The government has pledged an extra million pounds to help the charity sector tackle exploitation by terrorists as it sharpens efforts to tackle money laundering and financial crime.

Denying drug treatment to thousands of Alzheimer’s sufferers is an “incomprehensible and illogical” decision, the most eminent experts in the field have said.

Nearly one in five children’s hospitals are not providing around-the-clock, emergency life-support cover, a watchdog says. The Healthcare Commission also found a number of other “serious concerns” in a review of 157 NHS trusts.

{mosimage}The watchdog said one in 10 surgeons was not operating enough to maintain their skills and 75% of trusts were classed as fair or weak overall. The government said improvements had been made, but more was still needed. The Commission has been working with the bottom 10% of trusts, which include the eight trusts ranked as weak – Brighton and Sussex, County Durham and Darlington, Kettering General, Mid Staffordshire General, North Devon Healthcare, Salisbury Healthcare, Scarborough and North East Yorkshire and Stockport.

The study into children’s hospitals and those with specific children’s services found that  just 16% of paediatric inpatient units did not carry out enough work to reach the minimum recommended professional level.

Inspectors also found only 58% of services had adequate child protection standards in place, while only a quarter of nurses and less than 10% of surgeons and anaesthetists had the right training in how to communicate with children.

A vulnerable great-grandmother who died after her home help did not report a serious fall which left her with eight broken ribs was failed by the system, a council watchdog has concluded.

Questions are being raised about the NHS’s ability to push ahead with plans to close services. Many local councils are using their powers to object and asking the health secretary to intervene.

Mums, dads, children and campaigners are pledging to fight £3.3m of disability cost-cutting proposals. The promise to fight comes after more than 80 protesters left Lewisham Council’s budget cabinet meeting fearing for the future of services provided for more than 500 disabled residents.

A children’s charity has taken up residence in a virtual reality site to encourage teenagers to report bullying and seek help. The NSPCC are setting up an outpost of the helpline ChildLine at the popular teenage community site, Habbo.co.uk, in a two-month stay.

Ten residents from the Haven Nursing Home, Rastrick, are now being cared for elsewhere following its closure. After damning reports from the Commission for Social Care Inspectorate and adverse publicity, the owners shut the premises ahead of a tribunal hearing over its future.

Two of the most popular products in Britain’s vast health food industry come under attack today, as scientists cast doubts on the benefits of vitamin supplements and low-fat dairy products.

Norfolk County Council has been awarded four stars – the top ranking – in its annual assessment by the independent Audit Commission. The authority achieved four stars overall for the services it provides and is judged to be “improving well.”