RECENT NEWS

Many of Britain’s hospital staff are worried that hand-cleaning initiatives are in vain as nurses risk spreading infection through dirty uniforms – this is revealed in a Patients Association survey.

The Medical Technology Group has welcomed calls for an increase in medical technology funding in the NHS, and the elimination of “silo” budgeting that fails to account for long-term benefits of technology use.

Health informatics professionals are at the centre of improvements to patient care, it was stressed at a recent conference.

Ateam of surgeons at Papworth Hospital, Cambridge, recently performed the UK’s first successful beating heart transplant.

Four months after moving into new premises, Assure Sterile Services has become the first operational “supercentre” in England for the reprocessing of re-usable surgical instruments.

A new study has found that the highest rates of hospitalisation across Primary Care Trusts in London were associated with population profiles and measures of deprivation.

The European Working Time Directive, which limits the hours employees are allowed to work, means junior hospital doctors cannot receive the training they need to become a consultant gastroenterologist, according to results of a survey presented at the Annual Scientific Meeting of the British Society of Gastroenterology recently.

Health minister Lord Warner has announced the formation of the Care Closer to Home Demonstration Group (CCHDG) made up of members from the medical profession to help deliver the policies outlined in January’s Our health, our care, our say White Paper.

Better training and computerised diagnostic tools help GPs diagnose dementia, according to new research funded by the Alzheimer’s Society.

A new case of variant-CJD associated with a blood transfusion has recently been diagnosed.

Research presented at the Diabetes UK Annual Professional Conference in Birmingham recently has highlighted the need for better foot care to prevent amputations.

Health professionals are being offered new training to develop the skills they need to communicate and deliver care more effectively with ethnic minority groups.

The Stroke Association has responded to research published in the BMJ on the applicability to primary care of national clinical guidelines on blood pressure lowering for people with stroke.

How patients with head and neck cancers are cared for is described in the first report from a new national data collection, published recently.

At this year’s Infection Control Nurses Association (ICNA) 36th Annual Infection Control Conference in September the first day will be dedicated to the issues around antimicrobial resistance.

Astudy published in the April 2006 issue of the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine has raised serious questions about the efficacy of spinal manipulation treatment.

Chief Medical Officer Sir Liam Donaldson, John Broughton, assistant chief constable, Essex Police and Sandra Caldwell, director of field operations at the Health & Safety Executive (HSE), have launched a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to help ensure that investigations into serious patient safety incidents are conducted in a consistent and well co-ordinated manner that leads to effective learning.

Healthcare companies from across the region were recognised at the recent 2006 Medilink Yorkshire and Humber Innovation Day and Healthcare Business Awards.

Training to help healthcare staff deal with violence at work is making a difference, but only where it has a solid grounding in day-today situations, researchers have found.

The Royal Society of Medicine Press has published the latest practical guide on how to manage the menopause.