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A child who was given the wrong vaccination because of a mix-up over names and a new mother who almost bled to death following poor treatment at an acute hospital are among complaints received by England's health watchdog, its first report on patients' concerns reveals today. The number of complaints referred to the Healthcare Commission has almost trebled since August 2004, when it took on the role of adjudicator in cases that cannot be resolved between NHS trusts and patients. Some 8% of complaints - 8,500 a year - are referred to the commission because they cannot be resolved.
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Safety lapses top patients' list of complaints - The Independent 1st February 2007
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NHS complaints show serious safety fears - The Times 1st February 2007
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Safety dominates NHS complaints - BBC Health News 1st February 2007
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Safety lapses top patients' list of complaints - The Independent 1st February 2007
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NHS complaints show serious safety fears - The Times 1st February 2007
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Safety dominates NHS complaints - BBC Health News 1st February 2007
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Proving how nice a dame she can be, Tessa Jowell last week aligned herself with those fighting the growing threat posed to society by thin models. A new taskforce is needed, she thinks, to address the danger they represent to the youth of today. In particular, she is worried about the impact of these models "on the wellbeing and aspirations of teenage girls". Perhaps her taskforce can find a way of moving this vulnerable age group to the safety of the nearest super-casino, where they can seek inspiration from the croupiers.
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David Bodanis felt reassured by his "full health MOT", after exposing himself to potentially dangerous radiation and the discomfort of an alarmingly large needle (Full MOT, please doc, G2, January 30). But these are not the only risks of whole-body computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Abnormalities detected by scanning - such as brain aneurysms - may never cause any problems, but detection of these "incidentalomas" can expose people to the risks of treatment, or leave them extremely anxious if treatment is impossible or inadvisable. Had David Bodanis discovered he had an incidentaloma, he might not have felt so reassured.
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Paramedics could be given the right to refuse to pick up patients who call ambulances for minor problems, under plans announced by the health minister Andy Burnham yesterday. The minister, who has spent recent months shadowing NHS staff, was particularly struck by the frustration of a paramedic who complained that he had been "flying around South London on a blue light, putting the public at risk, just to get to a paper cut". Ambulance staff also told of how the public complained that they had "paid their taxes" when paramedics questioned if an ambulance was really necessary.
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Sometimes to break through the general hubbub you just have to scream. Shock ads are increasingly part of our landscape: a "battered" Anna Friel staring out of a Women's Aid poster in a campaign launched today; a cigarette peeled back to reveal a column of solid fat; a glistening baby with a huge cockroach in its mouth, illustrating the likely effects of childhood poverty for Barnardo's (that last one was too much. Complaints to the ASA were upheld and the ad was withdrawn).
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f the third sector is political flavour of the month then social enterprise is the plat du jour, the tastiest morsel on the menu. No less than four government ministers, and the chairman of the Conservative party policy review, turned up to the Voice '07 one-day Social Enterprise Coalition annual conference in Manchester last week to flatter, pay homage and pledge allegiance. The guest list was a sign that social enterprise has arrived - although it is also clear that the politicians, like most of the rest of us, have only a hazy idea of what its wider impact might be.
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Money worries, long hours at work and family pressures are driving up stress levels across the country, a report says today. Half the population say they feel more stressed now than five years ago and more than 10 per cent say they have felt suicidal, twice the level in 2003.
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Stressful days at work 'turn one in three to drink' - The Telegraph 1st February 2007
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Stressful days at work 'turn one in three to drink' - The Telegraph 1st February 2007
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Foundation hospitals claim that they could face financial meltdown under new rules that come into force in April. If hospitals speed up the rate at which they treat patients, they will not be paid, the new model contract published last week says. But if they go too slow and fail to make progress towards meeting the Government’s 18-week target between first GP appointment and hospital treatment, they could be fined up to 5 per cent of their income.
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The first hint that brain damage caused by the human version of mad cow disease could be reversed has emerged from a study by British scientists. Mice showing early symptoms of the devastating brain condition have been restored to health and normal behaviour by a new approach to therapy developed by the Medical Research Council Prion Unit in London.
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Scientists 'reverse' vCJD signs - BBC Health News 1st February 2007
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Scientists 'reverse' vCJD signs - BBC Health News 1st February 2007
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A girl whose face was shattered in a car accident has made a remarkable recovery from pioneering surgery never previously performed in Britain, reconstruction experts said yesterday. Charlotte Leighton, 11, was left with horrific injuries including a partially severed tongue and lip, and a fractured jaw and eye socket.
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Sonic surgeons save girl's shattered face - The Telegraph 1st February 2007
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Sonic surgeons save girl's shattered face - The Telegraph 1st February 2007
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Our lone-parent helpline has been flooded recently with calls from single parents anxious about the Government’s apparent interest in requiring lone parents to work once their youngest child reaches secondary school age (comment, Jan 30).
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Single parents 'will have to return to work' - The Times 31st January 2007
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Lone parents face cut in benefit if they refuse to go to work - The Telegraph 31st January 2007
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Single parents 'will have to return to work' - The Times 31st January 2007
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Lone parents face cut in benefit if they refuse to go to work - The Telegraph 31st January 2007
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Dr Ben Parker (letter, Jan 31) appears to view the establishment of private-sector-run specialist treatment centres as a disaster for the NHS. I have just returned from a hip replacement in one and I have a totally different view.
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Dentists are turning away patients because miscalculations by the Department of Health have resulted in local health authorities running out of money in the dental budget. The problem has arisen because dentists have been treating more patients who are exempt from dental charges than had been anticipated under the new dental contract which came into force last April.
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Dentists are forced to turn away patients as NHS budget runs out - Daily Mail 31st January 2007
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Dentists are forced to turn away patients as NHS budget runs out - Daily Mail 31st January 2007
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Hundreds of patients have received letters warning they could face complications from surgery carried out by visiting Swedish surgeons. A review was carried out after 20 people from Wales reported pain following knee replacement surgery carried out in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, as part of a plan to cut waiting lists.
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A senior doctor who was part of the negotiation team for the new GP contract said yesterday that his colleagues were so stunned at the generous offer from the Government that they thought it was "a bit of a laugh". GP contracts His comments come as controversy continued over GPs' pay. Figures show that an average GP is now earning £102,000 per annum, a 30 per cent increase in a year.
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GPs new contracts 'too good to be true' - The Telegraph 31st January 2007
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GPs new contracts 'too good to be true' - The Telegraph 31st January 2007
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The German boy believed to be the youngest sex change patient in the world, who started hormone treatment at the age of 12, wants to bring forward the final operation by two years. The youngster, christened Tim but now called Kim, was allowed to start the treatment after convincing doctors he wanted to live the rest of his life as a female.
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Violent male chimps have provided new insights into the cause of wife beating, holding up a kind of mirror to help scientists understand the roots of domestic violence. Male chimpanzees can be highly aggressive toward female group members, even using branches as clubs to beat them. Research carried out over many years in the Kibale National Park in Uganda now links this to female promiscuity and suggests that there would be more attacks on women if human society was as promiscuous as ape society.
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Tax on alcohol should be increased in order to protect public health, a leading medical expert has said. Professor Ian Gilmore, president of the Royal College of Physicians, said higher taxes were particularly needed on strong cider, other high strength drinks aimed at young people such as alcopops.
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Cases of the hospital superbug Clostridium difficile among elderly patients rose by 5.5 per cent last year, the Health Protection Agency said yesterday. C. diff, which can kill the very vulnerable, attacked 42,625 patients over the age of 65 from January to September 2006, against 40,390 in those months of 2005.
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Two women suffering Parkinson's Disease have been given "their lives back" just days after starting revolutionary treatment. Anne Ellis and Susan Hogger-Chamberlain, both 53, had become virtually wheelchair-bound after years of battling against the degenerative disorder which leaves sufferers increasingly incapable of movement.
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Hospital in new Parkinson's trial - BBC Health News 1st February 2007
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Hospital in new Parkinson's trial - BBC Health News 1st February 2007
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Domino's has become the first major fast-food chain to ban trans fats from all its products. The pizza giant's move, which is expected to be copied by rivals, follows growing concern about the health risks of trans fats.
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A simple test which more than doubles the chance of having a healthy baby could transform the face of IVF. Scientists have found a way to test the genetic make-up of a woman's eggs, allowing the best to be chosen.
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Virgin founder Sir Richard Branson is set to launch a company which will let families bank and store stem cells from their child's umbilical cord. Some believe the cells may be used in the future to treat conditions such as Parkinson's disease and cancer.
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More than 250 mental health nurses have gone on strike in Manchester over plans to change the way patients are treated in the community. Staff at Manchester Mental Health and Social Care Trust are staging the one-day action on Wednesday.
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Scientists have found that a spoonful of sugar not only helps the medicine go down, but also gets it to work. A team from Leeds University has worked out how to use the natural plant sugar xylan, combined with a bacterium in the human gut, to treat bowel disorders.
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The Scottish Ambulance Service has been accused of putting lives at risk by taking too long to respond to calls. Agnes Alexander, a 77-year-old woman from Eyemouth in the Borders, is thought to have suffered a stroke after waiting more than three hours for help.
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Scottish health boards have been accused of suspending too many members of staff. A support group for health workers said suspensions were often used when there was no threat to patient safety.
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A new technique can trace counterfeit drugs while they are still in their packs, UK government scientists say. A study published in the journal Analytical Chemistry said the new laser technique could examine the contents of blister packs and bottles.
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Health officials will face a public grilling for the first time since announcing they are running the most debt-ridden organisation in the NHS. The North Yorkshire and York Primary Care Trust (PCT) said it needed to cut services to claw back its £45m deficit.
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PE lessons for pupils in England are to be reviewed to encourage teenagers to take more exercise in a bid to prevent more people becoming clinically obese. Schools will be given more flexibility to offer a greater range of sports and activities for pupils who are put off by traditional games.
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A mother has called for tougher controls on prescribing methadone after a inquest heard her son died after taking the heroin substitute. Phillip Thomas, 21, who was found dead in an Anglesey garden, was not a heroin user nor had been prescribed methadone.
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Women who live in areas of high air pollution, exposed to invisible particles from traffic fumes, coal-fired power stations and wood fires, are at increased risk of heart disease and death, according to a study in one of the world's leading medical journals today. The study in the New England Journal of Medicine, one of the largest of its kind, shows that a woman's risk of dying from cardiovascular disease is linked to where she lives and that the damage is greater than anyone had suspected. Scientists immediately called for greater curbs on air pollution.
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Air pollution raises risk of heart disease in women, says study - The Independent 1st February 2007
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Pollution 'raises the risk of heart disease' - Daily Mail 31st January 2007
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Air pollution link to heart risk - BBC Health News 1st February 2007
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Air pollution raises risk of heart disease in women, says study - The Independent 1st February 2007
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Pollution 'raises the risk of heart disease' - Daily Mail 31st January 2007
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Air pollution link to heart risk - BBC Health News 1st February 2007
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Cosmetics containing lavender and tea tree oil can disrupt the hormonal development of pre-pubescent boys causing them to grow breasts, doctors say in a warning that follows three American boys experiencing the rare condition after they used gels, shampoos or lotions containing the essential oils. The researchers say they do not yet know which chemicals in the oils caused the changes. Once identified these substances might need to be removed from products designed for children.
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Deadly bird flu found in Nigeria - The Guardian 31st January 2007
A Nigerian woman who died of flu symptoms has tested positive for the H5N1 strain of bird flu and is the country's first reported death from the virus, health officials said today. The 22-year-old woman was one of 14 people from whom samples were taken for tests that were concluded yesterday; two others of the 14 also died, Reuters reported.
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Deadly bird flu found in Nigeria - The Guardian 31st January 2007
A Nigerian woman who died of flu symptoms has tested positive for the H5N1 strain of bird flu and is the country's first reported death from the virus, health officials said today. The 22-year-old woman was one of 14 people from whom samples were taken for tests that were concluded yesterday; two others of the 14 also died, Reuters reported.
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Nicotine patches and chewing gum will replace Gauloise and Gitane when a ban on smoking in public places is imposed in France today. The French government announced that it is to spend an initial £70 million on nicotine replacement therapy to help smokers adjust to a major cultural shift for a nation where lighting up is as characteristic an action as the Gallic shrug.
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The Greek health ministry is trying to dampen down growing hysteria over a supposed miracle cure for cancer that has led to one violent death. Doctors have warned patients against taking the potion, which is a thick green drink made of olive leaves and water mixed in a blender.
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Drinking red wine could help slow down the ageing process, new research suggests. Scientists have found melatonin, a substance found in grape skins as well a whole range of other foods, can protect cells from age-related damage.
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Cumbria and Lancashire News
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CANCER patients are at less risk of losing their hair thanks to a charity which donated scalp cooling machines to East Lancashire's hospitals. Breast cancer charity Walk the Walk has given two of the machines to Royal Blackburn Hospital and Burnley General Hospital.
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CJD fears prove to be false - Lancashire Telegraph 31st January 2007
A Huncoat man did not die of CJD, despite fears from his family that his death was caused by the disease, an inquest heard. Michael Walter Crossley, 62, died at Mapleford Nursing Home, Bolton Avenue, last July after battling dementia since 2000.
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Greater Manchester News
HUNDREDS of mental health nurses in Manchester have gone out on strike in a protest over changes to the way patients are treated. More than 250 Unison union members at the Manchester Mental Health & Social Care trust have walked out over restructuring proposals which the union claims will see cuts in the number of nurses and occupational therapists. Union spokesman Bob Brown
It’s idleness not poor food supply - The Bolton News 31st January 2007
I'M not sure where the North-west Food and Health Task Force members do their shopping, but their findings that we can't find decent food to eat in the region is bonkers. "Food poverty", they say, is one of the causes of diet-related illness. And we suffer from it because we are unable to buy and eat good quality food here.
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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