RECENT NEWS

Substantive changes are needed to improve patient safety in prisons, according to a new study published by the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine (JRSM) and funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). Practical changes such as timely access to healthcare services and better processes to mitigate medication-related harm should be prioritised, according to the researchers.

One of the leading medical technology companies, B. Braun Medical, whose UK headquarters are in Sheffield, has announced the appointment of a new UK Managing Director.

Legislation proposed by the UK Government for the regulation of physician and anaesthesia associates by the General Medical Council (GMC) has been welcomed by the regulator, although it fears some aspects will have unintended consequences.

NHS England has launched a new blended learning degree that will offer undergraduate nursing students the chance to specialise in community, primary and social care nursing.

Tens of thousands of people at increased risk of hepatitis C will be able to confidentially order self-testing kits to their home, as the NHS steps up its bid to eliminate the deadly disease.

Health and Social Care Secretary, Steve Barclay, has visited Japan for the G7 health ministers’ meeting, where he led discussions with international counterparts on how technology can be used to improve patient care, reduce pressure on health and social care staff and cut waiting times for patients.

Surgeons are calling on the Government to “get on and publish” the highly anticipated NHS workforce plan. The Vice President of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, Mr Tim Mitchell, has said making a proper dent in waiting lists will remain difficult without the plan.

Among people who have had COVID-19, adults with obstructive sleep apnoea were more likely to experience long-term symptoms suggestive of long COVID than those without the sleep disorder, according to a large study supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), in the US.

An algorithm developed using artificial intelligence could soon be used by doctors to diagnose heart attacks with better speed and accuracy than ever before, according to new research from the University of Edinburgh, funded by the British Heart Foundation and the National Institute for Health and Care Research.

A new study has bolstered the long-suspected link between gut health and Alzheimer’s disease. The analysis — led by a team of researchers with the Nevada Institute of Personalised Medicine (NIPM) at UNLV and published this spring in the Nature journal Scientific Reports — examined data from dozens of past studies into the gut-brain connection. The researchers found a strong link between certain gut bacteria and Alzheimer’s disease.

Interventions aimed at reducing work-related stress for individual healthcare workers may lead to improvements in how people cope with stress up to a year later.

The Florence Nightingale Foundation and Nuffield Health, the UK’s largest healthcare charity, have announced Rachael Brown, Infection Prevention Nurse at Nuffield Health Warwickshire Hospital, as the first nurse from the new Green Healthcare Leadership Programme to achieve a scholarship with the Florence Nightingale Foundation.

Engineering design and manufacturing company, Illustrious Healthcare Solutions, has partnered with University Hospital Southampton (UHS) to develop an innovative Critical Care Transfer Stack (CCTS) that improves internal transfer of critically ill patients within acute healthcare environments.

At-home high-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV) sampling kits can help increase cervical cancer screening among under-screened women from low-income backgrounds, according to findings from a clinical trial in the US, published in The Lancet Public Health journal.

The Government has announced plans to enable patients to be able to contact their general practice more easily and quickly, and find out exactly how their request will be handled on the day they call. The announcement is part of a major multi-million pound 'overhaul of primary care'.

For the first time, researchers performed a successful in-utero surgery to repair a potentially deadly developmental condition by treating an aggressive vascular malformation, called vein of Galen malformation, in a fetus’ brain before birth, according to new research published in 'Stroke', the journal of the American Stroke Association, a division of the American Heart Association.

Data published by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) shows there has been a rise in measles cases. Between 1 January and 20 April this year, there have been 49 cases of measles compared to 54 cases in the whole of 2022. Most of the cases have been in London, although there have been cases picked up across the country and some are linked to travel abroad.

Researchers at the University of South Wales (USW) are working to develop an app that could help streamline the diagnosis of skin cancer.

Hundreds of people with aggressive forms of blood cancer are set to benefit after two personalised immunotherapy (CAR-T) treatments have been recommended by NICE for the Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF).

Speaking at the recent Infection Prevention & Control conference, held in Birmingham, at The National Conference Centre, Professor Mark Wilcox warned of the potential risks of contamination from hand dryers.