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Patient Safety Learning

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  1. Patient Safety Learning
    Hospitals which rely heavily on locum doctors are 'undoubtedly' risking patient safety, a study of NHS practice found.
    While temporary staff are a 'vital resource' to plug workforce gaps, issues such as unfamiliarity with protocols and procedures mean they 'pose significant patient safety challenges' for the NHS, experts say.
    The report warned many were left feeling isolated and stigmatised by resident staff, creating a 'hostile environment'.
    This has led to a 'defensive' culture over mistakes, hindering improvements to care, according to researchers.
    Calling for greater monitoring by inspectors, NHS leaders must rethink how these professionals are supported and used, the authors said.
    Writing in a linked editorial, Professor Richard Lilford, of the Institute of Applied Health Research at the University of Birmingham, said the findings suggested 'the life of the locum is a difficult and lonely one, opening up many pathways to unsafe practice.'
    Likening it to airline pilots, he suggested staff would benefit from standardised practices – such as how the medicine cabinet is stocked – to minimise mistakes.
    Agencies providing staff should be given routine feedback by employers and locum staff, to enhance patient safety, he said.
    Read full story
    Source: MailOnline, 16 April 2024
  2. Patient Safety Learning
    The parents of a baby who died from sepsis said their son deserved a "fighting chance" after concerns were raised over his care in hospital.
    Ten-week-old Tommy Gillman was admitted to King's Mill hospital on 7 December 2022 but died the next day.
    Tommy Gillman, from Coddington, Nottinghamshire, was "extremely unwell" with what proved to be Salmonella Brandenburg meningitis when admitted to the Sutton-in-Ashfield hospital at 12:35 GMT.
    His assessment was delayed, and then the severity of his condition missed, meaning correct treatment with antibiotics and fluids did not start until 17:00.
    A coroner's report identified a lack of experienced paediatric nurses and confusion in handovers between staff.
    "I am not reassured that necessary actions to address these serious issues identified are in place," the coroner said.
    Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said it welcomed the review and a "rapid" programme of improvements was being worked on.
    Tamzin Myers and Charlie Gillman said their son deserved "a fighting chance" by getting prompt treatment
    Read full story
    Source: BBC News, 17 April 2024
  3. Patient Safety Learning
    A record 3.7 million workers in England will have a major illness by 2040, according to research.
    On current trends, 700,000 more working-age adults will be living with high healthcare needs or substantial risk of mortality by 2040 – up nearly 25% from 2019 levels, according to a report by the Health Foundation charity.
    But the authors predicted no improvement in health inequalities for working-age adults by 2040, with 80% of the increase in major illness in more deprived areas.
    Researchers at the Health Foundation’s research arm and the University of Liverpool examined 1.7m GP and hospital records, alongside mortality data, which was then linked to geographical data to estimate the difference in diagnosed illness by level of deprivation in England in 2019, the last year of health data before the pandemic.
    They then projected how levels of ill health are predicted to change in England between 2019 and 2040 based on trends in risk factors such as smoking, alcohol use, obesity, diet and physical activity, as well as rates of illness, life expectancy and population changes.
    Without action, the authors warn, people in the most deprived areas of England are likely to develop a major illness 10 years earlier than those in the least deprived areas and are also three times more likely to die by the age of 70.
    Read full story
    Source: The Guardian, 17 April 2024
  4. Patient Safety Learning
    Investigators have applied artificial intelligence (AI) techniques to gait analyses and medical records data to provide insights about individuals with leg fractures and aspects of their recovery.
    The study, published in the Journal of Orthopaedic Research, uncovered a significant association between the rates of hospital readmission after fracture surgery and the presence of underlying medical conditions. Correlations were also found between underlying medical conditions and orthopedic complications, although these links were not significant.
    It was also apparent that gait analyses in the early postinjury phase offer valuable insights into the injury’s impact on locomotion and recovery. For clinical professionals, these patterns were key to optimizing rehabilitation strategies.
    "Our findings demonstrate the profound impact that integrating machine learning and gait analysis into orthopaedic practice can have, not only in improving the accuracy of post-injury complication predictions but also in tailoring rehabilitation strategies to individual patient needs," said corresponding author Mostafa Rezapour, PhD, of Wake Forest University School of Medicine. "This approach represents a pivotal shift towards more personalised, predictive, and ultimately more effective orthopaedic care."
    Read full story
    Source: Digital Health News, 12 April 2024
  5. Patient Safety Learning
    The UK’s data protection regulator has published new guidance for health and social care organisations it says will help them be more transparent about how personal information is being used.
    The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) said the new guidance would provide regulatory certainty to organisations on how they should keep people properly informed as technology is increasingly used to deliver care and carry out research.
    The regulator said focus on the issue was needed as the health and social care sector routinely handles sensitive information about the most intimate aspects of peoples’ health, and that under data protection law, people have a right to know what is happening to their personal information.
    Being transparent is essential to building public trust in health and social care services
    Anne Russell, head of regulatory policy projects at the ICO, said the ever-increasing use of technology meant personal data was more important than ever, and so therefore was more transparency.
    “Being transparent is essential to building public trust in health and social care services,” she said.
    “If people clearly understand how and why their personal information is being used, they are likely to feel empowered to share their health information to both access care and support initiatives such as medical research.
    “As new technologies are developed and deployed in the health sector, our personal information is becoming more important than ever to boost the efficiency and public benefit of these systems.
    “With this bespoke guidance, we want to support health and social care organisations by improving their understanding of effective transparency, ensuring that they are clear, open and honest with everyone whose personal information is being used.”
    Read full story
    Source: The Independent, 15 April 2024
  6. Patient Safety Learning
    Many people with breast cancer are being “systematically left behind” due to inaction on inequities and hidden suffering, experts have said.
    A new global report suggests people with the condition are continuing to face glaring inequalities and significant adversity, much of which remains unacknowledged by wider society and policymakers.
    The Lancet Breast Cancer Commission highlights a need for better communication between medical staff and patients, and stresses the importance of early detection.
    It also highlights the need for improved awareness of breast cancer risk factors, with almost one in four cases (23%) of the disease estimated to be preventable.
    The Lancet Commission’s lead author, Professor Charlotte Coles, department of oncology, University of Cambridge, said: “Recent improvements in breast cancer survival represent a great success of modern medicine.
    “However, we can’t ignore how many patients are being systematically left behind.
    “Our commission builds on previous evidence, presents new data and integrates patient voices to shed light on a large unseen burden.
    “We hope that by highlighting these inequities and hidden costs and suffering in breast cancer, they can be better recognised and addressed by healthcare professionals and policymakers in partnership with patients and the public around the world.”
    Read full story
    Source: The Independent, 15 April 2024
  7. Patient Safety Learning
    The number of people dying needlessly in A&E soars on a Monday as hospitals are stretched to the limit and failing to discharge patients at the weekend, new data shows.
    Figures uncovered by The Independent show an average of 126 patients died every Monday between 2020-2023 – 25% higher than any other day. On a Saturday, the average number of deaths drops as low as 90.
    Waiting times are also shown to spike massively at the start of the week, with an average of 9,300 patients spending more than 12 hours waiting on a Monday – up to 2,000 more than any other day.
    Medical experts said the rise in A&E waits can be attributed to people staying away from hospitals during weekends and patients not being discharged from medical care, causing a bottleneck in an already buckling system.
    The stark statistics also directly contradict repeated government efforts to make the NHS a seven-day service. Multiple coroners have warned the government and health leaders about delays to patients’ treatment and diagnosis due to variations in staffing and access to specialists – particularly over the weekend.
    Adrian Boyle, president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, said the NHS England data clearly signposted an “increased risk” at the start of the week. Another expert said the sharp rise in deaths on Mondays showed an A&E “running constantly in the red zone”.
    Read full story
    Source: The Independent, 8 April 2024
  8. Patient Safety Learning
    Researchers at the National Institutes of Health applied artificial intelligence (AI) to a technique that produces high-resolution images of cells in the eye. They report that with AI, imaging is 100 times faster and improves image contrast 3.5-fold. The advance, they say, will provide researchers with a better tool to evaluate age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and other retinal diseases.
    "Artificial intelligence helps overcome a key limitation of imaging cells in the retina, which is time," said Johnny Tam, Ph.D., who leads the Clinical and Translational Imaging Section at NIH's National Eye Institute.
    Tam is developing a technology called adaptive optics (AO) to improve imaging devices based on optical coherence tomography (OCT). Like ultrasound, OCT is noninvasive, quick, painless, and standard equipment in most eye clinics.
    "Our results suggest that AI can fundamentally change how images are captured," said Tam. "Our P-GAN artificial intelligence will make AO imaging more accessible for routine clinical applications and for studies aimed at understanding the structure, function, and pathophysiology of blinding retinal diseases. Thinking about AI as a part of the overall imaging system, as opposed to a tool that is only applied after images have been captured, is a paradigm shift for the field of AI."
    Read full story
    Source: Digital Health News, 11 April 2024
  9. Patient Safety Learning
    Some people having a lung transplant on the NHS will receive a skin patch graft from their donor too as a way of spotting organ rejection sooner.
    Rejection could show as a rash on the donated skin patch, say experts, allowing early treatment to stop problems escalating.
    The trial, by University of Oxford and NHS Blood and Transplant, will enrol 152 patients in England.
    It follows earlier success with some other transplant patients, including Adam Alderson, 44, who received a donor skin graft on his abdomen in 2015 when he had eight organs replaced – including a pancreas, stomach and spleen – after treatment for a rare cancer.
    He says the graft has already helped guide his treatment a few times to prevent his body rejecting his many new organs.
    He said: "It's a really comforting thing to have - I feel safer knowing that I have a tool available to tell if something is going wrong before it becomes too serious. It's almost like an oil warning light on your car. Plus, having that visible reminder of how lucky I am is really special."
    Read full story
    Source: BBC News, 16 April 2024
  10. Patient Safety Learning
    Tens of thousands of doctors are hoping to quit the NHS and move abroad this year in search of better pay, the medical regulator has warned.
    Half of the doctors planning to leave said they wanted to move to Australia, which has been the most popular destination for emigrating UK doctors for the past five years.
    The General Medical Council surveyed 3,154 doctors about their attitudes towards leaving the UK, including 1,000 who had recently left to practise abroad. Some 13% of those working in the NHS said they were “very likely” to move in the next 12 months, while another 17% said they were “fairly likely” to move.
    The GMC said this would amount to 96,000 doctors quitting over the next year if applied to the total number of doctors on the medical register, although it acknowledged that the actual rate of departures was likely to be much lower.
    Read full story (paywalled)
    Source: The Times, 12 April 2024
  11. Patient Safety Learning
    Public protection and support for bereaved families are at the heart of a government overhaul of how deaths are certified.
    From September, medical examiners will look at the cause of death in all cases that haven’t been referred to the coroner in a move designed to help strengthen safeguards and prevent criminal activity.
    They will also consult with families or representatives of the deceased, providing an opportunity for them to raise questions or concerns with a senior doctor not involved in the care of the person who died.
    The changes demonstrate the government’s commitment to providing greater transparency after a death and will ensure the right deaths are referred to coroners for further investigation.
    Health Minister, Maria Caulfield said:
    Reforming death certification is a highly complex and sensitive process, so it was important for us to make sure we got these changes right. At such a difficult time, it’s vital that bereaved families have full faith in how the death of their loved one is certified and have their voices heard if they are concerned in any way. The measures I’m introducing today will ensure all deaths are reviewed and the bereaved are fully informed, making the system safer by improving protections against rare abuses. From 9 September 2024 it will become a requirement that all deaths in any health setting that are not referred to the coroner in the first instance are subject to medical examiner scrutiny.
    Welcoming the announcement today, Dr Suzy Lishman CBE, Senior Advisor on Medical Examiners for Royal College of Pathologists, said:
    “As the lead college for medical examiners, the Royal College of Pathologists welcomes the announcement of the statutory implementation date for these important death certification reforms.
    “Medical examiners are already scrutinising the majority of deaths in England and Wales, identifying concerns, improving care for patients and supporting bereaved people. The move to a statutory system in September will further strengthen those safeguards, ensuring that all deaths are reviewed and that the voices of all bereaved people are heard.”
    Read full story
    Source: Gov.UK, 15 April 2024
  12. Patient Safety Learning
    Millions of patients are being put at risk in crumbling hospitals that are unfit for purpose, MPs have said, as figures reveal more than 2,000 NHS buildings are older than the health service itself.
    Health bosses have repeatedly warned ministers of the urgent need to plough cash into replacing rundown buildings in order to protect the safety of patients and staff. The maintenance backlog has risen to £11.6bn in England.
    Now analysis of NHS Digital data has found that at 34 out of 211 NHS trusts in England at least one in four buildings have been standing since before 1948, the year the NHS was founded.
    Sewage leaking from sinks on to wards are among the issues affecting more than 2,000 buildings that predate the health service. Last month it was reported that the ceiling of an intensive care ward collapsed on to a patient on life support and a falling lift broke a doctor’s leg. One hospital is said to have been using its intensive care unit as a storeroom because it deemed it unsafe for patients.
    Read full story
    Source: The Guardian, 15 April 2024
  13. Patient Safety Learning
    The British government was willing to risk infecting NHS patients to get “lower-priced” blood products, according to a document that campaigners claim proves state and corporate guilt in one of the country’s worst ever scandals.
    A public inquiry into the deaths of an estimated 2,900 people infected with conditions such as HIV and hepatitis will publish its final report in May, four decades after the NHS started prescribing blood and blood products – including from drug users, prisoners and sex workers – sourced from the USA.
    Within the thousands of documents disclosed to the inquiry, internal company minutes have emerged that campaigners say provide the final compelling piece of evidence of the commercial greed and state negligence that destroyed thousands of lives.
    In November 1976, Immuno AG, an Austrian company that was a major supplier to the Department of Health, was seeking a licence change to allow it to supply a blood product from those paid to donate in the US rather than donors without a financial incentive in Europe.
    According to the minutes of a meeting of medics in the company, it had been “proven” that there was a “significantly higher hepatitis risk” from a concentrate known as Kryobulin 2 made from US plasma compared with that from Austria and Germany.
    The company had concluded there was a “preference” in the UK for the cheaper US option. The memo of the meeting said: “Kryobulin 2 will be significantly cheaper than Kryobulin 1 because the British market will accept a higher risk of hepatitis for a lower-priced product. In the long-term, Kryobulin 1 will disappear from the British market.”
    Read full story
    Source: The Guardian, 14 April 2024
  14. Patient Safety Learning
    The continuing shortage of ADHD medication is causing those with the condition increasing stress and anxiety, the BBC has been told.
    Pharmacists said the problem persists despite a government assurance it would be resolved by the end of last year.
    In September, the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) blamed the UK-wide scarcity on "increased global demand and manufacturing issues".
    It said the disruption was "expected to resolve" between October and December.
    Lorraine Jukes, who has ADHD, said: "Here I am in April 2024, with only four days of medication left."
    The 36-year-old, from Iffley, Oxford, said she was "frantically phoning through lists of pharmacies" and being told there was no stock and no indication of any being available before she runs out.
    Oliver Picard, vice chair of the National Pharmacy Association, said: "We were told it would be resolved in December.
    "Some of the medication is starting to come back. In March, we had the supply of a certain brand of ADHD medication, we are now seeing shortages of other ADHD medication and we don't have a date for resupply.
    "Sometimes we can get some but will be limited to one packet per month pharmacy and that's not helpful either. It's hugely frustrating."
    Read full story
    Source: BBC News, 15 April 2024
  15. Patient Safety Learning
    People attempting to contact their GP practice are almost three times as likely to report failing to get through in some integrated care systems (ICS) than others, according to NHS England-commissioned data.
    The survey figures, collected for the first time by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), show 8.5% of people nationally who tried to call their GP between mid-January and mid-February this year said they could not reach the practice. This equates to 1.5 million people across England, according to the ONS.
    In Northamptonshire – the worst performing ICS – 14.7% of callers did not manage to make contact. That is the equivalent of around one in seven people. By comparison, only 3.9% of callers in Gloucestershire, the best performing ICS, could not get through. The findings are broadly similar when population and age are accounted for.
    Read full story (paywalled)
    Source: HSJ, 12 April 2024
  16. Patient Safety Learning
    A "gang culture" existed at an NHS neurosurgery department, a doctor has claimed at his employment tribunal.
    Neurosurgeon Mansoor Foroughi is one of two surgeons who alleges patients were put at risk at University Hospitals Sussex, where police are investigating 105 cases of alleged medical negligence.
    Four whistleblowers at the trust previously told BBC Newsnight that patients had died unnecessarily while others were "effectively maimed".
    They also complained of a "Mafia-like" management culture.
    Mansoor Foroughi alleges one colleague was approved to perform complex spinal surgery without adequate training.
    He claims a second surgeon undertook procedures that led to a "disproportionate" level of deaths.
    Mr Foroughi says a third surgeon undertook private work whilst on call to the NHS, which if true would be a breach of the NHS Code of Conduct.
    Universities Hospitals Sussex dismissed Mr Foroughi following a disciplinary hearing which upheld three allegations against him. He alleges the trust punished him because he raised these safety concerns.
    The trust said it would "vigorously contest" his claims.
    Read full story
    Source: BBC News, 11 April 2024
  17. Patient Safety Learning
    The boss of the NHS has made a dramatic intervention in The Independent highlighting the shocking amount of sexual abuse against staff in the health service, arguing that a #MeToo moment is needed to safeguard staff.
    Amanda Pritchard hit out at the “unacceptable” levels of abuse faced by doctors and nurses, demanding that health trusts be judged on their progress in tackling sexual harassment.
    She has called for sexual harassment against NHS staff to be “stamped out” after it emerged that one in eight workers – 58,000 – had reported experiencing unwanted sexual behaviour last year.
    Writing exclusively for The Independent, Ms Pritchard said the abuse now levelled at doctors and nurses is unacceptable – with some staff being raped at work, groped, and shown pornography.
    “The #MeToo movement has powerfully called out this unacceptable behaviour and fuelled important discussions right across society, and the NHS must not be exempt,” Ms Pritchard wrote.
    Around 58,000 NHS workers reported being subjected to unwanted sexual behaviour last year (PA)
    “But we can’t just call out unacceptable behaviour and move on: we need to stamp it out across all parts of the NHS.”
    Read full story
    Source: The Independent, 13 April 2024
  18. Patient Safety Learning
    A dedicated mental health and addiction support service for secondary care staff is shutting to new patients, as NHS England is set to cut its funding.
    The NHS Practitioner Health programme, which was rolled out nationally in October 2019, is halting new registrations for secondary care staff from 15 April.
    NHS England has informed the provider its funding will be cut for secondary care staff, subject to a review it is carrying out of wider services. The Practitioner Health programme for GPs and dentists is expected to continue for another year, although its future beyond that is also unclear, HSJ was told.
    An announcement published on X, formerly known as Twitter, said: “New secondary care patients will be signposted to alternative sources of support, including your GP, occupational health departments and organisational employee assistance programmes.”
    Its axing comes amid severe pressure on NHS budgets nationally and locally, with overall funding barely keeping up with anticipated inflation in 2024-25, and many integrated care systems forecasting large deficits.
    Medical unions and senior doctors have criticised the axing of the service.
    Read full story (paywalled)
    Source: HSJ, 12 April 2024
  19. Patient Safety Learning
    More than a dozen trusts have changed their maternity IT system – or are in the process of doing so – following a national patient safety alert.
    NHS England issued the alert  in December, after a fault was discovered with the Euroking maternity EPR, supplied by Magentus Software. It said information recorded in the EPR could overwrite previously recorded data, meaning the system could mislead clinicians.
    While no cases of patient harm have been reported, NHSE instructed trusts using the system to “consider if Euroking meets their maternity service’s needs” and “ensure their local configuration is safe” by June.
    A spokesperson for Euroking said: “We have identified a solution to the issues raised in the NPSA [alert], which has been shared with NHSE and with our customers. We’re now meeting each customer and are working with them individually to support the changes that need to be made based on their local configurations. We will continue working with the trusts to support them meeting the deadline outlined in the NPSA.
    “As the NPSA outlined, it has been issued as a precautionary measure and there is no evidence of harm being caused to patients.”
    Read full story (paywalled)
    Source: HSJ, 12 April 2024
    Related reading on the hub:
    NHS England warns electronic patient record could pose ‘serious risks to patient safety’: what can we learn?  
  20. Patient Safety Learning
    There is huge regional variation in the rate at which health systems are preventing patients joining the elective waiting list through “advice and guidance” to GPs, according to analysis by HSJ.
    Some systems – including Northamptonshire – have managed to ramp up these “diverts” to such an extent that they now report around one A&G case to every 3.5 cases cleared from the waiting list through treatment or seeing a consultant.
    This contrasts with others, such as Lancashire and South Cumbria, which only reports one A&G case for every 16 cleared from the waiting list.
    Advice and guidance involves GPs consulting specialists before making direct referrals and around half the time this results in a referral being avoided. The model is set to be a cornerstone of NHS England’s new outpatient transformation strategy, which is due imminently.
    Victoria Tzortziou-Brown, vice chair of the Royal College of GPs, said the analysis “confirms reports we’ve heard from our members – that there is too much regional variation in the use of the ‘advice and guidance’”.
    She added: “Some GPs report that when advice and guidance is properly resourced and well implemented, it can be a helpful tool for improving communications with their colleagues in secondary care.
    “[But] it is clear that more time, funding and capacity needs to be dedicated to allow clinicians to communicate efficiently and effectively whilst respecting professionalism.”
    Read full story (paywalled)
    Source: HSJ, 9 April 2024
    Related reading on the hub:
    Rejected outpatient referrals are putting patients at risk and increasing workload pressure on GPs 
  21. Patient Safety Learning
    A man who suffered a psychotic episode which lasted for weeks was not fully informed about potential extreme side-effects of taking steroids medication, England’s health service Ombudsman has found.
    Andrew Holland was prescribed steroids in early January 2022 by Manchester Royal Eye Hospital after losing vision in his left eye and suffering a severe infection in his right eye.
    The 61-year-old from Manchester was given the medication as treatment for eye inflammation, but soon began suffering from disrupted sleep and severe headaches.
    These side-effects developed into more serious ones, including becoming aggressive, psychotic, and inexplicably wandering the street at different times of the day and night.
    After several hospital visits due to his symptoms, Andrew attended Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust’s emergency department in mid-January with a severe headache and later became an inpatient.
    He was diagnosed with steroid induced psychosis, with symptoms including hallucinations, insomnia and behaviour changes.
    Though no failings were found with Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust in prescribing Andrew with steroids for the eye condition, the Ombudsman discovered a missed opportunity to fully inform him of potential extreme side-effects. He was therefore unable to make a fully informed decision about whether to take them or not.
    The Trust apologised for an ‘unsatisfactory experience’. However, the Ombudsman found relevant guidelines were not followed. Moreover, there had been no acknowledgement of mistakes in communication about the side-effects. Nor was any attempt made to correct them.
    Read full story
    Source: PSHO, 10 April 2024
  22. Patient Safety Learning
    Thousands of vulnerable children questioning their gender identity have been let down by the NHS providing unproven treatments and by the “toxicity” of the trans debate, a landmark report has found.
    The UK’s only NHS gender identity development service used puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones, which masculinise or feminise people’s appearances, despite “remarkably weak evidence” that they improve the wellbeing of young people and concern they may harm health, Dr Hilary Cass said.
    Cass, a leading consultant paediatrician, stressed that her findings were not intended to undermine the validity of trans identities or challenge people’s right to transition, but rather to improve the care of the fast-growing number of children and young people with gender-related distress.
    But she said this care was made even more difficult to provide by the polarised public debate, and the way in which opposing sides had “pointed to research to justify a position, regardless of the quality of the studies”.
    “There are few other areas of healthcare where professionals are so afraid to openly discuss their views, where people are vilified on social media, and where name-calling echoes the worst bullying behaviour. This must stop.”
    Read full story
    Source: The Guardian, 10 April 2024
  23. Patient Safety Learning
    A former consultant at the Southern Health Trust has told an inquiry into urology services that waiting lists are the "greatest source of patient harm".
    The inquiry was established in 2021 and is examining the trust's handling of urology services prior to May 2020.
    Aidan O'Brien became a consultant urologist in Craigavon Area Hospital in July 1992.
    His work is at the centre of the inquiry.
    Giving evidence on Monday, he said waiting list figures highlighted what "myself and my colleagues [have said] for decades" and described it as a "grossly inadequate service".
    "If you look at four-and-a-half years for urgent surgery, it is appalling," he told the inquiry.
    "I don't have a magic solution to the current situation, which is dire."
    Read full story
    Source: BBC News, 8 April 2024
  24. Patient Safety Learning
    Thousands of pests including rats, cockroaches and bedbugs have been found at NHS hospitals in England as the health service buckles under a record high repair bill.
    Hospital bosses are having to spend millions of pounds on pest control after discovering lice, flies and rodents in children’s wards, breast clinics, maternity units, A&E departments and kitchens, in the most graphic illustration yet of the dismal and dangerous state of the NHS estate.
    NHS bosses have repeatedly warned ministers of the urgent need to plough cash into fixing rundown buildings in order to protect the safety and dignity of patients and staff. The maintenance backlog now stands at £11.6bn in England.
    Figures obtained under freedom of information laws and reviewed by the Guardian suggest the NHS is struggling to cope with an army of pests plaguing decrepit hospitals.
    There were more than 18,000 pest incidents in the last three years, the NHS data reveals. There were 6,666 last year, equivalent to 18 a day. The figures also show NHS bosses are having to spend millions of pounds calling out pest control and dealing with infestations, with £3.7m spent in the last three years.
    Read full story
    Source: The Guardian, 9 April 2024
  25. Patient Safety Learning
    Almost one in three NHS employees have had to take time off work suffering poor mental health in the past year, new research suggests.
    The Unison union said its survey of 12,000 health workers shows the impact of a staffing crisis, with many suffering “burnout”.
    Panic attacks, high blood pressure, chest pains and headaches are among the physical signs of stress reported by nurses, porters, 999 call handlers and other NHS staff who completed the survey.
    The news comes as more than half of the mental health hubs launched for NHS workers after the pandemic have closed since last year, according to the British Psychological Society.
    Unison said workforce pressures are taking a huge toll as staff tackle a waiting list backlog, with many struggling to look after their wellbeing.
    Of those who were off with mental health problems, one in five said they did not tell their employer the real cause of their absence, mainly because they did not feel their manager or employer would be supportive.
    The union said staff feel undervalued and frustrated, with many quitting for less stressful jobs that pay more.
    Read full story
    Source: The Independent, 8 April 2024
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