New Year 999 calls rise by 15%

New Year 999 calls rise by 15%: The number of 999 calls paramedics dealt with across the West Midlands in the last four hours of 2012 increases by 15% on the previous New Year's Eve. BBC Northamptonshire

County health bosses back stop smoking campaign

County health bosses back stop smoking campaign: This new year NHS Northamptonshire is supporting the new hard-hitting stop smoking campaign launched by the Department of Health Evening Telegraph

Summary of cosmetic interventions call for evidence responses published

Summary of cosmetic interventions call for evidence responses published:
The responses to the cosmetic surgery review call for evidence have been published today. The call for evidence was issued to enable the public, cosmetic interventions industry and patient groups to contribute to NHS Medical Director Sir Bruce Keogh’s review of the regulation of cosmetic interventions.

New child abuse alert system for hospitals announced

New child abuse alert system for hospitals announced:
Hospitals will have a new system to help doctors and nurses spot children suffering from abuse and neglect, Health Minister Dr Dan Poulter has announced.
Work on the system will begin in early 2013 and it will start to be introduced to NHS hospitals in 2015.
Doctors and nurses using the system, known as ‘Child Protection – Information System’, in emergency departments or urgent care centres will be able to see if the children they treat:

• are subject to a child protection plan or being looked after by the local authority
• have frequently attended emergency departments or urgent care centres over a period of time.

For further information go to: http://www.dh.gov.uk/health/2012/12/abuse-alert-system

Prostate cancer research 'lagging'

Prostate cancer research 'lagging': Despite being the most common male cancer, prostate cancer is 20th in the league table of cancer research funding, say experts. BBC News

Lack of treatment for obesity criticised by Royal College

Lack of treatment for obesity criticised by Royal College: The NHS is unprepared to deal with the rise in patients admitted due to the ever-increasing obesity epidemic, the Royal College of Physicians has warned.  The Daily Telegraph

See also

• Each NHS trust needs a tsar to tackle obesity crisis, say top doctors as UK's fat epidemic shows no sign of slowing The Daily Mail
• Concerns over NHS approach to obesity Healthcare Today
• NHS approach to obesity 'patchy' BBC News

UK has world's fifth-highest rate of children with type 1 diabetes

UK has world's fifth-highest rate of children with type 1 diabetes: Some 24.5 children in every 100,000 in Britain develop the condition, putting the UK behind Finland, Sweden, Saudi Arabia and Norway
The UK has the fifth highest rate in the world of children with type 1 diabetes, which can lead to serious health problems such as blindness and strokes, new research shows.

Thousands of elderly needlessly in hospital

Thousands of elderly needlessly in hospital: Thousands of elderly people are being kept in hospital needlessly after the number of district nurses fell by almost one fifth. The Daily Telegraph

Alcohol guidelines 'too high' say doctors

Alcohol guidelines 'too high' say doctors: Government alcohol guidelines that were "plucked out of the air" wrongly suggest that we can drink almost daily with no ill-effects, say doctors. The Daily Telegraph

Targets and jargon 'prevent generation of nurses stopping abuse'

Targets and jargon 'prevent generation of nurses stopping abuse': A fixation with business jargon and targets rather than basic morality has created a generation of nurses, social workers and carers almost incapable of stopping abuse, an expert overhauling their training has warned. The Daily Telegraph