FEATURE ARTICLES

The Government has set out a blueprint to address backlogs built up during the COVID pandemic and tackle long waits for care with increased expansion in capacity for tests, checks and treatments. CSJ highlights the key pillars of the strategic plan.

A specialist NHS laboratory, hosted by Newcastle Hospitals, is helping to accelerate the development of new, cutting-edge COVID-19 tests, as well as technologies that could give an early warning of virus threats

Efficient point-of-care testing for COVID is critical to managing admissions and infection control for hospitals, particularly during Winter peaks. Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals have implemented a solution that is capable of speeding up detection of respiratory viruses – delivering a result in just a few minutes.

A new event, launched by two major NHS Trusts, will provide valuable insights into decontamination and infection prevention – from protein removal, and water microbiology, to ventilation and automated room disinfection.

SBRI Healthcare, an NHS England & NHS Improvement initiative, has awarded £1 Million to a number of pioneering innovations to support the delivery of a net zero NHS.

World TB Day, which falls on 24 March each year, is designed to build public awareness that tuberculosis remains an epidemic in much of the world. While TB was surpassed by COVID-19 as the world’s deadliest infectious disease, the disease still kills around 1.5 million people annually.

In a recent presentation at the Future Surgery show, Professor Prokar Dasgupta, professor of surgery, King’s College London, considered the ‘digital future of surgery’. He highlighted some key innovations coming to the fore – from an octopus-inspired robot with a sense of touch, to technology that enables clinicians to remotely “scrub in” to the OR.

Justin Hassall, transformation director, Informed Solutions, calls for patients and clinicians to be placed at the heart of digital health services design and highlights the challenges around interoperability

Exciting innovation took centre stage at Arab Health’s UK pavilion – from live robotic surgery demonstrations to discussions with a NASA astronaut on how space technology can find its way into pioneering health applications.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has highlighted continued concern about the variation in the quality and safety of England’s maternity services and a confidential enquiry into maternal deaths found that women from Black ethnic groups are four times more likely to die in pregnancy than women from White groups.

Despite extensive evidence highlighting the risks associated with surgical smoke exposure, healthcare employers are still not listening to the concerns of healthcare workers and failing to provide adequate protection. Faced with a backlog of patients, are staff under pressure to ‘just get the job done’ – even when it means putting their own health at risk? Louise Frampton reports.

The Paterson Inquiry investigated a healthcare scandal involving ‘17 counts of wounding patients with intent’ and highlighted many more accounts of distressing treatment at the hands of a ‘rogue surgeon’. So what can we learn from the Government’s long-awaited report and how should we identify and challenge misconduct in the future?

With a backlog of elective surgery, long waits in A&E, as well as in ambulances, and difficulties in obtaining GP appointments, how has the pandemic impacted confidence and satisfaction in the NHS? CSJ looks at some of the latest patient surveys.

It has been suggested that it may take the NHS up to a decade to clear treatment backlogs with concerted action. But what exactly are the strategies being put in place? Kate Woodhead discusses the role of innovation and new technology in tackling the backlog, including the implementation of ‘surgical hubs’.

Mr Srinivas Chintapatla provides an insight into how the York Abdominal Wall Unit (YAWU) has put the patient at the centre of decision making, transformed the care pathway, and improved outcomes.

Integrated operating theatre technology from Bender UK is shaping the future of surgical facilities

Penny Pinnock discusses the current financial challenges that healthcare providers are facing and the key strategies that could support investment in the technologies required to help the NHS recover in the wake of the pandemic.

A new biomedical training facility at the Black Country and Marches Institute of Technology, in Dudley, aims to tackle key STEM skills gaps and help futureproof the biomedical engineering sector

Dr. Catherine Jones explores how AI technology can support clinicians and radiologists and improve patient outcomes, the current barriers to adoption, and why she hopes the technology will become a staple in the hospitals of the future.

Anton Emmanuel, from the Bowel Interest Group, provides practical steps for improving patient adherence to prescribed treatment and highlights the impact of training and tailored support.