FEATURE ARTICLES

Nigel Roberts examines the evidence around the incidence of surgical fires, as well as current guidance to prevent associated harm. He considers whether surgical fires should be classed as a ‘Never Event’ and whether mitigating steps should be incorporated into the WHO surgical safety checklist

Data saves lives and connected MedTech will be key to ensuring this data is easily accessible and actionable. Louise Frampton spoke to Mindray UK’s digital health experts to find out how patient safety, efficiency and clinical decision making could be enhanced though improved interoperability, artificial intelligence and mobile monitoring solutions.

Clinical educator, Linda Kelly, explores the national precedence being placed on infection prevention and control, and calls for the standardisation of care and maintenance of vascular access devices

Dr. Jack Parry-Jones FRCP FFICM urges the Government to look intently at solutions to the increasing pressures on critical care services. In this article, he outlines the key areas that need to be addressed.

Richard Bancroft and Brisia López-Ortega outline best practice when monitoring sterilisation processes involving the use of vaporised hydrogen peroxide.

High on the agenda of Future Surgery 2022 was the significant challenge around recovering elective surgery, in the wake of the pandemic. Among the hot topics included: staff retention and recruitment, the need for more day case surgery, new ways of working, and the recovery of training. Louise Frampton reports.

Changes in epidemiology and earlier diagnostics will shape the delivery of surgical services in the next 30 years. At the same time, the impacts of COVID-19 will be felt for some time. At Future Surgery 2022, leading experts discussed some of the challenges ahead and the potential changes required. Louise Frampton reports.

Kate Woodhead RGN DMS warns that healthcare workers (HCWs) are still being put at occupational risk from sharps injuries. She discusses best practice and the importance of training

The UK Pavilion is heading back to the Dubai World Trade Centre for this year’s Arab Health in January 2023. The show offers an impressive platform for UK healthcare manufacturers and providers to showcase the very best of talent and innovation to a global audience. The Clinical Services Journal spoke to ABHI’s Michelle Michelucci, about this year’s programme of activity.

Anetic Aid has come a long way in 50 years. During that time, the company has supported the move towards day surgery, as well as helping to drive efficiency and reducing the risk of manual handling injuries.

The Infection Management Coalition discusses the threat posed by antimicrobial resistance and highlights the importance of tackling infection management holistically

Phil Stuart-Douek shares his insights into how patient monitoring has transformed care, over the past two decades. He points out that while technology is driving significant innovation, it will never replace highly trained nurses and it shouldn’t be used to plug resourcing gaps.

As this 20th anniversary edition of CSJ reflects on the past two decades in healthcare, we know that the NHS has been experiencing significant winter pressures for some time. However, Matt Currall argues that we need to look beyond blaming social care to unlock patient flow and delayed discharge.

Rachel Power, chief executive of the Patients Association, shares her views on how patient care has evolved over the past two decades. The organisation celebrates its 60th anniversary in 2023 and has witnessed some significant changes in the culture around patient care, during this time. Here, Rachel reflects on the progress achieved and what still needs to improve.

The last 20 years has been a time of great innovation and technological advancement for medical devices, with an ever-increasing number of new products. Unfortunately, not all theoretical innovations have performed as well as anticipated in the human body, as the last 20 years have shown. Jason Wilson provides an overview of the past two decades and discusses some of the key issues.

Poor management of diabetes can have a serious impact on surgical outcomes, increasing the risk of complications and mortality. Discussions are underway to scale up a pilot programme, with the aim of transforming surgical pathways, to help reduce complications and reduce length of stay.

The IDSc conference and exhibition is taking place on 29-30 November 2022, at the Eastside Rooms in Birmingham, this year, providing opportunities for education and networking for all those working in the field of decontamination science.

The Medical Technology Group’s latest report reveals that on the eve of the new ICS system, the top performing regions were treating up to three times as many patients as the worst performers. Barbara Harpham says that for the new system to work, the new health secretary must look to those regions that have successfully built their services around the use of data, integration and technology, and embed the sharing of best practice into meaningful regulatory intervention for those regions that continue to fail.

Graham Johnson discusses how gastroenterology has changed over the past 20 years. He looks at how non-invasive diagnostic testing, prior to endoscopy, could provide a solution to earlier detection and better outcomes for upper gastrointestinal disorders.

How has the HealthTech sector evolved over the past 20 years – is the NHS still slow to adopt innovation, and how have events such as COVID and Brexit shaped the current landscape? Louise Frampton spoke to the Association for British HealthTech Industries to discover what has changed.