Smash hit

Dementia research 'looted' to fund Brown pledge

The Prime Minister has been accused of taking research money to fund his election promise of free home care for the elderly

GPs told to step up swine flu vaccinations

The number of deaths linked to the virus has risen to 242 in Britain, with 21 fatal cases in England in the past week

‘Bionic eye’ allows blind man to read again

Doctors at Manchester Royal Eye Hospital stunned by the results of a trial using a camera that sends signals to the brain

SNP faces defeat over minimum alcohol price

Opposition to vote against minimum-pricing legislation intended to tackle health problems and alcohol-fuelled violence

Fathers ‘take partners to hospital too soon’

Midwives to debate men’s role as evidence suggests their advice to keep mothers-to-be at home for longer is being ignored

Legalise assisted suicide, Kirk minister says

People deserve choice over ending sufferin in “ethical and merciful manner”, the Rev Dr John Cameron tells Kirk’s journal

Longer A&E waiting times as patient numbers rise

Patients waiting in A&E to see a doctor are waiting on average more than half-an-hour longer than ten years ago, despite NHS hitting its target

‘Locked-in’ man renews calls for coma brain scans

Reports of Rom Houben’s 'reawakening' have raised fears that many British patients have been wrongly judged to be in coma

Mystery as coma survivor finds voice at fingertips

Experts are casting doubt on the veracity of Rom Houben’s 'reawakening' through a 'Ouija board' communication technique

It’s time to talk about social insurance

We can’t rely on raiding a small pot of money, especially if it means that medical research gets less

Cancer research at risk in scramble for funds

Health Secretary said millions of pounds would be 'reprioritised' from health research to pay costs of Social Care Bill

NHS prescription bill almost £1.3 billion

Lib Dems call for rethink on free prescriptions as official figures reveal vast NHS bill for drugs

Cost of providing free care for elderly up 11 per cent

Minister defends free care policy as vital to the lives of 50,000 vulnerable elderly people

Setback for SNP in fight to beat superbugs

Lack of proper hygiene and failures to isolate infectious patients revealed by inspection at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary

Brown accused of bowing to unions over NHS

Prime Minister facing pressure from within party as new guidelines appear to freeze out private companies and charities

Doctors and nurses ‘need help to be healthy’

High rates of obesity, smoking, absenteeism and poor mental health are having a direct impact on patient care, audit says

Scotland failing to tackle obesity in young

Only a small minority of Scottish parents ensure that their children take enough exercise, a report by the British Heart Foundation finds

Scan gives separated twins clean bill of health

Krishna, the second conjoined twin, has woken up and blown the signature raspberry her guardian has been waiting for

Briefing: Looking after No 1

A £670m Labour proposal to provide free home care for 280,000 of the most needy has brought accusations of electioneering against Gordon Brown

Patients spreading drug-resistant swine flu strain

A strain that appears resistant to an antiviral has infected five patients at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff