FEATURE ARTICLES

The Clinical Services Journal speaks to Single Use Surgical – a company that was established as a response to UK hospitals’ concerns over cleaning practices – to find out why they champion single-use alternatives to reusable instruments.

The WHO is calling for increased efforts and investment to end one of the world’s oldest and deadliest diseases. But have we become complacent about the threat posed by TB and should we be more prepared to tackle the risk of outbreaks in UK hospitals?

Although there have been serious warnings that the last line of antibiotics is failing, there are also encouraging signs that antibiotic stewardship is improving and positive changes are being made in prescribing practices.

Patient information is now worth more than credit card data on the dark web and hackers are increasingly using medical devices to infiltrate hospital networks.

Kate Woodhead RGN DMS provides an insight into the World Health Organization’s latest guidance on preventing surgical site infection.

A medical engineering company, which maintains and repairs over 130,000 medical devices around the country, is calling on NHS Trusts to take a different approach to endoscope maintenance, in order to reduce the need for repairs and, ultimately, costs

Nicola Hall, managing director at Ingenica Solutions, calls for Government investment in placing a GS1 specialist in every Trust –instead of allocating funding for just a small number of sites.

Martin England argues that electronic reporting is vital to ensuring effective medicines management and reducing prescribing errors.

Suzanne Callander reports on two recent additions to the Medtech Innovation Briefing documents produced by NICE, both of which focus on alternative solutions as part of cancer treatment.

Pioneering technology has been adopted at the University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust to improve the performance of colposcopy in diagnosing pre-cancerous conditions of the cervix.

Joanna Lloyd and Debbie Rookes of Bevan Brittan’s clinical risk department examine the coroner’s role in patient safety with a particular focus on hospital related inquests.

An insight into the case for an Office for Patient Outcomes, as proposed by the Social Market Foundation.

There is a drive to promote apprenticeships in key areas in healthcare and science – such as decontamination, pathology and nursing – with the aim of filling critical skills gaps.

Surgical teams continue to face challenges in the fight to reduce SSIs. The annual conference on Quality Improvement for Surgical Teams recently discussed the risks and latest strategies for prevention.

A detailed look at the key changes within the Department of Health’s recently updated decontamination guidance for surgical instruments and endoscopes.

Professionals from across the sphere of healthcare will assemble in London to hear from experts on various aspects of infection prevention and control, from rapid diagnostics to surgical site infection.

The Clinical Services Journal reports on some of the highlights from the annual European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Acute Cardiovascular Care event.

Suzanne Callander reports from the Sepsis Unplugged event, where healthcare professionals and patient groups came together to discuss sepsis – its recognition and management and its longer-term effects.

KATE WOODHEAD RGN DMS reviews a perioperative assessment tool, aimed at reducing surgical site infection, which was recently highlighted at the Infection Prevention Society and Quality Improvement for Surgical Teams annual conferences.

The Clinical Services Journal recently attended the launch of two new integrated theatres at King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, featuring the latest 3D laparoscopic technology.