ProNurse

By Jeremy Laurance Patients were 'routinely neglected', says most savage indictment of NHS trust How hundreds died after basic care was ignored The worst hospital scandal in more than a decade has triggered the biggest review of safety in the NHS since the Labour government came to power. Andy Burnham, the Health Secretary, announced an unprecedented five separate reviews of ...

If I told you that eating two grapefruits every morning and drinking two strong cups of coffee helped you lose a stone in two weeks you probably wouldn’t believe me. However, there’s a good chance that you’d click on the headline to read the article. There’s an article from the Daily Mail in the news feed today that I could have ...

Most of the time we concentrate on bringing you the best nursing career advice, but occasionally we drift into what we tend to claim as stress relief. After all nursing is a career that can be mentally as well as physically draining. However, in this case it is all about us. As many of you will know we have a sister ...

After suffering 18 miscarriages, Angie Baker hardly dared hope that her 19th pregnancy would be successful. But thanks to pioneering treatment, she is a mother at last. Yesterday, as she cuddled her tenweek-old daughter Raiya, she said: 'She's my little miracle. I can't explain how I feel. I'm overwhelmed. It seems like a dream and I still have to pinch ...

By Jeremy Laurance Fancy a free holiday in Mexico, all expenses paid? Or perhaps Guatemala appeals? Flights and hotel accommodation up to the value of £1,400 are on offer for 900 volunteers who are prepared to test a remedy for one of the most common holiday afflictions - travellers' diarrhoea. In a novel twist on the usual drug company trial ...

Should nursing students quit smoking as part of their training? This is one of the suggestions from a study into Italian nursing students published in the Journal of Advanced Nursing. The authors also make the point that decreasing the number of smokers among healthcare professionals would discourage people from smoking and increase the credibility of anti-smoking campaigns. Is this a sensible ...

A study has raised doubts about the creation of "ethical" all- purpose stem cells for research and treatment. Embryonic stem cells have the power to develop into any of the 220 cell types that make up the different tissues of the human body, but they are mired in controversy because they must be extracted from cannibalised early-stage embryos. But recent ...

Researchers from Dundee University have established a link between deprivation and a specific gene that explains why women from poorer backgrounds are less likely to survive breast cancer. In a paper published in this month's British Journal of Cancer, the Dundee team identifies - for the first time - that the p53 gene mutation in breast cancer is associated with ...

By Graham Grant As generations of mothers have reminded their children, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Yet, ironically, girls are more likely than boys to skip it entirely, a survey has revealed. Researchers at the University of Edinburgh found that 15-year- old girls were almost 30 per cent more likely to miss out breakfast than their ...

By Jeremy Laurance Mobile phones may improve memory and protect against Alzheimer's disease, scientists have discovered. In one of the most unexpected scientific findings for some time, researchers have found that the electromagnetic waves emitted by the devices may improve cognitive function. After years of health warnings about mobile phones, scientists in Florida admit they were as surprised as anyone ...

Doctors and nurses are being warned to take care when giving babies an antibiotic after figures showed some were given the wrong dose. Gentamicin is delivered intravenously to treat a range of infections, including breathing difficulties in the first few days of life. The National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) issued new guidance after 507 reports of harm or potential harm to ...

By Yvonne Tarleton They are urgently needed in overstretched hospitals across the country. But Irish nursing graduates - despite the enormous expense of educating them - are being left unemployed because of the HSE's ban on recruitment. And the British health service is only too happy to welcome them as Ireland faces a nursing brain drain. Despite the recession in ...

By Jamie Grierson A registered nurse "fed her addiction" to class-A drugs by stealing medication from elderly people in her care, including two she is accused of murdering, a court heard yesterday. Rachel Baker, 44, started to abuse drugs stolen from residents at the care home she ran with her husband, Leigh Baker, in 2005, Bristol Crown Court was told. ...

Chancellor Alistair Darling has set out plans to limit public sector pay rises to one percent from 2011 and this includes nurses and healthcare workers. Speaking in his Pre-Budget Report in Parliament today, Mr Darling said that he will cap all public sector pay settlements at one percent for two years from 2011. He claimed that the changes were made from ...

By Roger Dobson Antibiotics are being investigated as a new way to treat chronic lower back pain. It's thought that up to one in four cases may actually be caused by infection and not by mechanical problems such as poor posture or improper lifting. In a Danish study, more than half the patients were either cured or much improved after ...

A diagnosis of cancer is traumatic. Speedy test results, a sympathetic doctor and rapid access to treatment all help to alleviate the anxiety. But one of the most persistent complaints among patients, with cancer and with other long-term conditions, is the ever changing panoply of health care staff. Labour's proposal to introduce dedicated cancer nurse specialists to provide one-to-one care ...

By Rebecca McQuillan People with serious mental health problems are inappropriately being told they are fit to work following assessments for a key sickness and disability benefit. In one case, a man in his 30s diagnosed with depression, anxiety and a sleeping disorder, and with a history of self-harm when anxious, took an overdose and was admitted to hospital after ...

By Lyndsay Moss Health Correspondent Drinking a special cocktail of nutrients and vitamins could help improve the memories of patients with Alzheimer's disease, according to new research. Scientists believe the drink can boost the memories of patients by stimulating the growth of new connections in the brain. Campaigners said the findings suggested the drink should be investigated further to help ...

By Arthur Martin After giving birth to seven babies, Jill Hawkins was happy to call time on her career as a surrogate mother. But then she found she missed being pregnant so much that she decided to do it all again. The 45-year-old was implanted with two embryos from a professional couple in their early thirties. And last night Miss ...

Bacon and eggs 'could help mothers-to-be boost the intelligence of unborn child' Eating a traditional breakfast of bacon and eggs could help pregnant women boost the intelligence of their unborn child, a new study suggests