Health
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Nuclear regulators misled the media after Fukushima, emails show
On Monday this week — one day shy of the third anniversary of the Fukushima meltdown — NBC published emails obtained through a Freedom of Information Act that for the first time exposes on a major scale the efforts that NRC officials undertook in order to diminish the severity of the event in the hours… Continue reading
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Britain: More health services face privatisation By Mark Blackwood and Paul Mitchell
Private-sector companies such as Alliance Boots and Bupa are eyeing the new contracts and have expert teams at hand, well versed at drawing up contracts. They are willing to submit loss-making bids in order to gain a foothold in the market. To meet this competition, existing providers, mainly GP surgeries and health centres, are being… Continue reading
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NHS: medConfidential Bulletin, 7th March 2014
Following a disastrous showing from NHS England and HSCIC officials [from time code 1:20:30] in front of the Health Select Committee a fortnight ago, the government has laid a number of last-minute amendments to a piece of legislation called the Care Bill, which is now in its final stages before becoming law. Continue reading
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Labour’s Andy Burnham moves to strike out “Hospital Closure Clause” By Benedict Cooper
Labour confirmed yesterday that it would be staging a last ditch attempt in parliament on Tuesday to strike out the deeply unpopular “Hospital Closure Clause”. Continue reading
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Triple-headed NHS privacy scare after hospital data reach marketers, Google By Simon Sharwood
On page eight, a section titled “The cloud can transform the way the NHS connects and uses data” the discussion turns to “an archive called Hospital Episode Statistics (HES)” that contains “a huge amount of detailed data” about the activity of “every Hospital in England.” A busy time, then, for HSCIC’s spin doctors and a… Continue reading
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Can anyone patch up care.data, or is it too late? By Jane Fae
Care.data has had a bad seven days. Last Tuesday it received a serious mauling by the Commons Health Committee. On Friday, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt came sailing to the rescue with an announcement of new laws that will bar the NHS from selling personal medical records for insurance and commercial purposes – though care.data boss… Continue reading
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Contamination and Bio-Pollution: The Criminality of the GM Biotech Industry By Colin Todhunter
There is currently a battle waging across the planet over genetically modified (GM) crops. It seems like not a month goes by when a new report is released on the health, environmental or productivity aspects of GM organisms. The GM biotech industry tries to assure governments and the public about the safety and efficacy of… Continue reading
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Roundup In 75% of Air and Water Sampled … Causes Kidney Failure
A new study from the U.S. Geological Survey – soon to be published in the journal Enviromental Toxicology and Chemistry – finds that Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide (technically known as “glyphosate”) and its toxic degradation byproduct AMPA were found in over 75% of all air and rain samples in Mississippi in 2007. Continue reading
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US Navy Knew that “Major Radiation Hits” from Fukushima Dangerously Contaminated the USS Reagan By Harvey Wasserman
fukushimaevacuatuon A stunning new report indicates the U.S. Navy knew that sailors from the nuclear-powered USS Ronald Reagan took major radiation hits from the Fukushima atomic power plant after its meltdowns and explosions nearly three years ago. Continue reading
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Government brushes aside NHS Free Trade Treaty Concerns By Ben Cooper
MPs raise concerns about the impact the forthcoming trade treaty, TTIP, will have on the NHS – but Minster Without Portfolio Ken Clarke says it will make no difference. The government refused to exempt the NHS from the Trans Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) despite a volley of concerns from opposition MPs aired during… Continue reading
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Roundup Weedkiller Linked to Global Epidemic of Fatal Kidney Disease
The mystery of what is causing thousands to die each year from a fatal kidney disease may now be solved, with evidence pointing to the world’s most heavily used herbicide Roundup (glyphosate) as the primary culprit. Continue reading
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Is selling our medical data to insurers a crime – or not? By Jane Fae
As more revelations emerge about the sale of our hospital data to the insurance industry, misleading claims that a massive expansion in data collection is totally safe, are failing to convince. Continue reading
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Hospital closure clause – day of action 27th February
Fight to protect your local hospital from fast-track closure! A day of action in London on Thursday 27th February. Continue reading
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Video: Silencing the Scientist: Tyrone Hayes on Being Targeted by Herbicide Firm Syngenta
We speak with scientist Tyrone Hayes of the University of California, Berkeley, who discovered a widely used herbicide may have harmful effects on the endocrine system. But when he tried to publish the results, the chemical’s manufacturer launched a campaign to discredit his work. Continue reading
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Human Health and the GMO Industry: Puppets in High Places By Colin Todhunter
Anne Glover recently declared that there is no evidence pertaining to the adverse impacts of GMOs. This is an extremely disturbing statement. It’s disturbing because it is not only patently wrong, but also because Anne Glover is chief scientific adviser of the European Commission. Continue reading
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NHS privatisation: Compilation of financial and vested interests
This list represents the dire state of our democracy. The financial and vested interests of our MPs and Lords in private healthcare. Continue reading
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Don’t close our hospitals on the quiet, protesters tell Health Secretary By Jos Bell
From Yorkshire to London, hospitals are under threat – and the government is trying to make them far easier to close on the quiet…Lewisham Campaigners were in usual dogged but polite mode when they dropped in to see Jeremy Hunt. He can’t say he wasn’t warned. A year ago he had hidden from a Valentine’s… Continue reading
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medConfidential Bulletin, 21st February 2014
As you will by now be aware, on Tuesday afternoon the Director of Patients and Information at NHS England, Tim Kelsey, announced a second 6 month delay to the uploading of data from GP practices across England. The first delay to uploads last September was only achieved after medConfidential had alerted the Information Commissioner’s Office… Continue reading
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NHS IT boss Kelsey wrongly claims care.data leaflet sent to 100% of homes By Jane Fae
Confidence in NHS England’s commitment to transparency and openness received another blow this morning as a full and frank explanation of yesterday’s events by NHS IT Director Tim Kelsey made two more inaccurate and misleading statements about the care.data leafleting process. Continue reading
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NHS England delays share of personal data By Jane Fae
As criticism of the controversial care.data scheme reached a crescendo last night, and with at least two possible legal challenges now under way, NHS England finally gave in to critics, announcing a further six month pause to the project – and yet more money to be spent on publicity campaigns. Continue reading
The New Dark Age 