FEATURE ARTICLES

With the National Audit Office’s findings high on the agenda, the Healthcare Associated Infections conference focused on the need for continuous improvement in reducing all avoidable healthcare associated infections (HCAIs) – including those related to the use of devices such as catheters and central lines, surgical site infections and pneumonias LOUISE FRAMPTON reports

The seventh annual Healthcare Associated Infections conference, held at Westminster, London, examined the tools and techniques being employed to reduce healthcare-associated infections, sustain progress, and drive forward the Department of Health’s goal of ensuring zero tolerance. LOUISE FRAMPTON reports.

Professor Norbert Runkel, chairman of the International Negative Pressure Wound Therapy Expert Panel, speaks to MATTHEW BAILEY on why the time is right to seek a consensus on negative pressure wound therapy.

A survey of NHS staff shows that job satisfaction is high and there has been significant investment in training, but there is a need for greater involvement in decision-making processes and staff continue to feel under-valued.

A recent study shows that many clinicians overrate their abilities in CPR, while compliance with basic guidelines and technique are generally poor. Resuscitation experts warn that there is a need for increased training and use of feedback devices to improve survival, following cardiac arrest. LOUISE FRAMPTON reports.

Access to a pioneering cancer treatment is starting to widen in the UK, offering hope to patients with inoperable tumours. In the US, clinicians have reported success in treating an increasing number of complex and difficult cases – painlessly and with minimal side effects. LOUISE FRAMPTON reports.

Stroke is one of the top three causes of death, the largest cause of adult disability in England, and costs the NHS over £3 billion a year. In the past, it was treated as a low priority within the NHS, but there have been significant efforts to improve stroke services in the last few years. A new report investigates the progress achieved so far. The Clinical Services Journal reports.

Healthcare organisations are employing reactive purchasing models that are both wasteful and risky, warns BRIAN DE FRANCESCA. Moreover, as new and converging technologies present increasing challenges, who exactly should be responsible for effective procurement?

An expert medical team at Spire Alexandra Hospital in Chatham, Kent, is providing a groundbreaking new treatment in orthopaedic surgery – the first of its kind worldwide. The technique was recently used to save a patient from amputation, for whom conventional surgery had failed. The Clinical Services Journal reports.

The latest guidance, best practice and innovations in wound management will be discussed at this year’s Tissue Viability Society conference and exhibition.

KATE WOODHEAD RGN DMS considers the importance of skin preparation in reducing surgical site infection and reviews the latest evidence on best practice.

A new report from the National Audit Office highlights the unacceptably wide variation in standards of care for major trauma cases in England. MATTHEW BAILEY reports.

As an increasing number of non-traditional users integrate point-of-care ultrasound into best practice, the technology is enabling faster diagnosis of life threatening conditions, reducing the risk of invasive procedures and improving patient outcomes. LOUISE FRAMPTON reports.

The sharing of information between GPs and hospitals on prescribed medicines, when a patient moves between services, is often patchy, incomplete, and not shared quickly enough. The Clinical Services Journal reports.

Following the recent news that almost half of all nursing staff have suffered a needlestick injury, The Clinical Services Journal examines the background and general health and safety issues relating to blood-borne viruses, outlining their potential implications for hospitals.

Certain trauma patients have been “neglected” as priorities in the NHS, according to the national clinical director for trauma care. This is about to change, he claims, with the introduction of the Best Practice Tariff and raised media interest in trauma services, following the Iraq war. LOUISE FRAMPTON reports.

From the risks and benefits of bowel cancer screening, to the burden of disease caused by alcohol consumption and obesity, the BSG’s annual meeting will discuss the hottest topics in gastroenterology and hepatology.

COLIN CALLOW, senior programme manager with the NHS Technology Adoption Centre, has been working with clinicians and managers to support the implementation of Doppler guided fluid management at three NHS acute Trusts, which are representative of routine clinical practice across England.

The latest reports show that improvements have been achieved in bowel cancer treatment, but gaps remain. Screening approaches, the use of diagnostic imaging and the wide variations that exist in surgical care have all been identified as priority areas that must be addressed

Patient care is being compromised by poor communication within healthcare teams and with patients, according to the National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death.