RECENT NEWS

The first clinical trial to challenge the routine implantation of a defibrillator in myocardial infarction survivors with heart failure has enrolled its first patient.

The highest stillbirth rates continue to impact black and Asian women and those living in the most deprived communities where social inequalities are entrenched. That’s according to the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) as it responds to the latest MBRRACE-UK State of the Nation (SoN) report on perinatal mortality.

A Lords Committee has warned that a lack of coordination between primary and community services is leading to sub-standard care, missed opportunities for home or community-based treatments, and undue strain on hospitals that are already overstretched.

The Scottish government has announced funding to create extra training places for doctors in 2024. Record levels of investment will see an additional 153 trainee doctor posts created next year in what will be the largest annual expansion on record. This level of expansion represents a 2.3% increase above the current whole time equivalent workforce of 6570 trainees.

The government has made an offer to the British Medical Association (BMA) for specialty and specialist (SAS) doctors in England.

Updated final guidance has introduced a new target for cholesterol levels for people who have had a heart attack or stroke to reduce the risk of them having another.

Members of Parliament (MEPs) at 2023’s ending plenary session, 11-14 December, were urged to prioritise health and help defeat the continent’s most pervasive health threat: cardiovascular disease (CVD).

NHS Providers has announced a podcast and video highlighting an inspirational example of how one ICS is using digital ways of working and data to improve patient flow and alleviate winter pressures.

The latest NHS performance data (published 14 December) shows the number of referrals to treatment (RTT) pathways where a patient was waiting to start planned consultant-led treatment has fallen by just over 41,000 to 7.71 million.

Smoking-related hospital admissions in England increased by nearly 5% in 2022-23, compared to the previous year, but remain lower than before the Covid pandemic.

New measures to help protect the public and support bereaved families will be introduced in a revamp of how deaths are certified.

The National Performance Advisory Group (NPAG) has announced the appointment of Lawrence Barker as the new Facilitator for its Clinical Engineering Best Value Groups.

Taking place in Birmingham 29th and 30th January 2024, the Birmingham Orthopaedic Oncology Meeting will explore current concepts in Chondrosarcoma and Infected Oncology Reconstructions and gain a global consensus on diagnosis and treatment.

A collaborative study between Warwick, King’s College London and several NHS sites funded by a Wellcome Trust Innovator Award has demonstrated how AI can analyse X-rays and diagnose medical issues just as, or more, accurately than doctors.

UKHSA has published its first HECC report, drawing together the latest evidence on how our changing climate is already impacting on the nation’s health and publishing future projections based on a plausible worst case scenario.

Following its successful fundraising of C$4.91 million (US$3.62), Canadian life sciences company Ondine Biomedical will continue accelerating commercialisation of its nasal photodisinfection technology. The solution aims to replace topical antibiotics for the prevention of healthcare-associated infections (HCAIs) and kills all types of pathogens – bacteria, viruses and fungi – without causing antimicrobial resistance.

A major clinical trial, led by experts at the University of Nottingham, has shown that people with inflammatory conditions are able to improve the antibody response from a COVID-19 booster vaccination by interrupting their treatment for two weeks immediately after having the vaccine.

Equipped with Aplio i800 / Prism Edition ultrasound machines, the Devon hospital – a COVID-19 response unit turned community diagnostics hub – has helped reduce the local NHS patient waiting list from six weeks to less than two weeks

Physician associates (PAs) and anaesthesia associates (AAs) will soon be regulated by the GMC, improving patient safety and supporting plans to expand medical associate roles in the NHS to relieve pressure on doctors and GPs.

The opportunity to use GPs and primary care networks to reduce health inequalities between the richest and poorest areas hasn’t been fully realised, according to new research published by the Health Foundation.