Depression is an illness that blights the lives of many older people, but it can be treated. Research by the charity Age Concern has found that for many older people this doesn’t happen. The Charity has called for the problem of depression in later life to become a priority for the NHS.
Research revealed that one in four older people, two million over the age of 65, living in the community, have symptoms of depression that are severe enough to warrant intervention. 

The Department for Health has given the go-ahead for implementation of an advanced electronic prescription service. This decision follows extensive evaluation through pilot projects and general acceptance by patients, pharmacists and GPs.
Just under half of the 763 million prescriptions dispensed in 2007 were handled by some degree of technology, usually an electronic message attached to paper prescriptions. The remainder were totally paper transactions. 

By Chris Webber and Alan Berube.
This report from the Centre for Cities and Washington’s Brookings Institution has found that the USA has a lot to learn from Britain’s urban renaissance. While British politicians and officials have always been keen to scout for policy ideas from the States, US politicians don’t always follow suit.