RECENT FEATURE ARTICLES
Government unveils MedTech strategy
Using MedTech effectively will be critical for reducing waiting lists, as well as improving outcomes for patients. The Government has set out its key priorities for supporting MedTech innovation and adoption, while ensuring a sustainable and resilient supply chain
A deeper dive into safe surgery barriers
Nigel Roberts provides an insight into a second Delphi study investigating the views of operating theatre teams on the surgical safety checklist and Local Safety Standards for Invasive Procedures.
New safety standards for invasive procedures
Kate Woodhead RGN DMS provides an insight into the second National Safety Standards for Invasive Procedures, aimed at improving patient safety. She welcomes the new standards and hopes that theatre teams will fully engage with them.
COVER STORY: Driving innovation in endoscope decontamination
Wassenburg has pioneered in the field of endoscope decontamination, with the aim of improving patient safety. However, the company’s vision goes beyond just ensuring a clean scope – with the company’s CEOs setting out a commitment to sustainable and ethical values.
Calls to continue home BP monitoring
Professor Melvin Lobo, director of the internationally renowned Barts Blood Pressure Clinic, saw one major positive outcome of the pandemic – people becoming more engaged in their own health, with proactive, self-directed blood pressure (BP) monitoring. He explains why this approach can vastly improve the understanding of patterns in hypertensive patients and, in turn, lead to better patient outcomes.
Infection prevention at the heart of design
Harald Huber discusses the importance of working with clinicians on product development to maximise infection prevention in endoscopy.
Tackling workforce challenges in the NHS
Dr. Steve Fox argues that the healthcare sector must consider how insourced staff can be used appropriately to embed long-term resilience in the NHS workforce.
The prognosis for diagnostic services
To cope with the challenges of the future, it is critical to optimise diagnostic services and enable faster and earlier testing. Tracey Sainsbury discusses the key challenges and opportunities ahead
How tech could bring the joy back to nursing
Burnout, mental health struggles and a lack of work-life balance have been given as the main reasons for staff leaving the NHS. Sophie Evans, a former critical care nurse and now a clinical consultant for health communications specialist Ascom, discusses why it has never been more important for the NHS to bring back the joy to nursing, and how technology can play a major role.
Difficult to clean devices: the case for single use
Not all instruments can be guaranteed clean, especially those with narrow lumens. Jon Blastland argues that single-use alternatives could help reduce the risk of surgical site infection.
End of the line for disposable textiles?
Roberta Charlett examines the case for switching to reusable surgical textiles and the steps that will be required to successfully implement this.
South-West eradicates TRUS biopsies
Transrectal (TRUS) biopsies can yield inaccuracies in identifying potential cancer cells, while the nature of the procedure brings an increased likelihood of infection. Efforts are underway to phase out the procedure and Trusts are moving to alternative approaches. Over the past two years, the South-West of England has widely adopted the PrecisionPoint Transperineal Access
Understanding check list challenges
Nigel Roberts, head theatre practitioner, at Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Hospital Trust, provides an insight into a Delphi Study (round one), which has sought to understand current practice around the use of the WHO Surgical Safety Checklist and some of the challenges around implementation.
Key factors to drive improvement in SSDs
Sustainability, training, automation, and patient safety were among the hot topics discussed at the Institute of Decontamination Sciences (IDSc) annual conference. Top experts gave their views on the challenges ahead and key areas that must be addressed to ensure safe, efficient and sustainable sterile services.
Reviewing the flow of patients in and out of the NHS
Kate Woodhead RGN DMS considers the extreme pressures being faced by the NHS and what needs to be done to address the ‘gridlock’ currently being experienced across the system.
Tackling the burden of surgical site infection
Simple, and relatively inexpensive, steps to implement care bundles can have a dramatic impact on rates of surgical site infection. The Burden of Infection Symposium provided an insight into the latest evidence and guidance around best practice, as well as offering expert advice on ‘overcoming the challenges of change’. Louise Frampton reports.
COVER STORY: Point of care, reimagined
As ultrasound becomes ubiquitous, smart technologies are playing a vital role in diagnostic speed and accuracy. Medical device manufacturer, Mindray, is pioneering smart tools for ultrasound applications to enhance accuracy and speed of examinations and boost clinical confidence and decision-making.
Predicting the risk of pre-eclampsia
Pre-eclampsia is one of the most common causes of maternal morbidity and mortality. However, the methods used to initially determine the presence of the disease have not changed in decades and rely on simple non-specific parameters. These markers are poor at predicting risk, and cases of pre-eclampsia often progress rapidly and unpredictably, warns Dawn Hannah.
Are hand hygiene and cleaning enough?
Carole Hallam argues that the use of air decontamination systems to improve indoor air quality should be considered as part of Trusts’ infection prevention and control strategies. She warns that hand hygiene and surface cleaning are not enough.
Connecting emergency services with technology
With Integrated Care Boards (ICB) having moved onto statutory footing, it is time to use digital connectivity to join up services – starting with emergency care, argues Mike Farrar, former chief executive of the NHS Confederation and North-West England Strategic Health Authorities.
Featured Supplier
Eakin Healthcare’s Surgical therapy area manufactures high-quality single use surgical instruments that are sold worldwide. Our solutions have been designed in response to the growing concerns over the cleaning of reusable fine lumen instruments – which are associated with high risks of patient-to-patient cross-infection. Our Manufacturing facility is based in Cardiff, South Wales, and not only has clean room and ethylene oxide sterilisation facilities but is also supported by an experienced technical and R&D team. As a manufacturer of single-use instruments, we aim to help clinicians protect patients by providing assurances of instrument performance and sterility. With the associated environmental impact of single-use devices, eco-awareness and sustainability remain part of the company’s core values. Our goal is to deliver improved surgical outcomes to professionals and are proud to be an NHS and HSE trusted supplier in the UK. Our international network of distributors is expanding, exporting to 30 different territories globally. These relationships extend across Europe, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. As we move forward with developing our international partners, we have identified several key markets including Latin America, Brazil, and the Far East.
Upcoming Events
Diversity, inclusion and equality in surgery conference
RCS England Headquarters, London, WC2A 3PE
30th September 2023
UK Respiratory Infections Seminar
Mary Ward House, London
4th October 2023
Ecolab's Public Health & Sustainability Day
Old Trafford, Manchester United
10th October 2023
CSC Autumn Study Day 2023
LMI conference centre, Liverpool
16th October 2023
Prevent, Protect, Provide: Minimising infections for patients and the NHS
The Clermont Hotel, London, WC2N 5HX
30th October 2023
Infection 360 Conference
Pendulum Hotel and Manchester Conference Centre
8th - 9th November 2023
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