The government has rejected British Medical Association claims that the NHS is risking patients’ health by rationing drugs and operations.BMA head Dr Mark Porter told the Guardian that financial pressure on the NHS meant its “offer” had shrunk and it was no longer a comprehensive service.Fears patie

Fertility doctors have called for a debate around whether freezing embryos should become the main option for IVF treatment in the future.An analysis of 13,000 IVF pregnancies suggested the freezing process might be better for the mother and the baby’s health.However, some fertility specialists argue

Middle-aged men are now the group at highest risk of committing suicide in England, statistics reveal.Key reasons could be job or money worries due to the recession, says a new government strategy to reduce the number of suicides.Suicide rates among young men – previously the most at-risk group – ha

The majority of people with diabetes are not controlling cholesterol levels effectively – putting them at increased risk of heart disease, a charity warns.Diabetes UK says 90% of people with the disease are having annual checks which will show up problems.But it says the most recent national diabete

Philadelphia (CNN) — Beth Rutstein rolls up the sleeves of her T-shirt, juggles a stack of fliers and knocks on the door of a stranger’s home. She’s on a mission to save lives.After wiping sweat from her face beneath the sweltering afternoon sun on a recent Thursday, she ascends another set of stair

(Reuters Health) – When people with chronic health conditions have lower out-of-pocket costs for medications, they are more likely to actually fill their prescriptions, according to a new research review.The findings, reported in the Annals of Internal Medicine, sound logical. But they lend some har

Hospitals in England could be on the brink of collapse because of rising demand and the increasing complexity of patients’ conditions, doctors warn.The Royal College of Physicians’ report said the number of beds had been cut by a third over the past 25 years.It said at the same time emergency admiss

Breast cancer screening saves the lives of two women for every one patient who receives unnecessary treatment, according to a major European review.There has been a fierce debate about the use of screening, and policy is being reviewed in England.The latest study, published in the Journal of Medical

(Reuters Health) – People in developing countries with heart problems may not be able to afford new pacemakers, but a new study suggests devices removed during autopsies may have enough remaining battery life to be donated and used again.Researchers found that of 334 autopsies preformed at the Unive

(Reuters) – Yosemite National Park expanded a warning about the deadly hantavirus to 230,000 more recent visitors and confirmed on Thursday that a ninth person had contracted the virus, which has already killed three people.The Californian, the latest person confirmed to have been infected with hant