Ambulance services are being stretched to “breaking point” because GPs have opted out of out of hours care, a union has claimed. The debt-ridden NHS is facing a shortfall of around 2,000 ambulance workers – with remaining staff having to work extra shifts to take up the burden, according to Unison.

Plans to tag old people so they can be tracked by satellite received a mixed reaction today. Science Minister Malcolm Wicks said technology could be used to help families keep tabs on frail or elderly relatives. He said tags, similar to those used to monitor criminals, could help give more freedom to those suffering from dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

{mosimage}Kate Jopling, of Help the Aged, said that at first glance the proposal smacked of “Big Brother”. But she said the potential of new technology to help vulnerable older people should not be dismissed.
Shami Chakrabarti, director of Liberty, warned of “gimmicks” which are designed to replace expensive care. She said: “A debate about better care for the elderly is a good thing but technical gimmicks often provide cheap and quick fixes rather than dignified and possibly expensive care.”

Mr Wicks said the idea of using satellite monitoring to benefit society should be discussed. He said: “We’ve got an ageing population with many people frail and many suffering from dementia, including Alzheimer’s. How can we get the balance right so that these people have the freedom to live their lives, to go out in the community and go shopping?”

Cornwall Social Services were this week preparing to move residents out of Penhellis Nursing Home at Helston (pictured above).The future for all 27 permanent residents and 40 staff is hanging in the balance as the home faces imminent closure.

CSV, the operator of the biggest national network of social action broadcasting will urge Ofcom to guarantee that money is not the only factor governing the use of broadcast frequencies being freed up by TV going digital from 2008 to 2012. There is a danger they will be auctioned off.

A decision on where to locate beds for elderly people with mental health problems in Wiltshire will be made next month. Wiltshire Primary Care Trust was due to decide on its preferred location for 20-25 beds at its board meeting in April but has deferred the decision to next month.

The scale of the mental health crisis in Cambridgeshire has been revealed as new figures showed that the county’s specialist trust has lost almost one in five dedicated hospital beds in just two years.

The county’s first in-patient service for teenagers with mental health problems has opened in Lancaster. The £1.5m centre, named the Junction, will cater for 12 to 16-year-olds with illnesses such as depression, eating disorders, anxiety, self-harming and suicidal thoughts.

Elderly people with dementia could be tagged to make it easier to track their movements, a minister has proposed. Science Minister Malcolm Wicks told the BBC the satellite technology could enable them to lead fuller lives and would reassure their families.

Chief Constables in England and Wales are to discuss whether to boost the recruitment of black and Asian officers by positive discrimination. The plan to be debated by the Association of Chief Police Officers would need employment law changes – a move not favoured by the Home Office.

Hormone replacement therapy may have caused the deaths of more than 1,000 women in the UK from ovarian cancer since 1991, scientists reveal today. HRT has been used by millions of women to alleviate the symptoms of menopause or – in some cases – because they hope it will help them remain youthful and active for longer.