EURONEWS VISIT

PRACTICE NEWS REPORT – 19/01/12

Breast Implants – Where Should the Incision be?

Scandal has hit the cosmetic surgery industry hard.

Most women, in a survey carried out by Bannockburn students, were found to no longer consider breast implants for cosmetic reasons.

The story of the potentially dangerous PIP implants has shocked women, and men, alike across the country. It has been found that almost 40,000 women in theUKhave been fitted with PIP breast implants, and in this breaking news story, the implants were found to have begun to ‘rupture’ in many cases. This began the leaking of non-medical grade silicone into the women’s bodies, the same silicone used in building and plumbing.

A recent survey conducted by our group showed that after this news story broke out, 88%* of women would no longer consider implants for cosmetic reasons. However, out of the same women, 56% would still have implants placed for medical reasons, 32% would not and 12% were still unsure. One of those who were surveyed said ‘I was shocked that the silicone used in the PIP implants was not medical grade and this has totally destroyed my confidence in the cosmetic surgery industry’.

The Welsh Government has said they will both remove and replace all PIP implants for the women who were treated by the NHS and privately. However, Scottish and English Governments have said they will remove all implants but will only replace the implants that were completed under the National Health Service.

There have been a number of factors which have led to the Governments’ confusion over this controversial issue. Many women have been putting foreign objects into their body at their own risk and therefore they themselves were at fault, as they were also informed of the potential side effects but still went ahead with the procedure.

However, these implants were approved by the Medicine and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and therefore local Health Boards should take overall responsibility as these women put their complete trust in to them and were mistakenly allowed to believe they would be given safe implants.

The story of PIP implants has undoubtedly shaken up many women who have been considering implants, and even those who have already had the procedure completed. This worry may even be fuelled by the fact that women no longer have the comfort of knowing that if they were to become diagnosed with breast cancer then they may not be able to trust the surgeons completely.

One of the worries of women is that the implants may not have the conformity mark “CE”, which certifies that a product such as a hip joint or breast implant has met European quality standards.

This lack of trust is likely to hit the cosmetic surgery industry hard, in that the numbers of people willing to have surgery purely for cosmetic reasons will be likely to drastically decline.

*survey completed by 25 women

Is Grey the New Black? 

Grey – a colour? A school colour? Pupils atBannockburnHigh Schoolhave recently been informed that grey trousers and cardigans are not appropriate to wear as school uniform.

The school uniform is, in fact, traditionally black trousers, a black jumper or cardigan, a white shirt and a house branded tie.

A recent survey of 25 male pupils and teachers from Bannockburn High School show that only 8% of the males preferred wearing the current uniform and the remaining 92% confirmed that they wanted the choice of either black or grey trousers.

One of those surveyed stated, ‘if the uniform was to be altered to permit pupils to wear grey then they would only find a different item of clothing to challenge the allocated school uniform. I believe that all pupils are individual and should be able to express this through what they choose to

wear, but within reason. Uniform regulations are unfortunately too difficult to monitor.’

A member of the senior management team has an opinion which challenges those of the above quoted. ‘The black trousers should be worn by everybody. The agreement was made at the start of the year and therefore nobody should have an issue with meeting the requirements. If we accept grey trousers then someone will only think of something else to wear out with the rules – such as white trousers in summer months.’

On the other hand, some pupils feel this rule was not strongly enough enforced at the beginning of the academic year.  Therefore, they feel it is inappropriate to be expected to change to all black halfway through the school term, especially when uniforms have already been purchased. This is a particular problem, especially considering the current economic climate as parents feel that they do not have money to waste.

Overall, pupils prefer the having the day to day choice between black or grey trousers, although the majority of teachers believe that the original school uniform is smarter and conveys a clearer, stronger school identity.

First Years Get Shirty for Maternal Health

Students inBannockburnare doing their bit to reduce maternal mortality around the World. A Series of competitions, talks and challenges are allowing pupils to peer educate friends, family and the community.

Alasdair Keane, a member of the GSF group, says, “One mother dies every minute during labour, with 99 percent of these deaths occurring in the developing world, which is why it is so important for us to raise awareness for mothers around the world.”

The pupils working under the banner of the Global Student Forum (GSF) – a national conference for school groups – are working to help raise awareness for the fifth Millennium Development Goal (MDG5) set out by the United Nations. The Goal encourages governments to reduce maternal mortality by 2015 and has been said to be the least likely to be achieved of all the MDGs.

Their latest campaign saw the group peer educating first year classes on this major issue and then setting them the “Get Shirty” challenge.  Pupils were asked to design a t-shirt highlighting maternal health, with a vast number of entries flooding in.  A winner was chosen from each of the house groups within the school, Zoe Mckenna (Bruce) Ryan Brown (Stuart) Kiera Grealis (Wallace) and an overall winner of Gemma Petterson (Bruce). Their t-shirt designs have been made into t-shirts, which are to be worn by the Schools Senior Management Team.

The groups campaign continues with further events in the upcoming months which they hope will reach their community.  The group’s effort comes alongside an increase inUKaid to 7% of the Gross National Income by 2013, bringing theUKto the United Nations recommended benchmark.  However, more needs to be done globally to reduce maternal mortality.