THURSDAY 5 JANUARY 2006

Doctors accuse regulatory body of increasing risk of child abuse
Children are being left at risk of abuse because doctors are afraid to speak out following the pillorying of paediatricians in the media and by the General Medical Council, senior doctors warn today.
Source:- The Guardian, Thursday 5 January 2006, page 8

Billie-Jo disorder claimed in court
Lawyers for Sion Jenkins, 48, who is accused of murdering his foster daughter, Billie-Jo, at their home in East Sussex, claim that at the time of her death in 1997 she was suffering from pulmonary interstitial emphysema, a disorder that caused her to cough blood on to his clothes. The Old Bailey trial continues.
Source:- The Times, Thursday 5 January 2006, page 2

Children traumatised by asylum raids, says watchdog
The government has been severely criticised by its own watchdog for allowing children to be “snatched” from their homes by immigration officials. Al-Aynsley Green, England’s first children’s commissioner, called the practice “outrageous”.
Source:- The Times, Thursday 5 January 2006, page 9

Crackdown on people smugglers to curb sex slave trade
Women smuggled into Britain to work in the sex trade could be allowed to stay and be given a new life if they give evidence to put trafficking gangs behind bars.
Source:- The Times, Thursday 5 January 2006, page 9

Three held after kidnap girl, 3, rescued in chase
A three-year-old girl who was rescued from her home in Cardiff after a police chase may have been raped. As the girls was discharged from hospital yesterday after being treated for “significant” injuries, detectives were interviewing three men arrested on suspicion of kidnap and rape.
Source:- The Times, Thursday 5 January 2006, page 16

Our cannabis blunder, by Clarke
Charles Clarke prepared the ground for a humiliating U-turn on the downgrading of cannabis last night by openly blaming his predecessor David Blunkett for the debacle.
Source:- The Daily Mail, Thursday 5 January 2006, page 8

Child care could turn parents into strangers
Britain is in danger of “sleepwalking” into institutional child care, an expert warned yesterday. A study showed that the growth of breakfast and after-school clubs means youngsters spend little waking time with their parents and many develop an over-reliance on authority figures.
Source:- The Daily Mail, Thursday 5 January 2006, page 21

The city that went to pot
Holland was in the vanguard of drugs liberalisation. Now, faced with soaring crime and gangs ruling the streets, it is launching a draconian crackdown. So what lessons can Britain learn?
Source:- The Daily Mail, Thursday 5 January 2006, page 34-35

Outrage at Hindley inclusion n dictionary
The families of children killed by the Moors murderers last night condemned the decision to “glorify” Myra Hindley by listing her in a dictionary of famous Britons.
Source:- The Daily Mail, Thursday 5 January 2006, page 36

Doctor struck off
A top doctor who posed as a 13-year-old girl on the internet to send others perverted emails was struck off yesterday. Dr Thomas Dent – a senior director at the National Institute for Clinical Excellence which advises the NHS on patient care – was ruled unfit to practise. The General Medical Council took action although Dent, 42, escaped a police prosecution.
Source:- The Sun, Thursday 5 January 2006, page 27

Welfare payments at risk if strike gets go ahead
Welfare payments could be severely disrupted this month if civil servants employed by the Department for Work and Pensions back a call for a strike over job cuts. The outcome of the ballot is expected to be announced by the Public and Commercial Services union tomorrow.
Source:- Financial Times, Thursday 5 January 2006, page 2

Cameron rips up Tory policy on NHS
David Cameron said the Conservatives had been wrong to try to use taxpayers’ money to encourage people to opt out of the NHS. Instead the party should champion a health service fully funded by the taxpayer and freely available to all.
Source:- The Daily Telegraph, Thursday 5 January 2006, page 1

A pensioner’s best friend
Elderly people in nursing homes prefer the company of a dog to other residents, according to an American study.
Source:- The Daily Telegraph, Thursday 5 January 2006, page 2

Hospital barred from training midwives
A hospital where 10 women died giving birth has been banned from training new student midwives. A report by the Nursing and Midwifery Council has withdrawn approval for new student midwives to be taken on by Northwick Park hospital in London.
Source:- The Daily Telegraph, Thursday 5 January 2006, page 7

British positive on immigrants
The British are more tolerant and positive about immigrants and their cultures than many other Europeans, according to research by Reader’s Digest.
Source:- The Daily Telegraph, Thursday 5 January 2006, page 11

Scottish news
Benefits threat for Asbo offenders
Benefits claimants who breach antisocial behaviour orders could have their welfare payments cut under new plans being considered by the government.
According to the Scotsman, Downing Street has resurrected proposals to penalise those guilty of antisocial behaviour by cutting housing benefit. The plans, which have yet to be given the final go-ahead by the Prime Minister, are likely to be opposed by many backbenchers.
Source: The Scotsman, Thursday 5 January 2006

Welsh news
Schools miss out on £2m after Assembly refund
A leading figure in education has attacked the schools inspection body in Wales for giving money back to the assembly government.
Gethin Lewis, secretary of the NUT Cymru, has claimed that Estyn, the Schools inspectorate for Wales, is getting more money than it needs resulting in it refunding the assembly £2m.
He argues that too much money is being given to the watchdog at the expense of local authority education budgets
Source:- Western Mail, Thursday January 5 2006

Brain-damaged boy’s family battle for compensation
A family is launching legal action against Swansea NHS trust alleging that a hospital’s failings left their six-year-old son brain-damaged.
Alexander Durber developed cerebral palsy due to suffering multi-organ failure after being admitted to Singleton hospital.
The hospital initially treated him with the commonly used child medicine Calpol rather than antibiotics but his condition rapidly deteriorated.
His family claims that if Alexander had been given antibiotics as soon as he got to the hospital he would have fully recovered from the illness.
Source:- Western Mail, Thursday January 5 2006


 

 

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