Kidney checks 'would save lives'

27 August 2013 Last updated at 19:00 ET By Michelle Roberts Health editor, BBC News online

Hospital patients should have their kidneys checked to spot a potentially lethal condition affecting one in six of those admitted, say new guidelines.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence says the NHS in England could save at least 12,000 lives and millions of pounds a year if it follows its advice.

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is almost entirely preventable but kills up to one in every four sufferers.

Good hydration is key, says NICE.

Basic checks

Healthcare professionals should be monitoring their patient's kidney function by checking they have enough to drink or have been given a fluid drip.

They should also keep close tabs on how much urine patients are passing and may want to order blood tests to help them spot early warning signs of dehydration.

And they should review the medication patients are on in case it is drying them out and making matters worse.

NICE is concerned that too often these simple checks do not happen.

A national inquiry back in 2009 found half of patients who died in hospitals in England and Wales from AKI had not received a good standard of care.

But NHS England says things have improved since then - there has been a big push to get best practice across the entire organisation.

Dr Mark Thomas, one of the experts who helped develop the guidelines, said: "Many hospitals and healthcare professionals have been doing an excellent job in watching out for acute kidney injury in their patients, but unfortunately this good practice is not seen everywhere.

"The NICE recommendations give the NHS clear advice to reduce the number of avoidable deaths through acute kidney injury."

Kidney function can deteriorate rapidly. Within a few hours the condition can become life-threatening.

Hospital patients can also make sure they are getting enough fluids and request a kidney check, says NICE.

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New York Times website 'hacked'

27 August 2013 Last updated at 21:22 ET

The New York Times website has gone offline for the second time this month after what the company described as a "malicious external attack".

On its Facebook page, the Times said it was working to fix the problem, which appears to have started at 15:00 local time (19:00 GMT) on Tuesday.

A technical problem knocked NYTimes.com offline on 14 August.

Analysts said evidence showed a group supporting Syrian president Bashar al-Assad was behind Tuesday's attack.

The website was partially back online three hours later, although some users still reported difficulties. During the suspension the New York Times published new articles on its Facebook page as well as a mirror site.

Mark Frons, the company's chief information officer, warned New York Times employees the attack was perpetrated by the Syrian Electronic Army, which backs Mr Assad, "or someone trying very hard to be them".

He cautioned staff to "be careful when sending e-mail communications until this situation is resolved".

Security experts said there was enough evidence to link the hacking group to the problems.

"The NYTimes.com domain is pointing at SyrianElectronicArmy.com which maps to an IP address in Russia, so it's clearly a malicious attack," Ken Westin, a security researcher for Tripwire, an online security company, told the BBC.

In a separate posting on Tuesday, the group also claimed responsibility for hacking Twitter's administrative contact information.

'More attacks'

Recently, the Washington Post, CNN and Time magazine websites were targeted in attacks attributed to supporters of the group.

"Media attacks seem to be escalating and moving away from annoying, simple denial of service attacks and toward full domain compromise which, if successful, puts millions of NYT website users at risk," said Mr Westin.

As it did after the first New York Times suspension, competitor Wall Street Journal took down its pay wall and offered its content free to all visitors.

In January, the New York Times said hackers had accessed its website and stolen the passwords of 53 employees after it published a report on the wealth of China Premier Wen Jiabao's family.

Michael Fey, chief technology officer at cybersecurity firm McAfee, said that as long as media organisations play a crucial role in reporting news and influencing debate, they will continue to be targets of cyber-attacks.

"Regardless of technology or tactics deployed, we should expect to see more of these attacks,'' he said.

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Ryanair told to cut Aer Lingus stake

28 August 2013 Last updated at 03:02 ET

Ryanair has been told to reduce its stake in rival Irish carrier Aer Lingus by the UK Competition Commission.

It said the no-frills airline would be required to reduce its 29.8% stake in Aer Lingus to 5%.

The commission's final report confirmed its provisional findings that Ryanair's shareholding could "substantially lessen" competition on routes between the UK and Ireland.

Ryanair said it would appeal against the conclusions of the commission.

Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary said: "The report by the UKCC is bizarre and manifestly wrong but also entirely expected."

Mr O'Leary said that the investigation into Ryanair's stake in Aer Lingus was "manifestly unfair" and that the company's lawyers would lodge an appeal with the Competition Appeal Tribunal in the coming weeks.

Ryanair has made repeated attempts to buy Aer Lingus, which said it "welcomes" the Competition Commission's report.

Aer Lingus chairman Colm Barrington said: "The Competition Commission should be commended on its thorough investigation."

He added: "It was unacceptable that our principal competitor was allowed to remain on our share register with a shareholding of 29.8% and interfere with our business despite the European Commission blocking both Ryanair's first hostile takeover attempt six years ago and its most recent hostile takeover attempt earlier this year."

Simon Polito, the Competition Commission deputy chairman, said that there was a "tension" between Ryanair's position as a competitor and largest shareholder in Aer Lingus, and that Ryanair "has an incentive to weaken its rival's effectiveness as a competitor".

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England players issue Oval apology

The England team have apologised for their "inappropriate" behaviour in the aftermath of their Ashes triumph, after reports claimed some players urinated on the pitch at The Oval that evening.

The final Test finished as a draw as England wrapped up a 3-0 series win.

"We got carried away amongst the euphoria of winning such a prestigious series and accept some of our behaviour was inappropriate," a statement read.

"If that has caused any offence to anyone, we apologise."

England's Twenty20 captain Stuart Broad is set to face questions over the behaviour when he faces the media in Southampton on Wednesday, ahead of Thursday's first T20 international against Australia.

The statement continued: "The England cricket team would like to state that during our celebrations after winning the Ashes at no time was there any intention to disrespect Surrey CCC, the Oval or anyone else involved in the game we love.

"As a team we pride ourselves on respecting all things cricket including the opposition and the grounds we play at.

"We want to reassure people that it was a simple error of judgement more than anything else."

Writing in The Sun newspaper  on Tuesday, off-spinner Graeme Swann said of the incident: "We did go out to the middle of the pitch, all the lads, drinking beers, singing a few songs and enjoying each other's company.

"I think the call of nature might have come once or twice but it was nothing untoward.

"It was midnight, a private celebration in the middle of the pitch and the ground was dark."

Legendary former Australia spinner Shane Warne labelled the reported actions as "crass" and "arrogant", while, speaking in the Daily Telegraph,  UK Sports Minister Hugh Robertson added: "If it happened, it's not good behaviour."

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Field named chief inspector of GPs

28 August 2013 Last updated at 04:31 ET

The new chief inspector of GPs in England has been named as Prof Steve Field.

The former chair of the Royal College of GPs has been closely associated with the coalition's controversial health reforms.

The chief inspector is part of a new inspection regime being set up by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

The British Medical Association hopes the new role will not add another layer of regulation and paperwork.

In his new post, Prof Field will oversee the quality of care provided by GP surgeries across England.

It is part of a new system being put in place by the CQC which will include inspections and a rating system allowing patients to compare the quality of care being offered by different GP practices.

Prof Field told the BBC that ensuring consistently good care across the country would be the most important part of his role.

"The focus has been on hospitals over the last few years, but what we want to do is to make sure everyone in England gets the best care possible".

He was reluctant to be drawn on how great the variation might be between practices, but said: "If they are good we will encourage them to do even better. But we'll also make sure that those that are not up to scratch have the opportunity to improve, and if they don't we can take action".

Controversial figure

For family doctors across the UK, Prof Field is well known from his time as chairman of their professional organisation.

When he was at the Royal College of GPs he oversaw the rewriting of the curriculum for doctors wanting to train in general practice.

For some doctors he is a controversial figure because of his association with the coalition's controversial changes to the NHS in England.

In 2011 the government was forced to put its Health Bill on hold during its progress through Parliament because of intense opposition from many doctors.

Prof Field chaired the review panel appointed by the government to look at the concerns which had been raised.

He subsequently became deputy medical director at the new organisation NHS England.

The Patients Association has made clear it would like to see greater scrutiny of GP services. In a report last year it pointed out that 47% of complaints against doctors to the GMC were about family doctors.

The British Medical Association has said it was happy to work with the new role to improve care for patients, but wants to see it fully integrated into the existing regulation of the CQC so it does not add to paperwork.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said: "Members of the public want to know, just like they want to know how good their local school is, they'd like to know how good their local GP practice is and to do that we need a team led by someone with real credibility who's going to go and look at 8,000 GP practices across England and actually tell the public how good their practice is and if it isn't good enough, make sure something is done about it.

"I think the biggest change that people will notice is that where there are GP surgeries that are not doing as well as they should be, something will happen.

"We'll be able to identify the surgery down the road that is outstanding and people will be able to learn from each other and standards will start to go up."

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UK to hold emergency summit on Syria

28 August 2013 Last updated at 05:36 ET

The UK PM is due to hold an emergency meeting on Syria, after Britain drafted a UN Security Council resolution authorising "necessary measures" to protect civilians in the country.

David Cameron said the resolution condemned the "chemical weapons attack by [Syrian President] Assad".

The resolution will be put forward at a meeting of the five permanent members of the council later in New York.

The UK National Security Council meeting is due to begin at midday.

A Downing Street spokesman earlier said Mr Cameron had yet to decide the nature of the UK's response but it would be "legal and specific" to the chemical attack.

It comes after the prime minister discussed Syria with US President Barack Obama in a late-night phone call.

A spokesman said Mr Cameron heard the "latest on US thinking" while he set out the options being considered by the UK government.

The Syrian government has blamed opposition fighters for the alleged chemical attack near Damascus on 21 August, in which hundreds of people are reported to have died.

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UK drafts Syria UN resolution

28 August 2013 Last updated at 05:31 ET

The UK is to put a resolution to the UN Security Council later on Wednesday "authorising necessary measures to protect civilians" in Syria.

The resolution will be put forward at a meeting of the five permanent members of the council, UK Prime Minister David Cameron said on Twitter.

Earlier a team of UN weapons inspectors resumed work probing an alleged chemical weapons attack on 21 August.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon appealed on the council to take action.

"The body interested with maintaining international peace and security cannot be 'missing in action'," Mr Ban said.

"The council must at last find the unity to act. It must use its authority for peace," he went on.

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NHS 'hiding' food dissatisfaction

26 August 2013 Last updated at 20:11 ET By Dominic Hughes Health correspondent, BBC News

NHS hospitals in England are hiding patient dissatisfaction with the food they serve, campaigners say.

The Campaign for Better Hospital Food said NHS Trusts routinely rated their own food highly.

But patient surveys showed nearly half of people were dissatisfied with what they were offered to eat.

The campaigners want mandatory standards introduced for hospital food, like those which already exist for prisons and schools.

In the past, NHS staff in England have carried out annual assessments of the quality of hospital food.

In 2011 they rated nearly 98% of meals as "good" or "excellent".

The inspection system is now changing, but the Campaign for Better Hospital Food points to a survey of more than 64,000 patients carried out by the regulator, the Care Quality Commission, earlier this year.

In that survey just 55% of patients said the food they had been served was "good".

'Sorry state'

Continue reading the main story

We recognise that there is too much variation across the country"

End Quote Department of Health in England

Alex Jackson, co-ordinator of the Campaign for Better Hospital Food, said existing policies that regulate food served in prisons and schools should be extended to hospitals.

"It is time for the government to come clean about the sorry state of hospital food in England and set mandatory standards for patient meals.

"This would only involve extending an existing policy which has seen it set mandatory standards for prison food and food served in government departments, to go alongside those that already exist for school food.

"Surely patients recovering in hospital have the same right to good food as government ministers, school kids and prisoners?"

Campaigners point to hospitals such as Darlington Memorial, where the award-winning food is locally sourced and cooked on site.

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

Inside Darlington Memorial Hospital's award-winning kitchen

Through buying in bulk and cutting down on waste, the hospital manages to stick to a very tight budget of around £2.60 per patient per day.

Data from the Care Quality Commission shows that 12 of the 20 hospitals serving the worst food use meals prepared by private catering companies.

But 14 of the 20 hospitals with the best food employ catering staff who prepare and cook the food from scratch.

Patient Concern called the survey findings "shocking".

It called for protected cash for hospitals to be spent on better meals.

Roger Goss, co-director of Patient Concern, said: "If managements are deliberately misleading us on hospital food, on what else are we being misled? Patient safety? Quality of care?"

In a statement, a spokesman for the Department of Health in England said there were many examples of good food across the NHS.

"But we recognise that there is too much variation across the country - that is why we have implemented a tough new inspection programme.

"We support the principle of food standards but do not think that legislation is the right way to proceed.

"We believe that the best decisions on hospital food are those taken locally by chefs and catering managers."

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Sex offender restrictions proposed

26 August 2013 Last updated at 21:02 ET By Dominic Casciani Home affairs correspondent, BBC News

Charities and an MP are campaigning for tougher restrictions on sex offenders, saying the system is not preventing the grooming and exploitation of children.

The "Childhood Lost" campaign says police also need powers to restrict suspects who have not been convicted.

Nicola Blackwood MP is tabling an amendment to a bill to create Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Orders, similar to anti-social behaviour orders.

The Home Office said that it would consider the campaign's proposals.

The UK has a range of powers designed to control sex offenders, including a general requirement that they inform the authorities of their whereabouts.

'Failing victims'

The main restrictive power, the Sexual Offences Prevention Order (Sopo), can curtail a convicted offender's movements, such as by banning them from parks or from near schools.

But critics say it is hard to impose conditions if they are not immediately sought during sentencing, and impossible for the police to seek to restrict the behaviour of a suspect who hasn't been convicted.

Continue reading the main story

• 64,000 registered sex offenders in England and Wales as of July 2013
• 2,600 Sexual Offences Prevention Orders imposed 2011-12
• 50 Foreign Travel Orders imposed 2005-12

Source: Childhood Lost

Police forces rarely seek Foreign Travel Orders against offenders who go overseas to abuse children because the courts can only ban travel in limited circumstances.

Ms Blackwood said that the proposed Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Order, to be introduced as an amendment to the Antisocial Behaviour Bill, could simplify the current system and allow police to pursue grooming gangs more vigorously.

The Oxford West and Abingdon MP said she was backing the campaign in the wake of the shocking scale of grooming in her own constituency, exposed in a major trial earlier this year.

The men at the heart of that sex grooming ring - and others like it in other cities - spent weeks and months grooming vulnerable girls before trafficking them into a life of prostitution.

Ms Blackwood said: "As an Oxford MP, I have seen for myself the appalling devastation caused by child sexual exploitation. Victims were not only targeted by abusers but also failed by those supposed to protect them. That must end now.

"The current prevention orders do not give police the tools they need to prevent child sexual abuse. The law is still failing victims."

Hearsay evidence

Under the campaign's proposals, police chiefs could seek an order using hearsay evidence and other intelligence about a suspected offender, even if the apparent victim is too afraid to co-operate.

The court could then ban a suspect from any activity linked to abuse - such as having children in their cars, or entering areas where they are known to target them. Individuals would face up to five years in jail if they break the order.

A Home Office spokesman said: "Whilst we have some of the toughest powers in the world to deal with sex offenders, we keep them under constant review and will consider proposals like this.

"We are already looking to improve the use and effectiveness of Foreign Travel Orders and other measures to put further protections in place."

The coalition of charities behind Childhood Lost also wants each area to have a dedicated child sexual exploitation centre to identify and protect victims. It also wants ministers to have the power to publish internal local council reports into serious failures by social services.

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China confirms arrest of Briton

27 August 2013 Last updated at 02:23 ET

Police in China have confirmed the arrest of a British investigator and his wife over the alleged illegal trafficking of personal data.

Peter Humphrey and his American wife, Yu Yingzeng, broke the law on at least 10 occasions, state media report.

State-run CCTV showed two people, handcuffed, with their faces blurred.

Mr Humphrey, 57, is the founder of ChinaWhys, a risk management firm that provides services to multinationals. He is also a former journalist.

The company's website says that it specialises in "discreet risk mitigation solutions, consulting and investigation services to corporate clients in matters of high sensitivity across Greater China and the Asia Pacific".

His wife, Yu Yingzeng, 60, is the firm's general manager.

The couple were arrested on 16 August, state-run Xinhua news agency said, quoting police in Shanghai.

According to state media, the couple sold personal information to clients through research companies.

Police told state media the information included addresses, family members and car and home ownership records.

The man on the CCTV report was quoted as saying: "I deeply regret this matter and I apologise to the Chinese government."

UK diplomats confirmed Mr Humphrey's arrest last week, but gave no details of the allegations.

Among Mr Humphrey's clients was reportedly the British pharmaceutical firm, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), says the BBC's Martin Patience in Beijing.

But in its reports, state-run media made no mention of the company, our correspondent adds.

Last month, GSK was accused by Chinese authorities of directing up to £320m through travel agencies to facilitate bribes to doctors and officials. Several GSK employees have been detained over the last few weeks.

The firm said it would fully co-operate with Chinese authorities.

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