FEATURE ARTICLES

The latest Reducing HCAIs conference, Supporting community health, takes place at the Brewery, London, on the 10 October. The Clinical Services Journal provides a preview of the topics that will be discussed.

A radical new vision for the ‘future hospital’ has been outlined in a report, which suggests that ‘care should come to the patient’, while patient experience should be considered as important as outcomes.

Several study findings presented at The EuroPRevent 2013 Congress, organised by the European Society for Cardiology to focus on preventive cardiology, highlighted some of the less well known or understood risk factors associated with cardiovascular disease.

It may look clean… but who cleaned it and is it really clean? MARTIN KIERNAN calls on organisations to be brave enough to discover the truth about the effectiveness of cleaning in their establishments.

NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is currently facing its greatest ever challenge in its mission to provide a safe, sufficient blood supply for patients, as transfusion scientist BARRY HILL discovered in an interview with NHSBT spokesperson JON LATHAM.

In light of the Francis Report, Trusts are making a renewed effort to improve processes for capturing and sharing critical data, such as patient observations and information to support optimal care at the crucial handover period.

Trusts are being urged to use a toolkit, which focuses on the use of the National Early Warning Score, to ensure that seriously ill patients receive prompt and safe care. The Clinical Services Journal reports.

A damning report by the National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death previously highlighted concerns that patients undergoing cosmetic procedures are not being properly protected.

Procurement has a key role to play in protecting front-line care and ensuring the NHS can live within the 2015-16 spending round commitments. As part of its policy to make the NHS more efficient and less bureaucratic, the Department of Health (DH) has recently published a document that sets out the details of the NHS Procurement Development Programme which aims to help the NHS save £1.5 billion by 2015-16.

Dr TIM SANDLE looks at best practices to avoid microbial contamination of hospital water systems, which can have serious consequences for patients as well as economic consequences for hospitals.

The world’s largest medical exhibition, MEDICA takes place 20-23 November 2013 in Düsseldorf, Germany. The Clinical Services Journal provides an insight into the educational opportunities that are available at the event, as well as the latest innovations that will be showcased at the international trade fair.

Early adopters of RFID technology for mobile medical device management can now provide evidence of its benefits for tracking and managing vital hospital equipment. The Clinical Services Journal reports.

In the wake of a number of reports highlighting a crisis in emergency care, there has been heated debate over the reasons for missed waiting targets and increasing attendance in A&E.

The performance of consultants is under the spotlight, in the wake of a report by the Public Accounts Committee and the publication of surgical outcomes data.

A report by safety expert, Professor Don Berwick has outlined recommendations for building a robust nationwide system for patient safety – rooted in a culture of transparency, openness and continual learning. LOUISE FRAMPTON reports.

The publication of a review into the quality of care and treatment provided by 14 hospital Trusts in England has resulted in the creation of a list of achievable ‘ambitions’ for improvement across the wider NHS. SUZANNE CALLANDER reports.

The list of medical errors considered to be ‘Never Events’, that should never occur, has continued to expand and now includes errors in the blood transfusion process. Transfusion scientist BARRY HILL reports.

Point-of-care testing is driving changes in patient management and a special focus at the IBMS Biomedical Science Congress is being established to provide an insight into the latest developments in this field.

SUZANNE CALLANDER reports on the findings of a recent NCEPOD report which focused on the remediable factors in the quality of care provided to patients who died with a diagnosis of alcohol-related liver disease.

Studies have shown that, with traditional manual cleaning, critical points are only cleaned 50%-60% of the time. The latest research suggests that automated technologies could improve the cleanliness of hospitals and reduce the risk of pathogen transmission from the environment. LOUISE FRAMPTON reports.