Is there any truth in the claim that milk inhibits the body’s absorption of calcium – rather than being a good source of it, as I had always thought? I’ve always adored milk, can drink a pint of it faster than a seasoned cider drinker can down scrumpy, and have long hoped that it would help protect me against osteoporosis. They will come here because salaries are better and conditions are better and we need them.”Verity Lewis, employment relations adviser at the Royal College of Nursing, told Today: “The problem with the steps that have been taken is that they very much rely on the goodwill of individual employers to abide by the code of practice they have set up.”The code of practice is entirely voluntary. The UK’s reliance on recruitment of doctors and nurses from poor African countries was condemned today as “quite immoral” by the chairman of the British Medical Association. Little old Cumbria has led by example.”It will mean a lot to members who have had to retire through ill-health, who worked themselves to a frazzle for the NHS and have bad backs or other problems. When the deal was accepted the trust would work with the unions to agree how and when the claims would be paid.Marie Burnham, chief executive of the trust, said: “We are pleased that a proposed agreement has been reached and I trust that this long-standing issue will soon be resolved in a sensible manner.”.

It will be a real boost to their pensions.”In a statement, North Cumbria Acute Hospitals Trust confirmed an agreement had been made. “It’s been a long, hard struggle, but this is a fantastic result for the members involved,” he said.”We have always argued that there has been historic pay discrimination in the health service against women. Some staff will receive up to 14 years of back-pay.The deal is poised to pave the way for tens of thousands more women, who believe they have been discriminated against, to make similar claims.Unison compared the pay of female workers at the Cumbria trust with that of their male colleagues, including building workers, maintenance assistants and supervisors.Dave Prentis, general-secretary of Unison, welcomed the deal but lamented the time it had taken to reach an agreement. Discrimination runs deep in the NHS, especially for part-timers, who are mainly women workers.

This win will be a boon for ancillary staff who will benefit because they are on really low pay.”Linda Wightman, a nurse for 16 years and a Unison representative at the trust, said: “It feels like the end of a long road but it is extremely worthwhile because this is such a great victory for the low paid women workers in the NHS. It’s dreadful, though, that it has taken so long to get justice for these hard-working women who are the backbone of the NHS.”The deal applies to female staff at both the Cumberland Infirmary and the West Cumberland Hospital, which comprise the trust.Christine Wharrier, a Unison convener who has worked at the West Cumberland hospital for 28 years, said: “It’s a great victory. The payout will apply to female staff working as cleaners, nurses, telephonists and supervisors, and will include about 100 former employees who have retired. Claims that eating less carbohydrate changed the metabolism to promote weight loss were denied by the researchers.Over the three weeks of the study, the average daily calorie consumption fell by a third.. A landmark ruling opened the floodgates yesterday for Britain’s female health workers to make equal pay claims worth millions of pounds. It revealed that carbohydrates eaten by the volunteers – potatoes, bread and cakes – actually stimulated their appetite so they ate more of other foods as well. Scientists have discovered why the Atkins diet is so successful at helping people lose weight.

Curbing carbohydrates reduces overall appetite so people on Atkins-type diets shed more pounds more quickly.
The small study, by a team from Temple University, Philadelphia, involved just 10 volunteers who were confined to hospital for three weeks so every calorie they consumed and expended could be measured. The report also sharply criticises the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority for taking moral and ethical decisions, which the MPs say are not within its remit as a watchdog body. Screening of embryos for diseases would be highly controversial and could lead to parents being allowed to choose the sex of their children.. In the past I voted for a restriction to 22 weeks and I would be prepared to go down to 20.”But Mr Blair told the magazine: “Obviously, there is a time beyond which you can’t have an abortion and we have no plans to change that although the debate will continue.”Charles Kennedy, the Liberal Democrat leader, said he had voted for a 22-week limit, but said medical advances meant “I don’t know what I would do now”.Jim Dowson, national co-ordinator of UK Lifeleague, said the organisation would attempt to mobilise the anti-abortion vote in a series of constituencies.