There is an unacceptable variation between GP out-of-hours services, the government admits. But health minister Mike O’Brien said care had still improved since doctors gave up providing cover in 2004. He was speaking after a report suggested marked differences in levels of cover and home visits

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A consultant trauma surgeon in Leeds is being investigated over concerns about his treatment of patients.

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Vitamin D should be added to milk and other food products to halt a rise in cases of rickets in children, say experts at Newcastle University. The vitamin, produced when skin is exposed to sunlight, is also found in a small number of foods, and deficiency can cause bone deformation. One reason for an increase in cases is thought to be the popularity of indoor activities, such as computer gaming.

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Twelve NHS hospital trusts in England are “significantly underperforming”, a report has said, despite many recently having been rated good or excellent. The report by monitoring body Dr Foster also said 27 trusts had unusually high death rates.

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By Fergus Walsh Health correspondent, BBC News Health officials in Cardiff are investigating the possible person-to-person spread of a Tamiflu-resistant strain of swine flu. The strain has infected a small number of patients at the University Hospital Wales, all of whom have serious underlying health conditions

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Overweight men are wanted by researchers in Aberdeen aiming to better understand the connection between obesity and type 2 diabetes.

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The United Nations is to pull its non-essential foreign staff out of Afghanistan after a deadly Taliban attack on a guesthouse for UN workers, a spokesman said on Thursday.

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