FEATURE ARTICLES

Burnout, mental health struggles and a lack of work-life balance have been given as the main reasons for staff leaving the NHS. Sophie Evans, a former critical care nurse and now a clinical consultant for health communications specialist Ascom, discusses why it has never been more important for the NHS to bring back the joy to nursing, and how technology can play a major role.

Not all instruments can be guaranteed clean, especially those with narrow lumens. Jon Blastland argues that single-use alternatives could help reduce the risk of surgical site infection.

Transrectal (TRUS) biopsies can yield inaccuracies in identifying potential cancer cells, while the nature of the procedure brings an increased likelihood of infection. Efforts are underway to phase out the procedure and Trusts are moving to alternative approaches. Over the past two years, the South-West of England has widely adopted the PrecisionPoint Transperineal Access

Roberta Charlett examines the case for switching to reusable surgical textiles and the steps that will be required to successfully implement this.

Nigel Roberts, head theatre practitioner, at Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Hospital Trust, provides an insight into a Delphi Study (round one), which has sought to understand current practice around the use of the WHO Surgical Safety Checklist and some of the challenges around implementation.

Sustainability, training, automation, and patient safety were among the hot topics discussed at the Institute of Decontamination Sciences (IDSc) annual conference. Top experts gave their views on the challenges ahead and key areas that must be addressed to ensure safe, efficient and sustainable sterile services.

Kate Woodhead RGN DMS considers the extreme pressures being faced by the NHS and what needs to be done to address the ‘gridlock’ currently being experienced across the system.

Simple, and relatively inexpensive, steps to implement care bundles can have a dramatic impact on rates of surgical site infection. The Burden of Infection Symposium provided an insight into the latest evidence and guidance around best practice, as well as offering expert advice on ‘overcoming the challenges of change’. Louise Frampton reports.

As ultrasound becomes ubiquitous, smart technologies are playing a vital role in diagnostic speed and accuracy. Medical device manufacturer, Mindray, is pioneering smart tools for ultrasound applications to enhance accuracy and speed of examinations and boost clinical confidence and decision-making.

Carole Hallam argues that the use of air decontamination systems to improve indoor air quality should be considered as part of Trusts’ infection prevention and control strategies. She warns that hand hygiene and surface cleaning are not enough.

Pre-eclampsia is one of the most common causes of maternal morbidity and mortality. However, the methods used to initially determine the presence of the disease have not changed in decades and rely on simple non-specific parameters. These markers are poor at predicting risk, and cases of pre-eclampsia often progress rapidly and unpredictably, warns Dawn Hannah.

With Integrated Care Boards (ICB) having moved onto statutory footing, it is time to use digital connectivity to join up services – starting with emergency care, argues Mike Farrar, former chief executive of the NHS Confederation and North-West England Strategic Health Authorities.

Chris Gale, head of education for Avensys Training, is from a military education background and believes that human factors science, which has been adopted by the military aviation sector, could have an important contribution in helping to prevent errors in decontamination facilities and biomedical engineering. He calls for increased investment in staff education – to empower staff to understand why we do things, to improve patient safety, and ensure staff feel valued.

Nigel Roberts examines the evidence around the incidence of surgical fires, as well as current guidance to prevent associated harm. He considers whether surgical fires should be classed as a ‘Never Event’ and whether mitigating steps should be incorporated into the WHO surgical safety checklist

Data saves lives and connected MedTech will be key to ensuring this data is easily accessible and actionable. Louise Frampton spoke to Mindray UK’s digital health experts to find out how patient safety, efficiency and clinical decision making could be enhanced though improved interoperability, artificial intelligence and mobile monitoring solutions.

Clinical educator, Linda Kelly, explores the national precedence being placed on infection prevention and control, and calls for the standardisation of care and maintenance of vascular access devices

Dr. Jack Parry-Jones FRCP FFICM urges the Government to look intently at solutions to the increasing pressures on critical care services. In this article, he outlines the key areas that need to be addressed.

Richard Bancroft and Brisia López-Ortega outline best practice when monitoring sterilisation processes involving the use of vaporised hydrogen peroxide.

High on the agenda of Future Surgery 2022 was the significant challenge around recovering elective surgery, in the wake of the pandemic. Among the hot topics included: staff retention and recruitment, the need for more day case surgery, new ways of working, and the recovery of training. Louise Frampton reports.

Changes in epidemiology and earlier diagnostics will shape the delivery of surgical services in the next 30 years. At the same time, the impacts of COVID-19 will be felt for some time. At Future Surgery 2022, leading experts discussed some of the challenges ahead and the potential changes required. Louise Frampton reports.