This site is intended for health professionals only


SARS-like disease ‘caught in UK’, perils of helicopter parenting and Wrexham GPs face down managers

The Telegraph is reporting that a third person has been identified with the ‘SARS-like’ disease coronavirus, and is believed to be the first to contract it in Britain.

The other two confirmed cases of the new coronavirus have travelled to the Middle East, where it is thought the disease has originated, according to the newspaper this latest patient has not been abroad recently and is related to another British patient that was confirmed on Monday.

Professor John Watson, head of the respiratory diseases department at the Health Protection Agency, said: ‘Confirmed novel coronavirus infection in a person without travel history to the Middle East suggests that person-to-person transmission has occurred, and that it occurred in the UK.

‘This case is a family member who was in close personal contact with the earlier case and who may have been at greater risk of acquiring an infection because of their underlying health condition.’

Children with overbearing or controlling parents are more likely to be depressed or anxious, the Daily Mail reports. US research has found that ‘helicopter’ parenting - where parents hover over their child’s every move and are very involved in their lives - leaves children less able to deal with life and its stresses.

Researchers surveyed almost 300 American graduate students aged 18 to 23, asking them to describe their mothers’ parenting style and rate their own perceptions of autonomy, and how well they interact with others and their levels of satisfaction, anxiety and depression. Higher levels of depression, decreased satisfaction with life and lower levels of perceived autonomy, competence, and ability to get along with people were found in students whose parents were more overbearing.

Lead researcher Holly Schiffrin said: ‘Parents should keep in mind how developmentally appropriate their involvement is and learn to adjust their parenting style when their children feel that they are hovering too closely.’

BBC news is reporting that four Wrexham GPs have accused health officials of ‘a naked attempt at bullying and intimidation’ after they raised concerns about patient safety. One of them, Dr Edgar Coward, says they face a £60,000 a year penalty after closing one of their surgeries because they could not cope with their workload.