An independent panel has been created to advise the Medicines Control Agency on drug advertising. Junior health minister Lord Hunt said the three-member panel would advise ministers when drug companies challenged MCA decisions, and provide the industry with a mechanism for obtaining 'transparent and independent' reviews of such decisions. It will be chaired by a solicitor, James Watt, supported by a lay member and a pharmacy or medicines expert drawn from a pool of appointees.

University College London Hospitals trust has announced plans to move the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital to the Obstetric Hospital. The University College London Hospital being developed under the private finance initiative is due to open in 2007 and will have a£35m stand-alone wing to house the EGA. But UCLH trust chief executive Peter Reading said its present 'isolated' site meant it could not deal with emergencies. 'For these reasons we need to move to a unified service late next year, rather than wait seven years before moving into the new hospital.'