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Scientists attack plan to ban 'hybrid' embryos - The Guardian 5th January 2007

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Groundbreaking research into incurable diseases could be jeopardised if permission to create human embryos from animal eggs is withheld, scientists warned yesterday. British researchers want to use the embryos to make stem cells with genetic faults linked to conditions such as Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's and motor neurone disease. Studying how the cells grow could yield unprecedented insights into disease, leading to cures for the otherwise untreatable conditions.

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Hybrid animal-human embryos face ban - The Independent 5th January 2007

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Medicine faces ban on rabbit-human embryos - The Times 5th January 2007

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Cloning 'can beat disease' - The Times 5th January 2007

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'Research is now my only hope of a cure' - The Times 5th January 2007

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Ministers have been spooked by 'frankenbunny' headlines - The Times 5th January 2007

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Hybrid embryo work 'under threat' - BBC Health News 5th January 2007

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Milestones that showed the way to modern medicine - The Guardian 5th January 2007

Fifteen of the most important milestones on the road to modern medicine are identified today by the British Medical Journal. They range from vaccines to computers to the pill - and the journal is calling for readers to vote on which was the most significant. The 15 have been shortlisted from more than 100 nominated discoveries since the BMJ was launched in 1840. Anyone can log on to www.bmj.com and cast a vote.

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BMJ poll to choose the top advance in medicine - The Times 5th January 2007

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Vote for the greatest medical milestone - The Telegraph 5th January 2006

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Penicillin to the Pill, what is the greatest medical miracle? - Daily Mail 4th January 2007

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Herceptin improves some breast cancer survival rates, says study - The Guardian 5th January 2007

Giving women with certain breast cancers the drug Herceptin improves survival rates two years on, a study reports today. Previous research has shown that Herceptin stops breast cancers returning for the 15-25% of women who have a type of early breast cancer called HER2-receptor positive. But this is the first time a reduction in the number of deaths has been recorded.

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Dosage loophole restricts Herceptin for NHS patients - The Independent 5th January 2007

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Herceptin reduces cancer deaths by a third, study shows - The Times 5th January 2007

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Campaigners proved right over Herceptin - Daily Mail 4th January 2006

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Herceptin does cut cancer deaths - BBC Health News 5th January 2007

Viv Groskop on women who breastfeed other people's babies - The Guardian 5th January 2007

It may be taboo, but some British women still quietly breastfeed other people's babies - and in Hollywood and China, wet-nursing is actually becoming fashionable. Hurrah, says Viv Groskop

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X-ray plan for young asylum seekers - The Guardian 5th January 2007

Young asylum seekers entering the UK face undergoing x-rays of their teeth and wrist bones to try to assess their age under government plans opposed as unethical and ineffective by an array of medical specialists and children's campaigners. A Home Office document seen by the Guardian, a final version of which is due to be published within days, outlines plans to introduce the medical procedures in measures to determine whether unaccompanied young asylum seekers without valid documents are under 18.

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Equalising Opportunity - The Guardian 5th January 2007

Today's sex and power report is the Equal Opportunities Commission's last ever independent publication. From the autumn it becomes a component part of the new Human Rights Commission. Yet, as the report so gloomily illustrates, its work is far from done. Once more the EOC audit of the division of the spoils at the top finds that men are in charge almost everywhere, from the courts and parliament to the civil service and the boardrooms of the FTSE 100 - even, it has to be admitted, in the editors' offices of national newspapers. Thirty two years after the EOC was founded, the pay gap sticks stubbornly at 17%, the part-time pay gap at 36%. More women remain in pension poverty, and will still do so after the latest proposals. Plugging away at individual discrimination cases, finding women brave enough to take on their employers at the cost of their own prospects, has brought modest progress. It is time for a change of tactics.

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Cheap drugs for poor nations - The Guardian 5th January 2007

Two UK-based academics have devised a way to invent new medicines and get them to market at a fraction of the cost charged by big drug companies, enabling millions in poor countries to be cured of infectious diseases and potentially slashing Britain's drugs bill. Sunil Shaunak, professor of infectious diseases at Imperial College, based at Hammersmith hospital, calls their revolutionary new model "ethical pharmaceuticals".

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Better care and drop in smoking cuts heart disease deaths by 36% - The Times 5th January 2007

The number of people dying from heart disease has fallen by more than a third in the past ten years thanks to better treatment, better detection and a decline in smoking. The dramatic reduction in deaths from coronary heart disease (CHD) is underlined by data released today by the Government. The figures show a 35.9 per cent drop in heart disease deaths for those under 75 since 1996.

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Cholesterol drugs help cut heart deaths - The Telegraph 5th January 2006

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Heart deaths 'continue to fall' - BBC Health News 4th January 2007

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Surgery on smokers 'is wasted' - The Times 5th January 2007

Smokers should be denied surgery on the NHS unless they kick their habit, a leading doctor has said. In a debate published today in the British Medical Journal, Professor Matthew Peters, the head of thoracic medicine at the Concord Repatriation General Hospital, Sydney, Australia, claims that five non- smokers could be operated on for the cost of four smokers, and that their outcomes would be better.

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37,000 job cuts needed to pay NHS salary bill - The Times 5th January 2007

The Government is looking for ways of cutting the huge NHS salary bill to bring the service back into financial balance. Tens of thousands of job cuts and a three-year pay deal, starting with a low or zero increase for 2008-09, are strong possibilities, as the Department of Health wrestles with booming staff numbers and mismanaged pay deals.

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Sex? Yes. Fight? Yes. Smoke? No - The Times 5th January 2007

The Government’s latest wheeze is to raise the legal age for buying cigarettes from 16 to 18. So let me see if I have this straight. You will be able legally to have sex at 16 — or younger, according to senior policemen — but the law won’t allow you a postcoital cigarette until two years later. Not even if you are married (legal age: 16). At 16, you will be old enough to join the Army and train to fight wars.

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Celebs, cancer and scientific sense - The Times 5th January 2007

Sense About Science has highlighted how important it is for celebrities to check their messages with scientists (report, Jan 3). This doesn’t diminish the vital role celebrity support plays for charities. Celebrity endorsement can help to raise funds and can also prove an invaluable tool for spreading health messages.

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Italian GP loses his £10,000 job - The Telegraph 5th January 2006

The Italian doctor who was paid £3,200 to work in the NHS for five days over Christmas has had his next health service job cancelled. Dr Annibale Bertollo, 53, was told yesterday by his agency, Team24, that he was not needed for a £10,000, two-month stint at Greywells Medical Centre, in Leigh Park, Havant, Hampshire. He was due to start tomorrow.

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The mother who faints if she says: I love you - Daily Mail 4th January 2007

Telling someone you love them can sometimes be tricky. But for Wendy Richmond it is nearly impossible - because every time she gets emotional she risks collapsing to the floor.

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British gene team are on the brink of cancer breakthrough - Daily Mail 4th January 2007

British scientists are on the verge of producing a drug that could revolutionise cancer treatment.
It shuts down the rogue genes that cause cancer and is due to be tested on humans for the first time in the next few months.

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Hypnosis may help anxious teens - BBC Health News 4th January 2007

Self hypnosis could be useful in aiding treatment for children suffering from anxiety, research has suggested. A small study found that hypnotherapy helped psychological treatment in reducing anxiety and feelings of helplessness in students.

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Ashley's story - The Guardian 5th January 2007

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When news broke that a disabled American girl had been given radical treatment to prevent her growing up, it caused a furore. Here, in an edited extract from his blog, her father explains why the family did it

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British mother of a girl with similar condition to Ashley's gives her reaction - The Guardian 5th January 2007

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Treatment keeps girl child-sized - BBC Health News 4th January 2007

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Cheshire and Merseyside News

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Alder Hey test site dig - Liverpool Echo 4th January 2007

PITS will be dug in Springfield Park to try to find out the cost of the new Alder Hey. Engineers will bore five holes into the soil to find out how strong the clay is, as well as five pits to help builders examine it.

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New role to tackle domestic violence - Liverpool Echo 4th January 2007

SEFTON has appointed a new official to help tackle domestic violence. Caroline Rowsell started her new role just before Christmas when she joined the council's Community Safety Unit.

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Patients served up cut- price meals - Midweek Advertiser 3rd January 2007

PATIENTS at Ormskirk and Southport hospitals have just £1.17 spent on an average meal - less than half that at some other hospitals.

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NHS system working well - Ellesmere Port Pioneer 4th January 2007

THE end of 2006 marks the second birthday of a revolutionary NHS computer system. West Cheshire Primary Care Trust says the local electronic patient record system has transformed its out-of-hours service for the benefit of patients.

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Cumbria and Lancashire News

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Beating fraud against the NHS - Ormskirk Advertiser 4th January 2007

WRIGHTINGTON Hospital took part in the NHS’s Fraud Awareness Month. This was a campaign to raise awareness of the damage fraud against the NHS can do to patient care – and what honest staff and patients can do to help stop it.

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Breath of fresh air... - Lancashire Telegraph 4th January 2007

HEALTH bosses are urging East Lancashire smokers to quit once and for all with a new drug which has just been released on the NHS. They said residents can kick the habit this New Year with the help of Champix, which reached the UK last month.

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Sickness virus warning to visitors - The Bolton News 4th January 2007

VISITORS to Blackpool are being warned about an outbreak of a vomiting virus. Health officials say several cases of viral gastroenteritis have been reported, some by hotel guests, on the Fylde coast.

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Greater Manchester News

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Children at risk numbers grow - The Bolton News 4th January 2007

THE number of children at risk of being sexually exploited has doubled over the past two years in Bolton, according to new figures. In 2004, the number of children aged up to 18-years-old at risk was 13. Currently the numbers stand at 26.

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Eighth top for physio - Bury Times 4th January 2007

BURY has the eighth highest percentage of patients in the North West seeking hospital treatment for severe musculoskeletal disorders, new figures reveal. During 2005, of the 46,911 residents treated by Bury Primary Care Trust on admission to Fairfield General Hospital, a total of 2,096, (7.1 per cent) required physiotherapy for conditions ranging from lower back pain and rheumatoid arthritis to gout.

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Give us your hospital ideas - Altrincham Messenger 4th January 2007

THE public consultation at Altrincham General Hospital has caused some confusion. Following our first public consultation event, we feel that we must offer some clarification. Many people have told us that they would like to have a range of services available that weren't previously provided. For example, there have been suggestions for rehabilitation that may be led by nurses or GPs rather than hospital doctors.

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Leaked report forecasts shortage of NHS nurses - The Independent 4th December 2007

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NHS facing glut of consultants and nurse shortage - The Guardian 4th December 2007

Leaked government documents forecasting a glut of NHS hospital consultants and an acute shortage of nurses provoked fury last night among doctors' and nurses' leaders. A draft workforce strategy from the Department of Health said the NHS in England is heading for an unwanted surplus of 3,200 consultants by March 2011 "which we cannot afford to employ".

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Thousands of NHS doctors qualify for jobs they can't have - The Times 4th December 2007

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NHS will be 14,000 nurses short, says report - The Telegraph 4th December 2007

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Shortage of NHS staff predicted - BBC Health News 4th December 2007

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Two further polonium-210 cases found - The Guardian 4th December 2007

A member of the public who visited the bar where the former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko was poisoned has tested positive for polonium-210, the Health Protection Agency revealed yesterday. The person was one of about 250 who drank in the Pine Bar of the Millennium Hotel, Mayfair, on November 1, the day Mr Litvinenko received a fatal dose of the radioactive element.

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Drug policy challenge to intellectual property rights - The Guardian 4th December 2007

Sunil Shaunak and Steve Brocchini have come up not with a cheap way of inventing new drugs, but a cheap way of getting round the intellectual property rights on drugs developed by drug companies at vast expense (Scientists on a mission to bring cheap drugs to the world's poorest countries, January 2). This is likely in the short term to benefit drug users, and governments and insurance companies paying for healthcare. The long term is something else

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Leader: Health service - The Guardian 4th December 2007

Rebuilding a raft while floating on it should be possible, but only if one plank is tackled at a time. NHS reforms, though, risk looking more like an attempt to replace all the planks at once, which is no way to navigate choppy waters. The last two weeks alone have seen a private company awarded control of an NHS hospital, local trusts imposing minimum waits to ration their way out of financial difficulties and Labour's robotically loyal chair Hazel Blears rediscovering free will when faced with service closures in her backyard. Reports today that staff contracts may be recast were bound to be controversial, but against this background look explosive.

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Food firms take on official watchdog in battle of the labels - The Guardian 4th December 2007

Food and drink giants will today launch the opening salvo in an unprecedented battle over nutritional information as they unveil details of a campaign to promote a scheme rejected by the government's food watchdog. The £4m publicity drive will promote a system which shows the percentage of "guideline daily amounts" (GDAs) of fat, salt and sugar contained in food products, rather than the "traffic light" warnings backed by the Food Standards Agency.

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Food labelling campaign launched - BBC Health News 4th December 2007

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'Energy flashes' to highlight chocolate bar calories - Daily Mail 3rd January 2007

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Healthy eating trend sees sales of smoothies soar - The Independent 4th December 2007

Health-conscious shoppers have made smoothies "the drinks success story of the 21st century" with an explosive growth in popularity in the past five years, according to a report. Sales of the crushed fruit drinks rose 523 per cent in the five years to 2006 and the number of smoothies sold is expected to almost treble by 2011.

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Operations cancelled as NHS runs out of money - The Times 4th December 2007

Patients are being denied basic operations, including treatments for varicose veins, wisdom teeth and bad backs, as hospitals try frantically to balance the books by the end of the financial year, The Times can reveal. NHS trusts throughout the country are making sweeping cuts to services and delaying appointments in an attempt to address their debts before the end of March. Family doctors have been told to send fewer patients to hospital, A&E departments have been instructed to turn people away, and a wide range of routine procedures has been suspended.

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Show with babies 'is sick and irresponsible' - The Telegraph 4th December 2006

The BBC was condemned yesterday for making an "irresponsible and sick" series in which teenagers take on the role of parents to other people's children, including babies. During the making of The Baby Borrowers, which starts on BBC3 next week, one baby had to be removed from its young carers and another child was not fed for a day.

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The NHS becomes sicker by the day - The Telegraph 4th December 2006

For the Health Secretary, Patricia Hewitt, 2006 was the NHS's "best year ever". For the Right-of-centre think-tank Reform, the service is going backwards, delivering a poorer service now than two years ago. It says spending may have doubled under Labour, but performance has improved by less than one third. With increasing numbers of trusts facing budget deficits and operations being cancelled, we know whose verdict we'd believe. Listen also to the assessment of businessman Sir Gerry Robinson (a Labour donor and supporter), who has spent six months as a troubleshooter at Rotherham General Hospital for a television programme. Here is a man who believes the NHS is one of the glories of this country — yet was appalled by its "collective inertia" and weak management.

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Your doctors don't want to be GPs, says Italian paid £3,200 - The Telegraph 4th December 2006

The Italian doctor who was paid £3,200 for five days' work in Scotland said yesterday that foreign GPs were in demand because their British counterparts regarded it as "an awful job" and wanted to be consultants. Dr Annibale Bertollo said he had received hundreds of telephone calls after the details of his 1,000-mile working trip between Venice and Inverness were published in The Daily Telegraph.

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Son wins back £50,000 fees for Alzheimer victim's care - The Telegraph 4th December 2007

A retired Scotland Yard detective sergeant who was forced to sell his late mother's home to pay for her nursing care has won back the fees of more than £50,000 in a landmark settlement with a health trust. Michael Pearce sold his mother Ruby's house to fund three years of nursing home fees after she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's.

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Girl Guides to be offered advice on safe sex - The Telegraph 4th December 2007

Lord Baden-Powell must be turning in his grave. A century after he founded the Girl Guide movement to imbue young ladies with a love of the outdoor life and clean living, the organisation has decided it is necessary to teach them about safe sex, date rape and abortion. About 450 members across Britain will be trained as "peer educators" to run sessions on contraception, sexual health, bullying, eating disorders, binge drinking and stress management.

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Patients kept waiting in car park as hospital 'too busy to cope' - Daily Mail 3rd January 2007

Patients were left waiting for up to an hour in ambulances in a car park, being looked after by paramedics, because a hospital was so busy over New Year, it was claimed today. Campaigners said the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro was swamped with admissions on New Year's Eve and the early hours of New Year's Day. They pointed out that two wards were closed last year and hundreds of staffing posts axed under cost cuts.

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Tests after three OAP home deaths - BBC Health News 3rd January 2006

Tests are under way after a viral outbreak in two care homes in Gwynedd contributed to the deaths of three residents over the Christmas period. The National Public Health Service for Wales(NPHSW) said two residents had died at a home in Criccieth and a third at another in nearby Pentrefelin.

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Doctors angry over 'op meddling' - BBC Health News 3rd January 2006

Doctors have criticised "potentially harmful" changes in the way patients are referred for surgery. Half of English GPs are being forced to use referral management centres which act as "middle-men" between hospitals and GPs recommending where patients go.

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Phobias 'to be cured on the web' - BBC Health News 3rd January 2006

People suffering from phobias could soon learn to overcome their fears through cyberspace. Specialists in Aberdeen are working on a virtual treatment delivered direct to patients' homes through the internet, overcoming any lack of therapists.

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Stars must 'check science facts' - BBC Health News 3rd January 2006

Celebrities have been asked to check their facts before lending support to scientific research and campaigns, rather than risk misleading people. Some celebrity-backed campaigns have done more harm than good, such as linking the MMR jab to autism, says the charity Sense About Science.

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Parents defend decision to keep girl a child - The Times 4th December 2007

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Brain-damaged girl is frozen in time by parents to keep her alive - The Independent 4th December 2007

THis is a story about a girl who will never grow up. Nine-year-old Ashley, who has severe brain damage, has an undiminished life expectancy. But with the use of hormones, her parents have ensured that she remains child-sized, forever. The Seattle-born girl is described by her parents as their Pillow Angel because she stays where they place her - most usually on a pillow. The rare brain condition known as static encephalopathy that she suffers from means she cannot sit or talk and is fed by tube.

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Actor proves he is a good neighbour - Liverpool Echo 3rd January 2007

NEIGHBOURS star Alan Fletcher has spent Christmas and New Year with a voice coach as he gets ready to raise thousands of pounds for Liverpool cancer victims. The actor, Dr Karl Kennedy in the soap, is appearing on ITV's Soapstar Superstar from Fridayand has had singing lessons.

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Stateside smoking ban visit - Liverpool Echo 3rd January 2007

YOUNG smoke-free campaigners from Liverpool are to visit New York next month. Members of the DMYST (Direct Movement by the Youth Smokefree Team) group hope to learn from American youth campaigners.

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Coke menace sweeps city - Liverpool Echo 3rd December 2007

THE shocking spread of cocaine abuse in Liverpool is revealed today. An ECHO investigation found evidence of the highly addictive class A drug being taken in some of the city's most high-profile buildings.

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£2.3m cash tonic to cut waiting time for people in A&E - Northwich Chronicle 3rd December 2007

MILLIONS of pounds are to be pumped into upgrading A&E facilities at Leighton Hospital in a bid to slash waiting times. The Mid Cheshire Hospitals Trust has announced a £2.3m revamp of the casualty department at the Crewe hospital, starting this month.

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Hospital A&E unit's £2.3m upgrade - Crewe Chronicle 3rd December 2007

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Hospital given big gift - Crewe Chronicle 3rd December 2007

GENEROUS members of Leighton Hospital's League of Friends have been applauded for donating £15,000 to buy state-of-the-art equipment. The computerised digital video stroboscopy (CDVS) will benefit patients suffering from a range of throat conditions, such as polyps and nodules, which can have a major impact on the voice, after it was bought for the Ear, Nose and Throat Department at the Crewe hospital.

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Cumbria and Lancashire News

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Three of a kind - Carlisle News & Star 3rd December 2007

A TRIO of new arrivals greeted the New Year at the West Cumberland hospital on Monday. Two girls and a boy were born to the delight of their mums.

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Greater Manchester News

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Lifestyles increase demands on NHS - The Bolton News 3rd December 2007

Poor diet and exercise levels in Manchester are placing huge demands on the NHS with high levels of serious illness, researchers have warned. The city is named in the top 10 of areas where high levels of severely unhealthy lifestyles are likely to lead to serious illness, according to a new study.

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Health centre blitzed - The Bolton News 3rd December 2007

VANDALS have caused thousands of pounds worth of damage to a health centre. They threw rocks at Little Lever Health Centre in Mytham Road smashing 10 double-glazed windows and a set of automated doors.

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Cash for medication plan urged - The Guardian 3rd January 2007

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A group of psychiatrists today suggest that some patients with schizophrenia could be paid to take their medication on a regular basis as a way of helping to stabilise their condition, reduce the chances of problems with the police or neighbours and keep them out of hospital. The suggestion is contentious even among psychiatrists, but a study published in a journal of the Royal College of Psychiatrists suggests that payments can be successful incentives and acceptable to the patients.

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Mentally ill patients offered cash incentive to take drugs - The Independent 3rd January 2007

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Mental illness drug payments call - BBC Health News 3rd January 2007

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GMC hears surgeon used texts to pester patient for a date - The Guardian 3rd January 2007

A surgeon sent a patient a string of text messages begging her to go out with him just days after operating on her, the General Medical Council heard yesterday. Wasim Aftab had claimed he needed her phone number so that he could contact her with the results of a biopsy, but instead sent a series of text messages. He eventually left an "aggressive" voice message after he learned she had complained to the King George Hospital in Ilford, Essex, where he was a senior house officer.

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'Text-pest doctor harassed patient' - The Times 3rd January 2007

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Trust repays nursing home fees of £50,000 - The Guardian 3rd January 2007

A man who was forced to sell his mother's home to pay for her nursing-home care yesterday won back more than £50,000 from a health trust in a landmark case. Mike Pearce sold his mother Ruby's home to meet bills so she could receive round-the-clock care after she was diagnosed as having Alzheimer's. She was judged ineligible for care on the NHS despite her condition worsening until she was incapable of doing anything for herself but chew food and swallow.

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Neutralise radiation and stay off milk: the truth about celebrity health claims - The Guardian 3rd January 2007

From Madonna's efforts to find a way to "neutralise radiation" to Carol Caplin's advice on keeping "your lymph system unclogged" if you want to avoid breast cancer, celebrities are seldom shy about offering scientific-sounding health tips. But with the season for promoting new year diets and health fads in full swing, a group of scientists are hoping to steer the rich and famous away from making pseudo-scientific gaffes.

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Scientists warn about celebrity mumbo-jumbo - The Telegraph 3rd January 2007

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Health warning over safety of bottled water - The Independent 3rd January 2007

Britain's £2bn-a-year thirst for bottled water is not only financially and environmentally foolish, it may even harm the drinkers' health, campaigners say. Possible problems associated with shop-bought water include excess sodium, the leaching of toxins and benzene contamination, according to a report published yesterday by the sustainable food and farming group Sustain.

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Consequences of smoking - The Times 3rd January 2007

Although a non-smoker I am confused by the Government’s stance on banning the selling of cigarettes to young people (report andleading article, Jan 1 and letters, Jan 2). The same Government may well support the notion of votes at 16, and has regularly taken people into its Armed Services below the age of 18. How preposterous it is then that a young person can fire a weapon (as I did at 17) and might in the future be able to vote on issues such as smoking but is banned from buying cigarettes.

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Dentists help women to fight bone disease - The Times 3rd January 2007

Dental X-rays could be used to test for osteoporosis, the bone-thinning disease, a study has found. By measuring the thickness of part of the patient’s lower jaw, using software developed by the researchers, dentists could easily identify many women at risk of the disease.

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Girl Guides to teach about alcohol and sex problems - The Times 3rd January 2007

It may not be one of the usual reasons why parents encourage their daughters to join the Guides. But this year the skills taught by the movement will be extended from first aid and camping to include problems of sex. About 450 Guides are to be trained as “peer educators” to run sessions covering sex, contraception, abortion and abuse, as well as alcoholism, stress, bullying and compulsive eating.

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Red tape is 'lowering standards of patient care' - The Telegraph 3rd January 2007

More than half of family doctors in England are being forced to refer patients to hospital through an extra layer of red tape and many are prevented from naming a consultant they know and trust. In some cases the referrals are refused and doctors have to argue the case for the patient to be seen by a consultant.

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So how long before you give up the gym? - The Telegraph 3rd January 2007

Thousands of people who take their expanded Christmas waistlines to the gym this week will have abandoned their good intentions by June, health experts said yesterday. The fitness failures will have resigned themselves to being 5lb heavier, they said.

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Mental illness drug payments call - BBC Health News 3rd January 2007

Paying people with severe mental illnesses to take medication may encourage some to stick to their drug regime, a team of London doctors says. They have quoted four cases where payments reportedly increased use of medication and cut hospital admissions.

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Dentists could do bone tests - Daily Mail 2nd January 2007

Millions of women at risk from the bone wasting disease osteoporosis could soon be tested every time they visit the dentist. Scientists at the University of Manchester have created a way to detect the disease - which affects 15 per cent of all Western women and 70 per cent of women over 80 - using ordinary dental X-rays.

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Dentists help women to fight bone disease - The Times 3rd January 2007

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Stomach ache 'most common festive complaint' - Daily Mail 2nd January 2007

Stomach ache, tooth ache and coughs topped the nation's medical gripes over the festive period. More than 250,000 calls were made to NHS Direct during the 10-day Christmas and New Year holiday. Health bosses said with 6.5m calls, inquiries were 15 per cent lower than last year, but visitors to the service's website - www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk - soared by a third, with 340,000 visits.

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Stomach pain leads calls to NHS - BBC Health News 2nd January 2007

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Record number of smokers aim to quit in 2007 - Daily Mail 2nd January 2007

A major new poll by a leading health charity has today revealed a record number of smokers are aiming to beat their addiction during 2007. The survey by the No Smoking Day charity revealed 2.8 million people are aiming to quit ahead of a nationwide ban on smoking in public places from July 1 this year.

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Festive diary: did we really drink that much? - Daily Mail 2nd January 2007

Tis the season to be merry — and many people have been just that during the festive period. The offi-cial advice is that to prevent it affecting your health, women should drink no more than 14 units of alcohol a week and men 21 units. A large glass of wine contains three units of alcohol, a small sherry one, a glass of champagne one-and-a-half and a bottle of premium lager two. But with Christmas lunches, cocktail parties and catching up with old friends, many find that their alcohol consumption rockets during the festive period, often without their even real-ising it.

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The unending agony of the Elephant Man - Daily Mail 2nd January 2007

Life was pretty calm before the 'cytokine storm' that flooded through my boyfriend's body and nearly killed him last March. Nino Abdelhady, my partner of two years, was left critically ill after a drugs trial that became known in headlines around the world as the 'Elephant Man' disaster. I gave that monstrous 'Elephant Man' tag to Nino in a BBC interview while I was in a state of shock from seeing his face and neck grotesquely inflated.

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Are you brave enough for the doomsday test? - Daily Mail 2nd January 2007

A new gene test can predict your risk of getting cancer, heart disease and Alzheimer's. But do you really want to know? JEROME BURNE got his test results and was in for a few surprises

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So is detox just a waste of time? - Daily Mail 2nd January 2007

A few weeks ago I read that detoxing didn't work, but most of my friends swear by it. Is it worth doing?

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Dave Dee was lucky his cancer was found early. But then treatment went horribly wrong... - Daily Mail 2nd January 2007

Sixties pop star Dave Dee - lead singer of the group Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich - discovered he had prostate cancer by chance in 2000, after deciding to have a top-to-toe medical. He then underwent treatment that went horribly wrong.

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Quarter say cancer 'down to fate' - BBC Health News 3rd January 2007

Over a quarter of people believe that fate will determine whether they get cancer, a survey says. More women than men thought destiny would determine their chances - and smokers were 50% more likely than non-smokers to believe in it.

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Health warning for inner cities - BBC Health News 2nd January 2007

Inner city boroughs may overtake former industrial towns as the unhealthiest places in Britain, researchers say. Market analysts CACI and TNS looked at smoking and disease rates and dietary habits to plot the least healthy places in England, Wales and Scotland.

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Medicines patent loophole 'found' - BBC Health News 2nd January 2007

Researchers who have found a way to bypass the legal patent on an expensive drug say others should follow suit. Imperial College experts have developed a potentially cheaper version of an existing Hepatitis C drug by altering the molecular structure.

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NHS patients face fake drug risk - BBC Health News 2nd January 2007

Patients are being put at risk as counterfeiters target the NHS supply chain with fake drugs, regulators say. The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) warned it is investigating twice as many counterfeit cases as it was five years ago.

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Report links premature babies to common cervical treatment - Daily Mail 2nd January 2007

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Women who undergo a common treatment of the cervix are more likely to have a premature baby later in life, according to research out today. The study found women who underwent loop excision, the most common treatment for removing precancerous cells of the cervix, had an increased risk of having an early baby.

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Cancer therapy link to premature birth - The Times 3rd January 2007

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The little gadget that could banish insomnia - Daily Mail 2nd January 2007

A pocket-sized device that is used for 15 minutes before bed has been developed to treat insomnia. The gadget, which enables users to lower their own heartbeat by regulated deep breathing, has started clinical trials at Duke University in America.

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Cheshire and Merseyside News

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Stroke care will be best of British - Liverpool Echo 2nd January 2007

STROKE care in Liverpool hospitals is to become the best in the country under new plans. Consultants from Fazakerley and the Royal are to launch a round-the-clock rapid response team.

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Region's ambulance crews at full stretch for New Year - Daily Post 2nd January 2007

AMBULANCE workers in Merseyside and Cheshire responded to almost 800 emergency calls on New Year's Eve, including many life threatening cases. And the start of 2007 proved just as busy, as paramedics dealt with more than 400 calls from 11.30pm on New Year's Eve through to 5am yesterday.

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Cumbria and Lancashire News

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Cumbria population to rise 60,000 by 2029 - Carlisle News & Star 2nd January 2007

CUMBRIA’S population is set to rise by 59,500 by 2029, putting more pressure on roads and health services, and worsening the shortage of affordable homes. Official figures obtained by the GMB trade union show that the number of people living in the county is expected to grow from 494,800 to 554,300, an increase of 12 per cent.

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Doctors' trust is in the black - Lancashire Telegraph 2nd December 2007

AN East Lancashire health authority said it expects to end its year with £1.5million in the bank - as hospital bosses struggle to meet costs. Blackburn with Darwen NHS Primary Care Trust, which organises GP surgeries and decides what hospital treatment is available, is expecting a £1.5million surplus by the end of the financial year in April.

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Orthopaedic trainer puts back into it - Lancashire Telegraph 2nd December 2007

EAST Lancashire's hospital authority has scooped a top medical prize for the second year in a row. Orthopaedic surgeon Robin Paton was awarded the North West Orthopaedic Trainees Association Trainer of the Year 2006 Award.

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Doctors rebel - Lancashire Telegraph 2nd December 2007

A DOCTORS practice is refusing to allow patients to book their own hospital appointment - because managers say they can't be trusted to do it. Brookhouse Medical Centre, Whalley Range, Blackburn, has not joined most other surgeries using the Government's much touted "choose and book" system.

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Mix-up left patient with long wait - Lancashire Telegraph 2nd December 2007

A PATIENT waited more than six months for hospital treatment after being missed off the waiting list, it has been revealed. The "administrative failure" meant the unnamed patient was only added to the list after attending another clinic.

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MP urged to back campaign - Lancashire Telegraph 2nd December 2007

TOWN councillors in Todmorden are calling on their MP to help keep their health service local.
The move has come amid concerns about health services being moved as far away as Huddersfield.

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999 calls treble for New Year - Lancashire Telegraph 2nd December 2007

EMERGENCY crews reported a busy New Year's Eve. The North-west Ambulance Service received 725 calls. A normal night can expect about 200.

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Greater Manchester

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City named as diet and exercise blackspot - Manchester Evening News 2nd January 2006

POOR diet and exercise levels in Manchester are placing huge demands on the NHS with high levels of serious illness, researchers have warned. The city is named in the top ten of areas where high levels of severely unhealthy lifestyles are likely to lead to serious illness, according to a new study.

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Bundles of New Year joy - The Bolton News 2nd December 2007

PARENTS in Bolton were toasting the New Year and a new baby yesterday. First to make an appearance at the Royal Bolton Hospital was Callum Reece Morris-Broome, who was born at 12.40am on New Year's Day.

Dentists could do bone tests - Daily Mail 2nd January 2007

Millions of women at risk from the bone wasting disease osteoporosis could soon be tested every time they visit the dentist. Scientists at the University of Manchester have created a way to detect the disease - which affects 15 per cent of all Western women and 70 per cent of women over 80 - using ordinary dental X-rays.

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Dentists help women to fight bone disease - The Times 3rd January 2007

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Call to write off health debts - The Guardian 2nd January 2007

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The government must write off health service trusts' huge deficits to allow fundamental reforms geared to patient choice, an influential thinktank says today. A report by Reform, an independent body, argues that the "long-term strength of the service is weaker than two years ago despite record spending increases". It points to a failure to tackle rising costs and invest in modern services.

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'Waste threatens NHS reform' - The Times 2nd January 2007

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Health Service 'wastes £25 billion every year' - Daily Mail 1st January 2007

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NHS 'facing make or break year' - BBC Health News 2nd January 2007

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Britain goes on a diet and joins a gym - but for this month only - The Guardian 2nd January 2006

We no longer tune into the same TV programmes at Christmas and have never been more different from each other, but many in Britain remain united by one thing: an obsession with physical perfection. No time is this more obvious than the new year, when millions of dumpy Britons resolve to become thinner and trimmer in the months ahead. According to David Lloyd Leisure, starting a healthy diet and fitness regime is now the most popular new year's resolution.

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Long live the resolution - The Guardian 2nd January 2006

For this special new-year resolutions issue, five Guardian readers bravely volunteered to turn over a new leaf in just one week - with a little help from the experts. So what happened? Interviews by Vicky Frost

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Scientists find way to slash cost of drugs - The Guardian 2nd January 2006

Two UK-based academics have devised a way to invent new medicines and get them to market at a fraction of the cost charged by big drug companies, enabling millions in poor countries to be cured of infectious diseases and potentially slashing the NHS drugs bill. Sunil Shaunak, professor of infectious diseases at Imperial College, based at Hammersmith hospital, calls their revolutionary new model "ethical pharmaceuticals".

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Rise in fake drugs trade puts NHS patients at risk - The Independent 2nd January 2006

Britain is facing a growing threat from fake medicines as counterfeiters have begun targeting the UK's pharmaceutical supply chain, according to the Government's drug safety watchdog. The illegal trade carries lower risks and higher profits than smuggling hard drugs and is putting NHS patients at risk, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) says.

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Why Britain is a good target for the counterfeiters - The Independent 2nd January 2006

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Leading article: The right medicine - The Independent 2nd January 2006

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Letters: Legalising drugs - The Independent 2nd January 2006

I found myself getting irritated by the article "Murder is murder, whatever the victim's character" (Comment, 26 December). The writer states that "crack-addicted [and I guess he would include heroin] people seldom behave well; they are notorious more for their self-absorption than other, better qualities".

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Inner-city areas set to become the pits for healthy lifestyle - The Times 2nd January 2007

London’s inner-city boroughs are predicted to replace former mining towns as Britain’s sickest areas, according to research. Tower Hamlets and Hackney in East London, and Southwark and Lambeth in South London are developing health problems expected to overtake those of Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales, and Easington, Co Durham.
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Fitness map reveals best and worst areas for health - Daily Mail 1st January 2007

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Snack habits stay - The Times 2nd January 2007

Britain is finally getting the message about healthy eating, according to a snapshot of what went into the nation’s shopping baskets last year. While there has been a large increase in the sale of feelgood foods, such as yoghurts and smoothies, there is no sign of the nation giving up its snack habits, such as crisps, for good. The two fastest-growing products of the year will not please the health police as tastes for individual Goodfella’s Solo pizzas and Magners cider topped the chart. The annual top products survey is produced by The Grocer magazine.

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Young smokers - The Times 2nd January 2007

We operate a shop in a Surrey village which has a hostel regularly used as a base for visiting schoolchildren. We get many of these children attempting to buy tobacco and diligently request proof of age (report and leading article, Jan 1) and if this is not forthcoming we refuse sale.

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Dental cover - The Times 2nd January 2007

J. L. E. Morland-Duff (letter, Jan 1) blames dentists for not providing an emergency service over the Bank Holiday period. As a practising dentist I used to provide such a service, attending on Bank Holidays, weekends and even at 2am. Then, last April, the Government forced new contracts on to the profession. We were told that out-of-hours emergency provision would have to be provided by primary care trusts (PCTs) and all funding for dentists to provide a service was withdrawn.

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Hospitals told to delay operations to ease debt - The Telegraph 2nd January 2007

Hospitals have been told not to operate on patients until they have been on a waiting list for up to 20 weeks in the latest attempt to deal with the financial crisis in the health service. The instructions to delay treating people for as long as possible are spelled out in leaked documents seen by The Daily Telegraph.

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Simple cancer risk test 'two years away' - The Telegraph 2nd January 2007

A simple blood test that would predict a person's likelihood of developing different types of cancer could be in use within two years, scientists said yesterday. Researchers have found evidence supporting the theory that mutations in stem cells, the body's basic building blocks that can change into other types of cell, are fundamental to the development of cancers.

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My back pain was so bad I could hardly walk ... but the surgeon cured it in 20 minutes - Daily Mail 1st January 2007

Lumbar spinal stenosis - or the narrowing of the spinal cord - is one of the most common causes of back pain from middle age onwards. Conventional treatment involves major surgery to cut open the spinal canal, but now it can be treated in ten minutes using a revolutionary implant, the XStop.

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Check your hearing, workers told - BBC Health News 2nd January 2007

The TUC and the Royal National Institute for Deaf People have called on workers to make checking their hearing a New Year's resolution. It is imperative that anybody with problems be treated as early as possible, the RNID says.

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Cigarette-buying age rise backed - BBC Health News 1st January 2007

Health campaigners have broadly welcomed a government move to raise the legal minimum age for buying tobacco in England and Wales from 16 to 18 years. The law change will be introduced in October following a ban on smoking in public and work places.

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Scientists on a mission to bring cheap drugs to the world's poorest countries - The Guardian 2nd January 2006

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Until recently, hepatitis C, a potentially fatal blood-borne infection that could affect as many as 500,000 people in the UK, was treated with the antiviral drug ribavirin, together with interferon.

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Blood pressure patients benefit from up to two drinks a day - Daily Mail 1st January 2007

Men with high blood pressure can cut their risk of heart attacks by indulging in a daily tipple, say scientists. In the UK, around 16 million people - more than one in four - have high blood pressure, or hypertension.

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Drink lowers blood pressure risks - BBC Health News 2nd January 2007

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Homesickness 'can be prevented' - BBC Health News 2nd January 2007

Homesickness should not be an automatic experience for children staying in unfamiliar surroundings, say psychologists. In the journal Pediatrics they suggest simple steps, including the offer of counselling, could prevent it.

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Scan shows how brains plot future - BBC Health News 2nd January 2007

Brain scans have given US scientists a clue about how we create a mental image of our own future. The Washington University team say that specific areas of the brain are active when thinking about upcoming events.

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Monday, January 01, 2007

Listen to this edition of Another 15 Minutes...Health News from Fade

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Legal age for buying tobacco raised to 18 from October 1 - The Guardian 1st January 2007

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Under-18s will be banned from buying cigarettes in England and Wales from October 1, the public health minister Caroline Flint confirmed yesterday. In Scotland the ban comes into force in March. Shops that break the new laws could lose their licence to sell tobacco for as long as a year. Lifting the legal age for buying tobacco from 16 to 18 brings the law into line with rules on the sale of alcohol.

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Under-18s to be barred from buying cigarettes - The Independent 1st January 2007

New attack on smokers raises age limit to 18 - The Telegraph 1st January 2007

Under-18s banned in crackdown on smokers - The Times 1st January 2007

Cigarette-buying age set to rise - BBC Health News 1st January 2007

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Doctors claim study on patient choice suppressed - The Guardian 1st January 2007

The Department of Health appears to have removed a research report from its website because the findings would have discredited the government's programme aimed at giving NHS patients more choice, doctors' leaders claimed last night. The research, commissioned by the department, found that people did not want to have to select a hospital while they were seriously ill, preferring such decisions to be made by a trusted GP.

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The question: Are you really too sick to work? - The Guardian 1st January 2007

Or - and try to be honest here - have you just got "party flu"? According to the Institute of Payroll Professionals, whose members have to calculate employees' sick pay, December 27 - the first day back at work after Christmas - and January 2 are the top days for people throwing sickies.

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Letters: The destructive forces unleashed by the widening pay gap - The Guardian 1st January 2007

Brendan Barber is right to ask if the pay gap between top executives and workers is having a "divisive effect on society" (Report, December 28). If he reads research by Richard Wilkinson into the effects of inequality, he would reach a clear answer: "yes". Inequality kills. Wilkinson discovered that inequality has a negative impact on both our physical and mental health. The wider the income gap, the worse the impact. Although the poorest suffer most in an unequal society, everyone's health gets attacked by stress and anxiety.

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Letters: Green light for a food fight - The Guardian 1st January 2007

The reason why many leading food manufacturers and retailers are opposed to the Food Standards Agency's call for a traffic lights system for food labelling is because it will work (Food agency takes on industry over junk labels, December 28). Industry leaders should be ashamed of themselves for resisting the introduction of this simple and quick tool to help people make an informed choice about what they buy. If companies such as Kellogg's are concerned about the effect on the sales of their products, then they should make those products healthier, not try to keep consumers unaware of what they are eating. The Food Standards Agency must not give in to this cynical industry campaign.

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Hung over? Try some toast and honey - The Independent 1st January 2007

A breakfast of toast and honey is the ideal New Year's Day hangover cure, according to the Royal Society of Chemistry. Honey, or alternatively golden syrup, provides the body with the essential sodium, potassium and fructose it needs after a good night out, say experts.

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Mummy, I don't feel very well - The Times 1st January 2007

Children are particularly vulnerable to health hazards abroad, but a few simple precautions will help to keep them safe. Every year, almost two million children travel outside their home countries, a trend that brings with it health issues unique to these paediatric travellers. Their age and variable immunity means children are at heightened risk of many of the less-inviting aspects of foreign travel and parents need to be well-prepared to avoid them.

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Doctor flown in from Italy cost NHS £5,000 - The Telegraph 1st January 2007

The NHS flew an Italian doctor more than 1,000 miles to provide GP cover over the Christmas holiday — at an estimated cost of £5,000. The locum doctor, Annibale Bertollo, travelled from Venice to Britain to work for jonly five days providing emergency cover for two remote practices in the Highlands.

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We enjoy getting drunk, says Blears - The Telegraph 1st January 2007

Britain can never copy the Continent's cafe-style drinking culture because Britons like getting drunk, a Cabinet minister said yesterday. Hazel Blears appeared to undermine Government hopes that the introduction of 24-hour licensing laws would usher in a new drinking culture across the UK.

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Website checks two-day GP target - BBC Health News 1st January 2007

An MP has set up a website for people to report problems getting appointments with their GPs within the 48-hour national target. Grant Shapps, Conservative MP for Welwyn Hatfield, is convinced many are not seen quickly - and that official statistics do not reflect this.

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Gene doubles breast cancer risk - BBC Health News 1st January 2007

UK scientists have discovered a new gene linked to breast cancer. Women with a damaged copy of the gene called PALB2 have twice the risk of breast cancer, the Institute of Cancer Research scientists found.

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Patients die as Sicilian mafia buys into the hospital service - The Guardian 1st January 2007

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A wave of deaths in Sicilian hospitals has highlighted a crisis in the island's health service, linked by a senior politician to the draining of public funds by the mafia. Three suspicious deaths of patients in three days over Christmas have raised alarm. A 78-year-old woman died of a heart attack in a Palermo emergency ward on December 28 after waiting four hours to be seen. The ward has no triage, or system for prioritising patients.

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Greater Manchester News

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Flu jabs at last for NHS staff - The Bolton News 31st December 2006

FRONTLINE staff in health services across Bolton have now been vaccinated against flu - after a national shortage of jabs forced them to stand aside. Nurses and health visitors across the borough had been forced to wait for their injections because of an expected shortfall in the amount of jabs available nationally.