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Government reforms are threatening the future of district general hospitals

...says an expert in the British Medical Journal. Given the iconic status of hospitals in the eyes of the public, government risks huge unpopularity in dealing with the consequences.

5 Dec 2005

Believe it or not you're safer on a plane than in hospital!

If you thought you were safer in hospital than on a airplane, you could be wrong.

30 Nov 2005

Change in CPR guidelines means more lives will be saved

According to the American Heart Association the new simpler guidelines for giving CPR to people suffering cardiac arrest, will be more effective in keeping the blood flowing to the heart, when people suffer a heart attack.

30 Nov 2005

Health reform needs to be championed by health leaders

Health reform needs to be championed by health leaders, responsive to community needs and securely funded, to be sustained and benefit the health of Australians according to a new research published in the Medical Journal of Australia.

28 Nov 2005

Public health services in India are suffering while the private sector is rapidly expanding

Public health services in India are suffering while the private sector is rapidly expanding to cater for foreigners and richer citizens, says an editorial in the British Medical Journal.

28 Nov 2005

Caring for our Children

A new Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center study shows that parents, pediatricians and child care providers are equally unknowledgeable about guidelines that recommend whether children should be excluded from child care due to particular illnesses.

28 Nov 2005

Medical workforce of the future will not be prepared

The medical workforce of the future will not be prepared for the challenges of tomorrow's disease burden unless drastic changes are made to introduce flexible work patterns and multidisciplinary teamwork, according to a health policy expert.

26 Nov 2005

Mother of all rows over flu jabs

British Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt when she blamed doctors for a shortage of the flu vaccine has triggered the mother of all rows with the British medical fraternity.

24 Nov 2005

Obese and overweight refused joint operations

A regional health authority in the UK will refuse to treat overweight people needing hip and knee replacements on the National Health Service.

24 Nov 2005

Students with disabilities encourage others to educate those with similar disabilities to themselves

Students with disabilities and learning difficulties are taking part in a unique University of Liverpool training scheme that enables them to educate those with similar disabilities to themselves.

21 Nov 2005

Doctors' surgeries open round the clock

In future patients in the UK will be able to see a GP in the evenings and at weekends.

14 Nov 2005

Cancer survivors require tailored follow-up plans

Citing shortfalls in the care currently provided to the country's 10 million cancer survivors, a new report recommends that each cancer patient receive a "survivorship care plan."

13 Nov 2005

Flu expert calls for mandatory vaccination of health care workers

Johns Hopkins' senior hospital epidemiologist and flu expert is calling for mandatory vaccination of all health care workers as the best means of protecting patients and hospital staff from widespread outbreaks of the viral illness.

10 Nov 2005

Survival odds for cancer 3 times better but after-care pretty scant

Modern day advances in surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation treatment have meant that now, more than three times as many cancer victims survive the disease than three decades ago.

8 Nov 2005

America will not have a high-quality health system if equal attention is not given to mental health issues and substance-use problems

Without a comprehensive strategy to improve the quality of health care for people with mental conditions and alcohol or drug problems, high-quality care in the nation's overall health system and better health for the public are goals that will remain unmet

7 Nov 2005

Health care cuts in the US are costing lives

Lori Smith, a representative of the Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign in Tennessee, believes that plans to dismantle national social programmes for sick and poor people throughout the US are leading to suffering and death.

30 Oct 2005

Should the NHS continue to pay for drugs for rare diseases?

The growing number and costs of drugs for rare diseases (orphan drugs) are straining healthcare budgets. Should the NHS continue to pay for them and how will this affect other health services, ask two articles in this week's British Medical Journal (BMJ)?

30 Oct 2005

National target for reducing the rate of MRSA infection impossible to assess reliably

Chance makes it impossible to assess reliably whether hospitals are meeting government targets to reduce MRSA infections, argues a statistics expert in this week's British Medical Journal.

30 Oct 2005

Doctors adopt new checklist to ensure patients are asleep during surgery

At a meeting of the American Society of Anesthesiologists in Atlanta, new standards were approved on preventing a rare but terrifying situation in which patients wake up during surgery and sometimes feel excruciating pain without being able to cry out.

27 Oct 2005

Beds closed as thousands wait for surgery in Western Australia

Many West Australians could die long before they are able to undergo surgery for painful conditions, the Australian Medical Association (WA) said last week.

26 Oct 2005