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Patient-Safety-Learning

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News posted by Patient-Safety-Learning

  1. Patient-Safety-Learning
    People no longer believe the NHS will treat them quickly if they fall ill, according to new polling showing wide dissatisfaction about the state of the health service.
    With hundreds of ambulances stacked outside overstretched A&E departments and patients languishing on record waiting lists, voters are far more likely to say the service has worsened than improved in the last year.
    Fifty-eight per cent are not confident they would receive timely treatment from the NHS if they fell ill tomorrow, with 36 per cent not confident at all and 22 per cent just not confident. Meanwhile, 45 per cent believe the service they receive has worsened in the past 12 months. Just over half think it has become harder to get an appointment with their local doctor while 41 per cent think their local GP service has worsened.
    Robert Ede, head of health and social care at the Policy Exchange think tank, said: “It is concerning to see that a majority of the public don’t believe they would receive timely treatment from the NHS if they became ill tomorrow. There is a risk that the perception of a service in crisis beds in and actually leads to a complete erosion in public confidence."
    Read full story (paywalled)
    Source: The Times (27 August 2022)
  2. Patient-Safety-Learning
    A new report commissioned by the House of Commons finds NHS staff and social care workers are suffering from burnout at 'emergency levels'. The report has said problems with burnout among the NHS and care staff already existed but was increased due to the Covid-19 pandemic. 
    Staff shortages have been indicated as one of the causes of burnout as the work days became longer and the pressure on staff grew. It was also found that staff felt overwhelmed after lockdown ended as patients who had not been to see their GP during lockdown were now coming in with an array of health problems. NHS and care staff felt insufficiently equipped to deal with the incoming patients due to a lack of proper staffing support in the workforce. 
    Read the full story
    Read the full report here
     
    Source: BBC News, 8 June 2021
  3. Patient-Safety-Learning
    An urgent call for action has been issued in order to help prevent learning disability deaths. 
    Life expectancy among people with learning disabilities is at least 25 years less than the rest of the population. A report comparing data found that while life expectancy had increased, inequality was still an issue. 
    Data findings have showed there was a higher incidence of death among those with learning disabilities during the pandemic, with April 2020 showing 59% of all deaths were due to the virus. 
    Moreover, the pandemic has seen further access to healthcare inequalities, in one such instance the father of a man with Down's Syndrome was told by a doctor that should his son require the use of a ventilator, access would be denied. 
    Read full story.
    Source: BBC News, 12th June 2021
     
  4. Patient-Safety-Learning
    The government is being urged to make the term 'nurse' a protected legal title as it has now been found people are calling themselves a nurse despite not being registered or qualified. 
    Recently it has emerged that even in the NHS, unregistered staff have been using the term 'nurse', meaning patients cannot be sure the person treating them is qualified raising concerns for patient safety. 
    Currently, only the term 'registered nurse' is a protected legal title. 
    Read full story.
    Source: The Independent, 21 June 2021 
  5. Patient-Safety-Learning
    According to reports, Covid-19 cases may be falling, raising hopes that the peak of the third wave has passed.
    However, experts are not so sure that Covid is truly in decline as figures have shown cases have gone up dramatically and declined just as quickly. 
    Prof Christl Donnelly, from University of Oxford and Imperial College London has said "It's certainly is good to see case numbers going down, but we need a reality check. We've had a dramatic increase - and then on the face of it, a dramatic decrease. We have to be careful not to over-interpret that."
    Read full story.
    Source: BBC News, 27 July 2021
  6. Patient-Safety-Learning
    The care watchdog has warned patient care may be being affected by the current pressures on the NHS with healthcare workers suffering significant levels of stress.
    Concerns have been raised in recent weeks after a surge in Covid-19 infections has resulted in record numbers of people calling for ambulances and attending emergency departments, overwhelming the service. 
    Professor Ted Baker, the Care Quality Commission’s chief inspector of hospitals has said “It's imperative that not only do we deal with the immediate pressures on the system, we also need to deal with the underlying problems with the models of care. If we don't do that, patients will not be able to receive the care we want them to, and the pressure on staff to provide care under these difficult circumstances will continue.”
    Read full story.
    Source: The Independent, 22 July 2021
  7. Patient-Safety-Learning
    The leadership of a specialist trust in Liverpool is set to be taken over by the chief executive of the city’s main acute provider.
    A message to staff seen by HSJ said James Sumner, who leads Liverpool University Hospitals Foundation Trust, will also become interim CEO of Liverpool Women’s FT at the end of the year when Kathryn Thomson steps down.  Ms Thomson announced her retirement in May.
    There have been long-standing ambitions to move Liverpool Women’s standalone hospital to the new Royal Liverpool Hospital site in the city centre, run by LUHFT, with a possible merger of the organisations.
    The relocation remains the ambition, although the trusts are focusing on service integration in the short term.
    The message to staff, sent this afternoon by chair Robert Clarke, said: “We have been clear for some time about our preferred future direction of travel for the trust, namely a closer collaboration with the large acute provider of services in the city as we believe this will support the long term clinical and financial sustainability of services for the benefit of women, babies and others who access our services.
    “Liverpool Women’s has secured agreement with NHS Cheshire & Merseyside on our ambition to move to a shared CEO model…This is a positive step in providing ongoing stability for Liverpool Women’s.”
    Read full story (paywalled)
    Source: HSJ, 30 August 2023
  8. Patient-Safety-Learning
    At-home smear tests should be introduced in Wales, campaigners say. Love Your Period campaigners said self-sampling at home would encourage more people to have the tests.
    For women aged 25 to 64 a smear test is an effective way of detecting human papillomavirus (HPV) and preventing cervical cancer. According to Public Health Wales data, cervical cancer is the most common cancer in women under the age of 35, with regular screening helping to reduce the risk of getting cervical cancer by 70%.
    The Welsh government said it followed advice from the UK National Screening Committee (UKNSC), which is yet to make a recommendation on self-sampling. However, it said Public Health Wales (PHW) was considering how the tests could be implemented in Wales. Currently, women in Wales are invited for a screening to check for the presence of high-risk HPV every five years.
    Campaigner Jess Moultrie said tests should be made available to those who have experienced trauma and find the process of in-hospital smears triggering. "Being able to do it at home gives you that power, you can be a little bit more relaxed, it's not as intimidating."
    Read full story
    Source: BBC News, 14 August 2023
  10. Patient-Safety-Learning
    Owing to social distancing and a lack of exposure, childhood respiratory illness, RSV is on the rise, according to reports and parents are being warned to look out for signs and symptoms. 
    "This winter, we expect levels of common seasonal illnesses such as cold and flu to increase, as people mix more and given that fewer people will have built up natural immunity during the pandemic. Children under two are at a particular risk of severe infections from common seasonal illnesses," Public Health England, medical director Dr Yvonne Doyle has said. 
    Read full story.
    Source: BBC News, 23 July 2021
  11. Patient-Safety-Learning
    It has been recommended that GPs should see all children under five who present with respiratory symptoms in-person. 
    Concerns have been raised that whilst in lockdown, respiratory viruses will rise when lockdown lifts due a lack of exposure owing to current safety measures.
    The new guidance was given to Primary Care staff via their latest bulletin advising that if children are showing respiratory symptoms, they should be tested for Covid-19 but that doctors should also make a clinical assessment in-person. 
    Read full story.
    Source: BMJ, 9 June 2021
  12. Patient-Safety-Learning
    A scandal-hit children’s mental health hospital set to close after an investigation uncovered allegations of severe abuse could reopen within months due to a legal loophole, it can be revealed.
    Taplow Manor hospital, in Maidenhead, will shut in May after the Independent exposed claims of “systemic abuse” and poor care from more than 50 former patients. Police are currently carrying out two investigations into the hospital–one into a patient death and a second into the alleged rape of a child involving staff.
    Active Care Group, which runs the hospital, announced last week that would close but in letters sent to staff since then, it said it was looking to retrain them with plans to “reopen as an adult acute service” in a matter of months. A loophole in the regulations means that there is nothing to stop healthcare providers from applying to the watchdog, the Care Quality Commission, to reopen, even if serious concerns have been raised about the closed operation.
    Read full story
    Source: Independent, 4 April 2023
  13. Patient-Safety-Learning
    Whistleblowers at one of England's worst performing hospital trusts have said a climate of fear among staff is putting patients at risk.
    Former and current clinicians at University Hospitals Birmingham (UHB) NHS Trust allege they were punished by management for raising safety concerns, a BBC Newsnight investigation found. One insider said the trust was "a bit like the mafia."
    The trust said it took "patient safety very seriously." It said it had a "high reporting culture of incidents" to ensure accountability and learning.
    Staff concerns included a dangerous shortage of nurses and a lack of communication leading to some haematology patients dying without receiving treatment, an investigation by BBC Newsnight and BBC West Midlands found.
    Read more
    Source: BBC News, 2 December 2022
  14. Patient-Safety-Learning
    The number of appointments and treatments postponed by strike action in the NHS in England is nearing one million.
    The 48-hour walkout by consultants in England last week saw more than 45,000 appointments being cancelled.
    It brings the total number of postponed hospital appointments since industrial action began in the NHS in December to 885,000.
    Once mental health and community bookings are included, it tops 944,000.
    The true total is likely to be even higher, as services have stopped scheduling appointments on strike days and these will not be included in the figures released by NHS England.
    Alongside consultants, junior doctors, nurses, physios, ambulance workers and radiographers have also walked out at various stages.
    NHS national medical director Professor Sir Stephen Powis said: "Industrial action continues to have a huge impact on the NHS, and on the lives of patients and their families. This strike took place into a bank holiday weekend, when NHS activity is generally lighter, but many services have for some time avoided scheduling any planned appointments for strike days in order to prioritise emergencies. This means the true impact of this action will be even higher, and as we move into September, the extraordinary cumulative effect of more than nine months of disruption poses a huge challenge for the health service, as staff work tirelessly to tackle the backlog."
    Read full story
    Source: BBC News, 29 August 2023
  15. Patient-Safety-Learning
    The family of a patient is to be paid a 6 figure sum after staff failed to realise she was malnourished and had intestinal failure, subsequently starving to death. 
    The out-of-court settlement comes after Linda Doherty, 69, was found to have died from sepsis and acute kidney injury, malnutrition, intestinal failure secondary to Crohn’s disease and ileal resection, and inadequate nutritional intake. 
    Read full story. (paywalled)
    Source: BMJ, 25 June 2021
  16. Patient-Safety-Learning
    From 1974 to 1987, children from Treloar's College, a boarding school for children with physical disabilities, were offered treatment for haemophilia.
    However, more than 120 children were given contaminated drug which infected many with HIV and viral hepatitis, with at least 72 having died as a result. 
    Treloar's College had a specialist NHS haemophilia centre on site, however, the blood plasma used to make the drug had been imported from overseas. 
    Only 32 out of the 122 children with haemophilia are still alive today. 
    It is hoped that the public inquiry may shed some light on what happened. 
    Read full story.
    Source: BBC News, 21 June 2021
  17. Patient-Safety-Learning
    Bereaved families who lost loved ones in the contaminated blood scandal have claimed their relatives were being “used for research” after discovering historic notes in medical records.
    It is claimed that some patients being treated for the blood clotting disorder haemophilia in the 1970s and 1980s were given blood plasma treatment which doctors knew might be contaminated and infect them with hepatitis.
    They wanted to study the links between the haemophilia treatment Factor VIII and the risk of infection, but a number of families have claimed their loved ones were enrolled in these studies without their knowledge or consent.
    The Factor 8 campaign group alleges that instead of stopping treatment, clinicians lobbied to continue trials, even after identifying the association between hepatitis and the treatment.
    Jason Evans, director of the campaign group, found notes alluding to the research in his father’s medical records. He has since found other families who have discovered the same notes in the records of their loved ones. Mr Evans, whose father died in 1993 after being infected with both HIV and hepatitis C during the course of his treatment for haemophilia, said: “It is appalling that hundreds of people with haemophilia across the country were knowingly infected with lethal viruses under the guise of scientific research. These secret experiments, conducted without consent, show individuals were treated as mere test subjects, not human beings."
    Read full story
    Source: Independent, 9 May 2024
  18. Patient-Safety-Learning
    Coronavirus infections continue to fall, according to new reports, with the UK recording 29,173 new cases on Sunday - down from 48,161 recorded from the 18th July.
    Prof Paul Hunter from the University of East Anglia has said, "Today's figures do not of course include any impact of last Monday's end of restrictions. It will not be until about next Friday before the data includes the impact of this change."
    Read full story.
    Source: BBC News, 26 July 2021
  19. Patient-Safety-Learning
    Nearly 700 doctors are likely to leave the Welsh NHS as a result of a recent 4.5% pay rise, the British Medical Association has warned.
    The warning follows a survey by BMA Cymru, in which more than half of the 1,397 respondents said they could leave and most felt morale had dropped.
    The below-inflation pay rise will apply to consultants, junior doctors and GPs. The Welsh government said it accepted the NHS pay review body's advice and was limited on how far it could go.
    Dr Iona Collins, chairwoman of the BMA's Welsh Council, said the findings resonated with what she was hearing from colleagues across Wales. "Doctors' take-home pay has reduced over several years, making the NHS an increasingly unattractive employer," said Dr Collins.
    Read full story
    Source: BBC News (23 August 2022)
  20. Patient-Safety-Learning
    Researchers are looking at ways the Covid-19 vaccine could become a pill or inhaler instead of an injection. 
    In the hope of fighting against the coronavirus pandemic, a team in Sweden are hoping to create a new, powdered version of the vaccine which can be taken at home instead.
    ISR's founder, Ola Winquist, a professor of immunology at the Karolinska Institute has said, "The game-changer is that you could distribute the [powder] vaccine extremely easily without the cold chain, and it can be administered without the need for healthcare providers".
    Read full story.
    Source: BBC News, 26 July 2021
  21. Patient-Safety-Learning
    An independent review has found that children's services are not providing enough early support and are too focused on investigating families in crisis. 
    The system was found to be under significant strain with the review suggesting that under the current system, it was not sustainable long-term. 
    For those families in crisis who ask for help, it was reported that the process to apply for support caused more added stress and strain. At present, the service is failing young people and families in need of help and support. 
    The review is to be published in Spring 2022 along with any suggestions for change. 
    Read full story
    Source, BBC News, 17 June 2021
  22. 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
  23. Patient-Safety-Learning
    Covid cases in England have almost doubled in a month after the rise of two new variants.
    According to the most recent government statistics available, 875 cases were logged in England on August 11, compared to just 449 a month earlier. Hospital admissions have also risen by a fifth in a week.
    UKHSA statistics show Covid cases in England rose from a seven-day rolling average of 373 on July 8 to 879 as of August 8. Also, 589 out of 6,500 neighbourhoods in England had detected at least three Covid cases in the week to August 12.
    The uptick comes after reports of a new variant called Eris which makes up one in four new cases. Also, another strain nicknamed Pirola is quickly spreading globally. 
    The US is also seeing an increase in hospital admissions with coronavirus, its first significant uptick since December 2022.
    The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said they are unsettled by the variant and suggested the rapid spread could suggest an international transmission.
    Christina Pagel, a member of the Independent Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies that advises on the virus, said: "Without ramping up surveillance, and in the face of waning immunity, we are travelling into winter more vulnerable and with blinkers on."
    Prof Pagel predicted the new wave could cause extreme pressure on the health service, with a repeat of last winter’s “unprecedented” NHS crisis of Covid, flu and respiratory virus that came all around the same time.
    Read full story
    Source: Independent, 24 August 2023
  24. Patient-Safety-Learning
    Covid is causing liver damage lasting months after infection, according to new research.
    Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, discovered Covid-positive patients had a “statistically significant” higher liver stiffness than the rest of the population.
    Liver stiffness could indicate long-term liver injury such as inflammation or fibrosis, the buildup of scar tissue in the liver.
    Dr Firouzeh Heidari a Research Fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital, said their findings show damage caused by Covid persists for a long time. She said, “Our study is part of emerging evidence that Covid-19 infection may lead to liver injury that lasts well after the acute illness. We don’t yet know if elevated liver stiffness observed after Covid-19 infection will lead to adverse patient outcomes.”
    Read more
    Source: The Independent, 4 December 2022
  25. Patient-Safety-Learning
    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)
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