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The morning after the health bill before, and the morning after pill crisis

By Lilian Anekwe

Our roundup of health news headlines on Thursday 20 January.

How will health secretary Andrew Lansley feel when he casts his eye over the nationals this morning? Like a pioneer on the brink of a new dawn, or a megalomaniac taking a wrecking ball to a national institution?

All of the papers have their interpretation of his NHS reforms. Lansley unveils his health bill as concern grows, The Guardian says.

Seven in ten health managers will not lose their jobs, just shuffle round a bit, the Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mail both say.

But The Times says 24,000 NHS bosses are ‘in the line of fire' and will be booted out of their comfy office chairs once GPs get their hands on the NHS' £80bn commissioning coffers.

The Independent has an analysis on what Lansley's ‘massive gamble' will mean.

The Daily Telegraph says a new pill for skin cancer has been hailed as a ‘breakthrough', and the Daily Mail and The Times both parrot news of the same ‘new hope' for skin cancer.

Foreign patients will be able to get NHS services under new EU rules, the Telegraph says, with only the lightest touch of jingoism. It also reports that a faulty gene has been linked to a third of all kidney cancers and has been hailed as – you guessed it – a breakthrough, indeed the most important breakthrough in the disease in 20 years.

The Independent says thousands of women are being turned away from chemists because of shortages of cerazette, marvelon and mercilon: not superheroes or the latest must have space-age toy for pre-teens, but the contraceptive pills manufactured by MSD.

A ‘leading nutritionist' in the Daily Mail says fenugreek, a common ingredient in curries, has antiviral properties and could fight off the cold and the flu. Which is good news in these times of flu vaccine shortages, but not such good news for the January detox.

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

Daily digest