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Sam

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  1. Sam
    The chairman of an inquiry that has confirmed a 20-year cover-up over the avoidable death of a baby has warned there are other families who may have suffered a similar ordeal.
    Publishing the findings of his investigation into the 2001 death of Elizabeth Dixon, Dr Bill Kirkup said he wanted to see action taken to prevent harmed families having to battle for years to get answers.
    Dr Kirkup, who has been involved in multiple high-profile investigations of NHS failures in recent years, said: “There has been considerable difficulty in establishing investigations, where events are regarded as historic. I don't like the term historic investigations. I think that these things remain current for the people who've suffered harm, until they're resolved, it’s not historic for them.  
    “There has been significant reluctance to look at a variety of cases. Mr and Mrs Dixon were courageous and very persistent and they were given help by others and were successful in securing the investigation and it worries me that other people haven't been.
    “I do think we should look at how we can establish a proper mechanism that will make sure that such cases are heard."
    “It's impossible to rule out there being other people who are in a similar position. In fact, I know of some who are. I think it's as important for them that they get heard, and that they get things that should have been looked at from the start looked at now, if that's the best that we can do.”
    Read full story
    Source: The Independent, 27 November 2020
  2. Sam
    A review of a clinical commissioning group has discovered “microaggressions and insensitivities” towards Black, Asian and minority ethnic staff, and the use of derogatory slurs about other groups.
    The report into Surrey Heartlands CCG also uncovered incidents of shouting, screaming and bullying among other inappropriate behaviour. And it was reported some staff were unwilling to accept Black Lives Matter events as important, stating “all lives matter”.
    The review also discovered a culture of denial and turning a blind eye to consistent concerns, with staff fearful of speaking up. In particular, the HR department was said to have been repeatedly told about the behaviour of one staff member but had chosen to ignore or delay dealing with the issues. 
    However, the review found “no evidence for widespread discriminatory practices” and “no clear evidence for a widespread culture of bullying and ill-treatment” — but it added the systems to deal with concerns had failed and there was a sense of “organisational inaction”. 
    Read full story (paywalled)
    Source: HSJ, 27 November 2020
  3. Sam
    A woman has become blind after her monthly eye injections were delayed for four months during lockdown.
    Helen Jeremy, 73, said everything she enjoyed doing has "gone out of the window" after losing her eyesight. She has glaucoma and was diagnosed with age-related macular degeneration four years ago.
    Monthly injections controlled the condition and meant she could still drive and play the piano. However, her appointments were cancelled when the pandemic struck and her eyesight deteriorated.
    "I was panicking. It was terrifying. Because I'm a widow I'm on my own and it was awful," she said.
    "Suddenly my eyesight was basically gone. By the time of my next appointment I was told there was no point in going on with these injections because the damage had been done to the back of my eye."
    Thousands more people in Wales are at risk of "irreversible sight loss" because of treatment delays, RNIB Cymru warns.
    The Welsh Government said health boards are working to increase services.
    Read full story
    Source: BBC News, 27 November 2020
  4. Sam
    A blood test designed to detect more than 50 types of cancer at an early stage will be trialled by the NHS.
    More than 165,000 people in England will be offered the tests from next year. If successful, the NHS hopes to expand it to 1m people from 2024.
    Sir Simon Stevens, NHS England chief executive, said early detection had the potential "to save many lives".
    While some welcomed the pilot, others cautioned the test was still untried and untested.
    Developing a blood test for cancer has been keeping scientists busy for many years without much success.
    Making one that's accurate and reliable has proved incredibly complex - the danger is that a test doesn't detect a person's cancer when they do have it, or it indicates someone has cancer when they don't.
    This test, developed by the Californian firm Grail, is designed to detect molecular changes in the blood caused by cancer in people with no obvious symptoms.
    As part of a large-scale pilot, also funded by the company, 140,000 participants aged between 50 and 79 will be asked to take the tests for the next three years.
    Another 25,000 people with possible cancer symptoms will also be offered testing after being referred to hospital in the normal way.
    Read full story
    Source: BBC News, 27 November 2020
  5. Sam
    A transgender boy is taking NHS England to court over delays in accessing gender identity treatment.
    The 14-year-old, who was referred to the UK’s only youth gender identity clinic in October 2019, has been told he may have to wait at least another year to be seen.
    He said he was experiencing “fear and terror” while he waits for treatment.
    Young people are currently facing “extensive waits” to see a therapist, with the average delay being 18 months or more, according to the Good Law Project, which is representing the boy.
    The not-for-profit organisation said the health service was legally required to ensure patients referred to gender identity development services (GIDS) are seen within 18 weeks.
    Gender clinics for adults across the country have reported similar delays, with the Devon Partnership NHS Trust reporting “lengthy waiting times” while the Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust said patients were facing delays “in excess of 32 months” for an initial appointment and 62 months from referral to treatment.
    Trusts have blamed a surge in demand as well as reduced capacity, including staffing problems.
    The teenager involved in the case said in a statement: “The length of the NHS waiting list means the treatments which are essential for my well being are not available to me."
    “By the time I get to the top of the list it will be too late, and in the meantime I suffer the fear and terror that gender dysphoria causes, every day.”
    Read full story
    Source: The Independent, 23 November 2020
  6. Sam
    Up to £20 million is available for new research projects which aim to understand and address the longer-term physical and mental health effects of COVID-19 in non-hospitalised individuals. 
    Increasing medical evidence and patient testimony has shown that some people who contract and survive COVID-19 may develop longer-lasting symptoms.
    Symptoms can range from breathlessness, chronic fatigue, ‘brain fog’, anxiety and stress and can last for months after initially falling ill. 
    These ongoing problems, commonly termed ‘Long-COVID’, may be experienced by patients regardless of how severe their COVID-19 infection was and irrespective of whether they were hospitalised.
    UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) are launching a call to fund two or three ambitious and comprehensive proposals and a small number of study extensions that will address ‘Long-COVID’ in the community. 
    This work will complement other major studies already funded by UKRI and NIHR which focus on long covid in hospitalised patients. Projects are expected to start early in the new year and may be funded for up to three years in the first instance.
    The call will open on 12 November and close on 9 December 2020.
    Further information
  7. Sam
    Staff at a specialist care unit did not attempt to resuscitate a woman with epilepsy, learning difficulties and sleep apnoea when she was found unconscious, an inquest heard.
    Joanna Bailey, 36, died at Cawston Park in Norfolk on 28 April 2018. Jurors heard she was found by a worker whose CPR training had expired, and the private hospital near Aylsham - which care for adults with complex needs - had been short-staffed that night.
    Support worker Dan Turco told the coroner's court he went to check on Ms Bailey just after 03:00 BST and found she was not breathing and had blood around her mouth.
    The inquest heard he went to get help from colleagues, including the nurse in charge, but no-one administered CPR until paramedics arrived. 
    It was heard Mr Turco's CPR training had lapsed in the weeks before Ms Bailey died, unbeknown to him.
    Mr Turco said he had since received training and has had his first aid qualifications updated.
    Cawston Park, run by the Jeesal Group, a provider of complex care services within the UK, is currently rated as "requires improvement" by the Care Quality Commission.
    Read full story
    Source: BBC News, 23 November 2020
  8. Sam
    News that the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) will review the data from trials of one of the most promising COVID-19 vaccine candidates, to see whether it meets the agency’s robust standards of quality, safety and effectiveness, has been welcomed by the UK Government.
    Initial data had shown the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine is 94% effective in protecting people over 65 years of age from coronavirus, with no serious safety concerns having been raised during the clinical trials.
    Already the UK Government has pre-ordered 40 million vaccine doses – enough to provide vaccinations for up to a third of the population – and is expected to receive the total amount by the end of 2021.
    The majority of doses are anticipated to be received in the first half of next year. As well as successfully protecting those over the age of 65, trial data also showed that the vaccine candidate also performed equally well in people of all ages, races and ethnicities.
    Approval from the MHRA, as the UK’s independent regulator, is required for the COVID-19 vaccine to be authorised for consistent manufacture and supply. To achieve this approval, it must demonstrate that it meets strict quality, safety and effectiveness standards set by the MHRA.
    Business Secretary Alok Sharma added: “Today, we have renewed hope that we are on the brink of one of the most significant scientific discoveries of our time, as we reach the crucial last stage to finding a COVID-19 vaccine.
    “While this news is a cause for celebration, we must make sure that this vaccine, like all new medicines, meets standards of quality, safety, and effectiveness."
    Read full story
    Source: National Health Executive, 24 November 2020
  9. Sam
    Hospitals across England could see oxygen supplies at worse levels this winter than at the peak of the first coronavirus wave – when some sites were forced to close to new admissions.
    An alert to NHS hospitals this week warned that because of the rise in admissions of COVID-19 patients, there is a risk of oxygen shortages.
    Trusts have been ordered to carry out daily checks on the amount of oxygen in the air on wards to reduce the risk of catastrophic fires or explosions.
    The problem is not because of a lack of oxygen but because pipes delivering the gas to wards will not be able to deliver the volume of gas needed by all patients.
    This can trigger a cut-off in supply and a catastrophic drop in pressure, meaning patients would be denied the oxygen they need to breathe.
    Read full story
    Source: The Independent, 20 November 2020
     
  10. Sam
    A world-leading children’s hospital has been accused of a “concerted effort” to cover up the mistakes that led to the death of a toddler.
    Jasmine Hughes died at London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital aged 20 months after suffering acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM), a condition in which the brain and spinal cord are inflamed following a viral infection.
    Doctors said that her death in February 2011 had been caused by complications of ADEM. But an analysis of detailed hospital computer records shows the toddler died after her blood pressure was mismanaged – spiking when she was treated with steroids then allowed to fall too fast. Experts say this led to catastrophic brain damage. 
    Although the detailed computer records were supplied to the coroner who carried out Jasmine’s inquest, crucial information concerning her blood pressure was not included in official medical records that should hold the patient’s entire clinical history.  
    Dr Malcolm Coulthard, who specialises in child blood pressure and medical records examination, carried out the analysis of the files, comprising more than 350 pages of spreadsheets. Dr Stephen Playfor, a paediatric intensive care consultant, examined the computer records and came to the same conclusion as Dr Coulthard, that mismanagement of Jasmine’s blood pressure by Great Ormond Street and Lister Hospital, in Stevenage, was responsible for her death.
    Dr Coulthard told The Independent: “As a specialist paediatrician, it is with great regret and disappointment that I have concluded that the doctors' records in Jasmine Hughes’ medical notes fail to reflect the truth about her diagnosis and treatment.”
    Read full story
    Source: The Independent, 20 November 2020
  11. Sam
    BBC News investigation has uncovered failures in the diagnosis of serious medical issues during private baby scans.
    More than 200 studios across the UK now sell ultrasound scans, with hundreds of thousands being carried out each year.
    But the BBC has found evidence of women not being told about serious conditions and abnormalities.
    The Care Quality Commission says there is good quality care in the industry but it has a "growing concern".
    Private baby scanning studios offer a variety of services.
    Some diagnose medical issues while others market themselves as providers of souvenir images or video of the ultrasound. Most sell packages providing a "reassurance scan" to expectant mums.
    Many women BBC News spoke to said they had positive experiences at private studios, but we have also learned of instances where women said they were failed.
    Charlotte, from Manchester, attended a scan in Salford with one of the biggest franchises, Window to the Womb, to record her baby's sex for a party and check its wellbeing.
    BBC News has learned the sonographer identified a serious abnormality that meant the baby could not survive, where part or all of its head is missing, called anencephaly.
    But rather than refer her immediately to hospital and provide a medical report, Charlotte was told the baby's head could not be fully seen and recommended to book an NHS anomaly scan.
    She was also given a gender reveal cannon and a teddy bear containing a recording of its heartbeat as a present for her daughter.
    "I was distraught," Charlotte said. "You've bonded with that baby."
    "It's like a deep cut feeling," she added. "All of it could have just been avoided, we could have processed the news all together as a family because I was with my mum and dad, I would have had the support there."
    Read full story
    Source: BBC News, 18 November 2020
  12. Sam
    The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has been criticised by the national health ombudsman for the ‘maladministration’ of a 2018 review into the death of a teenage girl under the care of one of England’s top specialist hospitals, HSJ can reveal.
    The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) came to the conclusion after investigating a DHSC review into the 1996 death of 17-year-old Krista Ocloo which had been requested by her mother.
    Krista died at home of acute heart failure in December 1996. She had been admitted to the Royal Brompton Hospital with chest pains in January of that year. The PHSO report states her mother was told “there was no cause for concern” and that another appointment would be scheduled in six months. This follow-up appointment did not happen.
    The young woman’s death was considered by the hospital’s complaints process, an independent panel review and an inquiry into the hospital’s paediatric cardiac services. They concluded the doctor involved was not responsible for Krista’s death – though the paediatric services inquiry criticised the hospital for poor communication. A coroner declined to open an inquest into the case.
    Civil action against the hospital, brought by Ms Ocloo, found Krista’s death could not have been prevented. However, a High Court judge found that the failure to arrange appropriate follow-up by the RBH was “negligent”.
    A spokeswoman for PHSO said: “Our investigation found maladministration by the Department for Health and Social Care, which should have been more transparent in its communication. The department’s failure to be open and clear compounded the suffering of a parent who was already grieving the loss of her child.”
    A DHSC spokeswoman said: “We profoundly regret any distress caused to Ms Ocloo.
    “[The PHSO] report found that in communicating with Ms Ocloo the department’s actions were – in places – not consistent with relevant guidance. The department has writen to Ms Ocloo to apologise for this and provide further information about the review.”
    Read full story (paywalled)
    Source: HSJ, 12 November 2020
  13. Sam
    The number of people waiting over a year for hospital treatment in England has hit its highest levels since 2008.
    Patients are meant to be seen within 18 weeks - but nearly 140,000 of the 4.35 million on the waiting list at the end of September had waited over a year.
    Surgeons said it was "tragic" patients were being left in pain while they waited for treatment, including knee and hip operations.
    And others warned the situation could become even worse during winter.
    In recent weeks, major hospitals in Bradford, Leeds, Nottingham, Birmingham and Liverpool, which have seen high rates of infection, have announced the mass cancellation of non-urgent work.
    Read full story
    Source: BBC News, 12 November 2020
  14. Sam
    Widespread nursing shortages across the NHS could lead to staff burnout and risk patient safety this winter, the Royal College of Nursing has warned.
    The nursing union said a combination of staff absence due to the pandemic, and around 40,000 registered nursing vacancies in England was putting too much strain on the remaining workforce.
    The government says more than 13,000 nurses have been recruited this year.
    It has committed to 50,000 more nurses by 2025.
    It also hopes England's four-week lockdown will ease pressure on the NHS.
    The RCN has expressed concern that staff shortages are affecting every area of nursing, from critical care and cancer services to community nursing, which provides care to people in their own homes.
    The union said it was worried the extra responsibility and pressure placed on senior nurses could lead to staff "burnout", as hospitals struggle to clear the backlog of cancelled operations from the first wave of coronavirus and cope with rising numbers of new Covid patients, as well as the annual pressures that winter typically brings.
    Read full story
    Source: BBC News, 7 November 2020
  15. Sam
    An intensive care doctor at one of the hospitals hit hardest by the second wave of coronavirus says staff feel "broken and "exhausted".
    Dr Ceri Lynch, consultant anaesthetist at the Royal Glamorgan Hospital in Llantrisant, fears the situation is "worse" than during the first peak in the spring. She spoke of the emotional toil as doctors and nurses watched patients die, and of seeing people's families "decimated" by the virus.
    "We are all devastated," she said.
    To date, 495 people with coronavirus have died in the Cwm Taf Morgannwg Health Board area - the highest number in Wales.
    The hospital serves patients living in some of the hardest hit counties, including Rhondda Cynon Taf which had 553.8 cases per 100,000 of the population in the last week - one of the worst affected communities in the UK.
    Dr Lynch said staff at her unit had been left in tears and were "broken" after seeing some of the harrowing effects of the virus, and colleagues had been infected.
    Dr Lynch said many relatives were unable to be at their loved-one's bedside when they died, as they were having to self-isolate after contracting the virus themselves. "It's tragic having to do this by telephone or Skype," she said, explaining family members were having to be at their loved-one's death bed via a video call.
    "I was crying on Monday, I was at the death of a patient, we try and make the deaths as peaceful as we can, and I think we do a good job. We've had to take the place of the family, hold the patient's hand, talk to them, and communicate with the family, and there's been a lot of tears."
    Read full story
    Source: BBC News, 5 November 2020
  16. Sam
    A mass testing pilot of the government's "operation moonshot" has begun in Liverpool.
    The pilot scheme will see half a million people offered tests, including a new form of rapid testing, even if they do not have symptoms, as Botis Johnson banks on technological advances to steer the nation out of a second wave of COVID-19.
    Around 2,000 members of the military are helping NHS staff to administer a combination of swab tests and new lateral flow tests which give results within an hour without the need of a lab.
    Loop Mediated Isothermal Amplification (LAMP) tests, which can give results in as little as 20 minutes are being trialled for hospital and care home staff. But it comes as the Guardian reported that some of the technology at the heart of the scheme missed more than 50% of positive coronavirus cases in a Greater Manchester pilot.
    The OptiGene LAMP test identified only 46.7% of infections during a trial in Manchester and Salford last month, according to a letter from Greater Manchester's mass testing group seen by the newspaper.
    The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said that it was "incorrect" to suggest the rapid test has a low sensitivity, adding that it had been validated in another recent pilot.
    Read full story
    Source: Sky News, 6 November 2020
  17. Sam
    Wearable devices will monitor the mood of all 70 staff at a large GP practice, in a trial aimed at improving employee health and wellbeing.
    Staff at Amicus Health, a GP practice in Devon, will be provided with a wearable device which allows the user to log how their day is going by pressing one of two buttons.
    The information gathered can be viewed by employers on a dashboard, identifying whether there are particular times in the day when moods drop. Users will also be able to see their data on a personal app, allowing them to track mood triggers and patterns.
    On the dashboard, employees’ data is divided into teams and is not anonymised, so employers can track the mood of individuals. Asked by HSJ whether this could deter some from using it, company co-founder Jonathan Elvidge said previous trials suggested it does not.
    He told HSJ that during trials on construction sites, employers found it easier to take action if they were able to identify workers who were regularly reporting that they were feeling low.
    He said employees preferred being identified as it gave them a voice and made it easier to express how they were feeling. 
    The device — called a Moodbeam One — will be trialled on all 70 clinical and non-clinical staff members at the practice, including 25 GPs. It will largely be down to the practice to decide how the data is used, according to Mr Elvidge.
    Read full story (paywalled)
    Source: HSJ, 5 November 2020
  18. Sam
    The government is facing criticism over its guidance on safe visits to care homes in England.
    Labour and a number of charities have described the suggestions, including floor-to-ceiling screens, designated visitor pods and window visits, as impractical. Alzheimer's Society has said it "completely misses the point".
    Justice Secretary Robert Buckland told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the guidance was "non-exhaustive".
    The updated government advice, which came into effect on Thursday, says care homes - especially those which have not allowed visits since March - "will be encouraged and supported to provide safe visiting opportunities".
    Labour's shadow care minister Liz Kendall said many care homes would not be able to comply with the government's requirements which meant "in reality thousands of families are likely to be banned from visiting their loved ones".
    She said instead of suggesting measures such as screens, the government should "designate a single family member as a key worker - making them a priority for weekly testing and proper PPE".
    Kate Lee, chief executive at Alzheimer's Society, said: "We're devastated by today's new care home visitor guidance - it completely misses the point: this attempt to protect people will kill them."
    She said the pandemic had left people with dementia isolated and thousands had died. The guidelines "completely ignore the vital role of family carers in providing the care for their loved ones with dementia that no one else can", she added.
    She said the "prison-style screens" proposed by the government with people speaking through phones were "frankly ridiculous when you consider someone with advanced dementia can often be bed-bound and struggling to speak".
    That view was echoed by Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK, who said she was "acutely aware" that the methods being sanctioned were "unlikely to be useable by many older people with dementia, or indeed sensory loss".
    Read full story
    Source: BBC News, 5 November 2020
  19. Sam
    Abuse in Cornwall care homes was not properly investigated until after a BBC investigation, a review has found.
    The Morleigh Group operated seven homes in the county until closing in 2016 after undercover filming by BBC Panorama at one home revealed abuse.
    An official review found there had been hundreds of reports of concerns since 2013. These included physical abuse, people being left "soaked in their own urine" and a lack of food and heating.
    The Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Safeguarding Adults Board review highlighted the failings and missed opportunities to address the problems.
    Its report specifically questioned why it took a BBC programme to "bring about change" despite the "wealth of evidence" already available.
    Read full story
    Source: BBC News, 2 November 2020
  20. Sam
    The number of weekly coronavirus deaths in England and Wales has risen to its highest figure since early June, new statistics show.
    In the week ending 23 October, a total of 978 registered deaths mentioned COVID-19 on the death certificate, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). This marks a 46% increase on the number of deaths reported in the previous week, and is the highest figure on record since 12 June.
    Of the 978 deaths that involved COVID-19, 874 had this recorded as the underlying cause of death (89.4 per cent), the ONS said.
    Read full story
    Source: The Independent, 3 November 2020
  21. Sam
    The NHS has erroneously written to thousands of patients who have had glandular fever in the past asking them to get a flu jab from their GP.
    The error left some GPs with practice phone lines blocked last week while reception staff have had to explain to patients they are not actually eligible for free flu vaccination.
    Nearly 40,000 letters were sent out to patients with a past history indicating glandular fever because of a coding error at NHS Digital. This was meant to identify patients with suppressed immune systems which would include those who currently have glandular fever and encourage them to contact their GP practice to arrange vaccination.
    However, the historical cases were not excluded, leading to the letters being automatically generated even when the glandular fever diagnosis was decades old.
    When NHS Digital realised the error, it contacted NHS England – which was responsible for posting out the letters – and managed to stop others being sent out.
    An NHS Digital spokesman said: “During a process to identify patients eligible for a flu vaccination, glandular fever was incorrectly included in a complex list of conditions that cause persistent immunosuppression. This led to some patients incorrectly receiving a letter encouraging them to seek a flu vaccination.
    “There has been no adverse clinical impact for patients and the issue was quickly resolved before the majority of letters were sent.” NHSD said patients who had received the letter would receive another one to explain and to reassure them."
    Read full story (paywalled) 
    Source: HSJ, 4 November 2020
  22. Sam
    A trust which had four ‘never events’ where patients were connected to air rather than an oxygen supply could have avoided them if it had been more proactive when a national patient safety alert was sent out several years earlier, a report has found.
    In one case, a baby being investigated for sepsis had oxygen saturation levels of just 75% before the mistake was realised. In another, a woman with COPD and pneumonia had oxygen saturation at 80% when she was connected to the air outlet.
    Calderdale and Huddersfield Foundation Trust asked the Royal College of Physicians to carry out an invited review after the four never events at Calderdale Royal Hospital in 2018 and 2019. The earliest incident happened in February 2018 but was not identified until a retrospective audit nearly a year later.
    The RCP’s report said that, had this been identified earlier, “steps could have been put in place to avoid such incidents from subsequently occurring”.
    But it added: “All four never events could have been avoided if the trust had responded more proactively to the previous NHS Improvement patient safety alert about the dangers of erroneously connecting patients to air instead of oxygen and had subsequently restricted access to air outlets.”
    Read full story (paywalled)
    Source: HSJ, 2 November 2020
  23. Sam
    Several hospitals in the north of England are already at full capacity and may have to start moving patients to other regions, doctors have warned.
    Consultants fear that if Covid infection rates do not begin to fall significantly the NHS will be overwhelmed in less than a month from now.
    Members of the British Medical Association have reported that Intensive Care Units (ICU) in a number of regions, including Manchester, Liverpool and Hull, are close to capacity as the number of people hospitalised with COVID-19 continues to grow.
    Dr Vishal Sharma, chairman of the BMA’s consultants committee, told The Telegraph: “Capacity in the north of England is at the limits and in some places above the limit. Our next concern is ICU capacity, which is always tight at this time of year, even without Covid.”
    Dr Sharma said some general ward beds could be adapted to provide intensive breathing support for Covid patients, and the re-opening of Manchester’s Nightingale Hospital may also take the pressure off ICU departments.
    But more radical steps may have to be taken if numbers of hospitalised patients continue to rise.
    “We may have to move patients around the country to create extra capacity, but if the whole country starts to struggle things will get very difficult."
    Read full story
    Source: The Telegraph, 
  24. Sam
    A month-long national lockdown in winter will take a heavy toll on people's mental health, charities fear.
    Paul Farmer, chief executive of mental health charity Mind, says it could be "the greatest test of our mental health this year”, not just for the public but for healthcare staff who are "working tirelessly, but may be struggling with their mental health too”.
    Both Mind and Carers UK say the Government has to learn from mistakes in the first wave and make sure people can get help early on.
    Mind has also urged the Government to support those who feel alone through a second lockdown in England, with Mr Farmer saying there is an “urgent need” for a winter mental health support package including in-person and online services.
    Read full story
    Source: The Independent, 1 November 2020
  25. Sam
    A national review has been launched by regulators because of an increased number of stillbirths during the first wave of covid, HSJ can reveal.
    The Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB) is investigating 40 intrapartum stillbirths which took place between April and June this year, when the country experienced the first wave of COVID-19. During the same three months in the previous year, 24 stillbirths were reported to HSIB.
    The HSIB has told HSJ it has now launched a thematic review into the stillbirths, which will investigate stillbirths in all settings across England during that time period.
    The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, which has also launched a national review into perinatal outcomes during the pandemic, estimates that 86 per cent of maternity units reported a reduction in emergency antenatal presentations in April, “suggesting women may have delayed seeking care”.
    HSIB is aiming to complete the thematic review early next year. It said the stillbirths being investigated are not concentrated on any geographical area or trust.
    Read full story (paywalled)
    Source: HSJ, 2 November 2020
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