FEATURE ARTICLES

The medical technology trade fair, MEDICA, will provide a showcase for international innovation in medical equipment and the latest developments in healthcare.

SUZANNE CALLANDER reports on a simple, singleuse patient warming solution that can help maintain normothermia in a range of settings.

Patients are experiencing unsafe, delayed or untimely discharge due to lack of co-ordination between health, social care and community services.

The latest data highlights some of the key areas where the UK lags behind other countries in terms of unnecessary hospital admissions and disease survival.

A recent report produced by the NHS Partners Network says that boundaries need to be pushed to allow the independent sector to help redesign.

UK radiology services continue to come under pressure and, in recent months, various reports have outlined key areas where there is a need for improvement.

There are calls for improvement in end of life care as a number of reports have highlighted variation in the quality of care that patients receive. Cases have been highlighted where patients have suffered unnecessary pain and died without dignity.

CSJ reports on a case study which demonstrates how asset tracking, through radio frequency identification, can help improve efficiency and maximise utlisation of medical equipment.

A recent report looking at the possible advantages of mass screening for coeliac disease found that screening of people in high-risk groups could offer benefits. SUZANNE CALLANDER reports.

St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has optimised the use of monitoring technology to provide an early warning of patient deterioration. The project highlights the importance of collaboration between clinical engineering, procurement, clinicians, IT departments and suppliers in driving improvements in patient care.

The Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, has responded to a number of key reports on how the health service could be improved and set out his vision for a more ‘human focused’ NHS.

KATE WOODHEAD RGN DMS provides an insight into the key issues addressed by the latest Learning not Blaming report and other recent reviews.

NICOLA HALL explains exactly what the NHS eProcurement strategy means for clinicians and how the standards offer significant advantages.

Decontamination experts recently shared their insights into maximising patient care and efficiencies, through low temperature sterilisation of medical devices.

Quality Improvement for Surgical Teams (QIST) is an opportunity for health professionals to share their experiences, knowledge and best practice.

A recent study has highlighted the impact of negative pressure wound therapy on surgical site infection in C-section patients.

A preview of the topical issues to be discussed at the annual Infection Prevention conference, along with an insight into some of the key innovations being showcased at the event.

KATE WOODHEAD looks at two recent reports that focus on the increasing framework for infection prevention and control practice.

There is an urgent need to address clinical variation, reduce waste and eliminate inefficiency in the NHS.

The need to improve care for patients with inflammatory bowel disease was highlighted at the British Society of Gastroenterology’s annual congress.