RECENT NEWS

For the first time, a new PHE led study published in The Lancet ranks the diseases and risk factors that cause death and disability in England compared with other high-income countries, revealing the nation’s potential to have the lowest total disease burden (years of life lost to death and lived with disability) in the world.

The latest quality standard published by NICE aims to help health professionals prevent thousands of people from becoming ill and dying prematurely from heart attacks, strokes and peripheral arterial disease. The quality standard covers identifying and assessing cardiovascular risk in adults, and, where it is necessary, using statins to reduce levels of harmful cholesterol in order to prevent cardiovascular disease (CVD).

A drug which has already been in use for decades to treat liver disease could be an effective treatment to slow down progression of Parkinson’s disease, scientists from the University of Sheffield have discovered.

NHS England has announced eight new urgent and emergency care vanguards which will test the models set out in the Urgent and Emergency Care Review and transform unscheduled care across large areas of England.

NICE draft guidance has recommended the anti-blood clotting drug edoxaban (Lixiana, Daiichi Sankyo) as an option for preventing stroke and systemic embolism in adults with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) who have one or more further risk factors.

NICE has published draft diagnostics guidance recommending the MiniMed Paradigm Veo System (Medtronic) for monitoring blood glucose levels in some people with type 1 diabetes.

An analysis of video footage, taken during 20 operations, suggests that some operating theatre teams are negatively affected by background music, during surgery. Researchers suggest that the decision to play music during an operation should be made by the entire team, taking into account both the benefits and the risks.

The health service in England needs a dedicated fund to finance and drive forward essential changes to services, according to a new report launched by the Health Foundation and The King’s Fund. The report comes as the Department of Health releases its 2014/15 accounts which reinforce the financial challenges facing the NHS at this time.

Public Health England (PHE) has announced the groups eligible to receive the shingles vaccine from the start of September for the 2015 to 2016 vaccination programme. From 1 September 2015, the shingles vaccine will be offered routinely to people aged 70 years, and the catch up will extend to those aged 78 years.

Cancer Research UK scientists have, for the first time, identified that there are five distinct types of prostate cancer and found a way to distinguish between them. The findings could have important implications for how doctors treat prostate cancer in the future, by identifying tumours that are more likely to grow and spread aggressively through the body.

NICE has published its first guideline on melanoma which aims to reduce the numbers of people dying from the disease, and addresses the wide variations across the country in diagnosis and treatment.

Public Health England (PHE) has announced the start of the new MenACWY vaccination programme, which will offer teenagers protection against meningitis (inflammation of the brain) and septicaemia (blood poisoning) caused by four meningococcal strains including MenW.

The number of people waiting for a heart transplant has more than doubled in just five years, according to the latest statistics. Annual figures published by NHS Blood and Transplant, showed that there is still a vast shortage of organ donors. There are currently 286 patients on the waiting list for a heart transplant, compared with 126 in 2010. The figure was as low as 88 in 2007.

Two academics from the University of Warwick have called for more research to understand why patients are more likely to die in hospital at the weekend. Professor Richard Lilford and Dr YenFu Chen of the University’s Warwick Medical School, raised the issue following a study that states hospital weekend death risk is common in several developed countries – not just England.

Changing clinical thresholds for the single leading reason for blood transfusions could safely produce significant savings for the NHS, according to NHS Blood and Transplant research published in The Lancet. The results come from the first reported multicentre randomised trial comparing red blood cell transfusion strategies for Acute Upper Gastrointestinal Bleeding (AUGIB).

The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) has upheld a recommendation against screening for risk of sudden cardiac death.

Royal Philips, Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and NHS West Cheshire Clinical Commissioning Group have announced the launch of the Supported Self Care Champion Project in Cheshire.

Researchers at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals have received awards for their work investigating coeliac disease and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), two common gastrointestinal conditions.

Varian Medical Systems UK has signed contracts to equip and service two new national NHS proton therapy centres in England with the Varian ProBeam proton therapy system.

The health sector regulator has set up a team of experts to reduce the amount of money the NHS is spending on agency staff. Monitor figures show spending on temporary staff in the NHS rose by 29% to £2.4 billion in 201314. A recent report to Monitor’s board suggested that Foundation Trusts spent over double (£1.8 billion versus £766 million) what they had originally planned on contract and agency staff.