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Endometriosis: 'Women's health at bottom of Welsh NHS wait lists'

A woman who has been waiting three years for a hysterectomy says she feels she and other women have been pushed to the bottom of the list.

Jessica Ricketts, from Barry, is one of 164,000 patients who have been on various NHS waiting lists for more than a year, compared to less than 7,000 two-years-ago. But it will take another three years to tackle the backlog.

Welsh government's plan to tackle long waits is due to be published later.

But for Jessica, she remains in pain with endometriosis despite six gynaecological surgeries over the past 10 years and is now waiting for the hysterectomy.

"Every day there's some sort of pain and I'm in pain right now," she told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast.

"My fear is that the endometriosis - because obviously I'm just waiting - is now in my diaphragm, and so I get pain on my left side.

"With every day almost, which used to just be cyclical and now it's gone a lot worse."

Jessica is keen to see what the Welsh government's plan to cut waiting times is, but she believes women's health "seems to be at the very bottom of the pile".

She added: "I think it's even more important now than ever, to really push the women's health side of things. We have it takes on average 10 years for a diagnosis of endometriosis.

"As women we have to fight to even get past the GP who is severely under-trained in this department.

"And it's just seems to be that because we're women. We're told that you know, just suck it up really and carry on and it needs to be a fairer system, particularly for the women of Wales and we need to stop pushing it to the bottom of the pile."

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Source: BBC News, 26 April 2022

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GPs won’t see us unless it’s ‘life or death’, complain pensioners

A 94-year-old man has said his GP refuses to see him “unless it’s life or death”.

Dennis Baker, from North Hampshire, said he felt “put off” by his doctor's surgery, which is a three-minute walk from his house.

The pensioner, who lives with his wife who has advanced dementia and is bed-bound, said he found it “quite difficult to carry on a conversation with a doctor” and cannot get one to visit him at home.

“The chances are [the receptionist] will say… ‘you're not dying, a doctor will phone you at some stage today’, that’s the usual response,” he told BBC Radio 4’s World at One.

It comes as the president of the Royal College of GPs (RCGP) said family doctors should start “saying no” to extra work to tackle the crisis in primary care.

Speaking at Pulse Live last week, Professor Dame Clare Gerada said the workload crisis was not the fault of GPs and they “cannot innovate [their] way out”.

“When you’re in debates and people are saying to you 'you’ve got to work harder and smarter' - no, the rest of the system has to adapt,” she told the conference.

“You have to start saying no.”

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Source: The Telegraph, 3 May 2022

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Three NHS patients ‘mutilated’ by surgeon in a single week prompts shake-up at NHS trust

An RAF veteran has been left with life-changing injuries after being “mutilated” by an NHS surgeon during what should have been a routine procedure.

Paul Tooth, 64, has been permanently left with tubes going in and out of his body which he needs to continually recycle bile produced by his liver.

The previously fit and active father-of-two has lost five stone in weight and can barely leave his house after the surgery last year.

It was supposed to be a routine gall bladder removal, but the surgeon inexplicably took out Paul’s bile duct and hepatic duct, which link the liver to the intestines, as well as damaging the liver itself, making a repair impossible.

Although he has won his legal battle against the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital Foundation Trust, Paul believes what happened to him raises bigger safety questions for the trust after he learned he was one of three patients harmed by the same surgeon just days apart.

The alarm was first raised by Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge where the three patients were transferred for specialist care after their initial operations.

The Norfolk and Norwich trust has now admitted liability for the errors and standard of care Paul received.

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Source: The Independent, 25 April 2021

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Outdated hospital oxygen systems a ‘risk to patients’, review warns

A new review by a Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB) found outdated systems used to provide oxygen around hospitals struggled to cope with demand, particularly during the winter months during the Covid surge. 

HSIB was created to investigate safety issues in England, and have said the problems with oxygen was not isolated to just one hospital. 

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Source: BBC News, 24 June 2021

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Greater Manchester hospitals ‘forced to provide extra critical care beds’

Hospital waiting lists across the country could hit 13 million in the months to come.

Reports have found Manchester Hospitals are having to provide extra beds for critical care patients as the number of people coming in has surged.

Hospitals are struggling to cope due to increase in patients attending hospitals in the city a reports the Manchester Evening News.

The “number of people attending emergency departments across Greater Manchester has seen a significant increase in recent weeks” and that assistance from hospitals in other parts of the country was “part of our usual processes”, a spokesperson for the Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership has said.

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Source: The Independent, 15 July 2021

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Patient kills herself on Glasgow hospital ward after 'failure in communication'

A woman took her own life on a ward after her move to a mental health hospital was not facilitated.

Anne Clelland was found unconscious in the toilet of her room in Glasgow's Queen Elizabeth University Hospital and later died of a brain injury.

Anne - who had a history of self-harm - was admitted following an overdose. She was due to be moved to a psychiatric hospital three days before her death but this did not take place because of a "failure of communication."

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde pled guilty today to failing to conduct their undertaking in a way that a person would not be exposed to risks to their health and safety.

Glasgow Sheriff Court heard Anne was admitted to Ward 5A at the hospital after overdosing on 7 May 2015. A specialist met with Ann on 11 and 12 May with a plan put in place for her to be transferred to Leverndale hospital once she was medically fit.

A psychiatry team was to be contacted at that time for a further review to facilitate the transfer.

Prosecutor Catriona Dow said: “There was no suggestion at this time that despite her ongoing treatment following her suicide attempt, that she was at risk of suicide and required special requirements such as the removal of her possessions and enhanced observations such as constant observations.”

“There appears there was a breakdown in communication regarding the intention of the psychiatrist that Anne would be transferred that evening due to her assessed risk of self-harm.”

Other witnesses recalled a plan for a transfer to Leverndale but it was understood that until a bed was to become available, she would be able to remain at Ward 5A.

Other staff appeared not to have been aware of the assessed risk of self-harm and her transfer to Leverndale that evening.

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Source: Glasgow Live, 8 November 2021

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Harrowing ‘systemic abuse’ at children’s hospitals revealed

Children say they were “treated like animals” and left traumatised as part of a decade of “systemic abuse” by a group of mental health hospitals, an investigation by The Independent and Sky News has found.

The Department of Health and Social Care has now launched a probe into the allegations of 22 young women who were patients in units run by The Huntercombe Group, which has run at least six children’s mental health hospitals, between 2012 and this year.

They say they suffered treatment including the use of “painful” restraints and being held down for hours by male nurses, being stopped from going outside for months and living in wards with blood-stained walls. They also allege they were given so much medication they had become “zombies” and were force-fed.

Through witness testimony, documents obtained by Freedom of Information request and leaked reports, the investigation has uncovered:

  • The CQC has received more than 700 whistleblowing and safeguarding reports, including “incidents of concern” and several “sexual safety” concerns.
  • NHS England was notified of 195 safeguarding reports between 2020 and 2021.
  • A 2018 internal report at Meadow Lodge hospital in Newton Abbot (now closed) found staff members using sexually inappropriate language in front of patients.
  • 160 reports investigated by Staffordshire police about Huntercombe Staffordshire between 2015 and 2022.
  • Between March 2021 and 2022, the CQC gave permission for 29 patients to be admitted to Maidenhead hospital after it was placed in special measures.

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Source: The Independent, 17 November 2022

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Patient identity management: a patient safety concern

Fragmented patient data can lead to redundant and unnecessary care, potentially harming individuals. Thought leaders are calling for standardised methods to identify patients and minimise potential harm.

At a recent US Food and Drug Administration conference for improved data standards, Shaun Grannis, Regenstrief Institute Vice President of Data and Analytics, advocated for standards that promote better patient matching.

“Any time you lack complete information to make the best decision possible, there's an opportunity for error,” Grannis said. “Patient matching is a safety issue. Patient identification is paramount to making sure that patients receive appropriate, safe care.”

Grannis noted that patient data is currently fragmented across healthcare systems. Patients often do not receive care at just one facility or in one health system.

“They’re going to be identified differently across organizations. You might go to your primary care doctor or they refer you to a specialist who’s outside of your system, so your data is fragmented,” he continued.

Disjointed data can make it difficult for providers to make decisions about patient care. Without a complete picture of the patient’s medical history, it is more challenging for clinicians to make care decisions.

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Source: EHR Intelligence, 12 November 2019

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'Corridor nursing' becoming norm in packed A&Es, warn medics

A&E units are so overcrowded that growing numbers of patients have to be looked after in hospital corridors, warn nurses and doctors.

There are rising concerns that the “shameful” trend means people stuck in corridors are not getting the care they need, or they may be even coming to harm. A&E health professionals say “corridor nursing” is becoming increasingly widespread as emergency departments become too full to look after the sheer number of people seeking treatment.

In a survey of 1,174 A&E nurses in the Royal College of Nursing’s (RCN) Emergency Care Association, 73% of those polled said they looked after patients in a “non-designated area” such as corridors every day and another 16% said they did so at least once a week, while 90% said they feared patient safety was being put at risk by those needing care having to spend time in areas of hospitals which did not have medical equipment or call bells.

Staff have had difficulty administering urgent doses of intravenous antibiotics to such patients, some of whom have been denied privacy and found it harder to use a toilet or been left in distress, nurses said.

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Source: The Guardian, 26 February 2020

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NHSX is working on a contact tracking App

NHSX is working on a contact tracking app to trace the spread of coronavirus through the population.

Contact tracking is already in limited use for people who have tested positive and the discipline has a long history in tuberculosis outbreaks.

In a statement sent to HSJ, Matthew Gould, Chief Executive of NHSX, said : “NHSX are looking at whether app-based solutions might be helpful in tracking and managing coronavirus, and we have assembled expertise from inside and outside the organisation to do this as rapidly as possible.”

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Source: HSJ, 18 March 2020

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'Dads can get postnatal depression too'

Becoming a father can be the happiest time in a man's life, but for some it can bring unexpected feelings of anxiety, stress and guilt. Until recently, mental health concerns for new dads were little understood and, often, went unaired. But some men who have experienced postnatal depression hope telling their stories will encourage others to open up.

When Stephen's daughter was born five years ago he knew he was meant to feel happy but instead began to think his wife and newborn child might be better off without him.

"You don't get a chance to sit back, take it in, relax and enjoy it," he said. "I'd come home on a weekend after a long week, tired out, and my wife was back at work, working weekends."

"It just affects you, you don't see each other, you don't have the chance to enjoy it, and all the stress and anxiety builds up. I got to such a low point I considered my family were better off without me."

An international study in 2010 suggested that as many as one in 10 men struggle with postnatal depression (PND). More recently, in 2015, a survey by the National Childbirth Trust (NCT) found one in three new fathers had concerns about their mental health.

The NCT has called for more recognition around mental health issues affecting new dads. It has set up Parents in Mind: Partners Project, which offers support to everyone who has an active role raising a child under two.

"Becoming a parent is an emotional rollercoaster," said Catherine Briars, who runs the project in St Helens.

"Fathers sometimes feel uncomfortable opening up about their feelings but we encourage them to do so if they're struggling. It's often the first step to recovering and regaining good mental health."

She said they encourage men to talk to someone they trust or their GP.

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Source: BBC News, 19 November 2021

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‘I feel so let down’: long waits for ambulances in south-west England

More than four hours after an ambulance was called, Richard Carpenter, 71, who had had a suspected heart attack, began to despair. “Where are they?” he asked his wife, Jeanette. “I’m going to die.”

She tried to reassure her husband that the crew must surely be close. Perhaps they were struggling to find their rural Wiltshire home in the dark. “But I could see I was losing him,” she said. She gave her husband CPR and urged him: “Don’t leave me.” But by the time the paramedics arrived another hour or so later, it was too late.

Jeanette Carpenter, 70, a stoical and reasonable person, accepts it might have been impossible to save her husband. “But I think he would have had more of a chance if they had got here sooner,” she said.

It is the sort of sad story that is becoming all too common. Across England, but in particular in the south-west, ambulances are too often not getting to patients in a timely manner.

Before Covid, said one ambulance worker – who asked not to be named – he would do between six and 10 jobs in a shift. Now if the first person he is called to needs to go to hospital, he expects this will be his one job for the whole shift.

“At some hospitals we are waiting outside hospitals for 10, 11 or 12 hours,” he said. “There’s nothing more demoralising than hearing a general broadcast going out for a cardiac arrest or road accident and there’s no resources to send. It’s terrible to think someone’s loved one needs help and we can’t do anything because we’re stuck at a hospital.”

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Source: The Guardian, 10 April 2022

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Hospitals ordered to take action to stop ambulances waiting longer than half an hour

Doctors’ leaders have reacted with incredulity to demands that all hospitals in England take “immediate steps” to find extra space for patients so that no ambulance waits longer than 30 minutes.

A letter from NHS England sent to the heads of NHS trusts, integrated care boards, and ambulance trusts acknowledged that this will not be easy “and that it may place additional burden on staff at an already challenging time.

The letter was sent on 15 July, in response to the increased pressure on ambulance services over the past year and in light of the current heatwave. It said, “All systems that are currently unable to offload ambulances within 30 minutes should now take further steps to create capacity within acute hospitals to ensure the rapid release of vehicles. This will require risk based decisions to be made about both the use of estate and deployment of clinical workforce.”

Vishal Sharma, chair of the consultants committee at the BMA, said, “The government should be ashamed that it has come to this. If hospitals had the space or the staff to allow them to care for these patients, they wouldn’t be waiting in ambulances at the hospital door in the first place. The sad fact is that after decades of underinvestment, our hospitals are under-resourced, under-bedded, and understaffed.”

 

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Source: BMJ, 18 July 2022

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‘Long-COVID’ in our community – new call for research proposals

Up to £20 million is available for new research projects which aim to understand and address the longer-term physical and mental health effects of COVID-19 in non-hospitalised individuals. 

Increasing medical evidence and patient testimony has shown that some people who contract and survive COVID-19 may develop longer-lasting symptoms.

Symptoms can range from breathlessness, chronic fatigue, ‘brain fog’, anxiety and stress and can last for months after initially falling ill. 

These ongoing problems, commonly termed ‘Long-COVID’, may be experienced by patients regardless of how severe their COVID-19 infection was and irrespective of whether they were hospitalised.

UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) are launching a call to fund two or three ambitious and comprehensive proposals and a small number of study extensions that will address ‘Long-COVID’ in the community. 

This work will complement other major studies already funded by UKRI and NIHR which focus on long covid in hospitalised patients. Projects are expected to start early in the new year and may be funded for up to three years in the first instance.

The call will open on 12 November and close on 9 December 2020.

Further information

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Urgent children’s ops routinely cancelled due to covid pressure

Dozens and potentially hundreds of urgent operations for children have been cancelled during the third wave of the covid pandemic, HSJ can reveal.

There are also concerns that national guidance for prioritising surgery “disadvantages” young people.

Several well placed sources told HSJ that urgent operations for children have been delayed in recent weeks because of covid pressures. This is because of a combination of staff being diverted to help with adults sick with covid, and space in children’s facilities — including intensive care — being taken over for adult covid care, as well as other staff being absent due to covid.

The royal college of surgeons has told HSJ that urgent children’s operations “are increasingly being cancelled around the country”.

Dozens and potentially hundreds of children’s operations rated as priority two — those which are urgent and should be carried out within a month — have been cancelled and delayed in recent weeks in the capital, according to several well placed sources. This is alongside potentially thousands of priority three operations being cancelled, which are those needing to be carried out within three months.

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Source: HSJ, 31 January 2021

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Three hospitals placed in special measures following infection control concerns

Three private mental health hospitals have been placed in special measures after the Care Quality Commission found concerns over infection control.

John Munroe Hospital and Edith Shaw Hospital, both in Staffordshire and run by the John Munroe Group, were inspected after the CQC received several whistleblowing complaints over poor covid-19 infection control and covid deaths. 

A third hospital, Priory Hospital Arnold, based in Nottinghamshire, was criticised over hygiene and infection control failures after the regulator found dried blood, faeces, food and sputum on seclusion room walls.

In reports published this week, the CQC revealed it had placed all three hospitals in special measures and imposed urgent enforcement action against the providers. 

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Source: HSJ, 29 April 2021

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Concern police will be able to ‘strong-arm’ NHS to hand over patient data under new plans

Police forces will be able to “strong-arm” NHS bodies into handing over confidential patient data under planned laws that have sparked fury from doctors’ groups and the UK’s medical watchdog.

Ministers are planning new powers for police forces that would “set aside” the existing duty of confidentiality that applies to patient data held by the NHS and will instead require NHS organisations to hand over data police say they need to prevent serious violence.

Last week, England’s national data guardian, Dr Nicola Byrne, told The Independent she had serious concerns about the impact of the legislation going through parliament, and warned that the case for introducing the sweeping powers had not been made.

Now the UK’s medical watchdog, the General Medical Council (GMC), has also criticised the new law, proposals for which are contained in the Police, Crime and Sentencing Bill, warning it fails to protect patients’ sensitive information and could disproportionately hit some groups and worsen inequalities.

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Source: The Independent, 18 October 2021

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Treasury’s dead hand over NHS policy is the biggest patient safety threat

Patients are dying in the backs of ambulances or on trolleys in A&E while others languish in beds unable to be discharged due to the collapse in social care. Others waiting in pain are desperate to get a bed for much-needed surgery.

While there are many ingredients mixing together to create the current NHS crisis, a widespread shortage of nurses, doctors and other essential staff is one of the major contributory factors.

Many in the NHS reacted with disbelief on Tuesday after 280 MPs voted with the government to reject a bid to force through better workforce planning for the NHS.

Former health secretary Jeremy Hunt had pulled together a coalition of health organisations and charities who backed his proposal which demanded ministers draw up and publish workforce plans every two years.

Mr Hunt’s amendment fell victim to the fear of the cost of actually training enough doctors and nurses to work in the NHS.

The Treasury’s dead hand over NHS policy has and continues to be one of the biggest patient safety threats in the UK.

As Mr Hunt told MPs, the costs are borne not only from huge bills for locum doctors and nurses who earn incredible pay working alongside exhausted full-time staff, but also in the safety failures caused by staff shortages.

Exhausted nurses will make mistakes. One nurse cannot safely look after a ward of 16 elderly patients. A doctor can only see one patient at a time in A&E.

Speaking to MPs, Mr Hunt pleaded with the Commons to offer some hope to the NHS workforce.

He said NHS staff were “exhausted” but also “daunted” by the challenges they were seeing. He added: “All they ask is one simple request, that they can be confident we are training enough of them for the future.”

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Source: The Independent, 23 November 2021

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Widespread gaps in ‘gold-standard’ eating disorders service a year on from launch

More than half of England has limited or no access to a ‘gold standard’ eating disorder programme proven to halve the need for intensive treatment, a year after NHS England funded 18 pilot projects in the wake of five women’s anorexia deaths, HSJ analysis reveals.

Last November NHSE announced it would scale up the first episode rapid intervention in eating disorders (FREED) service – a successful scheme shown to help people aged 16-25 in London – in 19 initial areas before promoting it country-wide.

The brainchild of King’s College London’s Professor Ulrike Schmidt, FREED sees teenagers and young adults living with a condition for less than three years being contacted within 48 hours of seeking help – with treatment beginning as soon as two weeks later.

Now it has emerged that just 16 of England’s mental health trusts, out of more than 54, have fully adopted the FREED service, which experts say has halved the need for intensive treatment from 12.5% to 6.5% in early pilots – saving the NHS around £4,400 per patient.

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Source: HSJ, 6 December 2021

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Swedish expert praises leading work in patient safety in Scotland

Swedish expert has praised Scotland for leading work in improving patient safety, with a decade-long programme which is now expanding into social care.

Dr Pelle Gustafson (below), chief medical officer, of Swedish patient insurer Löf, said he was “particularly impressed” by the work in Scotland over the past 10 years during a meeting of the House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee.

The Scottish Patient Safety Programme (SPSP), which has been in existence for around 13 years, was set up to make patient safety a priority in NHS Scotland, drawing on lessons from the airline industry such as introducing checklists.

Gustafson was asked by Tory MP Dr Luke Evans which country he would hold at the “very top of the pillar” for preventative work during an evidence session on NHS litigation reform last week.

He responded: “If you take all preventive work as regards patient safety, I would say that I am personally very impressed by Scotland.

“In Scotland, you have a long-standing tradition of working. You have development in the right direction.

“You have a system that is fairly equal all over the place and you also have improvement activities going on. I am very impressed by Scotland.”

He added: “I am particularly impressed by the Scottish work over the last 10 years. There are a lot of things that we, in the Nordic countries, can learn from Scotland too.”

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Source: The National, 16 January 2022

 

 

 

 

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Struggling system asks NHSE for help with ambulance handovers

Health leaders in Lincolnshire have admitted they do not have a ‘robust’ response to managing the risks posed by ambulance handover delays and poor response times.

The system’s acute provider, United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust (ULHT), was consistently among the trusts accounting for the highest proportion of ambulance delays over winter.

In a document submitted to NHS England, the county’s integrated care system said: “While the system has good visibility of the level of risk across the system, and there are discussions about this on daily system calls, it is recognised that the system doesn’t currently have a robust response approach to ambulance handover delays.

“A request has been made to regional NHSE/I team for support in developing a Lincolnshire system risk and response approach to ambulance handover delays.”

ULHT’s board has recently noted “increasing concerns” from regulators. Its board papers have described capacity outside the acute sector as key, but there was “currently… not a sense of collective impact to scale and scope that would make a difference to reach the trajectory described”.

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Source: HSJ, 5 May 2022

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Private healthcare boom adds to fears of two-tier system in UK

Growing numbers of Britons are paying for private medical treatment in a shift that could undermine the NHS and create a “two-tier” health system, a report has warned.

Declining access to and quality of NHS care, both worsened by the Covid-19 pandemic, have begun to “supercharge” the trend, with one in six people prepared to go private instead of waiting.

That is among the findings of a report by the left-leaning IPPR thinktank, which warns that in future getting fast, high-quality care on the NHS could become as difficult as the situation that already exists in regards to state-funded dental treatment, which has become a postcode lottery.

“People are not opting out of the NHS because they have stopped believing in it as the best and fairest model of healthcare,” said Chris Thomas, the IPPR’s principal research fellow and co-author of the report.

“Rather, those who can afford it are being forced to go private by the consequences of austerity and the pandemic on NHS access and quality, and those without the funds are left to ‘put up or shut up’.”

The report says that unless the NHS starts performing better “people who can and are willing to do so will supplement their entitlement to NHS care with private healthcare products”.

“With NHS waiting lists now at record levels, it is not surprising that more patients across the country are looking at private healthcare,” said David Hare, chief executive of the Independent Healthcare Providers Network, a trade body that represents about 100 private providers across the UK.

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Source: The Guardian, 2 March 2022

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Thousands of patients face cancelled NHS appointments or operations due to Queen’s funeral

Thousands of hospital and GP appointments have been cancelled due to the public holiday surrounding the Queen's funeral on Monday.

Many hospitals are to postpone outpatient appointments and planned operations because of reduced staffing, while most GP surgeries will also close.

NHS hospitals in England have been urged to contact patients who could be affected, whether or not their appointment has been postponed.

Some hospitals have said they will be operating as usual, while others have said that they will postpone some non-urgent appointments.

Some patients and doctors have expressed concern about their appointments being postponed.

One doctor told The Independent: “I have the greatest respect for the Queen ... but when patients are waiting up to two years to be seen ... really?

One GP leader in London said practice staff were now getting “abuse” over the bank holiday closures.

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Source: The Independent, 14 September 2022

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Police launch investigation into ‘abuse’ at NHS unit

A police investigation is under way into allegations of abuse at an NHS-run home for men with severe learning disabilities and autism, it has emerged.

Several staff from the home have already been “removed” from the site by Surrey and Borders Partnership Foundation Trust, although the trust would not comment on whether any disciplinary action has been taken against them.

The home – Oakwood, in Caterham, Surrey – will close at the end of the summer in response to the failings, the trust said. No one has been charged in relation to the allegations, which HSJ understands focus on coercive behaviour and unnecessary deprivation of liberty, with no allegations of violent or sexual behaviour.

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Source: HSJ, 9 June 2023

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Doctors at West Suffolk hospital 'too scared' to report safety issues

Doctors at a hospital accused of bullying its staff have told the NHS care regulator that they are too scared to report lapses in patient safety in case they end up facing disciplinary action. 

The Guardian revealed earlier this week that West Suffolk hospital stands accused by its own medics of secrecy, bullying and intimidation after it demanded they take fingerprint tests in its effort to identify a whistleblower.

Senior staff have privately passed on serious concerns to the Care Quality Commission (CQC) about the behaviour of the trust’s leadership. They used confidential meetings with CQC inspectors, who visited twice in the autumn, to explain why they lack confidence in Steve Dunn, the trust’s chief executive, Dr Nick Jenkins, its medical director, and Sheila Childerhouse, who chairs the hospital’s board.

The CQC is due to publish its report into the trust, including the performance of its leadership, in January.

 “Staff are scared that they’ll face disciplinary action [if they raise concerns about patient safety],” said one doctor, who declined to be named.

“As a result of recent events I can’t imagine that anyone at the trust will feel comfortable to speak out or whistleblow in the future. I fear that any future patient safety concerns will not be expressed and will simply be brushed under the carpet.”

The trust demanded fingerprints and handwriting samples after a staff member wrote anonymously to the family of Susan Warby, who died in August 2018 after undergoing treatment at the hospital, which was investigated as a “serious incident”.

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Source: The Guardian, 11 December 2019

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