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Calls for public inquiry into 'systemic failings' across mental health hospitals in England

The government is being urged to launch a public inquiry into "systemic failings" at mental health hospitals across England.

Leading mental health charity Mind says "immediate political action" is needed as NHS mental health facilities are "at breaking point".

Mind claims "patients' human rights are being violated" and "wrongly restrained" across "run-down, understaffed" mental health wards.

Its Raise the Standard campaign argues that a "full statutory inquiry" is the "first step" into resolving widespread issues.

Dr Sarah Hughes, chief executive of Mind, said: "One case of abuse, neglect or unsafe care is too many, people are suffering because of the shocking state of care in mental health hospitals.

"People should go to hospital to get well, not to endure harm. This is wholly unacceptable and must be addressed urgently."

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Source: Sky News, 20 June 2023

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Calls for police to investigate mental health deaths in Norfolk and Suffolk

Campaigners have written to the chief constables of Norfolk and Suffolk to request an investigation into thousands of mental health deaths in those areas.

They say coroners are raising safety issues but no improvements are being made.

A report by independent auditors found as many as 8,440 patients had died unexpectedly over three years.

Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust said it had started a review of patient deaths.

Coroners worried about the risk of future deaths highlight unsafe practices in prevention of future deaths reports (PFDs). And authorities are required by law to respond with an action plan within 56 days. The Norfolk and Suffolk trust said it had responded to all PFDs and was working to ensure recommendations and actions were implemented.

But Mark Harrison, from the Campaign to Save Mental Health Services in Norfolk and Suffolk, said: "There's a criminal case to answer. And we want the police to investigate, where the same mistakes have been repeated time and time again."

He said coroners were repeatedly warning of risks such as delays to treatment, lack of patient follow-ups, chaotic record keeping and disorganised communication between teams.

Mr Harrison said: "The mental health trust always responds saying they've learned lessons, they are changing policy and practices.

"But then what we're seeing in analysing the orders from the coroner are repeat circumstances where other people have died in similar circumstances to a previous prevention-of-future-deaths notice."

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Source: BBC News, 12 December 2023

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Calls for major overhaul of the Welsh NHS

More than 20 different health organisations have joined forces to call for a complete overhaul of the National Health Service in Wales.

It comes after the worst ever performance figures for hospital emergency departments and the ambulance service were published, as well as warnings from doctors across the country that patients are dying in ambulances and waiting rooms due to overcrowding.

The group of 22 organisations working across health and social care say Wales needs a single national body with a strategic oversight of the Welsh NHS in order to drive improvements in patient care and hold health boards to account.

They have launched the 'Ending the postcode lottery' campaign which calls for "an end to fragmented health services".

Those involved include the the Royal College of Physicians Wales, the British Heart Foundation, Parkinson's UK and Cancer Research UK. They claim that a single, independent national NHS Wales executive would be better placed to improve patient care and deliver on the aims of a healthier Wales.

The organisations are calling for an independent body with the right powers would have the authority to:

  • Support system transformation across health board boundaries
  • Play a national leadership role in service improvement
  • Collect and analyse data to improve performance
  • Improve patient outcomes across clinical specialties, public health and inequalities
  • Provide strong governance and accountability to ensure that the NHS in Wales gets the best value from its combined resources.

Dr Abrie Theron, chair of Academy of Medical Royal Colleges in Wales, said: "I cannot see how the Welsh NHS is going to implement the changes needed for a Covid recovery without a NHS Executive team facilitating health boards working together as one for the patients of Wales."

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Source: The National, 22 November 2021

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Calls for halt to mesh surgery after surgeon struck off

Calls are being made for an immediate suspension of rectopexy bowel mesh surgery after the surgeon who pioneered the procedure was struck off.

Bristol surgeon Tony Dixon was removed from the medical register for serious misconduct, including performing unnecessary surgeries and fabricating patient records.

Patient safety campaigners and MPs say there is now growing concern over the credibility of his research, which underpins the procedure used to treat bowel conditions.

Kath Sansom, founder of the patient-led campaign group Sling the Mesh, said: "The government must suspend rectopexy mesh procedures immediately and launch a full review."

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence there are "well‑recognised, serious but infrequent complications" with this type of surgery.

But Ms Sansom said: "Women have suffered horrific complications - pain, mesh erosion where it slices into nearby organs and tissues, nerve damage - and many were never warned.

"Our rectopexy members suffer some of the most horrific life-changing complications, including a high number now living with stoma bags as a result."

Mr Dixon pioneered the LVMR (laparoscopic ventral mesh rectopexy) procedure and promoted it through a series of studies.

But two separate tribunals found him to have performed operations on five patients without obtaining informed consent and that one of these procedures was not clinically indicated.

They also found that he failed to provide post operative care and to have dishonestly created patient records long after he was involved in their care.

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Source: BBC News, 4 September 2025

 

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Calls for greater access to rapid patient testing for GPs

The Royal College of GPs (RCGP) has stressed the importance of GPs having rapid access to testing results for patients, as newly-released research highlights the role general practice is playing during the coronavirus pandemic.

Released by Queen Mary University of London, and published in the British Journal of General Practice, the research showed GPs and their teams were continuing to deliver frontline care to NHS patients with both Covid and non-Covid conditions.

The active role of GPs in the COVID-19 response is nothing new or surprising, though notably the Queen Mary research focused in heavily on ‘suspected’ cases of Covid, due to limited community testing throughout the pandemic, giving a clearer picture of the primary patient group using general practice services.

Responding to the research, Professor Martin Marshall, Chair of the RCGP, said: “This data shows the significant role GPs and our teams have played in tackling Covid-19 and delivering care to patients during the pandemic – and how the virus has impacted on all parts of the health and care services.

“General practice has been open throughout the pandemic with GPs and our teams continuing to deliver the vast majority of NHS patient care to patients with both Covid and non-Covid conditions."

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Source: National Health Executive, 8 September 2020

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Calls for compensation scheme for UK frontline workers with long Covid

Boris Johnson is being urged to launch a compensation scheme for frontline workers who are suffering from the long-term effects of coronavirus.

The all-party parliamentary group on coronavirus said the prime minister should recognise long Covid as an occupational disease, saying some sufferers have found it hard to return to work. 

A letter, signed by more than 60 MPs and peers, has been sent to Johnson.

Layla Moran, the APPG’s chair, said: “Long Covid is the hidden health crisis of the pandemic, and it is likely to have an enormous impact on society for many years to come.

“When it comes to frontline NHS, care and key workers, they were specifically asked to go to work and save lives while everyone else was asked to stay at home."

“They were exposed to an increased level of risk of catching the virus, often without adequate levels of PPE.”

The group wants the government to follow France, Germany, Belgium and Denmark, which have formally recognised Covid as an “occupational disease”.

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Source: The Guardian, 18 February 2021

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Calls for action over unregulated care workers after NHS mental health abuse scandal exposed

Unregulated healthcare workers are a risk to the most vulnerable patients, a former victim’s commissioner has warned after The Independent and Sky News uncovered a “horrifying” sexual abuse scandal within NHS mental health services.

Dame Vera Baird called for a formal framework for healthcare assistants and support workers, who do not have a mandatory professional register like doctors and nurses and can “come in and go out from one hospital to another” without the same thorough checks.

Dame Vera told The Independent that the setup did not lead to a “very safe way of working” because healthcare assistants are “in an environment where they are responsible for vulnerable people”.

“If there has been abuse from mental health care assistants who are also agency staff who are coming in and going out from one hospital to another, that needs to be looked at,” she said.

“This is not a very safe way of working. Some kind of framework around agency staff seems to be very important [to have].”

She warned that sexual predators may go into mental health services and work in units where patients can be “highly sexualised”, prompting a “dreadful combination”.

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Source: The Independent, 30 January 2024

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Calls for 11,000 more school nurses in UK as children’s needs grow

The UK needs at least 11,000 more school nurses to deal with the increasingly complex needs of young people after the pandemic, and help prevent them from developing serious mental health problems, researchers and campaigners say.

The number of school nurses has fallen by 35% in the last five years to about 2,000, and research by Oxford Brookes University, the University of Birmingham and the Oxford Health NHS foundation trust has found that a lack of long-term investment has resulted in many local areas scrapping the roles altogether.

The researchers surveyed 78 school nurses who shared feelings of exhaustion, stress and low morale, said Dr Georgia Cook, a researcher at Oxford Brookes University.

“Policymakers need to recognise and promote the integral role of school nurses in carrying out preventive public health work,” Cook said. “This should be supported by a sufficient workforce though, and bolstering school nurse numbers will be key to meeting the increasingly complex needs of children and young people in the wake of the pandemic.”

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Source: The Guardian, 2 May 2023

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Call-before-you-walk: Acutely ill patients being diverted from A&E departments, GPs warn

Acutely ill patients requiring emergency care are being diverted to their GP via the new NHS 111 First call-before-you-walk A&E triage system, Pulse has learned.

GPs have reported receiving inappropriate NHS 111 referrals including:

  • an acutely dizzy elderly patient who was later confirmed to have had a posterior circulation stroke; 
  • a patient with acute coronary syndrome; and
  • a patient with acute UTI symptoms.

Meanwhile, GPs are also warning that patients are using the triage system as a way of ‘jumping the queue’ because the route is likely to get them an appointment quicker than calling their practice.

From this month, patients in England are being asked to call 111 before attending A&Es – with 111 triaging them to the most appropriate service, including GP practices.

Scottish patients are also being asked to phone ahead of attending A&E; while pilots are ongoing in Northern Ireland; and Wales is in the process of rolling out a ‘contact first’ model following summer pilots.

The BMA has said the influx of inappropriate referrals by NHS 111 is likely being ‘compounded’ by the new 111 First system, which is ‘contributing to the immense pressures currently facing primary care’.

GPs have raised concerns about several cases in which patients should not have been sent to them by 111 because they required more urgent care.

One GP, who asked not to be named, told Pulse: "I had a patient with UTI symptoms – a temperature of 39°C, a heart rate of 140, nausea and abdomen/loin pain. They were told: speak to your GP."

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Source: Pulse, 21 December 2020

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Call to suspend medics under police investigation

A Sussex woman is calling for medical professionals to be suspended during police investigations to safeguard both patients and practitioners.

Charlotte Smart said her mother, Sarah Shaddock, was paralysed and had to use a wheelchair following an operation at a hospital in Brighton.

Ms Smart said there was a "troubling gap" regarding surgeons or consultants who were under active investigation by the police.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said the General Medical Council (GMC) could request an interim restriction on a clinician's registration if there was thought to be "an immediate risk to patient safety".

The care Ms Smart's mother received from the University Hospitals Sussex NHS Trust at the Royal Sussex County hospital is being investigated by Sussex Police as part of Operation Bramber, which is looking into at least 200 cases of alleged medical negligence.

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Source: BBC, Tuesday 26 August 2025

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Call to prioritise minority ethnic groups for Covid vaccines

People in high-risk minority ethnic groups must be prioritised for Covid immunisations, alongside a targeted publicity campaign, experts and politicians have said amid growing concerns over vaccine scepticism.

With figures on Monday recording more than 4m Covid vaccine doses now administered across the UK, and the rollout being expanded to all over-70s, public health experts and MPs called for black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities to be better protected.

The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) has also raised concerns after research showed up to 72% of black people said they were unlikely or very unlikely to have the jab.

Prof Martin Marshall, chair of the Royal College of GPs, urged Whitehall to begin a public health campaign. “We are concerned that recent reports show that people within BAME communities are not only more likely to be adversely affected by the virus but also less likely to accept the Covid vaccine, when offered it,” he said.

“As such, where appropriate, we’re calling for public health communications to be tailored to patients in BAME communities, to reassure them about the efficacy and safety of the vaccine and ultimately encourage them to come forward for their vaccination when they are invited for it.”

His remarks came as the vaccines minister, Nadhim Zahawi, admitted he feared some BAME communities could remain exposed to coronavirus despite high expected uptake of the jabs.

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Source: The Guardian, 18 January 2021

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Call to overhaul obesity diagnoses amid fears of over-reliance on BMI

Doctors are proposing a “radical overhaul” of how obesity is diagnosed worldwide amid concerns that a reliance on body mass index may be causing millions of people to be misdiagnosed.

More than 1 billion people are thought to be living with the condition that for decades has been diagnosed by measuring a person’s BMI (their ratio of height to weight) to estimate the amount of excess body fat they have.

However, there are fears BMI on its own is not a “reliable measure” of an individual’s health and may be resulting in both under- and over-diagnosis of obesity, with “negative consequences” for those affected and wider society.

Dozens of the world’s leading experts across a broad range of medical specialisms – including endocrinology, internal medicine, surgery, biology, nutrition and public health – are now calling for a “reframing” of the condition that is causing major harm on every continent and costing countries billions.

Prof Francesco Rubino, the chair of the Lancet commission which produced the report, said the changes would provide an opportunity for health systems globally to adopt a universal, clinically relevant definition of obesity and a more accurate method for its diagnosis.

He said: “The question of whether obesity is a disease is flawed because it presumes an implausible all-or-nothing scenario where obesity is either always a disease or never a disease. Evidence, however, shows a more nuanced reality. Some individuals with obesity can maintain normal organs’ function and overall health, even long term, whereas others display signs and symptoms of severe illness here and now."

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Source: The Guardian, 14 January 2024

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Call to give UK cancer patients legal right to be treated within two months

Cancer patients should have the legal right to be treated within two months, even if that means the NHS has to pay for them to be treated privately or abroad, according to international experts.

Writing in the Lancet Oncology, they say cancer patients should have the legally enforceable entitlement to be treated within 62 days of an urgent referral by a GP.

This would bring the UK in line with Denmark, where cancer patients already have a statutory right to timely treatment.

International research shows that every four weeks of delay in cancer treatment increases the risk of death by up to 10%. But the NHS has not met its target for 85% of cancer patients to start treatment within 62 days since December 2015.

he authors argue that without legal rights in the UK, the government’s forthcoming national cancer plan risks being a paper exercise that will fail to get the UK off the bottom of cancer survival league tables.

“The concern is that the [cancer plan] will be a consensus plan to appease multiple stakeholders, rather than to provide radical, accountable, independent leadership,” the Lancet paper concludes.

Statutory rights to timely treatment would cut waiting lists and improve survival rates, the experts argue. Eduardo Pisani, a co-author of the paper and chief executive of All.Can, a global nonprofit that aims to improve cancer care efficiency, said: “International evidence shows that strong cancer plans, supported by legal rights, ensure patients have guaranteed access to timely, high-quality care. This protection promotes early treatment, reduces inequalities and ultimately improves health outcomes.”

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Source: The Guardian, 6 November 2025

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Call to change ‘outdated’ prostate cancer guidance that could be putting lives at risk

“Outdated” guidance on prostate cancer could be putting men’s lives at risk, a charity has said.

Prostate Cancer UK said that men at high risk of the disease can get a test, but only if they request one.

It said that GPs are told not to raise the issue with men unless they have symptoms.

But most men with early prostate cancer – when it is easiest to treat – do not have any signs or symptoms.

Chiara De Biase, director of health services, equity and improvement at Prostate Cancer UK, said: “We simply can’t continue with a system where men at high risk of prostate cancer can get a test – but only if they know to request one.

“This outdated guidance is failing both men and their clinicians, making health inequalities worse and putting lives at risk. It’s about time that changed.

She added: “We know that a lot of men don’t come forward because they think they’ll be invited as part of routine tests – when this simply isn’t true".

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Source: The Independent, 12 June 2024

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Call to allow ‘safe and effective’ at-home abortions up to 12 weeks in UK

At-home abortions should be allowed for up to 12 weeks of pregnancy across the UK, according to academics, after a study found they were just as safe and effective as hospital care.

A medical abortion involves taking two medications, mifepristone and misoprostol, to end a pregnancy. In 2022, at-home medical abortions were made permanent in England and Wales, after temporary legislation allowed them to take place at home during the pandemic. In Northern Ireland, at-home abortion care is not permitted at any gestation.

Despite the World Health Organization (WHO) recommending that early medical abortions can occur safely at home in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, legislation across England and Wales limits this to 10 weeks.

The study, published in BMJ Sexual & Reproductive Health, looked at the outcomes of abortions carried out between 10 and 12 weeks of pregnancy in hospital and at home across NHS Lothian in Scotland, between 2020 and 2025. At-home medical abortions are legal in Scotland up to 12 weeks.

During this period, 14,458 referrals were made to the abortion service, and of these 485 women (3.5%) were assessed as being between 10 and 12 weeks of pregnancy either by the date of their last period or by an ultrasound scan.

The researchers found that 97% of abortions were successful for both groups of women.

They also found cases of serious complications, such as heavy bleeding or infection, one month after the procedure among those who had opted for a medical abortion at home. But despite this, the researchers concluded it was a rare complication among women who are less than 20 weeks pregnant.

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Source: The Guardian, 

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Call for surgery hubs to tackle NHS backlog

Surgeons are calling for specialist hubs in England to help tackle what they call a "colossal backlog" of non-urgent operations because of COVID-19.

The Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) wants a network of hospital sites focused on routine surgery, such as hip and knee replacements.

The government says it is working "to accelerate the recovery of services".

In March, around five million patients were waiting for surgery - the highest number since modern records began.

Prof Neil Mortensen, president of the RCS, said the pandemic has had a devastating impact on surgical services - and that it must not be allowed to happen again.

"Surgery must be available on the NHS all year round, not stop and start," he said, adding that a "New Deal for Surgery" was required to help weather future pandemics. If a dangerous new variant of COVID-19 takes hold, or another bad flu arrives in the autumn, we cannot allow surgery to grind to a halt again or waiting lists will become insurmountable."

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Source: BBC News, 28 May 2021

 

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Call for national guidelines on discussing past trauma in maternity appointments

National guidelines are needed to help maternity care professionals navigate discussions with pregnant women about past traumas, experts have said.

Their study, published in the journal Plos One, also found that while talking about previously experienced traumas can be valuable, they can also trigger painful memories if not approached sensitively.

The authors also raised concerns about the support available for professionals who may not feel equipped to explore challenging topics such as domestic or sexual abuse, childhood trauma and birth trauma without adequate guidelines or referral pathways.

Joanne Cull, a midwife and PhD student at the University of Central Lancashire’s School of Community Health and Midwifery, who is corresponding author on the study, said: “As awareness of the long-term effects of trauma on health and wellbeing has grown, there has been a move toward asking pregnant women about previous trauma, usually at the first appointment.

“No national guidance on this has been published in the UK so NHS Trusts have implemented this on a piecemeal approach.”

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Source: The Independent, 17 May 2023

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Call for medical notes alert for maternity scandal families

When Kayleigh Griffiths lost her baby daughter, Pippa, in 2016 through maternity failings in Shropshire, she had no idea how many times she would have to retell her traumatic story at future medical appointments.

She has worked to get a so-called "Ockenden alert" on her medical notes – an idea which came out of meetings with other traumatised families.

Donna Ockenden is the senior midwife who led the 2022 review which found more than 200 babies and nine mothers in Shropshire could have survived with better care.

Mrs Grifiths wants the alert to be offered to more affected families, and eventually to people nationally.

She said it meant health workers "can see that alert and have a look at what that means for us".

"And it might just mean that they take a bit of extra time to read our notes, to understand what our history is, so that we don't have to keep going over that same story at every single appointment because it is retraumatising," she added.

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Source: BBC News, 28 November 2025

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Call for investigation of menstrual changes after Covid jabs

Changes to periods and unexpected vaginal bleeding after having a Covid vaccine should be investigated to reassure women, says a leading immunologist specialising in fertility.

Writing in the BMJ, Dr Victoria Male, from Imperial College London, said the body's immune response was the likely cause, not something in the vaccines. There is no evidence they have any impact on pregnancy or fertility.

The UK's regulator has received more than 30,000 reports of period problems. These include heavier than usual periods, delayed periods and unexpected bleeding after all three Covid vaccines, out of more than 47 million doses given to women in the UK to date.

After reviewing the reports, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) says it "does not support a link" between Covid vaccines and the symptoms.

However, writing in an opinion piece in the BMJ, Dr Male says "robust research" into reports of period problems would help to counter misinformation around the vaccines.

"Vaccine hesitancy among young women is largely driven by false claims that COVID-19 vaccines could harm their chances of future pregnancy. Failing to thoroughly investigate reports of menstrual changes after vaccination is likely to fuel these fears."

"If a link between vaccination and menstrual changes is confirmed, this information will allow people to plan for potentially altered cycles," she said.

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Source: BBC News, 16 September 2021

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Call for independent review into physician associates

There needs to be an independent review of physician and anaesthesia associates (PAs and AAs) in England, the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges says.

The group, which brings together leading doctors and surgeons, has been broadly supportive of the rollout of these roles which assist health care teams.

But it said given the “increasingly acrimonious and destructive debate”, fuelled by some unsubstantiated comments on social media, it was important to look into claims around safety as the campaign against them was damaging teamwork.

The British Medical Association has voiced concerns PAs and AAs are being asked to do tasks they are not meant to and the lines with doctors are getting blurred.

The number of PAs and AAs have been gradually increasing since 2016. There are now more than 3,000 in England, but the NHS workforce plan has called for them to be increased to 12,000 by 2036.

The academy, which represents 24 medical royal colleges, said there has been a growing campaign against their use “potentially fuelled by unsubstantiated claims of social media”.

Chair Dr Jeanette Dickson said: “We want an independent, evidence-based, rapid review to help us make a decision about how best to delineate their roles and where they might best fit into the system.

“What’s important is that we can objectively assess the data around safety, efficiency and cost effectiveness and make a judgement about what precise roles in healthcare may be suitable for them and what levels of responsibility they might be safely given based on the actual evidence.”

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Source: BBC News, 30 September 2024

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Call for greater protection for girls as FGM cases rise by 15% in England

Hospital and GP attendances about female genital mutilation (FGM) in England have risen by 15%, according to NHS figures, prompting a call for greater protection for girls.

There were 14,355 attendances about FGM in the 2023-24 financial year, according to NHS Digital statistics, compared with 12,475 the previous year.

There was also a rise in the number of individual women and girls who visited NHS services in regards to FGM, from 5,870 in 2022-23 to 6,655 in 2023-24. Attendances are a different measurement as an individual can have several attendances in a year.

The head of Barnardo’s National FGM Centre said FGM was a form of child abuse. “More needs to be done to protect girls – and to offer support for all those affected,” Rohma Ullah said. “That support just isn’t available at the moment.”

The prevention of FGM needed to be treated as a public health issue, she said.

“Change must come from working within communities who are affected by it, and local authorities need to develop strategies that allow for dialogue with their communities.

“It is also vital to introduce mandatory training for anyone who works to support children and vulnerable adults. That training should focus on how to spot the signs of girls who might be at risk or who have undergone FGM – as well as how to alert the relevant support services.”

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Source: The Guardian, 19 September 2024

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Call for bosses to quit at hospital that tried to conceal blunders

Executives in charge of the health secretary’s crisis-hit local hospital are facing calls to step down after The Sunday Times raised serious questions about attempts to cover up catastrophic medical mistakes.

West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds had placed Dr Patricia Mills, one of its most senior consultants, under disciplinary investigation after she had voiced concerns about blunders that had killed one patient and left another seriously brain-damaged. A number of doctors have claimed that a bullying management culture has led to staff being too afraid to speak up about patient safety concerns at the hospital.

Executives were accused of being obsessed with maintaining the hospital’s “outstanding” status in annual Care Quality Commission. One of the governors said their were "frustrations and concerns" among his fellow council members that they were being kept in the dark by the hospital's executives.

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Source: The Sunday Times, 8 March 2020

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Call for action on UK men’s health as 133,000 die early every year

More than 133,000 men die early every year in the UK, equating to 15 every hour, according to a report calling for urgent action to improve men’s health.

Two in five men are dying prematurely, before the age of 75 and often from entirely avoidable health conditions, research by the charity Movember found.

Almost two in three men – 64% – wait more than a week before visiting a doctor with symptoms, while 48% believe it is normal practice to avoid health check-ups. Less than 40% take up the offer of an NHS health check for which they are eligible.

“The report findings should serve as a wake-up call to the unacceptable state of men’s health across the UK,” said Michelle Terry, the chief executive of Movember. “For too long, men’s health has been relegated to the sidelines of broader health conversations. Men’s health doesn’t exist in a vacuum.”

The report found the health of men in the UK was worse than in many other wealthy countries, while those living in the UK’s most deprived regions are 81% more likely to die prematurely than those in the wealthiest.

William Roberts, the chief executive of the Royal Society for Public Health, said: “Too many men are dying too young and too many men experience poor health due to preventable conditions.

“It is critical that we address the underlying causes of poor men’s health. Men’s health affects us all and we need to see it as a critical part of a healthy nation.”

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Source: The Guardian, 17 July 2024

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Call for action following latest 'Never Events' report

The Association for Perioperative Practice (AfPP) is calling for action to be taken after a recent report suggests little progress has been made to prevent errors within the perioperative environment.

The patient safety charity made the call following the release of NHS Improvement’s latest Never Event report; Provisional publication of Never Events reported as occurring between 1 April and 31 December 2019, which revealed an alarming 81% (284) of the never events recorded happened while a patient was on the operating table.

Lindsay Keeley, patient safety and quality lead at AfPP said: “The survey highlighted that there’s a need to take action now if we are to support the healthcare profession in reducing the occurrence of never events. It has become clear that receptive team culture, a strong leadership team and better support for staff is what will help to reduce the risk of a never event occurring. It’s vital that those in leadership positions begin to understand the contributory factors in the recurrence of never events and the challenges faced by staff."

She went on to highlight some of the recent initiative taking place: “What is promising is that there are practitioners who are developing new, practical and simple solutions every day that can support other team members and can be used within theatres across the country."

"One example is Rob Tomlinson’s introduction of the 10,000 Feet initiative – a safety initiative designed to cut through noise and distraction within the theatre environment, particularly at critical points of the patient’s journey. If correctly implemented, initiatives like this can cut through the hierarchies that stop people feeling unable to speak up when they see something that shouldn’t be happening, thus reducing the occurrence of never events"

“We of course need to be mindful that there will always be challenges within perioperative practice in the form of interruptions and distractions, but the key is how as practitioners we engage with this to recognise and reduce never events.”

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Source: Clinical Services Journal, 25 February 2020

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Call 999 over early heart attack symptoms, urges new NHS campaign

A life-saving campaign is being launched by the NHS to urge people to learn how to spot signs of a heart attack.

The survival rate for heart attack sufferers is seven in 10, rising to nine in 10 for those who have early hospital treatment.

The most common sign of a heart attack is chest pain, but other symptoms to look out for include chest, arm, jaw, neck, back and stomach pain, lightheadedness or dizziness, sweating, shortness of breath, nausea, vomiting, anxiety, coughing and wheezing.

The health service are encouraging anyone experiencing these indicators to call 999.

It comes after a poll found found that fewer than half of people knew to dial 999 if they or a loved one experienced the more vague signs of a heart attack.

Another priority of the campaign is to teach people how to differentiate between a heart attack and cardiac arrest.

According to the health service, there is often no warning and the person quickly loses consciousness when they suffer cardiac arrest.

Those experiencing a cardiac arrest will usually die within minutes if they do not receive treatment.

It also points out that a heart attack can lead to a cardiac arrest.

NHS medical director Professor Stephen Powis said: “Sadly, cardiovascular disease causes a quarter of all deaths across the country and we have identified this as the single biggest area where we can save lives over the next decade.

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Source: 13 February 2022

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