- NHS and department of health officials show a “lack of ideas or drive” to transform the health service for patients, MPs have said.
- The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has published a report into the future of the health service months after Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer laid out plans for “three big shifts” in the NHS.
- However, the PAC said that, under questioning, officials from both the department of health and NHS England do not seem ready to take that on.
Bowel cancer prediction test for IBD patients 90% accurate
- A new method for detecting bowel cancer is more than 90% accurate at predicting which higher-risk people will develop the disease, according to research.
- About 500,000 people in the UK live with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis.
- Currently, they are offered regular checks for pre-cancerous growths in their gut, which, if detected, indicate about a 30% chance of bowel cancer developing over 10 years.
Antimicrobial resistance a growing crisis in Europe, says ECDC
- Between 2019 and 2023, antibiotic consumption in the European Union (EU) increased by 1%, a worrying trend that distances the region from its target of reducing antibiotic use by 20% by 2030.
- This target, set by the Council of the European Union, is critical to combating the escalating problem of antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
- While some progress has been achieved in specific areas, such as a decline in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bloodstream infections, there have been significant setbacks elsewhere.
Human case of avian flu detected in England
- UKHSA has confirmed a case of influenza A(H5N1) in a person in the West Midlands region. Bird-to-human transmission of avian influenza is rare and has previously occurred a small number of times in the UK.
- The person acquired the infection on a farm, where they had close and prolonged contact with a large number of infected birds. The risk to the wider public continues to be very low.
- The individual is currently well and was admitted to a High Consequence Infectious Disease (HCID) unit.
Report calls for action to tackle decline in clinical researchers
- Urgent action is required to address falling numbers of clinical researchers and meet the needs of the nation’s health and economy, according to a new report.
- The report says that “[f]uture clinical research is under threat due to a clearly documented decline in clinical research staff, both in absolute numbers and – more strikingly – in proportion to the expanding NHS workforce”.
Shaping the future of UK life sciences – how regulators can support growth which helps everyone
- Just before new year, the Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer wrote to regulators asking for ideas for how they could boost economic growth.
- The HRA is one of a number of regulators – including the MHRA and NICE and equivalents in the four nations – supporting clinical research.
- And regulators have levers that can support change, particularly when they work together.
New centre co-led by UCL set to advance diagnostics development
- A new £8.2 million centre to unite England’s world-class diagnostics expertise and accelerate the development and application of tools to improve disease diagnosis will be co-led by a UCL researcher.
- Professor Jolene Skordis (UCL Institute for Global Health) will lead the project at UCL, which is supported by Research England, in close collaboration with researchers at the University of Manchester and the University of Kent.
- The project, known as the Centre for Advanced Diagnostics Development (CADDA), aims to bridge the gap between academia, industry and clinicians.
