Health News

New NHS contracts 'have failed dentists and patients'

New contracts for dentists have been an failure, ministers were told yesterday as new figures showed the number of people seeing a dentist had slumped by nearly a million since they were introduced.

Inside Health News

Regular drinking 'halves risk of arthritis'

Thursday, 5 June 2008

Drinking alcohol is not only good for the heart – it is good for the joints too. A regular tipple cuts the risk of rheumatoid arthritis by up to 50 per cent – and the more you drink the greater the protective effect.

Heart surgery safer at night

Wednesday, 4 June 2008

Operations are now safest when carried out at night, according to a major investigation into deaths following heart surgery.

Malaria: a miracle in the making offers hope to millions worldwide

Wednesday, 4 June 2008

The lives of more than a million children who die each year from malaria could be saved by a new technique for making a drug based on an ancient Chinese herbal remedy first used more than 2,000 years ago.

Ailing hospitals to be taken over by private companies

Wednesday, 4 June 2008

Managers of failing hospitals will be sacked without big pay-offs and could be replaced by bosses from private firms as the Government plans to tackle under-performing public services.

Fears grow that MRSA variant has entered food chain

Tuesday, 3 June 2008

British people have been infected for the first time by an animal variant of MRSA, the hospital superbug that infects more than 4,000 patients a year.

Targets are crowding out compassion in the NHS, claims report

Sunday, 1 June 2008

A lack of compassion is putting patients at risk in the NHS, a new report will claim today. Failure to provide humane care has become endemic in the health services because beleaguered staff have too little time to pay adequate attention to fundamental human needs, the NHS Confederation report warns.

Sales of 'brain foods' soar as school exam season gets under way

Sunday, 1 June 2008

It is the nutritional equivalent of sending your children to a crammer – stuffing them full of nuts and seeds in the run-up to exams in the vain hope of boosting their brain power. While it might sound a little like the last-ditch efforts of the desperate pushy parent, soaring sales figures of foods believed to improve cognitive function over recent weeks suggest that those parents are willing to part with their cash, despite the lack of scientific backing for the trend.

Obesity Forum calls for more stomach-stapling

Sunday, 1 June 2008

Dr Ahmed Badat is 62 years old, but says he now feels 25 years younger. Last year, he suffered from six chronic conditions, took 15 pills a day and couldn't walk 20 yards without feeling breathless. Now, he runs four miles a week – and he doesn't take a single pill. "It's the best thing since sliced bread," he beams. It's no wonder that thousands more people want what he's had.

Smokers' anger over restrictions

Sunday, 1 June 2008

Smokers' groups and manufacturers have condemned government proposals to clamp down on cigarette vending machines and packets of 10 in an attempt to stop children and young people smoking.

Errors led to death of nurse in childbirth

Saturday, 31 May 2008

A woman died in childbirth at the hospital where she worked as a nurse after a series of errors resulted in her losing a "catastrophic" amount of blood, an inquest concluded yesterday.

More health news: