RECENT NEWS

NHS England is publishing new guidelines that will strengthen the management of conflicts of interest and ensure transparent and accountable healthcare.

The latest figures released by NHS Digital show that NHS staff sickness absence has decreased from 4% in September 2015 to 3.99% in September 2016. The data considers sickness absence rates and total days lost supplied by staff groups, Health Education England (HEE) regions and organisations.

A new study demonstrates ‘unacceptably high’ rates of hospital-acquired infections among children in the UK and Europe.

By 2050, the death rates from malignant melanoma will have decreased from their current levels, but the number of people dying from the disease will have increased due to the ageing population.

The General Medical Council (GMC) has published revised, expanded and reorganised guidance on confidentiality for all doctors practising in the UK.

Tuberculosis (TB) is a disease still associated with social deprivation. In 2015, rates of TB among people living in the most deprived areas of England were nearly six times as high as those of people living in wealthier areas, with a clear trend of an increasing rate of TB with increasing deprivation.

The mcr-1 gene –a gene that makes bacteria resistant to colistin, an antibiotic of last resort, and that is transferrable between bacteria – has been found in a wide variety of strains of Escherichia coliin China following widespread use of colistin in agriculture

A new tool from the Royal College of Physicians (RCP), that enables ward staff to quickly assess a patient’s eyesight in order to help prevent them falling or tripping while in hospital, is being made available to Trusts and local health boards in England and Wales.

The Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) has issued a statement to say that it strongly believes that the four-hour standard is a vital measure of performance and safety.

The majority of NHS staff feel that their workplaces are improving, according to the results of a survey.

Decisions on any future hospital bed closures will only be supported if certain patient test criteria are met.

Women are up to three times more likely to experience discomfort after surgery, according to research released by the Royal College of Anaesthetists (RCoA).

A team from Cardiff University’s School of Engineering is hoping to create a smart patch to detect the early onset of osteoarthritis (OA) in the knees. It is currently exploring the use of damage sensors from aircraft wings to catch subsonic cracking sounds in joints before the disease fully develops.

NHS England data show that the number of cancelled planned operations has further increased. Figures show that 21,249 planned operations were cancelled for non-clinical reasons from October to December 2016.

Toshiba Medical has announced a significant managed equipment services (MES) agreement with Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust.

The Care Quality Commission's (CQC) chief inspector of hospitals has warned that the NHS is now on ‘a burning platform’ and that patient safety is at risk due to ‘unprecedented’ demand.

A new report published by the European Heart Network (EHN) shows that death rates for coronary heart disease have declined by 46% in the UK since 2003.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has published a list of drug-resistant bacteria that pose the greatest threat to human health.

The Health Foundation recently selected twenty-two new projects to be part of the fifth round of its £1.5 million innovation programme, Innovating for Improvement. The programme aims to improve healthcare delivery and/or the way people manage their own healthcare by testing and developing innovative ideas and approaches, and putting them into practice.

NICE has published final guidance recommending dapagliflozin for treating type 2 diabetes in ‘triple therapy’. Dapagliflozin can be added as a third drug where two drugs for type 2 diabetes are not controlling a person’s blood sugar.