Charity Leonard Cheshire Disability is launching a new book, Poverty and Disability, on Friday, the International Day of Persons with Disabilities. The book aims to change policy and practice towards the inclusion of disabled people in the developing world. In some African countries, unemployment rates for disabled people are as high as 90%, while in [...]
A Yorkshire nurse has been crowned the UK’s Learner of the Year for her efforts to improve deaf awareness in the NHS. Volunteer and Occupational Therapy Support Worker Kelly Palmer, from Garforth, completed her Level 3 NVQ in British Sign Language (BSL) this year with charity coHearentVision, where she also volunteers, with the full support [...]
A Bristol hospital is pioneering the use of a new technology which creates ‘tailor-made’ knee replacements. The Visionaire system, which is produced by global healthcare company Smith & Nephew, is targeted at people who have developed painful knee arthritis, sometimes following knee ligament damage while playing sport earlier in life, or more frequently as part [...]
Trials of a three-digit telephone number for those needing non-emergency medical care in England have been launched in North East England. NHS County Durham and Darlington Primary Care Trusts are to pilot the free 111 number, to act as an alternative to 999, followed by Nottingham, Lincolnshire and Luton. It is hoped it will take [...]
The coalition government has confirmed its intention to end most mixed-sex hospital accommodation in England. Despite Labour committing to the policy when it won power in 1997, it failed to completely abolish them. Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said bringing about the change was a priority, but patients’ groups have questioned how it could be achieved. [...]
The General Medical Council is looking for views on its equality and diversity proposals to improve patient care Patients, doctors and the organisations that represent them are being invited by the General Medical Council to provide comments on the three-year plan for its Equality Scheme. The Equality Scheme aims to ensure that the GMC’s procedures [...]
A new draft of the diagnostic ‘bible’ for mental health experts could effectively mean everyone being diagnosed with a mental condition, according to some doctors. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, published by the American Psychiatric Association, is used worldwide as a basis for diagnosis, research and medical education. Its forthcoming fifth edition [...]
Women who binge drink during pregnancy increase the risk of their baby being born with learning difficulties, according to a new report. Speaking at a Royal College of Nursing summit, health expert Professor Barry Carpenter, a special needs project director, said many women aged between 19 and 24 drink during the early stage of their [...]
The Royal College of Nurses (RCN) has warned against front line job cuts in the NHS at a time when the demand for care services within the health system is increasing. Given the estimated 40% increase in the number of ‘over 65s’ in the UK by 2025 – in just 15 years – and the [...]
Patients must be given the opportunity in advance to discuss what treatment and care they want towards the end of life, according to new guidance from the General Medical Council (GMC). For the first time in its history, the GMC has given doctors in the UK guidance on advance care planning for patients nearing the [...]
