FEATURE ARTICLES

The Association for Perioperative Practice (AfPP) Annual National Conference 2025 is set to be one of the largest gatherings of perioperative professionals in the UK, taking place on 8-9 August 2025 at the University of Warwick. Following the success of last year’s event, AfPP will be returning to Warwick to bring together practitioners from every area of perioperative practice for two days of worldclass education, innovation, and networking.

Despite playing a vital role in surgery and patient care, Operating Department Practitioners (ODPs) are still one of healthcare’s best-kept secrets. National ODP Day took place on Wednesday 14 May, this year, and provided an opportunity to celebrate the people behind the scenes who make surgery possible. Susan Preston, from the Association for Perioperative Practice (AfPP), shines a light on their vital work.

The military environment has long served as an accelerator for healthcare innovation, particularly in areas requiring rapid diagnosis. Mark Gostock provides an insight into the latest military-to-civilian technology, which could accurately rule out sepsis cases. It is hoped that this new diagnostic tool could help to reduce unnecessary hospital stays.

Dr. Rehan Haidry, a Consultant Gastroenterologist and Clinical Lead for Endoscopy at Cleveland Clinic London, discusses an innovative solution to advance diagnosis and management of gastrointestinal motility disorders.

In this article, the Clinical Director of the Personalised Care Institute, Dr. Emma Hyde, explores new research which indicates that personalised care, a model of NHS care that gives people more choice and control over their health and care decisions, is inconsistently delivered across the NHS. Dr. Hyde argues that, to realise the potential for personalised care to reduce NHS pressures, increase patient satisfaction and improve health outcomes, it must be made an education and policy priority.

In this article, Dr. Tim Sandle discusses the evolution of Quaternary Ammonium Compounds (QACs) and their application in healthcare. He provides an insight into their efficacy and sets out why the latest generation of QACs represent an advancement.

Bernard Ross explains how, as the virtual wards programme expands, innovations can be adopted to further support patients and healthcare professionals deliver care in the home setting where necessary. He argues that leveraging self-application devices can inspire patients to manage and take charge of their own care.

A quiet revolution is unfolding across Africa; one that challenges the outdated notion that medical innovation, and supplies of equipment, must always flow from the ‘Global North’ to the ‘Global South’. The biomedical engineering community is key to helping address inequities in global healthcare. In this article, on behalf of the IMechE, a team of experts in biomedical engineering look at how the international biomedical engineering community can help.

Professor John Sandham, Chair of the EBME Expo, provides an insight into the hidden threats in healthcare, arising from the misuse or failure of medical equipment. EBME Expo will shine a light on the importance of medical equipment governance and how we can drive improvement, going forward.

Following the relocation of Royal Papworth Hospital to the Cambridge Biomedical Campus in 2019, an increase in surgical site infections (SSIs) prompted a comprehensive, multidisciplinary investigation. While the initial rise was attributed to environmental transition, further analysis revealed a complex web of contributing factors. Eleonora Iervella discusses how a pioneering new role has made a significant impact.

Kate Woodhead warns that fatigue is an unexplored factor in patient and staff safety in healthcare. In this article, she reflects on the findings of the latest Health Services Safety Investigations Body’s report, which looks at the impact of fatigue.

Created using modern methods of construction (MMC), a new elective orthopaedic centre at Colchester Hospital is one of the largest in Europe

Data from a registry spanning 13 years has provided new insights into scalp cooling to treat chemotherapy-induced alopecia. Toni Brook and Daniel Milner provide an overview of the key findings and implications for practice.

Dawn Stott provides an insight into some key improvement initiatives around the safe management of airway devices and shares the findings from NHS Trust freedom of information requests, surveys and focus groups. The research underscores the importance of continuous learning, and a culture of transparency and collaboration across disciplines to sustain improvements in patient safety.

Dr. Sandeep Sudan, Consultant Anaesthetist at the University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust, and Royal College of Anaesthetists/Difficult Airway Society Airway Leads Advisor, writes on the importance of preparation for difficult airways.

Human health is inextricably linked to the health of our planet, and action is well underway in Scotland to deliver improvements in sustainability. Innovation Manager at InnoScot Health, Frances Ramsay analyses the environmental outlook for Scottish healthcare.

Peter Sedman, from the Confederation of British Surgery, discusses the case for surgical hubs and highlights some of the successes that have been achieved, using this approach, across the UK.

An ‘Essential guide to medical equipment principles’, has been launched to help new clinical engineers, junior nurses, medics and operating department practitioners (ODPs) understand the fundamentals of many of the standard medical devices they will encounter in a hospital environment.

The first gathering of the ‘EBME Expo Leaders Network’ brought together a select group of influential leaders from the healthcare technology (HealthTech) industry, at the Cinnamon Club, in Westminster, to drive innovation and to collaborate on achieving key objectives in the field of EBME. This Special Report outlines the key issues raised.

Professor John Sandham, Chair of the EBME Expo, highlights the event’s focus on practical knowledge and best practices in technology management, acquisition, connectivity, use, and maintenance. The Expo aims to demonstrate how optimised healthcare technology contributes directly to NHS productivity, cost-effectiveness and, most importantly, enhanced patient safety.