Our round-up of the health headlines on Wednesday 8 June.
Prime minister David Cameron's u-turn over NHS reforms is widely reported today. The Daily Telegraph reports his pledge of a greater commissioning role for hospital doctors and nurses and the scrapping of the 2013 deadline risked angering Tory backbenchers.
Tory MP Nick de Bois was quoted as saying he could not support the bill in its new form. In another change, the regulator will be required to promote integration rather than competition. BMA chairman Hamish Meldrum called it 'a significant step in the right direction'.
However, a special report in The Guardian asserts efficiency savings are already leading to longer NHS waiting lists. Freedom of Information requests by the Patient's Association found that 10,757 patients had surgical procedures delayed or cancelled at 62 NHS trusts.
Meanwhile, five more arrests led to calls for an independent inquiry into the Winterbourne View Care home , where residents were allegedly mistreated by staff. Dame Jo Williams, chair of the Care Quality Commission, said the case should force a rethink of care of people with learning disabilities.
A clinical breakthrough reported in The Independent was that two antibodies studied by researchers into Creuzfeldt-Jakob Disease unexpectedly blocked the onset of Alzheimer s disease. The Yale University study was first published in Nature Communications.
A new treatment to help asthma patients breathe more easily has been successfully trialled at the University Hospital of South Manchester, says the Telegraph. Bronchial thermoplasty uses radio waves to heat and 'melt' airway-blocking muscle tissue.
The Times revealed that a company is growing new strains of cannabis plant with enhanced levels of compounds to treat disorders such as Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis in human subjects. The company already produces a cannabis-derived product to treat Multiple Sclerosis.
An unpeeled apple a day keeps the doc away, says the Daily Mail. <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2000392/Apple-peel-helps-build-muscle-control-weight.html">Apple peel</a> contains a substance, ursolic acid, that boosts muscle by up to 15% and can reduce body fat by half, according to research from the University of Iowa.
Spotted a story we've missed? Let us know, and we'll update the digest throughout the day...
Daily Digest
