RECENT NEWS

The environment of inpatient units has improved and high standards of food and privacy and dignity have been maintained across the NHS over the past year, according to research by the National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA).

The chairman of the BMA’s Consultants Committee has warned that the health service is entering a “dark and dangerous period” due to the economic crisis.

The number of people who die or are severely disabled by stroke each year could be substantially reduced through a cheap blood test and simple inexpensive treatment.

Plans to scrap some centrally driven targets and proposals for giving doctors and nurses control of their budgets were recently announced by Health Minister Lord Darzi.

The majority of surgeons are not reporting “sharps injuries” they receive, according to a paper published in the Annals of The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

Luton and Dunstable NHS Foundation Trust has launched the UK’s first Patient Admittance Pack to help cut healthcareassociated infection rates (HCAI).

Perioperative groups have issued a statement calling for safe staffing levels in obstetric theatres, following the results of recent studies into obstetric resources.

Thousands of people in England are unaware that they are at risk of developing heart disease due to an undiagnosed genetic condition, according to the Royal College of Physicians.

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

The General Medical Council has announced that it has appointed The King’s Fund’s chief executive Niall Dickson as its new chief executive.

The Royal College of Anaesthetists, the professional body representing anaesthesia in the UK, is introducing an interactive e-Learning resource to support training and professional development in anaesthesia.

A study in the June 2009 British Journal of Dermatology, reviewing data from a 13-year period in the eastern United Kingdom, has concluded that the melanoma “epidemic” is unlikely to be genuine.

US scientists have identified a single gene that they believe plays a vital role in the development of atherosclerosis. The caveolin-1 (Cav-1) gene was found to promote the development of atherosclerotic lesions when switched on.

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.