27 June 2011

Other UK News In Brief

Police Investigate Murder In Holloway

Police are appealing for witnesses and information after a murder in Holloway. They were called at 10.23pm on Sunday to reports of an incident in the vicinity of Andover House, Andover Road in north London. A man, believed to be aged 21, was found stabbed. The ambulance service attended but he died at the scene. Police await formal identification. A post-mortem will be scheduled in due course. Detectives from the Specialist Crime Directorate are leading the inquiry, and an incident room will open later today. At present any witnesses or anyone with information is asked to call police. There has been no arrest at present.

Bury The Bill In An Unmarked Grave And Move On, Says BMJ  

Editors of the British Medical Journal have said that it would be better for the NHS, the government, and the people of England to sweep the amended Health and Social Care Bill’s “mangled remains into an unmarked grave and move on.”   In their editorial published today on BMJ.com, Dr Tony Delamothe and Dr Fiona Godlee, say they are concerned that the Future Forum recommendations will add further layers of bureaucracy to the health service and would leave “the NHS with a similar proportion of bureaucrats to the Austro-Hungarian empire on the eve of the first world war - and about as flat footed."   The authors argue that the most important problem facing the health service is the need to make £20billion of efficiency savings over the next four years and this urgent issue is not being addressed. And they question, as they have done in previous BMJ editorials: “What is the rationale for the changes proposed in the bill?”   Positive aspects of the bill could still remain, say the authors, adding that the Health Secretary, Andrew Lansley, has acknowledged that legislation was not needed to implement some of the proposals, for example, primary care trusts could still be reformed to put GPs in the driving seat.   The authors conclude that the message for future governments “that spots a once in a generation opportunity to reform the NHS” is that “only a handful of companies in the world exceed the £100billion turnover of the English NHS and none would have embarked on change in this harebrained fashion.”

Hot Weather Triggers Heat-Health Alert

The forecast of higher temperatures across some parts of the country has prompted the first Heat-Health alert of the summer. Temperatures will peak across East Anglia, the East Midlands and south east England during Monday, where highs of 32°C are possible. Head of Health Forecasting at the Met Office, Patrick Sachon, said: "There is the possibility of daytime and night-time temperatures reaching trigger thresholds. These temperatures, together with high humidity, pose a risk to vulnerable people, such as those with underlying health problems." The next few days will see varied weather across the UK, with some places having unsettled conditions and temperatures reaching the low 20s. Chief Forecaster at the Met Office, Andy Page, added: "There is a 60% chance of some places in East Anglia, the East Midlands and south east England reaching 30 °C on Sunday and Monday. However, it is important to note that not all places will see the hot weather. Cooler weather is expected to spread across all parts of the UK by the middle of next week."

(BMcN/KMcA)