RECENT NEWS

A new group has been set up to tackle the £300 million lost every year in the NHS because of medicine wastage. The group will also identify how people can be better supported in taking their medicines as prescribed – helping to improve their long-term health outcomes and ensuring better value for the NHS.

A report from the Health Foundation has found that moving care from hospitals into the community improves patient satisfaction.

Professor David Sanders, consultant gastroenterologist at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital (Regional GI and Liver Unit) and University of Sheffield has been awarded the Cuthbertson Medal 2011 by the Nutrition Society.

A non-invasive test that measures blood oxygen levels in newborns could help detect more congenital heart defects, says new research.

The Royal Marsden Hospital in London, and The Barts Cancer Centre at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital in London are two of the five academic oncology centres in Europe and the US to have installed a CyberKnife robotic radiosurgery system.

The Infection Prevention Society Scottish Branch is to hold its Annual National Conference on the 27 October 2011 at the Thistle Hotel in Glasgow. The event is free-of-charge for all attendees.

Asthma symptoms are commonly triggered by allergens in the environment, such as pollen and dust mites. These stimuli can cause the airways to tighten within minutes, causing breathing difficulties which range from mild to severe.

A radiosurgery treatment system, called the Novalis Tx, which is said to have the ability to destroy cancerous cells virtually anywhere in the body in a 20-minute session, has gone into service in The Christie at Salford Royal, a new radiotherapy centre in the North West.

The first patient has been enrolled, in Hamburg, Germany, for a pan-European study to determine whether an early comprehensive rhythm control strategy for the treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF) will benefit patients.

Work has commenced on a National Review of Asthma Deaths (NRAD) across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The project has been commissioned by the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP) and is led by The Royal College of Physicians (RCP), in partnership with a consortium of professional and patient bodies concerned with asthma.

The latest figures from the Health Protection Agency (HPA) reveal that 496 laboratory confirmed cases of measles were reported in England and Wales up to the end of May 2011, surpassing the annual 2010 total of 374 cases.

Nigel Scott, a colorectal surgeon at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals Trust, took up the role of president of the Association of Coloproctology (ACP) from 23 June. Mr Scott trained as a surgeon in the UK and at the Mayo Clinic in the USA.

St Anthony’s Hospital in Cheam has introduced new cardiac health screening programme. It consists of a questionnaire, an electrocardiogram (ECG) and a blood test with the results interpreted by a cardiologist.

Despite many initiatives and high profile public awareness campaigns, more than half of NHS patients with symptoms of stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA) still fail to get fast access to life-saving, stroke prevention surgery.

A set of management guides have been developed by BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) to help healthcare organisations better understand the EU Directive on the prevention of sharps injuries, legislation and to plan a compliance strategy.

Infection prevention and control has been a key aspect of clinical practice for years and has been viewed as the responsibility of a small number of individuals in the acute healthcare sector.

Rates of both C. difficile and MRSA are now at their lowest ever levels in Scotland, according to a report published by Health Protection Scotland.

The NHS may be facing a diabetes time bomb involving the future care of hundreds-ofthousands of younger patients, concludes a recent audit of diabetes in England and Wales.

After lobbying from the MS Society and after a recent consultation, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is to update the clinical guideline for MS.

Results of a HTA project indicate that hysterectomies are the most cost-effective solution for heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB), but less invasive techniques should be offered first.