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NHS waiting times to become law, the triple kidney transplant and how wine ‘helps make you slim’

By Steve Nowottny

Our roundup of the news headlines on Monday 8 March.

They've dominated political debate for years, but now waiting times on the NHS are to become law. The Press Association reports that targets for both emergency cancer referrals and non-urgent treatment will be turned into legal rights for patients under the NHS Constitution from 1 April.

The Daily Mirror meanwhile focuses on a guarantee that patients will be able to choose to die at home if they wish. It reports that 'Minsters are working with the Marie Curie Cancer Care charity to ensure everyone can spend their last days with loved ones rather than in hospital. And Labour will legislate for this if it wins the forthcoming election.'

The Daily Mail starts off the week in unusually good cheer, with a decidedly good news story about an 'extraordinary triple kidney swap'. The story details how three patients received new kidneys in a single day thanks to a complicated network of linked transplants spanning the country - the organs were flown between London and Edinburgh as simultaneous operations took place at three separate hospitals.

And more good news from the Mail - apparently, 'a glass of wine a day can help you stay slim'.

Well, sort of... The story's based on a study, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, of 19,200 American women aged 39 and over, and their subsquent weight gain recorded over 13 years. Those who 'drank a moderate amount' gained the least weight, we're told - while the four in ten who were teetotal gained the most.

Spotted a story we've missed? Let us know and we'll update the digest throughout the day...

Daily Digest