RECENT NEWS

Too many people with a learning disability are not getting access to the right care and treatment at the right time, leading to avoidable deaths in some cases. One of the biggest barriers to achieving good care for people with a learning disability is an overall lack of understanding of their needs, according to recent case investigations by the Ombudsman Service.

Public Health England (PHE) and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) are investigating 15 cases of septicaemia caused by the bacteria Bacillus cereus. The affected babies were in neonatal intensive care units at a small number of hospitals in England. One baby has died, while the others are responding to antibiotic treatment.

The latest NHS staff sickness absence rates released by the Health and Social Care Informatics Centre (HSCIC) show a decrease in overall sickness absence, falling to 4.44% in January 2014 from 4.72% in January 2013.

NICE is currently developing recommendations aimed at ensuring safe staffing levels on wards.

Paediatric surgeons and doctors at Great Ormond Street Hospital are set to play a key role in a new fetal surgery research project which will create better tools, imaging techniques and therapies for future operations on unborn babies. The ground-breaking project has attracted a £10 million award from the Wellcome Trust and the Engineering and Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC) to develop these technologies.

The 'Healthcare Associated Infection Annual Report 2013', published by Health Protection Scotland (HPS), highlights that healthcare-associated infection (HCAI) rates in Scotland continue to pose a significant threat to patient safety.

New research published in the American Journal of Transplantation suggests that drugs commonly used to prevent organ rejection after transplantation may also be helpful for combating HIV.

A simple test to measure the levels of nitric oxide a person is breathing out to help with the diagnosis and management of asthma has been given the green light by NICE.

Research from specialist recruiter Randstad Care indicates that over one-fifth of nurses worry about losing their job.

Almost half of all hip fracture patients in England are being denied NICErecommended pain relief as part of their care, audit results reveal.

Details of Completing the Picture 2014, the annual educational symposium for biomedical engineering and clinical procurement specialists in the UK, have been announced by Welch Allyn.

Statins may provide a new weapon to slow the progression of multiple sclerosis (MS). In a two-year trial, the drug simvastatin slowed brain shrinkage.

Smiths Medical has launched a new website for its Level 1 Hotline Blood and Fluid Warmer.

Researchers have found that low levels of sodium, known as hyponatremia, prior to transplantation does not increase the risk of death following liver transplant.

Lung cancer rates in women have risen by 73% over the last 40 years according to recently released Cancer Research UK figures.

Maquet and Pulsion have announced a collaboration to distribute the EIRUS continuous glucose and lactate monitoring solution in Europe.

The Medical Defence Union (MDU) believes that the proposals to introduce a criminal sanction for wilful neglect will lead to large numbers of doctors being investigated.

According to survey findings from Healthwatch England, 18% of people admit to having knowingly used A&E for a non-emergency at some point in their lives.

According to research undertaken by the British Medical Association (BMA) public health consultants and trainees believe that the recent health reforms have failed to benefit the public’s health and more than half of specialists have considered leaving the profession.

A study led by the University of Greenwich shows that patients in intensive care units (ICUs) have a better chance of survival if there are more doctors and nurses working on the unit.