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Sam

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  1. Sam
    A rapid test that can help preserve the hearing of newborn babies is set to be used by NHS hospitals.
    For some babies, commonly used antibiotics can become toxic. The drugs damage sensory cells inside the ear leading to permanent hearing loss.
    The test - which analyses babies' DNA - can quickly spot those who are vulnerable. It means they can be given a different type of antibiotic and avoid having a lifetime of damaged hearing.
    Gentamicin is the first-choice antibiotic if a newborn develops a serious bacterial infection. It is life-saving and safe for the majority of people.
    However, it has a rare side effect. About 1,250 babies in England and Wales are born with a subtle change in their genetic code that allows the antibiotic to bind more strongly to the hair cells in their ears, where it becomes toxic.
    These tiny hairs help convert sounds into the electrical signals that are understood by the brain. If they are damaged, it results in hearing loss.
    The side effect is well known, but until now there was no test that could get the results fast enough. It would be dangerous to delay treatment, and alternative antibiotics are not used as they have their own side effects and because of concerns about antibiotic resistance.
    The new genedrive kit analyses a sample taken from inside the baby's cheek. Tests at two neonatal intensive care units in Manchester and Liverpool showed it could spot who was susceptible to hearing loss in 26 minutes, and using it did not delay treatment.
    Read full story
    Source: BBC News, 9 February 2023
  2. Sam
    Women suffering from chronic urinary tract infections (UTIs) are facing mental health crises after being “dismissed and gaslighted” by health professionals for years, according to a leading specialist.
    Daily debilitating pain has left patients feeling suicidal, with those in recovery describing lingering mental health problems “akin to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)”, said Dr Rajvinder Khasriya, an NHS consultant urogynaecologist at the Whittington Hospital in London.
    Patients have said they feel crippling anxiety over planning ahead to ensure there is always a toilet around, even after their condition has been controlled with treatment. 
    Vicky Matthews, who searched for a diagnosis for three years after a recurrent UTI became chronic, said the condition caused a “gradual decline” in her mental health as medical professionals were unable to pinpoint what was causing her pain.
    "I questioned my pain. I questioned what was going on. I questioned whether it was actually real and that was a pretty awful thing to be dealing with on top of having physical pain,” the 43-year-old said, describing what she felt was “mental torture”.
    Read full story
    Source: I News, 12 February 
    Further reading on the hub
    The clinical implications of bacterial pathogenesis and mucosal immunity in chronic urinary track infection
  3. Sam
    A high court judge has expressed her “deep frustration” at NHS delays and bureaucracy that mean a suicidal 12-year-old girl has been held on her own, in a locked, windowless room with no access to the outdoors for three weeks.
    In a hearing on Thursday, Mrs Justice Lieven told North Staffordshire combined healthcare NHS trust “you are testing my patience”, after she heard that a proposal to move Becky (not her real name), could not progress until a planning meeting that would not be held until next week, and that a move was not anticipated until 2 March.
    Three sets of doctors at the hospital trust have disagreed as to Becky’s diagnosis; at her most recent assessment doctors said she was not eligible to be sectioned, which would trigger the protections provided by the Mental Health Act, because her mental disorder was not of the “nature and degree” as to warrant her detention.
    In a robust exchange, the judge demanded: “Where’s the urgency in this … I cannot believe that the life and health of a 12-year-old girl is hanging on an issue of NHS procurement, when you cannot tell me what it is you’re trying to procure.
    “If the delay is procurement, I’m not having it,” Lieven continued. “I will use the inherent jurisdiction to make an order. We have a 12-year-old child in a completely inappropriate NHS unit for about three weeks, and it’s suddenly dawned on your client that ‘actually we’ll put her in a Tier 4 unit and we might have to do some [building] work.’”
    Sometimes, the judge said, “public bodies have to move faster”.
    Read full story
    Source: The Guardian, 17 February 2023
  4. Sam
    Striking ambulance workers in two regions have said for the first time that they will only answer immediately life-threatening calls — abandoning previous agreements to cover some Category 2 incidents.
    Agreed exemptions (derogations) from ambulance strike action so far this winter have varied regionally and across different unions; but all have so far included some Category 2 cover.
    However, GMB told HSJ its members in the North East and North West today would cover only Category 1 calls – defined as “immediately life threatening” – during their action today.
    Category 2 includes more than any other category, and covers a wide range of incidents including suspected heart attacks and strokes.
    Read full story (paywalled)
    Source: HSJ, 20 February 2023
  5. Sam
    Children's services could be forced to close at a hospital that is accused of leaving young patients traumatised and sick through poor care.
    The care regulator said it had taken action to "ensure people are safe" on Skylark ward at Kettering General Hospital (KGH) in Northamptonshire.
    Thirteen parents with serious concerns after their children died or became seriously ill have spoken to the BBC.
    A BBC Look East investigation has heard allegations spanning more than 20 years about the treatment of patients on Skylark ward, a 26-bed children's unit.
    The BBC discovered:
    An independent report found staff left a 12-year-old boy - who died at KGH in December 2019 - for four hours suffering seizures, and suggests little effort was made to obtain critical care support. In April 2019, nurses allegedly dragged a "traumatised" four-year-old girl down a corridor in agony, insisting that she could walk. Medics are accused of refusing to carry out an MRI scan, which would have detected a dangerous cyst on her spine. Mothers claim to have been threatened with safeguarding referrals, with one stating a referral was made against her after she complained her son was struggling to breathe, while another likened it to blackmail. Read full story
    Source: BBC News, 20 February 2023
  6. Sam
    Hundreds of thousands of operations and medical appointments will be cancelled in England next month and progress in tackling the huge care backlog will be derailed as the NHS prepares to face the most widespread industrial action in its history.
    Junior doctors are poised to join nurses and ambulance workers in mass continuous walkouts in March after members of the British Medical Association (BMA) voted overwhelmingly to take industrial action.
    In only the second such action in the 74-year-history of the NHS, junior doctors will walk out for 72 hours – continuously across three days, on dates yet to be confirmed – after 98% of those who voted favoured strike action.
    Amid an increasingly bitter row between health unions and the government, NHS leaders expressed alarm at the enormous disruption now expected next month.
    Read full story
    Source: The Guardian, 20 February 2023
  7. Sam
    The UK risks a shrinking workforce caused by long-term sickness, a new report warns.
    Pensions and health consultants Lane, Clark and Peacock (LCP) says there has been a sharp increase in "economic inactivity" - working-age adults who are not in work or looking for jobs.
    The figure has risen by 516,000 since Covid hit, and early retirement does not appear to explain it.
    The total of long-term sick, meanwhile, has gone up by 353,000, says LCP. It means there are now nearly 2.5 million adults of working age who are long-term sick, official data from the Labour Force survey reveals.
    The LCP says pressure on the NHS can account for some of the increase in long-term sickness. Delays getting non-urgent operations and mental health treatment are possible explanations. Others who would otherwise have had a chronic condition better managed may be in poorer health.
    One of the report authors, Dr Jonathan Pearson-Stuttard, said: "The pandemic made clear the links between health and economic prosperity, yet policy does not yet invest in health, to keeping living in better health for longer. NHS pressures have led to disruption of patient care which is likely to be impacting on people's ability to work now and in the future."
    Read full story
    Source: BBC News, 20 February 2023
  8. Sam
    The national dentistry budget is set to be underspent by a record £400m this year, due to a shortage of dentists willing to take on NHS work, HSJ has learned.
    The situation is understood to have prompted major concerns in the senior ranks of NHS England, and calls for a “fundamental rethink” of the much-maligned primary dental care contract.
    The unspent funding is due to be used to plug budget deficits in other services and comes as patients in many areas struggle to access NHS dentistry. Healthwatch England described the estimated underspend as an “absolute scandal”.
    Read full story (paywalled)
    Source: HSJ, 21 February 2023
  9. Sam
    Ahead of the 5th Global Ministerial Patient Safety Summit 2023 in Switzerland, the World Patient Safety Epicentre shares three messages and one challenge to the participants attending. 
    1. Please think about changing the term Patient Safety to Safety in Healthcare.
    2. Please consider creating a World Patient Safety Epicentre Safety, People Solutions – Network and Center(s) of Safety in Healthcare Change,
    3. Please invite two people to the discussion.
    4. One challenge - Let’s save 155 patients by 17 September 2023 in each country.
    Read full story
  10. Sam
    Elon Musk's attempt to implant microchips into human brains has been rejected by US medical regulators over concerns about the safety of the technology.
    Mr Musk's Neuralink business, which is hoping to insert tiny chips into people's skulls to treat conditions such as paralysis and blindness, was denied initial permission for clinical trials last year.
    US medical regulators were said to have "dozens" of concerns over the risks posed by the device, Reuters reported. Concerns include fears that tiny electrodes could get lodged in other parts of the brain, which could impair cognitive function or rupture blood vessels.
    Neuralink's chips are designed to be threaded into the brain using tiny filaments and harness artificial intelligence technology to pick up brain activity using a so-called "brain computer interface".
    Read full story (paywalled)
    Source: The Times, 3 March 2023
  11. Sam
    Patients in England are set to benefit from a radical new project that will look to identify innovative new methods of preventing cardiovascular disease, as the Department of Health and Social Care appoints the first ever Government Champion for Personalised Prevention.
    John Deanfield CBE, a Professor of Cardiology at University College London, has been asked by the health secretary to explore how the potential of technology and data can be properly harnessed to allow people to better look after their health and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.
    Professor Deanfield will spearhead a taskforce comprised of experts in everything from policy and technology to economics and behavioural science to deliver a range of recommendations that will lay the foundations for a modern, tailored cardiovascular disease prevention service.
    The Government say the recommendations will:
    Identify breakthroughs in predicting, preventing, diagnosing and treating risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Advise on how public services, businesses and the population can be encouraged to support prevention outside the NHS. Use personalised data to predict and manage disease more effectively. Bring care closer to homes and communities by establishing new partnerships that advance the way preventative services are delivered. Evaluate how this strategy for cardiovascular disease prevention may impact conditions with shared risk factors. Read full story
    Source: NHE, 7 March 2023
  12. Sam
    The mother of a seriously ill boy said she was "very alarmed" when a doctor at an under-fire children's ward admitted they were "out of their depth".
    In October, Carys's five-year-old son Charlie was discharged from Kettering General, but she returned him the next day in a "sort of lifeless" state.
    She said it seemed "quite chaotic" on Skylark ward before he was transferred to another hospital for further tests.
    Since the BBC's report in February that highlighted the concerns of parents with children who died or became seriously ill at the hospital, dozens more have come forward.
    In April, Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspectors rated the Northamptonshire hospital's children's and young people's services inadequate.
    Among the findings, inspectors said "staff did not always effectively identify and quickly act upon patients at risk of deterioration".
    Read full story
    Source: BBC News, 6 June 2023
  13. Sam
    Antidepressants can cause severe, sometimes irreversible, sexual dysfunction that persists even after discontinuing the medication. 
    Sufferers have described it as ‘chemical castration’ – a type of genital mutilation caused by antidepressants, mainly selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs).
    The condition is known as post-SSRI sexual dysfunction (PSSD), a condition largely unrecognised, and the true incidence of which is unknown.
    David Healy, psychiatrist and founder of RxISK.org said, “I saw my first patient with PSSD in 2000, a 35-year-old lady who told me that three months after stopping treatment, she could rub a hard-bristled brush across her genitals and feel nothing.”
    David Healy, psychiatrist and founder of RxISK.org said, “I saw my first patient with PSSD in 2000, a 35-year-old lady who told me that three months after stopping treatment, she could rub a hard-bristled brush across her genitals and feel nothing.”
    Josef Witt-Doerring, psychiatrist and former FDA medical officer said, “This condition is so devastating that it will cause serious changes to your life and to those around you.”
    Read full story
    Source: Maryanne Demasi, 13 June 2023
  14. Sam
    Police are investigating about 40 hospital deaths over allegations of medical negligence made by two consultant surgeons who lost their jobs after blowing the whistle about patient safety.
    The allegedly botched operations took place at Royal Sussex County hospital (RSCH) in Brighton, part of University hospital Sussex NHS trust, when it was run by a management team hailed by Jeremy Hunt as the best in the NHS.
    Last week, detectives from Sussex police wrote to the trust’s chief executive, George Findlay, confirming they had launched a formal investigation into “a number of deaths” at the RSCH. They were investigating allegations of “criminal culpability through medical negligence” made by “two separate clinical consultants” at the trust, the letter said.
    It is understood about 40 deaths occurred between 2015 and 2020 after alleged errors in general surgery and neurosurgery departments. Both whistleblowers alleged the trust failed to properly investigate the deaths and learn from the mistakes made.
    Read full story
    Source: The Guardian, 9 June 2023
  15. Sam
    Inquests will be held into the deaths of at least 36 patients – and potentially dozens more – treated by the jailed former breast surgeon Ian Paterson.
    As the fallout of one of the most horrific medical scandals in the history of the NHS continues, a pre-inquest review hearing at Birmingham and Solihull coroner’s court on Friday heard that 417 of Paterson’s cases where breast cancer was listed as the immediate cause of death had been examined.
    Paterson, who attended the hearing remotely from prison, was sentenced to 15 years in jail in 2017, later increased to 20 years, for carrying out needless surgery on patients who were left traumatised and scarred.
    Inquests have been confirmed in 36 cases, with a further 21 cases deemed likely to need an inquest after “preliminary” investigations. Another 36 cases are still to be reviewed.
    The judge Richard Foster said a further 130 cases had been reported to the coroner where breast cancer was listed as contributing to death. A review of a selection of those cases was being carried out and a decision on whether they should all be reviewed would be made on its completion, he said.
    Read full story
    Source: The Guardian, 9 June 3023
     
  16. Sam
    A police investigation is under way into allegations of abuse at an NHS-run home for men with severe learning disabilities and autism, it has emerged.
    Several staff from the home have already been “removed” from the site by Surrey and Borders Partnership Foundation Trust, although the trust would not comment on whether any disciplinary action has been taken against them.
    The home – Oakwood, in Caterham, Surrey – will close at the end of the summer in response to the failings, the trust said. No one has been charged in relation to the allegations, which HSJ understands focus on coercive behaviour and unnecessary deprivation of liberty, with no allegations of violent or sexual behaviour.
    Read full story (paywalled)
    Source: HSJ, 9 June 2023
  17. Sam
    A blood test for more than 50 types of cancer has shown real promise in a major NHS trial, researchers say.
    The test correctly revealed two out of every three cancers among 5,000 people who had visited their GP with suspected symptoms, in England or Wales.
    In 85% of those positive cases, it also pinpointed the original site of cancer.
    The Galleri test looks for distinct changes in bits of genetic code that leak from different cancers. Spotting treatable cancer early can save lives.
    The test remains very much a "work in progress", the researchers, from Oxford University, say, but could increase the number of cancers identified.
    Read full story
    Source: BBS News, 2 June 2023
  18. Sam
    The mayor of London is independently reviewing NHS England plans to reconfigure children’s cancer services in the capital, which were triggered when the commissioner finally accepted the current arrangements are unsafe.
    In a letter to NHSE London director Caroline Clarke, Sadiq Khan’s health adviser said the mayor would apply his six tests for major reconfigurations to both the options proposed for the “principal treatment centre” for paediatric cancer in south London.
    NHSE London is currently running a process to decide the principal treatment centre's location. An earlier assessment put the bid from the Evelina Hospital, part of Guy’s and St Thomas’ Foundation Trust, ahead of the other bidder, St George’s University Hospitals FT.
    Read full story (paywalled)
    Source: HSJ, 5 June 2023
  19. Sam
    Plans to procure more district nursing courses to start this September have been paused because of the merger of Health Education England into NHS England, HSJ understands.
    An email sent last month from a commissioning officer at NHSE’s workforce, training and education directorate – the new HEE – said procurement of new district nursing courses from universities would be paused “until further notice”, due to the “ongoing merger”.
    Since 2009, the number of district nurses working in the English NHS has fallen drastically, from around 7,000 to around 3,900.
    Steph Lawrence, executive director of nursing and allied health professionals at Leeds Community Healthcare Trust, said the decision to pause the expansion of courses was a “huge concern” as numbers of district nurses need to grow “at a much faster rate”.
    “This is a major safety issue for safe and effective care in the community if we don’t have the appropriate numbers of nurses trained. We may also lose nurses as well who want to progress and expand their knowledge,” Ms Lawrence said.
    Read full story (paywalled)
    Source: HSJ, 5 June 2023
  20. Sam
    Multiple problems have been highlighted with the leadership and governance of a much-vaunted integrated care system, including a lack of trust between organisations which often hide information that could weaken their position.
    HSJ has seen an executive summary of the review of Greater Manchester ICS, which cited widespread concerns around the allocation of resources, confusion about the role of commissioning, and “muddled” governance, including:
    a lack of transparency and trust between partners, with some only sharing a “partial overview” of performance and finances which drives choices likely to “bias” some organisations;
    complex architecture of system boards, committees and forums, with “muddled” governance, unclear paths for critical decisions to be made, and unclear delegations to localities;
    frustration at the quantum of meetings that take place at system, locality and provider level.
    Read full story (paywalled)
    Source: HSJ, 2 June 2023
  21. Sam
    One in five cases in which patients attend A&E needing mental healthcare are spending more than 12 hours in the department – at least double the rate of patients with physical health problems.
    Unpublished internal NHS data seen by HSJ also suggests the proportion of mental health patients suffering long waits in accident and emergency has almost tripled when compared to the situation before the pandemic. 
    According to the data, the proportion of attendances by patients with a mental health problem who waited more than 12 hours in A&E before being admitted or discharged increased from 7% (34,945 breaches) in 2019-20 to 20% (88,250 breaches) in 2022-23.
    The situation has become so difficult, that some acute trusts are spot purchasing private sector mental health in order to discharge patients. 
    Read full story (paywalled)
    Source: HSJ, 5 June 2023
  22. Sam
    Children's doctors are calling for a complete ban on disposable vapes because they are likely to damage young lungs and are bad for the environment.
    But an anti-smoking campaign group says a ban would make it harder for some adults to give up smoking and increase the trade in illegal vapes.
    UK governments are planning steps to reduce vaping among under-18s.
    Prime Minister Rishi Sunak recently said it was "ridiculous" that vapes were designed and promoted to appeal to children when they were supposed to be used by adults giving up smoking.
    A BBC investigation found unsafe levels of lead, nickel and chromium in vapes confiscated from a secondary school, which could end up being inhaled into children's lungs. Scientists analysing the vapes said they were the worst lab test results of their kind they had ever seen.
    The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) now says the UK government should "without a doubt" ban disposable e-cigarettes.
    Read full story
    Source: BBC News, 6 June 2023
  23. Sam
    Forty children were hospitalised for vaping last year, prompting NHS bosses to warn we risk “sleep-walking into a crisis”.
    Amanda Pritchard, NHS England boss, said it was "right" for paediatricians to call for action on vaping among young people, as the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health called for an outright ban on disposable vapes.
    She said the 40 children admitted to hospital in England in 2022 due to “vaping-related disorders” was up from 11 two years before.
    The RCPCH’s call for action comes as NHS data revealed one in five 15-year-olds said they used e-cigarettes in 2021, while charity Action on Smoking (ASH) reported the experimental use of e-cigarettes among 11 to 17-year-olds had risen by 50 per cent compared to last year.
    The college warned: “Youth vaping is fast becoming an epidemic among children, and I fear that if action is not taken, we will find ourselves sleep-walking into a crisis.”
    Read full story
    Source: The Independent, 16 June 2023
  24. Sam
    One of the NHS’ largest hospital trusts is being investigated over “possible gross negligence manslaughter” after a baby died 24 hours after her birth.
    Polly Lindop died at St Mary’s Hospital on 13 March and Greater Manchester Police have now launched a probe into her death.
    Police said its major incident team launched the investigation into “possible Gross Negligence manslaughter” after concerns were raised to the force and local coroner.
    DCI Mark Davis of GMP’s major incident team said: “First, I want to express my condolences to the parents of Polly at what is an extremely difficult time for them. Our thoughts will remain with them as we carry out our investigation.
    “A number of hospital staff have been spoken to as witnesses by officers and no arrests have been made at this time.
    “The hospital trust has been fully cooperative with the police and all relevant authorities have been kept informed. The investigation into Polly’s death is on-going and her family will continue to be kept updated in relation to any significant developments.”
    Read full story
    Source: The Independent, 5 June 2023
  25. Sam
    The world must urgently prepare for a global “tsunami” of millions of older cancer patients or risk healthcare systems being unable to cope, leading doctors have warned.
    With life expectancy increasing and a rapidly soaring population of older people, a looming increase in elderly patients with cancer was now a “serious public health concern”, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) said in a report. Cancer centres must prepare for “the silver oncologic tsunami”, the experts added.
    At ASCO’s annual meeting in Chicago, the world’s largest cancer conference, Dr Andrew Chapman, the director of the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center-Jefferson Health and a specialist in geriatric oncology, said: “As the population expands and the incidence goes way up, are we really prepared to deal with those needs? I think globally, we’re not prepared.”
    “We know cancer is a disease that is associated with ageing, and there are a number of biological mechanisms as to why that is,” Chapman said. “What is often times missed is that the older adults’ goals, wants, needs, preferences, and issues are much different than those of the average adult.
    “Sometimes there’s a nihilism – ‘if you’re older we’re not going to bother’ – which is horrible,” he added.
    Dr Julie Gralow, the chief medical officer and executive vice-president of ASCO, said healthcare systems should act immediately to avoid being overwhelmed by the dramatic rise in older cancer patients. “By 2040, the global burden is expected to grow to 27.5m new cancer cases and 16.3m cancer deaths simply due to the growth and ageing of the population.”
    Read full story
    Source: The Guardian, 5 June 2023
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