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Toxic workplaces pushing GPs out of UK practice

GPs are leaving UK practice over workplace incidents rather than due to falling ‘out of love’ with the profession, the General Medical Council (GMC) has warned.

Speaking to the NHS Providers conference (16 November), chief executive Charlie Massey said that many specialty and associate specialist (SAS) and locally employed (LE) doctors feel their careers are being ‘curtailed’ and that they ‘can’t tolerate the environments’ in which they work.

He cited new GMC research into doctors’ migration which identified poor workplace conditions and ‘negative experiences with colleagues’ as a ‘far more impactful’ as a trigger compared to poor experiences with patients.

According to the research, bullying at work, lack of respect from line managers and experiences of favouritism ‘provided the nudge for them to consider making a change and migrating abroad’.

Mr Massey said: "This is a senseless waste of talent, not least because these issues are preventable. With a focus on compassionate, supportive cultures, they can be put right. This will not only improve doctors’ wellbeing, but also their productivity. Happier workers are better workers, and they deliver better results."

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Source: Healthcare Leader, 16 November 2022

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Toxic slimming pill drug DNP to be declared poison

A highly toxic chemical compound sold illegally in diet pills is to be reclassified as a poison, a government minister has said.

Pills containing DNP, or 2,4-dinitrophenol, were responsible for the deaths of 32 young vulnerable adults, said campaigner Doug Shipsey.

His daughter Bethany, from Worcester, died in 2017 after taking tablets containing the chemical.

The deaths were down to a "collective failure of the UK government", he said.

DNP is highly toxic and not intended for human consumption. An industrial chemical, it is sold illegally in diet pills as a fat-burning substance.

Experts say buying drugs online is risky as medicines may be fake, out of date or extremely harmful.

Mr Shipsey said he had targeted the minister following the death of another young man who had taken the drug sold as a slimming aid.

Prior to this, following the inquests of dozens of young people who had suddenly and unexpectedly died from DNP toxicity, the government had "ignored numerous coroners reports" to prevent future deaths, he said.

"So, at last after 32 deaths and almost six years of campaigning, the Home Office (HO) finally accept responsibility to control DNP under the Poisons ACT 1972," he added.

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Source: BBC News, 28 January 2023

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Toxic doctors put patients at risk, says NHS watchdog

Patient safety is being put at risk by the “toxic” behaviour of doctors in the NHS, the health ombudsman has said.

Rob Behrens, who investigates complaints about the NHS in England, warned that the hierarchical and high-handed attitude of clinicians was undermining the quality of care in some hospitals.

He called for medical training to be redesigned to encourage a more empathetic and collaborative approach from doctors.

Pointing to failings in the treatment of sepsis and the problems in maternity services, Behrens said he was “shocked on a daily basis” by what he saw as ombudsman. Too often, “organisational reputation has been put above patient safety”, he told The Times Health Commission.

The ombudsman warned of a “Balkanisation” of health professionals, with rivalries between doctors and nurses or midwives and obstetricians harming patient care. “For all the brilliance of clinicians quite often they’re not very good at working together,” he said. “Time and again, the handover from one clinician to another, from one shift to another, or the inability to raise the issue at a senior level has been a key factor in what has gone wrong.”

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Source: The Times, 18 November 2023

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Tougher cancer target considered by ministers

The Government is considering setting a tougher cancer diagnostic target as part of its declared ‘war on cancer’, HSJ  has been told.

Sajid Javid announced a “war on cancer” and launched a call for evidence on what could be done to improve services in February.

HSJ understands one of the measures being considered is increasing the existing target for cancer diagnosis, set in the 2019 NHS long-term plan.

The current target committed the service to diagnosing 75% of cancers at stages one and two by 2028.

At present, performance is around 54% and late stage diagnosis is a key factor behind the UK’s poor performance on cancer mortality, compared with other wealthy nations.

Cancer Research UK has asked for government, as part of the latest consultation, to set a target of at most 20% diagnosed at stage three and four – effectively, 80% or more at stages one and two – by 2032.

The Royal College of Radiologists pointed out in February that there was a shortfall of nearly 2,000 consultant radiologists and 20% fewer consultant oncologists to meet the existing gaps.

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Source: HSJ, 13 May 2022

 

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Tory pledge to bolster GP surgery staff set to be broken, say health leaders

A manifesto pledge to hire 26,000 extra health professionals to work in GP surgeries is set to be broken by the government, health leaders have warned, leaving family doctors straining under a heavier workload.

About 9,500 of the promised physiotherapists, pharmacists, mental health therapists and other clinical staff so far have been recruited to help GPs and practice nurses.

Senior doctors have warned that patients will pay the price for the slow delivery of extra personnel by facing persistently long waits for an appointment.

The plan was to free up family doctors’ time by having physiotherapists see patients with sore backs, pharmacists undertaking medication reviews, counsellors supporting people with mental health problems and dieticians advising those with food-related problems.

Those 26,000 staff, alongside the arrival of “6,000 more doctors in general practice” in a separate pledge, would help GPs and their teams offer 50m more consultations, the Conservatives said. But in November the health secretary, Sajid Javid, admitted that Johnson’s often-repeated 6,000 extra GPs pledge would be missed.

“Whilst progress in meeting this target is better than the GP [recruitment] target, it’s still slow and very concerning that this could be another promise that won’t be met,” said Prof Matin Marshall, the chair of the RCGP.

“The impact of not having enough staff in general practice is being felt acutely both by GPs and our team members who are working to their limits, and our patients, who are facing longer waits for the care they need. Meeting this [extra staff] target – and the GP target – will be vital to addressing this.”

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Source: The Guardian, 9 January 2022

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Tory ‘neglect’ blamed for 3.6m abandoned calls to NHS 111 in England

Patients contacting NHS 111 in England are having to wait so long for medical help that they are abandoning millions of calls, with 3.6m ditched in the past 12 months, official figures reveal.

The national helpline service is supposed to make it quicker and easier for patients to get the right advice or treatment they need, either for their physical or mental health. It is billed as being open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

However, analysis by the House of Commons Library, commissioned by the Liberal Democrats, shows callers are waiting so long to speak to someone that nearly one in five give up. In 2022, 3,682,516 calls to NHS 111 were abandoned.

MPs said the “dire” figures exposed how the NHS had reached “breaking point” after years of “neglect and underfunding” by the government.

The data suggests that, on average, more than 10,000 callers hang up every day without receiving medical advice or treatment.

As well as being distressing for those who are unwell, abandoned NHS 111 calls pose a risk to patient safety. The problem also increases pressure on other urgent care services as people seek care elsewhere.

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Source: The Guardian, 10 April 2023

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Tories ‘failing women’ as gynaecology waiting times treble in a decade

The Conservatives have been accused of “failing women” as analysis reveals gynaecology waiting times have trebled in the past decade, with more than 540,000 waiting for NHS care.

NHS England data shows that in October 2012, the average waiting time to see a gynaecologist was 4.8 weeks. By October 2022, the most recent month for which figures are available, that figure had increased by 225% to 15.6 weeks.

Many of the conditions experienced by women waiting to see a gynaecologist are progressive. Left untreated, they can need more complex or invasive surgery. Thousands are living in extreme pain as a result of the long waits, doctors, health experts and charities told the Guardian.

The figures reveal that 38,231 women have been waiting more than a year. Ten years ago there were 15 women in England waiting longer than 12 months – and no one waiting two years. Today, 69 women have been waiting more than 24 months.

Dr Ranee Thakar, the president of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, said: “This new analysis adds to our own research that gynaecology waiting lists were outstripping other specialities long before the pandemic, and they continue to grow rapidly.

“Shockingly, the fact we can now track this pattern back 10 years, shows how long overdue action is to address the unequal growth in waiting lists.”

Thakar added: “Women’s health has been consistently deprioritised. Gynaecology waiting times are currently the longest we’ve seen since waiting list targets were introduced, leaving thousands of women with symptoms including extreme pain, heavy menstrual bleeding and incontinence.”

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Source: The Guardian, 19 December 2022

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Top trust warns GPs of 15-week wait for scans

England’s largest hospital trust has written to GPs warning their patients face 15-week waits for routine MRIs, ultrasound and CT scans.

Guy’s and St Thomas’ Foundation Trust in central London said it was prioritising suspected cancer and other “urgent cases”, meaning “unfortunately waiting times for routine patients are now an average of 15-16 weeks for an appointment against a target of six weeks”.

This is much worse than national averages, which December figures showed were 3.2 weeks, 2.5 weeks and 3.3 weeks for MRI, CT and ultrasound waits respectively.

It its letter to GPs in Lambeth and Southwark – its main patches – GSTT said: “Current imaging referral demand outstrips capacity, despite these services consistently delivering near 120 per cent levels of activity compared to 2019-20.

“The radiology service is exploring multiple routes to increase imaging capacity, including increased weekend working, insourcing and outsourcing contracts, but there is still a significant shortfall of slots every week.”

In particular, it said primary care staff should expect long waits for the reporting of routine MRI scans.

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Source: HSJ, 13 February 2024

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Top teaching trust blames surge in long A&E waits on covid measures

A top teaching hospital has blamed covid measures for a dramatic rise in the number of trolley waits in its accident and emergency department.

In October, 111 patients at Cambridge University Hospitals (CUH) Foundation Trust, which runs Addenbrooke’s Hospital, waited more than 12 hours for admission, despite the region’s relatively low covid rates. 

CUH recorded just nine 12-hour waits in September and 27 in August. It had no 12-hour waits in either June or July this year, and in October 2019, it had only one. 

The trust also had 761 patients who waited more than four hours from the decision to admit to admission last month, out of a total of 2,998 emergency admissions. 

CUH director of operations Holly Sutherland said: “We have had to reorganise the hospital to meet infection control requirements and to reduce the risk of covid-19 transmission. With limited side room availability due to the age of our facilities, this has reduced the number of beds in the hospital by around 100 and has impacted on patient flow from the emergency department."

“We would like to apologise to anyone affected by this, and to reassure our patients that their safety is our utmost priority and we are doing everything we can to treat them as quickly as possible.”

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Source: HSJ, 18 November 2020

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Top scientists warn ‘the next pandemic is coming and we’re not ready’

The UK is not ready for the next global pandemic because public services are being dismantled and key research is being defunded, experts have claimed.

More than three years after the global outbreak of coronavirus, top scientists have warned that the UK is no better prepared for a pandemic than it was in 2020.

They say another epidemic on the scale of Covid-19 is inevitable, but that disinvestment in infection-monitoring services, dismantling of key infrastructure, and the state of the NHS mean the country is “losing ground”.

Sir John Bell, a leading immunologist and a member of the UK’s Covid vaccine taskforce during the pandemic, said it was too easy to dismiss Covid-19 as a “once in a generation crisis”.

Writing in The Independent, he warned that it is “a question of when, not if, another pandemic strikes”, adding that the nation needs to adopt an “always on” approach that includes building a more resilient healthcare system, carrying out better surveillance, and identifying future threats.

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Source: The Independent, 18 April 2023

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Top oncologist says Tayside cancer crisis was 'avoidable tragedy'

A crisis in cancer care at NHS Tayside could have been averted if the health board had publicly supported doctors who were criticised by an official report, according to a top oncologist.

The last remaining breast radiotherapy specialist left at the end of January, with the board unable to replace him. Patients must now travel to Aberdeen, Glasgow or Edinburgh for radiotherapy.

The situation has emerged three years after an investigation into chemotherapy treatment at Ninewells Hospital.

NHS Tayside apologised to patients in 2019 after an investigation found doctors deviated from national standards on chemotherapy dosages given to breast cancer patients after surgery.

A subsequent review found that the lower dosages were highly unlikely to have led to the deaths of any patients.

Last year the doctors involved were cleared of any wrongdoing by the General Medical Council (GMC), who also found no fault with the treatment patients received.

Some clinicians close to those involved told BBC Scotland the cancer doctors felt they had no choice but to leave because they did not have the backing of the board.

Colleagues who support the oncologists say none of this needed to happen.

Prof Alastair Munro, emeritus professor of radiation oncology at Dundee University, who previously worked as a cancer doctor in the department, said: "It's a totally avoidable tragedy, this should not have happened.

"The first thing the health board need to do is to come clean, and say we got it wrong, we put our hands up, we want to start again with a clean slate and we want to attract good people to come to Tayside to deliver breast cancer services to the patients whose needs we serve."

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Source: BBC News, 9 February 2022

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Top NHS doctor warns frontline staff battling coronavirus are "lambs to the slaughter"

A leading NHS doctor has warned frontline medical staff dealing with Britain’s coronavirus outbreak feel like “cannon fodder” and "lambs to the slaughter".

Dr Rinesh Parmar, chairman of the Doctor's Association UK, is battling the disease on an intensive care ward at a city hospital in Birmingham.

The Anaesthetic Registrar begged Boris Johnson to provide better Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), describing the current crisis the "calm before the storm"

Doctors and nurses fear a lack of masks, gloves, aprons and protective suits is putting them at risk as they care for patients diagnosed with Covid-19.

Speaking after a night shift on the ward, Dr Parmar told The BBC's Andrew Marr Show: "We have had doctors tell us they feel like lambs to the slaughter, that they feel like cannon fodder. GPs tell us that they feel absolutely abandoned."

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Source: The Sun, 23 March 2020

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Top hospital downgraded amid safety fears and whistleblowing inquiry

The hospital at the centre of a whistleblowing inquiry has been downgraded by the care watchdog and issued with a warning notice amid concerns over leadership and patient safety.

West Suffolk Foundation Trust has been rated requires improvement by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in a damning report having previously been rated outstanding since 2017.

The trust, whose Chief Executive Stephen Dunn received a CBE for services to patient safety in 2018, has faced criticism after bosses threatened senior doctors with a fingerprint and handwriting analysis to try and identify a whistleblower.

In a new report published today, the CQC inspectors said they had significant concerns about the safety of mothers and babies in the trust’s maternity unit and the criticised the culture of the trust leadership referencing what they called “threatening” actions.

In the West Suffolk hospital maternity unit the CQC found staff had not completed key safety training, did not protect women from domestic abuse, and staff did not always report safety incidents. They also found maternity staff were not taking observations and the unit lacked enough staff with the right qualifications to keep women safe.

The trust was issued with a warning notice by the trust demanding it make improvements before the end of this month.

On the trust leadership the CQC report said: “The style of executive leadership did not represent or demonstrate an open and empowering culture. There was an evident disconnect between the executive team and several consultant specialities."

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Source: The Independent, 30 January 2020

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Top health chief slams ‘shameful’ level of sexual harassment in the NHS

Sexual harassment levels in the NHS are “shameful”, with incidents happening all the time, one of the country’s top health chiefs has admitted.

Dr Navina Evans, chief workforce officer at NHS England, urged leaders to act on shocking levels of sexual harassment, following exposes by The Independent.

Asked about the one in eight workers who have reported unwanted sexual behaviour, she said: “It is shameful... I could tell you stories from my own experience from when I was a trainee right up to last year.

Last year, the NHS published its “sexual safety charter” which requires organisations to commit to eliminating sexual harassment and assault among staff and patients.  However, not all 240 NHS trusts have signed up to the charter yet, according to Dr Evans. She said: “It is really important that every organisation signs up.”

The NHS staff survey this year found one in eight workers – around 58,000 – had reported experiencing unwanted sexual behaviour in the last 12 months, while one in 26 reported experiencing similar harassment from a work colleague.

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Source: Independent, 27 April 2024

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Top doctors warn A&E crisis is making patients sicker as corridor care becomes routine

Patients needing emergency treatment are becoming sicker in A&E as hospitals struggle to free up enough beds, top doctors have warned.

Dr Adrian Boyle, president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM), told The Independent that elderly patients are waiting so long for treatment in A&E that they’re developing bed sores and delirium.

Another senior NHS doctor, Dr Vicky Price, who is president-elect of the Society for Acute Medicine, warned that corridor care is now “routine practice” with the situation only set to worsen as A&E departments come under increasing pressure.

Their comments highlight the ongoing chaos in emergency medicine, as strikes take place during the most difficult time of the year. The chief executive of the NHS, Amanda Pritchard, said on Thursday that last winter was the worst she’d ever seen for the health service, warning that strikes by junior doctors will only make the situation harder for hospitals this year

The warnings come as the latest NHS data shows that the prime minister, Rishi Sunak, could fail in his promise to deliver 5,000 more acute hospital beds to the NHS this month. Current data shows that the NHS is falling short of the target by just under 1,200 beds, with 97,818 against a target of 99,000.

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Source: The Independent, 10 November 2023

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Top doctor’s family call for probe into ambulance delays on day he died of cardiac arrest

The family of a senior medic and lifelong NHS campaigner have called for an investigation into his death as it took paramedics more than half an hour to arrive at his home after operators were told he was suffering a cardiac arrest.

Professor Kailash Chand, a former British Medical Association deputy chair, had complained of chest pains before one of his neighbours, a consultant anaesthetist at Manchester Royal Infirmary, called 111 for help before telling the call handler within three minutes that he believed his friend was having a cardiac arrest.

“I was answering their questions when Kailash’s eyes began rolling and he slipped into unconsciousness. That’s when I said ‘this looks like a cardiac arrest’ and to upgrade the call. They kept asking questions as I started CPR and asked for an urgent ambulance. That was two or two and a half minutes into the call."

Evidence seen by i News shows that it took another 30 minutes after the neighbour told the operator about the cardiac arrest for the paramedics to arrive at Professor Chand’s flat in Didsbury, Greater Manchester.

National standards for ambulance trusts show that ambulance trusts must respond to category 1 calls – those that are classified as life-threatening and needing immediate intervention and/or resuscitation, such as cardiac or respiratory arrest – in 7 minutes on average, and respond to 90% of Category 1 calls in 15 minutes.

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Source: iNews, 3 September 2021

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Top doctor questions need for change at gender clinic

A doctor with a key role in reforming a controversial gender identity clinic for children has been recorded questioning the need for change.

Prof Gary Butler, clinical lead for the children's gender clinic in England and Wales, also appeared to accuse the author of a report, which will underpin the new service, of "nepotism".

He was recorded making the comments in a keynote speech at a major conference.

The Gender Identity Development Service (Gids), based at London's Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust, was rated as "inadequate" by inspectors, who visited in late 2020. It was earmarked for closure in July 2022.

An independent review, led by Dr Hilary Cass, also called for a "fundamentally different" model of care for children with gender dysphoria.

Prof Butler has been awarded a key role in shaping the new service, as one of several people tasked with implementing a new training programme, underpinned by Dr Cass's recommendations.

However, BBC Newsnight has learned Prof Butler has publicly questioned the need for change and described Dr Cass's recommendations as "slightly unusual".

In the 14-minute speech at the conference, he talked about current services across the UK, the legal challenges to the situation in England, and how he felt Gids has been the subject of "lies" in the media.

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Source: BBC News, 24 May 2023

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Top doctor ‘desperate’ to keep parents out of ‘lobster trap’ hospitals

One of the country’s most senior doctors has said he is “desperate” to keep his elderly parents out of hospital, which he said are like “lobster traps”.

Dr Adrian Boyle, president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, said hospitals are easy to get into but hard to get out of.

His comments come after figures showed the number of patients in hospital beds in England who no longer need to be there has reached a new monthly high.

An average of 13,613 beds per day were occupied by people ready to be discharged from hospital in October. That was up from 13,305 in September and the highest monthly figure since comparable data began in December 2021, according to analysis by the PA news agency.

In an interview with the Daily Mail, Dr Boyle said: “Hospitals are like lobster traps – they’re easy to get into and hard to get out of.

“If social care was able to do its job in the way we want it to, these poor people wouldn’t be stranded in hospital.

“I have elderly parents and I’m desperate to keep them out of hospital.

“For someone who is frail, hospital is often a bad place for them. They’re being harmed by being in hospital.”

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Source: The Independent, 14 November 2022

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Tony Blair urges expanded role for private sector as NHS turns 75

The NHS must undergo radical change or it will continue to decline and lose public support, Tony Blair has argued on the service’s 75th anniversary.

It must embrace a revolution in technology to reshape its relationship with patients and make much more use of private healthcare providers to cut waiting times, the former Labour prime minister says.

The prevalence of chronic health conditions, long waiting times, the NHS’s stretched workforce and tight public finances in the years ahead mean the service must transform how it operates, he said.

“The NHS now requires fundamental reform or, eventually, support for it will diminish. As in the 1990s, the NHS must either change or decline,” he writes in the foreword to a new report from his Tony Blair Institute thinktank, which sets out ideas for safeguarding the NHS’s future.

He adds: “Change is never easy and requires brave political leadership. If we do not act, the NHS will continue down a path of decline, to the detriment of our people and our economy.”

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Source: The Guardian, 5 July 2023

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Toddlers died after NHS 111 helpline said they were not in danger

The NHS 111 helpline for urgent medical care is facing calls for an investigation after poor decision-making was linked to more than 20 deaths.

Experts say that inexperienced call handlers and the software used to highlight life-threatening emergencies may not always be safe for young children. At least five have died in potentially avoidable incidents.

Professor Carrie MacEwen, Chairwoman of the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, said: “These distressing reports suggest that existing processes did not safeguard the needs of the children in these instances.”

Since 2014 coroners have written 15 reports involving NHS 111 to try to prevent further deaths. There have been five other cases where inquests heard of missed chances to save lives by NHS 111 staff; two other cases are continuing and one was subject to an NHS England investigation.

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Source: The Times, 5 January 2020

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Today sees the official launch of the hub

Today, we are proud to announce the official launch of the hub, our shared learning platform for patient safety.

We have been hard at work since launching the hub in beta in July, continuing to develop and improve the platform. Now, the hub is officially ready to be used by everyone committed to improving safety – patients and their families, clinicians, patient safety experts, and health and social care organisations.

the hub has been designed with clinicians, patient safety experts and patients following research by Carl Macrae, Professor of Organisational Behaviour and Psychology at Nottingham University Business School and a renowned specialist on patient safety.

the hub will be a crucial online repository for sharing different experiences and perspectives of what has worked well, as well as case studies, research papers, blogs, investigation reports, policy guidance and toolkits. It will provide a platform where people can ask questions, seek advice and share ideas to improve patient safety.

Registration and use of the hub are free.

Help us work towards the patient-safe future by joining the hub, sharing your learning and hearing valuable insight from others in health and social care.

Join the hub today

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Today is International Epilepsy Day

Despite being one of the world's oldest known medical conditions, public fear and misunderstanding about epilepsy persists, making many people reluctant to talk about it. That reluctance leads to lives lived in the shadows, lack of understanding about individual risk, discrimination in workplaces and communities, and a lack of funding for new therapies research. People with epilepsy die prematurely at a higher rate compared to the general population. The most common cause of death from epilepsy is sudden unexpected death in epilepsy, known as SUDEP. For many people living with epilepsy, the misconceptions and discrimination can be more difficult to overcome than the seizures themselves.

International Epilepsy Day seeks to raise awareness and educate the general public on the true facts about epilepsy and the urgent need for improved treatment, better care, and greater investment in research.

hub resources

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Today - The Big Event for Mental Health

Today is World Mental Health Day and the World Health Organization will, for the first time ever, host a global online advocacy event on mental health.

At this event—the Big Event for Mental Health—world leaders, mental health experts and celebrity guests will join WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, to tell the world what we can all do to improve our mental health and how we can help make sure that quality mental health care is available to everyone who needs it.

Tune in from one of WHO’s social media channels:

Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, TikTok and Twitch channels 

Start time: 10:00 New York, 16:00 Geneva, 19:30 New Delhi                          

The Event will last approximately 2 hours 30 minutes. 

More information

 

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To engage the private sector in health, we must align goals and share risks

Engaging the private sector in delivering health care and goods requires a sound understanding of how to align resources with the strategic priorities of a health system. The WHO Regional Office for Europe and the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies have released a new report for policy-makers that analyses governance evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“The question is not whether we should do it, but what we can do to do it well,” explained Dimitra Panteli, programme manager at the Observatory, who presented the policy brief during a WHO-hosted launch session at the European Public Health (EPH) Conference in Dublin.

Having played a key part in the COVID-19 pandemic, the private sector showed that it holds resources and expertise that can enhance the delivery of health goods and services and help achieve Universal Health Coverage. It also has a wider role in the maintenance of essential health services and in ensuring health system resilience. 

“We cannot have the illusion that we should not work with the private sector, especially as health services struggle to cope with backlogs caused by the pandemic,” pointed out Natasha Azzopardi Muscat, Director of Country Health Policies and Systems at WHO/Europe. 

This collaboration can however present challenges, for example around governance practices. Policy successes and failures during the pandemic provide lessons for countries on how to engage the private sector in their health systems effectively.

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Source: European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, 20 November 2023

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