RECENT NEWS

Results for a pilot registry on the management and treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF) in Europe show that compliance with treatment guidelines for patients with the lowest and higher stroke risk scores remains suboptimal, says the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).

The Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) and the British Obesity and Metabolic Surgery Society (BOMSS) has warned that patients are being denied access to bariatric surgery because intensive weight loss programmes, which are a prerequisite to surgery, are not being commissioned in some areas.

Breast cancer incidence rates in England are lower in black and South Asian women, compared with white women. Research published in the British Journal of Cancer says that the main reason for this is due to differences in lifestyle and reproductive factors.

Patients with are being given renewed hope of future treatments thanks to the work of a London research team and a grant from national charity Heart Research UK.

A surgeon at Redhill’s East Surrey Hospital has been made an OBE for services to laparoscopic surgery.

Oesophageal cancer is now the sixth most common cause of cancer death in the UK and the number of people dying from the disease has risen by 49% in the last 40 years according to new figures published by Cancer Research UK.

GE Healthcare has acquired Finnamore, a dedicated health and social care consultancy.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has announced that EYLEA (aflibercept solution for intravitreal injection, known in the scientific literature as VEGF Trap-Eye).

The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) has introduced new guidelines on the diagnosis and management of people with prolonged disorders of consciousness (PDOC).

The Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has recently purchased an X-Porte point-of-care ultrasound system from FUJIFILM SONOSITE to extend its ultrasound-guided regional anaesthesia capabilities for orthopaedic surgery.

Dr Martin McShane, NHS England’s director for improving the quality of life for people with long term conditions, has called for radical change to the way we care for our ageing population.

A year after after the publication of his influential report, Robert Francis QC has reasserted the need for professionalism among NHS staff.

The G8 dementia summit concluded with the publication of a declaration and communique that sets out the agreements reached.

Early results, published in the Journal of Endovascular Therapy are promising for use of the first off-the-shelf multibranched stent in aneurysm patients.

New five year planning guidance from Monitor, the health sector regulator, estimates that all NHS providers will need to make real efficiency savings of at least 2% every year as part of their contribution to the wider financial challenge facing the NHS.

A cutting-edge health facility being installed at a North East hospital as a result of a project that formed part of a workbased degree in Leadership and Management at Teesside University.

Around 27 million patients in England will have to wait for a week or more to see their GP in 2014, as a result of a dramatic diversion of doctor posts from general practice to hospitals, according to the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP).

UNISON has stated that rising concerns over the number of visits to A&E and pressure on ambulance services need to be dealt with ‘head-on by the Government as a cold snap could see them reaching breaking point’.

The most recent Care Quality Commisison (CQC) survey into women’s experiences of maternity care has shown that improvements have been made over the last three years, but that further progress is needed in some areas.

More than 1 in 5 (22%) of hospitals are set to be in deficit by the end of this financial year, according to a survey of NHS Trust finance directors conducted for The King’s Fund’s latest quarterly monitoring report. The finding – an increase on previous surveys – highlights the growing financial pressures on hospitals.