BBC News

Nearly half of care homes in England are below the required standard, according to figures from the Care Quality Commission.

Get close to a 'most ambitious game'

The government is promising a "new deal" for GPs - if they sign up to seven-day opening.

One of the authors of a report into the risks of buying unregulated breast milk online, Dr Sarah Steele, says claims it boosts the adult immune system are misleading.

Dangerous counterfeit and unlicensed medicines worth nearly £16m have been seized in a record haul by the UK's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.

The age young people start puberty can affect the risk of developing a wide range of diseases from cancer to diabetes, according to a UK study.

A new hi-tech bionic hand created using Formula 1 and military technology has been designed in Britain with the hope of transforming lives across the world.

Human breast milk being bought online by fetishists, bodybuilders and cancer patients is a danger to health, say UK researchers.

Scientists at Dundee University develop an "exciting" new single-dose malaria drug to combat drug-resistant parasites.

Health regulator Monitor says it has "serious concerns" over the financial running of a Lancashire hospital trust after predicting a £44m rise in its budget deficit.

Hospitals in the West Midlands are appealing for more Muslims to consider donating their organs.

A record nine million emergency calls were made to the ambulance service in England last year, figures show.

What's the matter with GPs?

The teachers living with the effects of asbestos

Hospitals in the West Midlands are urging Muslims to consider donating their organs for patients waiting for a new kidney or liver.

Why some Chinese people are proclaiming they are "black and proud"

Do you really need to take 10,000 steps a day to keep fit?

Elderly people are being "trapped" in English hospitals in ever greater numbers as there is no where else for them to go, the charity Age UK warns.

Trans-fats are unsafe to eat and must be banned from the food supply within three years, US regulators have said - but where are

Scientists discover a chemical in blood that indicates whether people will have declining brain function in the years to come.

Trans-fats are unsafe to eat and must be banned from the food supply within three years, say US regulators.

South Korea begins trials of plasma therapy as the Mers death toll rises to 19.

New scientific research suggests that chocolate could be good for the heart. Professor Phyo Myint, the author of the research says that consuming around 100g of chocolate per week could help.

Scientists at the University of Aberdeen say eating a moderate amount of chocolate a day has been linked with lowered risk of heart disease and stroke.

Patients are still facing problems finding an NHS dentist in England, research suggests.

Children at primary school should be tested for their fitness as well as their ability in maths and English, says a health campaign group.

The chief medical officer for England calls for an independent review of the safety and efficacy of medicines.

Tens of thousands of people with asthma in the UK are not getting the right medicines to keep their condition safely under control, according to an audit.

Does the NHS need a leadership shake-up?

Craigavon-based pharmaceutical firm Almac signs deal with one of the world's largest biotech firms that could be worth more than £200m.

A mother cannot use her dead daughter's frozen eggs to give birth to her own grandchild, the High Court in London has ruled.

Why black athletes are highlighting prostate cancer risk

Women with endometriosis are more likely to have a risky pregnancy or miscarry, say fertility doctors.

There is a perception that cervical cancer is a young woman's disease, but half of deaths occur in women over 65, a British Medical Journal report says.

Grieving parents from across the country contact the BBC with their own stories in the wake of the Shropshire baby ashes scandal.

More people in Scotland have diabetes than ever before - and the number is continuing to rise, according to figures published by a charity.

What happens if you're deaf and then go blind?

A hospital in Seoul suspends services after being identified as the source of almost half the cases in the outbreak of the Mers virus.

The Thai meal that can give you cancer

Charlotte Eades, 18, tells the BBC why she decided to record a video diary, or vlog, to chart the realities of having cancer as a teenager.

More cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome should be expected in South Korea, but there is no evidence the outbreak is spreading further, experts say.

A schoolgirl from Kent, who was born with only one hand, has had a new one specially built for her by her classmates.

Reporting concerns about a public body should be made simpler, a watchdog says as a survey finds only a third of people who experience poor service make a complaint.

British nurse Will Pooley who contracted Ebola last year during his work in Sierra Leone is recognised in the Queen's Birthday Honours list.

Cambridge University researchers have identified a faulty gene that seems to switch pain off in some people and it is hoped the discovery could lead to new treatments.

Research published recently in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases shows that camels aged less than four years might be a major source of Mers.

People who need urgent mental health care in England are receiving inadequate support and the system is "struggling to cope", regulators say.