NICE News December 2016

To read the latest NICE News click here

Christmas Opening 2016

Christmas Opening Hours

 24th - 27th December 

Access via 24 hour card only

28th December 
9am - 3:30pm

29th December 
 9am - 2:30pm

30th December
9am - 2:30pm

2nd January
Access via 24 hour card only

3rd January

Open as normal



24 hour cards are available to all library members in return for a refundable £20 deposit, please contact the library team for more information.

Situational Judgement Test Revision Books

If you are you taking the SJT in the next few weeks and are looking to get some practice in, we have a number of revision books available in the library for you to borrow.

These titles are very popular so if the book you want if currently on loan, please speak to us and we may be able to order a copy from elsewhere for you.

Kent Public Health Observatory Health and Social Care Bulletin - 18th November 2016

>>> Click here to view the latest bulletin

NICE News October 2016

Featured news

Patients to get faster access to the most cost effective treatments under proposed changes to NICE's process Patients could benefit from the most cost effective treatments nearly three months faster under plans unveiled by NICE and NHS England. More... NICE recommends wider use of tests to detect cancer-causing genetic condition NICE has recommended that everyonewho is diagnosed with colorectal cancershould be tested for an inherited genetic condition called Lynch syndrome (LS). More...

News

New treatment recommended for kidney cancer People with kidney cancer set to benefit from a new innovative immunotherapy, after NICE says it should be available on the NHS. More... NICE calls for increased use of magnesium sulfate in preterm labour In a new quality standard, NICE sets out improvements to help mothers andbabies. More...

NICE address mental health within the criminal justice system All staff working within the criminal justice system should receive training to recognise and respond to mental health problems, says NICE. More... NICE recommends new drug osimertinib for hundreds of people with lung cancer Hundreds of people with lung cancerwill now have access to new drug osimertinib, also known as Tagrisso, after NICE says it should be made available on the Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF). More...

Home care services should give people more responsibility to manage their medicines NICE is urging home care staff to make sure they give people direct responsibility for their own medicines wherever possible, with help from family or carers if needed. More... #NICE Chat   NICE regularly host live #NICEchat events on Twitterwhere guidance topics are open for discussion with key experts. Our most recent one focused on Multimorbidity. More...

Click here for more news and features. Stay up-to-date with the latest NICE news stories and features

Current UpDate - News from UpToDate

Each bi-weekly issue of Current UpDate highlights a few of the recent, important additions to  "What's New" and "Practice Changing UpDates" topics.

To see "What's New" in your specialty (and 24 others, including drug therapy), or to read "Practice Changing UpDates" across all specialties, click here.

An all-new episode of UpToDate Talk features Dr. Brett Cucchiara discussing aspirin for secondary prevention after transient ischemic attack or stroke, and Dr. Paul Sax discussing the prevention of HIV1 transmission with antiretroviral therapy. Listen now!

Are you making the most of your Library?

The Library provides flexible information skills training courses for all NHS healthcare staff in the Guildford area, at a time and location to suit.  Courses are run on a one:one or small group basis and are free of charge.

We are happy to visit you in your work place, at a local information centre or arrange for training in the Library.  An outline of each course is given below, however please note that training can be tailored to meet your particular need.


Basic Information & Literature Searching

• Are you aware of all the services offered by the Library to support your clinical practice?
• Are you finding all the information you need?
• Are you confident in literature searching?

This 1 hour course will help highlight all the services offered and also help you get started with literature searching without the frustration!

To book a place on a course please contact us.


Refresher Literature Search Training

• Is it a while since you last searched the medical databases?
• Are you searching effectively?
• Did you know that you can save and re-run searches and set up automatic email alerts?

This 1 hour course will help jog your memory and practice skills.  It is also an opportunity to expand your knowledge and learn about other functions or databases to help you search the literature more effectively.

To book a place on a course please contact us.


E-Journals & E-Alerts

• Having problems accessing electronic full text articles?
• Not sure what resources are available through NHS Athens?
• Do you want to set up automatic alerts for tables of contents pages or literature searches?

This 1 hour course will highlight the resources available and provide you with the skills to use them.

To book a place on a course please contact us.


Evidence Based Healthcare: Finding the Evidence

• Are you finding the most relevant and up to date evidence to support your practice?
• Are you familiar with all the resources available?
• Are you searching effectively?

This 90 minute course will help you: identify the search question and information sought, use the most appropriate information resources, create efficient retrieval strategies and undertake a basic evaluation of information quality.

To book a place on a course please contact us.

Kent Public Health Observatory Health and Social Care Bulletin - 9th September 2016

>>> Click here to view the latest bulletin

Kent Public Health Observatory Health and Social Care Bulletin - 2nd September 2016

Your guide to what's new in public health and social care locally and nationally.  Produced by the Kent Public Health Observatory.

>>> Click here to view the latest bulletin

From the King's Fund...Sustainability and Transformation Plans (STPs) Explained

Sustainability and transformation plans (STPs) explained

Sustainability and transformation plans (STPs) were announced in NHS planning guidance published in December 2015. But what exactly are STPs and what do they mean for the NHS?

NHS organisations in different parts of the country have been asked to come together to develop ‘place-based plans’ for the future of health and care services in their area. Draft plans were submitted in June 2016, and final plans are expected to be completed in October.

But what do STPs really mean? And what will they mean for the NHS?

NICE News August 2016

New guidance and standards Education classes essential for adults with diabetes Adults with type 1 diabetes should be offered education classes to help them manage their condition, a new quality standard from NICE says. The classes should be offered when patients are diagnosed and usually cover diet advice, weight loss for adults who are overweight, exercise and information about medicines.

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News NICE approves new cancer drugs for routine NHS use Two cancer treatments, previously only available to patients through the Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF), will now be routinely available on the NHS. NICE has approved bosutinib for leukaemia and pemetrexed for lung cancer for routine use on the NHS because the companies that market them lowered their prices.

Read more

We can reduce STIs by increasing condom availability, says NICE NICE is urging local councils to increase the availability of condoms to people most at risk of sexually transmitted infections. New draft guidance, out for consultation until 16 September, recommends a different type of condom distribution scheme for each target group to help reduce STI rates.

Read more

New work from NICE could prevent thousands of people from suffering a stroke NICE is calling for GPs and clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to focus on preventing 8,000 strokes a year. New NICE indicators will help GPs and CCGs improve the identification and management of atrial fibrillation (AF) – a common heart condition that causes an irregular heartbeat and increases the risk of stroke.

Read more

NICE recommends crizotinib for lung cancer New draft guidance from NICE means hundreds of people will now have access to crizotinib, a twice-a-day pill for lung cancer. Crizotinib is recommended for people with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer who haven't received treatment before.

Read more

Thousands to benefit as NICE set to recommend drug to prevent heart attacks and strokes NICE has published draft guidance recommending anti-clotting drug ticagrelor 60 mg with aspirin for people who have had a heart attack. In 2012/13 there were around 140,000 hospital admissions for heart attacks in England.

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Draft guidance recommends new drug for people with ankylosing spondylitis New draft guidance from NICE means thousands of people with back condition ankylosing spondylitis will soon have access to an innovative new drug. The draft guidance recommends secukinumab (Cosentyx, Novartis) for treating ankylosing spondylitis, a type of arthritis that mainly affects the joints of the lower spine, leading to back pain, stiffness, swelling and tiredness.

Read more

Blogs Sugar and spice, and all things NICE Ronny Cheung, a consultant paediatrician, discusses the impact new NICE Indicators might have on type 2 diabetes.

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NICE 2015-16 Annual Review microsite David Haslam, Chair of NICE, introduces this year's Annual Review microsite. Visit it to learn more about the activities we have carried out over the past year to help improve quality and productivity in health and social care.

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Working together to support care at the end of life Dr Finella Craig from Great Ormond Street Hospital talks about end of life care for children.

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Have your say Comment on our draft cerebral palsy guideline   This guideline covers the diagnosis, assessment and management of cerebral palsy in children and young people from birth up to their 25th birthday. Please submit your comments by 5pm on 20 September 2016.

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Get involved  Join our interventional procedures advisory committee We’re looking for a nurse and a neurosurgeon or spinal surgeon to help us develop interventional procedures guidance. The closing date for applications is 5pm on Wednesday 14 September 2016.

Apply now

Time for a NICE conversation? Join us at a NICE regional stakeholder event and have your say We want to hear from you. Join us at a NICE regional stakeholder event and have your say. We want to know what you think about: how our guidance and resources are presented how they can help support the work you do Tell us how we can best meet your needs. We are holding 4 regional events to share our plans and hear what you think. If you would like to join us at any of our regional stakeholder events, please register your interest by emailing Heather.Taylor@nice.org.uk stating which event you would like to attend, along with your organisation, job title, and relevant contact details.

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Attend one of our meetings in public Wed 21 September – Clinical guidelines update standing committee C (London) - Registration closes 7 September •    Intrapartum care Wed 21 September – Quality standards advisory committee 3 (Manchester) – registration closes 7 September •    Transition from children's to adults' services •    Community engagement: improving health and wellbeing Thurs 22 September – Public health advisory committee B (Manchester) – registration closes 8 September •    Flu vaccination – increasing uptake

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Into Practice  Tool for putting prostate cancer guidance into practice  We have developed a tool that provides practical information and advice on our guidance on GreenLight XPS for treating benign prostatic hyperplasia. NICE's adoption and impact team worked with consultant urologists who use GreenLight XPS in NHS organisations to gather their learning and experiences.

Read more

Guidance, standards and advice      Guidance Heavy menstrual bleeding: assessment and management Autism spectrum disorder in adults: diagnosis and management Palliative care for adults: strong opioids for pain relief Fertility problems: assessment and treatment Interventional procedures guidance Extracorporeal carbon dioxide removal for acute respiratory failure Technology appraisals  Cabazitaxel for hormone-relapsed metastatic prostate cancer treated with docetaxel Bosutinib for previously treated chronic myeloid leukaemia Pemetrexed maintenance treatment for non-squamous non-small-cell lung cancer after pemetrexed and cisplatin Ramucirumab for previously treated locally advanced or metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer Degarelix for treating advanced hormone-dependent prostate cancer Trifluridine–tipiracil for previously treated metastatic colorectal cancer Quality standards Diabetes in adults Early years: promoting health and wellbeing in under-5s Obesity: clinical assessment and management Medtech innovation briefings Axxent electronic brachytherapy system for early stage breast cancer OSNA for colon cancer staging CORTRAK 2 Enteral Access System for placing nasoenteral feeding tubes

Free Zika virus resource portal from Wolters Kluwer

Click here to access the Zika Resource Portal

The Health division of Wolters Kluwer have launched the Zika Resource Portal, a single point of access to trusted clinical knowledge and current information to help healthcare professionals worldwide stay up-to-date on the rapidly spreading virus.

The portal provides complimentary access to leading evidence-based point-of-care clinical, learning and research solutions from Wolters Kluwer, as well as continuous updates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and World Health Organization (WHO).

In conjunction with the portal, Wolters Kluwer is launching a multifaceted digital educational campaign featuring Zika experts sharing the latest findings in a variety of formats, including podcasts, journal articles, blogs, interactive videos and Twitter Talks.

The portal and campaign will also feature information for the public, including symptoms to look for and preventive measures to protect against contracting the virus.

The campaign centrepiece is a question and answer-style video debuting August 19 featuring Betsy Todd, RN, MPH, CIC, clinical editor of the American Journal of Nursing and an infectious disease expert. She will address the current state of the Zika virus and answer questions submitted by August 16 via Twitter and Facebook using the #WKZikaResources hashtag. Questions that are submitted using that hashtag may also be answered during an upcoming Twitter Talk.

“Wolters Kluwer is proud to provide these digital resources to help combat the spread of the Zika virus,” said Diana Nole, CEO of Wolters Kluwer Health. “The public fear and anxiety that churn in the wake of a global health crisis are often the result of the unknown. Unlike Ebola, which has been studied exhaustively for decades, Zika is still largely a mystery, although medical professionals and researchers are continuously uncovering new aspects of the virus. By sharing our expertise and premium clinical guidance, we provide the public and healthcare community with relevant, trusted on-demand information during this rapidly evolving situation.”

NICE News July 2016

New guidance and standards Sepsis is just as urgent as heart attack, says NICE NICE wants people who show signs of sepsis to be treated with the same urgency given to those with suspected heart attacks. The new guideline says all health professionals, no matter where they work in the NHS, need to think about the possibility of sepsis in all patients who may have an infection.

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Oral health should be a priority in care homes, says NICE NICE’s new guidance ‘Oral health for adults in care homes’ calls for oral health and access to dental treatments to be given the same priority as general health for all adults in care homes. Recommendations in the guidance focus on improving and maintaining residents’ day-to-day oral healthcare, ensuring staff are properly trained to confidently look after the oral health needs of residents, and there is adequate access to dental services when needed.

Read more

Children and young people with suspected diabetes should be seen by a specialist immediately When a GP suspects a child or young person has diabetes, they should immediately be sent to hospital and seen the same day by a specialist, a new NICE quality standard says. The standard also says that children and young people with type 1 diabetes should be offered intensive insulin therapy to help them maintain near normal blood glucose levels. Diabetes management should include education, support and access to psychological services.

Read more

NICE approves first drug from old Cancer Drugs Fund Dozens of patients with leukaemia will now have an automatic right to the drug bosutinib rather than having to apply to the Cancer Drugs Fund for it. It means the drug will become available through normal NHS funding channels whereas previously it was only available through the Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF).

Read more

NICE recommends ataluren for children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy in final guidance NICE's announcement followed news that NHS England and the company, PTC Therapeutics, had successfully negotiated a 'managed access agreement' that established financial and clinical details surrounding the use of ataluren. As part of the agreement the usual 3-month funding period has been waived by NHS England, meaning ataluren could be available within weeks.

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News NICE guidance can reduce delays in hospital discharge raised by critical report NICE urges hospitals and local authorities to redouble their efforts to reduce delays in discharging patients from hospitals, following criticism from MPs. Professor Gillian Len, deputy chief executive and director of health and social care at NICE, said high quality guidance is available to tackle the problem but it needs to be implemented across the country,

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New competency framework for all prescribers A new and updated Competency Framework to support healthcare professionals to prescribe effectively has been published. Developed by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society in collaboration with NICE, the Framework sets out competencies central to effective performance needed by all prescribers, regardless of their professional background.

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Project to improve management of painful bowel condition wins 2016 Shared Learning Award A project that improved the management of a painful bowel condition, and reduced hospital referrals in Somerset has won this year’s 2016 NICE Shared Learning Award. Delegates at the NICE Forum held in Manchester voted for the project for its work in improving outcomes for patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

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Applications invited to join the NICE Board NICE is encouraging people with relevant experience to apply for one of the five Non-Executive Director posts now being advertised. The five roles are for an Audit and Risk Chair, a consultant in hospital medical practice, one with a background in public health, one with a background in social care and one as a patient/lay representative.

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Features NICE Forum in tweets The NICE Forum took place on Wednesday 6 July in Manchester Central. Held in association with the Patient Safety Congress, the Forum addressed the challenges faced by the healthcare sector. Here's a selections of tweets that were sent out over the course of the day.

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Blogs Ensuring NICE guidance is plain, clear, and easy to understand Thoughts on the importance of keeping NICE guidance clear and unambiguous, from Swaran Singh, professor of psychiatry.

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Introducing our new, user-friendly business plan Sir Andrew Dillon, chief executive of NICE, talks about our new business plan microsite.

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Finding comfort in a difficult time Thoughts on the sensitive issue of organ donation following the death of a child, from Bobbie Farsides, professor of clinical and biomedical ethics at Brighton and Sussex Medical School.

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Have your say Comment on our draft tuberculosis quality standard The quality standard covers preventing, identifying and managing latent and active tuberculosis (TB) in children, young people and adults.  Please submit any comments by 5pm on Tuesday 9 August 2016.

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Get involved  Chair needed for committee on assessment and management of renal stones guideline We’re looking for a skilled chair to advise the team regarding planning the development of this guideline. The person should have experience of: working with multi-professional committees or working groups at a national or regional level interpreting and discussing evidence with a committee. The closing date for applications is 5pm on Friday 12 August 2016.

Apply now

Join our Insight Community We're currently establishing an Insight Community providing opportunities for you to influence the development and improvement of a wider range of NICE’s products. You can do this by taking part in a number of activities, such as focus groups, interviews, and surveys. Your contribution would be much appreciated and help us shape the future of NICE’s products. So far, over 1,600 professionals have signed-up. If you would like to be part of our Insight Community, please complete the short survey below, it only takes 5 minutes.

Take part now

Register to attend our meetings in public Many of our advisory committee meetings are open for the public to observe proceedings and see how decisions are made on our guidance and products. If you are a member of the public, a service user or provider of health and social care guidance and products, or a stakeholder, we welcome you to attend. Wed 17 August – Diagnostics advisory committee (Manchester) Assessment of high-throughput non-invasive prenatal testing for fetal RHD genotype Registration closes on 3 August

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Into Practice  Sunlight exposure in primary school Have a look at NICE guidance in practice. NICE guidance on the benefits and risk of sunlight exposure was implemented in Alderley Edge School for Girls. The school used the guidance to ensure its pupils received safe amounts of sun exposure.

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Adoption support for sacubitril valsartan We’ve published two new resources to support the use of sacubitril for treating symptomatic heart failure with reduced ejection fraction. The resources are intended for use by GPs and by both clinical staff and staff that manage and commission heart failure services who are planning to implement the guidance and start using this technology.

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Improving the prevention and diagnosis of bowel cancer Public Health England has launched a new resource on bowel cancer. The resource aims to lower the number of people who develop bowel cancer, encourage more eligible people to come forward for screening, and achieve an uptake target of 75%. The resource highlights what we know about how bowel cancer affects people, with an aim to help achieve these goals.

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Guidance, standards and advice      Guidance Sepsis: recognition, diagnosis and early management Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma: diagnosis and management Type 1 diabetes in adults: diagnosis and management Type 2 diabetes in adults: management Cardiovascular disease: risk assessment and reduction, including lipid modification Prophylaxis against infective endocarditis: antimicrobial prophylaxis against infective endocarditis in adults and children undergoing interventional procedures Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD): assessment and management Cirrhosis in over 16s: assessment and management Oral health for adults in care homes Highly specialised technologies  Ataluren for treating Duchenne muscular dystrophy with a nonsense mutation in the dystrophin gene Interventional procedure guidance Percutaneous endoscopic laser balloon pulmonary vein isolation for atrial fibrillation Technology appraisals  Abiraterone for castration-resistant metastatic prostate cancer previously treated with a docetaxel-containing regimen Abiraterone for treating metastatic hormone-relapsed prostate cancer before chemotherapy is indicated Lumacaftor–ivacaftor for treating cystic fibrosis homozygous for the F508del mutation Azacitidine for treating acute myeloid leukaemia with more than 30% bone marrow blasts Nivolumab in combination with ipilimumab for treating advanced melanoma Quality standards Diabetes in children and young people Motor neurone disease Medtech innovation briefings Lutonix drug-coated balloon for peripheral arterial disease QTUG for assessing falls risk and frailty Stretta System for gastro-oesophageal reflux disease Ultroid 2.0 for internal haemorrhoids Alair bronchial thermoplasty system for adults with severe difficult to control asthma