FEATURE ARTICLES

NHS England has announced a new independent taskforce to develop a five-year action plan for cancer services that will improve survival rates and save thousands of lives. It has also launched a new programme to test innovative ways of diagnosing cancer more quickly at more than 60 sites across the country, and committed a further £15m over three years to evaluate and treat patients with a type of modern radiotherapy.

New approaches to screening and treatment of cancer are under development, aimed at speeding up diagnosis and improving outcomes. Researchers presented their latest findings at the National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) Cancer Conference.

Many UK hospitals continue to rely on visual assessment of cleanliness, despite the fact that this can only detect gross lapses in practice. At an international conference on infection control, experts called for the UK to follow Denmark’s lead in adopting an approved standard, using quantitative testing of cleaning performance. LOUISE FRAMPTON reports

KATE WOODHEAD RGN DMS provides an insight into a comprehensive report on the lessons that must be learned from investigations into failures to protect patients and NHS staff.

The Royal College of Surgeons has recently announced a set of proposals, on which it is currently consulting, to improve standards of care for patients having cosmetic surgery. The Clinical Services Journal judges initial reactions to these proposals.

The Clinical Services Journal reports on the findings of the recently published Freedom to Speak up review, which investigate the issues surrounding whistleblowing and the changes needed to create a more honest reporting culture in the NHS.

DR JON MCCORMACK provides an insight into how point of care (PoC) ultrasound systems are proving beneficial to adult and paediatric retrievals services in Scotland, helping pre-hospital care and secondary retrievals from remote sites, as well as aiding routine anaesthesia practice in hospital theatres.

MIKE SULLIVAN, managing director of GOJO Industries – Europe, discusses the benefits of integrating human factors in healthcare and how hand hygiene fits into the bigger picture.

Dr JOHN SANDHAM argues that effective implementation of Healthcare Technology Management (HTM) is crucial to saving lives and reducing costs.

The use of 3D printing technologies is already enabling surgeons to better prepare for surgical interventions, through the use of accurate modelling. SUZANNE CALLANDER reports on the benefits that this technology can offer today, and what it may offer in the future.

A new project, Combacte-Magnet, has been launched by 33 European academic partners and five pharmaceutical companies, under the IMI antimicrobial resistance research programme ‘New Drugs 4 Bad Bugs (ND4BB)’.

On the 7th European Antibiotic Awareness Day, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) released its latest EU-wide data on antibiotic resistance (EARS-Net annual report and interactive database). Carbapenems are a major last line class of antibiotics used to treat healthcareassociated infections. Although carbapenem resistance remains at relatively low levels for most countries, ECDC data show an increase of carbapenem resistance in Klebsiella pneumoniae from a population-weighted EU average percentage of 4.6% in 2010 to 8.3% in 2013.

A review on antimicrobial resistance, established by the UK Prime Minister, has outlined key steps needed to tackle the antibiotic crisis.

In December 2014, Public Health England reported its latest data, Surveillance of Surgical Site Infections in NHS Hospitals in England 2013/14. The data shows that, between 2008/9 and 2013/14, there was a significant decrease in the inpatient/readmission SSI incidence for repair of neck of femur and reduction of long bone fracture, reaching 1% in each category in 2013/14.

The latest in the series of Reducing HCAIs conferences was recently hosted by Govtoday, at London’s Mermaid Theatre, tackling key issues in infection prevention and control. LOUISE FRAMPTON reports.

Doctors who are the subject of complaints procedures or investigation by the General Medical Council experience high rates of serious depression and anxiety as well as suicidal thoughts, according to a new study. Four out of five doctors also reported changing the way they treat their patients as a result of either complaints against themselves, or observing a colleague go through a complaints process.

Patients report experiencing defensiveness and poor communication when raising concerns, while the complaints system is often said to be confusing and lacking in transparency. A blueprint has now been published which aims to help Trusts understand exactly what ‘good complaints handling’ looks like, from a patient’s perspective, and to drive improvement.

The College of Emergency Medicine recently launched its ‘STEP’ campaign aimed at tackling the pressures being faced in A&E, while NICE has also issued guidance to address concerns over safe staffing levels. As emergency departments struggle to meet Government targets, the King’s Fund has argued that this is part of a much wider problem experienced across the whole of the health service.

KATE WOODHEAD RGN DMS provides an update on the latest code of practice on the prevention and control of infections and related guidance.

From Narrow Band Imaging, to 3D visualisation for endoscopic surgery, technology innovation is helping surgeons to pioneer new surgical and diagnosistic approaches.