FEATURE ARTICLES

The annual Reducing HCAIs conference, hosted by Govtoday, as part of its Health and Social Care Reform event series, returns to London’s Brewery Conference Centre on 18 February 2014 – this year under the theme of Improving processes, improving outcomes.

Kettering General Hospital has undertaken a pilot project to examine the potential of point-of-care testing to speed up the assessment and turnaround of patients presenting with chest pain.

Dr TIM SANDLE reports on the results of a study to compare the bacterial reduction properties of skin cleansing solutions, used to prevent infection risk arising from urinary catheter insertion.

Could the use of procedure packs help drive efficiencies and cost savings in the surgical environment and beyond, in addition to helping reduce infection rates through the introduction of more standardised procedures? SUZANNE CALLANDER reports.

JANE KIRK provides an insight into hand hygiene compliance monitoring – examining the technologies and approaches available to drive improvement in healthcare settings.

The 2nd International Targeted Temperature Management (TTM) Teaching Course took place in London in November 2013. The event presented some of the latest thinking relating to following TTM cardiac arrest and neurological trauma.

Creating a safety culture in healthcare while in the midst of an extreme environment of austerity is not an easy task, but as clinicians know, there can be no more important aspect of patient care than to work in an atmosphere where staff have positive perceptions of psychological safety, teamwork and leadership.

GRAHAM WHITESIDE explains how medical simulation can help improve patient safety and reduce medical error, ultimately saving lives and reducing healthcare expenditure.

The Government has announced plans to make the NHS ‘more open, more accountable and more focused on safety and compassion’. Among the changes include the publication of hospital staffing levels, the roll out of ‘patient safety champions’ and a new criminal offence for willful neglect.

KATE WOODHEAD RGN DMS considers the actions that must be taken to help tackle the problem of antimicrobial resistance – including the latest guidance, policies and procedures.

Faced with ‘intense, growing and unsustainable pressure’, the delivery of emergency and urgent care is currently under review. A report by Sir Bruce Keogh has set out his vision to ensure a ‘sustainable’ solution.

A presentation at a recent AfPP Patient Safety roadshow focused on infection control procedures in the surgical environment, and challenged the audience to consider the avoidable cost of Surgical Site Infections (SSIs) – to both patients and the NHS.

Innovation in the NHS was recognised at an awards ceremony – highlighting new ideas with the potential to improve patient safety, increase efficiency and enhance clinical practice.

The world’s largest medical trade fair recently provided an international showcase for innovation in medical device technology. The Clinical Services Journal reports.

Vanguard Healthcare has achieved the highest levels of CQC registration, ensuring excellence in infection prevention, the care and welfare of patients, and cooperation with other providers, as well as other key inspection areas.

New techniques in protein detection make it possible to set limits on protein contamination on surgical instruments. In the future, there may be national or local targets on permissible protein residues, but just how much improvement can be reasonably achieved in reducing protein-related infection risk? LOUISE FRAMPTON reports.

An MHRA Medical Device Alert, issued in September 2012, highlighted the continuing lack of standardised procedures for the effective decontamination of TOE probes. SUZANNE CALLANDER reports on the current issues surrounding probe decontamination.

Hand hygiene champions are increasingly finding novel ways of getting the message across that are both fun and memorable. The Schülke Hand Hygiene Champion award recognises some of the innovative work that is driving improvement around the country. LOUISE FRAMPTON reports.

The annual conference of the Institute of Decontamination Sciences (IDSc) will be held at the Hilton Hotel, Blackpool, 2-4 December 2013.

Discussion of the Francis Report on the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust public inquiry has tended to focus on the need for candour when things go wrong, but this is ‘only part of the story’, according to a report by the Health Committee of MPs.