Welcome to the Podcast of Another 15 Minutes, Health News from the Fade Library. Full links to the articles detailed can be found at www (dot) fade the blog 2 (dot) blogspot (dot)com
New SectionUK Health News
New Story
Allergic Britain: 20 million will be affected as conditions approach epidemic levels - The Guardian 26th September 2007
A new collaboration aims to ensure the government effectively engages with patients, carers and service users. Its chair tells Saba Salman why she is convinced that early involvement to shape policy is the best way forward
Lynsey Hanley argues eloquently for the need for politicians who know what it is like to be very poor (We need a Mr Ten Per Cent, September 25). People who experience poverty are the ones who know the problems caused by poverty best and how it should be sorted out. When given the rare chance, poor people participate in decision-making with great energy, commitment and thoughtfulness.
New Story
Campaigners attack UK over Aids funding - The Guardian 26th September 2007The British government was yesterday accused of breaking its G8 pledge to help defeat Aids when it revealed it would only marginally increase its contribution to the Global Fund for Aids, Malaria and Tuberculosis.
New Story
New Story
Last-minute deal may reprieve factories and stave off defeat - The Guardian 25th September 2007Thousands of manufacturing jobs for disabled people could be saved today after an unexpected last-minute deal between the unions and ministers. The work and pensions secretary, Peter Hain, is expected to promise a review of the closure of the 42 Remploy factories when he addresses the Labour conference.
Additional Story
Hain heads off row with unions over factories for the disabled - The Times 26th September 2007
Additional Story
Unions threaten to defeat Brown on low pay and Remploy closure - The Guardian 22nd September 2007
Additional Story
Disabled Remploy staff march in protest over factory closures - The Times 24th September 2007
New Story
New Story
Michael Moore's new film, Sicko, which is out next month, contrasts the US's privatised healthcare system with Britain's free NHS. It shows Americans without insurance dumped in the street; children refused life-saving treatment because their parents can't pay; hospitals run for profit, not for patients. The UK, meanwhile, is a glorious place where everyone receives the treatment they need, whatever their income; where doctors earn high salaries and are paid extra for preventative care; where the public ethos is as strong as ever after almost 60 years. For this special G2 report we took 16 NHS workers to an advance screening of Sicko and asked them: is the British way of medicine really that good?
Häagen-Dazs by the tub, jelly beans and Jaffa Cakes - Monty Panesar's diet horrifies Dr John Briffa
Alzheimer's is now on the insurers' list of critical illnesses. Independent life insurance and protection specialist LifeSearch is advising people to protect themselves against the expense of long-term care for Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia.
The NHS is facing £4.5bn in compensation claims over alleged blunders by midwives and doctors that have left babies suffering severe brain damage, The Observer can reveal.
Barbara Ellen: Six out of 10 of us would rather die than exercise - The Observer 23rd September 2007It was impossible not to love Marco Pierre White on Hell's Kitchen. Such was the man's slow-burn charisma he made Gordon Ramsay look like he'd spent his entire TV career in screechy Fanny Craddock meltdown. Napkins knotted pirate-style to catch the sweat; cobra eyes glinting when a pudding failed to arrive; lolling about on top of counters like an off-duty rock star - Marco was Colonel Kurtz in chef's whites. You kept looking around the pestles and the boiling pans, wondering: where are the helicopters?
New Story
Thousands of children with autism in the UK could benefit from taking drugs such as Prozac, a US psychiatrist said yesterday. Professor Eric Hollander, from the Mount Sinai medical centre in New York, said a third of children diagnosed in the United States were on antidepressants and British children were being under-treated. Although the drugs are not licensed for autism, he said there was evidence they could reduce its symptoms, enabling some children to travel on public transport or go to mainstream schools.
Additional Story
'Give more autistic children Prozac' says expert - Daily Mail 21st September 2007
New Story
Alan Johnson is right to issue a new clothing guidelines for NHS staff (Doctors' long-sleeved coats banished to counter MRSA, September 17). At West Middlesex university hospital in Isleworth, west London, we have provided doctors with short-sleeved tunic uniforms, made of quick-drying, antimicrobial fabric to help fight infection. The initiative will begin with our junior doctors, who will all wear the uniform from next month, and demonstrates the level of our commitment to fighting infection.
Additional Story
New Story
How to stay healthy while you're studying - The Guardian 22nd September 2007
If you weigh more then when you started your course, you're not alone - it's just a case of 'fat fresher syndrome'. Joanne Christie discovers how to stay healthy while you're studying
Penal reformers last night claimed that increased overcrowding lay behind the rising number of deaths in prison, after the first official count revealed the annual figure was nearly 600. The first annual report from the Forum for Preventing Deaths in Custody shows that one third of those who die in psychiatric detention, prisons and police stations do so for reasons other than natural causes, including suicide.
New Story
Hypnotist told to tone down ads for slimming system - The Independent 26th September 2007His powers over people's minds are well known but the hypnotist Paul McKenna may be less capable of permanently changing the bodies of his clients, according to a report by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). An ad for a Paul McKenna event is criticised today for implying participants were guaranteed permanent weight loss. A photo of the hypnotist featured in the ad along with the claim his programme was: "The most effective weight loss system available. Lose weight and keep it off."
New Story
New safety rules are to be drawn up for Wi-Fi in schools for the first time in Britain, after a local authority officially voiced concern last week about possible effects on children's health.
New Story
Surgeon reveals the perfect breast shape - The Independent on Sunday 23rd September 2007The secret of the perfect breast augmentation surgery will be presented at a conference taking place at London's Royal College of Surgeons this week. Plastic surgeon Patrick Mallucci has come up with a formula for perfection based on research into topless models who have not gone under the knife. He has come up with a list of attributes and a specific ratio to use as a template.
Additional Story
New Story
Older women unaware of rising breast cancer risk - The Independent 21st September 2007More than half of British women do not know that the risk of breast cancer increases with age. The charity Breast Cancer Care discovered in a survey that 58 per cent of women did not realise that their age has a major influence on the likelihood of contracting the disease.
New Story
Scotland is the second-fattest nation in the developed world, with only the United States having higher obesity levels, a report revealed yesterday. Figures show for the first time the full extent of the link between obesity and serious illness in Scotland, with obese people 18 per cent more likely to receive hospital treatment than those of normal weight.
Additional Story
Scotland is second in the world for obesity - The Telegraph 26th September 2007The UK Tea Council broke advertising rules by exaggerating the drink’s health benefits, the industry watchdog ruled. Its poster recommended drinking four cups of tea daily to “contribute to a diet rich in antioxidants”. The advertisement said: “Five portions of fruit and veg plus four cups of tea. It all adds up to a healthy diet.”
Additional Story
New Story
Confessions of a chronically sceptical back sufferer -The Times 26th September 2007There are two ways of dealing with the agony of a bad back. The first is to invite a largish bone-cruncher, otherwise known as an osteopath, to arrange your limbs into a pattern of exquisite vulnerability, and wait until he drops the full weight of his body on to your spine. There will then be a palpable crack as two of your lumbar vertebrae are driven into realignment; a few days later you are back on your feet; the only drawback is that if he gets it wrong, you may never walk again.
New Story
General back pain: According to the charity Back-Care, half of all children suffer back problems at some time, and for two to three children in every class that pain is chronic or recurrent. For many, changing life-style can help – avoid heavy bags, slouching at desks and computers or in front of the TV, and increase physical activity. If the back pain is chronic and severe, consult a paediatric physiotherapist via your GP.
Additional Story
Additional Story
Additional Story
Additional Story
Additional Story
Additional Story
Additional Story
Additional Story
Sprains and dislocations - The Times 26th September 2007
New Story
THE Quiet Man is speaking up. Yes, Iain Duncan Smith, the former Conservative leader, is making a lot of noise about health chiefs in his constituency who objected to nurses meeting him to discuss NHS cuts.
THREE cheers for knitting. Knit one, purl one. Or should that be nipple one, purl one, asks Nursing Standard (Sept 19). It seems that knitted breasts, used to teach mums how to breastfeed, are proving popular with midwives – Unicef provides a pattern and the devices are cheap to produce, ideal for the cash-strapped NHS. What odds on sexual health clinics using knitted props to show youngsters what’s what? Kid knitters have also produced so many woollen suits to protect penguins saved from oil slicks that there is now a surplus, Third Sector (Sept 19) reports. A lack of oil slicks means that spare woollies are piling up.
NEXT week is the long-awaited introduction of the Department of Health’s new national framework for NHS continuing care. The system is designed to bring to an end years of dispute and confusion as to who qualifies for free continuing care from the NHS and who has to pay for care from social services departments.
DR ELIZABETH ANDERSON on Leicester’s model of interprofessional education, which led to her award of a National Teaching Fellowship from the Higher Education Academy this year
GPs could soon be offering surgeries in supermarkets, high-street shops, pharmacies and gyms. Ministers have backed calls by employers to shake up primary care because the present system leads to millions of lost working days because people take time off to see their doctor.
THE “politically sensitive” debate over hospital reconfiguration could become even more sensitive with the publication of a new report, Health Service Journal (Sept 20) suggests. A study by the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, commissioned by the Department of Health, backs proposals to reconfigure specialist services such as paediatrics and obstetrics. It says that centralising services that deliver complex treatment results in better outcomes.
Despite drugs no longer being available on the NHS to treat dementia patients at the early stages of the disease, Neil Hunt encourages early diagnosis, writes Jennifer Taylor
WHAT happens when you ask people’s opinion and you don’t like the answer? It’s a quandary the Government may increasingly face, with its seeming obsession over asking the public for their views on just about everything. GP (Sept 21) reports that patients prefer small practices, a finding that flies in the face of the Government’s plans for polyclinics and supersurgeries. The Improving Practice Questionnaire, which questioned patients at 2,500 practices, shows that satisfaction levels are higher in small practices, particularly in relation to telephone and 48-hour access, the ability to see their first choice of practitioner and waiting times.
New Story
Muslim dentist ‘made patient cover her head’ - The Times 25th September 2007A Muslim dentist insisted that a young woman wear an Islamic headscarf before he would agree to treat her for toothache, the General Dental Council was told yesterday. The patient, a community nurse, alleges that she reluctantly told Omer Butt, 31, who runs a dental practice in Bury, Greater Manchester, that she was a nonpractising Muslim.
Additional Story
Muslim dentist 'humiliated patient by forcing her to wear Islamic headscarf' - Daily Mail 24th September 2007
Temperature chart Body temperature of below 30C: Severe risk of hypothermia. High risk of fatality in babies and children.
Additional Story
Additional Story
High temperatures - The Times 25th September 2007 If in doubt call the doctor. That’s the key to family health The advances in medical practice over the past 50 years have been awe-inspiring but the latest statistics indicate that British households are not deriving the same benefits from them as those in the rest of Western Europe
New Story
The diagnosis is mixed. In parts, the NHS is brilliant, with some of the most talented doctors in the world performing some of the most innovative, life-saving treatments. In other parts, it is woeful. Patients die of hospital-acquired infections and operating theatres stand empty on Fridays while patients wait.
I was interested to see the picture of Zoë Ball cycling at Hove along the path in front of the beach huts (Sept 21 ). This is a no-cycling path. It would be good if “people on higher incomes who tend to be better educated” were also able to read and observe the signs.
A year-long pilot study to ascertain the effect of healthy school meals on children’s behaviour and performance is starting today. Pupils at eight primary schools are being given free, nutritious breakfasts, lunches or snacks for the rest of the academic year while researchers analyse the children’s weight, achievement, motivation, ability to concentrate and level of illness.
I have just had another falling-out with my daughter and don’t know how to cope with her. She is 20 but it sometimes feels as if she is still a toddler. She is a lovely girl much of the time and when she is in a good mood she is a delight to have around. The trouble is, we never know when she is going to be like this and when she is going to be bad-tempered, moody, uncommunicative and weepy.
Continuing our series on how to deal with the most common problems in family health, we looks at bites, burns and open wounds
Additional Story
Additional Story
Medicine cabinet: skin injuries - The Times 24th September 2007
New Story
A Chinese factory supplying fake medicinal drugs has been exposed for providing dangerously powerful Viagra to British chemists. An Insight investigation has identified a factory in China supplying Viagra that is three times the maximum strength of the genuine product. It is life-threatening to men with heart conditions.
A new superbug that scientists believe is brought into Britain through the food chain is infecting about 30,000 people a year, according to government experts. Research has found that between 10% and 14% of those who are infected with the drug-resistant form of E-coli die within 30 days of catching the bug, which would suggest 3,000-4,200 deaths. This would be double the number of deaths from MRSA.
Millions of people have imaginary allergies and food intolerances, according to a survey last week. Many of them have diagnosed themselves online; one in 50 says they only noticed their “problem” when a friend had similar symptoms; and 39% of people questioned think it is “trendy” to claim a food allergy. Twelve million people claim to suffer from allergy or intolerance, of which less than a quarter are medically diagnosed.
What's the alternative? Complementary medicine and alternative health solutions to your problems I have a six-month-old girl who has sleeping problems. My GP referred her to a paediatrician, who has not found anything clinically wrong. She is restless at night, so I tried a sleeping bag, which improved her sleeping, but she then developed a rash. I am pulling my hair out. What else can I try?
New Story
Backpedaller - The Sunday Times 23rd September 2007Every time a dastardly driver swaps four wheels for two, it saves the nation as much as £400 a year through reduced medical bills, congestion and pollution. That’s the shock news from Cycling England, the government-funded body charged with promoting pedal power.
New Story
GPs’ generous pay deal costs £1.8bn more than ministers bargained for - The Times 22nd September 2007Changes to GPs’ working arrangements and a generous pay rise for doctors have cost the Government £1.8 billion more than ministers bargained for, new figures have revealed. The introduction of performance-related pay in 2004 has led to average GP wages rising by 30 per cent, with some earning up to £250,000 a year.
Additional Story
New Story
Talking heads - The Times 22nd September 2007Laughter may be the best medicine, but the celebrity psychotherapist Pamela Stephenson tells Janice Turner why our mental wellbeing can also benefit from a stint on the couch
New Story
Kinder on joints, burns up more calories, great for pregnant women – it’s why more and more of us are taking up aqua-jogging, says As I was clocking up lengths of my local pool recently, to the right of me in a lane of her own was a woman practising a technique that resembled no swimming stroke I had ever seen. Red faced and puffing she was shoulder-deep in water, but appeared more upright than even breaststroke might allow, and was bobbing along rather than ploughing forwards through the water. On closer inspection she was not swimming at all but running in the water, kept afloat by a buoyancy belt and substituting lengths of the pool for laps of a track.
Ten years ago Ian Belcher endured seven days of enemas. On a return visit he lost a stone, and some wrinkles It's a feast: an alfresco banquet of chicken curry, Thai vegetables and tropical fruit, served on board a sun-licked boat above a reef. But not one of the passengers touches a morsel. We gaze at the spread adoringly until Tim Warmath, a London-based recruitment expert, finally cracks and grabs a slice of watermelon. “It’s OK,” he explains. “I’m only going to suck. It’s just juice. It’s allowed.”
Bumps, burns, bruises: every day A&Es successfully treat thousands of kids. Simon Crompton peeks behind the scenes Dr Jon Baker, an accident and emergency consultant at the Lister Hospital, in Chelsea, West London, hates trampolines. A week or so ago he saw a ten-year-old boy who had fallen on to the padded edging and ruptured his spleen. If the boy hadn’t turned up at hospital with stomach pains, and had his spleen removed, he would have died.
Before tackling the tough topic of cannabis with her daughter, Michele Kirsch sought expert advice There was a sign on the wall of my 13-year-old daughter’s bedroom. It a postcard by the drugs education programme FRANK that say: “Busted for blow. Cannabis is still illegal.” Kitty has always been vehemently antitobacco, so I figured, in a prematurely smug kind of way, that this was her way of telling her mates – some of whom have tried cannabis – that she thought it was wrong. But when I read the postcard with my spectacles on I saw that she had doctored the message to read: “Busted for blow. Cannabis should not be illegal.”
Each week our ace nutritionist tracks down a good meal at a supermarket and gives a breakdown, per portion, of its content. This week: Asda Extra Special Wild Mushroom Soup
Aids, TB and malaria are responsible for more than six million deaths each year and have a devastating social and economic impact on millions more. Increased resources and political will are needed to win the war against these diseases. The Replenishment Conference of the Global Fund to Fight Aids, TB and Malaria next week provides an unprecedented opportunity for the UK Government to demonstrate both.
New Story
Your story about the athlete Yvonne Murray and her little girl moved me to tears. No parent should have to watch their child suffer as she did. I looked at my own two children (aged 4 and 6) and thanked my lucky stars that they seem to be fit and healthy. Then it hit me – my parents went through exactly the same thing with me.
Using fresh ingredients and more than a dash of science, Chris Horridge says we can eat ourselves well. Anyone for echinacea winter pudding, asks Sheila Keating
New Story
Valerian helped one student to find peace at night, says Tom Hirst Late-night revision for looming exams can trigger a relentless pattern of sleepless nights, but for Mandi Jones, 27 (pictured right), from London, lack of sleep was leaving her so emotionally drained that she had to seek professional advice. She was studying for her part-time masters degree in human resource management and organisational analysis, while also working as a management consultant, and found the pressure of work was making it progressively more difficult to get to sleep.
New Story
People with advanced bowel cancer have been offered fresh hope of a potential cure, according to a study. Researchers found that one in nine patients could have cancers that had spread to their livers cleared by a combination of the drug Avastin and chemotherapy.
The Justice Minister, Jack Straw, became the most senior Labour minister last night to speak out against the decriminalisation of cannabis. He told Channel Four News that he was against downgrading it to a class C drug.
New Story
Lack of sleep 'doubles heart risk' - The Telegraph 25th September 2007Busy workers cutting out sleep as part of a "work hard, play hard" lifestyle are twice as likely to die from heart disease. Research from the University of Warwick and University College London found a doubled risk of fatal cardiovascular disease among people who cut their sleeping patterns from seven to five hours a night.
Additional Story
Bad sleeping 'doubles heart risk' - BBC Health News 24th September 2007
Additional Story
New Story
Details of dozens of NHS blunders have been disclosed — including an incident where a patient had brain surgery on the wrong side of his head. The previously confidential documents, released under the Freedom of Information Act, reveal a string of near fatalities, such as a patient who had to be resuscitated after going into cardiac arrest when a nurse administered drugs incorrectly.
New Story
Eleven doctors are still free to work in the NHS despite being convicted of sex and child pornography offences, The Daily Telegraph can reveal today. The General Medical Council (GMC) has imposed conditions on six of them but five are free to treat patients unsupervised, according to figures released under the Freedom of Information Act.
What you do with your organs is your affair, says Max Pemberton I've only had to do it once, and it's one of those things I hope I'll never have to do again. My mouth was dry, my palms sweaty and my voice tremulous. The only thing that kept me focused was the thought that things were so much worse for the family I was talking to.
Health inspectors will start making unannounced spot checks on hospital wards amid fears that elderly and vulnerable patients are being increasingly neglected, it has emerged. The Healthcare Commission, which regulates hospitals, believes the dramatic move is necessary because standards of care for older people are being breached so regularly.
James LeFanu on doing away with dowager's hump, odd injuries and hospital hygiene The privilege of standing upright can be a costly one, with back pain caused by the downward pressure of gravity on the base of the spine being among the most common of human afflictions. More seriously, the thinning of the bone with age can so weaken the spinal column that it cracks under the strain, which results in a compression fracture of the vertebrae.
New Story
Britain's most senior doctors have attacked Labour's plans to centralise hospital services, warning that its policies are putting lives at risk. Doctors from 15 royal colleges have delivered a serious embarrassment to the Government in a report that was commissioned by ministers.
It's rarely spoken about, but tokophobia – a pathological fear of giving birth – is a condition that affects as many as one in six women, and can lead in the most extreme cases to abortion, self-harm and even suicide. Stephanie Rafanelli talks to three women who managed to overcome their terror and have children, and one who didn't
Forget anxieties about sinful carbs and saintly superfoods. The secret to wellbeing is not what you eat, but how you eat it, as Anna Murphy discovered when she submitted herself to the Mayr cure – the Austrian regimen beloved of the London glitterati – and relearnt the art of mastication
It is a look made notorious by Joan Rivers, Cher and other addicts of plastic surgery. But the era of the Hollywood “windswept” facelift could be drawing to a close following a discovery about how the human face ages.
David Blunkett, the former home secretary, has blamed a culture of risk aversion for the failure by two police staff to try to rescue a drowning boy. Mr Blunkett sparked a debate on whether emergency service workers should be acting on "instinct", rather than following strict rules, when it came to saving lives.
Additional Story
The Health and Safety laws - The Sunday Telegraph 23rd September 2007
Additional Story
Police under orders not to save drowning victims - The Sunday Times 23rd September 2007
Additional Story
Emergency services 'do anything to avoid putting themselves at risk' - Daily Mail 24th September 2007
New Story
Newborn boy found abandoned in Liverpool - The Telegraph 22nd September 2007
Sixteen-year-olds will no longer be able to buy cigarettes under new laws which come into force within days. The legal minimum age to buy tobacco will go up from 16 to 18 on October 1. The move will eventually save 1,700 lives a year through reduced smoking rates, a secret Department of Health document says.
Campaigners accused the Government of double standards after it was announced that all NHS staff would keep their final salary pension schemes. Under the new agreement between unions and the health service, existing workers will be allowed to retire at 60. Only those joining from April will have to work until they are 65.
A major advance in fertility treatment is signalled today as doctors unveil details of a technique that will allow human eggs to be grown in the laboratory from ovarian tissue samples. The procedure, which is being pioneered by two British fertility clinics, involves taking a piece of ovary tissue from a woman and "banking" it in a laboratory until she is ready to start a family.
EPAs are to have an expensive replacement, says Harriet Meyer Anyone who thinks they might need to arrange an "enduring power of attorney" should consider doing so without delay. New rules governing these arrangements, which take effect on Monday, 1 October 2007, will make the process more expensive and complicated, solicitors say.
Nina Grunfeld's 7 Steps to a Successful Life. 5: Rethink your failures There's a story I've heard about an American baseball player who was booed by 50,000 people as he entered the stadium (supposedly for taking drugs, but that's irrelevant to the point).
London is turning into one peculiar big race track, says Diana McAdam An invitation to join the London Rat Race may not sound very appealing, particularly if you commute on the Tube, but next weekend up to 1,000 people will be answering the call. London is about to be transformed into an adventure sports arena that makes ingenious use of the capital's landscape and landmarks.
Females are flocking up mountains – using grace, not grunt, says Nicholas Roe Diana Harrison-Murray is teetering 30 feet above the ground next to a rocky chasm she must jump over if she’s to continue her climb.
National Health Service dentists can earn up to £128,000 a year, according to Government figures. The highest earners can take home almost twice that of the lowest earning dentists who have a salary of £61,125, the figures from tax returns show.
New Story
A church warden carried on abusing girls after the vicar dismissed fears about his behaviour with the comment: "Yorkshire people are fairly tactile." Michael Matthews, an assistant priest, told the vicar that he had seen William Middleton being 'unnecessarily physical' with children.
Women with advanced breast cancer live longer by taking the drug Herceptin even after a relapse, a study reveals. Those who continue with treatment when the disease has progressed are three times more likely to be alive two years later compared to those who do not.
As more and more Britons become 'dental tourists' seeking cheap treatment abroad, one woman's cautionary tale: Lisa Hewer had always been self-conscious about her teeth, after losing the front two in a moped accident 20 years ago.
Earlier this year Peter Duncan, 53, actor, Chief Scout and all-round action man, sat in his doctor's surgery and was told he needed statins. The drugs are given to those who've either had a heart attack or are at risk of having one in the future.
More people than ever say they suffer from seasonal depression, but some experts now believe it's little more than hypochondria. So who's right? When Eva Nahlik arrived back in Britain after living in the sweltering heat of Dubai for four years, she knew winter was going to be tough.
New Story
When children's TV presenter Dom Wood learnt that his fiancée Sandi's father had cancer of the blood, he was devastated. The condition, known as myeloma, was untreatable. His grandfather, Sam Wood, had died of it 40 years ago. "Tommy was one of my greatest friends," he says. "He wasn't just Sandi's father. He was a hero of mine."
Children who spend all day playing computer games and watching television are more likely to fall ill with infections and diseases, experts have warned. It is feared a "Playstation generation" of youngsters, who rarely play outside, are missing out on building up their immune systems early in life.
New Story
Tiredness and a lack of energy are common complaints among parents of young children. Here, in an extract from her new book, Jane Clarke suggests easy and practical ways for mothers - and anyone with a busy lifestyle - to improve their well-being and sleep better.
Loss of hearing isn't the only ear problem bringing misery to millions. Yet from dizziness to constant buzzzing, these soul-destroying conditions are often ignored. Deafness as a result of old age is an extremely common problem, affecting millions of Britons. However, there are also many people - including those in their 20s and 30s - who suffer from other types of ear complaints that can be just just as distressing.
A million Britons suffer from an abnormal heartbeat. Pinpointing the cause is notoriously difficult. Here Lizzy Blakey, 57, a nurse from Durham, describes undergoing a new technique to CAROL DAVIS, while her surgeon explains the procedure:
Acupuncture is twice as effective at reducing lower back pain than conventional medicines, according to researchers. But pretend acupuncture, where the needles are inserted less deeply, has also been found to have a similar effect, suggesting that the pain relief could be psychological.
New Story
How I risked paralysis to cure my epileptic fits - Daily Mail 25th September 2007From the age of nine, Sean Goldthorpe began suffering up to 20 epileptic seizures a day. Medication failed to have any effect, and the continuing fits disrupted every aspect of his life — even bringing with them the threat of future brain damage.
New Story
Drug addicts 'deserve lottery cash as much as play groups' - Daily Mail 24th September 2007Drug addicts are just as deserving of National Lottery money as volunteers who run play centres, one of the game's bosses said yesterday. The remarks by the chief executive of the Big Lottery Fund, Stephen Dunmore, are certain to outrage those who buy tickets in the hope that the money will go to good causes.
New Story
An inquiry has been launched after a mother died at a maternity unit where 10 others lost their lives. The woman, in her twenties, is believed to have collapsed after suffering rare complications during childbirth.
The human form of mad cow disease could become endemic throughout the UK, a leading scientist warned today. Thousands could be infected with variant CJD without symptoms and blood transfusions, and surgical equipment used on them could lead to the spread of the disease.
Additional Story
Warning on vCJD blood screening - BBC Health News 24th September 2007
New Story
They have been through some tough times in their short lives but for these incredibly rare identical sisters the world is now at their feet. At 18 months Ellie, Georgina, Jessica and Holly Carles, who arrived against odds of 64 million to one, have left their health problems behind.
New Story
Thousands of students are developing neck, shoulder and wrist pains after using laptops in bed, on the floor or on their laps. A survey conducted by University College London for the Ergonomics Society found 57 per cent of students had experienced aches and pains due to laptop use, with seven per cent having pain a lot of the time.
New Story
Children with dyspraxia 'falsely labelled naughty' - Daily Mail 24th September 2007Thousands of children who have dyspraxia are misunderstood and unfairly labelled, according to a survey published today. Sometimes unkindly referred to as "clumsy child" syndrome, developmental dyspraxia is an impairment of the organisation of movement which can lead to problems with coordination and simple day-to-day tasks many people take for granted.
A senior teacher died after returning to school against medical advice because she felt under pressure to be at work for a crucial Ofsted report, an inquest heard. Margaret Pettitt, a deputy headmistress at a primary school, had been urged by hospital doctors to rest at home after falling and injuring her leg while preparing for the inspection.
New Story
A nightclub's decision to turn away a disabled girl on crutches has been branded 'absolutely ludicrous' by the Disability Rights Commission. Jennifer Bartle, 20, said she felt "angry and humiliated" after she was refused entry on the grounds her crutches could be potential offensive weapons.
New Story
A breakfast of cereal and white toast could raise the risk of a potentially deadly liver disease, research suggests. Scientists have shown that diets rich in rapidly-digested carbohydrates raise the risk of fatty liver, a condition that can lead to liver failure and death.
New Story
The government wants to give patients better access to family doctors. But the profession doubts there is really demand for it. So why are ministers gearing up for a battle?
New Story
A major survey is to try to establish how many people are malnourished when they enter hospitals and care homes. The three-day investigation by nutrition charity Bapen - assessing more than 500 institutions across the UK - is the first of its kind.
New Story
Sick children face 40-mile trip - BBC Health News 24th September 2007Critically ill children in the west of Scotland will be taken more than 40 miles to Edinburgh for intensive care after a bug hit the Glasgow unit. The unit at Glasgow's Royal Hospital for Sick Children at Yorkhill has been closed to new admissions.
New Story
In a series focusing on medical specialties, the BBC News website meets midwife Gill Lesley. A midwife provides advice, care and support for women, their partners and families through pregnancy and the first 28 days after birth, after which care transfers to a health visitor.
New Story
The vast majority of smokers in England have been respecting the ban on lighting up in enclosed public places introduced in July, a survey suggests. Some 97% of 2,500 adults polled for groups including Asthma UK said they were either not smoking where it is banned or were giving up completely.
New Story
Action urged on cancer 'timebomb' - BBC Health News 23rd September 2007Some elderly people are dying because of substandard cancer care and the problem is set to increase with rising life expectancy, an expert is warning. The UK and other European countries need to face up to the challenges of tackling this cancer "timebomb", the European Cancer Conference will hear.
New Story
Leading academics have warned that UK medical graduates face increased competition for jobs from doctors from abroad, but some overseas doctors say that they are not being given a fair crack of the whip by the NHS.
A false belief among young HIV patients that the virus can be cured is fuelling a rise in infection levels, a specialist has claimed. Dr Veerakathy Harindra says a quarter of his young HIV patients wrongly believe a cure has already been found.
The charity Carers UK says relatives and partners looking after sick, elderly and disabled people save the UK an estimated £87bn a year in money that might otherwise be spent looking after them.
A team of doctors and nurses has just returned from climbing Mount Everest where they carried out extensive research at altitude designed to improve the treatments of patients in intensive care.
A genetic test which can detect signs of prostate cancer in urine has been launched in the UK. It could make the diagnosis of the disease more accurate and reduce unnecessary biopsies in some men.
An official has been employed to tackle childhood obesity in Birmingham, where a third of 11-year-olds are overweight. Dr Patrick Lowe has been employed by the city council to encourage youngsters to have more exercise and healthy food - at a cost of £45,000.
A diet rich in potatoes, white bread and white rice may be contributing to a "silent epidemic" of a dangerous liver condition. "High-glycaemic" foods - rapidly digested by the body - could be causing "fatty liver", increasing the risk of serious illness.
A wildlife haven off the north Devon coast has been closed to the public until 4 October after a stomach bug hit residents and visitors. Lundy Island bosses announced the "drastic action" as they battled to stop a virus sweeping the community.
A woman who drunkenly abused doctors, nurses and ambulance staff in Leeds has been banned from calling the ambulance service in England and Wales. Kathryn Gummery, 28, received the Asbo, which also bans her from the two main hospitals in Leeds, at the city's magistrates' court on Thursday.
An outbreak of a rare illness called Q Fever, which is caught from infected livestock, is being investigated in the Cheltenham area. A total of 28 cases have been identified among local people, most requiring hospital treatment.
New Story
Nurse struck off for home neglect - BBC Health News 20th September 2007A nurse has been struck off and a matron reprimanded after elderly residents at a home were left malnourished or soaked in urine. Deputy matron, Elisabeth Uttley, 62, now retired, was found guilty of a number of failings and misconduct at Laurel Bank Home, Halifax, West Yorks.
New SectionInternational Health News
New Story
New Story
A new American over-the-counter slimming pill is selling fast, despite some unpleasant side-effects that include bloating, gas and 'leakage'. Deborah Cohen asks if we should be looking forward to its arrival over here
New Story
Single gene linked to many cancers - The Times 24th September 2007A gene has been found to play an important role in tumour growth in nearly three quarters of cancers, raising hopes for potential new treatments for the disease, scientists will say today.
New Story
Mugabe's people speak of hunger and death - The Sunday Telegraph 23rd September 2007Wilson Mangoma sighed as he looked out over the pool of raw sewage that had formed in the back yard of his tiny tin-roofed house in a suburb of Harare. Zimababwe video A shortage of petrol has prevented the water authority from driving to the burst water pipes. As a result Budiriro, one of the capital's poorest suburbs, has also been without drinking water for more than a month.
New Story
Your mobile phone may be harming your hearing, reports Martin Beckford Young people could be permanently damaging their hearing by talking on mobile phones for just an hour a day, experts have warned. A study of 18- to 25-year-olds showed those who regularly used mobiles found it more difficult to hear certain words, particularly in the ear to which most users hold their handsets.
A new treatment may offer hope to thousands who suffer the relentless pain of slipped discs, reports Medical Correspondent Nic Fleming A new treatment for slipped discs reduces pain, improves mobility and cuts the likelihood of further surgery, research revealed yesterday.
New Story
Sufferers from the most common cause of heart disease are almost twice as likely to develop bowel cancer, according to a newly published study. And those who smoke or have a condition linked to diabetes are even more likely to end up with a bowel tumour.
Scientists have successfully grown inner ear hair cells in the laboratory, raising hopes of new treatments for hearing and balance conditions. Damage to sensory hair cells, which cannot generally be regrown by humans can cause deafness, tinnitus and balance problems.
A hi-tech brain imaging scan is being used to help patients "wish away" chronic pain. The technology, which relies on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans, is aimed at treating a range of pain problems, from backache and neuralgia, to nerve pain and migraine.
New Story
Could gold dust help beat cancer? - Daily Mail 25th September 2007Gold dust could be a valuable new weapon against cancer - helping to "smuggle" drugs past the body's immune system and into tumours. Scientists have succeeded in attaching molecules of an anticancer drug to gold particles just a fraction of the width of a human hair.
New Story
Revolutionary device 'can detect bird flu in 30 minutes' - Daily Mail 24th September 2007Researchers have created a handheld device that can detect the H5N1 bird flu virus from throat swab samples in under 30 minutes.
Children who don't get enough sleep are more likely to become obese when they grow up, scientists say. Research has found that a lack of sleep prevents the body from producing sufficient quantities of a hormone that suppresses the appetite.
New Story
Despite Rudy Giuliani's espousal of the US healthcare system over the UK's there are some who differ, Tim Egan writes. Not long ago, my friend Sheila got some bad news from her doctors. She's a runner, a salsa dancer - active in middle age - and a feisty New Yorker as well.
New Story
Paedophiles' brains 'different' - BBC Health News 24th September 2007Scientists say distinct differences in the brain activity of paedophiles have been found using scanning technology. A Yale University team found activity in parts of paedophiles' brains were lower than in other volunteers when shown adult, erotic material.
New Story
The genetic blueprint of a parasite that causes the painful disfiguring disease elephantiasis has been unravelled by scientists. The genome of the worm Brugia malayi, reported in the journal Science by US and UK experts, could lead eventually to new drugs or vaccines.
International drug company Merck has halted trials on an HIV vaccine that was regarded as one of the most promising in the fight against Aids. Merck stopped testing the vaccine after it was judged to be ineffective.
New Story
Tennessee bans lethal injection - BBC Health News 20th September 2007A judge in Tennessee has ruled the state's method of executing prisoners by lethal injection is illegal because it is a cruel and unusual punishment. Federal judge Aleta Trauger said inmates were not properly anesthetised before the injection was administered.
New SectionCheshire and Merseyside Health News
New Story
LIVERPOOL’S culture of excessive drinking was laid bare last night, as health bosses expressed fears the city’s binge-drinking battle plan is not being properly financed. More than one in four people in Liverpool and Knowsley are binge- drinkers, a report to the North West Strategic Health Authority reveals.
BURGLARS struck twice in two days at Wirral’s largest hospital. Police today appealed for information after the raids at the Clatterbridge site of Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.
THE pink labels above their cots carry their names – Evie Jenkins, Joel Holden, Damien Kelly and, finally, just Zack. And while other mums and dads at Liverpool Women’s hospital come and go, only nurses are visiting the baby abandoned in a binbag six days ago.
Additional Story
Additional Story
THOUSANDS of people in Birkdale are unsure where they will be able to see a doctor from next Sunday (September 30). Patients of Richmond Surgery, on Liverpool Road, Birkdale, are concerned after an argument between two doctors left them uncertain who will treat them and where.
New Story
NHS staff honoured in Wirral - Wirral Globe 21st September 2007NHS employees were officially recognised for their dedication and commitment at a colourful awards ceremony this week. Wirral Primary Care Trust (PCT) presented a selection of prestigious awards during its annual general meeting in Hulme Hall, Port Sunlight, including one to the most outstanding independent contractor of the year - which went to a Bebington dental practice - and a Lifetime Achievement award for a mother-of-two from Rock Ferry.
New SectionCumbria and Lancashire Health News
New Story
A NEW, £5.25 million dental school has started training its first recruits in a bid to solve a long standing shortage of practitioners in the profession. In the past few years the number of people choosing to study dentistry nationally has dropped dramatically. Many existing dentists have also left the NHS – put off by new contracts – to set up their own private practices.
New Story
Lessons to learn after Adam's suicide - Lancashire Telegraph 21st September 2007FOUR key lessons should be learned following the suicide of tragic teenager Adam Rickwood, health chiefs have been told. Adam, 14, of Burnley, who died in August, 2004, after he was found hanged in a secure remand centre in County Durham, was a patient under the care of the children's and adolescent mental health team (CAMHS) run by East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust.
New SectionGreater Manchester Health News
New Story
A PLAYROOM in the children's ward at Fairfield Hospital has reopened after a devastating flood earlier this year destroyed toys and furniture. Children had their playtime fun washed away in March when a burst water pipe destroyed thousands of pounds worth of toys, along with tables, chairs, cupboards and other contents.
WITH reference to "Hospital cuts waiting times" (September 14) I wonder how many other services at the hospital suffered in order to achieve waiting time targets? I am a cancer patient in remission and I am supposed to have regular, six monthly check-ups with my consultant.
A substantial amount of money has been stolen after a robbery at North Manchester General Hospital. Two security guards were in the process of making a cash delivery at the Delaunays Road entrance at 8am yesterday when three offenders ran into the hospital and threatened one of the guards with weapons, while demanding the other guard opened the security door. The offenders grabbed a substantial amount of money before running out and getting into a white Renault van, and driving off.
New Story
New dentist could serve 10,000 NHS patients - The Bolton News 21st September 2007A NEW state of the art dental surgery could offer NHS treatment to up to 10,000 patients. The surgery is likely to open early next year at what is currently a home at 48 Wigan Road, Deane, after councillors backed a planning application to change the use of the building.
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.
