RECENT NEWS

On World Hepatitis Day, NICE issued a new quality standard aimed at preventing transmission of hepatitis B and improving the lives of people living with the condition.

After a review of current evidence, NICE has updated its guidance on the diagnosis and treatment of Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD).

A new report has highlighted some of the key reasons for breaches in A&E waiting targets and warns that 'we may have reached the limit of what we can deliver with our current A&E capacity'.

NICE has issued final advice to the NHS on how to make the right decisions about nursing staff requirements to provide safe care for patients on adult inpatient wards in acute hospitals.

Researchers have estimated that in 2012-2013 there were 5.77 million A&E attendances in England that were preceded by an inability to get a timely GP appointment.

The British Medical Association (BMA) has warned that Ministers must act urgently to address the crisis facing the GP workforce in England following a new report commissioned by the Government.

Medical engagement should be a central element of hospital leadership, not an optional extra, concludes a new report published by The King’s Fund.

New advice published jointly by three Royal Colleges representing physicians across the UK sets out how NHS Trusts and Health Boards can deploy trainee doctors to ensure safe patient care and alleviate the clinical pressure on medical registrars.

A new 'NHS Procurement Atlas of Variation' has highlighted the differences in the amount hospitals pay for everyday items including catheters, gloves and needles.

Significant changes will be considered so doctors can train and work more flexibly, the Government has announced. These changes will be explored in response to an independent review of the impact and implementation of the European Working Time Directive on the NHS.

The Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) claims to have uncovered evidence that some patients are facing long delays for surgical treatment because clinical commissioning groups are ignoring evidence-based guidance on when to provide surgery.

The period 2013/14 was another record year for organ donation and transplantation in the UK, with more than 4,600 transplants carried out. The figures show a 10% increase in the overall number of living and deceased donor transplants performed in the last financial year.

The number of people accepting the offer to attend an NHS Health Check has increased significantly, according to new figures from Public Health England (PHE). The figures show that, in the last year, over 1.3 million people have accepted the offer which aims to identify those at risk of serious, but potentially avoidable conditions, such as diabetes and heart disease.

University Hospital of North Durham, part of County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust, has recently installed a multiaxis system from Siemens Healthcare as part of an endovascular hybrid theatre, which allows clinicians to treat patients with vascular problems in a minimally invasive way.

According to the latest quarterly monitoring report from The King’s Fund, financial confidence within the NHS is ‘ebbing away’, with a financial crisis looming in 2015/16.

Reaching globally-agreed targets for health risks, such as smoking and alcohol, could prevent more than 37 million deaths by 2025, according to an international study led by Imperial College London.

Draft guidance has been published by NICE recommending two viscoelastometric testing devices – the ROTEM system (TEM International) and the TEG system (Haemonetics) – to help detect, manage and monitor blood clotting (haemostasis) in people during and after cardiac surgery.

The British Heart Foundation (BHF) has identified that half of heart failure patients are not admitted to a specialist cardiology ward; that these patients often do not receive the specialist care they need; and that this is having an effect on their outcome.

A patient safety alert has been issued by NHS England on residual anaesthetic drugs in cannulae and intravenous lines leading to cardiac or respiratory arrest. The alert has been issued to all NHS services hospitals and community services in England that undertake surgery or other investigations and procedures using anaesthesia.

NHS England has approved an £18.7 million investment in a new drug for the treatment of hepatitis C. Around 500 patients with acute liver failure, and/or awaiting liver transplantation, are expected to benefit from the decision to fund Sofosbuvir.