RECENT NEWS

Chief Medical Officer, Professor Dame Sally Davies has announced that outdated rules designed to combat the threat of AIDS in the 1980s, when attitudes were very different and risks were less understood, will be modernised in line with the most recent science.

Imotech has supplied Cardiff University’s Welsh Institute for Minimal Access Therapy (WIMAT) Endoscopy skills lab, based at University Hospital Llandough, with two new fully digital flexible endoscopy stacks which will be available for training endoscopists using highquality simulation models.

A new imaging department has opened at Highgate Private Hospital. The diagnostic suite will now give patients access to state-of-the art equipment and specialist services, including computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), 3/4D ultrasound, digital fluoroscopy and digital X-ray services.

A new study by Public Health England (PHE) aims to establish the most significant reservoirs of a strain of antibiotic-resistant bacteria known as ESBL-positive E. coli that cause human illness in the UK.

Patients undergoing planned surgery appear more likely to die if they have their operation at the end of the week, a study published in the British Medical Journal has found.

With Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) groups aged 65 and over set to treble in the next 25 years, there is a growing need to rethink how accessible and appropriate end-of-life care is to people from diverse communities and their families, say palliative care experts.

The Association of British Healthcare Industries (ABHI), the association for the UK medical device industry, has welcomed the announcement that NHS England has completed the designation of 15 new Academic Health Science Networks (AHSNs).

Following initial discussion with the Royal College of Surgeons, NHS Employers and the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges have developed and launched the Certificate of Fitness for Honorary Practice, in response to problems with NHS consultant doctors being able to work temporarily or for short periods elsewhere in the NHS or at universities.

Wales has become the first UK nation to introduce a soft opt-out system of organ donation. Unless a person states a wish not to be a donor (opts out), their consent to donation will now be deemed to have been given.

The Healing Foundation Centre for Burns Research will look at understanding how the body responds to burn injury and developing new treatments for repair.

The Academy of Medical Royal Colleges and NHS Employers have published recommendations for safe trainee changeover.

Research involving more than 50,000 bowel cancer patients by the National Bowel Cancer Audit shows that four in five patients who underwent major surgery in England and Wales between April 2008 and March 2010 lived beyond two years of diagnosis.

Researchers found that 65% of people in the UK would rather suffer in silence than endure a face-to-face conversation about their intimate symptoms.

Almost three-quarters of NHS professionals do not think that quality of care in the NHS is given enough priority, according to a survey published in a King’s Fund report on patient-centred leadership.

The national chair of the Association of Healthcare Cleaning Professionals, Denise Foster, is calling for the introduction of nationally recognised qualifications and training standards for all NHS cleaning staff.

The World Health Organization has ranked Dublin’s Mater Private Hospital as the best hospital in Europe for Hand Hygiene. The WHO Save Lives: Clean Your Hands annual global campaign was launched in 2009.

New light is being shed on cancer spread, by Cancer Research UK scientists, which could help in the development of new treatments for patients, according to a study published in Nature Cell Biology.

Treatment with high potency statins (especially atorvastatin and simvastatin) may increase the risk of developing diabetes, suggests a paper published on bmj.com Statins are among the most widely prescribed medications for the prevention of cardiovascular events.

Reports of unprofessional behaviour by healthcare workers highlights the need for a culture change within the NHS, say medical student leaders. The research included 680 reports of memorable dilemmas within the previous 12 months from 2,327 students at 29 of the UK’s 32 medical schools.

Taking place alongside MEDICA, the world’s largest medical trade fair, the Medica Education Conference will cover subjects spanning a variety of sectors – from emergency medicine to gender-specific medicine.