RECENT NEWS

Top surgeon Lord Darzi has resigned from his position as parliamentary under-secretary for the Department of Health. One of several nonpolitical figures brought into Gordon Brown’s Government, he led a major review of the NHS last year.

A new study has found that colorectal cancer incidence rates for both males and females increased in 27 of 51 countries worldwide between 1983 and 2002, and claims that increasing Westernisation is a likely culprit.

Toshiba has installed its first Aquilion One CT scanner in the UK at the Royal Bournemouth Hospital.

A new report suggests that men are significantly more likely to develop type-2 diabetes in midlife than women.

Latest estimates of the number of people asymptomatic for variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) in the population remain very low, according to results from a large scale study of tonsil tissue by the Health Protection Agency.

NHS Trusts and other healthcare providers are being urged to review their patient appointment systems and ensure all patients with glaucoma are treated appropriately and on time.

The National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society (NRAS) has today called for a national campaign to improve awareness about rheumatoid arthritis (RA) so people can seek swift treatment and prevent long-term joint damage and disability.

Patients with symptoms of stroke or transient ischaemic attack (TIA or brain attack) are missing out on potentially life saving treatment because they are routinely considered by the NHS as low priority cases.

A consultation on a new national three-digit number – 111 – that will make it easier for patients to access urgent care wherever they are has been launched by Ofcom.

Barely a quarter of those who suffer from osteoporosis receive appropriate therapy, experts reported at the EFORT Congress, in Vienna.

At a seminar held at Number 11 Downing Street, the British Society of Gastroenterology called for improvements in the delivery of 24- hour emergency endoscopy, at hospitals across the UK, to prevent unnecessary deaths from upper-gastrointestinal bleeding.

Toshiba has installed its first Aquilion One CT scanner in the UK at the Royal Bournemouth Hospital. The installation was formally opened by Nick Rogers, double Olympics silver medallist for sailing.

London’s first polyclinic, the Loxford Polyclinic in Redbridge, was recently opened at an official ceremony by Lord Darzi. The facility is the first in a new generation of multi-purpose health centres that will offer communities a comprehensive range of health services, as outlined in Lord Darzi’s Next Stage Review.

Professor Bernard Crump, CEO of the NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement has called for NHS clinicians and managers to find solutions that are "smarter and more innovative", in response to comments made about the likely impact of the next spending review. He said:“We all know that the recent pace of growth in funding for health services will not continue. But we must clear up any misconception that there’s a conflict between increasing quality and static budgets."

LTE Scientific has been named as one of the successful companies to be placed on the recently announced NHS Framework Agreement for ‘Maintenance of Washing and Sterilisation Equipment’.

Two high calibre clinicians have been awarded funding from the charity Yorkshire Cancer Research. The clinical research training fellowships have been awarded to Dr Oliver Donelly and Dr Mark Teo, from Leeds Institute of Molecular Medicine based at St. James's university hospital in Leeds.

The MS Society has called on Gordon Brown to ring-fence funds for stem cell research into multiple sclerosis (MS). Four years ago the UK Government announced a £50million windfall for stem cell science but there has been no evidence of significant UK advances in research into conditions such as multiple sclerosis (MS).

An urgent debate on the future of medical school fees is needed to stem the mounting debt crisis that threatens to bury the potential talent of thousands of students from disadvantaged backgrounds, the BMA has warned.

A list of more than 200 indicators of high quality care in the NHS is being published for the first time to help clinicians drive up the quality of care they deliver to patients, the Department of Health and The NHS Information Centre announced.

The National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) is calling on health practitioners and staff across England and Wales to follow recommendations, to improve patient safety for children and young people.