RECENT NEWS

Healthcare professionals, patients, policy-makers and other experts gathered in the European Parliament on 6 March 2018 to shine a light on how the needs of quality cancer care can be met across Europe.

A small specialist British engineering company called Priorclave is celebrating 30 years in the design, manufacture and global supply of laboratory and research grade autoclaves.

A survey of more than 2000 UK adults has uncovered a number of issues that are rife in the health and care space.

2018 has seen several landmark announcements for Bristol-based P3 Medical with the acquisition of Stericom, its first US product development deal, and the news that the company will be entering the ABHI Innovation Hub in Texas.

Salisbury District Hospital declared a “major incident” on Monday 5 March, after two patients were exposed to what is believed to be an opioid. The fire service was called to decontaminate the hospital’s Accident & Emergency unit, as paramedics treated the casualties.

Brexit negotiators have been urged to ‘put patients first’ following warnings children could miss out on lifesaving clinical trials when the UK leaves the EU.

Amyloid beta pathology - protein deposits in the brain - might have been transmitted by contaminated neurosurgical instruments, according to a new University College London (UCL)-led study.

A rehabilitation service which provides vital support for children with brain tumours has been given another major boost. The Brainbow service at Cambridge University Hospitals has just welcomed Joshua Tarrant Trust as its fourth official fundraising charity partner.

Medway NHS Foundation Trust is prioritising urgent care for its local community as the adverse weather causes pressure on roads and transport links in the area.

Point-of-care (POC) ultrasound is helping to improve the quality of life for metastatic breast cancer patients in the West Midlands thanks to the fundraising efforts of Breast Friends Solihull and the University Hospitals Birmingham Charity.

Cambridge University Hospitals (CUH) is looking for volunteers to take on an important role in helping shape its future.

Cambridge University Hospitals, which runs Addenbrooke’s and the Rosie, is urging the public to stay away due to increased cases of norovirus and flu in the hospital.

NHS Improvement has reported that NHS Trusts have 100,000 vacancies and are more than £1.2 billion in debt.

World Encephalitis Day is taking place this year on 22 February 2018. Encephalitis is an inflammation of the brain that affects up to 6000 people in the UK every year, with the most severe of these often arising as a result of clinical negligence in the diagnosis and treatment of the condition.

Ulster Hospital has installed the world’s first CT scanner for heart disease. The scanner will replace invasive testing and it can instantly identify patients with serious cardiac problems.

One of the longest standing chief executives, Sir Andrew Cash has announced he will retire in July 2018 after 16 years leading one of the biggest NHS Foundation Trusts in the country.

The Government has announced that an expert group will be formed to work on introducing a new cap on the amount of costs that lawyers can recover in clinical negligence cases. The proposed cap will be applied to all cases up to £25,000 and is designed to help save the NHS up to £45 million a year.

NICE, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, has published draft guidance recommending thyroid cancer treatments cabozantinib (Cometriq, Ipsen), and sorafenib (Nexavar, Bayer) to come off the Cancer Drugs Fund and into routine NHS use. NICE has also recommended that lenvatinib (Lenvima, Eisai), should be routinely available.

Medtech Accelerator, a joint venture with NHS innovation hub Health Enterprise East (HEE), has confirmed the outcome of its second round of funding. Figures reveal that a total of £670,000 has now been awarded by Medtech Accelerator to support innovation projects derived from within the NHS since its launch in 2016.

An application that provides parents of sick and premature babies with video updates has received central governance approval. The seal of approval from NHS Digital means that the web-based application, vCreate, is now recognised by the NHS and will enable hospitals to roll out the service more quickly and easily across their Trust.