A new scheme aimed at protecting victims of domestic violence is set to be unveiled by ministers. The “sanctuary scheme” will provide money to create a room in which women

Most physiotherapy graduates have struggled to get a job this year due to NHS cutbacks, industry leaders say. A Chartered Society of Physiotherapy poll found that seven out of every 10 physios who graduated in 2006 had not yet found a job.

A psychopathic teenager who engaged in sexual activity with a fellow mental patient at a Bexhill clinic has been made the subject of an indefinite hospital order. Martin Curtis, 18, was under intensive care as an in-patient when he and the older female victim were found naked from the waist down in her bathroom by staff at the unit.

Sir Menzies Campbell will make a grab for Labour’s traditional heartlands as he pledges to make the fight against poverty central to the Liberal Democrats’ approach. The party leader will launch an assault on Gordon Brown’s means-tested benefits in a deliberate strategy to take on the Chancellor in preparation for the next General Election.

The Government’s flagship children’s centres must do much more to help teenage parents and single mothers, according to a new report. The National Audit Office (NAO) said most families who use the Sure Start children’s centres value them but the jury is still out on whether the £3.2 billion scheme represents value for money.

An independent inspectorate for immigration, similar to the chief inspector of prisons, is to be set up in an attempt to restore public confidence in the beleaguered immigration and asylum system.

An innovative new service has been funded by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) which will give heart failure patients much-needed, individually-tailored care. The first BHF Heart Failure Pharmacist was appointed in Northampton recently to give bespoke prescriptions and advice to heart patients with complex medical needs.

Veterans’ minister Derek Twigg has announced that the Ministry of Defence (MoD) is to put up a substantial amount of money to provide funds for mental health care for former combatents.

NHS drugs advisors are to reconsider their decision to block a drug for people with asbestos-related cancer. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) had said Alimta (pemetrexed disodium) should not be used in England and Wales.

The goverment is pushing ahead with the controversial electronic care records system – but has agreed to give patients a veto. Ministers said the system, part of a 10-year, £6bn upgrade of NHS IT, was about improving care. It will mean doctors across England will be able to access records containing data on medication, allergies and adverse drug reactions.