RECENT NEWS

Those with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), together with other chronic illnesses, are at greater risk of adverse medication reactions, according to a new study.

The Department of Health has confirmed that it will grant the Care Quality Commission (CQC) the power to rate even more healthcare services, such as those that offer medical advice and prescriptions from GPs online, so that this becomes the default way that the regulator presents the judgements from its inspections.

P3 Medical has announced the acquisition of 100% of the share capital of Stericom.

A University of Manchester spin-out behind a medical device designed to detect life threatening infections will kick off its first clinical trial following a £1.4 million investment boost.

Increasing the amount of information held in electronic Summary Care Records is improving care and helping to ease winter pressures, according to NHS Digital.

The first comprehensive European advice on deep vein thrombosis was recently published in the European Heart Journal. The recommendations were produced by the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Working Group on Aorta and Peripheral Vascular Diseases and Working Group on Pulmonary Circulation and Right Ventricular Function.

The Government has announced a new fasttrack route into the NHS for ‘breakthrough’ medicines and technologies. This, it claims, will speed up the time it takes for patients to benefit from ground-breaking products for conditions such as cancer, dementia and diabetes.

A new report has warned that the NHS is failing to manage basic communication systems that are often critical to the safety of patients. Writing in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, Carl Macrae, of the University of Oxford, commented that many communication processes in the NHS are still commonly viewed as mundane administrative tasks, instead of safety-critical processes that are essential to safe care.

Asthma diagnosis and monitoring, and asthma management evidence-based clinical guidelines, commissioned by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), developed by the National Guideline Centre (NGC) and hosted by the Royal College of Physicians (RCP), have been published. This is the first ever NICE clinical guidance on asthma to be published.

The latest national children and young people’s hospital survey shows that Queen Victoria Hospital (QVH) in East Grinstead has achieved the highest rating from its patients.

Steelco SpA has announced a new collaboration in the UK for the provision of endoscopy decontamination equipment and systems.

A new Specialist Emergency Care Hospital in Northumbria is proving that direct admission under respiratory specialist care 24/7 can radically reduce death rates from chronic lung disease, according to new research presented at the British Thoracic Society Winter Meeting on 8 December 2017 at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in Westminster.

Work to build a new £7 million endoscopy suite at Harrogate District Hospital is now underway and patients, visitors and staff are being asked to bear in mind that this will lead to the temporary closure of a main corridor for a few months to allow construction to take place.

Latest figures released by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) reveal a decline in the number of people applying to start a nursing degree. Statistics for 2017 show an 18% drop in applications.

A sickness surveillance system will help the NHS plan for surges in demand this winter by tracking outbreaks of norovirus, which causes vomiting and diarrhoea, and other illness around the country.

UK dementia research charity Alzheimer’s Research UK is calling on the Government to protect dementia treatments as the NHS copes with future budget concerns.

A payout of £45,000 has been awarded to the family of an 81-year-old woman who was given life-prolonging treatment against her will for 22 months.

The British Medical Association (BMA) has warned that Brexit risks undermining healthcare in the UK and Europe in an address to the European Parliament.

A pilot use of the Electronic Prescription Service (EPS) in selected integrated urgent care settings has been launched, NHS Digital has announced.

NHS England is asking every hospital Trust to adopt the Royal College of Physicians’ new approach to clinical assessment, also being targeted by the US Navy, in a bid to save nearly 2000 lives and 627,000 bed days every year.