Latest news – Page 1948
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First anniversary of Scottish smoking ban welcomed
First Minister Jack McConnell has welcomed the first anniversary of the Scottish ban on smoking in enclosed public places.Mr McConnell said the move was one of the greatest achievements of devolution.Read the press release here
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Patchy progress for endoscopy services
Long waits for endoscopies have been eliminated in many parts of the country but some areas are still experiencing long delays, according to a report by the Healthcare Commission.In the South East half of all patients had been waiting more than 26 weeks for the procedure, while less than 0.2 ...
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New labour: the Welsh clinical pathway for childbirth
Swansea University professor of midwifery Billie Hunter has researched into the clinical pathway in Wales, a system designed to document childbirth more carefully
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NICE issues home births warning
Women should be warned that babies born at home have a higher risk of dying, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has warned.Its guidance suggests women be reassured that the risk of their baby dying during childbirth is low wherever they are born - 5.1 deaths per 1,000 ...
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Minister launches smoke ban countdown
The government is stepping up its campaign to help businesses get ready for the smoking ban, which comes into force on 1 July.Launching the 100-day countdown, public health minister Caroline Flint said: 'The new law will protect everyone from the harm of second-hand smoke at work and in public places, ...
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More funding needed for neglected diseases, says BMA
A British Medical Association report published today says that since 2000 there has been a resurgence in drugs to treat diseases such as malaria and leprosy, but that governments across the world have failed to invest in them.BMA International Committee chair Dr Edwin Borman said: 'This report gives hope to ...
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Breast screening programme detects more early cases
More cases of breast cancer were detected in 2005-06 by the NHS breast screening programme than in any previous year, The Information Centre for health and social care announced today.Over 13,500 cases of breast cancer were diagnosed in women aged 50 and over, an increase of 13 per cent over ...
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Healthcare commission calls for mandatory ethnicity reporting
Healthcare Commission chair Professor Sir Ian Kennedy has called on the Department of Health to extend mandatory recording of ethnicity to all mental health and learning disability services.The request follows a 2006 census showing that people from some black and minority ethnic groups are three times more likely than average ...
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Hunter syndrome guidelines released
Guidelines have been prepared to assist commissioning of services for mucopolysaccharide type II diseases (Hunter syndrome).The multidisciplinary group have extensive experience of enzyme replacement therapy for lysosomal storage disorders.Read the guidelines here
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Tuberculosis rise continues
Provisional figures released by the Health Protection Agency for 2006 show that cases of tuberculosis in England, Wales and Northern Ireland have increased 2 per cent from 8,008 cases reported in 2005 to 8,171 in 2006.London continues to account for the highest proportion of cases (42 per cent), but provisional ...
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Women warned of link between high blood sugar and cancer
Breakthrough Breast Cancer is urging women to follow a healthy diet after new research was published showing high blood sugar could lead to cancer.The research, part of a Swedish intervention project, involved 64,500 men and women and concluded that raised blood sugar levels could be linked to cancer of the ...
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PM's unit pushes more, but 'fairer', competition
The government this week set the stage for more providers to enter the healthcare market and spelled out the future of primary care trusts.
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The urgent care muddle may mean more nights to forget
The transfer of responsibility for out-of-hours care from family doctors to primary care trusts has been anything but smooth. And uncertainty remains on how services will develop in future. Alison Moore looks at the options for a politically contentious issue
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Improving picture for imaging
Waiting times for scans and imaging procedures have fallen - but there are still 'unacceptable' waits that could impact on trusts' ability to hit 18-week targets.
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PCTs win legal battle to downgrade Rochdale A&E
A High Court judge has rejected a mother and father's claim that plans to reconfigure four hospitals will put their sick son at risk.
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Bid to stop lethal errors in injections
Three trusts have signed up to a pilot scheme aimed at cutting deaths and injuries caused by injectable medication errors.
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Minister defends research plans
Science minister Malcolm Wicks has defended plans to reform medical research to align it more closely with the needs of the health service.Speaking to the science and technology select committee yesterday, he said a joint bid was being developed to set up an office for strategic co-ordination of health research.The ...
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HSE chair calls for improved workplace health regulation
Health and Safety Executive chair Bill Callaghan has called for employers and unions to work more closely together to promote health and well-being at work.Delivering the annual lecture in memory of former ACAS chair Sir Pat Lowry, he said informal self-regulation would be more efficient than anything imposed by HSE ...
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Poor data threatens future of PbR system, warns minister
Trusts must collect better data about patient services and involve clinicians in decisions if payment by results is to expand successfully, health minister Andy Burnham has warned.
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Call for joint posts to ease tension
More senior manager joint appointments are needed to help curb growing tensions between health and local government about cost-shunting, a primary care network has said.