Department of Health figures released this week show that by the end of September this year the number of people waiting for an operation had fallen by 256,000 since the waiting lists peaked in June 1998 and by 2,000 compared to the end of September last year.

www.doh.gov.uk/waiting times/trends.pdf

The Health and Safety Executive has launched a website which names hundreds of individuals and organisations, including NHS hospitals and health authorities, convicted of health and safety crimes during the past year.

www.hse-databases.co.uk/ prosecutions

Nottingham City Hospital is trying to trace over 200 patients treated over the past two weeks following the death of a 69-year-old male patient from Legionnaires' disease.

West Surrey health authority has announced public consultation on the closure of 75-year-old Milford Hospital which is being used as a geriatric rehabilitation unit.It is planned that beds will transfer to the Royal Surrey County Hospital in Guildford and Cranleigh and Haslemere community hospitals.

www. surreycc. gov. uk/consult Pioneering heart transplant surgeon Sir Magdi Yacoub and junior health minister Lord Hunt have backed a campaign by credit card companies and banks to encourage new and existing customers to sign up to the NHS organ donor register. Hilary Benn MP first proposed the idea to help ease the backlog of those waiting for transplant surgery.

Our feature on e-procurement (IT Update, page 15, 26 October) implied that Warrington Hospital trust was no longer using the SureStock electronic requisitioning system. This is not the case: the trust has been using SureStock's system since April 1999.We apologise for the error.

Dr Yat Ming Davy Chan appears before the General Medical Council professional conduct committee today (Nov 9) accused of behaving in a `inappropriate, irresponsible and threatening manner throught the wearing of full military combat dress' in Monmouthshire hospital's A&E department and brandishing an imitation firearm in the hospital car park.

The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service for the UK has recorded a 3.2 per cent drop in the number of people applying for medicine, dentistry and veterinary medicine. It is the first year that an earlier deadline has been introduced in an attempt to reduce the number of applications. An UCAS spokesman said it was 'only a small drop and was no cause for concern and there were still far more applicants than places'.