A Coalition of Scots anti-poverty and kids’ charities has heavily criticised the energy regulator, Ofgem. The coalition has turned its attention on Ofgem because of what it sees as its continuing failure to protect vulnerable consumers from debt.
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Negotiations between the Irish Hospital Consultants Association and the Health Service Executive on a revised contract for consultants have resumed. The talks take place against the backdrop of a threat by the Minister for Health, Mary Harney, to impose a new contract, and proceed with the appointment of 300 consultants on an interim salary if an agreement is not reached by 17 April.
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Offenders are escaping punishment for breaking their community penalties because probation staff are not following Home Office guidelines, according to a watchdog report. The prosecution of offenders for breaching their community punishments is being ended simply on the grounds that a file on the case is not ready.
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The Children’s Workforce Development Council (CWDC) has announced the publication of its 2007-08 Business Plan after extensive consultation with employers, the children’s workforce, its Board and children, young people and families.
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Latest figures from HSE West show that 19 of 24 samples of cryptosporidium taken from sick patients and sent for analysis in Wales are of human and not animal origin. The HSE said that the results do not confirm the parasite outbreak that has infected the drinking water of 90,000 people in Galway city and county is primarily caused by sewage.
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A former nanny says she has been refused permission to adopt a child because she is overweight. Gillian Vose, 42, said social services rejected her application because her weight – she weighs 20 stone (127kg) and is 5ft 3ins (1.6m) tall – meant she would not be able to cope with the child concerned.
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Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai has attended the London premiere of her latest film, Provoked, which deals with the subject of domestic abuse. The movie is based on the true story of a British woman, Kiranjit Ahluwalia, who was jailed in 1989 for killing her violent husband by setting him on fire.
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Nurses are accusing health service managers of responsibility for any disruption being felt as a result of their ongoing work-to-rule action. Members of the Irish Nurses Organisation and the Psychiatric Nurses Association are beginning the third day of the protest today in pursuit of improved pay and conditions.
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The Government’s promise that healthy women who choose to can have their babies at home was undermined yesterday by fears of a shortage of midwives and lack of funds. Patricia Hewitt, the Health Secretary, announced that from 2009 all women would be able to choose where they had their baby – in hospital, in a midwife-led unit or at home.
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Screening people for Clostridium difficile before they are admitted to hospital may be one way to help control rising rates of infection, says a doctor in today’s BMJ.
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