The news that administrators have recommended that the trust that ran the scandal-hit Stafford hospital should be dissolved is all over the papers this morning.
A report by Trust Special Administrators concluded the trust is not ‘clinically or financially sustainable’, and that critical care, maternity and paediatric services should be cut but the hospital should not close.
However, shadow health secretary Andy Burnham said this would be a ‘kick in the teeth for the people of Stafford’
The High Court ruling which found health secretary Jeremy Hunt acted unlawfully when he downgraded the A&E department at Lewisham Hospital, as reported by Pulse yesterday, was also broadly covered.
The Telegraph reports that NHS consultants are to enter into talks over a new contract which could see more senior hospital doctors working evenings and weekends.
The BMA and NHS Employers will discuss the changes, after NHS officials said that more than 4,400 lives are lost each year because of poor care at weekends.
However, the idea was rejected as ‘folly’ by doctors at the BMA’s annual conference in June.
The BBC reports that diabetics are being denied access to blood glucose test strips due to cost rationing by local health managers, according to charity Diabetes UK.
Almost four in ten of about 2,200 people who answered a survey said prescriptions for the strips - vital to help diabetics manage their condition - were refused or restricted.
Dr Steve Kell, co-chair of NHS Clinical Commissioners Leadership Group, said there has been significant ‘over-testing and over-prescribing’ of strips in the past, but health minister Anna Soubry told MPs the restrictions were ‘unacceptable’.
And finally, over at the Daily Mail a study has shown that men with larger testicles are more likely to develop high blood pressure, heart disease and be heavy drinkers.
Researchers at the University of Florence believe their findings could suggest large testicles is a sign of ill health, and could be used to predict risk of heart disease.
Spotted a story we’ve missed? Let us know in the comments and we’ll update the digest throughout the day…
