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Biden vows to crack down on poorest-performing nursing homes in the US

The White House has announced plans to boost nursing home staffing and oversight, blaming some of the 200,000-plus covid deaths of nursing home residents and staff during the pandemic on inadequate conditions.

Officials said the plan would set minimum staffing levels, reduce the use of shared rooms and crack down on the poorest-performing nursing homes to reduce the risk of residents contracting infectious diseases. The White House also said it planned to scrutinise the role of private equity firms, citing data that their ownership was linked with worse outcomes and higher costs.

Nursing homes have been an epicenter of covid spread during the pandemic, as the virus initially tore through facilities before vaccines were available in 2020, and then continued to sicken and kill residents at an elevated rate last year. Advocates have demanded better policies to ensure the facilities are prepared for emergencies and follow practices to curb the spread of infections.

Under Biden’s plan, officials at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will propose minimum staffing levels within the next year, which the White House said would improve safety by ensuring residents receive sufficient care and attention. The administration also cited a study that found increased staffing levels were linked with fewer covid cases and deaths.

The nursing home industry has warned that the pandemic has exacerbated long-running staffing shortages, noting that roughly 420,000 employees in nursing homes and long-term care facilities, many of whom complained about low pay, have departed over the last two years.

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Source: The Washington Post, 28 February 2022

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Biden administration plans for new booster campaign soon after labor day

The Biden administration plans to offer the next generation of coronavirus booster shots to Americans 12 and older soon after Labor Day, a campaign that federal officials hope will reduce deaths from Covid-19 and protect against an expected winter surge.

Dr. Peter Marks, the top vaccine regulator for the Food and Drug Administration, said in an interview on Tuesday that while he could not discuss timing, his team was close to authorizing updated doses that would target the versions of the virus now circulating.

Even though those formulations have not been tested in humans, he said, the agency has “extremely good” data showing that the shots are safe and will be effective. “How confident am I?” he said. “I’m extremely confident.”

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Source: The New York Times (23 August 2022)

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Biden administration imposes first-ever staff minimum for nursing homes

The Biden administration set a first-ever minimum staffing rule for nursing homes Monday, making good on the president’s promise more than two years ago to seek improvements in care for the nation’s 1.2 million nursing home residents. 

The final rule, proposed in September, requires a registered nurse to be on-site in every skilled nursing facility for 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It mandates enough staff to provide every resident with at least 3.48 hours of care each day. And it beefs up rules for assessing the care needs of every resident, which will boost staff numbers above the minimum to care for sicker residents.

For a facility with 100 residents, it translates to a minimum of two or three registered nurses and at least 10 or 11 nurse aides per shift, as well as two additional staffers who could be nurses or aides per shift, according to the administration’s interpretation of its new formula. Set to phase in over the next few years, the mandate will replace the current vague standard that gives operators wide latitude on how to staff their facilities.

While the administration has said the rule will improve care, industry lobbyists have said it’s unworkable, with staffing goals that will be impossible to achieve because of a shortage of workers.

The administration received 47,000 public comments on the rule since it was proposed last September. They included observations of people lying in their own filth for hours, not being fed appropriately and being left on the floor too long after falling, Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra said in an interview Monday.

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Source: Washington Post, 22 April 2024

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Beware ill-fitting menstrual cups, warn doctors

Doctors are advising women to take care using menstrual cups, after one user developed temporary kidney problems because the cup was misaligned.

The patient, in her 30s, had been experiencing intermittent pelvic pain and blood in her urine for months, but had not linked the symptoms to the menstrual cup, which is used to catch monthly blood flow.

Although exceedingly rare, a poorly positioned cup inside the vaginal passage can press on other nearby structures, such as ureters - tubes carrying urine to the bladder, according to Danish doctors quoted in the British Medical Journal, external.

Selecting the appropriate size cup is important, as well as inserting it properly, doctors have stressed.

The patient made a complete recovery, but doctors have warned: "Correct positioning, along with choosing the correct cup shape and size, is important to prevent negative effects on the upper urinary tract.

"Menstrual cups can be bought and used without clinical advice from a health professional, which emphasises the importance of detailed and clear patient information material."

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Source: BBC News, 11 February 2025

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Better tech: not a ‘nice to have’ but vital to have for the NHS

In a keynote speech at the Healthtech Alliance on Tuesday, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Matt Hancock, stressed how important adopting technology in healthcare is and why he believes that it is vital for the NHS to move into the digital era. 

“Today I want to set out the future for technology in the NHS and why the techno-pessimists are wrong. Because for any organisation to be the best it possibly can be, rejecting the best possible technology is a mistake.”

Listing examples from endless paperwork to old systems resulting in wasted blood samples, Hancock highlights why in order to retain staff and see a thriving healthcare, embracing technology must be a priority.

He also announced a £140m Artificial Intelligence (AI) competition to speed up testing and delivery of potential NHS tools. The competition will cover all stages of the product cycle, to proof of concept to real-world testing to initial adoption in the NHS.

Examples of AI use currently being trialled were set out in the speech, including using AI to read mammograms, predict and prevent the risk of missed appointments and AI-assisted pathways for same-day chest X-ray triage.

Tackling the issue of scalability, Hancock said, “Too many good ideas in the NHS never make it past the pilot stage. We need a culture that rewards and incentivises adoption as well as invention.”

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Better NHS care might have saved 58 babies, BBC finds

At least 58 babies at an NHS maternity unit might have survived with better care, a BBC investigation has found.

The deaths included 32 stillbirths and 26 neonatal deaths - which is a death within 28 days - at Oxford University Hospitals Trust (OUH) between 2019 and 2024, according to a Freedom of Information request.

Bereaved and harmed mothers have blamed missed chances, "arrogance" among some senior doctors and a "defensive culture".

In a statement, OUH said it was sorry some mothers have had experiences that have left them feeling this way.

It added the figures included mothers and babies who were referred to the trust for specialist care from across the region and every baby death was reviewed in detail to "fully understand what happened and whether improvements are required".

Laura Cook, a partner at Medilaw, told the BBC: "They carry out a tick-box exercise with internal reviews to look like nothing could have been done, it forces families to go to lawyers who then find there's more to it... it puts families through hell.

"What stands out with Oxford is its defensiveness, it's clear that reputation is of the upmost importance, it's not the same with other trusts."

The trust said it recognises some families remain dissatisfied and it takes feedback seriously.

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Source: BBC News, 19 March 2026

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Better diagnosis of FASD in children needed

An adoptive mother is calling for the NHS to improve its diagnosis for children exposed to alcohol in the womb, so their families can be helped.

Amanda Boorman's two sons have Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) but they were not diagnosed correctly. She said: "This is a brain and body condition that is lifelong so really the professionals need to step up."

Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) covers the various health and mental issues which can affect children.

A spokesperson for the Department for Health and Social Care said: "We are committed to reducing future cases of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) and we have asked NICE [National Institute for Healthcare Excellence] to produce a Quality Standard in England for FASD to help the health and care system improve diagnosis and care of those affected.

"We have also published England's first Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Health Needs Assessment to improve the lives of families living with it and increase understanding amongst clinicians and policy makers."

Mrs Boorman, from Brent Knoll in Somerset, said: "There's no way an adoptive parent should ever have to go to a chief executive of a hospital and say 'what is your strategy for diagnosing FASD?' What needs to happen is that clinical commissioning groups, the boards of those, chief executives in hospitals, directors of children's services, social care and education need to be much more proactive."

"What we've seen is reactive or just not really knowing - it's complete ignorance."

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Source: BBC News. 7 October 2021

 

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Betsi Cadwaladr: More patient deaths may be linked to treatment

More families have been told by a health board that their relatives' deaths may have been linked to treatment by vascular services.

Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB) has written to families who were part of a review after concerns were raised last year.

Four cases had already been reported to a coroner and the health board says it has been "very open" with relatives of other patients.

The service has recently been described by inspectors as making "satisfactory progress", but the health board admit it is still on a "long journey".

A report by the Royal College of Surgeons England (RCSE) in January 2022 found risks to patient safety due, in part, to poor record keeping.

It recommended to the health board that it investigate fully what happened to the 47 patients its report focused on.

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Source: BBC News, 13 July 2023

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Betsi Cadwaladr did not discuss resuscitation decision with family

A health board has apologised to the family of a patient after medical staff failed to consult with them over a decision not to resuscitate her.

While the decision was clinically justified, the public services ombudsman for Wales said Betsi Cadwaladr health board did not discuss it with the patient and her family.

The ombudsman, Michelle Morris, also upheld a complaint by the patient's daughter, identified only as Miss A, that her mother's discharge from Ysbyty Gwynedd in Bangor was "inappropriate" and that insufficient steps were taken to ensure her needs could be safely met at home.

The final complaint, which was also upheld, was that medics failed to communicate with the family about the deteriorating condition of the patient, identified as Mrs B, which meant a family visit was not arranged before she died.

In her report she said the Covid pandemic had contributed to the failings, but added "this was a serious injustice to the family".

As well as apologising to the family, she asked that all medical staff at Ysbyty Gwynedd and Ysbyty Penrhos Stanley be reminded of the importance of following the proper procedure when deciding when a patient should not be resuscitated.

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Source: BBC News, 6 February 2023

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Best NHS leaders should take on ‘biggest challenges’, says chief inspector

The NHS needs its best leaders to be prepared to take on “the biggest challenges” despite the risk of criticism, the Care Quality Commission’s chief inspector has said.

At its monthly meeting, the CQC board was discussing how three previously ‘inadequate’-rated trusts – United Hospitals Lincolnshire Trust, Isle of Wight Trust and The Queen Elizabeth’s Hospital Kings Lynn FT – have all recently moved out of ‘special measures’, following improved reports from inspectors.

In response, Professor Ted Baker said that at each of the trusts a “new approach to leadership had changed the culture”, and despite still being under “particular pressure” they were able to drive forward “major improvements”.

He was “grateful” for the three leaders at the trusts for taking on the leadership challenge. 

Professor Baker said: “One of my concerns is leaders are not attracted to these posts, as they feel they are posts where they can be easily criticised. The best NHS leaders need to take on the biggest challenges.”

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Source: HSJ, 23 February 2022

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Best and worst-performing NHS Trusts in England named

New league tables rating the performance of NHS trusts in England have been published for the first time, external, with specialist hospitals taking the top slots.

Number one is Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, followed by the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust and cancer centre the Christie NHS Foundation Trust.

At the bottom is Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King's Lynn, which has had major problems with its buildings because of structural weaknesses and the need for props to hold up ceilings.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting said the tables would help inform the public and allow them to exercise choice - but trusts have questioned whether they were using the right metrics.

The rankings score NHS trusts on seven different areas including waiting times for operations, cancer treatment, time spent in A&E and ambulance response times.

Their finances are also assessed, and it is possible that a hospital rated highly for clinical care will be marked down if they are running up a larger than expected deficit.

They are then sorted into four categories, the first of which reflecting the best performers and the last listing the worst.

The public will be able to use the league tables check the performance of their local hospital, ambulance service or mental health trust.

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Source: BBC News, 9 September 2025

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Best and worst trusts to work at, according to bank staff

NHS bank staff are almost always more likely to recommend their employer as a good place to work than permanent staff.

Results published this week found that 67% of responding bank staff would recommend their organisation as a place to work. This compares to 60% of substantive staff. The bank staff score increased slightly on last year, while that for salaried staff fell – again marginally.  

The survey, which is coordinated by Picker on behalf of NHS England, revealed a quarter (25.3% of bank staff reported experiencing at least one incident of physical violence from patients and the public in the last 12 months

The proportion of bank workers experiencing discrimination from patients and the public has also risen, from 13.1 to 14.8%.

Other results from the survey showed improvements in work-life balance and a reduction in burnout rates.

Picker Group chief executive Chris Picker said: “These latest results paint a mixed picture of life as a bank-only worker in the NHS.

“While many continue to benefit from the flexibility and improved work-life balance offered by bank roles, rising reports of incidents of violence and discrimination from patients and the public are a cause for concern, particularly for the many bank nursing and healthcare assistants reporting experiences of these unacceptable behaviours.”

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Source: HSJ, 17 April 2025

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Bereaved left in limbo by report delays, says mum

The mother of a man who took his own life said bereaved families would be left "in limbo" by a mental health trust's serious incident report delays.

Local health officials have raised concerns over the "timeliness" of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust's (CPFT) reports.

Maria Nowshadi, whose son James died in 2020, said they should be done quickly "so there's answers for families".

Ms Nowshadi said: "These investigations should happen in a timely, quick manner so there's answers for families, but also in case there's any learning to be had... to make sure there's no further deaths that happen in the same way, because of any errors within the system."

She said when the original date the report was due to be completed passed, she "reached the stage where I was looking at the mailbox every day". She said she told a patient liaison officer: "This is actually starting to affect my mental health.

The chief nurse at Cambridgeshire and Peterborough's Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), Carol Anderson, said there were "concerns... [around] serious incident processes and reporting" at CPFT.

A CCG spokeswoman added they had agreed an extension with CPFT "for the completion of serious incident reports due to additional pressures due to the pandemic and staff redeployment".

"Our overall concern is the timeliness of serious incident reporting, so that we can ensure that learning is put in place as soon as possible," she added.

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Source: BBC News, 17 November 2021

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Bereaved families’ fears over plans for national maternity taskforce

The first details of the government’s new national maternity and neonatal taskforce have emerged in a letter sent to families, reports the New Statesman.

The document confirms the group will be chaired by Wes Streeting MP, with Women’s health minister Baroness Merron as his deputy. The taskforce will have around 15 members in total and be up and running early in the new year. It will be tasked with turning the recommendations from the national maternity and neonatal investigation into a national action plan.

Three of its 15 members will represent families, and each of those voices will be part of a wider “reference group” of 15-20 families. However, some have expressed concerns about the plans as not reflecting feedback sent by bereaved and harmed families back to the government in July.

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Source: The New Statesman (21 November 2025)

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Bereaved families demand ‘core’ role in UK Covid inquiry as ‘investigative’ phase begins

Families who lost loved ones during the pandemic have demanded to play a central role in the UK’s Covid-19 inquiry, which launches its investigative phase tomorrow.

The inquiry has already consulted with different groups, businesses, academics and officials from a variety of sectors involved in the pandemic response to review which areas warrant scrutiny and how to structure proceedings.

This includes Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice, a campaign group of over 6,000 people who have lost a loved one to coronavirus.

The group has repeatedly sought assurances from the inquiry it will be granted a ‘core participant’ status once applications open. This which would allow families to give evidence, ask questions during proceedings, access all disclosed documents, and recommend people to be interviewed.

However, Elkan Abrahamson, a lawyer who is representing the group in the inquiry, said it was unclear how the inquiry would select core participants and expressed concern that the bereaved families won’t play a central role.

“The feeling from the bereaved at the consultation stage was that the chair was sympathetic. They were happy with how that went,” Mr Abrahamson said.

“[But] given we represent the largest group of bereaved in the UK, we’re not experiencing a sense of co-operation that we would normally expect to have reached by this stage. Their lawyers are happy to meet with us, but the questions we ask them aren’t being properly answered.”

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Source: The Independent, 20 July 2022

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Bereaved families could be forced to turn to ambulance-chasing claims firms, in fight for justice

Plans to cap legal costs for NHS mistakes that lead to deaths of newborns could leave the bereaved at the mercy of 'ambulance-chasing' claims firms, a former Lord Chancellor has warned. Health officials have drawn up plans to limit spending in cases where damages are worth less than £25,000. This covers around eight in ten medical negligence claims, including the deaths of newborns, and stillbirths - where Britain’s record is among the worst in the developed world. Ministers have said the changes will stop “unscrupulous law firms” receiving excessive legal costs that dwarf the damages received by victims. However, Lord Falconer, Lord Chancellor under Tony Blair, raised fears that the measures could see established law firms leave the market  and be replaced by unregulated claim management companies. 

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Source: The Telegraph, 6 July 2019

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Bereaved families continue to wait for Essex mental health inquiry

Bereaved relatives have accused ministers of dragging their feet over an inquiry into the death of almost 2,000 patients across NHS mental health trusts in Essex.

The inquiry has still not started more than eight months after the announcement that it would be relaunched with beefed-up powers.

In June last year, the government gave in to pressure from families and the then chair of the inquiry, granting it legal powers to compel witnesses to give evidence. In December, the new terms of reference were sent to ministers, setting out what the inquiry will investigate.

But the terms of reference have yet to be approved by ministers, leaving relatives frustrated, with another “unnecessary” death reported a few weeks ago.

Melanie Leahy, whose son, Matthew, died at the Linden Centre in Chelmsford in 2012, said: “I know that this inquiry, the first of its kind nationally, if carried out in a timely and comprehensively investigative manner, it has the power to prevent more deaths, not just in Essex but all over the UK.

“Why am I and all the other bereaved families and injured individuals still waiting? Worse, why are we being met with such callous and terrifying indifference? Why are our legal team being ignored? We can only conclude that our government simply does not care. If the government continues to drag its feet in this way then they must be held to account for their failings. If there are more deaths during this interminable wait, this government needs to be held responsible.”

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Source: The Guardian, 12 March 2024

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Bereaved families call for judge-led public inquiry into UK Covid response

The COVID-19 Bereaved Families for Justice group has told Downing Street it wants a statutory public inquiry led by a senior judge to “determine a definitive, official, evidence-based narrative of what did and did not happen, independent of political influence” during the pandemic. The group considers it potentially cathartic and wants the families’ grief heard.

Frontline health workers also want a wide-ranging inquiry to provide a platform for their experiences, while minority ethnic leaders believe an inquiry can only determine what went wrong if wider societal inequalities relating to work, health and housing are investigated.

But while there is no dissent about the need for an inquiry, others fear this remit might be too broad – and fear lessons have to be learned now so the UK can properly protect itself from any future health emergency.

Sir John Bell, the regius professor of medicine at Oxford University, and Lord O’Donnell, head of the civil service under Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and David Cameron, want a different model more narrowly focused on determining future actions.

Ultimately the decision will be for Boris Johnson, who has significant latitude to set the terms and scope of any inquiry, including selection of its chair.

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Source: The Guardian, 16 March 2021

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Bereaved call for body to enforce coroners’ advice

Relatives of a teenage rape survivor who died after failures by mental health services are joining other families to demand a new body to enforce coroners’ recommendations to prevent future deaths.

Campaigners claim the failure to act on hundreds of coroners’ recommendations every year, and to learn from the findings of often expensive inquiries into disasters, means the same mistakes are being repeated.

Gaia Pope, 19, was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after revealing that she had been drugged and raped when she was 16. She was found dead in undergrowth on a cliff 11 days after disappearing in Swanage, Dorset, in 2017.

After one of the longest inquests in legal history, the coroner, Rachael Griffin, made multiple reports last year to authorities including the NHS and police to prevent future deaths, but Pope’s family says most have not been acted upon.

The Inquest campaign, which works with families bereaved by state-related deaths, is calling for a “national oversight mechanism” to collate recommendations and responses in a new national database, analyse responses from public bodies, follow up on progress and share common findings.

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Source: The Times, 27 June 2023

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Benefits of ADHD medication outweigh health risks, study finds

The benefits of taking drugs for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder outweigh the impact of increases in blood pressure and heart rate, according to a new study.

An international team of researchers led by scientists from the University of Southampton found the majority of children taking ADHD medication experienced small increases in blood pressure and pulse rates, but that the drugs had “overall small effects”. They said the study’s findings highlighted the need for “careful monitoring”.

Prof Samuele Cortese, the senior lead author of the study, from the University of Southampton, said the risks and benefits of taking any medication had to be assessed together, but for ADHD drugs the risk-benefit ratio was “reassuring”.

“We found an overall small increase in blood pressure and pulse for the majority of children taking ADHD medications,” he said. “Other studies show clear benefits in terms of reductions in mortality risk and improvement in academic functions, as well as a small increased risk of hypertension, but not other cardiovascular diseases. Overall, the risk-benefit ratio is reassuring for people taking ADHD medications.”

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Source: The Guardian, 6 April 2025

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Belfast health trust boss issues first letter of apology to Dr Watt patients

Patients caught up in a massive neurology recall have received letters of apology from the head of the Belfast trust – more than a year after the scandal broke.

This is the first time trust Chief Executive Martin Dillon has corresponded with those affected, many of whom were misdiagnosed or received the wrong drug treatment while under the care of consultant neurologist Dr Michael Watt.

The letter, seen by The Irish News, contains three separate apologies from Mr Dillon and gives "assurances" on the trust's co-operation with separate health service reviews.

Mr Dillon announced his resignation this morning. He is retiring after almost three years in the trust's top post. During his tenure the trust has found itself at the centre of the biggest PSNI safeguarding investigation of its kind following allegations of patient abuse at Muckamore Abbey Hospital and is also dealing with the largest patient recall in Northern Ireland following the Dr Watt scandal.

In his statement he singled out the “very serious allegations” of mistreatment at Muckamore and the neurology recall as two “major issues” he has dealt with as chief executive. He stresses that as “accountable officer” he has been “resolute” in trying to “put things right” and is confident care at Muckamore is now safe. 

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Source: The Irish News, 17 October 2019

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Being visible on wards and understanding frontline staff is “critical” for hospital leaders

A retiring chief executive was “astonished” how many junior doctors had never met the senior directors of their hospitals — and stressed how being visible on the wards is “critical” to good leadership.

Karen Partington, who has this month stepped down after 10 years leading Lancashire Teaching Hospitals Foundation Trust, said she had made it her mission to understand the feelings and motivations of frontline staff.

In an interview with HSJ, she was asked if being visible and spending significant time talking to frontline staff is the most important bit of advice she would give a first-time chief executive.

She said: “In my personal opinion, it’s critical. How can CEOs be compassionate leaders without understanding the daily pressures faced by the whole team?"

“My executive team and I [would] meet regularly with our junior doctors and do a ‘you said, we did’ session, which really helped us to change their experiences for the better. But it was also an opportunity to ensure our frontline colleagues understood the environment they were working in as well. I have always found that when people understand ‘why’, [then] they will come up with the solutions."

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Source: HSJ, 14 September 2021

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Behaviour of NHS leaders toward whistleblowers ‘shocking’, says Francis

NHS leaders continue to exhibit “shocking” behaviour when confronted with concerns raised by whisteblowers, according to Sir Robert Francis.

The veteran patient safety expert – currently interim chair of the Infected Blood Compensation Authority – was speaking at the Whistleblowers UK conference last week. 

He said the NHS still lacked a “system that gives proper justice to those who have been victimised” after raising concerns.

“There remain terrible issues,” he said. ”No one is being held accountable. We will get nowhere on this issue unless there is a consensus to make it perfectly normal, and indeed expected, to speak up if you are worried about something. Recruitment and training have to be on the basis of these values.

“When things go wrong people need to say that and take responsibility. What happens when they don’t do that? Very little, I’m afraid. The behaviour on the part of some senior people is shocking. They don’t end up being disciplined. That is something that needs to change.”

The barrister said a systemic problem was that trusts often treated a whistleblower’s concerns as a disciplinary or HR matter, rather than a clinical issue that needed to be investigated. This meant safety problems were often not examined until HR matters had been concluded.

He said: “The problem with so many cases is that there is no authoritative internal and impartial investigation of the facts. This needs to happen at the earliest stage.

“Safety concerns raised should be treated as incidents to be investigated, not HR issues to be ‘managed’.”

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Source: HSJ, 17 July 2025

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Beds for children hit ‘crisis point’ amid covid demand surge

Availability of inpatient child and adolescent mental health services beds — particularly for eating disorders — has reached ‘crisis point’, with young people left waiting on a standard paediatric ward or at home as demand surged during the covid pandemic.

A report to Surrey Heartlands Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) in January read: “Availability of tier four beds [inpatient mental health beds for children and adolescents, commissioned centrally by NHS England] in the South East and across the country is at crisis point and providers have to compete for the small pool of beds."

“Waits for beds or being placed far from home is a distressing and unacceptable experience for children and young people and families and places an additional burden on other parts of the system such as paediatric wards.”

The report noted a “demand upsurge to the highest levels in the last three years” since the pandemic. It stated, in mid-January, the CCG had two patients awaiting eating disorder beds being managed on paediatric wards as they had become “physically too unwell to be managed at home”. Four others also waiting for a CAMHS bed were being managed at home. 

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Source: 16 February 2021

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Bed bugs blighted London’s hospitals more than 500 times over a 7-year period

Nineteen NHS trusts across London said they had to call in pest control over 500 times to tackle bed bugs in the last seven years, costing some hospitals hundreds of pounds.

The Royal London Children’s Hospital, which is run by Barts Health NHS Trust, as well as King’s College Hospital, which sits under the King’s College Hospital NHS Trust, were among the worst affected by the pests.

The figures come despite the NHS’ own pest guidance warning, which says: ‘Pest activity can pose unacceptable risks to patients, staff and visitors, undermine reputation and public confidence, and damage the environment and food products.

"Pest control and management is essential for safe and hygienic healthcare facilities."

Sarah Spratt, a bed bug exterminator who worked at Bed Bug Limited for six years, told Metro: ‘Hospitals are a common area to find bed bugs. The big thing to understand is the higher the footfall in a building, the higher the chance of getting bed bugs.

"It is nothing that the hospitals are doing wrong, it is just statistics. All it takes is one doctor or one patient to bring them in.

"There is a lack of understanding and a lack of preparedness. Maybe staff could be better trained in spotting bed bugs, leading to earlier detection."

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Source: The Metro, 2 December 2024

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