RECENT NEWS

A study of data from about 500,000 people in the UK Biobank has uncovered small but statistically significant associations between signs of systemic inflammation and later risk of dementia.

Scientists are urging caution before artificial intelligence (AI) models such as ChatGPT are used in healthcare for ethnic minority populations. Writing in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, epidemiologists at the University of Leicester and University of Cambridge say that existing inequalities for ethnic minorities may become more entrenched due to systemic biases in the data used by healthcare AI tools.

A robotic-assisted surgery (RAS) company, Intuitive, has further developed its support for the Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCS England) through its support of a new multi-professional network that will shape the future development of RAS surgery nationally.

Giving patients digital control over their hospital appointments could avoid 1.6 million unnecessary appointments and create a national annual system saving of £167 million.

The National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death (NCEPOD) has published a review of the care received by patients aged 16 and over undergoing surgery for Crohn’s Disease titled: 'Making the cut?'

The Health Protection Notification Regulations 2010 (HPNR) help the Government to respond promptly to suspected cases of infectious diseases that could have an impact on public health. The COVID pandemic shone a light on the fundamental role of surveillance in supporting an effective public health response. The Department of Health and Social Care has proposed an updated list of notifiable diseases and is inviting consultation.

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) and The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) have unveiled ground-breaking research that sheds light on how COVID-19 infection may lead to late pregnancy complications.

New machine learning technology can use real-time A&E data to predict how many patients will need an emergency bed later that day and in which part of the hospital. The technology was presented at the inaugural Health and Care Analytics (HACA) conference.

The Royal College for Surgeons and a number of other professional medical organisations have signed a joint statement raising concerns that children’s waiting lists are now increasing at double the rate of adult lists, while surgical activity lags behind adult activity.

Almost a million more people (900,000) will become eligible for a shingles vaccination from September, the Department of Health has announced..

Guidance supporting clinical teams to improve care of older people living with frailty is now available, in a collaboration between the Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) programme and the British Geriatrics Society (BGS), supported by the Royal College of Physicians.

​The NHS has launched plans to expand pioneering subscription-style drug contracts to develop lifesaving antibiotics of the future.

Modern Methods of Construction have enabled MTX to achieve faster and more efficient completion of a new general surgery operating theatre at Yeovil District Hospital. The single storey unit includes the theatre suite with recovery rooms, reception and waiting areas, office space and a dedicated staff facility.

Recent figures show that NHS England experienced an absence rate of 5.6 percent in 2022, the equivalent of losing nearly 75,000 staff to illness. Burnout is reported to be a major contributing factor. With this in mind, a new report has called for a new approach to tackle high levels of burnout among healthcare workers.

The Association of British HealthTech Industries (ABHI) – the UK's leading Trade Association for HealthTech – has announced the launch of its first-ever UK Pavilion at the rapidly growing Global Health Exhibition in Saudi Arabia.

Bristol-based deep tech ecosystem, Science Creates, has launched an engineering biology accelerator programme to support life science start-ups and innovators in developing ground-breaking advancements in healthcare, the environment, and quality of life.

Loneliness is a bigger risk factor for heart disease in patients with diabetes than diet, exercise, smoking and depression, according to research published in European Heart Journal, a journal of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).

The Government has made regulations (The Medical Devices (Amendment) (Great Britain) Regulations 2023) that enable CE marked medical devices to be accepted in Great Britain for defined periods beyond 30 June 2023.

NICE’s diagnostic advisory committee has recommended the use of the HM-JACKarc or OC-Sensor quantitative faecal immunochemical tests (FIT) in draft guidance released for consultation.

A new non-clinical team has been introduced to support patients and staff at Guy’s and St Thomas’. The patient and staff enhancers, known as PASE, are on hand to do everything from making beds to making cups of tea. The team work in a variety of clinical areas including inpatient wards and outpatient clinics, helping to improve quality of care, and patient and staff experience.