Tag Archives: hospital

Patients could be at risk from unregulated ‘cheap’ healthcare workers

 

Patients could be at risk from unregulated ‘cheap’ healthcare workers

Patients could be left at risk from a growing number of unqualified and unregulated healthcare workers, it has been claimed.

By Martin Beckford, Health Correspondent 7:00AM BST 20 Apr 2011

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There are at least 150,000 healthcare assistants working in hospitals and care homes, often carrying out important roles such as washing and feeding patients, and more are being employed as a cheap alternative to more experienced clinical staff.

But unlike doctors, nurses and midwives, there are no training requirements for healthcare assistants and support staff and no watchdog to discipline those that break rules, meaning that those who are sacked can simply move to another employer.

Who was the carer for this 3 year old child?

Who was the Carer?

Three-year-old ‘was an alcoholic’
(UKPA) –
A three-year-old child has been treated for alcoholism by staff at an NHS hospital.

The unnamed child, thought to be Britain’s youngest alcoholic, was among 13 youngsters aged 12 and under who were diagnosed as alcoholics by the Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust between 2008 and 2010.

Figures released under the Freedom of Information Act also showed that the trust admitted more than 70 children aged 13-16 for emergency treatment for alcohol abuse.

England ‘healthier than the US’

England ‘healthier than the US’By Michelle Roberts Health reporter, BBC News

 
Expanding waistlines in the UK have not closed the transatlantic health gap

People living in England enjoy better health than Americans, despite less investment in healthcare, research published in the US has revealed.

Across all ages, US residents tend to fare worse in terms of diabetes, high cholesterol and heart disease markers, data on over 100,000 people show.