Britain In Grip Of Hidden Abuse Epidemic, Says BMA
Doctors’ leaders yesterday warned of a huge “unspoken epidemic” of domestic abuse. A report from the British Medical Association calls for doctors to be trained to spot and help victims.
Read MoreDoctors’ leaders yesterday warned of a huge “unspoken epidemic” of domestic abuse. A report from the British Medical Association calls for doctors to be trained to spot and help victims.
Read MoreA programme to vaccinate pre-teenage girls against cervical cancer is expected to move a significant step closer today, despite concern that it could be seen as condoning under-age sex.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Act does not apply to private care homes in England and Wales, the Law Lords have ruled. The decision came in the case of an 84-year-old woman with Alzheimer’s, known only as Mrs YL.
{mosimage}Her lawyers argued that her threatened eviction from a private home would violate her right to family life. Her care was council funded.
Her appeal was rejected by a 3-2 majority. The decision could affect as many as 300,000 care home residents.
Charities Help the Aged and Age Concern said they were disappointed by the ruling, which they said opened elderly people to abuse, neglect and eviction.
They urged the government to get around the Law Lords decision by changing the law to give private care home residents the same rights as those in local authority homes.
The government, which backed Mrs YL’s case, has said previously that it will consult the public before it changes the legislation.
Mrs YL would have protection under human rights law if she were in a home run by a local authority.
Read MoreMore than a million children have mental health problems, a doubling of the number in a generation, devastating research reveals today.
{mosimage}An epidemic of disorders ranging from depression, anxiety and anorexia to violent delinquency has struck one in ten youngsters.
Last night experts blamed a damaging mix of family breakdown, junk food diets, marketing, binge-drinking, increasing availability of drugs, sexy images projected by magazines and mounting exam pressure for the trend.
They warned that modern lifestyles were forcing youngsters to grow up more quickly than previous generations, robbing them of their childhoods.
The children’s charity, NCH, called for urgent action to prevent mental health problems wrecking the prospects of a generation.
It issued the warning as separate figures showed that the number of children admitted to hospital suffering from eating disorders has shot up more than a third in the last ten years.
The increase was immediately linked to the pressure on young people to look like a supermodel or celebrity.
Today, as it launches a campaign to improve children’s well-being, the NCH highlights two major studies which suggest that British children are afflicted by severe and worsening emotional problems.
The first, from the Office of National Statistics, says that one in ten youngsters between the ages of five and 16 has a “clinically recognisable” mental disorder.
Read MoreThe Tories are to pledge to hand day-to-day control of the NHS to an independent board, as part of reforms aimed at making it more autonomous.
Read MoreBetween 1,500 and 1,800 non-dangerous offenders are to be released from prison next week, 18 days before the end of their sentence, in an effort to ease the prison crisis.
Read MoreAbortions in England and Wales jumped by almost 4% last year, according to figures certain to fuel the growing debate about abortion rights in Britain.
Read MoreRodney Brooke, Chair of the General Social Care Council, was knighted in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List for his contribution to public services. Sir Rodney said:
Read MoreGordon Brown faces a stark choice between deploying market forces to reform the National Health Service or retreating back to central control and performance management, a study published today concludes.
Read MoreOne in four NHS trusts in England admit they are failing to comply with hygiene regulations introduced last year to halt the spread of MRSA and other hospital superbugs, health inspectors have disclosed.
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