Routine Service Failures

[ Home ] [ Up ] [ The Campaign ] [ Petitions ] [ Events index ] [ Health Policy ] [ Democracy ] [ The NHS ] [ Talks Letters & Articles ] [ Contacts and Further Reading ]
 

• Blair steps in to NHS equipment for disabled row. Guardian March 29, 2000.
• Diary of an NHS campaigner. Age-old gripe. Andrew Wall finds no way through the silence surrounding government policy. Guardian March 22, 2000.
• Hell on the NHS, Daily Mail, 1 April, 2000.
• Routine operation led to my husband's death, Daily Mail letter, 6 April, 2000.
• If a government removed parents' right to choose their children's school (however limited that is by the availability of places) there would be outrage. Yet patients' right to choose which hospital will treat them has been taken away by stealth. It was eroded accidentally by the last government's reforms. Peter Lilley comment in Guardian 19 June 2000
• From the viewpoint of most patients, the French health service is outstanding: they are free to go as often as they like to as many of the country's 94,000 GPs or 89,000 specialists as they like, ask for whatever treatment or medicines they like, and expect to get most of the cost reimbursed by the state. Guardian 21 June 2000
• Our ambulance services are trusted by the public; when people need an ambulance, they know it will come. But this will not be enough; we are rapidly moving into a climate where the public expects and demands more. The future lies in more integrated working with the rest of the NHS. Guardian 28 June 2000
• Death sentence for our cancer patients... Doctors blamed the Government yesterday for failing to ensure that cancer patients received life-saving radiotherapy treatment before it was too late. The problem of old machines and lack of equipment and staff had been recognised at least three years ago, but hospitals were still waiting for the money to solve it. Daily Mail, 1 July 2000
• A pledge by the Government to speed up breast cancer waiting times was branded a ‘disaster’ last night. Ministers, who have made improved breast cancer survival rates a key priority for the NHS, announced last year that every woman who needs an urgent appointment should be able to see a specialist within two weeks. But a survey published today in Pulse, the GPs’ magazine, shows that breast cancer referrals have been thrown into chaos by the new system. It found that in more than a third of all cases, family doctors, who now have responsibility for deciding which women need to be seen urgently, are failing to pick up genuine cases. Daily Mail, 3 July 2000.
• Hospitals have been accused of failing to ensure that sufferers of Alzheimer’s Disease are getting enough food and drink. A report from the Alzheimer’s Society claims that up to half a million sufferers may be at risk of malnutrition and dehydration because of high levels of neglect. Called Food For Thought, the report includes results from a survey of 4,000 carers, and concludes that a third of people with dementia do not get enough to eat and drink in hospitals. Daily Mail, 3 July 2000.
• Evidence of staffing problems in mental health care is nothing new, but an authoritative report today warns starkly that if difficulties of recruitment and retention are not addressed "there is a danger that large sections of existing mental health services will not be sustainable". Guardian 12 July 2000
• Hit squads were yesterday ordered in to seven English hospital trusts "named and shamed" after a sharp rise in outpatient waiting lists left the government embarrassed.Guardian 8 August 2000.
• NHS Direct, the telephone helpline hailed by the government as the way forward for the health service, could be risking lives because of shortcomings in the way calls are handled, it was claimed yesterday. Guardian 8 August 2000.
• A major survey by hospital consultants has revealed that ageism is rife in the National Health Service. Younger patients are up to twice as likely as older ones to be given the best available treatment, their report reveals. The consultants conclude that many older patients are dying unnecessarily. Charities for the elderly have been so alarmed by the findings they have demanded an urgent government inquiry.Observer 13 August 2000.
• In an address given to an aptly awful audience of venture capitalists a few months ago, Tony Blair adopted the modish confessional style and told the world that his struggle to manage the public sector had left 'scars on my back'. The National Health Service was not a home for the many under-resourced and over-worked people who run the most efficient medical service in the developed world, but a swamp of vested interests. Nurses, doctors and cleaners were the élite forces of conservatism. The Prime Minister was their proletarian victim.Observer 13 August 2000.
• The Liberal Democrats yesterday attacked the "caste system" operating in the NHS as they called for laws banning the rationing of treatment on the basis of age. Such ageism meant two thirds of kidney patients over the age of 70 had been refused dialysis, while women over 65 were not routinely screened for breast cancer, which could account for two thirds of the victims of the disease being in this age group, he said. "It's time the government owned up to age based rationing in the NHS," Mr Burstow went on. "We expect health care to be delivered on the basis of need, not on the basis of a person's date of birth." ... In April Age Concern revealed doctors sometimes mark very elderly, terminally ill patients' notes DNR (do not resuscitate) without consulting the patient or relatives. In the event of a heart attack, no attempt is made to keep the patient alive on the basis that prolonging treatment will only lead to further suffering. Earlier this month, the health secretary, Alan Milburn, told NHS trusts that "blanket" DNRs on any group of patients - including the elderly - were not allowed, and advised that patients and relatives should be involved in any decisions on the highly sensitive issue. But Mr Burstow criticised ministers for initially insisting BMA guidelines adequately protected patients. This failed to account for the "chasm" between recommendations and practice, which meant doctors failed to consult patients in two thirds of cases.Guardian 22 September 2000
• Half Britain's GPs have such little confidence in the NHS that they would not be happy to rely on it for their own or their family's health care. A large number of them are going private in order to avoid the delays inflicted on their patients.Observer 24 September 2000
• The trio of reports documenting serious failings in the health service yesterday is not entirely bad news. It signals more openness in what has too long been a stealth service. Each report is alarming reading: a Carlisle hospital for elderly mentally-ill patients with "a shocking culture of cruelty"; a Welsh hospital where a man died after his one healthy kidney was removed; a heart unit in one of Britain's most famous hospitals, Oxford's John Radcliffe, "on its knees and riven by internal conflict". Even the BMA did not try to gloss over their seriousness. "Today's reports paint a picture of an NHS in trouble and under pressure," it said. "It could leave the public seriously concerned about the ability of the health service to deliver quality patient care, to learn from mistakes and to act swiftly when problems and concerns have been identified." Perverse though it may seem, yesterday's reports are an advance. Four years ago, five student nurses blew the whistle on Carlisle's unacceptable procedures including tying patients to commodes. There was an inquiry, but nothing happened. The students' complaints were "lost". Nothing emerged publicly. All that has changed. Even before yesterday's report, the trust chairman had been dismissed, the chief executive suspended pending disciplinary hearings, senior managers warned. Similarly, Oxford's warring heart surgeons only came to light because a senior clinical nurse complained. She suffered severe harassment and an unacceptable two-year wait, but she finally succeeded. What does emerge is that whistleblowers still need more protection; that hospital authorities need to move more quickly (10 months on in Wales the action plan is still not in place); and less obviously, that care needs to be taken in deploying the new health watchdog, the commission for health improvement. Using it in Wales made sense. It looked at wider issues than a single death. It might have made sense to use it in Oxford too, but that did not happen. But the CHI should not have been sent to Carlisle, where there had already been an external review. This was a diversion to deflect any political heat from ministers. The CHI is not a hit squad. It is a crucial monitoring unit, with a remit to visit every hospital and GP practice within the next four years. To raise standards, it needs their trust. Set up a separate hit squad if necessary, but the CHI's prime purpose must be protected. Guardian Leader 16 November 2000.
• I was disgusted to read of the way Nigel Harper was treated by his local hospital during a time when their constant support should have been always available ('He can't come back in two months. He'll be dead', G2, December 5). I have spent the last two years fighting lymphatic cancer and my treatment at the Royal Marsden in Sutton, purely on the NHS, has been nothing but exemplary. Tests and treatment have always been prompt and never cancelled. Staff have been superb, both in their friendliness and support and in their honesty and frankness. Is it really the sign of a well-run health service that treatment for such serious diseases can be so different and dependent on where one lives? David Roberts London Guardian letters 6 December 2000.
• The true scale of the scandal of human organ retention by hospitals will be revealed today by the government's chief medical officer, who will tell parents and professionals that 50,000 organs are being stored in hospitals in England alone. The number far exceeds expectations. Guardian, 11 January 2001.
• A few months back, I was flat on my back coming round from an anaesthetic in a south London hospital, which, with its peeling paint and echoing lift-wells, had the air of something from the Stalinist era in a poor area of Moscow. Guardian, 11 January 2001.
• Ministers were furious last night that their efforts to rebuild public confidence in the NHS had been dented by disturbing photographs of bodies lying on the floor of a chapel at Bedford hospital. Ken Williams, the hospital's chief executive, resigned after an internal NHS inquiry found that up to eight bodies at a time were stored on the floor of the chapel of rest, without refrigeration and wrapped only in sheets. Guardian, 16 January 2001.
• This photograph of corpses lying on an unrefrigerated floor in Bedford Hospital, which appeared in newspapers yesterday, has caused horror and dismay. It has provoked a new outcry over the state of the National Health Service, in which one hospital had nowhere to store the dead. The hospital mortuary was full and a temporary one was out of action because of problems with the doors. Guardian, 16 January 2001.
• The details of what went on in the name of medical science at Alder Hey hospital in the last couple of decades, published in a report on Tuesday, will appal the public and risk causing serious damage to its already-eroded confidence in doctors and scientists. Guardian 29 January 2001.
• The Department of Health yesterday released details of hospitals in England holding organs, body parts and the corpses of stillborn babies and foetuses. They are as follows Guardian 31 January 2001.
• Britain's health service is stuck in the Forties with too many patients queueing for treatment, overstretched staff and a paternalistic attitude that does not put the public first, the Government has admitted. Observer 18 February 2001.
• About 1,300 suicides by psychiatric patients over the last five years could have been prevented by better NHS care, the government's mental health tsar said yesterday. Guardian 16 March 2001.
• My maternity ward hell. When Dea Birkett went into hospital to have twins, she was shocked by the conveyor-belt experience that turned giving birth into a 'cold, clinical encounter' Guardian Society Thursday March 29, 2001
• A blow struck for dignity The Health Secretary's pledge to protect older patients is welcome. But it is scandalously overdue. On a bleak September day three-and-a half years ago, my 88-year-old grandmother, Irene Emmings, lay fighting for her life in a Bath hospital. After suffering a stroke, she had been rushed into the accident and emergency department where doctors stabilised her condition. At this point, she was abandoned by a system that had lost the will to care. Guardian Society Sunday April 1, 2001
• The inquiry into problems in children's heart surgery at Bristol royal infirmary is to pass its final report to health secretary Alan Milburn in May - but will probably not be published before a June 7 general election. Health Service Journal round-up Publication date: April 5 Guardian Society Friday April 6, 2001
• Dirty hospitals to be named Guardian Society Tuesday April 10, 2001
• Q&A: hospital cleanliness Guardian Society Tuesday April 10, 2001
• GPs threaten mass NHS walkout over workload Guardian Unlimited Friday April 20, 2001
• Patients ailing beyond help while NHS bill for treatment is assessed, says Multiple Sclerosis Society Guardian Monday April 30, 2001
• Doctors may protest, but they've never had it so good The BMA cry out that their members are mistreated and overworked Polly Toynbee Guardian Wednesday May 2, 2001
• GPs present a host of complaints Guardian Letters Monday May 7, 2001
• NHS remains under strain Today's agenda Election 2001 Guardian Saturday May 12, 2001
• Sarah Lawson's tragic death could have been avoided, believes health editor Sarah Boseley. How can we stop others slipping through the net? Guardian Unlimited Tuesday May 15, 2001
• GPs' crisis dossier charts timetable of misery with delays of up to six years for necessary hip and knee operations on the NHS Guardian Tuesday May 15, 2001
• Tony Blair's carefully orchestrated election tour was finally disrupted yesterday when he was confronted by a woman raging about the state of the NHS. It was his first unscripted campaign encounter with a member of the public, as opposed to the carefully selected ones Labour officials present him with. He did not enjoy the experience. Sharron Storer, 38, from Hall Green, Birmingham, blocked his entrance to Queen Elizabeth hospital in Edgbaston, Birmingham. She was distraught about the treatment of her partner, Keith Sedgwick, 48, who has cancer. Guardian Thursday May 17, 2001
• A painful road to recovery Labour inherited a sick NHS, and it's still on the critical list. Observer Sunday May 20, 2001
• The government is to issue warnings about the safety of beds in hospitals as well as nursing and old people's homes following the deaths of 15 patients in five years because of faulty or badly fitted bed rails. Guardian Society Thursday May 31, 2001
• The health service has emerged as a big issue in the election. All the parties recognise that consumers are getting a poor deal. The media gives us daily stories of tragic misdiagnosis, long waiting times for life-saving operations, dirty hospitals and unacceptable mortality rates for major illnesses such as cancer and heart disease. If the NHS were a commercial organisation in a competitive market it would have gone bankrupt years ago. Just as British consumers have switched to better-made German and French cars, given the opportunity, they would have switched to better quality European medical care. Guardian Saturday June 2, 2001
• Peter Lindsay was arrested and, on flimsy evidence, became caught up in an inquiry into seven deaths. Martin Wainwright reports on the fight to clear his name - and asks whether, post-Shipman, doctors are operating in a climate of suspicion Guardian Society Tuesday June 5, 2001
• Failing care system creates 'lost society' Observer Sunday June 10, 2001
• City's hospitals jammed by care crisis Hundreds of recovered elderly tie up beds as council cuts home support Guardian Unlimited Monday June 11, 2001
• Health news: Crisis point reached in Scottish care homes row The row over care homes has reached crisis point in Aberdeen where private owners are refusing council-funded residents. SocietyGuardian.co.uk 14 June 2001
• Older people fit for hospital discharge are unable to leave because social services budgets are too overstretched to give them proper aftercare. Long Term Care,SocietyGuardian.co.uk 15 June 2001
• Senior hospital nurses are under enormous stress as they struggle to cope with shortages of staff and sometimes basic equipment while beds are occupied by patients who should not be there, according to a report which paints a bleak picture of the NHS. Guardian Unlimited Wednesday June 13, 2001
• Acute wards New burdens on senior nurses are bringing many of them to breaking point. By Sarah Boseley Guardian Wednesday June 13, 2001
• Care crisis keeps elderly patients in hospital Cash-strapped social services department adds to NHS waiting lists problems because it cannot cope with home needs of pensioners Guardian Unlimited Friday June 15, 2001
• Serious medical conditions may be missed or misdiagnosed because the huge upsurge in legal complaints against the NHS has led to patient records, including x-rays, being locked away in solicitors' offices, the British Medical Association claimed yesterday. Guardian Saturday June 16, 2001
• The government's NHS watchdog warned hospitals yesterday that lack of resources was no excuse for mistakes that could put patients' lives at risk. Guardian Unlimited Thursday June 21, 2001
• Surgeon's anger over knee operation that took six years.  John Carvel Guardian Thursday July 26, 2001
• The simmering debate about the soaring rate of Caesarean births boiled over last night when a midwifery leader called for a ban on such procedures on the National Health Service except when there is no medical alternative.  Guardian Unlimited Sunday August 12, 2001
• Clouded vision.  Gordon Lammie Guardian Wednesday August 15, 2001
• Who needs more doctors? Shipping patients off to Germany makes the NHS look like Europe's poor relation. But higher spending isn't necessarily the answer.  David Walker Guardian Society Wednesday August 29, 2001
• When Naomi Wolf gave birth for the first time, nothing happened the way she thought it would.  Guardian Saturday September 1, 2001
• The British Medical Association (BMA) and the charity Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture today said the government's approach was failing a vulnerable group of people whose health had deteriorated since arrival in the UK.  Patrick Butler Guardian Society Wednesday October 24, 2001
• Caesarean births soar to one in five Survey puts UK way above WHO limits.  Sarah Boseley Guardian Society Friday October 26, 2001
• NHS faces another winter of crisis Doctors warn of cancelled operations due to lack of capacity.  Anthony Browne Guardian Unlimited Sunday October 28, 2001
• For brain-injured people, specialist rehabilitation is vital in helping them rebuild their lives, reports Linda Jackson.  Guardian Wednesday October 31, 2001
• Doctors 'told to play down benefits' of digital hearing aids John Carvel, social affairs editor Guardian Society Saturday November 3, 2001
• Postcode lottery forces women to wait for abortion Guardian Society Monday November 5, 2001
• Health service 'ignoring mental health staff crisis' Patrick Butler Guardian Society Tuesday November 6, 2001
• Patients are often left in dark, admit surgeons Sarah Boseley, health editor Guardian Society Thursday November 8, 2001
• Hospital food remains in a critical condition Loyd Grossman's efforts to transform the image (and taste) of dishes served up to NHS patients have not been met with relish, writes Matthew Fort Guardian Unlimited Wednesday November 14, 2001
• Revealed: the hospitals with the worst death rates in Britain.  Michelle Paduano Observer Sunday 18 November 2001
• Administration of ECT 'too variable'.  David Brindle Guardian Wednesday December 5, 2001
• 'Two years to save NHS', admits minister.  Guardian Society Thursday December 6, 2001
• Room for improvement in cancer care, says report.  Guardian Society Tuesday December 11, 2001
• Cancer treatment still involves luck of the draw.   Guardian Society Wednesday December 12, 2001
• Long trolley waits still dog NHS.  Guardian Society Wednesday December 12, 2001
• Conservatives attack Blair's 'hollow words' on NHS.  Guardian Society Monday December 31, 2001
• Scandal of NHS beds auction.  Wealthy foreigners top list of 10,000 private patients.  Guardian Unlimited Sunday January 6, 2002
• A health trust chief executive has admitted that patient care is "well and truly compromised" by chronic bed shortages in three hospitals.  Guardian Saturday January 12, 2002
• Long waits in casualty blot Whittington's good marks. Report found fault in 'privacy and dignity'.   Guardian Unlimited Friday January 25, 2002
• Labour peer joins the attack on 'flawed' NHS.  Guardian Society Sunday February 3, 2002
• An illness, by any name.  Guardian letters Saturday February 9, 2002.  I am 30 years old and have never been a healthy adult. I am a bedridden, severely affected ME sufferer. No doubt Dr Michael Fitzpatrick's heart is sinking. Well his article made my heart sink with the weary familiarity of it all (The making of a new disease, February 7).
• Authorities fail to crack down on illegal but growing internet trade in potentially harmful prescription medicines.  Sarah Boseley, health editor Guardian Monday February 11, 2002
• Readmission rates strike NHS warning.  James Meikle, health correspondent Guardian Wednesday February 20, 2002
• The Medway trust in Gillingham, Kent, was named yesterday by the Department of Health as being way above the national average for patients readmitted as emergencies within 28 days of being released from hospital, with an increase of 18% in the past year.  Guardian Wednesday February 20, 2002
• More favourable story about discharges at Wigan Infirmary.  Guardian Wednesday February 20, 2002
• Mental health patients offered no alternative to medication.  John James Guardian Wednesday February 27, 2002
• Why do we need German surgeons to operate the new diagnostic treatment centres (NHS to hire German surgeons, February 22)? We have well-trained staff who are presently underemployed due to massive bed-blocking problems. This is the reason why elective surgery is grinding to a halt in the UK.  Guardian letters Friday March 1, 2002
• Britain's cancer scandal Deadly rise in wait for cancer care.  More hospitals failing treatment targets. Doctors urge change as delays cost lives.  Anthony Browne, health editor Observer Sunday March 3, 2002
• See Observer.co.uk Sunday March 3, 2002 for directory of on-line information on cancer.
• Britain's cancer scandal.  How thousands of cancer patients and doctors have been betrayed.  25,000 deaths a year could be prevented if we matched Europe's best hospital treatment, reports health editor Anthony Browne.  Observer Sunday March 3, 2002
• Britain's cancer scandal.  It's not just cash, we must have a revolution in thinking.  The NHS can only be rescued if politicians stop using it to score points off each other, says cancer expert Karol Sikora.  Observer Sunday March 3, 2002
• Bottom of the cancer league.  Observer Sunday March 3, 2002
• Report urges overhaul of child protection in Wales.  Guardian Society Tuesday March 5, 2002
• The story of my disabled daughter's toilet seat Leah Wild on an everyday saga of NHS incompetence and council red tape.  Guardian Society Thursday March 7, 2002
• Sharp rise in NHS inpatient waiting lists.   Guardian Unlimited Saturday March 9, 2002
• Mike Richards, the government 'cancer tsar', replies to our investigation last week into the NHS's betrayal of patients.  Observer Sunday March 10, 2002
• The writer, who has asked not to be named, is an Australian operating theatre nurse who has worked at nearly a dozen London hospitals, placed there on short-term contracts through nursing agencies. Most of these hospitals are well-known and in the state sector. Guardian Society Thursday April 4, 2002
• 'In rural areas the level of specialists is dire' David Roberts, 53, is a general practitioner in Llandysul, in the Teifi valley in west Wales.  Guardian Society Thursday April 4, 2002
• A sick NHS: the diagnosis.  The NHS reform report by The Observer's health editor, to be published this week by the Adam Smith Institute. Why is the NHS failing to deliver - and what are the successes that any reformed system must match?  Anthony Browne and Matthew Young Observer.co.uk Sunday April 7, 2002
• 'When I came back to the UK I was shocked by the hospitals' The writer, whose name has been withheld, now works in medicine in the north of England after 20 years in a foreign health service.  Society Tuesday April 9, 2002
• Blood transfusions marred by errors James Meikle, health correspondent Guardian Wednesday April 10, 2002
• 'Bandages are holding my ward together'.  More people at the heart of the health service have been writing to tell us about their experiences, as part of our Public voices series - and the door remains wide open.  Guardian Monday April 15, 2002
• 'Compare hospital buildings to the Westminister luxuries our MPs expect'.  Julie O'Brien of Farnham in Surrey accuses politicians of double standards.  Society Thursday April 18, 2002
• 'Lack of publicity prevents reforms' Dana Mniszek of Brighton reports two bad experiences in the family.  Society Monday April 22, 2002
• Royal College of Nursing congress hears of 'living hell' in accident and emergency as bodies were locked away on trolleys.   John Carvel, social affairs editor Guardian Tuesday April 23, 2002
• A casualty in need of intensive care.  Shamed in the tables, Chase Farm's patients remain loyal.  Sarah Boseley, health editor Guardian Tuesday April 23, 2002
• 'Surgical theatres are in a state of near anarchy' An operating department assistant in the Midlands, name withheld, says that nurses' grip on power is keeping British surgical suites decades behind the times.  Society Wednesday April 24, 2002
• 'Yes my operation was free, but the wait took three painful years' Pam Hardyment writes from Basle.  Society Thursday April 25, 2002
• Heads in the sand.  Human Rights Act being ignored in councils and hospitals.  Simon Parker Guardian Wednesday May 15, 2002
• 150,000 surgery slots wasted by poor admin.  John Carvel, social affairs editor Guardian Thursday May 16, 2002
• The talking cure of choice for the NHS is Cognitive Behaviour Therapy - it's quick and cheap. But, is it selling patients short? Michele Kirsch Observer Sunday May 19, 2002
• Lack of diabetes specialists puts lives at risk.   Society Monday May 20, 2002
• NHS failings blamed for deaths among epileptics.  James Meikle, health correspondent Guardian Tuesday May 21, 2002
• NHS psychologists refuse to treat 'traumatised' asylum seekers.  John Carvel, social affairs editor Guardian Tuesday June 4, 2002
• Hospital care for adults with mental health problems is approaching crisis point, according to a damning report published today.  Guardian Wednesday June 12, 2002
• Government denies cover-up over hospital errors.  Guardian Monday June 17, 2002
• Medical error figures 'may be too low'.  James Meikle, health correspondent Tuesday June 18, 2002 The Guardian
• 1m patients 'suffer harm in NHS hospitals'.  Anonymous reporting study highlights problem.  Sarah Boseley, health editor Wednesday June 19, 2002 The Guardian
• UK cancer survival rates 'worst in Europe'.  Guardian Tuesday July 2, 2002
• One in 10 GP practices in England lacks basic standards such as sinks in treatment rooms for doctors to wash their hands, according to a report today from the audit commission, the NHS spending watchdog.  John Carvel, social affairs editor The Guardian Tuesday July 9, 2002 
• NHS ambulance services are putting patients' lives at risk by fiddling the records of emergency response times to gain a higher position in government league tables, according to an investigation by the Consumer's Association.  Guardian Tuesday July 16, 2002
• Specialist stroke units could save 6,000 lives every year.  Sarah Boseley, health editor Guardian Wednesday July 24, 2002
• As the incidence of Aids increases in sub-Saharan Africa, the Home Office approach to HIV-positive asylum seekers is becoming harsher.  Liz McGregor Guardian Wednesday July 31, 2002
• Burns victim in 200 mile ordeal.  Andrew Clennell Guardian Wednesday July 31, 2002
• Cancer patients 'hit by scan delays'.  Thousands waiting months for examination, says watchdog.  Sarah Boseley, health editor Thursday August 8, 2002 The Guardian.  Audit Commission report on Radiology
• Lord Owen, who was a Labour health minister from 1974 to 1976, has alleged that maladministration by his former department contributed to the scandal in which thousands of patients became infected by contaminated blood products in the 1970s and 80s. Monday August 19, 2002 The Guardian
• A&Es 'not ready for chemical incidents'.  James Meikle, health correspondent Tuesday September 3, 2002 The Guardian
• NHS tsar to end hospital trolley waits.  John Carvel, social affairs editor Wednesday September 11, 2002 The Guardian
• It is phenomenal what we're seeing at the moment. There are more cases of sexually transmitted diseases than at any time since the inception of the NHS. The clinics are overrun. We see a lot of young people here - the main group is 16 to 35-year-olds. Anita Weston  Sunday October 27, 2002 The Observer
• Doctors' leaders accused the government yesterday of hiding the truth about the long trolley waits endured by thousands of patients while they are "warehoused" in overstretched casualty departments until a hospital bed can be found for them.  John Carvel, social affairs editor Tuesday October 29, 2002 The Guardian
• 'Volume is not the way to measure the NHS'. John Carvel, social affairs editor Friday November 1, 2002 The Guardian
• Breast cancer patients deserve better.  Leader Sunday November 10, 2002 The Observer
• A quarter of health authorities (HAs) have continued to ration the availability of Alzheimer's drugs despite official guidelines that state they should be available on the NHS, it emerged today. Monday November 11, 2002
• Hospital scans 'shambolic'.  Consultants fought for private practice, says report  Sarah Boseley, health editor Thursday November 14, 2002 The Guardian
• Three quarters of hospitals in England are failing to give heart attack victims fast enough life-saving care, according to the first audit of their performance.  Sarah Boseley Health editor Wednesday November 20, 2002 The Guardian
• Having had my heart attack just a week ago, I have learned the hard way the need for rapid clot-busting injections.  Thursday November 21, 2002 The Guardian
• Premature baby units 'are in chaos'.  Plan to improve service and end trauma of newborns being shuttled across country for intensive care.  Gaby Hinsliff, chief political correspondent Sunday November 24, 2002 The Observer
• In the NHS today, almost all GPs use computers in their consulting rooms but most hospital doctors do not.  Michael Cross Thursday November 28, 2002 The Guardian
• The number of people diagnosed with HIV in the UK is set to rise by 25% this year, and could be the biggest increase since annual monitoring began in 1987, health officials predicted last night. James Meikle, health correspondent Saturday November 30, 2002 The Guardian
• Patients are being put at risk because they are being prepared for operations without the proper pre-surgery investigations, according to a specialist blood doctor. James Meikle Health correspondent Friday December 6, 2002 The Guardian
• Thousands of homeless people are stuck in a downward spiral of ill health because they are being denied their right to register with a GP, according to a report today from the housing charity Crisis.  John Carvel, social affairs editor Monday December 9, 2002 The Guardian
• Health service failing homeless.  Lucy Ward, political correspondent Tuesday December 17, 2002 The Guardian
• GPs 'failing' mentally ill.  Guardian  Wednesday January 8, 2003
• Epilepsy charities have criticised a new national plan aimed at tackling service failures that have contributed to what are believed to be hundreds of unnecessary deaths each year.  Wednesday February 19, 2003
• At least 57,000 cancer patients every year have to wait more than two months for their treatment to begin because severe staff shortages and lack of essential equipment cripple hospitals' ability to deliver faster care. Jo Revill Sunday March 23, 2003 The Observer
• Paul and Gill Skelton are a couple who know all about the lottery of cancer care, having both been diagnosed with different forms of the disease in the same year. Sunday March 23, 2003 The Observer
• At least 2,000 lives could be saved each year if the government addressed weaknesses in the NHS ambulance service, the Consumers' Association claimed yesterday. John Carvel Tuesday April 8, 2003 The Guardian
• Poor health and safety procedures at NHS hospitals in England have led to a 24% increase in accidents to staff, the national audit office reported yesterday. John Carvel, social affairs editor Wednesday April 30, 2003 The Guardian
• The serial killer Harold Shipman misappropriated controlled drugs for two decades, the public inquiry into his crimes heard yesterday. Helen Carter Tuesday May 20, 2003 The Guardian
• Shoddy wiring of hospital and surgery equipment is putting the safety of patients and staff at risk, according to officials. James Meikle, health correspondent Thursday May 29, 2003 The Guardian
• Many mothers undergo unnecessary caesarean births because of a lack of midwives and the inexperience of some doctors, a committee of MPs has warned. Wednesday June 18, 2003
• Sexual healthcare services are in crisis in this country. The word was not used lightly by the select committee on health in their report last week. GUM (genito-urinary medicine) clinics are staggering under the burden of soaring sexually transmitted diseases. And the worst global pandemic in the history of mankind, HIV/Aids, continues its devastating progress in Africa. Sarah Boseley Thursday June 19, 2003 The Guardian
• NHS hospitals cancel millions of outpatient appointments every year because staff have not given enough notice of holidays and other time off, according to a report today from the audit commission, the government's spending watchdog. John Carvel Thursday June 19, 2003 The Guardian
• Allergy treatment for patients in the NHS is totally inadequate, according to a report out today from the Royal College of Physicians. Wednesday June 25, 2003
• Allergies are soaring in the UK, where one in every three people suffers a sometimes dangerous reaction to food or their environment, yet NHS specialist services are non-existent in much of the country, experts said yesterday. Sarah Boseley, health editor Thursday June 26, 2003 The Guardian
• Heart disease is the single biggest killer of British women but half of GPs do not have enough time to talk to their female patients about it, a survey reveals today. Tuesday July 15, 2003
• Plans for an emergency vaccine production centre at Porton Down in Wiltshire, already rejected once by the government, are to be reconsidered following stinging criticism of Britain's preparedness for infectious epidemics. James Meikle, health correspondent Friday July 18, 2003 The Guardian
• A national survey showing that many NHS patients suffer unnecessary pain, sleepless nights and lack of respect from insensitive doctors was published this week in a remote corner of the Department of Health's website after being suppressed since last year. John Carvel, social affairs editor Saturday July 19, 2003 The Guardian
• Twenty-five people in one city [Bristol] have lost their vision because of a Treasury obsession with forcing unrealistic targets on the NHS without examining the consequences, a committee of MPs reveals today. David Hencke, Westminster correspondent Tuesday July 22, 2003 The Guardian
• A Labour-controlled committee of MPs complained yesterday that the government was doing nothing to keep its promise to give all pregnant women the choice of a home birth. John Carvel, social affairs editor Thursday July 24, 2003 The Guardian
• A drive to speed up breast cancer treatment seems to be having no impact on waiting times, researchers reported yesterday. James Meikle, health correspondent Wednesday July 30, 2003 The Guardian
• A woman who died from deep vein thrombosis after a family holiday in Turkey was sent away from hospital with a handful of paracetamol, her husband has claimed. Kirsty Scott Wednesday August 27, 2003 The Guardian
• With power cuts predicted for winter, experts say NHS will find it hard to cope. Juliette Jowit and Jamie Doward Sunday August 31, 2003 The Observer
• Sick or disabled men have suffered bruising, and eye-watering, encounters with health or social services that have sometimes needed firefighters to sort them out. James Meikle, health correspondent Wednesday September 10, 2003 The Guardian
• Ambulance queues highlight A&E crisis. Targets blamed as patients left waiting hours for handover. Sarah Boseley, health editor Tuesday September 16, 2003 The Guardian  
• Thousands of people are failing to get the clot-dissolving drugs they need to save them from a heart attack. Jo Revill, health editor Sunday October 12, 2003 The Observer
• John Reid, the health secretary, will order a crackdown on NHS trusts that are perpetuating a postcode lottery by failing to follow national policy on cancer treatment. John Carvel Tuesday October 28, 2003 The Guardian
• Scientists yesterday called for an extra £100m a year to reverse the collapse of clinical research in the National Health Service and to test new and sophisticated ways of treating a growing range of diseases. Tim Radford, science editor Friday October 31, 2003 The Guardian
• Two ambulance trusts are to erect inflatable tents in hospital car parks to cope with an overspill of patients arriving at accident and emergency. Helene Mulholland Monday November 3, 2003
• Thousands of stroke victims are dying or being left disabled every year because of a lack of specialist care in the NHS, campaigners said today. Thursday November 13, 2003
• Hospitals are to be told to ensure patients eat their food to improve their chances of a rapid recovery. James Meikle, health correspondent Wednesday November 12, 2003 The Guardian .  The proposal includes excluding visitors at lunchtimes.  In my experience visitors are often the only people who make sure confused or disabled patients eat their meals.
• 275-mile journey to give birth. Helen Carter Wednesday November 19, 2003 The Guardian
• More than a quarter of heart attack victims with severe chest pains risk not being diagnosed because UK doctors continue to use old tests, research revealed today. Thursday November 20, 2003
• The Yellow Card scheme, which is intended to alert the authorities to any harm done to patients through the side-effects of medicines, is "chaotic and misconceived", according to the first independent study of data collected. Sarah Boseley, health editor Thursday November 20, 2003 The Guardian
• If a top executive in one of the biggest pharmaceutical companies casts doubt on whether medicines work, is it worth taking them at all? Sophie Petit-Zeman reports. Tuesday December 9, 2003 The Guardian
• Abortion services are not given enough priority in the NHS, leading to women being denied access to safe methods of termination, a report claimed today. Wednesday December 10, 2003
• More and more births are going wrong as midwives abandon the NHS. Jo Revill Sunday December 28, 2003 The Observer
• Cancer patients are at risk of being diagnosed too late since nearly a third of all MRI scanners - used to detect and treat the disease - are out of date, a report into the state of hospital equipment has revealed. Sarah Hall, political correspondent Monday January 12, 2004 The Guardian
• The government's plans to introduce screening for bowel cancer across the UK could founder on the inadequate and over-stretched existing services for diagnosing gut disorders, according to a major study published today.  Sarah Boseley Tuesday January 13, 2004 The Guardian
• Family doctor services are in crisis and heading towards meltdown, with thousands of vacant posts and long waiting times for patients, the Liberal Democrats claimed today. Friday January 16, 2004
• More than half of older people's care homes fail to safely administer drugs to residents, the regulatory body for care homes told a parliamentary inquiry today. David Batty Thursday January 22, 2004
• Four in 10 pharmacies give unsatisfactory medical advice, according to undercover research by the Consumers' Association, casting doubt on government plans for pharmacists to diagnose and treat NHS patients. John Carvel Tuesday February 3, 2004 The Guardian
• Bitter pill for pharmacies.  Letters Saturday February 7, 2004 The Guardian
• Thousands of women may have to take a second pregnancy test after faults were found in testing kits used in GP surgeries, clinics and hospitals. James Meikle Wednesday February 18, 2004 The Guardian
• An NHS hospital that opened just over a year ago under the private finance initiative yesterday admitted keeping a woman waiting in pain on a trolley for 88 hours due to a chronic shortage of beds. The Great Western hospital in Swindon, Wiltshire, apologised to June Rogers, a 41-year-old training assessor, who arrived 10 days ago with a letter from her doctor requesting urgent treatment.  John Carvel, social affairs editor Saturday March 13, 2004 The Guardian
• Medical knowledge is being impeded because hospitals no longer dare to ask families for permission to carry out vital autopsies, according to the country's leading experts. Amelia Hill Sunday April 4, 2004 The Observer
• Patients are waiting up to 18 months for routine NHS scans to diagnose illness in a crisis that has triggered moves to buy in thousands of scans from private firms. There is no national record of delays for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans, which diagnose anything from back pain and migraines to epilepsy and heart disease. But MPs are increasingly alarmed by widespread reports of patients waiting for months to discover whether their condition is serious enough to need surgery. Gaby Hinsliff, chief political correspondent Sunday April 4, 2004 The Observer.  But see:
  • The health secretary, John Reid, has invited bids to supply the NHS with new mobile "state of the art" MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scanners to help cut waiting times across England, it was announced today. Diane Smith and agencies Thursday April 8, 2004
• More than 500 patients who had cataract operations up to six years ago have had further surgery because they were fitted with faulty lenses, it was revealed yesterday. Two brands are involved, although government safety advisers believe only a small proportion of the 270,000 people a year who have cataract surgery on the NHS might need replacements because their vision has deteriorated. Nineteen eye surgery centres have reported patients suffering impaired sight. The problem appears to have been caused by a chemical in packaging which reacted with the lenses to lead a few years later to calcium deposits. James Meikle, health correspondent Tuesday April 6, 2004 The Guardian
• The UK is still wheezing at the bottom of the European league table for lung health, a report revealed today, as experts warned that respiratory disease is being "ignored".  More people die from respiratory diseases, such as asthma and pneumonia, in the UK than in any other EU country apart from Ireland, according the the European Respiratory Society (ERS). Tuesday April 27, 2004
• Half of all those with asthma live in daily fear that the next attack will be their last, according to a report from Asthma UK published today. The respiratory condition is deadly serious to the 2.6 million Britons who have severe symptoms, says the charity, and should not be written off as a childhood problem involving minor wheezing. One in six of those who have severe asthma have weekly attacks that leave them unable to speak, even to ask for help. Sarah Boseley, health editor Tuesday May 4, 2004 The Guardian
• The partner of a pregnant woman who was in premature labour had to pay for petrol when the ambulance they were travelling in on their way to a special care baby unit almost ran dry. Chris Boag, of Brentwood, in Essex, had to lend the ambulance driver £40 after his credit card was refused when he stopped for petrol on the 130 mile journey to the unit at a hospital in Leicestershire. Debbie Andalo and agencies Tuesday May 4, 2004
• GP computer systems are failing to warn doctors about dangerous prescriptions that could be putting patients' lives at risk, new research claimed today. The research, which was commissioned by the National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA), tested four different systems in GP surgeries across the country, and found cases where computers had allowed the contraceptive pill to be incorrectly prescribed to women with a history of deep vein thrombosis. Annie Kelly and agencies Friday May 14, 2004
• A dozen members of staff have been suspended at a NHS hospital food manufacturer after a Channel 4 documentary exposed alleged breakdowns in hygiene practices. The Dispatches programme, which used undercover footage shot at a manufacturing plant owned by Tillery Valley Foods, was the subject of an attempted high court injunction on Monday. The firm rushed to court after Shine, the production company run by Rupert Murdoch's daughter Elisabeth, refused to hand over footage shot at the plant by an undercover Peruvian journalist. Mr Justice Mann refused the injunction and told Tillery Valley it could "not assume you would get an easy ride" getting permission to appeal. The documentary poked holes in the government's recent initiative to improve the standards of hospital food, showing that many "cook-chill-reconstitute" meals were nutritionally deficient. The footage shot at Tillery Valley's Welsh plant showed an alleged breakdown in hygiene standards, including evidence of the e-coli bacteria. Friday May 14, 2004 Media Guardian (registration needed)
• Patients are having to wait up to 550 days for routine NHS scans, while many of the machines are lying unused for hours each week. The postcode lottery operating over hospitals' diagnostic services is exposed today in a nationwide survey of hospitals. It shows enormous differences in waiting times between parts of England, despite the government's attempts to iron out the disparities. Jo Revill, health editor Sunday May 16, 2004 The Observer
• Thousands of men diagnosed with prostate cancer may be undergoing a cure worse than the disease, doctors said yesterday. Researchers at the Institute for Cancer Research argued that men were being put at unnecessary risk of serious long-term side effects such as incontinence and impotence by opting for radical surgery or other treatments. They claimed consultants were not making patients sufficiently aware of an alternative to radical surgery, radiotherapy or hormone treatment, a programme of "active surveillance" that monitored patients through routine testing, and so leaving the option open for treatment if further checks warranted it. James Meikle, health correspondent Wednesday May 26, 2004 The Guardian
• Waiting times for radiotherapy, which are getting longer, are unacceptable and cause distress to patients and their doctors, the Royal College of Radiologists said yesterday. Sarah Boseley, health editor Tuesday June 8, 2004 The Guardian
• TWENTY-five GPs are among 100 or more witnesses expected to give evidence at a health service inquiry which got under way yesterday. The GPs, along with about 25 former patients, will appear at an inquiry into the way complaints against two psychiatrists were handled by the NHS. Former patients claim that complaints against North Yorkshire psychiatrists, Dr Michael Haslam and Dr William Kerr, were not taken seriously by the NHS. The GPs, along with about 50 NHS employees, will be asked to answer questions about the way complaints were handled.  Northern Echo 9 June 2004
• Donated kidneys lost for lack of surgeons. John Carvel, social affairs editor Friday June 11, 2004 The Guardian
• Cancer patients in some parts of the country are still more likely than those who live elsewhere to get treatment with the latest recommended drugs, despite the institute set up four years ago to level out what is known as "postcode prescribing", the government admitted yesterday. A report from the government's cancer chief, Mike Richards, published yesterday, found that there are still variations in the prescribing of new and expensive cancer drugs which the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (Nice) has approved for use in the NHS. Sarah Boseley, health editor Tuesday June 15, 2004 The Guardian
• Nearly two-thirds of ambulance services in England are failing to meet government targets for attending non-life threatening calls, according to official figures published today. The government wants 95% of ambulances to reach non-life threatening emergencies within 14 minutes of a call in urban areas and 19 minutes in rural parts of the country. But only 11 out of 31 ambulance services in England achieved these targets in the 2003-04 period. Thursday June 17, 2004
• The number of cot deaths is still "high" at weekends, despite the success of the Back to Sleep campaign, researchers have warned.  Tash Shifrin Monday June 21, 2004
• The BMA warned yesterday of a looming crisis in the GP out-of-hours service that will stop patients getting home visits in a medical emergency at night or over weekends. Recent changes in the GPs' contract have taken away a legal responsibility to care for their patients out of office hours either by doing the work themselves or contracting in locums. Few will volunteer to provide the service because the pay is unattractive, the conference was told. John Carvel Tuesday June 29, 2004 The Guardian
• More than 10,000 people a year may die from the side-effects of medicines prescribed by their doctors and most of those deaths are unnecessary, says a new study. The study, published in the British Medical Journal today, finds that one in 16 of all admissions to hospital is caused by the side-effects of a drug. The cost to the NHS of the mostly avoidable treatment of these patients is estimated at £466m a year. Sarah Boseley Friday July 2, 2004 The Guardian
• Flaws in the medical services which provide care when GP surgeries are closed have repeatedly put patients' health at risk, the NHS ombudsman warned today. The ombudsman, Ann Abraham, found there was "real cause for concern" about the poor quality of care provided by some GP deputising services, which provide emergency cover to family doctors at night and weekends. One GP deputy failed to give antibiotics to a 32-year-old man with meningitis who later died, while a female patient awaiting a coronary bypass suffered a heart attack which was missed by three separate deputising GPs who she saw over one weekend. It was only diagnosed when she saw her usual family doctor on the following Monday. In a third case, a deputising GP attempted to evade questioning about not spotting a brain tumour in a female patient, while another lied about his failure to diagnose appendicitis in a 15-year-old boy. David Batty Wednesday July 7, 2004 . 
  • The Health Service Ombudsman Selected Investigations Completed October 2003 - March 2004
• More than 2,000 women are being offered repeat breast screenings after hospital equipment was withdrawn due to quality concerns, officials said today. The breast x-ray processing equipment at three hospitals in north-east England is being replaced after a case in France suggested it might make some abnormalities difficult to detect Wednesday July 14, 2004
• NHS support is failing hundreds of thousands of people in the UK each year dying from chronic diseases, MPs warned today. As many as 300,000 people each year are dying from diseases such as cancer without access to proper palliative care, says the Commons health committee Thursday July 22, 2004
• The government may be wasting billions of pounds on IT projects for the NHS, including those covering online appointments with GPs and electronic patient records, a thinktank warned today. The potential benefits of the schemes - which are part of the government's £2bn national programme for IT - are huge, according to a report published today by the government-favoured thinktank, the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR). But so far there is little solid evidence that those benefits are being realised, according to the report, titled Public Value in e-Health. Debbie Andalo Tuesday July 27, 2004
• If people must self-harm, they shouldn't turn up at A&E afterwards demanding to be patched up, argues Rachel James. Tuesday August 3, 2004 The Guardian
• Toilets and bathrooms in NHS hospitals have become dirtier over the past year, according to a nationwide survey of patients. The report casts doubt on the government's claims that hospitals are becoming cleaner. Jo Revill Sunday August 8, 2004 The Observer
• The government is facing grassroots pressure from GPs for the right to charge NHS patients who miss appointments, after evidence that non-attendance is costing the health service £162m a year. Research from Developing Patient Partnerships, a health education charity, found there were 8.8m missed GP appointments in Britain last year and 3.9m missed appointments with practice nurses. John Carvel, social affairs editor Tuesday August 24, 2004 The Guardian
• More patients faced the frustration of cancelled operations last winter than they did five years ago, according to new government figures. Quarterly statistics show a total of 20,065 operations were cancelled at the last minute because of non-clinical reasons, such as staff shortages, during the winter of 2004 - a 39% increase for the same period in 1998. Hélène Mulholland Friday August 27, 2004
• Britain is facing a crisis in sexual health because there are too few properly trained nurses, the government was told today. The Royal College of Nursing said increasing demand for sexual health services was not being met because of a lack of nurses with appropriate skills. The warning comes in the wake of escalating rates of HIV and other major sexually transmitted infections. Thursday September 2, 2004
• A millionaire businessman and advocate of private companies providing NHS services is due to face a charge of serious professional misconduct over complaints about poor care at one of his former company's nursing homes, it has emerged. The chief executive of Priory Healthcare, Chai Patel, is due to appear before the professional conduct committee of the General Medical Council (GMC) on January 31 2005. The committee has the power to strike Dr Patel off the medical register or impose restrictions on his medical practice if it believes he is guilty of gross misconduct. The complaint against him relates to allegations of neglect at Lynde House nursing home in Twickenham, Middlesex. Dr Patel was the chief executive of Westminster Health Care, which runs the home, until 2002, when he sold his shares in the company. David Batty Thursday September 2, 2004
• The government yesterday named and shamed strategic health authorities that bungled the administration of compensation for thousands of vulnerable older people who were unlawfully charged for NHS care. John Carvel, social affairs editor Friday September 17, 2004 The Guardian
• The vast majority of hospitals in England and Wales need to do more to improve services for the over-50s, research suggested today. Monday September 20, 2004
• An NHS hospital has begun a shakeup of its outpatient systems after a heart patient's consultant appointment was cancelled 10 times, it emerged today. Hull and East Yorkshire hospitals trust launched a major inquiry into cardiology outpatient appointments after Patricia Silvester received a string of standard letters, each moving the date of her appointment. Tash Shifrin Wednesday September 22, 2004
• Yet again thousands of vulnerable people have been let down by the government's failure to get all local health authorities to identify those who may have been wrongly charged for their continuing care, when it should have been paid for by the NHS. Despite being assured three months ago that all the backlog would be cleared by the end of July, now that the Department of Health has finally published an update, it's all too clear that some local authorities are still dragging their heels. Margaret Hughes Saturday September 25, 2004 The Guardian
• A lack of joined-up services in health and social care is costing Britain more than £7bn a year, the charity Turning Point warned in a report published to mark its 40th anniversary today. It said people with a mixture of needs, including mental health problems, drug and alcohol misuse and learning disabilities, could rarely get help to tackle them in a concerted way. Often they did not get support until there was a crisis. John Carvel, social affairs editor Monday October 4, 2004 The Guardian
• An estimated 2.8 million people in Britain have diabetes, but a third of them do not know they have the disease, the charity Diabetes UK said last night. James Meikle Thursday October 7, 2004 The Guardian
• Hospitals swamped in A&E ward crisis. Doctors told to resume home visits as casualty departments face surge of patients. Jo Revill, health editor Sunday October 10, 2004 The Observer
• Few frontline NHS staff have any faith that the provision of IT will equip them to do their job more efficiently or effectively (NHS faces £15bn black hole, October 12). IT provision is being developed to serve the billing needs of service providers. Letters Wednesday October 13, 2004 The Guardian
• A transcript of the exchanges between ambulance controllers and a doctor attempting to transfer a dying teenage cancer patient 300 yards to intensive care has been released by the boy's parents. An investigation has been launched into the two-hour delay in July during which 16-year-old Luke Gallimore slipped into a coma while being treated at the University Hospital of North Staffordshire. Owen Bowcott Monday October 18, 2004 The Guardian
• Millions of allergy sufferers are being failed by the NHS, MPs have said, in scathing criticism of the way the health service in England is treating one of the commonest diseases. GPs fail to diagnose the condition and are often ignorant of treatment options, while there are big shortages of specialist staff and clinics, according to the all-party Commons health committee. James Meikle, health correspondent Tuesday November 2, 2004 The Guardian
• A million people are walking around Britain today with a condition that can lead to heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, blindness and amputation - and they don't even know it. They are the "hidden million" with undiagnosed diabetes. Wednesday November 17, 2004 The Guardian
• Many hospital accident and emergency departments are not meeting the minimum standards when it comes to treating children, a new study has found. Sarah Boseley, health editor Friday December 3, 2004 The Guardian
• The NHS in Wales has failed to make the cuts in waiting times achieved in England despite a much more generous health budget, according to a damning report today from the public spending watchdog. John Carvel, social affairs editor Friday January 14, 2005
• Improved survival rates mean cancer is becoming a social care issue, says Peter Cardy. Wednesday January 26, 2005 The Guardian
• Treatment for eating disorders is poor or non-existent in many areas of Britain, with doctors stereotyping sufferers as attention-seekers who are to blame for their illness. Amelia Hill Sunday February 6, 2005 The Observer
• Hospitals are suffering from a growing shortage of neurologists, with some patients waiting more than a week in hospital with potentially life-threatening conditions before they are seen. Jo Revill, health editor Sunday February 6, 2005 The Observer
• Gary Horne believed the health service would come good in a crisis. Then a brain tumour developed - and his faith was shaken to the core. Sunday February 6, 2005 The Observer
• Young lives are being put at risk because doctors are failing to diagnose eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia quickly enough, a campaign group said yesterday. Sandra Laville Monday February 7, 2005 The Guardian
• The number of patients waiting for NHS treatment in England rose by more than 14,000 at the end of last year, according to figures published today. At the end of December a total of 858,000 people were on the waiting list for an operation - up by 14,100 since the end of November. Friday February 11, 2005
• GPs warned yesterday of a crisis in the out-of-hours service they provide for patients in England. Responsibility for organising family doctors to be on call outside normal surgery hours passed last month from GP practices to primary care trusts, the local tier of NHS management. John Carvel, social affairs editor Tuesday February 15, 2005 The Guardian
• One in five lung cancer patients is undergoing pointless operations because of the lack of scanners delivering accurate diagnoses, experts said today. One fifth of the 3,000 lung cancer patients who have a thorocotomy every year, (which allows doctors to view the lung directly), could avoid the invasive procedure if there were more positron emission tomography (PET) scanners in the UK. The high-powered scanners show a detailed cross-section of a patient's body. Wednesday February 23, 2005
• John Hutton, the health minister, will today order a crackdown on NHS organisations using costly phone numbers for patients wanting to book an appointment or get a repeat prescription. He has identified about 290 GP practices in England that require patients to pay over the odds for a local call. The doctors have shared the profits with the phone firms. John Carvel Thursday February 24, 2005 The Guardian
• The NHS is reviewing thousands of scans by a private medical company following problems with long delays in diagnosing illness. The scans were mostly sent abroad for analysis, but because of misunderstandings, language difficulties and other problems, some hospitals experienced long delays in getting results back. In one case, it took four weeks for the company to report on the scan of a woman with a brain condition that can be fatal. Jo Revill, health Editor Sunday February 27, 2005 The Observer
• The shortage of critical care beds in Warrington hospital, which led to the repeated postponement of Margaret Dixon's operation, has highlighted concerns among health professionals about lack of capacity in high-pressure sectors of the NHS. Owen Bowcott Saturday March 5, 2005 The Guardian
• Almost a quarter (24%) of hospital staff frequently encounter dirty medical equipment, according to a new survey. David Batty and agencies Monday March 14, 2005 
• Thousands of patients with head or spinal injuries are transferred out of specialist units too early or treated in the wrong type of hospital ward, the Department of Health admitted yesterday. More than half the 7,000 patients needing surgery for traumatic or serious injury in England each year receive inappropriate care, according to the new NHS service framework for up to 17 million people with long-term health conditions. James Meikle, health correspondent Friday March 11, 2005 The Guardian
• Care for people with diabetes is still patchy and piecemeal even though services have improved in some parts of the country in the last two years, the government's head of diabetes care, Dr Sue Roberts, admitted today. The comments by the national clinical director for diabetes appear in the Department of Health's progress report on the changes in care for the UK's 1.4 million diabetics in the last two years. Debbie Andalo Wednesday March 23, 2005
• A multi-million-pound government deal with a private company, aimed at clearing up the long waits for diagnostic scans for the NHS has backfired, leaving some patients waiting up to a year and a half for a scan. Jo Revill, health editor Sunday April 24, 2005 The Observer
• There's plenty of bad news coming from Britain's maternity wards. But what is it like at the receiving end of the service? Lucy Atkins followed the fortunes of six mums-to-be. Tuesday May 3, 2005 The Guardian
• Jamie Oliver has been asked to expose the lack of nutrition in hospital food, following his popular campaign to improve school dinners. Delegates at the British Medical Association's annual conference for junior doctors in London warned that patients' health was being compromised by the lack of vitamins and nutrients in the meals. The BMA will write to Oliver this week to ask if he would consider conducting an investigation into the catering services run by the NHS. Jo Revill, health editor Sunday May 8, 2005 The Observer
• The government's campaign to raise the standard of hospital food, launched four years ago with celebrity chef Loyd Grossman, has brought only piecemeal improvements, patients and doctors said today.  Debbie Andalo Thursday May 12, 2005
• Mothers who suddenly discover they are about to give birth to severely premature babies are being shuttled hundreds of miles around Britain because of a severe shortage of neonatal intensive care places. John Carvel, social affairs editor Saturday May 21, 2005 The Guardian
• Anguish of a long-distance delivery. John Carvel Saturday May 21, 2005 The Guardian
• Last minute cancellations of NHS operations rose by almost a quarter in the first few months of the year, according to figures published today. The Department of Health reported that from January to March 21,566 operations were cancelled for non-clinical reasons - a 24% rise on the final quarter of 2004. Friday May 27, 2005
• More than 2,000 women who were screened for breast cancer are having their records reviewed "as a matter of urgency" following concerns about accuracy. The first of the women were recalled for further investigations yesterday afternoon after having mammograms at two hospitals in Greater Manchester between April 2003 and April 2005. The review involves 1,267 patients screened at Trafford General hospital and 1,195 patients seen at North Manchester General hospital. It does not involve any women who were routinely checked under the NHS Breast Screening Programme. Paul Marinko Saturday May 28, 2005 The Guardian
• Women are being sent home from maternity hospitals too quickly, with many leaving just six hours after giving birth. Jo Revill, health editor Sunday May 29, 2005 The Observer
• Today The Observer launches its Better Birth Campaign, our drive to give mothers a better experience of one of the most life-changing events. Leader Sunday May 29, 2005 The Observer
• The doctor will not see you now. Survey shows children struggling to access sexual health services. Paul Dinsdale Wednesday June 1, 2005 The Guardian
• Most patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) in England fail to receive the aftercare and advice they need to make a good recovery after being discharged from hospital, health inspectors said today. The Healthcare Commission found that nearly two-thirds (63%) of patients had not taken part in a cardiac rehabilitation programme, which includes exercise classes and healthy living advice. The NHS inspectorate discovered that 60% of patients had not even been offered rehabilitation. David Batty Tuesday June 7, 2005
• Patient confidentiality is being compromised because thousands of doctors are forced to write sensitive medical reports in hospital corridors and coffee rooms, doctors' leaders warned today. The situation has arisen because 12,500 hospital doctors known as staff and associate specialists (SAS) lack office space, meaning they cannot complete paperwork in private. Tuesday June 7, 2005
• More than one in four women do not have a midwife or doctor giving them one-to-one care when they go into labour, a survey to be published this week reveals. Jo Revill, health editor Sunday June 12, 2005 The Observer
• A grandmother has to make a 500-mile round trip every week to a kidney unit for dialysis treatment, it emerged today. Marion Laird, 62, flies from her home, on Orkney, to a hospital in Aberdeen, where she spends five days at a time. In the last 12 months, Mrs Laird has had to travel 26,000 miles to the mainland for the lifesaving treatment. She cannot be treated at home because no nurses on the islands are trained in dialysis. Tuesday June 21, 2005
• Scores of children may be dying from meningitis each year because they are not being treated by specialist staff during their first 24 hours in hospital, child health experts say today. Rapid diagnosis, speedy treatment with antibiotics and action to combat organ failure and shock are often vital in saving young people's lives, they say in the British Medical Journal. James Meikle Friday June 24, 2005 The Guardian
• Ten times more babies are lost to stillbirth than to cot death in the UK, so why is there no national strategy? Kate Weidmann Tuesday July 5, 2005 The Guardian
• Day surgery units at NHS hospitals in England are wasting nearly half their operating time through poor management, the health inspectorate warns today. If the least efficient units adopted the practices of the best, the NHS could perform an extra 74,000 operations a year, the Healthcare Commission says. Its report follows a decision by Patricia Hewitt, the health secretary, to spend £2.5bn over the next five years on a further round of contracts with the private sector to perform fast-track day surgery on NHS patients in independent treatment centres. The commission did not have the authority to examine the first wave of independent centres to establish whether they were more efficient.  John Carvel, social affairs editor Monday July 11, 2005 The Guardian
• Premature babies are being rushed more than 100 miles from where they were born to receive the specialist care they need to survive, a charity claimed yesterday. Efforts to save infants' lives are also being jeopardised by staffing levels that would not be tolerated in adult intensive care units, according to the charity Bliss. Painful medical interventions are also sometimes being carried out on very young babies without any pain relief. More than 70% of units claim to have closed to new admissions at least once in the last six months. James Meikle, health correspondent Thursday July 14, 2005
• Bathrooms that are so dirty you can't use them without cleaning them first yourself. A midwife who informs you she is too busy to help you bath your baby. A ward so overcrowded that your husband feels in the way. You long to leave it although you're still shattered after a 20-hour birth. Britain's maternity services in 2005 are neither as good nor as safe as they should be, according to a report from the government's health inspectorate which will be presented to MPs tomorrow. The report comes less than two months after The Observer's Better Birth Campaign revealed the problems faced by women during birth. Jo Revill, health editor Sunday July 17, 2005 The Observer
• Two months ago, The Observer launched a campaign aimed at highlighting the problems surrounding childbirth in Britain, and investigating what could be done to improve it. We were becoming increasingly aware of the gap between what women expected from their birth, and the kind of care they were actually receiving. There were two areas of concern that stood out. Leader Sunday July 17, 2005 The Observer
• Lives of mothers and babies are being put at risk by poor standards of maternity care, the head of the NHS inspectorate said yesterday. Sir Ian Kennedy, the chairman of the Healthcare Commission, highlighted concerns about safety and quality of services in hospital baby units in England and Wales as he prepared to give his annual report to parliament today. All trusts will have to review their standards in maternity units in an attempt to end huge discrepancies in care, following the commission's devastating verdict on their performance. James Meikle, health correspondent Monday July 18, 2005 The Guardian
• It's no surprise the NHS watchdog has singled out maternity services for poor performance, says Peter Davies, as they are a low priority for health service managers. Tuesday July 19, 2005
• Patients' lives are being put at risk because hospitals are failing to comply with government warnings about unsafe drugs and medical equipment, England's chief medical officer (CMO) said today. David Batty and agencies Tuesday July 19, 2005
• An elderly patient was left to die on her own while other patients' requests for help were ignored, an undercover investigation in an acute hospital ward has discovered. An undercover nurse and a reporter exposed a series of failings of care of elderly patients being looked after on an acute ward at the zero-rated Royal Sussex county hospital in Brighton. They discovered cancer patient Jessie Mowitt, aged 86, was left to die on her own, a patient was left waiting for hours to go to the toilet while others were left to sit in their own urine. Nurse Margaret Haywood went undercover for the BBC 1 Panorama programme with a hidden camera while she worked 28 shifts on the ward. Debbie Andalo and agencies Wednesday July 20, 2005
• The hospital [Royal Sussex] featured in a BBC undercover investigation into the mistreatment of elderly patients has no plans to discipline staff, it said today. But the nurses' disciplinary body, the Nursing and Midwifery Council, announced it has begun an investigation into whether any nurses have broken their professional code of conduct. Debbie Andalo Thursday July 21, 2005
• A patients' group today accused doctors of undermining the troubled programme to improve hospital food. David Batty Monday July 25, 2005
• A Birmingham hospital has launched an inquiry after a consultant anaesthetist allegedly fell asleep during an operation. The doctor's colleagues are understood to have taken photographs of him as he slept during the surgery this month, and passed the images to managers at the Selly Oak hospital in central Birmingham. Sophie Kirkham Tuesday July 26, 2005 The Guardian
• Children and old people attending hospital accident and emergency departments with painful fractures often have to wait more than an hour before getting painkilling drugs ranging from paracetamol to morphine, the hospital inspectorate reveals today. James Meikle, health correspondent Monday August 8, 2005 The Guardian
• Thousands of cancer patients in England and Wales could be denied access to a new chemotherapy "smart pill" that is cheaper and more effective than existing treatments, cancer charities said today. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice), the watchdog that decides which treatments are available on the NHS, will not consider approving the drug Xeloda until next May, even though it is already being prescribed to bowel cancer patients in Scotland. David Batty and agencies Tuesday August 9, 2005
• Modern insulin treatments for people with diabetes are making the condition worse for some patients, it is claimed today. Manufacturers are taking long-established products off the market and replacing them with more expensive alternatives. Diabetes UK says long-term patients are finding their bodies do not always adjust to the substitutes. James Meikle, health correspondent Monday August 15, 2005 The Guardian
• Thousands of people with sexually transmitted diseases are being treated with an antibiotic that is proving increasingly powerless. Cases of gonorrhoea soared past 22,300 last year and public health watchdogs are worried some clinics are persisting with a drug that is becoming less successful in treating the disease. Ciprofloxacin was replaced as the first line of defence against gonorrhoea two years ago because the bacteria responsible for the infection are proving so resistant. James Meikle, health correspondent Tuesday August 16, 2005 The Guardian
• Women are being denied basic IVF treatment on the NHS in defiance of a ruling from government watchdogs, prompting demands for an inquiry. The rejection of dozens of childless couples by 10 primary care trusts in Hampshire - described by one 32-year-old denied treatment as a 'kick in the teeth' - flies in the face of former Health Secretary John Reid's insistence that every trust should have provided at least one free cycle of IVF treatment to help infertile couples get pregnant by April 2005. Gaby Hinsliff, political editor Sunday August 21, 2005 The Observer
• Most patients cannot get an appointment to see a family doctor within two days, despite government claims that this target is being met in 99% of cases, according to a new poll. Hélène Mulholland Monday August 22, 2005
• The deaths of at least two patients have been linked to an effective but toxic drug for rheumatoid arthritis, despite an earlier safety warning to the NHS after some 25 deaths and 26 cases of serious harm in England in a decade. Doctors are again being strongly urged to advise patients of the risk of lung disorders associated with oral methotrexate and to tell them to seek medical attention if they develop breathlessness, a dry cough or fever. James Meikle, health correspondent Saturday September 10, 2005 The Guardian
• A quarter of patients are having to wait more than two weeks for a sexual health clinic appointment, research published today shows. David Batty Friday September 9, 2005
• A leading cancer charity today launches a "dossier of delay", claiming that patients are dying unnecessarily because 23 new drugs have not yet been given approval for use in the NHS by the under-funded National Institute for Clinical Excellence (Nice). Cancer Bacup is leading the charge, but other patient groups are close behind in the growing criticism of the sluggishness of the drug approval process. Nice, whose task is to assess new drugs on suitability and cost effectiveness grounds for use in the NHS, has admitted that it has had to close down one of its three appraisal committees because its government funding was cut by £3.5 m. Sarah Boseley, health editor Tuesday September 20, 2005 The Guardian
• Proposals to speed up the assessment of lifesaving treatments are underway following widespread criticism over delays, it was announced today. Medicines watchdog the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (Nice), whose task is to assess new drugs on suitability and cost effectiveness grounds for use in the NHS, was asked by the government to find ways of appraising new drugs more quickly. Hélène Mulholland Friday September 23, 2005
• Being diagnosed with breast cancer is distressing enough for women without being led to believe that treatments are being denied to them by NHS bureaucracy. ('Dying nurse sues NHS for denying her cancer drug', News, last week). The EMEA (the European body which evaluates many new drugs) has yet to assess whether Herceptin is a safe treatment for women with early breast cancer. Until they do this, it can't be licensed for general use in the UK. The EMEA can only start work when a manufacturer applies for a licence, or asks for a licence on an existing drug to be extended. And licencing is important: drugs have to be shown to work and to be safe before they are made available for widespread use. Nice develops guidance for the NHS on significant new drugs once they have been licenced, to help ensure equal access for patients. We have already recommended the use of Herceptin for advanced breast cancer (which it has a licence for), and we will issue guidance on its use in early breast cancer as close to the drug being licenced for this condition in the UK as possible. Andrew Dillon Chief executive, National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, London WC1. Letter Sunday September 25, 2005 The Observer
• Up to 200,000 people will die from hepatitis C infection in Britain over the next 20 to 30 years unless diagnosis and treatment of the disease improves dramatically, doctors predicted yesterday. They warned that the government was underestimating the looming public health disaster, comparing its record in tackling the problems unfavourably with administrations in France, Germany, Italy and Spain. James Meikle, health correspondent Friday September 30, 2005 The Guardian
• Practices not perfect. The health secretary, Patricia Hewitt, says of "same day only" GP appointments: "It's very frustrating, and needs fixing" (Patient approach, September 28). The prime minister assured us it would be fixed. But [at my surgery] still it shows no sign of being fixed. Receptionists will not even arrange follow-up appointments in advance. So it's back to the telephone lottery. All this, in an otherwise first-class practice. Contact with the GP is many people's most common experience of the NHS. If it doesn't work in their favour, patients are unlikely to have confidence in the larger scale changes being proposed. Alan Shelston, Altrincham. Guardian letters Wednesday October 5 2005
• One in 10 hospital meals is thrown away untouched, according to figures which raise fresh concerns over the hidden scandal of malnutrition among NHS patients. More than 17 million platefuls went into the bin last year, amid complaints from patients' organisations that elderly and confused patients are not being given the help they need to eat, and that many are missing meals. The amount of food wasted has risen despite the introduction of more appealing menus. Gaby Hinsliff, political editor Sunday October 9, 2005 The Observer
• The complications of a botched operation. Michael Cross Thursday November 24, 2005 The Guardian
• Scotland's health boards are unlikely to meet any of the targets they have been set for improving cancer treatment rates, despite being given extra funding, watchdogs revealed today. As many as 53% of urgently-referred cancer patients in Scotland are having to wait longer than two months for treatment, according to the Audit Scotland report on the state of healthcare north of the border. Hélène Mulholland Thursday December 8, 2005
• Too many terminally ill patients are denied the right to die in the comfort of their own home due to a lack of services outside hospital, according to a report published today. Improving end-of-life by the NHS Confederation, the lobbying organisation for NHS trusts, calls for increased levels of home and community care provision to allow more people the choice to die in hospices or their own home.  The study, one of a series being published by the confederation in advance of the forthcoming government white paper on out of hospital care, highlights the gap in services which deny most people choice over where they end their days.  Hélène Mulholland Monday December 12, 2005
• Women who suspect they might carry a gene putting them at a higher risk of breast cancer are waiting up to two years for the results of genetic testing, campaigners have said. The BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes are linked to women being more likely to develop breast cancer, with testing available to those thought to face an increased risk. But a survey by charity CancerBACUP found that women were being made to wait months or years before getting the vital tests. Wednesday December 14, 2005 7:03 AM
• Doctors are warning of an acute shortage of intensive care beds for children as staff spend hours ringing round to try to find places for those who are critically ill. Jo Revill, health editor Sunday December 18, 2005 The Observer
• A woman found maggots wriggling on her dying mother's face while she was treated in a hospital's intensive care unit, it emerged yesterday. Nyree Ellison Anjos spotted the fly larvae near a feeding tube at the Gloucestershire Royal hospital. Her mother, Christine Ellison, died soon after. Her daughter spoke out yesterday after learning that another part of the hospital had to be fumigated when maggots were found on a sandwich. Steven Morris Tuesday December 20, 2005 The Guardian
• Calls for better care for dying. Dying Well, a cross-parliamentary group, has called for better NHS care for dying people and said that there are "serious inequities" in the distribution of palliative care in England and Wales. Frank Field, former Labour minister and chairman of the group, said: "As with so much in the NHS, quality is of a high standard but quantity and distribution leave something to be desired." Summary by Keep our NHS Public of  BBC Online 10 January 2006
• Serious shortcomings in the rescue operation after the London bombings were revealed by emergency staff yesterday. Hospitals complained of being starved of vital information and of having radios that only worked "10% to 15% of the time". Hugh Muir Thursday January 12, 2006 The Guardian
• Cancer patients' experience of the NHS is improving but 40% of sufferers still wait more than two weeks to see a specialist, a report from a Commons committee today reveals. Despite the government pledging patients should wait no more than a fortnight after seeing a GP, four out of 10 of those ultimately diagnosed are not defined as "urgent" cases and so wait longer than this. Sarah Hall, health correspondent Thursday January 12, 2006 The Guardian
• A spineless performance. The government's vision for the NHS was shamed by the inconvenient failure of its new IT system. Michael Cross Thursday January 12, 2006 The Guardian
• A & E waits on the up - for 999 crews. Ambulance crews are having to wait up to four hours with patients outside the A & E department at East Surrey hospital in Redhill because staff are too busy to complete handover procedures. The delays have been occurring since the A & E was put under greater pressure by the closure of the emergency department at Crawley Hospital 18 months ago. Summary by Keep our NHS Public of  Health Service Journal 12 January 2006
• Sexual diseases "not PCT priority". Up to half of PCTs do not mention key sexual health targets in their plans, according to a review of 44 PCTs by a number of sexual health groups. PCTs said they were being forced to make difficult choices between investing in services and balancing the books. Chairman of the BMA James Johnson said: "It is appalling that sexual health services are actually getting worse, despite clinicians' best efforts to deal with patient demand. This report shows that despite government pledges, targets and extra resources, PCTs in England appear to have plans to use funds allocated for sexual health to balance their books in other areas." Summary by Keep our NHS Public of  BBC Online 13 January 2006
• Tens of thousands of lives are being lost every year in the UK because medical researchers are hampered by bureaucracy in obtaining patient data, according to scientists. A report published yesterday by the Academy of Medical Sciences said that large population-scale medical studies are in jeopardy because of an "undue emphasis on privacy" by regulators. "There is no question that research is now at risk. Researchers are finding it increasingly difficult to get past the regulatory interpretation to allow their research to take place," said Robert Souhami, a cancer researcher at University College London. "And this is a detriment to public health."  Alok Jha, science correspondent Wednesday January 18, 2006 The Guardian
• Sexual health clinics will need more than three times their current number of doctors and nurses to meet a government target that patients be seen within 48 hours, according to research published today. Sarah Hall, health correspondent Thursday February 2, 2006 The Guardian
• Better chronic illness care would cut A&E admissions. The NHS Confederation has called for a renewed focus on the treatment of chronic diseases after research by Dr Foster Intelligence revealed that repeated emergency hospital admissions cost the health service £2.3bn a year. Summary by Keep our NHS Public of  Public Finance 17 February 2006
• More than half of cancer patients who need radiotherapy have to wait longer for their treatment than the recommended maximum of four weeks, according to the Royal College of Radiologists. Sarah Boseley, health editor Thursday February 23, 2006 The Guardian
• Local sex clinics found wanting. A study by several leading HIV associations says extra national investment in sexual health services is failing to reach the grass roots, as PCTs and acute trusts divert funds to high priority areas more likely to determine their standing in performance tables. Only half of the 66 primary care trusts surveyed reported a real increase in funding. 89% of clinicians report increased patient activity in 2005, but only 3% reported an increase in staffing. Almost two thirds of clinics have turned patients away. Almost one in 10 PCTs report a real-term decrease in funding. Summary by Keep our NHS Public of  BBC Online 23 February 2006
• Stroke sufferers are often left struggling without adequate aftercare, such as speech therapy and support for mobility and emotional problems, the Healthcare Commission, an NHS watchdog, says in a report today.  Polly Curtis Monday March 6, 2006 The Guardian
• Doctors may rely too heavily on MRI scans when diagnosing early multiple sclerosis, according to a new report. A review of MRI scans showed that their accuracy for diagnosis was "not sufficient" to rule in our out MS "with a high degree of certainty". Friday March 24, 2006 6:58 AM
• Patients who face trips of torment. Health chiefs were yesterday presented with a damning dossier, which lays bare the suffering endured by hundreds of cancer patients in remote corners of the West. 300 heartbreaking tales were presented to health chiefs to show them the human cost of decisions to centralise services in centres of excellence. So patients have to make 200-mile round trips for cancer care in Cheltenham. Summary by Keep our NHS Public of  Western Daily Press 29 March 2006
• Cancer patients are not getting the emotional support they need to deal with such a devastating illness, a leading charity has said. A study for Macmillan Cancer Support found that almost half of cancer patients (49%) experienced depression and 75% suffered anxiety as a result of their cancer. Wednesday April 5, 2006 6:58 AM
• The demand for home births is increasing but many parents are quietly being put off having one because midwives are too stretched to provide home care, according to figures from the National Childbirth Trust published today.  Polly Curtis, health correspondent Wednesday April 5, 2006 The Guardian
• A woman whose son died in hospital has been told a potentially life-saving brain procedure was not carried out - because it was a weekend.  Lee Nicholls, 16, was taken to hospital after collapsing with a brain haemorrhage on Easter Sunday last year.  Doctors told his mother he needed an angiogram - an X-ray of blood vessels in the brain - to decide the best method of treatment, but said the procedure was not available at weekends.  Daily Mail 12 April 2006 [North Bristol NHS Trust]
• Claim patients face long wait in ambulances. Bed shortages at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital have forced patients to be kept in ambulances for up to two hours before being taken into the A& E department, according to Shrewsbury and Atcham MP Daniel Kawczynski. Summary by Keep our NHS Public of  Shropshire Star 13 April 2006
• At least 250,000 people end up in hospital every year because of the damaging side- effects of the medicines they are taking and about 5,000 die, according to the British Medical Association. The BMA urged doctors yesterday to be more vigilant and report any suspected side-effects their patients might experience. Only an estimated 10% of adverse drug reactions are currently reported through the "yellow card" scheme to the drug regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority (MHRA). Sarah Boseley, health