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National News
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More effort needed to cure drug offenders, Tory MP says - The Guardian 27th December 2006
The sentencing of drug offenders should place greater emphasis on curing addiction, a Conservative MP argues today in another potentially contentious incursion for the party into social policy. In a pamphlet for the Bow Group thinktank, Humfrey Malins, MP for Woking, calls for a radical expansion of residential centres for drug offenders and an increase in the number of so-called drugs courts, which are more likely to promote rehabilitation rather than punishment for offenders.
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Prison officers to carry safety knives to reduce suicides - The Guardian 27th December 2006
Prison officers in jails in England and Wales are to carry special "safety" knives in an attempt to increase the chances of prisoners surviving suicide attempts. The decision to issue knives to nearly every prison officer comes after such a move was recommended 17 times by Stephen Shaw, the prisons and probation ombudsman, during his first 18 months investigating deaths in custody.
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Prescott praises NHS after Christmas Day hospital treatment - The Guardian 27th December 2006
John Prescott praised the staff at his local hospital yesterday after being admitted on Christmas Day to be treated for a kidney stone. The deputy prime minister said he was feeling "absolutely fine" and added that it had been a pleasure to have his Christmas dinner among "such dedicated people".
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Time to go public - The Guardian 27th December 2006
Privacy is one of those concepts which are easier to understand than define. A human life of any quality relies on a reasonable expectation of privacy. Yet modern technology - whether deployed by corporations, individuals, media or the state - offers unlimited scope for intrusion into private lives. The border between considerations of public interest, security and convenience on the one hand, and of privacy on the other, is becoming crowded territory.
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Row over cancer jab plan for all schoolgirls - The Observer 24th December 2006
Schoolgirls as young as 12 are to be vaccinated against a sexually transmitted disease linked to cervical cancer, under controversial plans being drawn up by the Department of Health. Millions of girls would be immunised at school against human papilloma virus (HPV) before they become sexually active. Research has shown the virus is one of the key causes of cervical cancer, which kills around 1,000 women a year.
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Girls of 12 may be vaccinated against sex disease - The Independent 24th December 2006
Schoolgirls to be given cervical cancer jab - The Telegraph 27th December 2006
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'The house was a nightmare of screaming and fights' - The Observer 24th December 2006
The Family Welfare Association helps children cope with mental illness, writes Amelia Hill
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Heroin UK - The Observer 24th December 2006
The murders of five women in Suffolk, all of them addicts, have served to highlight Britain's growing heroin problem. Opiates have moved from being the preserve of the few to the drug of choice in towns across the UK
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Letters to the Editor: Stemming vice with drug prescriptions - The Sunday Times 24th December 2006
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So many questions and so little justice - The Observer 24th December 2006
Her face was flashed around the world as she wept for her boyfriend, victim of the infamous 'Elephant Man' medical tests. Myfanwy Marshall, writing exclusively for today's Observer, reveals how the ordeal has brought them closer and tells how they will face the legal and medical battles ahead
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Critical dates - The Observer 24th December 2006
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Concern grows after five babies test positive for PVL bug - The Guardian 23rd December 2006
Five babies have tested positive for the rare "PVL" bug, raising fears yesterday about infections among vulnerable babies in neonatal wards. The bug has already killed two people in Staffordshire and may have been a factor in the death of a baby at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, officials confirmed. The baby boy was born 13 weeks prematurely and died seven days later on December 11 of an infection. He later tested positive for the Panton-Valentine Leukocidin toxin.
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PVL superbug outbreak kills premature baby at hospital - The Independent 23rd December 2006
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Baby's death linked to hospital bug - The Times 23rd December 2006
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Baby dies and five are infected as bacteria strain infests neonatal unit - The Telegraph 23rd December 2006
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Babies infected in neonatal unit - BBC Health News 22nd December 2006
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'Worried well' in checks after Kylie's cancer - The Guardian 23rd December 2006
The intense media coverage of Kylie Minogue's breast cancer diagnosis put extra strain on NHS screening services because it encouraged more "worried well" to seek treatment, according to a cancer specialist. Chris Gateley said referrals to the Breast Unit at Royal Gwent hospital in Newport, south Wales, jumped 61% in the month following Minogue's diagnosis in May 2005 but there was no increase in the number of actual cases.
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Letters: A walk in the country could save our cities - The Guardian 23rd December 2006
It might seem obvious, but working, or even just walking, in the countryside is good for your physical health as well as your mental well being (Conservation peace, December 20). The RSPB's Natural Fit report showed that free, green exercise not only improves heart disease, obesity and diabetes, but can prevent illness.
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Private firm is awarded total control of NHS hospital - The Guardian 23rd December 2006
The first NHS hospital to be put under the total control of a private company was announced yesterday by the Department of Health. In a further erosion of the health service's role as sole provider of healthcare for NHS patients, ministers have awarded a five-year contract to manage the new Lymington New Forest Hospital in Hampshire to the Partnership Health Group, a partly owned subsidiary of Care UK.
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Joanna Hall on tai chi - The Guardian 23rd December 2006
What the expert says ... Dr John Kells is the founder and president of the British Tai Chi Ch'üan Association. He has been practising tai chi since 1968, and trained from the Yang family lineage. Commit to practising There are only two things that are important to tai chi: the first is to start, the second is to continue.
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When's the best time for Christmas dinner, health-wise? - The Guardian 23rd December 2006
When's the best time for Christmas dinner, health-wise? Midday or evening? Definitely midday. Any experienced GP will tell you that the busiest time of the year for strokes and heart attacks is the early hours of Boxing Day morning. That's because a late fatty meal, plenty of alcohol and total relaxation (if not a drunken stupor) afterwards conspire together in the average overweight middle-aged man or woman to produce blood clots in arteries. It's even worse if you smoke that favourite cigar. Eat at midday and go for a walk afterwards, and by the evening you have hugely reduced your risk. The problem with eating late on Christmas Day is that you won't take that vital exercise afterwards - and that's the last straw.
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Sanctuary that gives hope to minorities in Wales - The Guardian 23rd December 2006
Parvin Singh's smile lights up the room as he describes how he is helped by Awetu, a charity that supports black and minority ethnic people with mental health problems. "I didn't find them - they found me and it's the best thing that ever happened," says Mr Singh, who has manic depression. "They came from nowhere at the right time and helped me out. They saved my life."
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Study rejects link between HRT and heart disease - The Guardian 22nd December 2006
Millions of women have come off hormone replacement therapy needlessly, because a trial suggesting it increases the risk of cardiovascular disease was flawed, a professor said yesterday. The Women's Health Initiative project, a controversial 15-year study involving more than 160,000 women, ended three years early after it showed women had increased risk of heart disease if they were on HRT.
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Filter breakthrough to remove vCJD from donated blood - The Guardian 22nd December 2006
A filter which scientists say will remove variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease - the human form of "mad cow" disease - from donated blood could be used by the National Blood Transfusion Service after trials proved it reduces transmission to zero in animal trials. It offers the first hope of stemming the spread of the fatal illness. Thousands are thought to be infected through transfusions but are not yet aware because of the disease's long incubation period.
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Filter to clear blood donations of vCJD - The Times 22nd December 2006
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Scientists hail 'vCJD technique' - BBC Health News 22nd December 2006
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Obese may be denied priority NHS care - The Independent 26th December 2006
Patients with 'self-inflicted' illnesses face discrimination. Smokers, people with alcohol problems and the obese could be denied priority treatment on the NHS if they do not try to change their lifestyle. The Cabinet is discussing the controversial idea as part of a drive by Tony Blair to secure his domestic political legacy by pushing through a final round of public service reforms before he departs next year.
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Indigestion remedies are linked to fractures - The Times 27th December 2006
Taking potent drugs to combat indigestion can increase the risk of breaking hip and other bones, researchers say. Drugs that restrict the production of acid in the stomach are among the most effective and best-selling treatments in the world, with sales worth more than £7 billion a year.
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Stomach drugs 'may weaken bones' - BBC Health News 27th December 2006
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Ties that bind in the NHS - The Sunday Times 24th December 2006
YOU report that doctors have been told to cast off their ties (News, last week) but when does the tie ever come into contact with the patient or their bed? Only gynaecologists are at risk of their ties and patients becoming accidentally entangled. Hence many sport bow ties; much safer during internal examinations. Female doctors’ handbags, which not infrequently find their way onto the sheets of hospital beds, seem to be immune from contamination.
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20 children a day treated for alcoholism - The Sunday Times 24th December 2006
MORE than 20 children and teenagers are being treated in hospital every day for alcohol-related illnesses, including mental disorders, poisoning and liver disease, according to newly released official data. The figures, labelled “staggering” by one of Britain’s most senior doctors, show that in the year 2005-6, during which Labour introduced 24-hour drinking, the number of under-18s seeking treatment for alcohol-related health problems leapt by 13% to 8,894, an average of 24 a day.
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Hospitals pay a rising price for Britain’s booze culture - The Times 23rd December 2006
The cost of Britain’s binge-drinking culture is revealed in figures which show that alcohol-related medical emergencies and hospital treatments have doubled since 1977. Last year, the NHS carried out more than a quarter of a million treatments for alcohol-induced problems, including liver disease and severe alcohol poisoning.
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Out of bed and into A&E - The Times 23rd December 2006
More than 15,000 people were admitted to hospital last year after falling out of bed. A further 1,428 fell from trees, including 60 people aged over 60. Fifty-three more in the same age group were injured in falls from playground equipment, while more than 4,000 people of all ages managed to hurt themselves with hammers, screwdrivers, and other non-powered tools.
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Hospital charges - The Times 23rd December 2006
Here in the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea we have three hospitals along Fulham Road — the Royal Brompton, the Royal Marsden and the Chelsea & Westminster — that care for many patients with long-term illness. As from February 19 many of these patients or their families or visitors will be subject to Ken Livingstone’s congestion charge as the three hospitals all lie within less than a mile of the new western boundary.
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Jenni Murray to have breast cancer surgery - The Times 22nd December 2006
Jenni Murray, 56, the presenter of Woman’s Hour on BBC Radio 4, announced yesterday that she has breast cancer. She will have surgery between Christmas and the new year, the BBC said. Breaking the news to her listeners, Murray said: “Before I say goodbye for the holidays, there’s something I need to say about me. I shan’t be around for a while in the new year because I’ve just been diagnosed with breast cancer.
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Murray tells listeners of her breast cancer - The Telegraph 22nd December 2006
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Jenni Murray: Don't call me brave - Daily Mail 22nd December 2006
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Opting out of computerised medical records - The Times 22nd December 2006
Congratulations to Alice Miles for her excellent article on the perils of computerising all NHS health records (Dec 20). Like her I am definitely “opting out” and months ago put this intention into writing to my GP. If this Government is so convinced of the integrity of this obscenely priced and insecure system, perhaps we could all be told if Tony Blair and family, and all other government ministers, will have their personal and intensely private medical records entered for any user to access. One slip of security and we can all find out whether Leo Blair had the MMR vaccine.
£400m system will let 999 crews communicate - The Telegraph 27th December 2006
Nearly £400 million is being spent on a radio system for all NHS ambulance trusts which will enable crews to talk to police and fire services in emergencies. The long-awaited details of the Department of Health plan follows criticism after the London bombings when poor communication systems forced emergency personnel to use their own mobile phones.
Duncan Smith fights for 'Olympic' hospitals - The Telegraph 27th December 2006
Two major hospitals, which are expected to provide frontline services for the Olympics in London, are threatened with substantial downgrading. Either Whipps Cross Hospital in Leytonstone or the King George Hospital, Ilford, face dramatic changes. One will be reduced to a treatment centre for walk-in patients, losing its accident department and capacity to admit emergencies. The other will carry on as a district general hospital (DGH).
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Dangerous patients escape as officials visit - The Sunday Telegraph 24th December 2006
A pair of convicts escaped from the secure unit of a mental hospital on the same day that Home Office officials were visiting to discuss an earlier security lapse, writes Ben Leapman. Springfield Hospital in south London was condemned in a report last month for allowing John Barrett, who was suffering from schizophrenia, to abscond and kill a cyclist, Denis Finnegan, in Richmond Park in 2004.
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Alcohol may slow arthritis - The Telegraph 23rd December 2006
The size of your gut may be partly shaped by which microbes call it home, says Roger Highfield. The health benefits of moderate alcohol consumption could also include reducing the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis, according to a new study.
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The hunting of submarines helped this season's miraculous birth - The Sunday Telegraph 24th December 2006
Christmas is the season for interesting and unusual births. These in the past have included Nicola Georgiadis from Cardiff, who gave birth on the pavement outside the University College Hospital while waiting to be let in by the midwife; and a Mrs Jagota from Tyne and Wear whose car, driven by her husband, skidded off the icy road into a ditch at three in the morning, so she ended up having her baby in the back seat.
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Nish Joshi's Q&A - The Sunday Telegraph 24th December 2006
I've suffered from ME for 20 years. Apart from the risk of big relapses, there's always the chance of a minor setback from little things like standing too much, walking more than about ten yards, talking animatedly, even typing, and each time I recover I find I've lost ground. I'm taking Lustral (which helps me sleep and therefore feel less of a zombie) and vitamin C daily; I eat mostly organic fruit and veg and have less meat than I did, but I'd dearly love to improve. Any suggestions?
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Five months leave and £75,000 for patient safety bosses - The Sunday Telegraph 24th December 2006
As the "Two Sues" they held Britain's most powerful jobshare, and then they went on the country's best-paid joint gardening leave. Now, five months after Sue Osborn and Susan Williams were suspended from the National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) over their managerial record, they are still on leave at public expense.
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Christopher Booker's notebook - The Sunday Telegraph 24th December 2006
Just in time for Christmas has come a miraculous twist to one of the saddest stories reported by this column in 2006. In July I revealed a bizarre ruling by the Environment Agency that threatened to close down Intercare, a charity that collects medicines surplus to British requirements and sends them to a network of 100 clinics in some of the poorest parts of Africa.
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Doctor biz - The Telegraph 23rd December 2006
I was an NHS employee until November 5, 2005 when I became a self-employed physiotherapist. Now that I'm in the self-assessment system what do I need to do? I've heard that if you file your tax return online by December 30, HM Revenue & Customs will calculate your tax liability. Is this correct?
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Ban doctors who can't speak English - The Telegraph 22nd December 2006
European doctors who speak poor English should be banned from practising in Britain, a coroner said yesterday. Dr Paul Knapman called for new laws after an inquest heard that a man died as his French private doctor struggled to make himself understood in a 10-minute call to the ambulance service.
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'Thousands' of foreign doctors, no English test - The Sunday Telegraph 24th December 2006
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Health warning as teenagers get lazier - The Telegraph 22nd December 2006
British teenagers get lazier as they get older, research has found. The study followed 6,000 children from the age of age of 11 or 12. By the time they were 16, girls were active for 2.8 hours less each day and boys for 2.5 hours.
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100 teenagers a month having second abortion - The Telegraph 22nd December 2006
The number of teenagers having second abortions exceeds 100 a month, according to official figures. Critics said the alarming statistics added weight to their argument that the Government's decision to make the morning-after pill and sex education more available actually encourages teenagers to have sex.
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'More than 100 teenage girls a month have multiple abortions' - Daily Mail 21st December 2006
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Study will take a new look at HRT - The Telegraph 22nd December 2006
Scientists are to re-evaluate the impact of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) despite earlier studies suggesting that it could put women at increased risk of breast cancer, heart attacks and stroke. Heart and circulatory disease is the UK's biggest killer. In 2002, cardiovascular disease (CVD) caused 39 per cent of deaths and killed just under 238,000 people.
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Diabetic presents petition over nightclub's syringe ban - Daily Mail 24th December 2006
A young woman denied entry to a nightclub with her diabetic injection kit has presented a petition to Parliament. Lisa Morris, 27, was refused entry into the club on the grounds her syringe kit breached health and safety policy. But she has now collected 1,000 signatures to raise awareness of the issue.
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Private health care firm will take over running of new NHS hospital - Daily Mail 22nd December 2006
An NHS hospital is being taken over and run by a private company for the first time - in a drive to cut waiting times. The £36million Lymington Hospital in the New Forest which opens today will be run by Partnership Health Group, which is half-owned by Care UK, a specialist health and social care firm.
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Triplets for the mother with two wombs - Daily Mail 21st December 2006
For any mother, the birth of their children is a miracle. But that really is the word to describe Hannah Kersey's triplets - as they were born from her two separate wombs.
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Triplets for woman with two wombs - BBC Health News 21st December 2006
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Fury as egg donation licence thrown open in UK first - Daily Mail 21st December 2006
A fertility regulator has amended a donor licence allowing women to donate their eggs to stem-cell research even if they are not receiving fertility treatment. But they have been strongly criticised for making the decision while a public consultation is still underway. The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) gave the go-ahead to The Centre for Life in Newcastle in November.
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Doctor's smoking jibe wins mother £44,000 payout - Daily Mail 21st December 2006
A mother who was criticised by a doctor for nipping out for a cigarette moments before her caesarean operation has won more than £44,000 for her 'hurt feelings'. The heavy smoker claimed that she developed severe post-natal depression after the anaesthetist told her off.
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Key to why cancer kills so often - BBC Health News 26th December 2006
Scientists have pinpointed a possible reason why pancreatic cancer is such an aggressive disease.
A University of Liverpool team found a family of proteins involved in controlling cell movement could be key.
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Tara's Christmas message of hope - BBC Health News 25th December 2006
Christmas is a special time for getting in touch with friends and relatives. But as well as sending the usual cards and messages, Callum Bale's mother Tara has gone one step further. She is fronting Cancer Research UK's special Christmas message to thank all those involved directly and indirectly with saving her young son's life.
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Quest for battery-free pacemaker - BBC Health News 24th December 2006
A heart pacemaker that does not need a battery is being developed under a government-sponsored technology scheme. Currently, some patients who have implanted pacemakers and electronic defibrillators need surgery once every seven to 10 years to fit a new battery.
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New drugs 'could halve treatment' - BBC Health News 23rd December 2006
A new generation of antibiotics could halve the length of time people need to take medication, scientists say. London researchers are developing what they hope will be the first of these - a compound to treat the hospital superbug MRSA in the nose.
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'I'm a risk to myself at Christmas' - BBC Health News 23rd December 2006
As millions of Britons prepare for the festive season, for a minority fun and laughter is the last thing on their minds. For some people with mental health problems, the season of jollity is so stressful it can tip them over the edge.
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UK farms superbug 'link' probed - BBC Health News 22nd December 2006
A superbug that has killed at least 60 people in the last four years could be linked to milk and meat from British farms, warn experts. A virulent form of E.coli, which is resistant to usual antibiotics, has been found on 11 cattle farms.
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Fourteen MRSA cases at hospital - BBC Health News 22nd December 2006
A total of 14 people were struck down by a strain of the superbug MRSA in a hospital during a fatal outbreak, it has been revealed. Two people died at the University Hospital of North Staffordshire, Stoke-on-Trent, from a strain known as Panton-Valentine Leukocidin (PVL).
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Hopes for Alzheimer's treatment - BBC Health News 22nd December 2006
Scientists at Cardiff University have developed a potential treatment for Alzheimer's disease. Researchers said they had created an antibody which could block the production of brain chemicals linked to the debilitating disease.
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Suspended hospital chiefs resign - BBC Health News 21st December 2006
Two suspended NHS Trust bosses have resigned following a five-month investigation into their work. The chief executive of Scarborough and North East Yorkshire NHS Trust, Alison Guy, and finance director Bernard Flynn will step down on 31 December.
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Parents back radiotherapy refusal - BBC Health News 21st December 2006
The parents of an eight-year-old girl with a rare kidney cancer are backing what they say is her decision to stop her treatment. Leah-Beth Richards, from Beddau near Pontypridd, has been battling Wilms Tumour since she was two.
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Botox 'could help writers' cramp' - BBC Health News 21st December 2006
Botox could be used to relieve writers' cramp, a study has suggested. The toxin is usually used to treat wrinkles, but the Dutch research suggests it can also stop muscles in the arms, hands or fingers seizing up.
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International News
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Restaurants must count calories - The Guardian 27th December 2006
A Starbucks whole milk mocha with whipped cream? That will be a bulging 420 calories. Big Mac, large fries and a Diet Coke? That's a whopping 1,130 calories to go, while a Burger King Whopper delivers 670 calories. Its beefier cousin, the Whopper Double Beef, almost doubles the calories, reaching 916. As of next year, in a decree passed this month, restaurant chains in New York will be obliged to list calories on their menus. The regulation was passed by the New York City Board of Health as one of a series of measures to help prevent obesity.
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Sick not chic - The Observer 24th December 2006
This year, Los Angeles became the birthplace of one of the worst trends ever: size 00. Though it's equivalent to a UK size 2 (23in waistline and dimensions similar to a seven-year-old's), you'd be surprised how many celebrities have attained this size. Victoria Beckham and Amy Winehouse come close, but it's LA girls such as Nicole Richie, Kate Bosworth and Lindsay Lohan whose emaciated frames have become synonymous with 00. They're also linked to one celebrity stylist: Rachel Zoe, who is as petite and chic as her clients.
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Fashion chiefs slap ban on ultra-skinny models - The Telegraph 23rd December 2006
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Chronic back pain may be all in the mind, research suggests - The Guardian 23rd December 2006
People suffering from chronic back pain could get the most effective relief from psychological therapies, according to research which suggests that a bad back could be mostly in the mind. American psychologists found that talking therapies were the most common and consistent way of reducing the intensity of back pain.
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Global flu pandemic would probably kill 62m, study says - The Guardian 22nd December 2006
Around 62 million people in the world are likely to die if there is a flu pandemic and more than 70,000 of those deaths will be in the UK, according to a statistical analysis published today. Previous estimates of the likely death toll have ranged from two million to one billion.
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New flu pandemic 'would kill 62 million' - The Times 22nd December 2006
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Flu 'could wipe out 62 million' - BBC Health News 22nd December 2006
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Potential cure for alcoholics is hailed - The Independent 26th December 2006
Australian scientists say they have found a way of eliminating alcoholic cravings using a drug that blocks the euphoric "high" associated with getting drunk. The research focused on cells in the hypothalamus region of the brain that produce orexin, a chemical linked to drink or drug-induced euphoria. Scientists at Melbourne's Howard Florey Institute made a compound that blocked orexin's effects, and gave it to rats that had already been turned into alcoholics.
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Chemical may stop alcohol craving - BBC Health News 25th December 2006
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How to live to a ripe old age without losing your marbles - The Times 26th December 2006
A gene variant that is linked to long life also helps to preserve mental lucidity in old age, scientists have discovered. An Israeli study involving 158 people who lived to 95 or beyond has found that those who inherit a particular version of the gene CETP are twice as likely to have a sharp and alert brain when they are elderly.
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'Longevity gene keeps mind sharp' - BBC Health News 26th December 2006
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Doctor risks jail to grant patient with 'no life' his dying wish - The Times 22nd December 2006
A doctor could be charged with murder after admitting that he switched off the life-support machine of an Italian muscular dystrophy patient who lost a right-to-die battle. Piergorgio Welby, 60, died on Wednesday — just days after judges ruled that his respirator could not be disconnected. Euthanasia is illegal in Italy and a campaign to legalise it is bitterly opposed by Catholic political parties of the Right and Left as well as by the Vatican.
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Scan could spot early Alzheimer's - BBC Health News 27th December 2006
Patients with the earliest symptoms of Alzheimer's disease could be diagnosed using an advanced scanning technique. A team at the University of California, Los Angeles team says it has found a way to highlight distinctive brain changes linked to Alzheimer's.
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Large families 'bad for parents' - BBC Health News 26th December 2006
Having a large number of children is bad for parents' health - particularly that of mothers, a study suggests. US researchers looked at 21,000 couples living in Utah between 1860 and 1985, who bore a total of 174,000 children.
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Protein key to parasite potency - BBC Health News 25th December 2006
Scientists are closer to understanding why a common parasite is harmless to most people, while causing severe illness in others. Toxoplasma is carried by cats and rats in the UK, and a large proportion of humans are also thought to carry the parasite, without any ill effects.
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Drink 'cuts brain injury damage' - BBC Health News 24th December 2006
Having low levels of alcohol in the blood may protect the brain from the effects of a head injury, a study says. The University of Toronto team found head injury patients who had drunk low amounts were 24% less likely to die than those who had not had any alcohol.
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Egyptian woman dies of bird flu - BBC Health News 24th December 2006
An Egyptian woman has died of bird flu just hours after testing positive for the H5N1 strain of the virus. The 30-year-old was first treated on 17 December, before a brother and sister, aged 26 and 15, also fell ill.
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Bird flu kills second Egyptian in two days - The Telegraph 27th December 2006
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Olive oil 'can cut cancer risk' - BBC Health News 23rd December 2006
Adding plenty of olive oil to a diet could help protect against cell damage that can lead to cancer, experts say. A study of 182 European men found those who had 25 millilitres of olive oil per day had reduced levels of a substance which indicates cell damage.
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HRT 'could prevent heart disease' - BBC Health News 22nd December 2006
Hormone therapy might be an effective heart disease treatment, despite a major US study which suggested it caused harm, scientists say. The Women's Health Initiative study was stopped in 2002 amid concerns over raised heart disease and cancer risk.
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Obesity link to gut bug balance - BBC Health News 22nd December 2006
'Friendly' bacteria living in our digestive systems may be helping to make us fatter, say scientists. Trillions of bugs live in the human gut, helping us break down food.
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Cheshire and Merseyside News
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Drunken teens flood region's hospitals - Liverpool Daily Poost 26th December 2006
THE number of under-18s being admitted to hospital in Cheshire and Merseyside is rising faster than anywhere else in the UK. According to government statistics released at the weekend, 742 under-18s were treated in the region’s hospital in 2005/6, during which time licensing laws had been relaxed. That compares with 593 in 2004/5 and 594 in 2003/4.
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‘If there had been more water, he would not have stood a chance’ - Liverpool Echo 23rd December 2006
A HEROIC ambulance worker plunged into a water-filled ditch to save a man from drowning after his car flipped over. By incredible chance, Phil Keating is also a qualified diver and was able to swim down to the mangled wreck of the Renault Clio and force his way into the vehicle.
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How much is your hospital spending on meals? - Liverpool Echo 23rd December 2006
MERSEYSIDE hospitals are spending as little as 60p a meal on patients’ food. An ECHO investigation has uncovered alarming differences in the amount of money spent by different trusts in the region.
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Amputee had to remove leg to get in plane seat - Liverpool Echo 23rd December 2006
A DOUBLE amputee had to take off his artificial leg to get into his airplane seat. Today pensioner Eddie Bragger slammed Liverpool John Lennon Airport for leaving him to struggle, despite being given advance notice he was travelling.
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Doctor’s mistake ‘killed our girl’ - Liverpool Echo 21st December 2006
A DOCTOR working for Liverpool’s out-of-hours GP service has been suspended by the GMC, after a young woman died of heart failure three days after he advised her to take paracetamol and do more exercise. The parents of 28-year-old Julie Barr believe their daughter would be alive today if doctors from Urgent Care 24 (UC24) had recognised her symptoms and hospitalised her sooner.
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Smoke ban bid at city prison - Liverpool Echo 21st December 2006
WALTON jail has launched a bid to become Europe's first smoke-free jail. Inmates and officers will be offered counselling and nicotine patches in a bid to kick the habit.
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Reds bring festive cheer to Alder Hey - Liverpool Echo 21st December 2006
LIVERPOOL players lifted the gloom of their midweek postponement during their seasonal visit to Alder Hey. Anfield stars, including Steven Gerrard, donned Santa hats to bring some Christmas cheer to youngsters, giving out gifts and signed shirts.
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Our baby daughter died of 'exceptionally poor care' - Liverpool Daily Post 21st December 2006
THE parents of a baby killed by an accidental overdose at a Alder Hey Children's Hospital last night claimed she died of "exceptionally poor care". Two-month-old Madison Perry was given 10 times the correct dose of blood-thinning drug Heparin after nurses at Liverpool's Alder Hey Hospital misread her prescription.
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Patient survey 'is a waste of money' - Chester Chronicle 22nd December 2006
DOCTORS fear that the Government's new patient survey will raise expectations for a level of service they are unable to provide. The outcome of the survey, which will canvas patients' opinions on appointment arrangements and opening times in January will affect funds individual practices receive. Every practice in the Chester area will be taking part in the controversial survey.
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Award scheme to fight obesity - Chester Chronicle 22nd December 2006
AN estimated 132,400 people in Cheshire are obese, according to a county council report. Nationally by 2010 approximately one in five children aged between two and five will be obese with more girls than boys being affected.
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Professor in call for more GP support - Ormskirk Advertiser 21st December 2006
A LEADING expert in pancreatic cancer believes symptoms are not taken seriously enough by GPs. Professor John Neoptolemos of the University of Liverpool and honorary consultant surgeon at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital told the Advertiser: “One of the symptoms of pancreas cancer is jaundice. This happens because the bile duct from the liver into the small bowel passes through the head of the pancreas. If there is a tumour then this causes a blockage into the bowel duct and the flow of bile from the liver.
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Cumbria and Lancashire News
Little boost for hospital campaign! - Carlisle News & Star 23rd December 2006
MEET Corey Bragg – a small symbol of a campaign to keep maternity services in west Cumbria.
The tiny tot was a surprise delivery at Workington Community Hospital this week, weighing in at 7lb 8oz at 2.47pm on Monday – a full 13 days before he was due.
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U-turn over smoking ban - Ormskirk Advertiser 21st December 2006
COUNCILLORS have done a U-turn over plans for a ‘Big Brother’ style smoking ban in West Lancashire. Conservatives wanted to ban council staff from smoking near council buildings and even in their own cars on the council car park at lunchtime.
New Story
MP’s plea over future of NHS - Midweek Advertiser 20th December 2006
LABOUR MP for Chorley Lindsay Hoyle raised the future of the NHS during Prime Minister’s Question Time. Mr Hoyle, whose constituency includes parts of West Lancashire, urged the government to use the NHS as opposed to out-sourcing work into the private sector, which could jeopardise the future of local hospitals.
New Story
MP seeks assurance on hospital rebuild - Lancashire Telegraph 21st December 2006
ROSSENDALE MP Janet Anderson has demanded answers over fears that health bosses lack commitment to rebuilding the Valley's hospital. Mrs Anderson, in a stern letter to the East Lancashire Primary Care Trust, said the borough council and the East Lancashire Hospitals Trust were behind the project, but those parties were concerned the PCT did not share that vision.
Greater Manchester News
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Hospital boss plunges to death off m-way bridge - Manchester Evening News 22nd December 2006
A TOP hospital nutritionist has plunged to her death from a motorway bridge. Morag Sheddon Wilson, 32, was head of dietetics at Wythenshawe Hospital. She died after apparently jumping from the Barton Bridge, where the M60 crosses the Manchester Ship Canal.
New Story
NHS boss to face grilling on maternity shake-up - Manchester Evening News 22nd December 2006
POLITICIANS are to meet a top NHS manager to protest about plans to cut maternity and children's services. Bury, Trafford, Rochdale, Salford and Macclesfield are set to lose in-patient maternity, children's and baby care after a two-year review of the region's services, called Making It Better.
New Story
Christmas Day dinner 999 alert - The Bolton News 23rd December 2006
CASUALTY doctors have made a plea for families to be safety conscious on Christmas Day - after revealing a list of bizarre injuries they treated during the festive period last year.
Burns from turkey fat splashes, singed eyebrows from setting the pudding on fire and collapsing through overeating are just some of the reasons accident and emergency medics were called into action in 2005.
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Let's get the kids in shape - The Bolton News 23rd December 2006
SCHOOLS must shoulder some of the blame for an explosion in childhood obesity across Bolton, a family GP said today. Dr Ian James believes not enough emphasis is being placed on physical education and sport in the borough's schools.
New Story
Death just 30 months after retirement - The Bolton News 23rd December 2006
RESIDENTS in the poorest areas of Bolton will live for an average of just two-and-a-half years after retirement. Life expectancy in Bolton is falling even further behind the national average, according to a report.
New Story
Changes at Fairfield will mean a second class service - Bury Times 21st December 2006
THE announcement about Fairfield makes you question what kind of people are in charge of our future healthcare in Bury or if we will have any soon. Fairfield General Hospital has a wonderful children's ward, special care baby unit and maternity service.
New Story
Hospital ward for elderly WILL close - Bury Times 21st December 2006
A WARD at Fairfield Hospital caring for elderly patients too ill to live in the community is to close despite protests from staff and the public. Ward 30, a rehabilitation ward, is the first to be targeted by the Pennine Acute Trust in a bid to save money and tackle debts standing at £14million.
New Story
Health details from your Yellow Pages - Bury Times 21st December 2006
RESIDENTS needing practical information on accessing and getting involved with health services in Bury can now just pick up the Yellow Pages. The Your Guide To Local Health features in the North Manchester Yellow Pages and is updated annually. It features information on a range of services delivered across Bury, including the NHS Walk-In Centres and Dental Access Centre, with contact numbers and Bury Primary Care Trust's (PCT) key priorities.
New Story
‘Breast is best' cafes in directory - Bury Times 21st December 2006
NEW mothers can find out which cafes in Bury welcome breastfeeding without even entering the door. A Breastfeeding Welcome directory has been produced by Bury Primary Care Trust (PCT), Surestart and Bury Council listing the names, addresses and telephone numbers of cafes and other premises that welcome breastfeeding mothers.
New Story
Bolton's couch potato kids shame - The Bolton News 21st December 2006
ONE in four children under the age of 11 in Bolton is obese or overweight, shock figures have revealed. Health experts warned that Bolton was turning into a town of couch potato kids.
New Story
Gifts to hospital are much appreciated - The Bolton News 21st December 2006
I would like, through your pages, to thank everyone who has sent cards, gifts and donations to the Royal Bolton Hospital over the past 12 months.
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