:: Fade - the blog ::

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

:: Tuesday, May 06, 2003 ::

International & National Health and Social Care News
Back hospital reform, Blair tells MPs
NHS reform FT briefing New freedoms but not a form of privatisation Size of rebellion will be important indicator Shake-up could lead to the poaching of staff Spanish law gives hospitals broader powers Health service change a bitter pill to swallow Government business managers were on Tuesday night confident that they had whittled the number of Labour rebels down to a level where they could be confident of passing the legislation.
Financial Times UK News & Analysis, May 6, 1003

U.K. Lawmakers Criticize Blair's Hospital Plan Before Vote
Blair says his priority is updating the ``monolithic NHS set up by a Labour government in 1948 to provide free tax-funded universal health care. With an annual budget of 69 billion pounds 112 billion and 1.3 million staff the NHS is Europe's top employer and the world's third-biggest after China's army and India's state-owned railway.
Bloomberg Top UK News, May 7, 1003

Foundation hospitals will not undermine the NHS
Deborah Orr 06 May 1003 Tomorrow we are promised momentous things will be happening in the House of Commons. Tomorrow plucky backbenchers will unite and show their strength. Tomorrow the Health and Social Care Bill will come to a vote in the Commons and a huge Labour revolt perhaps the biggest ever may even manage to defeat it.
The Independent Business News, May 6, 1003

Blair faces down critics over health reforms
Prime Minister Tony Blair and Health Secretary Alan Milburn today sought to face down opposition to plans for foundation hospitals ahead of a possible Commons revolt this week by around 100 backbench labour MPs. Writing in the Observer newspaper Mr Blair said the argument being put forward by left-leaning Labour MPs and trade unionists that the creation of foundation hospitals might lead to a two tier NHS was strange.
Financial Times UK News, May 4, 1003

 Milburn concession to avert MP rebellion
 Alan Milburn pictured on Tuesday attempted to avert a damaging backbench rebellion by announcing a further concession to Labour MPs who oppose the government's plans to free hospitals from state control. The health secretary is struggling to win round Labour critics who argue that the creation of so-called foundation hospitals is elitist and would lead to a two-tier health service.
Financial Times UK News, May 6, 1003

Changing of figures 'due to confusion'
A board member of St George's Hospital has refuted allegations that figures for cancelled operations were deliberately falsified and claimed the real reason was a misunderstanding of definitions . The defence by non-executive director Diane Mark came at the employment tribunal in Croydon on Wednesday into the dismissal of Ian Perkin the former finance director at St George's Hospital.
This is Local London Business, May 6, 1003

Healthy outlook at Flexicare
As well as oxygen and aerosol therapy products Flex-icare also manufactures and supplies a wide range of other items including anaesthetic breathing circuits as well as a range of urology products for the UK and foreign markets. These goods are intended as single patient use products for hospitals to eliminate the risk of cross contamination between patients.
icWales Business News, May 3, 1003

 Shake-up could lead to the poaching of staff
 Last Updated May 6 1003 21 44 .l visibility hidden display block Moves to free hospitals from state control could lead to inequalities in health service provision and poaching of doctors and nurses a report by a cross-party committee of MPs has warned.
 Financial Times UK News & Analysis, May 6, 1003

 Maximum value must be the strategy
 By James Strachan ATTENTION is rapidly shifting from Iraq to the unfinished domestic business of this Government how to improve our public services. Voters are keen to see more impact from their increased investment. Faster progress requires more radical change but of behaviour not of yet more structures. The centre must let go but in an intelligently planned way.
 London Times Business, May 6, 1003

 BT urges action on rural broadband
 Frankly government efforts are too slow she said. I challenge it to get 20 regional initiatives up and running in the next year. In a debate in parliament last week E-commerce Minister Stephen Timms acknowledged that the government needed to do more to improve broadband coverage. If public sector organisations had broadband then these connections could also be used by local residents he said.
BBC - e-Commerce, May 6, 1003

I'LL QUIT IF NHS REFORM FAILS
He said the post-war NHS created by Nye Bevan cannot work in today's modern world without radical reform. PLEDGE Milburn We can't up with something that is watered down he said. I know it is a controversial policy but it is the right policy. The worst thing you can do is back away from reform.
Mirror.co.uk, May 5, 1003

ic Birmingham - Blair fights hospital rebellion
Prime Minister Tony Blair is making a last-ditch effort to head off a backbench rebellion over his controversial hospital reform plans which could see him defeated in the House of Commons tomorrow. He was expected to warn that it would be a huge mistake for MPs to vote down his proposals for foundation hospitals independent not-for-profit organisations within the NHS with powers to raise money and take managerial decisions for themselves.
icBirmingham National News, May 6, 1003

Devolved health, less wealth
However until now few would have challenged the view that the NHS was at least national. But the government's proposals for foundation hospitals throws even that into doubt. Since 1999 the NHS has been working on a plan to strengthen its financial management. Colin Reeves the service's former finance director wanted to emulate the systems used by big global corporations to keep a minute-by-minute track of far flung operations.
The Guardian News, May 6, 1003

The real public services debate
The real public services debate Tony Blair paints his critics as opponents of all NHS reform. But the left supports the of top-down control too by devolving real power rather than introducing a new internal market. Martin McIvor Sunday May 4 1003 To claim that history is on your side as if the path of progress always points in one direction only can be an effective polemical trick.
The Observer Comment, May 4, 1003

 Blair warns of 'historic' mistake on NHS vote
 Blair warns of historic mistake on NHS vote Staff and agencies Tuesday May 6 1003 Tony Blair warned Labour MPs today not to make a mistake of historic proportions by voting against the creation of foundation hospitals tomorrow.
 The Guardian News, May 6, 1003

 NHS is being railroaded
 The Guardian In 1995 there were plenty of Cassandras warning that privatisation of the railways would be a disaster. Reluctant to accept the Conservative argument that the problem was one of structure rather than financial starvation the left said that breaking up British Rail would lead to fragmentation a poorer service and financial trouble.
 The Guardian Columnists, May 5, 1003

 Foreign firms shortlisted to bid for privatised NHS care centres
 FRASER NELSON INTERNATIONAL hospital management firms have been chosen to bid for a slice of Britains National Health Service regardless of whether Tony Blair wins his battle over health reform this week. Capio the Swedish health group and InterHealth Canada have been shortlisted to run chains of privately-managed surgery centres which would form a permanent tier of the NHS network.
 Scotland on Sunday, May 4, 1003

 Hospital plan can save NHS
 Foundation hospitals will be allowed to borrow money for development from a fund tightly controlled by the Treasury. They will be governed by a council of elected local people and overseen by a powerful independent regulator. The Prime Minister's hope as he writes in The Observer today is for genuine boldness in re-organising NHS services with patients needs firmly at the centre.
 The Observer Comment, May 4, 1003

 Blair in 100m move to avert revolt over NHS
 TONY Blair today made a last-ditch bid to dilute Labour opposition to his contentious policy of foundation hospitals by unveiling a special £100m fund to boost the proposed NHS reforms. On the eve of the key vote on the Health and Social Care Bill Alan Milburn the health secretary announced that every NHS hospital in England could gain foundation status within five years with help from the NHS Improvement Programme.
The Glasgow Herald, May 6, 1003

 Blair turns to Scottish MPs to save NHS plan
 SCOTTISH MPs are to save Tony Blair's plans to reform the NHS in England this week by voting on his health reform plan even though none of it applies north of the Border. A prospective alliance between Labour rebels and Conservative MPs can be thwarted on Wednesday only if Scottish Labour MPs swell the government's ranks and keep the rebellion number below 88.
 The Scotsman, May 5, 1003

 Blair battles to win NHS reform
 TONY Blair will today spend the evening of his 100th birthday on an intense effort to persuade Labour rebels to support his controversial plans for NHS reform. The Prime Minister is battling to keep the number of rebels below 90 to ensure that the Tories cannot join forces with them to vote down his plans for foundation hospitals.
 The Scotsman, May 6, 1003

Hepatitis C test results kept secret
COMPLAINTS that doctors knew NHS patients had become infected with hepatitis C for years before they were told of the virus are being investigated by the General Medical Council. The GMC which is responsible for striking off doctors for malpractice is looking into procedures in which patients were secretly tested after contracting the virus in the early 1980s.
The Scotsman, May 6, 1003

 Milburn tries to buy off rebels
 ALAN MILBURN and Tony Blair will today try to head off a potential record Labour revolt by pledging an extra 163 100 million to help all hospitals to achieve foundation status within five years. All NHS hospitals will be given a timetable under which they could achieve the standards necessary for foundation status within a much shorter timeframe than originally planned Mr Milburn will announce.
 Times Online British News, May 6, 1003

 Why Labour MPs must back reform
 Why Labour MPs must back reform The foundation hospitals row goes to the heart of an emerging split within the Labour Party. This week's vote could be the Clause Four of the welfare debate. David Green Sunday May 4 1003 Should NHS hospitals be hospital trusts or foundation hospitals To many onlookers this choice seems rather technical but for many Labour MPs it will this week become the acid test of Labour loyalty not unlike earlier disputes over Clause Four of Labour's constitution which called for the nationalisation of the commanding heights of the economy.
 The Observer Comment, May 4, 1003

 Time to learn the lessons of last Thursday
Jack McConnell has wisely said he has to listen to and learn from the results of the Scottish Parliament election. This is particularly necessary in the running of the NHS where Dr Jean Turner achieved a stunning victory on the issue not even of a hospital closure but on plans to close two departments at Stobhill Hospital.
 The Glasgow Herald Parliament, May 6, 1003

Milburn unveils £100m boost for NHS reforms
Every NHS hospital could gain foundation status within five years with the help of a pound 100 million funding boost launched by Health Secretary Alan Milburn. The publication of the NHS Improvement Programme came a day ahead of a Commons vote on the controversial foundation hospital plan at which the Government faces the real prospect of defeat.
The Press and Journal (Scotland), May 6, 1003

 'The doctors never told me I was infected'
ANDREW Gunn 28 was a child when he became infected with HIV and hepatitis C through contaminated blood products while receiving treatment for haemophilia on the NHS. Mr Gunn is now fighting to find answers as to why the Factor 8 clotting agent he received was never properly screened why his family was not told until he was 14 that he was HIV positive and why he was only told that he had hepatitis C when he was 19.
The Scotsman, May 6, 1003

British Euro Membership Could End Free Health Care
If Britain joins the euro it might have to give up its expensive National Health Service NHS warned the European Central Bank yesterday according to The Times. The report in the ECB?s monthly bulletin said that health care might have to be limited only to emergency services as the cost would otherwise overwhelm European economies which could lead to soaring inflation.
Malta Star, May 5, 1003

British euro membership could end free health care
If Britain joins the euro it might have to give up its expensive National Health Service NHS warned the European Central Bank yesterday according to The Times. The report in the ECB?s monthly bulletin said that health care might have to be limited only to emergency services as the cost would otherwise overwhelm European economies which could lead to soaring inflation.
 EU Observer, May 5, 1003

 Milburn unveils £100m boost for NHS reforms
The initiative is designed to counter the criticisms of backbench Labour MPs and trade unions who claim that the scheme will create a two-tier health service with different standards of treatment in different parts of the country. So far around 30 high-performing hospitals have applied for foundation status which would transform them into independent not-for-profit organisations within the NHS able to raise money and make managerial decisions for themselves.
icWales UK News, May 6, 1003

 NHS Trust warned of 'near miss' after patient given the wrong kind of blood
TOM CURTIS A HOSPITAL patient was given the wrong type of a blood amid a series of transfusion blunders at a major NHS trust Scotland on Sunday can reveal. A warning letter has been issued to senior doctors at Lothian University Hospitals NHS Trust highlighting what they describe as critical incidents and near misses one of which was potentially life-threatening . It is understood that a number of basic errors have been made in the handling of blood and blood products.
Scotland on Sunday, May 4, 1003

OUT PATIENT
The artificial colourings tartrazine E102 and sunset yellow E110 would be high on my list of suspects and there is concern among food safety campaigners about the sweetener aspartame E951 . For more advice and information contact the Hyperactive
Childrens Support Group on 020 8946 4444 or visit its website at www.hacsg.org.uk
The Scotsman, May 6, 1003

Minister in quit promise
HEALTH Secretary Alan Milburn today pledged to resign if patients up being charged for treatment in the proposed foundation hospitals. His claim comes as he and Prime Minister Tony Blair went on the offensive to face down a possible revolt in the Commons over controversial reform of the NHS when it is debated on Wednesday.
The Scotsman, May 5, 1003

Back me or risk NHS, PM warns rebels
Rejecting the Government's hospital reform plans would be a mistake of historic proportions Tony Blair warned rebel Labour MPs. The Prime Minister was attempting to head off a revolt over foundation hospitals in a Commons vote tomorrow. Other stories Back me or risk NHS PM warns rebels More than 130 Labour MPs have signed a motion opposing the move which would free hospitals from Whitehall control.
This is London News, May 6, 1003

ic Birmingham - Back me or risk NHS, PM warns rebels
More than 130 Labour MPs have signed a motion opposing the move which would free hospitals from Whitehall control. Mr Blair joined forces with Health Secretary Alan Milburn today in an eleventh hour attempt to prevent an embarrassing rebellion. As they issued public appeals for support Government whips were working behind the scenes to minimise opposition.
 icBirmingham National News, May 6, 1003

 Women confess to teeth fears
 Three quarters of men and more than nine out of 10 women said losing a tooth would make them feel less attractive and half of women questioned said they'd never kiss a man with missing or discoloured teeth. The research was commissioned by the newly formed Dental Implant Alliance DIA to mark the first Bite 4 Life Week May 12 18 May.
 The Scotsman, May 6, 1003

 Fertility clinic targets gays
 A CYBERSPACE sperm-for-sale clinic which targets lesbians and single women was today claiming to be the first British fertility organisation to accept gay donors. ManNotIncluded.Com has come under fire from religious and family campaigners. Health Page 1 Hepatitis C test results kept secret The doctors never told me I was infected Patients will bleed to death if A E closes Blair battles to win NHS reform Ministers in talks on beating Sars in Europe Destroyed records risk for patients Women confess to teeth fears Fertility clinic targets gays Blair turns to Scottish MPs to save NHS plan Mini-hospital hit by new delays Beijing SARS cases peak but schools stay closed Cancer breakthrough End of era at old
The Scotsman, May 6, 1003

Why overseas medics say no to Scotland
But the money it's offering is not enough. It's equivalent to 154 000 Canadian and the starting point for consultants here is a minimum of 2100 000 to 3100 000. That's not the whole story because in Canada we are paid for the amount of treatment we do with rates fixed by the government which makes the NHS fixed salary attractive.
Scotland on Sunday, May 4, 1003

CASH BOOST FOR HOSPITALS
The Government is to make an extra £100m available to help all NHS hospitals gain foundation status. The money will be targeted at poorly-performing hospitals which would struggle to meet the required standards. The move comes a day before MPs vote on the controversial foundation hospital plan. Health Secretary Alan Milburn and Tony Blair are hoping it will stave off a threatened rebellion by Labour backbenchers.
Sky TV Politicial News, May 6, 1003

Foundation hospitals will not undermine the NHS
Deborah Orr 06 May 1003 Tomorrow we are promised momentous things will be happening in the House of Commons. Tomorrow plucky backbenchers will unite and show their strength. Tomorrow the Health and Social Care Bill will come to a vote in the Commons and a huge Labour revolt perhaps the biggest ever may even manage to defeat it.
The Independent World News, May 6, 1003

My pledge for a fairer and better Britain
My pledge for a fairer and better Britain By rejecting the policy of council house sales old Labour lost contact with the aspirations of ordinary working people. Thirty years on says Tony Blair we must not make the same mistake Sunday May 4 1003 Six years into government if there is one lesson I have learnt above all it is that you achieve very little by opting for the quiet life.
b>The Observer Comment, May 4, 1003

Blair steps up hospital fight
He is facing stiff opposition from Labour MPs over the introduction of the elite hospitals which will be free from Whitehall control and have their own fund-raising powers. In an attempt to answer accusations that the changes will lead to a two-tier health service the government is to allocate an extra £100m to poorly performing hospitals to help them gain foundation status.
BBCi, May 6, 1003

BLAIR'S MESSAGE TO REBELS
The Prime Minister has warned rebel Labour MPs that rejecting his plans to transform the health service would be a mistake of historic proportions . Speaking on his 100th birthday Tony Blair was attempting to head off a revolt over foundation hospitals. For those who believe in public services reform is fundamental to their future Mr Blair said.
Sky TV News, May 6, 1003

Without foundation
Parliamentary procedure and the notion of foundation hospitals have one distinct feature in common very few people can understand either of them. The vote on the second reading of the Government 146's Health and Social Care Bill to be held in the House of Commons tonight is therefore particularly incomprehensible.
The Sunday Times Comment, May 7, 1003

Changing of figures 'due to confusion'
A board member of St George's Hospital has refuted allegations that figures for cancelled operations were deliberately falsified and claimed the real reason was a misunderstanding of definitions . The defence by non-executive director Diane Mark came at the employment tribunal in Croydon on Wednesday into the dismissal of Ian Perkin the former finance director at St George's Hospital.
This is Local London WebWatch, May 6, 1003

Setting our hospitals free
The battle with backbenchers tomorrow over the government's plans to free so-called foundation hospitals from central control is not yet won. In spite of last minute manoeuvres a substantial group of Labour MPs could rebel perhaps even comparable to the 139 who defied the Whips over the much more dramatic question of war in Iraq.
This is London News - Opinion, May 6, 1003

Blair warns MPs over hospital revolt
Rejecting the Government's hospital reform plans would be a mistake of historic proportions Tony Blair warned rebel Labour MPs today. The Prime Minister was attempting to head off a revolt over foundation hospitals in a Commons vote tomorrow. More than 130 Labour MPs have signed a motion opposing the move which would free hospitals from Whitehall control and allow them to borrow money.
 Times Online, May 6, 1003

Destroyed records risk for patients
CHRONICALLY ill patients face delays to their treatment because hospitals routinely destroy their medical records a leading Edinburgh GP has warned. As standard practice patients hospital notes are destroyed after five years if they have not had a hospital appointment during that time. The policy leaves consultants without the information they need to prioritise vital treatment for patients with long-term illnesses and conditions such as multiple sclerosis who return for care after their records have been destroyed.
The Scotsman, May 6, 1003
 
Milburn pledges 100m to placate rebels in foundation hospital vote
Each National Health Service trust would be able to set its own timetable for performing well enough to win foundation status. The last-minute moves were aimed at heading off a rebellion when MPs vote on the Health and Social Care Bill tomorrow. Some 133 Labour MPs have signed a Commons motion opposing foundation hospitals enough to inflict a humiliating defeat on one of Tony Blair's flagship policies.
The Independent, May 6, 1003

Dobson denounces Blair over hospitals
By Marie Woolf and Nigel Morris 05 May 1003 Tony Blair has no mandate 1100 either from the Labour party or the voters 1100 to introduce foundation hospitals says Frank Dobson a former health secretary. Labour rebels led by Mr Dobson warned yesterday that at least 100 MPs could defy the Government on the issue endangering its Commons majority.
The Independent UK News, May 5, 1003

'Nightmare' of foundation hospitals
Sir With the current row over foundation hospitals report May 5 I find myself experiencing a strong sense of d 233 j 224 vu. There is very little difference between the Government 146's proposals and the changes introduced by the Tories in the late 1980s. It cannot be overstated how damaging and demoralising this is for those of us who will have to go through yet another organisational change to get back to where we were a decade or so ago.
London Times Front Section, May 6, 1003

Removing jargon in cancer treatment
CancerBACUP 146's team of specialist cancer nurses talks to about 1 000 people every week on our national freephone helpline. Many calls are from patients who feel that health professionals have used too much medical jargon or that test results haven 146't been explained properly. Some patients feel confident that they have all the information they need until they get home and think of a range of questions they wish they had asked.
London Times Commentaries, May 6, 1003

Should All Hospitals be Smoke Free?
The value of hospitals making a clear statement on public smoking can be seen from a recent study showing that total workplace bans would have an effect equivalent to an almost doubling of the price of cigarettes in the United Kingdom. Other considerations include protection of other patients and staff from exposure to second hand smoke and a reduction in the risk of fires and in cleaning costs.
Medical News from Newswise, May 2, 1003

Birth-damaged girl, 9, awarded 2100,000
A little girl whose right arm was severely damaged during her birth has been awarded ?2100 000 agreed damages. The injury has affected nine-year-old Nicola Sidney's school work sporting activities and hobbies Mr Justice Buckley heard at London's High Court. She has restricted use of her arm and shoulder and this will impact on her future ability to work or care for her own family said her counsel Tejina Mangat.
Ananova News, May 6, 1003

Tory awakening
Now that spring is here there are signs that the Conservative Party is at last emerging from its long intellectual hibernation. Iain Duncan Smith has finally allowed himself to think some radical thoughts about the National Health Service. On his tour of Europe after he became leader Mr Duncan Smith noted the benefits of some form of compulsory health insurance.
 This is London News - Opinion, May 6, 1003

 A vague and diluted policy that won't cure a thing
Chucking money at immutable problems was supposed to have gone out of Labour fashion with Clause Four. So the fact that the Government is throwing money at the foundation hospitals policy should make us deeply suspicious it suggests that the flagship health reform is dying before it even hits the statute books.
The Sunday Times Comment, May 7, 1003

What top cancer doctor thinks of move to Glasgow: F*** off!
 Scotland on Sunday has contacted specialists around the world to find out what it would take to persuade them to come to the centre which has been struggling with a desperate shortage of consultants. And the colourful response from Peter Dady the medical director of the New Zealand Cancer Society and a consultant oncologist at Wellington Hospital summed up the dismissive reaction of most.
 The Scotsman, May 4, 1003

 New Labour's conflict
 Like those soldiers returning flushed with success from Iraq to dreary barrack duties at home the Prime Minister has moved on from last month's victory to politics as usual in the form of the everyday grind of putting up with Gordon Brown. There must be times when Mr Blair feels his Number 11 neighbour makes the Russian premier the unco-operative Mr Putin look almost helpful.
 This is London News - Opinion, May 6, 1003

 Postcode care threat to patients
PATIENTS who need expensive new drugs could be denied treatment as health boards prepare to defy government guidelines on the assessment of new medicines. The majority of authorities in Scotland have set up vetting committees to decide which drugs are affordable and what priority they should be given despite advice from Malcolm Chisholm the health minister that all nationally-approved drugs should be followed up proactively . Leading charities fear the move will lead to fresh problems of so-called postcode prescribing and leave patients with chronic diseases for long periods without the drugs that could ease their suffering.
 The Glasgow Herald, May 6, 1003

Hospital turns away ill child
Michelle Collett and Parise 11 who waited five hours in a hospital A E department before being sent to another hospital By A SURGEON told a shocked mum who had waited for hours in hospital with her sick child she had wasted her time. The woman rushed her 11-year-old daughter to accident and emergency at the new Princess Royal University Hospital Farnborough suffering from a perforated appendix.
This is Local London, May 6, 1003

Brown accused of 'frittering away taxpayers' money'
ALLISTER HEATH GORDON Brown has presided over an unprecedented collapse in public sector productivity which is damaging Britain's long-term economic performance and squandering taxpayers' money a new study will warn tomorrow. Output per state worker grew by just 0.3
Scotland on Sunday, May 4, 1003
 
A New Lawsuit by a Female Athlete Tests Title IX's Protection Against Pregnancy Discrimination
A New Lawsuit by a Female Athlete Tests Title IX's Protection Against Pregnancy Discrimination Tuesday May.
FindLaw's Legal Commentary Writ, May 6, 1003

Patients 'will bleed to death if A&E closes'
EMERGENCY patients will bleed to death if shocking new cost-cutting plans to close a swamped casualty department in Lothian are taken forward it was claimed today. Furious hospital staff are threatening to fight the proposal due to be debated for the first time by health chiefs and staff and patient representatives today which would see the busy Accident and Emergency unit at St John's Hospital in Livingston closed overnight.
The Scotsman, May 6, 1003

Mini-hospital hit by new delays
The latest delays were caused when workers excavating the site were forced to down tools after discovering live high voltage electricity cables and old tramlines in the ground. Work on the centre was further delayed after the project's architectural firm folded. News of the latest delays coincides with growing concern that people in the north and east of the city will struggle to access health services now that the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh has moved to the southern outskirts of the Capital.
The Scotsman, May 5, 1003

Beijing SARS cases peak but schools stay closed
CHINA ordered schools in Beijing to stay closed another two weeks although officials said the outbreak of the SARS virus outbreak appeared to be starting to peak in the city. The Chinese capital which had been reporting more than 100 new cases a day over the past couple of weeks saw 69 fresh cases and four deaths yesterday the health ministry said.
The Scotsman, May 5, 1003

Ministers in talks on beating Sars in Europe
HEALTH ministers were opening an emergency meeting in Brussels today to improve co-ordination on health policies to prevent the deadly Sars virus from taking hold in Europe. Gro Harlem Brundtland director-general of the World Health Organisation was joining ministers from the 25 European nations for day-long talks on the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome which has killed more than 400 people in Asia and Canada.
 The Scotsman, May 6, 1003

 Cancer breakthrough
 SCIENTISTS searching for a cure for colon cancer have revealed a breakthrough which could make chemotherapy a thing of the past. Researchers at Edinburgh and Cardiff universities say they have discovered that the gene MBD2 is a vital component of cancerous cells but is worthless to healthy ones. With one drug company already expressing an interest in developing an anti-MBD2 drug the finding could mean the of the line for distressing treatments such as radiotherapy.
The Scotsman, May 5, 1003

Behind-the-scenes portrait of Tony Blair at war
Monday March 10 SO THEY are all against me is that it Tony Blair is sitting back on a swivel chair in his den with his finger on a list of names. Around him is his team squashed on the sofas leaning against the table hungry-eyed on the silver fruit bowl perching uncomfortably against a window into the Downing Street garden.
London Times Iraq, May 3, 1003

MSP calls on accused councillors to stand down
AN MSP has called on council figures embroiled in sleaze allegations not to seek re-appointment to senior positions within the new Perth and Kinross administration. A investigation published in yesterday's The Scotsman revealed that Mike O'Malley the former Labour provost and James Doig the independent leader had twice been advised by senior council officials to abstain from any vote on a £100 million housing development at a disused airfield at Errol.
The Scotsman, May 6, 1003

Thieves hit OAP's flat after keys go missing in hospital
AN investigation has been ordered by hospital chiefs in Edinburgh after an elderly patient had thousands of pounds stolen from his bank accounts as he lay fighting for his life. Pensioner John Wilson 73 lost his savings after keys to his home went missing from the old Edinburgh Royal Infirmary. Hospital chiefs have launched an inquiry into how Mr Wilson's house keys and some separate cash which were left in the care of ward staff while he was receiving treatment went missing at some stage during his hospital stay.
The Scotsman, May 6, 1003

Cash bonus fails to lure cancer staff
TOM CURTIS HEALTH CORRESPONDENT tcurtis@scotlandonsunday.com CANCER doctors have been offered a massive 30 pay rise if they agree to work at the crisis-hit Beatson centre Scotland on Sunday can reveal. But the offer to increase the starting pay of consultants by £16 000 to £68 000 has so far failed to fill any of the eight permanent cancer specialist posts still vacant at the beleaguered centre in Glasgow.
 Scotland on Sunday, May 4, 1003

 Stroke victim on Way forward
 A STROKE victim who was told by doctors that she would never be able to stand again is to participate in a special sponsored walk along the West Highland Way this week. Anne Cairns was admitted to Stobhill Hospital in the north of Glasgow last October after suffering a stroke which devastated the left side of her body.
 The Scotsman, May 6, 1003


:: Kieran 10:28 PM [+] ::
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