APPG launches medicines inquiry; drug regulation is killing patients
Media Watch UK drug shortages, medicines regulation and Andrew Lansley on hospital TV are all subjects covered by the daily papers today.
The Telegraph follows the UK drug shortages crisis, covering the all-party pharmacy group's "full-scale inquiry" into the problem, as reported by C+D yesterday. If you haven't already, take part in C+D's 2011 Stocks Survey and you could win £150 of John Lewis vouchers. Full of medicines news, the Telegraph also warns that the burden of drugs regulation following the thalidomide scandal is killing people as vital new medicines and vaccines are delayed. The Telegraph also reports on the launch of the first three-in-one pill for hypertension, which is available from today. GPs are claiming that a leaked document - Developing commissioning support: Towards service excellence - shows that the government is planning to privatise half - about £60 billion - of NHS spending, the Telegraph reports. And what's the first thing you expect to see when you come around after an operation? Surely not health secretary Andrew Lansley. But the Independent reports that the health secretary is now on a permanent loop on hospital TV, extolling the virtues of doctors and nurses. A great way to pass the time while you are waiting for a doctor or nurse. The Telegraph also covers Lansleyvision. And if there was one thing the government should be spending its money on its wiping out Aids, the Independent reports. An historic opportunity to eradicate the disease could be missed, experts warn, if the money isn't found for antiretroviral drugs. In juxtaposition, the Independent writes that cuts are pushing mental health services to the edge, according to an independent inquiry published today by charity Mind. The Guardian also covers this story. And the key to good mental health in retirement? Lots of sex, the Independent writes. Surprisingly, researchers have discovered that the more often over-65s have sex, the happier they are. The Guardian writes that a joint report from NHS Alliance and the Primary Care Foundation has found that increased services at GP surgeries and A&E units are confusing patients, who don't know where to go - to a pharmacy perhaps? Sir Michael Marmot, an expert on social inequalities, has warned that the economic crisis must not derail the health and social equality agenda.