Trans fatty acids (produced industrially as hydrogenated oils) are estimated to KILL 7,000 people in the UK every year. All responsible bodies in the UK, and many countries in europe and states of the USA have already banned them. Doctors, NICE (the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence), and main articles in the Guardian, the Telegraph, the Daily Mail all agree: there is no reason to have these in our food. Many supermarkets have also eliminated them - in their own brand products at least - including Sainsburys, Marks and Spencer, Waitrose, Tesco and the Co-op. But other food sources use them, with no required information to customers and no control over their use. The American Medical Association has stated that there is no safe limit. NICE has called for their ban. These fats have no food value, but increase LDL (bad) cholesterol and reduce HDL (good) cholesterol, and even a 2% amount in the diet is reported to double the risk of coronary heart disease. There is no need for this junk in our food other than for the convenience of the food industry (it prolongs shelf life and is a cheap way of solidifying oil in fast foods). Recently Andrew Lansley has stated that the average UK citizen only consumes under 1% in the diet (though this is still a significant increase in risk), and voluntary codes of conduct are sufficient. The food manufacturers make an identical case. But the average is not the point: better off older people - customers of M&S, Waitrose, and other supermarkets - consume very little. But younger people who naturally use fast food outlets often consume considerably more than that average. They are in general unaware of the risks and, being young, sometimes don't think too much about what will happen in 20, 30 years. Older people have a duty to care on their behalf. One other point. Some supporters think such a ban is against the freedom of people to choose what they eat. But this is a poor argument at best. Trans fat was banned from Denmark 9 years ago, and there is no noticeable change in the taste or quality of food, nor any desire to reverse that change. This is such an easy policy change, and so absolutely beneficial. Just do it! References: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trans_fat http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1291041/They-kill-7-000-people-year-trans-fats-wont-banned.html http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/life/food-drink/why-are-toxic-trans-fats-in-food-still-legal-in-the-uk-28656231.html http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/07/fda-ban-trans-fats-health http://www.theguardian.com/society/2010/jan/18/trans-fats-ban-comment

Why should a resident of doncaster recieving treatment by doncaster nhs have to go to leeds nhs to qualify for funded treatment? This is creating all sorts of problems and issue for this lady she is 69 years old and as had a horrendous experience with her treatment as it is and to cap it all doncaster n.h.s. will not fund her home care. This is terrible and unfair. Sign this petition if you agree and want to do something about this.

We call upon the National Assembly for Wales to urge the Welsh Government to ensure that a dedicated Consultant/Clinic and medical support team for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (M.E.), Chronic Fatigue Syndrome & Fibromyalgia sufferers is set up in South East Wales. I request that this petition be treated as an official voice of M.E. sufferers, their families, carers and interested parties. Currently, sufferers of the above ailments are not being supported, with a few exceptions, by the medical profession. They are unable to work but the government bodies assessing them do not appear to understand their problems. This is the basis for this petition.

As I suffered Polio at the age of 2yrs back in 1953 I had no ideal that it would return and bite for a second time in later life, my Dr has not got a clue about it and I have given him leaflets etc telling him but all he says is do more walking, I wish that I could its not through lack of trying my one good leg is worn out and needs a new knee while my other shorter leg has no joint movement and lack of muscle owing to the Polio all them years ago,

In a life threatening emergency the Air Ambulance Service is your lifeline no matter where you live in the UK. If you live in a rural area it is often your ONLY lifeline because it is too far by road for you to be treated within the golden hour. See also the BBC program "An Hour To Save Your Life" http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03xkwyb

There's an obesity crisis. Despite the premature deaths of millions in the UK from obesity-related illnesses, shoppers still can't make healthy choices - because foods are full of stealth sugars, which don't appear clearly on the labels.

We run the risk that young people in particular will be so protected from risk that they don't grow up having "tested the boundaries". Since 1985 the Marlborough Brandt Group, a small charity in Marlborough Wiltshire, has sent over 1000 young people from our secondary schools to live with families and work in our link community of Gunjur in The Gambia, West Africa alongside young Gambians. All of these young people have benefited from this experience in terms of their personal and professional development and their understanding of the world beyond their community. Health and safety now dictates that a) we spend large sums of our charitable money for insurance cover b) large amounts of time conducting a risk analysis, which is almost meaningless in a rural African context and c) we consider stopping the programme and thus depriving young people of an extraordinary life-changing experience. This is a national issue and must be debated or our young in UK will be deprived a proper, well-rounded education.

Under plans from NHS England, it is intended to close three quarters of UK's specialist brain cancer centres who provide targeted radiotherapy treatment. This goes against everything that the NHS is supposed to stand for, meaning that possibly many additional miles will be travelled to one of the remaining few centres left. This is a disaster for patients and families alike and lead to totally unnecessary loss of life. Doctors, patients and families alike are furious as NHS England is rejecting doctors advice and is condemning patients to invasive brain surgery or total brain radiotherapy, whilst not using available resources sensibly. That NHS supposed transparency is once again not in existence means that already hard pressed families and patients with this invidious disease are left far behind their European and USA counterparts. It is a total travesty if these closures go ahead with the NHS Board members obviously having no knowledge of how this affects the patients and families lives on a daily basis.

By making a 3rd yr specialist doctor a consultant, he will be putting medical clinicians under unreasonable duress to both perform above their skill level and be responsible for the care pathway of patients well in advance of their abilities. Calling a 3rd yr doctor a consultant is a hideous mis-representation and will most likely have nothing but negative effects on the staff and healthcare organisations who will be required to work with the new system.

I have polycystic kidney disease and it is vital I take blood pressure tablets. I cannot always afford them. My blood pressure gets dangerously high - twice I have ended up in hospital.

Patient Care in any Health Service is paramount. Any action which adversely affects this service - calls for public awareness to address the issue.

Kevin Donovan of Defend the NHS says the following: You may have read in the press or online (or more likely may not have heard) about the major health data collection exercise which the government has initiated. Under changes to legislation, your GP can now be required to upload personal and identifiable information from the medical record of every patient in England to central computer servers at the Health and Social Care Information Centre. Once this information leaves your GP practice, your doctor will no longer be in control of what data is passed on or to whom. And private companies will be able to buy your information for just £1 (ONE pound!). This information will include diagnoses, investigations, treatments and referrals as well as other things you may have shared with your doctor including your weight, alcohol consumption, smoking and family history. Each piece of information will made identifiable by uploading it along with your NHS number, date of birth, post code, gender and ethnicity. Health data has always been collected* but this time it’s different. NHS England – the body now in charge of commissioning primary care services across England – will manage and use the information extracted by the Health and Social Care Information Centre for a range of purposes, none of which are to do with your direct medical care. These ‘secondary uses’ include patient-level tracking and monitoring, audit, business planning and contract management. Why should we worry? It seems clear that one hidden purpose of this exercise is to lubricate the galloping ‘marketisation’ of our health service, for example to allow health insurance companies to make huge profits from cherry-picking low risk patients for health cover. Over time, and as in the USA, if we can’t afford a health insurance premium (which is very likely if we are poorer and/or have any condition which may be expensive to treat) we won’t get free access at the point of need to medical care. It’s a nightmare! GPs’ hands are tied. They have been told it’s an offence not to provide the data. But patients can choose not to do so. How? Read these articles. In paragraph 4 you can download an opt-out letter for you to complete and use (template opt out letters for patients to use). http://www.pulsetoday.co.uk/your-practice/practice-topics/it/eight-weeks-to-inform-patients-their-data-is-going-to-be-harvested-gps-warned/20004562.article#.UlF8er5wbmR http://medconfidential.org/how-to-opt-out/ http://opendemocracy.net/ournhs/phil-booth/your-medical-data-on-sale-for-pound http://medconfidential.org/2013/nhs-9-who-gets-to-see-your-information/ We doubt that many people know what’s happening – especially older patients and/or those without Internet access – so please distribute this information widely to your contacts and urge them to take action NOW. It’s OUR NHS not the government’s to sell off to their friends in the City. Thanks