RECENT NEWS

Improvement of non-technical skills in theatre must be made a priority, according to high profile speakers at this year’s Association for Perioperative Practice (AfPP) Congress. Seventy per cent of disasters are caused by a failure in communication – yet, in the clinical setting, there is often poor awareness of the role of “human factors” in causing surgical harm.

Alliance Medical has completed the state-of-the-art upgrade of four of their mobile MRI units, which means they now have the largest number of HDXt scanners in the UK. The upgrades have been completed in partnership with GE Healthcare and AK Smit, the first time that GE Healthcare has completed upgrades to the latest HDXt level on mobile scanners outside of the US.

Patients in Portsmouth and surrounding areas will soon have access to one of the UK’s first molecular CT scanners in the redeveloped Queen Alexandra Hospital. The new Siemens system combines CT with molecular PET to provide detailed "hybrid" images.

The number of eligible women undergoing cervical screening increased by just under 400,000 in 2008/09, according to new data from the NHS Information Centre. A report shows the number of eligible women aged 25 to 64 being screened rose by just under 12% last year, from 3.2 million to 3.6 million.

For the first time, The Royal Society of Medicine (RSM) and University College London Hospitals (UCLH) will host a two-day symposium in central London this month to discuss the latest challenges and developments in the treatment of aortic disease, including aneurysms and dissections.

A drug used to decrease stomach acid and prevent stress ulcers in critically ill patients increases the risk of ventilator-acquired pneumonia, according to researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, in the US.

A research project led by UCLH and UCL has discovered that an experimental therapy using sound waves may offer people with early stage prostate cancer an alternative treatment option.

Maternity professionals are doing more to ensure safe care is delivered reliably to mothers and babies, but there are still significant barriers impeding their progress, according to a new report published by The King’s Fund.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has issued guidance which states that bevacizumab, sorafenib and temsirolimus are not recommended as firstline treatment options for advanced and/or metastatic renal cell carcinoma.

More than half of cancer patients in England are still not benefiting from free or discounted parking when they visit hospital, despite Government guidance recommending this for people with long-term illnesses.

New guidance announced by Health Minister Ann Keen states that all hospitals with emergency departments should establish an acute oncology service that can quickly identify the symptoms and treat patients who develop severe side-effects from chemotherapy, as well as undiagnosed cancer patients who present as emergencies. Commenting on the guidance, National Cancer Director Mike Richards said:

According to the National Joint Registry (NJR) 6th Annual Report, a record amount of data on hip and knee joint replacement procedures has been requested by orthopaedic surgeons, suppliers and manufacturers of joint replacement implants and patients.

The Royal College of Nursing has urged the Government to “look to the lessons of history” when considering health spending cuts. The comments were made as part of a live podcast involving Howard Catton, head of policy and implementation, and Gerry O’Dwyer, senior employment relations adviser at RCN.

New research points to huge inequalities in both national prevention policies and levels of cardiovascular mortality seen across the EU.

Results of a clinical trial published in Circulation: Cardiovascular Interventions demonstrate that an infusion of blood that is “supersaturated” with oxygen (SS02) can reduce the amount of damaged heart muscle immediately following a life-threatening heart attack.

Researchers from Bradford are to spearhead a project to improve patient safety after being awarded a £2 million grant by the National Institute for Health Research.

US scientists have found evidence of a virus in malignant human prostate cancer cells. The virus, xenotropic murine leukaemia virusrelated virus (XMRV), is already known to be capable of causing leukaemia and sarcomas in animals.

Researchers have warned that brain scans paid for privately, by healthy people who want to allay fears about undiagnosed brain cancer and stroke, may do more harm than good.

The Patients’ Association recently published Patients Not Numbers, People Not Statistics which highlights 16 emotive accounts that reflect, in the association’s view, “a consistent pattern of shocking standards of care” in the NHS.

Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have found a link, in mice and in human brain tissue, between high blood pressure and multiple sclerosis.