RECENT NEWS

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has welcomed the announcement of additional topics for its forward work programme.

Sickness absence has been a long-standing problem throughout work sectors and with the costs at over £13 billion, it is unsurprising that the Commercial Occupational Health Providers Association (COHPA) has called for the Med 3 sick note to be overhauled.

Medical publisher M&K has released a book, Nurse Facilitated Hospital Discharge, that will appeal to health professionals working in general, mental health, primary and social care.

Healthcare in the UK is being undermined by the lowering of nursing education and standards, according to two leading professors of nursing.

Latest scanning facilities on a new ACUSON Antares ultrasound system are benefiting patients attending the Breast Screening Unit of North Middlesex University Hospital in London.

An innovative new service has been funded by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) which will give heart failure patients individually-tailored care. The first BHF Heart Failure Pharmacist was appointed in Northampton recently to give bespoke prescriptions and advice to heart patients with complex medical needs.

Commenting on the Department of Health’s progress report on the National Service Framework (NSF) for coronary heart disease (CHD), which showed big reductions in the premature death rate for CHD, Professor Peter Weissberg, medical director of the British Heart Foundation (BHF), said: “If this were a mid-term report, I think our summary would be: some terrific achievements so far, but let’s keep going until the job is done.

Health Minister,Rosie Winterton has congratulated the NHS on meeting the Long Term Conditions Public Service Agreement target early:

“I am very pleased that there has been a reduction in emergency bed days in 2005/06 of 5.4% – some 1.7 million bed days – compared to the 2003/04 baseline year. This means that the national target of 5% by 2008 has been met early.

ParAid Medical Systems has launched neocapsul and neo-restraint for the safe transport of newborn babies by vehicle and air.

Scientists performing a project spanning 60 years and 1,000 participants have received the prestigious Tenovus (Scotland) Margaret MacLellan Award.

The NHS Fife Operating Division is aiming to streamline its surveillance and case management of hospital-acquired infections by developing an interface between its Oasis EPR and ICNet.

The one-day course for operators of Lancer automated endoscope reprocessors was so successful in its first year that for 2007 Lancer’s training division has tripled the number of course dates available.

In January, the Department of Health issued its latest monthly information on the numbers of known cases of Creutzfeldt Jakob disease.

The results of a study just published in the British Journal of Urology International add further support to the routine use of brachytherapy for the treatment of prostate cancer.

The Royal Society of Medicine, the UK’s largest provider of continuing medical education, has published a new guide aimed at students and junior doctors.

Varian Medical Systems has announced it has signed an agreement to acquire ACCEL Instruments, a privately-held supplier of proton therapy systems for cancer treatment and scientific research instruments.

The Royal Society of Medicine (RSM), the UK’s largest provider of continuing professional development, has announced changes to its academic structure that will strengthen its medical educational programme.

Patients and the public are to have easier access to information on how well healthcare providers in the independent sector are meeting standards.

The diagnosis and monitoring of hypertensive patients at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge, is now being carried out by hand-held ultrasound systems manufactured by SonoSite UK.

Plans are underway to extend the cleanyourhands campaign from acute NHS hospitals to other care settings, such as primary care organisations, GP practices, community hospitals, nursing homes, care homes, ambulances, hospices, and dental surgeries.