Jump to content
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    11,589

  • Joined

  • Last visited

Patient Safety Learning

Administrators

 Content Type 

Everything posted by Patient Safety Learning

  1. News Article
    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
  2. News Article
    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
  3. News Article
    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
  4. News Article
    NHS staff including ambulance workers, porters, nurses and cleaners have been shown pornographic images, offered money for sex, and assaulted at work, according to new research. The widespread incidents of sexual harassment are revealed in a wide-ranging survey published by the Unison union on the first day of its annual health conference in Brighton. In the study of more than 12,200 health workers, one in 10 reported unwanted incidents including being touched or kissed, demands for sex in return for favours, and derogatory comments. Royal College of Nursing chief nurse Professor Nicola Ranger said: “These figures paint an incredibly disturbing picture." In the survey, sexual assault was reported by 29% of respondents who had experienced harassment, while half said they have been leered at or been the target of suggestive gestures. One in four who had been harassed said they have suffered unwelcome sexual advances, propositions or demands for sexual favours. Half the staff had not reported sexual harassment to their employer, amid concerns of being considered “over-sensitive” or feeling complaints would not be acted on. Read full story Source: BBC News, 8 April 2024
  5. News Article
    Black and Asian people who spot cancer symptoms are taking twice as long to be diagnosed as white people, a shocking new study shows. Research by Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) and Shine Cancer Support shows that people from minority ethnic backgrounds face an average of a year’s delay between first noticing symptoms and receiving a diagnosis of cancer. These groups report more negative experiences of cancer care than white people, limited knowledge about the diseases and lack of awareness of support services, which all contribute to later diagnostic rates. “In a year that’s revealed that the UK’s cancer survival lags behind comparable countries, I am saddened but unsurprised that people from minority ethnic groups face additional hurdles that delay their diagnosis.” said Ceinwen Giles, co-ceo of Shine Cancer Support. “We know that catching cancer earlier saves lives, yet with year long waits for some people, collaborative efforts between health leadership, advocacy groups and the pharmaceutical industry are required.” Read full story Source: The Independent, 9 April 2024
  6. Content Article
    Sepsis Research FEAT and the James Lind Alliance launched a survey last year giving health and social care professionals and sepsis patients and their carers the unique opportunity to shape future sepsis research.   They are now launching phase 2 of the survey.
  7. News Article
    NHS leaders have warned that Royal Mail’s plans to cut second-class deliveries to two days a week could risk patient safety. The changes are part of wider measures announced by Royal Mail’s parent company, International Distributions Services (IDS), including cuts of up to 9,000 routes, which could take more than two years to implement, saving £300m a year. IDS has assured the Royal Mail workforce that there will be no compulsory redundancies and they will request only 100 voluntary redundancies. In a letter sent to the Telegraph, executives from the NHS, Healthwatch England, the Patients Association and National Voices said the Royal Mail proposals would increase the cost of missed appointments, which already exceeds £1bn. The letter said: “Provisional Healthwatch data suggest that more than 2 million people may have missed medical appointments in 2022-23 due to late delivery of letters, and this will only deteriorate under the proposed new plans.” Sir Julian Hartley, the chief executive of NHS Providers, said the proposed delays were “extremely unhelpful”. “It’s really important that patients be updated at the earliest opportunity on developments in their care and treatment,” he said. “An efficient, punctual postal service remains a key part of that process. At a time when far too many patients already face long delays – the last thing any trust leader wants – anything that adds to that uncertainty, and possibly the worsening of conditions, would be extremely unhelpful.” Jacob Lant, the chief executive of health charity National Voices, said: “The proposals being consulted on risk further delaying vital communications and worsening digital exclusion, therefore unfairly widening health inequalities. NHS mail must remain a priority service.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 6 April 2024
  8. Content Article
    Judy Walker describes how an After Action Review following a sporting event ensured significant learning took place and led to a worldwide change in first aid training.
  9. Event
    until
    In 2014 Seth Goodburn died from pancreatic cancer 33 short and heart-breaking days after his diagnosis. Seth wanted to die at home but sadly he died in an acute hospital because the system, processes and procedures constrained the ability of healthcare staff to deliver person and family centred care. For the last 10 years Lesley Goodburn has worked to share Seth's Story to raise awareness of the signs and symptoms of pancreatic cancer, highlight the need for good psychosocial care and to improve end of life care. In the 10th anniversary year of Seth's death Lesley and colleagues provide an update on each of those areas and to launch a new educational resource which are letters that Lesley wrote to the staff involved in Seth's care six months after Seth died. These letters will give you the opportunity to reflect on your role in a patient and families journey through palliative and end of life care and you will be invited to reflect and write a letter back to Lesley and Seth Learning outcomes for participants: Understanding Pancreatic Cancer: Gain a comprehensive understanding of pancreatic cancer, its signs and symptoms, and the patient’s journey from diagnosis to end of life. This includes learning from Seth’s story and the experiences of other patients like Claire and Bradley. Delivering Person and Family-Centred Care: Understand the importance of delivering person and family-centred care, as highlighted by Seth’s experience. Learn about the healthcare systems, processes, and procedures that can either support or constrain the delivery of such care. Psychosocial Support for Patients and Carers: Learn about the need for good psychosocial care for pancreatic cancer patients and their carers. This includes understanding findings from the carer’s perspective at the end of life and the available support for patients and carers. End-of-Life Care: Gain insights into the best practices for end-of-life care, including effective communication about cancer and care in the last hours of life. Learn from the work on cancer conversations and understand how to support patients in their final days. Grief and Bereavement: Understand the process of grief and bereavement, including the impact of the Covid pandemic on bereavement. Learn about the UK bereavement commission and how to support individuals through their grief. These outcomes provide a holistic view of the patient’s journey, emphasising the importance of person-centred care, psychosocial support, and effective communication at the end of life. A reflective letter-writing exercise will further deepen the understanding and empathy of healthcare professionals towards their patients and their families. Register
  10. Content Article
    Cancer Equals is a campaign launched by Bristol Myers Squibb, to understand and help address the many factors that lead to delays in cancer diagnosis and variations in cancer experiences between people from different backgrounds. Cancer Equals research shows that people from minority ethnic groups experience seven months longer delays between noticing cancer symptoms and diagnosis compared to white individuals. Many factors lead to these delays in diagnosis and differences in people’s experience of cancer – no one’s story is the same. Delays to diagnosis will and do impact prognosis, changing the course of peoples’ lives. Health disparities and inequalities are an ongoing and pressing issue, with the UK government, NHS and patient groups committed to increasing earlier diagnosis and improving outcomes for people living with cancer.
  11. News Article
    People with long Covid have evidence of continuing inflammation in their blood, which could help understanding of the condition and how it may be treated, a UK study suggests. It found the presence of certain proteins increased the risk of specific symptoms, such as fatigue, in people sick enough to need hospital treatment. It is unclear whether milder cases of Covid have the same effect on the body. A test remains a long way off - but the findings may prompt future trials. Read full story Source: BBC News, 8 April 2024 Related reading on the hub: Top picks: 12 research papers on Long Covid
  12. Content Article
    One in ten severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infections result in prolonged symptoms termed long coronavirus disease (Covid), yet disease phenotypes and mechanisms are poorly understood. This study profiled 368 plasma proteins in 657 participants ≥3 months following hospitalisation. Of these, 426 had at least one long Covid symptom and 233 had fully recovered.  The study aimed to understand inflammatory processes that underlie Long Covid. The findings suggest that specific inflammatory pathways related to tissue damage are implicated in subtypes of Long Covid, which might be targeted in future therapeutic trials. Related reading on the hub: Top picks: 12 research papers on Long Covid
  13. News Article
    The Care Quality Commission’s assessments of integrated care systems (ICSs) have been put on hold at the last minute, as the government declined to sign off on the process. They were due to begin this month, following pilots in Birmingham and Solihull and Dorset ICSs, but the Care Quality Commission (CQC) has put the brakes on assessments elsewhere until it receives government approval. Under the legislation brought in when ICSs were set up in 2022, the CQC can review and assess systems, but ministers must approve its methodology. Interim chief inspector of adult social care and integrated care James Bullion wrote to integrated care board chiefs this week stating that, following discussions with the Department of Health and Social Care, the CQC had agreed to a “short delay… to allow for further refinements to our approach”. He added: “In particular we have been working with NHS England on their strengthened approach to performance evaluation and rating of the ICB elements of the ICS which we will take into account as evidence for our scoring and reporting approach.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 8 April 2024
  14. News Article
    Eight hospitals in England have fire safety warnings attached to them, with half in place since 2022 or earlier, HSJ can reveal. All are enforcement notices issued by fire brigades when serious risks are not being managed. Issues raised include risk assessments, maintenance, and emergency routes. There were more than 1,300 fires across the NHS trust estate in 2022-23, according to official estates data, which was an increase of 18% on the year before. NHS Providers deputy chief executive Saffron Cordery said the figures highlighted the “urgent need” to address maintenance backlog – which includes fire safety – across the NHS estate. The overall backlog figure has been growing yearly and is approaching £12bn. Ms Cordery said: “Greater capital investment is essential to enabling a safe environment for patients and staff.” Rory Deighton from NHS Confederation said more than a decade of underinvestment was behind the “dilapidated” state of the NHS estate. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 5 April 2024
  15. Content Article
    Clinical guidelines can contribute to medication errors but there is no overall understanding of how and where these occur. This study aimed to identify guideline-related medication errors reported via a national incident reporting system, and describe types of error, stages of medication use, guidelines, drugs, specialties and clinical locations most commonly associated with such errors.
  16. Content Article
    There is a growing momentum around the world to foster greater opportunities for the involvement of mental health service users in their care and treatment planning. In-principle support for this aim is widespread across mental healthcare professionals. Yet, progress in mental health services towards this objective has lagged in practice. Francis et al. conducted a systematic review of quantitative, qualitative and mixed-method research on interventions to improve opportunities for the involvement of mental healthcare service users in treatment planning, to understand the current research evidence and the barriers to implementation. Overarching barriers to shared and supported decision-making in mental health treatment planning were: (1) Organisational (resource limitations, culture barriers, risk management priorities and structure); (2) Process (lack of knowledge, time constraints, health-related concerns, problems completing and using plans); and (3) Relationship barriers (fear and distrust for both service users and clinicians). On the basis of the barriers identified, recommendations are made to enable the implementation of new policies and programmes, the designing of new tools and for clinicians seeking to practice shared and supported decision-making in the healthcare they offer.
  17. Content Article
    A strong safety culture is the cornerstone of a thriving healthcare system. It underpins all experiences—for patients and employees—and drives key metrics like retention, loyalty, and “Likelihood to Recommend” (LTR) scores. Ultimately, a strong safety culture powers a virtuous cycle, leading to better outcomes for everyone.  'Safety in healthcare 2024' brings together Press Ganey's integrated dataset of patient and employee experience, clinical, and safety measures to analyse the landscape today. Representing 12 million patient encounters, the views of one million healthcare employees, and over 550,000 reported safety events, it explores emerging trends, as well as the strategies top-performing healthcare organisations leverage to improve patient and employee safety.
  18. News Article
    Healthcare workers' perceptions of safety at their organisations is improving, though a gap still remains between senior leaders and front-line workers, according to a Press Ganey report. Press Ganey surveyed more than 1 million employees from 200 health systems in the USA in 2023. The poll included 19 questions related to safety culture across three domains: prevention and reporting, pride and reputation, and resources and teamwork. Three takeaways: Staff safety culture scores have risen from an all-time low of 3.96 (out of 5) in 2021 to 4.01 in 2023. This increase was largely driven by improvements around staff members' perceptions of resources and teamwork, including views on adequate unit staffing. "While these improvements are encouraging, there's still a lot of work to do," Press Ganey said. "Pre-pandemic rates were never the desired end state, and it’s important to note that nearly half (48.5%) of employees still have a low perception of safety culture." Senior management reported the highest perceptions of safety culture at 4.53, while registered nurses and advanced practice providers reported the second- and third-lowest at 3.95 and 3.92, respectively. Security team members had the lowest perceptions of safety at 3.91. large gap was also seen between senior leaders and registered nurses regarding perceptions of workplace violence protections. Senior management gave their organizations a 4.30 out of 5 for having strong security measures in place to prevent violence, compared to just 3.36 for nurses. Read full story Source: Becker's Hospital Review, 3 April 2024
  19. Content Article
    While climate change is a big threat to health, implementing solutions to address climate change presents a huge opportunity to promote better health and protect people from climate-sensitive diseases. Communicating the health risks of climate change and the health benefits of climate solutions is both necessary and helpful. Health professionals are well-placed to play a unique role in helping their communities understand climate change, protect themselves, and realize the health benefits of climate solutions. This toolkit from the World Health Organization (WHO) aims to help health professionals effectively communicate about climate change and health.
  20. Content Article
    The Health Foundation has produced a new dashboard which presents data and insights on the state of health and health inequalities across all local authorities in England. You can discover: how our health is shaped by factors such as the quality of our housing, employment and income how local authorities in England compare on healthy life expectancy areas of lower and higher life expectancy within each local authority. This free resource forms part of the Health Foundation's evidence hub, which provides a wide range of data, insights and analysis on how the circumstances in which we live shape our health and drive health inequalities.
  21. News Article
    Climate change presents one of the most significant global health challenges and is already negatively affecting communities worldwide. Communicating the health risks of climate change and the health benefits of climate solutions is both necessary and helpful. To support this, the World Health Organization (WHO) in collaboration with partners has developed a new toolkit designed to equip health and care workers with the knowledge and confidence to effectively communicate about climate change and health. The toolkit aims to fill the gaps in knowledge and action among health and care workers – all those who are engaged in actions with the primary intent of enhancing health, as well as those occupations in academic, management and scientific roles. Despite their recognized trustworthiness and efficacy as health communicators, many health and care workers might not be fully equipped to discuss climate change and its health implications. This toolkit seeks to change that narrative. “Health and care workers play a key role in addressing climate change as a health crisis. Their unique position enables them to raise awareness, advocate for policy changes, and empower communities to mitigate and adapt to climate change,” said Dr Maria Neira, Director, Department of Environment, Climate Change and Health. “By engaging in dialogue and action, health and care workers can catalyse efforts to safeguard human health as well as ensuring a resilient and sustainable future for all.” Read full story Source: WHO, 22 March 2024
  22. Content Article
    Read the Royal College of Emergency Medicine's general election manifesto. A one page summary is below and the full manifesto can be found at the link at the bottom of the page.
  23. News Article
    A trust has appointed a chair to lead an independent review into dozens of suicides that was sparked by allegations of record tampering. Following questions from HSJ about the review’s chair and terms of reference, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Foundation Trust said Ellen Wilkinson, a former medical director at Cornwall Partnership FT and its current chief clinical information officer, would chair the review. The trust, which is looking for a substantive CEO following Anna Hills’ departure earlier this year, said the review “will not examine individual patient deaths but will take a thematic approach and look at the learnings we can take from these tragic incidents”. The trust told HSJ the terms of reference for the review of more than 60 cases of patients who died by suicide since 2017 were still being finalised. The decision not to investigate individual cases has been criticised by the whistleblower whose concerns prompted the review in the first place, as HSJ reported in October. While an employee of the trust, Des McVey, a consultant nurse and psychotherapist, carried out an investigation in July 2021 into the case of 33-year-old Charles Ndhlovu, who died by suicide in 2017. Mr McVey told HSJ his review found Mr Ndhlovu’s patient record had been tampered with and “his care plans were created on the day after his death” – a conclusion he stands by. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 3 April 2024
  24. News Article
    Patient safety in the Accident & Emergency unit at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow will be reviewed by an NHS watchdog. Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) was first contacted by 29 A&E doctors in May 2023 warning that safety was being "seriously compromised". HIS last month apologised for not fully investigating their concerns. The review will consider leadership and operational issues and how they may have impacted on safety and care. In the letter to HIS, the 29 consultants highlighted treatment delays, "inadequate" staffing levels and patients being left unassessed in unsuitable waiting areas. They claimed this resulted in "preventable patient harm and sub-standard levels of basic patient care". The doctors also said critical events had occurred including potentially avoidable deaths. The consultants said repeated efforts to raise the issues with health board bosses "failed to elicit any significant response". Read full story Source: BBC News, 4 April 2024
  25. Event
    until
    There are very few routine and reliable mechanisms for patients, carers and families to escalate past the primary team when concerned about standard care not meeting their needs. Failing to escalate in a timely manner timely can have adverse effects to patient outcomes. It has been recognised that having reliable patient and family escalation systems is also a quality marker of patient centred care. NHS England’s Worry and Concern Task and Finish Group (a subgroup of the Acute Deterioration Board) have run a national improvement collaborative from April 2023 for 12 months. Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has participated in this pilot to develop, test, implement and evaluate methods to incorporate patients’ views of their wellness/illness and worries and concerns in the assessment and recognition of acute illness and risk of deterioration. Register
×
×
  • Create New...