RECENT NEWS

At a seminar held at Number 11 Downing Street, the British Society of Gastroenterology called for improvements in the delivery of 24- hour emergency endoscopy, at hospitals across the UK, to prevent unnecessary deaths from upper-gastrointestinal bleeding.

Toshiba has installed its first Aquilion One CT scanner in the UK at the Royal Bournemouth Hospital. The installation was formally opened by Nick Rogers, double Olympics silver medallist for sailing.

London’s first polyclinic, the Loxford Polyclinic in Redbridge, was recently opened at an official ceremony by Lord Darzi. The facility is the first in a new generation of multi-purpose health centres that will offer communities a comprehensive range of health services, as outlined in Lord Darzi’s Next Stage Review.

Professor Bernard Crump, CEO of the NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement has called for NHS clinicians and managers to find solutions that are "smarter and more innovative", in response to comments made about the likely impact of the next spending review. He said:“We all know that the recent pace of growth in funding for health services will not continue. But we must clear up any misconception that there’s a conflict between increasing quality and static budgets."

LTE Scientific has been named as one of the successful companies to be placed on the recently announced NHS Framework Agreement for ‘Maintenance of Washing and Sterilisation Equipment’.

Two high calibre clinicians have been awarded funding from the charity Yorkshire Cancer Research. The clinical research training fellowships have been awarded to Dr Oliver Donelly and Dr Mark Teo, from Leeds Institute of Molecular Medicine based at St. James's university hospital in Leeds.

The MS Society has called on Gordon Brown to ring-fence funds for stem cell research into multiple sclerosis (MS). Four years ago the UK Government announced a £50million windfall for stem cell science but there has been no evidence of significant UK advances in research into conditions such as multiple sclerosis (MS).

An urgent debate on the future of medical school fees is needed to stem the mounting debt crisis that threatens to bury the potential talent of thousands of students from disadvantaged backgrounds, the BMA has warned.

A list of more than 200 indicators of high quality care in the NHS is being published for the first time to help clinicians drive up the quality of care they deliver to patients, the Department of Health and The NHS Information Centre announced.

The National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) is calling on health practitioners and staff across England and Wales to follow recommendations, to improve patient safety for children and young people.

Researchers in the Department of Cardiovascular Sciences at the University of Leicester are developing a new way to make protein based drugs with potential applications in stroke, vascular inflammation, blood vessel formation, regenerative medicine and tissue engineering.

Sheffield-based B.Braun Medical has defended its position as the fastest growing major healthcare organisation in the UK with reported sales topping £100m for the first time.

Ambulance services in England have been given a strong endorsement for the way they deal with people who have non-urgent medical problems. Survey results released by the Care Quality Commission show that most of those who responded to the survey had a positive experience of the way they were looked after by the emergency ambulance service.

The RCN has launched phone line to allow members to talk in confidence about patient safety concerns at their workplace.

British Society of Gastroenterology (BSG) members are pioneering the UK’s largest randomised controlled drug intervention trial into the use of aspirin for gastrointestinal cancer prevention.

New guidance on child protection has been published by the BMA to help doctors dealing with suspected cases of abuse or neglect.

The NHS spent £350 million on external management consultants in the last financial year.

Thousands of people with or at risk of developing a potentially blinding form of glaucoma will benefit from a new guideline published by NICE and the National Clinical Guideline Centre.

NHS Evidence, a new service, will allow people working across health and social care to access a comprehensive range of sources of clinical and non-clinical evidence to help them make informed decisions about treatments and resources.

For men younger than 50 with prostate cancer, undergoing a radical prostatectomy can greatly increase their chances for longterm survival, according to a new study from Henry Ford Hospital.