Stop this post code lottery

Susan Hunt has been told she cannot have a drug which, according to her consultant, may save her life. However, prescription of the drug has been ruled out after consultation with the National Institute of Clinical Evidence on ‘clinical’ grounds. In face of this clash of expert opinions, Susan and her husband Graham are prepared to move to Scotland where the drug is available.

This not only highlights the unfairness of our current health system, but also the unacceptable political situation within the British Isles. We are sure our readers’ sympathies lie with Susan and Graham Hunt and know they will want to see an end to this post code lottery which is gambling with people’s lives and livelihoods.

More improvements on way for pupils

OF course it is good news that Sheffield’s two new City Academies have seen significant increases in their GCSE pass rates as they publish the first set of exam figures since their change of status. But it is too soon to attribute that improvement to the switch to academy status.

We are seeing improvements which will have been set in place under former regimes so credit is due to those who oversaw this shift in emphasis.

And with the expected raising of standards under the much-publicised academy systems, pupils and parents can only look forward to even better figures in the future.

Dan stays calm!

LIFE on Mars...it’s one of our favourite fantasies but one that experts have been saying couldn’t be true since we landed our first craft on the Red Planet in 1976 and found the locals were out. Or perhaps not. For now a boffin says we got it wrong and Mars’s soil could contain microscopic organisms. Enough to get the geeks excited maybe - but a speck in the sub soil is hardly the sort of thing to set Dan Dare’s pulse racing, is it?