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Keep up to date with the latest news, research and activity in patient safety.

UK ‘falling short’ in fight against rise of superbugs resistant to antibiotics

Superbugs are on the rise in the UK and the government is failing in its efforts to tackle them, ministers have been warned.
The World Health Organization has described antimicrobial resistance (AMR) – where pathogens evolve and develop resistance to antibiotics and other antimicrobials so the drugs usually used to fight them no longer work – as “one of the top global public health and development threats”.
AMR is already contributing to more than 35,000 deaths a year in the UK, estimates suggest. But the government “remains a long way” from achieving its aim of containing and controlling AMR, the National Audit Office (NAO) said.
If urgent action is not taken to stem the crisis, the consequences for health, life expectancy, the functioning of the NHS and the wider economy would be “huge”, the watchdog said.
Read full story 
Source: The Guardian, 26 February 2025
Sam

US stops sharing flu data with WHO amidst one of its worst flu seasons

While the US declared its intention to leave the World Health Organization (WHO) on 20 January, the process of severing ties with the international public health body formally takes one year. Yet US health agencies have already retreated from nearly all coordinated global health efforts around influenza surveillance. The move could jeopardise the efficacy of the next batch of flu vaccines both for the US and the rest of the world.
This comes as the US is in the midst of its most severe flu season in 15 years. At least 29 million people in the country have caught the illness since October and roughly 16,000 have died from it – and the season is only half over.
Numerous factors are probably behind the surge, including lower vaccination rates, says Erin Sorrell at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland. 
All of this underscores the importance of an upcoming WHO meeting. Scheduled for 28 February, the meeting will bring together influenza experts from around the world to select which strains the next flu shot will target. The decision is based on influenza samples collected from 151 national laboratories across 127 countries. These samples are then further analysed at WHO collaborating centres to characterise how the virus spreads, evolves and interacts with vaccines and other treatments.
These seven collaborating centres, two of which are based in the US, play a major role in global influenza surveillance and response preparedness, says Maria Van Kerkhove at WHO. The trouble is, the US centres stopped communicating with WHO. 
WHO is currently working with other collaborating centres to fill the information gap left by the US, says Van Kerkhove. The halt in US communication shouldn’t impact the WHO’s ability to develop an effective flu vaccine for next season, she says. But it will certainly make it more challenging to do so in the future.
It will also have ramifications for US public health. “We don’t get to provide our input on strains that we are most concerned about in the US and discuss mutations that we are observing here. Our technical experts, who are some of the best in the world, are not able to contribute to that conversation,” says Sorrell. “So, we are not only putting the world at a disadvantage, but absolutely the average American who would be looking to be vaccinated next year against seasonal flu.”
Read full story (paywalled)
Source: The New Scientist, 21 February 2025
Sam

Epilepsy AI tool detects brain lesions doctors miss

An artificial-intelligence (AI) tool can detect two-thirds of epilepsy brain lesions doctors often miss, say the UK researchers who have developed it, paving the way for more targeted surgery to stop seizures.
One out of every five people with epilepsy - a total of 30,000 in the UK - has uncontrolled seizures caused by brain abnormalities too subtle for the human eye to see on scans.
Child epilepsy experts say the AI tool has "huge potential" and opens up avenues for treatment.
For this study, published in JAMA Neurology, external, the researchers, from King's College London and University College London, fed their tool magnetic-resonance-imaging (MRI) scans from more than 1,185 adults and children at 23 hospitals around the world, 703 of whom had brain abnormalities.
The tool, MELD Graph, was able to process the images more quickly than a doctor could - and in more detail - which could mean more timely treatment and fewer costly tests and procedures, lead researcher Dr Konrad Wagstyl said.
The AI would require human oversight, however, and many of the abnormalities were still missed.
"AI can find about two-thirds that doctors miss - but a third are still really difficult to find."
At one hospital in Italy, the tool identified a subtle lesion missed by radiologists, in a 12-year-old boy who had tried nine different medications but still had seizures every day.
Study co-author and childhood epilepsy consultant Prof Helen Cross said it had the potential "to rapidly identify abnormalities that can be removed and potentially cure the epilepsy".
Read full story
Source: BBC News, 24 February 2025
Patient Safety Learning

90 deaths at hospital in Brighton being investigated as possible manslaughter

The number of patient deaths being investigated as possible manslaughter at a troubled NHS hospital has more than doubled to 90, the Guardian can reveal.
The growing number of allegedly suspicious deaths, up from an initial total of 40, has forced Sussex police to ask the Home Office for extra resources in dealing with its expanding inquiry into University Hospitals Sussex (UHS), known as Operation Bramber.
It is examining allegations of medical negligence and cover-up in the general surgery and neurosurgery departments of Brighton’s Royal Sussex County hospital, part of UHS, between 2015 and 2021.
There are also growing internal concerns within the trust about surgeons who continue to operate at the hospital, despite their alleged negligence being reviewed by police.
Earlier this month, a group of anaesthetists asked the trust’s medical director for guidance on what to tell patients who inquire about the safety of surgeons about to operate on them.
A source at the trust said: “It’s a very valid question. The anaesthetists are in an awkward position of having to anaesthetise the patients before surgery with consultants under suspicion.”
There have been calls to suspend some surgeons while police investigate. The source added: “I think the reason they have been allowed to continue, is that the trust does not want to show they have made any mistakes.”
Read full story
Source: The Guardian, 25 February 2025
Sam

Sensitive details of Australian IVF patients posted to dark web after Genea data breach

Sensitive patient information has allegedly been leaked on the dark web after Genea, one of Australia’s leading IVF and fertility services providers, was hacked a fortnight ago.
The attack was allegedly carried out by the Termite ransomware group, prompting Genea to obtain a court injunction on Wednesday that criminalises access to the breached patient data.
In a statement, Genea said: “Our ongoing investigation has established that on the 26 of February, data taken from our systems appears to have been published externally by the threat actor.”
“We understand that this development may be concerning for our patients for which we unreservedly apologise.”
Sensitive information including contact details, Medicare card numbers, medical histories, test results and medications may have been compromised in the data breach, Genea said, and it was “working to understand precisely what data has been published”.
Read full story
Source: the Guardian, 26 February 2025
Sam

‘New nurses must not accept the current state of nursing as normal’

A year ago Jessica Vaughan stepped into the emergency department (ED) as a newly qualified nurse, with a first class degree and a Nursing Times ‘student nurse of the year’ award under her belt. She was brimming with enthusiasm, but now feels depleted and disillusioned
"As a previous student editor for the Nursing Times, I said I would write an article on my experiences. But words failed me. After my previous articles declaring hope, resilience, and the beauty of nursing, writing a litany of complaints felt shameful.
"But the truth is, I am not achieving what I set out to. Maybe I was simply too idealistic and naive. But there is something fundamentally wrong if eager new nurses are burning out so quickly.
"I do not know the answer but I do urge those of us on the frontline to keep using our voices to tell the truth about what is happening. We owe it to our patients but also ourselves."
Read full story (paywalled)
Source: Nursing Times, 25 February 2025
Further reading on the hub:
The crisis of corridor care in the NHS: patient safety concerns and incident reporting 
Patient Safety Learning's response to RCN report: on the frontline of the UK’s corridor care crisis
How corridor care in the NHS is affecting safety culture: A blog by Claire Cox
A nurse's response to the NHSE guidance on their principles for providing safe and good quality care in temporary escalation spaces
A silent safety scandal: A nurse’s first-hand account of a corridor nursing shift
Sam

Doctors confirm ‘corridor care’ crisis as 80% forced to treat patients in unsafe spaces

A new snapshot survey by the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) highlights the worsening crisis in NHS hospitals, where a lack of capacity is pushing vulnerable patients into undignified and unsafe conditions.
The survey gathered responses from almost a thousand (961) physicians across the UK, spanning a wide range of specialties - including cardiology, respiratory medicine, and general internal medicine - who report firsthand the challenges of delivering care in temporary spaces.
The findings show that 78% of respondents had provided care in a temporary environment in the past month. Of the 889 respondents who gave further details on where this care was delivered, locations included corridors (45%), additional beds or chairs in patient bays (27%), wards without dedicated bed space (13%), waiting rooms (9%), another location not designed for patient care e.g. bathroom (4.5%).
The consequences of treating patients in unsuitable spaces are severe. 90% of doctors reported compromised patient privacy and dignity, while 81% faced physical difficulties delivering care. Additionally, 75% struggled with access to vital equipment or facilities, and 58% saw patient safety directly compromised. The impact on doctors themselves was also significant, with 61% reporting increased personal stress.
Read full story
Source: Royal College of Physicians, 26 February 2025
Further reading on the hub:
The crisis of corridor care in the NHS: patient safety concerns and incident reporting 
Patient Safety Learning's response to RCN report: on the frontline of the UK’s corridor care crisis
How corridor care in the NHS is affecting safety culture: A blog by Claire Cox
A nurse's response to the NHSE guidance on their principles for providing safe and good quality care in temporary escalation spaces
A silent safety scandal: A nurse’s first-hand account of a corridor nursing shift
Sam

Weight loss drugs linked to dozens of deaths

The number of people in the UK who have died after taking drugs for diabetes and weight loss has risen to 82, according to new figures from the country’s medicines regulator.
The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) revealed the death toll associated with the use of GLP-1RA receptor agonist drugs such as Mounjaro, Wegovy and Ozempic, up to 31 January.
It included 22 deaths where the deceased person was using the drugs to lose weight - an increase from 10 in October as the drugs continue rise in popularity.
The figures come from medical reports that record adverse incidents with medicines. However, usage may have been coincidental to a death rather than responsible for it, and an underlying illness unrelated to the drug could have also played a role.
As of January, the MHRA had received reports of 18 deaths associated with tirzepatide, commercially known as Mounjaro; 29 deaths associated with semaglutide which has the brand names Ozempic, Rybelsus and Wegovy; and 35 deaths associated with single-constituent liraglutide more commonly known as Saxenda or Victoza.
These drugs have rapidly increased in popularity and regulators have scrambled to ensure they are handed out appropriately with the pharmacy watchdog tightening rules around how the drugs are prescribed.
Read full story
Source: The Independent, 24 February 2025
Patient Safety Learning

Breast cancer diagnoses and deaths expected to surge worldwide, says WHO

Breast cancer diagnoses and deaths are projected to surge worldwide by 2050, the World Health Organization’s cancer agency has said, with cases in the UK to rise by 21% and deaths by 42%.
Globally, one in 20 women will be diagnosed with the disease in their lifetime, with cases up 38% and deaths up 68% over the next 25 years, according to an analysis by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).
There will be 3.2m new cases and 1.1m deaths a year worldwide by 2050 if current trends continue, the study found. In the UK, cases are expected to rise from 58,756 cases a year in 2022 to 71,006 cases a year in 2050. Deaths will jump from 12,122 a year in 2022 to 17,261 in 2050.
“Every minute, four women are diagnosed with breast cancer worldwide and one woman dies from the disease, and these statistics are worsening,” said the IARC scientist Dr Joanne Kim, one of the authors of the report.
“Countries can mitigate or reverse these trends by adopting primary prevention policies … and by investing in early detection and treatment.”
Read full story
Source: The Guardian, 24 February 2025
Patient Safety Learning

USA: States most impacted by a Medicaid expansion cut

As many as 20 million Americans could lose Medicaid coverage over the course of 10 years thanks to Republican proposals to cut the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion match rate, according to a recent analysis.
The most affected states in that estimate include Oregon, Virginia, Louisiana, and Nevada, a report from policy group KFF said. While other “red states” such as Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, West Virginia and Montana were also all projected to see at least a 30 percent drop in the number of people covered in the state.
The findings come as Republicans have worked to defend their efforts to shrink the Affordable Care Act, aiming to provide billions of dollars for tax cuts and border security. President Donald Trump had previously said he would not touch Medicaid, but has endorsed the House Republican budget that targets the program.
More than 72 million Americans were enrolled in Medicaid last fall. The programme, which turns 60 this summer, helps to cover costs for people with limited income and resources, offering nursing home care and other services.
"We are not interested in cutting the social and health care safety net for children, disabled, and low-income Americans," Ken Calvert, a California Republican, told Politico. "We are focused on eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse, as well as strengthening work requirements for able-bodied working age adults with no children.“
However, others, such as Texas Republican, Tony Gonzales, are breaking with Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson on the issue.
“There’s no doubt that there’s waste, fraud and abuse in every program in the government, including Medicaid - but at what point do you stop cutting into the fat and start cutting into the bone? You can’t pull the rug out from millions of people,” he told Politico.
Read full story
Source: The Independent, 24 February 2025
Patient Safety Learning

French surgeon accused of abusing 299 patients, mostly children, says he did ‘hideous things’

A 74-year-old surgeon accused of abusing 299 people, most of them children, while they were anaesthetised or recovering from operations has told a French court he did “hideous things” and is prepared to take responsibility for them.
Joël Le Scouarnec is accused of raping or sexually abusing the victims, whose average age was 11, during a 30-year career, and detailing the abuse in notebooks.
“I’ve done hideous things,” the 74-year-old told a court in Vannes on Monday, the opening day of his trial. He said he was “perfectly aware that these wounds cannot be erased or healed” and he was ready to “take responsibility” for his actions.
Almost all the children were unaware of the alleged abuse until police knocked at their doors having discovered their names in the handwritten “black books” found at Le Scouarnec’s home.
The abuse is alleged to have taken place between 1989 and 2014, when Le Scouarnec worked at more than a dozen private and public hospitals in Brittany and other parts of western France.
Read full story
Source: The Guardian, 24 February 2025
Patient Safety Learning

Amanda Pritchard quits as NHS England chief executive in shock move

Amanda Pritchard is standing down as chief executive of NHS England, in a development that will shock the health service.
Her departure from the top job follows recent meetings she held with Wes Streeting, the health secretary, to discuss his plans to overhaul the service and her own future role.
Her meeting with Streeting on Monday proved pivotal. Well-placed sources say her exit after three and a half years in the post is amicable and that she has not been forced out.
It will be confirmed in an official announcement on Tuesday afternoon, which is expected to portray her stepping down as a voluntary decision after much consideration.
But it comes less than a month after two influential House of Commons committees made unusual criticisms of her suitability to lead the NHS through a period of what Streeting and Keir Starmer have said will be the biggest overhaul since the service’s creation in 1948.
The public accounts committee said that she, her deputy, Julian Kelly, and two senior civil servants at the Department of Health and Social Care were “complacent” and lacked dynamism.
Barely 12 hours later, MPs on the health and social care committee went public with their doubts about Pritchard shortly after she had given two hours of evidence to them.
In a statement, the cross-party committee said she had not demonstrated that she had the “drive and dynamism” to transform the NHS in the radical and urgent way the government wanted. A lack of “sharpness” in her answers had left committee members “exasperated”, it added.
Read full story
Source: The Guardian, 25 February 2025
Sam

Doctors cry out for investment after survey finds GP access is top priority for patients

GPs say they “can’t carry on doing more with less” as a survey finds being able to see a doctor is the top concern Britons have about the NHS.
Polling done for the Health Foundation by Ipsos on NHS priorities found 38% of people wanted it to be easier to get a GP appointment, above improving A&E wait times (33%), improving NHS staff retention by making working conditions better (29%) and improving public wait times (27%).
Professor Kamila Hawthorne, chair of the Royal College of GPs said it was “no surprise” that better access to GP appointments was the main priority for the public.
“GPs want this too and it’s as frustrating for us as it is for our patients when they struggle to access our care; but this is the result of years of under-funding and poor workforce planning,” she said.
“As it stands, GP teams are already delivering more consultations than ever before – 367 million last year, more than a million per day – and more complex care, but with only a handful more qualified GPs than in 2019. This isn’t sustainable.
“General practice is the bedrock of the NHS, we make up the vast majority of patient contacts and in doing so alleviate pressures across the entire health service. But we can’t carry on doing more with less - without substantial investment in our service, and initiatives to recruit and retain more GPs, some patients will continue to struggle to access our care.”
Read full story
Source: The Independent, 25 February 2025
Patient Safety Learning

CEO met ‘a great deal of resistance’ over admitting failures

A former chief executive of the Countess of Chester hospital said she faced “great resistance” over her preparations to admit its mistakes in its handling of concerns about baby deaths and the role of Lucy Letby.
Susan Gilby, who led The Countess of Chester Hospital Foundation Trust from September 2018 until December 2022, gave evidence on Monday to the public inquiry into the events there following Letby’s conviction in 2023.
Letby was convicted of murdering seven babies, and attempting to murder seven more, in 2015 and 2016 while working at the hospital. 
Dr Gilby’s oral evidence is the last to be heard by the inquiry before closing submissions next month. Lady Justice Thirlwall is expected to deliver her report in the autumn.
The CoCH chief executive told the inquiry she had commissioned a report into how the trust had responded to paediatricians’ initial concerns about neonatal deaths, ahead of Letby’s trial.
She said she planned to draw on it when verdicts were reached: “I personally would have stood there and said: ‘We made mistakes, there is learning, we are accountable for this, and we want to be held to account for how we implement that learning.
“But unfortunately, that is not how the NHS operates. There was a great deal of resistance to my intention to openly say that after the verdict. That was my intention, and that was known to be my intention, and it was made clear to me, ’that was not how we dealt with things’.”
Read full story (paywalled)
Source: HSJ, 24 February 2025
Patient Safety Learning

High newborn death rates revealed at large trust

A trust whose maternity care is under scrutiny had neonatal mortality rates nearly twice the average of similar units in 2023, new audit figures reveal.
Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust — which runs a high level (Level 3) neonatal intensive care unit, with neonatal surgery — has had higher than average adjusted death rates since 2017, the first year recorded by the MBRRACE-UK audit.
But they have risen sharply in both 2022 and 2023, while the national rate has remained steady.
The 2023 figures, published this month, give LTH’s neonatal mortality rate as 5.01 per 1,000 live births in 2023, compared to a group average of 2.6 for the total 26 UK providers with a level 3 NICU and neonatal.
Last month the BBC reported the trust had information suggesting the deaths of at least 56 babies and two mothers during the past five years could have been prevented.
Fiona Winser-Ramm and Dan Ramm, whose first baby Aliona Grace died at Leeds shortly after her birth in 2020, said the new MBRRACE data reinforced their demands for a local inquiry into LTH maternity services.
Mr Ramm said: “They now look like an outlier. That figure of 5.01 is 92 per cent higher than the average of the comparator group. It is almost a scandal hiding in plain sight.”
Read full story (paywalled)
Source: HSJ, 24 February 2025
Patient Safety Learning

Surgeons accused of racism, bullying and toxic power struggle

Surgeons at a top NHS trust were embroiled in allegations of racism, sexism, homophobia and bullying that created a “toxic” culture and harmed patient care, according to a secret report.
Consultants responsible for treating thousands of facial trauma patients at Barts Health NHS Trust in London have accused each other of poor surgery, causing avoidable complications and negligence. They say three patients went blind and others needed repair surgery.
The surgeons’ relationships have deteriorated since 2017 amid “a constant fight for power and control of the unit”. At least seven patients, who had been waiting for operations for between three and five years, had their procedures cancelled after two doctors refused to work together.
The trust admitted that no action had been taken against any of the surgeons and it only informed the Care Quality Commission about the report and its findings on Friday morning, after The Sunday Times made inquiries. The trust said it had found no evidence of patient harm and believed the service was safe.
Read full story (paywalled)
Source: The Times, 3 February 2025
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