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North East Ambulance Service: Cover-up claims to be probed by government

The government is to investigate claims an ambulance service covered up details of the deaths of patients following mistakes by paramedics.

It follows the Sunday Times report that North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) withheld information from coroners.

Labour's shadow health secretary Wes Streeting described the alleged cover-up as "a national disgrace".

Health minister Maria Caulfield said she was "horrified" and there would be a further investigation.

The newspaper reported that concerns were raised about more than 90 cases and whistleblowers believed NEAS had prevented full disclosure to relatives of people who died in 2018 and 2019.

Speaking in the House of Commons, Mr Streeting asked why the regulator - the Care Quality Commission (CQC) - had failed to take action.

Ms Caulfield said that while both the NEAS and the CQC had both reviewed the allegations, further investigation was required.

The minister said non-disclosure agreements have "no place in the NHS", adding: "Reputation management is never more important than patient safety."

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Source: BBC News, 23 May 2022

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Fears of Long Covid crisis as demand for rehabilitation services surges

Health officials are calling for urgent intervention from the government to meet the steep surge in demand for occupational therapy in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to healthcare professionals from both the NHS and the private care system, demand for occupational-therapy-led rehabilitation services in Britain has increased by a staggering 82 per cent over the past six months alone.

Swelling pressure on already “overloaded” rehabilitation services has stirred up stark warnings from members of the Royal College of Occupational Therapists (RCOT), who say the level of demand for the service they provide “isn’t sustainable” as there isn’t a large enough workforce to meet the need.

A revealing survey carried out by the college has raised grave questions about the prospect of providing timely rehabilitation for people recovering from short and long-term illnesses who need urgent support to enable them to carry out their daily activities.

The survey of of 550 occupational therapists working in the UK found that 84 per cent are now supporting people whose needs have become more complex because of delays in treatment brought about by the pandemic.

As a result of this, coupled with a wider increase in the number of people requiring help, 71 per cent of the RCOT’s respondents felt there were not enough occupational therapists to meet the demand.

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Source: The Independent, 22 May 2022

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NHS doctors to stop issuing prescriptions for 35 minor medical conditions

THE NHS has announced plans to scrap prescriptions for 35 conditions in a bid to save the money it spends on drugs available over-the-counter (OTC). The body said it will no longer issue treatments for a range of minor conditions, such as diarrhoea, oral thrush and ailments associated with pain.

The health body will no longer prescribe drugs for 35 conditions listed below, which patients will have to purchase from their local pharmacy or supermarket going forward. The plan to dial back on prescriptions was devised with the aim of allocating funds to treatments for more serious conditions, according to the health body. Many of the conditions are able to resolve on their own, but prescriptions may still be issued if an exemption applies.

  • Acute sore throat
  • Conjunctivitis
  • Coughs, colds, and nasal congestion
  • Cradle cap
  • Dandruff
  • Diarrhoea
  • Dry eyes / sore tired eyes
  • Earwax
  • Excessive sweating
  • Haemorrhoids
  • Head live
  • Indigestion and heartburn
  • Infant colic
  • Infrequent cold sores of the lip
  • Infrequent constipation
  • Infrequent migraine
  • Insect bites and stings
  • Mild acne
  • Mild burns and scalds
  • Mild cystitis
  • Mild dry skin
  • Mild irritant dermatitis
  • Mild to moderate hay fever
  • Minor conditions associated with pain, discomfort and fever (e.g. aches and pain, headache, period pain, back pain)
  • Mouth ulcers
  • Nappy rash
  • Oral thrush
  • Prevention of tooth decay
  • Ringworm/athlete’s foot
  • Sunburn
  • Sun protection
  • Teething / mild toothache
  • Threadworms
  • Travel sickness
  • Warts and verrucae

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Source: Express, 20 May 2022

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Intensive care units for children not meeting standards, says NHSE report

Three intensive care units for children are not meeting standards for co-located services, a national report has found.

Royal Stoke University Hospital, Royal Brompton Hospital in London and Freeman Hospital in Newcastle, which all have “level three” paediatric intensive care beds for the most seriously ill patients, do not offer specialised paediatric surgery, according to a report from NHS England’s Getting it Right First Time (GIRFT) programme.

The report, released in April, said specialised paediatric surgery “should be co-located on the same site” as a paediatric intensive care unit with level three beds and be “immediately available” to meet quality standards set by the Paediatric Intensive Care Society.

The report also found the units do not offer services such as trauma, neurosurgery and bone marrow transplantation, which it says is a reflection of the variability and “the poor alignment” of specialised paediatric services at PICUs.

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Source: HSJ, 23 May 2022

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Record 420,000 children a month in England treated for mental health problems

More than 400,000 children and young people a month are being treated for mental health problems – the highest number on record – prompting warnings of an unprecedented crisis in the wellbeing of under-18s.

Experts say Covid-19 has seriously exacerbated problems such as anxiety, depression and self-harm among school-age children and that the “relentless and unsustainable” ongoing rise in their need for help could overwhelm already stretched NHS services.

The latest NHS figures show “open referrals” – troubled children and young people in England undergoing treatment or waiting to start care – reached 420,314 in February, the highest number since records began in 2016.

The total has risen by 147,853 since February 2020, a 54% increase, and by 80,096 over the last year alone, a jump of 24%. January’s tally of 411,132 cases was the first time the figure had topped 400,000.

Mental health charities welcomed the fact that an all-time high number of young people are receiving psychological support. But they fear the figures are the tip of the iceberg of the true number of people who need care, and that many more under-18s in distress are being denied help by arbitrary eligibility criteria.

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Source: The Guardian, 22 May 2022

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Mortuary abuse inquiry suggests contractors’ criminal checks could be shared with trusts

Contractors could be required to provide trusts with the findings of criminal records checks on their employees, an update from Michael inquiry into mortuary security has suggested.

The independent inquiry, chaired by Sir Jonathan Michael, was set up to examine the implications of the sexual assaults on the bodies of women and children in hospital mortuaries by maintenance supervisor and convicted murderer David Fuller.

A progress report published this month by the inquiry highlighted “responsibilities between trusts and contractors” as an area of concern.

The report said expectations around information sharing should be made clear in policy and, if sharing is deemed necessary, consideration should be given to what checks and evidence is needed to show this is taking place.

HSJ understands that Mr Fuller did not declare previous convictions for burglary when he was first employed at the Kent and Sussex Hospital in Tunbridge Wells in 1989.

Other issues flagged to NHS England by the inquiry included how access to “high-risk areas” is monitored and who requires access to these areas. It added that consideration should be given to monitoring access, involving a review of CCTV and swipe card use.

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Source: HSJ, 20 May 2022

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'I was repeatedly ignored' - report finds maternity racism

Black and Asian women are being harmed by racial discrimination in maternity care, according to an inquiry.

The year-long investigation into "racial injustice" was conducted by the charity Birthrights.

Women reported feeling unsafe, being denied pain relief, facing racial stereotyping about their pain tolerance, and microaggressions.

The government has set up a taskforce to tackle racial disparities in maternity care.

Hiral Varsani says she was traumatised by her treatment during the birth of her first child.

The 31-year-old from north London developed sepsis - a potentially life-threatening reaction to an infection - after her labour was induced, which she says was only spotted after a long delay.

"I was shivering, my whole body was aching, my heart was beating really fast and I felt terrible. But everyone kept saying everything was normal," she says. "It was almost 24 hours later before a doctor took my bloods for the first time and realised I was seriously ill."

She believes her race played a role in her care: "I experienced microaggressions and was stereotyped because of the colour of my skin.

"I was repeatedly ignored, they just thought I was a weak little Indian girl, who was unable to take pain."

While death in pregnancy or childbirth is very rare in the UK, there are stark racial disparities in maternal mortality rates. Black women are more than four times more likely to die in pregnancy or childbirth than white women in the UK, while women from Asian backgrounds face almost twice the risk.

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Source: BBC News, 23 May 2022

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New US Surgeon General Advisory sounds alarm on health worker burnout and resignation

The United States Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy issued a new Surgeon General’s Advisory highlighting the urgent need to address the health worker burnout crisis across the country. Health workers, including physicians, nurses, community and public health workers, nurse aides, among others, have long faced systemic challenges in the health care system even before the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to crisis levels of burnout. The pandemic further exacerbated burnout for health workers, with many risking and sacrificing their own lives in the service of others while responding to a public health crisis. Promoting the mental health and well-being of our nation’s frontline health workers is a priority for the Biden-Harris Administration and a core objective of President Biden’s national mental health strategy, within his Unity Agenda.  

The Surgeon General’s Advisory Addressing Health Worker Burnout lays out recommendations that the whole-of-society can take to address the factors underpinning burnout, improve health worker well-being, and strengthen the nation’s public health infrastructure.   

“At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and time and time again since, we’ve turned to our health workers to keep us safe, to comfort us, and to help us heal,” said Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra. “We owe all health workers – from doctors to hospital custodial staff – an enormous debt. And as we can clearly see and hear throughout this Surgeon General’s Advisory, they’re telling us what our gratitude needs to look like: real support and systemic change that allows them to continue serving to the best of their abilities. I’m grateful to Surgeon General Murthy for amplifying their voices today. As the Secretary of Health and Human Services, I am working across the department and the U.S. government at-large to use available authorities and resources to provide direct help to alleviate this crisis.”

“The nation’s health depends on the well-being of our health workforce. Confronting the long-standing drivers of burnout among our health workers must be a top national priority,” said Surgeon General Vivek Murthy. “COVID-19 has been a uniquely traumatic experience for the health workforce and for their families, pushing them past their breaking point. Now, we owe them a debt of gratitude and action. And if we fail to act, we will place our nation’s health at risk. This Surgeon General’s Advisory outlines how we can all help heal those who have sacrificed so much to help us heal.”   

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Source: HHS, 23 May 2022

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New GP crisis as struggling hospital trusts reject specialist referrals for hundreds of thousands of patients

Hundreds of thousands of patients referred to specialists by their GPs are being rejected by hospitals and left to deteriorate because there are no appointments available.

NHS waiting lists are already buckling under record-high backlogs and now delays are being compounded as local doctors struggle to even get their patients to outpatient services.

Patients’ referrals are rejected by hospital trusts if there are no appointment slots available, meaning they get bounced back to the GP who is unable to help with their complex needs, leaving them without the care they desperately need.

Clare Rayner, 54, from Manchester, has been left distraught by delays which have hampered the treatment she needs for complex spinal problems. She is still waiting to find out if an upcoming appointment with a neurologist is going ahead after a request for an urgent review from her GP was ignored five times.

Outpatient referrals are typically classed as having an “appointment slot issue” (ASI) when no booking slot is available within a specific time frame, under the NHS e-Referral system.

According to experts, the situation varies between specialities, but is reportedly particularly bad in areas such as mental health and neurology.

Ms Rayner, a former medical teacher who had to retire because of ill health, said: “I’ve been sent all around the country for neurosurgery over the last few years so have been directly affected by being bounced back to my GP."

“A unit in London rejected me because they said I lived too far away, which was ridiculous as they take people from all over the UK, and a local consultant just never replied to my GP’s email.

Ms Rayner said she has endured “massive delays” to her care which had left her intensely frustrated. “It’s left me with significant deterioration with my spinal problems and that’s been very distressing,” she said.

Helen Hughes, chief executive of charity and campaign group Patient Safety Learning, said: “NHS England needs to urgently investigate, quantify the scale of the problem and take action if we are to prevent these capacity problems resulting in avoidable harm for patients.”

A target for providers to reduce ASIs to a rate of 4% or less of their total outpatient activity was set by NHS England in 2019. Guidance in subsequent years has seen a move towards the requirement for providers to implement “innovative pathways” to support prevention of ill health.

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Source: iNews, 22 May 2022

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One in five patients leave some A&E departments in England without treatment

More than one in five patients at some hospitals are leaving accident and emergency departments before completing treatment, and in some cases before being seen for assessment at all, with the rate across England trebling since before the pandemic.

Experts told the Observer that the increase was probably driven by a combination of long A&E waiting times and by difficulties accessing NHS facilities such as GPs, community health services and NHS 111.

The figures apply to patients who left A&E before an initial assessment; after an assessment but before treatment started; or before treatment was completed. They include patients who left to find treatment elsewhere.

David Maguire, a senior analyst with the King’s Fund health thinktank, linked the rise to patients having difficulty accessing other parts of the NHS and going to A&E instead.

“We’re probably talking about things that won’t require an admission, but it’s important that you get seen by someone,” he said. “So for example, somebody’s got a chest pain, somebody’s got some sort of adverse indication that you would want to seek attention for. It’s a perfectly rational thing to do. But it’s a struggle to access at other points [in the NHS], so you default towards A&E.”

He added that staff shortages and social care capacity were also contributing factors.

“I think it’s a lot of the NHS not functioning properly. Pre-pandemic, there was a certain amount of flex in the system – even with the problems that we were seeing around performance – that meant you could come to A&E with some of these issues. That flex in the system has gone – the capacity has been absorbed by other issues.”

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Source: The Observer, 21 May 2022

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NHS ambulance service doctored documents to cover up truth about deaths

Quinn Evie Beadle died in 2018. Her parents later found out that the “kind, caring” 17-year-old had been failed by a paramedic at the scene of her death — and that the ambulance service altered documents to try to stop them finding out the truth.

The teenager, who dreamt of becoming a medic but suffered poor mental health, was found after she hanged herself near her home in Shildon, Co Durham, on the evening of 9 December 2018. The paramedic who attended the scene made basic mistakes, and made no effort to clear her airway or continue with basic life support — despite the fact her heart was still active.

But instead of attempting to learn lessons, bosses at the North East Ambulance Trust (NEAS) set out to prevent the family learning what happened.

They changed a key witness statement given to the coroner at her first inquest, removing references to mistakes the paramedic had made and inserting the claim that any life support offered would “not have had a positive outcome”. They also withheld from the coroner a key piece of evidence — a reading from a heart monitor — which demonstrated Quinn’s heart activity.

It is thought Quinn’s death could be one of more than 90 cases in the past three years in which the NEAS failed to provide families with the whole truth about how their relatives died.

Senior managers repeatedly withheld key evidence from coroners about deaths linked to service failures, an internal report shows. In some cases, bosses doctored or suppressed evidence to cover up failures by staff.

An independent report into a small number of the cases, including Quinn’s, raised by whistleblowers found that, as in her case, statements were changed or suppressed and pieces of key evidence not disclosed.

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Source: The Sunday Times, 22 May 2022

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Birmingham Children's Hospital worker held on suspicion of poisoning child

A health worker has been arrested on suspicion of administering poison with intent to endanger life after a child died at Birmingham Children's Hospital.

The 27-year-old woman was arrested on Thursday and has been suspended from her role at the hospital.

The child was being treated in the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit, a spokesperson for the hospital said.

Police said the woman had been released while investigations continued and forensic tests were being examined.

A spokesperson for Birmingham Women's and Children's NHS Foundation Trust said it was "supporting the infant's family at this distressing time and ask that privacy is respected during this process".

"Following the death of an infant at our Paediatric Intensive Care Unit at Birmingham Children's Hospital, we have asked West Midlands Police to examine what has happened, in line with our own safeguarding policy," it added.

"The staff member involved has been suspended by the Trust following the national process on the sudden unexpected death of a child."

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Source: BBC News, 23 May 2022

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What is monkeypox and how do you catch it?

Cases of monkeypox are being investigated in European countries, including the UK as well as the US, Canada and Australia.

Monkeypox is caused by the monkeypox virus, a member of the same family of viruses as smallpox, although it is much less severe and experts say chances of infection are low.

It occurs mostly in remote parts of central and west African countries, near tropical rainforests.

There are two main strains of virus - west African and central African.

Two of the infected patients in the UK travelled from Nigeria, so it is likely that they are suffering from the West African strain of the virus, which is generally mild, but this is as yet unconfirmed.

Another case was a healthcare worker who picked up the virus from one of the patients.

More recent cases do not have any known links with each other, or any history of travel. It appears they caught it in the UK from spread in the community.

The UKHSA says anyone with concerns that they could be infected should see a health professional, but make contact with the clinic or surgery ahead of a visit.

Initial symptoms include fever, headaches, swellings, back pain, aching muscles and a general listlessness.

Once the fever breaks a rash can develop, often beginning on the face, then spreading to other parts of the body, most commonly the palms of the hands and soles of the feet.

The infection usually clears up on its own and lasts between 14 and 21 days.

Experts say we are not on the brink of a national outbreak and, according to Public Health England, the risk to the public is low.

Prof Jonathan Ball, professor of molecular virology, University of Nottingham, said: "The fact that only one of the 50 contacts of the initial monkeypox-infected patient has been infected shows how poorly infectious the virus is.

"It is wrong to think that we are on the brink of a nationwide outbreak."

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Source: BBC News, 20 May 2022

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Hospital admissions for eating disorders up 84% in five years, NHS data shows

Hospital admissions for people with eating disorders in England have risen 84% in the last five years, official NHS figures reveal.

There were 11,049 more admissions for illnesses such as bulimia and anorexia in 2020-21 than in 2015-16, with 24,268 admissions in total. Experts described the increase as “alarming”.

The number of children and young people admitted to hospital with eating disorders grew from 3,541 to 6,713, with a 35% increase in the last year alone as the Covid pandemic hit, according to the analysis by the Royal College of Psychiatrists.

A particularly stark rise in admissions – 128% – was seen in boys and young men, from 280 hospital admissions in 2015-16 to 637 in 2020-2021.

The college has published guidelines to help health professionals identify people whose eating disorders have become life-threatening and get them the right care. It said the signs that somebody was dangerously ill could be missed at GP surgeries and in A&E due to a lack of guidance and training.

Dr Dasha Nicholls, who chaired the development of the medical emergencies in eating disorders guidelines, said: “Eating disorders such as anorexia, bulimia and binge eating don’t discriminate, and can affect people of any age and gender.

“They are mental health disorders, not a ‘lifestyle choice’, and we shouldn’t underestimate how serious they are. Even though anorexia nervosa is often referred to as the deadliest mental health condition, most deaths are preventable with early treatment and support. Full recovery is possible if spotted and treated early.”

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Source: The Guardian, 19 May 2022

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Regulator suggests ways to prevent choking deaths

The body which regulates health and social care services in Northern Ireland has made recommendations aimed at preventing choking deaths.

It follows the deaths of 31 people since 2016 - 10 of whom died in the last 15 months.

The Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA) review found a "clear and urgent" need to improve the "quality and safety" of care.

People at higher risk of choking include those who have had a stroke. It also includes older people and those with mental health or learning disabilities.

The key recommendations include enhanced training for staff, shorter waiting times for assessment by speech and learning therapy and better communication between staff.

RQIA chief executive Briege Donaghy said the vast majority of people who died from choking were known to have a swallowing issue and many had a care plan in place.

"However, choking incidents may occur due to failures in communication of the care plan and when people are inadvertently provided with, or are able to access food and drink that is not suitable or safe for them."

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Source: BBC News, 19 May 2022

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Obese adults set to outnumber those at healthy weight in UK within five years, report warns

Obese adults in Britain are on course to outnumber those who are a healthy weight within five years, a stark report has revealed.

Experts have warned there will be a “tipping point” in 2027 when one third of adults will be obese if current trends continue.

By 2040, they predict there will 21 million people classed as obese in the UK, and 19 million deemed to be overweight.

The analysis by Cancer Research UK shows seven in 10 (71%) people will be overweight or obese by 2040. Of this, almost four in 10 (36%) adults will be obese.

At present, 64% of adults are overweight or obese, with figures rising every year.

Being overweight or obese increases the risk of at least 13 different types of cancer and also causes other conditions such as high blood pressure and Type 2 diabetes.

The new data comes after former Conservative leader William Hague attacked the government for postponing a ban on “buy one get one free” deals for foods high in fat, salt and sugar for a year because of the cost-of-living crisis.

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Source: The Independent, 19 May 2022

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Wrong surgery and jabs among hundreds of NHS ‘never events’

A woman who had her ovaries removed by mistake was one victim of the hundreds of “never events” that occurred in the NHS over the past year.

Between April 2021 and March 2022 more than 400 patients in England’s hospitals suffered errors so serious that they should never have happened according to data released by NHS England. They include the wrong hips, legs, eyes and knees being operated on, and diabetic patients being given too much insulin.

Foreign objects were left inside 98 patients after operations, including gauzes, swabs, drill guides, scalpel blades and needles. Vaginal swabs were left in patients 32 times and surgical swabs were left 21 times. Other objects left inside patients included part of a pair of wire cutters, part of a scalpel blade, and the bolt from surgical forceps. On three separate occasions part of a drill bit was left in a patient.

“Wrong-site surgery” was carried out on 171 patients and six patients had injections to the wrong eye. The wrong hip implant was put in 12 times, a wrong knee implant was performed 11 times, and patients were connected to air instead of oxygen 13 times. Seven patients were given the wrong type of blood during a transfusion.

Some patients were given doses of drugs that were far too high, including the immunosuppressant methotrexate, which is used for severe arthritis, psoriasis and leukaemia. There were 11 overdoses of insulin.

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Source: The Times, 19 May 2022

 

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ICS set to miss July two-year waiters target by 860 patients

One of England’s most challenged integrated care systems (ICS) is set to miss by more than 800 patients the government’s target of eliminating two-year elective waits by July. 

Devon ICS currently estimates 860 patients will have waited longer than two years for planned care by July 2022, when all patients waiting longer than two years should have been treated – according to the NHS’s elective recovery plan.

It is the first reported example of an ICS forecasting to miss the high-profile target which government has agreed with NHS England.

The ICS, which is among the health systems with the lowest rating from NHSE, is a national outlier against the target, with around 1,500 patients currently waiting two years or more for care.

The backlog has occurred despite the ICS previously being one of 12 systems given extra money for planned care through the elective accelerator programme and retaining the use of its Nightingale Hospital.

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Source: 6 May 2022

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NHS England ends covid ‘command and control’ measures

The NHS threat level in response to Covid-19 has been downgraded following drops in community cases and hospital inpatient numbers, NHS England chiefs have announced.

The threat level to the health service has been dropped from a “level four” incident, which requires NHSE to “command and control” NHS resources in response to the pandemic, to a “level three” incident, which requires a response by a number of trusts within an NHS region.

A letter from NHSE chief executive Amanda Pritchard and chief operating officer Sir David Sloman, published today, said local systems “need to ensure their resilience and capability to re-establish full incident responses” if needed. At NHSE’s board meeting she stressed that covid was still impacting the service.

Trusts have also been reminded to relax visiting restrictions. The letter said all healthcare settings “should now begin transitioning back towards their own pre-pandemic [or better] policies on inpatient visiting and patients being accompanied in outpatient and [urgent and emergency care] services”.

The default position for trusts should be “no patient having to be alone unless through their choice,” the letter said.

It comes as some trusts have resisted pressure from government and NHSE to relax visiting restrictions.

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Source: HSJ, 19 May 2022

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The trusts making least progress in improving maternity services

The trusts that have made the most and least progress on urgent recommendations set out by the Ockenden review have been revealed

Published in December 2020, the interim Ockenden review set out 12 immediate and essential actions for all trusts with maternity provision, grouped into seven themes, and in its latest board papers NHS England has set out the progress they have made.

The actions which trusts are struggling with most include “risk assessment throughout pregnancy” and clearly describing pathways of care in written information and posted on the trust websites.

According to the data, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals Trust is the least compliant provider in England to date, as it is only fully compliant on one action.

Last summer Sheffield’s maternity service plunged to “inadequate” from “outstanding” following a Care Quality Commission inspection, with concerns raised about staffing numbers, training and a lack of an open culture.

Mid and South Essex Hospitals and York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals were compliant on five actions each. MSE is rated “requires improvement” by the CQC for maternity care, whereas YSTH is “good”.

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Source: HSJ, 20 May 2022

 

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Respiratory syncytial virus kills 100,000 under-fives every year

Respiratory syncytial virus is killing 100,000 children under the age of five every year worldwide, new figures reveal as experts say the global easing of coronavirus restrictions is causing a surge in cases.

RSV is the most common cause of acute lower respiratory infection in young children. It spreads easily via coughing and sneezing. There is no vaccine or specific treatment.

RSV-attributable acute lower respiratory infections led to more than 100,000 deaths of children under five in 2019, according to figures published in the Lancet. Of those, more than 45,000 were under six months old, the first-of-its-kind study found.

More children are likely to be affected by RSV in the future, experts believe, because masks and lockdowns have robbed children of natural immunity against a range of common viruses, including RSV.

“RSV is the predominant cause of acute lower respiratory infection in young children and our updated estimates reveal that children six months and younger are particularly vulnerable, especially with cases surging as Covid-19 restrictions are easing around the world,” said the study’s co-author, Harish Nair of the University of Edinburgh. “The majority of the young children born in the last two years have never been exposed to RSV (and therefore have no immunity against this virus).”

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Source: The Guardian, 19 May 2022

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Blackpool death: Abortion sepsis risk training inadequate

Doctors are receiving "inadequate" training about the risk of sepsis after a mother-of-five died following an abortion, a coroner has warned.

Sarah Dunn, 31, died of "natural causes contributed to by neglect" in hospital on 11 April 2020, an inquest found.

Assistant coroner for Blackpool and Fylde, Louise Rae, said Ms Dunn had been treated as a Covid patient even though the "signs of sepsis were apparent".

Her cause of death was recorded as "streptococcus sepsis following medical termination of pregnancy".

In her record of inquest, the coroner noted Ms Dunn was admitted to Blackpool Victoria Hospital in Lancashire on 10 April 2020. She was suffering from a streptococcus infection caused by an early medical abortion on 23 March, which had produced sepsis and toxic shock by the time she was admitted to hospital.

The coroner said "signs of sepsis were apparent" before and at the time of Ms Dunn's hospital admission but she was instead treated as a Covid-19 patient.

"Sepsis was not recognised or treated by the GP surgery, emergency department or acute medical unit and upon Sarah's arrival at hospital, the sepsis pathway was not followed," she added.

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Source: BBC News, 19 May 2022

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Urgent patient safety warning at hospital facing police probe

A private hospital facing a police investigation following a patient’s death has been given an urgent warning by the care regulator due to concerns over patient safety.

The Huntercombe Hospital in Maidenhead, which treats children with mental health needs, was told it must urgently address safety issues found by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) following an inspection in March.

The CQC handed the hospital a formal warning due to concerns over failures in the way staff were carrying out observations of vulnerable patients.

The move comes as The Independent revealed police are investigating the hospital in relation to the death of a young girl earlier this year.

In a report published last week, the care watchdog said it had received “mainly negative” feedback from young people at the hospital’s Thames ward, a psychiatric intensive care unit which treats acutely unwell children.

Commenting on the hospital overall, the report said: “Young people told us that staff did not follow the care plans in relation to their level of observations. They told us that if there was an incident the staff stopped doing intermittent observations. Staff in charge of shifts on wards asked new staff members to do observations before they understood how to do it. Staff had to ask the young person how to carry out their observations as they did not always understand what was expected of them in carrying out different levels of observations.”

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Source: The Independent, 19 May 2022

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Injured women face discrimination over life-saving drugs, say researchers

Injured women are experiencing sex discrimination in the administration of a life-saving drug that cuts the risk of bleeding to death by 30%, researchers have warned.

They found that female trauma victims were half as likely to receive tranexamic acid (TXA) as injured men – even though the treatment is equally effective regardless of sex.

“These results are very concerning. TXA is the only proven life-saving treatment for traumatic bleeding. Women were treated less frequently than men regardless of their risk of death from bleeding or the severity of their injuries,” said Prof Ian Roberts of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), who was involved in the study.

“This looks like sex discrimination, and there is an urgent need to reduce this disparity, so all patients who need the drug have the chance to receive it.”

“Whatever of the mechanism of injury, and whatever the bleeding risk we looked at, women were statistically less likely to receive tranexamic acid than men, apart from road traffic collisions with a very high risk of bleeding,” said Tim Nutbeam, whose research was published in the British Journal of Anaesthesia. “However, when we looked at mechanisms of injury which we tend to associate less with major trauma, such as falls from standing, women and particularly older women were much less likely to receive it.”

As striking as these results are, they are not necessarily surprising, he added: “It is already known that women with chest pain are less likely to receive aspirin, less likely to be resuscitated for out of hospital cardiac arrest, and less likely to be taken to hospital by an ambulance using lights and sirens.”

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Source: The Guardian, 18 May 2022

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Numbers of nurses and midwives leaving NHS highest for four years

More than 27,000 nurses and midwives quit the NHS last year, with many blaming job pressures, the Covid pandemic and poor patient care for their decision.

The rise in staff leaving their posts across the UK – the first in four years – has prompted concern that frontline workers are under too much strain, especially with the NHS-wide shortage of nurses.

New figures show the NHS is also becoming more reliant on nurses and midwives trained overseas as domestic recruitment remains stubbornly low.

In a report on Wednesday, the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) discloses that the numbers in both professions across the UK has risen to its highest level – 758,303.

However, while 48,436 nurses and midwives joined its register, 27,133 stopped working last year – 25,219 nurses, 1,474 midwives and 304 who performed both roles. That was higher than the 23,934 who did so during 2020 after Covid struck, and 25,488 who left in 2019.

Andrea Sutcliffe, the NMC’s chief executive, said that while the record number of nurses and midwives was good news, “a closer look at our data reveals some worrying signs”. She cited the large number of leavers and the fact that “those who left shared troubling stories about the pressure they’ve had to bear during the pandemic”.

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Source: The Guardian, 18 May 2022

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