Genetic screening may be under UK threat

A row has erupted over a potential government decision to discontinue screening for life-shortening diseases that have a high degree of frequency in the Ashkenazi Jewish community.

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Bug hits Mathilda Marks Kennedy School

Mathilda Marks Kennedy School in Mill Hill closed last Friday (March 15) due to an outbreak of norovirus. Head teacher Jillian Dunstan said: “We were advised by the Health Inspection Agency to close the school to prevent further spread of the virus.” The school, which has 220 pupils from nursery to year six, was reopened on Monday.

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Debribillator debate is vital, say campaigners

A parliamentary debate is being seen as a snub to a campaign on life-saving equipment sparked by the death of a young boy at Liverpool’s King David High School.

Oliver King was 12 when he died after collapsing from a heart attack at King David High in 2011. His father, Mark, has been campaigning to place resuscitation equipment across the UK by founding the Oliver King Foundation.

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Board shot in the arm for small Jewish communities

The Board of Deputies is preparing to launch a new scheme to help the country’s smallest communities later this year amid concern over the current lack of support.

Rabbi Reuben Livingstone, director of the Office of Small Communities (OSC), said his had become “a ghost role” since UJIA ended funding last year.

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New Technion device can ‘smell’ cancers

Within a few years, doctors may be able to detect various types of cancer from exhaled breath, if plans to bring an Israeli invention to the market go smoothly.

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'Care cap' issues worry welfare chiefs

Communal welfare leaders have voiced concerns over the government’s latest plan to cap care costs for the elderly.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt on Monday announced proposals for a £75,000 cap on care costs and to raise the means-testing threshold from £23,250 to £123,000.

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Big screen exposure aids Sharon Berger donor search

The Spit4Mum campaign, geared to finding a bone-marrow donor for critically ill Harrow resident Sharon Berger, is reporting huge cross-communal support ahead of a major screening on Sunday.

Mrs Berger, 61, is in hospital undergoing chemotherapy for myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), a malfunction of the bone marrow. She urgently requires a bone marrow donation.

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