SHOCKING - One in three diabetes patients 'are given the wrong medication while in hospital'

One in three diabetes patients 'are given the wrong medication while in hospital'

• -  A third of patients in England and Wales experienced a 'medication error' during a five 
•    week audit
• -  The audit found that 61 patients had developed life threatening ketoacidosis during a 
•    hospital stay
• -  Charity Diabetes UK says it is 'appalling' that anybody should develop the preventable 
•    condition

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

PUBLISHED: 00:49 GMT, 27 June 2013 | UPDATED: 07:52 GMT, 27 June 2013

Worrying: A third of patients in hospitals in England and Wales experienced a 'medication error' during the five-day National Diabetes Inpatient Audit (file picture)

One in every three diabetic patients are given the wrong medication while in hospital, a new report suggests.

A third of patients in hospitals in England and Wales experienced a 'medication error' during the five-day National Diabetes Inpatient Audit.

The audit, conducted last September, also found that 61 patients developed a life-threatening but preventable complication due to poor care.

Charity Diabetes UK said it is 'appalling' that any patients should develop diabetic ketoacidosis during a hospital stay.

The audit, which examined data from 13,400 patients, also found that a fifth of patients suffered from hypoglycaemia while in hospital.

Bridget Turner, director of policy and care improvement at Diabetes UK, said: 'It is appalling that some people with diabetes are being so poorly looked after in hospitals that they are being put at risk of dying of an entirely preventable life-threatening condition.

'Even a single case of diabetic ketoacidosis developing in hospital is unacceptable because it suggests that insulin has been withheld from that person for some time.

'The fact that this is regularly happening raises serious questions about the ability of hospitals to provide even the most basic level of diabetes care.

'In every aspect of hospital diabetes care that this report shines a light on, the picture that emerges is profoundly disturbing.

'Medication errors are being made with alarming regularity, large numbers of people are not getting foot checks that we know can help prevent amputation, while one in 10 people’s blood glucose level is dropping dangerously low during their hospital stay.

'Put together, this adds up to a situation where in too many cases hospitals are doing people with diabetes more harm than good.'

Life threatening: The audit, which examined data from 13,400 patients, also found that a fifth of patients suffered from hypoglycaemia while in hospital

Audit lead clinician Dr Gerry Rayman said: 'The purpose of this annual audit is to drive improvements in care for inpatients with diabetes, so I am pleased to see there has been some progress on problems highlighted in previous years’ reports, for instance around insulin prescribing.

'But staffing levels remain low, and it is of grave concern that some patients are developing DKA, which is a potentially life-threatening complication in hospital. 

'This is due to their needs being neglected and should simply never happen.'

PEOPLE - Japanese man, 71, sues TV station 'for using too many English words'

Japanese man, 71, sues TV station 'for using too many English words'

• -  Hoji Takahashi, 71, wants 1.41million Yen from broadcaster NHK
• -  He said that they use too many foreign words in their programming
• -  Believes that it makes television unintelligible and that they should use the 
•    Japanese counterparts
• 
  

By JAYMI MCCANN

PUBLISHED: 16:31 GMT, 27 June 2013 | UPDATED: 16:31 GMT, 27 June 2013

A pensioner is suing a Japanese broadcaster for emotional distress as the channel uses to many foreign words.

Hoji Takahashi, 71, wants 1.41million Yen from broadcaster NHK because of their reliance on English.

He says that it makes programming unintelligible and that they should use the traditional Japanese counterparts, reported Japan Today.

Hoji Takahashi believes that by diluting the Japanese language it is negatively impacting Japanese culture

His lawyer, Mutsuo Miyata told AFP: ‘The basis of his concern is that Japan is being too Americanized.

'There is a sense of crisis that this country is becoming just a province of America.’

Many Japanese speakers use English words such as ‘trouble’, ‘risk’ or ‘drive’.

It is thought that the country’s use of English comes from post-World War II U.S. occupation by America.

He believes that NHK should use more Japanese words and avoid using English words

Japanese famileis are exposed to more foreign words, especially English ones when they watch television

But in Japanese, these words are often pronounced differently, and have new meanings.

They also use words from other languages such as the German ‘arbeit’ and the Spanish ‘pan’.

Takahashi is a member of the ‘Treat Japanese as Important Association’.

He said: ‘Young people can probably understand a lot of this stuff, but for older people like myself, when I hear ‘asurito’ (athlete) and ‘konpuriansu’ (compliance), I don’t know what it means.

‘This is a matter of Japanese culture, the country itself, including its politics and its economy.’

EXTREME - Incredible pictures show how one of The Alps' oldest glaciers is being protected from melting

Incredible pictures show how one of The Alps' oldest glaciers is being protected from melting - by covering it in BLANKETS

• -  Every summer researchers cover the Rhone Glacier in the Swiss Alps in giant white 
•    blankets to try to minimise melting
• -  Experts say the glacier has retreated dramatically over the last 150 years and want to 
•    prevent it from receding more
• -  Dating newly exposed rock has shown the glacier is at least 11,500 years old and is very 
•    sensitive to climate changes
• 
  

By HELEN COLLIS

PUBLISHED: 14:36 GMT, 27 June 2013 | UPDATED: 15:35 GMT, 27 June 2013

Scientists in Switzerland are going to extreme lengths every summer to protect one of the oldest know glaciers in The Alps.

Miles of protective blankets have been laid over the undulating mounds and folds of the ancient ice in an effort to ebb the annual melt as average temperatures gradually climb.

The Rhone Glacier, the source of the Rhone River in the centre of the Swiss Alps, has retreated dramatically over the past 150 years, according to research.

Optical illusion: From afar it looks as if nothing has changed, but look a little closer and ti becomes clear this glacier has been coated in a hundreds of white blankets. Researchers go to great lengths every summer to cover the ice in an effort to slow the melting process caused by global warming

The innovative method of protecting the ice has also been designed to allow visitors to witness the incredible ancient ice from an entirely unique perspective.

Researchers have carved a tunnel inside the glacier, large enough to walk through, allowing people to almost step back in time into a world which has not been exposed for many thousands of years.

Samples of ice had previously pre-dated the glacier to at least the 17th century. But new technological advances, coupled with access to recently-exposed rock, have now allowed them to date the ancient structure to at least 11,500 years old.

Unique: Scientists have also carved a long tunnel into the ice for their own research purposes, and giving visitors a completely unique insight into an ancient world under the glacier

As recent ice melts have exposed rocks and soil for the first time in thousands of years, they have revealed interesting clues from remnants of organic material and artifacts of human settlements. 

A team of scientists from Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory have found that the Alps' great glacier has also been shrinking and growing over time, in response to changes in the climate.

Using isotope measurements from rock newly exposed by the melting glacier, the scientists found that for most of the Holocene Epoch period, dating from the end of the last Ice Age about, 11,500 years ago, the Rhone was in fact smaller than it is today.

Using this dating technique, the researchers believe they may be able to apply their model to other glaciers worldwide and use the data to piece together a global picture of the Halocene period.

Eerie: Stepping into the glacial tunnel truly is like stepping back in time, walking through a passage of ice that has been hidden from view for thousands of years

The data could also be used to predict the rate at which, given current trends in climate change, these giant formations will recede over time.

The scientists also warn that the revelation that the Rhone Glacier was once smaller than it is today, could be used as an example by climate change-skeptics, that there is no harm in things changing.

However, quoted in an article published by Columbia University's Earth Institute, Joerg Schaefer, a geochemist and Lamont associate research professor, said this is 'simply wrong'.

He said the findings show that even though the climate shifts were relatively mild during the Holocene period, 'we find that the glaciers really reacted strongly … telling us they are very, very sensitive to even very small (changes).

'With the addition of man-made warming, the glaciers will react catastrophically to what we are doing to the climate.'

The Rhone Glacier in Switzerland has been retreating for 150 years, but new research shows that it was smaller than it is toady 11,500 years ago. Scientists warn however that these fluctuations were without man's influence showing how sensitive glaciers are to small climate changes

TECHNOLOGY - IKEA develops flat pack REFUGEE CAMPS designed to replace tented cities in disaster zones

IKEA develops flat pack REFUGEE CAMPS designed to replace tented cities in disaster zones

• -  Innovative flat pack refugee shelters from IKEA will be headed for war zones
• -  They come equipped with solar panels, good insulation and high ceilings
• -  Shelters will be tested by Somali, Iraqi and Lebanese refugees

By OLIVIA WILLIAMS

PUBLISHED: 10:27 GMT, 27 June 2013 | UPDATED: 16:32 GMT, 27 June 2013

Swedish furniture giant IKEA is now expanding its reach into a new frontier - warzones.

With its innovative flat pack shelters, now even refugees will be experiencing IKEA's self-assembly living.

Through its charitable arm, the IKEA foundation, it has developed an alternative to the basic refugee tent.

It is hoped they will make desperate conditions for refugees around the world more bearable. 

Scroll down for video

Upgrade: IKEA has developed its own version of refugee shelters, featuring solar panels for electricity and proper standing room inside

IKEA, along with other refugee aid organisations, believe the flat pack camps could be the solution for the world's shifting refugee populations.

The new structure comes equipped with solar panels, insulation and a ceiling high enough for people to stand up in. 

Refugee flat packs: designed by IKEA for people living in war...

Paul Spiegel, an official with the UN Refugee Agency, said: 'This is a better solution than tents. It has potential to be better in the elements and the weather.'

Many of the current refugee camps have a life span of as little as six months before the impact of sun, rain and wind means they need to be replaced. 

However, refugees usually stay in camps for several years.

The foundation has teamed up with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and Refugee Housing Unit to design and build a better home for refugee families.

Once assembled, they look like a canvas shed.

Efficient: The shelters are intended to withstand years of harsh environments as opposed to the flimsy tents refugees currently have to live in

Prototype: More than 50 of these shelters will be tested in the harsh conditions of Ethiopia, Iraq and Lebanon

UNHCR estimates that 3.5 million refugees, or 10 per cent of the world's refugee population, live in tents, many of which offer no electricity and cannot provide adequate insulation from the heat or the cold.

The IKEA solar panels offer enough electricity for lighting and the shelter's walls and roof are composed of a laminated material that offers UV protection and insulation. 

The small square tiles are integrated into a fabric net that covers the structure, reflecting the heat in the daytime and pulling in heat at night for warmth.

Johan Karlsson, a representative with the Refugee Housing Unit, explained how it worked: 'It is designed this way, like an IKEA bookshelf, to be easy to transport and to be easy to set up in the field.'

He said the housing panels are very lightweight and durable and last up to three year.

Familiar sight: IKEA's flatpacks will be sent to far-flung corners of the world to improve the lives of refugees

According to the IKEA foundation, more than 23,000 people are estimated to have to involuntarily leave their homes every day because of war, poverty, climate change and politics.

The test tents are currently being used by Somali refugees living in UN refugee camps at Dollo Ado in Ethiopia, as well as refugees in Iraq and Lebanon. 

After receiving feedback from those who are using them, the IKEA Foundation will fund further improvements before they are put onto the market via the 'open source' method, where any commerical organisation can come along and buy the design, to sell to the UN Refugee Agency.

Mr Spiegel said added: "We're not there yet, we're in the testing stage now, but this is already very huge, and we will be testing in a lot of different locations and gather data about changes.Then we hopefully go full scale."

He the cost will depend on the amount of production that is eventually needed.

THE GREAT AFRICA - Territories and Regions

Territories and regions

Main articles: List of regions of Africa and List of sovereign states and dependent territories in Africa

The countries in this table are categorized according to the scheme for geographic subregions used by the United Nations, and data included are per sources in cross-referenced articles. Where they differ, provisos are clearly indicated.

Regions of Africa:   Northern Africa   Western Africa   Central Africa   Eastern Africa   Southern Africa

Physical map of Africa

Political map of Africa

Name of region[99] and territory, with flag	Area (km²)	Population[100]	Year	Density (per km²)	Capital
Eastern Africa
Burundi	27,830	8,988,091	2009	323	Bujumbura
Comoros	2,170	752,438	2009	347	Moroni
Djibouti	23,000	516,055	2009	22	Djibouti
Eritrea	121,320	5,647,168	2009	47	Asmara
Ethiopia	1,127,127	84,320,987	2012	75	Addis Ababa
Kenya	582,650	39,002,772	2009	66	Nairobi
Madagascar	587,040	20,653,556	2009	35	Antananarivo
Malawi	118,480	14,268,711	2009	120	Lilongwe
Mauritius	2,040	1,284,264	2009	630	Port Louis
Mayotte (France)	374	223,765	2009	490	Mamoudzou
Mozambique	801,590	21,669,278	2009	27	Maputo
Réunion (France)	2,512	743,981	2002	296	Saint-Denis
Rwanda	26,338	10,473,282	2009	398	Kigali
Seychelles	455	87,476	2009	192	Victoria
Somalia	637,657	9,832,017	2009	15	Mogadishu
South Sudan	619,745	8,260,490	2008	13	Juba
Tanzania	945,087	44,929,002	2009	43	Dodoma
Uganda	236,040	32,369,558	2009	137	Kampala
Zambia	752,614	11,862,740	2009	16	Lusaka
Zimbabwe	390,580	11,392,629	2009	29	Harare
Central Africa
Angola	1,246,700	12,799,293	2009	10	Luanda
Cameroon	475,440	18,879,301	2009	40	Yaoundé
Central African Republic	622,984	4,511,488	2009	7	Bangui
Chad	1,284,000	10,329,208	2009	8	N'Djamena
Republic of the Congo	342,000	4,012,809	2009	12	Brazzaville
Democratic Republic of the Congo	2,345,410	69,575,000	2012	30	Kinshasa
Equatorial Guinea	28,051	633,441	2009	23	Malabo
Gabon	267,667	1,514,993	2009	6	Libreville
São Tomé and Príncipe	1,001	212,679	2009	212	São Tomé
Northern Africa
Algeria	2,381,740	34,178,188	2009	14	Algiers
Canary Islands (Spain)[101]	7,492	2,118,519	2010	226	Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Ceuta (Spain)[102]	20	71,505	2001	3,575	—
Egypt[103]	1,001,450	82,868,000	2012	83	Cairo
Libya	1,759,540	6,310,434	2009	4	Tripoli
Madeira (Portugal)[104]	797	245,000	2001	307	Funchal
Melilla (Spain)[105]	12	66,411	2001	5,534	—
Morocco	446,550	34,859,364	2009	78	Rabat
Sudan	1,861,484	30,894,000	2008	17	Khartoum
Tunisia	163,610	10,486,339	2009	64	Tunis
Western Sahara[106]	266,000	405,210	2009	2	El Aaiún
Southern Africa
Botswana	600,370	1,990,876	2009	3	Gaborone
Lesotho	30,355	2,130,819	2009	70	Maseru
Namibia	825,418	2,108,665	2009	3	Windhoek
South Africa	1,219,912	51,770,560	2011	42	Bloemfontein, Cape Town, Pretoria[107]
Swaziland	17,363	1,123,913	2009	65	Mbabane
Western Africa
Benin	112,620	8,791,832	2009	78	Porto-Novo
Burkina Faso	274,200	15,746,232	2009	57	Ouagadougou
Cape Verde	4,033	429,474	2009	107	Praia
Côte d'Ivoire	322,460	20,617,068	2009	64	Abidjan,[108] Yamoussoukro
Gambia	11,300	1,782,893	2009	158	Banjul
Ghana	239,460	23,832,495	2009	100	Accra
Guinea	245,857	10,057,975	2009	41	Conakry
Guinea-Bissau	36,120	1,533,964	2009	43	Bissau
Liberia	111,370	3,441,790	2009	31	Monrovia
Mali	1,240,000	12,666,987	2009	10	Bamako
Mauritania	1,030,700	3,129,486	2009	3	Nouakchott
Niger	1,267,000	15,306,252	2009	12	Niamey
Nigeria	923,768	166,629,000	2012	180	Abuja
Saint Helena (United Kingdom)	410	7,637	2009	14	Jamestown
Senegal	196,190	13,711,597	2009	70	Dakar
Sierra Leone	71,740	6,440,053	2009	90	Freetown
Togo	56,785	6,019,877	2009	106	Lomé
Africa Total	30,368,609	1,001,320,281	2009	33