Revealed: child labour used to make NHS instruments – The Guardian 8th December 2008
British hospitals are buying surgical instruments produced in dangerous working conditions in Pakistan using child workers as young as eight, the NHS has admitted. In some workshops, products such as scalpels, clamps and scissors to be used in NHS operations are made by workers paid as little as 170 rupees (£1.40) a day.
Police are investigating allegations of serious abuse of a five-year-old victim of child trafficking while he was in the care of Haringey, the London council that failed to prevent the death of Baby P.
The Metropolitan police child abuse team launched the investigation last month after claims that the child was being beaten while in the care of his adoptive family. Concerns were raised by Dr Hamish Cameron, a consultant child psychiatrist, after the boy was taken to hospital.
Additional Story
Jenni Russell: Children no longer at risk – The Guardian 8th December 2008
They may live in stinking, chaotic homes with alcoholic parents, but the system can’t protect them
It’s obvious, isn’t it? I could be a better social worker than most of those incompetents; so could you. The minute we saw the neglect and squalor in homes like Shannon Matthews’ and Baby P’s, we’d be in there taking action. Dog faeces on Baby P’s floor? A psychological report on Karen Matthews saying she was more interested in herself than her children? Stands out a mile, doesn’t it?
Scientists link sleep disorders to diabetes – The Guardian 8th December 2008
Scientists have discovered a gene that links type 2 diabetes and sleep disorders, according to a study of more than 36,000 people. The finding, backed by two others published today, suggests a connection between diabetes and the way the body responds to the 24-hour cycle of light and dark.
Additional Story
Hospitals face NHS health checks – The Observer 7th December 2008
NHS hit squads will swoop on hospitals where unusually high rates of death, infection and botched operations appear to be harming or killing patients.
As the first healthcare system in the world to operate such a system, investigators from the Healthcare Commission, the NHS watchdog for England, will monitor hospitals using official data and ’soft intelligence’ from complainants and whistleblowers. If high readings are determined they will send in the rapid intervention teams.
Drug offers new Alzheimer’s hope – The Observer 7th December 2008
A treatment used against epilepsy can protect the brain from dementia, scientists discover
A drug commonly used to control epilepsy could soon have a new role as a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers have found that sodium valproate, marketed in Britain as Epilim, stimulates the body’s natural defences against the disease.
Let me die with dignity, says MSP Margo MacDonald – The Observer 7th December 2008
Seriously ill Margo MacDonald is in a fight against time to change the law regarding assisted suicide
Additional Story
Experience: Giving birth left me in a psychiatric unit – The Guardian 6th December 2008
After 22 painful hours of labour, I gave birth to Isabelle on September 7 2006. She was healthy and perfect, to my and my husband’s delight. Over the next 48 hours I beamed with pride at my newborn child who fed constantly and slept well, although I couldn’t seem to sleep myself. I had been preparing myself for the “baby blues” on the fourth or fifth day but I seemed to be on a euphoric high. I remember trying to describe it to my mother and I could sense she felt it wasn’t quite right – my emotions were too extreme.
Doctor, doctor: Dr Tom Smith answers your medical questions – The Guardian
My husband drives me mad constantly clearing catarrh from his throat – he’s done it for years, even when he hasn’t got a cold. He doesn’t smoke or suffer from allergies and is fit and well. Is there any remedy to clear it up?
First Briton to die at Swiss euthanasia clinic had fled Nazis – The Independent 8th December 2008
Former civil servant, 90, ended his life with a dose of barbiturates
A former senior civil servant who became the first British man to die with the help of a Swiss clinic had fled Nazi Austria for a new life in the United Kingdom in his you
Additional Story
The trouble with the NHS… – The Independent 8th December 2008
When Florence King’s husband was admitted to hospital for a major brain operation, she discovered how, rather than matters of life and death, it’s all the little things that really ail Britain’s health service
Unhealthy lifestyles here to stay, in spite of costly campaigns – The Independent on Sunday 7th December 2008
Government warnings about bad diet, drugs, drink and lack of exercise don’t save lives, warn experts
Drink, drugs, cigarettes and fatty foods will remain part of the British lifestyle until the Government improves its efforts to persuade us to give them up, according to a new report.
The King’s Fund will say this week that Government campaigns aimed at tackling our 21st-century health epidemics are old-fashioned and disjointed. As a result, ministers waste millions of pounds on ineffective advertising campaigns and fail to use the most effective weapons in the battle against obesity and substance abuse.
NHS funds ‘used to import horse sperm’ – The Independent on Sunday 7th December 2008
Police investigate allegation that hospital manager imported equine semen for her stud farm, claiming it was for human IVF treatment
Introducing the national dish of… Sassenachs – The Independent on Sunday 7th December 2008
Cash-strapped English shoppers have discovered a taste for Scotland’s cheap, long-time favourite. But, as Rachel Shields explains, it’s hardly healthy eating
Make me a mum says 50-year-old (but egg donor must be Oxbridge graduate) – The Independent 5th December 2008
Most mothers want their children to become intelligent, rounded individuals. More often than not it is left up to the forces of nature and nurture to make this dream a reality. But one woman is taking no chances.
Sally Adams, 50, is appealing for an egg donor to help her conceive a child, but has asked that only women who graduated from either Oxford or Cambridge come forward.
Additional Story
Free benefits are over, says minister – The Sunday Times 7th December 2009
All claimants will have to do their bit or payments will stop, says James Purnell
JAMES PURNELL is an unlikely scourge of single mothers – not least because he is a child of a lone parent himself. However, in the minds of the Labour left, the 38-year-old work and pensions secretary is fast becoming Labour’s answer to Peter Lilley, the Thatcherite Tory who in the 1990s clamped down on single mothers via a pastiche of Gilbert and Sulli-van’s I’ve Got a Little List.
Virus clue to cause of Alzheimer’s – The Times 6th December 2008
The virus that causes cold sores may be one of the main causes of Alzheimer’s disease, according to research that suggests that existing drugs could be used to treat the most common form of dementia.
Compelling new evidence found by British scientists has implicated the cold sore virus, known as herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV1), in up to 60 per cent of Alzheimer’s cases.
Additional Story
- Radical thinking – The Times 6th December 2008
- Cold sore virus could be clue to cause of 60 per cent of Alzheimer’s cases – Daily Mail 7th December 2008
Sir Michael Parkinson appointed NHS dignity ambassador – The Times 5th December 2008
Patients are being encouraged to post candid online reviews of the successes and failings of NHS care in an attempt to improve standards. The Government has asked Sir Michael Parkinson, the chat-show host, to act as an ambassador for its “dignity in care” campaign to establish how well hospitals throughout England look after patients, in particular elderly people.
Men under threat from ‘gender bending’ chemicals – The Sunday Telegraph 7th December 2008
Men are at risk of being “feminised” by thousands of “gender bending” chemicals that are changing the behaviour of humans and animals, according to a report.
Government ‘could cut spending by £15 billion’ without hitting public services- The Telegraph 6th September 2008
Government spending could be cut by £15 billion without harming public services such as schools and hospitals, a right-leaning think tank claims.
Top QC wages battle on NHS postcode lottery – The Telegraph 6th December 2008
A leading QC whose dying sister was denied life-extending drugs is leading a campaign to help patients battle against health service rationing.
Children refused treatment at Great Ormond Street Hospital so managers can meet targets- The Telegraph 6th September 2008
Britain’s leading children’s hospital is turning away new patients and encouraging existing ones to undergo surgery nearly 150 miles away as it struggles to achieve its government-imposed waiting time targets.
Ministers fight to keep late abortions secret- The Telegraph 6th September 2008
Late abortions of “less than perfect” foetuses are the subject of a secrecy row with the Government.
It centres on mothers who opt for termination because their unborn babies have been diagnosed with conditions such as club foot and cleft palate.
Doctors say such conditions can usually be corrected by surgery.
The Information Commissioner has ordered the release of the figures, but the Department of Health is resisting, claiming that disclosing the data could lead to women who have late abortions being identified.
The Social Work Task Force: The four areas being looked at- The Telegraph 6th September 2008
Ministers are to shake-up of social services across the country in the wake of the death of Baby P.
Additional Story
- Review aims to boost social workers’ status and quality – The Guardian 8th December 2008
- Government to reform social services after Baby P case – The Telegraph 6th September 2008
- Balls demands ‘radical’ reform on training of social workers in the wake of Baby P tragedy – Daily Mail 8th December 2008
NHS ‘wastes hundreds of thousands of pounds on staff umbrellas’ – The Telegraph 5th December 2008
Health officials believe that splashing out £500 on brollies will encourage more employees to walk to work.
The Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester, Hants, unveiled the plan as part of its new green travel plan called ‘Saving Carbon, Improving Lives’.
Head of Ofsted Christine Gilbert admits failings over death of Baby P – The Telegraph 5th December 2008
The head of Ofsted has admitted that her organisation is partly responsible for the failings which led to the death of Baby P.
Hospitals and schools hit by winter vomiting bug – The Telegraph 5th December 2008
Hospitals and schools have been hit by the winter vomiting virus as figures show the norovirus has taken hold across the UK.
Headache sufferers ‘making pain worse by overusing painkillers’ – The Telegraph 5th December 2008
Tens of thousands of headache sufferers are making their condition worse by taking painkillers needlessly, a leading neurologist has warned.
One sneeze can give 150 people a cold within five minutes – The Telegraph 5th December 2008
A single sneeze by a commuter on a packed bus or train can give up to 150 fellow passengers a cold in just five minutes, scientists discovered.
Additional Story
Tea and classical music to sooth late-night drinkers – The Telegraph 5th December 2008
Late-night drinkers are to be given tea and biscuits as part of a taxpayer-funded scheme to cut rowdy behaviour at closing time.
How untrained GPs are missing two-thirds of dementia victims – Daily Mail 8th December 2008
Hundreds of thousands of dementia sufferers remain undiagnosed – largely because of a lack of GP training, it can be revealed.
Research shows two-thirds of victims have not been identified by the NHS – meaning they get no drugs, home help or other vital assistance.
The DIY saliva test that tells if you’re catching a cold – Daily Mail 7th December 2008
Scientists have developed a test that predicts how likely you are to catch a cold.
They say that by measuring the level of a protein contained in saliva they can provide an advance warning of the risk of infection.
In tests over three years on a group of 38 elite America’s Cup yacht racers, the British researchers found that the amount of the bacteria-fighting protein immunoglobulin A – known as IgA – fell significantly shortly before three-quarters of the team fell ill.
We’ve got to be strong for Faith: Parents of Siamese twins tell how the brief life of one is helping them fight for the other – Daily Mail 7th December 2008
Aled and Laura Williams had been waiting eight-and-a-half hours when the phone call finally came.
After a gruelling emergency operation at Great Ormond Street Hospital, their Siamese twin daughters, Hope and Faith, had been successfully separated.
‘They called on Aled’s phone,’ said Laura.
Additional Story
Catholic backlash at Cherie’s speech to students over views on birth control – Daily Mail 7th December 2008
An invitation to Cherie Blair to speak at a university set up by the Vatican has been met by a storm of protest because of her views on contraception.
The Pontifical University of St Thomas Aquinas in Rome is surprised by the backlash against the decision to invite the Catholic wife of the former Prime Minister to speak on human rights.
My killer hangover: TV presenter Sharon Marshall on the shocking perils of drinking and driving… the morning after – Daily Mail 6th December 2008
It’s 8am, I’m hung over and I’ve just narrowly avoided running over a small child in my car. Physically, I don’t feel in bad shape – tired, with a slight headache. I’ve felt worse but I’m finding it impossible to drive within my lane.
I’ve broken the speed limit twice and the rest of the time I’m going ridiculously slowly just so I can stay in control. And I’ve been driving only for seven minutes.
Luckily, the child was not real. I’m strapped into a computer simulator, recreating a study that has just been carried out at Brunel University, Middlesex, to test the reactions of hung-over drivers.
‘I’d hardly slept for 18 months’: How two hours of hypnosis ended my insomnia nightmare – Daily Mail 6th December 2008
My shopping basket had enough sleeping aids to tranquillise a hippopotamus. Kalms and Nytol tablets, alongside pillow mist – infused with soothing essential oils of geranium, rose and thyme – and candles labelled ‘Relax’ and ‘Peace’ to burn before bedtime.
The woman at the counter gave me a sympathetic smile but I was too exhausted to respond. I was desperate for a decent night’s sleep.
Baby shaken to death by violent father after series of blunders by social services – Daily Mail 5th December 2008
A five-month-old baby died after her violent parents escaped the scrutiny of social workers by moving their home just two miles, it was revealed today.
Alisha Allen was shaken to death by her father three months after her family switched from the supervision of one group of social workers to another.
Clipboard brigade to probe our private lives as Government plans sexual preference quiz – Daily Mail 5th December 2008
In an unprecedented intrusion into private life, Government bureaucrats are to demand to know the sexual preference of millions.
Anyone questioned in a major national survey about their job, the food they buy or their fuel bills, will soon also be asked whether they are heterosexual, gay, bisexual or ‘other’.
Health message ‘needs more power’ – BBC Health News 8th December 2008
The NHS needs to use more sophisticated marketing techniques to convince people of the benefits of a healthy lifestyle, a leading think tank says.
Copying strategies usually employed by commercial advertisers is just one of a range of tactics needed to tackle bad habits, a King’s Fund report warned.
Ovarian cancer – not a ’silent killer’ – BBC Health News 7th December 2008
Ovarian cancer is often referred to as a “silent killer” as women are generally unaware they have it until it has spread.
But health experts have warned that if women pay attention to their symptoms their chances of survival could be dramatically improved.
Survival rates are poor, with only 30% of those diagnosed surviving for more than five years.
NHS bosses oppose election plan – BBC Health News 7th December 2008
Most of Scotland’s NHS authorities are either opposed to or have doubts about plans for direct elections to their health boards.
Some health bosses have raised concern that the proposals could destabilise boards by pulling them into party politics.
Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon told BBC Scotland the concerns were not well-founded.
Primary teacher in cancer appeal – BBC Health News 7th December 2008
An appeal has been launched to raise £130,000 to send a primary school teacher to America for potentially life-saving brain tumour treatment.
Melissa Huggins, 27, of Staines, south-west London, is battling a cancerous brain tumour for the second time.
Doctors have told Miss Huggins her tumour is inoperable and a form of treatment not available in Britain is her best hope of survival.
‘Injectable bone’ helps fractures – BBC Health News 7th December 2008
A material that can be squirted into broken bones, where it hardens within minutes, has been developed by UK scientists.
The toothpaste-like substance forms a biodegradeable scaffold over which the body’s own bone grows.
Apology over botched cancer tests – BBC Health News 5th December 2008
A hospital has apologised to patients recalled for further tests amid fears they may have been wrongly given the all-clear from cancer.
Shepton Mallet NHS Treatment Centre, in Somerset, admitted 1,828 colonoscopies were incorrectly carried out between October 2005 and March this year.
How darts star hit health bullseye – BBC Health News 5th December 2008
Professional darts player Andy ‘The Viking’ Fordham was a man hitting all the wrong numbers.
Thirty one – the number of stones he weighed; 23 – the bottles of lager he drank daily; seven – the number of takeaways he had each week; and one – the liver he was rapidly destroying.
Warning over internet painkillers – BBC Health News 5th November 2008
UK experts have warned of the dangers of purchasing drugs online after a study showed wide availability of strong painkillers over the internet.
A team at Edinburgh University found 35 websites selling prescription-only pain drugs to UK customers without requiring a prescription.
Plan for £12m stroke ad campaign – BBC Health News 4th November 2008
A £12m awareness campaign will be launched by the government in the new year to help people remember what the first symptoms of stroke are.
Posters and leaflets will be placed in GP surgeries, village halls and libraries, while adverts will be run in newspapers, on TV and on the radio.
Psychiatric drugs force queried – BBC Health News 4th November 2008
The practice of forcing psychiatric patients to take medication is not backed by evidence, say UK researchers.
Very few rigorous investigations of the use of coerced medication have been done despite it being widespread, the Journal of Advanced Nursing reported.
Chronic care need ‘unsustainable’ – BBC Health News 4th November 2008
The estimated 800,000 people in Wales with long-term illness put an “unsustainable” demand on hospitals, says the public finance watchdog.
Auditor general Jeremy Colman found hospitals often gave unplanned care for chronic conditions, while community services could be poorly co-ordinated.
Health law services ‘must change’ – BBC Health News 4th November 2008
The way contracts for legal services are awarded in the health service needs to be improved.
This is expected to be the key recommendation from the Audit Office when it appears before the Stormont Public Accounts Committee.
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