News
The latest updates within decontamination
DECON UK is back for 2023 following the success of the 2022 event. A joint event by three major NHS Trusts, it provides valuable insights into decontamination and infection prevention – from decontamination going wrong and indoor air quality, to the sustainability of decontamination. The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust and University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust jointly bring DECON UK 2023 to the Hilton Birmingham Metropole on 18 April 2023, providing high quality educational content to delegates with a comprehensive programme covering water, air and sustainability. The event is free to healthcare professionals and is expected to host over 150 delegates from various fields within the decontamination sector. DECON UK 2023 will be of particular interest to sterile services managers, decontamination leads, GPs, theatre nurses, infection prevention and control staff, endoscopy staff and facilities managers. This free event promises to offer delegates the
latest in decontamination education and expertise, with informative sessions and a range of exhibiting companies. Just some of the speakers and topics already confirmed include: l ‘When decontamination goes wrong Wayne Spencer’, Spencer Nickson Ltd, healthcare facilities consultants.
l ‘What’s your IaQ (Indoor Air Quality) - Our journey and practical tips on installing air disinfector units at an acute hospital’, Amy Boden, deputy director infection prevention, Walsall Healthcare and Patricia Hiels, infection prevention and control nurse, Walsall Healthcare.
l ‘Is decontamination sustainable?’ Sharon Fox, head of decontamination, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust.
l ‘Water, water everywhere, nor any drop to drink’, Dr. Mike Weinbren, consultant medical microbiologist, specialist advisor microbiology, New Hospitals Programme.
For more information and full event details visit:
https://fitwise.eventsair.com/decon-uk-2023/
No new COVID-19 variants emerged during China’s outbreak
No new COVID-19 variants emerged in China during the recent surge in infections, since the country ended its zero-COVID policy, according to an analysis of cases in Beijing. The study, published in The Lancet, suggests two existing Omicron sub-variants, BA.5.2 and BF.7 – among the most dominant variants in Beijing during 2022 – accounted for more than 90% of local infections between 14 November and 20 December 2022.
The authors say the results represent a
snapshot of the pandemic in China, due to the characteristics of Beijing’s population and the circulation of highly transmissible COVID-19 strains there. The dominant strain in Beijing after 14 November 2022 was BF.7, which accounted for 75.7% of local infections. Another Omicron sub- variant, BA5.2, was responsible for 16.3% of local cases.
NICE approves CAR-T therapy for aggressive form of blood cancer
Hundreds of people with an aggressive form of lymphoma are set to benefit from the first personalised immunotherapy treatment to be recommended for routine use in the NHS. Axicabtagene ciloleucel (Yescarta, Kite) is a CAR-T therapy for adults with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and primary mediastinal large B-cell lymphoma (PMBCL) who have had two or more lines of systemic therapy. CAR-T – chimeric antigen receptor T-cell –
therapy takes a patient’s own immune cells and modifies them so that they attach to and kill cancer cells. It is administered as a one-off intravenous infusion. NICE has issued final draft guidance recommending the treatment be made routinely available on the NHS for suitable patients. It was previously available through the
Cancer Drugs Fund and will be commissioned routinely to patients in England after the NHS Commercial Medicines Directorate struck a confidential commercial deal with the company.
NICE’s independent appraisal committee
considered new evidence, including data from a clinical trial and from people having axicabtagene ciloleucel through the Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF) before making the recommendation. It suggests that people having axicabtagene ciloleucel live longer than people having chemotherapy and have longer before their condition gets worse. It is estimated that over 450 people in
England will be eligible to receive this new treatment. The full draft guidance can be viewed at:
https://tinyurl.com/c372y4wk
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www.clinicalservicesjournal.com I March 2023
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