Our roundup of the health news headlines on Wednesday 26 October.
An inquiry by the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee claims that the NHS use of expensive equipment is inefficient. They found that around two out of five emergency patients suspected of suffering a stroke have to wait over 24 hours before getting a scan. And an estimated 13% of cancer patients not getting access to radiotherapy, when it could prolong their lives. The committee believes the way in which this equipment is being used is inefficient and said there were unacceptable variations between different trusts.
New types of the contraceptive pill are twice as likely to cause blood clots then older forms, according to research by scientists at the University of Copenhagen. The studied millions of women on oral contraceptives and found that of those who had a VTE, the risk was raised threefold from old-style pills containing levonorgestreland sixfold from the newer types, the most common of which is marketed as Yasmin.
In addition to this research, we have evidence that women on the pill for over 10 years have a 45% reduced chance of developing ovarian cancer. Women who have babies also have a reduced chance.
Fast living is common among the young, according to the Daily Mail. Apparently, three out of four youngsters aged 16-24, 'rely on energy drinks' to keep them going, compared with only 31% of over 55's, which is clearly down to the fact that they are of the generation when fast living involved cool things like sex, drugs and Meatloaf. They certainly didn't include cans of fizzy pop...!
