RECENT NEWS

Between 5% and 10% of men aged 65 to 79 are unaware they have abdominal aortic aneurysms, yet stand a very high risk of dying if their weakened arteries burst. Cochrane researchers reviewed trials, involving a total of 127,891 men and 9,342 women, which showed that men in this age group could benefit from ultrasound screening.

Last year, hospital staff gave the wrong treatment to the wrong patient on almost 25,000 occasions – 3,000 of these incidents occurred as a result of wristbands used to identify the patients.

Patients now cite fear of hospital-acquired infection as a major cause of concern and staff morale is at its lowest in wards with poor cleaning standards, an audience of infection control professionals were told at the 4th Oxoid Infection Control Seminar Day.

Australian researchers have said that avoiding the use of nitrous oxide may cut the risk of surgery complications, such as wound infections, and have highlighted a possible link with an increased risk of heart attack.* The study included 2,000 people and looked at the outcomes of operations in 19 hospitals around the world, including in the UK.

Pierre Guyot, president of the wound care division within Mölnlycke, has been appointed new president and CEO of Mölnlycke Health Care Group.

The Association of Anaesthetists has issued guidance on the perioperative management of morbidly obese patients amid concerns over patient safety.

Researchers have found a gene variant that can more than double the risk of developing the degenerative eye disease “age-related macular degeneration” (AMD), which is the most common cause of blindness in the US and Europe.

The National Institute for Health Research’s Health Technology Assessment programme is investigating a new blood test for helping diagnose or rule out heart attacks.

The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) is funding legal action against Oxfordshire PCT, for denying sight saving treatment to an 84 year-old patient, Dennis Devier.

Treatment of Alzheimer’s patients, in the UK, has been criticised in a damning report by the National Audit Office (NAO) and also by the Alzheimer’s Research Trust. The NAO said the UK lags behind other EU countries in terms of early diagnosis and access to drugs, and added that the disease is being given “too low a priority by health and social services”. It found that UK performance is in the bottom third of Europe, below almost all northern and western European nations.

InHealth Group, a provider of fully managed healthcare solutions to the NHS and independent sector, has upgraded the MRI managed service at BMI, The London Independent Hospital, with a 1.5 Tesla Magnetom Avanto scanner worth £1 million from Siemens.

Pentax Life Care has announced a joint venture with the Royal Hallamshire Hospital and the Sheffield Childrens’ Hospital to launch the Sheffield Academy of Endomicroscopy. The purpose of the academy is to offer training in both adult and paediatric endomicroscopy.

Prostate cancer continues to be the “neglected disease” according to leading healthcare professionals, who recently formed the Brachytherapy Advisory Group. They claim it is being treated as a lower priority than other major cancers – despite being one of the most common.

Business Process Management software is being deployed at University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (UCLH) to help reduce patient waiting times. LogicaCMG, in conjunction with Lombardi, is implementing the new patient tracking solution to support the Trust’s goal of being able to attain an 18-week “referral-to-treatment” (RTT) for all patients.

The Royal Orthopaedic Hospital in Birmingham, which already has one of the lowest rates of HAIs, has invested in a number of products designed with silver antimicrobial technology to help further reduce ‘superbugs’ such as MRSA.

Welch Allyn is partnering with Vantage Diagnostics, a new telehealth company, to run a pilot scheme across several primary care practices.

Dr Maria Barrell, of the Royal College of Midwives (RCM), has expressed her dismay at Health Secretary Alan Johnson's decision to endorse the closure of four maternity units in Greater Manchester. Commenting, Dr Barrell said: "I am very concerned that the reduced capacity of Greater Manchester's maternity units will not be able to cope with the demand of an increasing birth rate.”

The NHS chief executive, David Nicholson, has announced that Professor Sir Bruce Keogh has been appointed as the new NHS medical director.

A new research partnership which aims to improve patient safety has been launched.

All members of AfPP currently working in perioperative care at any level are being encouraged to apply for a place on an exclusive personal development programme sponsored by 3M Health Care and the Association for Perioperative Practice (AfPP). The Academy aim is to support career development and best practice by enhancing personal effectiveness of individuals.