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NEWS

Funding for Dementia

Research Institute
Alzheimers Research UK has
welcomed a plan to fund a
Dementia Research Institute in
the UK, announced by Prime
Minister David Cameron. Up to
150m is to be made available for
the project, which is to be led by
the Medical Research Council
(MRC). The new Institute will
aim to develop new diagnostic
tests for dementia and find ways
to stop the progression of
diseases that cause the condition, Hilary Evans
such as Alzheimers. The initiative,
which will cover the whole of the country with a
main hub at a UK university, is expected to be in
place by 2020.
Hilary Evans, chief executive of Alzheimers
Research UK, a leading dementia research
charity, said: This important announcement

represents a strong commitment

to dementia research, and
Alzheimers Research UK
welcomes this plan. A new
Dementia Research Institute will
help provide much-needed
infrastructure, and its UK-wide
focus will be vital for bringing
together research efforts across
the country. It is important that
the centre should be about more
than bricks and mortar;
this initiative has the potential to
encourage greater collaboration
and provide real leadership and focus. It will be
crucial for the new Institute to work in tandem
with existing initiatives, such as Alzheimers
Research UKs Drug Discovery Alliance, if we are
to make faster progress towards new treatments
for dementia that are so desperately needed.

Calls to improve flu vaccination

among healthcare workers
The European Society of Clinical Microbiology
and Infectious Disease (ESCMID) an
organisation that explores risk assessment,
knowledge sharing and best practices in the
fight against infectious disease is calling
on the healthcare industry to lead by example
and implement universal flu vaccination for
healthcare workers. ESCMID is encouraging
all health workers to take personal responsibility
and get vaccinated this season, particularly those
who come into contact with high-risk groups.
Despite free vaccinations for health
professionals in many EU countries, it is
estimated that only about 30% choose to have
the shot despite the carrier risk they present.
ESCMID believes that one vital tool to increase
the adoption of flu vaccinations among healthcare
professionals is to establish hospital-based league
tables throughout Europe. The introduction of
this policy by European health services is one
method the organisation believes will potentially
have a transformational effect. It is also in the
public interest to give patients valuable
information on the level of protection offered
in the hospitals they are using to seek treatment.
Highlighting the importance of this issue,
Prof. Espositos study group the ESCMID
Study Group for Vaccines (EVASG) is
currently working alongside other international
groups to research health worker flu vaccination
initiatives as part of its comprehensive report on
vaccine recommendations.
Prof. Susanna Esposito, from the Policlinico
hospital at the University of Milan and Head of
EVASG, commented: This years flu vaccine is
only as good as its uptake. Across Western

12

THE CLINICAL SERVICES JOURNAL

Europe we have seen varying rates of vaccination

among high-risk groups, and we should be
looking to raise this further to beyond the
75% coverage mark Europe-wide. What is also
underreported is that healthcare professionals
who regularly come in contact with vulnerable
groups are still seeing, even in overall wellperforming countries, maximum rates of only
around 1/3 of professionals vaccinated. This
is simply not enough; we can clearly do more
to prevent the spread of influenza and inform
about influenza-related complications.
Partnering with ESCMID, the European
Scientific Working group on Influenza (ESWI)
is echoing these calls and lending its support for
public hospital flu vaccination rankings. Prof. AB
Osterhaus, President of ESWI, commented: If I
was in a vulnerable group such as older adults,
people with heart or respiratory problems, or
those with low immunity and I had a choice of
a hospital prior to admission, I would be looking
at the vaccination rates in each and pick the
hospital with an adequate healthcare professional
vaccination policy. It would be reassuring to
know they had this extra protection in place.
Prof. Esposito and Prof. Osterhaus have
suggested that change needs to be twofold
on future seasonal influenza outbreaks. Firstly,
healthcare professionals need to take a personal
responsibility to get themselves vaccinated,
especially those working with high-risk groups,
as they can easily become viral carriers.
In addition, new measures need to be
implemented which, while not making
vaccination compulsory, improve its
coverage among healthcare professionals.

NEWS IN BRIEF

Distributors appointed
for cardio thoracic portfolio
Industry consolidator Surgical Instrument
Group Holdings (SIGH) and Caterham
Surgical Supplies have been appointed
exclusive UK distributors for the DelacroixChevalier range of Cardio Thoracic
Instruments. The range includes the Rosanna
Forceps and the new Adams Retractor for
Mitral Valve surgery. This marque is well
known in the cardio thoracic community for
its design and manufacturing quality.
SIGH managing director, David Peddy,
commented: Our aim is to offer the widest
portfolio of the top quality instruments and
accessories, for all specialties. Hospitals do not
have to scout around among lots of suppliers but
can simply get their requirements in a one-stopshop. Delacroix-Chevalier meets all of these
requirements for the Cardio Thoracic specialty.

Essential reading on
quality assurance
Tim Sandles latest book, Pharmaceutical
Microbiology: Essentials for Quality Assurance
and Quality Control presents the latest
information on protecting pharmaceutical
and healthcare products from spoilage by
microorganisms, and protecting patients and
consumers. With both sterile and non-sterile
products, the effects can range from
discoloration to the potential for fatality.
The book provides an overview of the
function of the pharmaceutical microbiologist
and what they need to know, from regulatory
filing and GMP, to laboratory design and
management, and compendia tests and risk
assessment tools and techniques. These key
aspects are discussed through a series of
dedicated chapters, with topics covering
auditing, validation, data analysis, bioburden,
toxins, microbial identification, culture media,
and contamination control. The book is
available from Elsevier at: http://store.elsevier.
com/Pharmaceutical-Microbiology/TimSandle/isbn-9780081000229

NICE quality standard

on heart failure
NICE has set new standards for hospitals to
ensure people who have acute heart failure are
seen by a specialist heart failure team within
24 hours of being admitted. The standards
include the use of echocardiography and early
blood tests (natriuretic peptide testing) for
diagnosis; the appropriate drug treatments that
should be given; and the requirement for
assessment by a specialist heart failure team
within two weeks of discharge.
www.nice.org.uk/guidance/qs103

JANUARY 2016