By STEWART PATERSON CAR parking charges at NHS hospitals in Scotland are to be abolished, the Health Secretary announced yesterday. After a review of charging policies, and an interim cap of GBP3 per day, Nicola Sturgeon revealed charges at the 14 hospitals which charge will be scrapped.

AS A general practitioner, I am all for patients undergoing day surgery for appropriate procedures. Essentially, it is in everyone's interest and is financially prudent. However, in my experience, early discharge can bring its own problems and certainly increases the primary-care workload.

THE correspondence about Scotland's drugs bill brings to mind another situation where savings opportunities are being ignored. I recently found out that unused drugs returned to a pharmacist are discarded, even if they are well within their expiry date and in unopened bubble-packs.

A MAN is being treated in hospital for a rare form of tuberculosis, health chiefs said yesterday. The man, from overseas, is in isolation at Gartnavel General Hospital in Glasgow.

FIRST Minister Alex Salmond yesterday officially opened the new Beatson West of Scotland cancer centre. He was joined by Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon at the unit in the Gartnavel hospital complex in Glagow. The pair toured the new facility, meeting with key staff and some patients.