BBC News - Health

The latest stories from the Health section of the BBC News web site.

Record 'legal highs detected'

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 10:46:35 GMT

A record number of potentially dangerous new legal highs were found in Europe last year, say doctors.

Legionella Britons die in Spain

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 08:58:01 GMT

Three British men die and three more people remain in hospital after contracting Legionnaires' disease while on holiday in Spain, a tour company says.

Foetus parties: Womb with a view?

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 01:31:22 GMT

Prof Cathy Warwick, chief executive of the Royal College of Midwives, outlines her fears about the "commercialisation of childbirth"

NHS warns on nappy sack dangers

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 20:37:07 GMT

A Cornish campaign alerting parents to the risks of babies being suffocated by nappy sacks is adopted by the NHS nationally.

VIDEO: GP leaders turn back on NHS plans

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 06:55:40 GMT

The Royal College of GPs calls for the health bill to be scrapped, heaping more pressure on the government's controversial reforms in England.

PFI hospitals 'get bailout fund'

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 13:09:29 GMT

Seven English NHS hospital trusts with debts caused, in part, by PFI repayments are to have access to a £1.5bn government bailout fund.

Designing out errors in hospital

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 12:48:18 GMT

How wards could be made safer

Analysis: Pharmaceutical woes

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 13:58:11 GMT

Why the pharmaceutical industry is under pressure

How we can help children improve their health

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 07:42:46 GMT

'The young should play a role in designing healthcare'

When was the real baby boom?

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 11:33:40 GMT

Why 1920 was the biggest year for births

'Cycling gave me my freedom back'

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 01:28:41 GMT

'How cycling helped me fight my brain tumours'

Chairman quits troubled NHS trust

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:19:19 GMT

The chairman of a hospital trust that closed an emergency department and considered bringing in army medics is to stand down.

UK workers 'richer but stressed'

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:14:30 GMT

Britons are richer and more stressed than when the Queen came to the throne, a report by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development has found.

VIDEO: Online test to gauge asthma risk

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 08:07:51 GMT

A new online test is being launched that will help people with asthma gauge to what extent they are at risk from a serious attack.

Weekend hospital admission fears

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 10:37:17 GMT

Research which suggests that patients are more likely to die in hospital if they are admitted at the weekend is backed up by a major study.

Watermelon 'is salmonella source'

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 13:12:35 GMT

A salmonella outbreak linked to watermelon has affected 35 people, killing one, in the UK since December, health experts have revealed.

Malaria toll 'is twice as high'

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:07:13 GMT

The number of deaths worldwide from malaria has been underestimated, according to data published in the medical journal the Lancet.

'Swan' family want genetic answer

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:51:42 GMT

Mother tries to raise the profile of a "syndrome without a name"

Science decodes 'internal voices'

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 04:29:41 GMT

Researchers turn brain waves from thoughts of words into actual words, in a breakthrough that could benefit comatose and locked-in patients.

Health bodies reject NHS reforms

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 15:23:39 GMT

Physiotherapist leaders have joined the Royal College of GPs in calling for the health bill in England to be scrapped, increasing pressure on the government.

VIDEO: MPs 'should admit mental health issues'

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 17:23:43 GMT

Alastair Campbell reckons MPs are more likely to suffer from mental health issues than the one-in-four figure for the general population.

VIDEO: Private company takes over hospital

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 14:24:17 GMT

Hinchingbrooke Hospital in Huntingdon has become the first NHS hospital in Britain to be managed by a private company.

VIDEO: Science converts thoughts into speech

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 19:34:50 GMT

Scientists have unveiled a new technique for decoding human brainwaves and then converting them into speech.

Brains may be wired for addiction

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 19:03:24 GMT

Abnormalities in the brain may make some people more likely to become drug addicts, according to scientists.

VIDEO: MPs and the stigma of mental illness

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:57:41 GMT

Comedian Ruby Wax said depression was like "being in a coma, but awake" as the panel debated how politicians should discuss their issues.

Poison arrest nurse loses appeal

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:32:55 GMT

A nurse arrested and later freed over the poisoning deaths of patients at Stepping Hill Hospital loses an appeal against her sacking.

VIDEO: Brains may be 'wired' for addiction

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 20:40:57 GMT

Abnormalities in the brain may make some people more likely to become drug addicts, according to scientists at the University of Cambridge.

VIDEO: Newborns 'should receive vitamin D'

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 11:23:15 GMT

Doctors are calling for newborn babies to be given vitamin D, to protect them from bone disease and other illnesses.