The number of complaints made to the General Medical Council about doctors has risen 23% in the past year, the regulator says.The GMC report showed there were 8,781 in 2011 compared to 7,153 in 2010.The rise is similar to the one the year before and continues a trend which has seen complaints jump b

Scientists have located the cells in the cervix that give rise to cancer when attacked by the human papillomavirus, a discovery that may lead to new methods of preventing and treating the disease.Even though the virus pervades the entire genital tract, HPV infection causes precancerous and cancerous

(Reuters Health) – People in developing countries with heart problems may not be able to afford new pacemakers, but a new study suggests devices removed during autopsies may have enough remaining battery life to be donated and used again.Researchers found that of 334 autopsies preformed at the Unive

NHS urged to make reduction of problem a priority as overweight and teenage mothers found to be most likely to sufferOne in 10 women who have a baby by caesarean section go on to develop an infection around their scar, which causes them pain and discomfort and forces some to go back into hospital to

(Reuters) – Britain launched a public consultation on Monday to ask whether controversial “three-parent” fertility treatments should be available to families hoping to avoid passing on incurable diseases.The potential treatments, currently only at research stage in laboratories in Britain and the Un

Breast cancer screening saves the lives of two women for every one patient who receives unnecessary treatment, according to a major European review.There has been a fierce debate about the use of screening, and policy is being reviewed in England.The latest study, published in the Journal of Medical

Clare True had autism and periodic seizures, but nothing prepared her family for Christmas Eve in 2006, when the 26-year-old went to bed after watching a movie and stopped breathing.“I got home from a party, went to check on her just after midnight, and she was — she was gone,” said her mother, Jane

The government has rejected British Medical Association claims that the NHS is risking patients’ health by rationing drugs and operations.BMA head Dr Mark Porter told the Guardian that financial pressure on the NHS meant its “offer” had shrunk and it was no longer a comprehensive service.Fears patie

The more controversial of two papers describing how the lethal H5N1 bird flu could be made easier to spread was published Thursday, six months after a scientific advisory board suggested that the papers’ most potentially dangerous data be censored.The paper, by scientists at Erasmus Medical Center i