Ambulancemen arrested for alleged neglect of dying man – The Guardian 31st December 2008
Two ambulancemen have been arrested after allegedly neglecting a disabled man who died while on the phone to an emergency services controller.
It is understood the men were taken into custody after the controller overhead them discussing whether to revive Barry Baker, a 59-year-old who had dialled 999 in the early hours of 29 November after suffering what he thought was a heart attack.
Additional Stories
- Ambulancemen ‘decided dying man not worth saving’ – The Times 31st December 2008
- Paramedics arrested after ‘ignoring dying man’ – The Telegraph 31st December 2008
- Ambulancemen arrested for ‘ignoring a dying disabled man because he wasn’t worth saving’ – Daily Mail 30th December 2008
Letters: Don’t rate GPs – The Guardian 31st December 2008
The news that the government plans to give patients the opportunity to rate GPs on the NHS website should not come as a surprise (Report, 30 December). This is an obvious extension of their obsession with regarding patients as customers. What they appear reluctant to acknowledge is that being a customer is no guarantee of good service.
- Luisa Dillner: A check-up for doctors – The Guardian 30th December 2008
- NHS patients give their assessments of hospital staff – The Guardian 30th December 2008
- Patients will be able to rate and review performance of their GPs on new NHS website – Daily Mail 31st December 2008
- Patients to rate GPs on website – BBC Health News 30th December 2008
Inspectors warn Homerton hospital over hygiene standards – The Guardian 30th December 2008
Inspectors have warned a major London hospital that it must raise its hygiene standards after a surprise inspection revealed dirty bedpans and concerns about the adequacy of training for staff.
Homerton hospital, east London, has a good record on MRSA and Clostridium difficile, the two most rampant hospital superbugs, but the Healthcare Commission has issued an improvement notice because its systems are not sound enough to prevent a potentially serious hygiene lapse.
Additional Stories
- ‘Double excellent’ Homerton hospital breaches Government hygiene rules – Daily Mail 30th December 2008
- Hospital breached hygiene rules – BBC Health News 30th December 2008
Drivers ‘face health tests every decade’ – The Guardian 30th December 2008
Motorists would have to prove fitness against new physical and mental measures, newspaper reports
Pressure grows to scrap hospital parking charges – The Independent 31st December 2008
From today, England is the only country in the United Kingdom where cancer patients are charged to park their cars while receiving hospital treatment.
The charges can amount to hundreds of pounds and have been condemned as a “tax on illness”.
A study by Macmillan Cancer Support found that the average patient with cancer visits hospital 53 times and pays £325 to park their car. Advances in cancer treatment mean that patients spend less time in hospital as in-patients and can recover at home. But the frequent visits required for drug or radio-therapy carry a heavy cost in parking charges.
Heart baby not expected to live is sporty ten-year-old – The Times 31st December 2008
A girl who had almost a third of her heart removed in a desperate attempt to save her life has made a complete recovery, doctors say.
Kirsty Collier was not expected to live long. She was born with abnormal blood vessels, which starved her heart of oxygen. Aged 4 months, she had suffered multiple heart attacks and was on the brink of death.
Additional Story
Hospitals treat 400 people a day for mental problems linked to drinking – The Telegraph 30th December 2008
Hospitals are treating more than 400 people every day for mental and behavioural problems caused by excessive drinking.
Additional Stories
- Alcoholic liver disease soars among the young as hospital admissions more than double – Daily Mail 30th December 2008
- Alcohol ‘toll on young soaring’ – BBC Health News 30th December 2008
Parents who took baby on seven hour drinking session spared prison – The Telegraph 30th December 2008
A couple took their four-month-old son with them on a seven-hour drinking session, a court heard.
Parents of five-year-olds to be given alcohol guidelines to combat ‘binge drinking’ – The Telegraph 30th December 2008
Parents of children as young as five are to be given guidelines about their alcohol consumption to combat “binge drinking”, it has been disclosed.
Additional Story
Stressed NHS staff ‘must show more compassion to patients’ – Daily Mail 30th December 2008
The NHS is fast losing its compassion towards patients, a health expert warned yesterday.
The pressure on nurses and other staff means hospitals are too often ‘medical factories’, said Niall Dickson, chief executive of the King’s Fund, an independent think-tank.
Additional Story
I was told I’d never run again after slipped disc left me in agony, reveals Kate Silverton – Daily Mail 30th December 2008
Kate Silverton is almost as well known for her action-girl status as she is for reading the news. The BBC presenter has not only appeared in a kayak for the TV programme Ultimate Whitewater Rafting, she has also completed four triathlons and was a competitive swimmer nationally when she was younger.
HIV charity campaigner knighted – BBC Health News 30th December 2008
A leading UK HIV campaigner who has strived to transform attitudes towards HIV/Aids and to the role of gay men and women in society has been knighted.
Nick Partridge, chief executive of the Terrence Higgins Trust, was recognised for his 20-year service to healthcare.
People putting eyesight in peril – BBC Health News 31st December 2008
The credit crunch could mean more people going blind as they avoid eye checks to save money, warns a charity.
Action for Blind People found over a quarter of 2,350 adults polled had not had an eye test in the past two years, and of those 30% blamed cost.
Man’s death probe after A&E delay – BBC Health News 30th December 2008
An inquiry is under way into the death of a man after a two-hour delay in him being seen by an A&E unit in Kent.
The Medway NHS Foundation Trust said it was saddened by the death of Stewart Fleming, 37, of Rainham, who attended with a suspected viral infection.
Additional Story
Brown against assisted dying law – BBC Health News 30th December 2008
Prime Minister Gordon Brown has told the BBC he is “totally against” changing laws on euthanasia.
Speaking to the head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, he said it was not for him to create laws to “put pressure on people to end their lives”.
Laughs, but no joke for ’shakers’ – BBC Health News 30th December 2008
John and Sue Day jokingly refer to themselves as the “shakers”.
It is the physical sign that is one of the most recognisable symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.
But they can now add “incredibly rare” to their nickname, because according to experts they are one of only a handful of married couples who both have the condition.
Prescription price set to be cut – BBC Health News 30th December 2008
Prescription charges are to be reduced from £6.85 to £3 from Thursday, Health Minister Michael McGimpsey has said.
Prepayment certificates are also to be reduced, from £35.85 to £9 for a four-month certificate, and from £98.70 to £25 for a 12-month certificate.
Chopped arm man can use fingers – BBC Health News 29th December 2008
An East Sussex man who chopped his left arm off with a chainsaw has described having it re-attached as like “winning the lottery”.
John Stirling was cutting wood in his garden in Telscombe Cliffs when the accident happened in September.
Iraq orphan shows football prowess – BBC Health News 28th December 2008
Ali Abbas from Iraq plays football for two London clubs – Chelsea and Tottenham.
He plays well. He scores goals. He is fit. He is skilled. His record with “kick-ups” – keeping the ball in the air – is 98.
Ali has no arms.
Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.
