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Students ‘priced-out’ of medicine, swine flu cash ‘squandered’ and how a biology lecturer saved her student’s life

By Nigel Praities

Our roundup of news headlines on Wednesday 7 April.

The day after the election was called, the newspapers are assessing the impact of 13 years of Labour Government on the NHS.

The Guardian tackles the thorny issue of whether the massive investment by Labour in the NHS has been wasted money. The paper's public services editor, David Brindle, disputes this interpretation and says the majority of the billions spent on the NHS every year has not gone on the workforce, but on basic supplies such as bedding and bandages.

Social policy experts have given their priorities for the next Government, such as having fewer hospitals and a ‘bonfire of bureaucracy'. Whether anyone will listen to them is another matter.

The Telegraph looks at warnings from the BMA that middle-class families are being ‘priced-out' of the medical profession. The paper reports on figures that medical students are having to borrow almost £16,000 from their parents to get through their degrees.

The plans for the left-over doses of swine flu vaccine also has hit the news, with the Daily Mail branding it as money 'squandered' by the NHS. Ministers say they face a £150m loss on the purchase of the vaccine, although a 'strategic reserve' of Pandemrix will be kept in case the virus returns.

Finishing on a heart-warming note, a biology student's life was saved after a lecturer diagnosed she had a DVT. Billie-Jo Twigg, who goes to Portsmouth College in Hampshire, was given a memorable practical lesson by her biology teacher who recognized her symptoms and told her to go to hospital. Lucky for her, as she was due to take a plane to Iceland the next day.

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

Daily Digest