People contemplating surgery to improve their looks are being warned do their homework first; otherwise, they could end up looking worse than when they started. To help patients avoid becoming scarred or deformed due to botched surgery, the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) has produced a series of guidelines advising people what steps to take. Many UK plastic surgeons have to attempt to repair the results of failed cosmetic surgery, often carried out by surgeons abroad. Adam Searle, president of BAAPS, cautioned, "There is a real need for patients to take responsibility when choosing a surgeon and to ask the right questions."

Doctors can now tell by listening whether or not they have successfully broken down kidney stones. A new device attached to the patient’s body, similar to a stethoscope, monitors the sounds generated by kidney stones during shock wave therapy (lithotripsy) to break them down sufficiently to allow the patient to pass the fragments in their urine. An intact stone makes a "tick", while a shattered stone makes a "tock". Professor Tim Leighton, who helped develop the device, commented, "It’s been superbly successful. I have been astounded by how effective it is as a monitor."

A major drive to encourage parents to give their children the MMR vaccine has been launched amid fears that a measles epidemic is "imminent". The Health Protection Agency says that major outbreaks are more likely in areas where the number of vaccines administered has fallen to low levels. London has been highlighted and will be the initial focus of a "catch-up" campaign that will target primary schools to help prevent a possible winter epidemic. Despite the link between the MMR vaccine and autism being discredited, take-up rates are running at 80 per cent nationally. However, in some parts of London, the rate is as low as 62 per cent.

A new survey suggests that stress in the workplace is the biggest threat to the health of employees. Findings by the Trades Union Congress to be published later this week are expected to show that anxiety over heavy workloads, long working hours and the threat of redundancy are fuelling a stress epidemic. Health and safety representatives also claim that stress is the biggest cause of complaints in the workplace – overtaking conditions such as repetitive strain injury and back pain. Professor Cary Cooper, an expert in stress, said, "Pressure can be healthy, stimulating and motivating, but when it exceeds an individual’s ability to cope, then you have stress." The Health and Safety Executive is expected to publish guidelines that will warn employers to protect staff by reviewing stress levels and offering counselling.

According to a new report to be published by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), 2,000 nurses left the UK to work in the USA during the past year. The news has prompted a denial from the government that nurses moving out of the country will cause a shortage in the UK. The USA wants to recruit 1 million new nurses by 2010 and, according to the RCN, a new recruitment drive offering larger salaries and improved living standards is tempting British nurses to cross the Atlantic. However, the Department of Health stated that the figure of 2,000 is small compared with the 77,000 NHS nurses it has recruited since 1997.