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A reorganisation of NHS services for patients needing medical attention outside normal working hours was shambolic and ran hugely over budget, a cross-party committee of MPs says today in a caustic report on one of the government's key health reforms. GPs in England were allowed three years ago to opt out of responsibility for looking after patients during evenings, nights and weekends. But arrangements for primary care trusts to organise alternative medical cover were poorly prepared and cost £70m more than forecast, the Commons public accounts committee found.
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Out-of-hours GP service 'good news for doctors and no one else' - The Independent 14th March 2007
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Reform of GP out-of-hours service an expensive shambles, says report - The Times 14th March 2007
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Mother who died after falling ill at the weekend - The Times 14th March 2007
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GPs' out-of-hours service 'shambolic' - The Telegraph 14th March 2007
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Don't you dare be ill out of hours - Daily Mail 14th March 2007
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Out-of-hours GP reforms attacked - BBC Health News 14th March 2007
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Out-of-hours GP service 'good news for doctors and no one else' - The Independent 14th March 2007
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Reform of GP out-of-hours service an expensive shambles, says report - The Times 14th March 2007
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Mother who died after falling ill at the weekend - The Times 14th March 2007
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GPs' out-of-hours service 'shambolic' - The Telegraph 14th March 2007
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Don't you dare be ill out of hours - Daily Mail 14th March 2007
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Out-of-hours GP reforms attacked - BBC Health News 14th March 2007
Union leaders have appealed for nurses in England to be given their annual pay rise immediately, after it emerged that nurses in Scotland are to receive theirs in full next month. Ministers in the Scottish executive have unexpectedly defied a decision by the chancellor last week to stagger this year's pay deal for health workers across the UK in two stages, and will increase salaries in Scotland by 2.5% from April 1.
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Nurses will earn more if they go to Scotland - The Telegraph 14th March 2007
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English nurses will get 0.6 per cent lower ruse than Scottish staff - Daily Mail 13th March 2007
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Scots nurses to get full pay rise - BBC Health News 13th March 2007
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Nurses will earn more if they go to Scotland - The Telegraph 14th March 2007
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English nurses will get 0.6 per cent lower ruse than Scottish staff - Daily Mail 13th March 2007
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Scots nurses to get full pay rise - BBC Health News 13th March 2007
Choose & Book, the IT programme that allows GPs to book hospital appointments electronically at a time convenient to their patients, is set to miss a key target. The government wanted 90% of referrals by GPs to run through the system by March, but usage is well below that. However the figures hide a more complex picture, with some GPs enthusiastic about the system and others critical.
Once upon a time, in an altogether more innocent age, a reporter's job was to turn up at a politician's speech and, well, report it. These days, the journalist waits by the phone to be favoured with a call from the politician's press people, who will offer a taste, or "trail", of what their boss is to say for publication before it is actually said. For media purposes, the speech itself becomes largely redundant.
Coming new to campaigning after 20 years as a career civil servant does not stop the new chief executive of the charity Rethink spelling out exactly where the government is going wrong on mental health, finds Mary O'Hara
Mother Teresa of Calcutta once said: "If I look at the mass, I will never act. If I look at the one, I will." In thinking about the numbers of older people in our society dying by suicide each year, her words seem highly appropriate. A recent review reveals that despite the wealth of research now available about the problem of suicide in older people, it is not being translated into action on the ground.
There is no doubt about it, dementia frightens us. Our images of it hit us where we live, stirring up nightmares of blank, helpless, incontinent misery. It is no surprise we'd rather not think about it, or that trying to get the subject into the mainstream media feels like trying to sell condoms to convents.
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Subjecting someone with severe paranoia to the intense scrutiny of a fly-on-the-wall documentary seems a less than sensible idea, but filmmaker Martin Hicks has pulled off the challenge with impressive results. Hicks' film, It's a Mad World (tonight, 10.40pm, BBC One), charts the experiences of five people with enduring mental health problems. Commissioned by Comic Relief, it features those who use facilities run by the Stoke-on-Trent housing association Brighter Futures, which is among the organisations that have benefited from the £6m donated by Comic Relief to mental health projects since 2005.
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Women's prisons have become our social dustbins. They are now seen as a stopgap, cut-price provider of drug detox, mental health assessment and treatment - a refuge for those failed by public services. Twelve years ago, there were some 1,800 women in jail. Today there are 4,300.
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It's Tuesday afternoon and I'm supply teaching in a reception class in Bristol. Seated on an impossibly small chair, I'm surveying a page of colourful felt-tip scribbles. They're presented to me by a five-year-old boy we'll call Theo. "That's the fox, and that's the green grass," he says proudly, his words difficult to understand due to language delay. I marvel at his enthusiastic description and commend him on his work. Buoyed up by praise, he says "I done five stories today", and indeed he has.
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Babies will be assessed on their gurgling, babbling and toe-playing abilities when they are a few months old under a legally enforced national curriculum for children from birth to five published by the government yesterday. Every nursery, childminder and reception class in Britain will have to monitor children's progress towards a set of 69 government-set "early learning goals", recording them against more than 500 development milestones as they go.
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A hospital in Birmingham in which a young British squaddie wounded in Iraq was infected with MRSA has been chosen for a clinical trial into whether transmission of the superbug can be reduced by using fittings made of copper Although its anti-microbial qualities have long been known - the ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans all used copper to treat wounds - the metal and its most common alloy, brass, have all but disappeared from modern hospitals in favour of spick and span stainless steel, even though germs can remain active on steel for days.
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Comment: No copper-bottomed guarantee against MRSA - The Times 13th March 2007
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Copper tested in MRSA fightback - BBC Health News 13th March 2007
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Copper tested in MRSA fightback - BBC Health News 13th March 2007
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The husband of a woman who died from blood poisoning six days after giving birth to their second child received £600,000 in compensation yesterday after two NHS trusts apologised for a series of blunders that led to her death. Ben Palmer's wife, Jessica, was 34 when she suffered a cardiac arrest in the operating theatre, leaving him to bring up their two children, Harry and Emily, now five and two.
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My children still cry every day for the mother taken from them by NHS blunders - Daily Mail 13th March 2007
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Damages awarded over mother death - BBC Health News 13th March 2007
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My children still cry every day for the mother taken from them by NHS blunders - Daily Mail 13th March 2007
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Damages awarded over mother death - BBC Health News 13th March 2007
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Angela Watkinson wants to ensure that parents or guardians are not kept in the dark if their child has become pregnant or is sexually active. The Upminster MP - who will present a 10-minute rule Bill to the Commons - said a rethink was needed after a report found 40 per cent of under-16s were sexually active.
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Teen abortion 'right to know' bid - BBC Health News 13th March 2007
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Teen abortion 'right to know' bid - BBC Health News 13th March 2007
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Age Concern wants an army of volunteers to feed elderly patients who might otherwise go hungry because nurses are too busy to sit with them at mealtimes. The Government is considering introducing a "red tray" system for patients who need help with their feeding. It would signify that the tray should not be removed until a patient had finished eating or has had help to finish a meal.
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Health and social workers were criticised yesterday for failing to remove a baby from the clutches of her father, who repeatedly sexually abused her and murdered her aged just seven weeks. Andrew Randall, 33, abused Jessica - who was born five weeks prematurely with a heart defect -from the "moment she left hospital" to the day he killed her by throwing her headfirst into a settee.
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The scandalous treatment of battle-scarred British troops was laid bare when it emerged there are just 13 psychiatrists to cover the whole Armed Forces. Only days ago the Ministry of Defence admitted that 2,100 soldiers have already returned from Iraq suffering mental health problems.
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General angry at hospital critics - BBC Health News 13th March 2007
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General angry at hospital critics - BBC Health News 13th March 2007
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A young man committed suicide after taking a controversial anti-acne drug which has been linked to depression. Adam Long, 22, an engineer, had been prescribed a course of Roaccutane to treat his acne but later developed schizophrenia.
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As Leah Beth Richards lay sobbing in her bed, her mother Kathryn could hardly bear to look at the pitiful little scrap that her once lively, happy daughter had become. The eight-year-old had been the picture of health, dashing about on her quad bike, enjoying horse riding and playing with the other children in the close-knit Welsh community of Beddau, north of Cardiff. She loved school, her terrier Charlie and following her older sisters around. But, after seven months of gruelling cancer treatment following surgery to remove a massive stomach tumour (the third in her short life), Leah Beth was at breaking point.
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Julie Mason hates it when people comment on how well she looks. 'It's as if they're questioning why I'm making such a fuss,' she says. In fact, Julie has had to become pretty good at making a fuss. For years, she's suffered from chronic pain in her lower abdomen after having surgery, but it's been a battle convincing medical professionals she needed help. At one point, she was visiting her GP surgery almost every day for a month, to insist on extra medication to get rid of the pain.
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The idea of being able to tuck into a plateful of chips without feeling guilty sounds too good to be true. We tend to think of chips as junk food - yet now you can buy 'healthy' oven chips. Low in fat, low in salt, low in sugar and high in essential nutrients, these chips could almost be considered a health food.
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Linda Robson, 48, is well-known as Tracey from Birds Of A Feather. Here, the actress frankly discusses how the menopause has affected her career and how she battled with the potentially fatal condition pancreatitis.
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A new mouthwash test can predict a woman's risk of breast cancer years before the disease sets in. It works by collecting DNA samples from the lining of the cheeks and studying them for genetic activity linked with the development of cancer.
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Going into hospital for an operation is scary enough, but these days you have something else to keep you awake at night - the worry of contracting one of the deadly 'superbugs'. A record number of people - around 5,400 - were killed by superbugs in 2004, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics.
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'Size zero' has become one of today's most contentious phrases. To some women it's the Holy Grail, to be attained whatever the cost to their long-term health and even fertility. To others, it's the terrifying obsession of an influential few which will lead impressionable young girls to develop eating disorders. Here, two women - one size 0, the other size 18 - pose for these dramatic pictures and defiantly defend their very different body shapes.
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Cancer of the bone affects a few hundred people in Britain each year. When it attacks the face or skull, major surgery is required. Retired businessman Barry Giles, 69, from Ascot, Berkshire, had two-thirds of his cancerous jawbone removed and replaced with part of his shoulder blade. At the same time - a surgical first - a replacement set of teeth was implanted. He tells MARTYN HALLE his story, while the surgeon explains the procedure
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Hospitals face snap inspections and improvement orders in the fight to cut death rates from superbugs. Trusts could also have their performance ranking downgraded if they fail to control outbreaks under the plan from the Health Commission.
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Every Tuesday, Britain's leading nutritionist explains how to eat your way to good health. This week she tackles constipation and easing osteoarthritis: For the past two months I have been suffering from severe constipation. I really don't want to start taking laxatives. What would you suggest?
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Almost half of children whose mothers smoke have asked them to quit, a survey has found. The poll of 500 smoking mothers also found two-thirds felt guilty about spending money on cigarettes which could be used for their children
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Many primary care trusts in England have cut their budget for stop smoking services, according to figures from the Conservative Party. A survey found that 44 of the 115 PCTs surveyed had cut or frozen funding during this financial year.
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Workers who spend excessive amounts of time at their desk could be putting their lives at risk, research suggests. The Medical Research Institute in New Zealand found they may have a higher risk of developing potentially fatal blood clots.
All patients coming in to hospitals for operations should be tested for the MRSA superbug, leading experts say. The Nottingham University team say this, along with better isolation procedures, could cut MRSA rates to the Scandinavian levels within six years.
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There really is something in the way she moves, according to researchers. An hourglass figure has long been perceived to be the ideal figure for a woman to have. But New York University researchers have found that to be found attractive, a woman had to move in a feminine way - swaying her hips.
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Medical tests at the top of the world - BBC Health News 13th March 2007
If you want to research intensive care medicine the top of Mount Everest may seem an odd destination, but for a group of doctors from University College London it represents the ideal laboratory. These mountaineering medics are interested in the effects of oxygen deprivation on the body - a critical problem for ICU patients - so what better location than the highest point on Earth, where there is just one-third the amount of oxygen that exists at sea level.
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International News
Exercise boosts brainpower by building new brain cells in a brain region linked with memory and middle-age memory loss, claims new research. Tests on mice have shown them to grow new brain cells in a brain region called the dentate gyrus, a part known to be affected in the age-related memory decline that begins around age 30 for most humans.
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A battery-powered electrical device worn on the knee may ease the symptoms of osteoarthritis. Researchers testing the gadget, which uses an electric current to stimulate the joint, say seven out of ten osteoarthritis patients could benefit.
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If your parents have lasted to a ripe old age, it is double cause for celebration. It means that you, too, are likely to enjoy a long innings even if you don't have a healthy lifestyle, say researchers.
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A single episode of severe stress can be enough to kill off new nerve cells in the brain, research suggests. Rosalind Franklin University researchers believe their finding may give new insights into the development of depression.
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Scientists in Egypt are examining the possibility that the deadly H5N1 Avian flu virus could be changing into a deadlier strain. Dr Suhir Hallaj, director of the World Health Organization's communicable disease programme says there is particular concern that previous victims in Egypt have suffered from respiratory problems.
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Study reveals US veterans' trauma - BBC Health News 13th March 2007
A quarter of US veterans treated by doctors when they return from Iraq and Afghanistan suffer mental health problems, according to US research. The study, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, looked at 103,788 personnel between 2001 and 2005.
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Cheshire and Merseyside News
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THE company which runs Merseyside's GP out-of-hours service has come in for a barrage of criticism in recent months. Last year, the Daily Post revealed Urgent Care 24 was being investigated, after whistleblower Roy McNally raised concerns about the patients not being properly prioritising of cases.
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Safety fear as doctor picks up drug forms - Liverpool Daily Post 13th March 2007
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Safety fear as doctor picks up drug forms - Liverpool Daily Post 13th March 2007
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CASES of the superbug clostridium difficile are falling in the region as hospitals invest in battling the potentially deadly bacteria. Figures obtained by the Daily Post under the Freedom of Information Act reveal that there has been a drop in the incidence of C. difficile in four Merseyside hospitals between 2005 and 2006.
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PARENTS and staff lost the battle to keep open a special needs unit yesterday, after an independent adjudicator ruled that it should merge with a mainstream school. Greenways special school, in Beechwood Road, Dingle, will be merged with neighbouring Matthew Arnold Primary from September.
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Special needs unit must close - Liverpool Echo 13th March 2007
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Cumbria and Lancashire News
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A £1 MILLION renal dialysis unit will be opened at the West Cumberland Hospital this week. The Dalegarth Renal Unit replaces a renal dialysis service run at Cockermouth’s Community Hospital, which operated from a prefabricated building for 30 years.
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RELATIVES of an 87-year-old woman who died last week say a stressful and unnecessary ambulance journey contributed to her death. Elsie Greene, of Little Corby, had to endure a four-hour trip from Carlisle’s Cumberland Infirmary to Brampton Cottage Hospital wearing nothing but a nightie.
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Cheaper operations lead to plastic surgery boom - Lancashire Telegraph 13th March 2007
MORE people are having cosmetic surgery at an East Lancashire private hospital than ever before, bosses have revealed. In 2006, 82 people underwent surgery at Beardwood Hospital, Preston New Road, Blackburn, compared to 34 in 2005, a rise of 141 per cent.
A FIREFIGHTER has been docked a week's wages for taking time-off to donate life-saving bone marrow to a teenage girl. Mark McCracken, 43, of Colne, who works at Blackburn Fire Station, applied for leave to travel to London after being told he was a match for the leukaemia victim.
A DOCTOR has been accused of carrying out "unnecessary and indecent" examinations on two women patients. Dr Shakir Hasan Laher, of Pringle Street, Blackburn, denies all the misconduct allegations against him.
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Hospital lifts failure ‘sorted’ - Lancashire Telegraph 13th March 2007
LIFT failures said to be causing delays at Royal Blackburn Hospital have now been repaired, bosses have said. Three of the seven lifts at the hospital had broken down, the Lancashire Telegraph reported last week.
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Greater Manchester News
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PATIENTS at four major hospitals in Greater Manchester are to be offered help to quit cigarettes. Every in-patient will be asked if they smoke and offered a referral to local 'stop smoking' services - no matter what treatment they are receiving - from the start of next month.
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DRUGS designed to treat athlete's foot could be used to fight TB, according to Manchester scientists. TB is a highly contagious lung disease which kills almost two million people a year. New strains of the disease have grown resistant to traditional drugs.
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An acne sufferer killed himself by lying in front of a train after being given a controversial drug to treat his condition. Adam Long, aged 22, had taken a course of Roaccutane and later developed depression.
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THE future of Bolton's baby and children's super-centre is to be decided by a panel of experts. After winning the battle to be named as one of the region's three centres of excellence for neonatal, baby and children's services, hospital bosses must now await the outcome of a review into the decision by the Independent Reconfiguration Panel.
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NEWS the national smoking ban could be delayed has been greeted with mixed reactions in Bolton. Human rights lawyer Jaswinder Gill, of the London law firm Ormerods, has launched an application for a judicial review on behalf of the Freedom To Choose group, which is opposed to the ban.
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MEDICAL staff at the Royal Bolton Hospital have been forced to create a rehabilitation service for patients with chronic lung disease because they cannot get funding to launch one. The hopital's chest experts admit the service offered is not as good as one that has specific funding, but said they had to do something as the service was desperately needed.
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HOSPITAL bosses are working with Age Concern to ensure pensioners are fed properly while they are patients at the Royal Bolton. Special trays were introduced into all the wards at the hospital last year to ensure those who needed help at meal times were given it and there are no visitors allowed during breakfast, lunch and dinner times. Food for patients who need help eating is sent up from the kitchen on a red tray, mustard trays are used for those patients who need supplements and green trays are for normal meals.
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SCHOOLGIRL Amy Morris is to realise her dream of swimming with dolphins and riding a rollercoaster for the first time. Because she was born with a rare heart defect, the 12-year-old twice needed emergency surgery and had a pacemaker fitted to her original heart before, in October 2003, she received a life-saving transplant.
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WHEN father-of-two Paul Jones turned 40 last year his father had already given him the perfect present - a new kidney. In the month that Kidney Awareness Day is looking to raise the profile of the transplant programme, the delivery driver told how, aged 14, he was diagnosed with henoch-schonlein purpura, an autoimmune reaction in which the body attacks its own blood vessels.
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WHEN someone you know spends time in hospital, it is inevitable that the subject of food will crop up. Hospital food has undoubtedly improved over the years - but can you guarantee that your friend or relative is receiving any in the first place?
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NHS shake-up review begins - Manchester Evening News 13th March 2007
MEMBERS of an independent panel considering the future of maternity and children's services in Greater Manchester were today visiting some of the hospitals affected by the shake-up. Health bosses want to cut overnight care for mums and babies from 13 hospitals to eight, but Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt has stepped in after complaints and asked the Independent Reconfiguration Panel to investigate.
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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