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Patient Safety Learning

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  1. Patient Safety Learning
    Britain’s top family doctor is calling for a “black alert” system to be introduced in general practice so that doctors can warn when surgeries are dangerously over capacity.
    It comes as a report reveals that almost half of GPs can no longer guarantee safe care for millions of patients, as a shortage of medics means they are unable to cope with soaring demand.
    Prof Kamila Hawthorne, the chair of the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP), which represents 54,000 family doctors across the UK, wants a patient safety alert system introduced that is modelled on the operational pressures escalation levels (Opel) warnings – known as “black alerts” – already used by hospitals.
    It would enable practices and GPs to flag unsafe levels of workload, triggering support from their local health system. GP surgeries would be able to temporarily suspend non-priority activities – including some regular health checkups, certain routine but mandatory staff training and non-urgent paperwork – during periods of excessive workload. This would allow surgeries to reprioritise routine and non-urgent activity and ensure patient safety is prioritised.
    Hawthorne said: “General practice is a safety-critical industry yet GPs have none of the mechanisms that other safety-critical professions, such as the air traffic industry, have in place to protect them.
    “Our number one priority is the safety of our patients, but GPs are doing more and more to try to meet the rising demand for our services. When you’re fatigued, you’re more likely to make mistakes and our survey shows that many GPs are no longer able to guarantee that the care they are providing to their patients is as safe as it could be.”
    Read full story
    Source: The Guardian, 17 October 2023
  2. Patient Safety Learning
    Stroke patients should be offered extra rehabilitation on the NHS, say updated guidelines for England and Wales.
    The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) had previously recommended 45 minutes a day.
    But it believes some patients may need more intensive therapy for recovery and is suggesting three hours a day, five days a week.
    Experts welcome the advice, but question how feasible it will be for a stretched health service to deliver.
    NICE accepts it may be "challenging", but it says patients and families deserve the best care possible. That includes help regaining speech, movement and other functions caused by the damage that happens to the brain during a stroke.
    NHS England has said increasing the availability of high quality rehabilitation is a priority. More people than ever are surviving a stroke thanks to improvements in NHS care, it added.
    Read full story
    Source: BBC News,18 October 2023
  3. Patient Safety Learning
    At least two trusts are set to fall short on a high-profile pledge to eradicate ‘dormitory’ style wards in mental health facilities, with delays caused by cost pressures and shortage of materials and labour.
    In 2020, ministers said more than 1,200 beds in mental health dormitories across more than 50 sites would be replaced with single, en-suite accommodation by March 2025. Around £400m was allocated to achieve this.
    However, information gathered by HSJ via freedom of information requests suggests there will be at least 37 dormitory beds still in use beyond that date.
    In 2018, the Care Quality Commission said: “In the 21st century, patients, many of whom have not agreed to admission, should not be expected to share sleeping accommodation with strangers, some of whom may be agitated”. Patients have told HSJ they felt “distressed”, “unsafe” and “intimidated” on dormitory style wards.
    Leaders of trusts impacted by delays told HSJ of rising cost pressures, shortages of construction materials and availability of labour.
    Read full story (paywalled)
    Source: HSJ, 17 October 2023
  4. Patient Safety Learning
    Over the counter genetic tests in the UK that assess the risk of cancer or heart problems fail to identify 89% of those in danger of getting killer diseases, a new study has found.
    Polygenic risk scores are so unreliable that they also wrongly tell one in 20 people who receive them they will develop a major illness, even though they do not go on to do so.
    That is the conclusion of an in-depth review of the performance of polygenic risk scores, which underpin tests on which consumers spend hundreds of pounds.
    The findings come amid a boom in the number of companies offering polygenic risk score tests which purport to tell customers how likely they are to get a particular disease.
    Academics at University College London (UCL) who undertook the research are warning that such tests are so flawed they should be regulated “to protect the public from unrealistic expectations” that they will correctly identify their risk of a particular disease.
    The authors concluded: “Polygenic risk scores performed poorly in population screening, individual risk prediction and population risk stratification.
    “Strong claims about the effect of polygenic risk scores on healthcare seem to be disproportionate to their performance.”
    Read full story
    Source: The Guardian, 17 October 2023
  5. Patient Safety Learning
    A locum responsible pharmacist has been issued a warning after a patient died when he dispensed the wrong strength of oxycodone during a staffing crunch, the regulator has revealed.
    Paresh Gordhanbhai Patel supplied 120mg rather than the prescribed 20mg of oxycodone hydrochloride to an “elderly” patient while working two locum shifts as responsible pharmacist at Crompton Pharmacy at Whitley House Surgery in Chelmsford.
    After taking one tablet, the patient died from an “accidental” oxycodone “overdose”, the General Pharmaceutical Council’s (GPhC) fitness-to-practise (FtP) committee heard at a hearing held on 11-13 September.
    Mr Patel admitted that he was “stressed and overtired” when he failed to notice a “discrepancy” between the prescribed strength of oxycodone and what he ordered and dispensed,
    The regulator heard that Mr Patel was “over-conscientious” and felt compelled “at a human level” to help out at the under-staffed pharmacy, despite the fact that it was “not safe to do so”, it added.
    Mr Patel admitted that his errors “amounted to misconduct” and conceded to the committee that his fitness to practise was “impaired” because he “breached one of the fundamental principles of the pharmacy profession.”
    The regulator heard that Mr Patel had “immediately” admitted his mistake to the pharmacy and did so again at the coroner’s inquest, where he also publicly apologised to the patient’s family.
    Read full story
    Source: Chemist and Druggist, 12 October 2023
  6. Patient Safety Learning
    Thousands of complaints made against nurses and midwives were rejected by the watchdog without investigation last year as it battles a huge backlog amid concerns rogue staff are being left unchecked.
    The Nursing and Midwifery Council has rejected hundreds more cases a year since 2018, including 339 where nurses faced a criminal charge, 18 for alleged sexual offences and 599 over allegations of violence in 2022-23, according to data shared exclusively with The Independent.
    The new figures come after The Independent revealed shocking allegations that nurses and midwives accused of serious sexual, physical and racial abuse are being allowed to keep working because whistleblowers are being ignored and that the NMC was failing to tackle internal reports of alleged racism.
    And now, a new internal document, obtained by The Independent, reveals more staff have come forward to raise concerns since our expose.
    Former Victims’ Commissioner Dame Vera Baird KC said the backlog of complaints was “worryingly high” and called for urgent action to tackle it.
    Read full story
    Source: The Independent, 19 October 2023
  7. Patient Safety Learning
    Naga Munchetty has said she spent decades being failed, gaslit and “never taken seriously” by doctors, despite suffering debilitatingly heavy periods, repeated vomiting and pain so severe that she would lose consciousness.
    The BBC presenter, newsreader and journalist told the Commons women and equalities committee on Wednesday that she was “deemed normal” and told to “suck it up” by NHS GPs and doctors during the 35 years she sought help for her symptoms.
    Munchetty was finally diagnosed with adenomyosis, a condition where the lining of the womb starts growing into the muscle in its walls, in November last year.
    She said she was consistently told by doctors that “everyone goes through this”.
    “I was especially told this by male doctors who have never experienced a period but also by female doctors who hadn’t experienced period pain,” said Munchetty.
    Munchetty’s diagnosis came after she had bled heavily for two weeks and experienced pain so severe she asked her husband to call an ambulance. Only then was she taken seriously, seeing a GP who specialised in women’s reproductive health. That GP advised her to use private healthcare to avoid lengthy NHS waiting lists.
    Munchetty and Vicky Pattison, a television and media personality, were giving evidence as part of the committee’s inquiry into the challenges that women face being diagnosed and treated for gynaecological and reproductive conditions.
    The committee is also considering any disparities that exist in diagnosis and treatment, and the impact of women’s experiences on their health and lives.
    Read full story
    Source: The Guardian, 19 October 2023
  8. Patient Safety Learning
    A woman has spoken of her "complete shock" at being misdiagnosed with cancer and undergoing surgery when she never had the condition at all.
    Megan Royle, 33, from East Yorkshire, was diagnosed with skin cancer in 2019.
    As part of her treatment, she underwent immunotherapy and her eggs were frozen due to the risk to her fertility.
    But after she was given the all-clear in 2021, a review showed she never had cancer and she has now won compensation from the two NHS trusts involved.
    Ms Royle, from Beverley, said: "You just can't really believe something like this can happen, and still to this day I've not had an explanation as to how and why it happened.
    "I spent two years believing I had cancer, went through all the treatment, and then was told there had been no cancer at all."
    "You'd think the immediate emotion would be relief and, in some sense, it was - but I'd say the greater emotions were frustration and anger."
    Read full story
    Source: BBC News, 18 October 2023
  9. Patient Safety Learning
    A hospital trust has dismissed three members of staff following complaints of sexual harassment.
    The sackings by University Hospitals Birmingham (UHB) NHS Trust were revealed at the launch of its sexual safety charter on Monday.
    Sexual safety was one of the areas highlighted in a review of the trust's culture.
    UHB said sexism, misogyny and sexual harassment would not be tolerated in the workplace.
    The trust has been subject to three enquiries following a BBC investigation into its culture.
    The second of these investigations, by Prof Mike Bewick, identified a new line of inquiry into allegations of misogynistic behaviour and sexual harassment.
    Prof Bewick said the trust had begun formal investigations and there was a widening of the scope of the enquiry to accommodate the sensitive nature of these concerns.
    Read full story
    Source: BBC News, 19 October 2023
  10. Patient Safety Learning
    Almost two-thirds of maternity units provide dangerously substandard care that puts women and babies at risk, the NHS watchdog has said in a damning report.
    The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has rated 65% of maternity services in England as either “inadequate” or “requires improvement” for the safety of care – up from 54% last year.
    Services are beset by a host of problems, including serious staff shortages and internal tensions, which mean that too many mothers and their babies receive care that is not good enough, it said.
    Women too often face delays in accessing care, do not receive the one-to-one care from a midwife to which they are entitled or experience communication problems with staff looking after them, including being shouted at by midwives.
    The CQC judged overall quality of care to be inadequate or require improvement at 85 maternity units, almost as many at which it rated it to be either good or outstanding – 87. The number of units offering substandard care has soared by 30 in the last year, from 55 to 85.
    It said that, having inspected 73% of all maternity units, “the overarching picture is one of a service and staff under huge pressure. People have described staff going above and beyond for women and other people using maternity services and their families in the face of this pressure.
    “However, many are still not receiving the safe, high-quality care that they deserve.”
    Read full story
    Source: The Guardian, 20 October 2023
  11. Patient Safety Learning
    The boss of Britain’s biggest medicines courier has been told to urgently improve its complaints system by the NHS ombudsman amid concerns patients let down by missing deliveries are repeatedly ignored.
    In a highly unusual development, Darryn Gibson, the chief executive of Sciensus, has received a written warning from Rob Behrens, the parliamentary and health service ombudsman (PHSO). It says patients “should not be ignored” and must be “listened to and taken seriously” or he will consider taking further action.
    The PHSO investigates complaints that have not been resolved by the NHS or by private providers of NHS care. Sciensus is the single largest provider of homecare medicines services to the NHS and has contracts worth millions of pounds.
    In an email seen by the Guardian, Behrens told Gibson he had been unable to investigate most reports received about Sciensus because patients had not been able to complete the company’s complaints process. “That is not acceptable or fair to complainants,” Behrens wrote.
    In a statement, Sciensus said it worked “very hard” to ensure NHS patients received their medicines on time. Its services had “a 95% satisfaction rating”, it added.
    The move follows a Guardian investigation that exposed how Sciensus put NHS patients at risk of harm with delayed, missed or botched deliveries of medicines for conditions including cancer, heart disease, diabetes, dementia and HIV.
    It also uncovered how patients’ alarm at vital drugs and medical devices not arriving at their home was often compounded by a struggle to reach Sciensus to complain and fix the problems.
    Read full story
    Source: The Guardian, 19 October 2023
  12. Patient Safety Learning
    Children are waiting years for autism and cerebral palsy treatments as NHS leaders accuse the government of ignoring warnings of a crisis in community care.
    The number of patients waiting for NHS community services hit more than one million in August and a new analysis has revealed one in five of those patients are children. 
    The waits are so bad in some areas of England that a 12-year-old needing treatment might not get it until they are 16, the NHS Community Services Network warned.
    The analysis, by NHS Confederation and NHS Providers, also found 34,000 children have been waiting more than 18 weeks for diagnosis and care, which is the maximum time anyone should be waiting, with the backlogs growing quickly in spinal and eye care.
    Matthew Taylor, chief executive for NHS Confederation, which represents hospitals, community service providers and primary care, told The Independent that long waits can impact children more severely than adults because delays in treatment can have a knock-on effect on communication skills, social development and educational as well as mental wellbeing.
    “We have a real and growing problem with long waits in community services, but despite repeated warnings that neglect of these vital services is having a detrimental impact on patients, these warnings seem to be met with a shoulder shrug from the government. Leaders are working incredibly hard to deliver these important services for patients but are fighting a rising tide and need help,” he said.
    Read full story
    Source: The Independent, 20 October 2023
  13. Patient Safety Learning
    Lessons still have not been learned at a Kent hospital trust which was criticised in a damning report, a mother has said.
    Dr Bill Kirkup's review found at least 45 babies might have survived with better care at East Kent NHS hospitals.
    Victoria, whose six-year-old daughter needs 24-hour support, said: "I've had no contact from anyone from the trust."
    Her case was one of 202 that were examined by Dr Kirkup in his report, which was published exactly a year ago.
    Victoria, whose daughter is living with the consequences of failings in her care during her birth, said: "Our children have become unwell because of what has happened to them.
    "I don't feel lessons have been learned whatsoever.
    "Treatment hadn't been made available as easily as it should have done for children that are still living this experience every day."
    Read full story
    Source: BBC News, 19 October 2023
  14. Patient Safety Learning
    An employment and equality lawyer will lead investigations into claims of racism, sexism and toxic culture at the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC).
    The nursing regulator has appointed Ijeoma Omambala KC to review claims that fitness to practise cases have been mishandled, especially those involving racism, discrimination, sexual misconduct and child protection. She will lead a concurrent investigation into how complaints about allegations were handled.
    "I’m sorry anyone has concerns about our culture, and the regulatory decisions we take. We’re committed to a rigorous, transparent and independent response".
    Read full story (paywalled)
    Source: Nursing Standard, 17 October 2023
  15. Patient Safety Learning
    Eighteen more hospitals in England contain potentially crumbling concrete, bring the total affected to 42, the Department of Health and Social Care has confirmed.
    The reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac) has also been found in 214 schools and colleges in England as well as thousands of other buildings.
    NHS Providers, which represents hospitals, said the concrete "puts patients and staff at risk".
    Full structural surveys are taking place at all newly confirmed sites.
    The government said it was committed to eradicating Raac from NHS buildings completely by 2035.
    Seven of the worst-affected hospitals will be replaced by 2030 as part of the programme to build 40 new hospitals in England, it added.
    Read full story
    Source: BBC News, 21 October 2023
  16. Patient Safety Learning
    You might not have heard of a ‘physician associate’ - and that’s not your fault. They probably won’t tell you. A physician associate walks and talks like a doctor, but they are no replacement for one.
    To become a physician associate you need to complete a two-year postgraduate course or three-year apprenticeship. But despite much less learning than the five years a junior doctor must undergo to be qualified, they are often paid more than them.
    Which is why the government’s plan to flood the NHS with 10,000 more of them over the next 15 years doesn’t make any sense. There’s certainly no money-saving aspect. This is simply another corner-cutting exercise to quickly plug gaps in a struggling NHS that will put patients at risk.
    Far from saving doctors work (their original purpose), they often create more. Physician associates are unregulated so cannot be held accountable for their mistakes, meaning doctors must recheck any critical decisions they make. Critical decisions are made quite frequently in hospitals.
    But they’re not just overstretching doctors and creating more work; they’re harming patients. A recent Daily Mail investigation has found brain bleeds misdiagnosed as inconsequential headaches and lung disease mistaken for a chest infection.
    Doctors say they are “increasingly concerned” by this.
    Read full story
    Source: LBC, 16 October 2023
  17. Patient Safety Learning
    The Health and Social Care Select Committee have commissioned an Expert Panel to consider the Government’s progress against accepted recommendations from public inquiries and reviews on patient safety.
    The Panel will consider a range of recommendations made by public inquiries and reviews on both patient safety and whistleblowing and subsequently select a number of these for evaluation. The Panel will in its final report provide a rating of the Government’s progress against each of these recommendations.
    Panel members are:
    Professor Dame Jane Dacre (Chair). Sir Robert Francis KC Anita Charlesworth Professor Stephen Peckham Sir David Pearson Professor Emma Cave Read full story
    Source: House of Commons Health and Social Care Select Committee, 24 October 2023
  18. Patient Safety Learning
    Sepsis is still killing too many patients due to the same hospital failings that occurred a decade ago, a damning report by the NHS ombudsman has warned.
    Avoidable mistakes include delays in spotting and treating the condition, poor communication between health staff, sub-standard record keeping and missed opportunities for follow-up care, according to Rob Behrens, the parliamentary and health service ombudsman (PHSO).
    Despite some progress since a previous report on sepsis by the ombudsman in 2013, lessons are not being learned and repeated mistakes are putting people at risk, Behrens said. Major improvements are urgently needed to avoid more fatalities, he added.
    “I’ve heard some harrowing stories about sepsis through our investigations, and it frustrates and saddens me that the same mistakes we highlighted 10 years ago are still occurring,” said Behrens. “It is clear that lessons are not being learned. Losing a life through sepsis should not be an inevitability.”
    Melissa Mead, whose one-year-old son, William, died from sepsis in 2014 after concerns were dismissed by doctors, said: “I think this report, nine years on from William’s death, really lays bare the incidences of sepsis cases.”
    Mead, who peer-reviewed the study, added: “Too many lives are being lost in preventable circumstances.”
    Read full story
    Source: The Guardian, 25 October 2023
    Further reading on the hub:
    Top picks: Six resources about sepsis
  19. Patient Safety Learning
    The medical regulator has told NHS England to ‘directly tackle’ a perception there is a plan to replace doctors with physician associates amid an ‘intense’ debate about their future.
    General Medical Council chief executive Charlie Massey wants NHS England and health systems in the devolved nations to address several issues surrounding the expansion of medical associate roles.
    This follows intense debate over recent weeks, including multiple media reports of safety incidents where the involvement of physicians and anaesthesia associates has been questioned. The debate has been partially prompted by ambitions in the long-term workforce plan to increase their numbers, and the impact this would have on post-graduate medical training.
    Last week almost 90% cent of Royal College of Anaesthetists members voted to pause the rollout of anaesthesia associates, after an extraordinary general meeting. This prompted NHSE leaders to stress to trusts that associates should be working within established guidelines and have appropriate supervision.
    In response, Mr Massey has written to NHSE, calling for it to: “Directly tackle the perception that there is a plan for the health services to ‘replace’ doctors with PAs or AAs by convening and leading a system-wide discussion on an agreed vision for these roles.”
    Read full story (paywalled)
    Source: HSJ, 25 October 2023
  20. Patient Safety Learning
    A coroner has found neglect contributed to a baby's death at the hospital where he was born.
    Jasper Brooks died at the Darent Valley Hospital in Kent on 15 April 2021. The coroner found gross failures by midwives and consultants at the hospital and says Jasper's death was "wholly avoidable".
    Jasper was a second child for Jim and Phoebe Brooks. Due to a complication during pregnancy of her first child, Phoebe was booked in to have an elective Caesarean section to deliver Jasper. But in April 2021 those plans changed overnight.
    A check-up found Phoebe had raised blood pressure. She was told to remain in hospital and that the C-section would happen the following morning - nine days earlier than planned - when there were more staff on duty.
    Jasper's parents say the midwives caring for Phoebe repeatedly failed to listen to her and Jim's concerns - that she was shaking violently, feeling sick, and thought she was bleeding internally.
    "We felt like an inconvenience - no-one wanted to deal with me that night," Phoebe says. "The doctor didn't want to do my C-section, the midwife that's meant to be looking after me, she just doesn't really care.
    "I remember saying clearly to her, 'my whole body is shaking - something's happening, and no-one's taking the time to listen to what I'm saying or listen in on my baby'."
    At the inquest hearing, midwife Jennifer Davis was accused by the family's barrister, Richard Baker KC, of "failing to act on signs of blood loss, failing to determine if Phoebe was in active labour, and failing to call a senior doctor when necessary".
    Jasper was born without a heartbeat, so a resuscitation team was called. But during the inquest, the family learned that further errors were made because the correct people failed to attend the resuscitation.
    There was no consultant neonatologist on site - a doctor with expertise in looking after newborn infants or those born prematurely. Intubation, the process of placing a breathing tube into the windpipe - which should only take a few minutes - did not occur for 18 minutes. There was also a delay in administering adrenaline to try to stimulate Jasper's heart.
    Read full story
    Source BBC News, 24 October 2023
     
  21. Patient Safety Learning
    More than a quarter of ‘critical incidents’ have been declared by just four trusts since the start of the crisis in urgent and emergency care.
    Data obtained by HSJ shows 241 critical incidents have been declared by organisations due to “operational” or “system pressures” between April 2021, when long waits for urgent care began to surge upwards, and last month. Four trusts account for 68 of these (28%).
    Critical incidents are declared when the level of disruption “results in an organisation temporarily or permanently losing its ability to deliver critical services, or where patients and staff may be at risk of harm”. These incidents may require “special measures and support from other agencies, to restore normal operating functions,” according to the NHS England definition. 
    Most critical incidents were only in place for a few days before being stood down by the trust or system, but some were in place for much longer – sometimes for several months at a time, the data suggests.
    Read full story (paywalled)
    Source: HSJ, 25 October 2023
  22. Patient Safety Learning
    The NHS has launched an investigation after it sent “priority” letters to people who died years ago, in some cases decades, urging them to book flu and Covid-19 jabs to reduce their risk of serious illness.
    The health service is asking eligible patients to arrange appointments for both vaccines to avoid a potential “twindemic” of flu and coronavirus this winter, which would pile further pressure on hospitals and GP surgeries.
    “You are a priority for seasonal flu and Covid-19 vaccinations,” the two-page letter tells recipients. “This is because you are aged 65 or over (by 31 March 2024).
    However, some of the letters, which contain personal information such as NHS numbers, have been sent to people who died years ago. Others have been sent to people who are not eligible for the vaccines, with no connection to the addressee.
    In a statement, NHS England told the Guardian it was investigating. It declined to answer questions about when the error was first discovered, what had caused it and how many people had been affected.
    “We have been made aware of some letters sent in error and appreciate this may have been upsetting for those who received it – we are working as quickly as possible to investigate this,” a spokesperson for NHS England said.
    Read full story
    Source: The Guardian, 24 October 2023
  23. Patient Safety Learning
    Several people have been admitted to hospital in Austria after using suspected fake versions of Novo Nordisk’s diabetes drug Ozempic, the country’s health safety body has said, the first report of harm to users as a European hunt for counterfeiters widened.
    The patients were reported to have suffered hypoglycaemia and seizures, serious side-effects that indicate that the product contained insulin instead of Ozempic’s active ingredient semaglutide, the health safety regulator Bundesamt für Sicherheit im Gesundheitswesen (BASG) said on Monday.
    The European Medicines Agency (EMA) warned last week that pens falsely labelled as Ozempic were in circulation, and Austria’s criminal investigation service said on Monday that the fake injection pens could still be in circulation.
    The Danish maker of the drug, Novo Nordisk, has warned of a rise in the online offers of counterfeit Ozempic as well as its weight-loss drug Wegovy, both based on semaglutide.
    “It appears that this shortage is being exploited by criminal organisations to bring counterfeits of Ozempic to market,” said BASG.
    Read full story
    Source: The Guardian, 24 October 2023
  24. Patient Safety Learning
    A major health system’s pathology IT has been hit by a cyber attack, HSJ understands.
    A letter sent by Guy’s and St Thomas’ Foundation Trust chief executive last night said his £2.5bn-turnover trust was unable to connect to the servers of Synnovis.
    The problem is ongoing, and several senior sources told HSJ the system had been the victim of a ransomware attack. One said gaining access to pathology results could take “weeks, not days”. 
    As well as GSTT – the NHS’s largest provider – neighbouring King’s College Hospital FT, which runs several hospitals in the system, and is thought to be affected. Synnovis also provides pathology services for primary care across all six of south east London’s boroughs.
    The news would make it one of the largest critical NHS systems brought down by a cyber attack.
    Read full story (paywalled)
    Source: HSJ, 4 June 2024
  25. Patient Safety Learning
    A simple blood test using artificial intelligence to predict Parkinson's disease years before symptoms begin has been developed by researchers.
    They hope it can lead to a cheap, finger-prick test providing early diagnoses - and help find treatments to slow down the disease.
    Charity Parkinson's UK said it was "a major step forward" in the search for a non-invasive patient-friendly test, but larger trials are needed to prove its accuracy.
    “At present we are shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted," senior author Prof Kevin Mills, from UCL's Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, said.
    "We need to start experimental treatments before patients develop symptoms."
    Co-author Dr Jenny Hällqvist, from UCL, said: "People are diagnosed when neurons are already lost.
    "We need to protect those neurons, not wait till they are gone."
    Read full story
    Source: BBC News, 18 June 2024

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