RECENT NEWS

The health regulator, the Care Quality Commission, is to be given greater independence to ensure it can act ‘fearlessly’ as the nation's chief whistleblower on health, Jeremy Hunt Health Secretary has announced.

Obese children have blood vessel damage and insulin resistance that are precursors to atherosclerosis and diabetes, reveals research by Dr Norman Mangner presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress 2013.

The NHS will struggle to meet its target of delivering £20 billion in productivity improvements by 2015 according to The King's Fund's latest quarterly monitoring report.

An investigational vaccine appears to be well tolerated and effective against the most common strain of norovirus, reducing the main symptoms of the infection, which include vomiting and/or diarrhoea.

The latest National Hip Fracture Database report finds that care for patients with hip fracture is improving. More patients are receiving surgery within 48 hours of admission than in 2012 and almost all patients (94%) are receiving a falls assessment before being discharged from hospital.

Patients will be able to see their GP seven days a week and out of office hours under new proposals set out by the Prime Minister. The move will make it easier for people see their family doctor from 8 am to 8 pm, seven days a week.

Opening this year’s Infection Prevention conference, Infection Prevention Society president Julie Storr emphasised that infection prevention and control is about saving lives – a key element in achieving this will be the use of patient safety and implementation science, which can help delegates translate evidence into practice and deliver service improvement.

Thousands more cancer patients in England will receive life-extending drugs recommend by their doctor due to an extra £400 million invested in the Cancer Drugs Fund, David Cameron has announced.

New research on the most commonly used anaesthetic drug could help to unravel a long-standing mystery about how it induces a pain-free, sleep-like state.

Researchers at Marie Curie Cancer Care, the University of Edinburgh and NHS Lothian, have reported that only 20% of non-cancer patients are receiving palliative care before dying.

Liver function tests (LFTs) result in many false positive results for each case of disease detected, and are not an efficient way to diagnose liver disease.

Three UK research councils are to invest £25 m in research and equipment to support the development of regenerative medicine therapies for a range of applications, including Parkinson’s disease, cardiovascular disease, wound and musculoskeletal repair, eye disorders and deafness.

The latest figures from Public Health England show that 8,751 tuberculosis (TB) cases were reported in the UK in 2012, slightly lower than the 8,963 cases reported in 2011.

The Focused Ultrasound Foundation and Royal Philips have entered into a public-private collaboration with The Institute of Cancer Research, London, and The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust.

NICE has recommended that some people with varicose veins, such as those causing pain and ulcers, should be offered alternatives to surgery, known as endothermal ablation, heat energy treatment of the wall of the vein (radiofrequency or laser treatment), which are less invasive than surgery with a much speedier recovery time.

Government plans to introduce new checks on doctors’ language skills have taken a step forward as detailed proposals on how the checks will work were unveiled by Health Minister Dr Dan Poulter, following his announcement to tighten rules about overseas doctors earlier this year.

A genetic mutation that can lead to haemorrhagic stroke has been identified by scientists – along with a drug to potentially treat it.

The Government has now published its five year antimicrobial resistance strategy, following a warning by the Chief Medical Officer Professor Dame Sally Davies that antimicrobial resistance poses a ‘catastrophic threat’ if action is not taken.

Sponsored by Getinge UK Academy, a one-day seminar on endoscope decontamination will take place at the Holiday Inn, London Elstree, Borehamwood, on the 22 October 2013.

A national initiative to carry out mandatory screening of hospital patients for deep vein thrombosis has resulted in a significant reduction in death rates, experts in Birmingham have concluded.