Cheap healthy food scheme begins

Cheap healthy food scheme begins: A new effort to convince families in England that they can eat healthily on a budget is beginning. BBC News

NHS accused over deaths of disabled patients

NHS accused over deaths of disabled patients: Mencap inquiry finds institutional discrimination against people with learning disabilities led to at least 74 deathsThe NHS is accused of causing or contributing to the deaths of at least 74 patients with a learning disability because of poor care that reveals enduring "institutional discrimination" among doctors and nurses.The 74 vulnerable patients' deaths over the past decade were either caused or complicated by mistakes in hospitals and decisions by staff who failed to treat them properly and ... Kings Fund Health News

NHS accused over deaths of disabled patients

NHS accused over deaths of disabled patients: Mencap inquiry finds institutional discrimination against people with learning disabilities led to at least 74 deathsThe NHS is accused of causing or contributing to the deaths of at least 74 patients with a learning disability because of poor care that reveals enduring "institutional discrimination" among doctors and nurses.The 74 vulnerable patients' deaths over the past decade were either caused or complicated by mistakes in hospitals and decisions by staff who failed to treat them properly and ... Kings Fund Health News

Government creates £170m fund to help older patients leave NHS hospitals

Government creates £170m fund to help older patients leave NHS hospitals:

Councils will get £1m each to spend on social care to reduce the number of elderly patients occupying beds longer than needed. The government will announce a further £170m funding for councils on Monday, to help them improve care and support for elderly people coming out of hospital. Of the £170m total, £150m will be divided among the 152 councils with social care responsibilities and will be allocated through NHS primary care trusts, which must agree how the money should best be spent to ease pressure on hospitals. The remaining £20m will be used to top up local funding pots for the disabled facilities grant, a means-tested award administered by councils to help with the cost of adaptations to enable people to continue living at home. Guardian

Private clinics must pick up £150 million cost of removing faulty breast implants

Private clinics must pick up £150 million cost of removing faulty breast implants: All 40,000 British women who received faulty implants should have them removed if they are leaking as badly as evidence suggests, in a move which could cost £150 million. Telegraph

Norovirus outbreaks rise

Norovirus outbreaks rise: Hospital outbreaks of norovirus have increased by a third while enquiries from worried patients are up 60 per cent, official figures have revealed. Telegraph

Silicone secrets: Britain's £100m implants industry

Silicone secrets: Britain's £100m implants industry:

Surgeons yesterday called for a national register of breast implants with mandatory reporting of cases of rupture to identify faulty devices that could pose health risks to women. Patients should also be issued with an "implant passport" recording details of the operation and device used in case of problems later, they said. Independent

Bird-flu victim 'had no direct contact with poultry'

Bird-flu victim 'had no direct contact with poultry':

A Chinese bus driver who tested positive for the H5N1 bird flu virus died yesterday, a week after being admitted to hospital with a fever. He was the country's first reported case of the disease in humans in 18 months, and the circumstances in which he contracted the disease are worryingly uncertain. Independent

Drop perilous NHS reforms, say leading health professionals

Drop perilous NHS reforms, say leading health professionals:

David Cameron faces fresh calls to abandon his NHS reforms, as a group of leading public-health experts predicts that the changes will "exacerbate inequalities" in the health of the nation. Independent