Women raped in psychiatric wards

Women raped in psychiatric wards
The National Patient Safety Agency said there were at least 19 rapes of mental health patients in England, and more than 100 other improper sexual incidents in psychiatric units over the last two years.
Source:- The Guardian, Wednesday 19 July 2006, page 7
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Trafficking call
Children’s charities are calling for better co-operation between international police forces after baby-smuggling racket in the Czech republic was exposed.
Source:- The Times, Wednesday 19 July 2006, page 2
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Elderly sex fears
Pensioners have been urged to practise safe sex after Health Protection Scotland said that 80-year-olds were attending clinics with sexually transmitted diseases.
Source:- The Times, Wednesday 19 July 2006, page 4
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Reid gives the Home Office a shake-up
An overhaul of the troubled Immigration and Nationality Directorate will form the centrepiece of a Home Office shake-up to be announced today.
Source:- Daily Telegraph, Wednesday 19 July 2006, page 7

8,000 extra jail places
Eight thousand new prison places are to be built to keep Britain’s msot dangerous criminals behind bars, says home secretary John Reid.
Source:- Daily Mirror, Wednesday 19 July 2006, page 1
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Deaths from drink double in 13 years as bingeing grows
Alcohol-fuelled death rates almost doubled between 1991 and 2004, Office for National Statistics figures show.
Alcohol Concern said the figures showed that alcohol misuse was one of “the most serious and unacknowledged health problems facing the UK” and called on the government to meet the targets set in its 2004 national strategy on the issue.
Source:- Daily Mail, Wednesday 19 July 2006, page 16
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Pyschiatrist sells his skills on eBay
Syed Shah, a community psychiatrist for North East Essex mental health trust, is auctioning an “education” on 36 mental health topics, ranging from schizophrenia and manic depression to post-traumatic stress disorder.
Source:- Society Guardian, Wednesday 19 July 2006, page 2
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Interview with new child poverty tsar
Cutting the gap between rich and poor won’t happen unless we rediscover a sense of moral outrage, says Lisa Harker.
Source:- Society Guardian, Wednesday 19 July 2006, page 5
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Advocacy services for older people are patchy
A new directory from the Older People’s Advocacy Alliance claims to be the first attempt to map the availability of advocacy services for older people in England.
Source:- Society Guardian, Wednesday 19 July 2006, page 7
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Better care needed for people with multiple sclerosis
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence concludes that services for people with MS fall short of meeting national requirements and that action neeeds to be taken to address this.
Source:- Society Guardian, Wednesday 19 July 2006, page 10

Banning smoking in psychiatric units unpopular
There is scant support among medical staff for banning smoking indoors in psychiatric units, a King’s Fund survey has found.
Source:- Society Guardian, Wednesday 19 July 2006, page 10

£9 million for children’s hospitals
The Department of Health is giving £9 million to specialist children’s hospitals to help them cope with the new NHS system of payment by results.
Source:- The Times, Wednesday 19 July 2006, page 25
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Scottish news

Wage freeze could fund Glasgow’s equal pay deal
The pay of senior staff at Glasgow Council could be frozen for three years and in some cases jobs scrapped in a bid to meet the costs of the equal pay agreement.
It is believed that around 52% will get pay rises of more than £500 while about 32% will see little or no change. The main beneficiaries include home carers, whose £175-a-week pay will go up by 25% while cleaners will get 12% and nursery nurses 13%.
A three-year wage freeze for around 5000 people, mainly white-collar professionals and managers, is one of a number of options being considered by the council to deal with the equal-pay bill.
Source:- The Herald, Wednesday 19 July 2006
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Welsh news

Investigation into attack by paedophile
The case of a paedophile  who sexually abused a boy just months after being released from prison for a similar attack is set to be investigated. Malcome Elliot, 37, was sentenced to life imprisonment at Merthyr crown court for attacking his latest victim, a 14-year-old boy, in October of last year. An internal reveiw of the case is now being carried out by the South Wales probation area.
Source:- Western Mail, Wednesday 19 July 2006
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