in brief

Poor hospital labour room facilities could be contributing to Britain's rising rate of caesarean births, according to research published last week by the National Childbirth Trust.The study found women giving birth in labour rooms with which they are unhappy are more likely to have emergency caesareans.

www. nctpregnancyandbabycare. com

The Health Development Agency has launched the first ever standard for smoking cessation training. It aims to co-ordinate training across the country. It highlights the need for training to be flexible for counsellors in different settings.

www. hda. nhs. uk

Treatment of patients with heart attacks has improved against national service framework targets, a survey by the Royal College of Physicians has found.The second myocardial infarction national audit project revealed 76 per cent of patients received thrombolytic treatment within 30 minutes of their call for professional help in the first three months of this year.

New standards on decontaminating surgical instruments will allow trusts to work with the private sector to develop decontamination services.Trusts must meet the standards by 2007.

www. decontamination.nhsestates. gov. uk

Peter Mount has been elected chair of the NHS Confederation.Mr Mount, chair of Central Manchester and Manchester Children's University Hospitals trust, replaces Dianne Jeffrey, who steps down after a three-year term.Alan Burns, chief executive of Trent strategic health authority, has been elected vice-chair, replacing Trevor Campbell Davis.

The first issue of Non-Exec Bulletin was published this month. It will keep chairs and non-executive directors informed about health policy and practice and local training opportunities.

www. doh. gov. uk/publications/ bulletins. htm