RECENT NEWS

A new public website has been launched – www.phin.org.uk – which enables patients and GPs to directly compare around 200 independent hospitals on a range of quality of care indicators.

Limbs & Things, a designer and manufacturer of medical training simulators, has been recognised for its innovative contribution to skills training in medicine with the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in Innovation.

The NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) has published its Strategic Plan 2013-2018.

The British Obesity & Metabolic Surgery Society (BOMSS) has produced a new set of professionals standards aimed at helping surgeons achieve the highest possible level of conduct in bariatric practice.

About 440,000 new cases of drug-resistant tuberculosis emerge annually, causing around 150,000 deaths. Statistics such as these have led the Department of Health to state that antibiotic resistance poses one of the greatest threats to human health.

Experts writing in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine have disagreed with the conclusion that PIP breast implants do not show any evidence of significant risk to human health.

Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital has been praised as an ‘excellent example’ of patient care in today’s NHS by England’s Chief Nursing Officer, Jane Cummings. She was impressed by the achievements of staff at the hospital in developing and implementing its pioneering Patient Vision.

The Association of Perioperative Practice (AfPP), in collaboration with Molnlycke Health Care, will be hosting a series of Patient Safety Roadshows across the country.

Following a US study, published in the American Journal of Infection Control,* showing a 53% drop in rates of C.difficile infection when disposable BP (blood pressure) cuffs were used, Welch Allyn has introduced the EcoCuff – a single patient use, short-term disposable BP cuff. Compared to traditional style cuffs, the EcoCuff is claimed to reduce costs and potentially eradicate erroneous blood pressure readings.

A new UK five-year Antimicrobial Resistance Strategy and Action Plan is in development and is expected to be published by the Department of Health in the summer.

Eastwood Park’s water hygiene course portfolio now offers a more and concise learning opportunity, equipping staff with practical water hygiene skills in a shorter time frame.

A study published on bmj.com suggests that telehealth may not be a cost-effective addition to standard support and treatment for patients with long-term conditions.

Following inspections carried out last summer, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) has published a review of privacy, dignity and nutrition in both care homes and hospitals.

High blood pressure and obesity are no longer confined to wealthy countries, a new study has found. These health risks have traditionally been associated with affluence and, in 1980, they were more prevalent in countries with a higher income.

Analysis published in the Lancet shows life expectancy in the UK has improved over the last 20 years, but levels of ill health have not. The UK is now below average compared with 18 other countries.

Five senior healthcare leaders from across the UK have been offered a prestigious Quality Improvement Fellowship by the Health Foundation.

Over three quarters of children see a senior paediatrician within four hours of admission, but there remains a shortage of consultants at peak times, according to the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health’s Back to Facing the Future report.

Public satisfaction with the NHS stabilised last year after a record fall in 2011, according to British Social Attitudes survey data published by The King’s Fund.

A new national body has been established to improve health and wellbeing and reduce inequalities.

The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has issued a medical device alert for detergent and disinfectant wipes used on reusable medical devices with plastic surfaces.