Friday 14 January 2005

By Maria Ahmed, Amy Taylor and Derren Hayes

Drink blamed for rise in female hospital admissions

More girls and young women are being admitted to hospital with
mental health and behavioural problems caused by alcohol, with
psychiatric admissions rising by 24 per cent for girls under 15
since 1996, according to an analysis published in the British
Medical Journal today.

But there has been a significant decline in hospital admissions due
to drug abuse, particularly among teenagers.

Source:-The Financial Times Friday 14 January 2005 page
3

Patients can withhold sensitive information

Patients are to be given the right to withhold information about
themselves on the electronic record the National Health Service is
to introduce this year, the Care Records Development Board
said.

Source:-The Financial Times Friday 14 January 2005 page
3

Crackdown on bail bandits

People who skip bail will face swoops on their homes or the
prospect of appearing on a “wanted” list in the local
press, Lord Goldsmith, the attorney general, has warned.

Source:-The Financial Times Friday 14 January 2005 page
4

Don’t jail criminals if prisons are full

Judges have been told to avoid jailing offenders if prisons are
full.

New guidance from Home Secretary Charles Clarke will require courts
to take prison capacity into account when sentencing.

This could mean increasing numbers of offenders end up doing some
kind of community service instead. The measure will form part of
the management of offenders and sentencing bill.

Source:-The Daily Mail Friday 14 January 2005 page
29

The boy killed for not being perfect

A wealthy couple were each jailed for five years yesterday for
killing a three-year-old boy they planned to adopt by poising him
with salt.

Angela Gay and her husband Ian force-fed four teaspoonfuls to
Christian Blewitt as punishment. The child was five weeks into a
13-week trial adoption period when he collapsed in their home. A
social services inquiry has been launched into the case and the
NSPCC has called on the government to set out a strategy for child
abuse deaths.

Source:-The Daily Mail Friday 14 January 2005 page
32-33

Abuser chose his victims in a childminder’s
home

A paedophile carried out a string of sex attacks on seven young
children as they were being “cared” for by his
childminder girlfriend, a court heard yesterday.

Computer expert Stephen Langford filmed himself as he raped and
sexually abused traumatised victims between 18 months and seven
years, Oxford Crown Court heard.

Langford admitted 16 charges and was jailed for life.

Source:-The Daily Mail Friday 14 January 2005 page
41

My son was refused swim classes because he has
Down’s

Mother Elaine Doran is taking legal action against her local
swimming pool for banning her son Samuel, 8, from swimming lessons
because he has Down’s syndrome.

Hoyland Swimming Pool, near Barnsley, could face having to pay
£50,000 costs and compensation if it is found guilty of
contravening the Disability Discrimination Act.

Source:-The Daily Mail Friday 14 January 2005 page
45

Gangmaster regulator named

Paul Whitehouse, vice-chair of Nacro, the crime reduction charity,
is to chair the Gangmaster’s Licensing Authority, a
government watchdog designed to curb exploitation of
labourers.

Michael Wilson, currently chief executive of the Defence Vetting
Agency, will be chief executive.

Source:-The Guardian Friday 14 January 2005 page 4

Baby death case reviewed

A mother convicted of killing two of her babies is to have her case
looked at “imminently”.

Donna Anthony, from Yeovill, Somerset, is one of 28 people to have
their cases referred to the Criminal Cases Review Commission.

Source:-The Guardian Friday 14 January 2005 page 9

£15,000 award for jailed nurse

A care home nurse jailed for abusing residents has been awarded
£15,000 damages against former employers, Four Seasons
Healthcare.

Roland Maughan successfully claimed breach of contract because a
disciplinary inquiry was not completed within a week.

Maughan was jailed in 2003 for a series of assaults at Willow Court
care home in North Shields, North Tynside.

Source:-The Daily Telegraph Friday 14 January 2005 page
15

Mother refused home

A Spanish mother of two who fled to Britain to escape her violent
husband does not have the right to be housed at public expense, a
High Court judge ruled yesterday.

Olivia Conde came to England with Romero, 4, and Gwendoline, 5 and
turned to Lambeth Council in southwest London for help after a
friend said that he could no longer shelter her.

She went to the High Court to challenge a refusal by the
council’s social services department to accommodate her. Mr
Justice Collins said it was not unlawful for Lambeth to tell Conde
she could return to Spain where she would be entitled to welfare
assistance and protection from her husband. Conde is expected to
take her case to the Court of Appeal.

Source:-The Times Friday 14 January 2005 page 26

NHS board with £35m deficit must cut jobs

Argyle and Clyde health board is facing having to make job cuts in
an effort to reduce an overspend of £35 million, the former
head of NHS Scotland has said.

Trevor Jones told an executive audit committee that job cuts were a
reality if an organisation was so far in debt.

Source:- The Scotsman Friday 14 January

Fleeced by carer

A support worker for disabled people has been given 200 hours of
community service after embezzling £1,500 from three of her
clients. Louisa Corrigan, a key worker for Capability Scotland,
admitted the offences and was also ordered to pay the cerebral
palsy sufferers back their money.

Source:- The Daily Record Friday 14 January

Welsh newspapers

Six years after Labour’s vow – and Wales is still
waiting

Hospital facilities in Wales are not being used efficiently due to
a large number of patients experiencing delays before being
discharged, according to a new report from the National Audit
Office.

There are more than 700 patients a month being kept in hospital
when they are ready to leave.

The report on waiting times in Wales is highly critical of the
country’s health service.

Source:- Western Mail Friday 14 January