RECENT NEWS

According to a National Audit Office (NAO) report, the NHS has successfully transferred 1.1 million NHS employees to a new simplified pay system. Given the scale of the NHS, this was a substantial task that the NHS, in partnership with trades unions, achieved in a short timescale.

Entries to Oxoid’s 2008/2009 Infection Control Team of the Year Awards have now closed. The Awards, with a first prize of £5000, and second and third prizes of £1000 and £500, respectively, are held in association with the Infection Prevention Society. Initiated by Oxoid in 2003, the Awards recognise and reward the dedicated teams of infection control microbiologists, infection control nurses and doctors who, each day, strive to prevent or reduce rates of hospital-acquired infection and improve infection control procedures, making hospitals safer places for patients, staff and visitors alike.

Sterilin has announced the availability of its newly rebranded comprehensive literature for packaging products. It features a range of products to meet the needs of selected markets within the packaging field, as an extension of its success in the laboratory, medical and pharmaceutical industries.

Olympus Life Science Europa has signed an agreement with Thermo Fisher Scientific for open-track automation for clinical laboratories.

Shimadzu UK has launched a new GC Consumables brochure showing its range of convenient, optimised and competitively priced consumables for its GC and GC/MS instruments.

Selected from over 50 entries, the first ever Olympus Early Career Scientist Microscopy Award has been presented to two researchers.

As well as continuing to support local charities, the team at Kirkham Young has been invited to become involved with The Prince’s Trust. The Prince’s Trust business programme provides money, support and guidance to young people wanting to start up in business. The Trust predominantly helps people aged 16–30 and enables them to make a real change to their lives.

Quality Systems International (QSI) has signed an exclusive distribution agreement with laboratory equipment specialist Camlab of Cambridge that will see both companies working closely together to market and support QSI’s WinLims Rental solution across the UK.

The fifth edition of Serum Free Light Chain Analysis (plus Hevylite), written by Professor A R Bradwell, includes new information on renal applications of serum free light chain (FLC) assays, new case studies and an introduction to the new Hevylite assays that are due to be launched later this year.

Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust is now routinely using Backlogs online pathology reporting service to manage workload fluctuations in histopathology, and also meet the challenges of covering staff sickness and holiday periods. Working on a flat fee per case basis, with no requirement for binding contracts or minimum orders, Backlogs provides the immediate cover and subspecialist reporting needed for this major pathology centre.

Shadow science minister Adam Afriyie has promised scientific literacy lessons on evidence-based policy-making for new Conservative MPs and top civil servants. The new three-point Conservative policy proposes: scientific literacy lessons for elected politicians with a view to introducing compulsory lessons for senior civil servants as part of their CPD; science awareness sessions incorporated into the induction arrangements for all incoming Conservative MPs and existing MPs; and examination of the options for scientific literacy lessons in the civil service and for all elected officials. In addition, the Conservatives will consult on ways to integrate external scientific expertise into the decision-making process.

The next Biomedical Science Congress is fast approaching and the current climate in the health service means that attendance is vitally important. Now, together with all the usual features of this premier event in the laboratory medicine calendar, introduction of a new Premium Early discounted rate makes early booking even more attractive.

SRC, the UK’s leading provider of healthcare digital dictation and speech recognition solutions, has introduced the WinScribe digital dictation system to 800 users at University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust (UHL). The deployment is central to the trust's plans to cut waiting times and improve document turnaround times and is the first major contract under the East Midlands resource hub digital dictation framework agreement with SRC.

Thermo Fisher Scientific has announced that its Atlas chromatography data system (CDS) now supports the Microsoft Windows Vista operating system. Thermo Scientific Atlas version 8.2 provides liquid chromatography and gas chromatography instrument control, digital data acquisition, chromatography data processing and reporting, all in a familiar, easy-touse and widely supported Microsoft Windows Vista environment.

Sterilin has announced the availability of handy ward/ shelf packs of its best-selling 30-mL universal containers, usually supplied in packs of 400. The new packs of 50 will contain an inner bag label with product code, lot number and expiry date, aiding product traceability.

Pronostics, a developer and manufacturer of nextgeneration multiplexed diagnostics, has signed a deal with Hannover Medical School to provide its proprietary platform for the diagnosis of autoimmune disease. The deal will see Hannover Medical School, one of the world’s leading medical centres, use UltraPlex hardware and ANA kits for the diagnosis of autoimmune disease.

The new Institute of Oncology at St James’s University Hospital, Leeds, has been equipped with refrigerators and freezers worth over £250,000 by Labcold, the specialist manufacturer of professional medical, scientific and laboratory refrigeration equipment.

Cambridge Research Biochemicals (CRB) has launched a new online shop, thus expanding its offerings to customers worldwide.

A new Health Protection Agency (HPA) Culture Collections website has been launched offering cell lines, bacteria, viruses, fungi, associated services and technical information. This follows the integration of four UK culture collections into one not-for-profit strategic business unit within the Health Protection Agency.

Olympus UK has announced that Northumbria Healthcare NHS Trust, which covers Hexham, Wansbeck and North Tyneside General Hospitals, has awarded a seven-year managed service contract (MSC) to Olympus Diagnostics. The MSC covers Olympus immunoassay, clinical chemistry and automation products, and process improvement analysis consultation and the refurbishment of new laboratory facilities. This MSC is the first order to include the new AU3000i immunoassay system – three of which have gone live at the trust.