FEATURE ARTICLES

Complaints about doctors have hit a record high with patients more prepared to raise concerns about their treatment, a General Medical Council (GMC) report has revealed.

The challenge to deliver more for less has never been greater and, like many organisations in the NHS, Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust is committed to delivering efficiency savings while ensuring the provision of high quality care.

SUZANNE CALLANDER reports on a Trust which has recently adopted the use of the National Early Warning Score, recommended by the Royal College of Physicians to identify and respond to deteriorating patients.

In recognition of the hand hygiene initiatives being undertaken by infection prevention and control teams, across the UK, Schülke introduced the Hand Hygiene Champion award.

KATE WOODHEAD RGN DMS describes some of the challenges which face hospital operating theatre suites in the developing world. Lydia and her specific issues are fictional, but the author has visited many different hospitals in Africa with some or all of the same problems.

A report by The King’s Fund calls for better design and co-ordination of services focused on the needs of older people, which could drastically reduce overnight hospital stay figures. The Clinical Services Journal reports.

Achieving adherence to the World Health Organization’s Five Moments of Hand Hygiene remains a challenge. LOUISE FRAMPTON highlights some recent innovations and initiatives aimed at improving compliance.

JOHN PRENDERGAST, decontamination engineer and WAYNE SPENCER, independent consultant on decontamination and healthcare engineering, report on a recent study day held in Birmingham, staged by the Central Sterilising Club, entitled Update on Decontamination Standards.

An electronic ‘integrated records management system’, has been developed to simplify report writing for clinicians following endoscopic procedures and to provide quick and easy access to reports for authorised personnel.

SUZANNE CALLANDER reports on the findings and recommendations of a recent report which looked at variability across the UK in the process of care surrounding bariatric surgery, from both the NHS and private practice.

The need to improve surgical site infection (SSI) surveillance, across Trusts, as well as understand the impact of SSIs on patients’ lives, were among the key issues raised at the Infection Prevention Society’s annual conference. LOUISE FRAMPTON reports.

Expert clinical opinion is vital to the medical technology industry to understand unmet needs and ensure new products are fit for purpose. To facilitate these interactions, Health Enterprise East, the NHS partner organisation for innovation, has recently launched Clinical Insight – a network of NHS stakeholders – to help shape the future of medical technology.

Research shows that addressing the issue of inadvertent hypothermia can have a significant impact – reducing mortality and morbidity in patients with trauma, as well as those undergoing surgery. LOUISE FRAMPTON reports.

Taking place in Düsseldorf, Germany, (14-17 November) MEDICA features 4,500 exhibitors from 60 countries, usually attracting over 134,000 visitors from healthcare providers and companies across the globe. The Clinical Services Journal provides an insight into the event’s key attractions and this year’s hot topics.

Leading experts in the field of decontamination sciences will be discussing key issues facing sterile services staff, at the IDSc annual conference – from the implementation of regulation and standards, to the drive to achieve savings and effic

The NHS faces major changes and unprecedented challenges ahead, but there are also opportunities to deliver improvement. At AfPP 2012, the Chief Nursing Officer for Wales discussed the impact of these changes, on perioperative practitioners, and highlighted their role in ensuring quality and safety. LOUISE FRAMPTON reports.

CRAIG FOREBACK and GARY DOWTHWAITE review alternative ways to diagnose and monitor ketoacidosis using assays for the major ketone body, 3-ß-Hydroxybutyrate, which have been available on automated analysers since 1987.

The British Association for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition is calling on the Government to develop a National Nutritional Strategy, following its latest screening survey which finds that malnutrition continues to affect one-in-four adults on admission to hospitals.

MELISSA ROCHON BSc Hons (Nursing) examines areas covered in root cause analysis of surgical site infection (SSI), and promotes the use of a multidisciplinary group to review elevated rates and themes arising from such analysis against the Trust’s quality and safety agenda.

Millions of interactions take place every day between patients and healthcare professionals, without any problems. However, when there are problems do we have the correct systems in place to meet the expectations of the public, the hopes of the patient and the frameworks in place to learn ‘how do to better next time’? KATE WOODHEAD RGN DMS reports.