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Devon woman jailed for 'sick son' con
A mother has been jailed for subjecting her son to "enduring" cruelty by pretending he was severely ill, to gain publicity and financial rewards.
The actions of Lisa Hayden-Johnson, 35, from Devon, led to him being operated on, Exeter Crown Court heard.
She also presented him in a wheelchair to the Duchess of Cornwall, appeared on television and spent charity donations.
She was jailed for three years and three months after admitting cruelty and perverting the course of justice.
'Sadistic fabrication'
The court heard that Hayden-Johnson subjected her son, who is now eight and lives in another part of the country, to a total of 325 medical actions - including being confined to a wheelchair and being fed through a tube in his stomach.
She claimed her son suffered from a long list of illnesses including diabetes, food allergies, cerebral palsy and cystic fibrosis.
Andrew Macfarlane, prosecuting, told the court that Hayden-Johnson's "sadistic fabrication of non-existent symptoms" amounted to "24-hour-a-day torture".
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NHS boss urges pay cut to address health inequalities
A senior NHS official has called on medical professionals to consider a pay cut to help create a fairer society.
Dr Linda de Caestecker, director of public health for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, said fresh ideas were needed to tackle health inequalities.
Her second biennial report highlights the gap in health and life expectancy between the rich and the poor.
She is reported to have said she would be prepared to take a drop in her own salary.
Dr de Caestecker, who is understood to earn about £142,000 a year, said: "It is well known that the larger the difference in income between the affluent and more deprived people in a community, the higher the level of almost every modern social, environmental and health problem.
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Motherhood: a boon for the body?
Kim Clijsters made a fairytale comeback by winning the US Open on her return to Grand Slam tennis after giving birth to her daughter. Could child bearing actually be good for both body and mind, and should all new mothers be reaching for their rackets?
Clijsters' success has been seen as adding fresh credence to the theory that pregnancy can in fact enhance sporting prowess, at least among those who had some to start with.
She joins a short, but growing list of elite sportswomen who have pulled off impressive athletic feats not long after becoming mothers.
Few doubt that the demands of motherhood focus the mind as priorities are juggled.
But there is an increasing body of evidence that the biological changes of pregnancy may improve both physical and mental
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Elderly man with swine flu dies
An elderly man who was suffering from swine flu has died, health officials have confirmed.
The 73-year old was being treated at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley at the time. He died late on Saturday.
A spokesman for the Scottish Government said he was suffering from underlying health complications.
The pensioner, from Inverclyde, passed away late on Saturday night. He is the second person in the UK who was suffering from swine flu to die.
The first death, earlier this month, was a 38-year-old woman who gave birth prematurely while being treated at the Royal Alexandra Hospital. She also had underlying health conditions.
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More UK swine flu cases confirmed
The Department of Health has confirmed that 29 more patients in England have been diagnosed with swine flu.
Together with 43 new cases announced in Scotland by the Scottish Government, the UK total now stands at 664.
The Health Protection Agency (HPA) said 23 of the new English cases are in the west Midlands, four are in the South East and two are in the North West.
The HPA said more than 500 cases are currently under laboratory investigation in the UK.
A Department of Health spokeswoman said: "The localised cases of swine flu found in the UK have, in the majority of cases, not been severe and we have not seen evidence of widespread community transmission.
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