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From ‘brain fog’ to heart damage, COVID-19’s lingering problems alarm scientists

The list of lingering maladies from COVID-19 is longer and more varied than most doctors could have imagined. Ongoing problems include fatigue, a racing heartbeat, shortness of breath, achy joints, foggy thinking, a persistent loss of sense of smell, and damage to the heart, lungs, kidneys and brain.

The likelihood of a patient developing persistent symptoms is hard to pin down because different studies track different outcomes and follow survivors for different lengths of time. One group in Italy found that 87% of a patient cohort hospitalized for acute COVID-19 was still struggling 2 months later. Data from the COVID Symptom Study, which uses an app into which millions of people in the United States, United Kingdom, and Sweden have tapped their symptoms, suggest 10% to 15% of people—including some “mild” cases—don’t quickly recover. But with the crisis just months old, no one knows how far into the future symptoms will endure, and whether COVID-19 will prompt the onset of chronic diseases.

One such patient is Athena Akrami. Her early symptoms were textbook for COVID-19: a fever and cough, followed by shortness of breath, chest pain, and extreme fatigue. For weeks, she struggled to heal at home. But rather than ebb with time, Akrami’s symptoms waxed and waned without ever going away. She’s had just 3 weeks since March when her body temperature was normal.

“Everybody talks about a binary situation, you either get it mild and recover quickly, or you get really sick and wind up in the ICU,” says Akrami, who falls into neither category. Thousands echo her story in online COVID-19 support groups. Outpatient clinics for survivors are springing up, and some are already overburdened. Akrami has been waiting more than 4 weeks to be seen at one of them, despite a referral from her general practitioner.

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Source: Science, 31 July 2020

 

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‘Deep-rooted cultural problems’ found within trust’s ‘inadequate’ maternity services

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has raised serious concerns about a major teaching trust’s maternity services and taken action to prevent patients coming to harm.

The watchdog has imposed conditions on the registration of Nottingham University Hospitals Trust’s maternity and midwifery services at Nottingham City Hospital and Queen’s Medical Centre and rated them “inadequate”. 

Following an inspection in October, the CQC identified several serious concerns, including leaders lacking the skills to effectively head up the service, a lack of an open culture where staff could raise concerns, and staff failing to complete patient risk assessments or identify women at risk of deterioration. 

In its findings, the CQC reported how “fragile” staff wanted to escalate their concerns directly to the regulator, particularly around the leadership’s response to the “verbal outcome of the inspection”. The regulator called this “further evidence of the deep-rooted cultural problems” and escalated these concerns directly to trust CEO Tracy Taylor, who would be “personally overseeing the improvement process required”.

Inspectors also found the service did not have enough staff with the right skills, qualifications and experience to “keep women safe from avoidable harm”.

The CQC also issued the trust a warning notice over concerns around documenting risk assessments and IT systems. The trust has three months to make improvements. 

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Source: HSJ, 2 December 2020

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Nanotechnology could enable test for early Alzheimer’s Disease

Nanotechnology could be used to test blood for evidence of Alzheimer’s disease years before symptoms appear, researchers have said.

Scientists used nanotechnology to extract previously unseen blood signals of neurodegeneration in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease.

They say tests that capture early signs of neurodegeneration in blood offer enormous potential for those who suffer from the disease, as well as dementia patients, to receive effective treatment or manage their progressive condition before significant brain damage occurs.

Alzheimer’s disease can currently be diagnosed using brain scans only after someone has been showing behavioural symptoms, such as memory impairment. By the time symptoms emerge, it is often too late to treat patients effectively.

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Source: The Independent, 17 March 2021

 

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Fresh allegations of whistleblower mismanagement at ‘witch hunt’ trust

Fresh concerns have been raised about the treatment of whistleblowers by managers at a trust recently embroiled in a high-profile bullying scandal, the hospital’s workforce director has disclosed.

A series of further accusations have been made against managers at West Suffolk Foundation Trust, where executives were recently judged to have led an “intimidating, flawed” hunt for a whistleblower, prompting a series of high-profile departures.

The trust’s executive director for workforce detailed in a paper for the hospital’s July board meeting how managers had been hunting to identify staff who had raised concerns through supposedly confidential channels.

The report, by executive director of workforce and communications, Jeremy Over, said: “Feedback has been given indicating that some people have had a poor experience when speaking up.

“In two separate cases, where people spoke up in confidence, it was reported that the managers were then asking and wishing to find out who had spoken up making the individuals very uncomfortable.

“Another case reported that the individual was ‘told off’ by their manager for ‘going about their heads’ [sic] and another where staff felt discouraged from raising any points or suggestions as these were taken [as] a personal offence [by] the senior staff. In a further case, the person speaking up was criticised [for] doing so.”

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Source: HSJ, 3 August 2022

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Liz Truss: I’ll halt NHS doctor exodus

Liz Truss has pledged to halt the exodus of doctors from the NHS to tackle the Covid backlog and surging waiting lists.

The frontrunner in the Conservative leadership race is planning to unveil a series of radical reforms that will stop doctors from retiring early and entice retirees to return.

One in 10 consultants and GPs is expected to retire in the next 18 months because of pension rules that mean they are "paying to work". A source close to her said she would deal with it by “cutting red tape and dealing with issues in the pension and tax system that currently act as barriers for people wanting to return”.

It comes amid concerns that the NHS backlog after lockdown is causing more than 1,000 excess deaths per week - more than the figure now killed each week by coronavirus.

A source close to Liz Truss also said: “The Covid pandemic put unprecedented strain on our NHS, and the resulting backlog is seeing people struggling to get appointments and treatments. We must act to tackle it, and we will. We will make it easier for doctors and nurses who have recently left or are planning to leave the NHS but want to return or stay to do so.” 

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Source: The Telegraph (20 August 2022)

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Leaked report shows ‘long-standing’ bullying and discrimination within national agency

Internal documents show significant evidence of bullying and discrimination within NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) which dates back at least eight years, when the organisation was led by the current chief executive of the Care Quality Commission.

HSJ has seen a report which detailed major tensions and dysfunction at NHSBT’s Colindale site in north London in 2016, four years before another report found similar problems.

Given the damning findings of the second report, in 2020 – which found a “toxic environment”, multiple accounts of bullying, and “systemic racism” at the same site – it raises questions around the actions taken by NHSBT’s former leaders, including current CQC boss Ian Trenholm, to address the issues raised in the 2016 report.

The 2016 report was commissioned by the manufacturing directorate and concluded the hospital services department at the Colindale site was “dysfunctional” after a highly contentious reorganisation of some services and teams.

It noted “a series of bullying and harassment incidents” were being reported, but which staff felt were not investigated appropriately, and claims of “discriminatory practice” by managers.

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Source: HSJ, 26 August 2022

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Kindness: an underrated currency

Cultivation of kindness is a valuable part of the business of healthcare, discusses Klaber and Bailey in an Editorial in the BMJ. 

"When we reflect on the past decade, it feels as if we have made a big mistake in healthcare. We have allowed the dominant narrative to be around money, taking the focus, energy, and leadership away from our core purpose of delivering the best care possible. Balancing the books is important, especially in a tax funded system, and we have a duty to drive value for every pound we spend — but money is not the most important thing."

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Source: BMJ, 16 December 2019

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Coronavirus: London’s Nightingale hospital recorded 144 safety incidents in 29 days

London’s Nightingale hospital recorded 144 patient safety incidents during its 29 days treating 54 patients, it has emerged.

There were two serious incidents at the field hospital, a doctor told a Royal Society of Medicine webinar.

Dr Andrew Wragg, consultant cardiologist and director of quality and safety at Barts Health NHS Trust, said a study of the long-term outcomes of the 54 patients was ongoing, as 20 of those treated at the ExCel conference centre site were still recovering in hospitals across London.

Johanna Cade, a nurse at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS trust and who worked at the Nightingale, said: “We had quite high incident reporting at 144 incidents reported and I think that demonstrates that Nightingale really did well at building a no blame safety culture for resolution and learning. This system manifested itself and staff were really striving to make things better continually. We knew who to report to and how to escalate things.”

She showed data revealing the largest number of safety incidents involved medical devices.

There were 25 incidents that included the ventilators used to keep patients alive. Staffing issues and medication, as well as pressure ulcer and communication incidents, were also among the highest numbers.

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Source: The Independent, 27 June 2020

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New training for NHS maternity staff to boost babies safety

Hundreds of senior midwives are to be given new training to help improve culture and leadership across 126 NHS trusts.

Patient safety minister Nadine Dorries said a new £500,000 maternity leadership programme would be rolled out later this year aimed at giving senior staff running maternity wards the skills and knowledge they need to boost culture and safety.

Its one step towards improving the working relationships between midwives and obstetricians and follows the damning report by the Ockenden inquiry into decades of poor care at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals Trust.

The report, published last month, highlighted leadership on maternity wards as a key factor in cases at the trust which led to preventable baby deaths and cases of neglect over many years.

Announcing the fund, Nadine Dorries said: “The shocking and tragic findings of the Ockenden Review highlighted the importance of strengthening maternity leadership and oversight as well as fostering more collaborative approaches within maternity and neonatal services.

“I’m pleased to announce a new training programme for NHS maternity leaders, which will empower nurses, midwives and obstetricians to get the best out of their teams, and deliver safe, world-class care to mothers and their babies.”

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Source: The Independent, 12 January 2021

Government press release

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Staffing crisis deepens in NHS England with 110,000 posts unfilled

The NHS is facing a deepening staffing crisis, with the number of unfilled posts across health services in England rising to 110,192, official figures show.

The shortages include 39,652 nurses and 8,158 doctors, according to the latest quarterly data for health service vacancies published by NHS Digital.

The disclosure prompted warnings that the shortage of frontline personnel would lead to longer delays, hit the campaign to cut the 6.1m treatment backlog and undermine quality of care.

Staff groups said they feared that low pay, burnout from heavy workloads and constant pressure during shifts, compounded by the Covid-19 pandemic, were leading demoralised workers to quit.

“The fact that nursing vacancies remain stubbornly high, at about 40,000 in the NHS in England, is deeply worrying. With every job that remains unfilled, safe patient care becomes even harder to maintain”, said Patricia Marquis, the Royal College of Nursing’s director for England.

Wes Streeting, the shadow health secretary, said: “The Conservatives’ scrapping of the nursing bursary and failure to fix staffing shortages has been disastrous for the NHS, and patients are paying the price. NHS staff do heroic work but there simply aren’t enough of them. Yet the government still has no plan to fill these positions, meaning patients will continue to wait unacceptable lengths of time for treatment.”

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Source: The Guardian, 3 March 2022

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Hospital advertises for ‘corridor care’ nurses to ease NHS crisis

A hospital is recruiting nurses to work 12-hour shifts in its corridors caring for sick patients stuck waiting for a bed.
In a sign of the deepening capacity crisis facing the health service, Whittington Hospital in Archway, north London, posted several adverts for registered nurses last week where the role was specifically described as “corridor care” or for a “corridor RN”.

Across the country, doctors and nurses have reported NHS trusts installing power sockets and oxygen lines in corridor walls, in anticipation of large numbers of patients needing to be stacked there on trolleys while they wait for a bed.
Professor Nicola Ranger, head of the Royal College of Nursing, said: “Recruiting tired nurses to do extra shifts solely in corridors is desperate. It shows just how normalised this practice has become.

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Source: Telegraph, 11 January 2025

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Confidence and trust in hospital staff high but no improvement in inpatient experience

Findings from the Care Quality Commission's (CQC’s) latest annual survey of people who stayed as an inpatient in hospital show that most people had confidence in the doctors and nurses treating them and felt that staff answered their questions clearly. However, just over a third (40%) of patients surveyed left hospital without written information telling them how to look after themselves after discharge (up from 38% in 2017), and of those who were given medication to take home, 44% were not told about the possible side effects to watch out for. 

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‘Almost half of healthcare workers had covid-19’ at some hospitals

Almost half of healthcare workers at some hospitals were infected with COVID-19 during the height of the first wave, the director of a biomedical research centre has told MPs.

Sir Paul Nurse, director of the Francis Crick Institute, told MPs today that COVID-19 had infected up to 45% of healthcare workers during ”the height of the pandemic” at some hospitals, according to the centre’s research.

Chief medical officer Chris Whitty also told the Health and Social Care Committee that there was more evidence that COVID-19 was transmitted between staff, rather than from patients to staff, and there was “just as much risk as people being in their break rooms than on wards”.

Sir Paul told MPs the Francis Crick Institute contacted Downing Street in March and wrote to health secretary Matt Hancock in April to emphasise the importance of regular systematic testing for all healthcare workers as it was “quite clear” that those without symptoms were likely to be transmitting the disease.

He said hospital staff “were infecting their colleagues, they were infecting their patients, yet they were not being tested systematically.”

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Source: HSJ, 21 July 2020

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Mental health in the Punjabi community: 'I see stigma everywhere'

Seeking help for mental health is never easy but for some members of London's Punjabi community, the shame and stigma associated means they have struggled more than most.

Anyone having "problems of the mind" is often considered a burden upon the family says Dr Rakish Rana, founder of the Clear Coach, who added that a lack of education on mental health means it is considered a taboo subject.

"To support those with mental health issues, there needs to be more awareness in the South Asian community, whether that's through religious or community leaders, schools and families," he said.

"As with all cases of mental health, it needs to be openly discussed and normalised."

Shuranjeet Singh, the founder of Taraki, a not-for-profit mental health organisation, said its research carried out into the Punjabi community found more than half of respondents reported a decline in their mental health as a result of Covid-19.

"I can see stigma slowly reducing and I hope that community-focused solutions are well researched and funded, because no community is truly 'hard to reach'."

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Source: BBC News, 3 October 2020

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Why America needs a National Patient Safety Board

Within hours of the catastrophic Fern Hollow bridge collapse in Pittsburgh, USA, the National Transportation Safety Board was on the scene, finding answers to “Why?” and “How can we keep this from ever happening again?” What could be more obvious than the value of having a team of experts on the alert — and empowered with the authority — to provide promising solutions to dangerous situations?

Transportation industries embraced the recommendations because they know what its corporate mission and obligation to the public is: to get people from place to place as efficiently and safely as possible.

Sadly, we cannot say the same for health care, says Karen Wolk Feinstein. 

There is no single federal agency entrusted with a sole mission: to make health care as safe as possible by investigating solutions to major threats. Therefore, there has been comparatively little progress to protect patients from medical mistakes.

We don’t understand well enough the preconditions and root causes of adverse events, making it difficult to prevent harm before it happens; we haven’t deployed the safety technology and analytics we have available; and we often don’t share existing lessons learned or actionable solutions, says Karen.

That’s why a coalition of US experts, including leaders from hospitals, insurers, patient safety groups, consumer advocates, foundations, universities, technology companies and employers has formed to promote the establishment of an independent, nonpunitive federal agency dedicated to finding data-driven solutions to the problem of medical error. A National Patient Safety Board, modelled after the National Transportation Safety Board, would identify patient safety events, study the root causes of these events and issue recommendations to prevent future lapses.

More than 80% of the NTSB’s recommendations are acted upon. Imagine if this occurred in health care: How many lives could be saved? How much needless suffering could be prevented?

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Source: Pittsurgh Post-Gazette, 10 February 2022

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NHS leaders warn that social care workforce crisis risks patient safety

NHS leaders across England say staffing gaps and a lack of capacity in social care are putting the care and safety of patients in the NHS at risk.

Almost 250 NHS leaders responding to an NHS Confederation survey say that patients are being delayed in hospital much longer than they should, with the knock-on impact resulting in higher demand on A&E departments and longer ambulance response times.

  • More than 9 in 10 NHS leaders warn of a social care workforce crisis in their area which they expect will get worse this winter.
  • Nearly all NHS leaders say the lack of capacity in social care is putting the care and safety of patients at risk.
  • More than four in five warn that the absence of care packages for people to be able to return home or be moved into a care home is the main reason why medically fit patients are stuck in hospital longer than they should be.
  • Almost all NHS leaders say that the most impactful solution would be better pay for social care staff and want the Government to increase investment in social care as a priority.

An acute trust executive director in the South West accused the Government of presiding over a “national scandal.”

“If the social care capacity shortfall was solved then we would not be holding ambulances at all, we would have almost no problems with elective recovery and our emergency departments would not be crowded and unsafe,” they said.

Another acute trust chair in the East of England added: “The result of using nearly 20 per cent of our beds for patients who are medically fit but need packages of care to return home is an overcrowded A&E, twelve-hour trolley waits and much delayed ambulance handover times. The connection is very clear to us…Until we find a solution to social care staffing and funding, the situation can only get worse.”

Commenting on the survey results Lord Victor Adebowale, chair of the NHS Confederation, said:

“Decades of delay and inertia have left social care services chronically underfunded and in desperate need of more support.

“NHS leaders stand alongside their sister services in social care in wanting a rescue package for the sector. They are sounding the alarm and sending a clear message to Government that the social care system has not been ‘fixed’."

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Source: NHS Confederation, 28 July 2022

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‘Disingenuous’ wait times on NHS App will be half those patients have to face

Next week’s launch of the ‘Wayfinder’ waiting time information service on the NHS App will give patients “disingenuous” and “misleading” information about how long they can expect to wait for care, senior figures close to the project have warned.

Briefing documents seen by HSJ show the figure displayed to patients will be a mean average of wait times taken from the Waiting List Minimum Data Set and the My Planned Care site.

However, it was originally intended that the metric displayed would be the time waited by 92% of relevant patients. This is more commonly known as the “9 out of 10” measure.

Mean waits are likely to be about “half the typical waiting time” measured under the 9 out of 10 metric, according to the waiting list experts consulted by HSJ.

Ahead of The Wayfinder service’s launch on Tuesday, NHS trusts and integrated care boards have been sent comprehensive information on how to publicise it, including a “lines to take” briefing in case of media inquiries. This mentions the use of an “average” time but does not provider any justification for this approach.

HSJ’s source said the mean average metric was “the worst one to choose” as it would be providing patients with “disingenuous” information that will leave them disappointed. They added that the 92nd percentile metric would be a “far more realistic” measure “for a greater number of people”.

They concluded that “using an average” would create false expectations “because in reality nobody will be seen in the amount of time it is saying on the app.”

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Source: HSJ, 26 January 2024

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'Alarming' one in five deaths due to sepsis

One in five deaths around the world is caused by sepsis, also known as blood poisoning, shows the most comprehensive analysis of the condition.

The report estimates 11 million people a year are dying from sepsis - more than are killed by cancer. The researchers at the University of Washington said the "alarming" figures were double previous estimates. Most cases were in poor and middle income countries, but even wealthier nations are dealing with sepsis.

There has been a big push within the health service to identify the signs of sepsis more quickly and to begin treatment. The challenge is to get better at identifying patients with sepsis in order to treat them before it is too late. Early treatment with antibiotics or anti-virals to clear an infection can make a massive difference.

Prof Mohsen Naghavi said: "We are alarmed to find sepsis deaths are much higher than previously estimated, especially as the condition is both preventable and treatable. We need renewed focus on sepsis prevention among newborns and on tackling antimicrobial resistance, an important driver of the condition."

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Source: BBC News, 17 January 2020

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Coronavirus: Millions could be asked to stay at home again, reports say

Millions of people who are at risk of serious illness from COVID-19 could be asked to start shielding again if infection rates continue to rise, according to reports.

Officials are planning to send out letters telling the most vulnerable either to stay at home or to follow advice specifically tailored to their health conditions.

The Daily Telegraph  reports that the new programme will initially target those living in areas with dangerous levels of coronavirus but went on to quote an anonymous official as saying it could be applied to the whole of England if necessary.

If so, it could affect up to 4.5 million people – more than double the number who were asked to shield at the start of the lockdown in March.

The new shielding scheme is reportedly based on a "stratified risk model" which would target individuals based on factors such as their underlying health conditions, age, sex and weight. 

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Source: 13 September 2020

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Russells Hall Hospital: NHS trust charged over patients' deaths

An NHS trust has been charged over the deaths of two patients.

The Care Quality Commission alleges Natalie Billingham, 33, and Kaysie-Jane Bland were exposed to "significant risk of avoidable harm" at Dudley's Russells Hall Hospital.

The regulator has brought the charges against Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust over two alleged breaches of the Health and Social Care Act.

This relates to the trust's duty to ensure safe care and treatment.

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Source: BBC News, 6 April 2021

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Doctor with Long Covid found to have multiple blood clots in his brain

A doctor who became very unwell with COVID-19 at the start of the pandemic was later found to have multiple blood clots in his brain which could easily have killed him.

Dr Ian Frayling started suffering with a "bone-cracking" fever, muscle pain and a "cough like no other" in March 2020, weeks before the national lockdown was announced by the UK and Welsh governments.

His condition then took a turn for the worse when he started experiencing problems with his breathing and encountering such extreme brain fog that entire days would pass him by.

The 62-year-old said his "frightening" range of symptoms, which also included irritable bowel syndrome, disruptive sleep and difficulty with coordination, persisted for many months and left him a fatigued shell of his former self.

After sharing his story with WalesOnline 12 months ago, Dr Frayling was invited to meet the Senedd's health committee in March 2021 to give evidence of his battle with Long Covid. It led to a respiratory consultant reaching out to him and offering him a full clinical assessment at the University Hospital Llandough.

Not only did she find problems with his heart and blood pressure, which were to be expected, but a referral for CT scans in May 2021 revealed that he was living with several blood clots in his brain which were very likely to be attributed to the after-effects of coronavirus. It meant suffering a catastrophic stroke was highly likely.

After being given the deeply distressing news, Dr Frayling said his mind began turning to other people with Long Covid who may be experiencing similar neurological symptoms but are waiting many months to be referred to see a specialist doctor by their GP.

"The consultant used her clinical skills and expertise [to properly assess me and give me a CT scan]. I'm one of the lucky ones. A GP can't directly send people off for these kind of tests, so there could be thousands of people with Long Covid, just like me, who aren't getting the help they need and are just being fobbed off."

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Source: Wales Online, 28 November 2021

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Multiple sclerosis could be caused by the common ‘kissing disease’ virus, scientists say

The debilitating disease multiple sclerosis could be caused by the common virus behind "kissing disease", scientists claim.

A new study from Harvard University suggests the chronic disease could be from an infection of Epstein-Barr, a herpes virus that causes infectious mononucleosis.

Mono or glandular fever, as it’s otherwise known, is colloquially known as "the kissing disease" for being highly contagious through saliva.

While causing fatigue, fever, rash, and swollen glands, researchers propose that the Epstein-Barr virus could also establish a latent, lifelong infection that may be a leading cause of multiple sclerosis.

Affecting 2.8 million people, there is no known cure for the chronic inflammatory disease of the central nervous system.

“The hypothesis that EBV causes MS has been investigated by our group and others for several years, but this is the first study providing compelling evidence of causality,” the study’s senior author Alberto Ascherio, a professor of epidemiology and nutrition at Harvard Chan School, said in a press release.

“This is a big step because it suggests that most MS cases could be prevented by stopping EBV infection, and that targeting EBV could lead to the discovery of a cure for MS.”

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Source: The Independent, 13 January 2022

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Ambulance staff experiencing ‘horrific’ abuse and attacks, NHS warns

Ambulance staff are experiencing “horrific” abuse from the public as attacks on workers increased by 23% in the wake of the pandemic.

Assaults against female ambulance staff have risen by 48% in the last five years, according to a new report from the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives (AACE).

In response to rising attacks, the NHS has launched a #workwithoutfear campaign to prevent abuse of ambulance staff. Last year there were 11,749 attacks against ambulance staff, equating to 32 workers being abused or attacked every day.

AACE said incidents included kicking, slapping, headbutting and verbal abuse, and ranged from common assault to serious attacks involving knives and weapons.

Daren Mochrie, chair of AACE and chief executive of North West Ambulance Service said ambulance staff “face the possibility of violence, assault and aggression” on every shift.

“When they occur, these attacks have a significant and lasting impact on the team member, affecting every aspect of their life."

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Source: The Independent, 28 February 2022

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USA: Former nurse found guilty in accidental injection death of 75-year-old patient

RaDonda Vaught, a former nurse criminally prosecuted for a fatal drug error in 2017, was convicted of gross neglect of an impaired adult and negligent homicide on Friday after a three-day trial in Nashville, Tenn., that gripped nurses across the country.

Vaught faces three to six years in prison for neglect and one to two years for negligent homicide as a defendant with no prior convictions, according to sentencing guidelines provided by the Nashville district attorney's office. Vaught is scheduled to be sentenced 13, and her sentences are likely to run concurrently, said the district attorney's spokesperson, Steve Hayslip.

Vaught was acquitted of reckless homicide. Criminally negligent homicide was a lesser charge included under reckless homicide.

Vaught's trial has been closely watched by nurses and medical professionals across the U.S., many of whom worry it could set a precedent of criminalising medical mistakes. Medical errors are generally handled by professional licensing boards or civil courts, and criminal prosecutions like Vaught's case are exceedingly rare.

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Source: OPB, 26 March 2022

See also: As a nurse in the US faces prison for a deadly error, her colleagues worry: Could I be next?

 

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Man dies after being sucked into an MRI machine

An unfortunate series of events involving a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine led to the death of a man at a hospital in India.

Rajesh Maruti Maru, a 32-year-old, was thrust into the MRI machine  while he was visiting an elderly relative at the BYL Nair Charitable Hospital in Mumbai, India. As the Hindustan Times reports, the man was apparently told by a junior member of staff to carry a metal cylinder of liquid oxygen into a room containing an MRI machine.

Unbeknownst to everyone, the MRI machine was turned on. This caused Maru to be suddenly jolted pulled towards the machine, causing the oxygen tank to rupture and leak. The man later died after inhaling large amounts of oxygen. His body also bled heavily as a result of the accident.

"When we [the hospital staff] told him that metallic things aren't allowed inside an MRI room, he said 'sab chalta hai, hamara roz ka kaam hai' [it's fine, we do it every day]. He also said that the machine was switched off. The doctor, as well as the technician, didn't say anything,” Harish Solanki, Maru's relative, told NDTV.

"It's because of their carelessness that Rajesh died," Solanki added.

Police are currently examining the CCTV footage of the incident and have arrested at least two members of hospital staff for the negligence. The local government has also awarded the man's family 500,000 rupees ($7,855) in compensation.

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Source: IFL Science, 29 January 2018

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