Daily digest May 7 2015

Child mental healthcare is getting worse

The Tories have presided over a ‘system failure’ in the NHS which has led to rising numbers of mentally ill children ending up in A&E, a leaked document reveals.

As reported in the Daily Mirror, more than 1,400 vulnerable kids are admitted to hospital as an emergency every month because of cuts to local early intervention services.

Leaked minutes from the government-backed Mental Health Crisis Care Concordat’s meeting reveal ‘concern’ over figures and the document says: ‘The Royal College of Emergency Medicine raised a concern that high numbers of people ending up in A&E indicates a system failure.’

Read more on the Daily Mirror website

Now GPs could charge you for routine surgery

GPs want to be able to charge patients for treatments that are being rationed by the NHS, the Daily Mail reports.

Family doctors will vote on a rule change so they can encourage patients to pay for minor operations to remove moles and non-cancerous cysts.

The procedures – carried out for free on the NHS until recently – are restricted in most areas of England to save money and senior GPs are calling for changes so they can carry out these operations at their surgery, if patients are willing to pay.

Read more on the Daily Mail website

Risky diets and body issues start at age six

Children as young as six start suffering from body image and dangerous dieting, a study suggests.

Heavier pupils report dissatisfaction with their bodies and start unhealthy diets to compensate, a study of British six and seven-year-olds found, and campaigners said that a society obsessed with thinness was harming children’s mental health.

The findings came as data published by US academics found that 23% of British toddlers were overweight, second only to Irish children on 27%, the Times has reported.

(£) Read more on the Times website

Red wine may prevent heart disease in diabetics

Drinking a glass of red wine every night may help people with diabetes to manage their cholesterol and protect their hearts, a new study has found.

In a trial of more than 220 Type 2 diabetes patients assigned a standard Mediterranean diet, those who were also allowed one 150ml glass of red with dinner ended up with higher levels of so-called ‘good cholesterol’ than those who drank white wine or mineral water.

The findings from the new diabetes study, carried out by researchers from the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel, alongside experts from Harvard School of Public Health and Leipzig University, are being presented at the European Congress on Obesity in Prague this week.

Read more on the Independent website