FEATURE ARTICLES

The care sector has been tasked with managing a rapid increase of residents on a large scale due to our ageing population. As a result, the NHS has been urged to increase available care beds. As Clare Long, business account manager for care at the Professional Division of Miele, observes, coping with greater numbers of residents requires changes to be made at each stage of care.

Wladyslaw Wygnanski and Charles Potter, directors at Camcon Medical,explain how binary actuation valve technology could be the healthcare system’s answer to creating greater efficiencies in devices that demand precise,rapid and energy-efficient flow control.

n the UK, as many as 10,000 people die from Hospital Acquired Infections (HAIs) every year – 38% of these cases are the result of catheter-associated urinary infections. Ina bid topave the way in the battle against superbugs, Cambridge based Camstent has created the world’s first ‘bacteria-phobic’ catheter. CSJ spoke to the company’s CTO, DrDavid Hampton, to find out more.

Picture archiving and communication systems (PACS) have been the go-to option for medical imaging, and many healthcare providers are engagedin upgrading their PACS system to a new generation. Phil Colbourne warns that this can involve significant investments and reduced systems flexibility, with costs set to spiral.

Dan Boddington, systems engineer at StarLeaf, discusses the dangers of using insecure messaging, and asks if the increase in its use is putting patients’ information at risk.

Homeless and insecurely housed people in Hastings now have access to medical treatment and support, thanks to an innovative digital healthcare outreach project.

The Central Sterilising Club Annual Scientific Meeting provided an excellent learning opportunity for all those involved in decontamination. With a focus on extending knowledge and improving practice, this year’s event was yet another success.

One of the many benchmarks by which the NHS – and the public it serves – measures the effectiveness of the service is how long a patient has to wait in a queue. Kate Woodhead RGN DMS asserts that diagnostic services are a key element of this as, at this stage, the patient often doesn’t know if they are unwell or just has a collection of annoying or worrying symptoms.

In healthcare, cyber security is critical. Ram Vaidhyanathan, IT security and cyber risk analyst, ManageEngine, explores the impact of cyber threats on the healthcare industry and shares his tips for better protection.

Penny Pinnock, sales manager – healthcare & public sector, for Siemens Financial Services in the UK, examines how asset finance can support the upgrade of radiology and diagnostic technology in a growing private healthcare market.

Following the installation of Olympus Medical Systems’ Endoalpha 4K integrated operating theatre, surgeons at University Hospital Ayr undertaking laparoscopic surgery can now operate with enhanced visibility, and stream live images of surgery for training – both within the hospital and to locations worldwide.

Celebrating its 10th anniversary, the theme for this year’s EBME (Electronic and biomedical engineering) conference and exhibition was how the latest healthcare technology can improve patient outcomes. Over two days, a broad range of speakers shared fascinating insight into the future of healthcare.

The NHS wants to be the safest healthcare system in the world – that is its stated aim. As we wait to hear the results of a public consultation 1 with a strategy designed to sit alongside the NHS Long Term Plan, Kate Woodhead RGN DMS, analyses the challenges facing the patient safety movement.

There is a raft of guidance around best practice in endoscope reprocessing, yet the transmission of infection continues to present a serious issue, prompting the FDA to take decisive action. So, what can be done to help tackle the problem?

Since moving to iM-Med there are no worries over equipment and performance in the endoscope reprocessing units at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust.

Cleaning is critical for sterilisation to be effective; this has been well proven and does not require further evidencing. However, warns Pawel de Sternberg Stojalowski, founder and managing director at decontamination specialist Aseptium, the complexity of the cleaning process itself, measuring the effectiveness and the quality of cleaning is quite another matter.

While hospital Trusts want to save money on chemistries, this must be balanced with ensuring efficacy and patient safety at all times. With cheap chemistries entering the market, is it time for a national register to ensure clarity around performance? Moreover, how could new technologies help optimise decontamination chemistries and provide a tool for improvement? Matthew Peskett, from Ruhof, speaks to CSJabout recent trends and controversies.

Jim Brown, sales manager, Westfield Medical, Hospital UK sector, examines the requirement to inhibit hydrophobic proteins from adhering to surgical instruments and to reduce the risk of healthcare associated infections.

Richard Bancroft, B.Sc (Hons), science and technical director at Steris Corporation explores ISO 15883-4 and its implications for endoscope washer-disinfectors.

Managing a testing schedule for a busy endoscopy or sterile-services department can be a challenging task for hospital staff.