A CHARITY has called for a type of breast cancer testing to be available in Scotland as well as England and Wales.

Last week at the Scottish Parliament, the presence of bowel cancer patient Maureen Fleming at First Minister’s Questions presented every single MSP in the chamber with a challenge: why are patients in Scotland three times less likely than patients in England to get access to cancer medicines, prescribed by their doctor but not routinely funded through the NHS?

PURPLE is the colour of Epilepsy Week and that is the colour which will be most visible this week as fundraisers for epilepsy charities call on the public for much needed support.

Breathing difficulties ­during sleep may be an early ­warning sign of future Alzheimer’s ­disease, researchers believe.

ADDING ginger to asthma medications may make them more effective, a study has claimed.

More than a third of calls to a confidential phone line which allows health workers in Scotland to raise concerns about NHS practices have come from other parts of the UK.

A PLANT first used by prehistoric man in 30,000BC can help fight infections, according to scientists following a four-year research project.

Earlier this year a team of medics set off for Mount Everest – in a bid to help intensive care patients. Lisa Salmon reports

PATIENTS suffering from severe depression are being forced to have electroconvulsive therapy against their wishes under a controversial law that allows doctors to take action without consent.

Scotland’s chief medical officer has called for children aged between ten and 17 to be vaccinated against measles.

THE genetic testing criteria for breast cancer that prompted actress Angelina Jolie to undergo a preventative double mastectomy will be available in England and Wales from next month, but not in Scotland.

AS WENDY Helliwell came downstairs on Wednesday morning, the name Jolie flashed on the TV screen. She caught the words “double mastectomy”.

CRISIS-HIT Lothian accident and emergency departments are set to be radically overhauled, with scaled back services expected to lead to an increase in pressure on the already over-stretched Royal Infirmary.

In A speech he made in March last year, Alex Salmond cited Scotland’s first first minister Donald Dewar who said devolution was about more than our politics and our laws.

Scottish researchers are ­moving closer to finding new ways of diagnosing and treating patients with debilitating bowel conditions.

ALLOWING teenagers going through puberty even a little alcohol could increase their chances of becoming heavy drinkers in later life, according to a new report.

Campaigners are calling on the Scottish Government to change its policy of having only single rooms in new hospitals following concerns about the negative effects on patients.

A WOMAN branded morbidly obese by her GP has lost 21 stone in weight after an embarrassing trip to the dentists forced her to act.

THE first baby in the world born using a revolutionary IVF technique which greatly increases the chances of success is to be delivered in Scotland next month.

A LEADING heart hospital has defended the quality of its ­surgery after figures appeared to show high mortality rates.