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Profession welcomes Howe report, but victims remain unimpressed

Your Expert Witness Lord Howe The biggest scandal to have hit the plastic surgery profession took a new turn with the publication on 14 May of health minister Lord Howe’s review of the PiP breast implants affair. Lord Howe found that, although the regulator acted appropriately and followed scientific and clinical advice, there is room for improvement and serious lessons must be learned.

Lord Howe was tasked with looking into whether the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and the Department of Health acted properly both before and after information about the implants came to light. He made a number of recommendations for improvements to the operation of the MHRA, including that it should identify ways of gathering better evidence on the safety of devices, broaden its approach to analysing reported problems with higher risk medical devices and find better ways of communicating with the public.

Developers LSHP open twelfth completed health centre in Liverpool

Your Expert Witness LSHP Liverpool’s latest purpose built health centre was officially unveiled earlier this week by Gideon Ben Tovim, Chair of Liverpool PCT and Graham Pink , Chief Executive of Merseyside development firm LSHP Ltd.

The new £6m development based on Mere Lane in Everton is the second development to be delivered in the area after a £6 million centre opened on Townsend Lane in January, and was announced following an eight-week consultation, which saw an overwhelming 94% of respondents in favour of the proposals.

LSHP Ltd opens new health centre in Liverpool

Your Expert Witness LSHP A new £6m Neighbourhood Health Centre in Anfield has just opened, becoming the latest new build as part of Liverpool PCT’s wider vision for a ‘New Health Service for Liverpool’.

Since 2007, millions of pounds have been invested in purpose-built or improved facilities across the city to make services available closer to people’s homes.

The new facility is situated on land formerly occupied by a primary school and opened its doors to the public in January. The development was delivered by Liverpool and Sefton Health Partnership, the NHS LIFT (Local Improvement Finance Trust) for Liverpool and Sefton.

PM vows to double dementia funding

granny 2161715c Funding for research into dementia is to be more than doubled by 2015 in a bid to make Britain a world leader in the field, David Cameron has announced.

The Prime Minister declared that tackling the "national crisis" posed by the disease is one of his personal priorities.
He said it is a "scandal" that the UK has not done more to address dementia, which is thought to affect 670,000 people although about 400,000 have not been diagnosed and do not know they have it. The cost to UK society is estimated at £23 billion.
Over the next 10 years, the number with the disease is expected to rise to one million.

Launching a "national challenge on dementia", Mr Cameron set out plans to step up research into cures and treatments and to ensure that the health and social care systems are equipped to deal with the problem.
Hospitals will be given an extra £54 million to assist the diagnosis of the disease. Overall funding for dementia research is to reach £66 million by 2015, from £26.6 million in 2010.

Judge raises bar for mesothelioma compensation for elderly sufferers

expert witness asbestos fibres Elderly victims of mesothelioma, the cancer caused by exposure to asbestos, could be entitled to much more substantial compensation following a landmark ruling on damages for pain and suffering.

In the High Court, on 10 February, Mrs Justice Swift awarded 92-year-old Dennis Ball £50,000 compensation for pain and suffering after he developed asbestos-related cancer following his work for the National Coal Board and British Coal Corporation, bringing his total compensation to £73,890.