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UK Health News
GPs in England will today be offered a £150m sweetener to persuade them to back Gordon Brown's plan for extending surgery opening hours into evenings and weekends, the Guardian has learned. The Department of Health is understood to have approved a package of rewards for doctors who are prepared to provide a more flexible service.
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The European commission yesterday postponed publishing a plan to give NHS patients access to free treatment in any EU member country. The proposal sparked a row in Westminster where it was welcomed by the Conservatives as an extension of patient choice but Labour MPs and health unions feared it might subvert the NHS by allowing wealthy patients to jump the queue for treatment.
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Additional Stories
A common market for health - The Independent 20th December 2007
AstraZeneca pushes on with distribution deal - The Guardian 20th December 2007
AstraZeneca is to go ahead with its controversial new drug distribution deal, a week after the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) warned that such a scheme could cost the NHS an extra £500m a year. The group has chosen two wholesale partners - AAH Pharmaceuticals and UniChem, Alliance Boots' wholesale division - to distribute its products to pharmacies, dispensing doctors and hospitals. It will deal directly with its customers, and pay the wholesalers a set fee for their services, in what is known as a direct-to-pharmacy scheme.
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Private health clinics should immediately stop offering whole body scans to the "worried well", because they carry too high a radiation risk, the government's advisory committee on the medical aspects of radiation (Comare) said in a report yesterday. CT scanning machines were contributing significantly to the radiation exposure of the population, Comare said. Some 15% of our exposure in the UK comes from medical sources, almost half of that from CT (X-ray computed tomography) scans.
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Protect 'worried well' by regulating CT scans, say experts - Daily Mail 19th December 2007
Look on the bright side, as the directors of the White Star shipping line might have said in April 1912: at least people are talking about us now. In the continuing fallout from the child benefit disc disaster, the government's IT chiefs can draw one small consolation: the "transformational government" programme to join up public services through IT is now on the chattering classes' agenda.
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Charity in all its forms is at the heart of the hospice movement Luke Bryant was 10 when his father died of cancer. He wanted “to carry on as normal”, and so, three days later, he went back to school. He told only his two closest friends about his loss, but when the hospice that had cared for his father invited him to come and meet other bereaved children of his age, he accepted. There, during the summer holidays, he made a mask with the happy face he wanted to show the world on the outside, and the words “tears”, “sad” and “angry” on the inside. It was, he said, “easier just to put it on paper”.
Festive cheer on breast cancer - The Times 20th December 2007
A new study gives hope that the early use of aromatase inhibitors in breast cancer treatment may save many more lives Even Christmas can’t drive breast cancer out of the headlines. Desmond Morris, the biologist and author on human behaviour, has written about the importance of breasts in Madonna and Child paintings, and how the Virgin Mary is usually depicted cradling Christ against her left breast, as in the picture by the early Flemish artist Robert Campin. Had it not been for Mary’s healthy and efficient breasts, Jesus might not have thrived after an impoverished entry into that grubby stable. Thus Christianity might never have become an established religion.
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Computer security failures that allowed sensitive personal details of junior doctors applying for training posts to be viewed by others were an "unacceptable breach of security" by the Department of Health, the Information Commissioner has found. The sensitive details of thousands of doctors, including religious beliefs and sexual orientation, could be seen by anyone logging on to the Medical Training Application Service site.
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When strangers meet 21-year- old Rachael Leyman with her baby daughter, they assume it must be her first child. In fact, she has four more at home. She has had a child every year since first giving birth at 16. None of them was planned, but she and her partner Lee Beckinsale say they love having such a big family - and receive no state handouts apart from normal child benefits.
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Traditionally, it is a grainy scan picture brought home from the hospital that proves a newborn is on the way. But new technology is making the experience much clearer for expectant mothers. They can now download highdefinition video pictures of their unborn baby to their mobile phone or iPod - and send them to friends and family in seconds.
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Traumatic home birth for mum told to drive 30 miles to next hospital - Daily Mail 19th December 2007
A desperate mum was forced to have her little boy at home after her local flagship maternity hospital turned her away. Rebecca Register, 32, has spoken out about her traumatic ordeal and fears it has triggered her acute post-natal depression (PND). The solicitor and mother-of-two is now set to take further action aginst hospital bosses after it emerged that Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital's maternity unit was closed to new admissions 12 times in the last year.
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Image-conscious Britons are spending more than ever on being nipped, tucked and pumped with Botox, a report has found. The number of cosmetic operations and treatments has risen by 92 per cent in just two years, and is set to break the £1billion barrier next year, according to market analysts Mintel.
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People in their 30s and 40s are worse than those in their 20s at knowing when to stop drinking, a poll has suggested. Once past the age of 30 the body loses muscle and water and gains fat - making the effects of alcohol more pronounced.
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Pensioner Moira Wigglesworth has osteoporosis and is in almost constant pain. She is dosed up with pain killers, but finds sitting and lying down to sleep excrutiating. She now has a curvature of the spine and broke three vertebrae and cracked three ribs following a fall at home.
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There is little evidence that fall prevention programmes used throughout the NHS work, research suggests. Falls are a major cause of injury among older people with one in three aged over 65 suffering a fall once a year. However, a review of 19 trials involving 6,397 participants found little evidence that the schemes cut falls, or fall-related injuries.
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A doctor charged with killing a patient in the UK was about to take part in surgery when she was arrested. Anaesthetist Priya Ramnath, 39, was arrested at Woodland Hills Hospital in Lufkin, Texas, after the UK sought her extradition over manslaughter charges.
Children have a stronger relationship with grandparents on their mother's side, a new study suggests. Researchers asked grandparents how often they had face-to-face contact with their grandchildren. More than a quarter of maternal relatives questioned said they had contact several times a week, while the paternal figure was only about 15%.
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Cancer patient hits out over care - BBC Health News 19th December 2007
A terminally ill Cornish woman claims she is being cheated out of care for cancer on the NHS while others are getting treatment. Debbie Hirst, 56, from Carbis Bay, wants to pay privately for the breast cancer drug Avastin. But she has been told that if she starts taking it privately her free treatment on the NHS will end.
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New Section
International Health News
Aids is ravaging Kenya, but one of the greatest problems is getting help to isolated victims. Riders for Health is a charity which does the job on motorcycles
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An American health insurance company has launched a prepaid medical gift card that can be used to pay bills ranging from doctors' visits and prescriptions to plastic surgery. The Healthcare Visa Gift Card is designed to be bought as a present for a friend or relative and is promoted as a way to "let friends and loved ones know just how much you care". Just like a book token or gift voucher, the medical card can be topped up with any amount the buyer chooses up to a maximum of $5,000.
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Most children with an allergy to cow's milk will not have grown out of it by the age of eight, a study suggests. "The old data saying that most milk allergy will be easily outgrown, usually by the age of 3 years, is most likely wrong," Dr Robert Wood, at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine said.
Nerve system link to PMS misery - BBC Health News 20th December 2007
Women with severe premenstrual syndrome (PMS) may have a permanently depressed nervous system, research suggests. A Japanese team found that PMS was tied to decreased activity in the autonomic nervous system - which controls the body's equilibrium - each month.
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Gene therapy 'corrects fragile X' - BBC Health News 20th December 2007
Gene therapy has been used to alleviate symptoms of a condition which is a leading cause of inherited learning difficulties and autism. There is currently no treatment for fragile X syndrome, also linked to epilepsy and abnormal body growth, but the new work raises hopes of progress.
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New Section
Cheshire and Merseyside Health News
A ROYAL Liverpool Hospital nurse is planning legal action against health service officials who are re- fusing to pay for her anti-cancer drug. Mother-of-two Jane Humphreys, a 43-year-old specialist cancer nurse, has bowel cancer which has spread to her liver and lungs.
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Donna Phelan tells David Higgerson about her desire to pass on her remarkable story WHEN Donna Phelan stands at the front of a class of would-be speech therapists, she is more than just another visiting lecturer.
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LIVERPOOL’S Cardiothoracic Centre will enter a new stage in its history next year, with a different name and new chief executive. The centre will be renamed Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital, to avoid confusion with Broadgreen Hospital as both are situated on the same site.
Region has high rate of baby mortality - Liverpool Daily Post 19th December 2007
MERSEYSIDE and Cheshire have some of the highest baby mortality rates in the country, a report reveals today. The two areas were among eight in the country in which death rates were significantly higher than the national average of 3 per 1,000 in 2005, according to the National Audit Office.
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PEOPLE in Wirral will be given the chance to have a say about their health services. Wirral Primary Care Trust is launching a wide-reaching listening exercise - Health for all, Have your say - that will give local people the opportunity the chance to speak on proposed plans for health and healthcare in Wirral over the next five years. The plans will show how the PCT will work to reduce the gap between those who experience the best and the poorest of health, offer people greater choice about how and where they are treated and provide quality, personalised care.
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Ex-TV star now jobless midwife - BBC Health News 17th December 2007
A Northern Ireland actress who turned her back on a £100,000 a year role on teen soap Hollyoaks to become a midwife has now found herself out of work. Lesley Crawford, who played Laura Burns, left the Channel Four show in 2002 to go to Liverpool John Moores University.
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New Section
Cumbria and Lancashire Health News
New Section
Greater Manchester Health News
The 1,500 pupils and 200 staff at a Stockport comprehensive school have been given emergency medication after two girls were rushed to hospital with meningitis. The girls, aged 15 and 13, attend The Kingsway School on Foxland Road, Cheadle. One became ill at home on Friday, the second on Sunday.
1,500 kids in meningitis scare - Manchester Evening News 19th December 2007
HEALTH chiefs are spreading the word about the wide range of NHS services available to help residents in Bury stay fit and well in the winter. With accident and emergency departments expected to be busier than normal over the festive period, people are being alerted to the best and quickest ways to receive treatment.
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WHILE the festive period is traditionally a time for over-indulgence, the New Year is a time for self-improvement and good intentions. It is estimated that around seven million people in the UK will vow to improve an aspect of their health this New Year, with the most popular resolutions being, to: Eat more fruit and vegetables Do more exercise Stop smoking Drink less
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North West cancer deaths 'higher' - BBC Health News 17th December 2007
More than 1,300 more people die each year from cancer in the North West of England than elsewhere in the country, according to a new report. The findings have been published in a report by the North West Cancer Intelligence Service at the Christie Hospital in Withington, Manchester.
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