TODAY, for a change, it is time for some good news. The Northern Echo has spent the last couple of years explaining how our National Health Service lags behind the rest of the world in its treatment of cardiac and cancer patients.

The paper has been pleased with many of the Government's pledges to improve matters, but has been disappointed that so many lives have been lost in the meantime and that so many years will have to elapse before the Government's measures begin to make a difference.

But today, for a change, there's some very good news. In November 1999, the Government introduced a vaccination against meningitis C which has been given to 18m babies, children and teenagers.

Barely a year later, the disease is all but wiped out in Britain and about 50 lives have been saved. Parents, for whom meningitis is one of the greatest fears, can rest a little easier.

All of this has cost us, as a country with a population of 60 million, just £20m.

It is a wonderful achievement. It shows the effectiveness of the NHS when properly resourced and organised, and it is something Britain as a whole can be proud of - we are world leaders in this field.

Of course, it doesn't solve everything. We must guard against complacency and parents must still be on the lookout for the tell-tale rash - which doesn't fade when a glass is pressed firmly against it - that heralds the start of the deadly meningitis B.

And, of course, we must move on to tackling meningitis B. A Dutch prototype for a vaccination is now being worked on by British scientists.

But today, for a change, we should praise our National Health Service and the people who work for it.

Equally gullible

IT IS with trepidation that many non-technical minded people approach garages when their car goes awry.

What goes on under the bonnet is indeed a mystery to many.

Sadly, Which? magazine seems to have discovered many of the innocents on our roads have been taken for a ride by service centres which do unnecessary and expensive work.

This is scandalous - but unsurprising.

There is, though, a line in the report that makes good reading. Women drivers received exactly the same advice from garages as men drivers.

This must be the ultimate proof of how far equality of the sexes in this country has come. Men now have the same opportunity as women of being ripped off by an oily mechanic. That's real progress!