Jump to content
  • articles
    9,854
  • comments
    83
  • views
    12,513,423

Contributors to this article

About this News

Articles in the news

Hospital boss claims unfair dismissal after chairman 'bullied' her

A former NHS chief executive is suing her employer, saying she was "bullied, harassed, intimidated and undermined" by the hospital trust's chairman.

In legal papers, seen by BBC News, Dr Susan Gilby alleges she was effectively unfairly dismissed by the Countess of Chester NHS Foundation Trust, after she made a formal complaint.

Dr Gilby claims the chairman was "highly aggressive and intimidatory" in meetings, that he banged his hand on a desk to emphasise his point, and oversaw a climate where "offensively sexist comments and ferocious and repetitive criticisms" were made by either him or his associates.

Dr Gilby's complaint accuses the chairman of putting finance above patient safety at the hospital trust

She made a formal whistle-blowing complaint against the chairman in July 2022, raising her concerns about his behaviour to both the trust and NHS England.

The trust responded to her concerns, Dr Gilby claims, by proposing that she be seconded to a senior advisory role within NHS England on the condition she withdrew her allegations.

Read full story

Source: BBC News, 12 May 2023

Read more

Hospital boards not ready to run population health, says government adviser

Hospital trust boards are not currently in a position to run population health and “very few” acute chief executives “truly understand” primary care, government’s neighbourhood health adviser has told HSJ.

Sir John Oldham, A former GP and a senior adviser to Wes Streeting, told HSJ in an interview: “You can’t just take a hospital trust board and management and think that it will be able to run population health, because the skill set and knowledge set is really quite different.”

The 10-Year Health Plan, published last week, said high-performing trusts would be encouraged to evolve into “integrated health organisations”. Similar to accountable care organisations in the USA, they would take on a population-based budget to run – and commission – a wide range of acute, community, primary and social care services. Some will begin in 2026, and the plan says IHOs will “over time… become the norm”.

There are questions about how it will fit with the planned expansion of primary care-led neighbourhood health work, including two proposed new “neighbourhood provider” contracts.

Sir John, who is leading a new programme implementing neighbourhood health, said “deepening the connectivity with local authorities” was particularly important “when you’re developing IHOs, because if they just become hospital services being delivered in the same way in the community, then it will fail”. 

Read full story (paywalled)

Source: HSJ, 9 July 2025

Read more
 

Hospital bed in New South Wales poses safety risk for 'rotund' patients

A common hospital bed used by thousands of patients across New South Wales (NSW), Australia, poses a risk to heavier patients and nurses caring for them, healthcare staff have been warned.

A safety alert has been issued throughout the state after NSW Health received five reports of Hill-Rom HR900 model beds tilting dangerously as nurses tried to manoeuvre patients. 

The incidents are the latest pressure point for a healthcare system responsible for the rising overweight and obese patient population.

No patients involved were harmed, but “there is a potential risk if the beds tip during an episode of patient care", the alert issued last month by the Clinical Excellence Commission reads.

Read full story

Source: The Sidney Morning Herald, 4 November 2019

Read more
 

Hospital ban on visits described as 'soul-destroying'

Margaret Evans, 86, from Nefyn, Gwynedd describes the ban on visitors as 'soul-destroying'. 

Ms Evans, who had been in hospital for more than 10 weeks describes her experience as like being "torn away from the world".  Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board have said they understood the impact of having no visitors and is set to make changes to the restrictions this week by allowing visits by appointment. 

Other hospitals around Wales have already implemented this change, including those run by Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board, Powys Teaching Health Board, and Swansea Bay University Health Board.

Read full story. 

Source: BBC News, 20 June 2021

Read more

Hospital backlog drops to lowest level in two years

The backlog in routine hospital treatments in England has reached its lowest level for two years.

Data for the end of April showed the waiting list dropped to 7.39 million, down from 7.42 million in March.

But it is nine years since the NHS has met its target of 92% of patients being seen in 18 weeks – currently it is just below 60%.

The government has made meeting the target one of its key missions for this parliament – and on Wednesday announced above-inflation rises for the NHS in the coming years to help achieve it.

Responding to the latest figures, Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting, said: "We are putting the NHS on the road to recovery."

And he added this was "just the start" as the extra investment announced in the spending review, which will see the NHS budget rise by 3% a year in the next three years, combined with reforms that will be announced in the 10-year plan due next month, would help build on what has been achieved.

The drop in the numbers on the waiting list, which covers people waiting for routine treatments like hip and knee operations, came after March saw a rise in numbers – the first time in six months the waiting list had gone up.

Although a little bit of fluctuation from month to month is normally seen, the government said it was clear the numbers waiting were on a downward trend.

Read full story

Source: BBC News, 12 June 2025

Read more
 

Hospital at centre of rape and death inquiries to close after investigation by The Independent

A scandal-hit children’s mental health hospital will close months after an investigation by The Independent uncovered claims of poor care and systemic abuse.

Taplow Manor hospital, in Maidenhead, was threatened with closure by the NHS safety watchdog, the Care Quality Commission, only last week if it failed to make improvements following a damning report.

Active Care Group, which runs the hospital, confirmed it would close by the end of May, saying a decision by the NHS to stop admitting patients had rendered its “service untenable”.

The move comes after an investigation by The Independent and Sky News heard from more than 50 patients who alleged “systemic abuse” by the provider, while Taplow Manor is facing two police probes – one into a patient death and a second into the alleged rape of a child involving staff.

Read full story

Source: The Independent, 29 March 2023

Read more

Hospital asking nurses to clean wards ‘risky’ and shows ‘little respect’ for staff

Specialist nurses at an NHS hospital have been told they may be taken off clinical shifts to help clean wards, it has emerged.

Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has said it asked nursing staff to help clean wards as the hospital faced the “most challenging circumstances” it has ever faced.

Clinical specialist nurses, who are advanced nurses and can usually have hundreds of patients under their care, were among those asked to spend entire shifts helping other wards “cleaning”, “tidying” and “decluttering”.

The news has prompted criticism from unions, however, multiple nurses have reported that the requests happen “often” during winter.

Alison Leary professor of healthcare and workforce at South Bank University warned that asking specialist nurses to drop their work was “very risky”.

She said: “This problem keeps cropping up-as soon as there is pressure on wards they are expected to abandon their patients. It usually happens in winter and so it’s concerning that it has now started to happen in summer.

“This also shows very little respect for nursing generally and will not help retention. Trusts need to plan workforces accordingly and should ensure they have the right amount of cleaning, administrative and housekeeping staff-all staff groups which contribute to patient safety and care quality."

Read full story

Source: The Independent, 8 August 2022

Read more

Hospital apologises after hiding surgeon's error for seven years

A hospital trust has apologised to a woman for failing to admit a surgeon had been responsible for a massive haemorrhage that almost killed her after a Caesarean section.

For seven years, East Kent Hospitals Trust maintained the size of Louise Dempster's baby was to blame.

"It was just continuous lies," the 34-year-old told BBC News.

East Kent Hospitals chief executive Tracy Fletcher promised "to ensure lessons are learned".

Louise Dempster gave birth in May 2015 but the surgeon's error only emerged during an inquiry into poor maternity care at East Kent Hospitals Trust which reported this year.

Read full story

Source: BBC News, 9 December 2022

Read more
 

Hospital and manager guilty over patient death

A hospital trust and a staff member have been found guilty of health and safety failings over the death of a young woman in a mental health unit.

Alice Figueiredo, 22, was being treated at Goodmayes Hospital, east London, when she took her own life in July 2015, having previously made many similar attempts.

Following a seven-month trial at the Old Bailey, a jury found that not enough was done by the North East London Foundation NHS Trust (NELFT) or ward manager Benjamin Aninakwa to prevent Alice from killing herself.

The trust was cleared of the more serious charge of corporate manslaughter, while Aninakwa, 53, of Grays in Essex, was cleared of gross negligence manslaughter.

The jury deliberated for 24 days to reach all the verdicts, setting a joint record in the history of British justice, according to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). Both the trust and Aninakwa were convicted under the Health and Safety at Work Act.

It was only the second time an NHS trust has faced a corporate manslaughter charge.

During the trial, prosecutors said that not only was Alice repeatedly able to self-harm while she was in hospital, but that these incidents were not properly recorded or assessed.

The court also heard there were concerns about Benjamin Aninakwa's communication, efficiency, clinical and leadership skills.

The trust had previously placed him on a performance improvement plan for three years, which ended in December 2014.

In addition, there was a high turnover of agency staff on the ward, the court heard.

Mrs Figueiredo says she raised concerns about her daughter's care verbally and in writing on a number of occasions to the hospital and to Mr Aninakwa.

After Alice died, she said the family found it very difficult to get answers about what happened.

For nearly a decade they gathered evidence and pressed both the police and the CPS to take action.

Read full story

Source: BBC News, 9 June 2025

Read more
 

Hospital alert after fake doctor-endorsed videos

A hospital trust in south London has issued an alert after fraudulent videos were circulated online claiming its staff endorsed weight loss products.

Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust said that the videos, found on social media platforms like Facebook and TikTok, "falsely claim a number of our clinicians are using and endorsing these products".

The videos, which show doctors applying weight loss patches to their bodies and losing weight over a period of time, appear to be AI-generated, the Trust said, and do not show doctors who work there.

The BBC has approached the company and a doctor claiming to be behind the products, but has had no response.

Speaking to the BBC Dr Daghni Rajasingam, deputy chief medical officer at the Trust, said staff were "actively working" to try and get the videos taken down.

"They are fraudulent and they're misleading," Rajasingam said.

"NHS clinicians would never endorse or promote commercial products such as this."

The doctor urged the public to seek health advice on weight loss from "trusted NHS sources".

Read full story

Source: BBC News, 15 January 2025

Read more
 

Hospital alarms prove a noisy misery for patients

When Kea Turner’s 74-year-old grandmother checked into Virginia’s Sentara Virginia Beach General Hospital in the US, with advanced lung cancer, she landed in the oncology unit where every patient was monitored by a bed alarm.

“Even if she would slightly roll over, it would go off,” Turner said. Small movements — such as reaching for a tissue — would set off the alarm, as well. The beeping would go on for up to 10 minutes, Turner said, until a nurse arrived to shut it off.

Tens of thousands of alarms shriek, beep and buzz every day in every US hospital. All sound urgent, but few require immediate attention or get it. Intended to keep patients safe by alerting nurses to potential problems, they also create a riot of disturbances for patients trying to heal and get some rest.

Alarms have ranked as one of the top 10 health technological hazards every year since 2007, according to the research firm ECRI Institute. That could mean staffs were too swamped with alarms to notice a patient in distress, or that the alarms were misconfigured. The Joint Commission, which accredits hospitals, warned the nation about the “frequent and persistent” problem of alarm safety in 2013. It now requires hospitals to create formal processes to tackle alarm system safety, but there is no national data on whether progress has been made in reducing the prevalence of false and unnecessary alarms.

The commission has estimated that of the thousands of alarms going off throughout a hospital every day, an estimated 85-99% do not require clinical intervention. Staff, facing widespread “alarm fatigue,” can miss critical alerts, leading to patient deaths. Patients may get anxious about fluctuations in heart rate or blood pressure that are perfectly normal, the commission said.

Read full story

Source: The Washington Post, 24 November 2019

Read more

Hospital advertises for ‘corridor care’ nurses to ease NHS crisis

A hospital is recruiting nurses to work 12-hour shifts in its corridors caring for sick patients stuck waiting for a bed.
In a sign of the deepening capacity crisis facing the health service, Whittington Hospital in Archway, north London, posted several adverts for registered nurses last week where the role was specifically described as “corridor care” or for a “corridor RN”.

Across the country, doctors and nurses have reported NHS trusts installing power sockets and oxygen lines in corridor walls, in anticipation of large numbers of patients needing to be stacked there on trolleys while they wait for a bed.
Professor Nicola Ranger, head of the Royal College of Nursing, said: “Recruiting tired nurses to do extra shifts solely in corridors is desperate. It shows just how normalised this practice has become.

Read full story (paywalled)

Source: Telegraph, 11 January 2025

Read more
 

Hospital admits patient care is being compromised as cancer operations delayed

Cancer operations at one of England’s largest hospital trusts are being delayed as bosses admit patient care on wards is being compromised.

Nottingham University Hospitals Trust has been forced to convert one of its few remaining wards for cancer surgery patients into an emergency medical ward to cope with an influx of patients.

The Independent understands the trust’s A&E department is regularly overcrowded with 40 or more patients waiting for a bed at the start of most days.

In a leaked message to staff sent on Friday and shared with The Independent, bosses at the hospital said the trust was facing an “exceptionally difficult time” which was “probably the most challenging position we have been in since the pandemic began”.

It added: “There is no doubt that we are having to compromise the quality of care we are providing to some patients to ensure that we are able to maintain a service for the whole population.”

“Our emergency department is over capacity continuously, which means that patients are waiting for extended periods on trolleys with little privacy and dignity because they do not have a bed to go to. We are having to make difficult decisions every day as to whether we can proceed with cancer and urgent operations and we are not able to tell some patients when they will get their operation."

Read full story

Source: The Independent, 13 September 2021

Read more

Hospital admits paper records putting patients at risk after man’s fatal cancer missed for 10 years

Patients are at risk of a missed cancer diagnosis due to a reliance on paper records, an NHS trust has admitted after a man died due to his tumour being overlooked.

Michael Lane, 50, from Shrewsbury, was “failed” by Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust, his family has said after his cancer scan result was misplaced leaving him with a growing kidney tumour for 10 years.

The trust is yet to fully launch an electronic record system a year after an investigation into Mr Lane’s death warned other patients were at risk due to the gap in paper records.

Mr Lane went into Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital for a scan following a referral for suspected cancer in 2011. The radiographer flagged a small tumour but the scan was overlooked, placed within his paper records and never reported as being a concern.

In an investigation report carried out by the trust in May 2021, seen by The Independent, the hospital admitted that had his tumour been seen and operated on earlier he may have survived.

The report also admitted there were ongoing risks within the trust due to gaps in its electronic records system.

It said: “The implementation of an IT solution will not prevent sad cases such as that of Mr Lane where the scan report that was missed took place before the widespread availability of such systems, however, it is clear that until we have an electronic requesting and sign-off system we remain at risk of new cases of missed results and harm occurring as a result of the ongoing reliance of paper-based results.”

Read full story

Source: The Independent, 17 July 2022

Read more
 

Hospital admits negligence over failings leading to baby’s sepsis death

A hospital has admitted clinical negligence over maternity care failings that led to the potentially avoidable death of a 10-day-old baby, The Independent has learned.

Kingsley Olasupo and his twin sister Princess were born on 8 April 2019 at Royal Bolton Hospital. Kingsley died 10 days later following a catalogue of mistakes, which included failing to screen him for sepsis.

Kingsley and his sister were born premature at 35 weeks. Three days later he was admitted to the special care unit due to a low temperature and “poor” feeding.

Despite being reviewed by two doctors he was not screened for an infection and not given antibiotics.

His condition deteriorated and on 12 April he was diagnosed with bacterial meningitis and sepsis. Days later scans revealed he had severe brain damage and would not survive.

Kingsley’s family said they had been “torn apart” by their son’s death and had pursued the trust to ensure a full independent investigation was carried out and lessons learnt.

BFT launched an investigation into Kingsley’s care after Mr Olasupo and Ms Daley raised concerns over their son’s death.

According to the trust’s investigation report, seen by The Independent, failings in care included that Kingsley was not screened for sepsis despite several “red flags”. Had this been done he would have been given antibiotics.

When midwives first escalated concerns to the neonatal team no physical medical review of Kingsley took place.

The investigation also found neonatal staff did not carry out daily reviews, and reviews that were done were incomplete and contained “inaccurate” and “misleading” information.

Other failings included:

  • “Ineffective” assessment of Kingsley’s wellbeing on the postnatal ward
  • Poor communication between staff and poor handover processes
  • No consideration was given to the fact Kingsley was not feeding well
  • Inadequate recording of observations.

Read full story

Source: The Independent, 20 April 2022

Read more
 

Hospital admits liability for baby’s death after ignoring mother’s concerns

A hospital has admitted liability for the death of a baby who was delivered stillborn three days after his mother’s complaints of fluid loss and severe pain were dismissed as wetting the bed.

Jacob Jackson could have been born healthy, Shrewsbury and Telford hospital trust (Sath) has accepted, if it had arranged an earlier delivery in October 2018 as his mother, Charlotte, had suggested.

The incident happened 18 months after an external review had been ordered into serious maternity failings at the trust, which are now known to be the biggest maternity scandal in the history of the NHS.

Charlotte said: “It makes me feel sick to my stomach that they knew there were problems – this sort of thing had been going on for decades. We keep getting fed the same lines that ‘lessons have been learned’. If lessons had been learned parents and babies wouldn’t be going through this.”

Read full story

Source: The Guardian, 6 September 2021

Read more

Hospital admissions for seven major non-Covid illnesses, including heart attacks, slump by 173,000

Tens of thousands of people avoided going to hospital for life-threatening illnesses such as heart attacks during Britain's coronavirus crisis, data has revealed. 

Shocking figures reveal that admissions for seven deadly non-coronavirus conditions between March and June fell by more than 173,000 on the previous year. 

Previous data for England shows there were nearly 6,000 fewer admissions for heart attacks in March and April compared with last year, and almost 137,000 fewer cancer admissions from March to June.

Analysis by the Daily Mail found that the trends were alarmingly similar across the board for patients who suffered strokes, diabetes, dementia, mental health conditions and eating disorders. 

Health experts said the statistics were 'troubling' and warned that many patients may have died or suffered longterm harm as a result.  

Gbemi Babalola, senior analyst at the King's Fund think-tank said: "People with some of the most serious health concerns are going without the healthcare they desperately need. Compared with the height of the pandemic, the NHS is seeing an increase in the number of patients as services restart, and significant effort is going into new ways to treat and support patients."

"But the fact remains that fewer people are being treated by NHS services."

Read full story

Source: Daily Mail, 13 September 2020

Read more

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.”

Read full story

Source: The Guardian, 19 May 2022

Read more
 

Hospital admissions for deadly sepsis have doubled in three years

Hospital admissions for sepsis in England have more than doubled in three years, according to new figures that shows a rise in recorded admissions among all age groups, including the very young.

The NHS Digital data shows there were 350,344 recorded hospital admissions with a first or second diagnosis of sepsis in 2017/18, up from 169,125 three years earlier. This includes 38,401 admissions among those aged four years and under, up from 30,981 in 2015/16. For all children and young people aged 24 years and under, there were 48,647 admissions in 2017/18.

Dr Ron Daniels, Chief Executive of the UK Sepsis Trust, and Patient Safety Learning topic leader, said the scale of the problem in children looks “alarming”, adding: “What this means is that parents need to continue to be aware of meningitis, but to arguably be even more aware of sepsis as it affects far more children and can be equally deadly.” He said: “These potentially alarming data show that the number of recorded episodes of sepsis has more than doubled in just three years, a period coinciding with the recent focus on sepsis by the NHS in England."

Read full story

Source: Mirror, 22 July 2019

Read more
 

Hospital acquired covid infections hit record high

The number of COVID-19 infections likely to have been acquired in hospital are rising again for the first time in three weeks and their proportion of all cases has reached record levels for the second wave, HSJ can reveal.

NHS England data covering the week to 6 December (the latest available) shows 1,787 COVID-19 cases were acquired in-hospital – a rise of almost 14% on the week before. The number of hospital-acquired, or “nosocomial”, infections had been falling since the week to 15 November, when 1,794 were recorded.

This week, hospital acquired covid infections amounted to 21% of the 8,337 new cases which were recorded in hospitals – the highest proportion in the second wave. On 6 December alone, 24% of infections had probably been acquired in hospital rather than the community.

Read full story (paywalled)

Source: HSJ, 11 December 2020

Read more

Hospital accused of delaying ambulances to eliminate corridor care

 MaA hospital trust has been accused of delaying the offloading of ambulance patients so it can maintain zero “corridor care”.

University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire Trust had no patients being treated in corridors, while ambulance crews were providing care in its car parks, according to a West Midlands Ambulance Service board paper last week.

Minutes of the ambulance trust’s quality governance committee said UHCW had “better flow” than most local hospitals, but “the problem is our staff are still providing ‘car park care’”.

Paramedic and senior staff side representative Stephen Thompson told the committee that staff were frustrated about the situation. He said bringing even a small number of patients inside the hospital, which is on the outskirts of Coventry, would free up several ambulances to respond to other emergencies.

WMAS medical director Richard Steyn pointed out that acute trusts were now under pressure from NHS England to report on corridor care, and claimed there was less focus on ambulance handover delays.

“They [UHCW] will not tolerate corridor care, but they are responsible for the patient outside in the ambulance, but [they] are tolerating that,” he said.

Read full story (paywalled)

Source: HSJ, May 2026

Read more

Hospital accused of ‘cover up’ after review finds failings in delivery of baby born with brain damage

Hospital authorities in Wales have been accused of attempting to cover up failings in the delivery of a baby born with significant brain damage.

Gethin Channon, who was born on 25 March 2019 at Singleton Hospital, in Swansea, suffers from quadriplegic cerebral palsy, a severe disability that requires 24/7 care.

There were complications during his birth, due to him being in an abnormal position that prevented normal delivery, and he was eventually born via caesarean section.

An independent review commissioned by Swansea Bay University Health Board (SBUHB), which manages Singleton Hospital, found “several adverse features” surrounding Gethin’s delivery that were omitted from or “inaccurately specified” in the hospital’s internal report.

The investigation, carried out by obstetrician Dr Bill Kirkup, said SBUHB had “significantly” downplayed the “suboptimal” care received by Gethin and his mother, Sian, and had erroneously attributed his condition to a blocked windpipe.

It also suggests that amendments were retrospectively made to examination notes taken by staff during the course of Ms Channon’s labour.

The family said that SBUHB, which was flagged by national inspectors in the months after Gethin’s birth due to “concerns” over its ability to deliver “safe and effective” maternity care, had “covered up” the failings in their case.

SBUHB said it had been “working tirelessly” with the family to investigate and address their concerns, and that it would be inappropriate to comment on specific allegations as the process was ongoing.

Read full story

Source: The Independent, 2 September 2022

Read more
 

Hospital ‘finally says sorry’ over care in brain death tragedy

The hospital which treated a young woman who died unexpectedly four years ago has said her care fell below their usual “high standards” – but the admission is “a complete cop out”, her mother said.

Gaia Young, 25, was admitted to University College London Hospital (UCLH) in July 2021 when she was taken ill following a bike ride, and died 17 hours later.

Doctors know that Gaia died from a cerebral oedema – a brain swelling – but even after an inquest the underlying cause of her sudden illness remained unexplained.

Her mother, Lady Dorit Young, has continued to fight and campaign for the hospital to take accountability for what she says are failings in its care.

She described the hospital’s latest statement, a partial apology via a short comment in a news article, as “pathetic”, adding: “It came completely out of the blue. I didn’t even notice it at first, then I was extremely furious. Why, four years after Gaia died, why now? Why did they let us do all this work and fight and push? I think it’s cruel.

“They could have done it at court, in the inquest. They could have said it to me in person, but the fact that they put it into a rather unknown publication, it’s very sneaky, it’s pretty shameful. It’s a complete cop out.”

The UCLH comment was made in response to an article called “Failing the dead: How medical ignorance is killing Britain’s coroner service”, by journalist Angela Walker in online political magazine The Lead.

Read full story

Source: Islington Tribune, 14 July 2024

Further reading on the hub:

Read more
 

Hospital ‘bed blocking’ numbers hit highest level since 2017

The number of patients stuck in hospitals because they could not be transferred is at its highest quarterly level since 2017, reversing years of progress amid ongoing crises in health and care services.

“Delayed transfers of care” – often known as “bed blocking” – rose in the mid-2010s as austerity hit council-run adult-care services, meaning hospitals were unable to discharge patients into the community.

The number of “delayed days” in the NHS increased from an average of 114,000 a month in 2012 to more than 200,000 in October 2016, before extra funding and higher council taxes brought the numbers back down.

But the latest NHS figures show the problem is returning. December 2019 saw 148,000 delayed days across England, 15% higher than the same month a year earlier. The combined figures for the last quarter of 2019 were the highest in two years.

Read full story

Source: The Guardian, 23 February 2020

Read more
 

Hospital 'deeply sorry' after 12-year-old's death

A hospital boss has apologised "unreservedly" after the death of a 12-year-old girl which led a coroner to raise concerns about the "discrimination of disabled children".

Rose Harfleet died at Royal Surrey County Hospital, in Guildford, on 30 January 2024, having attended its emergency department the day before with abdominal pain and vomiting.

Assistant coroner for Surrey, Karen Henderson, said in a recent report that there was a failure of the medical and nursing staff to appreciate Rose was clinically deteriorating.

The coroner said Rose, who from birth was diagnosed with mosaic trisomy 17 with global developmental delay, was "wholly reliant on her mother to advocate on her behalf".

But she said at the hospital no history was taken from Rose's mother and that the severity of her signs and symptoms were underestimated.

She said poor clinical decisions contributed to Rose's death.

"This gives rise to a concern that by not listening to parents or guardians as a matter of course leads to discrimination of disabled children," she added.

Read full story

Source: BBC News, 4 June 2025

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.