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The article reports on the release of the white paper "Our Health, Our Care, Our Say: A New Direction for Community Services," by health secretary Patricia Hewitt in Great Britain. Nurses will be at the center of the reform of medical care in the country. They are expected to perform new tasks including the promotion of health services in the community, encourage patients to be self-dependent and work longer hours.

Why you should read this article: • To recognise some of the issues and inequalities related to men's health • To enhance your knowledge of the factors that may affect men's health • To consider approaches that you could use in your practice to improve the provision of men's healthcare As part of a project to review the delivery of healthcare services in Torbay and South Devon, England, the author undertook a literature review focusing on the specialty of men's health. Men have a shorter life expectancy than women and this discrepancy is particularly pronounced in areas of social deprivation such as those found in the coastal and rural communities of the author's locality. The concept of men's health is complex, and this literature review identified five main themes that can have a significant influence on the delivery of healthcare services for men: masculinity, ethnicity, mental health, relevance of place, and access to services. In this article, the author discusses these themes and considers approaches that could be used to improve the provision of men's healthcare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comments on the British government's policy paper on giving patients more choice, entitled "Building on the Best". Aims of the paper; Criticism of the British National Health Service; Purpose of extending patient choice.

INSETS: Untitled;Untitled. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents news items on medicine in Great Britain. The National Clinical Audit Advisory Group is examining whether the quality of local clinical audits could be linked to premiums paid by trusts to the National Health Service (NHS) Litigation Authority. British nurse practitioners have been allowed in 2010 to contribute to the Information Prescription Service database. The Primary Care Trust Network of the NHS Confederation has published a discussion paper on physician commissioning.

Two months into his premiership, is Gordon Brown honouring his promise to make health a priority? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plans to overhaul care system funding could lead to the end of free nursing care for older people with serious ongoing health problems, the RCN has warned. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People with learning disabilities represent a small and vulnerable group in society who commonly encounter barriers in accessing and using health care. This article focuses on how nurses and other healthcare professionals could support these individuals to make decisions about their care. In particular, it highlights the changes in legislation, policy and practice that have occurred recently to ensure the rights of people with learning disabilities to access health care are upheld. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Commissioning in the NHS involves identifying the needs of a local population and then planning and funding care to meet those needs. This article gives an overview of the commissioning process and its effect on clinical care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

NHS chief executive Sir David Nicholson answers questions on the new NHS Equality Delivery System. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The case for regulating support workers increases as their responsibilities grow, says Howard Catton. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents news items on medicine in Great Britain. Great Britain's Department of Health (DH) wants to quadruple the number of people who receive a personal care budget by 2013. Jonathan Paul Nolan, a British reservist nurse, was honored by the Queen of England for aiding injured soldiers at a military hospital in Camp Bastion, Afghanistan. 32 National Health Service organizations will become social enterprises as part of a government plan to enable clinicians to manage services.

The article discusses government initiatives that have been developed in Great Britain to help bring positive change to the nursing industry and to medical care in the country. In the article the author offers her opinions on the many roles that nurses can play in shaping the future of nursing and medical care in Great Britain.