RECENT NEWS

The Royal College of Surgeons, psychologists from the University of Exeter, the Medical Women’s Federation and Scalpel have produced a video podcast designed to encourage women to embark on and succeed in a surgical career.

David Willetts, Minister for Universities and Science has announced a £3.7 m investment to fund projects that apply innovative photonics technologies to solve challenges in the health sector.

NHS Supply Chain has launched a new heart valves framework agreement which offers 242 new lines of equipment, boosting the total offering to circa 650 lines from eight suppliers.

Medical registrars are the backbone of any hospital delivering patient care round the clock.

Patches giving oestrogen through the skin could be an easy and safe alternative to the hormone therapies used to treat prostate cancer, according to new research published in the Lancet Oncology.

Data presented at the recent Diabetes UK Professional Conference shows gaps in patients’ understanding about the potential side effects of treatments for type 2 diabetes, such as hypoglycaemia.

A nationwide network of surgical clinical trial centres are being set up with the aim of improving the delivery of surgical care for patients.

NHS Staff Survey results for 2012 showed a significant rise in reported bullying of staff. The report found that 29% of all staff report having been harassed, bullied or abused by patients in the previous 12 months, with over 23% reporting harassment, bullying, or abuse from NHS managers, team leaders or other colleagues.

Hospitals in England reported 11,740 inpatient admissions with a primary diagnosis of obesity in 2011/12, according to analysis from the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC).

Intensive care patients at The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust have been provided with adapted iPads to allow them to keep in touch with their families. Trollies have been fitted with iPads on levers which tilt over patients, allowing them to make ‘Facetime’ video calls from their beds.

England’s Chief Medical Officer, Professor Dame Sally Davies, has called for global action to tackle the catastrophic threat of antimicrobial resistance, which in 20 years could see people dying following minor surgery.

Dementia, stroke, cancer, and end-of-life care are among 32 new indicators that have been put forward for inclusion in the new Clinical Commissioning Group Outcomes Indicator Set (CCG OIS, formerly known as the Commissioning Outcomes Framework).

A new contract for hospital consultants was introduced in October 2003 in exchange for a significant increase in consultants’ pay. However, according to the National Audit Office (NAO), there is still room for improvement in how Trusts manage their consultants.

More than 80% of patients suspected of having cancer are being referred by their GP to a specialist within their first two consultations, with more than half being sent to see a specialist at the first appointment, according to new research published in the British Journal of Cancer.

HORIBA’s medical division in the UK is now able to share and draw on expertise and information from other industry areas such as scientific, environmental and automotive following the announcement that the UK’s HORIBA Group companies have been brought together into one company to establish HORIBA UK Ltd.

The Healthcare Infection Society (HIS) and Infection Prevention Society (IPS) Spring Meeting will take place on 24 April at the East Midlands Conference Centre in Nottingham.

BMA council chair, Mark Porter, has called for national oversight of workforce planning to prevent the over-supply or under-supply of doctors.

The UK will face a shortfall of 61,200 nurses by 2050 due to skills shortages, an ageing workforce and restrictive migration policy, according to Randstad Care, a specialist recruiter.

Genetic errors driving the majority of breast cancers could be caused by a hyperactive enzyme called APOBEC3B, according to researchers at the University of Minnesota.

The Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has stated that that 1.5 million lives, which would be lost to cancer, could be saved every year if decisive measures were taken to achieve the World Health Organization’s (WHO) ‘25 by 25’ target; to reduce premature deaths due to non-communicable diseases (NCDs) by 25% by 2025.