General News

DH:  The Department of Health has announced £45m in funding for 29 important & substantial research programmes as part of the National Institute for Health Research into areas such as mental health, medicines for children, diabetes, stroke and dementias, neurodegenerative diseases & neurology.

The programmes of research aim to increase understanding of how to manage & treat these types of diseases more effectively, develop new treatments and help prevent ill health developing in the first place.
Press release ~ Best Research for Best Health: A new national health research strategy ~ National Institute for Health Research  ~ Programme Grants for Applied Research ~ DH – Research & Development ~ Cooksey Review

DH:  Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt has pre-announced a package of measures to help patients in a few of the most disadvantaged communities make choices about their healthcare and empower them to shape services around their needs and experience.

Patient choice will be accessible for all through a range of initiatives:

From April 2007, patients or any member of the public in ten areas across the country will be able to go to their local library and have trained librarians support them as they choose & book hospital appointments on-line offering new convenience and flexibility.
Press release ~ Dr Foster Intelligence ~ Partnership for Patients ~ Health Link ~ London Libraries Development Agency ~ Patient choice - DH ~ Choose and Book ~ Extended choice network ~ Choosing your hospital ~ Taking Soundings: Patient and Public Involvement in the London Patient Choice Project Testing the views of patients including ‘hard to reach’ groups (July 2004)

LSC:  The winners of the prestigious Green Gown Awards, which recognise & celebrate the progress of universities and colleges in promoting sustainable development, have been revealed.  The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) sponsors the awards as part of its work to meet the needs of learners, employers and the environment, both now and in the future.

Over the next 10 years, the LSC’s vision is that the learning and skills sector will proactively commit & contribute to sustainable development through its management of resources, the learning opportunities it delivers and its engagement with employers & communities.
Press release ~ Learning and Skills Council ~ LSC sustainable development strategy ‘From Here to Sustainability’ ~ Higher Education Environmental Performance Improvement - HEEPI ~ HEFCE ~ Association of University Directors of Estates (AUDE) ~ Environmental Association for Universities and Colleges (EAUC)  ~ ‘Building for Skills: A prospectus for the Learning and Skills Council’s capital programme’ ~
Sustainable Development and Education Liaison Group (SDELG) ~ Sustainable Development Education website

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