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Don't scratch the itch: Scientists find neuro-transmitter that could be key to stopping the sensation

Thu, 23 May 2013 19:00:43 +0100

Scientists have discovered a key substance in the central nervous system responsible for transmitting the sensation of an itch from the skin to the brain – a finding that raises the prospect of new treatments for serious itching conditions.

Comment: We've all had an itch we need to scratch, but what exactly is it?

Thu, 23 May 2013 19:00:09 +0100

An itch is not a tickle, although some people may think it is funny. Neither, according to the latest research, is an itch a form of pain, although try telling that to people tormented by chronic, long-term scratching.

GP leaders clash with Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, over A&E crisis

Thu, 23 May 2013 18:59:32 +0100

GPs’ leaders have clashed with the Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, in their increasingly acrimonious row over who is responsible for the crisis in Accident & Emergency departments.

Splint made by 3D printer used to save baby’s life

Thu, 23 May 2013 00:00:38 +0100

A baby’s life has been saved by using a device to help him breathe created by a 3D printer. The operation, carried out in the US, follows the development of a controversial 3D-printed gun openly available online.

Staff voice fears over quality of care in NHS

Thu, 23 May 2013 00:00:09 +0100

Three out of four senior health service staff complain that quality of care is not given sufficient priority in the NHS, according to a survey.

Sir David Nicholson quits: NHS chief awarded £1.9m pension pot

Wed, 22 May 2013 11:44:54 +0100

Embattled NHS boss Sir David Nicholson plans to retire next year, with a pension pot worth almost £1.9 million.

Mothers' diets may harm IQs in two-thirds of babies

Wed, 22 May 2013 00:00:13 +0100

Iodine deficiency is widespread amongst pregnant women in the UK and may be harming the cognitive development of their children, scientists have found.

Hospitals freeze A&E targets - because they can’t hit them

Tue, 21 May 2013 19:27:00 +0100

Hospitals across Britain have been forced to suspend targets to see accident and emergency patients within four hours because they can no longer cope with demand, doctors and managers have warned.

Sir David Nicholson quits: NHS chief steps down in wake of Mid Staffs scandal

Tue, 21 May 2013 16:14:04 +0100

The head of the NHS Sir David Nicholson is to step down from his role, it was announced today, following a sustained and sometimes virulent campaign to force his resignation over the Mid Staffordshire scandal.

'Shocking example of incompetence' over stockpiled flu drug Tamiflu

Tue, 21 May 2013 12:38:06 +0100

Health officials spent £424 million stockpiling a flu drug that has divided experts over how effective it is, a public spending watchdog found.

Britons show Victorian attitudes to epilepsy as children who suffer from the condition are accused of being 'possessed'

Tue, 21 May 2013 08:00:02 +0100

One in five children who suffer with epilepsy has been accused of being “possessed” after having a seizure, according to shocking new research.

Parents warned sharing bed with babies increases risk of cot death

Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:02 +0100

Around 120 baby deaths could be prevented in the UK every year if parents stopped sharing beds with their children, research suggests.

Top A&E doctors warn: 'We cannot guarantee safe care for patients anymore'

Mon, 20 May 2013 19:53:40 +0100

The Accident & Emergency crisis is now so severe that doctors can no longer guarantee safe care for patients, NHS officials have warned in a leaked letter seen by The Independent.

Privatised service 'puts patients at risk' with lack of out-of-hours GPs

Sun, 19 May 2013 21:27:23 +0100

A private company that took over the running of a GP out-of-hours service in north London has been severely criticised by the NHS regulator for failing to provide enough doctors to keep patients safe.

Casualty in crisis: A&E - a service in meltdown

Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:50 +0100

Doctors were placed under “unprecedented pressure” to go live with the new NHS 111 helpline before some were ready, contributing to the A&E crisis in Britain's hospitals, documents seen by The Independent on Sunday reveal.

A cure for HIV is now a a realistic possibility

Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:00 +0100

This week in Paris, the world's leading Aids scientists will gather to mark the 30th anniversary of the discovery of HIV. At least one of them, who won the Nobel Prize for her work, is quietly confident that very soon something approaching a cure for HIV will be possible.

The myth of the modern dad exposed: New book claims men still won't sacrifice their careers for fatherhood

Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:00 +0100

The popular image of the modern, hands-on father might have to be scrapped. The idea that men are cutting back on work to help their partners with childcare is a myth, according to a provocative new book that presents stark evidence illustrating the British male's reluctance to step back from his job.

Obsessive compulsive hoarding: A serious health risk in store

Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:00 +0100

Richard Wallace is making great strides. "I have no problem with discarding things that are of no further use and I recognise that you can't keep everything," he says. "It's just not possible."

Leeds NHS hospital trust to replace chief executive Maggie Boyle following children's heart surgery row

Sat, 18 May 2013 11:12:34 +0100

An NHS trust at the centre of a row over children's heart surgery is to replace its chief executive, it said on Saturday.

Doctors in dispute: What exactly is normal human behaviour?

Fri, 17 May 2013 18:08:05 +0100

It is over 1,000 pages long, has undergone more than three years of revisions and has set doctors at each other's throats. But the latest version of the psychiatrists' bible is finally out - to a chorus of criticism that it is pathologising everyday life.

'Most exciting breakthrough in IVF treatment in 30 years' could triple number of births

Fri, 17 May 2013 07:20:39 +0100

Thousands of infertile couples could benefit from a new IVF procedure that can dramatically improve the success rate of having a baby through artificial reproduction.

'Death contracts' could give terminally ill the right to die

Thu, 16 May 2013 20:39:22 +0100

Terminally ill people could sign a 'death contract' allowing doctors to help them end their lives under new legal proposals.

180,000 children work as unpaid carers for relatives

Thu, 16 May 2013 19:39:55 +0100

Almost 180,000 unpaid child carers – some as young as five – are being used to fill Britain’s care gap, official figures have revealed.

Benefit cuts risk rise in child poverty, doctors warn

Thu, 16 May 2013 18:29:28 +0100

British children are paying the price for the economic downturn, doctors will warn tomorrow.

Sir James Dyson’s latest project: Cleaning up hospitals

Thu, 16 May 2013 18:19:24 +0100

“There was something angelic about the way the nurse was stood as we entered the ward,” says Chris Dobson looking down at his son Sebastian, cradled in his mother’s arms.

How UK children are paying the price for the economic downturn

Thu, 16 May 2013 15:17:57 +0100

Although the UK is a better place in which to grow up than it was six years ago it is in danger of slipping back down the international league as a result of benefit cuts and reductions in social care, the British Medical Association says.

50,000 MMR vaccinations so far in battle to halt Welsh measles epidemic

Thu, 16 May 2013 14:49:54 +0100

More than 50,000 people have been vaccinated against measles in a major campaign to battle a growing epidemic.

Work longer, live healthier? How retirement can seriously damage your health

Thu, 16 May 2013 08:43:35 +0100

Retirement can cause a drastic decline in health, according to a study released today.

Breakthrough in human cloning raises hopes for treatment of Parkinson's and heart disease

Thu, 16 May 2013 00:00:38 +0100

Scientists have finally made the long-awaited breakthrough in human cloning by turning skin cells into early-stage embryos that were then used to create specialised tissue cells for transplant operations, it has been revealed today.

Angelina Jolie double mastectomy: Surgeon reveals actress went back to work four days after operation to escape breast cancer

Wed, 15 May 2013 14:49:13 +0100

Angelina Jolie’s surgeon has revealed that just four days after she underwent a preventative double mastectomy the Hollywood actress went back to work.

NHS warned over emergency care: hospital A&E units facing 'collapse'

Wed, 15 May 2013 13:34:25 +0100

A survey of 131 hospital emergency departments says that A&E units are struggling to cope “unsustainable workloads” and lack of staff as new figures show the number of patients has increased by more than a million in just one year.

UK doctors break both Gloria Abeka's legs in three places so she can walk

Wed, 15 May 2013 11:29:18 +0100

British doctors have helped a 12-year-old Ghanaian girl with a rare leg deformity to walk again after two ground-breaking operations in which they had to break both her legs in three places.

Has Angelina Jolie started a health revolution by revealing double mastectomy?

Wed, 15 May 2013 09:58:51 +0100

From her late mother, Angelina Jolie inherited the acting bug and a commitment to humanitarian causes. But as the Oscar-winning actress explained in the New York Times, she also inherited a “faulty” gene, which dramatically increased her risk of breast and ovarian cancers.

Cannabis linked to prevention of diabetes

Wed, 15 May 2013 05:00:14 +0100

Smoking cannabis may prevent the development of diabetes, one of the most rapidly rising chronic disorders in the world.

Britain will use G8 to aid dementia research

Wed, 15 May 2013 00:00:00 +0100

David Cameron plans to use Britain’s presidency of the G8 leading industrialised nations to spearhead a new international drive to boost dementia research.

Case study: BRCA2 gene test revealed 'I had an 85-90% risk of getting breast cancer'

Tue, 14 May 2013 17:39:34 +0100

Jane Netherton, 58, lives in Plymouth, Devon. Like Angelina Jolie, she underwent a double mastectomy to lower the risk of getting breast cancer.

Campaigners praise Angelina Jolie's double mastectomy news for 'supporting women in a similar situation'

Tue, 14 May 2013 12:46:25 +0100

As a Hollywood star with global appeal, Angelina Jolie's decision to publicise her preventative double mastectomy to reduce her chances of developing breast cancer has given support to women in a similar situation, say campaigners.

System for looking after elderly people is dysfunctional and getting worse, says care minister

Tue, 14 May 2013 10:51:56 +0100

The Government's Care and Support Minister minister Norman Lamb has warned that the way the elderly are cared for is "dysfunctional" and that it is "getting worse" as the population ages.

WHO warns that deadly new coronavirus could be passed from person to person

Mon, 13 May 2013 07:12:40 +0100

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned that it appears likely the novel coronavirus can be passed between people in close contact.

Underweight children face health problems too, warn experts

Mon, 13 May 2013 02:47:41 +0100

There may be far more underweight children in Britain than thought, researchers say today, warning that those who are too thin may face a greater threat to their health than those who are too fat.

Elderly patients will get personal NHS worker to coordinate health care, pledges Jeremy Hunt

Mon, 13 May 2013 00:00:15 +0100

Every vulnerable elderly person in England will have a personal NHS worker who will be responsible for co-ordinating all their heath and care needs, the Heath Secretary Jeremy Hunt promises today.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt goes on the wards to make a hands-on diagnosis of the NHS

Sun, 12 May 2013 22:00:05 +0100

Cynics will dismiss it as a stunt. But for the past few months and with little publicity Jeremy Hunt has been out on the wards. One day each week the Health Secretary has left Whitehall to spend time “working” on the front line of his sprawling NHS empire.

Why the object of exercise is not just a physical one: Regular exercise lowers depression risk by up to 30 per cent

Sun, 12 May 2013 18:34:40 +0100

Just 10 minutes’ brisk walking can improve your emotional state, according to a report being released by the Mental Health Foundation to mark the start of Mental Health Awareness Week.

Pregnant mothers to be tested to see if they are smoking, under new NHS guidance

Sun, 12 May 2013 10:58:27 +0100

Pregnant women should be tested to see if they are smoking, and if they are they should be helped to quit, according to the body which issues guidance to the NHS.

How foster care separates siblings

Sun, 12 May 2013 09:07:00 +0100

Fostered children are being separated from their brothers or sisters because of a shortage of suitable homes. In some cases, where their natural parents have died, this means they are taken away from the only family they have left, according to new research by the Fostering Network.

GPs call for urgent action to sort out 111 non-emergency advice line

Fri, 10 May 2013 18:59:26 +0100

The “problematic” roll-out of the National Health Service’s 111 advice line has left patients not knowing where to turn to for help, doctors have warned.

NHS sets out new plan to save A&E as email leak reveals funding chaos

Fri, 10 May 2013 00:00:38 +0100

The launch of a new plan to address the crisis in accident and emergency (A&E) units was marred by leaked emails revealing panic among health officials about how much money could be made available to help struggling hospitals.

Hundreds of patients affected by NHS mistakes

Thu, 09 May 2013 19:30:12 +0100

Hundreds of patients have suffered basic mistakes that should “never” happen in the NHS, including having surgical instruments left inside them and operations being carried out on the wrong body part, BBC Radio 4’s World At One has found.

Revealed: the 750 hospital mistakes that should never have happened - including 7in forceps left inside woman for three months after surgery

Thu, 09 May 2013 14:30:18 +0100

Hundreds of hospital patients have suffered basic, preventable mistakes that should "never" happen in the NHS during the last four years including having surgical instruments left inside them and operations being carried out on the wrong body part, figures suggest.

Demand on A&E departments is 'out of control', warns health regulator

Thu, 09 May 2013 07:16:55 +0100

Demand on NHS accident and emergency departments is “out of control” and “totally unsustainable”, the head of the health and social care regulator has warned.

WHO team studies Sars-like outbreak in Saudi Arabia

Wed, 08 May 2013 18:13:10 +0100

World Health Organisation experts will visit a Saudi hospital where the Sars-like coronavirus has spread, killing seven people.

Time for Sir Alex Ferguson to consider new goals - for the sake of his wellbeing

Wed, 08 May 2013 16:06:36 +0100

Stepping down from a job is a challenge for mere mortals - the loss of status, structure and income can have a grave psychological impact. For a football god it will be much harder.

Mentally-ill patients were 'Tasered' more than 50 times in three years

Tue, 07 May 2013 18:14:07 +0100

Police have resorted to firing Tasers to subdue mentally-ill patients in hospital and care homes more than 50 times in three years, Freedom of Information requests have disclosed.

'The stuff of Nobel prizes': Half a million sufferers of back pain 'could be cured with antibiotics'

Tue, 07 May 2013 15:00:14 +0100

Up to half a million patients with chronic low back pain may be suffering from an infection that can be treated with antibiotics.

'I was scared to death': Man who suffered 'allergies' for 18 months discovers his runny nose is actually leaking brain fluid

Tue, 07 May 2013 11:39:41 +0100

A man who thought the runny nose he’d suffered for a year and a half was the result of allergies, has discovered the problem was in fact caused by leaking brain fluid.

Insomnia doubles the risk of prostate cancer, study claims

Tue, 07 May 2013 00:20:22 +0100

Insomnia can double the risk of prostate cancer in older men, a study suggests. The risk rises proportionately with the severity of sleep problems, increasing from 1.6 to 2.1 times the usual level.

Dramatic rise in heart attack survival rate

Tue, 07 May 2013 00:20:22 +0100

The number of people who survive heart attacks has dramatically increased in the past four decades.

Is this the end of costly dyes? Scientists working on cure for grey hair

Mon, 06 May 2013 11:11:22 +0100

A cure for grey hair which means millions will be able to throw away messy dyes could be available in the future, researchers have said.

New NHS helpline is putting people's lives at risk, say doctors

Sun, 05 May 2013 21:42:38 +0100

The new NHS 111 system is putting lives at risk because operators are making "inappropriate" decisions, GPs have warned in a damning report obtained by The Independent.

Christian-run NHS surgery criticised for refusing to prescribe morning-after pill

Sun, 05 May 2013 17:48:19 +0100

A Christian-run NHS GP surgery has attracted criticism for posting a notice warning that some of its doctors refuse to prescribe the morning-after pill to patients on grounds of conscience.

One small step... Inactivity is world's fourth-biggest killer

Sun, 05 May 2013 00:00:00 +0100

A quarter of British adults now walk for less than nine minutes a day – including time spent getting to the car, work and the shops. The figures, from a YouGov poll for the Ramblers, published exclusively in The Independent on Sunday, reveal that a quarter of Britons walk on average for less than an hour every week.

Three deaths investigated involving NHS non-emergency 111 hotline

Sat, 04 May 2013 12:22:31 +0100

Three deaths and another 19 “potentially serious" incidents are being investigated in relation to the NHS's 111 non-emergency helpline, which was rolled out nationally last month.

Cancer patients feel harassed by bosses, according to charity survey

Thu, 02 May 2013 18:57:15 +0100

A rising number of cancer patients feel discriminated against when they return to work after treatment, according to Macmillan Cancer Support.

Please, sir, can I have some more kale? Schools go vegetarian

Thu, 02 May 2013 18:34:44 +0100

Would you like the tofu roasted in sesame sauce, the felafel and cucumber salad, or the braised black beans and plantains? These are some of the exotic choices at the first school in the US to take meat off the menu.

Doctors condemn Government's decision to hold plans for plain cigarette packaging

Thu, 02 May 2013 17:20:32 +0100

Senior doctors will tomorrow condemn the Government's decision to delay its plans to force cigarettes to be sold in plain packets.

Maternity units shamed but not named in first-time study

Thu, 02 May 2013 00:00:43 +0100

The best and worst maternity units in England are revealed today with the publication of the first figures comparing their performance.

It’s plane as day: flying really can turn you into an airhead

Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:58 +0100

Air passengers should avoid making important decisions whilst cruising at altitude, according to Britain’s first professor of aerospace medicine.

Stroke survivors and their families feel abandoned by health services after being left to deal with the emotional impact alone, says report

Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:36 +0100

Stroke survivors and their families feel abandoned by health and social services after being left to deal with the emotional impact of stroke alone, a report reveals today.

Breast implants 'increase cancer death risk,' say scientists

Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:29 +0100

Women who have cosmetic surgery to increase the size of their breasts may be at greater risk of dying from breast cancer, scientists say.

Campaigners brand police plan to fit dementia patients with GPS tracking devices to reduce costly call-outs as 'inhumane'

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 23:43:55 +0100

A police force plans to fit dementia patients with GPS tracking devices in a bid to reduce the number of costly call-outs to search for patients who regularly go missing.

SoulCycle: So, what attracted you to this gruelling gym class? It was Jake Gyllenhaal

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 19:01:36 +0100

If Jake Gyllenhaal was wondering, modestly, why his SoulCycle class was always so full, the answer has been revealed.

Hormone drug could dramatically reduce breast cancer risk

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 09:42:31 +0100

A family of common hormone treatments can significantly reduce the risk of breast cancer in women at risk from the disease, research has shown.

OAPs to get shingles vaccinations in bid to end almost half of cases

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 07:07:05 +0100

People over the age of 70 are to be offered routine shingles vaccinations in a move to prevent thousands of cases each year, officials said.

Every child to get flu vaccine in bid to prevent epidemic

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +0100

Every child in England and Wales will be vaccinated against flu each year to limit the spread of outbreaks, the Government will announce today.

Multiple sclerosis sufferers in ‘wrong’ areas are denied drugs, says MS Society

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 00:00:37 +0100

Multiple sclerosis sufferers are being denied drugs if they live in the “wrong” regions, a charity has warned, after a damning report found that as many as 60 per cent of patients are not receiving life-improving drugs for the incurable autoimmune disease.

The real cancer killer: rip-off prices for drugs set by 'profiteering' Big Pharma giants

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 00:00:10 +0100

An influential group of cancer experts has warned that the high prices charged by pharmaceutical companies for cancer drugs are effectively condemning patients to death.

Middle classes get quicker cancer care

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +0100

Poorer women with breast cancer are less likely to be diagnosed quickly than women from affluent homes, according to new research. As a result, every year more than 450 die sooner than if they were diagnosed at the same time as better-off women.

'Reservoirs of disease': Private school pupils 'at much greater risk' of getting measles than those in state sector, says leading doctor John Ashton

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 10:17:15 +0100

Children at private schools face the greatest risk from the measles outbreak and could pose a health threat to the rest of the population, a leading doctor has warned.

NHS 'ring fence' threatened by plan to help social care

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 19:32:02 +0100

Ministers are to effectively abandon their pledge to ring-fence NHS spending by diverting more than £1bn to cover the spiralling cost of social care, The Independent can disclose.

Bill Gates pledges $1.8bn for global fight against polio

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 19:19:38 +0100

Bill Gates, the Microsoft founder and world’s leading philanthropist, has donated $1.8bn (£1.1bn) to fight polio.

Swansea measles case expected to hit 1,000 at weekend as 50 new cases emerge in last two days

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 18:31:33 +0100

More than 50 new cases of measles have been identified in the last two days in the Swansea area with the total expected to reach 1,000 by the weekend.

Woman died of cancer after being refused smear test for being too young

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 10:32:31 +0100

A woman died of cancer after being refused a smear test 14 months earlier because she was too young.

Measles outbreak: race to give a million children MMR jabs

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +0100

One million children who missed out on the MMR vaccine around a decade ago are to be targeted in a national campaign to raise the level of protection against measles.

One can of fizzy drink a day increases Type 2 diabetes risk by a fifth

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +0100

Drinking a can of cola a day increases the risk of developing diabetes by a fifth, according to research.

Bird flu strain in China is ‘lethal’

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 20:19:48 +0100

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said that a new strain of bird flu that has killed 22 people in China is “one of the most lethal” flu viruses so far, and that it is more easily transmittable from poultry to humans than an earlier strain that has killed hundreds around the world since 2003.

Television chefs adding to obesity crisis with fatty dishes warn academics

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 00:01:55 +0100

Celebrity chefs are “exacerbating” the country’s obesity crisis by encouraging people to eat fatty dishes, a new study has claimed.

'Explosive growth' of Botox treatments putting public at risk, NHS review warns

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +0100

Most people who undergo cosmetic procedures have no more protection than someone buying a toothbrush, according to an independent review which has proposed a range of new curbs on the industry.

Death of medical student Sarah Houston after taking banned slimming drug Dinitrophenol highlights dangers of buying pills online, warns Government

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 18:24:58 +0100

Slimming pills which led to the death of a medical student will claim more lives unless regulators launch an urgent crackdown, campaigners warned yesterday as it emerged that a legal loophole has allowed the hazardous tablets to remain on sale.

Case study: 'Diet pills didn't do anything apart from make me feel worse'

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 17:24:05 +0100

Jazz McCutcheon, 18, student

Number of people infected with measles jumps by 78 in just five days

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 13:07:22 +0100

The number of people infected with measles has shot up by more than 78 in just than five days, health officials have confirmed.

Ministers consider 'hospital hotels' for elderly patients to tackle bed-blocking on NHS wards

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 07:02:24 +0100

The Government is considering the idea of “hospital hotels” where elderly patients can recover from illnesses or falls.

Jeremy Hunt accuses Royal College of Nurses of putting its own interests above patient care as nursing leaders call Government reforms 'a really stupid idea'

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 19:29:28 +0100

Nursing leaders were accused tonight by the Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, of putting the interests of their profession above patient care after they called Government reforms a “really stupid idea”.

David Cameron hits back after nursing leaders raise major concerns over staffing levels and Government's plan to get trainee nurses working as healthcare assistants

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 16:05:48 +0100

Three-quarters of hospital wards in England are operating with unsafe staffing levels at least once a month, a survey of nursing managers says today.

Low-dose aspirin may stop growth of breast cancer, study suggests

Sun, 21 Apr 2013 19:56:51 +0100

Small doses of aspirin may block the growth and spread of the most virulent strains of breast cancer, research has revealed.

Worldwide, 20 per cent of children go unvaccinated

Sun, 21 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +0100

Within hours of Gareth Williams becoming the first person believed to have died of measles in the UK for five years, special vaccination clinics were opening for the third weekend in a row. And with more than 800 cases now reported in Swansea and other areas, and up to two million children at risk nationwide, officials at Public Health Wales said the 25-year-old, who died last Thursday at his home in Swansea, was unlikely to be the only fatality.

More women than men suffer heart disease

Sun, 21 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +0100

The stereotype of the overweight, unfit bloke as a heart attack in waiting masks a deadly fact. In fact, more young women suffer from cardiovascular problems than men, heart experts warn. Across the UK, there are 710,000 women, aged 16-44, living with heart disease compared to 570,000 men, according to British Heart Foundation (BHF) research.

Patients denied care as nurses fill in forms

Sun, 21 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +0100

Hospital patients are being denied vital care because overstretched nursing staff spend too much time filling in forms and doing unnecessary paperwork, it is claimed. Britain's nurses spend an estimated 2.5 million hours a week on "non-essential" paperwork and clerical tasks, according to poll results released today. Time taken away from patient care equates to more than an hour a day for every nurse in Britain, the Royal College of Nursing's annual conference in Liverpool will be told.

Hot and humid: Introducing Bikram yoga

Sun, 21 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +0100

Flamingos may find it relaxing, but for most of us, standing on one leg isn't much of a tonic. Unless, that is, you're a follower of Bikram yoga, in which case it's the first step to fitness, flexibility and finding inner peace.

Marathon runners warned not to use painkillers after study shows increase in cramps and other side effects

Sat, 20 Apr 2013 08:31:25 +0100

Using painkillers before running a marathon could cause serious side effects, experts have warned.