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Daily digest March 31 2015

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Daily digest

Nurse admits raping patients in hospital's emergency department

A staff nurse has admitted raping three women in a hospital’s emergency department, as well as a series of other sexual and voyeurism offences.

Andrew Hutchinson, who lives in Oxfordshire, pleaded guilty on Monday at Oxford Crown Court to the attacks at John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, the Guardian reports.

Mr Hutchinson also pleaded guilty to charges of voyeurism and outraging public decency in relation to two girls aged ten and 15 at the White Horse leisure centre in Abingdon, as well as two offences of sexual assault against women in the medical tent at the Wilderness Festival in Oxford.

Read more on the Guardian website: click here

'Vaping' behind the bike sheds is becoming the norm for teenagers

One in five teenagers has tried electronic cigarettes, according to a study which suggests that ‘vaping’ behind the bike sheds is becoming normal for young people.

Some public health experts urged a crackdown on experimentation with e-cigarettes, calling them ‘the alcopops of the nicotine world’, but others argued that rebellious teenagers were probably safer vaping than smoking.

The Times reports on a survey of 16,193 pupils aged between 14 and 17 in north west England, published in the journal BMC Public Health, which found that one in 20 non-smokers had tried e-cigarettes, and this rose to more than two thirds of those who smoked regularly.

(£) Read more on the Times website: click here

Medical details secretly sold on to cold callers and fraudsters

Medical details on thousands of people are ending up in the hands of fraudsters and criminals after being secretly sold, a Daily Mail investigation reveals.

The information on sick and disabled people is being cynically touted by data firms for as little as 19p each and it is being sold on with no checks on cold callers and fraudsters, who are often looking to target those who are at their most vulnerable.

The lists – often complied from health insurance applications – contain details of thousands of people with diabetes, high blood pressure, osteoporosis, back pain and arthritis.

Read more on the Daily Mail website: click here

One in five emergency department visits is unnecessary

One fifth of visits to emergency departments are unnecessary and cost the NHS £290 million a year, research suggests.

The Proprietary Association of Great Britain (PAGB) said 19.1% of visits (3.6 million) to emergency departments are for minor issues, while GPs preside over more than 57 million consultations a year for minor ailments costing the NHS £2 billion a year, according to the Mirror.

The PAGB, the UK trade association for manufacturers of over-the-counter medicines and food supplements, said the NHS must to do more to inform people of how to look after themselves.

Read more on the Daily Mirror website: click here