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Patient-Safety-Learning

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Everything posted by Patient-Safety-Learning

  1. News Article
    A new study has found stress in the workplace could be leading women suffering from warning signs of heart disease. These signs included work-related stress, sleep disorders, and tiredness - which are important but non-traditional risk factors for having a heart attack or a stroke. Dr Wagner, a neurology professor at the University of Zurich, said "Traditionally men have been perceived to be more affected by heart attacks and strokes than women, but in some countries, women have overtaken men. There is a gender gap and further research is needed to find out why”. Read full story. Source: The Independent, 31 August 2021
  2. News Article
    An expensive anti-cholesterol drug called inclisiran could soon be offered to hundreds of thousands of people in England and Wales on the NHS. The drug, which would be administered as a twice-a-year injection, costs around £2,000 per dose, could save about 30,000 lives within a decade. "Inclisiran represents a potential game-changer in preventing thousands of people from dying prematurely from heart attacks and strokes. We're therefore pleased to be able to recommend it as a cost effective option on the NHS." Said Meindert Boysen, NICE deputy chief executive and director of the Centre for Health Technology Evaluation. Read full story. Source: BBC News, 01 September 2021
  3. News Article
    New data has revealed the number of people in hospital with Covid-19 is climbing rapidly, even before the latest surge in infections. These figures highlight the immense pressure the NHS is currently facing, and according to this data, there are now 585 people in hospital with the virus, up from 312 just eleven days ago, showing it to be the highest figure since early March. Health Secretary Huma Yousaf said the situation in A&E is being closely monitored. "Hospitals are reporting increased levels of people attending A&E who are much sicker and require higher levels of care. Weekly performance is impacted due to a range of challenges including high attendances, staffing pressures due to isolation and annual leave and the continued requirement for infection control precautions that is affecting the time people need to spend in A&E." Read full story. Source: The Herald, 01 September 2021
  4. Content Article
    This resource from NHS England provides guidance on how to make improvements in any area that involves safety. The guide includes explanations and advice involving improvement projects, the process of collecting, analysing and reviewing data, the Model for Improvement and how to use it.
  5. Content Article
    This document describes the results of a study conducted by a Calgary study team who entered into a contract with the Canadian Patient Safety Institute (CPSI) to seek out, assess, and compile related research, approaches, and models to help inform the engagement process with patients/families who had been harmed while receiving care.
  6. Content Article
    This research aimed to assess the effects of nurse-to-patient ratios on staffing levels and patient outcomes and whether both were associated. Results from the study suggested minimum nurse-to-patient ratio policies are a feasible approach to improve nurse staffing and patient outcomes with good return on investment.
  7. Content Article
    On 8 April 2014, former Health Minister Edwin Poots announced his intention to commission former Chief Medical Officer of England, Professor Sir Liam Donaldson, to advise on the improvement of governance arrangements across the HSC.   "The Right Time, The Right Place" Sir Liam was subsequently tasked with investigating whether an improvement in the quality of governance arrangements is needed and whether the current arrangements support a culture of openness, learning and making amends.
  8. News Article
    Government experts have said the reopening of schools next month will likely trigger an exponential rise in Covid infections among children. According to members of SPI-M-O, the governments committee on on pandemic modelling, the removal of certain measures such as face masks, and the lack of vaccinations, may mean children will be susceptible to the virus. “Vaccines have amazingly weakened the link between infections and illness and hospitalisations, but not broken it. No one wants to reimpose restrictions but we face a challenging winter. I do believe we need an informed public debate on the options through 2021 and 2022. The infection is not going away, we have incredible tools (tests, treatment, vaccines). No one wants restrictions reimposed but we will have to accept some illness, hospitalisations and deaths.” Said Sage member and director of the Wellcome Trust, Sir Jeremy Farrar Read full story. Source: The Independent, 28 August 2021
  9. News Article
    Doctors have warned GPs are having to make difficult choices about which patients get blood tests because of the ongoing shortage of test tubes, describing it as a "perilous" situation. Due to the shortages, the NHS in England and Wales have told surgeries and hospitals to temporarily stop some blood testing, which includes tests for fertility, allergies and pre-diabetes. One woman, Alison Webb, has said she cannot have her yearly thyroid and cholesterol checked due to the shortages - and her tests are already overdue by four months. A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said, "The health and care system continues to work flat out with the supplier and stakeholders to put mitigations in place, and restore normal supply, and there continues to be stock in place." Read full story. Source: BBC News, 30 August 2021
  10. News Article
    The number of Covid-19 cases reported in Scotland has now reached 7,113, previously recorded as 6,835 on Friday. Health Secretary Humza Yousaf has warned the NHS was facing a "perfect storm" of pressure, with latest government figures showing a total of 507 people are in hospital with Covid and 52 are in intensive care. "We are seeing a rising curve of cases in Scotland. It's reassuring that vaccines are preventing the levels of serious health harms that case numbers like this would once have caused. However, we can't be complacent and are monitoring carefully. In the meantime, please take care." Tweeted First Minister Nicola Sturgeon. Read full story. Source: BBC News, 30 August 2021 (Scotland)
  11. News Article
    A new study focused largely on unvaccinated or partially vaccinated people has found the Delta variant is more likely to cause hospitalisation than the Alpha variant. The Delta variant, first identified in India, is already understood to be far more infectious than the previously dominant Alpha variant that was initially detected in Kent. Dr Gavin Dabrera, one of the study’s lead authors and a consultant epidemiologist for Public Health England has said, “This study confirms previous findings that people infected with Delta are significantly more likely to require hospitalisation than those with Alpha, although most cases included in the analysis were unvaccinated.” Read full story. Source: The Guardian, 27 August 2021
  12. News Article
    According to reports, senior managers at an NHS trust knew up to 30 cancers may have gone undetected two years before an official probe into a backlog of thousands of X-rays. Although the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and Healthwatch made investigations in 2016, neither one were told of potential harm to patients. The backlog was publicly exposed by Ken Hall, who approached the Care Quality Commission in 2016, where it then identified 11,000 X-rays had not been processed, but was subsequently struck off after allegations of fraud. "These go through a rigorous quality assurance process and the Care Quality Commission would not publish any statement in an inspection report that it did not believe to be true." Said the CQC when asked about its findings of no harm after being shown the 2014 trust management committee reports, the CQC also told the BBC it could find no record of inspectors having had sight of them. Read full story. Source: BBC News, 27 August 2021
  13. Content Article
    This article by Alison Moore focuses on the problems and controversy associated with the Queen Elizabeth Hospital King’s Lynn Foundation Trust who had to evacuate its critical care unit earlier this year because of the dangers surrounding the safety of their roof.  
  14. Content Article
    In this article Wang et al. review recent advances in understanding airborne transmission gained from studying the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections and other respiratory pathogens. 
  15. News Article
    New data from NHS Digital on the latest vacancy statistics shows as of June 2021 there were 38,952 registered nurse vacancies across the health service, with the Royal College of Nursing saying news of worsening nurse shortages should “stun” ministers into taking action. RCN England director, Patricia Marquis, has said: “As health and care services head into what will be a very difficult winter, this should stun ministers to address the rising number of nursing vacancies and prevent further risk to patient care. After the pressures from the last 18 months we also know that many experienced nurses are considering leaving the profession. These are skills that cannot be replaced quickly. Unless there is an urgent investment in the nursing workforce, starting with an increase in pay that reflects their skill and professionalism, and there is accountability for workforce planning at ministerial level, we will be dealing with the fallout for years to come.” Read full story. Source: Nursing Times, 26 August 2021
  16. News Article
    According to Elizabeth Cotton, of Cardiff Metropolitan University, an expert in mental health at work, more than four in 10 – 41 per cent – of therapists working for the NHS’s talking treatments programme had been asked to manipulate data about patients’ progress. This was done in order to to improve the scheme’s apparent achievement rates, although NHS chiefs insist patients’ views are recorded when therapists are not present. Read full story. Source: The Independent, 26 August 2021
  17. News Article
    Following a number of serious infections, hospitals have warned about the risks of wearing the wrong kind of face mask during surgery. This comes after a patient safety alert was issued by NHS England where it was reported that respirator masks have been acquired by the millions during the coronavirus pandemic but sometimes have been deployed in inappropriate settings. “These incident reports and feedback from services suggest that the risks of valved respirators and PAPRs for surgical and invasive procedures is not well recognised, and that their use may have become routine in some theatre environments.” NHS England said in the document. Read full story. Source: The Independent, 26 August 2021
  18. News Article
    A major review of vaccines suggests the AstraZeneca jab does raise the risk of blood clots and another serious condition that can cause bleeding. However, the study also found the complications following coronavirus infection to be much higher. The University of Oxford-led team also found an increased risk of stroke after the Pfizer jab but also found it at a much lower rate than after infection. This comes after a coroner ruled that BBC Radio Newcastle presenter Lisa Shaw died due of complications from the AstraZeneca jab. Lead author Professor Julia Hippisley-Cox said it was "important people were aware of the risks, but that they were kept in context given the higher risk from being infected". Read full story. Source: BBC News, 26 August 2021
  19. News Article
    According to reports, more than half of patients waiting for a first consultant appointment in Northern Ireland are still waiting longer than a year. Health Minister Robin Swann has apologised for the long waiting lists, with the Royal College of Surgeons describing the figures as "devastating". Data has revealed 348,867 people are currently waiting for a first appointment, with fifty-three percent (184,873) found waiting 52 weeks or more. "It's not where we want them to be - we don't want people waiting that long because it actually increases demand on our health service the longer people are waiting. This is about changing the direction of the underinvestment, not just in the health service but also in our workforce, so it takes time." Said Mr Swann. Read full story. Source: BBC News (Northern Ireland), 26 August 2021
  20. Content Article
    This study looks at the case of a patient who had been fully vaccinated against Covid-19, and despite past infection and receiving booster shots, was found to have been re-infected with the Delta Variant and then the Alpha Variant from a fully vaccinated family member.
  21. Content Article
    This opinion piece from The Guardian highlights the vaccine inequalities currently faced by low-income countries. The article discusses the percentage of people who have received the first dose in comparison to those living in richer countries such as the U.K. and U.S.A. and how a more strategic and equitable approach is needed to help ensure the world emerges sustainably from the crisis.
  22. Content Article
    This report presents the findings from a survey conducted by the British Medical Association showing that women are disproportionately affected by sexism and gender bias. The report also acknowledges how institutional factors that accompany a medical career are still disadvantaging women.
  23. News Article
    A spike in hospital acquired Covid-19 has been observed in two acute trusts, The Royal Wolverhampton Trust and Yeovil District Hospital Foundation Trust. According to NHS England, it is can be considered hospital acquired if covid infections are diagnosed eight days or more after admission. Data suggests The Royal Wolverhampton Trust had a weekly average of 25 probable hospital-acquired covid infections in mid-August and a spike at the start of August for Yeovil District Hospital Foundation Trust. Infection Prevention Society president Jennie Wilson said "Infection prevention and control teams are totally aware it’s a problem and they strive to do their best to keep it under control. It’s hugely challenging but [staff] are doing their best." Read full story. Source: HSJ, 25 August 2021
  24. News Article
    Local NHS organisations are increasing their efforts to conserve ubiquitous blood collection products amid concerns current measures are not working and stocks may run even lower. There is also a concern in east London that the message to reduce routine tests is not being heeded, with GPs not cutting back enough. However, this week the British Medical Association raised concerns over suspending routine tests, including “NHS Health Checks, monitoring of quality of care, and medication reviews”. The union said: “It would also be unreasonable to ask healthcare staff to simply delay these tests until a later date — not only for the sake of our patients, but also the entire system, which is already tackling an enormous backlog of care.” Read full story. Source: HSJ, 25 August 2021
  25. News Article
    A new report from the British Medical Association has published results showing 9 in 10 female doctors have experienced sexism at work in the UK, including unwanted physical contact, denial of opportunities and being asked to massage male colleagues in meetings. The findings showed 91% of female doctors have experienced sexism at work, almost one-third (31%) of female doctors had experienced unwanted physical conduct in their workplace, and two in five (42%) of female and male doctors who had witnessed or experienced sexism felt that they could not report it. A female GP has said "I was asked at an interview if I was planning on having children. I’ve had patients refusing to see me as they want to see a proper – i.e. male – doctor … Advised I was not pretty enough to cause a distraction in meetings so they could treat me like a bloke.” Danny Mortimer, the deputy chief executive of the NHS Confederation, which represents hospital trusts, said "NHS organisations are working hard to make sure their staff do not experience sexism, or indeed, any form of discrimination, and Amanda Pritchard’s recent appointment [as NHS England’s new chief executive] signals a more representative leadership. But as this report makes clear, there is far more work to be done.” Read full story. Source: The Guardian, 26 August 2021
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