PARENTS will lay a single white rose in memory of tiny tragic loved ones in a poignant ceremony by a Birmingham hospital this weekend. The Celebrating Brief Lives service by Birmingham Women's Hospital remembers babies lost during pregnancy or shortly after birth.

By Jonathan Walker The number of cancelled operations has shot up in the West Midlands - but hospitals and health trusts are on course to run up a surplus of pounds 155 million.

By Alison Dayani HEALTH bosses have recorded among the lowest quarterly rates of superbug MRSA in the West Midlands for years, new figures reveal.

Health bosses are reviewing superbug-related deaths reported by Midland hospitals as Government figures revealed the region has the worst record in England. Clostridium difficile was linked to 1,115 deaths in 2006, compared with 534 the previous year.

Midland universities and colleges are joining forces to set up Birmingham's first health academy, which will train thousands of nurses, doctors, therapists and care workers.