Southern Scotland, the north east of England, the Midlands and most of Wales have the highest prevalence of obese people, according to a fat map.

Increasing choice for its own sake could create scepticism and damage public trust in GPs, an academic study has found.

The NHS is predicting a surplus of £1.75 billion for 2008/9, according to the DoH.

A public health secretary, separate public health budgets and directors of public health jointly appointed by PCTs and local authorities have been suggested by Conservatives.

Patients in England suffering from age-related macular degeneration (AMD) are to be given access to the sight-saving drug Lucentis on the NHS, NICE has announced.