RECENT NEWS

Women who conceive less than 11 months after giving birth have a higher chance of going into labour or being medically induced before 37 weeks of gestation.

NHS England has published performance data that shows that the Government’s official waiting time target for planned treatment has been missed again.

Details have been announced for the Scottish and North of England ‘Completing the Picture’ 2016, the must-attend annual educational symposium for healthcare professionals who use, manage, maintain or purchase medical devices.

A hip replacement system designed by four pioneering Sheffield surgeons has been acquired by healthcare company JRI ORTHOPAEDICS. Professor Ian Stockley, Andrew Hamer, Robert Kerry and Simon Buckley formed Sheffield Medical Products Ltd (SMPL) eight years ago to bring to market a new total hip replacement system.

Clinicians around the world have long suspected that bacteraemia due to Staphylococcus aureushas a worse outcome in women compared to men, but direct evidence has been elusive.

NICE, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, has issued advice to parents, carers and clinicians on spotting and managing bronchiolitis – a chest infection – in babies and young children.

New NICE indicators will help GPs and CCGs improve the identification and management of atrial fibrillation (AF) – a common heart condition that causes an irregular heartbeat and increases the risk of stroke.

The Department of Health is still some way from implementing a plan to put the NHS’ finances in England on a sustainable footing, according to three reports issued by the Comptroller and Auditor General, Sir Amyas Morse, who leads the National Audit Office (NAO).

An anti-malaria drug could help radiotherapy destroy tumours according to a Cancer Research UK-funded study published in Nature Communications

The General Medical Council (GMC) has published the latest results of its annual surveys into medical education and training across the UK.

Leaders from a multitude of scientific disciplines are set to showcase unpublished data, new technological advances and translational case studies to highlight the strengths of proton therapy and address the challenges surrounding its optimisation and practical implementation.

Even though dense breast tissue is a risk factor for breast cancer, very low mammographic breast density is associated with a worse prognosis in breast cancer patients.

Speaking at the NHS Confederation Conference, NHS England chief executive, Simon Stevens announced that the NHS will provide a national reimbursement route for new innovations, to accelerate uptake of new medtech devices and apps for patients with diabetes, heart conditions, asthma, sleep disorders and obesity, as well as other key areas of health provision.

The thirteenth report from the Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programme (SSNAP) has revealed that 25 stroke services scored an overall ‘A’ score for the quality of care they provide for patients, demonstrating that a world class service is achievable.

The ‘Living Longer, Living Well’ report from the Richmond Group concludes that without significant national action 250,000 people will die from preventable conditions by 2025, and even more people will have the quality of their lives drastically reduced.

Patients at Barnet Hospital are now able to have small lung tumours diagnosed and cells destroyed in a single hospital visit without surgery, after Royal Free Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust was awarded the £100,000 Cancer Challenge Prize for its innovative 30-minute lung biopsy service.

A new bowel cancer home testing kit will be rolled out across England. The Faecal Immunochemical Test (FIT) tests for hidden blood in stool samples, which can be an early sign of bowel cancer.

Newly published results from the NHS Adult Inpatient Survey 2015 show that small but vital improvements have been made in key areas such as communication, involvement, and personal care.

The Universities of Nottingham, Oxford and Warwick are leading ‘blue sky’ research into artificially-intelligent medical devices that will improve treatment for cancer and intensive care patients and those with chronic wounds.

Lung experts are calling for greater investment in specialist ‘lung teams’ to help ‘significantly reduce’ the high number of patients with chronic lung disease being admitted to hospital during the winter.