Thousands of children in Scotland are suffering the consequences of an undiagnosed food intolerance, experts said yesterday. Coeliac disease – caused by sensitivity to gluten in foods made from wheat, rye and barley – can lead to brittle bones, infertility and bowel cancer if left untreated.

A Church of Scotland carer who systematically robbed a vulnerable patient has dodged jail. Elizabeth Johnston was hired by the Kirk to care for William Markey at his home – on condition she showed a “Christian commitment”.

A drug which could help prolong the lives of cancer patients can now be prescribed by Scottish doctors. Taxotere, used to treat sufferers of prostate, head, neck and breast cancers, was recommended for use by the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC).

A social work staffing crisis has led to some elderly patients being kept at a Fife hospital for weeks longer than is necessary. The situation was highlighted by the son of 85-year-old Thornton woman Margaret Walker who has been stuck in Kirkcaldy’s Victoria Hospital for more than a month as she waits to be assessed for care.

A care home where 60 residents were left trapped following a blaze was at the centre of concerns over staffing and training. Douglas View nursing home, in Hamilton, was the subject of complaints to the Care Commission and a previous inspection called for urgent action after it was found only a quarter of staff had a relevant qualification.

Glasgow scientists have been given £5million to develop technology which could speed up the availability of new life-saving drugs and cut animal testing. Researchers are to create an artificial sensor or “molecular nose” which could predict how human cells will respond to new medicine.

Scotland’s new government has to repair a damaged relationship with voluntary organisations, Martin Sime, chief executive of the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO), has said.

A charity helping women escape domestic abuse in Moray is close to breaking point. Hundreds of desperate women and their children have been given their lives back after turning to Moray Women’s Aid.

Lessons learned from the Rosepark Nursing Home tragedy were crucial in saving the lives of care-home residents trapped in a fire, it emerged last night.

{mosimage}Eighty-nine residents of the Douglas View Care Centre in Hamilton, Lanarkshire, were evacuated yesterday when a blaze broke out in the upper floors just before 7am.

Although police and staff managed to help some residents to safety, firefighters were forced to enter the smoke-filled building to complete the rescue.

Nine residents and a female staff member were taken to nearby hospitals suffering from the effects of smoke, but none suffered serious injuries.

A growing number of primary-school children in Scotland are troubled and unhappy, it was claimed yesterday.