RECENT NEWS

A newly published report, the Joint British Societies’ Guidelines on Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease in Clinical Practice, sets tighter blood pressure, cholesterol and blood glucose targets for people with diabetes than ever before.

Doctors can now learn how to help tackle the growing problem of mouth cancer thanks to a new course delivered free by onmedica.net, the educational website for GPs.

Garment specialist firm Grahame Gardner was recently drafted in to lift the image of both clinical and non-clinical staff on the children’s wards at Watford and Hemel Hempstead General Hospitals. The facilities were looking for uniforms which improved the hospital experience for patients and carers alike, and Grahame Gardner was chosen as its garments and services had the potential to fulfil this brief.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has issued guidance to the NHS in England and Wales on the use of statins for the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in adults and for the treatment of adults with established CVD.

New GP surgeries will open at the rate of one a week during the next 12 months as part of a £270 million transformation of NHS services outside of hospitals. The NHS plans to open around 60 new GP surgeries, health centres and clinics in 2006 under the NHS Local Improvement Finance Trust (LIFT) programme.

A report titled Clinical Academic Medicine: the Way Forward and issued on behalf of all the UK’s Medical Royal Colleges and the Academy of Medical Sciences, states that the lack of clinical academics is a threat to standards of patient care.

Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt has declared her support for 18 more NHS Trusts wanting to apply for Foundation status. The applications supported by the Secretary of State now go forward to Monitor, the independent regulator of NHS Foundation Trusts, who will decide which Trusts receive authorisation. The applications include, for the first time, five from Mental Health Trusts.

The Prostate Cancer Charity has backed the recent publication of the Public Accounts Committee report on Tackling Cancer: Improving the Patient Journey, which calls on the Government to put prostate cancer higher on its health agenda.

The Healthcare Commission has challenged hospitals to regain the confidence of patients on cleanliness by bringing all services up to the standards of the best. The regulator made the move when publishing the findings of the first independent inspections of hospital cleanliness in England.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has launched guidance on the use of implantable-cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) – potentially life-saving devices for people at risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD) as a result of cardiac arrhythmias. The guidance, which updates NICE’s original guidance published in 2000, is set to increase the number of people who might benefit from an ICD.

Siemens has been celebrating the 40th anniversary of the introduction of real-time ultrasound diagnostics which have become indispensable for pre-natal and other care.

The British Heart Foundation (BHF) has appointed its first director of prevention and care.

From this summer onwards, candidates applying to the dental and medical schools of 24 UK Universities, for entry in 2007, will be required to take the UK Clinical Aptitude Test (UKCAT).

In one of the most fundamental reforms of NHS services ever seen, patients now have the right to be offered the choice of at least four hospitals or clinics when they need to see a specialist for further treatment.

According to the third set of guidelines produced by the British Cardiovascular Intervention Society and the British Cardiac Society, cardiologists undertaking percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) are excited by the combination of patient and physician satisfaction and technological advance occurring against a background of necessary manual dexterity.

Technidata UK has announced the signing of a contract by Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Trust to replace its two existing blood transfusion systems with TD-BloodBank, a leading component of Technidata’s TD-Synergy integrated LIMS.

Regent Medical continues to support many charities through its Regent Foundation. Recently a large consignment of Biogel surgical gloves was donated and delivered to Mercy Ships, an international charity operating hospital ships around the globe including Africa, Nicaragua, Central America and the Caribbean.

A West of Ireland woman has become the first breast cancer patient in the country and one of the first in Europe to undergo “partial breast irradiation”.

The introduction of new measures to prevent stroke and improve care pathways for stroke victims needs to be much higher on the political agenda, a conference recently held in London was told.

Lancer Clinical Training Division has reported positive delegate feedback from the first of its “designated users” of automated endoscope reprocessors courses, which took place at Cambridge in January.