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Two million children went to hospital A&E departments in the United Kingdom last year following accidents - many of which could have been prevented, a joint report by the health and public expenditure watchdogs has found. The latest figures, which do not include road accidents, indicate that a further 120,000 under-14s were admitted to hospital wards in England and Wales, at a cost to the NHS of £146m. A total of 230 died - placing accidents on a par with cancer as a leading cause of childhood deaths.
Accident death rate a 'disgrace' - The Independent 8th February 2007
Children's accidents 'a disgrace' - BBC Health News 8th February 2007
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Accident death rate a 'disgrace' - The Independent 8th February 2007
Children's accidents 'a disgrace' - BBC Health News 8th February 2007
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The recent news that an old lady starved to death in a hospital makes for harrowing reading. Except the not so headline-grabbing truth was that in fact the coroner recorded a verdict of a stroke, and the victim was very likely incapable of eating as a result of the effects of the stroke. After reading the media coverage, I was left with the impression that here was a 91-year-old lady at the end of her life, and the care she needed was more of the social variety than purely medical. Very old and frail people are allowed to die of something, after all. Families of the elderly often are very noisy about securing for their old mum the care she needs, but less forthcoming about providing that support themselves. It seems that one of the major financial burdens on hospitals at the moment is picking up the slack left behind by a lack of proper social care.
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If you slip on an icy pavement this winter and land up in casualty, take heart. The chance of your x-rays turning up when they're needed is probably the best in the NHS's history. Digitally displayed radiological images, using a technology known as Pacs (picture archiving and communications system) are the big success of the £12bn programme to computerise the NHS. Pacs stormed into hospitals because nearly everyone sees advantages. The images are available immediately, anywhere on site, so fewer appointments are cancelled due to films going astray. And there's a tangible business case, too - immediate savings on expensive x-ray films.
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Thousands of patients are likely to be refused dental treatment until the start of the new financial year in April due to a cash crisis in the health service. Dentists in England were given new contracts last year which mean they are paid an annual income for an agreed number of check-ups and treatments. Those who were heading to complete their quota ahead of schedule expected to be able to negotiate payment for extra work, but they are now being told that there is no more money in the budget. If they treat any more NHS patients before the end of March, they will not be paid, which means thousands might be turned away.
Dentists run out of cash for NHS patients - The Times 8th February 2007
Search for a dentist sparks 200,000 calls to NHS hotline - The Telegraph 8th February 2007
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Dentists run out of cash for NHS patients - The Times 8th February 2007
Search for a dentist sparks 200,000 calls to NHS hotline - The Telegraph 8th February 2007
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The daily juggling act of balancing work and caring responsibilities is destined to get harder rather than easier, a survey suggests. The Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) also found voters want direct support for working families to be firmly on the agenda of every political party. The poll of more than 2,000 people reveals that 82% of people say it is difficult for parents to balance work and home life. More than seven in ten believe the situation will be worse, not better, in ten years' time.
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Whatever the precise cause of the Suffolk bird flu outbreak at what was supposed to be "the most bio-secure plant in Britain" (Report, February 5), the reality is that H5N1 influenza is now endemic in wild birds globally and transfers readily to poultry in a form that is highly pathogenic. Happily, so far it has only transferred to people who have had very close contact with poultry
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Doctors monitoring the 350 people who may have come into contact with turkeys carrying H5N1 avian flu at the Bernard Matthews factory farm yesterday sent a poultry worker to hospital for blood tests after he fell ill. It was the second time in two days that the Health Protection Agency had referred people working at the factory to a hospital for tests.
Second worker tested for bird flu - The Times 8th February 2007
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Second worker tested for bird flu - The Times 8th February 2007
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Childbirth has leapt from the outer reaches of the NHS, where I and many other mothers have laboured in what I can only describe as the Dark Ages, on to centre stage. Ten ministers have broken ranks to campaign against the closure of maternity units in their constituencies. Patient groups are lining up to highlight the risks of longer travel times to fewer regional centres. The Tories are calling the moves “a desperate bid to save money” — although it used to be Tory policy that thrift was a good thing. It is, frankly, confusing.
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Excessive drinking and partying over Christmas has led to a record number of new year terminations at Britain’s biggest private abortion clinic. Marie Stopes International said that it carried out almost 6,000 abortions in January, more than at any time in its 32-year history, and blamed heavy drinking for the sharp rise in unwanted pregnancies.
Clinic reports busiest month for abortions - The Telegraph 8th February 2007
New Year's abortions rise by 13 per cent - Daily Mail 7th February 2007
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Clinic reports busiest month for abortions - The Telegraph 8th February 2007
New Year's abortions rise by 13 per cent - Daily Mail 7th February 2007
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Newborn babies will be screened for a rare inherited disease that could cause death if untreated, the Department of Health said yesterday. All babies in England will be tested for Medium Chain Acyl CoA Dehydrogenase Deficiency (MCADD) within two weeks of birth, said Ivan Lewis, the health minister. The check will be carried out as part of the standard “heel-prick” test, which screens for conditions such as sickle cell disorders and congenital hypothyroidism, which affects the thyroid gland. MCADD is a rare inherited metabolic disease which affects the body’s ability to control blood sugar when the body is under stress, such as during a fever.
Newborn babies to get extra test - BBC Health News 7th February 2007
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Newborn babies to get extra test - BBC Health News 7th February 2007
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Patricia Hewitt, the Health Secretary, faced fury yesterday after it emerged the Government has secretly dropped a pledge to build or refurbish at least 50 community hospitals. Ministers captured headlines a year ago by unveiling a £750 million blueprint for a new generation of community hospitals.
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Labour must drop its historic commitment to free education and health care, the former education secretary Charles Clarke said last night. He said it was the only way to ensure public services could meet ever-increasing demands.
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The health minister in the controversy over closing maternity units denied that he was a hypocrite last night. Ivan Lewis, MP for Bury South, was attacked by Conservatives for backing the general principle of reducing the number of units while fighting to save Fairfield in Bury, which is used by his constituents. He was also challenged to explain why he was not at Tuesday's launch of plans which would strip many local hospitals of consultant-led maternity services in favour of a smaller number of specialist units.
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Strong demand for the bird flu vaccine Tamiflu drove up full-year profits at Swiss pharmaceuticals giant Roche. Sales of Tamiflu, which nations around the world have been stockpiling to prepare for a possible flu pandemic, soared in the final quarter as governments bought emergency stock. Roche's net income climbed 33pc to SFr7.88bn (£3.2bn) in 2006, also on a rise in sales of its breast cancer drug Herceptin.
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One in three NHS doctors has so little faith in the Health Service they would rather be treated privately according to a new survey. The poll for Hospital Doctor magazine also reveals that 22 per cent of doctors in the NHS had actually taken out private medical insurance to avoid being treated on the Health Service.
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Robinsons will remove all artificial colours and flavours from its squash drinks, it announced today. Soft drinks firm Britvic which owns the brand said it would be the the first squash manufacturer to make the change.
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A two-month-old girl has gazed at her mother's face for the first time after a surgeon saved her sight by inserting plastic lenses into her damaged eyes. Leah Calthorpe-Betts, of Ipswich, Suffolk, is one of the youngest people to undergo such an operation.
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Stomach ulcers 'prehistoric link' - BBC Health News 8th February 2007
Sister has cancer mother's baby - BBC Health News 6th February 2007Prehistoric humans were infected with a bug that causes stomach ulcers, a study in the journal Nature has shown. UK and German researchers used computer simulations to show that both Helicobacter pylori and humans migrated from Africa around 58,000 years ago.
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Emergency general surgery is to be suspended from the end of March at a Lincolnshire hospital because it says it cannot provide safe patient care. United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust said the low number of patients needing such surgery meant it was unable to maintain the skill levels of surgeons.
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A woman has given birth to her sister's baby girl because she could not have children after a cancer operation. Lisa Mainwaring, 35, of Swansea, had feared her dream of becoming a mother would never come true.
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International News
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Sniffing a colleague's armpit, booking nap time in a "sleep pod" and sneaking out to rub a cat's tummy at lunchtime have emerged as the latest stress-busters for workaholics. The unorthodox suggestions are included in a guide to a stress-free career, compiled for the New Scientist by researchers investigating the causes of anxiety in the workplace.
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A treatment for Parkinson's disease has been dramatically improved by boosting the levels of natural marijuana-like chemicals in the brain. Researchers combined a drug used to treat patients with another that prevents the breakdown of substances called cannabinoids in the brain and noticed an almost complete recovery in mice that developed a Parkinson's-like disease.
Brain 'cannabis' Parkinson's hope - BBC Health News 8th February 2007
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Cheshire and Merseyside News
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HOSPITAL bosses are braced to declare a state of ‘red alert’ at the region’s casualty unit after outbreaks of diarrhoea and vomiting bugs. It follows several weeks of patients facing four-hour waits for treatment as hospital staff struggled to cope with the high volume of cases.
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GEORGE Mather rightly points out that the council's role is to provide services to the public using public money (Points of View, January 24). There are so many articles pointing out that exercise in any form produces enormous physical health and mental health benefits, and helps in weight reduction, that I am surprised Mr Mather does not seem to have read one such article.
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Pharmacist wants legal team to decide future - Middlewich Guardian 7th January 2007
A PHARMACIST who has served Middlewich for 18 years could appeal after being struck off. Ramanlal Mistry, who runs Mistry's Pharmacy in Lewin Street, has three months to appeal and is currently awaiting legal advice.
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Cumbria and Lancashire News
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THE £3 million super-laundry at Blackburn's new super hospital keeps breaking down, bosses have admitted. Health chiefs are scratching their heads over what is wrong with the laundry at the Royal Blackburn Hospital, Haslingden Road, which opened 18 months ago.
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PEOPLE in Rossendale with long-term health problems are being offered help to better manage their condition by joining the Expert Patients Programme. The free, six-week course starts in Bacup on Tuesday morning, aiming to encourage Valley residents with a long-term medical condition to achieve a better quality of life, by assisting them to think more positively and to start to take control of their life again.
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Hospital trust set to ‘break even’ - Lancashire Telegraph 7th February 2007
EAST Lancashire's hospital authority is set to steer clear of debts during a financial year for the first time, a finance boss believes. But East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust would only be in the black if no "additional pressures" arose, its director of finance, information and planning, Stephen Brookfield said.
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Greater Manchester News
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A HEALTH centre has been thrown into chaos after being targeted by arsonists. Fire ripped through a doctor's office at the Halliwell Health and Children's Centre in the early hours of yesterday, causing widespread damage.
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A FIRST birthday is always a special occasion - but for one Bolton family it is a day they feared they would never see. Samuel Crompton was born 13 weeks prematurely and he was so small that he could fit into the palm of his mother Michelle's hand.
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Nurse Francis is going strong after 40 years - The Bolton News 7th February 2007
MORE than 40 years ago, auxiliary nurse Francis Grundy started her first shift. And four decades later, she says she is far from finishing her last. The grandmother-of-two, originally from Northern Ireland, began her career at Hulton Lane Hospital in September, 1966.
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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