A row blew up last night after victims of crime were told to exaggerate their calls for help in a bid to get a faster response from the police. The advice came from a Norfolk Police Authority member amid growing fears that people living in outlying rural areas of East Anglia were being let down. Outspoken John Perry-Warnes told a council meeting that it was vital to “exaggerate” details of crimes to trigger a speedier police reaction.

A therapy that trains brains to alter mental state may help ADHD, says David Mattin. In a South London clinic a young girl is sitting with an electrode attached to her scalp, staring intently at a computer screen. Every so often there is a ping and on the screen, which shows a simple graphic of sea and sky, another bird appears, hovering above the water. That’s a signal that in the game Lara Hargrave, 10, is playing, using only her brain waves to control the action, she has just scored a point.

More than 80 nurses from Staffordshire have been offered jobs at a hospital in Australia. Cairns Base Hospital in Queensland advertised its posts in the county’s newspapers after Stoke-on-Trent’s main

More than half (56%) of recent mental health inpatients rated their ward as unpleasant or very unpleasant, a survey has found. The charity Mind also found 29% were dissatisfied with the state of repair of their ward, and 28% with standards of cleanliness. Mind is calling all patients to be treated in a therapeutic environment.

{mosimage} A new network of expert advisors to give victims of sexual violence better care and support at every stage of the criminal justice process was unveiled today by Home Office Minister Vernon Coaker.

Thirty eight Independent Sexual Violence Advisors (ISVAs) will be working across England and Wales as part of a £3 million Government package to provide targeted professional support to victims of sexual violent crime.

The professionally trained specialists will work alongside victims from the point of crisis, such as initial contact with emergency services, throughout the legal process and beyond. The ISVAs will also work with victims and survivors outside of the criminal justice system.

Vernon Coaker said: “The Government is committed to combating sex offences – appalling crimes that devastate the lives of victims and their families and inspire fear in our communities.

A legalised and regulated system for paying people to donate organs should be created to help answer the large demand for transplants and prevent exploitation of poor people, says an article in the BMJ. The author – an organ transplant surgeon – has written an opinion piece arguing for payments to be made for live organ donation, saying it does not go against current ethical practice in healthcare and would help with the “desperate” need for organs.

NHS staff were criticised yesterday for referring to patients in dehumanising terms such as “frequent flyers” and branding Alzheimer’s sufferers as “dements”. Harry Cayton, national director for patients and the

{mosimage} Healthcare at the Government’s flagship immigration detention centre has been criticised. Chief Inspector of Prisons Anne Owers made 48 recommendations to improve health services at the Yarl’s Wood centre, near Bedford, which houses failed asylum seekers and other immigration detainees.

A report said the facilities were not geared up to the needs of detainees with serious health problems or those held for long periods.

The Royal College of Nursing yesterday appointed a male nurse as its general secretary. Peter Carter will take over in December from Beverly Malone, who is returning to the United

Maxine Wrigley is a fighter, a defiant champion for looked-after children, but even she, it seems, can suffer moments of utter deflation. In August, she organised a heavily promoted “Coffeehouse Challenge” in Manchester, sponsored by the Royal Society for the Arts and Starbucks, an evening that involved young people “pouring their hearts out” about their experiences of care.