South Asians are five times more likely than British white people to be severely depressed following cancer diagnosis. 

The study published in BMJ Open showed people of Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi or Sri Lankan origin appeared to suffer more pain, leading researchers to conclude this could be a way of drawing attention to psychological distress. 

British South Asians (BSA) also had twice the self-reported rate of depressive symptoms than British white participants. 

Mental health service users have double the A&E attendance rate of the general population, figures show.

Data released by the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) shows that 41% of 1.5 million mental health service users in England visited A&E at least once in 2011/2012 compared to 19% of the general population.

These figures have been released following a recent analysis showed that 20% of people treated in A&E could have been treated in primary care.

Moderate drinking during pregnancy does not seem to harm baby’s development, a study published in BMJ Open appears to show. 

Drinking between 3 -7 glasses of alcohol a week may not harm foetal neurodevelopment as judged by the child’s ability to balance, a large study suggests. 

However, better educated, more affluent mothers-to-be tend to drink more than women who are less well off, which may be a factor according to the researchers. 

Balance assessment

People who are neither nurses nor midwives will have increased involvement in Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) quality assurance activities. 

Quality assurance is part of public protection which ensures that reviewer education programmes and midwife supervision meets NMC standards, as well as ensuring risks are managed effectively. 

The framework will now aim to increase the burden of emerging risk by ensuring that institutions have ‘appropriate safeguards’ in place. 

Self-help books will now be available on prescription in England thanks to an innovative new scheme.

Bringing together care and support minister Norman Lamb and culture, communication and creative industries minister Ed Vaizey,  Reading Well Books on Prescription hopes to utilise libraries as centres of knowledge by lending books to those with mild to moderate mental illness.

The number of children admitted to hospital for obesity related problems has quadrupled over ten years. 

A study looking into obesity in England and Wales found that 75% of theses problems were to do with asthma, breathing problems during sleep, rather than obesity being the primary problem. 

NHS statistics for children and young people aged 5-19 years old were studied by researchers for Imperial College London. 

New  research shows most patients visit A&E during normal working hours, while the number of patients has increased year on year. 

Figures released by the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) show the pattern of A&E arrival times remain largely unchanged since 2007/8/ 

Close to 60% of patients attending A&E between March 2012 and February 2013 arrived between 9.00am and 6.00pm. 

Widespread concerns have been raised over the number of new district nurses being trained amid fears there will not be enough to reach ‘replacement level’. 

According to figures released by community nursing charity The Queen’s Nursing Institute (QNI), the problem is especially pronounced in England. 

Just over 20% of district nursing courses in England did not have any students in 2012013. 

More than 300,000 children visit their GP practice each year due to the effects of second hand smoke exposure, research has revealed. 

Published by the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) the figures highlight the danger of smoking in cars and homes. 

Treatments, hospital and GP visits for secondhand smoke related illneses cost the NHS more than £23.6 million every year.

The figures are released as part of a government campaign to increase awareness of the danger of secondhand smoke. 

Close to 95% of GP practices in England have ordered additional MMR vaccines – adding up to more than 200,000 extra doses  in total.

The doses were ordered to help implement an MMR catch-up programme, run by Public Health England (PHE), which aims to prevent measles outbreaks by vaccinating at least 95% of 10-16 year olds.  

Due to the fall in coverage in the late 1990s and early 2000s because of a discredited link between autism and the vaccine, this age group is most at risk. 

Many people falsely believe dementia is “part of normal aging”, meaning they do not seek support for their illness, claims NHS England’s dementia lead. 

In an exclusive interview with Nursing in Practice, Professor Alistair Burns said a third of the people attending his memory clinic have problems that “could be mistaken for dementia but are treatable”. 

According to Professor Burns, more awareness about dementia throughout the NHS could lessen the strain on nurses. 

An official review to find out why NHS walk-in-centres are closing, and if this is in the best interests of patients has been launched. 

Health regulator Monitor will examine whether the closure of walk-in centres has limited people’s ability to choose where and when they access routine or urgent primary health care services without an appointment.