:: Fade - the blog ::

If you want to understand the origins of the headings go to Friday, November 29, 2002.

:: Thursday, March 13, 2003 ::

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She Dazzled Me With Basil - Random Jottings
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Mirror post deleted here!
:: Kieran 2:44 PM [+] ::
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She Dazzled Me With Basil - Random Jottings
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As servers move around following the sale of Blogger to Google, we seem to be encountering the odd problem. Please be patient with us, as we will be with Blogger. If you wish to hear a list of technical terms applied by at least one member of the Fade and Salford team it can be provided but really isn't very polite!
:: Kieran 2:44 PM [+] ::
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Another 15 Minutes... Health News via Fade
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Apologies for the late appearance of todays news, we've had 500 (server busy) errors on our blogspot account all day. Hopefully back to normal tomorrow. Kieran
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Alert over Hong Kong 'super-flu'

Health officials have issued a global warning about a virulent flu and pneumonia that has swept through hospitals in Hong Kong and Vietnam.

BBC Health 13/03/03
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Anti-allergy foods 'more popular'

There has been a huge rise in the number of products sold to people concerned they suffer from food allergies or intolerances.

BBC Health 13/03/03
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Begging for help to beat addiction

Shoppers in Leeds generally warm to Kyle the beggar whose ambushes in Lands Lane would win him a job as a salesman. But his wit and charm haven't a hope against the heroin addiction which lost him his electrician's traineeship, his girlfriend and every go he's had at regular work for the past seven years. Kyle, 29, is typical of scores of street beggars in one of the north's richest cities, who now face £80 fines and compulsory drug treatment in David Blunkett's crackdown on anti-social behaviour. He dismisses the fine: "They've never caught me yet." But the treatment is something he's dreamed about for years.

The Guardian 13/03/03
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Breast check device hailed

Scientists are claiming double-checking breast lumps using a new scanning technique could cut the number of women wrongly thought to have cancer by 70%.

BBC Health 13/03/03
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Cameroon bans urine 'remedy'

The Cameroon health minister has deemed it necessary to warn people that drinking urine may not be good for your health.

BBC Health 13/03/03
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Clampdown on beggars

New moves to drive beggars from the streets of Liverpool are to begin in the next few weeks.

Daily Post 13/03/03
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Cost of housing forces more young adults to stay at home

More than half Britain's young adults live with their parents and the proportion is rising as 18-24 year olds, many with student debt, struggle to afford housing.

The Guardian 13/03/03
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Cumbria hospital trust chairman resigns

The chairman of a hospital trust in north Cumbria which was heavily criticised in a report last month has resigned.

BBC Health 13/03/03
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Defuse the time bomb ticking in your veins

The risk of a DVT is much higher for people who have major surgery and the danger is significant for three months after the op.

The Times 13/03/03
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Foundation hospitals plan 'jeopardised by curbs'

Alan Milburn's plans for a new era of public service entrepreneurialism in the NHS by creating "foundation" hospitals risk being strangled at birth because of restrictions that will curb hospitals' freedom, a leading health economist has warned.

The Independent 13/03/03
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Gene therapy hope for Huntington's

Scientists believe gene therapy could be used to slow down or prevent the fatal brain disorder Huntington's disease.

BBC Health 13/03/03
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Hospital tells patients of security breach

Patients at the Royal Bolton Hospital affected by the blunder which led to their medical records being sold to an estate agent in Crewe have been informed about the security breach.

Bolton Evening News 13/03/03
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Hospitals prepare for high numbers of wounded

British soldiers injured in the Gulf would be flown to airports around the country to ensure that no hospital was overwhelmed, the Government confirmed yesterday.

The Independent 13/03/03
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Lords uphold cloning law

The House of Lords has rejected a pro-life charity's challenge to laws allowing therapeutic cloning.

BBC Health 13/03/03
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Max goes mad after hospital dumps art

An artist who donated 30 paintings to Leigh Infirmary is demanding answers from hospital bosses after some of his paintings were found dumped in a skip.

Bolton Evening News 13/03/03
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Milburn launches foundation hospitals bill

The government today flouted backbench opposition by publishing legislation to pave the way for a new generation of controversial NHS "super hospitals".

The Guardian 13/03/03
BBC Health 13/03/03
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New products give a potent aid to reduced male virility

Although furniture designers will need to make bathroom cupboards larger to accommodate the ever increasing number of anti- impotence pills that are coming on to the market, erectile dysfunction was still described as underdiagnosed and undertreated by Professor Hartmut Porst, Chairman of the Congress of the European Society for Sexual and Impotence Research.

The Times 13/03/03
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Outrage at food scam findings

Consumer and industry groups expressed outrage yesterday at the latest survey by the food standards agency, which has found beef and pork proteins injected into imported chicken, as revealed in the Guardian this week.

The Guardian 13/03/03
The Independent 13/03/03
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Perchance to dream ..

“Calm and peaceful shall we sleep
Rocked in the cradle of the deep.”

It will take more than the therapies of a lifestyle guru to bestow upon Tony Blair the type of deep sleep that the Victorian educationalist Emma Hart Willard extolled. When interviewed by Trevor McDonald earlier this week, the Prime Minister more resembled a sleepless Macbeth than our other recent insomniac Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher — the Iron Lady. His appearance also contrasts with that of the rebellious, yet relaxed-looking, Clare Short and the suave President Chirac.

The Times 13/03/03
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Senate bans 'partial birth' abortions

The US Senate has voted to ban a form of late term abortion, a decision which opponents say marks the start of a general assault on abortion rights.

BBC Health 13/03/03
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'Shaken baby syndrome' doubts

Doctors have found evidence to suggest some parents and carers may be falsely accused of violently shaking babies.

BBC Health 13/03/03
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The rock of ages

Press photographs of Adam Faith, who died suddenly at the age of 62 hours after his final stage performance, gave the impression of a man who appeared unusually young for his age. His picture on the television news last weekend was more in accord with reality.

The Times 13/03/03
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Woman dies of Legionnaires' disease

A woman has died after contracting Legionnaires' disease linked to a Somerset hotel.

BBC Health 13/03/03
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Worst young offenders to be named and shamed

The names of the most persistent young offenders are to be published in an attempt to shame them into better behaviour.

The Independent 13/03/03
The Independent 13/03/03
The Independent 13/03/03
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:: Kieran 2:37 PM [+] ::
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Another 15 Minutes... Health News via Fade
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A heartbeat away

A new method of kidney transplant that relies on donors who have not been defined as brain dead is raising ethical questions.

The Times 10/03/03
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A laid-back way to get fit

Posture-friendly the average bike is not. You must not only contort your spine to reach the handlebars, but the saddle offers barely comfortable support, while to turn the pedals you must extend your legs in the most unorthopaedic of movements.

The Times 07/03/03
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Alarm at NHS 'companies'

Alan Milburn last night triggered a Labour backlash and risked widening a rift with Gordon Brown after it emerged he plans to call a wave of self-governing hospitals "foundation companies", raising the spectre of greater private involvement in the NHS.

The Guardian 08/03/03
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Almost half of nurses under 40 plan to quit

The nursing crisis in Scottish hospitals will worsen with 40 per cent of nurses under the age of 40 planning to leave the profession within the next five years. A poll of more than 1 000 nurses conducted by the Royal College of Nursing Scotland highlights growing disenchantment within the sector with more than two-thirds of nurses believing there is not sufficient numbers of staff to provide a good standard of care.

The Scotsman 07/03/03
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And the poor get poorer

Class war has broken out. The only question is who is targeting whom. Middle England's bleats of victimhood have been upstaged by a leaked White Paper detailing harsh measures against assorted antisocial people unlikely to be listed in Debrett's. In particular, the Government wants to criminalise beggars.

The Observer 09/03/03
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Anti-depressants 'could affect driving'

Up to a million people in the UK could be driving under the effects of anti-depressant drugs, which can include aggression, dizziness and blurred vision.

The Guardian 10/03/03
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Blair braced for NHS report

Tony Blair and the health secretary, Alan Milburn, are bracing themselves for a frank report today from the semi-independent NHS modernisation board, warning that the NHS still lacks staff, capacity and beds to meet key targets set by the government in its 10-year plan.

The Guardian 10/03/03
The Independent 10/03/03
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Broadmoor's cover-up

There are two separate scandals raised by yesterday's reports on the abuse of women patients in Broadmoor, the secure mental hospital. One comes as no surprise. Systematic abuse is not a new phenomenon in our three secure hospitals, but never before in such a systemic way between male and female patients. The allegations could not be more serious involving allegations of sexual harassment, indecent assault and even rape. The second is even more depressing, given the efforts in the last decade to provide more protection to whistleblowers and end health service cover-ups. Once again, an outstanding public servant, this time an award-winning women's services director, Julia Wassell, who raised the alarm, was initially ignored, then victimised and finally driven from her job. She rightly claimed constructive dismissal and Broadmoor belatedly settled out of court this week.

The Guardian 08/03/03
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Casualty flights shunned by union

Airline pilots will refuse to fly aircraft chartered to evacuate casualties of war because the Government is seeking to relax flight safety rules.

The Times 10/03/03
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Charity issues warning as cancer waiting times fall

The UK's leading cancer charity today warned that the quality of cancer care was being undermined by staff shortages and the poor availability of the most effective treatments.

The Guardian 07/03/03
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Emergency care scheme flawed, say UK docs

A scheme designed to reduce waiting times in Accident and Emergency departments is simply massaging the figures to reach government targets of four-hour waiting times according to a series of letters in the 8th March issue of the British Medical Journal. The NHS Modernisation Agency's see and treat initiative is diverting resources away from treating critically ill patients say the authors.

Reuters Health 07/03/03
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Explosion of sex infections overwhelms health service

Soaring rates of sexually transmitted infections are overwhelming the NHS and threatening the health of a generation of young people, according to a committee of MPs.

The Independent 10/03/03
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Farewell tears as TA medics head out for Gulf

Tears flowed yesterday as Territorial Army medics from across the region made ready to fly to the Gulf within days in preparation for war.

The Daily Post 07/03/03
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Fears over NHS as officials ask: Can foundation hospitals be companies?

Health department officials have run legal checks to see whether EU law would prevent them from converting the new NHS foundation hospitals into companies.

The Independent 09/03/03
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Gangsters make their own crack

Drug-makers are being employed full-time by gangsters to make crack cocaine on Merseyside. A top intelligence officer has discovered that the highly addictive drug is no longer being imported into the region from abroad.

The Liverpool Echo 07/03/03
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Government to outlaw begging

Beggars will be handed criminal records, and fixed penalty fines will be imposed on antisocial children as young as 10, under plans to be announced next week.

The Independent 07/03/03
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High-fat diet helps children with epilepsy

A radical diet for severely epileptic children that mimics the effects of starvation can "dramatically" cut their seizures, a study by Great Ormond Street Hospital has found.

The Independent 09/03/03
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Hospital tests mothers and babies for TB

Twenty-five mothers and babies at a maternity hospital are being screened for tuberculosis following the suspicion that a patient has fallen ill with the disease.

The Scotsman 07/03/03
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Hospital waiting lists 'on target'

The number of people waiting more than 12 months to be admitted to hospital in England has fallen by 20,000 over the past year, the government said today.

The Guardian 07/03/03
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Industrial-scale mortuaries being sought for mass terror fatalities

Ministers are secretly scouring the country for mortuaries to take thousands of civilian bodies from a terrorist attack after war breaks out with Iraq.

The Independent 09/02/03
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Judge attacks social worker over international adoption scandal

The lid was lifted on the "evil and exploitative" business of international adoption yesterday when a High Court judge attacked a British freelance social worker for allowing a blacklisted family to buy a baby from a couple in the United States.

The Independent 08/03/03
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Mayor urged to back 'living wage'

London mayor Ken Livingstone will today be asked to pledge that the city's transport, police and fire services pay their staff and the employees of their contractors "a living wage" of £6.30 an hour.

The Guardian 10/03/03
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Ministers struggle to meet pledge on hospital admission waiting times

Figures published yesterday showed just 1 300 people waiting 12 months were removed from the list in January. That leaves 9 600 to treat in February and March a faster rate of sustained reduction than the NHS has achieved for a long time. Despite the figures John Hutton the health minister claimed We are on course to deliver the targets we set out in the NHS plan.

The Financial Times 08/03/03
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New blindness therapy will be available on NHS

A treatment for blindness pioneered by doctors at the Royal Liverpool hospital may soon be available on the NHS. Health Secretary Alan Milburn is expected to agree that the therapy for tackling age-related macular degeneration, the main cause of blindness, should go nationwide.


The Liverpool Echo 06/03/03
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New cancer treatments offer hope of longer life

A cancer revolution, heralded by the first generation of 'smart' drugs and implantable biochemical chips, will ensure that thousands more patients survive into old age.

The Observer 09/03/03
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Nurses in cash demand

Around 70 per cent of Scots nurses believe the country’s health services will not improve without greater investment to employ more staff. Research carried out by the Royal College of Nursing claims that the profession in Scotland remains at crisis point. The report showed that in the last two years the number of qualified nursing vacancies in Scotland rose from 874 in March 2000 to 1461 in March 2002 - an increase of 67 per cent.

The Scotsman 07/03/03
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Patient holds doctor hostage

A psychiatric patient was this afternoon holding his wife and a doctor hostage. The man, believed to be armed, was holed up in his Liverpool house as a police operation began at noon.

The Liverpool Echo 06/03/03
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Poison alert over batch of mysterious vodka

Trading standards officers in the North West have issued an urgent poison alert involving a mysterious brand of vodka.

The Daily Post 06/03/03
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Plan to outlaw begging is 'Dickensian'

The Government's plans to crack down on antisocial behaviour including begging were described as "Dickensian" yesterday and condemned by charities, civil rights groups and some Labour MPs.

The Independent 08/03/03
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Ripper could be bad, not mad, says MP

The Yorkshire Ripper should be moved from Broadmoor high security hospital to an ordinary prison because he is not really mentally ill, an MP said yesterday.

The Guardian 10/03/03
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Smoking diseases alter the brain

But it also has the ability to switch back again once oxygen levels rise in the blood. It has long been known that smoking causes emphysema and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease COPD a common disorder in which lung damage over a long period of time impairs the flow of air in and out of the lungs.

BBC Health 08/03/03
The Times of India 09/03/03
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The cancer revolution

When Sarah Allen, a mother of four, discovered she had a virulent form of breast cancer, she feared for her future. Two years on, she is the symbol of a biotechnological success that promises to change for ever our treatment of disease.

The Observer 09/03/03
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UK cancer patients' wait for specialist shrinks

At a meeting of cancer experts in Birmingham public health minister Hazel Blears said projects run by the NHS Cancer Services Collaborative were revolutionising cancer services. As a result patients and their families are benefiting from shorter waiting times and a less and more efficient pathway of treatment and care she said.

Full Text of Hazel Blears Speech - Guardian 07/03/03
Reuters Health 07/03/03
OncoLink 07/03/03
BBC Health 07/03/03
CancerPage Policy 07/03/03
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Vanity's cost is £12.8bn

Consumers spent £12.8bn last year on health and beauty products, according to a report today.

The Guardian 10/03/03
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War of words over how to free public services

Debate runs across cabinet on the best ways forward for health and education.

The Guardian 07/03/03
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What does the biotech revolution mean?

Online commentary: The idea of" Smart Drugs" has been around for a long time, longer than Exocet missiles. But scientific breakthroughs have now made a revolution in cancer treatment a much more imminent prospect - as long as biotechnology companies can survive the economic recession.

The Observer 09/03/03
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Women in Broadmoor 'should not be there'

The incarceration of women in high-security special hospitals is to be investigated by an influential committee of MPs.

The Independent 09/03/03
The Independent 09/03/03
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Evil Edna's Corner - Broadcast Health for Next Week
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Evil Edna's Corner is a listing of programmes available on terrestrial TV and radio in the UK requiring no additional set top boxes or gizmos beyond a standard television set or three band radio receiver and is of course named in honour of the Willow the Wisp character....
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Health Matters Mon 10 Mar, 20:05 - 20:30
BBC World Service

Living With Cancer: Over four weeks, Graham Easton brings together patients, survivors, advocacy groups and the world's leading medical experts to discuss the choices facing people with cancer.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/programmes/h_matters_sci.shtml
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Body Hits Tue 11 Mar, 00:05 - 00:35
BBC One

BBC THREE On BBC ONE: Body Beautiful: Dr John Marsden examines where the idea of the perfect body comes from; is it advertising or evolution? Plus, what happens when we try and attain perfection? W/S.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/tv/bodyhits.shtml
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Health Matters Tue 11 Mar, 02:05 - 02:30
BBC World Service

Living With Cancer: Over four weeks, Graham Easton brings together patients, survivors, advocacy groups and the world's leading medical experts to discuss the choices facing people with cancer.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/programmes/h_matters_sci.shtml
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Health Matters Tue 11 Mar, 15:05 - 15:30
BBC World Service

Living With Cancer: Over four weeks, Graham Easton brings together patients, survivors, advocacy groups and the world's leading medical experts to discuss the choices facing people with cancer.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/programmes/h_matters_sci.shtml
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Life Of Grime Tue 11 Mar, 21:00 - 21:30
BBC One

Pest control officer George Whordley is still fighting the noble fight against vermin, and new health inspector, Yunes Teinaz makes restaurant owners tremble and cockroaches scuttle for cover. W/S.
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Health Matters Wed 12 Mar, 10:05 - 10:30
BBC World Service

Living With Cancer: Graham Easton brings together patients, survivors, advocacy groups, medical experts and counsellors to share their experiences of treatments and choices facing people with cancer.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/programmes/h_matters_sci.shtml
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All In The Mind Wed 12 Mar, 16:30 - 17:00
BBC Radio 4 FM

Dr Raj Persaud explores the pressing issues in psychology and psychiatry.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/science/allinthemind.shtml
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Check Up Thu 13 Mar, 15:00 - 15:30
BBC Radio 4 FM

Barbara Myers presents the health phone-in. This week's programme discusses ear infections, with expert Professor Tony Cheeseman. Call 08700 100 444 [national rates] or email checkup@bbc.co.uk.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/science/checkup.shtml
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Campaigning For Health Fri 14 Mar, 04:30 - 04:45
BBC World Service

Dee Palmer looks at the ways health care professionals try to give us the information we need. She also discovers how health campaigns are targeted and planned.
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Sunday Surgery Sun 16 Mar, 21:00 - 23:00
BBC Radio 1

Emma B and Dr Mark Hamilton with help and advice on listeners' dilemmas. Today, how to kick bad habits. Call 08700 100 100 [national rates], or call free on 0800 110 100 to speak to someone off air.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/djs/sunday_surgery.shtml
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:: Kieran 3:01 AM [+] ::
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