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Doctor shortage is threat to care, warns BMA - The Guardian 31st March 2008

The quality of patient care in NHS hospitals is threatened by a chronic shortage of junior doctors, the British Medical Association warned last night. Registrars and house officers are being pressured to work excessive hours to fill gaps in ward rotas. They are at risk of being bullied by managers and consultants into overworking, often without extra pay, the BMA said.

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'Work pressure' on junior doctors - BBC Health News 31st March 2008

Scientists find genes linked to diabetes - The Guardian 31st March 2008

Scientists have found six new genes linked to type 2 diabetes, a discovery that will improve understanding of how the disease develops. Each of the disease variants of the genes raises the risk of developing diabetes by only a small amount, but scientists say the combined impact of the collection of genes could be powerful, and the discovery could help develop new forms of prevention and treatment. One of the genes has also been linked to prostate cancer.

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Genetic variants may be ‘trading’ one illness with another using new genes, Oxford research shows - The Times 31st March 2008

Hospital superbug tests delayed in budget row - The Observer 30th March 2008

Gordon Brown's pledge to have every patient screened for MRSA on admission to hospital has been postponed by nearly a year. Health officials fear some hospitals will be unable to tackle superbugs properly without substantial increases in staff and budgets. The nationwide screening of more than 12 million patients a year who are admitted for surgery was due to begin in January 2009, but officials have now pushed back its launch until the end of next year, and may delay it even further if hospitals cannot find the cash to buy the tests.

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Patients still at risk from MRSA despite £57m 'deep clean' - The Independent on Sunday 30th March 2008

Public says hospital managers are to blame for spread of superbugs - The Times 31st March 2008

MRSA screening delay 'will cost lives' - The Telegraph 31st March 2008

Hospitals to miss 'deep clean' deadline - The Telegraph 29th March 2008

Giving hospitals three more months to tackle MRSA is 'admission of failure' - Daily Mail 30th March 2008

Hospital deep clean target missed - BBC Health News 29th March 2008

Sick and suicidal: plight of women in UK jails - The Observer 30th March 2008

Most women prisoners have mental health problems, and nine of out 10 were convicted of non-violent offences. Now a new study shows an alarming rise in suicides and self-harm - and behind the statistics lie ruined lives and shattered relatives. With four inquests about to open, Amelia Hill reports on the growing scandal in Britain's penal system

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30,000 sacked every year for having babies - The Observer 30th March 2008

More than 30,000 women a year in Britain lose their jobs for simply being pregnant, according to a new report calling for tougher action to stamp out sexism in the workplace. Of all social groups, mothers-to-be and new mothers experience the most discrimination in the labour market, the equality pressure group the Fawcett Society will say on Tuesday at the launch of its report, Sexism and the City

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Organic food 'no benefit to health' - The Observer 30th March 2008

Parents who want their children to eat healthily should focus more on serving them extra fruit and vegetables and less on giving them expensive organic produce, according to one of the country's leading nutrition experts. Lord Krebs, former head of the Food Standards Agency, said families were becoming 'deeply confused' by conflicting messages about healthy eating.

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Ministers attacked over school fields sale - The Observer 30th March 2008

A flagship government initiative to regenerate children's play and exercise areas has been undermined by the revelation that last year the Education Secretary and his predecessor personally agreed the sale of 19 school playing fields. Despite government promises made over the past decade that playing fields would be carefully protected, at least 187 fields have disappeared. Hundreds of other pieces of school land have also been sold after being classed as too small to be playing fields.

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Is it time to let children play outdoors once more? - The Observer 30th March 2008

Parents 'too scared to let children play outside' - The Telegraph 31st March 2008

Dr Tom Smith answers your questions - The Guardian 29th March 2008

My fiance and I recently discovered that we are related through our great-grandfathers, who were brothers. Are there any inherited health risks for third cousins like ourselves?

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Exclusive: right-wing Christian group pays for Commons researchers - The Independent on Sunday 30th March 2008

As the Prime Minister bows to church pressure on embryology legislation, Jane Merrick and Brian Brady investigate the long parliamentary reach of a pro-life group opposed to the Bill An evangelical Christian charity leading opposition to new laws on embryo research is funding interns in MPs' offices, an investigation by The Independent on Sunday has discovered.

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Sir Leszek Borysiewicz says Church is wrong on hybrid embryo Bill - The Times 29th March 2008

Cardinal to meet embryo experts - BBC Health News 29th March 2008

Mobile phones 'more dangerous than smoking' - The Independent on Sunday 30th March 2008

Brain expert warns of huge rise in tumours and calls on industry to take immediate steps to reduce radiation Mobile phones could kill far more people than smoking or asbestos, a study by an award-winning cancer expert has concluded. He says people should avoid using them wherever possible and that governments and the mobile phone industry must take "immediate steps" to reduce exposure to their radiation.

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Baby rice warning: study finds high levels of carcinogenic arsenic - The Independent on Sunday 30th March 2008

A third of baby food rice on sale in the UK tested by scientists has been found to contain so much inorganic arsenic, a human carcinogen, that it would be illegal in some countries. A child eating three servings a day of the rice with the highest levels would have up to six times the maximum safe level of inorganic arsenic under EU water regulations, according to the researchers from Aberdeen University. The study also found high levels of inorganic arsenic in other rice foods fed to babies, including puffed rice cereals, pasta, noodles, and puddings.

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Alan Johnson plans for everyone over 40 to be offered health ‘MoT’ - The Sunday Times 30th March 2008

LABOUR will embark on a series of reforms this week designed to implement Gordon Brown’s promise of a more personalised National Health Service. Alan Johnson, the health secretary, will announce that health checks will be made available to the over-40s, allowing for screening for heart disease, diabetes, kidney disease and the risk of strokes.

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Health 'voucher' for NHS patients - The Sunday Telegraph 30th March 2008

How to make the NHS work for you - The Sunday Telegraph 30th March 2008

Interview: Health Secretary Alan Johnson - The Sunday Telegraph 30th March 2008

Alan Johnson's prescription for a healthier NHS - The Sunday Telegraph 30th March 2008

Will patient choice improve the NHS? - The Sunday Telegraph 30th March 2008

If you can't decide, ask your GP: Where would you go, or send your relation? - The Sunday Telegraph 30th March 2008

Patients will get an NHS budget of their own under new proposals - Daily Mail 30th March 2008

NHS dentists play as patients wait - The Sunday Times 30th March 2008

Health service dentists have been forced to go on holiday or spend time on the golf course this month despite millions of patients being denied dental care. Many have fulfilled their annual work quotas allotted by the National Health Service and have been turning patients away because they are not paid to do extra work. This is despite the fact that more than 7m people in Britain are unable to find an NHS dentist.

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Doctors for Reform fight NHS order to halt cancer care - The Sunday Times 30th March 2008

A group representing nearly 1,000 doctors is preparing to mount a legal action against the health service to stop care being withdrawn from patients who want to pay for their own cancer medicines. It is seeking a judicial review of the Department of Health policy that forces patients to pay for all their treatment if they buy any additional medicine.

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Parents ignore government's internet warning - The Sunday Times 30th March 2008

Parents are letting their children wander around cyberspace with no protection or supervision, according to a study published this week. Despite government warnings that children going online can be vulnerable to bullying, paedophiles or images of sex and violence, two-thirds of families have no parental controls on home computers, according to the website Mumsnet.

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Home Office in illegal immigrants cover-up - The Sunday Times 30th March 2008

Hundreds of illegal immigrants – including a suspected murderer and other criminals – are working in care homes in Britain, a leaked Home Office report has disclosed. In some homes more than half the employees have entered the country illegally and are now being entrusted with caring for old and vulnerable people. The immigration intelligence report found that one illegal worker was a murder suspect from the Philippines and others had been involved in the “abuse and mistreatment” of elderly people.

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Get tested annually, gays urged as HIV rates rise - The Times 29th March 2008

Gay men are being urged to practise safe sex and have an annual HIV test in an attempt to halt a rise in infections in the UK. HIV infection is contining to grow, although the rate of increase has slowed, according to figures from the Health Protection Agency. Last year 6,840 new cases were recorded, slightly fewer than in 2006. More than a third — 2,630 — were gay men, making 2007 the third successive year that new diagnoses among gay men have exceeded 2,600.

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Gay men risk of HIV 'still high' - BBC Health News 28th March 2008

How to increase breast size without surgery - The Times 29th March 2008

We should all raise a glass - or maybe a cup - in farewell salute to the “comedy” breast. Pneumatic, silicone-packed Barbie breasts may finally be on the way out, replaced by softer, more natural breast enhancements. Macrolane, launched last month, is a breast and body-contouring cosmetic filler, which its makers claim can increase breasts by one cup size with just an injection. It is proving to be a must-have for the small-breasted in search of enhancement, but does it work? And are there other, less invasive ways of giving your boobs a boost? We look at the evidence.

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Sausage a day can increase bowel cancer risk - The Telegraph 31st March 2008

Eating one sausage or three rashers of bacon a day can increase the risk of bowel cancer by a fifth, a medical expert has said. The warning involved only 1.8oz (50g) of processed meat daily. Researchers found that almost half of cancers could be prevented with lifestyle changes such as a healthier diet, using sunscreen, not smoking and limiting alcohol intake.

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Eating one sausage a day raises cancer risk by 20 per cent, warn experts - Daily Mail 31st March 2008

Eight soldiers catch superbugs after UK return - The Telegraph 31st March 2008

Eight soldiers wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan have contracted potentially lethal superbugs at a specialist hospital in the past 12 months. Figures released under the Freedom of Information Act show seven of the soldiers caught Clostridium Difficile (C.diff) last year at the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine at Selly Oak Hospital in Birmingham, while one soldier contracted MRSA there.

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Baby bodies left in mortuary for two years - The Telegraph 31st March 2008

The bodies of seven miscarried and aborted babies, which were supposed to have been cremated or buried more than two years ago, have been found at a hospital mortuary. The babies were overlooked due to an "administrative error" at University of North Staffordshire Hospital and an inquiry has been launched. Patients' groups were shocked managers had still not learned the lessons of the Alder Hey and Bristol heart scandals in which hundreds of organs, tissue samples and bodies of foetuses and children were stored without the parents' knowledge or consent.

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Poor immigration data 'hindering economy' - The Telegraph 31st March 2008

Britain's economy and public services are being put at risk by the failure of the Government to keep track of the number of immigrants, a House of Lords report will warn tomorrow. Key decisions on interest rates and the allocation of more than £100 billion of public money are being severely hampered by the "serious inadequacy" of basic data on those entering the country to work and study, it is expected to say.

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Finger on the Pulse - The Telegraph 31st March 2008

As the use of medication decreased, suicide rates increased, says Max Pemberton As a doctor, there are times when you can see that something is going to happen; you can plot the trajectory and predict the disaster, but are powerless to intervene. Frustrated, you watch from a distance the gentle ebb and flow of cause and effect. You try to step in, pick up the pieces and patch things up.

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Doctor's diary - The Telegraph 31st March 2008

It is natural to be alarmed at seeing blood around the pupil of one eye, says James Le Fanu There can be few things more gratifying than learning that a fearsome symptom is "nothing to worry about". It is only natural to be alarmed, on looking in the mirror, to see a streak of bright red blood around the pupil of one eye.

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Letters to the Telegraph - The Telegraph 31st March 2008

Three years ago the Commons health select committee recognised that hospital-acquired deep vein thrombosis accounts for more than 25,000 hospital deaths in England every year - the largest cause of hospital-acquired deaths and five times the number of people who die annually from MRSA and Clostidium difficile combined.

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Hospitals throw away 13m meals - The Sunday Telegraph 30th March 2008

Hospitals are throwing away as much as half of their food, NHS figures show. Close to 13 million meals were thrown away last year, with 33 hospitals dumping more than a quarter of their food, including two that discarded more than was eaten. Meanwhile, almost 140,000 patients left hospital malnourished, double the figure a decade ago.

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Meningitis jab could save 180 lives a year - The Telegraph 29th March 2008

A life-saving vaccine to protect children against meningitis is now a step closer, doctors have said. An injection to defend against the B strain of the virus is being developed by a team from the Health Protection Agency. They hope that it will be available within two years. Dr Ray Borrow, who is leading the research, said children given the prototype in trials are producing antibodies that can fight the disease.

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Vaccine for child-killing meningitis strain 'only three years away' - Daily Mail 28th March 2008

MPs unite to vote for 20-week abortion limit - The Telegraph 29th March 2008

Hundreds of MPs are to vote to lower the abortion limit to 20 weeks in a move which could lead to the first change in the law on terminations for nearly two decades. At least 200 members from all parties are poised to back a reduction, many motivated by medical advances that have resulted in many more premature babies surviving. Department of Health data shows 909 children were born between 22 and 24 weeks of pregnancy in 2005 and 250 survived for at least a year.

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Insomnia: sleep you can only dream of - The Telegraph 29th March 2008

Lucy Atkins takes a wide-eyed look at insomnia treatments People will try anything to cure insomnia. Vincent van Gogh supposedly inhaled camphor. Groucho Marx phoned strangers and insulted them. Marlene Dietrich, it is said, swore by sardine and onion sandwiches.

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Migration has brought 'zero' economic benefit - The Telegraph 29th March 2008

Ten years of record immigration to Britain has produced virtually no economic benefits for the country, a parliamentary inquiry has found. A House of Lords committee, which is due to report next Tuesday, will call into question Government claims that foreign workers add £6 billion each year to the wealth of the nation.

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How a stressful pregnancy could cause problems for future generations - Daily Mail 31st March 2008

Women who become stressed in pregnancy risk passing on health problems to generations of children, research suggests. Unborn babies who are exposed to high levels of the stress hormone cortisol run a greater risk of developing heart disease and diabetes in later life.

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A quarter of heart transplant patients start smoking again, researchers reveal - Daily Mail 31st March 2008

More than one in four heart transplant patients start smoking again after their operation. Their disregard for what most recipients view as a precious gift cuts their life expectancy by more than four years, researchers found. The figures provoked a furious response from more responsible patients last night, who said it was an abuse of the transplant process.

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Maureen Lipman's playwright daughter on the shock of discovering she had Bell's Palsy - Daily Mail 29th March 2008

It was autumn 1998; I was 24 years old and embarking on a career as a playwright. I was due to begin a year as writer-in-residence at the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester, and, professionally at least, I had plenty to smile about. So it came as some surprise, during a meeting with a prospective director, to find that smiling was impossible.

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Fruit, oil and leaf ... the new way to enjoy ancient olive - Daily Mail 29th March 2008

The therapeutic benefits of olives and olive oil have been known for centuries. Mediterraneans have long prized the small fruit of the Olea Europaea for its health-boosting properties. Now, those properties are being harnessed for use in supplements, tinctures, creams and even drinks.

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Just ONE glass of wine or a pint of beer could put you over drink-drive limit - Daily Mail 29th March 2008

Just one small glass of wine or a single pint of beer could soon put motorists in the dock for drink-driving. The crackdown, which has won support from ministers, could see up to 200,000 drivers a year losing their licences - double the present number.

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MMR scare doctor: Wakefield earned £150 an hour from law firm that planned to sue vaccine's manufacturer - Daily Mail 28th March 2008

The doctor who sparked a worldwide health scare over the MMR jab charged £150 an hour to a law firm that planned to sue the vaccine's manufacturer, an enquiry heard today. Dr Andrew Wakefield billed solicitor Richard Barr the hourly rate in return for investigating alleged dangerous side effects of the combined measles, mumps and rubella vaccine.

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Teens as young as 15 are drinking 177 pints of beer a year, report reveals - Daily Mail 28th March 2008

Youngsters aged 15 and 16 are each drinking the equivalent of 44 bottles of wine or 177 pints of beer a year, research suggests. Up to a third are regular binge drinkers, downing five drinks or more at a time according to the survey. Almost 10,000 15 and 16-year-olds in the North-West of England were questioned for the report.

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Racial clues in bowel cancer find - BBC Health News 31st March 2008

Three more genes that raise bowel cancer risk, including one affecting only some races, have been identified. UK scientists found one of the genes increased risk in people of European descent, but not Japanese people, reports the journal Nature Genetics. With four gene mutations already linked to the cancer, scientists hope to work on ways to predict people at high risk.

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Anger at 'missed TB opportunity' - BBC Health News 29th March 2008

London has become Europe's TB capital because primary care trusts are failing to adopt measures drawn up four years ago, MPs and health campaigners say. Just 55% of PCTs in England routinely screen new immigrants, according to a poll by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Global Tuberculosis. One PCT with a very high TB rate had even scrapped its screening programme.

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'I studied surgery as a Japanese PoW' - BBC Health News 29th March 2008

Ninety-four-year-old Nowell Peach has a very special memento of his war years - a copy of Gray's Anatomy which was at his fingertips throughout the three years he spent as a Japanese prisoner of war. A budding surgeon, the doctor was allowed to keep a copy of the book throughout his incarceration - and he spent all the time that gave him to study it from cover to cover.

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NHS staff documents found dumped - BBC Health News 28th March 2008

Documents containing payroll information relating to 182 NHS staff members have been have been found dumped in a street. They contained information, including addresses, bank account and National Insurance details, from five trusts in Leicestershire and Northamptonshire. Police were informed and collected the documents after they had been found in a street in Stevenage, Hertfordshire.

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Awake under the surgeon's knife - BBC Health News 28th March 2008

A film released next week looks at the phenomenon of "anaesthetic awareness" - the little understood experience of patients who are conscious and can feel pain during operations. Scientists are not even sure how often it happens, with estimates ranging from one in 14,000 operations to as many as one in 600.

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UK Health News RSS Feed

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International Health News

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

No sex, thank you ... we're Japanese - The Observer 30th March 2008

Housewife Miyuki Yanagisawa cannot recall the last time she had sex with her husband. She is certain, though, that their physical estrangement can be measured in years, not months. While she shares a room with the couple's two young daughters, her husband, a company employee, sleeps alone in another room, grateful for the chance to catch up on his sleep after another tortuously long day at work.

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Drugs companies Merck and Schering-Plough ‘suppressed Ezetrol trial results’ - The Times 31st March 2008

A heavily promoted heart drug endorsed by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) may be worthless, according to a newly published trial. Ezetimibe (Ezetrol) was recommended by NICE last year for patients with inherited high cholesterol, to be used in conjunction with a statin drug such as simvastatin. But results published in the New England Journal of Medicine and presented yesterday at the American College of Cardiology annual scientific session in Chicago show that it may add nothing to the effectiveness of the statin.

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Death for hire - suicide machine lets you push final button - The Times 29th March 2008

One press of a button and you can end your life with a swift injection of potassium chloride. That is the boast of Roger Kusch, once one of Germany's most promising conservative politicians and now the improbable promoter of a mercy-killing machine. If the “Perfusor”, designed to sidestep strict laws banning assisted suicide, goes into production then Germany rather than Switzerland could soon become the destination of choice for those seeking to kill themselves.

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Controversial push-button suicide machine to be rented to people with a death wish - Daily Mail 28th March 2008

Drug 'could aid cystic fibrosis' - BBC Health News 31st March 2008

Widely-used antidepressants could prevent infections which shorten the lives of many cystic fibrosis patients. The lung disease is caused by a genetic mutation which creates the perfect environment for bacteria to thrive and cause permanent damage. German and US scientists, writing in the journal Nature Medicine, say experiments on mice have revealed how this happens.

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Oregon's healthcare lottery - BBC Health News 30th March 2008

In what is believed to be the first such move, a US state is running a lottery in which the prize is health insurance. With some 45 million Americans uninsured, how to pay for medical treatment is a big issue in this year's presidential election. Now officials in Oregon say they have come up with a fair way of providing

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Kyrgyzstan's quiet health revolution - BBC Health News 29th March 2008

High in the mountains of Kyrgyzstan, a quiet health revolution is under way. Narin province is the poorest region in a country which is now among the poorest of the former Soviet states. The population lives primarily from sheep farming. Tiny villages, at altitudes of 1,500m (4,900ft) and more above sea level, each with just a few hundred people, are spread out across a wide area.

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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.

Mersey junk food hot-spot revealed - Liverpool Daily Post 29th March 2008

ST HELENS has been named as the Merseyside borough where school pupils face the most temptations from fast food outlets. The borough is trying to educate pupils to eat healthily after new re- search found it had the highest number of take- aways per secondary school. The figures by the School Food Trust named St Helens as the “junk food hot-spot” of Merseyside with 26 junk food outlets per school.

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Car park fears for disabled - Liverpool Echo 29th March 2008

THE NUMBER of parking bays for disabled householders could be cut. Wirral council will consider a move to allow disability spaces on streets only if the applicant has been granted a blue badge for their entire lifetime. Currently, any short-term badge holder can apply to the council for a special bay outside their home.

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Binge-drink teens knock back 269 pints a year - Liverpool Echo 28th March 2008

THE average 15-16 year-old drinks up to 67 bottles of wine or 269 pints of beer every year, according to research led in Liverpool. A study by the Centre for Public Health at Liverpool John Moores University suggests that around 57,000 of the North West’s 190,000 15-16-year-olds binge-drink weekly.

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Third of Merseyside children binge drink every week - Liverpool Daily Post 28th March 2008

Teens as young as 15 are drinking 177 pints of beer a year, report reveals - Daily Mail 28th March 2008

Casualty wards see rise in booze admissions - Liverpool Echo 29th March 2008

Medics pioneer study in managing carers’ time - Liverpool Echo 28th March 2008

A NEW research study has been launched at a Liverpool hospital to find out if a training course for carers will help stroke patients. The Training Caregivers after Stroke study aims to improve the rehabilitation of stroke patients, and cut the burden on their carers by offering a structured training programme. University Hospital Aintree (Fazakerley), with the North West Stroke Local Research Network, is evaluating the programme.

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Patients told: tell it how it is - Liverpool Echo 28th March 2008

PATIENTS in Liverpool are being asked for a “warts and all” report of recent health expe-riences as part of the NHS national patient survey to determine services’ future plan-ning and development.

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We don’t want Viagra - Chester Chronicle 28th March 2008

SUFFERERS of an incurable lung condition are campaigning to stop Viagra becoming the disease’s primary treatment on the NHS. Ann Lacey, of Kelsall, and Mary Walker, of Frodsham, both have the terminal heart and lung condition pulmonary hypertension (PH). They have high blood pressure in their lungs, reducing the amount of oxygen in their blood and putting pressure on the heart. It causes breathlessness and can lead to heart failure.

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Hospital's trust bid progresses - Warrington Guardian 28th March 2008

THE hospital's quest to become a Foundation Trust is progressing as planned and is two months into its three-month consultation period. The drive has already recruited more than 1,750 people to be public members, as well as 3,500 staff. Hospital bosses say they hope to recruit around 4,000 public members by the time the formal application is made.

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Patient at centre of care battle dies - Northwich Guardian 28th March 2008

A PATIENT at the centre of a row over the NHS' refusal to pay for his care has died. Rod Johnson suffered two strokes in four days and died at Leighton Hospital yesterday, Thursday. His brother Stephen has been fighting to get the health service to fund the 55 year old's treatment in Redwalls nursing home in Sandiway.

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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

Lecturer to study life after cancer - Carlisle News & Star 29th March 2008

AN ACADEMIC from the University of Cumbria is taking part in research to help cancer sufferers. Dr Stuart Whitaker, a senior occupational health lecturer, will conduct a study into the support and advice being offered to patients when they return to work.

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Teens as young as 15 are drinking 177 pints of beer a year, report reveals - Daily Mail 28th March 2008

Youngsters aged 15 and 16 are each drinking the equivalent of 44 bottles of wine or 177 pints of beer a year, research suggests. Up to a third are regular binge drinkers, downing five drinks or more at a time according to the survey. Almost 10,000 15 and 16-year-olds in the North-West of England were questioned for the report.

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Cumbria’s booze nightmare revealed - Carlisle News & Star 28th March 2008

20 beds at infirmary’s cottage hospital - Carlisle News & Star 28th March 2008

REIVER House – the new building in front of the Cumberland Infirmary – is to close and reopen as a 20-bed cottage hospital. Health chiefs have also confirmed that beds at the Cumberland Infirmary will not be cut – and that they will put the plans back out to public consultation in Carlisle.

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Centre to ease dental crisis - Carlisle News & Star 28th March 2008

WEST Cumbria’s dental crisis will start to ease once the construction of a new training centre is complete, predicts local MP Jamie Reed. Building work is now underway on the long-awaited dental education centre at Carlisle’s Cumberland Infirmary.

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Foundation status bid delayed - Lancashire Telegraph 28th March 2008

EAST Lancashire Hospitals Trust's bid for foundation status has been delayed until a new chief executive is found. Current chief executive Jo Cubbon officially leaves her post next week, and interviews will be under way in the next two weeks to appoint a replacement. But the Department of Health has delayed making a decision over the trust's bid until a new person is at the helm.

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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.

Doctors fight ban on lifeline - Manchester Evening News 29th March 2008

A GROUP of doctors is to challenge a government ban on NHS patients paying towards their own drugs. Doctors for Reform hope to collect £35,000 to bring a judicial review against the Department of Health rule forcing people who buy a drug which the NHS won't fund to pay private rates for all their care including tests, scans and their hospital bed.

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Shamed doc in job bid - Manchester Evening News 29th March 2008

A SHAMED doctor at the centre of a cancer scandal has made a bid to keep his job by promising never to work in breast scanning. A disciplinary watchdog has already found Dr Amjan Husien "repeatedly failed to provide an acceptable level of care" when he worked checking X-rays of women suspected to having breast cancer at Trafford General Hospital between 2005 and 2007.

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Junk Food: Children sticking to their fast food diet - The Bolton News 29th March 2008

SCHOOLCHILDREN are getting around tough school healthy eating policies by going for a morning fast food fix. Government school food advisers have urged teachers to ban pupils from leaving school grounds at lunchtime to encourage healthy lifestyles and tackle childhood obesity.

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Teenage binge-drinking toll revealed - The Bolton News 29th March 2008

Teenagers in the North-west are drinking 44 bottles of wine or 177 pints of beer a year each, a new study into under-age alcohol intake and violence shows. The figures relate to 15 to 16-year-olds and stem from a study of 9,833 youngsters. The report, produced by the Centre for Public Health at Liverpool John Moores University, Trading Standards North West and the Home Office, also said that out of 190,000 15 and 16-year-olds, 57,000 binge-drink by having five or more drinks in one session.

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Meningitis jab could save 180 lives a year - The Telegraph 29th March 2008

A life-saving vaccine to protect children against meningitis is now a step closer, doctors have said. An injection to defend against the B strain of the virus is being developed by a team from the Health Protection Agency. They hope that it will be available within two years. Dr Ray Borrow, who is leading the research, said children given the prototype in trials are producing antibodies that can fight the disease.

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Vaccine for child-killing meningitis strain 'only three years away' - Daily Mail 28th March 2008

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Doctor in MMR row defends stance at disciplinary hearing - The Guardian 28th March 2008

The doctor who first sparked widespread safety fears over the MMR vaccine said yesterday that his paramount concern was "clinical care" for children who had developed autism after being vaccinated. Giving evidence for the first time at a General Medical Council disciplinary hearing, where he is accused of serious professional misconduct, Dr Andrew Wakefield also denied he was motivated by an interest in litigation. He defended the way he carried out research which caused national controversy and a drop in vaccine rates.

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Additional Stories

MMR: Moment of truth for man behind the scare - The Independent 27th March 2008

Mother told me of child’s autism after MMR jab, Andrew Wakefield claims - The Times 28th March 2008

'We still believe in Wakefield' - BBC Health News 27th March 2008

MMR doctor to begin his defence - BBC Health News 27th March 2008

'We try to give victims control' - The Guardian 28th March 2008

Catherine White runs a leading centre for people who have been raped. She tells Emine Saner about the fight to get better help and more respect for women

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Letters: People living in poverty also have mental health needs - The Guardian 28th March 2008

As evidence for Zoe Williams' claim that psychodynamic therapy is now unfashionable and superseded by cognitive behaviour therapy, she says the talking cures the government pays for are all based on a cognitive model (The getting of wisdom, March 26). In fact, psychodynamic psychotherapy is extensively used throughout the NHS in both primary and secondary care. A recent survey found that around half of 525 primary care psychological therapy services offered psychodynamic therapy. A significant proportion of our membership works within the NHS, as well as in the voluntary and independent sector.

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Parents to be shown how to protect children online - The Guardian 27th March 2008

The first national strategy for child internet safety, including a streamlined system for classifying computer video games and codes of practice for social networking sites, will be set out today in a ground-breaking report for government. The six-month study prepared by the child psychologist Dr Tanya Byron, reflects her concern that parents and children are struggling with the impact of the internet and computer games.

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Additional Stories

Facebook, Bebo, My Space face censorship orders - The Times 28th March 2008

Computer games to get cigarette-style health warnings - The Times 27th March 2008

Review 'to change games ratings' - BBC Health News 27th March 2008

Law changed to protect elderly people paying for own care - The Guardian 27th March 2008

The government will extend the Human Rights Act to protect up to 300,000 people who have been placed by local authorities in privately-run residential and nursing homes, the Guardian can reveal. Older people's charities have campaigned for the move after a law lords ruling last year that the act did not apply to privately-run homes. Charities argue the legislation would give residents greater protection against suffering malnutrition and give them greater rights, such as the right to a family life.

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Trial scheme to breathalyse children - The Guardian 27th March 2008

Children could be breathalysed under radical new plans to tackle underage drinking. Police officers will also use test strips to check to see if soft drinks have been mixed with alcohol. Under the new plans, which are to be piloted in North Wales, teenagers could be stopped in the street and tested for alcohol. Teens who are found with alcohol or who fail the test will be taken home to their parents.

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Child cough remedies taken off shelves - The Independent 27th March 2008

Some cough and cold remedies for young children are being removed from shelves today due to fears of accidental overdose. Six products specifically marketed for use on under-twos are being permanently removed from sale on the orders of the Medicine and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

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Additional Stories

Don’t panic message over children’s cough mixture - The Times 28th March 2008

Child cough cures to be pulled from stores - The Telegraph 27th March 2008

List of cough medicines to be taken off shelves - The Telegraph 27th March 2008

Toddler cough medicine 'banned': 100 remedies taken off the shelves amid safety fears - Daily Mail 27th March 2008

Six baby cough medicines banned - BBC Health News 27th March 2008

Animators give up creating television to generate a human heart - The Times 27th March 2008

A team of British animators has created a computer-generated model of a human heart so realistic that it could transform surgical training, doctors say. The animators, who made their names working in television commercials and the entertainment industry, turned their skills to medical science to produce a model that simulates a beating heart. Every vessel and valve has been reproduced with such accuracy that doctors believe it could become a vital tool in cardiac care.

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NHS boss is jailed for £11m fraud - The Times 27th March 2008

An NHS finance chief who was desperate to meet financial targets was jailed for 12 months yesterday for a multimillion-pound fraud. Philip Neal, 44, the former director of finance and deputy chief executive officer of the Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust, admitted four counts of forgery. His defence said that he was under “immense pressure” to meet targets set by the Government and wipe out a predicted huge deficit.

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'Keep pupils in to stop them eating junk food' - The Telegraph 28th March 2008

Children should be banned from leaving school at lunchtime so they cannot gorge themselves on junk food, a Government body says today. Restrictions should also be placed on the opening of new burger bars, kebab shops, chip shops and sweet shops near schools to remove temptation from pupils, it is claimed. The recommendations by the Government-funded School Food Trust come amid concerns that many fast food outlets are luring pupils during the school day with special offers. Its report identified towns and cities with more than 40 takeaways and sweet shops for every secondary school. Officials said the trend risked undermining a campaign to improve school food, which put curbs on high-fat and sugary meals in canteens.

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Woman who was infertile at 18 cannot have IVF on NHS - The Telegraph 28th March 2008

A woman who went through the menopause in her teens has been refused fertility treatment on the NHS. Catherine Storey was left infertile at 18 when she had a premature menopause. She is now 20 but has been refused IVF on the NHS because her boyfriend Martin Sear already has children - even though they live 300 miles away. The couple took out a bank loan and travelled to a clinic in Barcelona. But after spending £13,000 on two rounds of IVF, Miss Storey, an administrative assistant with a fire alarms company from Cramlington, Northumberland, is still not pregnant and has run out of money.

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Hundreds born within abortion limit survive - The Telegraph 27th March 2008

Hundreds of children are surviving after being born within the legal limit for abortion, official figures have disclosed. Department of Health data show that 909 children were born between 22 and 24 weeks of pregnancy during 2005. Of those, 250 survived for at least a year.

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Additional Stories

Hundreds of children are surviving after being born within the legal abortion time - Daily Mail 27th March 2008

Case study: We waited for him to die - The Telegraph 27th March 2008

Teens as young as 15 are drinking 177 pints of beer a year, report reveals - Daily Mail 28th March 2008

Youngsters aged 15 and 16 are each drinking the equivalent of 44 bottles of wine or 177 pints of beer a year, research suggests. Up to a third are regular binge drinkers, downing five drinks or more at a time according to the survey. Almost 10,000 15 and 16-year-olds in the North-West of England were questioned for the report.

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Toll of teenage drinking revealed - BBC Health News 28th March 2008

More than one in five of all babies born in Britain is to immigrant mothers - Daily Mail 27th March 2008

More than one in five of all babies is born to an immigrant mother, new figures show. In London, over half of children are born to mothers who were themselves born abroad. The breakdown from the Government's Office for National Statistics showed that the proportion of children born to immigrant families has shot up over the past few years. In the late 1990s, when the immigration boom ushered in by Tony Blair's election was just beginning, around 13 per cent of all babies in Britain were born to mothers who came from abroad.

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Pilots 'completely incapacitated' by toxic engine fumes leaking into aircraft cabins - Daily Mail 27th March 2008

Air travellers and cabin crew are being put at risk by toxic engine fumes leaking into plane cabins, it has been claimed. These can cause breathing problems, sickness and tiredness, the Global Cabin Air Quality Executive said. It added that long-term exposure could even cause brain damage. The organisation is calling for a public inquiry into the issue of "contaminated air".

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Superskunk me: What happened when one woman smoked dope daily for a month for a BBC documentary - Daily Mail 27th March 2008

Just a few puffs on a rolled-up cigarette containing "skunk" - a strong form of cannabis - was all it took to strip Nicky Taylor of all her capabilities and to induce a terrifying combination of paranoia, fear and anxiety. As the drug took effect, she was rendered incapable of doing anything save look anxiously around her and try to calm her trembling hands.

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'Month of cannabis terrified me' - BBC Health News 26th March 2008

Mother whose newborn baby was snatched by social workers speaks of her ordeal for first time - Daily Mail 27th March 2008

The young mother whose newborn baby was snatched from her by social workers has spoken of her ordeal for the first time and insisted she is a good mother. Social services removed the child on January 30 this year but were forced to return him when a High Court Judge later ruled that he had been taken unlawfully because no court order had been sought for his removal.

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Mother-of-two has miracle escape after freezing to coldest temperature 'doctors have ever seen' - Daily Mail 26th March 2008

A mother who almost froze to death when she became trapped in a ravine overnight is making an astonishing recovery. Mandy Evans, 43, has been nicknamed the "Ice Maiden" after she managed to survive her body temperature plummeting by a third.

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School-gate junk food ban urged - BBC Health News 28th March 2008

Schools and councils are being urged to make it harder for children to swap their school meal for a takeaway. Rising levels of obesity are being fuelled by the ready availability of junk food, said the School Food Trust. It wants schools to close their gates at lunchtime and councils to stop new fast food outlets opening nearby.

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Caution call on pharmacist drugs - BBC Health News 28th March 2008

Raising the number of drugs that can be bought at pharmacies may affect safety and cut effectiveness, specialists say. Writing in the British Medical Journal, two doctors say drugs such as statins could be less effective because over-the-counter doses are lower. They warn some powerful painkillers available without prescription have potentially harmful side-effects.

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Broken back can leave you homeless - BBC Health News 27th March 2008

A television presenter who broke her back says many people with similar injuries are being forced to live in care homes. Victoria Hollingsworth shattered her spine in a car accident while filming Channel 4's property programme A Place in the Sun in Spain.

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How cancer affects relationships - BBC Health News 27th March 2008

Cancer victims may lose more than their health - a report out today suggests many see their relationships come under strain or break down completely. It's hard to believe Sarah's cheerful demeanour. She sits in a pub in Buckinghamshire and tells me the story of how her marriage broke down - not as a result of infidelity, or a relationship that just ran out of steam.

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MSP calls for right to die debate - BBC Health News 27th March 2008

An MSP who said she wanted to have the right to end her own life if her health deteriorated has called for a public debate on assisted suicide. Margo MacDonald, who has Parkinson's disease, told the BBC's Good Morning Scotland programme she hoped it was a decision she would never have to make.

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GBH doctor suspended for a year - BBC Health News 26th March 2008

A doctor who beat a paramedic into a coma has been suspended by the General Medical Council (GMC) for 12 months. Nik Mann was told his assault on Stephen Mason in Nuneaton, Warks, in August 2006 was contrary to the aims and ideals of the medical profession. But the fitness to practise panel said it was not in the public interest to strike off Mann.

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Surgery joy for heart reverse boy - BBC Health News 25th March 2008

A three-year-old County Durham boy born with a "back to front" heart has made a full recovery after undergoing a complex eight-hour operation. Alec Hutchison suffered from congenitally corrected transposition, which meant his arteries were connected to the wrong chambers of his heart.

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'A friend saw my breathing was stopping ' - BBC Health News 26th March 2008

A treatment for people with a severe sleep disorder has been approved by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE). Angie Spendlove can vouch for the effectiveness of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) for the treatment of obstructive sleep apnoea.

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UK Health News RSS Feed

Also available as RSS (What is RSS?), the easiest way to keep up to date with new material on web pages without any effort.

If you don't know how to use RSS ask your local health Librarian to show you MyUpdate on the MyLibrary section of the National Library for Health.

International Health News

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

'Being a pregnant man? It's incredible' - The Guardian 28th March 2008

Is it a miracle? A hoax? Or just tragedy in the making? Patrick Barkham on the frenzy surrounding the US transgender man reported to be expecting a baby girl

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Additional Stories

Married 'man' claims to be five months pregnant - The Independent 27th March 2008

American man claims to be five months pregnant with a baby girl - Daily Mail 27th March 2008

Ultimatum for Italy in cheese dioxin scare - The Guardian 28th March 2008

Brussels yesterday increased pressure on Italy to provide details about the scale of a potential crisis over links between cheese and cancer, warning that buffalo mozzarella could be banned across the EU. The European commission demanded more information from the Italian authorities on carcinogenic dioxins found in buffalo mozzarella made in the Naples area, and set the Italian government a deadline for compliance.

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Buffalo mozzarella farms face shutdown - The Telegraph 28th March 2008

Japan bans mozzarella as toxin fears spread - The Telegraph 27th March 2008

Japan brings in compulsory fat checks for over-40s - The Independent 28th March 2008

Once the butt of jokes, the sight of men sucking in their bellies to hide expanding waistlines just got a lot more serious in Japan, where the government has introduced mandatory "fat checks" for the over-40s. Aimed at trimming bulging annual health costs of more than $3bn (£1.5bn), the Health Ministry says from next month 56 million people must start keeping waistlines tucked in or be asked to change diet, see a doctor and possibly pay higher insurance costs.

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Drug lowers cholesterol and fights hepatitis C - The Independent 27th March 2008

A drug that can lower cholesterol levels and prevent the liver from being attacked by the hepatitis C virus has come a step closer following a successful trial on laboratory animals. The drug works in an unusual way by interfering with the natural genetic mechanism in the cells of the liver that keeps cholesterol levels high and – coincidentally – allows the hepatitis virus to replicate within the organ. The study, which was carried out on African green monkeys, lowered cholesterol levels by up to 40 per cent over three months with the help of just three intra-venous injections given over five days at the start of the trial.

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Breech births: The way you start life is written in your genes - The Times 28th March 2008

Breech deliveries – where a baby is born bottom-first – are twice as likely in families in which either the mother or the father was born in this position. The finding, in a study in Norway, suggests strongly that there are genetic factors, passed on by fathers and mothers, that create a predisposition to breech birth.

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Scientists say breech birth delivery position is 'in the genes' - Daily Mail 28th March 2008

Breech birth parents 'carry gene' - BBC Health News 28th March 2008

Calcium levels can show up likelihood of cardiac attack - The Times 27th March 2008

Measuring calcium deposits in the arteries of the heart is a good predictor of future heart disease, regardless of racial origin, according to a new study. This type of screening is not commonly available on the NHS, but is widely advertised by private CT scanning clinics, who claim that it gives an earlier indication of risk than the classic risk factors of age, whether someone is overweight, smokes, or has high blood pressure or cholesterol.

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Diabetic girl dies as parents pray instead of calling for medical aid - The Telegraph 28th March 2008

An 11-year-old girl died from diabetes after her parents prayed for her recovery rather than calling for medical assistance. Madeline Neumann died on Sunday in Wisconsin, from an undiagnosed but treatable ailment. Dan Vergin, the local police chief, said she had been ill for a month, suffering symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, excessive thirst, loss of appetite and weakness.

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Large waist 'an Alzheimer's risk' - BBC Health News 27th March 2008

A big waistline in your 40s could almost triple the threat of dementia in old age, according to US research. Obesity is a known risk factor for Alzheimer's, but scientists found even those of normal weight were more at risk if they had a large waist.

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International Health News RSS Feed

Also available as RSS (What is RSS?), the easiest way to keep up to date with new material on web pages without any effort.

If you don't know how to use RSS ask your local health Librarian to show you MyUpdate on the MyLibrary section of the National Library for Health.

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.

Third of Merseyside children binge drink every week - Liverpool Daily Post 28th March 2008

A THIRD of Merseyside children are binge drinking every week, and the average 15-16 year-old is putting away up to 67 bottles of wine, or 269 pints of beer, every year. Those are the stark findings of a wide-ranging report released today which reveals that the problems cut right across society from the richest to poorest groups of youngsters. The study of 10,000 teenagers led by the Centre for Public Health at Liverpool John Moores University suggests that around 57,000 of the region’s 190,000 15-16-year-olds binge drink weekly.

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Teens as young as 15 are drinking 177 pints of beer a year, report reveals - Daily Mail 28th March 2008

Toll of teenage drinking revealed - BBC Health News 28th March 2008

Liverpool dental costs top UK league - Liverpool Daily Post 27th March 2008

AREAS of Liverpool have the highest amount of NHS money spent on dental care in the country. A report from the Information Centre for health and social care states £78 per head was spent on dental care by Central Liverpool PCT in 2005-6 – double the national average of £39.

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NHS spends double on on city’s teeth care - Liverpool Echo 27th March 2008

Protest anger as council votes to close care homes - Liverpool Daily Post 27th March 2008

A NOISY demonstration was held outside Liverpool Town Hall last night as councillors debated the closure of two homes providing care for the elderly. Leighton Dene residential home in Fazakerley, and the Boaler Street rehabilitation unit in Kensington, have both been earmarked for closure under council budget cuts.

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We will care for elderly in their homes - Liverpool Echo 26th March 2008

City’s health schemes on show - Liverpool Daily Post 26th March 2008

LIVERPOOL will showcase public health achievements to the world when the city hosts the largest conference of its kind in the UK next week. Over 1,000 delegates from the UK and overseas will hear from experts in climate change and air pollution, patient safety, obesity, drugs, sexual health, and alcohol abuse at the BT Convention Centre on April 1 and 2. Among key debates at the 16th UK Public Health Association (UKPHA) Annual Public Health Forum will be official strategy for tackling the obesity epidemic and the impact of climate change and unsustainable development on health.

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Merseyside MP plans to revolt over embryo research - Liverpool Daily Post 26th March 2008

A CATHOLIC Mersey MP pledged yesterday to lead a fresh Labour revolt on embryo research and lesbian fertility treatment – despite Gordon Brown’s offer of a limited free vote. Claire Curtis-Thomas, the Crosby MP, vowed to try to vote down the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill at its final Commons stage if its most controversial clauses survive earlier votes.

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Even now you will find some doctors just say: ‘Kids can’t get MS’ - Liverpool Echo 26th March 2008

THE Multiple Sclerosis Society holds its national conference in Manchester this weekend. Greg O’Keeffe spoke to a Merseyside family desperate to raise awareness about the condition in young people. LIAM KELLY is the living rebuttal of two common myths about multiple sclerosis (MS) – that it doesn’t hit young people and is always permanently disabling.

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TV doc in city house call - Liverpool Echo 26th March 2008

TV DOCTOR Hilary Jones visited Liverpool to provide impromptu medical advice to shoppers. GMTV’s Street Surgery feature dropped into Williamson Square to answer questions and offer the public assistance on their ailments.

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Miracle baby survived operation in the womb - Liverpool Echo 26th March 2008

CLARE Parry cuddles her baby close and knows she is holding her very own little miracle. Nine month old Emma Louise had life-saving surgery before she was even born thanks to a state of the art procedure at the Liverpool Women’s hospital.

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MP promotes new health care facility - Runcorn and Widnes Weekly News 27th March 2008

A NEW NHS drop-in centre has opened in Windmill Hill, enabling residents to see a nurse without an appointment. The Windmill Hill Primary Care Access Centre, at 416 Eastwood, is now available to sufferers of minor ailments and injuries from Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. Weaver Vale MP Mike Hall is encouraging locals to take full advantage of the new facility.

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Concern at state of mental health care - Runcorn and Widnes Weekly News 27th March 2008

SUFFERERS of mental illness throughout Halton are being neglected, according to one former psychiatric patient. Geoff Houghton from Runcorn believes that mental illness is actually on the increase in Halton, despite the proposed cuts to the funding of two Mind day centres in the borough.

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Patients at Southport's spinal injuries unit encouraged to take up Nintendo Wii therapy - Midweek Visiter 26th March 2008

PATIENTS with severe spinal injuries are being encouraged to take up boxing and other sports as part of their medical treatment. People on the spinal cord unit at Southport & Formby District General Hospital have been competing on the latest computer games craze – a Nintendo Wii, that was donated by a former patient.

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Fury over infirmary’s ‘tax on the sick’ - Mid Cheshire Chronicle 26th March 2008

COMMUNITY leaders have reacted furiously to the announcement that car park charges will be introduced at Northwich Infirmary. From Tuesday, April 1, visitors to the hospital will have to pay £3 for a stay of longer than 20 minutes, and anyone staying longer than four hours will be forced to pay £5.

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THE news that South Cheshire is one of the worst areas for alcohol-related admissions to hospital is sobering news - Crewe Chronicle 26th March 2008

Over the last year, more than 1,000 people were admitted to Leighton Hospital because of drink, placing it in the top 25% of all hospitals in the UK dealing with excessive numbers of patients suffering through drink. Whether these people find themselves in there because of their own drinking or because of that of other people, no one can deny that the health service is going to struggle if the trend continues.

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Area in top 25% of alcohol blackspots - Crewe Chronicle 26th March 2008

SOUTH Cheshire has been named as a blackspot for the number of people who suffer injuries and illnesses because of alcohol, new figures reveal. They show that last year, 1,861 people were admitted to hospital in the area for treatment for alcohol-related medical problems.

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Anger over time for 999 arrival - Crewe Chronicle 26th March 2008

VILLAGERS are furious after an ambulance took more than 30 minutes to arrive in Audlem to attend a woman who later died in hospital. Paramedics were called to the village to a woman in her late 60s who is believed to have been suffering from chest pains. Residents say the ambulance came from Congleton.

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Cheshire and Merseyside Health News RSS Feed

Also available as RSS (BBC What is RSS?), the easiest way to keep up to date with new material on web pages without any effort.

If you don't know how to use RSS ask your local health Librarian to show you MyUpdate on the MyLibrary section of the National Library for Health.

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

10-year-olds treated for alcohol problems - Carlisle News & Star 27th March 2008

CUMBRIAN children as young as 10 and 11 have been treated for alcohol problems and people in their 20s have developed liver disease, new figures show. John Ashton photo John Ashton The statistics, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, show for the first time the true extent of the county’s booze culture, with pregnant mums admitted for complications related to alcohol use, three young people killed by drink, and 740 people aged under 30 treated for alcohol-related illness and injury in two years.

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Free choice for NHS patients - Carlisle News & Star 27th March 2008

NHS patients are set to have more choice over when and where they get treatment. From Tuesday, anyone who needs a routine, planned operation or treatment will be able to choose any NHS approved healthcare provider in England.

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Work is underway on dental college - Carlisle News & Star 27th March 2008

BUILDING work has begun on a new dental education centre at the Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle. It is the first of its kind in north Cumbria and is part of a project to train a new generation of dentists. The project involves the universities of Central Lancashire, Liverpool, Cumbria and Lancaster.

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High cost of work slips - Carlisle News & Star 27th March 2008

MINOR accidents in the workplace cost Tynedale over £800,000 last year, according to a health report. Health and Safety Executive figures show that slips, trips and falls affected 49 people in the area at a cost of £830,500. The HSE is running a national scheme, ‘Shattered Lives’, to highlight the damage that can be caused by what seems like minor accidents at work.

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Health clinics in the north east ‘taking money out of Cumbria’ - Carlisle News & Star 27th March 2008

NORTH east clinics targeting patients in Cumbria could be taking money out of the county, says Carlisle MP Eric Martlew. The Ramsay Health Care centres in Newcastle and Middlesbrough have taken out adverts offering services to Cumbrian patients. The two north east centres were established as part of the Government’s Clinical Assessment and Treatment Support (CATS) programme.

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Library service is one of best in North West - Carlisle News & Star 26th March 2008

THE hospital library service has been declared one of the best in the North West. The service was awarded “excellent” in 25 out of 30 categories in a recent external inspection.

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Bogus doc lied to get job - Carlisle News & Star 26th March 2008

A BOGUS doctor lied his way into a job at a residential care home in Carlisle. Darren Hayes wrongly told bosses at the Applegarth Nursing Home in Newtown Road that he had a medical degree. The 29-year-old, who now lives in Hawick, Scotland, also failed to divulge that he had previous convictions. He worked at the home between March 2006 and May 2007 before leaving.

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How to make ciggies more attractive. Instantly... - Carlisle News & Star 26th March 2008

We are all fully aware that cigarettes are potentially lethal. Just in case we forget, every packet is plastered with the warning: Smoking Kills. So if the Government is really really concerned about our health, why doesn’t it just go ahead and make smoking illegal? But no, farcical tinkering is the preferred option. An outright ban, of course, would result in the loss of all that lovely tax that Mr Brown stacks his coffers with, at the expense of smokers.

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Helping to maintain a healthy workforce - Carlisle News & Star 26th March 2008

THE importance of health and fitness has proved a big talking point over the last few years, with high-profile, celebrity-endorsed health campaigns from the likes of Jamie Oliver and new fitness measures being rolled out across schools.

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NHS trust’s bosses must find £14.2m savings in a year - Carlisle News & Star 26th March 2008

HOSPITAL bosses face an uphill struggle if they are to meet a tough new £14.2m savings target during the next financial year. If they fail, the current board of the North Cumbria Acute Hospitals NHS Trust could be axed and replaced by new management.

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Hospital morale is growing, new survey shows - Carlisle News & Star 26th March 2008

MORALE among north Cumbria’s hospital staff is improving, according to a new survey of employees. The questionnaires were circulated among all NHS staff in October as part of a national opinion survey. Responses are collated into areas and given to managers of individual hospitals. The North Cumbria Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs Carlisle’s Cumberland Infirmary and the West Cumberland Hospital, received its feedback at its monthly board meeting on Tuesday.

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Health worker's national accolade - Lancashire Telegraph 27th March 2008

A HEALTH worker from East Lancashire has scooped a top international award in recognition of his work at home and abroad. Andrew Clarke, 38, a community health visitor from Ramsbottom, was handed the prestigious Robert Tiffany International Nursing Award. The presentation was at the Nursing Standard journal's Nurse of the Year ceremony at London's Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, tonight.

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