Vaughan Gething announces all-Wales PrEP trial
The Health Secretary Vaughan Gething has announced an all-Wales study to provide the drug Truvada to all those who would benefit from the preventative treatment (Welsh Government, 2017). The announcement follows the decision on Truvada by the All Wales Medicines Strategy Group. The study will run for at least three years and will begin this … Continue reading Vaughan Gething announces all-Wales PrEP trial
App developed at Morriston Hospital could transform pressure ulcer care
An award winning team at Morriston Hospital in Swansea has created an app that could transform the care of patients with pressure ulcers (Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Health Board, 2017). It may eventually be available to people at home with, or at risk of developing, pressure ulcers, as well as the health professionals caring for … Continue reading App developed at Morriston Hospital could transform pressure ulcer care
Welsh Government to provide £7.3m in funding for health technology projects
Wales’ Health Secretary, Vaughan Gething, has agreed to fund eleven innovative projects through the Efficiency Through Technology Fund following the 2016 open call (Welsh Government, 2017). The Efficiency Through Technology Fund (ETTF) supports health and social care projects that use innovative technology to improve the efficiency of healthcare services. Projects that have secured funding include … Continue reading Welsh Government to provide £7.3m in funding for health technology projects
Clinical trial to target head and neck cancer
Detailed imaging techniques will be used to help doctors target head and neck cancers more effectively in a £720,000 clinical trial (MediWales, 2017). The trial aims to improve the treatment and survival rates at Cardiff’s Velindre Cancer Centre and Swansea’s Singleton Hospital. The 3D scanning pinpoints the exact site of a tumour and maps the … Continue reading Clinical trial to target head and neck cancer
Welsh Government unveils new genomics strategy
A new strategy aimed at putting Wales at the cutting edge of the global development of future generations of medical services has been unveiled by Health Secretary Vaughan Gething today (Welsh Government, 2017). The Genomics for Precision Medicine Strategy, which is supported by £6.8m Welsh Government funding, sets out how Wales can capture the health … Continue reading Welsh Government unveils new genomics strategy
First person in Wales undergoes pioneering robotic surgery
Denise Casey, who has epilepsy, has become the first person in Wales to undergo pioneering robotic surgery (BBC News, 2017). The robot, built by Renishaw in Rhondda Cynon Taff, implanted probes into the woman’s brain. Denise Casey, of Skewen, Neath Port Talbot, was diagnosed with epilepsy at the age of thirty one and has had … Continue reading First person in Wales undergoes pioneering robotic surgery
Clinical trial offers lifeline for patients with aggressive brain tumours
A cutting-edge treatment for people with aggressive brain tumours is being made available in Wales for the first time (WalesOnline, 2017). A new trial, undertaken at Velindre Cancer Centre in Cardiff, will look at the effects of a drug called Lynparza, also known as olaparib, combined with radiotherapy for patients with aggressive brain tumours. Glioblastoma … Continue reading Clinical trial offers lifeline for patients with aggressive brain tumours
A 1950s living room for people with dementia
A devoted husband built a nineteen fifties living room in a ward in Llandough Hospital, Cardiff to help his wife, who had Alzheimer’s (ITV News, 2017). George Drummond decorated the room with period wallpaper, a TV, black and white photographs, and racks of vinyl to help his wife Elaine remember happier days. He said sitting … Continue reading A 1950s living room for people with dementia
Fish skin used to bandage burns
Doctors at the José Frota Institute in Fortazela, Brazil are testing the skin of the fish tilapia as a bandage for second and third degree burns (Scientific American, 2017). Animal skin has long been used in the treatment of burns in developed countries, but Brazil lacks human skin, pig skin, and artificial alternatives. The three … Continue reading Fish skin used to bandage burns
Sickle cell disease completely reversed in patient
A French teenager’s sickle cell disease has been reversed using a pioneering treatment to change his DNA (BBC News, 2017). The world first procedure at Hôpital Necker – Enfants Malades in Paris offers hope to millions of people with the blood disorder. Sickle cell is a lifelong condition caused by a faulty gene that affects … Continue reading Sickle cell disease completely reversed in patient
