A review of the private healthcare sector by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has raised some issues that could lead to a referral to the Competition Commission. The OFT highlighted three key issues in its review. There was a lack of information that patients, healthcare providers and GPs could use to compare for both [...]

Recent research has indicated that patients admitted to hospital at the weekend have a higher risk of dying than those admitted during the week. The figures from research company Dr Foster indicate that across 147 hospital trusts, there was a 10% increase in the number of deaths at a weekend than during the week. On [...]

The Global Fund to Fight Aids, TB and Malaria have received a shortfall in donations from international donors which they say will badly affect efforts to fight the diseases. The worldwide funding body issues grants to a variety of projects intended to fight some of the most deadly diseases around the world. They had asked [...]

A new study into the human sense of smell will give hope to people who lose the ability to detect smells, say researchers. They say people may be able to practice to improve their sense of smell, or their sense of taste which is closely linked. The research was carried out on rats by a [...]

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has revised their instructions around the amount of paracetamol a child should be given. Paracetamol is very commonly used to relieve the symptoms of childhood illnesses such as teething pains, colds and common viruses. More than 8 in 10 children will be given the drug before they are [...]

Researchers from America, Canada, Germany and Argentina have discovered a link between an industrial solvent and Parkinson’s disease. Parkinson’s disease is thought to be caused by a mix of genetic and environmental factors and there is currently no cure. Pesticide use has previously been linked to the disease, but the recent study found a link [...]

A recent study by a team of researchers in London has revealed that children are more influenced by daylight rather than weather conditions when deciding to play outdoors. The research monitored the exercise levels of over 300 children in the south east of England between the ages of 8 and 11. It found that the [...]

A recent study suggests that if people in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland were to switch to an English-style diet, it could potentially save 4000 lives a year. Last year, research pointed out that if people were to follow dietary guidance concerning levels of fat, salt, fibre, fruit and vegetables, over 30,000 lives could be [...]