RECENT NEWS

Industry consolidator Surgical Instrument Group Holdings (SIGH) and Caterham Surgical Supplies have been appointed exclusive UK distributors for the DelacroixChevalier range of Cardio Thoracic Instruments.

The European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Disease (ESCMID) – an organisation that explores risk assessment, knowledge sharing and best practices in the fight against infectious disease – is calling on the healthcare industry to lead by example and implement universal flu vaccination for healthcare workers.

Alzheimer’s Research UK has welcomed a plan to fund a Dementia Research Institute in the UK, announced by Prime Minister David Cameron.

A new report identifies more than £200 million of annual savings for health and social care services through simple steps to tackle the nation’s multi-billion pound malnutrition burden.

A study from the University of Eastern Finland shows that idiopathic pancreatitis is often caused by small gallstones that are difficult to observe prior to surgery.

The Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) has called on surgeons and hospitals to prepare for changes that aim to drive up standards of care in cosmetic surgery.

The Joint Committee for Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has recommended the extension of Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccination programme to men who have sex with men (MSM) aged up to 45 years.

Doctors may soon be able to pinpoint those most at risk of prolonged and serious symptoms of concussion using a simple blood test.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has issued its first guideline on the use of transfusions in adults, children and young people to ensure they are used only when necessary.

A landmark stage has been reached with the construction of Eastwood Park’s new multimillion pound training facility. To mark progress on reaching the highest point of the building and also the half way stage of the building project, a traditional ‘topping out’ ceremony recently took place.

Public Health England (PHE) is scaling down screening arrangements following a sustained decline in the Ebola outbreak in West Africa

NICE has recommended the Triage PlGF test (Alere International) and the Elecsys immunoassay sFlt-1/PlGF ratio (Roche Diagnostics), used together with clinical judgement, to help rule-out pre-eclampsia in women between their 20th and 35th week of pregnancy.

The inpatient survey in England shows that, over the past nine years, Trusts have seen only a modest improvement in quality of care as judged by patients, says a new report from The King’s Fund and Picker Institute Europe.

The Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Professor Dame Sally Davies is calling for action on a wide range of women’s health issues – most notably obesity, ovarian cancer and ‘taboo problems’ such as incontinence and the menopause. The report highlights the fact that the UK has one of the lowest survival rates in the OECD nations for ovarian cancer and warns that obesity is the biggest threat to women's health and the health of future generations.

Whole genome sequencing is a faster, cheaper and more effective way of diagnosing tuberculosis (TB), according to a new study published in the journal Lancet Respiratory Medicine.

The 11th annual report of the National Lung Cancer Audit (NLCA), published by the Royal College of Physicians (RCP), reveals that despite significant progress in lung cancer care during the first five years of the audit, very little has changed since then.

The Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, has announced a new ambition to reduce the rate of stillbirths, neonatal and maternal deaths in England by 50% by 2030. The number of brain injuries occurring during or soon after birth will also be targeted as part of a new commitment by the Government, in partnership with consultants, midwives and other experts across the country.

Minister for Universities and Science Jo Johnson MP helped to break ground to mark the construction of a new University of Glasgow-led clinical imaging centre. The minister was visiting the site at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital where the new Imaging Centre of Excellence (ICE) will be based.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has successfully bid for £2 million of LIBOR funding to carry out a direct skeletal fixation (DSF) trial, which will enable some veterans and Service personnel to have potentially life-changing surgery.

In a recent study, every hospital Trust in England was contacted, using Freedom of Information requests, about their ‘Never Events’. These are defined as: “serious, largely preventable patient safety incidents that should not occur if the available preventative measures have been implemented”. Published in the journal Anaesthesia, the study found that surgical ‘Never Events’ happen approximately once in every 16,500 operations, leading to major harm around once in 250,000 operations.