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Falling NHS continuity of care poses ‘existential threat’ to patient safety

Rapidly falling continuity of care levels pose an “existential threat” to patient safety, Britain’s top family doctor will warn today as research reveals only half of Britons regularly see the same GP.

Prof Martin Marshall, chair of the Royal College of GPs (RCGP), will say trusted relationships between family doctors and patients are the most “powerful intervention” for delivering effective, high-quality care as they boost patient satisfaction and health outcomes, and reduce use of hospital services.

But in a keynote speech to the college’s annual conference, Marshall will warn that continuity of care is becoming almost impossible to deliver on the NHS amid soaring demand and shrinking numbers of GPs, in what he will describe as the “most worrying crisis in decades”.

There are mounting concerns over the ability of the NHS to tackle record waiting lists, with 6.5m patients awaiting care in England alone. Earlier this month Sajid Javid, the health secretary, admitted the current model of GP care “is not working” but insisted there would be no more money for the health service.

At the RCGP conference in London, Marshall will tell delegates that because of rising workloads and fewer staff, GPs no longer have the time to properly assess patients, with 65% warning safety is being compromised due to appointments being too short, according to a recent survey commissioned by the college.

Only 39% of respondents said they were able to deliver the continuity of care their patients need – down from 60% two years ago.

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Source: The Guardian, 29 June 2022

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Fall in school nurses prompts fears that children’s lives are ‘at risk’

The number of nurses in schools has fallen in recent years, prompting fears that pupils’ lives are being put “at risk”. 

Teaching assistants are being asked to carry out medical interventions, such as injections, without adequate training or support, the GMB union, which represents school staff, has said. 

Data, obtained by the GMB union through a Freedom of Information request, shows the number of school nurses has fallen by 11 per cent in four years – from 472 in 2015 to 420 in 2018.

Karen Leonard, National Schools Officer at the GMB union, said: “The uncomfortable truth is that in too many schools children are not getting the medical support they need.”

Ms Leonard added: “School staff should not administer medicine unless they feel fully confident in their training and lines of accountability, but often they are placed in uncomfortable situations."

“This is a highly stressful state of affairs for children, parents, and staff, who fear they will be blamed if something goes wrong. It is not alarmist to say that lives are at risk.”

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Source: The Independent, 23 February 2020

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Fall in A&Es with proper crisis support

The share of acute hospitals which have proper mental health crisis support has fallen to less than two-thirds, according to new findings for NHS England, seen by HSJ.

The Liaison Psychiatry Survey of England tracks whether hospitals with type 1 (major) emergency departments are meeting requirements for crisis mental healthcare. In 2019-20 NHS England set a target for the “Core 24” standards — including being properly staffed — to be met by 2023-24.

But the latest findings show only 62% were meeting the requirements, which is a 5 percentage-point reduction from the previous year – the first time there has been a fall.

This is amid huge concern about mental health patients in accident and emergency departments, where they can experience waits of days for appropriate care.

The latest survey, which is commissioned by NHSE and the Royal College of Psychiatrists, but not published, suggests the national standards — set pre-covid — also likely fall well short of what is now needed in acute hospitals.

The authors warn: “Pre-pandemic assumptions about prevalence, need, and requirements to address the mental health treatment gap now appear to be outdated, and despite the extra resourcing in place, services describe struggling to keep pace with increasing demands.”

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Source: HSJ, 3 March 2025

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Fall after fall - care home accused of neglect

The daughter of an elderly care home resident who suffered 32 falls in only 11 months said she had sent social services "a begging email" to warn her mother "was going to die" unless urgent improvements were made.

"She suffered neglect in every way - it was devastating to see," said Kylie Gobin, whose mother Winifred Tubb lived at St Luke's in Runcorn, Cheshire.

Mrs Gobin spoke to the BBC as part of an in-depth investigation which found nearly one in five care homes across England were rated as either "requiring improvement" or "inadequate".

A spokesman for Halton Borough Council, which operates St Luke's, said it had "fully investigated" the complaints and "some lessons have been learnt".

BBC England's data journalism team analysed Care Quality Commission (CQC) statistics and found the regulator now regards more than 2,500 care homes across England as "requiring improvement".

The number of "inadequate" homes stands at 194 across England, but this figure is down on both 2022 and 2023.

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Source: BBC News, 9 July 2024

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Fake wounds help nurses raise pressure ulcer awareness

Nurses hoping to reduce the rate of pressure ulcers in their hospitals are using a mannequin and self-made fake wounds to help teach colleagues about spotting and treating tissue damage in their patients.

The training has been led by the clinical nurse educator, simulation and tissue viability teams at Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust, which work together under the NHS Humber Health Partnership.

Members of the teams have toured wards at Hull Royal Infirmary and Castle Hill Hospital with a model of a bottom covered with fake pressure ulcers.

Kirsty Stephenson, a nursing simulation fellow based in the clinical skills building at Hull Royal Infirmary, said: “People learn in different ways and seeing what an ulcer actually looks like rather than a photograph in a textbook can help staff identify exactly what they’re looking for in patients.”

Angie Oswald, lead nurse for tissue viability, based at Hull Royal Infirmary, said the clinical simulation exercise had been invaluable in her team’s work to reduce the number of pressure ulcers in patients at both hospitals.

She said: “Clinical simulation is a fantastic teaching tool and offers clinical staff the chance to learn in a safe environment.

“Using the mannequins and the moulage helps them familiarise themselves with what they should be looking for if a patient does develop a pressure ulcer and what steps they can take to stop it getting worse.”

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Source: Nursing Times, 17 January 2025

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Fake weight loss injections with dirty needles being sent to NI

Illegal weight loss injections with dirty needles are being sold over social media and sent to people in Northern Ireland, a BBC investigation has found.

BBC News NI made test purchases of syringes which claimed to contain semaglutide, a prescription-only drug, via Facebook from sellers based in England.

When tested, the liquid was not semaglutide but did contain carnitine – a supplement that can be bought on the high street.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said it was working at an international level to root out criminal gangs selling illicit jabs manufactured in unhygienic labs.

So-called skinny jabs are prescribed weight loss injections that work by making you feel fuller and less hungry.

In Great Britain, semaglutide is available on the NHS as part of a weight management programme.

However, in Northern Ireland it is not as there is no specialist weight management service, but it is available on private prescription.

The Department of Health in Northern Ireland said people were putting themselves at serious risk buying from sellers on social media sites.

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Source: BBC News, 14 April 2025

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Fake nurse crackdown to boost public safety

Anyone misleading the public and describing themselves as a nurse without the relevant qualifications and registration will be committing a crime, under new measures announced by the government to protect the title ‘nurse’ in law. 

The move will help to boost protections and safety for both patients and staff, driving up standards and improving patient experience across the NHS through the government’s Plan for Change. 

Currently, anyone – including those struck off by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) for serious misconduct or criminal convictions – can call themselves a nurse. This can result in the public thinking they’re getting advice and care from an expert professional like a nurse when they aren’t.   

Previous reported examples of the job title being misused include someone calling herself a nurse at a large public event after being struck off and another reportedly masquerading as an aesthetic nurse.

There will be exemptions for relevant professions like veterinary nurse, dental nurse and nursery nurse, where the title ‘nurse’ is legitimately used. 

The government is listening to nurses and recognises they are the backbone of the NHS, and today’s announcement follows campaigning by unions for the government to act on the issue, as well as by Dawn Butler MP who introduced a Ten-Minute Rule Bill earlier this year to protect the title ‘nurse’.  

Paul Rees MBE, Interim Chief Executive and Registrar at the Nursing and Midwifery Council, said:

"The public should always feel confident that anyone using the title ‘nurse’ is a registered professional with all the safeguards that brings.

We look forward to working with the government and our stakeholders to deliver on it. In the meantime, it is already an offence for somebody to hold themselves out as a registered nurse when they are not."

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Source: Department of Health and Social Care, 12 May 2025

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Fake news 'causing UK South Asians to reject jab'

Fake news is likely to be causing some people from the UK's South Asian communities to reject the Covid vaccine, a doctor has warned.

Dr Harpreet Sood, who is leading an NHS anti-disinformation drive, said it was "a big concern" and officials were working "to correct so much fake news". He said language and cultural barriers played a part in the false information.

Dr Sood, from NHS England, said officials were working with South Asian role models, influencers, community leaders and religious leaders to help debunk myths about the vaccine.

Much of the disinformation surrounds the contents of the vaccine.

He said: "We need to be clear and make people realise there is no meat in the vaccine, there is no pork in the vaccine, it has been accepted and endorsed by all the religious leaders and councils and faith communities."

"We're trying to find role models and influencers and also thinking about ordinary citizens who need to be quick with this information so that they can all support one another because ultimately everyone is a role model to everyone", he added.

Dr Samara Afzal has been vaccinating people in Dudley, West Midlands. She said: "We've been calling all patients and booking them in for vaccines but the admin staff say when they call a lot of the South Asian patients they decline and refuse to have the vaccination.

"Also talking to friends and family have found the same. I've had friends calling me telling me to convince their parents or their grandparents to have the vaccination because other family members have convinced them not to have it".

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Source: BBC News, 15 January 2021

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Failures at NHS hospital that left Nottingham triple killer free

Failures by the NHS trust responsible for treating Nottingham knife killer Valdo Calocane have been laid bare by the health watchdog – but The Independent can also reveal the hospital was repeatedly warned about poor care and experienced a steep rise in patient deaths over the last decade.

An investigation into mental health services in Nottinghamshire found that deaths of vulnerable patients in the years leading up to Calocane’s release from their care more than doubled from 1,694 in 2014-15 to 4,149 in 2021-22.

Calocane, a paranoid schizophrenic, stabbed 19-year-old students Barnaby Webber and Grace O’Malley-Kumar as they returned from a night out in June last year, before going on to kill 65-year-old Ian Coates.

A damning report into his care, published by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), found the trust’s mental health unit “minimised or omitted” key details of the serious risk he posed to others.

The families of his victims said services caring for him in the lead-up to the attacks “have blood on their hands”. In response, the Department of Health has confirmed there will be a public inquiry into the failings in Calocane’s care.

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Source: The Independent, 13 August 2024

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Failure to update Covid symptom list ‘is killing people’, leading researcher warns

The Government’s out-of-date advice on Covid symptoms that should trigger a PCR test could be causing around 20,000 cases a day and needs to be changed urgently, a leading researcher has warned.

Speaking with Pulse, Professor Tim Spector, who heads the ZOE Covid study at King’s College London said the picture is ‘now fairly clear’ that the most common symptoms among those now testing positive are nothing like when the pandemic began.

‘It’s the wrong message and it’s not a joke, it’s killing people,’ he told Pulse.

The ZOE Covid study was first launched in March 2020 and tracks infections using an app with millions of users.

According to the app, the traditional symptoms of cough, shortness of breath, and fever rank way down the list in vaccinated adults and unvaccinated children.

Instead the virus is presenting more like a regular cold with runny nose, headache, sneezing and sore throat leading the way. ‘One in two people with a positive PCR test across the country lack any of the three government approved symptoms,’ he said. ‘We’re missing lots of cases.’

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Source: Pulse, 17 September 2021

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Failure to root out abusers in ambulance service leaves vulnerable patients at risk, watchdog warns

Emergency patients are being left open to abuse when they are at their most vulnerable because of a lack of vetting of ambulance workers, watchdog officials have warned.

One watchdog official warned that abusers would even seek out work as a paramedic because it provided an “attractive environment” for exploitation.

Figures show that dozens of ambulance workers have faced action over sexual assault in the past two years, while paramedics account for one in three cases of tribunal action against care professionals. But one survivors’ group warned the figures were just the “tip of the iceberg”.

Paramedics who have been struck off in the past two years include one who performed a sex act in front of a patient, while another was handed a suspended prison sentence for possessing thousands of images of child pornography.

Helen Vine, special adviser to the Care Quality Commission, told a recent webinar: “There is a small proportion of the population who are seeking to abuse our patients and the ambulance can be an attractive environment for that type of individual. One of the reasons for this is the ambulance sector is predominantly lone working … and ambulance services offer privileged often unsupervised access to patients who can be very vulnerable".

She said the lack of checks meant offenders were able to move between providers, adding: “They test the waters and their behaviours ... if they are challenged, they will move on, however, if they are not challenged then they can hide in plain sight, and they are wearing a trusted uniform and given responsible access to that patient group.

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Source: The Independent, 12 February 2023

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Failure to recognise ectopic pregnancy causing women’s deaths, says expert

Women are dying or suffering avoidable harm because of a failure to recognise ectopic pregnancy, one of the country’s leading experts on maternal health has said.

Speaking to the Guardian, Prof Marian Knight of the University of Oxford, who leads a national research programme on maternal deaths, called for action to improve diagnosis of the acute, life-threatening condition, in which a fertilised egg implants itself outside the womb, normally in the fallopian tube. Ectopic pregnancies are never viable and if left untreated can result in the tube rupturing, causing potentially fatal internal bleeding.

“We could prevent more women from dying from ectopic pregnancy because of lacking of basic recognition and management of the condition,” said Knight.

The warning comes as new data obtained by freedom of information request suggests that dozens of women have experienced “severe harm” after being admitted to hospital with ectopic pregnancies in the past five years.

The Mbrrace report, published last year, said eight women died from ectopic pregnancies between 2018 and 2020, all but one of whom had received suboptimal treatment. In three instances, better care might have saved their lives, the report concluded.

“There’s no doubt that in the [maternal deaths] inquiry we are still seeing the same messages of ectopic pregnancy not being recognised,” said Knight. “That people either don’t pick up on the fact that they’re pregnant or get single-minded about one diagnosis.”

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Source: The Guardian, 1 May 2023

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Failure to diagnose treatable male infertility leading to unnecessary IVF, experts say

Couples are needlessly going through IVF because male infertility is under-researched, with the NHS too often failing to diagnose treatable causes, leading experts have said.

Poor understanding among GPs and a lack of specialists and NHS testing means male infertility is often left untreated in couples struggling to conceive, despite men accounting for 50% of all infertility cases

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Source: Guardian, 30 November 2025

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Failure to compensate pelvic mesh implant victims ‘morally unacceptable’, say campaigners

The government’s failure to respond to calls for a compensation scheme for women harmed by pelvic mesh has been described as “morally unacceptable” by campaigners.

Thousands of women were left with life-changing complications after receiving transvaginal mesh implants, with some unable to walk or work again.

Saturday marks two years since plans for financial redress for women harmed by pelvic mesh implants were set out by England’s patient safety commissioner, Dr Henrietta Hughes.

However, ministers have made no commitments to providing compensation to women harmed by the medical scandal. The plans, outlined in the 2024 Hughes report, included compensation for children left disabled as a result of their mothers using the epilepsy drug sodium valproate in pregnancy.

The government recently admitted that there was still no timetable to provide compensation for victims affected by pelvic mesh and valproate. Hughes has now pledged to take the matter directly to the prime minister.

Campaigners have said the lack of government action is worsening the mental health of people affected by the scandals.

Kath Sansom, the founder of the advocacy group Sling the Mesh, said: “As every week, month, year passes, women are getting more frustrated, upset. You can’t put their pain on hold. A lot of them have had to give up work or reduce their hours. They’re struggling to make ends meet. We have some members, they’ve had to sell their homes and move in with elderly parents, marriages broken down …

“We see those women at three in the morning trying to put up a post saying, ‘I don’t want to be here any more’ … I’m so angry that these women have their lives ruined and no one is taking accountability by giving them compensation … it’s morally unacceptable.”

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Failure to act on sepsis led to man’s death

A man died after an NHS trust failed to diagnose and treat sepsis quickly enough, a Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman investigation has found.

Stephen Durkin died after suffering organ failure from sepsis. Stephen’s wife Michelle made a complaint to the Ombudsman after she was left floored by his sudden death which she believed was avoidable.

Stephen was an otherwise healthy 56-year-old when he attended Wye Valley Trust A&E in July 2017 with chest pain. Hospital staff suspected he had a major blood vessel blockage and admitted him to a ward overnight. The next morning his overall condition had worsened but staff did not monitor him more closely, as national guidance advises, and he continued to deteriorate throughout the day.

The next day Stephen was admitted to intensive care and treated for sepsis but tragically died later that evening. In the space of 48-hours his condition deteriorated rapidly but staff did not act quickly enough and the critical care team attended Stephen ten hours too late.

His wife Michelle arrived at the hospital to visit Stephen, only to find that he was critically ill and unresponsive. She was left devastated by his death and turned to the Ombudsman to look into what had happened with his care.

Ombudsman Rob Behrens said: "Stephen’s tragic death could so easily have been avoided. His case shows why early detection of sepsis, as set out in national guidelines, is crucial."

"Sadly, this is not the first time we have had to highlight this issue. There is clearly more the NHS needs to do. It is vital that NHS trusts ensure their staff are sepsis-aware to reduce the number of avoidable deaths from this life-threatening condition."

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Source: PHSO, 3 March 2022

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Failure to act on cost of living risks another health crisis

Responding to the Ofgem announcement on the energy price cap, Jo Bibby, Director of Health at the Health Foundation said:  

'Today’s announcement confirms the mounting financial pressures facing people this winter.  

'Cold, damp homes make people ill. When people are having to make a choice between heating and eating, their health is going to suffer. Many will face the stress of managing debt and, in the long run, the price will be paid in poorer health, more pressure on the NHS, and fewer people in work. 

'The cost-of-living crisis should be a spur for action for the new government – bringing forward the Health Disparities White Paper. In particular, it must deliver significant emergency support in the autumn, targeted at lower-income families who are most at risk of poorer health. Without the speed and scale of action we saw through the pandemic, there is a risk the cost-of-living crisis becomes another health crisis.'

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Source: The Health Foundation, 26 August 2022

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Failure to act on coroners’ advice blamed for thousands of deaths

One woman who tracks preventable deaths says the failure to take action when inquests identify threats to life is ‘mind-blowing’.

Thousands of deaths could be prevented every year if public bodies took action over concerns highlighted at inquests. Almost 82,000 deaths in 2022 were recorded by the Office for National Statistics in England and Wales as “preventable”, meaning they could have been avoided “through effective public health and primary prevention interventions”.

Analysis by the Preventable Deaths Tracker project at King’s College London revealed that 1,495 Prevention of Future Deaths reports (28 per cent of the total) have not received any responses and another 741 (14 per cent) received only partial responses. Once reports are issued there is no official monitoring of responses or whether any action follows. Coroners have no powers to ask further questions or request progress reports on reforms.

The founder of the Preventable Deaths Tracker, the epidemiologist Dr Georgia Richards, said it was “mind-blowing” there was no system to disseminate learning from inquests. “Across 5,000 reports over the last 12 years, it is impossible to know anything about what action that might or might not have been taken following a coroner’s report,” Richards said. "People think there must be a system that’s protecting us. We assume that if you were in government that you would want to know what’s happening in these death investigations. But the system doesn’t work, it’s a waste of time. There are very few PFDs that have led to meaningful change and often it’s not the PFD that triggered it. Change comes from additional factors like change in leadership of the organisation, huge media scrutiny or dedicated families.”

Peter Thornton KC, chief coroner from 2012-16, said: “First, there are not enough coroners writing these reports. Secondly, they can’t force a response. Thirdly, they can’t follow up a response. Fourthly, they can’t force action — they can only suggest that an area of action is considered. And last, there’s no national follow-up, there’s no co-ordination.” Thornton urged reform through the creation of a national coroner service. The inquest system is jointly managed by the judiciary, local councils and the police. It is poorly funded and has big backlogs: 1,685 bereaved families are waiting longer than two years for hearings.

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Source: The Times, 14 January 2025 (paywalled)

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Failure to achieve mental health pledge in England ‘inhumane’, say psychiatrists

Adult mental health patients in England have spent more than 200,000 days being treated in “inappropriate” out-of-area placements – at a cost to the NHS of £102m – in the year since the government pledged to end the practice.

The Royal College of Psychiatrists, which carried out the analysis, says such placements, in which mental health patients can be sent hundreds of miles from home, are a shameful and dangerous practice that must stop.

The government said it would end such placements by April last year but, in the 12 months since, 205,990 days were spent inappropriately out of area, at a cost equivalent to the annual salaries of more than 900 consultant psychiatrists, the college found.

Dr Adrian James, the college’s president, said: “The failure to eliminate inappropriate out-of-area placements is a scandal. It is inhumane and is costing the NHS millions of pounds each year that could be spent helping patients get better.

“No one with a mental illness should have to travel hundreds of miles away from home to get the treatment they desperately need.”

He said investment was needed in local, properly staffed beds, alternatives to admission, and follow-up care in the community as well as government backing “to address the workforce crisis that continues to plague mental health services”.

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Source: The Guardian, 13 June 2022

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Failing trusts will pay for new intervention regime

NHS England’s new “provider improvement programme” (PIP) is expected to cover about 15 trusts which will have to pay for NHSE’s interventions themselves, HSJ has learned.

NHSE is also beginning a restructure to cut and overhaul its RSP team into a new PIP team, despite concerns from staff, according to internal documents.

They say the new, renamed regime is generally expected to cover about 15 trusts at a time. They will normally enter when they have the lowest level of performance under NHSE’s new performance regime, and are judged to have a “low” capability to improve. Those which have “suffered a catastrophic failure of governance, either [of] quality or finance” will also be likely to enter the PIP, according to documents seen by HSJ.

According to a document seen by HSJ, as of a month ago, NHSE expected 10 trusts to enter the PIP, but a list is still being finalised based on the overhauled national performance and assessment framework.

Alongside the changes, NHSE has launched a consultation on restructuring its RSP team ahead of other parts of the planned merger of NHSE and the Department of Health and Social Care. The RSP team is expected to see a 27.8 per cent cut in whole-time equivalent posts, from 51 to 37. 

HSJ understands members of the team have raised concerns that the speed of their changes will leave them disadvantaged in the reorganisation, or lead to further disruption.

One source said the changes would mean more cost from external temporary staff and consultancy. The PIP regime will use senior figures from outside NHSE, on a temporary basis, and management consultants, documents suggest.

One states: “A blended support model will be agreed, [with staff ] deployed from across: the NHSE team, including from the PIP team (depending on capacity and capability); from the wider NHS family, including temporary board appointments, buddying or other NHS organisations; and/or consultancy support under a national commissioned framework.”

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Source: HSJ, 23 June 2025

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Failing NHS negligence system must change, say MPs

A major reform of the way NHS clinical negligence claims are handled in England is needed, MPs say.

The House of Commons' Health and Social Care Committee said the current system was too adversarial, leading to bitter and long legal fights for patients.

More than £2bn a year is paid out on claims, but 25% goes to legal fees.

An independent body should be set up to adjudicate on cases and the need to prove individual fault should be scrapped, the cross-party group said.

Instead, the focus should be whether the system failed, which the MPs believe would create a better culture for learning from mistakes.

The committee heard from families who had lost children or whose babies had been left with brain injuries from mistakes made during birth.

Parents described how they had to fight for years to get recognition for the harm that had been caused.

One woman criticised the "complacent attitude" of the hospital involved, saying they just wanted to put it down to one mistake and carry on as normal.

Another woman whose daughter died aged 20 months after errors in her care said she felt lessons had not been learnt despite a settlement in her favour. She said the whole process had left her feeling devastated.

The average length of time for these settlements was over 11 years, the committee was told.

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Source: BBC News, 27 April 2022

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Failing NHS hospitals to be boosted by Cobra-style meetings

Underperforming hospitals face special measures before what ministers warn will be one of the worst winters in the history of the NHS.

Thérèse Coffey, the health secretary, told a fringe event at the Conservative Party conference that there was too much “variation in what patients experience” as her department plans to impose closer control on failing hospitals.

Robert Jenrick, the NHS minister, said that the government “shouldn’t be tolerant of those parts of the NHS which are underperforming” and had demanded quicker improvement from more than a dozen hospitals.

He acknowledged that NHS staff were overstretched in the aftermath of the pandemic, saying that he wanted to “put boosterism to one side” and accept that the shortage of doctors and nurses was the biggest problem facing the health service.

However, he also questioned why some hospitals were doing so poorly when other nearby hospitals with similar problems were seeing much shorter waits.

“A very striking dynamic is the variability that we see within the NHS and I think this is where we as Conservatives have a message, which is that we shouldn’t be tolerant of those parts of the NHS which are underperforming.”

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Source: The Times, 4 October 2022

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Failing gender service for children to be replaced by local hubs

The NHS’s only gender identity clinic for children has been found to be neither “safe nor viable” and is set to be replaced by regional hubs.

A damning report into gender identity services run by the Tavistock and Portman Foundation Trust has found that the model is putting children at “considerable risk”.

An interim report by Dr Hilary Cass said that children and young people are being subjected to “lengthy” waits for access to gender dysphoria services, and are not receiving support during this time.

The report said a “fundamentally different” service model that can provide timely and appropriate care for children is needed, and recommended that the NHS launch local specialist centres.

Her full report is due to be published next year, but has so far warned that the long waiting lists for gender-questioning children and young people are “unacceptable”.

The review said it was not yet able to provide recommendations on the use of puberty blockers and feminising or masculinising hormones, due to gaps in the evidence.

A report from safety watchdog the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch in April warned that CAMHS (Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services) had been forced to “hold the risk” while caring for children who are waiting to access specialist gender-dysphoria (GID) services.

It added: “There is a lack of capacity and capability to ensure proactive risk assessment of the health of patients waiting on the GIDS waiting list.”

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Source: The Independent, 28 July 2022

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Failed CQC transformation cost £99m

The Care Quality Commission spent £99m on a transformation programme that failed to achieve most of the promised benefits, a highly critical independent report has revealed.

In 2021, the regulator launched its transformation programme under the oversight of former chief executive Ian Trenholm, which it said would simplify the assessment process for health and social care providers.

It entailed major changes to the organisation and operations of the CQC’s inspection regime, but also the introduction of new IT, including a “regulatory platform and provider portal”. 

An independent review by IT expert Peter Gill and published after a CQC board meeting yesterday found the transformation programme was to blame for widespread IT failures that have caused “significant organisational disruption”.

“The vast majority of the benefits expected to be delivered have not yet been achieved,” it said.

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Source: HSJ, 27 March 2025

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Faculty of Medicine to lead drug trial into treatment of COVID-19

Southampton researchers are trialling an inhaled drug that could prevent worsening of COVID19 in those most at risk.

The trial, led by Tom Wilkinson, Professor of Respiratory Medicince in the Faculty of Medicine and a consultant in respiratory medicine at University Hospital Southampton, will involve 100 patients at Southampton and up to ten other NHS hospitals taking part.

Those patients will receive the best current COVID19 care, whilst inhaling either a placebo or SNG001, a special formulation of the naturally occurring antiviral protein interferon beta 1a (IFN-β), for 14 days.

The trial will be undertaken with Synairgen, a drug development company founded by University of Southampton Professors Stephen Holgate, Donna Davies and Ratko Djukanovic.

Professor Wilkinson said, “COVID19 cis presenting a major challenge to vulnerable patients, the health service and wider society whilst a vaccine will be key, that could some time away. Right now we need effective frontline treatments to give doctors the tools to treat the most vulnerable and  to help patients recover quickly as the pressure on health systems mounts."

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Source: University of Southampton, 18 March 2020

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Face-to-face GP appointments in Scotland 'still feel like a treat'

Nightclubs have reopened, concerts have been given the go-ahead and football stadiums are welcoming fans - but there are still restrictions on face-to-face GP consultations.

Only a limited number of patients are being invited into surgeries, where there continue to be strict rules on physical distancing.

Edinburgh GP Dr Carey Lunan says she understands why the situation is confusing.

"The difference between a healthcare setting and, say, a restaurant or a football stadium, is that we have people coming into our building who are much more vulnerable and frail and don't have a choice in being unwell," she tells BBC Scotland.

"So we have to have higher levels of safety than a setting where people can choose to go, knowing that there may be a little bit of risk."

According to the British Medical Association's Dr Andrew Buist, the balance between telephone and in-person consultations should continue to adjust as we move out of the pandemic, guided by evidence.

But many patients will "very easily" have their needs met by phone appointments. So-called telephone triage - where patients are assessed over the phone before being invited into the building - has now become the norm.

"For a lot of patients it works really well if it's a simple problem and it means not having to take time off work or travel," says Dr Lunan.

"It works less well if English isn't their first language or they've not got the privacy at home to have a conversation about something that is a bit more sensitive, if it's a very complex issue or it's just not clear what the diagnosis is."

She adds: "We deal with things when someone comes in with problem A, but actually we end up having a conversation about problem B when they are in the room with us.

"It is much more challenging to do that kind of health care on the phone and I think we just need to be honest that there are limitations.

Dr Lunan says she hopes a return to more face-to-face appointments will come "in the not too distant future. I miss seeing patients if I'm honest," she says.

"When we get to the point where we are able to bring in more people we will welcome that because it feels like a treat at the moment."

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Source: BBC News, 25 January 2022

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