It alleviates the pain of surgery, soothes aching joints, and beckons to Gregory House, the misanthropic TV doctor played by Hugh Laurie.

Vicodin and similar painkillers are so tightly woven into daily American life that if the Food and Drug Administration takes the advice an expert panel issued Tuesday and prohibits them, doctors and patients will scramble for alternatives, experts said.

“If they were to ban those, what do you think would happen tomorrow? It would be a mess,” said Timothy Ives, associate professor at the University of North Carolinas Eshelman School of Pharmacy.

Read full article: Philadelphia Inquirer

There were 154 staff incidents across North Essex in the nine months leading up to December 31, including 62 within Tendring, according to a risk management report produced by NHS North Essex, the area’s primary care trust.

Physical attacks were the most common incident suffered by health workers. Hospital records showed that staff were physically assaulted on 210 occasions, and there were also 69 non-physical assaults.

The figures also showed nine staff were accidentally jabbed with needles.

Tracey Rice, a nurse who was attacked in 2006 in Clacton Hospital by a drunk patient who kicked her and pushed her in the chest, said aggressive patients were an ongoing problem.

She said: “The problem is hospitals do all they can do with limited power and funds.”

Speaking about the attack she suffered, which led to one of the first prosecutions of a patient, she said: “I did not get a lot of support on the night because it was very busy, but it was not anybody’s fault. I do not think they really realised what had happened to me.”

She added that hospitals could still use more staff, and more security to protect health workers.

Trevor Redburn, assistant general manager for the coastal area, said assaults on crew members were an issue for the ambulance service.

Read full article: Gazette.

The organisation is highlighting the statistic in its national Save-A-Mate program.

The program is being expanded to Horsham, to teach Wimmera teenagers crucial first aid skills to help friends affected by drugs or alcohol.

Through the program, young people are encouraged to take responsibility for themselves, their friends and others around them.

Project officer Katie Scott says teenagers need to be able to recognise when a friend needs help and what to do while they are waiting for an ambulance.

“To know when’s the right time to call an ambulance, and that calling an ambulance is not a bad thing to do and you’re not going to get in trouble for calling an ambulance,” she said.

“If someone’s had too much to drink and they’ve passed out, that’s not necessarily a good thing and it’s just as simple as getting those messages across, that can mean the difference between potentially saving someone’s life.”

Read full article: Australian Broadcasting Corporation.