More than £500,000 of Health Service money could be spent defending the decision to deny drugs to thousands of Alzheimer’s sufferers – enough to fund treatment for all those who need it.

The professional development journal of the Royal College of Psychiatry has commissioned New Zealand psychologist, Dr John Read, to describe a training programme on asking about childhood trauma. The article, ‘Why, when and how to ask about childhood abuse’, appears in the March edition of Advances in Psychiatric Treatment.

Migrant workers who come to Britain as cooks, cleaners and nannies could become virtual slaves in their employers’ homes under new immigration rules, campaigners are warning. Ministers faced charges of hypocrisy as Labour campaigned on the issue in opposition, highlighting accusations of sexual abuse, physical assault and poverty pay regularly faced by foreign domestic staff.

Sniffer Dogs trained to find illegal drugs are being used in a mental health unit in Highgate. The dogs were used in 16 police searches of nine wards run by the Camden and Islington Mental Health Trust (CIMHT) over 12 months. Officers found two crack pipes and two cannabis joints.

Birmingham’s embattled Tory leader Mike Whitby was under fire today amid accusations he poked fun at mentally ill people.The city council leader accused his Labour rivals of “suffering from schizophrenia” during a heated debate on the council tax.

The long-awaited redevelop-ment of a Wimborne care home and day centre is nearly finished. Dorset County Council had searched for a site for the new Streets Meadow facility since 1997 and consulted widely with local people before building adjacent to the old home, which no longer met the required standards.

The former Rothsay Hotel is set to make way for a 60-bed nursing home for the elderly. Test Valley Borough Council’s northern area planning committee gave the scheme the go-ahead at their recent meeting.

A furniture storage firm has become the latest business to support plans for a £1.7million homeless community. Emmaus, which has 440 similar communities in 40 countries, has purchased the former Birches care home building in Ribbleton, to create the 14th such community in the UK.

A researcher conducting a study into the mental health of young soldiers is hoping to remove the “huge stigma” attached to asking for support within the Army. Steven Walker, a principal research officer at the University of Essex, is working with his colleague Professor Gill Green on a study into the emotional health of young soldiers, some of whom are based in Colchester.

Midwives opposing controversial Making it Better plans to axe maternity services from Fairfield Hospital are taking to the streets this weekend in a protest against cuts to the NHS. The demo is to take place on Saturday with protesters assembling at 12 noon in Manchester’s Albert Square.