Jump to content
  • articles
    9,854
  • comments
    83
  • views
    12,508,047

Contributors to this article

About this News

Articles in the news

 

Hospitals have become less safe during the pandemic. So why does the US government want to suppress hospital safety data?

There’s little question that US hospitals—up against COVID, patient surges, and labor and supply shortages—have become less safe for patients during the pandemic, as preventable events and complications have become more common.

Leaders with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) said as much, earlier this year, in an article for the New England Journal of Medicine: “Many indicators make it clear that health care safety has declined,” they wrote, noting, “the fact that the pandemic degraded patient safety so quickly and severely suggests that our health care system lacks a sufficiently resilient safety culture and infrastructure.”

Despite such frank assessments, CMS is now at odds with public safety advocates about whether to make some of the hospital-specific data behind those trends publicly available. 

Read full story (paywalled)

Source: Fortune, 14 June 2022

Read more

Bristol NHS 'causing harm' to patients by withholding thyroid drug

Bristol's NHS commissioning group is one of many across the country which is "causing harm" to people with thyroid problems by limiting the provision of a drug, a new report says.

Analysis from the Thyroid Trust says that 58 per cent of NHS Clinical Commissioning Groups in England are withdrawing, refusing or reducing prescriptions of T3 for people with underactive thyroids - against national guidance. People who have thyroid problems can suffer from depression, crippling fatigue, weight gain and muscle weakness, which can be alleviated by the drug.

But the Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire CCG does not permit prescribing the drug for new patients, according to the report. One Westcountry woman told the Express that she had her T3 prescription withdrawn, which caused her significant problems.

Former police officer Carole Morgan-Anstee, 62, told the website she went through "hell" after her T3 was stopped. The Somerset woman was prescribed the drug after suffering symptoms including chronic fatigue and hair loss for 15 years.

But after being treated with T3 for five years, her endocrinologist told her he had been ordered to stop prescribing it for her. He reportedly said the problem was that her local Bristol North Somerset and South Gloucestershire CCG had began cutting back on T3 supplies.

Carole said: "I was really upset. It was hell. My treatment was completely within the guidelines and he knew how ill I would get if they took it away.

The Thyroid Trust report says: "Around the country most Clinical Commissioning Groups have policies in place which are causing harm to patients by denying treatment. In those cases where this has occurred, patients have resorted to the private sector or to informal means, such as buying the medication online, or even travelling abroad where it is sometimes available to buy over the counter, to source the medicine they need which the NHS should be providing.

Read full story

Source: Bristol Post, 15 June 2022

Read more

Covid care home restrictions in Scotland caused harm, says report

Severe restrictions imposed on care home residents in Scotland during the Covid pandemic caused "harm and distress" and may have contributed to some deaths, academics have said.

A 143-page report has been produced by Edinburgh Napier University. It had been commissioned by the independent inquiry into the country's handling of the pandemic.

The report says that the legal basis for confining residents to their rooms and banning visitors was "unclear".

And it said care home residents were arguably discriminated against compared to other citizens.

The report is 1 of 14 that have been published by the Scottish Covid-19 Inquiry, which is chaired by Lady Poole.

It found that in the early months of the pandemic there was "little evidence" that the human rights of residents and their families had been considered.

It said: "There is substantial evidence of the harm and distress caused to residents and their families by the restrictions imposed in care homes.

"This includes concerns that, particularly for people with dementia, being unable to maintain contact with their family exacerbated cognitive and emotional decline, potentially hastening their death."

Read full story

Source: BBC News, 16 June 2022

Read more

Sickle cell: Just half of nurses and doctors feel confident about treating illness, report finds

Only half of healthcare professionals feel they have sufficient tools to manage the long-term damage that sickle cell disease brings, new research has revealed.

The in-depth study by Global Blood Therapeutics - carried out across 10 countries including the UK, US and Canada - shows that patients living with the illness remain dramatically underserved by healthcare systems, while healthcare professionals don’t feel like they have the knowledge of the disease or their patients, to properly treat them.

More than two in five (43%) doctors and nurses cited difficulties due to having different ethnic backgrounds from their patients, it was revealed, while almost three quarters (73%) stated patients of lower economic status can be more difficult to treat. Almost a third of healthcare professionals (31%) found it challenging to understand their patients’ needs.

Sebastian Stachowiak, Head of Europe and GCC at Global Blood Therapeutics, told The Independent that the survey “confirms the lack of options for physicians” and expressed hope that, with recent advances in available treatment, patients can be better served in the future.

The study also found that almost half (46%) of patients say that emergency room healthcare providers did not believe them about their symptoms, while 48% said that they have been treated like a drug seeker in the emergency room.

Read full story

Source: The Independent, 14 June 2022

Read more

Diabetes: Warning that missing eye test appointments risks sight loss

Diabetes patients have been warned that non-attendance at eye-test appointments puts them at greater risk of developing unnecessary sight loss.

The Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB) has described the attendance rates at clinics in Northern Ireland as "alarmingly low" .

It said 20% to 40% of patients were not showing up for their appointments on any given day.

Prof Tunde Peto, clinical lead for the NI Diabetic Eye Screening Programme, said the most common of many complications caused by diabetes was diabetic eye disease.

Diabetes can cause cataracts early on but it can also affect the retina at the back of the eye, "which will eventually lead to sight loss if not treated on time," Prof Peto explained.

"Diabetic retinopathy causes no symptoms until it can be just about too late to treat," she said.

Ian Catlin from Ballymoney has experienced sight loss due to diabetic retinopathy.

He has had Type 1 diabetes since childhood and became aware of problems with his eyesight in his mid-30s.

Mr Catlin said he put off asking for medical help because of the fear of what he would be told."I did eventually go, but you're scared and you put your head in the sand," he said.Read full story

Source: BBC News, 15 June 2022

Read more

New drugs to fight superbugs will save 1,700 lives a year

Two drugs that combat superbugs are being introduced on the NHS, offering a lifeline to thousands of patients with deadly infections such as sepsis which fail to respond to antibiotics.

About 65,000 people a year in the UK develop drug-resistant infections and 12,000 die, many after routine operations or from infections such as pneumonia or urinary tract infections.

These superbugs such as MRSA have mutated to develop resistance to many different types of antibiotics as a result of overuse of the drugs. It means patients end up dying from common infections that would previously have been easily treatable with antibiotics.

In a attempt to “turn the tide” on antibiotic resistance, the NHS has announced a deal for two drugs, cefiderocol and ceftazidime–avibactam, which can kill bacteria that is resistant to many other types of drugs.

The drugs, manufactured by Shionogi and Pfizer respectively, will save the lives of about 1,700 patients a year. They will be offered to patients with conditions such as drug-resistant pneumonia, sepsis or tuberculosis who have run out of other treatment options.

Amanda Pritchard, NHS chief executive, said this would make the UK a world leader in tackling “the global challenge of antimicrobial resistance”.

Read full story (paywalled)

Source: The Times, 15 June 2022

Read more
 

Ambulance waits: 'Can you please tell them to hurry up or I shall be dead'

Delays unloading ambulances at busy hospitals are causing serious harm to patients, a safety watchdog is warning.

The Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch has been investigating how the long waits are delaying 999 emergency response times across England.

Kenneth Shadbolt, 94, waited more than five hours for an ambulance after a bad fall - an accident that proved fatal.

Logs show that in his final 999 call he asked: "Can you please tell them to hurry up or I shall be dead."

Ken Shadbolt had been in good shape for his age. On the night of Wednesday, 23 March 2022, just before 03:00, he got out of bed to go the bathroom and fell, hitting a wardrobe before collapsing on the floor.

He had hurt his hip - how badly he didn't know - and couldn't get up. He could reach his mobile on his bedside, though, and dialled 999 for help.

The BBC has seen transcripts of the three separate phone calls he made to South Western Ambulance Service that night.

The first was short and factual, covering the basic details of his injury. 

He seemed calm and lucid but made clear he was in pain and needed an ambulance. Internal call logs seen by the BBC show that at this point Ken was triaged as a category two emergency, meaning paramedics should arrive in 18 minutes, on average.

About 15 minutes later, Ken called 999 for a second time.

An internal ambulance service log seen by the BBC shows that South Western Ambulance Service was indeed busy that night.

It talks about "high demand" in the Gloucester area, with more than 60 patients waiting for help, some for more than eight hours.

Another hour passed before Ken made his third and final call to 999.

It was clear now that he was in serious pain. He felt "terrible sick" and said his "breathing is going too".

"I need an ambulance because I'm going to fade away quite quickly," he said.

The same reply came back: "The ambulance service is just under a lot of pressure at the moment... we are doing our best."

An ambulance finally got to Kenneth Shadbolt's house at 08:10 that morning, four hours after that final call.

Ken died at 14:21 that afternoon, with the cause of death given as a "very large subdural haematoma" or bleed on the brain.

His son Jerry Shadbolt said: "The doctors were saying his injuries were non-survivable but would they have been non-survivable if he'd arrived at hospital four hours earlier? I'd like an answer to that question.

"He was on his own and he knew he was on his own. He must have felt abandoned and alone on his bedroom floor. That's the most troubling part of it for me."

Read full story

Source: BBC News, 16 June 2022

 

Read more

NHS risks losing one third of Black and Asian doctors over racism, finds landmark survey

The NHS is facing a major exodus of doctors of ethnic minority backgrounds due to persistent levels of racism faced at a personal and institutional level, a ground breaking study has revealed.

Nearly one third of doctors surveyed have considered leaving the NHS or have already left within the past two years due to race discrimination, with 42 per cent of Black and 41 per cent Asian doctors in particular having considered leaving or having left.

The survey paints a picture of institutional barriers to career progression, dangerously low levels of reporting of racist incidents and a growing mental health burden on ethnic minority doctors.

With more than 2,000 responses from doctors and medical students across the UK, the BMA – a professional association representing all doctors in the UK – believes that this survey is one of the largest of its kind to document the experience of racism in the medical profession and workplace.

Dr Chaand Nagpaul, BMA chair of council, said: “The NHS was built on the principle of equality of care for patients whoever they are, but this report shows that the NHS is shamefully failing in this principle for its own doctors, with those from ethnic minorities reporting alarming levels of unfair treatment and racial inequality at work.

Read full story

Source: The Independent, 15 June 2022

Read more

NHS England reviewing bed capacity

The NHS has a low bed base, and NHS England is reviewing ‘how we right-size our capacity’ across hospital, community and ‘virtual’ services, Amanda Pritchard has said.

The NHSE chief executive addressed the annual NHS Confederation this week and said: “The NHS has long had one of the lowest bed bases among comparable health systems. And in many respects this reflects on our efficiency and our drives to deliver better care in the community.

“But it was true before the pandemic, and it remains true now that we have passed the point at which that efficiency actually becomes inefficient.

“So the point has come where we need to review how we right-size our capacity across the NHS. That will of course look at the whole picture of hospital, community and virtual capacity.”

Ms Pritchard also highlighted the current pressures on the emergency care system, which has widely been linked to slow discharges from hospital and insufficient social care provision.

She cited the “unacceptable rise in 12-hour waits for admission from [accident and emergency]” which “underlines that the issue is flow”, and said “we know we will need to make more progress before winter”. 

Read full story (paywalled)

Source: HSJ, 15 June 2022

Read more
 

Patient-friendly tuberculosis preventive treatment to be rolled out in five high-burden TB countries at affordable price

A new fixed-dose combination (FDC) of “3HP”, a short-course tuberculosis (TB) preventive treatment (TPT) combining two drugs, rifapentine and isoniazid, is starting to be rolled out in five TB high burden countries in Africa. This will reduce the number of pills that people who need the treatment have to take every week from nine to three. Enough treatments for up to 3 million patients are expected to be made available for eligible countries this year.

Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe will be the first countries out of a total of 12 to provide the new regimen at a US$15 price thanks to funding from Unitaid, PEPFAR and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

Read full story

Source: Unitaid, 3 February 2021

Read more

Review intended to drive change at NUH accused of ‘traumatising’ families – what went so wrong?

A review intended to drive ‘rapid improvements’ to maternity services in Nottingham has been scrapped after just eight months – with some bereaved families saying instead it did ‘irreparable’ damage to their mental health and trust in the system. 

It was hoped the process would lead to rapid change, restore families’ faith in maternity in Nottingham, and provide a voice for parents who wanted to share both positive and negative experiences.

Instead, some families said they found the review process slow, unprepared for the number of people who came forward and lacking the impact needed to improve a maternity service rated ‘inadequate’ by health inspectors.

The growing frustration that followed would turn to anger for some families, leading to the direct involvement of a Government minister, the arrival and rapid departure of a new chair, and the eventual disbanding of the review altogether in favour of a fresh start with one of the country’s top advisers on midwifery, Donna Ockenden – who led an in-depth review into Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust’s maternity services.

The U-turn came after pressure from a group of more than 100 people named ‘Families Harmed by Nottingham Maternity’ – which includes parents whose babies have died or been injured while being cared for at Nottingham’s two main hospitals.

Local Democracy Reporter Anna Whittaker looks at what led to so many families turning on a system which the NHS said was set up to bring about major changes.

Read full story

Source: Notts, 14 June 2022

Read more

Trust branded ‘inadequate’ for leadership and maternity

One of the trusts worst affected by coronavirus has been issued with two warning notices and rated ‘inadequate’ for leadership, following a Care Quality Commission inspection.

The regulator raised serious concerns about the safety of Countess of Chester Hospital Foundation Trust’s maternity services, as well as the oversight and learning from incidents.

It also found staff were experiencing multiple problems with a newly installed electronic patient record, while systems for managing the elective waiting list were said to be unsuitable.

In maternity services, the inspectors flagged severe staff shortages and a failure to properly investigate safety incidents.

They said there were three occasions during the inspections when the antenatal and post-natal ward was served by only one midwife, despite the interim head of midwifery saying this would never happen. 

Inspectors also highlighted five incidents last year where women had suffered a major post-partum haemorrhage, involving the loss of more than two litres of blood and which resulted in an unplanned hysterectomy. The CQC said two were not reported as serious incidents, and where learning had been identified from the others, action plans were not being completed on time.

The CQC said it was only made aware of the incidents by a whistleblower, while internal actions agreed in December 2021 had still not been implemented two months later.

Read full story (paywalled)

Source: HSJ, 15 June 2022

Read more

Language around birth should be less judgemental, midwives' report says

The language used around childbirth should be less judgemental and more personal, a report led by midwives has found.

Most women consulted said terms such as "normal birth" should not be used, it says.

The report recommends asking pregnant women what language feels right for them.

Maternity care has been under the spotlight after a recent review found failures had led to baby deaths.

The new guidance "puts women's choices at its heart, so that they are in the driving seat when it comes to how their labour and birth are described", Royal College of Midwives chief executive Gill Walton said.

About 1,500 women who had given birth in the past five years gave their views. Most preferred the term "spontaneous vaginal birth" to "normal birth", "natural birth" or "unassisted birth". Words suggesting "failure", "incompetence" or "lack of maternal effort" should also be avoided, they said.

They wanted labour and birth to be a positive experience and for the language used to be non-judgemental, accurate and clear.

Read full story

Source: BBC News, 15 June 2022

Read more
 

USA: Four-year-old accidentally given vasectomy

A family in Texas is suing a Houston-based doctor after their 4-year-old on son underwent an "unintended vasectomy" during a surgery.

The child was reportedly in the hospital for a hernia surgery at the time of the incident, according to Randy Sorrels, the family's personal injury attorney. He told Fox4 that part of the procedure involved work near the child's groin.

The attorney claimed the surgeon "cut the wrong piece of anatomy."

“The surgeon, we think, cut accidentally the vas deferens, one of the tubes that carries reproductive semen in it. It could affect this young man for the rest of his life,” Mr Sorrels told the broadcaster.

The surgeon who operated on the boy has no history of malpractice and has otherwise never received any negative reports on their work.

Mistakes like the one made on the toddler are generally very rare due to safety precautions built into the surgery process.

“It’s not a common mistake at all,” Mr Sorrels said. “Before a doctor transects or cuts any part of the anatomy, they are supposed to positively identify what that anatomy is and then cut. Here, the doctor failed to accurately identify the anatomy that needed to be cut. Unfortunately, cut his vas deferens. That wasn’t found out until it was sent in for pathology.”

The attorney said his and the family’s top concern is for the boy’s health. They are considering options for reversing the procedure, but the attorney noted that doing so would require the boy to undergo more surgery.

Read full story

Source: The Independent, 15 June 2022

Read more

Manager ‘bootcamps’ helped eliminate two-year waiters

The chief executive of one of the first teaching trusts in the country to have eliminated two-year waiters for elective care has said there is ‘no magic to it’ and it can be replicated elsewhere.

Since the beginning of April, University Hospitals of Coventry and Warwickshire Trust has reported zero patients waiting over two years for their elective treatment – ahead of NHS England’s target of July 2022.

According to the latest data, there are now 42 trusts that have eliminated 104-week waits and UHCW is the largest trust to have done this. 

UHCW chief executive Andy Hardy said that in order to achieve this the trust had been “relentless” in its focus on waiting times and had set up “bootcamps” to help managers understand how referral to treatment works.

Mr Hardy said in an interview with HSJ: “It really does come down to a laser-like focus on waiting times, both at an executive level, down to a group level, and down to speciality level. It can be replicated. There’s no magic to it.”

He said: “We use data to drive our organisations away from bad decisions and I have a weekly access meeting with the chief operating officer to look at where we are against all access targets, but obviously we focus on waiting times."

Read full story (paywalled)

Source: HSJ, 15 June 2022

Read more

National Deaf Children’s Society urges NHS trusts to use clear face masks

The National Deaf Children’s Society has written to every NHS trust in England urging them to start using transparent face masks because standard ones create a “serious communication barrier” for deaf patients.

The letters, co-signed by the British Academy of Audiology, said deaf patients could “miss vital information about their health” as opaque masks make lip reading impossible and facial expressions difficult to read.

It is likely that face masks will remain widespread in the NHS, as new guidance issued at the start of June states they will still be required in a number of settings, including cancer wards and critical care units, and staff may wear them in other areas depending on personal preference and local risk assessments.

Susan Daniels, the chief executive of the National Deaf Children’s Society, said: “Transparent face masks are fully approved and they could transform the healthcare experience for deaf people. However they communicate, almost all deaf people rely on lip reading and facial expressions. Opaque face masks make these techniques much more difficult and this could seriously affect communication at a time when they might need it the most.”

Three types of transparent masks, designed not to fog up, are now approved for use as PPE in healthcare settings, and although they are not currently available on the NHS supply chain, they can be bought direct from suppliers. The government previously delivered 250,000 clear masks to frontline NHS and social care workers in September 2020.

Read full story

Source: The Guardian, 15 June 2022

Read more

Child diabetes referrals in England and Wales jump 50% amid obesity crisis

The number of children being treated at paediatric diabetes units (PDUs) in England and Wales has increased by more than 50% amid a “perfect storm” of rising obesity levels and the cost of living crisis, health leaders have said.

Diabetes UK said alarming obesity levels among children had led to a “concerning climb” in the number diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, and predicted that the cost of living crisis could lead to further problems in the years to come.

Data from NHS Digital shows that almost one in seven children start primary school obese – a rise of almost 50% in just a year. More than a quarter are obese by the time they finish primary school.

The high levels of obesity combined with the squeeze on personal finances are creating a “perfect storm which risks irreversible harm to the health of young people”, Diabetes UK said. It accused the government of “letting our children down” as it called for concerted action to tackle obesity.

Chris Askew, the chief executive of Diabetes UK, said: “We are very concerned that this spike in childhood obesity will translate into an even greater increase in children with type 2 diabetes in the coming years, a crisis fuelled by longstanding health inequalities and made worse still by impacts of the cost of living crisis."

Read full story

Source: The Guardian, 15 June 2022

Read more

High Street pharmacists to make cancer referrals

People with a worrying cough, problems swallowing or blood in their urine will soon be able to be referred for scans and checks by a pharmacist, rather than having to wait to see their GP.

The new pilot scheme, in England, aims to diagnose more cancers early, when there is a better chance of a cure.

High Street pharmacies will be funded to refer customers for the checks.

The NHS will also send out more "roaming trucks" to perform on-the-spot scans in the community.

Lung-scanner vans driven to locations, including supermarket car parks and football stadiums, have already resulted in more people having checks. Now, some liver lorries will join them.

Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid said: "Ensuring patients can access diagnosis and treatment easily in their communities and on High Streets is a fundamental part of our 10-Year Cancer Plan."

Dr Anthony Cunliffe, national clinical adviser for primary care, at Macmillan Cancer Support, said: "Doctors and nurses are working tirelessly to diagnose and treat the tens of thousands of people entering a very busy cancer care system.

"This pilot will give people the opportunity to access more trained professionals in their community to get symptoms investigated."

Read full story

Source: BBC News, 15 June 2022

Read more

Major trust records fifth never event at troubled department

A fifth patient has been given the wrong blood at a major teaching hospital’s haematology department where patient safety concerns were raised by clinicians last year.

The incident, at University Hospitals Birmingham Foundation Trust, is the fifth never event involving patients being transfused with the wrong blood at the trust since April 2020.

Only 15 such never events have been recorded in England in the last two financial years, which means UHB accounted for a third of the total in 2020-21 and 2021-22.

HSJ revealed last year that several clinicians had raised safety concerns at the trust’s haematology specialty after most of its services at Heartlands Hospital were moved to Queen Elizabeth Hospital as part of the trust’s pandemic response.

The latest never event, which occurred in March, saw a patient being given an “unintentional transfusion of ABO-incompatible blood components” – according to papers provided to the trust’s council of governors.

Read full story (paywalled)

Source: HSJ, 14 June 2022

Read more

More than 380,000 A&E patients forced to wait 12 hours as NHS accused of hiding true scale of crisis

More than 380,000 patients waited more than 12 hours in A&E last year, new figures show, amid claims ‘misleading’ public data masks the true scale of the problem.

A Royal College of Emergency Medicine report shows 381,991 people across 74 NHS trusts waited half a day or longer from the time they arrived at hospital in 2021.

The figures are 14 times higher than the official numbers published by the NHS – which say 25,553 people waited more than 12 hours during the same period at the same trusts – due to the different ways waiting times are measured.

While NHS England publishes data every month, it only shows how long patients have waited after a decision by doctors to admit them. Experts claim this is misleading and have called for the NHS to publish the figures from point of arrival instead.

It comes after The Independent revealed leaked data in May, showing that more than 3,000 patients a day were regularly facing 12-hour waits in the first four months of 2022.

Dr Adrian Boyle, RCEM vice president, said the new figures were “staggering” and “make clear that measuring 12-hour waits from decision to admit masks the reality facing patients and staff.

Read full story

Source: The Independent, 14 June 2022

Read more
 

North Tees NHS nurse awarded £460k after unfair dismissal

A whistleblower nurse who was sacked after warning that the workload on NHS staff had led to a patient’s death has been awarded hundreds of thousands of pounds.

Linda Fairhall, who had an “unblemished” career as a nurse for almost 40 years, was suspended and then sacked in 2016 after raising concerns about patient safety.

The 62-year-old nurse, from Billingham, has now been awarded a payout in excess of £462,000, her lawyers have said.

It is thought to be a record for lost salary and remedies.

Ms Fairhall had been a nurse at North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Trust. She started working with the NHS in 1979 and had been overseeing a team of about 50 district nurses in Hartlepool when she was suspended.

In 2020, Ms Fairhall successfully challenged her employer's decision to dismiss her.

Though the trust tried to appeal the decision last year, the appeal court found in her favour again – saying the tribunal had reached “an unimpeachable decision” that she was dismissed for whistleblowing.

The trust says it is continuing to learn lessons and implement positive change.

She said: "If it changes things for others then it will be worthwhile. I'm relieved it's over.

Read full story

Source: The Northern Echo, 14 June 2022

Read more

Health boards not publicising Long Covid services, says expert

Health boards are avoiding publicising their Long Covid services to avoid a rush of patients, an expert has claimed.

Edward Duncan, a professor of applied health research, has been evaluating rehabilitation services in Scotland for the past eight months.

The latest ONS figures showed 155,000 Scots had long lasting Covid symptoms.

Prof Duncan said the current situation was contributing to a "trickle" of patients accessing treatment in some regions.

He is working with Robert Gordon University, the University of Dundee and Long Covid sufferers to work out the best way to maximise recovery and quality of life for patients.

It comes after patient groups accused the health service and government ministers of pretending the illness has disappeared.

Prof Duncan said: "Staff in some health boards have said to us that they are purposely not publicising the pathway, because they fear that if they do, they will have so many referrals that they will not be able to meet demand."

"There is a lack of proactive publicity, despite the fact that in late 2020 every health board said that these services were there for patients who need them."

"We know from other research that patients are going to primary care and being told by their GP that they don't know where to send them."

Read full story

Source: BBC News, 14 June 2022

Read more

Breast surgeon's victim wants faster improvements

Victims of breast surgeon Ian Paterson said independent inquiry improvements are not being implemented fast enough.

Paterson was jailed in 2017 after he was found to have carried out needless operations on patients across Birmingham and Solihull. The 2020 report's recommendations include the recall of his 11,000 patients to assess their treatment.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said it is working to stop future patients facing similar harm.

On Sunday, ITV screened a documentary 'Bodies of Evidence: The Butcher Surgeon' which featured victim and campaigner Debbie Douglas, who was instrumental in getting the inquiry established.

She said the government needs "to put pace behind" the work to implement the 15 recommendations it made.

"It is important those recommendations are embedded in legislation, it is important there is governance over those recommendations to stop another Paterson, it is important that there is a proper consent procedure," she said.

The recommendations called for consultants to write directly to patients to explain proposed surgical treatment as standard practice, a public register to detail which types of operations surgeons are able to perform and for patients to be given time to reflect on their diagnosis and treatment options before they are asked to consent to surgery.

Read full story

Source: BBC News, 14 June 2022

Read more

Rundown NHS hospitals have become a danger to patients, warn health chiefs

NHS patients are being put in danger and waiting lists are getting even longer due to a £9bn maintenance backlog and a major lack of capital funding that has left some parts of hospitals “extremely dilapidated” and unfit for patients, health leaders have warned.

Boris Johnson promised in 2019 to “build and fund 40 new hospitals”. But the Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA), the government watchdog, later gave the project an “amber/red” ranking, meaning its delivery “is in doubt with major risks or issues apparent in a number of key areas”.

At the same time, the NHS in England is facing a £9bn maintenance backlog. Half of that sum, which is up from £6.5bn just three years ago, is required to tackle failings classed as posing either a “high” or “significant” risk to patients and staff.

Now health leaders are warning that without an urgent injection of capital funding, patient safety is at risk and the waiting list for care – worsened by the pandemic – “will grow even larger”. 

Speaking to the Guardian, Matthew Taylor, the chief executive of the NHS Confederation, which represents the whole healthcare system in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, said the crisis had become extremely serious.

Patient safety as well as the ability of the NHS to tackle record waiting lists is being “severely hampered”, Taylor warned, because the UK has been “plagued” by one of the worst records for capital investment in healthcare across all OECD countries over the past decade.

One NHS trust chair in London told a survey, carried out this month, that “cramped” space means the trust is not “building up our capacity to deal with waiting lists”, and conditions for patients in some wards were “not fit for purpose”.

Read full story

Source: The Guardian, 14 June 2022

Read more

Government ‘manager bashing’ to hide Conservative failings on NHS, says Confed chief

Ministers, including the health and social care secretary, are bashing managers and exploiting the culture wars to try to ‘explain away’ the crisis in the NHS instead of facing up to the problems that 12 years of Conservative-led government have created, NHS Confederation chief executive Matthew Taylor has told HSJ.

During a wide-ranging and exclusive interview with HSJ, MatthewTaylor also raised concerns about the Messenger review and called on local system leaders to speak out if they thought NHS England was setting unrealistic financial targets

The Confed CEO told HSJ: “When you’ve been in government 12 years, to acknowledge the scale of the problems which now exist, problems which clearly reflect decisions made across those 12 years, is a hard thing to do politically.

“If you can’t recognise that the fundamental reasons [underpinning why] we face this yawning capacity gap are to do with, particularly, the decade of austerity, but [also] other failings to address capacity issues like workforce and capital, then you have to look for other culprits and you end up manager bashing and talking about wokery, because it becomes a way to explain away the reality that the patients and the public see.”

Read full story (paywalled)

Source: HSJ, 14 June 2022

Read more

© 2026 Patient Safety Learning. All rights reserved.

Patient Safety Learning is registered as a charity with the Charity Commission Registration number 1180689.

×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.