RECENT NEWS

Hospitals in England dealt with 6,370 admissions for stress in the 12 months to May 2012; a 7% rise on the previous 12 month period.

Latest Health Protection Agency (HPA) surveillance figures indicate that, for the first time in five years, the risk of resistance developing in currently recommended gonorrhoea treatments fell slightly in 2011.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is launching a new publication – the Good Clinical Practice Guide – which covers legislation, guidance and good practice relating to the conduct of clinical trials of medicinal products for human use in the UK.

A study has shown beta-blockers are not associated with a lower risk of heart attacks or stroke in certain patients.

The Society for Obesity and Bariatric Anaesthesia (SOBA) has produced a 10 minute educational DVD entitled Safe anesthesia for the morbid obese patient. The DVD is aimed at the whole theatre team and not just anaesthetists.

New research, part funded by the British Heart Foundation, shows that high blood pressure among expectant mothers may have an effect on their child’s IQ in later life.

National charity Pancreatic Cancer Action and the Royal College of GPs have joined forces to develop the world’s first e-learning tool to help GPs diagnose pancreatic cancer earlier.

Rising demand for endoscopy procedures and a lack of surveillance for those at highest risk of developing bowel cancer could lead to more deaths from the disease, says Bowel Cancer UK.

Financial pressures are taking their toll on medical training, a new junior doctor leader has warned. Dr Ben Molyneux, a general practice trainee in London, was elected as the new chair of the BMA’s Junior Doctors Committee.

Mixed-sex accommodation breaches for hospitals in England have fallen by 99% since monitoring started almost two years ago, according to data published by the Department of Health.

Decisions on whether older people are put forward for surgery must not be based on assumptions of age and fitness, warns a new report from the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) and Age UK. It says that age should no longer be used as a shortcut to assessing suitability for treatment.

The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) and the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) are calling for ward rounds to be made the cornerstone of patient care, and for a ‘concerted culture change’ with clinical staff, managers and hospital executives engaging with, and focusing on, improving the quality of ward rounds.

New research shows that uptake of the national human papillomavirus (HPV) immunisation programme differs across the UK, revealing local health inequalities with regard to cervical cancer risk.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has published final positive guidance on the use of Mega Soft Patient Return Electrode mats, supplied by Interglobal Surgical in the UK.

A report from the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) shows a rise in written complaints on previous years, with around 3,100 written complaints a week being made against the NHS in 2011/12 – just over 162,100 for the year.

The British Association of Urological Nurses (BAUN) Conference, for nurses and practitioners working in urology, takes place at the Hilton Brighton Metropole, from 12-13 November.

NICE has produced a quality standard for stable angina that aims to help improve the diagnosis, care and treatment of the condition. There are currently estimated to be around two million people in England who have, or have had, angina.

Scientists at the University of Liverpool are leading a project to produce and test the first nanomedicines for treating HIV/AIDS.

Up to £99,000 will be made available for NHS organisations that come up with new digital services which improve patient care and help share information more easily across the NHS.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is asking for views on its plans for the next three years.