Web gambling ‘risks creating child addicts’

Web gambling ‘risks creating child addicts’
Online gambling has triggered a “money-laundering arms race” among organised criminals and risks turning a generation of young people into addicts, a government-commissioned report warned yesterday.
Source:- Daily Telegraph, Wednesday 1 November 2006, page 10

Young offenders do not get adequate mental health care
Primary care trusts are failing to provide adequate mental health care for young offenders, making the task of reducing reoffending rates more difficult, according to a new report from the Healthcare Commission.
Source:- Society Guardian, Wednesday 1 November 2006, page 2

Pensioners struggle to cope with 5pc inflation
Single pensioners faced an inflation rate of over 5 per cent between July and September, the highest increase since 1991, putting many at increasing risk of financial hardship.
The cost of staples such as fuel and food have driven the increase, which is well above this year’s 3.6 per cent rise in the state pension.
Source:- The Daily Mail, Wednesday 1 November 2006, page 21

Antidepressants ‘almost double risk of suicide in young’
Children given antidepressants face a higher risk of self-harm and suicidal thoughts, a Manchester University study has found.
Source:- The Daily Mail, Wednesday 1 November 2006, page 28

Charity’s bold message
14 disabled people appear naked in a Bristol-based charity calendar challenging conventional images.
Source:- The Guardian, Wednesday 1 Nobember 2006, page 5

New direction for sex workers
Negotiating the price of sex, finding a safe place to sleep and dealing with the police indicate an ability to adapt and survive. If sex workerswere supported to use these skills to get off the streets and find other work, they could be anything they wanted. That is the philosophy at U-Turn Women’s Centre, off Brick Lane, in east London.
Source:- Society Guardian, Wednesday 1 November, page 2

Michael Stone conviction reviewed
Nine murder convictions, including the case of Michael Stone, are being examined by miscarriage of justice investigators after the resignation of a Home Office pathologist.
Source:- The Times, Wednesday 1 November 2006, page 23

Society Scotland
A look at social care services in Scotland including mental health, alcohol, ageing, and joint working.
Society Scotland, Society Guardian, Wednesday 1 November

Warning over privacy of 50m patient files
Millions of personal medical records are to be uploaded regardless of patients’ wishes to a central national database from where information can be made available to police and security services. Health managers, council social workers, private medical firms, ambulance staff, and commercial researchers will also be able to see varying levels of information.
Source:- The Guardian, Wednesday 1 November 2006, page 1

Patients told: no smoking before health visits
Patients have been told by the primary care trust in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, that they must stop smoking an hour before health workers visit them at home. Repeated refusals will lead to a withdrawal of home care under a measure which is designed to protect doctors, nurses and health visitors from the risks of passive smoking.
Source:- The Guardian, Wednesday 1 November 2006, page 8

Scientists find the key to cot deaths
Scientists believe that they have found the underlying cause of cot death, a condition that claims the lives of hundreds of babies every year.
Source:- The Times, Wednesday 1 November 2006, page 1

Welsh news

Public sector sickness costs millions
More than 1.3 million working days likely to be worth millions of pounds are being lost due to Welsh council employees being off sick, according to new official figures. The statistics, produced by the Welsh Local Government Association, also show that retaining staff is another problem faced by councils in Wales.
Source:- Western Mail, Wednesday, 1 November 2006

Familial homicide trial jury to retire
The jury in the trial of a mother accused of not acting to prevent her baby being murdered is set to retire to consider its verdict today. Rebecca Lewis, of Townhill, Swansea, denies the charge of familial homicide. Lewis is accused of not doing enough to prevent her 13-month-old son Aaron from being murdered by her former boyfriend Andrew Lloyd.
Source:- Western Mail, Wednesday, 1 November 2006