Hospital sorry over girl starving to death

Hospital sorry over girl starving to death

An NHS hospital apologised tonight for failing to provide an adequate standard of care for a schoolgirl who starved to death after all her milk teeth were extracted.

An inquest into the death of Sophie Waller, an eight-year-old with an extreme phobia of dental treatment, found she had an undiagnosed psychological syndrome.

Read more on this story in The Guardian

Corby Council accused in first birth defects case since thalidomide

Eighteen people were born with deformities after their mothers were exposed to “an atmospheric soup of toxic materials”, the High Court was told yesterday.

Their families are bringing a multi-million-pound compensation claim, alleging that the defects were caused by toxic substances released when the Corby steel works in Northamptonshire was redeveloped.

Read more on this story in The Times

Rise in pregnant women on anti-depressants

The prescribing of anti-depressants to pregnant women has risen dramatically in the decade and a half, a study suggests.

The proportion of pregnancies in which anti-depressant were prescribed jumped four-fold between 1992 and 2006, from 0.8 per cent to 3.3 per cent, said researchers at University College London.

Read more on this story in The Times

Teenage sex and underage fatherhood glamorised in government guidance, claim Conservatives

The advice, from the Teenage Pregnancy Unit, instructs teachers to tell teenage boys about the “enjoyment of early fatherhood” and discuss with them their “parenting aims and aspirations”.

The advice, which was first issued six years ago and remains the current Whitehall policy, re-emerged just days after 13-year-old Alfie Patten became what is thought to be Britain’s youngest father.

Read more on this story in The Daily Telegraph