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Norfolk and Norwich Hospital unable to discharge 180 patients

A senior hospital nurse said she could not discharge 180 patients due to a lack of "care and support" at home.

Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital said among the people that did not need to be in hospital was a patient who had been there for 145 days.

Claire Fare, senior discharge matron, said delays "impact on the whole of the flow" of patients.

Norfolk County Council's social care department blamed the "national care crisis" for the problems.

In June, the hospital, which has about 1,200 beds, pleaded for family and friends to help look after fit patients to ease demand.

Melanie Syson, the hospital's discharge coordinator, said there was a person in the hospital ready for discharge that had been there for more than four months.

"She is medically fit to be discharged but we are waiting for support to be ready at home," she said.

Ms Syson added: "The length of stay of the patients seems to be getting longer."

To help cope with the delays, the hospital opened a "home-first unit" in January for patients who did not need acute care but it was unable to discharge. The unit focuses on rehabilitation to try to prevent the patients coming back into hospital or requiring more care at home.

Stephanie Ward, the ward sister, said it aimed to "give patients the time they need to do things themselves as much as they can".

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Source: BBC News, 15 July 2022

 

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Nontraditional nursing homes in the US have almost no coronavirus cases. Why aren’t they more widespread?

Not a single resident has contracted the coronavirus at Goodwin House’s small residential facility in Northern Virginia, USA, where about 80 seniors live in homey apartments and keep their own sleeping and meal schedules. There’s been just one case at the Woodlands at John Knox Village in Broward County, Fla., where all 140 residents live in private rooms and are cared for by nurses who earn enough not to take a second job.

These facilities, part of a national movement in the US to create less-institutionalised long-term care, stand out in a pandemic that has killed more than 61,000 nursing home residents in the US since March. At “Green House” homes, the best-known nontraditional model, residents are one-fifth as likely to get the coronavirus as those who live in typical nursing homes — and one-twentieth as likely to die of the disease it causes.

The model has been praised by academics and doctors and seems far better suited than traditional facilities to stave off the spread of infection and the isolation that has devastated the elderly in recent months. But it remains on the fringes of a $137 billion industry.

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Source: The Washington Post, 3 November 2020

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Non-invasive ventilation deaths fell for first time in 2019, audit finds

Inpatient mortality among people receiving non-invasive ventilation (NIV) has decreased for the first time since 2010, falling from 34% in 2013 to 26% in 2019, figures released by the British Thoracic Society show.

The annual National Adult Non-Invasive Ventilation audit, which began in 2010, reported “substantial improvements in processes of care and patient outcomes” in 2019 when compared with previous years.

“Some improvement in overall mortality may be attributed to improved patient selection,” it said. “Mortality outcomes were lower for each diagnostic category, and most notably for patients with COPD [chronic obstructive pulmonary disease] and obesity-related respiratory failure.”

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Source: BMJ, 10 July 2020

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Non-Covid infectious disease cases down in England, data suggests

The social restrictions imposed upon our lives because of coronavirus have taken a toll on our emotions, finances, and our waistlines, but there may yet be a silver-lining: a reduction in cases of other infectious diseases. From the common cold to chickenpox, there has been a substantial drop in the number of infections being reported to GPs, despite children returning to school – and that looks set to continue as winter approaches and lockdown restrictions tighten across the country.

According to the latest GP surveillance data for England there were 1.5 cases of common cold for every 100,000 people during the week ending 6 October – compared to 92.5 cases reported during the same week last year. The rate of other non-Covid respiratory illnesses was also lower, at 131 for every 100,000 people, compared to 303 last year. Influenza-like illness is also down, at 131 cases for every 100,000 people, versus 303 cases in 2019.

Although there has been in increase since the start of the school term, for all of these illnesses, infection rates remain below expected seasonal levels for this time of year, the report by the Royal College of General Practitioners’ research and surveillance centre said. Equivalent data was not immediately accessible for Wales and Scotland.

GP consultations for other infectious diseases like strep throat, tonsillitis and impetigo, as well as infectious intestinal diseases like norovirus are also well below the five-year average – and have been since late March – the report suggests.

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Source: The Guardian, 9 October 2020

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Non-compliant online STI tests put patients at risk, experts warn

Patients are being put at risk in the UK because very few sexually transmitted infection (STI) tests offered online meet official standards, experts have warned.

The NHS provides free in-person tests for STIs via its network of sexual health and genitourinary medicine clinics. Patients can also order tests via the internet from both NHS-commissioned and private providers, a practice that has become increasingly popular during the pandemic.

However, new research in the Sexually Transmitted Infections journal published by the BMJ found that few online STI test services meet national recommended standards, with independent sector providers the least likely to be compliant.

Online tests involve the user ordering a kit and either self-sampling by posting the specimen for laboratory analysis, or self-testing by interpreting the test themselves.

The research found that the commercial self-sample providers, which advertised to those with symptoms, did not differentiate by STI symptom severity, and eight – seven private and one NHS-commissioned provider – offered no advice on accessing preventive treatment after exposure to HIV as recommended.

Self-test providers did not appear to offer any form of order of treatment for patients and five offered tests that were intended for professional use only.

The research concluded: “Regulatory change is required to ensure that the standard of care received online meets national guidelines to protect patients and the wider population from the repercussions of underperforming or inappropriate tests."

“If we do not act now, patients will continue to receive suboptimal care with potentially significant adverse personal, clinical and public health implications.”

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Source: The Guardian, 12 April 2022

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Non-acute services to receive 30 million PPE products

Adult social care services are to receive millions of personal protective equipment products following a national audit of personal protective equipment (PPE), HSJ can reveal.

The government will deliver more than 30 million items to local resilience forums in the coming days, for distribution among social care and other front-line services, according to a letter seen by HSJ.

The stock should not be sent to acute trusts or ambulance services, the letter, from health and social care secretary Matt Hancock and housing, communities and local government secretary Robert Jenrick, stated.

Describing an “urgent need” for PPE in front-line services, Mr Hancock and Mr Jenrick asked local planners to distribute this latest batch of stock “only where there is a clear and pressing need”.

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Source: HSJ, 6 April 2020

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No. 10 sets new GP access target

A new target for improving patients’ experience of making GP appointments is among three top NHS priorities identified by the prime minister for this year, HSJ has learned. 

Samantha Jones, permanent secretary at the Department of Health and Social Care, identified the three main objectives for 10 Downing Street for 2026-27 at a recent staff briefing.

Two of them match existing commitments: For 70% of patients to be seen within 18 weeks for elective treatment by March 2027; and to begin delivering the “NHS Online” digital health service in 2027.

However, the third is new: For at least 80% per cent of patients to report being satisfied with their experience of contacting their GP practice by March 2027.

No target was set for this measure in last year’s medium term planning framework, nor in priorities for this year set out by NHS England last month – although it did call for a focus on urgent GP appointments.

The measure comes from a monthly Office for National Statistics survey funded by NHSE. Performance has increased over the past 18 months – as most practices have upgraded phone and web booking systems – but the gains have slowed.

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Source: HSJ, 6 May 2026

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No. 10 criticised for failing to respond to damning MP report on Covid

The government has been criticised for failing to respond to a damning parliamentary report that accused ministers of mishandling the early stages of the pandemic.

The report, compiled by the Health and Science and Technology Committees, found the government’s initial response to Covid-19 “amounted in practice” to the pursuit of herd immunity, with the delayed decision to lock down ranking as one of the “most important public health failures the United Kingdom has ever experienced”.

More than 50 witnesses contributed to the cross-party report, including ministers, NHS officials, government advisers and leading scientists, with the authors saying it was was “vital” that lessons were learnt from the failings of the past 18 months.

The findings from the joint inquiry were published on 12 October and a deadline for an official government response was set for 12 December.

However, that date has now passed and the committees have yet to formally hear back from ministers, according to the parliamentary website, which states that a response is now “overdue”.

Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice said the government’s failure to “meet a very reasonable deadline” called into question the willingness of ministers to engage with the coming independent public inquiry into the UK’s handling of the pandemic.

"The government have had months to get a response delivered to the Health and Science and Technology committees following their lessons leant from the pandemic report,” said Jo Goodmand, co-founder of the campaign group.

“Unfortunately those of us who have lost loved ones are far too used to this with responses to FOIs late and it taking far too long to announce the inquiry.

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Source: 30 December 2021

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No-deal Brexit 'still risk to NHS and care sector'

A no-deal Brexit presents risks to the NHS and care homes despite extensive government planning, a watchdog says. The National Audit Office (NAO) praised the government for the "enormous amount of work" that had been done but said there were still "significant" gaps.

The extra shipping capacity government was buying to bring medicines into ports other than Dover may not be completely ready by 31 October. 

And there was no clear evidence the care sector was ready, the NAO said. The government has arranged the stockpiling of supplies for the NHS. But for the care sector, which is fragmented in that it relies on 24,000 companies to provide services, no central arrangement has been made to stockpile equipment and supplies, such as syringes and needles, most of which come from or via the EU.

When it comes to medicines, however, the supply of which has been organised for both the NHS and care sectors, the report acknowledges the work that has been done.

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Source: BBC News, 27 September 2019

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No timetable for infected blood victims' compensation

There is a "moral case" for compensation to be paid to people affected by the contaminated blood scandal, the government has said.

But Paymaster General Jeremy Quin told MPs he could not commit to a timetable.

In August, the government announced that 4,000 UK victims would receive interim payments of £100,000.

Tens of thousands of people contracted HIV or hepatitis C in the 1970s and 80s after being given infected blood. 

In September, modelling by a group of academics commissioned by the public inquiry estimated that 26,800 people were infected after being given contaminated transfusions between 1970 and 1991.

The study calculated that 1,820 of those died as a result, but that the number could be as high as 3,320.

The inquiry, chaired by retired High Court judge Sir Brian Langstaff, began taking evidence in 2018.

The interim compensation announcement in August came after Sir Brian argued there was a compelling case to make payments quickly - saying victims were on borrowed time because of their failing health.

Payments have been made to those whose health is failing after developing hepatitis C and HIV, and partners of people who have died.

But families have complained that many people affected, such as bereaved parents, missed out.

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Source: BBC News, 15 December 2022

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No significant clinical harm from Advanced cyber attack, says chief information security officer at NHS England

Following the Advanced cyber attack in August 2022, Phil Huggins has revealed to a Digital Health Rewired audience that the NHS has “seen no clinical impact or significant clinical harm”, after a review to be released in the near future.

The national chief information security officer for health and care at NHS England was speaking alongside a panel on the Cyber Security Stage on day two of Digital Health Rewired 2023 in London.

Huggins explained that although the impact of the Advanced attack was big on the system, in a clinical sense it was not particularly damaging, despite the fact that client data was confirmed to have been exfiltrated.

However, Ayesha Rahim, clinical lead for digital mental health at NHS England and chief medical information officer at Surrey and Borders Partnership Foundation Trust, was also on the panel, and spoke of the huge impact the attack had on staff.

“The date 4th August is imprinted in my brain”, Rahim said, which is when the attack first happened and was first reported. She explained that it is “quite difficult to fully convey the chaos this caused”, giving examples of staff having no idea what a patient’s background was and therefore having to do everything “blindfolded”.

Rahim said staff could not tell if it was safe to go out on visits to mental health patients due to the lack of data and information on them, and every time a person saw a staff member they were retraumatised having to explain their past over and over, including experiences of sexual abuse.

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Source: Digital Health, 15 March 2023

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No safety switch: How lax oversight of EHRs puts patients at risk

Back in 2009, healthcare experts, including mainly members of the American Medical Informatics Association, envisioned creating a national databank to track reports of deaths, injuries and near misses linked to issues with the move to have computerised medical records.

The experts at that September 2009 meeting agreed that safety should be a top priority as federal officials poured more than $30 billion into subsidies to wire up medical offices and hospitals nationwide. However, it never happened. Instead, plans for putting patient safety first — and for building a comprehensive injury reporting and reviewing system — have stalled for nearly a decade, because manufacturers of electronic health records (EHRs), health care providers, federal health care policy wonks, academics and Congress have either blocked the effort or fought over how to do it properly, an ongoing investigation by Fortune and Kaiser Health News (KHN) shows.

Meanwhile, patients remain at risk of harm. In March, Fortune and KHN revealed that thousands of injuries, deaths or near misses tied to software glitches, user errors, interoperability problems and other flaws have piled up in various government-sponsored and private repositories. One study uncovered more than 9,000 patient safety reports tied to EHR problems at three pediatric hospitals over a five-year period.

Despite such incidents, experts believe EHRs have made medicine safer by eliminating errors due to illegible handwriting and in some cases speeding up access to vital patient files. But they also acknowledge they have no idea how much safer, or how much the systems could still be improved because no one — a decade after the federal government all but mandated their adoption — is assessing the technology’s overall safety record.

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Source: Kaiser Health News, 21 November 2019

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No plans to move away from remote triage, says NHSE

GPs should continue to triage patients remotely and there are currently no plans for when the approach will end, NHS England has said.

GP leaders have also told Pulse they believe the ‘total triage’ arrangements will continue ‘for some time’, perhaps even beyond the end of the pandemic, due to the expectation that social distancing measures will continue.

However, other GPs revealed practices have stopped offering total triage because of workload pressures and the approach ‘not saving any time for some clinicians’.

NHS England said remote triage should remain in place where possible – and that the contractual exception allowing practices to suspend online appointment bookings still stands.

An NHS England spokesperson told Pulse it cannot yet say how long these arrangements will continue to be in place but it is committed to ensuring patients retain the option to access services digitally going forward.

Practices should use remote consultations and offer patients video appointments when appropriate, while ensuring patients have clear information about how to access services, the spokesperson said.

GPs should restore activity to usual levels where clinically appropriate and proactively reach out to the clinically vulnerable and those whose care may have been delayed, they added.

It comes as NHS England operational guidance last month revealed plans for practices to ‘significantly increase’ the use of online consultations as part of ‘embedding total triage’ – first introduced at the start of the pandemic to reduce transmission of coronavirus.

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Source: Pulse, 22 April 2021

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No payments for unvaccinated staff, trusts told as NHS prepares for dismissals

NHS organisations have been told to prepare for redeploying or dismissing thousands of unvaccinated staff without an exit payment, and to raise the alarm about services which may be rendered unsafe.

NHS England today issued guidance on ‘phase two’ of the government’s “vaccination as a condition of deployment”, which requires all patient-facing staff to have had two covid vaccinations by 1 April. 

Tens of thousands of staff are believed to still be unvaccinated, and the cut off for having a first dose is 3 February.

The guidance said efforts should be made to adjust roles or redeploy staff, but added: “From 4 February 2022, staff who remain unvaccinated (excluding those who are exempt) should be invited to a formal meeting chaired by an appropriate manager, in which they are notified that a potential outcome of the meeting may be dismissal.”

It continued: “Whilst organisations are encouraged to explore deployment, the general principles which apply in a redundancy exercise are not applicable here, and it is important that managers are aware of this.”

Employers will “not be concerned with finding ‘suitable alternative employment’ and there will be no redundancy entitlements, including payments, whether statutory or contractual, triggered by this process”.

Trusts also do not have to “collectively consult” with staff being dismissed — as they would with a restructure — although this is “ultimately a decision for each organisation to take”.

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Source: HSJ, 14 January 2022

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No pay rise for managers of worst-performing trusts

Very senior managers at the worst-performing trusts and ICBs will not receive annual pay rises from this year, under new national rules.

The new very senior managers pay framework for trusts, foundation trusts and integrated care boards, published today, says some will for the first time be excluded for the annual pay uplift in 2025-26.

They are: 

  • VSMs at organisations in segment five of NHS England’s new national oversight framework, except where they are “exempt” because they are less than two years into the job. Segment five is being introduced for the worst-performing organisations which are also deemed in a “diagnostic” to need the most intervention. Organisations currently in RSP – of which there are 25 – are due to “automatically” enter segment five (see list below); and
  • Individuals who are “failing to meet their own objectives or targets” or are subject to investigation for “conduct and capability”.

VSMs at segment three and four trusts will get the 2025-26 pay award, but warns “new provisions are expected to apply” from 2026-27.

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Source: HSJ, 15 May 2025

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No one kept data on Tavistock children — it’s a monumental scandal

Twenty years ago, David Freedman helped to conduct an audit of the first 124 young people referred to the gender clinic, now he discovers it was never followed up.

David Freedman, 73, helped to conduct a clinical audit of the first 124 young people referred to the Gender Identity Development Service (Gids) from its inception in 1989. The London-based service, part of the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust, is the only dedicated NHS clinic for transgender children.

When he discovered his clinical audit from two decades ago remained the only one conducted by the service, Freedman said he was “gobsmacked”, adding: “This was a service that was sailing into uncharted territory with vulnerable children and adolescents, where one has an extra duty of care, and the failure to collect any data in a coherent form to look at what they were doing . . . it’s pretty mind-boggling.”

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Source: The Times, 19 March 2023

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No new London hospitals until at least 2027

Two new London hospitals will not open until 2027 at the earliest, the BBC has been told.

In 2019, the government pledged to build a new hospital in Sutton and another at Whipps Cross in east London. The St Helier complex in Sutton in south London dates back to the 1930s and much of the Epsom site is about 40 years old.

But Dr Ruth Charlton, chief medical officer at Epsom and St Helier Hospital, said: "Our working conditions... are not fit for 21st century healthcare. We really feel that our patients and or staff deserve facilities that would allow them to deliver the quality of healthcare that we all wish to receive."

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: "We have committed to deliver 40 new hospitals by 2030, backed by an initial £3.7bn. We are working closely with all the schemes in the programme and providing funding to develop their plans - final funding allocations are only confirmed once business cases have been fully reviewed and agreed. By taking a more centralised approach, we will reduce the overall time taken to build the hospitals and provide better value for money for the taxpayer."

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Source: BBC News (25 August 2022)

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No new funding to tackle NHS work shortages, says Sajid Javid

Sajid Javid has announced a plan to tackle NHS workforce shortages will be published by the end of the year - but the health service will not receive any additional funding to back it, he said.

In a speech setting out widespread reforms, the health secretary on Tuesday said the NHS is the area where the government spends the most money, adding that spending increases have meant areas such as education have lost out.

Mr Javid said the UK has now come to a “crossroads” where it must choose between “endlessly putting in more and more money, or reforming how we do healthcare”.

He confirmed the government will publish a long-awaited plan for the NHS workforce by the end of the year, but in response to questions from The Independent over funding, he said it would not go above the £36 billion already promised. Mr Javid said costs for the new staffing plan would come from existing budgets.

Healthcare leaders have repeatedly called for a long-term “fully funded” plan to address staff shortages across the NHS, alongside a funding commitment for health education regulator Health Education England.

As part of the government’s latest plan to reform NHS services, the health secretary said patients who have been waiting the longest would travel to less busy hospitals or private facilities for care - with the NHS footing the bill for travel and accommodation.

He also urged people to harness the “power of families” to make a difference for their loved ones’ health, recalling when his father quit smoking at the request of his mother.

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Source: The Independent, 8 March 2022

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No new barriers to EU staff working in the NHS until at least 2028, government announces

Healthcare staff from the European Union can join or continue to work in the NHS for the next five years without undergoing additional exams or further assessments, the government has decided.

The “standstill provisions”, which were put in place after the UK left the European Union in 2020, have been extended by government until 2028.

The NHS has become increasingly reliant on recruiting staff from overseas, particularly nurses, but has seen a significant drop in the number of staff joining from the European Union post-Brexit.

The review by the Department of Health and Social Care said: “Retaining the standstill provisions for a temporary period of five years will support the [DHSC’s] ambition to attract and recruit overseas healthcare professionals, without introducing complex and burdensome registration routes.

“[European Economic Area]-qualified healthcare professionals will be able to continue to register with the relevant professional regulator, without the need to sit additional professional exams, mitigating delays to registration and employment in the NHS.”

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Source: HSJ, 29 June 2023

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No neighbourhood provider contracts for another year

None of the neighbourhood contracts proposed in the 10-Year Health Plan will go live until at least April 2027, HSJ understands.

A “model neighbourhood” document is still due to be published this month, asking local organisations to continue the planning and development of neighbourhood health. However, anticipated details of the new contracts will not be published until at least the summer.

Officials have now decided they need to hold a public consultation on the purpose of single neighbourhood provider (SNP) and multiple neighbourhood provider (MNP) contracts. After that has taken place, findings will feed into development of future annual GP contracts and NHS standard contract. The very earliest they could be implemented is 2027-28.

No firm timeline had been promised before, but many of those involved had expected quicker progress, and the 10-Year Health Plan said: “We will introduce two new contracts, with rollout beginning next year.” Earlier draft proposals had suggested SNPs may go live from April this year, HSJ understands.

The publication of the model neighbourhood, and details of how SNPs, MNPs and integrated health organisations will work together, have been subject to several months of delays as government struggled to agree the details.

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Source: HSJ, 12 February 2026

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No mental health data taken in cyber attack, NHSE confirms

No patient data held by mental health trusts was taken following a cyber attack this summer, NHS England has confirmed.

The regulator told HSJ it had received confirmation from tech firm Advanced, which was the subject of a cyber attack in July, that no data had been breached on its Carenotes electronic patient record. The EPR is used by around a dozen mental health trusts.

The process of reconnecting trusts fully back to Carenotes also started this week, after providers spent two months with limited or no access to their EPR.

HSJ previously revealed that senior NHS chiefs feared patient data may have been taken or accessed by those responsible for the cyber attack, who issued ransom demands to Advanced.

Since then, experts have been brought in to investigate any potential data impact following the attack.

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Source: HSJ, 21 September 2022

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No link between paracetamol in pregnancy and autism or ADHD in children, review finds

A wide-ranging review into paracetamol use by pregnant women has found no convincing link between the common painkiller and the chances of children being diagnosed with autism and ADHD.

Publication of the work was fast-tracked to provide prospective mothers and their doctors with reliable information after the Trump administration urged pregnant women to avoid paracetamol – also known as acetaminophen or Tylenol – claiming it was contributing to rising rates of autism.

Speaking at the White House in September, the US president said women should talk to their doctor about limiting the use of the painkiller while pregnant and followed up with far stronger language, telling women to “fight like hell” not to take it.

While rates of autism have risen in recent decades, many scientists believe the trend is driven by greater awareness, improvements in diagnosis and a substantial broadening of the criteria doctors use to describe the condition.

In an umbrella review published in the British Medical Journal on Monday, researchers analysed previously published scientific reviews on whether paracetamol raised the likelihood of pregnant women having children who are diagnosed with autism or ADHD.

They concluded the quality of the reviews ranged from “low to critically low”, while any apparent link between the painkiller and autism was probably explained by family genetics and other factors.

Prof Shakila Thangaratinam, a consultant obstetrician and senior author on the review at the University of Liverpool, said: “Women should know that the existing evidence does not really support a link between paracetamol and autism and ADHD.

“If pregnant women need to take paracetamol for fever or pain then we would say please do, particularly because high fever in pregnancy could be dangerous to the unborn baby.” Alternative painkillers such as ibuprofen are not recommended during pregnancy.

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Source: The Guardian, 10 November 2025

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No evidence Covid vaccines lead to young deaths

There is no evidence that Covid vaccines have led to an increase in deaths in young people, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has said.

Six months after the mass rollout of Covid vaccines, medical regulators started to report slightly higher rates of two heart conditions after receiving the Pfizer and Moderna jabs.

Myocarditis is an inflammation of the heart muscle itself, while pericarditis is inflammation of the fluid-filled sac the heart sits in. Both side effects are very rare but appear to be more common after a second dose of either Covid jab, particularly in younger men.

The ONS looked at outcomes shortly after vaccination, when the risk of any side effect is highest.

The chance of a young person dying in that time was no different to later periods the researchers looked at.

Julie Stanborough, deputy director at the ONS said: "We have found no evidence of an increased risk of cardiac death in young people following Covid-19 vaccination."

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Source: BBC News, 22 March 2022

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No acute trust now rated ‘inadequate’ as CQC upgrades troubled provider

The last acute trust deemed “inadequate” by the Care Quality Commission has had its rating improved to “requires improvement”, the regulator has announced today.

Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals Trust has been rated “inadequate” since November 2021. Until today, it was the only acute trust in England to have the lowest possible combined CQC rating.

Inspectors said leaders were visible and approachable, but kept the trust’s leadership rating as “requires improvement.” This was unchanged from the previous inspection.

Meanwhile, maternity services at Princess Royal Hospital in Telford, which for years have been under intense scrutiny over multiple instances of poor care and scores of baby deaths, have also been upgraded, this time from “requires improvement” to “good”.

Inspectors visiting in October and November 2023 said there had been a “positive shift” in culture with staff saying they felt safer to speak up.

The CQC’s report said that overall, people were receiving a higher standard of care with “staff now proud to work for the trust” and SaTH was “working hard to help rebuild people’s confidence” in its services.

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Source: HSJ, 15 May 2024

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No 10 set for U-turn over mandatory Covid jabs for NHS staff in England

Downing Street appears likely to drop its policy of dismissing frontline NHS and care staff in England who refuse Covid vaccinations, a minister has strongly indicated, after nursing and care organisations called for this to happen.

A decision would be made “in the course of the next few days”, according to Simon Clarke, the chief secretary to the Treasury. He said the lower severity of the Omicron variant of Covid did “open a space” for the policy to be reversed.

The apparent imminent U-turn came as the Royal College of Nursing argued that both the change in severity from Omicron and the number of NHS vacancies meant the mandatory vaccination policy should be dropped.

The National Care Association said it would also welcome a change of policy, while warning that many unvaccinated care staff had already lost their jobs in the run-up to the 1 April deadline.

Asked about reports of a change to the policy, Clarke told Sky News that ministers had hoped to find “the right balance between having the maximum impact for measures that support public safety in the face of the virus, but also have the minimum impact in terms of our wider freedoms as a society”.

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Source: The Guardian, 31 January 2022

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