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Sam

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  1. Sam
    Senior doctors specialising in infectious diseases have written an open letter expressing "concern" about the rapid increase in COVID-19 cases in Northern Ireland.
    The letter is signed by 13 medics from hospitals across Northern Ireland. It calls for the public to stick to government guidance on reducing social interactions and  also warns against "stigmatising people and areas with high levels of infection."
    The letter reads: "We need to support people who test positive. This pandemic requires us to work together to bring it under control urgently. We need to reduce the potential for transmission to protect our health service, and we need to fix our test and trace system to try and gain better control of this virus in our community."
    On Monday, 616 new cases of COVID-19 were identified in Northern Ireland, bringing the total during the pandemic to 14,690. The number of deaths recorded by the Department of Health remains at 584.
    Among those who have signed the letter are Dr Claire Donnelly, a consultant physician who specialises in infectious diseases; consultant virologist Dr Conall McCaughey and consultant paediatrician Dr Sharon Christie.
    Entitled an "appeal to people to adhere to Covid public health guidance", the letter lays bare the stark reality of the infections rates.
    The letter adds: "Worryingly the number of cases is increasing rapidly in many areas over the last week, indicating that we have widespread community transmission in many parts of Northern Ireland."
    Read full story
    Source: BBC News, 6 October 2020
  2. Sam
    There could be a "tsunami" of cancelled operations this winter as the NHS copes with rising numbers of coronavirus patients, leading surgeons are warning.
    Members of the Royal College of Surgeons of England say they doubt the NHS can meet targets to restore surgery back to near pre-pandemic levels.
    Planned procedures such as hip replacements were paused to free up beds during lockdown in the spring. And hospitals have since been dealing with a backlog.
    In July, NHS England boss Sir Simon Stevens told trusts hospitals should by September 2020 be performing at least 80% of their September 2019 rates of:
    overnight planned procedures outpatient or day-case procedures And by October, this proportion should rise to 90%.
    But data suggests more than two million people have been waiting longer than 18 weeks for routine operations, with 83,000 waiting more than a year - up from 2,000 before the pandemic.
    Read full story
    Source: BBC News, 6 October 2020
  3. Sam
    Long Covid could be a bigger public health crisis than excess deaths as the condition leaves patients in agony, experts have warned.
    Patients overcoming the coronavirus and suffering with long Covid have reported symptoms such as chronic fatigue - months after they first contracted the virus.
    It was previously reported that 60,000 Britains struck by “long-Covid” have been ill for three months with some left in wheelchairs. People who were previously fit and healthy who have recovered from the virus have in some cases been left bed ridden and unable to climb the stairs.
    Now a report from the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change is recommending that the Government highlight the issue in awareness campaigns.
    The report, titled 'Long Covid: Reviewing the Science and Assessing the Risk', states that awareness campaigns could encourage the use of face masks and coverings.
    The authors of the report state: “Long Covid is likely a bigger issue than excess deaths as a result of Covid, but, crucially, the risk must be considered alongside the economic impact and other health impacts linked to Covid restrictions."
    Read full story
    Source: The Sun, 5 October 2020
  4. Sam
    Sending thousands of older untested patients into care homes in England at the start of the coronavirus lockdown was a violation of their human rights, Amnesty International has said.
    A report says government decisions were "inexplicable" and "disastrous", affecting mental and physical health.
    More than 18,000 people living in care homes died with COVID-19 and Amnesty says the public inquiry promised by the government must begin immediately.
    According to Amnesty's report, a "number of poor decisions at both the national and local levels had serious negative consequences for the health and lives of older people in care homes and resulted in the infringement of their human rights" as enshrined in law.
    Researchers for the organisation interviewed relatives of older people who either died in care homes or are currently living in one; care home owners and staff, and legal and medical professionals.
    Amnesty said it received reports of residents being denied GP and hospital NHS services during the pandemic, "violating their right to health and potentially their right to life, as well as their right to non-discrimination".
    It adds that care home managers reported to its researchers that they were "pressured in different ways" to accept patients discharged from hospital who had not been tested or had COVID-19.
    Amnesty says the public inquiry into the pandemic should begin with an "interim phase". "The pandemic is not over," it added. "Lessons must be learned; remedial action must be taken without delay to ensure that mistakes are not repeated."
    Read full story
    Source: BBC News, 4 October 2020
  5. Sam
    A technical glitch that meant nearly 16,000 cases of coronavirus went unreported has delayed efforts to trace contacts of people who tested positive.
    Public Health England (PHE) said 15,841 cases between 25 September and 2 October were left out of the UK daily case figures. They were then added in to reach Saturday's figure of 12,872 new cases and Sunday's 22,961 figure.
    PHE said all those who tested positive had been informed. But it means others in close contact with them were not.
    The issue has been resolved, PHE said, with outstanding cases passed on to tracers by 01:00 BST on Saturday.
    The technical issue also means that the daily case totals reported on the government's coronavirus dashboard over the past week have been lower than the true number.
    Read full story
    Source: BBC News, 5 October 2020
  6. Sam
    Covid infection rates among doctors, nurses, and other hospital and care home staff have risen more than fivefold over the past month in London, scientists have discovered. The figures – provided by the Francis Crick Institute – have triggered considerable concern among scientists, who fear similar increases may be occurring in other regions of the UK.
    Increasing numbers of infected healthcare workers raise fears that the spread of COVID-19 into wards and care homes – which triggered tens of thousands of deaths last spring – could be repeated unless urgent action is taken.
    “It is very, very worrying,” said Professor Charles Swanton, who helped set up the institute’s Pipeline testing service. “Keeping hospitals and care homes free of the virus is crucial but these figures suggest we are heading in the wrong direction.”
    The Francis Crick Institute – one of Britain’s leading biomedical research centres – decided in March to use its array of powerful laboratory devices to set up a Covid testing service for hospital and care home staff in central and north London. Many other UK academic institutions offered to start similar services but were discouraged by the Department of Health and Social Care which said it wanted to centralise testing operations.
    Read full story
    Source: The Guardian, 3 October 2020
  7. Sam
    Almost one million women in the UK have missed vital breast screening due to coronavirus, a leading charity has estimated.
    Breast screening programmes were paused in March as the NHS focused resources on tackling the pandemic. Breast Cancer Now calculates that around 8,600 women who have not had a scan have undetected breast cancer.
    The scanning programme is running again, but social distancing measures have reduced capacity. Combined with the significant backlog of women waiting for a scan, and more women starting to come forward with concerns about possible symptoms, the charity warns the service is under intense pressure.
    Breast cancer diagnosed at a later stage can be harder to treat.
    Breast Cancer Now estimates that a total of 986,000 women across the UK missed their mammograms due to breast screening programmes being paused. The estimate is based on the average number of women screened per month, and the approximate length of time the screening programme was suspended, in each part of the UK. This breaks down to almost 838,000 women in England, 78,000 in Scotland, 48,000 in Wales and 23,000 in Northern Ireland.
    The charity is calling for an action plan and new resources to tackle the problem.
    Baroness Delyth Morgan, Breast Cancer Now chief executive, said: "That nearly one million women across the UK were caught up in the backlog waiting for breast screening is cause for grave concern.
    "Mammograms are a key tool in the early detection of breast cancer, which is critical to stopping women dying from the disease.
    "We understand that the breast screening programme was paused out of necessity due to the global Covid-19 pandemic, but we must now press play to ensure that all women can access breast screening, and we cannot afford for the programme to be paused again."
    Read full story
    Source: BBC News, 30 September 2020
    Breast Cancer Now press release
  8. Sam
    People awaiting a CT or MRI scan will be able to have one on the high street under NHS plans to improve access to diagnostic tests.
    NHS England plans to set up a network of new “one-stop shops” where patients will be able to have scans closer to home rather than having to go hospital. They are intended to reduce the risk of patients getting COVID-19 in hospital and speed up the time it takes to undergo diagnostic testing by having more capacity.
    NHS England’s governing board approved a plan on Thursday by Prof Sir Mike Richards to create “community diagnostic hubs across the country over the next few years”.
    It is part of a planned “radical overhaul” in the way patients access a range of diagnostic tests, screening appointments and other services.
    The hubs, which would open six days a week, may also perform blood tests, lung function checks and endoscopies, in which a camera is put down the throat.
    The new facilities would be sited in disused shops or in shopping centres. They are part of the NHS’s drive to make it easier for people to be tested without having to go to hospital, amid concern that reluctance to do so is part of the reason fewer people are undergoing cancer screening. It is already undertaking lung cancer tests in 10 mobile centres that are parked at supermarkets and shopping centres.
    Bigger hubs could also offer mammograms, eye health checks, scans for pregnant women, hearing tests and gynaecological services.
    Hospital bosses welcomed the plan, which they said should reduce waiting times. Miriam Deakin, the director of policy and strategy at NHS Providers, which represents NHS trusts, said: “Doing these checks in the community rather than in hospital could support trusts as they grapple with a second wave of Covid-19, winter pressures and tackling backlogs of care.”
    Read full story
    Source: The Guardian, 1 October 2020
  9. Sam
    The NHS 111 service has permanently stopped nurses and other healthcare professionals in a clinical division handling calls with people suspected of having COVID-19 after an audit of recorded calls found more than 60% were not safe.
    The audit was triggered in July after many of the medical professionals recruited to work in that clinical division of the 111 service sounded the alarm, saying they did not feel “properly skilled and competent” to fulfil such a critical role.
    An investigation was launched into several individual cases after the initial review found that assurances could not be given “in regard to the safety of these calls”, according to an email, seen by the Guardian, from the clinical assurance director of the National Covid-19 Pandemic Response Service. In a further email on 14 August, she told staff that after listening to a “significant number” of calls “so far over 60% … have not passed the criteria demonstrating a safe call”.
    A number of “clinical incidents” were being investigated, she said, because some calls “may have resulted in harm”. One case had been “escalated as a serious untoward incident with potential harm to the patient”.
    NHS England declined to answer questions about any aspect of these apparent safety failings, saying it was the responsibility of the South Central ambulance service (SCAS), which set up a section of NHS 111 called the Covid-19 Clinical Assessment Service (CCAS).
    Read full story
    Source: The Guardian, 1 October 2020
  10. Sam
    For more than two decades, Derek McMinn harvested the bones of his patients, according to a leaked report – but it was not until last year that anyone challenged the renowned surgeon.
    The full scale of his alleged collection was apparently kept from the care regulator until just days ago, and thousands of those who went under his knife for hip and knee treatment still have no idea that their joints may have been collected in a pot in the operating theatre, and stored in the 67-year-old’s office or home.
    Clinicians and managers at the BMI Edgbaston Hospital, where McMinn carried out the majority of his operations, actively took part in the collection of bones and – even after alarms were raised – the hospital did not immediately act to stop the tissue being taken away, according to a leaked internal report seen by The Independent.
    An investigation found operating theatre staff at the private hospital left dozens of pots containing joints removed from patients femurs during hip surgery in a storage area, in some cases for months. According to the report, there had been warnings about their responsibilities under the Human Tissue Act when an earlier audit between 2010 and 2015 identified the storage of femoral heads, the joints removed in the procedure.  
    The internal report said there was no evidence McMinn had carried out any research or had been approved for any research work – required by the Human Tissue Authority to legally store samples. It said one member of staff told investigators the samples were being collected for research on McMinn’s retirement.
    Although the Care Quality Commission knew about claims that a small number of bones being kept by McMinn, it is understood that the regulator received a copy of the BMI Healthcare investigation report only last Friday, after The Independent had made initial inquiries about the case. That report suggests a minimum of 5,224 samples had been taken by McMinn.
    The regulator confirmed to The Independent it had not been aware of the extent of McMinn’s supposed actions.
    An insider at BMI Healthcare accused the company of “covering up”, adding: “Quite senior staff at the hospital went along with it and just handed the pots over to his staff when they came to collect them.”
    Read full story
    Source: The Independent, 30 September 2020
  11. Sam
    An ambulance service could be put in special measures after a damning report criticised poor leadership for fostering bullying and not acting decisively on allegations of predatory sexual behaviour towards patients.
    East of England Ambulance Service Trust failed to protect patients and staff from sexual abuse, inappropriate behaviour and harassment, the Care Quality Commission said.
    It failed to support the mental health and wellbeing of staff, with high levels of bullying and harassment. Staff who raised concerns were not treated with respect and some senior leaders adopted a “combative and defensive approach” which stopped staff speaking out.
    “The leadership, governance and culture still did not support delivery of high-quality care,” the CQC said.
    Read full story (paywalled) 
    Source: HSJ, 30 September 2020
  12. Sam
    Too many English hospitals risk repeating maternity scandals involving avoidable baby deaths and brain injury because staff are too frightened to raise concerns, the chief inspector of hospitals has warned.
    Speaking at the opening session of an inquiry into the safety of maternity units by the health select committee, Prof Ted Baker, chief inspector of hospitals for the Care Quality Commission, said: “There are too many cases when tragedy strikes because services are not not doing their job well enough.”
    Baker admitted that 38% of such services were deemed to require improvement for patient safety and some could get even worse. “There is a significant number of services that are not achieving the level of safety they should,” he said.
    He said many NHS maternity units were in danger of repeating fatal mistakes made at what became the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS foundation trust (UHMBT), despite a high profile 2015 report finding that a “lethal mix” of failings at almost every level led to the unnecessary deaths of one mother and 11 babies.
    “Five years on from Morecombe Bay we have still not learned all the lessons,” Baker said. “[The] Morecombe Bay [report] did talk about about dysfunctional teams and midwives and obstetricians not working effectively together, and poor investigations without learning taking place. And I think those elements are what we are still finding in other services.”
    Baker urged hospital managers to encourage staff to whistleblow about problems without fear of recrimination. He said: “The reason why people are frightened to raise concerns is because of the culture in the units in which they work. A healthy culture would mean that people routinely raise concerns. But raising concerns is regarded as being a difficult member of the team.”
    Read full story
    Source: The Guardian, 29 September 2020
  13. Sam
    At least 18 serious cases are being investigated by NHS bosses after GP and dermatology services were stripped from private medical company.
    The Kent and Medway Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) confirmed on Monday an independent review was taking place. It will see if delays to treatment for thousands of patients using DMC Healthcare services "caused harm".
    The NHS removed contracts worth £4.1m a year from the private firm in July.
    DMC was responsible for nearly 60,000 patients at nine surgeries in Medway, and skin condition services in other parts of Kent, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.
    In north Kent, there were 1,855 patients needing urgent treatment and a further 7,500 on the dermatology service waiting list. Of those, 700 had been waiting more than a year.
    Nikki Teesdale, from Kent and Medway's CCG, said it was "too early" to reach definitive conclusions around the 18 serious cases. Speaking to Kent and Medway's joint health scrutiny committee on Monday she said of the 18, five had been waiting "significant periods of time" for cancer services.
    "Until we have got those patients through those treatment programmes, we are not able to determine what the level of harm has been," she added.
    Read full story
    Source: BBC News, 29 September 2020
  14. Sam
    Clarence Troutman survived a two-month hospital stay with COVID-19, and then went home in early June. But he's far from over the disease, still suffering from limited endurance, shortness of breath and hands that can be stiff and swollen.
    "Before Covid, I was a 59-year-old, relatively healthy man," said the broadband technician from Denver. "If I had to say where I'm at now, I'd say about 50% of where I was, but when I first went home, I was at 20%."
    He credits much of his progress to the "motivation and education" gleaned from a new programme for post-covid patients at the University of Colorado, one of a small but growing number of clinics aimed at treating and studying those who have had the unpredictable disease caused by this coronavirus.
    As the US general election nears, much attention is focused on daily infection numbers or the climbing death toll, but another measure matters: Patients who survive but continue to wrestle with a range of physical or mental effects, including lung damage, heart or neurological concerns, anxiety and depression.
    "We need to think about how we're going to provide care for patients who may be recovering for years after the virus," said Dr Sarah Jolley, a pulmonologist with UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital and director of UCHealth's Post-Covid Clinic, where Troutman is seen.
    That need has jump-started post-covid clinics in the US, which bring together a range of specialists into a one-stop shop.
    One of the first and largest such clinics is at Mount Sinai in New York City, but programmes have also launched at the University of California-San Francisco, Stanford University Medical Center and the University of Pennsylvania. The Cleveland Clinic plans to open one early next year.
    And it's not just academic medical centres: St. John's Well Child and Family Center, part of a network of community clinics in South Central Los Angeles, said this month it aims to test thousands of its patients who were diagnosed with covid since March for long-term effects.
    The general idea is to bring together medical professionals across a broad spectrum, including physicians who specialize in lung disorders, heart issues and brain and spinal cord problems. Mental health specialists are also involved, along with social workers and pharmacists.
    Read full story
    Source: CNN Health, 28 September 2020
  15. Sam
    Parents affected by serious failings in maternity units at a Welsh health board will be told of the findings of an independent investigation this autumn. Ten more cases at units run by Cwm Taf Morgannwg in the south Wales valleys have been found by a review, bringing the total number to 160.
    Maternity services at hospitals in Merthyr Tydfil and Llantrisant were placed in special measures last year. Failings at the maternity units were discovered after an investigation by two Royal Colleges, which found mothers faced "distressing experiences and poor care" between 2016 and 2018.
    The services at the Royal Glamorgan Hospital in Llantrisant and Prince Charles Hospital in Merthyr Tydfil were also found to be "extremely dysfunctional" and under extreme pressure.
    A number of recommendations were set to make the service safe for pregnant women and those giving birth at the hospitals.
    The Welsh Government then appointed the Independent Maternity Services Oversight Panel (IMSOP) to look back at cases, including neonatal deaths.
    Mick Giannasi, the chairman of IMSOP, said: "In the early autumn, we will start writing to mothers to say we have reviewed your care and this is what we found.
    "That will be quite distressing for the women because they will have to revisit all those things again.
    "But it's going to be a difficult period for staff as well because we know that the Royal Colleges review was very difficult for staff - some of the messages that they had to hear were very challenging and those things may be played out again."
    Read full story
    Source: BBC News, 28 September 2020
     
  16. Sam
    The NHS has announced that Dr Hilary Cass OBE, former President of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, will lead an independent review into gender identity services for children and young people.
    The review will be wide-ranging in scope looking into several aspects of gender identity services, with a focus on how care can be improved for children and young people including key aspects of care such as how and when they are referred to specialist services, and clinical decisions around how doctors and healthcare professionals support and care for patients with gender dysphoria.
    It will also set out workforce recommendations for specialist healthcare professionals and examine the recent rise in the number of children seeking treatment. Dr Cass will then make clear recommendations for children and young people’s gender identity services reporting back next year.
    The Gender Identity Development Service for Children and Adolescents is managed by the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust.
    The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is due to carry out a focused inspection of The Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust, Gender Identity Services for children and young people, during the autumn. The inspection will cover parts of the safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led key questions and will include feedback from people using the service, parents, relatives, carers, and staff. Separately, Dr Cass will also review the service’s clinical practice with the support of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health and engagement of other professional bodies to provide multi-professional insight working closely with the CQC.
    The review includes an examination of the issues surrounding children and young people who are prescribed puberty blocking and cross sex hormone drugs.
    Dr Hilary Cass OBE, independent chair, said: “It is absolutely right that children and young people, who may be dealing with a complexity of issues around their gender identity, get the best possible support and expertise throughout their care.”
    “This will be an inclusive process in which everyone will have the opportunity to make their views known. In particular I am looking forward to hearing from young people and their families to understand their experiences.
    “This review provides an opportunity to explore the most appropriate treatment and services required.”
    Read full story
    Source: NHS England, 22 September 2020
  17. Sam
    Hundreds of people believe the 111 helpline failed their relatives. Now the Guardian reports that they are demanding a full inquiry into the service.
    When the coronavirus outbreak hit in March, the NHS feared hospitals could be overwhelmed and so patients with suspected symptoms were directed to call the designated 111 helpline. Call volumes were massive and waiting times were often over an hour.
    The Guardian’s David Conn has spent months talking to bereaved relatives about that difficult time and during his conversations he found many were deeply unhappy about the service they felt had been provided by the 111 helpline.
    Lena Vincent’s partner Patrick McManus died from the virus in April following a short period in hospital. He had called 111 three times and had not been advised to seek further medical help. Lena tells Anushka she wants to know who is accountable for the service.
    Listen to the podcast
    Source: The Guardian, 28 September 2020
  18. Sam
    Hundreds of thousands who survived the virus still have side-effects that range from loss of smell to chronic fatigue.
    "It started with a mild sore throat. I was in Devon at the beginning of the lockdown, and because I hadn’t been on a cruise ship, gone skiing in Italy or partying with the crowds at Cheltenham races, I didn’t think it could be COVID-19. Then I developed sinusitis. My GP was practical: “This is not a symptom of the virus,” he emailed me. But my sense of smell had disappeared. At first this wasn’t a sign but six months later, I still can’t tell the difference between the smell of an overripe banana or lavender. I can distinguish petrol but not gas, dog mess but not roses, bacon but not freshly cut grass. Everything else smells of burnt condensed milk."
    Read full story (paywalled)
    Source: The Times, 23 September 2020
  19. Sam
    An external review has been launched at a leading children’s hospital after a series of “never events”.
    According to local commissioners, a review by the Association for Perioperative Practitioners will look into seven incidents at Alder Hey Children’s Foundation Trust over the last two years. The probe had been delayed by the pandemic and began this month.  
    Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children FT and Sheffield Children’s FT, the two other dedicated children’s trusts in England, reported one and four never events respectively, between April 2018 and July 2020, according to national data.
    In a statement, Alder Hey claimed it could not provide further details of the incidents. But most have been described in its board papers over the past year. They include a 15-year-old who had the wrong tooth removed by the surgical division, a patient who had the wrong eye operated on, a swab that was left inside a patient having their adenoids and tonsils removed, and an incorrect implant being inserted into an orthopaedics patient.
    Liverpool Clinical Commissioning’s group’s board papers for September said: “The trust has had a series of seven never events and there is a plan to undertake an external review that has been delayed due to the pandemic response. The trust has approached the Association for Perioperative Practitioners and have agreed the process."
    “The trust also plans to work with Imperial College London on a peer review and bespoke human factors training to include simulation training and coaching. The trust also plans to produce an overarching action plan to bring together the themes and learning from the seven never events. This work is still underway and NHSE/I and CCG had requested a copy of this plan.”
    Read full story (paywalled)
    Source: HSJ, 24 September 2020
  20. Sam
    Delays at the Great Ormond Street Hospital led to a boy dying an agonising death, a health watchdog has found.
    Arvind Jain, 13, who had Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, died in August 2009 after waiting months for an operation. The ombudsman's report found he had "suffered considerable distress" and criticised referral procedures as "chaotic and substandard".
    The Great Ormond Street Hospital said there were "failings in clinical care".
    Arvind's sister Shushma said: "To read that he was suffering all the time, that was disgusting. He had been asking us repeatedly if he would get the operation and we would be constantly reassuring him that he would not die."
    The degenerative disease Arvind, who lived in Cricklewood, north London, suffered from was not immediately life threatening but in January 2009 his condition had become acute enough for him to struggle with swallowing and feeding. He had a temporary medical solution where a tube was inserted through his nose to help him get the required nutrition. He also experienced a number of other medical complications although none of these was considered life-threatening.
    The permanent solution recommended by his consultant paediatric neurologist was a gastrostomy insertion which would allow Arvind to feed through his stomach.
    The Great Ormond Street Hospital Trust (GOSH) excels in such procedures, however, a series of communication errors meant despite repeated and urgent requests from his neurological consultant, proper investigations were not carried out into Arvind's suitability for the operation.
    After five months of delays he and his family were reassured that as soon as he got the operation he would be much more comfortable. Another hospital also offered to carry out the operation in the event that the delays continued. But the surgical team that was due to carry out the operation never managed to assess Arvind.
    His condition deteriorated to the point where he was not well enough to be operated on and Arvind died on 9 August 2009.
    The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman's report said he "suffered considerable distress and discomfort". It also describes a series of basic shortcomings in Arvind's care.
    The report said: "The standard of care provided for Arvind fell so far below the applicable standards as to amount to service failure."
    Read full story
    Source: BBC News, 23 September 2020
  21. Sam
    Hospitals have been warned hundreds of ventilators used to keep sedated patients alive are at risk of suddenly shutting down because of a fault, in some cases without warning.
    The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, which said there were approximately 303 Philips Respironics V60 ventilators used in the UK, has warned hospitals over a delay in replacement parts arriving in the UK to fix the problem.
    It has issued a safety alert to hospitals to make them aware of the increased risk.
    The regulator said it had received one report of a ventilator suddenly shutting down but said there was no report of any injury to patients.
    Read full story
    Source: The Independent, 23 September 2020
  22. Sam
    A hospital trust has been fined for failing to be open and transparent with the bereaved family of a 91-year-old woman in the first prosecution of its kind.
    Elsie Woodfield died at Derriford hospital in Plymouth after suffering a perforated oesophagus during an endoscopy.
    The Care Quality Commission (CQC) took University Hospitals Plymouth NHS trust to court under duty of candour regulations, accusing it of not being open with Woodfield’s family about her death and not apologising in a timely way.
    Judge Joanna Matson was told Woodfield’s daughter Anna Davidson eventually received a letter apologising over her mother’s death, which happened in December 2017, but she felt it lacked remorse.
    Davidson said she still had many unanswered questions and found it “impossible to grieve”.
    The judge said: “This offence is a very good example of why these regulatory offences are very important. Not only have [the family] had to come to terms with their tragic death, but their loss has been compounded by the trust’s lack of candour.”
    Speaking afterwards, Nigel Acheson, the CQC’s deputy chief inspector of hospitals, said: “All care providers have a duty to be open and transparent with patients and their loved ones, particularly when something goes wrong, and this case sends a clear message that we will not hesitate to take action when that does not happen."
    Lenny Byrne, the trust’s chief nurse, issued a “wholehearted apology” to Woodfield’s family. “We pleaded guilty to failure to comply with the duty of candour and fully accept the court’s decision. We have made significant changes in our processes.”
    Read full story
    Source: The Guardian, 23 September 2020
  23. Sam
    Ten workers at a mental health unit have been suspended amid claims patients were "dragged, slapped and kicked". Inspectors said CCTV footage recorded at the Yew Trees hospital in Kirby-le-Soken, Essex, appeared to show episodes of "physical and emotional abuse".
    The details emerged in a Care Quality Commission (CQC) report after the unit was inspected in July and August. A spokeswoman for the care provider said footage had been passed to police.
    The unannounced inspections were prompted by managers at Cygnet Health Care, who monitored CCTV footage of an incident on 18 July.
    At the time, the 10-bed hospital held eight adult female patients with autism or learning difficulties.
    The CQC reviewed 21 separate pieces of footage, concluding that 40% "included examples of inappropriate staff behaviour". "People who lived there were subjected not only to poor care, but to abuse," a CQC spokesman said.
    Workers were captured "physically and emotionally abusing a patient", and failing to use "appropriate restraint techniques", the report said. It identified "negative interactions where staff visibly became angry with patients" and two cases where staff "dragged patients across the floor".
    "We witnessed abusive, disrespectful, intimidating, aggressive and inappropriate behaviour," the inspectors said.
    Read full story
    Source: BBC News, 23 September 2020
  24. Sam
    Sweeping bans on visiting at thousands of care homes risk residents dying prematurely this winter as they give up hope in the absence of loved ones, experts in elderly care have warned.
    More than 2,700 care homes in England are either already shut or will be told to do so imminently by local public health officials, according to a Guardian analysis of new government rules announced to protect the most vulnerable from COVID-19.
    Care groups are calling for the government to make limited visiting possible, including by designating selected family members as key workers.
    Since Friday any care homes in local authority areas named by Public Health England for wider anti-Covid interventions must immediately move to stop visiting, except in exceptional circumstances such as end of life. It also halts visits to windows and gardens and follows seven months of restrictions in many care homes that closed their doors to routine visits in March.
    The blanket bans will result in the “raw reality of residents going downhill fast, giving up hope and ultimately dying sooner than would otherwise be the case”, warned the charity Age UK and the National Care Forum (NCF), which represents charitable care providers.
    Read full story
    Source: The Guardian, 23 September 2020
  25. Sam
    Gruelling 12-hour shifts, exhaustion and burnout are leading growing numbers of nurses to quit the NHS within three years of joining, new research reveals.
    Stress, lack of access to food and drink while at work, and the relentless demands of caring for patients are also key factors in the exodus, the King’s Fund thinktank found.
    The NHS must make it an urgent priority to tackle the worryingly poor working conditions nurses and midwives face in many hospitals or face worsening workforce shortages, it said.
    “Staff stress, absenteeism and turnover in the professions have reached alarmingly high levels,” the thinktank said after investigating the working conditions faced by NHS nurses and midwives.
    “This has been compounded by the Covid-19 pandemic, which has laid bare and exacerbated longer-term issues including chronic excessive workload, inadequate working conditions, staff burnout and inequalities, particularly among minority ethnic groups.”
    Read full story
    Source: 23 September 2020
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