Mobility scooter users have been banned from using the Tyne and Wear Metro unless they are with a helper after a man fell on to the track. They will have to be accompanied by a helper from Saturday 26th April 2008. The man's fall from his vehicle was the second mishap which prompted the move.
Commenting on today's [Monday] report by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Dementia which reveals that up to 105,000 people with dementia are being given inappropriate anti-psychotic drugs, Liberal Democrat Health Spokesperson, Sandra Gidley said:
MPs have urged the government to stop the "dangerous over-prescribing" of anti-psychotic drugs to people in care homes with dementia. The All Party Parliamentary Group on Dementia said the drugs should only be used as a last resort.
The operator of the Tyne and Wear Metro is reviewing its ban on mobility scooter users travelling on the system without a helper. The ban was imposed after two accidents in which scooter owners crashed through train doors and onto tracks.
The Appeal Court has ruled an NHS advisory body should have been more transparent in the way it made decisions over Alzheimer's drugs. Eisai, which makes Aricept, had challenged the process by which it and similar medicines were restricted to people with late stage disease. Three judges said the advisory body should have released details of how it reached its decision. However, the ruling does not mean the drugs will be more widely available.
An alert over the safety of a type of walking frame has been issued by the medical devices regulator. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is concerned about a defect in frames manufactured by Trulife Limited. The problem concerns the plastic height adjustment clips that can fail, causing the user to fall.