Our roundup of the health news headlines on Wednesday 16 November.
The Telegraph covers our exclusive story this morning about patients who have been booked for surgery, but have then been turned away during pre-operative hospital checks, because it is claimed they no longer qualify for the procedure. Dr Clare Gerada says: ‘Patients must not be treated as commodities and pushed back and forwards.'
The Telegraph covers our other story (sorry, am I repeating myself?!) about hospitals pushing follow up appointments onto GPs rather than doing them themselves. In a bid to save money, health authorities have cut the number of follow-up appointments for people who have had operations by up to a third in a single year.
The Daily Mirror also covers this saying that hospital bosses are facing claims they are cutting post-surgery care because it is an ‘easy target' to save cash.
The BMA wades into the debate regarding smoking in cars. They say ministers should make a ‘bold and courageous' ban for reasons of health. The doctors claim that evidence shows smoking in a closed vehicle exposes the occupants to toxin levels up to 23 times higher than in a typical smoky bar (what are they?), with children and the elderly said to be at particular risk.
This story obviously exhausts the Daily Mail whose headline reads ‘Now doctors want to ban smoking in cars... even if you're on your own'.
As you know by now, Daily Digest simple can't resist a health story that combines sex and furry animals, and the Mirror doesn't let us down with this gem: ‘Adolescent sex can stunt growth and spark depression, according to study on hamsters‘
Apparently, scientists claim ‘teenage romps' can cause depression and autoimmune system conditions such as IBS. The scientists found, when studying the hamsters, ‘Both groups of sexually active hamsters showed an increase in anxiety-like behaviour compared to the control group but the increase in a depressive-like response was specific to the adolescent sexually paired group.'
