A herbal supplement taken by thousands of Britons to keep their memory sharp into old age may do more harm than good. Ginkgo biloba, first used medicinally by the Chinese more than 5,000 years ago, has been thought to stave off Alzheimer's disease and improve circulation. But research shows it increases the risk of a stroke, while its effects on memory are unclear.

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'Surgeon hastened death of disabled man to harvest organs for another patient' - Daily Mail 27th February 2008

A surgeon went before a court in the US today accused of hastening the death of a disabled man so another patient could have his liver and kidneys. In the first prosecution of its kind, Dr Hootan Roozrokh, 34, faces up to eight years in prison after allegedly ordering a nurse to inject 25-year-old Ruben Navarro, who was in a coma and considered terminally ill, with a lethal drug dose to speed his demise after his life support was removed.

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Agencies target female mutilation - BBC Health News 27th February 2008

A range of United Nations agencies are calling for the practice of female genital mutilation to be ended within the space of a generation. An estimated three million girls a year are thought to be at risk from this practice, many of them in Africa.

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High hopes for TB vaccine - BBC Health News 27th February 2008

Trials in children of a new TB vaccine are underway in South Africa. The experimental jab was developed by scientists at Oxford University, and I travelled to witness the trial first hand in Worcester, north of Cape Town. In a large garden outside a small vaccine clinic, a group of boisterous two, three and four-year-olds is playing. Their mothers sit in the shade watching.

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Drug resistant TB 'at new high' - BBC Health News 26th February 2008

Drug resistant tuberculosis has hit the highest levels ever recorded, according to a report on the disease from the World Health Organisation (WHO). In a survey of over 90,000 TB patients in 81 countries, the WHO found that levels of multi-drug resistant (MDR) TB were far higher then expected.

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Cheshire and Merseyside Health News

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Glaucoma risk to borough’s sight - Runcorn and Widnes Weekly News 28th February 2008

A WIDNES optician has warned of an eye condition which affects hundreds of Halton residents. Known as the “sneak thief of sight loss”, glaucoma describes a group of eye conditions in which the optic nerve is damaged, leading to a gradual loss of sight and eventually blindness.

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A pacemaker for your stomach - the pioneering surgery offering hope to diabetics - Daily Mail 27th February 2008

More than half of all diabetics suffer from damaged stomach muscles, causing weight loss. Margaret Burns, 38, from Liverpool, is one of the first patients in Britain to have a gastric pacemaker fitted. Here, she tells CAROL DAVIS about her experience, and her surgeon explains the procedure...

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Charity a pioneer in smoking battle - Liverpool Daily Post 27th February 2008

A MERSEYSIDE charity has been at the forefront in producing new national guidelines to help reduce smoking rates. Christine Owens, director of Tobacco Control at The Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation, sat on the panel to produce the Nice (National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence) guidelines on smoking cessation.

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Tan-crazed children bully others over pale skin - Liverpool Daily Post 27th February 2008

TAN-OBSESSED children are bullying pale youngsters as well as putting their own health at risk, it was alleged today. The claim emerged as new figures showed that 60% of teenage girls in Liverpool are at risk of cancer. Research of 13 to 15-year-olds from two schools on Merseyside showed children use sunbeds with dangerous regularity.

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Children ignore cancer risks and forge letters to get fake tan - Liverpool Echo 26th February 2008

Nurse given £60,000 because he was scared of buses - Liverpool Daily Post 26th February 2008

A PSYCHIATRIC nursing assistant with an aversion to public transport claimed almost £60,000 in taxi fares from the state. John Jones was entitled to the money under the Access to Work scheme because of panic attacks, but he had more than doubled the true number of journeys he made, a court heard yesterday. For four years, he submitted bogus taxi receipts and forged a colleague’s signature on his claim forms, but eventually his fraud came to light.

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Campaign to help addicts - Liverpool Echo 26th February 2008

A CAMPAIGN to persuade Liverpool drug users to seek fast-track treatment for their addiction was launched today. Mersey Care’s advertising campaign Get Clean, features a mocked up range of household cleaning products with a direct call to action, and offering a free phone number to arrange treatment.

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Free line help on drink crisis - Liverpool Echo 26th February 2008

A NEW free telephone advice line will educate people about drinking habits. Wirral is the first area in the country to operate a free advice line dedicated entirely to alcohol issues. The service was created after the borough’s drinking rates and long-term alcohol problems were highlighted last year as being well above national averages.

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Free advice line launched - Wirral Globe 26th February 2008

Hospital’s own army of cleaners to fight superbug - Liverpool Echo 26th February 2008

A LIVERPOOL hospital is to bring its cleaning back in-house to fight the spread of superbugs. Aintree University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust chiefs today revealed their decision to re-claim all Fazakerley hospital catering, laundry and domestic services from the private sector – more than 20 years after they were first out-sourced.

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City 13-yr-olds warned about evil in the home - Liverpool Echo 26th February 2008

CHILDREN are to be taught how to avoid domestic violence when they grow up. The Liverpool project will also teach pupils as young as 13 the tell-tale signs to stop them becoming victims and where to go for help. Workshops by Liverpool-based charity Worst Kept Secret were today applauded by education officials, who said it was crucial youngsters were targeted to break the cycle of abuse.

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Muslim medics in Alder Hey stand-off - Liverpool Echo 26th February 2008

HEALTH officials are having crisis talks with Muslim medical staff who have objected to hospital hygiene rules because of religious beliefs. Women students at Liverpool’s Alder Hey children’s hospital have raised objections to removing their arm coverings in theatre and to rolling up their sleeves when washing their hands because it is regarded as immodest.

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Top doc’s hope for Ella & Sam - Liverpool Echo 26th February 2008

ELLA and Sam Wright will undergo a week of tests by one of the UK’s top doctors in a bid to keep them alive. The Southport youngsters touched the hearts of thousands of ECHO readers when we revealed the desperate search for bone marrow donors to cure a rare immune deficiency. They are on a cocktail of drugs and antibiotics to fight infections and viruses as the the Anthony Nolan Trust continues its two-year hunt for a match.

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Secret health checks on our takeaway meals - Liverpool Echo 26th February 2008

TAKEAWAY meals could be secretly tested in a £16,000 healthy eating spot check. Trading Standards officers in Wirral want to buy meals from half the outlets on the peninsula before sending them for salt, fat and artificial colour analysis.

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Christy puts kidney transplant on hold - Ellesmere Port Pioneer 27th February 2008

A YOUNG woman’s kidney transplant has been put back 18 months so she can carry on with her studies. Christy Millar, of Great Sutton, had hoped the operation could be carried out in the next few months so she could go to university. It has now been postponed until after her course is over.

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Hospital lays the foundation of Fairtrade - Ellesmere Port Pioneer 27th February 2008

A HOSPITAL is running a number of ethical food schemes as part of the Fairtrade Foundation’s two-week awareness campaign. The scheme at the Countess of Chester aims to promote Fairtrade products made in developing countries.

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Meeting fails to settle dispute - Knutsford Guardian 27th January 2008

FIRST responders in the Knutsford area will attend only a third of the calls they do now if ambulance service proposals go ahead. North West Ambulance Service wants to standardise the training given to community volunteers across the region.

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Drink talk for kids - Winsford Guardian 26th February 2008

PARENTS in Winsford will be taught about the effects of under-age drinking at an alcohol intervention event at the Civic Hall on Wednesday, March 5. The event is being hosted by Vale Royal Community Safety Partnership and is supported by local agencies for children who drink alcohol in open spaces and unsupervised public areas.

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Cumbria and Lancashire Health News

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Body parts inquiry widened - Carlisle News & Star 27th February 2008

THE man heading the inquiry into how body parts or tissue were stripped from dead Sellafield workers has been ordered to “report back as soon as possible” after the Government announced it is widening the inquiry. Business Secretary and Barrow MP John Hutton yesterday announced details of the inquiry led by Micheal Redfern QC were to be redrawn to ensure that all workers at Sellafield and other nuclear installations would be covered by the review.

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Primary kids obesity shock - Carlisle News & Star 25th February 2008

A GENERATION of Cumbrian children is facing severe health problems with one in 10 starting school clinically obese. And stark new figures have revealed that by the time they are in Year Six – aged 10 or 11 – that figure will have risen to a worrying 15.5 per cent. Medics say the growing childhood obesity epidemic is one of the biggest problems facing the county, impacting not only on youngsters’ weight, but their mental health and achievements at school.

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Second no confidence vote in health trust - Lancashire Telegraph 27th February 2008

A SECOND council has supported a "no-confidence" vote against hospital bosses. Pendle Council members unanimously backed the no-confidence motion and called for an independent review into hospital services in East Lancashire in a named vote. They followed Burnley Council, which backed the same motion last month after complaints of cancelled operations, longer ambulance journeys and increased reliance on temporary staff followed the controversial Meeting Patients' Needs shake-up in November.

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Council call for hospital service review - Lancashire Telegraph 26th February 2008

Smoking ban has 'devastated licensed trade' - Lancashire Telegraph 27th February 2008

HEALTH Secretary Alan Johnson has denied claims - made by publicans and regulars at a Bacup pub - that the smoking ban has devastated the licensed trade in East Lancashire. Rossendale MP Janet Anderson recently presented a petition to Parliament, backed by 93 customers at The Swan Hotel, in Market Street.

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Health campaign backed by Prince Charles - Lancashire Telegraph 27th February 2008

A CAMPAIGN to help improve the health of residents in East Lancashire has been given a supportive boost by Prince Charles. East Lancashire Primary Care Trust Chair Kathy Reade highlighted the trust's campaign to slash health inequalities in Burnley, Hyndburn, Rossendale, the Ribble Valley and Pendle when she met the Prince during his visit to Burnley last week.

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Diagnosis ended my care-free existence - Lancashire Telegraph 27th February 2008

Zoe Ross was a young, successful businesswoman with the world at her feet. But her world came crashing down when she was diagnosed with leukaemia. Now, 18 months later, she is fighting to raise awareness of the treatment that saved her life. She tells her story.

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Hospitals unaffected by earthquake - Lancashire Telegraph 27th February 2008

HOSPITAL patients across East Lancashire escaped injury in this morning's earthquake. A spokesman for East Lancashire Hospitals Trust, which runs Royal Blackburn, Burnley General and Accrington Victoria Hospitals, said no injuries occurred as a result of the tremor.

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NHS and private sector debate planned - Chorley Citizen 27th February 2008

Chorley and District Trade Union Council is hosting a Friday Night With The Unions event on March 14. Guest speaker, Preston City councillor Michael Lavalette, will talk about the NHS and the Private Sector.

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Mental health unit preferred site named - Lancashire Telegraph 26th February 2008

A PENDLE beauty spot is the proposed site for East Lancashire's new £35m mental health unit. Lancashire Care NHS Trust, which runs psychiatric care across the county, is planning to build four central units for adults with mental health problems in a £150 million investment to replace 15 smaller units.

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‘Chill out’ zone for carers - Lancashire Telegraph 26th February 2008

A NEW chill-out' area which will provide a space for young carers to relax away from their responsibilities is being launched. The facility is being opened at Carers Link, Accrington, today and will enable youngsters who care for a relative to meet with their peers for a chat.

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Greater Manchester Health News

Articles relating to mass media Health Stories about the Greater Manchester patch of the NHS in the North West of England.

Widow's blast at 'appalling' hospital treatment - The Bolton News 27th February 2008

A widow is launching legal action against hospital bosses she accuses of giving her husband "appalling" care before he died. Michael Moore, aged 61, from Little Lever, who was having dialysis after his kidneys failed, suffered from uncontrollable bleeding from the fistula in his arteryfor more than seven months before undergoing surgery at Hope Hospital to tie of the fistula.

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Health centres upgraded - Leigh Journal 27th February 2008

WORK has started in three health centres as part of a £850,000 modernisation programme. The majority of the Ashton, Leigh and Wigan Primary Care Trust money is being spent at Hindley where major changes are being carried out, while Tyldesley Clinic and Leigh's College Street Health Centre are among another nine boroughwide which will benefit from improvements The major £500,000 work at Hindley Health Centre will provide a boost for all clinical services based there and will include improved treatment room facilities, increasing the podiatry provision from one chair to two, decoration and upgrading of all rooms and increasing the number of consulting rooms in the GP area; The patient toilets, waiting areas and staff offices will also be brought up to modern standards.

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Have your say on super surgeries - The Bolton News 26th February 2008

HEALTH bosses say time is running out for people to have their say about plans for "super surgeries" in Bolton. A consultation scheme, called "Building Better Health for Bolton" is allowing the public to comment on proposals to build a series of health centres in Breightmet, Farnworth, Great Lever, Horwich, Westhoughton and the town centre.

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Prozac, used by 40m people, does not work say scientists - The Guardian 26th February 2008

Prozac, the bestselling antidepressant taken by 40 million people worldwide, does not work and nor do similar drugs in the same class, according to a major review released today. The study examined all available data on the drugs, including results from clinical trials that the manufacturers chose not to publish at the time. The trials compared the effect on patients taking the drugs with those given a placebo or sugar pill.

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Antidepressant drugs don't work – official study - The Independent 26th February 2008

Depression drugs don’t work, finds data review - The Times 26th February 2008

Why it is often better to prescribe conversation than antidepressant pills - The Times 26th February 2008

Drug efficacy could be all in the genes - The Times 26th February 2008

The depressing truth about GPs and taking pills - The Telegraph 26th February 2008

Anti-depressants 'no better than dummy pills' - The Telegraph 26th February 2008

Prozac is no better than a placebo, shows 'fantastically important' study - Daily Mail 25th February 2008

Anti-depressants 'of little use' - BBC Health News 26th February 2008

George Monbiot: Our awful rate of abortion is partly the Cardinal's responsibility - The Guardian 26th February 2008

Who carries the greatest responsibility for the deaths of unborn children in this country? I accuse the leader of the Catholic church in England and Wales, His Eminence Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor. I charge that he is partly to blame for our abnormally high abortion rate. Let me begin with a point of agreement. "Whatever our religious creed or political conviction," Murphy-O'Connor writes, the level of abortion in the UK "can only be a source of distress and profound anguish for us all". Quite so. But why has it climbed so high? Is it the rising tide of liberalism? The absence of abstinence? Strange as it may seem, the evidence suggests the opposite.

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Letters: Midwives and labour pains - The Guardian 26th February 2008

I am a student midwife, training at Queen Mary's hospital in Sidcup, Kent. Despite the fact that our own local birth rate has increased to more than 3,000 a year and that neighbouring trusts are struggling to cope with their own local populations, the government intends to close our unit (4,000 more midwives for NHS after criticism of poor maternity care, February 25). The aim is to streamline services across the four London boroughs of Bexley, Bromley, Greenwich and Lewisham. I am happy that the government recognises the need for 4,000 new midwives, but I am very sad that they are in complete denial of the fact that each borough requires its own maternity unit. Women are already forced to wait at home, or labour alone for long periods because of lack of staff and services. In addition, women in Bexley and their families will have to travel miles in order to have access to maternity services in the future.

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Heart disease map could help tackle Europe's worst killer - The Guardian 26th February 2008

People in Scotland and Northern Ireland have a much higher risk of heart disease than those living in England, according to a risk map of Europe compiled by researchers. Experts hope to use the map, which displays regional death rates in 2000, to analyse why risk varies across the continent and adapt prevention and treatment strategies within countries.

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Children need more space, less ultrasound, says Archbishop - The Guardian 26th February 2008

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, today weighs into the debate over attitudes to young people in Britain, arguing that many loiter in groups or take refuge in computer games because adults make them feel insecure and unwelcome in public spaces. Far from intending to "menace" others, youngsters congregate and hang around together in order "to feel secure", Williams writes in the Guardian today. They fear not only aggressive gangs but "unfriendly adults", he says, arguing that adult discouragement of games in public places intensifies the problem.

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Dentist in court fight over NHS reforms - The Independent 26th February 2008

An orthodontist is awaiting a judgment in the High Court on whether he can challenge his NHS dental services contract. Eddie Crouch, 47, has spent two years fighting for a judicial review and, if he is successful, it could lead to an overhaul of dental services in England and Wales. Dr Crouch, who runs a practice in Birmingham, argued that South Birmingham Primary Care Trust (PCT) had breached NHS regulations by suggesting that it could terminate his contract "at any time and without cause".

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Dentist wins first round of fight - BBC Health News 25th February 2008

Pressures of consumerism make children depressed - The Times 26th February 2008

Pressure on children to have the latest designer clothes and computer games is making them miserable, according to a study of modern childhood. It concludes that the consumer society and failure to protect children from commercial pressures is partly to blame for deteriorating mental health among young people. Rates of depression, anxiety and other mental illnesses have risen in the past two decades with one in ten children now suffering from a diagnosable condition.

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How the pursuit of trendy possessions is mentally damaging our children - Daily Mail 25th February 2008

How single day in court exposed the dominance of Britain’s binge culture - The Times 26th February 2008

The scale of youth binge drinking was exposed yesterday by a single day’s hearings in one court where a dozen teenagers claimed that their separate crimes were all drink fuelled. All 12 youngsters had been arrested after heavy drinking sessions during half term – despite a £1 million government clampdown to stop children drinking during the school holiday. The catalogue of crimes and vandalism they accumulated between them included assault, criminal damage, drink-driving, affray and burglary.

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Hospitals earn £100m from car park fees - The Telegraph 26th February 2008

Hospitals were accused of "fleecing" patients and their families after it was disclosed they made more than £100 million from car parking charges last year. The figures, obtained through a Freedom of Information request, show hospitals across England and Wales earned £102.3 million last year, up from £97.2 million in 2006. Patients' groups said the parking charges, which can involve visitors paying more than £4 an hour, were a "scandal".

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Sex education could be made compulsory for five-year-olds - Daily Mail 25th February 2008

Children as young as five could be given compulsory sex education, it was revealed yesterday. The prospect emerged as ministers unveiled a review of Sex and Relationship Education in primary and secondary schools. A panel will examine "the right age to begin teaching what the key messages are and content that young people should receive at each key stage".

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The 60,000 diabetics who don't know they're suffering - Daily Mail 25th February 2008

Some 60,000 people may be living with diabetes without realising they have it. Checks on GPs' records suggest that tens of thousands of patients with the debilitating condition have gone undiagnosed. Many have no symptoms of diabetes while others have only telltale signs, such as tiredness and lethargy.

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Software spots 'missed' diabetes - BBC Health News 25th February 2008

Navy Wren suffering from diabetes was left to die on cabin floor after shipmates thought she was drunk - Daily Mail 25th February 2008

A Royal Navy officer was left to die in a diabetic coma because shipmates thought she was drunk, an inquest heard yesterday. Lieutenant Emma Douglas, 29, who had been ill for a week, collapsed on her cabin floor where she lay half-naked and struggling to breathe. The door was open but the colleague who found her didn't seek medical help.

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Dying at home scheme's cash plea - BBC Health News 26th February 2008

A leading charity says plans to help more terminally ill people die at home under a pioneering nursing scheme are at risk due to a lack of funding. Marie Curie Cancer Care says £2m more a year would allow it to extend a scheme which has more than doubled the number spending their last days at home.

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Bank crises 'deadly for health' - BBC Health News 26th February 2008

There could be thousands more heart attacks if the Northern Rock crisis was repeated at other banks across the UK, a Cambridge University study suggests. The report, which examines how banking crises have affected health in the last 40 years, is one of the first to look at the relationship between the two.

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Cameron backs abortion limit cut - BBC Health News 25th February 2008

Conservative leader David Cameron has said he would back a cut in the legal time limit for abortion if MPs are given a chance to vote on the issue. It is expected MPs will seek a vote on cutting the 24-week limit - possibly to 20 weeks - in an amendment to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill.

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Teenagers in skin cancer 'risk' - BBC Health News 25th February 2008

About 60% of young teenage girls in Liverpool are at risk of skin cancer, according to new research. Joint research involving 13 to 15-year-olds from two schools on Merseyside showed children are using sunbeds with dangerous regularity. The research, by Liverpool PCT and the Merseyside and Cheshire Cancer Network (MCCN), said some children were even bullied over their pale skin colour.

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Games therapy for burns victims - BBC Health News 25th February 2008

The Nintendo Wii games console is being used as part of physiotherapy treatment for patients in South-East England. Burns victims and those with hand injuries are being offered spells on the console to boost their recovery.

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Pupils to help review sex lessons - BBC Health News 25th February 2008

Too many youngsters in England feel they are not getting a good standard of sex and relationship education, Schools Minister Jim Knight has said. Progress had been made, but delivery was still patchy and not up to scratch in some schools, he added. The government is therefore to review the way lessons are provided, an important part of its strategy being to cut the teenage pregnancy rate.

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International Health News

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Cocaine's brain effect revealed - BBC Health News 26th February 2008

Brain scans have revealed a possible biological basis for cocaine addiction which may explain why some get hooked, while others can use the drug socially. The scans show cocaine alters parts of the brain controlling behaviour and appropriate decision-making.

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Cheshire and Merseyside Health News

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Sunbeds put 60% of Liverpool teens at risk of cancer - Liverpool Echo 25th February 2008

Tan-obsessed children are bullying pale youngsters as well as putting their own health at risk, it was alleged today. The claim emerged as new figures showed that 60% of teenage girls in Liverpool are at risk of cancer. Joint research involving 13 to 15-year-olds from two schools on Merseyside showed children are using sunbeds with dangerous regularity. The research was carried out by Liverpool Primary Care Trust and the Merseyside and Cheshire Cancer Network.

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Sunbeds put 60% of Liverpool teens at risk of cancer - Liverpool Daily Post 25th February 2008

Teenagers in skin cancer 'risk' - BBC Health News 25th February 2008

Liverpool councillors plan to outlaw Happy Meals - Liverpool Daily Post 25th February 2008

LIVERPOOL council is considering a move to outlaw McDonald’s Happy Meals on the grounds that they are damaging the health of children. Councillors in the city claim the burger giant is contributing to the epidemic of childhood obesity by offering free toys and gifts in order to encourage purchases of junk food.

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