in brief

The organisational shake-up proposed for healthcare in Northern Ireland is unlikely to make any significant savings in management costs, according to a study commissioned by the Northern Ireland Confederation of Health and Social Services.Gill Morgan, chief executive of the NHS Confederation (NICON's parent organisation), says the study shows that current levels of management costs in Northern Ireland are lower than those in England and Wales.Of every£970 spent on health and social services in NI,£62 is spent on management.

www. nhsconfed. org. uk Money being spent on treatment in the NHS still dwarfs the money invested in health education and prevention, according to a survey by Macmillan Cancer Relief, an updated version of a study produced in 2000. It stresses that cancer is rarely inevitable and is 'almost always' triggered by lifestyle and environmental factors.

Cancer Prevention and Screening . 0845 6016161.

The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children has launched a website to help professionals working with children.The idea came from the national 'clearing house'websites based in Australia and the US.

www. nspcc. org. uk/inform/ Nottinghamshire

Healthcare trust will appeal against Leicester city council's refusal to grant planning permission to extend a psychiatric hospital.The trust wants to extend the mediumsecure unit of Arnold Lodge, on the outskirts of Leicester, and double the number of patients, in order to meet NHS plan targets.

Thousands of protective body suits and decontamination units are to be issued to NHS hospitals.The Department of Health is to order 8,000 suits and 300 mobile units to handle chemical or biological contamination.The DoH said the action was planned ahead of the events of September 11.