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Face-down restraint ban considered

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:26:42 +0100

Ministers will consider a ban on the use of face-down restraint in English mental health hospitals after new figures that show nearly 40,000 incidents of physical restraint were recorded in just one year.

NHS watchdog accused of 'hospital scandal cover-up'

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:25:10 +0100

Britain’s NHS regulator has been accused of covering up their failure to prevent a scandal at a hospital maternity unit where at least eight babies are thought to have died from neglect, according to a damning report to be published today.

Psychiatrists call for action over premature deaths of mentally ill

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:53 +0100

An international group of psychiatrists today launches a drive to end the global scandal of premature deaths among people suffering from severe mental illness.

Bollywood star, Shahrukh Khan, accused of choosing sex of baby

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 18:45:49 +0100

Health officials in Mumbai are investigating reports that the Bollywood star Shahrukh Khan and his wife know the sex of a baby they are having through a surrogate mother.

Too much red meat 'can heighten the chances of developing diabetes'

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 13:02:39 +0100

The chances of developing diabetes can be heightened by eating large amount of red meat, according to new research.

Exposed: Edward Erin, the doctor whose faked asthma drug test results proved fatal

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 07:00:33 +0100

A British doctor faked test results during clinical trials for an asthma drug in which one person died and others contracted cancer and pneumonia, The Independent has learnt.

Persisted heartburn sufferers urged to visit doctor to rule out cancer

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 01:24:23 +0100

People who suffer from heartburn should go and see a doctor if it persists for three weeks because they may be at risk of cancer, experts have warned.

Pregnant women told moderate drinking will not harm the baby

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 23:30:02 +0100

Drinking a small glass of wine every day while pregnant may do no harm to the brain development of babies in the womb, a new study suggests.

Health officials 'very disappointed' that most doctors and nurses declined flu vaccinations last winter

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 19:05:10 +0100

The majority of doctors, nurses and front line health workers were not vaccinated against flu last winter, official figures have revealed.

Scientists track down genetic mutation that stops former paracyling champion Tom Staniford storing fat

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 12:34:58 +0100

Scientists have finally discovered the single genetic mutation responsible for a cyclist's inability to store fat that has puzzled doctors for years.

NHS patients to get charter of rights

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 07:32:36 +0100

Hospitals, care homes and GPs could be judged against a new set of patient rights following a radical overhaul of standards to be announced by the health watchdog.

NHS 'needs new urgent care system'

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 06:41:32 +0100

The NHS in England must design a simpler system if it is to relieve pressure on emergency care, it has been reported.

Whistle-stop care still puts vulnerable at risk

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 00:00:00 +0100

Three-quarters of Britain's councils are still giving elderly and vulnerable people controversial "whistle-stop" home visits which the Government previously branded inhumane.

Six in 10 women ignorant of symptoms of ovarian cancer

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 00:00:00 +0100

Most women are not able to name one symptom of ovarian cancer, the most deadly gynaecological cancer in the UK. Almost six out of 10 women, including those at higher risk, were unable to recall any of the 10 symptoms of the disease, according to new research.

Half of GPs believe they cannot guarantee safe care to their patients

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 00:00:34 +0100

One in two family doctors believes that they “can no longer guarantee safe care to their patients” as pressures on GP practices countrywide continue to mount.

World’s largest private healthcare company HCA plans expansion into NHS

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 14:15:09 +0100

The world’s largest private healthcare company co-owned by the assets management firm whose profits helped fund Mitt Romney’s presidential campaigns is looking to expand further into the NHS, according to newly published documents by the Competition Commission.

Jeremy Hunt: Doctors who refuse to publish performance data will be named and shamed

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 09:14:36 +0100

Doctors who decide not to disclose details of their performance will be “named and shamed” by the Government, it has emerged.

NHS ‘discriminates’ against liver patients

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 00:01:22 +0100

Liver disease, the only major illness with an increasing death rate, is claiming a rising number of victims because of discrimination in the NHS against sufferers, a report has found.

Victory for girl told she was too young to have a lung transplant

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 19:41:20 +0100

A 10-year-old suffering from cystic fibrosis whose family went to the courts to fight a rule preventing her from accessing a list of adult lung donors, triggering a national debate about the regime governing transplants for children, was recovering at a Philadelphia hospital after receiving a set of adult organs.

Scientists challenge patent ban for embryonic stem cell research

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 18:27:38 +0100

Scientists and lawyers in Britain are challenging a European ban on the patenting of embryonic stem cells which they believe is blocking the development of new treatments for a range of illnesses including diabetes, heart disease and Parkinson’s.

Dad who joined bone marrow register when a friend became ill saves stranger's life just four weeks later

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 15:45:34 +0100

A dad who joined the bone marrow register when a friend became ill has become a match for someone else just weeks after she passed away.

NHS staff can opt out of 'rate your doctor' performance league tables

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 08:49:15 +0100

Doctors will be given the opportunity to opt out of new league tables assessing their performance, it has emerged.

Manchester hospital set to introduce ‘rate my doctor’ scheme

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 00:00:57 +0100

A Manchester hospital is to become the first in the country to publish performance ratings for all its consultants, allowing patients to rate their doctor and make choices about who provides their care.

Fury at Jeremy Hunt’s U-turn on child heart units

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 19:52:18 +0100

It has taken a dozen years, involved one of the worst scandals in the NHS’s history and involved five reports. But today, the national plan to concentrate children’s heart surgery in fewer centres for safety reasons was torn up and its architects sent back to the drawing board.

Fury as Jeremy Hunt halts reform of children’s heart units

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 17:38:11 +0100

It has taken a dozen years, involved one of the worst scandals in the NHS’s history and involved five reports. But today, a national plan to concentrate children’s heart surgery in fewer centres for safety reasons was halted and its architects sent back to the drawing board.

Q&A: How do e-cigarettes work?

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 16:29:36 +0100

For the first time e-cigarettes are to be regulated as medicines – meaning they will have to meet strict safety standards or be banned.

A drag for the makers of e-cigarettes? Crackdown will treat them as a drug

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 15:27:53 +0100

Miracle cure for smoking or saviour of the tobacco industry, next big thing or fleeting celebrity fad - the electronic cigarette divides opinion, but its status in the UK has just become much clearer.

Drug-resistant bacteria as big a threat as climate change and water shortages for future generations, warns science minister David Willetts

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 10:25:02 +0100

The world must take action against the spread of drug-resistant bacteria that pose as serious a threat to future generations as climate change and water shortages, the science minister David Willetts has warned.

'Game changing' cancer database pushes fight against disease forward

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 10:02:48 +0100

The world's largest cancer database will be launched in the UK today, in what experts are calling a “game-changing” stride forward in the fight against the disease.

NHS hospitals spend £2m on gagging orders preventing staff speaking out

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 09:00:37 +0100

Hospitals have spent £2 million on more than 50 gagging orders preventing staff speaking out, a Freedom of Information Act request has revealed.

Honoured in Britain, the US psychiatrist who took $1.2m from drug companies

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 18:43:39 +0100

Britain’s premier institute for the study of mental illness has become embroiled in a damaging row over its decision to invite a disgraced US academic to give the inaugural lecture for a new research centre.

Singapore on alert after dengue fever cases rise

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 18:10:08 +0100

Doctors in Singapore are being urged to be more vigilant after a huge rise in the number of people struck down by dengue fever this year.

Breast cancer screening has not reduced mortality rates, warns study

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 12:02:22 +0100

Breast cancer screening has not reduced mortality rates according to a landmark study that looked at evidence dating back four decades.

Alarm at mortuary in Inverness as body shows 'signs of life'

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 11:22:34 +0100

Medical bosses have launched a probe after mortuary staff saw "potential signs of life" in a man who was taken there after falling from a bridge.

Record rise in child custody cases before legal aid cuts

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 10:55:39 +0100

A record number of child-custody cases were fought in court last month, in what experts believe may be a rush before cuts to legal aid start to bite.

Husband of dead pregnant woman Maria De Jesus describes 'litany of errors' after trainee NHS surgeons removed ovary instead of appendix

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 00:21:37 +0100

The husband of a pregnant woman who died weeks after two trainee surgeons mistakenly extracted her ovary instead of her appendix described a “litany of errors” under the NHS experience that left him “revolted”.

Professional women more susceptible to breast cancer

Sun, 09 Jun 2013 21:09:02 +0100

Successful women may be more likely to develop breast cancer – and stress at work, including prejudice, discrimination, and resistance, could be to blame. Women in professional jobs had a near 70 per cent higher risk of breast cancer than other women, according to new research.

Test for diagnosis and treatment of angina 'flawed'

Sun, 09 Jun 2013 09:10:35 +0100

A commonly used test for diagnosis and treatment of angina is flawed in at least a quarter of cases when used on its own, a leading heart specialist claimed today.

Online love case study: The pros of online dating are that you feel much more secure in yourself, not as vulnerable