Latest News

Hospital infections fall by one third

4 April 2012 | No comments

NHS staff were congratulated today as a major report shows infections in Scotland’s hospitals have reduced by a third since 2006.

New objectives set to reduce MRSA and C Difficile

13 January 2012 | No comments

New ambitions have been set for the NHS which build on the progress made on infections last year.

Infections at lowest ever level

11 January 2012 | No comments

New figures show MRSA and MSSA infections are at their lowest level, with further reductions between the second and third quarter of 2011.

Global drop in new HIV infections

23 November 2011 | No comments

Global rates of HIV infection and AIDS-related death have both fallen dramatically, the UN has today announced.

Children who have their adenoids out do not get fewer upper respiratory infections

6 September 2011 | No comments

Children who have their adenoids surgically removed do not get fewer upper respiratory tract infections such as sinusitis and colds, finds research published on bmj.com today.

Tuning natural antimicrobials to improve their effectiveness at battling superbugs

23 August 2011 | No comments

Ongoing research at the Institute of Food Research, which is strategically funded by BBSRC, is exploring the use of virus-produced proteins that destroy bacterial cells to combat potentially dangerous microbial infections.

Record £800 million for groundbreaking research to benefit patients

18 August 2011 | 1 comment

MRSA in the NHS at a record low

3 August 2011 | No comments

MRSA bloodstream infections in the NHS have reached record low levels with fewer than 100 infections recorded in a single month for the first time, new official statistics have confirmed today.

Plan launched to detect cancer earlier

1 August 2011 | No comments

A plan to increase the number of Scots diagnosed in the earliest stages of cancer by 25 per cent – to improve cancer survival rates for patients in Scotland – was published today.

HPA issues new advice on management of E. coli cases in children

11 July 2011 | No comments

The Health Protection Agency (HPA) has published new guidelines to assist healthcare professionals in the management and treatment of acute bloody diarrhoea in children, with particular reference to those cases linked to vero-cytotoxin producing E. coli infection (VTEC).

C.diff target beaten

6 July 2011 | No comments

Rates of both C.diff and MRSA in Scottish hospitals are now at their lowest ever levels, according to the latest report published today by Health Protection Scotland.

British aid to vaccinate a child every two seconds

14 June 2011 | No comments

RCN holds regional workshops on VTE prevention

8 June 2011 | No comments

The Royal College of Nursing is holding a series of regional workshops on venous thromboembolism (VTE) prevention.

Next generation malaria vaccine to begin trials

7 June 2011 | No comments

Only 50 per cent effective, the world’s first malaria vaccine’s efficiency could be increased to 80 per cent by 2025.

Nurses in warning as infections cut

14 March 2011 | No comments

Progress made in tackling hospital infections could come under threat if nursing numbers are cut, representatives of the profession warned today. 

First government cancer campaign launched

31 January 2011 | No comments

The first ever Government cancer awareness campaign to highlight the early signs and symptoms of bowel cancer is launched today (Monday 31 January), by Health Minister Paul Burstow.

New laboratory aims to revolutionise surgery with real-time metabolic profiling

18 January 2011 | No comments

Metabolic profiling of tissue samples could transform the way surgeons make decisions in the operating theatre, say researchers at a new laboratory being launched today.