RECENT NEWS

The national chair of the Association of Healthcare Cleaning Professionals, Denise Foster, is calling for the introduction of nationally recognised qualifications and training standards for all NHS cleaning staff.

The World Health Organization has ranked Dublin’s Mater Private Hospital as the best hospital in Europe for Hand Hygiene. The WHO Save Lives: Clean Your Hands annual global campaign was launched in 2009.

New light is being shed on cancer spread, by Cancer Research UK scientists, which could help in the development of new treatments for patients, according to a study published in Nature Cell Biology.

Treatment with high potency statins (especially atorvastatin and simvastatin) may increase the risk of developing diabetes, suggests a paper published on bmj.com Statins are among the most widely prescribed medications for the prevention of cardiovascular events.

Reports of unprofessional behaviour by healthcare workers highlights the need for a culture change within the NHS, say medical student leaders. The research included 680 reports of memorable dilemmas within the previous 12 months from 2,327 students at 29 of the UK’s 32 medical schools.

Taking place alongside MEDICA, the world’s largest medical trade fair, the Medica Education Conference will cover subjects spanning a variety of sectors – from emergency medicine to gender-specific medicine.

William Harvey Hospital has received an additional state-ofthe- art mobile operating theatre from Vanguard Healthcare to boost capacity and help reduce patient waiting times.

The Health Secretary is currently seeking views on a set of proposals designed to improve care for vulnerable older people. The proposals set out improvements in primary care and urgent and emergency care, looking at establishing ways for NHS and social care services to work together more effectively for the benefit of patients.

Research analysing breast cancer mortality data spanning almost 40 years concludes that breast cancer screening does not yet show an effect on mortality statistics.

A team from Queen Elizabeth Hospital King’s Lynn NHS Foundation Trust is celebrating winning funding worth £5,000 to progress its idea for a medical technology product in the first Innovation Voucher Scheme launched by Health Enterprise East (HEE), the NHS Innovation Hub for the Eastern Region.

CQC’s new Chief Inspector of Hospitals, Sir Mike Richards is introducing radical changes to the way hospitals in England are inspected. Sir Mike Richards said he will lead significantly bigger inspection teams headed up by clinical and other experts that include trained members of the public. They will spend longer inspecting hospitals and cover every site that delivers acute services and eight key services areas: A&E; maternity, paediatrics; acute medical and surgical pathways; care for the frail elderly; end of life care; and outpatients.

An investigation into care at hospitals with high mortality rates reveals that a number of organisations have become ‘trapped in medocrity’, according to NHS Medical Director, Sir Bruce Keogh.

The Government is to replace the Liverpool Care Pathway (LCP) and will ask senior clinicians to sign off all end of life care plans, as part of its response to the findings of an independent review.

Almost three-quarters (73%) of NHS professionals do not think that quality of care in the NHS is given enough priority, according to a survey published in a King’s Fund report on patient-centred leadership. The survey, which took place after the publication of Robert Francis's report, also found that 40% thought that the quality of leadership in the NHS as a whole was poor or very poor, in contrast to 11% in their own service or team.

The Royal College of Nursing has expressed concern that patients are facing longer hospital stays due to under-resourced community services. RCN chief executive, Dr Peter Carter said the number of district nurses in the UK has fallen by 42% over the last decade.

New research suggests that elective hernia surgery offers value-for-money and improved quality of life for patients.

Alzheimer researchers in Spain have taken a step closer to finding a blood test to help in the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease. With approximately 75% of the estimated 36 million Alzheimer's sufferers worldwide yet to receive a reliable diagnosis, the potential impact on the lives of possible sufferers, present and future, could be significant.

The national chair of the Association of Healthcare Cleaning Professionals, Denise Foster, is calling for the introduction of nationally recognised qualifications and training standards for all NHS cleaning staff.

Nearly three in ten people think the problems in Mid Staffordshire are widespread across the NHS, according to an Ipsos MORI poll.

The public still firmly believes in the fundamental principles underpinning the NHS but under certain circumstances could support the introduction of charges for some treatments and services, suggests a new Kings Fund and Ipsos MORI report entitled, How should we pay for healthcare in future?