Media Monitoring

NHS HIV testing rollout identifies hundreds of new cases More than 800 people living with HIV and Hepatitis not receiving treatment have been found by the NHS in just six months following the rollout of routine testing in A&E In April 2022, the NHS made £20 million available over three years to implement routine HIV opt out testing within 33…

Handheld lab kit to detect viral diseases developed by researchers The University of California researchers’ device can detect a number of viral diseases, including COVID-19 The technology consists of a microfluidic platform that relies on swarms of magnetic discs, which the researchers have termed “ferrobots”, to bring samples through the device and mix them with reagents before reaching an area…

Detecting the undetected: measuring levels of three proteins in the blood can aid detection of undiagnosed prediabetes New research has identified a three-protein signature in the blood that can improve detection of impaired glucose tolerance, a form of prediabetes Their results also indicate that fasting before the blood sample is taken does not significantly change the reliability of the three-protein…

Novel blood test dramatically slashing waiting times in South London A new blood test used by South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust can cut the average waiting time for results from around 10 days to just six minutes The test’s speed means clinicians can move data between devices in a timely manner, meaning results can be viewed in real-time…

Prostate cancer treatments at record high due to Covid delays (paywall) Record numbers of men are undergoing treatment for prostate cancer as a result of delays accessing care during the pandemic, new data shows https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/11/02/prostate-cancer-treatments-record-high-due-covid-delays/   Pancreatic cancer could be diagnosed up to three years earlier Pancreatic cancer could be identified in patients up to three years earlier than current…

5 million to be invited to participate in early disease diagnosis scheme Our Future Health is aiming to recruit 3 million people in the UK this autumn to take part in this project to diagnose and treat diseases earlier 5 million will eventually be recruited, with participants sharing their health records and giving blood samples, as well as having their…

Genetic sequencing key to predicting kidney cancer severity Swedish researchers have found four genes in kidney cancer cells which could predict the chances of the tumour spreading and patients’ likely survival rates This is crucial as outcomes are dramatically less positive if the cancer spreads, particularly to the spine (as is common with kidney cancer) Patients genetically more likely to…

The NHS Monthly Diagnostics data for August 2022 (can be found here)  The total number of patients waiting six weeks or more from referral for one of the 15 key diagnostic tests at the end of August 2022 was 461,400. This was 30.5% of the total number of patients waiting at the end of the month Nationally, the operational standard…

Therese Coffey drops health inequalities white paper The paper, which was due to be launched last spring, has now been dropped It was meant to level the wide health inequality gap between rich and poor and was a key part of Boris Johnson’s attempt to level up health in the UK The move has elicited much criticism, while DHSC maintains…

The Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill 2022 The retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill is part of the Government’s commitment to put the UK statute book on a more sustainable footing Retained EU Law is a category of domestic law created at the end of the transition period and consists of EU-derived legislation that was preserved in…