British Ebola patient discharged

3 September 2014 Last updated at 12:07 By James Gallagher Health editor, BBC News website

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

William Pooley on his Ebola diagnosis: 'I just thought of my parents''

The first British person to contract Ebola during the outbreak in West Africa has been discharged from hospital after making a full recovery.

William Pooley, 29, has been treated in a special isolation unit at the Royal Free Hospital in London.

Mr Pooley was given the experimental drug ZMapp and has praised the "world class" care at the hospital.

About half of the 3,000 people infected in the outbreak, which started in Guinea, have died.

Mr Pooley was working as a volunteer nurse in one of the worst affected countries, Sierra Leone, when he contracted the virus.

He is unsure when he became infected, but started feeling sick and needed a blood test.

He recalled the moment his fears were confirmed: "I was woken early that evening by one of the World Health Organization doctors and immediately I knew it was bad news.

"I was worried that I was going to die, I was worried about my family and I was scared."

'Very lucky'

He was flown back to the UK by the RAF on Sunday 24 August.

Mr Pooley was in the earlier stages of the disease. He had a high temperature but was not bleeding.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

He is not infectious to anyone else now. The virus is cleared from the body, and there is no risk to the wider community in any way"

End Quote Dr Michael Jacobs Infectious diseases consultant

He said: "I was very lucky in several ways; firstly in the standard of care I received, which is a world apart from what people are receiving in West Africa at the moment.

"And my symptoms never progressed to the worst stage of the disease, I've seen people dying horrible deaths, I had some unpleasant symptoms, but nothing compared to the worst of the disease."

He was treated with the experimental Ebola drug ZMapp, a 12-hour infusion of antibodies, that has been given to only six other patients.

It is not clear if the infusion helped, but levels of the virus in his bloodstream did fall significantly after the treatment.

Dr Michael Jacobs, an infectious diseases consultant at the hospital, said: "He is not infectious to anyone else now. The virus is cleared from the body, and there is no risk to the wider community in any way."

He said the isolation unit Mr Pooley had been kept in was going through chemical decontamination.

"This unit is always there, it's business-as-usual for us, we were prepared for this to happen and we're prepared if it happens again."

Heroes

The global response to the disease has been "lethally inadequate", according to the charity Medecins Sans Frontieres.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

In the face of quite likely a horrible death, they're continuing to work all day, every day helping sick people, it's amazing"

End Quote William Pooley Ebola patient

Estimates suggest up to 20,000 people will be infected during this outbreak.

Mr Pooley praised the efforts of other people working on the ground.

"It's just heroic what they're doing, they know what might be facing them," he said.

"In the face of quite likely a horrible death, they're continuing to work all day, every day helping sick people, it's amazing."

He said it had felt "natural" to go and help in West Africa, that he had no regrets and was "more committed than ever to nursing".

Mr Pooley is heading back to Eyke in Suffolk with his family this afternoon.

"They incinerated my passport, so my mum will be pleased to know I can't go anywhere," he added.

Ebola virus disease (EVD)

• Symptoms include high fever, bleeding and central nervous system damage
• Spread by body fluids, such as blood and saliva
• Fatality rate can reach 90% - but current outbreak has mortality rate of about 55%
• Incubation period is two to 21 days
• There is no vaccine or cure
• Supportive care such as rehydrating patients who have diarrhoea and vomiting can help recovery
• Fruit bats, a delicacy for some West Africans, are considered to be virus's natural host

21.24 | 0 komentar | Read More

All diets 'have similar results'

3 September 2014 Last updated at 01:23 By James Gallagher Health editor, BBC News website

All diets - from Atkins to Weight Watchers - have similar results and people should simply pick the one they find easiest, say researchers.

The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, analysed data from 48 separate trials.

The Canadian team concluded that sticking to a diet was more important than the diet itself.

Obesity experts said all diets cut calories to a similar level, which may explain the results.

Diets go in and out of fashion on a regular basis, with a current debate around the relative benefits of low carb and low fat diets.

All the same

Scientists at McMaster University in Ontario and the Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute in Toronto analysed data from 7,286 overweight dieters.

The range of diets covered included, Atkins, South Beach, Zone, Biggest Loser, Jenny Craig, Nutrisystem, Volumetrics, Weight Watchers, Ornish and Rosemary Conley.

It showed that after 12 months, people on low carbohydrate and low fat diets both lost an average of 7.3kg (16lb). Those on low carb meal plans had lost slightly more at the six-month marker.

The report said: "The differences [between diets] were small and unlikely to be important to those seeking weight loss."

It concluded: "Our findings should be reassuring to clinicians and the public that there is no need for a one-size-fits-­all approach to dieting because many different diets appear to offer considerable weight loss benefits.

"Our findings suggest that patients may choose, among those associated with the largest weight loss, the diet that gives them the least challenges with adherence."

However, the study did not look at wider health issues, such as levels of cholesterol, which may vary according to diet.

Prof Susan Jebb, from the University of Oxford and a government advisor on obesity, said diets were more similar than they appeared, advocating cutting calories to 1,500 a day, sticking to strict meal times and avoiding biscuits, cakes and chocolate.

"The issue is about adherence and it's how closely and how long can you keep sticking to the plan over time that matters.

"That probably means finding the right diet for you, rather than one being so particularly better than the others."

She said people should try to match diets to their lives.

Vegetarians would struggle more with a high protein, low carb diet, while people living on their own may find liquid (instead of meals) diets easier than those who would still have to cook for a family.

21.24 | 0 komentar | Read More

Ashya's mother 'cried and prayed'

3 September 2014 Last updated at 13:56

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

Speaking exclusively to the BBC's Jon Kay, Naghemeh King said all she could do was ''cry and pray'' while in prison

The mother of Ashya King has said she prayed in prison she would be reunited with her child.

Naghemeh King and her husband Brett were freed from custody in Madrid on Tuesday after efforts to extradite the couple to the UK were abandoned.

Speaking after her release, she said: "All I could do was just cry and pray."

Earlier it emerged that five-year-old Ashya, who has a brain tumour, can receive treatment at the Proton Therapy Center in Prague.

'See my son's face'

Police efforts to track down Ashya began after his parents took him from Southampton General Hospital without doctors' consent last week, in order to seek proton beam treatment abroad.

The Kings were arrested in Spain on Saturday.

In an exclusive interview, Mrs King told the BBC's Jon Kay: "What could I do in a prison cell? I could not do much, really."

Asked how angry the couple were, Mr King said: "I wouldn't say angry, I'm just missing my son so much.

"My heart is aching for my son and anger can't come in at the moment because I've just got these feelings that I've got to see my son's face."

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

Brett King: "We want to help our son get through this bad time because he hasn't got too many months to live"

Mrs King added: "I just want to wet his mouth because he can't drink through his mouth, I want to brush his teeth, I want to turn him side to side every 15 minutes because he can't move.

"I just want to do all those things I was doing from Southampton, I want to do it for him here."

In an emotional press conference, Brett King said: "They arrested us and directly they took my son away and said he was not allowed to have any visitors.

"We want to help our son get through this bad time because he hasn't got too many months to live and we're locked away in a cell - we're just trying to speed things up to help him."

The couple are believed to be on their way to see their son in hospital in Malaga.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has said a cancer specialist will be flown out to Spain to give Ashya's parents advice on the best course of action.

Continue reading the main story

This is a young lad who has a very, very good chance of survival if he receives rapid treatment"

End Quote Dr Pete Wilson Southampton General Hospital

The Proton Therapy Center said it has received full medical reports from Southampton Hospital and Ashya is required to undergo two cycles of chemotherapy before he could be treated in Prague.

That is expected to take several weeks but afterwards Ashya would be able to travel to the Czech Republic.

Proton Therapy uses a form of radiation that targets cancer cells while leaving healthy tissue virtually untouched.

Arrest warrant

Ashya had major surgery to successfully remove a brain tumour on 24 July and a further operation on his brain on 22 August.

As a result of these procedures he was unable to speak, unable to eat or drink on his own and relied on a food pump.

Following his disappearance from Southampton Hospital last Thursday, Hampshire Constabulary obtained a European arrest warrant on the grounds the Kings had neglected their son.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) withdrew the warrant on Tuesday.

In a statement, the CPS said the risk to Ashya's life "was not as great or immediate as had been originally thought".

The statement read: "Mr and Mrs King did take certain steps to safeguard the health of Ashya, for example it appears they had ordered specialist foods to care for Ashya, and had managed to charge the food pump using their car battery."

'No threat made'

Dr Pete Wilson, chief paediatrician at Southampton General Hospital, has told the BBC the Kings' departure from the hospital with Ashya came after they questioned the planned treatment for their son.

In the the University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust's view, proton beam treatment is a form of radiotherapy with "no proven significant benefit".

He said: "When [the doctors] were asked directly by the family what would happen if we refused any treatment they were told that in exceptional circumstances, as doctors, we would need to act in Ashya's best interests and that may need going to the court.

"[A threat] wasn't made. A question was asked what would happen if we refused treatment.

"Refusing treatment for a child is exceptionally serious. This is a young lad who has a very, very good chance of survival if he receives rapid treatment.

"We are very clear that the message that we were giving them was consistent and that we got it across.

"I think there are cases where the family just disagrees with us. That is their right. But it our duty as doctors to do the best for the patient."

Ashya King's legal status

• Portsmouth City Council made the request for a temporary wardship order on 29 August, following a request from Southampton General Hospital and Hampshire Constabulary, while Ashya's whereabouts were unknown

• The order specifically related to Ashya's medical care and required him to be taken to the nearest appropriate hospital

• Following a hearing on 2 September the case was adjourned to allow the parents to put forward their proposals for Ashya's treatment

• He remains a ward of court and no decision about Ashya's future can be taken without the court's approval

• If there is a dispute between the parents and the medical authorities as to the right course of treatment, the court will make the decision

• If the two sides are in agreement, the court will endorse that agreement to allow treatment to begin

Prime Minister David Cameron's spokesman said the Home Office had been in discussions with Hampshire Constabulary about the force's handling of the investigation.

Hampshire Police Commissioner Simon Hayes said the force had been correct to pursue the arrest warrant.

Mr Hayes said: "I'm confident with the evidence that I have that it was the right thing to do.

"Hampshire Constabulary were given information by Southampton General Hospital that said Ashya was in grave danger and he needed to be found for his life to be saved."

An internal inquiry into the case has begun at the hospital, the BBC understands.

21.24 | 0 komentar | Read More

Brain 'can learn to eat healthily'

2 September 2014 Last updated at 08:53

The brain can be trained to prefer healthy food over unhealthy high-calorie foods, using a diet which does not leave people hungry, suggests a study from the US.

Scientists from Tufts University say food addictions can be changed in this way even if they are well-established.

They scanned the addiction centre in the brains of a small group of men and women.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

We don't start out in life loving French fries and hating, for example, whole wheat pasta."

End Quote Prof Susan B Roberts Tufts University

The results showed increased cravings for healthy lower-calorie foods.

Prof Susan B Roberts, senior study author and behavioural nutrition scientist at the Boston university, said: "We don't start out in life loving French fries and hating, for example, wholewheat pasta.

"This conditioning happens over time in response to eating - repeatedly - what is out there in the toxic food environment."

Scientists know that once people are addicted to unhealthy foods, it is usually very hard to change their eating habits and get them to lose weight.

But Prof Roberts' research, published in the journal Nutrition & Diabetes, suggests the brain can learn to like healthy foods.

They studied the part of the brain linked to reward and addiction in 13 overweight and obese men and women, eight of whom were taking part in a specially designed weight-loss programme.

This focused on changing food preferences by prescribing a diet high in fibre and protein, and low in carbohydrates, but which did not allow participants to become hungry because this is when food cravings take over and unhealthy food becomes attractive.

The other five adults were not part of the weight-loss programme.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

There is much more research to be done here, involving many more participants and long-term follow-up."

End Quote Prof Susan Roberts

When their brains were scanned using MRI at the start and end of a six-month period, those following the programme showed changes in the brain's reward centre.

When participants were shown pictures of different types of food, it was the healthy, low-calorie foods which produced an increased reaction.

The study said this indicated an increased reward and enjoyment of healthier food.

The brain's reward centre also showed decreased sensitivity to the unhealthy, higher-calorie foods.

The Boston researchers say that gastric bypass surgery, while solving the problem of weight loss, can take away food enjoyment rather than make healthier foods more appealing.

"There is much more research to be done here, involving many more participants, long-term follow-up and investigating more areas of the brain," Prof Roberts said.

21.24 | 0 komentar | Read More

Hospitals seeing more skin cancer

2 September 2014 Last updated at 00:02

The number of people admitted to hospital for skin cancer treatment in England rose by nearly a third in five years, official figures show.

In 2007 there were 87,685 admissions, while in 2011 there were 123,808.

The data, gathered by researchers at Public Health England, does not include treatment in outpatient units or by GPs.

Experts say cheap foreign holidays and the fashion for having tanned skin are probably to blame for the increase.

The majority of the cancers treated were on the head and neck.

While skin cancers can be serious, they are also largely avoidable as excess sun exposure is the major cause.

The figures, which will be presented at the World Congress On Cancers Of The Skin, in Edinburgh later this week, show that admissions for both the most risky form of skin cancer - malignant melanoma - and other skin cancers are on the rise.

Between 2007 and 2011, hospitals in England saw a 30% increase in admissions for melanoma treatment and a 43% rise in non-melanoma skin cancer admissions.

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

Dermatologist Dr Walayat Hussain says the UK is experiencing "a tsunami of skin cancer"

The cost of this treatment - mostly for surgery to cut the tumours out - now stands at more than £95m a year.

Some patients were treated as day cases, but others had to stay in hospital.

More than 16,000 skin grafts and flaps were needed to treat the disease in 2011 alone.

Yet experts say the bulk of these skin cancer cases could have been avoided by better protection of the skin from the sun's harmful rays.

Although public awareness about the dangers of too much exposure to UV light has improved, many people still take risks and get burnt.

Sunburn doubles your chance of developing melanoma.

Johnathon Major, of the British Association of Dermatologists, said: "As holidays to sunny locations become cheaper and tanned skin remains a desirable fashion statement, we have seen an inevitable increase in skin cancer incidence rates and the associated health and financial burden they place on the nation."

Sarah Williams, senior health information officer at Cancer Research UK, said: "Changes to where patients are treated may have added to the size of this increase in hospital treatment for skin cancer, but it's worrying to see rising rates of a disease that could largely be prevented.

"Although it may seem that summer's over, September sun in the UK can still be strong enough to burn, especially for those who have sensitive skin.

"When the sun is strong, covering up with clothes and spending time in the shade are the best ways to protect your skin from sunburn and reduce the risk of skin cancer."

Mole or melanoma?

A good way to tell the difference between a normal mole and a melanoma is to use the ABCDE checklist:

• Asymmetrical - melanomas have two very different halves and are an irregular shape
• Border - unlike a normal mole, melanomas have a notched or ragged border
• Colours - melanomas will be a mix of two or more colours
• Diameter - unlike most moles, melanomas are larger than 6mm (0.25in)
• Enlargement or evolution - a mole that changes characteristics and size over time is more likely to be a melanoma

Source: NHS Choices

21.24 | 0 komentar | Read More

Ashya situation 'not right' - police

2 September 2014 Last updated at 15:22

Hampshire Police chief constable says the Ashya King situation "is not right", and his parents should be reunited with him.

In a letter to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), the government, Portsmouth City Council and Southampton General Hospital, Andy Marsh said: "It is my view as chief constable that the situation today is not right.

"Irrespective of what has happened it is our view that Ashya needs both medical treatment and for his parents to be at his side."

21.24 | 0 komentar | Read More

Sunbed study highlights cancer risk

31 August 2014 Last updated at 00:28

Sunbed users are still at risk of skin cancer even if they do not burn their skin, according to a new study.

Researchers found sunbeds significantly increased the risk of a common type of skin cancer, which is caused by repeated tanning rather than burning.

Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) accounts for 20% of skin cancers.

The academics, from Dundee University and Leiden University Medical Centre in the Netherlands, will present their findings at a conference in Edinburgh.

The researchers said warnings about sunbeds often focused on melanoma, which is associated with burning and accounts for just 1% of all skin cancers.

SCC is the second most common skin cancer, and is caused by repeated tanning.

UV levels

As part of the research, being presented this week at the World Congress on Cancers of the Skin in Edinburgh, it was calculated that an average sunbed user - who tans for 12 minutes every eight days between the ages of 20 and 35 - is 90% more likely to develop SCC by their 50s.

Although SCC is not as deadly as melanoma, it leads to around 500 deaths a year in the UK.

Continue reading the main story

One defence of the sunbed industry is that sunbeds do not increase your risk of skin cancer if you do not burn, however this study weakens this argument"

End Quote Nina Goad British Association of Dermatologists

In January 2013, the same researchers from Dundee published a study which measured ultraviolet (UV) radiation levels emitted by 400 sunbeds across England.

This showed that nine out of 10 sunbeds emitted UV levels above European safety limits.

This data on UV levels was used in the latest study, which also factored in the average length of sunbed sessions, and the number of sessions each year, as well as a person's cumulative UV exposure from the sun.

For high dose sunbeds the risk of SCC was increased by 180%. The sunbeds giving the lowest UV dose found in the 2013 study were linked to a 40% increased risk of developing SCC.

One of the study's authors, Prof Harry Moseley of the University of Dundee, said: "There is considerable variation in the output of artificial tanning units which people should be aware of.

"The results of our study indicate that the additional UV dose from sunbed use compared to normal day-to-day sun exposure potentially adds a significantly increased risk for development of SCC."

Nina Goad of the British Association of Dermatologists said: "While other types of skin cancer, such as melanoma, are linked to sunburn, SCC is caused by more chronic, long-term, cumulative sun exposure.

"One defence of the sunbed industry is that sunbeds do not increase your risk of skin cancer if you do not burn, however this study weakens this argument.

"It is something that people should be warned about, so they are fully informed of the risks when making choices about sunbed use."

21.24 | 0 komentar | Read More

'Urgent' call for obesity taskforce

31 August 2014 Last updated at 08:41

Health leaders are calling for an emergency taskforce to be set up to tackle childhood obesity in England.

In an open letter to the chief medical officer for England, Prof Dame Sally Davies, they say "an entire generation is being destroyed by a diet of junk food and sugary drinks".

They want an action group, made up of doctors, nurses, dieticians, dentists and schools, to be set up urgently.

Currently, around one in three children under 15 are overweight or obese.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

Many parents don't recognise their children are obese because many of them are obese themselves."

End Quote Dr Nigel Mathers Sheffield GP

The Royal College of General Practitioners and 11 other organisations signed the letter, which has been timed to coincide with the start of the new school year.

In it, health leaders call for better co-ordination of obesity treatment services so that all children can be encouraged to eat healthily from a young age.

They also call for a raft of other measures, including:

• increased support for the National Child Measurement Programme
• improved investment in IT programmes for weight management
• more training in malnutrition and obesity for GPs and other health professionals
• outreach projects to educate families about the dangers of obesity

The letter's signatories recommend setting up a national Child Obesity Action Group to tackle the problem.

'Lifetime of sickness'

Dr Rachel Pryke, clinical lead for nutrition at the RCGP, said a consistent national approach to treating obesity was needed.

"The nutritional patterns laid out in early years can define a child's health for life and the stark fact is that overweight children are being set up for a lifetime of sickness and health problems.

"As parents and health professionals, we need to take responsibility and ensure that every child has a healthy and varied diet and regular exercise."

She added: "Many schools are rising to the challenge and doing what they can in terms of education and outreach.

"Public Health England are already carrying out children measurement schemes and weight-prevention initiatives are widespread - but child obesity treatment provision is a postcode lottery with many areas having limited or no child obesity treatment services at all."

Dr Pryke said simply collating those figures was not enough and that a consistent response to these statistics was needed, right across the country.

Doctors leaders have also previously suggested banning adverts for fast food and introducing a tax on sugary drinks.

Generation in denial

Dr Nigel Mathers, a GP in Sheffield and a member of the RCGP, said there was a culture of denial among many of his patients.

"Many parents don't recognise their children are obese because many of them are obese themselves.

"Obesity is the new normal and we need a unified approach to manage it."

GPs say they are dealing with a generation of patients who may die before their parents.

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

Jennifer Taylor explains how a health scare made her lose weight

Also, because few people associate weight with cancer, children are growing up with a range of health problems that could develop into serious lifelong illnesses, such as Type 2 diabetes.

Dr Helen Stokes-Lampard from the Royal College of GPs said: "These kids are going to turn into larger and larger adults, which means they are at much higher risk of serious heart disease, cancers, strokes, as they get older.

"But even more worrying is some of these children, children as young as seven, are developing diabetes - and the sort of diabetes associated with increased weight in middle age."

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

We need action now. We've got to start by doing proper monitoring of children's weight from birth and then every year of their lives."

End Quote Tam Fry National Obesity Forum

Tam Fry, chair of the Child Growth Foundation and spokesperson for the National Obesity Forum, says the emphasis should be on stopping children getting fat in the first place.

He is sceptical that "another committee sitting around" will do much good.

"We need action now. We've got to start by doing proper monitoring of children's weight from birth and then every year of their lives - and this has to happen through the GP.

"Then GPs should be talking to them about their weight and acting on it."

A Department of Health spokesperson said: "Tackling obesity is one of our major priorities, but there is no magic bullet to solve the problem, and everyone has a role to play. We know that childhood obesity is at its lowest since 1998 but more should be done. The government is not considering a sugar tax."

The Department of Health added that the Chief medical officer would formally respond to the letter in due course.

Obesity in numbers

The latest figures, from the 2012 Health Survey for England, show that 14% of children aged two to 15 were obese and 28% were classed as overweight or obese.

Those aged 11 to 15 were more likely to be obese with one in five children placed in that category.

In children aged two to 10, 10% of both boys and girls were obese.

So with nearly one-third of children aged two to 15 classed as overweight or obese, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health estimates that the problem is costing the NHS around £5.1bn a year.

It also says children living in the poorest areas of the country are almost twice as likely to be obese compared to those in the most affluent areas when they are at primary school.

21.24 | 0 komentar | Read More

Ashya parents fight extradition

1 September 2014 Last updated at 15:05

The parents of Ashya King are being held in police custody after they refused to consent to their extradition to the UK at court appearance in Spain.

A High Court judge in Madrid ruled Brett and Naghemeh King will remain in custody for a maximum of 72 hours while he considers granting bail.

An international search was launched after the couple took the five-year-old, who has a brain tumour, from hospital in Southampton on Thursday.

Ashya is now in hospital in Malaga.

He was found with his family in the city on Saturday, after they travelled to Spain where they have an apartment.

Hampshire Constabulary obtained a European arrest warrant on the grounds the Kings neglected their son, who was receiving specialist care for his condition when he was taken from the UK.

The extradition process could take several months.

Ashya's eldest brother Danny King, 23, told the BBC he will be allowed to visit him on Monday afternoon.

He said until now the five-year-old's siblings have not been allowed to visit him in his private room in Malaga, which is under police guard.

Danny King said they have found it incredibly difficult not being able to see the little boy.

"They did allow a voice recording that was set-up to be played to Ashya... I'm grateful that the doctors appreciate how important it is for Ashya just to hear the voice of one of his brothers," he said.

"We never thought that this would be such a big deal, we just want to do what's best for Ashya.

"We're not oblivious, his life will be shorter than most kids, but we want his quality of life to be the best.

"We've done so much research on all treatment that is available to Ashya - I know that side effects for the proton beam therapy are less and he would have more or less a normal life if he received that treatment.

"We know it's not a miracle treatment."

Downing Street said the priority should be for Ashya to receive "the very best medical care".

A spokesman said it was an understandable parental instinct to want to do the best for your child and understandable that relevant authorities with responsibility for the welfare of children should also take an interest in such a case.

He added: "People will understand and be worried by the grave illness that Ashya is suffering."

Mr and Mrs King were arrested on Saturday when the family was found in Malaga.

Proton beam therapy

Ashya was taken to a children's hospital in the city, where he remains. He has been moved from a high dependency to a general ward.

A spokesman for the hospital said his condition was stable.

In a video on YouTube, Ashya's brother, Naveed King, said his parents ensured Ashya had the same resources available to him as in hospital when they took him to Spain.

Mr King said in an earlier video posted that the family wanted to seek proton beam therapy for Ashya - a cancer treatment that the NHS would not provide.

It is understood they travelled to Spain, where they have a holiday home, to sell the property and release funds to pay for the treatment.

Mr and Mrs King have not been charged with any offence in Spain.

A spokesman for Hampshire Constabulary said its officers in Spain had not interviewed the Kings and were not there to arrest them - they were there to deal with technical aspects of the arrest warrant.

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

Ashya's grandmother Patricia King: "It's absolutely disgraceful - [his parents] are being treated like criminals"

On Sunday, Assistant Chief Constable Chris Shead refused to apologise for the way officers conducted their search for the family. He said medical advice was that Ashya had been in "grave danger".

The charity Cancer Research UK says proton beam treatment is available on the NHS in the UK only for eye conditions.

The NHS said the medical treatment costs around £100,000, but the figure is based on sending someone to the US.

There are also numerous centres providing the treatment in Europe where it can cost less than £20,000.

Nick Triggle, BBC Health Correspondent

It is perfectly possible to challenge medical advice. One of the most important principles of healthcare is that the patient must consent to treatment.

Anyone aged 16 and over can refuse treatment if they wish unless they are deemed not to have the ability to do so under the Mental Capacity Act.

For children under that age, additional consent from a person with parental responsibility is required unless the patient has enough understanding and intelligence to fully appreciate what is involved in their treatment.

If the person with parental responsibility refuses treatment and doctors believe that decision could lead to death or severe permanent injury an application can be made to the court of protection to overrule them.

When it comes to wanting treatment that is not being offered, it is less clear cut.

Patients do not have an automatic right to a second opinion although most hospitals will give them one.

Many also have ethical committees - or similar groups - that will consider individual cases when treatment options are disputed. Beyond that patients can - and have in the past - applied for a judicial review.

21.24 | 0 komentar | Read More

Experts argue for drink price plan

31 August 2014 Last updated at 00:22

Health professionals say they are stepping up efforts to see alcohol minimum pricing in place in Scotland, with a seminar being held in Brussels.

Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems (SHAAP) will speak at the event, which will explore Scotland's alcohol policies, on 5 September.

Legislation to introduce a minimum unit price of 50p north of the border, was passed at Holyrood in 2012.

But a legal challenge to the policy has been referred to a European court.

A group led by the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) and other European wine and spirits producers mounted a legal challenge to the Scottish government's plans, arguing that minimum pricing legislation breaches European law.

'Health case'

The SWA's legal bid was initially rejected by judge Lord Doherty at the Court of Session in Edinburgh last year.

Following an appeal hearing, judges at the court referred the case against the policy to the Court of Justice of the European Union.

Scottish ministers have said they are committed to introducing the policy in a bid to address the country's unhealthy relationship with drink.

SHAAP - a partnership of the Scottish Medical Royal Colleges and Faculties and the Royal College of Nursing - has hit out at what is sees as "the continued opposition by global alcohol producers to the implementation of Scotland's alcohol minimum unit pricing (MUP) policy".

Continue reading the main story

Initiatives in place seem to be working - alcohol-related harms and deaths have been falling in Scotland for many years."

End Quote Rosemary Gallagher Scotch Whisky Association

SHAAP said written opinions from EU member states may be made to the European Court, with the deadline for this being mid-October.

Representatives of the body will head to Brussels to "make the case for health" at the seminar.

The organisation will be joined by industry supporters of the policy, including C&C Group and the Scottish Licensed Trade Association (SLTA).

SHAAP director Eric Carlin said: "We need other member states and the Commission to support or at least not oppose the Scottish policy.

"MUP (minimum unit pricing) is opposed by a consortium of multi-national alcohol producers who, inaccurately, are framing this as a health v industry issue.

"Demonstrating the falseness of this claim, we have speakers from the Scottish alcohol industry who support this policy from an ethical position."

Dr Peter Rice, chair of the body, said a 10% increase in average minimum price in Canada was associated with a 32% drop in alcohol death rates.

"Changes in the price of alcohol are a key determinant in rates of alcohol harm," he said.

"This vitally important health policy will save Scottish lives and it needs to be implemented as a matter of urgency."

'Uneasy relationship'

Paul Waterson, chief executive of the Scottish Licensed Trade Association, said: "The SLTA is delighted to be involved in this very important seminar exploring Scotland's innovative alcohol policies.

"We fully support the most inventive of these, minimum unit pricing, and believe it to be a crucial element in trying to change Scotland's uneasy relationship with alcohol."

SWA spokeswoman Rosemary Gallagher, said: "Initiatives in place seem to be working - alcohol-related harms and deaths have been falling in Scotland for many years.

"It's important to debate the issues to identify the best ways to address the problem of alcohol misuse.

"It's therefore unfortunate that SHAAP continues to call for minimum unit pricing, the legality of which is being considered by the European Court, rather than focusing on steps that have been shown to be effective."

21.24 | 0 komentar | Read More