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Patient Safety Learning

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Everything posted by Patient Safety Learning

  1. Content Article
    This article provides an overview of recent legislative developments intended to create a new independent board within the Department of Health and Human Services to improve patient safety in the United States of America.
  2. News Article
    Women who freeze their eggs are being misled by some UK clinics about their chances of having a baby, a fertility charity says. The Fertility Network was reacting to BBC analysis that found 41% of clinics offering the service privately could be breaching advertising guidance. The watchdog which sets guidance says clinics "must not give false or misleading information". It comes as a record number of people are freezing their eggs. The UK fertility regulator, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), also said it was concerned about the information given to those considering egg freezing. A successful pregnancy is not guaranteed by the procedure. Egg freezing for non-medical reasons, also known as social egg freezing, is an increasingly popular method for women to preserve their fertility in order to have children at a later date. Read full story Source: BBC News, 13 March 2024
  3. News Article
    Women working for the NHS will be entitled to two weeks’ leave if they have a miscarriage, in a move hailed as a major step to wider recognition of the trauma of baby loss. NHS England has announced that all staff who lose a baby before 24 weeks should receive up to 10 days’ paid leave to help them recover from the distress involved. “Baby loss is an extremely traumatic experience that hundreds of NHS staff experience each year and it is right that they are treated with the utmost care and compassion when going through such an upsetting experience,” said Dr Navina Evans, its chief officer for workforce, training and education. Women will also be able to take further paid time off after a miscarriage for medical examinations, scans or other tests, or to receive mental health support, as well as the two-week grieving period. Rachel Hutchings, a fellow at the Nuffield Trust health thinktank, said its recent research into how parenting and caring responsibilities affect surgeons found that some staff who had a miscarriage did not feel well supported by the NHS. “Although some organisations had already introduced additional support for people who experienced baby loss, it is incredibly welcome that this policy recognises the experiences of these individuals and will ensure a more consistent approach”, said Hutchings. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 13 March 2024
  4. News Article
    NHS England has confirmed new financial incentives for trusts to deliver strong performance against the four-hour emergency target this month. National leaders are desperate for the NHS to hit the four-hour target in 76% of cases in March, telling trusts earlier this month that it was necessary to restore confidence in the health service. They took the unusual step at the start of the month of asking local leaders to sign a commitment to deliver the necessary performance. The recent pressure has come under criticism for encouraging hospitals to prioritise four-hour performance over caring for the sickest patients. It was also indicated there would be new financial incentives for those delivering the best performance. In a letter, NHSE confirmed a significant expansion to the criteria for trusts to claim a share of a £150m incentive fund, by improving their headline accident and emergency performance. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 12 March 2024
  5. News Article
    A board director has publicly criticised his trust for its treatment of Muslim staff and patients. Mohammed Hussain posted on social media that some board members at Bradford Teaching Hospitals “are not heard and listened to”, and that there is a “dissonance” between its espoused values and the “lived experiences” of minority ethnic staff. Mr Hussain, a non-executive director since 2019, was responding to a post by CEO Mel Pickup, who had said the trust had a “variety of support offers for colleagues observing Ramadan”. He said there are “many examples” of Muslim families experiencing poor responses to complaints to the trust, while claiming that “outstanding” Muslim staff are having to “move out of the area to progress because they are not promoted internally”. The trust said its launching an investigation into the concerns raised by Mr Hussain. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 12 March 2024
  6. Content Article
    More than 3 years after the onset of the Covid-19 global pandemic, a wave of evidence suggests that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection can lead to postacute sequelae in pulmonary and broad array of extrapulmonary organ systems—including increased risks and burdens of cardiovascular disorders, neurologic and mental health disorders, metabolic disorders (diabetes and dyslipidemia), kidney disorders and gastrointestinal disorders. However, up until now, evidence is mostly limited to the first year postinfection. Bowe et al. built a cohort of 138,818 individuals with SARS-CoV-2 infection and 5,985,227 noninfected control group from the US Department of Veterans Affairs and followed them for 2 years to estimate the risks of death and 80 prespecified postacute sequelae of Covid-19 (PASC) according to care setting during the acute phase of infection. They found that the increased risk of death was not significant beyond 6 months after infection among nonhospitalised but remained significantly elevated through the 2 years in hospitalised individuals. Within the 80 prespecified sequelae, 69% and 35% of them became not significant at 2 years after infection among nonhospitalised and hospitalised individuals, respectively. In summary, while risks of many sequelae declined 2 years after infection, the substantial cumulative burden of health loss due to PASC calls for attention to the care needs of people with long-term health effects due to SARS-CoV-2 infection.
  7. News Article
    Children will no longer routinely be prescribed puberty blockers at gender identity clinics, NHS England has confirmed. The decision comes after a review found there was "not enough evidence" they are safe or effective. Puberty blockers, which pause the physical changes of puberty, will now only be available as part of research. It comes weeks before an independent review into gender identity services in England is due to be published. An interim report from the review, published in 2022 by Dr Hilary Cass, had earlier found there were "gaps in evidence" around the drugs and called for a transformation in the model of care for children with gender-related distress. Health Minister Maria Caulfield said: "We have always been clear that children's safety and wellbeing is paramount, so we welcome this landmark decision by the NHS. "Ending the routine prescription of puberty blockers will help ensure that care is based on evidence, expert clinical opinion and is in the best interests of the child." Read full story Source: BBC News, 13 March 2024
  8. News Article
    A mental health trust linked to thousands of unexpected patient deaths repeatedly failed to act on coroners' safety warnings, campaigners say. BBC News has been given exclusive access to new evidence from coroners' reports gathered by a campaign group. It wants a criminal investigation into why so many patients died at Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust - and has sent police the evidence. Campaigners, including patients and bereaved families, claim it is failing to make vital safety improvements despite promising to do so. Last summer, a report found more than 8,000 mental-health patients had died unexpectedly in Norfolk and Suffolk between 2019 and 2022. This is defined as the death of a patient who has not been identified as critically ill or whose death is not expected by the clinical team. The new evidence, based on 38 coroners' prevention of future death (PFD) reports since 2013, suggests there were repeated warnings more patients could die unless safety issues were addressed, including: dangerously poor record-keeping and communication family concerns being ignored unsafe levels of staffing at the trust. And campaigners say the trust's failure to improve safety has led to more deaths. Read full story Source: BBC News, 12 March 2024
  9. News Article
    At least 50,000 people will die from pancreatic cancer over the next five years unless the government gives more funding to improve how quickly the condition is diagnosed and treated, a major charity has warned. Pancreatic Cancer UK hit out at 50 years of “unacceptably slow progress” compared to other types of cancer as it warned that thousands of lives will be lost unless £35m of “urgent” investment is put towards improving survival rates of the disease. The charity predicted that pancreatic cancer – described by experts as the “quickest-killing cancer” – is expected to kill more people each year than breast cancer by 2027, which would make it the fourth-biggest cause of cancer deaths in the UK. The charity has also called for a commitment to treat everyone diagnosed with the cancer within 21 days, which it says would double the number of people getting treatment in time. Figures show that, compared to the 52.5% survival rate across the 20 most common cancers in the UK, those with pancreatic cancer have just a 7% survival rate. Around 10,500 people are diagnosed with the disease each year, with 9,558 deaths a year, according to Cancer Research UK, with more than half of people dying within three months of diagnosis. Read full story Source: The Independent, 12 March 2024
  10. News Article
    Britain’s hard-pressed carers need all the help they can get. But that should not include using unregulated AI bots, according to researchers who say the AI revolution in social care needs a hard ethical edge. A pilot study by academics at the University of Oxford found some care providers had been using generative AI chatbots such as ChatGPT and Bard to create care plans for people receiving care. That presents a potential risk to patient confidentiality, according to Dr Caroline Green, an early career research fellow at the Institute for Ethics in AI at Oxford, who surveyed care organisations for the study. “If you put any type of personal data into [a generative AI chatbot], that data is used to train the language model,” Green said. “That personal data could be generated and revealed to somebody else.” She said carers might act on faulty or biased information and inadvertently cause harm, and an AI-generated care plan might be substandard. But there were also potential benefits to AI, Green added. “It could help with this administrative heavy work and allow people to revisit care plans more often. At the moment, I wouldn’t encourage anyone to do that, but there are organisations working on creating apps and websites to do exactly that.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 10 March 2024
  11. News Article
    Private hospitals are caring for a record number of patients paying through their own savings or private medical insurance, according to figures from the Private Healthcare Information Network. Helen, a semi-retired frontline worker in south-east England, spent nearly £50,000 of her retirement savings on major spinal surgery to get her life back after two years of debilitating pain. Helen, 56, began experiencing extreme lower back pain and leg pain in September 2021, triggered by a dog colliding with her leg in the park. Though it was not caused by the trigger, she was diagnosed by the NHS with spondylosis in November 2021, and then a pars defect (a condition affecting the lower spine), and offered scans and physiotherapy. She said six months of physiotherapy, beginning in early 2022, resulted in no improvement, and she was offered pain management and a steroid epidural, which she said also did not help. “I rarely ventured out in these two years … due to the extreme pain I was in when sitting, standing or walking. Life effectively stopped in 2021,” she said. Desperate, she booked a consultation in May 2023 with a neurosurgeon and was told she needed an operation. Helen asked whether it would be possible for the neurosurgeon, who also works within the NHS, to do it on the NHS rather than privately. A referral could be made, she was told – but the surgery was likely to involve a waiting time of 18 months to two years. “My husband and I discussed it, and he said: you’ve already had no life for the last two years, do you really want to wait another two?” She had the spinal surgery in August 2023 and is now managing her pain with over-the-counter medication, rather than the stronger painkillers she was on before. It cost her a staggering £48,345. The financial hit has been huge. “I was absolutely gutted to have to go private. This has knocked us both; we didn’t see us in our lives having to pay for something like this. We’ve managed our finances carefully and always saved where we can. But that lump sum [that we] can access when we retire … That lump sum has just gone now.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 8 March 2024
  12. News Article
    A large number of people in hospital beds waiting for onward care has forced an NHS trust to declare a critical incident to "protect patient safety". Isle of Wight NHS Trust said on Monday demand for its emergency departments was outstripping the number of free beds, leading to delays. People are being asked to collect their relatives as soon as they are ready to be discharged. In a statement, interim chief operating officer Victoria Lauchlan said: "We currently have a high number of people in hospital beds who are waiting for onward care arrangements in the community. "We are working as an island healthcare system to do everything we can to ensure we can help better support these people to be discharged home with a package of care or to care and nursing homes. "At this time we are asking people to help by collecting their relatives or friends as soon as they are ready to leave and helping with any additional care and support at home." Read full story Source: BBC News, 12 March 2024
  13. News Article
    Millions of people are being urged to get checks for a condition which has been described as the “silent killer”. If left untreated, high blood pressure can lead to heart attacks, strokes, kidney disease and vascular dementia. Up to 4.2 million people in England are thought to be living with high blood pressure without knowing it – around a third of all those with the condition. Now, a new NHS Get Your Blood Pressure Checked campaign has been launched, backed by health charities, to warn people the condition often has no symptoms. England’s chief medical officer, Professor Sir Chris Whitty, said: “High blood pressure usually has no symptoms but can lead to serious health consequences. “The only way to know if you have high blood pressure is to get a simple, non-invasive blood pressure test. “Even if you are diagnosed, the good news is that it’s usually easily treatable. “Getting your blood pressure checked at a local pharmacy is free, quick and you don’t even need an appointment, so please go for a check today – it could save your life.” Read full story Source: The Independent, 11 March 2024
  14. News Article
    The Priory healthcare group has been fined more than £650,000 over the death of a 23-year-old patient who was hit by a train after absconding from a mental health hospital. Matthew Caseby, a personal trainer, was able to leave Birmingham’s Priory hospital Woodbourne by scaling a wall after being “inappropriately unattended” for several minutes in September 2020, an inquest jury ruled in 2022. The healthcare company pleaded guilty to a criminal safety failing linked to the death of a patient, breaching the 2008 Health and Social Care Act, at Birmingham magistrates court on Friday. The London-based provider was charged after an investigation into the death of Caseby conducted by the Care Quality Commission. Caseby’s father, Richard Caseby, who had been campaigning for a prosecution of the healthcare organisation, told the court the company attempted to “evade accountability for its gross failures”. In a victim impact statement which he presented as part of the prosecution on Friday, he said: “I found it unbelievable that a private company commissioned by the NHS to care for its most vulnerable psychiatric patients in the greatest crisis of their lives could be so cruel and resort to such desperate tactics to hide the truth.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 8 March 2024
  15. News Article
    Almost £35 million will be invested to improve maternity safety across England with the recruitment of additional midwives and the expansion of specialist training to thousands of extra healthcare workers. The investment, which was announced as part of the Spring Budget 2024, will be provided over the next 3 years to ensure maternity services listen to and act on women’s experiences to improve care. The funding includes: £9 million for the rollout of the reducing brain injury programme across maternity units in England, to provide healthcare workers with the tools and training to reduce avoidable brain injuries in childbirth investment in training to ensure the NHS workforce has the skills needed to provide ever safer maternity care. An additional 6,000 clinical staff will be trained in neonatal resuscitation and we will almost double the number of clinical staff receiving specialist training in obstetric medicine in England increasing the number of midwives by funding 160 new posts over 3 years to support the growth of the maternity and neonatal workforce funding to support the rollout of maternity and neonatal voice partnerships to improve how women’s experiences and views are listened to and acted on to improve care. Health and Social Care Secretary Victoria Atkins said: "I want every mother to feel safe when giving birth to their baby. Improving maternity care is a key cornerstone of our Women’s Health Strategy and with this investment we are delivering on that priority - more midwives, specialist training in obstetric medicine and pushing to improve how women are listened to in our healthcare system. £35 million is going directly to improving the safety and care in our maternity wards and will move us closer to our goal of making healthcare faster, simpler and fairer for all." Read full story Source: Gov.UK, 10 March 2024
  16. News Article
    Minority ethnic people, women and people from deprived communities are at risk of poorer healthcare because of biases within medical tools and devices, a report has revealed. Among other findings, the Equity in Medical Devices: Independent Review has raised concerns over devices that use artificial intelligence (AI), as well as those that measure oxygen levels. The team behind the review said urgent action was needed. Prof Frank Kee, the director of the centre for public health at Queen’s University Belfast and a co-author of the review, said: “We’d like an equity lens on the entire lifecycle of medical devices, from the initial testing, to recruitment of patients either in hospital or in the community, into the early phase studies and the implementation in the field after they are licensed,.” The government-commissioned review was set up by Sajid Javid in 2022 when he was health secretary after concerns were raised over the accuracy of pulse oximeter readings in Black and minority ethnic people. The widely used devices were thrown into the spotlight due to their importance in healthcare during the Covid pandemic, where low oxygen levels were an important sign of serious illness. The report has confirmed concerns pulse oximeters overestimate the amount of oxygen in the blood of people with dark skin, noting that while there was no evidence of this affecting care in the NHS, harm has been found in the US with such biases leading to delayed diagnosis and treatment, as well as worse organ function and death, in Black patients. The team members stress they are not calling for the devices to be avoided. Instead the review puts forward a number of measures to improve the use of pulse oximeters in people of different skin tones, including the need to look at changes in readings rather than single readings, while it also provides advice on how to develop and test new devices to ensure they work well for patients of all ethnicities. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 11 March 2024
  17. Event
    The day will highlight best practice in improving safety in hospices, highlight new developments such as the implications of the new Patient Safety Incident Response Framework (PSIRF), and the new CQC Inspection Framework, and will focus on key clinical safety areas such as falls prevention, medication safety, reduction and management of pressure ulcers, nutrition and hydration, improving the response and investigation of incidents, preparing for onsite inspections and developing a compassionate culture in hospices. For further information and to book your place visit https://www.healthcareconferencesuk.co.uk/conferences-masterclasses/patient-safety-hospices or email kate@hc-uk.org.uk Follow on Twitter @HCUK_Clare #PSHospices hub members receive a 20% discount. Email info@pslhub.org
  18. Event
    Featuring leading legal experts and experienced clinicians this event will provide an update on current claims processes and how to respond to claims. The conference will look at the patient perspective and explore why patients decide to litigate. There will be an extended session on mediation and ADR. The conference will also update delegates on the new Patient Safety Incident Response Framework (PSIRF) and implications for Clinical Negligence Litigation. The conference will also consider current issues topical in clinical negligence including Maternity Safety and clinical negligence reform. Throughout the day, there will be interactive sessions, small breakout groups, and collaborative exercises, fostering a dynamic learning experience. This conference will enable you to: Network with colleagues with an interest in clinical negligence. Learn from outstanding practice in responding to claims. Reflect on national developments and learning. Understand the patient perspective and why patients decide to litigate. Explore the impact of the new Patient Safety Incident Response Framework on Clinical Negligence claims and litigation. Improve the way claims are responded to and improve practice in mediation and ADR. Develop your skills in learning from claims to reduce avoidable harm. Understand how you can bring together Complaints, Claims and Patients Safety Investigation. Identify key strategies for supporting staff who are the subject of a claim. Reflect on the progress towards clinical negligence reform and how the system may change. Understand the standards to which services will be judged during the Pandemic. Ensure you are up to date with the latest data with regard to learning from obstetric and maternity claims. Self assess and reflect on your own practice. Supports CPD professional development and acts as revalidation evidence. This course provides 5 Hrs training for CPD subject to peer group approval for revalidation purposes. Register Follow on Twitter @HCUK_Clare #ClinicalNegligence hub members receive a 20% discount. Email info@pslhub.org for discount code.
  19. Event
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    For the first time, Making Families Count are collaborating with SOFT UK, a charity that supports families caring for children with a rare and life-limiting genetic condition. Speakers will be drawn from the families and healthcare professionals who are part of the SOFT UK community, sharing their stories and lived experiences and giving suggestions that may help you support the families you work with. The Department of Health UK Strategy for Rare Diseases (DHSSPS 2020) estimates that rare diseases, including genetic conditions, affect the lives of over 3 million people in the UK. Of these, a significant proportion are children with genetic life-limiting and life-threatening conditions. The parents of many of these children often talk of the challenges of parenting a disabled child and their sometimes stressful interaction with healthcare professionals. This webinar will give you greater insight into the lived experience of families caring for a child with complex needs. We will explore their day-to-day challenges in dealing with the anxiety of hospital admissions, difficulties of communicating with and being heard by healthcare professionals, the challenge of balancing the needs of the whole family, and the stressful burden upon parents over time. This webinar is for… Paediatric nurses Paediatric / Community nursing teams Complex Care Team (Paediatrics) Respite Care (Paediatrics) Play Specialists Hospital at Home teams (Paediatrics) Paediatric / Children’s Occupational Therapists Paediatric / Children’s Physiotherapists SALT Child Development Centre staff Paediatric Outreach Teams Presenters: Dr Alison Pearson, a post-doctoral research fellow in education, well-being, and resilience and mum to 13-year-old Isabel, who has full Edwards’ syndrome. She draws upon her research and her family’s lived experience to talk about the challenges of hospital acute admissions for Isabel and the impact on her whole family. Una McFaddyn, a recently retired Consultant Paediatrician with a special interest in respiratory and neonatal paediatrics. Una has a long-standing interest in children’s rights and has worked with various projects involving children and parents as partners in care. She will provide the perspective of a healthcare professional on supporting families and their children. You will also hear other voices from the SOFT UK community of families via several films and audio clips, bringing to life the experience of a wide range of parents who care for children with complex care needs. Learning outcomes: At the end of this webinar, you will have an appreciation of the challenges facing parents who care for a child with complex needs – specifically the anxiety of acute admissions to hospital, communication issues with healthcare staff, and the wider impact upon families. You will be able to use that deeper understanding to shape the care and support you can offer these families in your own practice. Register
  20. Event
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    This webinar examines why families make complaints and offers a best practice guide on how to involve the patient/family and how staff can be guided by them and their observations. It also looks at how to achieve timely sharing of information and how to ensure good communication with the patient/family. In addition, you will learn how to disseminate the complaint investigation findings in your organisation and how to embed changes. The speakers include two family members (one of whom is also an NHS staff member). They are joined by highly experienced patient safety and complaints staff, who will share their knowledge, experience, and ideas regarding how complaints are dealt with and how this could be improved. This webinar has been developed in line with the national NHS Patient Safety Standards introduced as part of the NHS Patient Safety Incident Response Framework (PSIRF) and the “Engaging and involving patients, families and staff following a patient safety incident” PSIRF supporting guidance. This webinar is for… Patient Safety Leads / Manager / Advisors Complaints staff, PALS staff, Patient and Carer Experience Leads Family Liaison Service Teams PSIRF Implementation Teams Governance Leads / Managers / Directors Clinical Leads in Safety & Quality Presenters: Jo Collins (Deputy Head of Patient and Carer Experience, AWP), Derek Richford, Joanne Simm (NHS Matron), and Jan Fowler (NHS Executive Director retired). Learning outcomes: Delegates will gain a better understanding and develop skills in the following areas: Increasing confidence when dealing with the challenges, opportunities, and benefits of engaging positively with families when they raise a complaint. Reinforcing why positively engaging families achieves better investigation outcomes for everyone. Examining why families make complaints and what you can do to put this right for them. How to involve families in investigations following a complaint, and how to be guided by the patient/family’s observations. How to embed learning from complaints through promoting a learning culture that can lead to effective organisational change. All participants will receive the programme and background information about Making Families Count in advance. Everyone who attends will also receive a resource pack (including a shareable PDF guide and the speakers’ slides) and a certificate of attendance. Register
  21. News Article
    Patient Safety Awareness Week, an annual recognition event in the USA that occurs in March, is intended to encourage everyone to learn more about health care safety. During this week, the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) seeks to advance important discussions locally and globally, and inspire action to improve the safety of the health care system — for patients and the workforce. Patient Safety Awareness Week serves as a dedicated time and platform for growing awareness about patient safety and recognising the work already being done. IHI works with partners around the world to improve the safety of health care for patients, caregivers, and the health care workforce. Learn more about IHI's work to advance patient and workforce safety.
  22. Content Article
    A core responsibility of the NHS is to maintain the highest standards of safety and effectiveness of medical devices available for all patients in its care. Evidence has emerged, however, about the potential for racial and ethnic bias in the design and use of some medical devices commonly used in the NHS, and that some ethnic groups may receive sub-optimal treatment as a result. In response to these concerns, the UK Government commissioned this independent review on equity in medical devices. In its final report, the Review sets out the need for immediate action to tackle the impact of ethnic biases in the use of medical devices. Its findings and recommendations have also been published in a short animation. The Government’s response to the Review's 18 recommendations has also been published alongside its final report.
  23. Content Article
    The Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust (NCA) has published an independent report by Barrister Mr Carlo Breen into the Trust’s historic management of concerns in relation to a Consultant Spinal Surgeon. The investigation found that certain patients, relatives and colleagues had been significantly let down. The Trust fully accepts the findings and apologises for any distress or harm caused by the issues identified within the report. In response to a significant Freedom to Speak Up concern, NCA Chief Executive Dr Owen Williams commissioned Mr Breen in March 2022 to investigate how historic concerns and complaints dating back to 2007 relating to this consultant’s conduct, probity and capability had been previously handled and what lessons could be learned. Mr Breen’s review is the second review commissioned by the Trust relating to these important matters. The first report detailed the findings of the “Spinal Patient Safety Look Back Review” and was published last year. Dr Williams said: “I am deeply sorry and apologise to the patients and their families for the care which is described in both Mr Breen’s report released today and the patient look back review from last year. “I also apologise to my NCA colleagues who have had to work too hard to get their concerns heard and thoroughly investigated. I am thankful that they persisted. We will do right by them and our patients by continuing to put into practice what we have learned”.
  24. News Article
    More than 7,300 people waited longer than 24 hours for emergency treatment in Scottish hospitals last year, with the longest wait more than 122 hours. Public Health Scotland statistics obtained by Scottish Labour through freedom of information (FoI) revealed that 7,367 patients were in an emergency department for more than 24 hours before being discharged, admitted or transferred in 2023. The longest wait in A&E last year occurred at NHS Ayrshire and Arran’s University Hospital Crosshouse, where a patient waited more than 122 hours, or the equivalent of five days. Waits of more than 88 hours were recorded in NHS Borders, and 72 hours in NHS Lanarkshire. Dame Jackie Baillie, Scottish Labour’s health spokeswoman, has demanded action from Neil Gray, the health secretary. “Scotland’s A&E departments are in the grip of a deadly crisis, with lives being put on the line day in and day out,” she said. “That some people have waited days — even a working week — to be seen is dangerous and disgraceful. “Hard-pressed A&E staff are working tirelessly to look after patients, but SNP mismanagement has created a perfect storm in our hospitals. Neil Gray has inherited an NHS in deadly disarray from his colleagues. “It’s time for action to be taken now to bolster A&E departments by tackling delayed discharges and investing in primary care to avoid putting further pressure on hospital services.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: The Times, 11 March 2024
  25. News Article
    Distressed elderly patients are being “treated like animals” and left begging for care as NHS staff struggle to cope with overwhelmed wards and an ever-increasing ageing population, an investigation by The Independent has revealed. Scores of families have come forward to share harrowing allegations of neglect as one top doctor warns that elderly people are receiving care “well below the standards they should expect” – including long waits in waiting rooms and “degrading” corridor care. In one shocking case, a 96-year-old patient admitted to the hospital with a urinary tract infection (UTI) was allegedly left semi-naked and delirious in his hospital bed – before choking on vomit after being sedated without his family’s permission, his daughter told The Independent. Another patient, 99, was traumatised after being left in a bed next to the body of a dead woman. The investigation was sparked by the horrific story of 73 year old Martin Wild who was left so desperate for pain medication he was forced to call 999 from his hospital bed. It comes as analysis by the Independent shows the government was warned three times last year by coroners over the increasing risk to elderly patients’ lives amid fears they are not being “effectively safeguarded”. Read full story Source: The Independent, 11 March 2024
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