RECENT NEWS

A partnership led by the Medical Research Council (MRC) will invest over £230 million in a range of revolutionary technologies aimed at identifying the causes of diseases such as cancer and dementia, and dramatically speeding up diagnosis and treatment. The technologies will be used to find out how differences in the cellular and molecular make-up of people affect how they respond to disease and treatment.

New figures from Public Health England’s NHS Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA) Screening Programme show that 487 men received potentially lifesaving surgery during 2013/14.

The individual results of around 5,000 consultant surgeons have been published on the MyNHS website (NHS Choices). This latest publication, which covers 10 specialty areas of surgery, gives patients another route to find out more about an individual surgeon’s practice and the outcomes for their patients after an operation.

University Hospitals Birmingham (UHB) has become the first Trust in the country to carry out a new procedure aimed at restoring feeling and movement to the arms of tetraplegic patients.

In the largest study of its kind, researchers have found a specific network of brain regions that is not only more vulnerable to unhealthy ageing – for example, Alzheimer’s disease – but also to disorders that emerge in young people, such as schizophrenia.

New analysis from a real-world study demonstrates that first-line use of fidaxomicin is clinically effective in reducing recurrence rates and lowering mortality, and provides cost savings for the treatment of potentially fatal Clostridium difficileinfection (CDI).

Staff morale has topped the list of concerns raised by NHS finance directors in The King’s Fund’s latest quarterly monitoring report. Nearly half (47%) of Trust finance directors surveyed for the report identified staff morale as one of their top three concern –twice as many as in the previous quarter. The report suggests this should be a significant cause for concern given the close link between staff engagement and quality of care.

A national Accident and Emergency survey shows some encouraging results with almost eight out of 10 respondents saying their overall experience was good rating it seven or more out of ten and only 3% of patients saying the doctor or nurse did not listen to what they had to say.

Gilead Sciences has announced that the European Commission has granted a marketing authorisation for Harvoni (ledipasvir 90 mg/sofosbuvir 400 mg), the first once-daily single tablet regimen to treat the majority of chronic hepatitis C genotype 1 and 4 infection in adults.

Figures published by Public Health England (PHE) show that more than 340,000 frontline healthcare workers in England had a flu vaccination in September and October this year. The figures reveal that 36.8% of the frontline healthcare workforce have been vaccinated against flu already this winter, compared to 35% of workers who were vaccinated in the same period in 2013 to 2014.

Two new laws come into force, which are designed to help improve patient safety, transparency and leadership in the NHS.

Two NHS managers who masterminded a 5-year procurement fraud worth £229,000 against a health authority in the North West, have been jailed for over five years in total at Manchester Crown Court (27th November 2014).

At the Risk Prevention and Patient Safety workshop in Paris, Professor Bill Keevil – a leading expert in environmental health – delivered a keynote presentation on the risk presented to patients by hospital pathogens, and the role copper can play in tackling these and improving patient safety.

Surgeons at the Royal Liverpool Hospital have carried out the first European kidney transplant using keyhole surgery. The technique, developed by Prof Pranjal Modi at the Institute of Kidney Diseases and Research Centre in Ahmedabad, offers patients the chance of a much faster recovery after the operation.

One of 15 Academic Health Science Networks (AHSNs) established to help improve the identification, adoption and dissemination of innovative healthcare in the NHS, the North West Coast AHSN has announced the latest in its events aimed at supporting its goal, as well as providing an insight into exciting innovation taking place in the region.

Rates of emergency admission in the UK are rising. For some time, doctors and managers have been looking for ways to reduce emergency admissions without compromising the quality of patient care.

Cancer Research UK scientists have discovered that lung cancers can lie dormant for over 20 years before turning into an aggressive form of the disease, according to a study published in Science. The research, jointly funded by Cancer Research UK and the Rosetrees Trust, highlights the need for better ways to detect the disease earlier.

The peer review programme of the Royal College of Anaesthetists (RCoA) has accredited Homerton Hospital as the first anaesthetics department in the UK to receive Anaesthesia Clinical Services Accreditation (ACSA).

Monitor believes that better care and improved health services for 900,000 people will be the outcome of the first acquisition of an NHS Foundation Trust by another.

According to General Medical Council (GMC) figures, more women are entering traditionally male-dominated medical specialties.