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'Ticking time bomb' – here's how many NHS staff actually want to quit

More than three quarters of NHS workers are seriously considering leaving their jobs amid the ongoing strain on the health service.

According to research from the worker-led network Organise – which surveyed 2,546 NHS staff in March – 78.5% are thinking about packing it all in.

Only a fifth (21.5%) said they had no plan to give up their NHS job any time soon.

And the survey shows this sentiment is shared across a range of professions within the health service – with nurses, healthcare assistants, paramedics, doctors, health visitors and more all struggling with their jobs right now.

This comes after years of public concerns about the longevity of the health service, amid funding cuts, staff shortages and burnout – not to mention the additional strain from the Covid pandemic.

The findings also show that in the last three years:

  • 79% of respondents experienced stress
  • 62% reported anxiety
  • 55% reported burnout.

More than half (55%) of respondents said they needed to take time off from their jobs as a result, with a quarter saying this meant a month or more away from work.

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Source: Huffington Post, 29 March 2023

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'Thousands' of whistleblowing NHS staff are being silenced as bosses spend millions covering scandal

'There are literally thousands of us out there who have suffered just for trying to do the right thing.'

Former Consultant Urological Surgeon, Peter Duffy, explains the extent NHS bosses are going to, to silence whistleblowers who are standing up for patient safety.

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Source: GB News

Related reading: NHS bosses destroy careers of whistleblowers who stand up to protect patients’ lives - News - Patient Safety Learning - the hub (pslhub.org)

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'They've been ignored': older people cared for at home face vaccine delays

More than 2.5 million people over the age of 80 have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, NHS England has said. But the vaccine is failing to reach thousands of elderly people who receive care in their own homes, according to a provider, because they are too frail to travel to vaccination centres or fear catching the virus if they do.

The Guardian spoke to three people who have family members over 80 still waiting to be vaccinated.

“How on earth are elderly people expected to negotiate the system if they don’t have any help?” says Amanda Elliott, 59. Her father-in-law, George Elliott, 98, of Polegate, East Sussex, is still waiting to be vaccinated. “It seems very unfair,” she says.

George, who was a glider pilot in the second world war, doesn’t feel entitled to a jab but finds the situation “puzzling”, Amanda says. He has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), finds it very difficult to move and has a carer going into his home twice a day.

Amanda, a support worker at a school in Sutton, says George received a letter inviting him to book his vaccination online and “tried without success”. He then called to book over the phone and was offered an appointment in Brighton, Hastings or Petersfield, to which he would have difficulty travelling.

“I called the booking line on his behalf last week to find out what he should do as he is housebound. I was directed to his GP and his surgery told me they are not carrying out vaccinations and that I shouldn’t have contacted them about this. They were very unhelpful,” Amanda says.

In Kirkcaldy, Fife, 88-year-old Christina McPhee, who is housebound, is still waiting to be vaccinated. “The district nurse has to administer the vaccine to those who can’t leave their homes, but the local GP practice told me last Friday they have none allocated for those in the area,” says her niece Mary.

AdMcPhee has a tracheostomy and has carers and nurses visiting her several times a day, making her “very vulnerable” because she is high risk. Her sister, Mary’s mother, who is 82 and lives with McPhee, was able to get the vaccine because she could travel to the surgery, but there is no news about when McPhee is likely to receive hers.

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Source: The Guardian, 1 February 2021

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'They made me feel my baby's death was my fault'

The mother of a week-old baby girl who died said she was made to feel her daughter's death was her fault.

Sarah Robinson said that after the birth of her daughter Ida Lock at the Royal Lancaster Infirmary in 2019, she had been asked by staff if she had smoked.

Lifelong non-smoker Ms Robinson told an inquest at Lancashire Coroners Court that a midwife had asked her if she was "sure" she had never smoked, because her placenta looked "gritty and fatty".

But an independent investigation found there had been several problems during her delivery, and last year the hospital accepted there had been some failings.

In 2015, an independent review into maternity care at the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Trust - which runs the Royal Lancaster Infirmary - found that 11 babies and one mother had died in preventable circumstance between 2004 and 2013.

The inquest heard Ms Lock had spent months questioning what she had done wrong following Ida's death.

After pushing the Lancaster Royal Infirmary for a full explanation about what had happened, the couple were offered a meeting on 27 December 2019.

They said they were ushered into a room off a ward, handed a number of medical records and left to go through them.

"The message from that meeting was that Ida was very poorly when she was born.

"I fell into a vicious circle, constantly questioning whether I was the reason that my daughter had died, and what had I missed," Ms Robinson said.

In the spring of 2020, the couple received the outcome of a Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB) inquiry, which had found significant failings in Ida's delivery.

But an investigation the trust had completed – which the family were not involved in despite asking to be – found no failures, instead describing teamwork and record keeping as "outstanding".

The couple told the inquest they had to battle the trust to understand what had happened.

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Source: BBC News, 10 February 2025

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'There’s a lot of nasty stuff': the people living with long Covid

Sufferers say they have had little specialist help despite NHS England setting up dedicated clinics.

“It’s not that I feel I have been abandoned, I think that is perfectly obvious,” says Rachel Pope. “If you speak to any long Covid patient, they have been abandoned.”

Until exactly a year ago – 5 March 2020 – Pope was “an incredibly fit woman”. A senior lecturer in European prehistory at the University of Liverpool, her work and lifestyle were very active. But after falling ill to Covid, she spent four months unable to walk, then three more when she could manage little more than “a sort of shuffle”.

She still has a host of symptoms, “but the most debilitating is the fact that I still can’t do more than 2,000 steps in a day. Until a few weeks ago, I was still choking every day. There’s a lot of nasty stuff that [long Covid sufferers] are living with, without treatment.

“It’s not a great situation to be in. I mean, we didn’t die. But this isn’t exactly living either.”

A year into the pandemic, accounts such as Pope’s have become dispiritingly familiar, as the experiences of the many thousands who have struggled for months with long Covid, often alone and unsupported, are emerging.

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Source: The Guardian, 5 March 2021

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'There could be no NHS dentists in two years'

A dentist says he feels "strangled" by NHS contracts and believes NHS dentists may not exist in two years' time.

Dr Harj Singhrao, who has a practice in Newbridge, Caerphilly, said money was allocated on a "one size fits all basis" meaning in high need areas like his, he had to lose money in order to provide good care.

It comes as the British Dental Association (BDA) Cymru published an open letter accusing the Welsh government of "peddling half- truths", adding more practices were looking to hand NHS contracts back.

The Welsh government said: "We are working to ensure the NHS dental contract is fairer for patients and to the dental profession."

Dentists who want to treat NHS patients sign a contract with the Welsh government, which then gives them money per patient under the condition of certain targets, such as seeing a certain number of new patients.

If these targets are not met, dentists may have to pay some money back as a penalty.

Dr Singhrao is the principal dentist at Newbridge Dental Care and had to pay £50,000 back to the Welsh government.

He said this was because he took on too many new NHS patients, but had to close a position at his practice as a result.

He said the formula of treating every patient across Wales equally "does not work".

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Source: BBC News, 17 February 2025

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'The thought of running out of HRT is terrifying'

A shortage of specific types of hormone-replacement therapy (HRT) has left women struggling with untreated symptoms of the menopause. Demand for prescriptions has more than doubled since 2017 - partly because of work by campaigners to extend access - but supply of some products has not kept up.

Yasmin Darling's experience of the menopause was sudden and profound. Two years ago, she had two operations to reduce her risk of inherited cancer which plunged her into an early menopause.

"It's really hard to navigate medical menopause 10 years early," the 45-year-old says.

"When you don't have the product you need, it makes it much more difficult to navigate."

Because of Covid, Yasmin has never been seen by a specialist at a menopause clinic, so she is managing as best she can on her own. 

Claire Lopez, 59, spent three weeks trying to obtain her usual HRT patches from different local chemists but they were out of stock. Without them, her body becomes "very stiff", leading to slipped discs and severe back pain.

"I have severe anxiety if I do not have these patches, so the total lack of coordination between GPs and pharmacists was extremely frustrating," Claire says.

In the end, she had to arrange a private prescription through a local clinic, in the Midlands, costing £50.

The government has said it is determined to ensure supplies of HRT can meet high demand.

Minister for Women's Health Maria Caulfield said: "There are over 70 HRT products available in the UK, most of which remain in good supply.

"However, we are aware of some issues with women being unable to access certain products.

"We will be appointing a new HRT-supply chairperson and convening an urgent meeting of suppliers to look at ways we can work together to improve supply."

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Source: BBC News, 27 April 2022

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'The NHS has been destroyed': Boris Johnson confronted by father of sick child

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been confronted by an angry father at a hospital who told him his baby daughter had nearly died because the ward on which she was treated was “not safe for children” after years of austerity.

In an encounter caught on camera, Omar Salem said the care given to his seven-day-old daughter at Whipps Cross university hospital, in north-east London, was “not acceptable”. He told the prime minister: “There are not enough people on this ward, there are not enough doctors, there’s not enough nurses, it’s not well organised enough.”

Salem told Boris Johnson: “My daughter nearly died yesterday. And I came here, the A&E guys were great but we then came down to this ward here and it took two hours and that is just not acceptable. This ward is not safe for children."

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Source: The Guardian, 18 Setpember 2019

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'The NHS can't tell me where my job will be'

Jayne Evans has completed four years at medical school in London - but says she is still being left in the dark about where her first permanent NHS position will be.

"I was told that I don't have a job set aside for me," she said.

"They've guaranteed we will only be offered jobs other people decline and there's just no sort of timeline that they can give us."

Ms Evans has been given a rough idea of where she will be working - the Trent area, which spans almost all of Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire - but no further clues.

She is one of hundreds of newly-qualified medical students who have not been found a specific job by the NHS yet.

Instead they have a so-called "placeholder job", meaning they have only been told the rough part of the country they will be in.

Without knowing where they will be living, they say they are not able to start preparations for moving.

Ms Evans said it had overshadowed her achievement in qualifying.

"I was expecting around this time to feel excited or even nervous, but now mostly I just feel angry and disrespected," she said.

"I went into medicine and was told we needed doctors and the NHS needs help but I've been told there is no job for me."

Dr Hassan Nassar was one of more than 1,000 medical students in the same position last year.

The BMA, the union that represents doctors and medical students in the UK, has accused the government of failing to plan for an increase in resident doctors - formerly known as junior doctors - after increasing the number of medical school places.

"The government has increased the number of medical school places - but not the number of foundation jobs," Callum Williams, the union's deputy chair of education, said.

"The government needs to increase that funding - and these jobs should go to UK-trained doctors first."

Mr Williams said there was a danger students would move abroad.

"It's your first job with the NHS, it is supposed to be exciting and instead it leaves a sour taste in your mouth," he said.

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Source: BBC News, 7 April 2025

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'The NHS at its worst', ex-ombudsman tells inquiry

A former health ombudsman has condemned mental health services for their handling of two vulnerable young men who died in their care.

Sir Rob Behrens, who was parliamentary and health service ombudsman (PHSO) from 2017 to 2024, spoke at the Lampard Inquiry, which is examining the deaths of more than 2,000 people under mental health services in Essex over a 24-year period.

Sir Rob said it was "a disgrace" how Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (EPUT) had failed in its care of 20-year-old Matthew Leahy, who died in 2012, and a 20-year-old man referred to as Mr R, who died in 2008.

"This was the National Health Service at its worst and needed calling out," Sir Rob said.

Sir Rob referred in his inquiry appearance to several reports made during his tenure, including "Missed Opportunities", which looked into the circumstances surrounding the deaths of Mr Leahy and Mr R.

Mr Leahy was found unresponsive at the Linden Centre in Chelmsford. He reported being raped there just days before he died.

Sir Rob told the inquiry the PHSO identified "19 instances of maladministration" in Mr Leahy's case by North Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust - a predecessor to EPUT - including that his care plan was falsified.

The former ombudsman said there had been "a near-complete failure of the leadership of this trust, certainly before it was merged" with South Essex Partnership Trust to become EPUT.

"This was an indictment of the health service," he added.

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Source: BBC News, 6 May 2025

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'The NHS at its worst', ex-ombudsman tells inquiry

A former health ombudsman has condemned mental health services for their handling of two vulnerable young men who died in their care.

Sir Rob Behrens, who was parliamentary and health service ombudsman (PHSO) from 2017 to 2024, spoke at the Lampard Inquiry, which is examining the deaths of more than 2,000 people under mental health services in Essex over a 24-year period.

Sir Rob said it was "a disgrace" how Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (EPUT) had failed in its care of 20-year-old Matthew Leahy, who died in 2012, and a 20-year-old man referred to as Mr R, who died in 2008.

"This was the National Health Service at its worst and needed calling out," Sir Rob said.

Sir Rob referred in his inquiry appearance to several reports made during his tenure, including "Missed Opportunities", which looked into the circumstances surrounding the deaths of Mr Leahy and Mr R.

Mr Leahy was found unresponsive at the Linden Centre in Chelmsford. He reported being raped there just days before he died.

Sir Rob told the inquiry the PHSO identified "19 instances of maladministration" in Mr Leahy's case by North Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust - a predecessor to EPUT - including that his care plan was falsified.

The former ombudsman said there had been "a near-complete failure of the leadership of this trust, certainly before it was merged" with South Essex Partnership Trust to become EPUT.

"This was an indictment of the health service," he added.

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Source: BBC News, 6 May 2025

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'Tens of thousands' of heart procedures delayed by pandemic

The postponement of tens of thousands of hospital procedures is putting the lives of people with long-term heart conditions at risk, according to the British Heart Foundation.

The coronavirus pandemic has created a backlog which would only get larger as patients waited for care, it said.

People with heart disease are at increased risk of serious illness with COVID-19, and some are shielding.

The BHF estimates that 28,000 procedures have been delayed in England since the outbreak of coronavirus in the UK. These are planned hospital procedures, including the implanting of pacemakers or stents, widening blocked arteries to the heart, and tests to diagnose heart problems.

People now waiting for new appointments would already have been waiting for treatment when the lockdown started, the charity said, as it urged the NHS to support people with heart conditions "in a safe way".

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Source: 5 June 2020

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'Systemic' failings with 999 call-handling service criticised

A woman who died after waiting almost two hours for an ambulance was let down by "systemic" failings with a computer call-handling system, a coroner said.

Daisy Filby, 90, was one of three people who died after delays in receiving care from the South East Coast Ambulance Service (Secamb). Coroner Alan Craze said a human would have "realised what was going on" and prioritised the calls differently. 

Mrs Filby, from Seaford, died in June 2017 as a result of an "accident contributed to by neglect," Mr Craze concluded at the Hasting's Coroner's Court inquest. "If an ambulance or anybody with or without medical knowledge had been able to reach this poor lady before her death, the situation would have been different," he added.

Mr Craze said: "The problem is not the actions of any one individual in Secamb Trust. The problem is ultimately systemic and at the heart of the call-taking and decision-making system."

A spokesman for the ambulance service said: "We are very sorry for the service they received. We have listened very closely to the coroner throughout and we are committed to making further improvements where necessary."

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Source: BBC News, 18 September 2019

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'System failure' on personal protective equipment

If there is a public inquiry over the handling of the coronavirus, the provision of personal protective equipment (PPE) to front-line staff could be a major theme.

The government has been put under major pressure by staff over the past four days because of delays to the delivery of vital equipment. This left them at risk as they dealt with a flood of covid-19 cases described as “all-consuming” by one hospital chief executive (while another major trust declared a critical incident).

The last two weeks have prompted a mammoth effort from local and national procurement teams to make sure clinicians have the PPE they need.

But, sadly, the bigger picture was what the Health Care Supply Association called a “system” failure (although it did not blame staff).

Numerous trusts, some of them very large, have turned to alternative suppliers to source this vital kit, in some cases spending hundreds of thousands of pounds. The situation has apparently been so dire in recent days that, over the weekend, the HCSA asked DIY shops to donate their PPE to local trusts.

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Source: HSJ, 24 March 2020

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'Superbugs' a far greater risk than Covid in Pacific, scientist warns

The emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), including drug-resistant bacteria, or “superbugs”, pose far greater risks to human health than Covid-19, threatening to put modern medicine “back into the dark ages”, an Australian scientist has warned, ahead of a three-year study into drug-resistant bacteria in Fiji.

“If you thought Covid was bad, you don’t want anti-microbial resistance,” Dr Paul De Barro, biosecurity research director at Australia’s national science agency, the CSIRO, told The Guardian.

“I don’t think I’m exaggerating to say it’s the biggest human health threat, bar none. Covid is not anywhere near the potential impact of AMR. We would go back into the dark ages of health.”

WHO warns overuse of antibiotics for COVID-19 will cause more deaths

While AMR is an emerging public health threat across the globe, in the Pacific, where the risk of the problem is acute, drug-resistant bacteria could stretch the region’s fragile health systems beyond breaking point.

An article in the BMJ Global Health journal reported there was little official health data – and low levels of public knowledge - around antimicrobial resistance in the Pacific, and that high rates of infectious disease and antibiotic prescription were driving up risks.

“A challenge for Pacific island countries and territories is trying to curtail antimicrobial excess, without jeopardising antimicrobial access for those who need them,” the paper argued.

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Source: The Guardian, 10 September 2020

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'Substantial changes' on infected blood payouts

The government has said it is making "substantial changes" to the compensation scheme for thousands of victims of the infected blood scandal.

The announcement was made in Parliament two weeks after a heavily critical report into the payment scheme by the chair of the public inquiry into the disaster.

The new rules mean estates of affected people who have already died will be able to claim compensation and those with a chronic hepatitis C infection will receive higher amounts.

Victims' groups "cautiously welcomed" the announcement but said it was disappointing that some changes were still subject to further consultation.

It is thought 30,000 people were infected with HIV, hepatitis B or hepatitis C in the 1970s, 80s and early 90s after being given contaminated blood products.

The inquiry's main report into the scandal, published last year, found that too little was done to stop contaminated blood products being imported from abroad, and that elements of the scandal had been covered up.

Earlier this month the inquiry's chair, Sir Brian Langstaff, published a follow-up report after receiving "email after email" expressing concerns about the way the compensation scheme had been managed.

He criticised the speed that payments had been made and said victims had been "harmed further" by the way they had been treated.

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Source: BBC News, 22 July 2025

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'Sticking plaster' NHS winter plan criticised for lacking workforce strategy

Doctors and health service providers welcomed publication of an NHS strategy for managing demand ahead of another busy winter for health and social care, but said it failed to address underlying problems with the system.

In a letter to the heads of NHS trusts and integrated care boards, NHS England chiefs said they had begun planning for capacity and operational resilience in urgent and emergency care ahead of "significant challenges" during the coming months.

The British Medical Association (BMA) said the strategy was a "step in the right direction", but "lacks detail", while the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) said it amounted to little more than "a crisis mitigation plan".

The package of measures included creating the equivalent of 7000 extra general and acute beds through a mix of new physical beds, scaling up 'virtual' beds, and "improvements in discharge and flow". The letter acknowledged that there was "a significant number of patients spending longer in hospital than they need to" and that whilst "the provision of social care falls outside of the NHS’s remit, the health service must ensure patients not requiring onwards care are discharged as soon as they are ready and can access services they may need following a hospital stay."

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Source: Medscape, 15 August 2022

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'Staggering shortfall’ of NHS staff as record number of patients wait for tests

The waiting lists for diagnostic tests, including cancer scans, is at a record high in NHS England, with doctors warning of a “staggering shortfall” of clinical radiologists.

Figures published on Thursday reveal the diagnostic waiting list stands at 1,658,221 – twice what it was 10 years ago. Nearly 500,000 patients are waiting for CT scans and MRIs.

The figures show the scale of the task facing the new health secretary, Wes Streeting, who has ordered a review into the NHS. Labour pledged in its manifesto to double the number of scanners, but doctors warn there is an urgent need for more staff to operate them and read the resulting scans.

“The NHS is broken,” a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said in response to the figures. “Waiting lists are too high and patients have not been able to access the care they desperately need.

“The longer patients wait for tests and scans, the worse their outcomes will be. We’ve got to get patients diagnosed much earlier.”

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Source: The Guardian, 14 July 2024

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'Speaking about the 22 babies I lost is seen as taboo'

Imtiaz Fazil has been pregnant 24 times, but she only has two living children.

She first fell pregnant in 1999 and, over the subsequent 23 years, has had 17 miscarriages and five babies die before their first birthdays due to a rare genetic condition.

The 49-year-old, from Levenshulme in Manchester, told BBC North West Tonight her losses were not easy to talk about, but she was determined to do so, in part because such things remained a taboo subject among South Asian groups.

She said she wanted to change that and break down the stigma surrounding baby loss.

She said her own family "don't talk to me very much about the things" as they think "I might get hurt [by] bringing up memories".

"It's too much sadness; that's why nobody approaches these sort of things," she said.

Sarina Kaur Dosanjh and her husband Vik also have the hope of breaking the silence surrounding baby loss.

The 29-year-olds, from Walsall in the West Midlands, have set up the Himmat Collective, a charity which offers a virtual space for South Asian women and men to share their experiences.

The couple, who have had two miscarriages in the past two years, said the heartache was still not something that people easily speak about.

"I think it's hidden," Sarina said.

"It's really brushed under the carpet."

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Source: BBC News, 13 October 2022

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'Some progress' made at failing Shropshire hospital trust

An inspection at a failing hospital trust has identified "some progress" but its services are still inadequate.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspected the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH) in August. The Trust has been in special measures since 2018 and its maternity services are subject of a review following a high rate of baby and maternal deaths.

The CQC said SaTH still had "significant work to do" to improve its patient care and safety standards.

Inspectors highlighted particular concerns around risk management at the Trust which it said was "inconsistent" and and urgent and emergency care where patients "did not always receive timely assessment".

The CQC also reported a shortage of staff working in end-of-life care and midwifery, however maternity staff were said to have "an exceptionally dedicated and caring approach".

"I recognise the enormous pressure NHS services are under across the country and that usual expectations cannot always be maintained, but it is important they do all they can to mitigate risks to patient safety while facing these pressures," chief inspector of hospitals, Ted Baker, said.

"While the trust continues to have significant work to do to provide care that meets standards people have a right to expect, it is providing more effective care overall.

"However, its risk management remains inconsistent and we are not assured it is doing all it can to ensure people's safety."

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Source: BBC News, 18 November 2021

 

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'Shocking' care home Covid outbreaks at levels not seen since first peak

Covid outbreaks in care homes have more than trebled in a month. Figures show that infection levels are now similar to the peak of the first wave, with last week having the second highest weekly total since records began in April.

Senior figures said the numbers were "shocking" and warned: "Care homes cannot be neglected again".

Ministers have pledged that all care home residents would be vaccinated by the end of this month. But The Telegraph has been told the care home rollout was taking longer than officials had anticipated.

The new figures come after The Telegraph revealed the Government is proposing to send hospital patients into care homes without tests, despite being warned that was responsible for driving up cases in the first wave.

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Source: The Telegraph, 14 January 2021

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'She did not get the anorexia help she needed'

People living with an eating disorder and their families should be offered greater support, according to a aScottish government review of services.

The clinicians and psychologists who led the review said that seven of Scotland's health boards had been an 86% increase in referrals for eating disorders over the last year. Figures also showed a 220% jump in paediatric admissions at two regional adolescent in-patient units.

Their report made 15 recommendations including self-help packages, peer support networks and emotional and practical support for families and carers as well.

Christine Reid's daughter Madeline Wallace died from anorexia in January 2018.

The 18-year-old from Peterborough had been studying medicine at Edinburgh University when she became gravely unwell. An inquest into her death found that she "rapidly lost weight" during her first weeks as a student.

"It was very strange," Ms Reid says. "It was almost like watching someone disintegrating from the inside out. It is a horrible illness."

"She got this illness and she really didn't want to have it but she couldn't see a way to recover from it," Ms Reid says.

"She just didn't feel like she got the help she needed."

An independent review in to Maddy's death made 14 recommendations for changes to eating disorder care at a national and regional level including advice for GPs on anorexia complications.

"It feels like if lots of different decisions had gone different ways it could have been avoided and that is hard to take," her mother says.

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Source: BBC News, 24 March 2021

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'Rules not followed' at home where 7 people died

Measures to protect residents from Covid at a care home where seven elderly people died were not “effectively or consistently” followed by staff, a coroner has ruled.

William Wilkinson, 102, Doris Lockett, 92, Roy Gilliam, 96, Jean Hartley, 81, Susan Skinner, 70, Ronald Bampfylde, 92, and Stanislawa Koch, 93, all died in March or April 2021 after contracting coronavirus at the Holmesley Care Home in Sidford, Devon.

The deaths all came at the height of the Covid pandemic when rules were in place intended to protect residents from infection.

After the inquest on Thursday, Mick Koch - son of Ms Koch - said he wanted to take the matter further and see it scrutinised at the national Covid inquiry.

Alison Longhorn, area coroner for Devon, Plymouth and Torbay, said that while there were proper processes at the home these “were not effectively or consistently followed” by all the staff working there.

Earlier in the inquest, it was heard two staff members - manager Joanne Burchell and nurse Christos Provistallis - had been arrested on suspicion of ill-treatment or wilful neglect in connection with the deaths. CPS officials decided there was not a realistic prospect of conviction.

Allegations were heard during the inquest that Mr Provistallis refused to wear a face mask after claiming "Covid was a conspiracy".

Others alleged Ms Burchell had not sent sick staff home due to shortages and had ignored positive lateral flow test results.

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Source: BBC News, 18 October 2024

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'Potential harm' review ordered into county's cancer patients

Commissioners have begun a ‘serious incident review’ across their integrated care system after early indications showed patients may have suffered harm due to long waits for cancer treatment.

The review has been launched by Somerset Integrated Care Board into dermatology services after an initial review found five of 50 patients had seen their skin lesions increase in size since being referred to hospital by their GPs.

ICB board papers stated “potential patient harm has been identified” for those patients, who were on the two-week wait pathway to be seen by a specialist following a referral by their GP.

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Source: HSJ, 3 February 2023

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