News
New MTG report reveals wide variation in Trust performance
A new report by the Medical Technology Group (MTG) has set out a roadmap for sharing best practices to end the ‘deeply embedded’ variation in NHS performance. The MTG’s latest report found that NHS patients who live just thirteen miles apart have access to dramatically different performing hospitals despite being under the same administrative board. An analysis of NHS England monthly Referral
to Treatment data between December 2021 and November 2023 found that Wakefield treated the most patients - in relation to the size of their population - while its neighbouring equivalent in Leeds ranked as one of the lowest. In Humber and North Yorkshire ICB, the third best Sub-ICB Location (formerly Clinical Commissioning Groups) - North East Lincolnshire - sits alongside the 98th - Vale of York. This is despite operating under the same management, as part of the new Integrated Care Board system. Despite this, the report stressed that more patients are being seen within health and care settings. Overall, 6,156,844 patient pathways were completed from December 2021 to November 2023, a 46.82% improvement from the last MTG report that looked at regional and local variation in NHS performance. However, across the two-year research project, analysis of Referral to Treatment data has revealed that variation between the highest and worst
performing regions of the NHS has persisted. The MTG argues that this is leading to ‘deeply embedded’ local and regional variations in the quality of care across the NHS. The MTG is now calling on NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care to implement measures to ensure that the medical technology, innovations and leadership methods that have contributed to these highest performing regions are implemented across the health service to help end this variation. Chair of the MTG, Barbara Harpham, said: “Good
practice is abundant across the NHS in England, whether nationally-led or driven within local NHS organisations. However, it is clear that it is often isolated and not regularly shared with those parts of the NHS where it can make an enormous difference in working through the backlog, improving the quality of care and easing pressure on the workforce. “Our recommendations in this report set out
a roadmap for the NHS to deliver improvements by replicating, adapting, and adopting this best practice, providing the support to ensure medical technologies and innovations are available for every patient in the NHS regardless of where they live.” Ration Watch 2024: Levelling Up or Levelling
Down: The Impact of Integrated Care Systems on the Delivery of Care, can be accessed at: https://
mtg.org.uk/campaigns/1429-2/
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Game-changing epilepsy therapy rolled out to NHS
The NHS is to roll out a “game-changing” new laser beam therapy to help reduce seizures for patients with epilepsy. The cutting-edge fibre optic laser therapy, known as Laser Interstitial Thermal Therapy (LITT), targets the part of the brain causing seizures without the need for invasive surgery. The treatment will now be rolled out for eligible patients across England from June, being offered at King’s College Hospital in London and The Walton Centre in Liverpool as specialist national hubs. The treatment involves drilling a tiny hole to allow a 1.5mm-wide probe with a fibre optic laser at the tip to be inserted into the skull. This reaches and destroys the epilepsy-causing brain tissue from the inside by heating it.
Using an MRI scanner, the clinical team
navigate through the brain avoiding blood vessels and other critical structures. They also monitor the temperature of the surrounding areas to make sure healthy brain tissue does not overheat. The wound heals quickly, meaning patients can go home the next day (within 24-48 hours) with minimal risk of infection or other side effects and can usually return to work and other activities within a week.
State-of-the-art facility to support growth of point of care testing
BHR Biosynex has welcomed over sixty guests representing NHS Trusts, private healthcare companies, and the in vitro diagnostics industry, for the official opening of its new state-of-the-art premises in Nuneaton. The well-attended event reflected on the company’s achievements to drive point of care diagnostics in the UK over the past 34 years, showcasing the breadth of products in their product portfolio and hinted at what is yet to come. First established in 1990, BHR Pharmaceuticals
acquired the rights to sell the Cameo pregnancy test in the UK in 1993, then continued to expand its point of care testing portfolio across a variety of diagnostic areas. In 1999, the company introduced the first handheld cholesterol test to the UK market: the BioScanner 2000. In 2009, the NHS Health Check was introduced in the UK and the company’s CardioChek solution was the only handheld device among three solutions approved for use as part of the programme.
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www.clinicalservicesjournal.com I June 2024
Today, the company is a market leader in point of care cholesterol testing. Over 12,000 cholesterol analysers are currently being used in the UK and over 9,000,000 cholesterol tests have been carried out using the CardioChek System. During the event, the company also discussed the importance of point of care diagnostics and the benefits to UK healthcare systems with the Rt Hon Marcus Jones MP. With the roll out of community diagnostic centres and virtual wards, there is an
increased focus on delivering convenient and rapid test results at the point of care and within community settings – to improve efficiency of patient pathways, reduce healthcare inequalities, and improve outcomes through earlier diagnosis. BHR Biosynex is well positioned to support the NHS in achieving these ambitions, providing a range of innovative point of care solutions that meet the needs of an evolving integrated healthcare system. In 2022, BHR Pharmaceuticals was acquired
by Biosynex – a major player in the design, manufacture, and distribution of rapid diagnostic tests, with a presence in more than 90 countries worldwide. The acquisition by Biosynex has strengthened the organisation’s proposition to reinforce market presence in the UK. Under the BHR Biosynex brand name, the company is now looking to the future with its new 7,043 square foot building, a strong customer-focused team, and an expanding portfolio of solutions to meet the needs of an evolving healthcare system.
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