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Targeted screening of diabetic patients ‘could double heart condition diagnoses’

Targeted screening of patients with type 2 diabetes could more than double new diagnoses of heart conditions, a study suggests.

When applied at a larger scale, such an approach could translate into tens of thousands of new diagnoses, researchers believe.

Conditions such as coronary artery disease, atrial fibrillation and heart failure affect millions of people worldwide, causing a large number of deaths and increasing healthcare costs.

Treatments are available that can prevent stroke or acute heart failure, but systematic screening is not currently common practice.

Those living with conditions such as type 2 diabetes or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) – a group of lung conditions that cause breathing difficulties – are at high risk of such conditions.

A team of researchers led by Dr Amy Groenewegen, from the University Medical Centre Utrecht in the Netherlands, has developed a three-step screening process to detect conditions in high-risk people at an early stage.

Study author Dr Groenewegen said: “An easy-to-implement strategy more than doubled the number of new diagnoses of heart failure, atrial fibrillation and coronary artery disease in high-risk patients.”

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Source: Independent, 29 August 2023

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Flu jab IT system to be ‘switched off’ weeks before vaccine programme starts

All tech support for flu and covid vaccinations will be switched off on Thursday after NHS England decided against extending its contract with its supplier in favour of developing an in-house system, according to HSJ.

NHSE last week told suppliers System C and Graphnet it would not extend the contract for the National Immunisation Management Service – just one week before the contract ends.

NIMS, provided by the two British firms in partnership with NHS South Central and West Commissioning Support Unit, has been used for the last three years to manage the vaccination programme.

Its functionalities include a single data store holding vaccination records for more than 60 million people, a call and recall service that can identify and contact groups of eligible individuals according to age and clinical priority, and reporting and analysing of vaccination activity in “near real time”.

NHSE informed System C it would not extend the contract last Thursday – five working days before it was due to expire, according to a message from System C to customers, seen by HSJ.

In its message, System C said: “This means that all functionality, including the NIMS application programming interface links to third party booking systems, all outgoing feeds and extracts, NIMS dashboards and the point of vaccination data capture application will stop working after 31 August.”

There is currently “significant usage” of the system by GPs and trusts, which means NIMS users “may need to take action to deal with the retirement of the system” – the message stated.

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Source: HSJ, 30 August 2023

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Close to 1m NHS appointments lost to strikes

The number of appointments and treatments postponed by strike action in the NHS in England is nearing one million.

The 48-hour walkout by consultants in England last week saw more than 45,000 appointments being cancelled.

It brings the total number of postponed hospital appointments since industrial action began in the NHS in December to 885,000.

Once mental health and community bookings are included, it tops 944,000.

The true total is likely to be even higher, as services have stopped scheduling appointments on strike days and these will not be included in the figures released by NHS England.

Alongside consultants, junior doctors, nurses, physios, ambulance workers and radiographers have also walked out at various stages.

NHS national medical director Professor Sir Stephen Powis said: "Industrial action continues to have a huge impact on the NHS, and on the lives of patients and their families. This strike took place into a bank holiday weekend, when NHS activity is generally lighter, but many services have for some time avoided scheduling any planned appointments for strike days in order to prioritise emergencies. This means the true impact of this action will be even higher, and as we move into September, the extraordinary cumulative effect of more than nine months of disruption poses a huge challenge for the health service, as staff work tirelessly to tackle the backlog."

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Source: BBC News, 29 August 2023

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Nurses caring ‘for too many patients’ as vacancy rates rise again

Around one in ten NHS nursing jobs remain unfilled leaving already stretched service struggling to cope.

The number of unfilled NHS nursing jobs in England has risen again after falling slightly earlier this year.

Between March and June of this year, the number of vacant nursing positions across the NHS in England increased by 3,243 taking the total to a staggering 43,339.

With the number of applications to study nursing also falling by a massive 13,380 in just two years, experts admit they are concerned about how the NHS is going to cope.

In real terms, the figures mean around one in ten NHS nursing jobs remain unfilled.

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has warned the high vacancy rate will leave the health service “underprepared” for winter.

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Source: Nursing Notes, 25 August 2023

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University Hospitals Birmingham: Whistleblowers fear no change at 'toxic' NHS trust

Whistleblowers who first revealed a toxic environment at one of England's largest NHS trusts say they do not believe crucial changes will be made.

In a letter, they said families who suffered due to management failings at University Hospitals Birmingham (UHB) "have every reason to feel let down".

Investigations have been examining UHB after staff told the BBC a climate of fear put patients at risk.

The letter was written by three doctors to the Labour MP For Birmingham Edgbaston, Preet Gill, who is heading a cross-party reference group on the trust.

In their letter, the consultants raise concerns about the appointment from within the trust of new chief executive Jonathan Brotherton and feel the management team remains largely unchanged.

"More than six months have elapsed since we spoke to you of the need to repay the debt owed to those UHB staff, patients and their families who have suffered as a result of the board's serious failings," they wrote.

"They now have every reason to feel let down."

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Source: BBC News, 29 August 2023

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USA: Why are so many kids losing Medicaid coverage?

At the end of the COVID pandemic, more than half (54%) of US children were covered by Medicaid or CHIP; the vast majority by Medicaid. So, the lifting of the pandemic-related Medicaid continuous enrolment protection this spring is a really big deal, putting low-income children at risk of losing access to health care and/or exposing their families to medical debt.

In fact, researchers at federal Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) projected that just shy of three-quarters of children losing Medicaid would be disenrolled despite remaining eligible. Children are most at risk of losing coverage during the unwinding despite being eligible and the likelihood that the child uninsured rate will go up if states do not take care in the process.

Over half a million children have lost Medicaid already in 21 states where there is data. And that large number doesn’t include Texas, a state that disenrolled more than 500,000 people on June 1st, and where state agency employees recently blew the whistle on systems errors that caused inappropriate terminations.

The Biden Administration must take swift and definitive action to pause all terminations in states with systemic problems. Governors who see large numbers of children losing coverage must pause the process. Coverage must be reinstated for those who lose coverage inappropriately. The time for action to protect children is now.

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Source: McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University, 23 August 2023

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‘Cost of living crisis’ contributing to stillbirths, research finds

The cost of living squeeze is a significant factor in some stillbirths, according to case reviews carried out in one of England’s most deprived areas.

The review was undertaken in Bradford last year, and concluded: ”the current financial crisis is impacting on the ability of some women to attend essential antenatal appointments”. Missing these appointments was a factor in a range of maternity safety events, including stillbirths, it said. 

The researchers are now calling for new national funding to help ensure expectant parents do not miss important appointments because they cannot afford to attend.

The research findings include:

  • ‘Did not attend’ rates increased due to lack of funds for transport to antenatal appointments;
  • “Lack of credit on phones prevented communication between women and maternity services, for example, making [them] unable to rearrange scans or appointments”;
  • Wide spread incidence of “digital poverty, [for example] a lady with type 1 [diabetes] was unable to monitor her glycaemic control over night due to only having one phone charger in the house”; and
  • “Families with babies on a neonatal unit going without food in order to finance transport to and from the unit.”

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Source: HSJ, 25 August 2023

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Global COVID-19 data gap grows as countries stop reporting to WHO

Fewer than 20 countries worldwide still report COVID-19 hospitalisation and ICU data to the World Health Organization (WHO), leaving the UN health body blind to the impact and evolution of the virus in most of the world, agency leaders have said.

The decline in data reporting is a major setback for the WHO’s efforts to track the pandemic. Without reliable data, the WHO cannot accurately assess the burden of disease, identify new variants, or target its resources where they are most needed.

“We don’t have good visibility of the impact of COVID-19 around the world,” said Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, who leads the WHO’s COVID-19 task force. “It is really important that surveillance continues, and this is on the shoulders of governments right now.”

“While we are certainly not in the same situation that we were in a year ago or two years ago, SARS-Cov-2 circulates in all countries right now,” said Van Kerkhove. “It is still causing a large number of infections, hospitalisations, admissions to the ICU and deaths.”

The current set of dominant COVID-19 variants can still cause the “full spectrum” of disease, from asymptomatic infections to severe disease and death, Kerkhove said.

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Source: Health Policy Watch, 25 August 2023

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Norfolk and Suffolk NHS trust deaths report 'watered down to spare bosses'

A critical report into how a mental health trust mismanaged its mortality figures was edited to remove criticism of its leadership, the BBC has found.

In June, auditors Grant Thornton revealed how the Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) had lost track of patient deaths.

But earlier drafts included language around governance failures that were missing in the final version.

NSFT and Grant Thornton said the changes were due to fact-checking.

A number of drafts of the report were produced, with the first dated 23 February this year.

The first version described "poor governance" in the way deaths data was managed, with governance also being called "weak" and "inadequate".

But many of these critical words were missing from the report released to the public, with "governance" also being replaced with "controls", according to leaked documents.

After losing her son Tim in 2014, Caroline Aldridge has been highlighting what she and others claimed had been the trust's undercounting of deaths.

"I think people need to know what was removed and what was changed, because I suspect that the first report is a lot nearer to the truth," she said.

Ms Aldridge added: "It takes all responsibility from governance, removing the words 'inadequate', 'poor', 'weak' governance, removing significant pieces of information that's not factual accuracy.

"We cannot have people watering it [the report] down when it's about deaths."

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Source: BBC News, 29 August 2023

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NHSE calls urgent meeting over powers to strike off managers

Amanda Pritchard has said it is time to ‘look again’ at whether NHS England should be given formal powers to disbar managers for ‘serious misconduct’.

In an email to regional leaders and some national bodies yesterday, seen by HSJ, the chief executive officer of NHS England said the murder trial of neonatal nurse Lucy Letby has brought the issue of professional regulation for managers back into focus. She has planned an urgent meeting next week to discuss the options.

Ms Pritchard said she wanted the meeting to explore; the feasibility of NHSE being given the powers and resources to act as a regulator; who this could apply to and how it could operate; and how a dedicated regulatory body for NHS leaders might fulfil the role.

She stressed any new powers would need to be determined by the government, but said the NHS “should contribute proactively and fully, and with an open mind, to this decision-making process”.

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Source: HSJ, 25 August 2023

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Chilling warning that scandals across NHS will be covered up as staff say whistleblowers are ignored

More than half of NHS staff believe bosses would ignore whistleblowers amid fresh concerns hospitals could be covering up potential scandals following the Lucy Letby case.

New national figures seen by the The Independent reveal that in the majority of hospitals, most doctors and nurses do not believe their concerns would be acted upon if they were raised with senior managers.

It comes after The Independent revealed that NHS bosses accused of ignoring complaints about Letby were the very same people later appointed to act on whistleblower concerns at the hospital where she murdered seven babies and tried to kill six more.

Several doctors who worked alongside her during the killing spree say they attempted to raise the alarm with hospital managers – only to have their pleas ignored. They believe the lack of action by bosses resulted in more babies being killed, stating managers who failed to act were “grossly negligent” and “facilitated a mass murderer”.

In nearly three-quarters of general hospitals – such as the Countess of Chester where Letby worked – fewer than half of staff believed their trust would act on a concern, according to results from the latest NHS staff survey.

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Source: The Independent, 27 August 2023

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‘Insecure’ junior medics ‘crying every day’ in ‘chaotic’ department

Delays in patient care and a lack of consultant support have left junior medics fearing for their mental health, an NHS England investigation has discovered.

Junior doctors described haematology services delivered from University Hospitals Birmingham’s Heartlands Hospital as “chaotic”.

Their concerns are raised in a report by NHS England Workforce, Training and Education (formerly Health Education England). UHB’s haematology service has been under scrutiny since 2021, when HSJ revealed whistleblower concerns over patient safety, including a series of blood transfusion’ never’ events.

The WTE team visited UHB in April. As a result, the haematology service is now subject to the General Medical Council’s enhanced monitoring regime. This means intensive support is given to trainees and the trust to improve medical training. UHB’s obstetrics and gynaecology department is also under enhanced monitoring.

The WTE report warns that consultants working across multiple sites left trainee medics at Heartlands without sufficient support and supervision. Most conversations with consultants were via telephone, leaving juniors feeling “unsupported and insecure”. 

The report stated: “Trainees described the workload … as chaotic and some reported the stress … was affecting their mental health… Some reported they do not feel valued, and the panel heard examples of people crying every day. Most described their roles as 100 per cent service provision… [they] reported very limited learning opportunities overall.”

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Source: HSJ, 24 August 2023

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Early death risk grows with just three ‘slightly unhealthy mid-life traits’

Just three “slightly unhealthy traits” in mid-life increase the risk of early death by a third, research suggests.

The study found people carrying extra weight in their 40s and 50s who also had slightly raised blood pressure, cholesterol or blood sugar levels were also 35 per cent more likely to have a heart attack or stroke over the next three decades.

Researchers warned that middle-aged people with this “cluster of slightly unhealthy traits” – known as metabolic syndrome – typically had a heart attack or stroke two years earlier on average than healthier people the same age.

Dr Lena Lönnberg, of Västmanland County Hospital, Sweden, who was lead researcher for the study, said: “Many people in their 40s and 50s have a bit of fat around the middle and marginally elevated blood pressure, cholesterol or glucose but feel generally well, are unaware of the risks and do not seek medical advice. “In fact, most people live with slightly raised levels for many years before having symptoms that lead them to seek healthcare.”

She warned that because the individual “unhealthy traits” did not usually make people feel unwell, most people were unaware of the risks combined with excess weight.

An estimated one in four UK adults has metabolic syndrome, with rising obesity levels one of the main drivers.

On their own, diabetes, high blood pressure, and obesity can damage the blood vessels. 

But even if patients only have mild versions of each condition, experts warn having the three together can be particularly dangerous.

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Source: The Telegraph, 25 August 2023

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Sepsis: Perforated bowel Barry mum told to drink tea

A mum suffered a perforated bowel and sepsis after being told she was anxious and should take constipation medication and drink peppermint tea.

Farrah Moseley-Brown was in "agonising pain" after having her second son, Clay, but the hospital sent her home.

Because of the delay in treating her, Ms Moseley-Brown, 28, of Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, now has a stoma.

Cardiff and Vale health board admitted failures in her care and gave its "sincere apologies".

Since the error, Ms Moseley-Brown has turned to TikTok to inform people about the dangers of sepsis and has had 15 million views one one video alone.

She was booked into University Hospital Wales, Cardiff, for a Caesarean on 7 May 2020. After Clay was born, Ms Moseley-Brown lost about two-and-a-half pints of blood and needed further surgery to stem the bleeding.

"I felt really unwell and I said this to the nurses and the staff at the hospital which they didn't listen to. They kept saying it was after-pain but it was just agonising," Ms Moseley-Brown said.

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Source: BBC News, 25 August 2023

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Covid cases double in a month as scientists warn about spread of new variants

Covid cases in England have almost doubled in a month after the rise of two new variants.

According to the most recent government statistics available, 875 cases were logged in England on August 11, compared to just 449 a month earlier. Hospital admissions have also risen by a fifth in a week.

UKHSA statistics show Covid cases in England rose from a seven-day rolling average of 373 on July 8 to 879 as of August 8. Also, 589 out of 6,500 neighbourhoods in England had detected at least three Covid cases in the week to August 12.

The uptick comes after reports of a new variant called Eris which makes up one in four new cases. Also, another strain nicknamed Pirola is quickly spreading globally. 

The US is also seeing an increase in hospital admissions with coronavirus, its first significant uptick since December 2022.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said they are unsettled by the variant and suggested the rapid spread could suggest an international transmission.

Christina Pagel, a member of the Independent Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies that advises on the virus, said: "Without ramping up surveillance, and in the face of waning immunity, we are travelling into winter more vulnerable and with blinkers on."

Prof Pagel predicted the new wave could cause extreme pressure on the health service, with a repeat of last winter’s “unprecedented” NHS crisis of Covid, flu and respiratory virus that came all around the same time.

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Source: Independent, 24 August 2023

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UK facing ‘brain drain’ of cancer researchers after failure to join EU scheme

Top young cancer researchers are leaving the UK in a “brain drain” fuelled by the continuing failure to reach an agreement over the EU’s study programme, scientists warn.

The two-and-a-half-year delay in joining the £85bn Horizon Europe scheme, the largest collaborative research programme in the world, has “damaged the UK’s reputation” and made it more difficult to attract and retain the brightest researchers into the nation’s labs.

Cancer Research UK (CRUK) surveyed 84 cancer specialists about Horizon Europe and found that three-quarters of respondents favoured association with the programme compared with only 11% who wanted the UK to go it alone with the government’s plan B, known as Pioneer.

Prof Julian Downward, head of the Oncogene Biology Lab at the Francis Crick Institute in London, said: “We need Horizon Europe very badly. The current situation is damaging UK science every day. We are losing top junior faculty regularly who decide to move to EU countries so they can take up European Research Council grants.”

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Source: Guardian, 25 August 2023

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Families sue government for failing to protect care homes from Covid

Thirty families are starting legal action against the government, care homes and several hospitals in England over the deaths of their relatives in the early days of the Covid pandemic.

The families argue not enough was done to protect their loved ones from the virus.

They are claiming damages for loss of life and the distress caused.

The government says it specifically sought to safeguard care home residents using the best evidence available.

The legal claims focus on the decision in March 2020 to rapidly discharge hospital patients into care homes without testing or a requirement for them to isolate.

The cases follow a 2022 High Court judgement that ruled the policy was unlawful - as it failed to take into account the risk to elderly and vulnerable care home residents of asymptomatic transmission of the virus.

One of the cases is being brought by Liz Weager, whose 95-year-old mother Margaret tested positive for the virus in her care home in May 2020 and died later in hospital. "What was happening in the management of those care homes? What advice were they having?" Liz asks. "It goes back to the government. There was a lack of preparedness, which then translated down to the care home."

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Source: BBC News, 25 August 2023

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Bristol mesh surgeon to face allegations of patient harm

Details of allegations against a surgeon who left dozens of patients in agony after undergoing mesh operations have been published.

A tribunal will look at whether Tony Dixon failed to provide adequate clinical care to six patients at Southmead Hospital and the private Spire Hospital in Bristol.

He had pioneered the use of artificial mesh to lift prolapsed bowels.

The surgeon, who was dismissed in 2019, has always maintained the operations were done in good faith, and that any surgery could have complications.

The Medical Practitioners Tribunal, which starts in Manchester on 11 September and is due to end on 23 November, will look into allegations that between 2010 and 2016 Mr Dixon failed to provide adequate clinical care in a number of areas, including:

  • ensuring procedures for some of the patients were clinically indicated
  • adequately advising some of the patients regarding options for treatment
  • obtaining informed consent before performing clinical procedures
  • adequately performing a procedure for one patient
  • providing adequate post-operative care for some
  • communicating appropriately with some of the patients and their family members.

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Source: BBC News, 24 August 2023

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Lucy Letby: NHS could face record compensation bill of more than £60m

The NHS could face a record compensation bill of more than £60m from civil claims lodged by the families of Lucy Letby’s victims, experts have said.

Parents whose babies have disabilities caused by Letby’s attacks at the Countess of Chester hospital could each expect to receive a payout of more than £10m to fund their future care.

Compensation paid by the NHS to parents whose babies died or were left with disabilities as a result of care at Shrewsbury hospital in Britain’s largest maternity scandal reportedly amounted to almost £50m. In a separate case, the health service had to pay £37m to a boy who was left brain damaged at birth.

Stephen Jones, the head of Leigh Day’s medical negligence team in Manchester, said the trust could argue that by committing the offences, Letby breached the employer-employee relationship to an extent such that it was not responsible for her. But he added: “I think there would be outrage that the trust wouldn’t accept responsibility for babies in their care.” He said compensation could run into eight figures for a family whose baby was severely injured and had a long life expectancy.

Emma Wray, a partner in Hodge Jones & Allen’s medical negligence department, suggested the NHS could set up a scheme for victims, as it has done with other scandals, to make claiming compensation easier.

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Source: The Guardian, 23 August 2023

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NHS whistleblowers warn of 'unsafe' A&E staff shortages

A group of senior doctors has accused NHS Grampian of ignoring their safety concerns about emergency departments.

They told BBC Scotland News they were speaking out because they feel they cannot deliver a safe level of care.

The medics said staff shortages meant Grampian's two A&Es have no senior registrars on shift to make key decisions about patients for the majority of weekend night shifts.

Documents seen by the BBC News show medics have been raising concerns since 2021, both with NHS Grampian and the Scottish government, and in July this year submitted a formal whistleblowing complaint about the situation.

One doctor said: "The staff are in an impossible situation.

"We are witnessing ongoing harm with unacceptable delays to the assessment and treatment of patients.

"There have been avoidable deaths and at other times there are too long delays getting to patients who may be suffering from a serious condition like stroke or sepsis."

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Source: BBC News, 23 August 2023

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The new Angel of Death: The chilling comparisons between killer nurses Lucy Letby and Beverley Allitt - from befriending parents to stealing medical notes and passing the blame

In 1991, Stuart Clifton was a detective superintendent with Lincolnshire Police when a phone call came in from Grantham Hospital saying they were looking into a number of suspicious deaths on a children's ward.

Over a period of just 59 days four babies had died after being brought to Ward Four with minor complaints, such as chest infections and gastroenteritis. A further nine had collapsed for inexplicable reasons, only to be resuscitated again.

Two years later, a 22-year-old nurse called Beverley Allitt would be convicted of those crimes. Dubbed The Angel Of Death, she was handed 13 life sentences and to this day remains locked up in Rampton Hospital, a secure psychiatric facility.

Why would a young woman trained to care for the most vulnerable members of society instead choose to harm and, ultimately, kill them?

As the detective who interviewed and analysed the behaviour of Allitt in the two years it took to bring the case to court, Mr Clifton believes he has unrivalled insight into why a nurse would go from healer to harmer.

"She always seemed to want to be the centre of attention,' he explains of Allitt. 'She wanted to be the one that was present, the one that raised the alarm, the one that went in the ambulance with the child when it was transferred to another hospital. It was almost as if she was putting herself centre stage and felt that she needed that adoration from other nursing staff and parents.

"Maybe a part of this was to show she was capable of doing the job but then, obviously, it went further. It went to the stage of her causing the injury that she subsequently then highlighted. I think certainly with Allitt it was this desire to be recognised, to be needed - and what I have seen of the Letby trial also seems to echo that need."

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Source: Mail Online, 23 August 2023

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Vulnerable people’s drug prescriptions to be reviewed following Ombudsman investigation

Hundreds of people across England with drug and alcohol dependencies who have been prescribed Valium long-term, will have their cases reviewed following an Ombudsman investigation.

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has found that Change Grow Live (CGL), on behalf of Cambridgeshire County Council, has been prescribing benzodiazepines to people long-term, against national guidance. The company also provides drug and alcohol services for 50 other councils.

Benzodiazepines – including diazepam (Valium) - are a class of medicines that can relieve nervousness, tension and other symptoms of anxiety and should usually only be prescribed short-term.

CGL’s policy explains people use them for anxiety, insomnia, to enhance opiate effects, to deal with mental health issues, improve confidence and to reduce psychotic symptoms like hearing voices. However, if they are prescribed for too long, they can have significant negative effects including dependence, withdrawal symptoms and drug-seeking behaviour.

People on these medicines should have their prescriptions reviewed regularly, and those reviews should consider the benefits and risks of continuing with the current dose, reducing or stopping it, with a management plan put in place after each review.

However, the Ombudsman’s investigation found CGL were either not reviewing people’s prescriptions regularly enough or not keeping proper records of those reviews.

Nigel Ellis, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman Chief Executive, said:

“Clinicians need to weigh up the benefits and risks for patients who are taking these medicines long-term and should have a clear rationale for continuing to prescribe.

“I am pleased that patients in these vulnerable groups will now have their cases reviewed more regularly and comprehensively following my investigation.

“Both CGL and the council have co-operated fully with our investigation, and I welcome their ready acceptance of our recommendations.”

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Source: Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, 23 August 2023

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Mesh surgeries to be halted in New Zealand because of safety concerns

The use of surgical mesh to treat a common childbirth injury is now suspended in New Zealand because of safety concerns.

The extraordinary step, which follows a similar move in the United Kingdom, was announced today by Te Whatu Ora.

It is being celebrated by a woman who spearheaded a campaign to highlight the harrowing mesh injuries suffered by her and many other Kiwi women. “It is an acknowledgement that their concerns were not just in their heads,” Sally Walker told the Herald. “It will give us some hope.”

About 100 women around the country who are on waiting lists for urogynaecological surgeries involving mesh are being contacted by doctors to tell them their operations for stress urinary incontinence are on hold.

The Director-General of Health Dr Diana Sarfati said the Surgical Mesh Roundtable (MRT), an oversight and monitoring group chaired by the Ministry of Health, had been investigating a “pause” since earlier this year.

The group’s assessment was that the balance of benefit and harm from the procedure would be improved by the series of additional measures already planned, and it recommended a pause until those measures were substantively in place.

“After considering the MRT’s assessment, I have decided to support a pause to allow the following steps to be put in place to reduce the harms linked to the procedure as much as possible,” said Sarfati.

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Source: NZ Herald, 22 August 2023

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Trust reviewing 31,000 patients ‘lost’ by IT system

A trust has had to re-examine the cases of more than 31,000 patients after they were automatically and wrongly discharged from its care because they did not have another appointment within the next six months.

Dartford and Gravesham Trust in Kent has revealed that soaring waiting times post-covid meant patients who needed follow-up appointments were not offered them within six months, which before covid was a very unusual occurrence.

When they passed six months, they were dropped off waiting lists altogether, due to a feature in the trust’s patient administration system designed to ensure outdated pathways are closed. It is a common feature in many such systems, HSJ was told.  

The trust has now “validated” more than 31,000 patients who have been in contact with it since 1 September 2021. So far, it said, it had not found evidence of harm, although some people have been recalled for clinical review or investigation, and a small number are still to be seen.

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Source: HSJ, 22 August 2023

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