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General Medical Council Announces Launch Date For Doctors' Licences, UK
The GMC has announced the launch date of a milestone in medical regulation. From 16 November, all doctors will need a licence in order to practise medicine in the UK.

Opinion Pieces React To Obama's Nomination Of Sotomayor To Supreme Court
Several newspapers on Wednesday included editorials and opinion pieces on President Obama"s nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court. Summaries appear below. ~New York Times: Obama "seems to have made an inspired choice" in selecting Sotomayor as his nominee because she "has an impressive judicial record, a stellar academic background and a compelling life story," a Times editorial states. According to the editorial, "Based on what we know now, the Senate should confirm her so she can join the court when it begins its new term in October." The editorial notes that, "Conservative activists have already begun trying to paint Judge Sotomayor as a liberal ideologue, but her carefully reasoned, fact-based decisions indicate otherwise." The editorial continues, "If Judge Sotomayor joins the court, it will be a special point of pride for Hispanic-Americans," and "will also bring the paltry number of female justices back to two." It adds, "Judge Sotomayor, though, is more than just a distinguished member of two underrepresented groups. She is an accomplished lawyer and judge, who could become an extraordinary Supreme Court Justice" (New York Times, 5/27).~Gerard Magliocca, New York Times: In addition to sharing Obama"s "experience and intellect," Sotomayor "also mirror"s the president"s measured temperament," Magliocca, a law professor at Indiana University, writes in a Times opinion piece. Magliocca writes that he has known Sotomayor for 13 years and notes that although he is a conservative and has at times been "at odds with" Sotomayor professionally, he does not dispute her qualifications. According to Magliocca, "For those of us who think that intellectual rigor and fairness are the crucial factors" to be a Supreme Court justice, "no matter which party the president hails from, there is no question that Judge Sotomayor should be confirmed" (Magliocca, New York Times, 5/27).~USA Today: Upon hearing that Sotomayor was Obama"s nominee, Republican critics "quickly insisted that the Senate assure itself that Sotomayor would not make rulings based on her "personal politics, feelings and preferences,"" a USA Today editorial states. According to the editorial, "To some extent, the entire argument is overblown. People inevitably are the product of their experiences, and they can hardly shed their history and character at the courthouse door." The editorial continues, "That is why the court is enriched by having an eclectic mix of justices who can bring differing perspectives to bear on the case at hand." The editorial concludes, "Sotomayor"s education and experience make her far more than a political twofer who allowed Obama to check the "female" and "Hispanic" boxes. But there"s a limit to the application of empathy and heritage to the law, and her confirmation hearings will be an opportunity for her to spell out exactly where she believes that line falls," (USA Today, 5/27).~ Steven Waldman, Wall Street Journal: "Everyone seems to assume" that Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor is "ardently for abortion rights," but there is "stunningly little information about her abortion views -- and what we do know hardly paints her as a pro-choice activist," Waldman, president and editor-in-chief of Beliefnet.com and author of "Founding Faith," writes in a Journal opinion piece. He continues that Sotomayor has ruled only on three cases "indirectly related to abortion," and each time ruled in a way preferred by abortion-rights opponents, "albeit for reasons unrelated to the merits of abortion." Although Sotomayor"s decisions in the cases were related "to matters of constitutional law and criminal procedure, ... at a minimum, it showed that whatever her abortion views, it didn"t produce some powerful inclination against the pro-life position," according to Waldman. "Now all of this might not mean anything. She may prove to be a strong advocate of Roe v. Wade. But it"s telling that the abortion interest groups took sides without knowing anything about her abortion
News of the day
Managing Acute Post-operative Pain In Hospital
Health professionals caring for patients with acute post-operative pain can improve pain management with a new drug use evaluation toolkit developed by the National Prescribing Service Ltd (NPS).
Sexual Health

Child Deaths Drop Sharply

Deaths of children aged under five years have dropped by 27% globally since 1990, according to the latest World Health Organization (WHO) estimates. But in WHO"s first progress report on the health Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) released today in the World. Health Statistics 2009, other results are mixed. An estimated 9 million children aged under five years died in 2007, significantly fewer than the 12.5 million estimated to have died in 1990, the baseline year against which progress towards the goals is measured. However, in many African countries and in low-income countries generally, progress has been insufficient to reach the MDG target, that aims for a two thirds reduction in child mortality by the year 2015. "The decline in the death toll of children under five illustrates what can be achieved by strengthening health systems and scaling up interventions, such as insecticide-treated mosquito nets for malaria and oral rehydration therapy for diarrhoea, increased access to vaccines and improved water and sanitation in developing countries," said Dr Ties Boerma, Director of WHO"s Department of Health Statistics and Informatics. The MDGs were initiated by the United Nations and its partners to achieve significant improvements in eight health and development areas by 2015. "At the mid-way point, the analysis shows encouraging signs of progress," said Dr Boerma. "But there needs to be more effort to strengthen health systems in countries affected by high levels of HIV/AIDS, economic hardship or conflict. Moreover, there is a need to pay greater attention to the poorest groups within countries where progress is often the slowest and child mortality rates remain high." "Areas where there has been little or no movement are notably maternal and newborn health. An estimated 37% of deaths among children aged under five occurs in the first month of life, and most of them in the first week of life," said Dr Boerma. "While the data are patchy and incomplete, it appears that the regions with the least progress are those where levels of maternal mortality are highest." "The challenges ahead are those presented by weak health systems, those associated with noncommunicable chronic conditions, and emerging health threats such as pandemics and climate change," said Dr Boerma. World Health Statistics 2009 is an annual report based on more than 100 health indicators collected from WHO"s 193 Member States. These indicators provide a snapshot of global health trends. However, the data have some limitations. These are explained in our Frequently Asked Questions about health statistics. More information about WHO"s health statistics can be found here. Among other findings, the report reveals: - An estimated 1.2 billion people are affected by neglected tropical diseases. In 2007, 546 million people were treated to prevent the parasitic disease lymphatic filariasis (also known as elephantiasis), which causes enlargement of parts of the body. - The availability of essential medicines at public health facilities is often poor and prices remain high, even for generic medicine. - There are now more than 3 million people in developing countries receiving antiretroviral therapy, which proves that complex treatment for chronic disease is possible in low-income settings. - Adolescent pregnancy rates remain high. Globally, there were 48 births for every 1000 women aged 15-19 years in 2006, a small decline from 51 per 1000 in 2000. - Out of every 100 deaths worldwide, 51 are due to noncommunicable conditions; 34 to communicable, maternal or nutritional conditions; and 14 to injuries. Changes in population age structures, risk factors and disease patterns are resulting in increases in the proportion of deaths due to noncommunicable diseases such as heart disease, stroke, cancers and road traffic accidents. Many developing countries have to cope with a double burden of both infectious and noncommunicable diseases that is overwhelming their health care systems. Action needs to be taken now to implement preventive interventions including reductions in tobacco use, overweight and obesity, and high blood pressure. See also: Fact Sheet: Progress and the health-related Millennium Development Goals World Health Organisation


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