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7:02pm Wednesday 23rd May 2012

Rates of MRSA in hospitals have fallen significantly in recent years, but over 6% of hospital patients in England still acquire some form of infection during their stay, according to the Health Protection Agency (HPA). The figures come from a major report compiled by the HPA, which looked at the current state of healthcare-acquired infections (HCAI) in hospital, including pneumonia and norovirus as well as “superbugs” such as MRSA. A range of newspapers covered the survey, each emphasising different aspects of the report.

7:02pm Wednesday 23rd May 2012

Many patients with “advanced cancer and other debilitating conditions” aren’t being given strong enough pain relief, BBC News has reported. This is thought to be due to doctors being reluctant to prescribe strong opioids, such as morphine, partly as a result of patients’ concerns over addiction. Patients may also wrongly assume that they are nearer the end of their life, as there is a misconception that opioids are only given during the final stages of terminal disease.