RECENT NEWS

Almost 27,000 NHS posts in the UK are already earmarked for cuts, with almost 18,000 in England alone, the Royal College of Nursing has revealed. This is more than three times the number of posts identified by the RCN in England in April, and could leave patients vulnerable and services at risk.

Scotland’s acute hospitals are “generally clean and improving”, according to the first annual report of the Healthcare Environment Inspectorate (HEI). However, more work needs to be done in key areas, most notably in the cleaning of hospital equipment (including commodes and mattresses) and infection control policies being up to date on wards.

The National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) has issued advice aimed at minimising risk associated with anti-cancer medicines. A themed review of patient safety incidents involving anti-cancer medicines recommends that all clinical protocols, prescriptions and all other documents are written in a clear manner to minimise error.

An 89-year-old man died after hospital staff left him with only one rail on his bed to prevent him from falling out. Pensioner Francis Steele, of Lower Netchwood, Dilton Priors, near Bridgnorth, died two weeks after falling from his bed at Telford’s Princess Royal Hospital on 21 November 2007.

Perioperative practitioners are now being invited to submit their applications for this year’s Hilda Winifred Mears Award to be in with a chance of winning £1,000 towards a trip overseas as a medical volunteer.

Figures from the NHS Security Management Service show there were almost 57,000 violent assaults on NHS staff in the past year (a 3% rise), with the acute sector particularly badly affected.

The rate of children dying from cancer has fallen by almost 60% over the last 40 years, according to Cancer Research UK. In the late 1960s, around 940 children died from the disease every year, but this has fallen to around 290.

Thrombolysis is effective in patients aged 40 to 90 years and should not be restricted in elderly patients, according to a study published on bmj.com. A team of researchers across Europe assessed the effect of age on response to thrombolysis in over 29,000 patients.

The first audit of UK laparoscopic operating theatres has revealed that only one in ten hospitals are operating with the highest standard of equipment and resource considered adequate to carry out safe, advanced laparoscopic surgery.

The National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) has issued guidance for all NHS organisations across England and Wales, aimed at reducing the risk of harm or death through the incorrect use of loading doses.

A new report produced for Foresight by the Royal College of Physicians says that, in future, every health professional will need to be trained to identify people at risk from increasing body weight, and be skilled at managing obesity.

Doctors’ leaders are calling on ministers to ensure that graduates from UK medical schools have jobs to go to after graduation. This follows confirmation that applications for the next foundation programme have exceeded currently available vacancies.

East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust has appointed Vanguard Healthcare to deploy a mobile day surgery unit at William Harvey Hospital in Ashford to provide flexible extra capacity for surgical procedures.

A study conducted in the Netherlands and published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) confirms an earlier report, from the US, that the use of a surgical safety checklist significantly reduces surgical morbidity and mortality.

When the human papillomavirus (HPV) is found in cancer tumours of the tonsil and base of the tongue, patients are more likely to survive following treatment.

Researchers have found that deactivating nerves in the kidneys reduces blood pressure in patients who are not responding to drug treatments for hypertension.

People who contract gastroenteritis from drinking water contaminated with E. coli are at an increased risk of developing high blood pressure, kidney problems and heart disease in later life, according to a study published online in the British Medical Journal.

The National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) has issued guidance aimed at reducing delays in the provision of blood and blood components to patients in an emergency situation.

The cost of hiring locum or temporary doctors for NHS hospitals in England has increased to more than £3/4 billion a year since the introduction of EU regulations to reduce doctors’ hours, the Royal College of Surgeons has reported.

Women who have had the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine could need only two HPV screening tests for the rest of their lives, according to new calculations being presented at the NCRI Cancer Conference in Liverpool.