The Alcorn and Ross Practice

News:

Out of Hours
If an urgent need for attention occurs outside normal surgery hours please call (028) 9074 4447 where a doctor will be available to advise. The doctor may ask you to attend the centre, or arrange a home visit as appropriate

Emergency calls – you should call 999 and ask for an ambulance. If in doubt please call the receptionist or the Health Centre number at any time and you will be given advice.

Appointments
Contact the receptionist (028) 9024 0030 who will arrange an appointment for you. If you feel that the matter is urgent and cannot wait for the next free appointment, tell the receptionist and she will inform the doctor who will advise.

NHS Days (MSW)

01 Nov - 01 Dec
Lung Cancer Awareness Month

Lung cancer is known as the “invisible” or “forgotten” disease but lung cancer is a stark reality for more than 37,000 new patients in the UK every year – that’s one every 15 minutes.

BBC Health

Hospital bug fine plan 'unfair'

The government's plan to fine hospitals for not hitting Clostridium difficile targets is unfair, experts say.

Asbestos pay-out ruling due

A ruling is expected later that could have profound implications for asbestos-related cancer victims and their families.

Detention units 'fail on health'

Children held in UK detention centres are not getting the medical care they need, a leading medical journal warns.

Young drinkers offered education

Police are tackling the growing problem of drink-related crime by offering youngsters a re-education programme.

Over-the-counter Viagra bid ends

The makers of the anti-impotence drug Viagra have withdrawn an application for the medicine to be available without a prescription.

Dog 'sniffs out' owner's cancer

A man from north Oxfordshire credits his pet Rottweiler with sniffing out his skin cancer.

Heavy drinkers 'lie to doctors'

Almost two in five people who drink to excess lie to their doctor about how much alcohol they really consume, says a survey.

Hospital to bury unclaimed organs

Parents of children whose organs were removed at Liverpool's Alder Hey hospital have until May to reclaim their body parts.

Wales A&E figures miss key target

Opposition parties say health strategy in Wales is failing as new statistics show A&E waiting times are missing targets.

About face! How babies in their buggies benefit from eye contact.

The direction a child is facing in their pram could affect their development and stress levels, a study suggests.

Yahoo Health

Study: Pill as good as chemo on lung cancer, but costlier (AP)

AP - Some advanced lung cancer patients already treated with chemotherapy might be able to skip some of the bad side effects of another series of chemo by taking a pill instead, a study suggests. An international study showed patients on Iressa, an expensive, newer targeted treatment, survived about as long as those on another course of chemotherapy.

HIV tests not yet as routine as cholesterol checks (AP)

AP - Two years after the government urged making HIV tests as common as cholesterol checks, there are small gains but still one in five people infected with the AIDS virus doesn't know it, scientists said Thursday.

Teen lives 4 months with no heart, leaves hospital (AP)

Fourteen-year-old D'Zhana Simmons (L) of South Carolina, who survived without a heart for nearly four months, walks with her mother, Twolla Anderson (R) as they enter a news conference at the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Medical Center in Miami November 19, 2008. Simmons was kept alive by a custom-built artificial blood pumping device until she was able to have a heart transplant. (Joe Skipper/Reuters)

AP - D'Zhana Simmons says she felt like a "fake person" for 118 days when she had no heart beating in her chest. "But I know that I really was here," the 14-year-old said, "and I did live without a heart."

Insurers make pitch for health coverage mandate (AP)

AP - The health insurance industry said Wednesday it will support a national health care overhaul that requires them to accept all customers, regardless of pre-existing medical conditions but in return it wants lawmakers to mandate that everyone buy coverage.

Surgeon who did first US heart transplant dies (AP)

In this photo released by L.VAD Technology Inc., Dr. Adrian Kantrowitz is shown in New York in 1968. Dr. Kantrowitz, who performed the first human heart transplant in the United States in 1967 also pioneered development of mechanical devices to prolong the life of patients with heart failure, died in Ann Arbor, Mich., Friday, Nov. 14, 2008. He was 90. (AP Photo/L.VAD Technology Inc.)

AP - Dr. Adrian Kantrowitz, a cardiac surgeon who performed the nation's first human heart transplant and who also developed lifesaving medical implants, has died. He was 90. Kantrowitz died Friday in Ann Arbor of complications from heart failure, said his wife, Jean Kantrowitz.

Obese have right to 2 airline seats: Canada court (Reuters)

Reuters - Obese people have the right to two seats for the price of one on flights within Canada, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled on Thursday.

Pfizer drops bid to sell Viagra over the counter in Europe (AFP)

Pfizer has dropped its bid to market its potency pill Viagra over the counter in Europe, the US pharmaceutical giant announced Thursday.(AFP/HO/File)

AFP - Pfizer has dropped its bid to market its potency pill Viagra over the counter in Europe, the US pharmaceutical giant announced Thursday.

Clinical Trials Update: Nov. 20, 2008 (HealthDay)

HealthDay - (HealthDay News) -- Here are the latest clinical trials, courtesy of CenterWatch:

Texting Food Diaries Helps Kids Stick With Diets (HealthDay)

HealthDay - THURSDAY, Nov. 20 (HealthDay News) -- Experts hope that letting kids have their fingers do the texting will increase compliance with the food diaries that are such a critical part of successful dieting.

When the Caregiver Becomes the Patient (HealthDay)

HealthDay - THURSDAY, Nov. 20 (HealthDay News) -- The stress of providing care for a loved one with Alzheimer's results in 25 percent of family caregivers having at least one emergency room or hospital visit every six months, says an Indiana University study.

MedPage Today

Physicians Reluctant to Follow CDC Call for Routine HIV Testing

WASHINGTON (MedPage Today) -- The CDC's 2006 recommendation that HIV testing should be essentially universal in healthcare, even for low-risk patients, has been largely unheeded, in part because many clinicians have declined to go along, said researchers here.

Water Aerobics During Pregnancy May Make Childbirth More Bearable

CAMPINAS, Brazil (MedPage Today) -- Performing water aerobics during pregnancy may ease the pain of delivery, a small, randomized trial found.

Gefitinib Edges Chemotherapy for Advanced NSCLC

HOUSTON (MedPage Today) -- For second-line treatment of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), oral gefitinib (Iressa) may be as effective as standard chemotherapy, researchers found.

Weekly Weigh-In Could Bolster Teen Weight Control

MINNEAPOLIS (MedPage Today) -- The bathroom scale used at least once a week may encourage overweight teens to find healthy ways to shed unwanted pounds, researchers reported here.

Gene Variant Linked to Alcohol Consumption

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (MedPage Today) -- Variation in the gene for the serotonin transporter appears to be linked to how much some alcoholics drink, researchers here said.

Religious Feelings Associated with Women's Lengthier Survival

NEW YORK (MedPage Today) -- Expressions of religious feeling by participants in the Women's Health Initiative translated into a greater likelihood of survival during the study, researchers here said.

Specialized Care and Telemedicine Improve Stroke Outcomes

BERLIN (MedPage Today) -- The long-term prognosis for stroke patients is better at community hospitals equipped with monitoring technology, trained multidisciplinary teams, and teleconsultation capability, researchers found.

Psychiatrists Give Mixed Reviews on ACP Antidepressant Guideline

PHILADELPHIA (MedPage Today) -- A practice guideline on the use of second-generation antidepressants, issued here this week by the American College of Physicians, has earned cheers as well as jeers from psychiatrists.

Waxman Takes Gavel from Dingell as Chairman of Powerful House Committee

WASHINGTON (MedPage Today) -- Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) today unseated the longest serving current member of the House, Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.), an automaker ally, to lead the powerful Energy and Commerce Committee in the next Congress.

ASRM: Ovarian Cancer Risk Increased After In Vitro Fertilization

SAN FRANCISCO (MedPage Today) -- In vitro fertilization is associated with an increased risk of ovarian malignancies, particularly borderline tumors -- but the absolute risk of these uncommon malignancies remains small, a large study showed.

Daily Mail

Big six fast-food chains pledge to slash fat and salt in historic anti-obesity shift

Six of the country's biggest restaurant chains have pledged to serve more salad and slash levels of fat and salt in their products in an historic shift.

Boy, 12, collapsed and died after 'using too much Lynx deodorant'

A boy of 12 collapsed and died after using 'copious' amounts of deodorant in a cramped bathroom, an inquest heard.

Our cancer shame: '10,000 Britons die needlessly every year as GPs miss vital symptoms'

More than 10,000 people die needlessly each year because their cancers are not diagnosed in time, a study says.

Aerobics in the pool can 'ease the pain of childbirth'

Doing aqua-aerobics during pregnancy can ease the pain of childbirth, research shows.

Toddler saved after pioneering op uses medical superglue to plug holes in her brain

A toddler with one of the world's rarest medical conditions has undergone a life-saving operation to repair her damaged brain - with medical superglue.

Scientists are a step closer to creating 'elixir of life'

The secrets of eternal youth are being unlocked by scientists. Experiments show that an enzyme called telomerase could be the key ingredient in an 'elixir of life'.

Teenager lives for record 118 days without a heart before having transplant

A teenager survived for nearly four months without a heart until she was able to have a transplant, American doctors say.

WORLD MEDICAL FIRST: British doctors grow woman's transplant organ from scratch using her own stem cells

A mother of two has become the first person in the world to undergo a whole organ transplant grown from her own stem cells. The British scientists are hailing a new dawn in transplant surgery.

How three cups of green tea a day can help you lose weight - even if you keep eating junk food

Three cups of green tea a day could help keep obesity at bay, scientists claim.

Bags of stress: Why Christmas shopping is bad for your health

Our wallets will not be the only thing suffering as we buy presents this Christmas. A study has found festive buying increased blood pressure to dangerous levels in 50 per cent of shoppers.

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