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UK Health News
Around 6,000 cancers a year in women are the result of putting on weight, according to an authoritative study published today. The findings of the Million Women Study, run from Oxford University, follow an expert report last week which found that a third of cancers across the population are related to diet and lack of exercise. About 23% of all women in England are obese and 34% are overweight. The results from the Million Women Study say gaining weight is a particular risk for women after the menopause, which kicks in on average soon after the age of 50.
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Obesity raises risk of 10 types of cancer in women, study confirms - The Independent 7th November 2007
Obesity 'fuels cancer in women' - BBC Health News 7th November 2007
Patrick Barkham on colds and influenza - The Guardian 7th November 2007
If you haven't already spent the past week snuffling and sweating, you can probably feel an ominous tickle in your throat just reading this sentence. Anecdotally, there seem to be a lot of unusually nasty viruses floating around buses, pubs and playgrounds this autumn but, according to the experts, it is business as usual. "Everyone's sick. It's that time of year," says Professor Ron Eccles, director of the Common Cold Centre at Cardiff University.
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People who balance work with caring for old or disabled relatives, providing help with activities including house repairs and gardening, should be entitled to tax breaks, a group of leading employers will today tell the prime minister. The companies, which include BT, John Lewis and IBM, say employees with caring responsibilities should be able to receive part of their salary as tax-free care vouchers, which they could then spend on services to help with the care.
For decades, commentators anticipated the demise of the welfare state, but the true failure has been in the struggle with inequalities Who would want to forecast the future of western welfare states? The task is as perilous as predicting the weather, with stains on reputations lasting even longer. The rash of such forecasts in the wake of the oil crisis in the 1970s continued into the 1980s, and were filled with doom and gloom. A succession of books said the end was nigh. Left and right concluded that the welfare state had run out of gas and turned their attention to "what comes next".
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Slowly but surely, the health reform tide in England is turning. Gordon Brown and health ministers have signalled their intention to place much greater emphasis on public health than their predecessors, alongside a continuing commitment to improve the performance of the NHS. Lord Darzi's interim report on the NHS specifically highlighted the need to make more progress in tackling health inequalities. With a boy born in Manchester likely to die almost 10 years earlier than a boy born in Kensington and Chelsea, a concerted drive to improve health by focusing on people most in need seems certain to loom large in the next stage of health reform.
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Its role is to champion a new model for service delivery, integrating health, housing and social care in the most deprived areas in England and Wales. Who is setting up the centre and when is it being launched? The centre of excellence is being officially launched this week but connected care has already started in Hartlepool and Bolton. It has been designed to help commissioners such as primary care trusts to develop new ways of engaging with their community, design new models for integrated provision of services and engage people rarely consulted and often marginalised.
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The Food Standards Agency has launched an investigation into the reasons for a sharp increase in the number of cases of the potentially fatal food poisoning bug listeria, it reveals today. It warns of a 67% year-on-year increase in provisional reported cases in England and Wales in the first five months of this year, with most of the 70 cases reported among older people aged 60 and over.
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A simple genetic test can predict your risk of getting cancer, heart disease or Alzheimer's. But do you really want to be told? Virginia Ironside took the plunge
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Women who are overweight are at a greater risk of contracting a wide range of cancers, a study has shown. The authors calculate that 6,000 cancers a year – 5 per cent of all cancers in women – can be attributed to being overweight or obese.
A life, stolen - The Times 7th November 2007
How many elderly people are lost in the bureaucracy of our care system? Our correspondent meets the family of Jean Gambell, who was wrongly locked up as a lunatic for 70 years and reunited with her relatives just weeks before she died this year
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They are better known for making jam, selling cakes and stripping off to make calendars for charity. Now the Women’s Institute has started a campaign to license brothels to protect women who work as prostitutes. The village of Holybourne in Hampshire is the unlikely birthplace of this crusade. Members of the WI branch there were deeply moved by the events last December when five street prostitutes were murdered in Ipswich.
A Health and Social Care Bill will give tough powers to a new regulator, the Care Quality Commission, with the aim of driving up the standard of health care and social services. The regulator will be equipped with tough powers, backed by fines, "to inspect, investigate and intervene where hospitals are failing to meet hygiene standards".
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The future looks grim for my three-year-old son. He can't speak Mandarin and he's rubbish at The Daily Telegraph cryptic crossword. It's weeks since we last listened to Bach's fugues together - although I'll never forget how he creased his little face earnestly, and said to me: "Mummy, this is sooo boring; I want Dumbo." Worse still, it's all my fault. When the health police break down my door, I will confess my crime: my son was denied the ambrosia of my breast milk and given beastly formula instead.
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Children as young as 12 can buy up to 17 units of alcohol - four times the daily limit for adult men - with their weekly pocket money, a conference will hear today. Delegates at the Alcohol Concern conference, Cheap at Twice the Price, will hear how teenagers can binge-drink with their average weekly pocket money of £9.53. A report for the group found that at a Co-Op supermarket £10 would buy three large bottles of Budweiser, and two big bottles of WKD Vodka Blue coming to a total of 17 units of alcohol. It also said that Sainsbury's sells 10 207ml bottles of Budweiser for £6.59, the equivalent of 10.35 units.
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The increasing number of women giving birth in later life is putting pressure on maternity units because they do not have enough specialists to deal with complications associated with older mothers. Older women are more likely to require a caesarean delivery or suffer a major haemorrhage than younger women during birth and so require consultants to be available.
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Breastfeeding does not make the bust sag, according to scientists. A study has shown that smoking and ageing both affect how pert the breast remains - as does pregnancy itself. But feeding a baby for around nine months will not add to the droop.
We all know the mantra - to live longer we need to eat more fruit and veg, take regular exercise, drink in moderation and cut out cigarettes. Then last week the World Cancer Research Fund declared that we also need to give up bacon, pork chops and salt. Thankfully, there are other, less tedious ways to add years to your life. Here, the Mail shows you how...
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Britons spend millions on screenings and testing kits for peace of mind about their health. But experts fear there's a hidden cost... Charlotte Dorman is, she says, a typical 28-year-old. 'I love buying clothes, going out with friends and enjoying a few glasses of wine at the weekend.' But given the choice between the latest designer handbag or a £200 health check-up, the screening would win every time.
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Last week, the Mail told the horrifying story of one man's death from neglect in hospital. Here, horse trainer Jenny Pitman recalls her own father's shocking ordeal - and launches a personal crusade to put dignity back into our health system...
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When Debbie Grice left the Royal College of Art, she had three London galleries interested in her work. Such was the demand, she'd sold all the pictures at her graduation show, so that she returned to her native Yorkshire full of enthusiasm to build up a new portfolio. 'It was going to be the idyllic artist's life, living on my own, brooding over hilltops and painting,' she says.
Millions of Britons suffer from lower back pain and sciatica. Removing problem spinal discs is major surgery, but Jane Day, 48, a practice nurse from Newbury, underwent a less invasive procedure. Here the mother-of-three talks to CAROL DAVIS, and her surgeon explains the technique...
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Superbug fears have made them a huge hit - but do 'antibacterial' washes and gels really work? Our expert put them to the test... Fear of hospital superbugs and a desire to protect ourselves against common viruses has led to a boom in antibacterial hand products - sales have risen by 80 per cent in the past year alone.
A camera that sits by the bedside can help detect the dangerous snoring condition sleep apnoea. The infra-red device monitors breathing patterns by tracking the flow of hot air coming out of the nose and mouth.
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'Gaps' in elderly falls services - BBC Health News 7th November 2007
There are gaps in care given to elderly people in England who have fallen and fractured bones, a Royal College of Physicians report says. It says figures from 157 of the 173 hospital trusts showed nearly a third of hip fracture patients were not treated within the 48-hour target.
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People's health will be rated as red, amber or green under a traffic light system to appear on an NHS website. Users can already use the NHS Choices website to establish what the principle diseases are in their neighbourhood.
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The government plans to establish a new super-regulator to oversee health and social care in England with powers to fine hospitals and shut down wards. The Care Quality Commission will have a beefed up remit to inspect and intervene at failing hospitals.
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A boy has been born healthy and well even though at one point doctors thought it would be better to end his life to save that of his twin brother. Gabriel Jones was not growing in his mother's womb so parents Rebecca and Mark of Staffordshire decided to take the medical staff's advice.
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In a packed-out auditorium, the audience waited with anticipation for the "show" to begin. But this wasn't a typical night's entertainment - they were there to watch live heart surgery being performed. With the help of cameras and a satellite link, surgeon Francis Wells was able to open up open heart surgery to more than 200 members of the public.
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Post-op patients infected by bugs - BBC Health News 6th November 2007
All planned orthopaedic surgery at a Glasgow hospital has been suspended after six patients who were operated on became infected with a number of bugs. NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said the decision was taken after the number of wound infections at the Southern General Hospital had increased.
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International Health News
A two-year-old girl born with four arms and four legs was yesterday undergoing surgery by a team of 40 doctors in an operation that the hospital hopes will leave her with a normal body. The girl, named Lakshmi after the four-armed Hindu goddess of wealth, suffers from ischiopagus, a rare condition which means that she is joined to a "parasitic twin" who stopped developing in the womb. In the womb the surviving foetus absorbs the limbs, kidneys and other organs. In Lakshmi's case, the "twins" are joined at the pelvis and have one head and two pairs of arms and legs. The operation, paid for by one of India's new hi-tech multi-speciality hospitals in Bangalore, is a 40-hour ordeal. Doctors said last night that Lakshmi's condition was stable.
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Doctors begin life-saving surgery on toddler with eight limbs - Daily Mail 7th November 2007
Many-limbed India girl in surgery - BBC Health News 6th November 2007
Why are we asking this now? Just when you thought scientists had made their minds up on a topic – from life on Mars to the health dangers of bacon butties – another study comes along to upset the consensus. This week researchers reported that breastfeeding babies boosted their IQs by seven points. However, this only occurs in those babies who have inherited a particular gene called FADS2, they found. Fortunately nine out of 10 children have the necessary gene. For the one in 10 who don't, breast feeding makes no difference to intelligence. Bottle feeding, in this regard, is equally good.
People with high blood pressure or heart disease should avoid energy drinks such as Red Bull as they could make their conditions worse, scientists have warned. Researchers claimed energy drinks - a £1.5billion worldwide market - cause changes in the body which could put those with existing heart and circulation problems at risk. Healthy volunteers given two energy drinks per day for a week experienced significant increases in both heart rate and blood pressure, the study found.
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Taking two doses a week of over-the-counter painkillers such as ibuprofen could slash the risk of Parkinson's disease by as much as 60 per cent, scientists claimed last night. The anti-inflammatory drugs could slow the onset of the disease by reducing the swelling of the brain, say the researchers.
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Skipping meals for one day a month could reduce the risk of heart disease, researchers said today. They found that people who routinely fasted - most of whom were Mormons - had reduced rates of coronary artery disease.
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Women who drink during pregnancy are more likely to have badly behaved children, warn researchers. A study of thousands of mothers found the risk of anti-social behaviour even among young children increased as the frequency of alcohol consumption went up. U.S. academics claim the research shows alcohol's effect on the unborn baby has consequences for the child's behaviour several years later, even after genetic and parenting factors are taken into account.
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Novelist Lia Mills put off seeing a dentist about a sore tooth for months. Even then, the true nature of her condition was missed and it took a year before she was diagnosed with oral cancer. Here, Lia - who is 50 and lives in Dublin with her husband, Simon - tells her harrowing story... The receptionist at the Dental Hospital looks about 12. She is completely indifferent to me and to the painful open sore in my mouth. She takes my referral letter and says it could be seven months before I get an appointment.
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A good night's sleep may reduce a child's risk of becoming obese, according to a US study. The latest research adds to a growing body of evidence that links a lack of adequate sleep to weight gain in both adults and children.
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Lasers could be used to combat viruses and infections like HIV and MRSA without side effects, researchers say. Current ultraviolet light laser treatments can kill micro-organisms - but cannot be used in humans as they would also damage cells in the body.
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New Section
Cheshire and Merseyside Health News
LIVERPOOL Women’s hospital has set up an helpline for parents who are worried about MRSA. The ECHO yesterday revealed how a baby had been brought in carrying the killer superbug. Three other babies were then found to carrying MRSA, although none actually contracted the disease.
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PLANS to build a secure mental hospital next door to an exclusive Merseyside school have sparked outrage. The proposal would see a secure unit for about 70 female patients created in the grounds of Briars Hey, a derelict Grade II-listed house in Rainhill. The seven-acre site is next to Tower College, a £1,670-a-term independent school off Mill Lane, and close to people’s homes.
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MORE beds should be guaranteed in the planned rebuild of the Royal Liverpool hospital, an influential patients’ group has claimed. About 300 beds could be lost when the city centre complex is completely rebuilt and its sister hospital at Broadgreen is modernised.
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PUPILS and teachers at a Merseyside school were being given antibiotics today after a meningitis scare. A girl, 16, and boy, 17, who attend Calday Grange grammar school, were struck down by the meningococcal infection on Friday.
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THE number of cases of superbug MRSA at Leighton Hospital has halved, new statistics show. The Health Protection Agency's findings show there were just eight cases between October 2006 and March 2007 compared to 20 between April 2004 and September 2004 - a drop of more than 50 per cent.
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A life, stolen - The Times 7th November 2007
How many elderly people are lost in the bureaucracy of our care system? Our correspondent meets the family of Jean Gambell, who was wrongly locked up as a lunatic for 70 years and reunited with her relatives just weeks before she died this year
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New Section
Cumbria and Lancashire Health News
BED BLOCKING, where patients stay in hospital only because they have nowhere else to go, has fallen sharply in north and west Cumbria. New figures from the Department of Health show 880 hospital bed days were lost by “delayed discharges” in 2006, barely half the total of 1,754 days lost the year before.
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A new secure unit will be built for mentally ill young people in Preston. The unit which is the first of it's kind in the city was given the go-ahead after the Royal Preston Hospital was awarded the grant by the Department of Health's Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS). Work on the new unit which cost in the region of £290,000 will begin at the beginning of the new year.
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Mum takes legal advice over MRSA - Lancashire Telegraph 6th November 2007
New Section
Greater Manchester Health News
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.
