News

In brief

A survey by Incomes Data Services has shown that the pay of NHS trust chief executives rose by an average of 7.6 per cent in 1995 - over double that of the average 3.2 per cent rise received by nurses.

The Abortion Law Reform Association has written to all members of Parliament seeking support for changes to the 1967 Abortion Act. The association claims that the existing law does not give women the right to choose, allows too much power to doctors, and does not ensure adequate provision of services.

It points out that more than half of all health authorities in England and Wales do not regard abortion as a priority health need.

A majority of British people do not want nuclear weapons to remain in Britain. The finding that 51 per cent of people opposed nuclear weapons, in a survey carried out by Security 2000, contrasts with the position 10 years ago when over 60 per cent supported a British nuclear force.

Many questions about BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) still remain unanswered, according to the Public Health Alliance. In a report which sets the views of senior government scientists alongside those of independent experts, the PHA finds that consumers can not afford to be complacent about BSE.

‘Despite every effort by the Ministry of Agriculture, consumers are not reassurred’, said Maggie Winters, projects manager of the alliance.

Two authoritative reports on the state of London’s health services have been published. The King’s Fund, in its third annual edition of London Monitor, shows that the capital has only 70 per cent of the national average number of residential care places for older people, leading to difficulties in discharging patients.

The Greater London Association of Community Health Councils has also published its third report on London’s NHS, arguing that there are still severe problems with the provision of causalty services.

Infant deaths could be cut by 2,000 per year if every health authority in England had the mortality rates of the best districts, says the Labour Party. Infant mortality rates vary as much as fourfold in different parts of the country. Sheffield has the highest rate (11.4 deaths per 1,000 births), while Kingston and Richmond district has the lowest (3.1).