RECENT NEWS

A genetically modified fungi has been developed at the University of Westminster to kill human malaria parasites in mosquitoes. The research has been heralded as a significant development in the battle against malaria.

A new initiative has been launched to improve end-of-life care for heart failure patients in Glasgow and Clyde. British Heart Foundation Scotland, Marie Curie Cancer Care and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde are developing a new approach to palliative care for heart failure patients in hospital, hospices, care homes and at home.

There will be an enhancement of nursing leadership across the NHS as part of NHS modernisation plans, Health Secretary Andrew Lansley has announced. The chief nursing officer role will sit on the NHS Commissioning Board and there will also be a director of nursing in the Department of Health, with a greater public health focus.

According to a report from The NHS Information Centre, the number of recorded hospital admissions related to obesity rose by more than 30% last year, with admissions increasing from nearly 8,000 in 2008/09 to nearly 10,600 in 2009/10.

Professor Dame Sally Davies has been named as the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) for England. Dame Sally is the first woman to hold the post, which gives her responsibility for providing expert advice on a range of issues relating to the health of the nation, including the handling of health related emergencies.

Despite major cuts to front line services in the NHS, the health service is still short of specialist medical staff, concludes a recent White Paper on the medical employment market from Your World Recruitment.

Doctors and patients are being asked what steps doctors should take when faced with a conflict between their management responsibilities and their duty to patients as one of a series of questions being asked in a consultation on the revised draft of the GMC’s guidance on workplace issues faced by doctors.

Using midwives and other maternity staff more effectively is the key to improving maternity care in hospitals, according to a new Kings Fund report – Staffing in maternity units: getting the right people in the right place at the right time.

The Clinical Engineering Team of the Year Award is now open for entries. Interested entrants need to identify examples of team projects that have made a difference to your department or Hospital and brought innovation to the use, management or implementation of medical devices.

There is a belief among nurses working in the NHS that there are not enough staff to deliver good quality care to patients, according to a new survey from the Royal College of Nursing.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has opened a consultation on a new medical technology device to promote wound healing. The medical technology guidance draft was produced by the Medical Technologies Advisory Committee (MTAC), part of the Medical Technologies Evaluation Programme at NICE.

The Medical Research Council (MRC) has developed an accurate blood test for variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD). It is hoped that the prototype, which is said to be 100,000 times more sensitive than any previous attempt, will transform the diagnosis and screening of the brain disease.

A major consolidation programme which, it is claimed, will deliver huge savings to the NHS has almost been completed by NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) Details of the three year programme have been set out in a report presented to the NHSBT Board.

It has been reported that 70% of consultant surgeons, who took part in a national survey, said that they are expected to undertake elective operations while they are supposed to be on call for emergencies.

The UK Sector Skills Assessment 2011 has presented a wide-ranging review of the health sector’s skills and workforce needs, against a backdrop of rapid organisational and technological change, financial constraint and rising demand for services caused by an ageing population and increases in long-term conditions.

MS Society research has shown that damage to myelin can be reversed using stem cells.

According to a study published in the European Heart Journal exposure to noise from road traffic can increase the risk of stroke, particularly in those aged 65 years and over.

DTR Medical, a manufacturer of sterile single-use surgical instruments, has launched a new website (www.dtrmedical.com) designed to give customers increased functionality through the introduction of more userfriendly applications.

The UK is to double its current contribution to polio eradication over the next two years, said Prime Minister, David Cameron.

According to a study published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), people with Type 1 diabetes are nine times more likely to have had a virus infection than people without the condition.