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Doctors raise safety fears at Birmingham hospitals

Whistleblowers at one of England's worst performing hospital trusts have said a climate of fear among staff is putting patients at risk.

Former and current clinicians at University Hospitals Birmingham (UHB) NHS Trust allege they were punished by management for raising safety concerns, a BBC Newsnight investigation found.

One insider said the trust was "a bit like the mafia".

The trust said it took "patient safety very seriously". It said it had a "high reporting culture of incidents" to ensure accountability and learning.

Staff concerns included a dangerous shortage of nurses and a lack of communication leading to some haematology patients dying without receiving treatment.

The deaths of 20 patients in the haematology department of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, which is run by the trust, led to a review in 2017 by consultant Emmanouil Nikolousis.

Mr Nikolousis, who left the trust in 2020, told the BBC he was shocked by the failings he found and believes patients' lives could have been saved.

A report by Mr Nikolousis criticised a lack of "ownership" of patients and a lack of communication among senior clinicians. In some cases this led to patients dying without having received treatment, he said.

"Certainly there should have been different actions done," he said. "They could be saved. Certainly, when you don't have an action done, then you don't really know the outcome."

Mr Nikolousis said he felt he had no option but to quit after his findings were ignored and his position was made "untenable". He left the NHS after 18 years.

"They were trying, as they did with other colleagues, to completely sort of ruin your career," he said.

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Source: BBC News, 1 December 2022

 

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National roll-out of ‘call before you walk’ A&Es set for winter

Trials of new systems to prevent overcrowding in emergency departments ahead of a potential second wave of COVID-19 in the winter are taking place at hospitals in Portsmouth and Cornwall and are due to shortly be expanded to other areas, with Dorset and Newcastle likely sites, HSJ can reveal.

London is also experimenting with introducing the system, having pulled back from an earlier proposal to roll it out it rapidly, shortly after the COVID-19 peak.

In the trials, NHS 111 has acted as a “triage point” enabling patients not facing medical emergencies but needing urgent treatment to book access to primary care, urgent treatment centres or same-day emergency “hot clinics” staffed by specialists. 

Patients are discouraged from attending without an appointment, but they are able to do so; and sources said performance targets would continue to apply to them, although these were already subject to review pre-covid.

Both the Royal College of Emergency Medicine and NHSE are now hopeful a new triage system for emergency care can be in place by the winter.

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Source: 15 July 2020

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Neglect was one of biggest killers in care homes during pandemic, report finds

The pandemic has disproportionately affected people living in care homes, who accounted for an estimated 30% of all deaths from covid-19 across 25 countries despite making up only 1% of the world’s population, a report has estimated.

The analysis was carried out by Collateral Global, a research group that says it is dedicated to reporting on the effects of governments’ mandatory COVID-19 mitigation measures. The report said the pandemic had exacerbated long running problems in the care sector, such as chronic underfunding, poor structural organisation, staff undertraining, underskilling, and underequipping, and a “lack of humanity in dealing with the most vulnerable members of society.”

“Neglect, thirst, and hunger were—and possibly still are—the biggest killers,” the group said. They also said that care home residents faced barriers in access to emergency treatments during the pandemic.

The study authors suggested that undiagnosed COVID-19, poor testing, and inadequate staffing and infection control were the likely factors contributing to the excess deaths in care homes.

Martin Green, chief executive officer of Care England, said, “Adult social care and the NHS are two sides of the same coin and need to be treated as such. The government shouldn’t have placed such a myopic focus on the NHS without due consideration for social care too.”

He said that he was “phenomenally” proud of the care workforce and wanted to ensure that they were recognised as professionals with proper career pathways and commensurate funding.

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Source: The BMJ, 22 December 2021

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NHS Nightingale hubs cost £11m to build ... only to treat seven patients

The Nightingale surge hubs cost more than £10.6 million to set up but have admitted roughly seven patients, it has emerged.

Eight temporary sites were built at hospitals across the country during the height of the omicron wave, with the capacity to house about 100 patients each. However, it has now been revealed that the hubs cost £10,672,088 to build and only one has admitted a handful of patients.

Announcing the hubs in December, NHS England said they would be used if “the record number of Covid-19 infections leads to a surge in admissions and outstrips existing capacity”.

However, as of Jan 30, there were 1,285 daily admissions, an eight per cent decrease on the previous week.

The chief executive of the William Harvey Hospital, in Ashford, Kent – the location of one of the eight omicron hubs – has expressed concerns that the structure “may adversely impact” other services and never be used.

The cost of the hubs was revealed in response to a written question submitted by Damian Green, the Conservative MP Mr Green said that the temporary sites were an “insurance policy” and added “it looks like they won’t be needed”. He called on ministers to assess if they could be repurposed to help clear the backlog of patients waiting for treatment.

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Source: The Telegraph, 2 February 2022

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AI cure for bed blocking can predict hospital stay

Technology that accurately predicts when patients will be ready to leave hospital upon their arrival in A&E is being introduced to solve the NHS bed-blocking crisis.

The artificial intelligence (AI) software analyses data including age, medical conditions and previous hospital stays to estimate how long a patient will need to remain.

Hospital managers can then alert social care services in advance about the date when patients are expected to be discharged, allowing care home beds or community care packages to be prepared.

Nurses said the technology had “revolutionised” their ability to discharge patients on time, meaning people who would otherwise have been stuck in hospital had got home for Christmas.

The new technology, developed by the British AI company Faculty, is being tested at four NHS hospitals in Wales belonging to the Hywel Dda health board. Analysis suggests that the tool will save NHS trusts 3,000 bed days and £1.4 million a year by speeding up discharges, which in turn frees beds for elective procedures such as hip replacements.

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Source: The Times, 26 December 2022

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Australia needs to “get real on medicine safety”

Australia needs to “get real on medicine safety”, Federal Parliament heard this week.

Speaking in the House of Representatives, Julian Hill (ALP, Vic) said “too many Australians are being seriously injured, sometimes with lifelong impacts or dying, because of the weakness in our pharmacovigilance system”.

Mr Hill, Deputy Chair of the Parliamentary Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit, referred to a recent study by the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia which “estimated the extent of the problem at 250,000 annual hospital admissions as a result of medication related problems and 400,000 additional presentations to emergency departments, likely because of medicine related problems.

There’s an annual cost of $1.4 billion, and yet 50 per cent of this harm is estimated to be preventable,” he said.

“I have spoken before about my concerns in this area, and so have many other advocates, but the  government is still not taking these issues seriously. Every day of inaction means Australians are at risk of death or serious harm from medicines when it could be avoided”.

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Source: AJP.com.au, 28 November 2019

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New analysis lays bare government’s failure to protect social care from COVID-19

New analysis by the Health Foundation reveals the devastating impact the pandemic has had on social care in England. The independent charity says the findings provide further evidence that the government acted too slowly and did not do enough to support social care users and staff, and that protecting social care has been given far lower priority than the NHS.

The Health Foundation finds that policy action on social care has focused primarily on care homes and that this has risked leaving out other vulnerable groups of users and services, including those receiving care in their own homes (domiciliary care). It also notes that the shortcomings of the government’s response have been made worse by longstanding political neglect and chronic underfunding of the social care system.

Since March there have been more than 30,500 excess deaths* among care home residents in England and 4,500 excess deaths among people receiving domiciliary care. While high numbers of excess deaths of people living in care homes have been well reported, the analysis shows there has been a greater proportional increase in deaths among domiciliary care users than in care homes (225% compared to 208%). And while deaths in care homes have now returned to average levels for this time of year, the latest data (up until 19 June) shows that there have continued to be excess deaths reported among domiciliary care users.

The Health Foundation says that decades of inaction by successive governments have meant that the social care system entered the pandemic underfunded, understaffed, and at risk of collapse.

Read full article here.

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New Covid warning over symptom that affects sleep

An immunologist has warned the new strain of Covid-19 could be causing different symptoms – including one that emerges during the night.

Omicron BA.5 is a highly-contagious subvariant prompting concern as it contributes to a fresh wave of infections across the globe, including the UK. Scientists have been finding differences with previous strains, including the ability to reinfect people within weeks of having Covid.

“One extra symptom from BA.5 I saw this morning is night sweats,” Professor Luke O’Neill from Trinity College Dublin told an Irish radio station in mid-July.

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Source: The Independent (24 August 2022)

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How East Cheshire NHS is tackling a major cancer problem

East Cheshire faces a serious issue with head and neck cancer, with missed target times and inefficient practices leading to worsening outcomes for patients.

That’s prompted officials from the NHS Cheshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) to come up with a plan of action to tackle the problem — but as Cheshire East councillors heard this week, it’s hit a snag.

Since 2014, the East Cheshire NHS Trust and Manchester Foundational Trust (MFT) have co-delivered the head and neck cancer pathway. This means that patients are seen by staff at Macclesfield Hospital for diagnostic tests — and if malignant cells are detected, then the patient will be referred on to Wythenshawe for surgery or, if sadly needed, East Cheshire’s own palliative care team for supportive care.

In a presentation to CEC’s health scrutiny committee, the CCG said just 10% of patients in the borough were seen at Macclesfield within the 62-day target time in Q3 of 2019/20 — against a desired level of 85%.

Simon Goff, chief operating officer of East Cheshire NHS Trust, told the committee: “There is no one stop service - which is where a patient gets diagnostics all on the same day. Biopsies are not always up to the standards required so patients need to have it again. This is a key weakness in the existing service.”

The lack of a ‘one stop service’ means there are no on-site pathology services — so samples are taken off-site for testing, and with biopsies needing to be analysed within 24 hours of collection, it results in 39% of all patients having to undergo the procedure again.

So what did East Cheshire do about it?

The first step was to launch a consultation, with 64 former patients out of roughly 300 eligible providing feedback to the Trust over the summer. The ‘robust’ consultation, saw patients express their desire to ‘know what is going on as soon as possible’, with the ‘issue of travel being outweighed by [the desire for] a quick diagnosis’.

Fortunately for health chiefs in Cheshire, there are ‘outstanding’ hospitals surrounding the county — with the Care Quality Commission giving top marks to hospitals in Salford, St Helens, and The Christie in Didsbury.

So with East Cheshire’s patients happy to travel a distance in order to gain a quick and accurate diagnosis, and the existing partnership with Manchester’s trust, officials are proposing moving some patients experiencing positive diagnoses and ‘bad news’ cases to MFT sites, such as The Christie or Wythenshawe Hospital.

The idea is that ‘neck lump’ patients will be immediately sent to Wythenshawe, with all other patients undergoing initial tests in Macclesfield first before being either sent home with the all clear, or referred on.

Biopsies will be done in Wythenshawe, as will ‘breaking bad news’ appointments — where patients are told of a positive cancer diagnosis.

Officials say this solution ‘would start to address some of the clinical and performance concerns’ by cutting the average diagnosis wait time from four weeks down to one, reducing the amount of appointments patients need to attend, and allowing for continuity of care throughout treatment.

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Source: Knutsford Guardian, 10 October 2020

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NHS gender identity service for children can’t cope with demand, review finds

The only NHS gender identity service for children in England and Wales is under unsustainable pressure as the demand for the service outstrips capacity, a review has found.

The interim report of the Cass Review, commissioned by NHS England in 2020, recommends that a network of regional hubs be created to provide care and support to young people with gender incongruence or dysphoria, arguing their care is “everyone’s business”.

Led by the paediatrician Hilary Cass, the interim report explains that the significant rise in referrals to the Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS) at the Tavistock and Portman NHS foundation trust in London has resulted in overwhelmed staff and waiting lists of up to two years that leave young people “at considerable risk” of distress and deteriorating mental health. 

Last spring, the Care Quality Commission demanded monthly updates on numbers on waiting lists and actions to reduce them in a highly critical report on GIDS.

Differing views and lack of open discussion about the nature of gender incongruence in childhood and adolescence – and whether transition is always the best option – means that patients can experience a “clinician lottery”, says the new review, which carried out extensive interviews with professionals and those with lived experience.

It notes that the clinical approach used by GIDS “has not been subjected to some of the usual control measures” typically applied with new treatments.

Another significant issue raised with the review team was that of “diagnostic overshadowing”, whereby once a young person is identified as having gender-related distress, other complex needs – such as neurodiversity or a mental health problem that would normally be managed by local services – can be overlooked.

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Source: The Guardian, 10 March 2022

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Trusts resist visiting rule after ‘Javid threatens to call CEOs’

Local clinical leaders are continuing to question pressure from government and NHS England to relax Covid-19 visiting restrictions. 

Visitors, and people accompanying patients, have been restricted throughout covid, and in recent months there has been substantial local variation.

Ministers and NHSE, as well as other politicians and some patient groups, have been pressing for more relaxed restrictions for some time and in recent weeks have stepped up their instructions.

National visiting guidance was eased in March, and other infection control guidance, including requiring the isolation of covid contacts, was relaxed last month. Last week, the Daily Telegraph reported health and social care secretary Sajid Javid planned to “name and shame” trusts not implementing the changes, and to call hospital chief executives directly about it.

Meanwhile, chief nursing officer Ruth May reiterated the visiting rules last month, saying on Twitter: “We must not underestimate the important contribution that visiting makes to the wellbeing and personalised care of patients and make it happen.”

However, an NHSE online meeting for clinical leaders on Friday was told that while “a great number of trusts have returned to previous visiting policies… we know there are trusts which haven’t implemented this fully”.

One said: “It is very difficult to safely return to pre-covid visiting as some hospital’s estate can’t safely support visitors in already over-crowded [emergency departments] and increasingly busy [outpatient departments].

“Surely local risk assessment is key and should be supported rather than increasing pressure to simply blanketly return to pre-pandemic arrangements everywhere?”

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Source: HSJ, 9 May 2022

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NHS ‘lifeline’ for hundreds of stroke survivors

Hundreds of NHS patients have received personal, specialised care thanks to a new service set up during the coronavirus pandemic.

Stroke Connect, a partnership with the NHS and the Stroke Association provides stroke survivors with support and advice in the early days following hospital discharge, without having to leave the house.

Experts have said that the new offer is providing a ‘lifeline’ during the pandemic and has helped more than 500 people to rebuild their lives after having a stroke since it launched last month.

Patients are contacted for an initial call within a few days of discharge from hospital, from a trained ‘Stroke Association Connector’, an expert in supporting people after stroke.

The connector provides reassurance, support with immediate concerns and links the stroke survivor to support they can access in the long-term as part of their recovery journey as well as signposting them to other sources of support. A further call is offered within the month to check in on the stroke survivor’s progress and identify any further support needed.

The new service complements existing rehabilitation services and ‘life after stroke’ care, which has continued throughout the pandemic.

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Source: NHS England, 31 August 2020

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HealthUnlocked moves to Corrona’s HealthiVibe to establish an innovative and holistic snapshot of the patient

London-based HealthUnlocked has been acquired by worldwide leader Corrona. 

HealthUnlocked is a social network of 1.3 million patients across hundreds of condition-specific communities. Moderated by over 500 patient advocacy groups, it captures insights to better understand what matters most to these patients.  

Corrona, based in Massachusetts, US, describes itself as a built-for-purpose source of gold-standard real-world evidence. 

“By combining with HealthUnlocked, we are expanding our broad set of capabilities–ranging from highly granular and longitudinal structured data across our eight registries, to broader patient insights from HealthUnlocked,” said Abbe Steel, Chief Patient Officer of Corrona.  

“The HealthUnlocked communities provide access to engaged patients across the globe, allowing us to better understand the patient experience and what matters most to patients."

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Source: Business Cloud, 22 October 2020

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Shrewsbury maternity scandal: NHS plans ‘early warning’ system to spot future care mistakes

Health chiefs are designing an “early warning” system to detect and prevent future maternity care scandals before they happen, a health minister has said.

Patient safety minister Nadine Dorries said she hoped the system would highlight hospitals and maternity units where mistakes were being made earlier.

The former nurse also revealed the Department of Health and Social Care was drawing up a plan for a joint national curriculum for both midwives and obstetricians to make sure they had the skills to look after women safely.

During a Parliamentary debate following the publication of a report into the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital care scandal, the minister was challenged by MPs to take action to prevent future scandals.

The former health secretary, Jeremy Hunt, warned the failings at the Shropshire trust, where dozens of babies died or were left with permanent brain damage, could be repeated elsewhere.

He said: “The biggest mistake in interpreting this report would be to think that what happened at Shrewsbury and Telford is a one-off — it may well not be, and we mustn't assume that it is.”

Ms Dorries said: “Every woman should own her birth plan, be in control of what is happening to her during her delivery and I really hope ... this report is fundamental in how it's going to reform the maternity services across the UK going forward.

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Source: The Independent, 11 December 2020

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Doctors to overhaul car wreck rescue techniques amid new evidence

There are plans for a major overhaul of how people are rescued from car wrecks amid growing evidence that current methods where people wait to be cut free may be harmful.

Last year there were 127,967 casualties and 1,560 deaths in England caused by motor vehicle collisions. During the same period, more than 7,000 patients needed to helped out of the vehicle through a process known as extrication, where rescue crews use “Jaws of Life” and other tools to pry apart the wreckage, and then carefully lift people out.

“Since at least the 1980s, firefighters have been trained with movement minimisation as the absolute paradigm,” said Dr Tim Nutbeam, an NHS emergency medicine consultant, and medical lead for the Devon air ambulance. “They’ve been told that one millimetre of movement could turn someone into a wheelchair user, so will often disassemble the car around the patient, to avoid movement of the neck.”

Yet, doing so takes time – 30 minutes on average – and if that person has another serious injury, such as a head, chest, or abdominal injury, every minute counts.

Nutbeam began researching the issue and discovered that trapped patients were almost twice as likely to die as those who were rapidly freed from the wreckage. Further, that the prevalence of spinal injuries among such patients was, in fact, extremely low – just 0.7% – and in around half of these cases, they had other serious injuries needing urgent medical attention.

“Our absolute focus on movement minimisation works for maybe 0.3% of patients, but it extends the entrapment time for 99.7% of them,” Nutbeam said. “Potentially hundreds of people in this country have died as a result of extended entrapment times, and if you multiply that worldwide, it’s many, many people.”

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Source: The Guardian, 6 July 2022

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Birmingham hospital trust declared war on me - surgeon

John Watkinson was one of the country's top ear, nose and throat surgeons.

But Mr Watkinson's life and career were turned upside down when he was accused of shortening the lives of three patients, suspended and investigated.

General Medical Council investigators would eventually close his case, taking no further action, and Mr Watkinson would receive an apology for what he had experienced from his employer University Hospitals Birmingham (UHB) NHS Trust.

But that was six years after he was first suspended - six years that would see him pushed to the brink.

"As doctors, we're trained in communication skills, we have appraisals, mandatory training," he says. "But the one thing we're not trained to cope with is when somebody declares war on you."

The hospital trust stands by its decision to suspend Mr Watkinson and says its referral to the General Medical Council was "appropriately made following a clinical colleague raising significant concerns" about patient care.

UHB has been in the spotlight in recent weeks, with reviews launched into its culture, leadership, and allegations of poor patient care aired in a Newsnight investigation late last year. It says a review into patient care is now well under way.

Mr Watkinson says he was at the sharp end of this culture when he was suspended and suddenly went "from hero to zero".

He accepts mistakes were made, but not just by him and not ones that would have affected the patients' outcomes.

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Source: BBC News, 13 January 2023

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Menstrual cup misuse 'can cause pelvic organ prolapse'

Incorrect use of menstrual cups could be resulting in some women suffering pelvic organ prolapse, the Victoria Derbyshire programme has been told. The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy wants some manufacturers to include better safety advice.

Menstrual cups fit into the vagina and collect period blood. They are not currently regulated in the UK, and there is no safety testing. Menstrual cups, which can last up to 10 years, have grown in popularity as a more sustainable alternative to single-use tampons and pads. But there are claims that more education is needed before women decide to use them.

There is limited research on the products, but in a report by the Lancet Public Health journal last year – which looked at 43 studies involving 3,300 women and girls living in rich and poor countries – the authors concluded menstrual cups were a "safe option".

But the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy is calling for the cups, which are produced by a growing number of manufacturers worldwide, to be better regulated. Currently they are not safety-tested, and there is no industry standard or body responsible for collating complaints.

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Source: BBC News, 11 March 2020

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Covid: Confusion over gestational diabetes advice

Some pregnant women who have had gestational diabetes say a change to shielding advice in England has caused confusion. 

Some have been told to stay at home while others have not, based on a new algorithm which calculates an individual's risk from Covid. It identified an extra 1.7 million people as extremely clinically vulnerable in England this week. They will now be prioritised for a Covid vaccine.

NHS England says not everyone with the same condition will be advised to shield but suggests people contact their GP to discuss their individual case.

Heather Davis Mahoney, from Hertfordshire, had gestational diabetes while carrying her second child, and was monitored closely during her third pregnancy. She has not been told to shield, but says it's worrying when others from similar backgrounds have been told they should.

"There's been an explosion of confusion. People don't know what's going on and are worried about putting themselves and their babies at risk," she says.

But GP Dr David Triska said just because someone has gestational diabetes or had it in the past, doesn't mean they should be shielding. "I think the major point of confusion is that people are expecting that this is a binary 'yes' or 'no' per condition algorithm - and it is not," he said.

"The reason why people are getting different answers from various sources is because this is an individual risk assessment."

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Source: BBC News, 20 February 2021

 
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Mental health services: CQC warns of “perfect storm”

A shortage of skilled staff, coupled with rising demand, has created a “perfect storm” for patients using mental health and learning disability services, England’s healthcare regulator has warned.

In its annual State of Care report for 2018-19, the Care Quality Commission said that although quality ratings across health and social care, including community mental health services, had been maintained overall, this masked “a real deterioration” in some specialist inpatient services over the past 12 months.

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Source: BMJ, 14 October 2019

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NHS facing “critical” shortage of lung specialists this winter, professional body warns

A “critical” shortage of lung specialists may leave the NHS struggling to cope with a spike in hospital admissions related to complications of pneumonia and flu this winter, the British Thoracic Society (BTS) has warned.

At its winter meeting this week (taking place 4-6 December), the society presented results from a survey it conducted of almost 250 UK NHS respiratory specialists. Some 83% of respondents (199) thought respiratory healthcare staff shortages would impair the ability of the NHS to cope with the increase in lung disease hospital admissions this winter.

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Source: BMJ, 4 December 2019

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Hundreds of sexual assaults each year on mixed-gender wards

Hundreds of sexual assaults are reported each year on mixed-sex mental health wards in England, HSJ can reveal, highlighting the urgent need for investment to improve facilities.

New figures obtained by HSJ show there have been at least 1,019 reports of sexual assaults between men and woman on mixed wards since April 2017 to October 2019. This compares to just 286 reports of incidents on single-sex mental health wards over the same period.

Of those reports made on mixed-sex wards, 491 were considered serious enough to refer to safeguarding, and 104 were reported to the police.

The level of incidents still being reported suggests patients are not being protected from sexual assault on mixed wards, despite the issue being highlighted by several national reports in recent years.

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Source: HSJ, 7 January 2020

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GPs contacting patients about ‘do not resuscitate’ forms

GPs are having end of life conversations with their patients because of concerns over a lack of intensive care beds during the coronavirus crisis.

Multiple GPs have told HSJ they are talking to patients who are older or in very high risk groups about signing “do not attempt to resuscitate” forms in case these patients were to go on to contract the virus.

Some practices have also sent letters to patients requesting they complete the forms, it is understood.

One leader of a primary care network, who asked not to be named, told HSJ: “Those in the severe at-risk group and those over 80 are being told they won’t necessarily be admitted to hospital if they catch coronavirus.”

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Source: HSJ, 1 April 2020

 

 

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Midwife struck off over Shropshire baby's death

A midwife found guilty of misconduct over the death of a baby six years ago is to be struck off.

Claire Roberts was investigated by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) for failures in the care she gave to Pippa Griffiths - who died a day after being born at home in Myddle, Shropshire.

An independent disciplinary panel described the midwife as "a danger to patients and colleagues".

Ms Roberts and fellow midwife Joanna Young failed to realise the "urgency" of medical attention needed, following the birth, the panel said. They had failed to carry out a triage assessment, after Pippa's mother called staff for help because she was worried about her daughter's condition.

The panel concluded Ms Roberts's fitness to practise was impaired.

Inaccurate record-keeping by Ms Roberts represented "serious dishonesty", panel chair David Evans said, adding she had carried it out "in order to protect herself from disciplinary action".

Her failures had represented a "significant departure from standards expected by a registered midwife," he added.

Her colleague Ms Young, whose case was also heard by the panel, faced strong criticism on Wednesday, but was told she would face no sanction after the hearing concluded she had shown remorse and undergone extra training since 2016.

Kayleigh Griffiths said she and her husband welcomed the findings and sanctions.

"We're really relieved that one of the midwives has been struck off and actually we're also relieved to find that the other midwife has learnt and feels significant remorse for the event that took place," she said.

"We realise people do make mistakes and I think how you deal with those mistakes is really important.

"All we do ask is that learning was made from those and I think in one of the instances it did occur and in the other it didn't - so I think the right outcome has been found."

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Source: BBC News, 10 March 2022

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CEO describes anger at ‘disrespectful’ staff

The chief executive of a mental health trust grappling with care quality failures has described his anger at ‘disrespectful’ staff who have ‘now had to leave the organisation’.

In a message to staff, seen by HSJ, Brent Kilmurray, chief executive of Tees Esk and Wear Valleys Foundation Trust, said a number of staff had “stepped away from our values”.

HSJ has heard reports of 12 staff members within the trust’s forensic secure inpatient services being suspended in recent weeks, and some dismissed, after being caught sleeping on shifts and using electronic devices while meant to be observing patients.

The reports are unconfirmed, but appear to be referenced in a message sent by Brent Kilmurray on 14 March, which said: “I’m sorry to say, there’s been a handful of people who have stepped away from our values and in doing so have now had to leave the organisation."

Mr Kilmurray said the staff were in a “minority” and that when the trust investigated these matters “we have found far more excellent caring practice”. He added the trust is working with service leaders “to ensure that they understand their accountabilities for ensuring that services are safe”.

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Source: HSJ, 14 April 2022

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Provider investigating ‘racism and bullying’ complaints

A community services provider has launched an investigation into its staff culture, following concerns including racism and bullying.

Sirona Care and Health, a major provider of NHS and council-funded community services in the south west, told HSJ: ”Our staff have stepped forward to tell our leadership about unacceptable behaviours – both experienced within Sirona’s staffing body and towards our colleagues from patients/service users.

“It is incumbent on all of us, led by our board and senior leadership, to listen and take decisive action towards the culture we want to build.”

Sirona is the main provider of community health services in Bristol, North Somerset, and South Gloucestershire, and one of the largest healthcare social enterprises.

Speaking at a recent staff question and answer session, interim chief executive Julie Sharma said the former chief executive and chair stepped away from their duties in May “to allow the organisation to carry out an investigation into a whole host of things”.

She said it would cover allegations of racism and bullying in the organisation, but that these allegations “are not directly related” to the former chief CEO or chair.

During the question and answer session, Ms Sharma said the organisation was committed to sharing a “lessons learned” review with staff once the investigation had concluded.

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Source: HSJ, 9 September 2024

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