Our roundup of the health news headlines on Thursday 1 July.
Health secretary Andrew Lansley's keynote address to the BMA's Annual Representative Meeting grabs more than a few headlines this morning.
The BBC and the Times focus on the new NHS quality standards for more than 150 conditions, which Andrew Lansley promised would herald a ‘major shift' in how care in the NHS is assessed, based ‘on outcomes, not processes'.
But it's fair to say that Fleet Street, always up for a good public spat, was more enthused with the war of words which ensued after Lansley declared that the healthy school meals initiative had failed and were an example of how not to persuade people to lead healthier lives.
The Guardian reports that celebrity chef Jamie Oliver in turn ‘launched a withering attack on the health secretary', saying ‘to say school dinners hasn't worked is not just inaccurate, but is also an insult to the hard work of hundreds of thousands of dinner ladies, teachers, headteachers and parent helpers who strive to feed schoolkids a nutritious, hot meal for 190 days of the year.'
The Daily Mail highlights new hope in the fight against skin cancer, with the news that researchers at Stanford University in California have identified the ‘master cells' which are responsible for the growth of malignant melanoma tumours.
And the Daily Mail also reports that the Government has ruled out a ban on trans fats, ‘despite evidence that they are responsible for as many as 7,000 premature deaths a year'.
The paper points out that NICE has called for the ‘killer fats' to be banned – and if further proof were needed of just how downright evil they are are, there's a wicked cartoon accompanying the story showing two witches minding a bubbling cauldron, captioned ‘Eye of newt… tongue of frog… trans fats…'
Spotted a story we've missed? Let us know and we'll update the digest throughout the day.
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