- The standards of nursery food were also the subject of a discussion byJeanette Orrey, the Soil Association's school meals policy advisor, onBBC Radio 4's 'Food Programme' last Sunday (10 February). Alsointerviewed were representatives from Willow Cottage, runner-up in theOrganix 2007 Nursery Food Awards. The programme can be heard again viathe internet at www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer.
- Medical researchers at Guy's and St Thomas's Hospitals in Londonreport that they have found no abnormal immune response to the MMR jabin blood samples from 240 children aged between ten and 12 which couldhave triggered autism. They found no higher concentration of measlesantibodies in children who had autistic spectrum disorder (ASD),compared with children without ASD and those with special educationalneeds. The results, which have been published in the Archives of Diseasein Childhood, were unaffected by whether or not the child had receivedboth doses of the MMR vaccine, the subject of fierce controversy inrecent years.
- Dentists are being pressured not to treat children, as health trustswant them to take on more patients who pay for treatment, it was claimedlast week. A memorandum by the London Regional Group of Local DentalCommittees given to a Commons health select committee said that dentistswere coming under pressure from Primary Care Trusts to prioritise adult,paying patients in order to maintain their PCT's financial balance.Early last year some dentists were forced to stop treating childrenuntil April after local health trusts ran out of money at the end of thefinancial year.
