Change to law allows nurses and pharmacists to prescribe unlicensed medications

Nurses and pharmacists can now prescribe drugs outside their licensed indications and even unlicensed medications after new legislation came into force this month.

07 January 2010

Sexual health drive hampered by ‘ignorance and indifference’

Attempts to tackle the rise in chlamydia infections in young people are being met with ‘ignorance and indifference’ amongst the under-25s, according to the Department of Health.

07 January 2010

What next for the designer baby debate, can using a mobile stop dementia, and is breast necessarily best?

Our roundup of news headlines on Thursday 7 January.

07 January 2010

NHS website to allow e-booking of GP appointments across Wales ‘from late 2010’

Patients at GP practices across Wales could be able to access their medical records and book appointments through a single NHS website by as soon as the end of this year, it was announced this week.

07 January 2010

Tory public health plans must be evidence-led, says RCGP chair

Conservative plans to divert ring-fenced public health funds to deprived areas must be driven by hard evidence, and not just because they are 'politically tasty', the chair of the RCGP has warned.

06 January 2010

Quitting smoking ‘increases the risk of diabetes’

Smoking cessation dramatically increases the risk of developing diabetes in the first three years after quitting, a US study has found.

06 January 2010

GPC accuses NHS bosses of swine flu ‘blackmail’

A GP leader has accused SHA managers of using 'emotional blackmail' to force GPs to carry out vaccination of children against swine flu without being given resources to do the job.

06 January 2010

GPs urged to screen for statin-induced muscle damage

GPs should actively screen patients taking statins in order to pick up symptoms of myotoxicity, say primary care researchers.

06 January 2010

Millions wasted on private ops, plans to increase use of generic drugs, and ‘size zero’ risk to teenage girls’ bones.

Our roundup of news headlines on Wednesday 6 January 2010

06 January 2010

Fury over Government plans for generic substitution by pharmacists

The Government has released a list of 40 drugs that are set to be automatically switched to generic versions by pharmacists - even when branded drugs are indicated by a GP on the prescription.

06 January 2010