Wednesday, December 20, 2006

Another 15 Minutes 20th December 2006

Welcome to the Podcast of Another 15 Minutes, Health News from the Fade Library. Full links to the articles detailed can be found at www (dot) fade the blog 2 (dot) blogspot (dot)com


New Section
National News

New Story

Smiles amid the tears - The Guardian 20th December 2006

In her last interview before returning to the US, the head of the Royal College of Nursing goes moist eyed as she tells John Carvel why the NHS is the 'cat's miaow' - a treasure she would love to take home with her


New Story

Leading questions - The Guardian 20th December 2006

How are public sector professions falling foul of anti-discrimination laws? There is no recognition of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) in the regulations governing training and entry and progress in professions such as social work, nursing and teaching.


New Story

Some private hospitals falling short of minimum standards - The Guardian 20th December 2006

The patchy quality of private hospitals in England is revealed by the Healthcare Commission for the first time today in a guide for patients showing how each establishment performed at the most recent inspection. The health watchdog found 6% of acute hospitals in the independent and charitable sectors failed to meet at least five of the 32 minimum standards, which included safety, cleanliness and quality of care.

Additional Story

Failings of private hospitals exposed - The Independent 20th December 2006

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Healthcare watchdog checks reveal patchy standards in private hospitals - The Telegraph 20th December 2006

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A shining example - The Telegraph 20th December 2006


New Story

Ministers deny it, but the truth is out there - The Guardian 20th December 2006

Mental health services have been disproportionately affected by cuts in 2006. Adding insult to injury, the government has refused point blank to accept that this is the case, writes Mary O'Hara


New Story

It's curtains for the NHS if it won't act on patients' views - The Guardian 20th December 2006

Staff need help to involve patients, and the organisation needs to promote change based on patients' views, writes Simon Fanshawe


New Story

Letters When the fizz falls flat - The Guardian 20th December 2006

Patrick Butler is right to urge caution about the rhetoric that surrounds the third sector (Too much faith in third sector fizz, Opinion, December 13). Pigeon-holing organisations by sector - charities are dynamic and innovative, public bodies are bureaucratic - is dangerous. The truth is each sector contains its fair share of heroes and villains. We must find a way of transforming public services rather than simply transferring them between sectors.

Additional Story

Letters extra Third Sector Fizz - The Guardian 20th December 2006


New Story

Husband tells of grief at wife's superbug death - The Independent 20th December 2006

Maribel Matula Espada and her husband Wen were overjoyed when they discovered they were about to have their first child. Despite a difficult labour followed by an emergency Caesarean, Mrs Espada, a nurse in Stoke-on-Trent, gave birth to a healthy baby boy at the University Hospital of North Staffordshire, the hospital in which she had worked for four years.

Additional Story

Nurse who had just given birth was first victim of new MRSA - The Times 20th December 2006

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Husband to sue over sudden MRSA death - The Telegraph 20th December 2006

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Three new MRSA cases at hospital - Daily Mail 19th December 2006


Additional Story
MRSA victim was nurse at hospital - BBC Health News 19th December 2006

New Story

Orthopaedic patients kept waiting for over 2 years - The Times 20th December 2006

Some patients needing orthopaedic surgery are still waiting more than two years for treatment, according to new figures. The latest official statistics on NHS performance with regard to the 18-week waiting times target showed that some specialities were performing particularly poorly.

Additional Story

Patients wait year for hip surgery - The Telegraph 20th December 2006


New Story

Trauma care - The Times 20th December 2006

Recommendations on configuration of hospital services from knowledgeable and widely representative groups have failed to gain recognition from ministers (letter, December 4) and the present situation is no different. In 2000 the joint Royal College of Surgeons of England and British Orthopaedic Association report Better Care for the Severely Injured recommended that audit of outcome of trauma care, including quality-of-life measures as well as mortality figures, should be maintained by a national trauma research network. It also recommended that “the achievement of audited standards of trauma care with satisfactory outcomes should determine a hospital’s reception of severe injuries rather than its size or apparent catchment area”.


New Story

Hospital parking - The Times 20th December 2006

The Government’s newly revised guidance to hospitals on car parking charges (Income Generation. Car Parking Charges — Best practice for implementation) is a step in the right direction. Cancer patients spend hundreds of pounds on parking charges to attend hospital for life-saving treatment. Our research has shown that parking discounts are random and poorly advertised and only 9 per cent of hospitals with cancer centres provide free parking for all cancer patients. Too many patients and their families suffer financial hardship — and high parking charges are the most widespread.


New Story

Son of school head dies of meningitis - The Telegraph 20th December 2006

The 17-year-old son of a Northamptonshire school head teacher has died of suspected meningitis, it was confirmed last night. Alex Grimshaw, a guitarist with a thrash metal band called Legion of Fury, is believed to have died suddenly of meningococcal meningitis after going to bed complaining of a headache.


New Story

Brown's fears of malaria allayed - The Telegraph 20th December 2006

UK Athletics have insisted that medical provisions are in place to tackle the threat of malaria and other diseases before the World Cross-Country Championships in Kenya in March. The national governing body were responding to fears raised by the Canada-based British runner, Jon Brown, who said yesterday that he did not want to go to the championships because they are being held in an area where malaria can be contracted.


New Story

Black cohosh 'does not ease menopause symptoms' - Daily Mail 19th December 2006

A popular herbal menopause treatment does almost nothing to help with hot flushes, according to a new US study. Researchers found that 351 women given black cohosh got around the same amount of relief as those who took a dummy pill.



New Story

What's your poison? Festive drinks compared - Daily Mail 19th December 2006

The season to be merry is in full swing and many of us will be enjoying more than an occasional festive drink. Your choice of tipple will not only determine how you feel the next day, but your long-term health. Drinking too much of any form of alcoholic drink is bad for you - according to the Foods Standards Agency, women can drink up to three units of alcohol a day and men up to four without a significant risk to their health.



New Story

A simple recipe for beating panic attacks - Daily Mail 19th December 2006

Jane Clarke's books are read by millions and she acted as adviser to Jamie Oliver on his School Dinners programme. Here she answers your questions on panic attacks and the benefits of nuts: My GP says I've been suffering from panic attacks. When one comes on, my heart races, I sweat and feel incredibly anxious. Although he has suggested medication, I wondered if there is anything diet-wise that can help.


New Story

'Don't ban our lifeline' plead joint pain sufferers - Daily Mail 19th December 2006

Patients and GPs have revolted after a drug that beats joint pain was outlawed by the NHS watchdog. The drug has been linked with 300-400 suicides a year. Here we look at four options nutritional experts suggest, which are unlikely to cause you harm: On New Year's Day, a drug called co-proxamol used by 1.7 million people to treat joint pain will vanish from the market and GPs, rheumatologists and patients are up in arms.


New Story

Secrets of skin cancer fightback - BBC Health News 20th December 2006

The deadliest form of skin cancer appears to cheat chemotherapy by disguising itself as a normal cell. Malignant melanoma kills more than 1,700 people each year in the UK, and can be hard to treat even with powerful anti-cancer medication.


New Story

NHS dental places 'still limited' - BBC Health News 20th December 2006

Patients still face a postcode lottery in trying to have dental treatment under the NHS, BBC research has shown. Six of Wales' 22 local health boards were without a dentist offering new NHS places, while others were only able to offer an appointment in 12 months.



New Story

Asbestos cancer drug block review - BBC Health News 19th December 2006

NHS drugs advisors are to reconsider their decision to block a drug for people with asbestos-related cancer. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) had said Alimta (pemetrexed disodium) should not be used in England and Wales.


New Story

Three test positive for polonium - BBC Health News 19th December 2006

Three more people have tested positive for the radioactive substance thought to have killed former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko. Tests on two members of staff at the Millennium Hotel and one at the Sheraton Hotel, both in London, showed low-level exposure to polonium-210.


New Story

Ambulance staff in strike threat - BBC Health News 19th December 2006

Ambulance staff in the West country may strike over Christmas in a dispute involving pay and conditions. Unison members employed by the Great West Ambulance Service are considering limited strike action.


New Story

No charges over hospital deaths - BBC Health News 19th December 2006

No one will face prosecution over the deaths of 10 elderly patients at a Hampshire hospital. The deaths at Gosport War Memorial Hospital between the late 1990s and 2002 were the subject of a lengthy investigation by Hampshire police.



New Story

Husband wins £3m over sex problem - BBC Health News 19th December 2006

A man who lost his sexual inhibitions after suffering a severe head injury at work has won more than £3m. Stephen Tame, 29, fell from a gantry while working in a cycle warehouse in Wickford, Essex, in January 2002.


New Section
International News

New Story

Libya sentences nurses to death in HIV infection case - The Independent 20th December 2006

Five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor were condemned to death in Libya yesterday for deliberately infecting children with HIV. It was the second time the six had stood trial for the crimes. Their first trial ended with the same verdict in May 2004.

Additional Story

The Big Question: Why have five nurses and a doctor been condemned to death in Libya? - The Independent 20th December 2006

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Gaddafi faces outrage as nurses on mercy mission are sentenced to die - The Times 20th December 2006

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Experts blame hospital hygiene - The Times 20th December 2006

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Libya is condemned over death sentences - The Telegraph 20th December 2006

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Libya firm on HIV death sentences - BBC Health News 19th December 2006

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Medics await Libya court verdict - BBC Health News 19th December 2006


New Story

Bedclothes that will tell if your heart is failing - Daily Mail 19th December 2006

Bedclothes that keep a check on the heart while you sleep could help thousands of people with cardiac problems. Sensors in the pillow case and bed sheet can predict if a patient with heart failure is about to take a turn for the worse. The sensors can alert doctors to the problem and prompt them to take action that could save the patient's life.


New Story

New bird flu outbreak in Vietnam - BBC Health News 20th December 2006

Vietnam has confirmed a lethal H5N1 bird flu outbreak among its domestic poultry in the south of the country. Some 5,500 ducks and 500 chickens have died in the last two weeks in two provinces on the Mekong Delta, health ministry officials said.



New Story

High vitamin D levels cut MS risk - BBC Health News 20th December 2006

Higher levels of vitamin D in the blood may lower the risk of multiple sclerosis (MS), research suggests. Previous studies have suggested vitamin D may have a protective effect - but the evidence has been inconclusive.


New Story

French bird flu scare evaporates - BBC Health News 19th December 2006

Veterinary experts in France say 4,000 chickens on a north-eastern farm did not die of bird flu. The chickens probably suffocated when a ventilation problem caused overheating in the chicken shed at Sarrey, in the Haute-Marne region, the experts said.

Additional Story

France testing dead birds for flu - BBC Health News 18th December 2006


New Section
Cheshire and Merseyside News

New Story

Baby died after overdose at Alder Hey - Liverpool Daily Post 20th December 2006

A BABY died after being given an overdose of a blood-thinning drug, an inquest heard yesterday. Madison Perry, who was two-and-a-half months old, was given 10 times the correct dose of Heparin after nurses misread her prescription.


New Story

Honour for cancer work - Liverpool Echo 19th December 2006

A PENSIONER volunteer for Marie Curie Cancer Care in Liverpool has won an accolade at the charity's national achievement awards in London. Beryl Hemphill was awarded the Bernard and Diana Robinson Special Commendation, in recognition of her outstanding dedication to the charity.


New Story

The National Elf Service adds a sparkle to cancer centre - Liverpool Echo 19th December 2006

SANTA'S little helpers are in charge at a Wirral cancer centre this Christmas. Every year, different wards and departments at the Clatterbridge Centre for Oncology compete for the best Christmas decorations award.


New Story

Hospitals ban first-class post - Liverpool Daily Post 19th December 2006

FIRST-CLASS mail has been banned by a debt-ridden hospital trust as part of a raft of measures to save £15m. Board members at Southport and Ormskirk hospitals yesterday approved a rescue package to help pull the trust out of deficit, including putting parking charges up to £3 a visit.


New Story

Failure to talk to public delays private GP plan - Liverpool Daily Post 19th December 2006

PLANS to open Merseyside’s first privately run GP surgery were delayed because health executives did not consult the public fully enough. Sefton Primary Care Trust last night admitted it needed to involve patients more in the plan to commission an independent company to run the new clinic in Maghull.


New Story

Warnings over bogus collectors for cancer hospice - Liverpool Daily Post 19th December 2006

A CANCER charity has been left without valuable donations after bogus collectors targeted homes in the South Liverpool area. Last night fundraisers at Marie Curie Cancer Care, Liverpool, warned local residents not to give donations intended for the charity to door-to-door collectors unless they have verified that they are genuine.


New Story

Mobile breast screening unit is launched - Warrington Guardian 19th December 2006

A NEW mobile breast-screening unit has been set up in the car park of the Royal British Legion in Culcheth. The breast-screening unit is open to women who are eligible for the screening service offered by Warrington Primary Care Trust.


New Section
Cumbria and Lancashire News

New Story

Special squads tackle violence in the home - Carlisle News & Star 19th December 2006

POLICE have formed specialist squads throughout Cumbria to handle domestic violence over Christmas and the New Year. A dedicated unit of officers has been formed in each force area – north, west and south – to respond to all calls of violence in the home if tempers flare during the festivities.


New Story

Council leader fury at ‘one-off’ baby unit closure - Lancashire Telegraph 19th December 2006

BURNLEY'S maternity unit was shut for 10 hours - after just two members of staff went off sick. The leader of Burnley Borough Council Gordon Birtwistle has branded the situation "absolutely diabolical" and said the hospital should have enough staff to cover two absences.


New Story

Award just the tonic for Karen - Lancashire Telegraph 19th December 2006

A NELSON health worker is all smiles after winning the Lancashire Priory Nursing Award for work undertaken at the University of Central Lancashire. Karen Walker, 29, from Vernon Street, received the award for demonstrating outstanding understanding of professional issues in the final module of her pre-registration nursing course.



New Section
Greater Manchester News

New Story

A place to ask those difficult questions- The Bolton News 19th December 2006

A CENTRE where young people can get advice on pregnancy and sexual health enjoyed high praise when a government minister visited. Beverley Hughes, the Minister for Children, Young People and Families, was at the Parallel Young Person's Health Centre to see work to tackle soaring rates of teenage pregnancy in Bolton.


New Story

How to make sure that baby is healthy - The Bolton News 19th December 2006

EXPERTS have launched an advice leaflet to help parents ensure they have healthy babies. Bosses at Bolton Primary Care Trust have worked with Folic Acid Action and Larkhill Laboratories to produce the leaflet, which highlights why the vitamin is so important for women planning a pregnancy.



Full links to the articles detailed can be found at www(dot) fade the blog 2 (dot)blogspot (dot)com, This has been a Podcast of Another 15 Minutes ... Health News from the Fade Library.

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