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Environmental noise is a medical emergency, new report finds
The newly released 2025 report by the European Environment Agency (EEA) delivers a powerful wake-up call: chronic exposure to transport noise is responsible for 66,000 premature deaths, 50,000 new cardiovascular cases, and 22,000 newly attributed cases of type 2 diabetes each year across Europe. For cardiologists and public health experts, the message is clear: noise is no longer a mere nuisance — it is a major modifiable cardiovascular and metabolic risk factor. “As a cardiologist, I welcome this report as a
long-overdue wake-up call. The data clearly show that chronic exposure to transport noise is a major cardiovascular and metabolic health threat, on par with smoking, diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, and hypertension,” said Prof. Thomas Münzel, Chairman of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Environmental Sustainability Task Force, during the EEA panel discussion. The report highlights the biological mechanisms
by which noise triggers disease: increased sympathetic activity, sleep fragmentation, circadian disruption, oxidative stress, systemic inflammation, and endothelial dysfunction. These mechanisms fuel hypertension, atherosclerosis, heart attacks, stroke, and heart failure. Evidence shows that adverse cardiovascular effects occur at noise levels as low as 45 dB Lden — well below current
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EBME Expo 2025: tackling connectivity challenges
regulatory thresholds. “The science is clear: night- time noise disrupts autonomic recovery and deep sleep, increasing the risk of acute cardiovascular events. Regulation must catch up,” Prof. Münzel stated. Particularly at risk are vulnerable populations:
children, the elderly, pregnant women, shift workers, individuals with mental illness, and most notably, patients with pre-existing cardiovascular disease. For these groups, noise acts as a potent disease amplifier, worsening prognosis and increasing mortality. The EEA 2025 report strongly endorses alignment with WHO guideline values of 40 dB Lnight and 45 dB Lden, and encourages urgent regulatory reform. Prof. Münzel emphasised: “If we are serious
about preventing heart disease, stroke, and diabetes, noise reduction must become a central pillar of cardiovascular prevention strategies.”
‘Passports’ set to accelerate NHS innovation adoption
NHS patients across the country will get accelerated access to cutting edge technology through a new digital system that will cut red tape and boost life science. The new ‘innovator passport’ - to be introduced
over the next 2 years - will allow new technology that has been robustly assessed by one NHS organisation to be easily rolled out to others. The move is a key part of the government’s Plan for Change and its 10-Year Health Plan, which aims to transfer power to patients and transform how healthcare is delivered, creating an NHS fit for the future. The Government stated that, for too long, cutting-edge businesses have avoided working with the NHS and have gone elsewhere, weighed down by slow timelines and reams of processes. It claims that organisations will now be able to join up with the NHS quicker through “the removal of needless bureaucracy”. A ‘one-stop shop’ thorough check from the NHS will now allow businesses to get to work as quickly as possible. Treatments including special wound dressings -
already reducing surgical site infections by 38% at Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals
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www.clinicalservicesjournal.com I August 2025
- could be adopted more widely, benefiting patients across the country. At Barts Health NHS Trust in London, use of antimicrobial protective coverings for cardiac devices has cut infections and saved over £103,000 per year. At University Hospitals Dorset, adopting rapid influenza testing reduced bed days and antibiotic use, freeing up vital resources. The new passport will eliminate multiple compliance assessments, reducing duplication across the health service. It will be delivered through MedTech Compass, a digital platform developed by DHSC to make effective technologies more visible and widely available. Dr. Vin Diwakar, Clinical Transformation Director
at NHS England, said: “We’re seeing the impact improvements to technology are having on our everyday lives on everything from smartwatches to fitness trackers, and we want to make sure NHS patients can benefit from the latest medical technology and innovations as well. The new innovator passports will speed up the roll-out of new health technology in the NHS, which has been proven to be effective, so that patients can benefit from new treatments much sooner.”
At EBME Expo 2025, CSJ caught up with Iain Threlkeld, Head of Clinical Engineering at the Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust, to discuss the latest EBME thought leadership workshop, which brought together clinical engineering department heads, from across the UK, to discuss the key challenges currently facing the sector. First held at EBME Expo in 2024, the workshop has proven to be a great success – encouraging the exchange of ideas, first- hand experiences, and practical solutions to common issues. Attendees of last year’s event took away ideas that they could introduce into their own departments, and the workshop for 2025 continued this theme. In an exclusive interview, Iain Threlkeld talks about the work that is underway to encourage collaboration, the exchange of ideas, and the sharing of knowledge. High on the agenda at this year’s workshop
was connectivity of medical devices and IT integration. Attendees discussed the challenges in bridging the gap between clinical engineering and IT teams and shared their ideas on how to break down some of the barriers. To address the evolving demands of the profession, EBME Expo also introduced a Connectivity Stage, this year, underscoring the importance of addressing the challenges of integrating HealthTech into hospital networks to provide clinicians with a centralised and real-time view of patient data within the hospital and beyond. Ultimately, the discussion points of this latest workshop will help inform the agenda of the next ‘EBME Expo Leaders Network’ which will be held in Birmingham. View the video interview at: https://www.
youtube.com/watch?v=rolrdZRS-GA
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