Putting the health back into the NHS
Yvonne Roberts: Budget management and hierarchies dominate a sector sorely in need of an injection of innovation from the bottom up
‘I felt totally out of control’
Many women who have an emergency caesarean are so shocked that they demand an elective section next time. Joanna Moorhead hears how hospitals are trying to reverse this trend
Swine flu drug treatment will replace containment strategy
Focus will shift from limiting spread of localised virus, to mitigating effects of widespread virus, says health secretary
WHO declares swine flu pandemic
• H1N1 virus becomes world's first pandemic in 41 years• 848 cases in Britain and more than 27,000 worldwide
North-south divide on alcohol abuse evident in hospital admissions
Liverpool ranks highest in rate of alcohol abuse while the Isle of Wight has lowest numbers connected to excessive consumption
Back pain guidelines touch a raw nerve
Edzard Ernst: Nice's recommendation of chiropractors for back pain overestimates the benefits and underestimates the risks
Painful advice on giving birth
Ros Taylor: The NCT taught my husband to rub my back, but risks making many women feel a failure for not doing 'natural' childbirth
Back pain sufferers to be offered acupuncture treatment on the NHS
Medical watchdog urges more alternative therapies for condition that costs UK an estimated £5.1bn annually
NHS accused of wasting £3m
Value of private clinics used to reduce waiting times called into question after Scottish centre paid for non-treatment
24% of adults ‘risking health through alcohol’
New NHS figures show rise in people admitted to hospital with alcohol-related injuries or conditions, and increase in deaths linked to drinking