TOP 100 ENGLAND SITES
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| Solving Rubik's Cube blindfolded Oxford student Daniel Sheppard is the third fastest Rubik's Cube solver in Europe. news.bbc.co.uk |
Spending Review: what it means for the Ministry of Justice Cuts to the Ministry of Justice are likely to focus on staff cuts, court closure and the huge legal aid budget. telegraph.co.uk |
Margaret Thatcher to remain in hospital until next week Former prime minister's son says she is 'in good order' after being admitted to private hospital last night over flu fearsLady Thatcher is expected to stay in hospital into next week, a spokesman said tonight. The former prime minister was admitted to the private Cromwell Hospital in London for tests last night after failing to recover from flu. An aide said he had no update on her condition but added that she would be remaining in hospital for the next few days.Thatcher's son Mark visited her earlier today and said she was "in good order" and had been talking about the government's comprehensive spending review."She's a little bit drowsy but she had a good night and is slightly sedated at the moment," he said. David Cameron took time out from preparations for the spending review to wish her a "speedy recovery".Last week Thatcher was forced to withdraw from a Downing Street reception to mark her 85th birthday after coming down with flu. Friends said she was still being troubled by the illness yesterday afternoon, and aides called in a doctor to assess her condition. She was taken from her home to the hospital in west London shortly afterwards.Thatcher insisted around 150 friends and former colleagues went ahead with her birthday reception at Number 10 last week despite her absence. Mr Cameron has promised to hold another celebration when she has recovered.The one-time "Iron Lady" very rarely speaks in public now on medical advice. However, she does still attend a number of high-profile functions.In March 2008 the peer, who has previously suffered minor strokes, was taken ill during a dinner in Westminster and spent the night in hospital as a precaution. She was given a clean bill of health by doctors after routine tests.Margaret ThatcherConservativesguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Newly-wed cleared of wife murder A man is cleared of murdering his wife following a drunken night out, five months after their wedding. bbc.co.uk |
NHS funding for homeopathy risks misleading patients, says chief scientist Sir John Beddington says NHS funding may harm patients' health if they choose homeopathy over conventional medicinePatients are at risk of being misled over the benefits of homeopathy by the government's decision to fund the remedies on the NHS, the country's most senior scientist warned today.Sir John Beddington, the government's chief scientific adviser, said patients might believe homeopathic treatments could protect them against serious illnesses, or treat existing conditions, because GPs and hospitals are allowed to prescribe them on the NHS.Tens of thousands of people are given homeopathic pills and other preparations by their GPs or at Britain's four homeopathic hospitals, at an estimated cost to the NHS of between £4m and £10m a year. Most homeopathic remedies are diluted multiple times to the point that only water is left, while others are essentially sugar pills.Professor Beddington said ministers agreed to fund homeopathy on the grounds of "public choice", despite there being "no real evidence" that the remedies work."I have made it completely clear that there is no scientific basis for homeopathy beyond the placebo effect and that there are serious concerns about its efficacy," Professor Beddington told the Commons science and technology committee today.He went on to warn that government funding for homeopathy risked legitimising unproven treatments and that patients could harm their health by choosing these over conventional vaccines and medicines."There is a danger that the public will think that there is real efficacy for some serious conditions and I believe we have to work on that and make clear that this is not correct," he told the committee.In June, doctors at the British Medical Association's annual conference voted three to one to halt NHS funding for homeopathic hospitals and ban homeopathic remedies on prescription. A report by the Commons science and technology committee published in February also called for an end to NHS funding for homeopathic medicine.Professor Beddington cited the case of a man who caught malaria after being advised to take a homeopathic preparation to protect against the disease.Graham Stringer, a member of the science and technology committee, challenged the government's claim that its policies are based on sound evidence."Giving people water or tablets with nothing in them except sugar is in itself harmless, but there is real evidence that homeopaths are prescribing these so-called medicines for things like malaria and other diseases, and in that sense this is very serious. In high street chemists, like Boots, these products are next to serious medicines," Stringer said."If the government is paying out millions for homeopathy, people will think there's something in it. The only reason for funding them is that ministers in the last government and in this government have not had the bottle to stop the funding."This article was amended on 27 October 2010. The caption gave the hospital's former title, the Royal London Homeopathic Hospital. This has been corrected.Medical researchControversies in scienceHomeopathyHealth & wellbeingAlternative medicineHealthLiberal-Conservative coalitionNHSNHS at 60House of CommonsIan Sampleguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |