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Eight in ten trusts more likely to appoint white staff to jobs

Eight in 10 trusts are significantly more likely to appoint White applicants than Black and minority ethnic applicants after shortlisting, new NHS England data has revealed.

The latest data, from the 2024 NHS Workforce Race Equality Standard (WRES) report, which covers the 12 months to March 2024, reveals this metric applied at 80% of trusts.  

It has worsened from the previous year (76%) and the year before that (71%). 

While the London region has seen year-on-year improvement in this area, NHS England said it has “progressively deteriorated in the Midlands,” while there has been a “marked deterioration” in the North West .

The report said: “Recruitment from interview remains the most difficult to change metric, with the national likelihood ratio remaining broadly unchanged since the inception of the WRES in 2016.”

The relative likelihood of staff from minority ethnic backgrounds entering formal disciplinary processes compared to White staff has also worsened.

According to NHSE, just over half (51%) of trusts reported that these staff were 1.25 times more likely to enter these processes than their White colleagues.

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Eight days waiting in A&E: Inside the crisis in NHS mental health care

People suffering from mental illness are increasingly struggling to access help at every level of the NHS – from record numbers facing “unacceptable” delays in referrals to patients waiting up to eight days in A&E for a hospital bed.

Figures seen by The Independent show almost four times as many people are waiting more than 12 hours in emergency departments as two years ago.

In the community, more than 16,000 adults and 20,000 children who should receive NHS care are unable to access vital services each month.

Nearly 80% of those eligible for counselling on the health service are left waiting more than three months for a second appointment, which is when treatment usually begins.

Health leaders say they are “deeply concerned” by the lack of resources available to handle the rise in demand – and warned that the cost of living crisis would exacerbate the issue further.

Monica Smith went to A&E at Lewisham last month after her mental health deteriorated when her medication ran out and she was unable to get more.

The 32-year-old said: “I was told, ‘We can’t find any beds – there’s no bed in the whole country or the whole region, so we’re going to have a bed on A&E and hopefully you’ll get a bed in the morning.’”

Monica started hallucinating and was given medication to calm her down, but in the morning there was still no bed. Doctors tried to send her home, she said, but crisis services assessed her three times over the following days and each time decided she was too unwell.

Instead, Monica stayed in an annex off A&E with other mental health patients. She said: “I was on this, like, mattress, like a mental health mattress on the floor.”

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Source: The Independent, 27 November 2022

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Egg freezing patients ‘misled’ by clinics

Women who freeze their eggs are being misled by some UK clinics about their chances of having a baby, a fertility charity says.

The Fertility Network was reacting to BBC analysis that found 41% of clinics offering the service privately could be breaching advertising guidance.

The watchdog which sets guidance says clinics "must not give false or misleading information".

It comes as a record number of people are freezing their eggs.

The UK fertility regulator, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), also said it was concerned about the information given to those considering egg freezing.

A successful pregnancy is not guaranteed by the procedure.

Egg freezing for non-medical reasons, also known as social egg freezing, is an increasingly popular method for women to preserve their fertility in order to have children at a later date.

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Source: BBC News, 13 March 2024

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EFORT takes on the demanding implant and patient safety initiative

When orthopaedic surgeons plan a surgical procedure, they demand that safe implants be used. When a patient accepts to undergo surgery, he or she expects the implants used to be safe. When the manufacturer produces and delivers implantsto be used in patients, they take the implants through a meticulous investigation followed by an evaluation of the products by regulators and notified bodies, before the implant is released for free use on the European market by physicians. In this way, all “stakeholders” expect and desire to do their best to bring about safe implants that are used in surgery for patients, which fulfills patients’ expectations of receiving safe treatment.

However, history has shown that, although all participants in this process do their job to treat the patient safely, some implants may still unexpectedly fail. We need to know why this occurs and the trends associated with such failures, such as whether the implant or patient’s characteristics led to the problem or if there is some unforeseen reason that caused the implant to fail.

Incoming EFORT president Prof. Klaus-Peter Günther, of Dresden, Germany, has set up regular meetings to bring all 'stakeholders' in the safety of orthopaedic implants together to regularly discuss relevant issues related to safe implants used to safely treat patients. 

EFORT held the first such meeting, “EFORT Implant & Patient Safety Initiative. Inauguration Workshop,” on 21 January 21 in Brussels. Fifty participants from the EU Commission, notified bodies, regulators, patient organizations, European orthopaedic specialty societies, manufacturers and EFORT board participated in this first initiative. 

The next meeting on this initiative will be held on 10 June during the EFORT Congress in Vienna, Austria.

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Source: Orthopedics Today, 13 February 2020

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Efforts to reduce stillbirths, deaths, and injuries in babies have failed, finds review

A campaign to reduce stillbirths, brain injury, and avoidable deaths in babies has failed to have any effect in the past three years, findings from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists show.

The president of the college, Edward Morris, has urged maternity units across the UK to learn from the latest report and act on its recommendations. “We owe it to each and every person affected to find out why these deaths and harms occur in order to prevent future cases where possible,” he said.

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Source: BMJ, 19 March 2020

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Efforts to curb UK monkeypox outbreak inadequate, warn experts

Monkeypox is continuing to spread in the UK, with current efforts insufficient to curb the outbreak, experts have warned as a whistleblower claimed there were serious flaws in the support given to those who think they have been exposed.

According to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), there have been 1,552 confirmed cases of monkeypox in the UK related to the outbreak as of 7 July.

“[There is] no evidence that current strategies are likely to bring this to an end anytime soon,” said Paul Hunter, a professor in medicine at the University of East Anglia, although he noted that while total case numbers were continuing to rise, the rate of new infections may have plateaued.

The concerns came as a whistleblower working on a UKHSA monkeypox inquiries line said it had numerous issues, including offering little support for people who are not confirmed contacts of cases – i.e. somebody whose name has been provided to contact tracers by a person with monkeypox.

The Guardian has seen scripts that show even if someone calls because they are worried they may have had a contact with a confirmed case, they are told their risk is very low if they have not been formally identified as a contact. The whistleblower said that made little sense when a caller has said a sexual partner has monkeypox symptoms.

In addition, the whistleblower said call handlers were not allowed to suggest callers contact a sexual health clinic unless sexual health was brought up by the caller, They added that some clinics had turned off their phone lines.

The UKHSA has rejected the claims, saying the phone line is an additional service to provide non-clinical advice to members of the public.

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Source: The Guardian, 11 July 2022

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Edinburgh firm develops blood test for early signs of Alzheimer’s

A Scottish research firm set up by a dementia expert who quit the NHS because of insufficient “infrastructure” has developed a blood test to allow doctors to identify Alzheimer’s disease earlier.

Scottish Brain Sciences, based in Edinburgh, announced it will collaborate with Roche Diagnostics on a series of projects, which the former’s founder, Craig Ritchie, said could have “big impacts”. Ritchie, who has led dozens of drug trials and pilots a European network on preventing Alzheimer’s, had been advocating the need to create new brain health centres across Scotland.

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Source: The Times, 14 August 2023

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ECT depression therapy should be suspended, study suggests

The use of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) to treat depression should be immediately suspended, a study says. ECT involves passing electric currents through a patient's brain to cause seizures or fits.

Dr John Read, of the University of East London said there was "no place" for ECT in evidence-based medicine due to risks of brain damage, but the Royal College of Psychiatrists said ECT offers "life-saving treatment" and should continue in severe cases.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) currently recommends the use of ECT for some cases of moderate or severe depression as well as catatonia and mania. However, peer-reviewed research published in the journal Ethical Human Psychology and Psychiatry concludes "the high risk of permanent memory loss and the small mortality risk means that its use should be immediately suspended".

In response to the study, the Royal College of Psychiatrists said ECT should not be suspended for "some forms of severe mental illness".

Dr Rupert McShane, chair of the college's Committee on ECT and Related Treatments, said there was evidence showing "most people who receive ECT see an improvement in their condition".

"For many, it can be a life-saving treatment," he said.

"As with all treatments for serious medical conditions - from cancer to heart disease - there can be side-effects of differing severity, including memory loss."

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Source: BBC News, 3 June 2020

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ECRI publicly supports IHI Declaration to Advance Patient Safety

ECRI, the nation's largest patient safety organization, announces its unity with the United States' top safety experts in calling for a total systems approach to safety, a theme that was the central focus at the May 2022 Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) Patient Safety Congress.

During its annual convening of national safety leaders, IHI leadership announced its Declaration to Advance Patient Safety, an initiative focused on addressing safety from a total systems approach, as presented in the 2020 National Action Plan to Advance Patient Safety.

"As a member of the National Steering Committee for Patient Safety that created the National Action Plan to Advance Patient Safety, ECRI fully supports this renewed call to action as outlined in the recent Declaration," states Chief Medical Officer Dheerendra Kommala, MD.  "ECRI, the most trusted voice in healthcare, is in a unique position to deliver a comprehensive, robust solution that reduces preventable harm."

ECRI's total system approach to advancing safety includes the design and implementation of a proactive, coordinated strategy to establish healthcare safety processes that impact patients, families, visitors, and healthcare workers across the continuum of care.

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Source: CISION, 26 May 2022

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ECRI and the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) launch new Patient Safety Organization

Leaders of US ECRI and its affiliate, the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP), announce the launch of a joint Patient Safety Organization (PSO), an important step in making medication, medical devices, and healthcare practices safer for patients across all care settings, now during the COVID-19 pandemic, and into the future. 

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Source: CISION PR Newswire

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ECRI acquires The Just Culture Company to transform healthcare patient and workforce safety

ECRI, a global nonprofit organisation improving the quality and safety of healthcare in the USA has announced that it has acquired The Just Culture Company, which specialises in transforming workforce culture in high-risk industries. 

The Just Culture Company assists organisations in deploying a balanced system of accountability between the organization and employee that fosters a fair, learning culture – referred to as a “just culture” – by implementing its proprietary algorithm through advisory services, educational programmes and coaching.  

Through the acquisition of The Just Culture Company, ECRI now operates a leading cultural transformation organisation.  

“Alarming rates of preventable harm are inflicted on patients every day. By offering Just Culture programs throughout ECRI’s global network, we can prevent harm before it happens,” said Marcus Schabacker, PhD, president and CEO of ECRI. “To create lasting change and improve patient and workforce safety, we must shift from evaluating accidents and errors after they’ve taken place, to designing systems and cultures that prevent harm from happening in the first place.” 

The Just Culture Company has partnered with healthcare providers, health departments and insurers to assess and improve workforce culture, from C-Suite to frontline staff, through a holistic systems-based approach. 

“Our just culture model is founded on the principle that workforce learning, holistic system design, mentoring, and coaching are stronger interventions than the ‘shame and blame’ culture that’s so prolific in healthcare,” said David Marx, CEO of The Just Culture Company. “Errors must be recognized and addressed in a way that become learning opportunities for all the people in the system.” 

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Source: ECRI, 2 December 2024

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Economically inactive Britons with Long Covid have ‘doubled’ in a year

One in twenty people in the UK who are neither employed nor seeking paid work are suffering from Long Covid, with the figure more than doubling in the past year, official data has revealed.

The proportion is far higher than for the 1 in 29 people who are unemployed but seeking work who have long Covid symptoms, or the one in 30 employed people who are sufferers, data released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows.

Individuals who are not employed and are not looking for paid work are classified as being economically inactive.

The data suggests the long-term impacts of the virus could be driving people into this category, or into retirement.

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Source: The Guardian, 4 August 2022

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ECG-based AI could reduce hospital mortality

An artificial intelligence (AI) system that sends text messages to alert hospital physicians about the high risk for mortality in their patients reduces the number of deaths, according to a study published in Nature Medicine.

Chin-Sheng Lin, PhD, associate professor of cardiology at the Tri-Service General Hospital of the National Defense Medical Center in Taipei, Taiwan, and his colleagues have developed an AI system that identifies patients with a high risk for mortality on the basis of a 12-lead ECG. The system is intended to identify patients who would benefit from intensified care.

"It is widely acknowledged that providing intensive care to critically ill patients reduces mortality. Delays in providing intensive care for critically ill patients result in catastrophic outcomes. Most in-hospital cardiac arrests are potentially preventable; however, the early signs of deterioration might be difficult to identify," wrote the researchers.

The authors emphasized that exactly how the AI warning messages lead to a decrease in overall mortality must still be clarified. But the results suggest that they help in detecting high-risk patients, triggering timely clinical care, and reducing mortality, they wrote.

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Source: Medscape, 21 May 2024

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Eating disorders: Worth more than 2 hours of teaching

On average, UK medical students receive less than two hours of teaching on eating disorders throughout their entire medical degree. Even more concerningly, a fifth of medical schools do not include eating disorders at all in their teaching.

Given that 1 in 50 people in the UK suffer from an eating disorder, and around 5% of the population will be affected at some point in their lifetime, this is something that needs to change. 

This week is Eating Disorders Awareness Week and Beat Eating Disorders are campaigning for UK medical schools to introduce comprehensive training on eating disorders to their programmes. 

Eating disorders are highly complex mental illnesses, but they are treatable. Just two hours of training is not enough time to equip medical students with the knowledge to identify the signs and symptoms and provide the necessary support to help sufferers access the most appropriate treatment at the earliest opportunity.

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Source: Beat Eating Disorders

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Eating disorders: Toolkit to help schools cope developed

Mental health professionals have unveiled a "toolkit" to help school nurses support pupils with eating disorders.

Bath-based campaigner Hope Virgo developed the strategy with the School and Public Health Nurses Association (Saphna) after a rise in cases.

The toolkit aims to equip school nurses with techniques to discuss eating disorders, and also "what not to say".

Ms Virgo has called on the government to deal with the backlog those waiting for treatment, which totalled 1,946 at the beginning of March, data from eating disorder charity Beat shows.

Sharon White, Saphna's chair, said the organisation had been promoting the toolkit among its members.

"We can't solve the huge waiting lists and reduced services, but what we can do is inform ourselves better," she said.

The toolkit provides "the hints, the tips, the language, the stock phrases, and importantly, what not to say", Ms White added.

The Department of Health and Social Care has been supportive of the scheme, Ms White said, adding it may adopt it as part of its own guidance in future.

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Source: BBC News, 17 October 2022

Read a recent blog Hope Virgo wrote for the hub: People with eating disorders should not face stigma in the health system and barriers to accessing support in 2022

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Eating disorders: families tube-feeding patients at home amid NHS bed shortage

Extremely unwell eating disorder patients are having to be tube fed at home by their families owing to a lack of hospital beds, as the Royal College of Psychiatrists reports a rise in people being treated in units without specialist support.

Leading psychiatrists are urging the government for an emergency cash investment as the pandemic has prompted a rise in demand for treatment for conditions such as anorexia, amid “desperate pressure in the system”.

In interviews with the Guardian, a number of parents told of the struggles of helping a severely unwell person from home. A number of families said they had no choice but to tube feed their children at home daily.

Other parents said their children had been admitted to general children’s wards, where they were being treated by staff who had no experience of eating disorders. 

It is unclear how many patients are being treated at home, but Agnes Ayton, the chair of the Eating Disorder Faculty at the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said she had heard of people being unable to find beds and being creative in the community: “There is desperate pressure in the system.”

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Source: The Guardian, 22 April 2021

 

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Eating disorders to be tackled with early intervention treatment amid pandemic rise

A new NHS treatment programme targeting young people with eating disorders has been launched amid a rise in numbers needing treatment during the coronavirus pandemic.

Recent NHS data showed record numbers of children and young people are currently being treated across England for eating disorders while waiting times in some places are dangerously long.

On Monday, children’s charity NSPCC warned that counselling sessions for eating and body image disorders rose by 32% after lockdown was introduced in March. The new scaling up of intervention services for those with eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia will mean young people can gain access to rapid specialist NHS treatment across England.

The service will be rolled out to 18 sites, building on a successful trial model at King's College London, where one patient described the treatment as the “gold standard” of care.

Nadine Dorries, Minister for Health, said: “Eating disorders can have a devastating impact on individuals and their families – and can very sadly be fatal. I am committed to ensuring young people have access to the services and treatment they need which can ultimately save lives."

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Source: The Independent, 10 November 2020

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Eating disorders in children double in eight years

The number of children being treated for an eating disorder has doubled over the past eight years, with some waiting more than a year for treatment, NHS data has revealed.

In the past school year there were 10,606 children beginning treatment for an eating disorder, compared with 5,240 patients in 2016-17.

Waiting times for treatment are rising, with 12 per cent waiting more than three months for an appointment, compared with 1 per cent three years ago, according to information disclosed by the House of Commons Library. It is three times longer than the NHS waiting times standard, which states that children should wait no longer than four weeks for treatment to commence and no longer than one week following an urgent referral.

However, some are waiting for more than a year. The longest time that a patient spent on the waiting list to receive treatment for their eating disorder was 378 days at Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership NHS Trust, according to data uncovered by Freedom of Information requests submitted by the Liberal Democrats.

The Lib Dems are pushing to establish walk-in mental health hubs for young people in every community and mental health professionals in every primary and secondary school.

Hope Virgo, a mental health campaigner who survived anorexia and founded the DumpTheScales campaign, said many medical professionals do not believe children when they come for help. “Through my campaigning every day I hear more and more stories of young people and adults being diagnosed with eating disorders and unable to get support,” she said. “People with eating disorders are often being told they are not sick enough for treatment and by the time they come back for support, they are told they are too sick.”

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Source: The Times, 19 August 2024

Related reading

In conversation with Hope Virgo: “The withdrawal of treatment from people with eating disorders is a national crisis that’s being ignored.”

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Eating disorder patients ‘repeatedly failed’, says England watchdog

Urgent action is needed to prevent people dying from eating disorders, the parliamentary and health service ombudsman for England has warned, as he said those affected are being “repeatedly failed”.

The NHS needs a “complete culture change” in how it approaches the condition, while ministers must make it a “key priority”, according to Rob Behrens.

Little progress has been made since the publication of a devastating report by his office in 2017, which highlighted “serious failings” in eating disorder services, he said.

Lives continue to be lost because of “the lack of parity between child and adult services”, and “poor coordination” between NHS staff involved in treating patients. There remain issues with the training of medical professionals, Behrens added.

“We raised concerns six years ago in our ignoring the alarms report, so it’s extremely disappointing to see the same issues still occurring,” he said. “Small steps in improvements have been taken, but progress has been slow, and we need to see a much bigger shift in the way eating disorder services are delivered."

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Source: The Guardian, 27 February 2023

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East of England Ambulance Service warns of 999 call delays

An NHS ambulance service boss has urged 999 callers to not hang up as "there may be a delay before we pick up".

The East of England Ambulance Service (EEAS) said demands on the health service meant it was extremely busy.

Marcus Bailey, EEAS chief operating officer, said delays were due to a "combination" of Covid, winter pressures and recruitment.

He said the service planned to recruit 100 call-handlers over the next few months to help ease pressure.

The EEAS has published posters online telling emergency callers to be patient.

The service covers Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk.

Mr Bailey told BBC Look East: "It's about us warning people who are phoning 999 that it's really busy and at some points there may be a delay before we pick up the 999 call.

"Remain on the line, don't hang up, and we will get to you as soon as possible."

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Source: BBC News, 9 November 2021

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East of England Ambulance Service staff 'silenced' over bullying

Concerns have been raised that NHS ambulance staff are being "silenced" over bullying allegations.

Hundreds of East of England Ambulance Service (EEAS) employees reported bullying in 2018, while 28 non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) have been issued since 2016. The GMB union said the figures showed a "heavy-handed culture".

The service said it took bullying and harassment "extremely seriously" and had policies to prevent such behaviour.

EEAS faced scrutiny in November when it emerged three members of staff died in 11 days. One, Luke Wright, 24, is believed to have taken his own life. An independent investigation, which dealt in part with bullying claims, has been carried out with the results reported to the trust in January.

The 28 NDAs had been made in cases where bullying, harassment or abuse by colleagues had been reported, according to figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act. These involved an individual agreement, often with a payment, which prevented the person speaking about their case.

In the latest staff survey from 2018, 23% of staff reported bullying, up from 21% in the previous year.

The GMB said NDAs were seen as a "method of silencing rather than resolving" and called on the trust to discuss more meaningful ways of dealing with problems.

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Source: BBC News, 10 February 2020

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East London fertility clinic has licence suspended after losing embryos

A fertility clinic in London has had its licence to operate suspended because of “significant concerns” about the unit, the regulator has said.

The Homerton Fertility Centre has been ordered by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) to halt any new procedures while investigations continue.

The clinic in east London said there had been three separate incidents highlighting errors in some freezing processes. This resulted in the “tragic loss of a small number of embryos” that either did not survive or became “undetectable”, which means an embryo stored in frozen liquid solution in a container cannot be found during subsequent thawing.

The clinic has informed the patients affected and apologised for any distress caused.

Homerton Healthcare NHS foundation trust said it began an investigation in late 2023 and immediately made regulators fully aware of it. The HFEA is now conducting its own investigation alongside the trust.

In a statement, the clinic said that while the investigators had not been able to find any direct cause of the errors, it had made changes in the unit to prevent the recurrence of such incidents.

All staff now work in pairs to ensure all clinical activities are checked by two healthcare professionals, competencies of staff within the unit have been rechecked, and security at the unit has been increased.

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Source: The Guardian, 8 March 2024

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East Kent: A decade of failure in maternity care

After health inspectors considered closing a maternity unit over safety fears, the BBC's Michael Buchanan looks at a near-decade of poor care at East Kent Hospitals NHS Trust.

"I've been telling you for months. The place is getting worse."

The message in February, which Michael received from a member of the maternity team, was stark but unsurprising. In a series of texts over the previous few months, the person had been getting increasingly concerned about what was happening at the East Kent trust.

The leadership is "totally ineffective" read one message. "How long do we have to keep hearing this narrative - we accept bad things happened, we have learned and are putting it right. Nothing changes."

Friday's report from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) is unfortunately just the latest marker in a near-decade of failure to improve maternity care at the trust. The revelation that inspectors considered closing the unit at the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford comes nine years after the trust's head of midwifery made a similar recommendation for the same reasons - that it was a danger to women and babies. The failure to act decisively then allowed many poor practices to continue.

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Source: BBC News, 28 May 2023

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East Kent NHS Trust: Lessons not learned at maternity trust, mum says

Lessons still have not been learned at a Kent hospital trust which was criticised in a damning report, a mother has said.

Dr Bill Kirkup's review found at least 45 babies might have survived with better care at East Kent NHS hospitals.

Victoria, whose six-year-old daughter needs 24-hour support, said: "I've had no contact from anyone from the trust."

Her case was one of 202 that were examined by Dr Kirkup in his report, which was published exactly a year ago.

Victoria, whose daughter is living with the consequences of failings in her care during her birth, said: "Our children have become unwell because of what has happened to them.

"I don't feel lessons have been learned whatsoever.

"Treatment hadn't been made available as easily as it should have done for children that are still living this experience every day."

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Source: BBC News, 19 October 2023

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East Kent NHS inquiry finds better care might have prevented 45 babies’ deaths

The deaths of at least 45 babies could have been avoided if nationally recognised standards of care had been provided at one of England’s largest NHS trusts, a damning inquiry has found.

Dr Bill Kirkup, the chair of the independent inquiry into maternity at East Kent hospitals university NHS foundation trust, said his panel had heard “harrowing” accounts from families of receiving “suboptimal” care, with mothers ignored by staff and shut out from discussions about their own care.

The inquiry’s report said: “An overriding theme, raised with us time and time again, is the failure of the trust’s staff to take notice of women when they raised concerns, when they questioned their care, and when they challenged the decisions that were made about their care.”

Of 202 cases reviewed by the experts, the outcome could have been different in 97 cases, the inquiry found. In 69 of these 97 cases, it is predicted the outcome should reasonably have been different and it could have been different in a further 28 cases.

Of the 65 babies’ deaths examined, 45 could have had a different outcome if nationally recognised standards of care had been provided.

In nearly half of all cases examined by the panel, good care could have led to a different outcome for the families.

Some of the bereaved parents accused the trust of “victim blaming” mothers for their children’s deaths.

Kelli Rudolph and Dunstan Lowe, whose daughter Celandine died at five days old, said: “Doctors sought to blame Kelli for Celandine’s death. This victim blaming was the first in a long line of interactions with those in the trust who sought to delay, deflect and deny our search for the truth about what happened to our baby.

“In isolation, these tactics traumatised us after the tragedy of our daughter’s death. But when seen in the light of 10 years of failures, they signal a concerted effort to cover up the trust’s responsibility for what happened to Celandine and the many others who lost their lives due to failures in clinical judgment.”

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Source: The Guardian. 19 October 2022

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