The medicines watchdog, NICE, is to lose its power to turn down new medicines for use on the NHS. It will give advice on which drugs are effective, but will not decide whether patients should be given treatments their doctor recommends, the Department of Health has confirmed.
TEESSIDE'S top judge told two friends who saw a group vandalising a family's mobility car and decided to "join in" that they should be ashamed of themselves.
"Virtually all" councils in England and Wales could be forced to end home help for elderly and disabled people, the Local Government Association has said. The LGA, which represents 422 authorities, has warned MPs budget cuts may result in services being restricted to those with "critical" needs. A £3bn funding shortfall could affect people with dementia, Parkinson's disease and diabetes, it said.
People who volunteer to help the elderly or disabled could earn time credits which they could then redeem for their own care later in life.
More than half of Wales' rail stations are not fully accessible to disabled people, according to a report. The Welsh assembly equality of opportunity committee issued the findings, highlighting "significant shortcomings", and calling for action. Arriva Trains Wales, which runs most of Wales' stations, said it was committed to improving access.
Many councils are struggling with moves to give individual people their own budgets to spend on social care, a watchdog claims.