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Met investigates 'stem-cell autism cure' claim

The Met Police has launched an investigation over concerns about stem-cell injections being offered to children as a cure for autism.

The Royal Borough of Greenwich told BBC London it was aware of concerns surrounding "experimental procedures" on autistic children.

The Met said it was investigating "a reported fraud relating to the provision of medical services".

The National Autistic Society said there was no "cure" for autism.

Greenwich Council said it issued a warning to schools and nurseries in the borough after it became aware of concerns.

A spokesperson said the authority had recently been made aware of concerns that "an individual claiming to be a doctor plans to visit the UK to offer dangerous, experimental procedures on children with autism".

"We understand that this person is proposing the transfer of bone marrow and spinal fluid to the brain by injection," the spokesperson said.

"This unlicensed procedure poses a significant threat to life and there is no evidence of any benefits.

"The safety and welfare of our children and young people is of the utmost importance."

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Source: BBC News, 17 April 2024

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Experts warn GPs on prescribing antipsychotic drugs for dementia

Doctors are being urged to reduce prescribing of antipsychotic drugs to dementia patients after the largest study of its kind found they were linked to more harmful side-effects than previously thought.

The powerful medications are widely prescribed for behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia such as apathy, depression, aggression, anxiety, irritability, delirium and psychosis. Tens of thousands of dementia patients in England are prescribed them every year.

Safety concerns have previously been raised about the drugs, with warnings to medics based on increased risks for stroke and death, but evidence of other dangers was less conclusive.

New research suggests there are a considerably wider range of harms associated with their use than previously acknowledged in regulatory alerts, underscoring the need for increased caution in the early stages of treatment.

Antipsychotic use in dementia patients was associated with elevated risks of a wide range of serious adverse outcomes, including stroke, blood clots, heart attack, heart failure, fracture, pneumonia and acute kidney injury, the study’s authors reported. 

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Source: The Guardian, 18 April 2024

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NHSE intervenes over ‘fear and bullying’ in surgery department

Nearly a dozen junior doctors have been relocated from a London hospital’s general surgery department by NHS England, after concerns about a culture of fear, poor support, and reports of bullying. 

NHSE has withdrawn 11 surgical foundation year trainees from Barnet Hospital, in north London, after a review uncovered concerns regarding staff behaviour and safety.

The General Medical Council has opened a case into the hospital’s department, which is run by the Royal Free London Foundation Trust, and the trainees have been placed elsewhere in the trust.

Colin Melville, the GMC’s medical director and director of education and standards, told HSJ: “Doctors in training in the department reported a culture of fear, worry, and feeling unsupported and unable to raise concerns in the appropriate manner.

“There are also concerns over their supervision, bullying, and undermining behaviours in the department, as well as doctors’ physical and mental wellbeing.

“Because of the [trust’s] failure to meet the high standards we require, we stand firmly with NHSE workforce, training, and education London’s decision to relocate the 11 trainees, [to] where they can work and learn in a supportive environment.

“This action is necessary not only to ensure their safety, but to protect the public as well.”

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Source: HSJ, 18 April 2024

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Seven more avoidable sepsis deaths spark coroner warnings

Preventable deaths of seven people from sepsis – including four children – have prompted coroners to flag major concerns about NHS services’ management of the condition.

Since the start of March, six English coroners have sent formal warnings to trusts, NHS England and the government warning of systemic failures to spot sepsis and delays in administering antibiotic treatments.

It comes after an HSJ investigation in February uncovered more than 30 avoidable deaths from sepsis, and undertook analysis of internal figures revealing repeated failures by NHS trusts to provide prompt treatment.

Coroner warnings since March include:

Two notices were sent this week by Nottingham assistant coroner Elizabeth Didcock to Sherwood Forest Hospitals Foundation Trust, raising concerns over its ability to provide safe paediatric care following the deaths of 10-week-old Tommy Gillman and five-year-old Meha Carneiro from sepsis;

A warning from earlier in April criticising University Hospitals Birmingham FT for its failure to treat 56-year-old Tracey Farndon’s sepsis and low blood pressure.

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Source: HSJ, 17 April 2024

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Patients face “new normal” of medicines shortages as UK hampered by supply issues and impact of EU exit

Global supply problems have caused a “shock rise” in shortages of life-saving drugs like antibiotics and epilepsy medication, new research reveals. These shortages come at a cost to the patient and the taxpayer, and are happening despite the NHS spending hundreds of extra millions trying to mitigate the problem. The UK risks being left in the cold when it comes to co-ordinated EU attempts to tackle them. 

That’s according to a new report by the Nuffield Trust think tank and a group of academics, funded by the Health Foundation, which examined key indicators on drug shortages in the UK in the context of global problems with supply chains and the availability of key ingredients. It finds that the past two years have seen constantly elevated medicines shortages, in a "new normal" of frequent disruption to crucial products.  

Key findings on drugs shortages include: 

  • Price concessions (where the government gives extra funding because there are no drugs left at the NHS price) have risen sharply in recent months: prior to 2016 there were rarely more than 20 per month but in late 2022 they peaked at 199 and have remained high ever since.  
  • The excess cost for medicines in months when they were subject to price concessions was £220m across the year to September 2023.
  • There are now over double the number of notifications by drugs companies warning of impending shortages than there were three years ago: in 2023 there were 1,634 such alerts issued, compared to 648 in 2020 (a spike in 2021 was caused by concerns over supply fears in Northern Ireland following Brexit).   
  • The UK has been slower to approve drugs than the EU for new drugs that are authorised centrally. Of drugs authorised in the year to December 2023, 56 drugs authorised in Europe were approved later in the UK and eight have not been approved. Four were approved faster.

The report shows that the EU Exit has not caused the recent spike in medicine shortages, but it is likely to significantly weaken the UK’s ability to respond to them by splitting it from European supply chains, authorisations and collective efforts to respond to shortages. In particular, the research highlights the risks posed to the UK from being left out of key initiatives like the Critical Medicines Alliance and Voluntary Solidarity Mechanism, led by EU member states to work together to insulate themselves from the impact of medicines shortages.  

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Source: The Nuffield Trust, 18 April 2024

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Jammed 999 lines and not enough ambulances to go round

This is a sick country, getting sicker. NHS waits will take years to clear, if at all. While people wait, they get sicker. When more and more people slip into absolute poverty – a fifth of people now – they get even sicker. More sicken as they age, and that peak has not yet been reached. Every part of the NHS feels at the sharp end, coping mostly because, amazingly, they just do, even with no end in sight to the stress.

NHS data released last week on people waiting more than 18 weeks with serious heart problems suggests some will probably die before they get treatment. When waiting patients have heart attacks and strokes they call an ambulance – so there’s been an astonishing 7% rise in those category 1 calls.

At an ambulance dispatch centre in Kent, Polly Toynbee listens in to calls like this at the South East Coast Ambulance Service dispatch centre in Gillingham, north Kent, covering Surrey, Sussex and Kent. She sat with D, a seasoned and sympathetic emergency medical adviser, call handler and life-and-death decider.

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Source: The Guardian, 17 April 2024

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GPs and patients invited to share views on legal ‘duty of candour’

The Government is inviting views on how well GP practices and other NHS organisations are complying with their legal duty of candour when things go wrong.

Patients and health professionals are being asked whether the statutory duty is well understood and adequately regulated by the CQC.

Under the statutory duty of candour, introduced for all CQC-registered providers in 2015, GP practices must be open and honest with their patients when something goes wrong and has caused harm. 

In December, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) announced a review into whether healthcare providers are following the duty of candour rules.

This was in response to concerns that the duty is not always being met and that there is variation in how the rules are being applied. 

The DHSC has published its ‘call for evidence’ to gather views on how well the duty of candour obligation is working for both patients and health professionals. 

Patients have been asked whether GP practices and other providers ‘demonstrate meaningful and compassionate engagement’ with patients who have been affected by an incident. 

The call for evidence also asks for views on whether the criteria for triggering the duty are appropriate and well understood by staff.

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Source: Pulse, 16 April 2024

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NHS hospitals heavily reliant on locum doctors charging up to £850 per shift are 'undoubtedly' risking patient safety, study warns

Hospitals which rely heavily on locum doctors are 'undoubtedly' risking patient safety, a study of NHS practice found.

While temporary staff are a 'vital resource' to plug workforce gaps, issues such as unfamiliarity with protocols and procedures mean they 'pose significant patient safety challenges' for the NHS, experts say.

The report warned many were left feeling isolated and stigmatised by resident staff, creating a 'hostile environment'.

This has led to a 'defensive' culture over mistakes, hindering improvements to care, according to researchers.

Calling for greater monitoring by inspectors, NHS leaders must rethink how these professionals are supported and used, the authors said.

Writing in a linked editorial, Professor Richard Lilford, of the Institute of Applied Health Research at the University of Birmingham, said the findings suggested 'the life of the locum is a difficult and lonely one, opening up many pathways to unsafe practice.'

Likening it to airline pilots, he suggested staff would benefit from standardised practices – such as how the medicine cabinet is stocked – to minimise mistakes.

Agencies providing staff should be given routine feedback by employers and locum staff, to enhance patient safety, he said.

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Source: MailOnline, 16 April 2024

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Concerns at Nottinghamshire hospital after baby's sepsis death

The parents of a baby who died from sepsis said their son deserved a "fighting chance" after concerns were raised over his care in hospital.

Ten-week-old Tommy Gillman was admitted to King's Mill hospital on 7 December 2022 but died the next day.

Tommy Gillman, from Coddington, Nottinghamshire, was "extremely unwell" with what proved to be Salmonella Brandenburg meningitis when admitted to the Sutton-in-Ashfield hospital at 12:35 GMT.

His assessment was delayed, and then the severity of his condition missed, meaning correct treatment with antibiotics and fluids did not start until 17:00.

A coroner's report identified a lack of experienced paediatric nurses and confusion in handovers between staff.

"I am not reassured that necessary actions to address these serious issues identified are in place," the coroner said.

Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said it welcomed the review and a "rapid" programme of improvements was being worked on.

Tamzin Myers and Charlie Gillman said their son deserved "a fighting chance" by getting prompt treatment

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Source: BBC News, 17 April 2024

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Can AI techniques help clinicians assess and treat patients with bone fractures?

Investigators have applied artificial intelligence (AI) techniques to gait analyses and medical records data to provide insights about individuals with leg fractures and aspects of their recovery.

The study, published in the Journal of Orthopaedic Research, uncovered a significant association between the rates of hospital readmission after fracture surgery and the presence of underlying medical conditions. Correlations were also found between underlying medical conditions and orthopedic complications, although these links were not significant.

It was also apparent that gait analyses in the early postinjury phase offer valuable insights into the injury’s impact on locomotion and recovery. For clinical professionals, these patterns were key to optimizing rehabilitation strategies.

"Our findings demonstrate the profound impact that integrating machine learning and gait analysis into orthopaedic practice can have, not only in improving the accuracy of post-injury complication predictions but also in tailoring rehabilitation strategies to individual patient needs," said corresponding author Mostafa Rezapour, PhD, of Wake Forest University School of Medicine. "This approach represents a pivotal shift towards more personalised, predictive, and ultimately more effective orthopaedic care."

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Source: Digital Health News, 12 April 2024

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Record 3.7m workers in England will have major illness by 2040, study finds

A record 3.7 million workers in England will have a major illness by 2040, according to research.

On current trends, 700,000 more working-age adults will be living with high healthcare needs or substantial risk of mortality by 2040 – up nearly 25% from 2019 levels, according to a report by the Health Foundation charity.

But the authors predicted no improvement in health inequalities for working-age adults by 2040, with 80% of the increase in major illness in more deprived areas.

Researchers at the Health Foundation’s research arm and the University of Liverpool examined 1.7m GP and hospital records, alongside mortality data, which was then linked to geographical data to estimate the difference in diagnosed illness by level of deprivation in England in 2019, the last year of health data before the pandemic.

They then projected how levels of ill health are predicted to change in England between 2019 and 2040 based on trends in risk factors such as smoking, alcohol use, obesity, diet and physical activity, as well as rates of illness, life expectancy and population changes.

Without action, the authors warn, people in the most deprived areas of England are likely to develop a major illness 10 years earlier than those in the least deprived areas and are also three times more likely to die by the age of 70.

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Source: The Guardian, 17 April 2024

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Three in four NHS staff are struggling with mental health, as NHSE forced to reverse axing of support

Three in four NHS staff have struggled with a mental health condition in the last year, according to a new poll.

A survey of workers carried out by NHS Charities Together over medics’ mental health comes as healthcare leaders were forced to reverse cuts to NHS Practitioner Health, a service for medics.

A backlash from NHS staff over the proposed cuts forced health secretary Victoria Atkins to intervene.

In the new poll of more than 1,000 NHS staff, 76% said they have experienced a health condition in the last year with 52% reporting anxiety, 51% reporting low mood, while 42% of respondents also said they’d experienced exhaustion.

Meanwhile, the most recent NHS data shows the most common reasons for staff sickness are anxiety, stress, depression or other psychiatric conditions, with more than 586,600 working days lost over this in November 2023.

NHS Practitioner Health began as a mental health service for GPs but has since expanded to other specialities following funding from NHS England. However, last week the provider announced this national funding was due to end, so its service would be reduced.

NHS England said the decision was so it could review the services available for all NHS staff. However, it was forced to u-turn on the decision and agreed to provide funding for an additional year.

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Source: The Independent, 17 April 2024

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Data regulator issues new guidance for healthcare sector on transparency

The UK’s data protection regulator has published new guidance for health and social care organisations it says will help them be more transparent about how personal information is being used.

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) said the new guidance would provide regulatory certainty to organisations on how they should keep people properly informed as technology is increasingly used to deliver care and carry out research.

The regulator said focus on the issue was needed as the health and social care sector routinely handles sensitive information about the most intimate aspects of peoples’ health, and that under data protection law, people have a right to know what is happening to their personal information.

Being transparent is essential to building public trust in health and social care services

Anne Russell, head of regulatory policy projects at the ICO, said the ever-increasing use of technology meant personal data was more important than ever, and so therefore was more transparency.

“Being transparent is essential to building public trust in health and social care services,” she said.

“If people clearly understand how and why their personal information is being used, they are likely to feel empowered to share their health information to both access care and support initiatives such as medical research.

“As new technologies are developed and deployed in the health sector, our personal information is becoming more important than ever to boost the efficiency and public benefit of these systems.

“With this bespoke guidance, we want to support health and social care organisations by improving their understanding of effective transparency, ensuring that they are clear, open and honest with everyone whose personal information is being used.”

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Source: The Independent, 15 April 2024

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‘Disgraceful’ regulator’s 10-year case delay

A regulator overseeing 340,000 professionals breached a psychologist’s human rights by letting their fitness-to-practise case go on for a decade, amid widespread very long delays, it has emerged.

A judgment from the Health and Care Professions Tribunal said the “lamentable” situation for the registrant was down to the “disgraceful… manner in which the Healthcare Professions Council dealt with their case”.

The HCPC oversees professional standards for several groups including radiographers, paramedics, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, and operating department practitioners.

If a complaint is made about a registrant, it can investigate and refer them to the tribunal, which can strike them off.

The Society of Radiographers said the current speed of cases was “simply unacceptable” and its director of industrial strategy Dean Rogers added: “Our members spend too long working — and living — under the intense scrutiny of their regulator, often under the control of an interim order restricting or even preventing their practise while investigations drag on.”

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Source: HSJ, 17 April 2024

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AI makes retinal imaging 100 times faster

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health applied artificial intelligence (AI) to a technique that produces high-resolution images of cells in the eye. They report that with AI, imaging is 100 times faster and improves image contrast 3.5-fold. The advance, they say, will provide researchers with a better tool to evaluate age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and other retinal diseases.

"Artificial intelligence helps overcome a key limitation of imaging cells in the retina, which is time," said Johnny Tam, Ph.D., who leads the Clinical and Translational Imaging Section at NIH's National Eye Institute.

Tam is developing a technology called adaptive optics (AO) to improve imaging devices based on optical coherence tomography (OCT). Like ultrasound, OCT is noninvasive, quick, painless, and standard equipment in most eye clinics.

"Our results suggest that AI can fundamentally change how images are captured," said Tam. "Our P-GAN artificial intelligence will make AO imaging more accessible for routine clinical applications and for studies aimed at understanding the structure, function, and pathophysiology of blinding retinal diseases. Thinking about AI as a part of the overall imaging system, as opposed to a tool that is only applied after images have been captured, is a paradigm shift for the field of AI."

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Source: Digital Health News, 11 April 2024

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Why Mondays are the deadliest day to go to A&E

The number of people dying needlessly in A&E soars on a Monday as hospitals are stretched to the limit and failing to discharge patients at the weekend, new data shows.

Figures uncovered by The Independent show an average of 126 patients died every Monday between 2020-2023 – 25% higher than any other day. On a Saturday, the average number of deaths drops as low as 90.

Waiting times are also shown to spike massively at the start of the week, with an average of 9,300 patients spending more than 12 hours waiting on a Monday – up to 2,000 more than any other day.

Medical experts said the rise in A&E waits can be attributed to people staying away from hospitals during weekends and patients not being discharged from medical care, causing a bottleneck in an already buckling system.

The stark statistics also directly contradict repeated government efforts to make the NHS a seven-day service. Multiple coroners have warned the government and health leaders about delays to patients’ treatment and diagnosis due to variations in staffing and access to specialists – particularly over the weekend.

Adrian Boyle, president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, said the NHS England data clearly signposted an “increased risk” at the start of the week. Another expert said the sharp rise in deaths on Mondays showed an A&E “running constantly in the red zone”.

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Source: The Independent, 8 April 2024

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Report suggests people with breast cancer are being ‘systematically left behind’

Many people with breast cancer are being “systematically left behind” due to inaction on inequities and hidden suffering, experts have said.

A new global report suggests people with the condition are continuing to face glaring inequalities and significant adversity, much of which remains unacknowledged by wider society and policymakers.

The Lancet Breast Cancer Commission highlights a need for better communication between medical staff and patients, and stresses the importance of early detection.

It also highlights the need for improved awareness of breast cancer risk factors, with almost one in four cases (23%) of the disease estimated to be preventable.

The Lancet Commission’s lead author, Professor Charlotte Coles, department of oncology, University of Cambridge, said: “Recent improvements in breast cancer survival represent a great success of modern medicine.

“However, we can’t ignore how many patients are being systematically left behind.

“Our commission builds on previous evidence, presents new data and integrates patient voices to shed light on a large unseen burden.

“We hope that by highlighting these inequities and hidden costs and suffering in breast cancer, they can be better recognised and addressed by healthcare professionals and policymakers in partnership with patients and the public around the world.”

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Source: The Independent, 15 April 2024

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Arm skin patch system could warn of organ rejection

Some people having a lung transplant on the NHS will receive a skin patch graft from their donor too as a way of spotting organ rejection sooner.

Rejection could show as a rash on the donated skin patch, say experts, allowing early treatment to stop problems escalating.

The trial, by University of Oxford and NHS Blood and Transplant, will enrol 152 patients in England.

It follows earlier success with some other transplant patients, including Adam Alderson, 44, who received a donor skin graft on his abdomen in 2015 when he had eight organs replaced – including a pancreas, stomach and spleen – after treatment for a rare cancer.

He says the graft has already helped guide his treatment a few times to prevent his body rejecting his many new organs.

He said: "It's a really comforting thing to have - I feel safer knowing that I have a tool available to tell if something is going wrong before it becomes too serious. It's almost like an oil warning light on your car. Plus, having that visible reminder of how lucky I am is really special."

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Source: BBC News, 16 April 2024

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UK swapped to fatal US blood products to save money, minutes suggest

The British government was willing to risk infecting NHS patients to get “lower-priced” blood products, according to a document that campaigners claim proves state and corporate guilt in one of the country’s worst ever scandals.

A public inquiry into the deaths of an estimated 2,900 people infected with conditions such as HIV and hepatitis will publish its final report in May, four decades after the NHS started prescribing blood and blood products – including from drug users, prisoners and sex workers – sourced from the USA.

Within the thousands of documents disclosed to the inquiry, internal company minutes have emerged that campaigners say provide the final compelling piece of evidence of the commercial greed and state negligence that destroyed thousands of lives.

In November 1976, Immuno AG, an Austrian company that was a major supplier to the Department of Health, was seeking a licence change to allow it to supply a blood product from those paid to donate in the US rather than donors without a financial incentive in Europe.

According to the minutes of a meeting of medics in the company, it had been “proven” that there was a “significantly higher hepatitis risk” from a concentrate known as Kryobulin 2 made from US plasma compared with that from Austria and Germany.

The company had concluded there was a “preference” in the UK for the cheaper US option. The memo of the meeting said: “Kryobulin 2 will be significantly cheaper than Kryobulin 1 because the British market will accept a higher risk of hepatitis for a lower-priced product. In the long-term, Kryobulin 1 will disappear from the British market.”

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Source: The Guardian, 14 April 2024

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More than 2,000 NHS buildings in England older than NHS, figures show

Millions of patients are being put at risk in crumbling hospitals that are unfit for purpose, MPs have said, as figures reveal more than 2,000 NHS buildings are older than the health service itself.

Health bosses have repeatedly warned ministers of the urgent need to plough cash into replacing rundown buildings in order to protect the safety of patients and staff. The maintenance backlog has risen to £11.6bn in England.

Now analysis of NHS Digital data has found that at 34 out of 211 NHS trusts in England at least one in four buildings have been standing since before 1948, the year the NHS was founded.

Sewage leaking from sinks on to wards are among the issues affecting more than 2,000 buildings that predate the health service. Last month it was reported that the ceiling of an intensive care ward collapsed on to a patient on life support and a falling lift broke a doctor’s leg. One hospital is said to have been using its intensive care unit as a storeroom because it deemed it unsafe for patients.

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Source: The Guardian, 15 April 2024

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Causes of death to be scrutinised in revamp of death certificates

Public protection and support for bereaved families are at the heart of a government overhaul of how deaths are certified.

From September, medical examiners will look at the cause of death in all cases that haven’t been referred to the coroner in a move designed to help strengthen safeguards and prevent criminal activity.

They will also consult with families or representatives of the deceased, providing an opportunity for them to raise questions or concerns with a senior doctor not involved in the care of the person who died.

The changes demonstrate the government’s commitment to providing greater transparency after a death and will ensure the right deaths are referred to coroners for further investigation.

Health Minister, Maria Caulfield said:

  • Reforming death certification is a highly complex and sensitive process, so it was important for us to make sure we got these changes right.
  • At such a difficult time, it’s vital that bereaved families have full faith in how the death of their loved one is certified and have their voices heard if they are concerned in any way.
  • The measures I’m introducing today will ensure all deaths are reviewed and the bereaved are fully informed, making the system safer by improving protections against rare abuses.

From 9 September 2024 it will become a requirement that all deaths in any health setting that are not referred to the coroner in the first instance are subject to medical examiner scrutiny.

Welcoming the announcement today, Dr Suzy Lishman CBE, Senior Advisor on Medical Examiners for Royal College of Pathologists, said:

“As the lead college for medical examiners, the Royal College of Pathologists welcomes the announcement of the statutory implementation date for these important death certification reforms.

“Medical examiners are already scrutinising the majority of deaths in England and Wales, identifying concerns, improving care for patients and supporting bereaved people. The move to a statutory system in September will further strengthen those safeguards, ensuring that all deaths are reviewed and that the voices of all bereaved people are heard.”

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Source: Gov.UK, 15 April 2024

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Doctor exodus: tens of thousands planning to move abroad, NHS warned

Tens of thousands of doctors are hoping to quit the NHS and move abroad this year in search of better pay, the medical regulator has warned.

Half of the doctors planning to leave said they wanted to move to Australia, which has been the most popular destination for emigrating UK doctors for the past five years.

The General Medical Council surveyed 3,154 doctors about their attitudes towards leaving the UK, including 1,000 who had recently left to practise abroad. Some 13% of those working in the NHS said they were “very likely” to move in the next 12 months, while another 17% said they were “fairly likely” to move.

The GMC said this would amount to 96,000 doctors quitting over the next year if applied to the total number of doctors on the medical register, although it acknowledged that the actual rate of departures was likely to be much lower.

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Source: The Times, 12 April 2024

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One in seven callers could not reach GP in worst-performing ICS

People attempting to contact their GP practice are almost three times as likely to report failing to get through in some integrated care systems (ICS) than others, according to NHS England-commissioned data.

The survey figures, collected for the first time by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), show 8.5% of people nationally who tried to call their GP between mid-January and mid-February this year said they could not reach the practice. This equates to 1.5 million people across England, according to the ONS.

In Northamptonshire – the worst performing ICS – 14.7% of callers did not manage to make contact. That is the equivalent of around one in seven people. By comparison, only 3.9% of callers in Gloucestershire, the best performing ICS, could not get through. The findings are broadly similar when population and age are accounted for.

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Source: HSJ, 12 April 2024

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ADHD medication shortage continues, pharmacists say

The continuing shortage of ADHD medication is causing those with the condition increasing stress and anxiety, the BBC has been told.

Pharmacists said the problem persists despite a government assurance it would be resolved by the end of last year.

In September, the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) blamed the UK-wide scarcity on "increased global demand and manufacturing issues".

It said the disruption was "expected to resolve" between October and December.

Lorraine Jukes, who has ADHD, said: "Here I am in April 2024, with only four days of medication left."

The 36-year-old, from Iffley, Oxford, said she was "frantically phoning through lists of pharmacies" and being told there was no stock and no indication of any being available before she runs out.

Oliver Picard, vice chair of the National Pharmacy Association, said: "We were told it would be resolved in December.

"Some of the medication is starting to come back. In March, we had the supply of a certain brand of ADHD medication, we are now seeing shortages of other ADHD medication and we don't have a date for resupply.

"Sometimes we can get some but will be limited to one packet per month pharmacy and that's not helpful either. It's hugely frustrating."

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Source: BBC News, 15 April 2024

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Gang culture at neurosurgery department, doctor alleges

A "gang culture" existed at an NHS neurosurgery department, a doctor has claimed at his employment tribunal.

Neurosurgeon Mansoor Foroughi is one of two surgeons who alleges patients were put at risk at University Hospitals Sussex, where police are investigating 105 cases of alleged medical negligence.

Four whistleblowers at the trust previously told BBC Newsnight that patients had died unnecessarily while others were "effectively maimed".

They also complained of a "Mafia-like" management culture.

Mansoor Foroughi alleges one colleague was approved to perform complex spinal surgery without adequate training.

He claims a second surgeon undertook procedures that led to a "disproportionate" level of deaths.

Mr Foroughi says a third surgeon undertook private work whilst on call to the NHS, which if true would be a breach of the NHS Code of Conduct.

Universities Hospitals Sussex dismissed Mr Foroughi following a disciplinary hearing which upheld three allegations against him. He alleges the trust punished him because he raised these safety concerns.

The trust said it would "vigorously contest" his claims.

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Source: BBC News, 11 April 2024

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