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Patient-Safety-Learning

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News posted by Patient-Safety-Learning

  1. Patient-Safety-Learning
    In November last year, Unison and RCN raised concerns with NHS Forth Valley chief executive Cathie Cowan amid bullying claims made by emergency department staff at Forth Valley Royal Hospital. 
    In light of the reports of bullying, a review was commissioned and leaked details revealed junior doctors were left unsupervised on shifts, nurses and doctors had said they are 'battle-weary', and many senior staff members have resigned their posts. 
    Karren Morrison, Unison Forth Valley health branch secretary has said: ‘Last year, concerns were being raised by our members who worked in, or who had previously worked in the ED. Staff talked to us about feeling bullied and intimidated, being frightened to speak up, concerns about the delivery of safe patient care, high staff turnover and other issues.’
    Read full story (paywalled).
    Source: Nursing Standard, 12 July 2021
  2. Patient-Safety-Learning
    The RCN council has agreed to support the principles behind a petition, started by RCN Professional Nursing Committee member Alison Leary, calling for the title of 'nurse' to be protected and reserved for those who are registered. 
    Whilst the term 'registered nurse' is protected in law, the term 'nurse' is not, meaning anyone can call themselves a nurse, regardless of whether they have the appropriate qualifications or not. The RCN believes the title should be protected in order to help protect the public and ensure accountability. 
    Read full story. 
    Source: RCN, 12 July 2021
  3. Patient-Safety-Learning
    Spire Health Care in Bristol and the Mercy Hospital in Missouri have been awarded contacts by the Scottish government to perform surgical mesh removal for Scottish women, with costs for travel and surgery covered by the hospitals, the BBC reports.
    Each procedure has been estimated to cost between £16,000 and £23,000, with contracts to remove the mesh outside of Scotland expected to start later in the summer. 
    Marian Kenny, 62, from Glasgow has said, "It has given me and lots of other women hope - and that's not something I've had in my life for quite some time."
    Read full story.
    Source: BBC News, 12 July 2021
  4. Patient-Safety-Learning
    Health secretary Sajid Javid has warned NHS waiting lists will soar amid the incoming third wave of coronavirus. 
    Thousands of patients are on hold for at least 2 minutes before their 999 calls are answered, The Independent has revealed. Mr Javid has also been told by officials the situation will get worse in the coming weeks. 
    Speaking to the Sunday Telegraph, Mr Javid has said "Hearing that figure of 13 million, it has absolutely focused my mind, and it’s going to be one of my top priorities to deal with because we can’t have that."
    Read full story.
    Source: The Independent, 11 July 2021
  5. Patient-Safety-Learning
    NHS staff have faced abuse by members of the public after demanding their second dose of the jab earlier than 8 weeks so they can go on holiday. 
    A doctors has said covid-19 vaccinators are experiencing aggression and threats from people and after one incident, police had to be called over fears for safety.
    Chair of the Royal College of GPs, Professor Martin Marshall has said: “It is understandable that people want to be fully vaccinated as soon as possible. But it is entirely unacceptable for anybody working on the Covid vaccination programme, be it in GP-led sites, mass vaccination centres or hospital centres, to be at the receiving end of verbal abuse and intimidation.
    Read full story.
    Source: The Guardian, 10 July 2021
  6. Patient-Safety-Learning
    The Care Quality Commission has downgraded another maternity unit over 'blame culture' and concerns over safety.
    After an inspection was carried out, Salisbury Foundation Trust , which was downgraded from 'good' to 'inadequate' has been told it must make improvements after concerns were raised about safety and leadership of the maternity unit.
    Head of hospital inspection at the Care Quality Commission, Amanda Williams has said: “Following our recent inspection of Salisbury District Hospital’s maternity services, we found that women and babies using the service received effective care and treatment which met their needs most of the time. But most of the time is not good enough.
    Read full story.
    Source: The Independent, 10 July 2021
  7. Patient-Safety-Learning
    A year on from the vaginal mesh scandal and ministers have failed to take action. The new health secretary Sajid Javid has been called on to intervene by families, lawyers and campaigners and has been asked to implement recommendations made by the Cumberlege Inquiry. 
    Emma Hardy, chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Surgical Mesh Implants has said “Women deserve better than the government’s refusal to implement the Baroness Cumberlege recommendations. The recommendations will not only make life better for those living with mesh complications, but they will also improve patient safety for everyone in the future.”
    Read full story.
    Source: The Independent, 08 July 2021
  8. Patient-Safety-Learning
    A pattern in rouge antibodies has been found by Imperial College London scientists which may lead to a blood test for the condition within 6 to 18 months. 
    Leading the team at Imperial College London, Professor Danny Altmann has said the 'work will lead to a test which could be done in a doctor's surgery'. However, he is concerned with the lifting of lockdown restrictions on 19th July. 
    Long Covid is not yet fully understood with no current diagnostic test yet available for the illness. However, a range of symptoms have been listed which include fatigue, breathlessness, muscle pain and headaches.
    Read full story.
    Source: BBC News, 12 July 2021
  9. Patient-Safety-Learning
    A frontline respiratory consultant has said, “Healthcare professionals are deeply anxious about the impact of relaxing restrictions further given the current surge in Covid cases. To do away with risk-mitigating measures like social distancing and wearing of masks is incomprehensible to many of us. I feel anxious and frustrated".
    Hospitals in Yorkshire and North of England may also be experiencing a fourth wave. Dr Nick Scriven has told The Guardian, “Us up north are experiencing a fourth wave in community cases, with an uptick in hospital cases. Although numbers are not massive it’s both frightening and upsetting for staff as ICU cases are rising with unvaccinated people, either as they are young or by choice or both. There is to me a growing feeling that vaccination makes this almost preventable.”
    Read full story.
    Source. The Guardian, 9 July 2021
  10. Patient-Safety-Learning
    Newly released documents have revealed Sage modelling from two weeks ago has underestimated hospital admissions by more than a third.
    Estimations were made by government modelling, predicting there would be about 275 daily hospital cases in England by 6 July, however, on 7 July figures have shown it was around 461.
    Dr Stephen Griffin, from the University of Leeds has said "“While we can’t say for sure that hospitalisations might follow this precise trajectory, it seems likely that they will track the exponential growth in cases we are seeing. Thus, as many are predicting, the dropping of restrictions on July 19 represents an unacceptable and unnecessary risk,”. 
    Read full story.
    Source: The Times, 10 July 2021
  11. Patient-Safety-Learning
    999 calls soar as patients experience record waiting times in the back of ambulances. 
    The Independent has seen a leaked brief from the West Midlands Ambulance Service and has found patients have been waiting for hours outside hospitals, meaning ambulances could not respond to any emergency 999 calls. 
    Ambulance staff have also faced hours of delays resulting in at least four hours or more at the end of their 12 hour shift. 
    The briefing in June said "“This current situation is unacceptable and leads to fatigue, poor morale, has impacts on patient safety and potentially non-compliance with the Working Time Directive.”
    Read full story.
    Source: The Independent, 9 July 2021
  12. Patient-Safety-Learning
    New data has revealed patients waiting for more than two years for elective surgery has grown by nearly half in one month, HSJ reports.
    Calls from The Independent Healthcare Providers Network has asked the government to set out a plan on how patients can access care, detailing how 20,000 fewer appointments went ahead in May 2021. However, NHSE have said despite there being fewer appointments, productivity has increased since restrictions were eased. 
    Read full story (paywalled).
    Source: HSJ, 09 July 2021
  13. Patient-Safety-Learning
    On 6th July the government published a new Health and Care bill detailing new proposals and a package of reforms to the UK health and care system. 
    However, the bill does not make ministers accountable for NHS workforce planning. 
    The Royal College of Nursing has long campaigned for ministers to be legally accountable. RCN Acting General Secretary & Chief Executive Pat Cullen has said "“Ducking the question of workforce accountability will also make it even harder for the government to deliver on the pledge of 50,000 more nurses – vital for the delivery of safe care to patients.”
    Read full story.
    Source: Royal College of Nursing, 06 July 2021
  14. Patient-Safety-Learning
    New data looking at the pandemic from the past 12 months has found children are at extremely low risk of becoming very ill or dying from Covid-19. 
    Those who were living with disabilities or chronic illness were also found to have a very low risk, despite being considered at most risk. 
    Scientists from four different universities (UCL, York, Bristol and Liverpool) have said their studies on children are the most comprehensive yet, finding hospital stays a rarity. 
    Read full story.
    Source: BBC News, 08 July 2021
  15. Patient-Safety-Learning
    A new report, Unfair to Care, has found a large pay gap between professionals who work in similar roles such as teaching assistants and police community support workers. However, despite having a similar skillset, social care workers receive £7,000 more a year than social care workers, charity claims. 
    The government has said they are committed to improving the adult social care system and that the social care sector "has been an essential and valued part of the front line response to the pandemic".
    Read full story.
    Source: BBC News, 09 July 2021
  17. Patient-Safety-Learning
    Women deserve better, say campaigners
    Women have voiced their frustration that a year since Baroness Cumberlege published her scathing First Do No Harm report the only thing the Government has achieved is a half-hearted apology from Matt Hancock.
    Politicians from all parties are meeting to call for action in a debate in Parliament on the one-year anniversary since the Cumberlege report was published https://firstdonoharmappg.org.uk/category/news/
    The back-bench debate is on Thursday July, 8, and is being led by MP Emma Hardy and Shadow Health Minister Alex Norris.
    Emma Hardy, MP, chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) into mesh, said: “Women deserve better than the Government’s refusal to implement the Baroness Cumberlege recommendations. The recommendations will not only make life better for those living with mesh complications, they will also improve patient safety for everyone in the future.”
    The First Do No Harm report looked at the dismissive attitude towards women harmed by mesh implants, and also women and their babies harmed by Primodos pregnancy testing drug and epilepsy drug Sodium Valproate. Primodos was discontinued in the 1970s. Sodium Valproate is still used today and there are fears women are still not being warned of the risks to their unborn baby if they take it during pregnancy.
    The debate is calling for all Cumberlege recommendations to be implemented without further delay, including financial redress for women and sweeping reform of the healthcare and regulation framework.
    It is also calling for a retrospective audit of mesh to work out the number of women suffering. The Cumberlege report suggests contacting all women who had mesh in the year 2010 to see how they are in 2021.
    Kath Sansom, founder of campaign group Sling The Mesh, which has 9,000 members, said: “Mesh for stress incontinence was suspended in 2018 and we believe it should not be brought back until the audit is carried out until we know the true scale of complications. Scottish Government have pledged to never bring it back. Sadly, surgeons in England are pushing for it to be used again.”
    Included in the recommendations is a call for industry to declare all monies and gifts to doctors, teaching hospitals and research institutions.
    Kath said: “In post pandemic times it is more important than ever to know who is funding our research and prescribing decisions. In America there is a Sunshine Payment Act, forcing healthcare giants, who make billions in profits, to declare all the money and non-financial gifts they hand out. It has been proved such funding leads to bias in prescribing and bias in the scientific research. We need this legislation for the UK. That way campaigners and patients can see who is funding a doctor’s voice.”
    Meantime, in Northern Ireland and Wales, mesh injured women have been left virtually high and dry and will be looking to the debate for hope.
    Susan McLarnon of Sling The Mesh Northern Ireland, said: “Mesh services are next to non-existent. No formal announcement has been made since the new centres opened on 1st April. Patients who are lucky enough to get a gynaecology appointment are still being told mesh isn’t the issue. They are still in denial. Women have been left in limbo. Suffering horrendous pain with nowhere to turn. Some are being told to complain to their MP yet nobody is listening to us.”
    Karen Preater, of Mesh Awareness Wales, added: “Other than when the Cumberlege report came out, there has been no statements or correspondence, I have emailed several times asking about a Patient Safety Commissioner and have had no responses. South Wales have their centre. North Wales are told to use Manchester. Total silence from the Welsh Government.”
    The Parliamentary debate will look at the black hole in official statistics, which means nobody knows how many women have been harmed.
    Kath said: “We are deeply concerned about a significant discrepancy between NHS figures and surgeon data on mesh complications – we fear surgeons have downplayed complications by almost ten times. The truth is nobody knows the scale of this women’s health scandal and the only way to get to the bottom of it is a retrospective audit.”
    See the question to Parliament on discrepancy of the figures about the number of women suffering here: https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2021-03-04/163289
    USEFUL LINKS
    BLOG by MP Emma Hardy: Mesh surgery is costing the NHS millions https://www.emmahardy.org.uk/2018/04/18/mesh-surgery-failure-is-costing-the-nhs-millions-of-pounds/
  18. Patient-Safety-Learning
    A survey by Patient Safety Movement Foundation (PSMF), a global non-profit has found their respondents did not feel in control of their health. 
    The survey focused on how the public view on patient safety and preventable medical harm and their understanding of it. Some highlights of the results include:
    53.2% knew what the term 'medical error' meant, with only 37% being able to define it 58% worried about medical errors 45.9% of the public felt in control of what happens to their health The findings of the survey suggest there is still some way to go in educating the public about medical errors and to bring about more awareness on the issue. 
    Read full story.
    Source: Business Wire, 07 July 2021
  19. Patient-Safety-Learning
    A call for action on the one-year anniversary since the Cumberlege report was published will be happening in Parliament today and is being led by MP Emma Hardy and Shadow Health Minister Alex Norris. 
    Emma Hardy, chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (AAPG) has said “Women deserve better than the Government’s refusal to implement the Baroness Cumberlege recommendations. The recommendations will not only make life better for those living with mesh complications, they will also improve patient safety for everyone in the future.”
    Read full story.
    Source: Medical Plastics News, 07 July 2021
  20. Patient-Safety-Learning
    An influx of Covid-19 patients is being seen in hospitals, leading to cancelled operations.
    Staff are having to self-isolate for ten days, leading to shortages with Leeds Teaching Hospital having to cancel non-urgent operations in order to help cope with the numbers of patients coming in with Covid-19.
    It has also been found that other hospitals and ambulance services are being affected as the third wave unfolds. 
    The Department for Health and Social Care has been approached for comment. 
    Read full story.
    Source: The Guardian, 08 July 2021
  21. Patient-Safety-Learning
    Baroness Julia Cumberlege has said she is angry and frustrated at the lack of progress being made after she led a critical review into how the health service treats female patients. 
    During her review, she spent 2 years speaking to 700 women and their families who experienced complications linked to two drug treatments and a medical device.
    The four UK governments are still considering her recommendations and say they will respond fully later this year. 
    Read full story.
    Source: BBC News, 08 July 2021
  22. Patient-Safety-Learning
    Over 60 demonstrations took place on 3 July 2021 to protest over pay. 
    Figures have suggested that a band 5 nurse takes home around £5,000 less per year than they did a couple years ago due to austerity measures and a public sector pay cap. 
    The protest as arranged by groups Keep Our NHS Public, Health Campaigns Together, NHS Workers Say No and NHS Staff Voices with a separate demonstration by Nurses United UK have raised concerns for patient safety, arguing that the pay issue has a direct impact on recruitment and retention of nurses.
    Read full story.
    Source: Nursing Notes, 3 July 2021
  24. Patient-Safety-Learning
    A doctors union has said some Covid measures should remain after the 19th July. 
    The British Medical Association has said use of face masks should continue in addition to new ventilation standards. The call to protect the NHS comes after a rise in cases has been observed.
    On Thursday, the Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said he hopes restrictions can be lifted in England on 19th July but that there may be a need to take extra precautions. 
    Read full story.
    Source: BBC News, 3 July 2021
  25. Patient-Safety-Learning
    A new report into maternity safety has found due to a 'culture of blame' lessons haven't been learned. 
    Jeremy Hunt, chair of the Health Committee has said 1,000 more babies a year would survive if the maternity service in England was as safe as Sweden's. 
    Another expert report found a high incidence of brain injuries in maternity units. A new budget has been set out to help reduce the rate of stillbirths, neonatal deaths, maternal deaths and brain injuries by 2025. 
    Read full story. 
    Source: BBC News, 06 July 2021

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