WEDNESDAY 7 DECEMBER

“Mental health trap” for black people
Black people are three times more likely to be admitted to a mental health hospital than the rest of the population, according to the first census of mental health services in England and Wales.
Source:- The Times  Wednesday 7 December page 2

Spiralling debt
Two and a quarter million British people owe more than £50,000 on credit cards, overdrafts and loans, a report by debt help group One Advice found.
Source:- The Sun, Wednesday 7 December, page 2

Bullied to death
A teenage student, Hannah Kirkham, killed herself after being bullied by staf at a Kentucky Fried Chicken where she worked, an inquest heard yesterday.
Source:- The Sun, Wednesday 7 December, page 21

Year of the Volunteer flops
The Year of the Volunteer (2005) has not been an overwhelming success – not least because the voluntary sector has failed to spot new trends in volunteering, says a new report from think tank nfpSynergy.
Source:- Society Guardian, Wednesday 7 December, page 2

Buses to house homeless
London’s retired red buses are being brought back to life to house homeless people by an organisation called Double Decker Living. One of the revamped buses is being loaned to Centrepoint over Christmas to test suitablility.
Source:- Society Guardian, Wednesday 7 December, page 2

Accessing care records
Adopted adults can legally access their family history, so why are those brought up in care blocked from discovering their past?
Source:- Society Guardian, Wednesday 7 December, page 7

Scheme supports young people people to escape from disability ghetto
The Gateway Project in Glasgow helps young physically disabled people achieve independence.
Source:- Society Guardian, Wednesday 7 December, page 7

Don’t preach
New child health tsar Dr Sheila Shribman told parents yesterday not to lecture their children.
She admitted she was greatly concerned about levels of binge drinking, sex diseases and childhood obesity but said parents should find a new way to prevent their children going off the rails.
Source:- Daily Mirror  Wednesday 7 December, page 12

Prison debts settled at “fight club”
An inspection report of Full Sutton prison published today says that prisoners are taking part in illegal “fight club” bouts to settle debts between inmates.
A gangland culture is operating, Anne Owers finds, whereby prisoners are being intimidated into participating in fist fights.
Source:- The Times  Wednesday 7 December, page 14

Cocaine offences rise 16 per cent
The number of cocaine offences rose 16 per cent last year, provoking accusations that the government’s anti-drug strategy is failing. The number of crack cocaine offences rose by 8 per cent but overall drug offences declined – mainly because of the reclassification of cannabis.
Source:- The Independent Wednesday 7 December 2005, page 8

Health trusts facing bankruptcy “need system to protect patients”
A rescue package to save failing hospital and primary care trusts from closure must be put in place to protect patients, a report from the King’s Fund says today.
Source:- The Independent Wednesday 7 December 2005, page 11

Disabled child caught up in row over her right to treatment allowed home
Charlotte Wyatt, the severely disabled two-year-old caught up in a struggle over her right to artificial ventilation, was allowed home from hospital for the first time for a short visit under medical supervision.
Source:- The Independent Wednesday 7 December 2005.

Teenager “murdered playmate aged ten”
A girl of ten was murdered by a teenager after she and a friend joined him for a game of cricket, a court heard yesterday. Lauren Pilkington-Smith had gone out to play after school when she saw her friend with Kieron Smith, now 18, from Leigh, Greater Manchester, who denies murder.
Source:- Daily Mail Wednesday 7 December 2005, page 10

Scottish news

Holidaying in term-time: cheaper, but at what cost to children?
Despite repeated warnings, an increasing number of parents in Scotland are taking their children on holiday during term time.
In 2004-05, nearly 140,000 pupils were kept off compared with 125,000 the previous year. On average, children were off school for five days at a time and only one third of these holidays were agreed by the school.
Peter Peacock, the education minister, yesterday warned parents to consider the implications of taking their children out of classes, comparing it to “almost on the same scale as truancy”.
Source:-The Herald, 7 December

Thug beat up man with cerebral palsy
A man attacked a disabled teenager and his friend after they walked past him in the street, a court has heard. David Ramsay assaulted cerebral palsy sufferer Niall Jarvie by banging his head against a metal bin and then repeatedly punching him as he and a friend walked home late at night.
Source:- The Record, 7 December

Welsh news

Fraud case “doctor’” said he was sex expert
A man who pretended to be a psychologist asked a girl about her sex life in an attempt to stop her from being afraid of cars, a court heard yesterday. David Sydney Evans pretended to be Dr David Lloyd-Evans, a world authority on child sex abuse.
He denies deceiving his employer, Werndale Hospital, Carmarthen, by falsely representing his qualifications and experience.
Source:- Western Mail, Wednesday, December 7

Special needs girl dies in school’s pool
An investigation has been launched after a teenage girl with special needs died after suffering an epileptic fit in the swimming pool at a school in South Wales. Hayley Elizabeth Williams, from Newport, died in hospital after the incident at Ashgrove special school in Penarth.
Source:- Western Mail, Wednesday, December 7

Council confirms bullying at school, says Laura’s parents
The parents of a teenager who killed herself in a suicide pact with another girl have alleged that a council review has confirmed that bullying did exist at her former school.
Laura Rhodes, 13, killed herself last year. Her parents believe she was driven to suicide by bullying at Neath, Cefn Saeson school.
Source:- Western Mail, Wednesday, December 7