Life's A Picnic

‘They wouldn’t let me in. I miss him terribly’

Mavis Burton-Pye, 68, did not know her husband lost his life to Clostridium difficile until she read it on his death certificate

Accusations as C. difficile deaths double

The number of deaths involving the hospital bug Clostridium difficile has 'substantially increased' in England and Wales

Q&A: Clostridium difficile

An explanation of the hospital 'superbug', the symptoms, if it is drug-resistant and whether it can be killed with a deep-clean

Tragedies that prompted ‘massive wake-up call’

Bad hygiene and poor staffing had contributed to hundreds of infections during the outbreaks of C. difficile in 2005 and 2006

Deaths from superbug C difficile rise 28 per cent

New figures show extent of C difficile problem in hospitals, but number of fatal cases of MRSA falls for the first time

Plastic surgery for bullied girls

Surgeon admits to having given young girls surgery, including reshaping noses and breast enlargements, to counter bullying

Cells breakthrough made in quest for deafness cure

Group of scientists led by a doctor who cannot hear succeed in growing a critical type of ear cell, giving hope to millions

Map shows obesity spreads to remote regions

Map of obesity hotspots shows more than one in ten patients is obese in some valleys of Wales and parts of the South East

Tories say 'no excuses' for fat children

Andrew Lansley, Shadow Health Secretary, said today that "peer pressure" should be used to discourage obesity

Blindness sufferers to get crucial drug on NHS

NICE has given clearance to use Lucentis for wet age-related macular degeneration. It costs about £10,700 per patient

Woman detects cancer in e-mail image of girl

The Manchester business analyst, who has no medical training, noticed a white shadow on the child’s eye

Woman hobbles home after 5 years on the road

Welsh grandmother achieves her ambition of running solo across northern hemisphere to raise awareness of prostate cancer

Caesarean babies at risk of diabetes

Review of 20 studies on children with type 1 diabetes found those delivered by Caesarean section had a 20 per cent increased risk

Cancer patients kept in dark on expensive drugs

Doctors are avoiding telling patients about expensive treatments to avoid distress when they find out the NHS won’t pay for them

Treatment blocked despite years of pain

Colin Ross was told that unless he is given the drug Revlimid he will have lost his battle with multiple myeloma by the autumn

Aspirin a day could keep heart attack away

From the age of 47 in men and 57 in women, the heart disease risk is 10 per cent - a risk worth treating, researchers say

Priory plan to cut sick pay angers nurses

Bosses at the Priory chain argue the 'generous' sick-pay scheme gives no incentive for healthcare workers to come to work

A better life beats a longer life

Peter Butler tells The Sunday Times that the benefits of his face transplant surgery far outweighed the risks it posed

Pioneering transplant made available on NHS

Face transplants like that carried out on Isabelle Dinoire in France could soon be provided on the NHS if state funding is authorised

Top doctors slam NHS drug rationing

Drugs rationing body accused of ignoring the plight of patients to pay for cancer treatments freely available in Europe