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Hundreds of thousands of Britain's elderly rely on home care visits to live a dignified life in their own house. But as local authorities reduce funding, an increasing number of our most vulnerable citizens are being neglected and are suffering as a result. Now, with our elderly population set to rise dramatically, we launch our campaign for the right to stay at home
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1 The number of cupfuls of tar found in a smoker's lungs when they die. 2 The tally of cigarettes smoked by John Hurt in a taxi during a seminal scene in the otherwise largely forgotten 1997 movie Love and Death on Long Island. The exchange between his character, the dry, pompous, depressed and very English Giles D'Eath.
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I've drunk at least a bottle of wine a day for 20 years and fear I have damaged my liver. I've stopped drinking now, but is there anything else I should be doing? I am in my late forties and scared. I've drunk a bottle of wine a day (sometimes more) for the past 15 to 20 years, and I think I have cirrhosis of the liver. For some months I've had minor discomfort from my liver area and occasionally I catch myself in the mirror and think I am looking a little yellow. I've stopped drinking now - this might be too little too late, but at least I am giving myself every chance and not making things worse. Is there anything to be gained by talking to my GP? I am ashamed and embarrassed, and as cirrhosis treatment is only really symptom control I'm not sure if anyone can help me anyway. Apart from not drinking, what more should I be doing? What should I eat? Should I give up caffeine?
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In the decadent Eighties, coming to the end of a 10-year sentence, I persuaded the governor of Oxford prison to allow me to conduct a small archaeological dig. Among the findings - shackles, chains, a rusty key, even a human thigh bone - we found scores of white clay pipes, proof (if any were needed) of an atavistic link between old lags and past centuries' equivalent of Old Holborn. Moving on a decade: one of the first places marauding prisoners broke into during the Strangeways riot was the tobacco-rich canteen. Roll-ups ruled the roost throughout that short-lived revolution. Even as we progress through the health-obsessed 'Noughties', more than 90 per cent of prisoners still smoke. So imagine the consternation when it was announced that, from 1 July, all enclosed public spaces would become, effectively, smokeless zones. 'Bird without baccy?' the cry arose. 'It's a diabolical liberty.'
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Politicians believe volunteering is the cornerstone of a civilised society. But, as Martin Newland found, red tape, fear and political correctness can get in the way of good works. Has anyone noticed how hard it is to volunteer? I don't mean collecting donations for the preservation of Vulcan bombers, or tearing tickets at the entrance to a National Trust property. I mean good old spur-of-the-moment help-my-neighbour charity.
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Official website will tell us how much carbon dioxide we are each producing and how to cut it An official calculator that enables every person in Britain to work out how much they are contributing to global warming will be launched by the government this week.
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A huge increase in the number of cosmetic surgery treatments carried out by unqualified or insufficiently qualified people is leading to the "McDonaldisation" of the industry, doctors warned yesterday. Surgeons spoke out in response to news that a New Zealand cosmetic surgery company is offering doctors a franchise after just two days' training at a hotel in Manchester.
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A government plan to cut senior staff in paediatric wards and neonatal units and replace them with trainee doctors will put infants at risk, doctors and patient groups have warned. Under the Government's controversial Modernising Medical Careers (MMC) programme, senior staff on some paediatric wards will be replaced by trainee doctors from August.
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GIRLS aged 12 are to be vaccinated against a sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer under plans to be approved this week by a government committee. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation is expected to recommend that all girls should be given the jab in the first year of secondary school to protect them against the human papilloma virus (HPV). The committee, which comprises senior health specialists, is also expected to recommend a catchup campaign to vaccinate all girls aged 12-16.
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The government is considering a ban on the sale of packs of 10 cigarettes because it believes they encourage children to take up smoking. The move is part of a new wave of antitobacco legislation being considered by Patricia Hewitt, the health secretary, to maintain momentum in the campaign against smoking after it is banned in enclosed public places from July 1. Other planned curbs on tobacco sales include outlawing the display of cigarettes in newsagents and supermarkets and removing cigarette vending machines from pubs.
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FAT and unfit patients are being prescribed country walks and cycle rides by NHS doctors as part of a government drive to tackle lazy lifestyles underlying many illnesses. The Department of Health believes many people suffering from obesity or the first signs of conditions like heart disease and diabetes could benefit more from exercise than drugs. It is running a trial in London where six GP practices are sending such patients on “health walks” and collecting data to gauge how it improves their fitness.
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He’s good-looking, he’s exciting and he loves her – but his lifestyle is making him infertile. Our correspondent hears one couple’s story and offers her advice Zita West is widely recognised as London’s leading holistic pregnancy and fertility guru, having made her name helping celebrities such as Kate Winslet and Cate Blanchett. She has been a midwife for 25 years and is also a qualified acupuncturist and nutritional therapist. West runs a holistic pregnancy and fertility clinic in central London, and is the author of several books on fertility.
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Are home whitening kits for teeth dangerous, or are there any safe ones that work?
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Few fears strike at the hearts of men more than the prospect of going bald, and there are many unproven treatments that prey on this insecurity. Male pattern baldness, or androgenic alopecia, is the most common form of hair loss and is caused by an inherited sensitivity on the scalp to certain normally occurring hormones called androgens. By the age of 30, about one-third of males show signs of baldness, and by 50 half are affected.
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Some women are seeking surgery simply because their bra is several sizes too small THE National Health Service is being urged to provide trained bra-fitters to cut the number of unnecessary breast reductions demanded by women whose lingerie is several sizes too small. A motion to the annual meeting of the British Medical Association (BMA) suggests that if bra-fitters measured the patient and then recommended the correct size of underwear, hospitals could save money on cosmetic surgery.
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Breast jobs are more popular than ever, but it’s the middle classes who are the new candidates. Businesswomen, mums, marrieds and over-40s are all getting in on the act, but you wouldn’t know it. Our correspondent reports on the subtle new teardrop shape that gives you back your twentysomething tits. I’m cupping a set of perfect breasts. They overspill my palms a little – they are roughly a C – so it’s hard to keep them steady. Their shape – round, medium projection – is what many women dream of. Well, they’re not breasts, strictly speaking. I am holding a set of £200 (wholesale price), state-of-the-art silicone implants. In these clear, rubbery sacs, filled with something that looks like grey turkish delight, lies the key to happiness for a fast-growing number of British women.
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I bloody well hope so, says Slummy Mummy. She’s terrified us, and her children, for far too long. At last parenting might be fun again At last, some good news for mothers – at least for the unsung majority of us who constitute the muddlers and befuddlers of the parenting world. We’ve done something right. A flurry of books and new research from the United States suggests that overambitious, competitive parents often end up with miserable, anxious offspring, while so-called beta parents, with more relaxed attitudes, tend to have well-rounded, less neurotic children. This will come as a relief to my friend who accidentally sent her child to school with a packet of cigarettes in his book bag, and to the mum in my son’s class who has discovered that, on the not-infrequent occasions she sleeps in on a school morning, she can get her children out of the house in five minutes flat if she bribes them with breakfast at Starbucks
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For years the baleful shade of Enoch Powell silenced debate about immigration numbers, however rational. Playing the numbers game, as it was called, was always associated with the even more shameful misdemeanour of playing the race card. As recently as November 2003, David Blunkett as home secretary blithely announced that he could not see the need for a limit on immigrants, nor did he think there was a maximum number of people that could be housed in this country.
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He was once a fully-fledged, flag-waving radical of the Labour Left who railed against the evils of capitalism. Now he has amassed a fortune working as a private contractor for the National Health Service. Reg Race, the former Labour MP and close ally of socialist firebrands Tony Benn and Ken Livingstone, has been paid millions of pounds of taxpayers' money as a result of regulations brought in by New Labour ministers. The union man-turned-consultant has also become a substantial Labour Party donor and is one of the biggest backers of Alan Johnson's bid for the party's deputy leadership. Mr Race's company, Quality Health, is one of a select band of "approved contractors" that health trusts must hire to conduct patient and staff surveys.
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Britain's best-paid civil servant is to quit as the head of NHS information technology, claiming the new, accident-prone computer system is on track. Richard Granger, the chief executive of Connecting for Health, said he would leave the post, and its £290,000-a-year salary, in October. "There is no doubt about the programme's achievability," said Mr Granger, who took up the role in October 2002. "Most of the building blocks are now in place." Karen Jennings, the head of health at Unison, the NHS's biggest trade union, said Mr Granger's optimism was at odds with the views of the "majority of NHS staff".
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Boss of troubled £12bn NHS computer project quits - The Sunday Times 17th June 2007
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Boss of troubled £12bn NHS computer project quits - The Sunday Times 17th June 2007
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A surgeon whose radical working methods earned him the praise of Tony Blair has resigned from the National Health Service because he is "disillusioned". John Petri, a consultant orthopaedic surgeon at the James Paget Hospital in Gorleston, Norfolk, was commended by the Prime Minister last year for his "dual operations" initiative. Under the system, he cut waiting lists by carrying out overlapping operations in different theatres. His rigorous schedule won him the prestigious Medical Futures Award in 2005.
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A blood test has been developed that could allow doctors to diagnose mental illnesses, such as depression and schizophrenia, before patients begin to display symptoms. Prof Sabine Bahn, a psychiatrist at Cambridge University, has found different mental health disorders have their own distinctive chemical "signatures". She claims the test will speed up the diagnosis of psychiatric disease, which at present can take up to three years while the patient's condition worsens. The NHS currently spends more than £12 billion a year on mental health care.
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It blights millions of lives ... and, with obesity on the rise, it's going to affect plenty more. So how do women with polycystic ovary syndrome cope? And what hope of doctors soon finding a cure? Anna Moore reports In January this year Vicki Jones was lying back for a facial at the Carden Park Hotel near Chester. It was the first treatment in her 'spa day', a Christmas present from John, her fiancé.
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Wounded British troops are being evacuated from the battlefield more slowly than the Americans managed in Vietnam 40 years ago, one of the Army's most senior surgeons has revealed. In a withering attack on defence medical policy, Lt Col Paul Parker condemned the treatment of injured troops in Iraq and Afghanistan as being "excessively slow". He blamed the delays on "too much middle management". Several soldiers have died in Afghanistan following delays in deploying a helicopter and medical crew, The Sunday Telegraph has learnt.
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I am 64 and was diagnosed as lactose intolerant three years ago. I have eliminated cow's milk from my diet but, on occasion, I'm still bloated and uncomfortable after eating, so I think the intolerance may be broader than diagnosed. Two years ago I developed scalp psoriasis, which I find very difficult to control. Are the two conditions linked and is there anything else I should avoid? I use soy products in place of cow's milk.
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Texting on your mobile could soon be the quickest way to call for police help. The Government has given the go-ahead for a new 999 text-messaging emergency line which will work in tandem with the traditional call centre. Soon typing in text speak "hlp 5-o sum1 hs brokN n2 my hous" - 'Help police, someone has broken into my house' - should summon an emergency response.
Medical research using hybrid embryos that are a mixture of human and animal is "vital" in the fight against disease, scientists have said. The Academy of Medical Sciences said it backed the draft Human Tissue and Embryos Bill allowing embryos that were 99.9% human and 0.1% animal.
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Move to lift ban on hybrid embryos - The Independent on Sunday 17th June 2007
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Doctors need guidance on how to avoid problems when using the latest telecommunications technology to reach patients, says a researcher. Dr Hilary Pinnock, a GP from Edinburgh, said everything from consultations with patients on mobiles, to hi-tech 'telecare' projects should be covered. She said doctors may be legally vulnerable if confidential data goes astray, or a misdiagnosis is made.
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'I love my new C cup breasts' - BBC Health News 16th June 2007
For the first time in her life Lucy Wingate feels she has a shape she is happy with. "My body is more womanly and I have my curves in all the right places," she said. Last week the 26-year-old single mother of two had a breast enhancement, thanks to a new service - mybreast.org - which makes the UK's top plastic surgeons available at prices women like unemployed Lucy can afford.
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International News
Unicef nutrition expert sparks controversy with attack on spoon-feeding from tins and jars. Feeding babies on pureed food is unnatural and unnecessary, according to one of Unicef's leading child care experts, who says they should be fed exclusively with breast milk and formula milk for the first six months, then weaned immediately on to solids. Gill Rapley, deputy director of Unicef's Baby Friendly Initiative and a health visitor for 25 years, said spoon-feeding pureed food to children can cause health problems later in life
FOIE GRAS, enjoyed as a luxury since ancient Egyptian times, may be linked to the onset of diseases including Alzheimer’s, type 2 diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis, researchers have suggested. The scientists who carried out the study say those with a family history of such illnesses should consider avoiding foie gras. The possible risk comes from “amyloid” proteins found in the delicacy, which is made from the swollen livers of force-fed geese and ducks. The proteins have been linked to the onset of all these conditions.
South Africa's controversial health minister, nicknamed Dr Beetroot for urging Aids patients to combat the disease with beetroot and garlic rather than anti-retroviral drugs, has given her opponents a headache within days of returning from prolonged sick leave. Back to work three months after undergoing a liver transplant after a lengthy battle with hepatitis, Dr Manto Tshabalala-Msimang wasted no time in redressing a new climate of cooperation that had been forged between Aids activists and government officials in her absence.
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A brief delay in cutting a newborn baby's umbilical cord can significantly improve a child's health, a new study reveals. Waiting just two minutes before severing the cord can halve the risk of serious blood disorders and have an 'important impact', on a baby's wellbeing.
Carrying out checks on embryos for genetic disorders incurs no more risk than standard IVF, researchers suggest. The latest study from Brussels' Free University looked at the outcomes of 583 children born after preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD).
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Man dies of bird flu in Vietnam - BBC Health News 16th June 2007
A man has died of bird flu in Vietnam, in the first confirmed human death from the virus there since 2005, health officials said. The 20-year-old died in the northern Ha Tay province, state media reported.
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Cumbria and Lancashire News
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‘Routine-op’ death was accident - Carlisle News & Star 16th June 2007
A FORMER Egremont nurse died after a routine operation because of a tragic accident, a coroner has ruled. But John Taylor, coroner for north and west Cumbria, has recommended improvements to the West Cumberland Hospital’s communication, note-keeping and medical warning system following in inquest into the death of Jean Rogers.
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Greater Manchester News
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TEN new arrivals at Wythenshawe Hospital's maternity unit are causing a bit of a flap. Matilda the duck checked in six weeks ago - and now her little ones are proving a constant source of entertainment. The mallard chicks are the first to take up residence in the ornamental pond next to the unit, but maternity staff are hoping it could be the start of a long relationship.
A TOP eye doctor, who has carried out groundbreaking research into the link between smoking and blindness, has had a face-to-face meeting with Prime Minister Tony Blair. Dr Simon Kelly, who works at the Royal Bolton Hospital, was one of just a dozen public services workers invited to meet Mr Blair at a special event this week. The ophthalmic surgeon was nominated by his colleagues.
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Stopping abuse of the elderly - The Bolton News 16th June 2007
Mental health bosses are working with Salford City Council to highlight the problem of older people suffering abuse. A campaign was launched on World Elder Abuse Awareness Day yesterday to safeguard vulnerable adults.
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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