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The position of Ivan Lewis, the health minister responsible for maternity services in England, was called into question yesterday after he failed to represent the government at the launch of a new maternity strategy for the NHS. Mr Lewis has been fighting a decision by NHS managers to close the maternity unit at Fairfield in Greater Manchester, close to his Bury South constituency. Last month he denied allegations in the Commons that he was hypocritical - backing the case for hospital reorganisation, but campaigning against it in his back yard.
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Tories accuse minister of hypocrisy over health cuts - The Independent 7th February 2007
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Tories accuse minister of hypocrisy over health cuts - The Independent 7th February 2007
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A threat to new mothers - The Telegraph 7th February 2007
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Maternity unit closures could lead to death - Daily Mail 7th February 2007
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Big shake-up for maternity care - BBC Health News 6th January 2007
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Maternity unit closures could lead to death - Daily Mail 7th February 2007
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Big shake-up for maternity care - BBC Health News 6th January 2007
The Department of Health (DH) has axed funding for the Best Treatments website - the only comprehensive, evidence-based information source for the public on which treatments are effective. The site will disappear within weeks unless the DH has a change of heart. Produced by British Medical Journal Group, with no drug company or interest group involvement, Best Treatments gives patients access to a jargon-free version of the information doctors themselves rely on - exactly the sort of information patients need to fulfil the government's policy of patient-doctor partnership in a "patient-led" NHS.
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American medical advertising alerts you to many differences between our nations. I think more of them have herpes, for instance, than we do. Furthermore, I think if herpes-soother manufacturers were to advertise here, they wouldn't use neat, mid-40s New England women on their way to a clambake to illustrate the discomfort of genital itching, they'd use grubby teenagers. Americans are happier talking about their enlarged prostate. British advertisers peddling a nutritional supplement for children "when you're worried they aren't getting the vitamins they need from meals" would not exclusively illustrate this conundrum with black families.
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When the smoking ban comes into force in England, Northern Ireland and Wales, few are likely to feel its impact more than those detained in acute psychiatric units. In Scotland, where the ban is already in place, an exemption allows psychiatric units to provide a designated enclosed room where smoking is permitted, but ultimately there are no such plans for the rest of the UK.
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Fifty senior managers in Birmingham city council's adults and communities department have been set some homework. Director Peter Hay has told them to team up with people who use the council's services to find out what their experiences are and what kind of outcomes are produced, with a view to feeding back the findings into how the authority goes about arranging care and support.
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What is wrong with the NHS? The businessman Sir Gerry Robinson, in a BBC TV series shown last month, asked this very question of an NHS trust, and, to his credit, he spotted the answer straight away, one that applies across the health service. He showed that the problems lie on two sides. First, that hospitals are still dominated by an arrogant, self-interested consultant body, who enjoy disproportionate power, refuse to budge from outdated work practices, and are unable to cope with change. Second, NHS managers sit in offices and push paper around, deal with diktats from on high, rarely go to the coalface, and are too frightened of the doctors to confront the problems. This combination is disastrous for the patient.
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The health secretary, Patricia Hewitt, defended recent rises in GP pay, insisting doctors were earning more because they were "doing more". But she indicated concern about GP practices that were "taking a larger share of the practice income as profits". Ms Hewitt said this was an issue "we will continue to discuss with the BMA in order to ensure that the increased investment we are making in GP practices continues to be reinvested for the benefit of patients, as well as giving GPs the fair return they deserve". Tory spokesman Stephen O'Brien accused the health secretary of being "all over the place" on the issue.
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A senior government vet who fell ill after he was in close contact with turkeys carrying the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu has tested negative for the virus, health officials said today. A spokesman from the Health Protection Agency (HPA) said seasonal flu had also been ruled out, and the vet would now be "treated under normal clinical care". He was later released from hospital.
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Vet involved in Suffolk turkey farm investigation is tested for bird flu - The Guardian 7th February 2007
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Vet tested for bird flu after contracting respiratory illness - The Independent 7th February 2007
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Bird flu vet tests negative - The Independent 7th February 2007
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Bird flu vet given all-clear - The Times 7th February 2007
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Vet involved in Suffolk turkey farm investigation is tested for bird flu - The Guardian 7th February 2007
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Vet tested for bird flu after contracting respiratory illness - The Independent 7th February 2007
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Bird flu vet tests negative - The Independent 7th February 2007
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Bird flu vet given all-clear - The Times 7th February 2007
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The family planning service Marie Stopes International said today that it performed a record number of UK abortions last month. The charity carried out nearly 6,000 abortions at its nine centres across the UK in January, the highest number in its 32-year history. This was a rise of 13% on January last year.
I am 36 years old and have breasts nearly as big as my girflfriend. Definitely a size AA. Is there anything I can do to reduce their size? I work out and diet, but still I have these damnable breasts. I never want to have to pretend to smile again about any jokes concerning male boobies, if for no other reason than that I have heard them all before. What should I do?
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More than 17,000 nurses and midwives have left the Scottish health service since devolution, figures released yesterday show. The drain of trained staff from the NHS comes despite ministers spending millions to attract newcomers to the profession.
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It is such a simple thing, yet if Amanda Steane's husband Paul had been given enough water to drink in hospital he would be alive today. Instead, on three separate occasions he became so dehydrated that he suffered renal failure, leaving him severely crippled.
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As many as one in three of us will develop cancer at some point in our lives - it is a diagnosis everyone fears. But it seems the disease is especially dangerous for people living in the UK. Despite the extra £500 million a year spent on cancer research since 2001, Britain still lags far behind many European countries when it comes to diagnosis and treatment.
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Technology used to confirm pregnancy or diagnose heart disease is now being used to treat low back pain. Pilot studies have suggested that therapeutic ultrasound can ease the symptoms of sciatica, and now University of Manchester researchers are recruiting patients for the first clinical trial.
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Thousands of men suffer from inguinal hernia, where part of the intestine bulges through a weak spot in the abdominal muscle. These are usually repaired by open surgery. Now, a new form of keyhole procedure reduces both the recovery time and surgery risks. Thomas Hardie, 18, had the procedure two months ago.
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A house that takes care of people with dementia has been developed by British scientists. It uses smart technology to monitor activity, and sounds a warning when it thinks there may be a problem.
More and more of us worry about our cholesterol - but not all those home testing kits can be trusted. Here, we put them on trial ... We're constantly being told to reduce fat consumption to keep our cholesterol levels down and so prevent heart disease - the biggest killer in the UK. As many as two out of three people in the UK have raised cholesterol levels but few realise it.
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When Professor David Pritchard wanted to test the effects of parasites on humans, he had to apply to the Ethics Committee. They refused him the go-ahead because they weren't confident it was safe. So there was only one thing for it: he volunteered himself.
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Jane Clarke's books are read by millions and she acted as adviser to Jamie Oliver on his School Dinners programme. As well as being an advocate of healthy eating, she passionately believes that many of our illnesses can be treated through our diet. In Good Health every Tuesday, she answers your questions: I am showing signs of rheumatoid arthritis - is there anything I can do to avoid the pain and disfigurement that my mother suffered when she had it?
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A man has been found guilty of knowingly infecting his former partner with HIV and Hepatitis C. Giovanni Mola, 38, had denied culpably and recklessly failing to say he had HIV to the danger of the woman's life.
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The number of malnutrition cases recorded by Scottish hospitals has risen for the fourth year in a row. A total of 1,900 patients, almost all of them adults, were diagnosed with the condition last year, a fifth more than in 2002.
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Health union representatives have criticised plans to axe up to 900 jobs and close 200 beds at Leicester's three city hospitals. The University Hospitals of Leicester Trust said it would be closing up to eight wards and cutting 900 jobs over two years to make savings of £90m.
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A government pledge to build 50 community hospitals has come under scrutiny after figures revealed only four projects have been agreed. Ministers promised £750m to build or refurbish community hospitals to treat patients in England closer to home.
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'Low' vCJD death toll from blood - BBC Health News 7th January 2007New Section
There are likely to be relatively few deaths from the human form of mad cow disease, vCJD, as a result of infected blood, scientists have suggested. The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine team says measures to protect the public have worked.
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A psychiatrist has been cleared of killing a patient who died of an overdose at a Cumbrian hospital. Peter Fisher, 46, of Cullompton, Devon denied manslaughter by gross negligence over the death of Peter Weighman, at Whitehaven's West Cumberland Infirmary.
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On-the-spot fines for drunken patients who abuse casualty staff have been hailed a success by trust bosses. A three-month pilot was carried out at the Royal Bolton Hospital in Greater Manchester to curb misbehaviour and will now be extended indefinitely.
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A radical new approach to preventing heart disease could save more than 7,000 lives over the next five years, according to health professionals. Experts are recommending a new approach which they say could also prevent 27,000 heart attacks and other "cardiac events" in Scotland.
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Pyjamas and bed linen made with silver cloth are being trialled in a hospital to help combat the MRSA superbug. Experts at Barts and The London NHS Trust hope to prove that silver can be used to clear MRSA on the skin and thus protect vulnerable patients.
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The government should go "faster and further" in creating choice within the NHS, Tony Blair has told senior MPs. A "centrally driven approach", including national targets, had achieved a "quantum shift", he added.
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One of the UK's leading charities says young people should be more aware of the link between smoking and going blind. The Royal National Institute of the Blind (RNIB) wants the government to fund a national advertising campaign.
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Healthy foods 'lift retail sales' - BBC Health News 6th January 2007
High Street sales saw their best performance in January for three years, according to a leading industry survey. Shoppers looking for clearance bargains and demand for healthier foods pushed like-for-like retail sales up 3.1%, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) said.
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International News
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A commonly used anaesthetic could cause changes in the brain linked to Alzheimer's, a US study suggests. The anaesthetic isoflurane is linked to cell death.
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Rising rates of cancer diagnosis will put an increasing strain on health care systems across Europe, experts warn. An Annals of Oncology study estimates there were 3.2 million new cases of cancer in Europe in 2006 - up from 2.9 million in 2004.
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A health alert has been declared in Brazil, Paraguay and Bolivia after an outbreak of dengue fever. The authorities have blamed higher rainfall this season as a cause of the unusually rapid spread of the disease.
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A 17-year-old Egyptian girl has died from bird flu, bringing to 12 the number of confirmed deaths from the disease in the country. Nouri Nadi, from Fayyoum, was admitted to hospital a week ago after being initially diagnosed with human flu.
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Cholera reaches Congo's capital - BBC Health News 5th January 2007New Section
An outbreak of cholera has killed its first victims in the Republic of Congo's capital - after 80 deaths in the port of Pointe-Noire this year. Official figures show four deaths and 10 cases - mainly in Brazzaville's densely populated southern suburbs.
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Cheshire and Merseyside News
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Hospital pays out record £5m damages - Daily Post 6th February 2007
THE parents of a six-year-old girl who developed cerebral palsy after she was starved of oxygen during birth have won a record £5m payout from a Merseyside hospital. A High Court judge awarded the highest compensation ever paid by Liverpool Women’s hospital, after it admitted her debilitating disease was their neonatal team’s fault.
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Cumbria and Lancashire News
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CARLISLE MP Eric Martlew has joined a growing number of politicians calling for the cost of phone calls in hospitals to be cut. Last year, MPs condemned the private companies who charge up to 49p a minute to ring sick patients in hospital as “exploitation” and called for action to be taken.
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A GOVERNMENT advisor has singled out west Cumbria in a report on maternity services, saying the number of births should not be the only issue. Sheila Shribman’s comments come after a PCT director in Cumbria said there may be too few births at the West Cumberland hospital to justify keeping the existing ward open.
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ASSURANCES that Cumbria’s cottage hospitals are finally safe from bed cuts and closures have been welcomed by Cumbria’s Labour’s MPs. They say the message that such facilities are vital to the future healthcare of Cumbria finally appears to be sinking in with health chiefs.
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COPELAND MP Jamie Reed says west Cumbria is a unique case when it comes to healthcare solutions because of the presence of the Sellafield nuclear complex. He warned that there is nowhere else in the country with facilities of such a scale and any cuts would be hugely detrimental.
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EQUIPMENT at East Lancashire NHS Trust buildings has been given an "invisible" marker to deter thieves. A gun which fires dots on to equipment that can only be seen under certain lighting conditions has been used on community NHS equipment in Blackburn with Darwen.
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Doctor not guilty of drug death - BBC Health News 6th January 2007
A psychiatrist has been cleared of killing a patient who died of an overdose at a Cumbrian hospital. Peter Fisher, 46, of Cullompton, Devon denied manslaughter by gross negligence over the death of Peter Weighman, at Whitehaven's West Cumberland Infirmary.
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Greater Manchester News
HUNDREDS of mental health nurses are set to go on strike in Manchester again over plans to reorganise the way patients are treated. The nurses walked out last week over proposals to let social workers take on some of their duties at Manchester Mental Health and Social Care Trust.
A RADICAL shake-up of maternity and children’s services in Greater Manchester is up in the air after the Health Secretary ordered an independent inquiry. Regional health bosses decided to cut overnight care for mums and babies from 13 hospitals to eight after a two year consultation – the biggest held by the NHS.
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Praise for 'fine-a-yob' scheme - BBC Health News 6th January 2007
On-the-spot fines for drunken patients who abuse casualty staff have been hailed a success by trust bosses. A three-month pilot was carried out at the Royal Bolton Hospital in Greater Manchester to curb misbehaviour and will now be extended indefinitely.
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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