RECENT NEWS

Mushroom extracts could halt the growth of breast cancer cells, suggests research published in the British Journal of Cancer.

According to a recent study, hemoglobinbased blood substitutes increase the risk of death by 30% and virtually triple the possibility of a heart attack.

An increase in paperwork is preventing nurses from spending enough time caring for patients, according to a new survey by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN).

A survey by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has found that eight out of ten nurses say they finish shifts feeling upset or distressed because they have not been able to ensure their patients have been treated with dignity. Theresa Fyffe, RCN Scotland director, said dignity should not be an after thought or an optional extra.

Fear of hereditary cancer is often overestimated according to a survey by Cancerbackup, which has now merged with Macmillan Cancer Support.

The results of a survey of over 250 surgeons, carried out by the Royal College of Surgeons, suggest that operations are being cancelled because equipment is being damaged and delayed by out-sourced private decontamination centres. The survey revealed widespread frustration and concern, with two-thirds of respondents unhappy about the availability and condition of instruments sent for sterilisation away from the hospital.

Mixed-sex “accommodation” in NHS hospitals will be abolished within the next 12 months, the Health Secretary Alan Johnson announced at the annual conference of the Royal College of Nursing. He admitted, however, that Labour used the “wrong wording” in its 2001 manifesto, which pledged to ban “mixed-sex wards”.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has announced its final appraisal determination advising against the use of Erlotinib (Tarceva) as a treatment for non-small cell lung cancer.

Asthma UK has released a report revealing significant differences in the numbers of emergency hospital admissions for children with asthma across the whole of the UK.

The Healthcare Commission has launched the biggest inspection programme ever carried out in NHS acute Trusts to check whether they are meeting standards on infection control. It will inspect all 172 acute Trusts annually as part of a drive to: reduce death and illness from healthcare-associated infections, improve the experience of patients in hospital, and increase public confidence in the NHS. The programme was established at the request of the Secretary of State for Health.

A study at the University of Leicester has concluded that screening people at risk of impaired glucose tolerance or Type 2 diabetes, enabling early treatment, would be cost-effective.

Graphite Capital has sold Summit Medical to The Riverside Company, a global private equity firm. Summit’s core products include bone cement mixing systems for hip and knee replacements, orthopaedic implants and a blood transfusion system for reinfusing a patient’s own blood.

Eastwood Park Training Centre has been appointed the official training partner of the IDSc (Institute of Decontamination Sciences).

Diabetes UK has warned that the Government will fail to deliver on standards it set itself five years ago if it does not refocus NHS efforts. In 2003, the National Service Framework (NSF) for Diabetes set out a vision for diabetes services in England to be delivered by 2013. Diabetes UK has reviewed progress and concluded that while some people with diabetes in some parts of the country receive excellent care, many are still not benefiting from the effective delivery of diabetes services that the NSF set out to achieve.

Details of a programme aimed at improving the safety of anaesthesia were recently highlighted at a conference held by the College of Operating Department Practitioners (CODP) at Fontwell Park racecourse, in Arundel. The “Improvement Through Partnership” initiative has identified 12 recommendations as part of a two-year project supported by the Royal College of Anaesthetists, CODP, the Association for Perioperative Practice and the Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland.

The burns unit at Whiston Hospital, part of the St Helens and Knowsley NHS Trust, which pioneered the use of cleansing hand gel for all ward visitors 11 years ago, has taken a further step forward in its aims to prevent infection.

Researchers at the University of North Carolina have suggested that melanoma survival depends on where the skin cancer first appears.

Health Secretary, Alan Johnson, claims that nurses could double the amount of time they spend on direct patient care and slash unnecessary paperwork, as a result of a £50 m project aimed at improving efficiency on wards.

More patients are rating the care provided by NHS hospitals as “excellent”, according to data published by the Healthcare Commission. The survey of patients found that 42% of respondents gave their care the top possible rating, up from 38% in 2002, and an increase from 41% in the last survey.

Throat cancer patients could soon need fewer operations, saving the NHS millions of pounds a year, due to a new speech valve developed by the University of Hull and Medway School of Pharmacy.