RECENT NEWS

A new Faculty of Physician Associates has been launched. The UK Association of Physician Associates (UKAPA), the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) and Health Education England (HEE), in conjunction with other medical royal colleges, have been working together over the past two years to set up the faculty.

The latest Census of consultant physicians in the UK produced by the Royal College of Physicians, Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, highlights support for plans for a sevenday-service. Surveyed before the recent announcement on the plans by David Cameron, 68% of consultant physicians stated they would ‘in principle’ support the plan.

A report has highlighted alarming variations in access to emergency bowel surgery that are resulting in patients dying unnecessarily.

A new Cochrane systematic review of surgery for stress urinary incontinence has recently been published, with the aim of providing women with more information to make informed choices.

The Global Fund, an organisation dedicated to overcoming AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, has selected Abbott as one of seven diagnostic companies to help provide affordable, highquality infectious disease testing to low and middle income countries.

The GMC has published new draft guidance for doctors who carry out any type of cosmetic procedure. The public and doctors have an opportunity to comment on these draft guidelines which are out for consultation until 1st September, 2015.

Researchers have devised a breath test that can help doctors diagnose the early signs of oesophageal and gastric cancer. The test has produced encouraging results in a clinical study, and will now be tested in a larger trial involving three hospitals in London.

The experiences of almost 19,000 children and young people who stayed in hospital overnight or were seen as a day patient reveal that the majority of children and young people said they were happy with the care received, thought staff did everything possible to control their pain and they understood the information given to them by staff. However, children with physical or learning disabilities, or mental health needs reported poorer experiences of care than those without.

Laboratory produced red blood cells are set to be transfused into humans by 2017, NHS Blood and Transplant has announced. The landmark in-man clinical trials of manufactured blood form a key part of the blood and organ service’s 2020 Research and Development programme.

The Ebola virus responsible for the outbreak in West Africa mutated at a similar rate to previous outbreaks, according to a new international study led by Public Health England (PHE) and published in Nature.

DMI is a privately owned UK supplier of disposable medical instruments, able to provide a dedicated, bespoke service.

HYGIENA INTERNATIONAL manufactures and sells rapid hygiene detection systems to measure cleanliness and risk, that are proven and well established. The patient environment is a reservoir for pathogens and HCAI bring added cost and misery.

The World Health Organization (WHO) is calling for the disclosure of results from clinical trials for medical products, whatever the result. The move aims to ensure that decisions related to the safety and efficacy of vaccines, drugs and medical devices are supported by the best available evidence.

The main drugs used to treat alcoholic hepatitis are not effective at increasing patients’ survival, a major study has found. In a trial of over 1,000 patients, prednisolone and pentoxifylline, treatments recommended in international guidelines, did not achieve a statistically significant reduction in mortality after 28 days, 90 days or a year.

A new study has found that alternative providers of primary care in the NHS, including private sector companies, do not perform as well as traditional GP practices. Alternative providers have been contracted to offer primary care in the NHS since 2004 under reforms designed to increase competition.

New dates have been announced for MEDICA, and COMPAMED. Both events will run in Düsseldorf, in parallel, over four days, from 16 to 19 November.

The latest event in the well-established Reducing HCAIs series of conferences will focus on ‘Combating Pervasive Threats’ – exploring the greatest infection risks facing healthcare providers today.

A new animal study from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, led by Dr Christos Mantzoros, indicates that a diet containing walnuts may slow colorectal tumour growth by causing beneficial changes in cancer genes.

A new study finds that men with prostate cancer that has spread to nearby lymph nodes, who have a significant risk of dying from the disease, can benefit from the addition of radiation therapy to treatments that block the effects of testosterone.

Hepatitis B stimulates processes that deprive the body’s immune cells of key nutrients that they need to function, according to the latest research.