RECENT NEWS

The Association for Perioperative Practice (AfPP) has announced details of a career day for healthcare professionals at all levels aiming to make their mark in a competitive job market (10 May 2012, Old Trafford, Manchester).

A double-blind, placebo-controlled study of 494 children showed that supplementation of Lactobacillus reuteri Protectis significantly reduced episodes of diarrhoea.

Healthcare guidance body NICE has published draft recommendations on the diagnosis and management of lower limb peripheral arterial disease (PAD).

A study of a new less invasive technology to prevent rupture of aortic aneurysm (a swelling in the largest artery in the body, the aorta) has found better early survival, when compared with the standard open surgery method but equivalent survival in the long-term, with higher costs from re-interventions aimed at protecting against rupture.

A Birmingham hospital is offering comfort care packs for patients nearing the end of their life, and their families. Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham (QEHB) is to introduce the pilot project across 10 clinical areas, including two critical care areas and the coronary care unit.

Health secretary, Andrew Lansley, has launched the Chief Clinical Information Officers (CCIO) Leaders Network, a professional network designed to support doctors, nurses and allied health professionals who are stepping up to take the lead on IT and the use of information in healthcare.

A cheap and safe antibiotic that is widely available in the developing world might have a new use as a tuberculosis (TB) treatment, according to new research.

NICE has published a new quality standard and guidance on patient experience in adult NHS services. The new standard includes ensuring that patients are given the opportunity to discuss their health beliefs, concerns and preferences in order to personalise their care.

Mortality rates for approximately 5,000 patients each year undergoing a major form of artery surgery have fallen by as much as two thirds in four years (from 7.9% to 2.4%), according to the first UK-wide audit of elective Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA) repair.

An independent commission has been set up by the NHS Confederation, Age UK and the Local Government Association (LGA), with a view to improving dignity in care for older people.

Trailblazing nurses who have advanced frontline care are to be recognised in a national awards ceremony. Welch Allyn is seeking nurses to be nominated for their ‘Pioneers of Care Award’, which will be presented at the Florence Nightingale Museum on 15 June, 2012.

Earlier diagnosis of a rare condition and better coordinated care will help improve the quality of life for people with rare diseases and their families, according to the first ever UK plan on rare diseases, published for consultation by the Department of Health.

Two new training modules focusing on the challenges of sterility maintenance and wet packs within a hospital’s central sterilisation department are now available from Kimberly- Clark Health Care’s Knowledge Network Clinical Education Programme.

A new survey from the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) found that over a quarter (28%) of consultant physicians surveyed rate their hospital’s ability to deliver continuity of care as poor or very poor.

Over £100 m will be invested in NHS clinical research facilities to develop new treatments to benefit thousands of patients.

Patients are now almost twice as likely to be screened in hospital for venous thromboembolism (VTE) than in 2010, helping save thousands of lives, Health Minister Simon Burns has revealed.

People with long-term conditions, such as diabetes or heart disease, are two to three times more likely to experience mental health problems than the general population.

The latest NICE guidance on four new generation cardiac computed tomography (CT) scanners supports their use in the NHS in England for people with suspected or known coronary artery disease (CAD) in whom imaging is difficult with earlier generation CT scanners.

New guidance from the General Medical Council will prevent doctors entering into contracts or agreements that seek to stop them raising concerns about poor quality care.

Living in sunnier climates may curb the likelihood of developing inflammatory bowel disease, particularly after the age of 30, suggests a large, long-term US study, published online in the journal Gut.