RECENT NEWS

The highly experienced panel all have knowledge of the issues surrounding healthcare associated infections (HAI) from a variety of perspectives.

An audit by the Royal College of Physicians and the MS Trust shows that there has been little or no improvement in NHS services for people with multiple sclerosis, in the last five years, while NICE guidelines for the management of patients with MS are no closer to being met than when they were launched in 2003.

The Lancashire Cardiac Centre, located at the Blackpool Victoria Hospital, has reported cost and patient benefits as a result of using point of care measurement of platelet function.

The public wants more say and greater choice over their NHS healthcare according to a new patient survey carried out by an independent research company on behalf of the Department of Health.

The growing strain on nurses working in the NHS was revealed by the Royal College of Nursing as new figures showed that one in 20 nurses expects to be made redundant during the next 12 months.

An analysis of the number and type of organ donations has revealed significant variations across the UK.

More than half a million patients are admitted to a London hospital as an emergency every year, but new figures show that patients admitted at the weekend have a significantly increased risk of dying, compared to those admitted on a weekday.

All doctors who want to practise in the NHS in England will have to prove they can speak a good standard of English before they are allowed to work under strict rules announced by Health Secretary, Andrew Lansley.

Three new important clues about the treatment and progression of prostate cancer were unveiled at The Prostate Cancer Charity’s National Prostate Cancer Research Conference in London.

The National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) has published the latest set of Organisation Patient Safety Incident data. The figures show that patient safety remains a top priority for the NHS.

The number of patients waiting more than 18 weeks to be treated by the NHS has soared according to official data released by the Department of Health.

Oestrogen may prevent strokes in premature or early menopausal women, according to Mayo Clinic researchers.

The oral antibiotic most widely used to treat gonorrhoea – cefixime – is no longer recommended as the first choice for treatment in the UK. Tests show decreasing susceptibility to it, according to figures published by the HPA.

Getinge Group and its subsidiary, Maquet Cardiovascular, a provider of cardiovascular technologies, has announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Atrium Medical Corporation for $680 million.

Researchers have found a way to prevent HIV from damaging the immune system, in a new lab-based study published in the journal Blood.

Health Secretary, Andrew Lansley, has announced proposals for a new ‘duty of candour’, designed to give patients and local clinicians “more power to hold the NHS to account”.

A study led by the Health Protection Agency (HPA) has shown screening all intensive care unit (ICU) patients for MRSA using new molecular tests that can deliver results within just a few hours, is likely to represent a good use of NHS resources.

Genetic sequencing technology holds the key to helping to control the spread of healthcareassociated infections (HCAIs) according to research presented at the Health Protection Agency’s (HPA) annual conference, Health Protection 2011, at the University of Warwick.

An international team of scientists has found that vitamin D has an essential role in the body’s fight against infections such as tuberculosis.

Patients needing NHS physiotherapy are waiting up to six months to be treated and are receiving fewer sessions due to cost-cutting and staff shortages, a new report from the Chartered Society of Physiotherapists has found.