It may be springtime, but when the frightfulness of the weather is matched by the rolls of fat accumulating around one’s belt, an indoor boot camp holds tremendous appeal. There will be no press-ups in the rain, or knees caked in mud.

DOCTORS in Scotland will have to prove they are fit to practise under new plans to ensure patients are not misdiagnosed or given outdated treatment.

new members are being sought for NHS Lothian’s Young People’s Advisory Group (YPAG).

A REVIEW of homeopathy services is to be carried out in the Lothians.

ATTEMPTS to cut the number of patients waiting too long for treatment in the Lothians stalled during April, NHS Lothian has said.

LAST week a man with dementia died after a year at home during which 106 different named people tended to his needs. Graciously, his widow says that she has no complaints about the care, but it ruined any semblance of dignity at the end of his life.

Stephen Fry has backed a Scottish campaign to raise awareness of mental health problems.

A PIONEERING knee operation for arthritis sufferers which can halve recovery times has been developed, surgeons say.

SCOTLAND’S main Alzheimer’s charity has condemned the “unacceptable” treatment of a dementia patient who had more than 100 different carers in the last 12 months of his life.

MAJOR concerns over the safety of cardiac care at Scotland’s biggest children’s hospital have been revealed in a new report.

a MENTAL health “pop-up shop” is being opened in Rose Street today by Still Game star Sanjeev Kohli.

the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh has released a report calling for change to major trauma care in Scotland.

A severely disabled boy who needs help to write has penned a letter to the new head of NHS Lothian begging him to arrange the nursing cover that would let him go to school.

THE number of patients waiting too long for hospital treatment in the Lothians reached at least 7000 in the wake of the waiting lists scandal, it has been revealed.

THERE were calls in the Scottish Parliament yesterday for a national NHS whistleblowing phone line to be set up in the wake of the NHS Lothian waiting lists scandal.

ALMOST 50 Scottish arts companies will lose £8 million in regular funding in a shift to one-off “project” support from lottery cash, they were told yesterday.

A £1 BILLION programme of British aid for education in three east African countries has failed to teach basic reading, writing and maths skills to most of the children involved, an independent report has found.

THE popular belief that mothers-to-be can “eat for two” has been dispelled by research that shows dieting when pregnant can be good for you.

SCOTLAND is lagging behind other developed countries in its provision of care for victims of major trauma and needs to radically overhaul its approach, medical experts have warned.

SIGNIFICANT improvements in child protection services in Dundee have been praised by the Care Inspectorate - only three years after a damning report listed a litany of failures by agencies in protecting vulnerable children from “significant harm.”