RECENT NEWS

Further action will be taken on a national level to improve safety for mothers and their babies, following a high profile investigation into maternity failings.

Figures published by NHS England show that 2023 is another strong year for recruitment to medical specialty training when compared to the same time last year.

Findings from a survey of more than 36,000 people who used NHS urgent and emergency care services in September 2022 show that many people had a worse experience than in previous years – particularly those treated in an A&E type department.

Scottish health board uses a mobile app and digital platform to improve communication between patients and clinical teams and make the best possible use of clinic and theatre capacity.

Kay Miller, PhD, CMgr, FCMI is an experienced charity CEO with over 20 years' senior management expertise in the scientific learned society and membership organisation sector. Kay began her engagement with the IPS as Interim Managing Director from July 2023.

A young gastroenterologist who has spearheaded trainee programmes for aspiring doctors in his field has won a national leadership award.

New research from the Royal College of Anaesthetists and University College London shows that while some progress is being made in improving perioperative care for patients undergoing major surgery, more focus is needed on ensuring all patients receive an individualised risk assessment, effective postoperative pain management and support with DRinking, EAting and Mobilising (also known as DREAMING) within 24 hours of surgery.

The government’s New Hospital Programme (NHP) has experienced delays and is expected to deliver just 32 of the intended target of 40 new hospitals by 2030, according to a new National Audit Office report (NAO).

Innovate UK is opening a £6m Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) dementia biomarker tools competition on 24 July. The competition was announced by the Co-Chairs of the government’s dementia mission, Nadeem Sarwar and Hilary Evans, at an event hosted by the Office for Life Sciences at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC) in Amsterdam.

A study of data from about 500,000 people in the UK Biobank has uncovered small but statistically significant associations between signs of systemic inflammation and later risk of dementia.

Scientists are urging caution before artificial intelligence (AI) models such as ChatGPT are used in healthcare for ethnic minority populations. Writing in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, epidemiologists at the University of Leicester and University of Cambridge say that existing inequalities for ethnic minorities may become more entrenched due to systemic biases in the data used by healthcare AI tools.

A robotic-assisted surgery (RAS) company, Intuitive, has further developed its support for the Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCS England) through its support of a new multi-professional network that will shape the future development of RAS surgery nationally.

Giving patients digital control over their hospital appointments could avoid 1.6 million unnecessary appointments and create a national annual system saving of £167 million.

The National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death (NCEPOD) has published a review of the care received by patients aged 16 and over undergoing surgery for Crohn’s Disease titled: 'Making the cut?'

The Health Protection Notification Regulations 2010 (HPNR) help the Government to respond promptly to suspected cases of infectious diseases that could have an impact on public health. The COVID pandemic shone a light on the fundamental role of surveillance in supporting an effective public health response. The Department of Health and Social Care has proposed an updated list of notifiable diseases and is inviting consultation.

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) and The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) have unveiled ground-breaking research that sheds light on how COVID-19 infection may lead to late pregnancy complications.

New machine learning technology can use real-time A&E data to predict how many patients will need an emergency bed later that day and in which part of the hospital. The technology was presented at the inaugural Health and Care Analytics (HACA) conference.

The Royal College for Surgeons and a number of other professional medical organisations have signed a joint statement raising concerns that children’s waiting lists are now increasing at double the rate of adult lists, while surgical activity lags behind adult activity.

Almost a million more people (900,000) will become eligible for a shingles vaccination from September, the Department of Health has announced..

Guidance supporting clinical teams to improve care of older people living with frailty is now available, in a collaboration between the Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) programme and the British Geriatrics Society (BGS), supported by the Royal College of Physicians.