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Sam

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  1. Sam
    Health professionals should not let fears about sharing personal data “stand in the way” of reporting patients at risk of ”being groomed into terrorist activity”, new government guidance has stressed.
    New guidance has been developed in response to concerns raised by clinicians about information sharing without consent for the purposes of the anti-terror Prevent and Channel programmes.
    It stresses that “fears about sharing personal data should not be allowed to stand in the way of the need to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and adults at risk of abuse or exploitation”.
    However, despite the need for clarity it describes how the decision for making a referral without someone’s informed consent should be subject to a “case-by-case” basis assessment, which considers whether the informed consent of the individual can be obtained, and if the proposed data sharing is legitimate, necessary, proportionate and lawful.
    It said: “This assessment should be based on your professional opinion that there is tangible public interest or best interest considerations involved.”
    Read full story (paywalled)
    Source: HSJ, 29 September 2022
  2. Sam
    Children’s doctors plan to help poor families cope with the cost of living crisis and its feared impact on health, amid concern that cold homes this winter will lead to serious ill health.
    In an unusual move, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) is issuing the UK’s paediatricians with detailed advice on how they can help households in poverty.
    It has drawn up a series of resources, including advice for doctors treating children to use appointments to talk sensitively to their parents about issues that can have a big impact on their offspring’s health. These include diet, local pollution levels, socio-economic circumstances and difficulties at home or school, which are closely linked to children’s risk of being overweight, asthmatic or stressed.
    “Don’t shy away from it,” the RCPCH’s 17-page manual says. “If we aren’t asking families about things which may impact on their children’s health, we are short-changing the children themselves.”
    However, it adds that paediatricians should “pick your timing carefully [as] parents can feel alienated if we are perceived as jumping in with two feet to ask about smoking when they are stressed about an acutely unwell child with pneumonia.”
    Read full story
    Source: The Guardian, 22 September 2022
  3. Sam
    Families have blasted a NHS Trust after it said it did not intend to publish an independent review into their loved ones deaths. Three young people died in nine months at the same mental health unit.
    A Coroner was told last week that the review will be "ready" this month. Rowan Thompson, 18, died while a patient at the unit, based in the former Prestwich Hospital, Bury, in October 2020, followed by Charlie Millers, 17, in December that year, and Ania Sohail, 21, in June last year.
    Earlier this year, Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust (GMMH), which runs the hospital, commissioned an 'external report' into the deaths. A pre-inquest hearing into the death of Rowan - who used the pronoun 'they' - heard that the full report would be available for the coroner to read 'on or around September 30'.
    Asked by the Manchester Evening News if the review would be published a spokesperson for the Trust said the Trust "always act on the wishes of the family regarding publication of reports," adding "and so in line with this we have no immediate plans to make the report public."
    But the parents of both Rowan Thompson and Charlie Mllers said they wanted the report publishing. Charlie's mother, Sam, said: "We want it published. It needs to be put out there, otherwise there is no point in having it. We are hoping they (The Trust) will learn lessons. We want answers but it should also be published for the benefit of the wider public - and the parents of other young people who are being treated in that unit."
    Read full story
    Source: The Manchester News, 13 September 2022
  4. Sam
    Millions of people will be invited for their autumn Covid booster jab in England and Scotland, with care home residents the first to receive them.
    Although infections are falling, health bosses are predicting a resurgence of Covid and flu this autumn and winter.
    They are urging those eligible to protect themselves from serious illness by getting vaccines against both.
    A recently approved vaccine against the Omicron variant will be used first.
    However, there is not enough of Moderna's "bivalent" vaccine to protect everyone aged over 50 so health officials say people should take whichever booster they are offered. These will be the vaccines used in the spring.
    The UK's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) announced on Saturday that it had approved a second "bivalent" coronavirus vaccine from Pfizer/BioNTech for people aged 12 and over.
    Read full story
    Source: BBC News, 4 September 2022
  5. Sam
    Internal documents show significant evidence of bullying and discrimination within NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) which dates back at least eight years, when the organisation was led by the current chief executive of the Care Quality Commission.
    HSJ has seen a report which detailed major tensions and dysfunction at NHSBT’s Colindale site in north London in 2016, four years before another report found similar problems.
    Given the damning findings of the second report, in 2020 – which found a “toxic environment”, multiple accounts of bullying, and “systemic racism” at the same site – it raises questions around the actions taken by NHSBT’s former leaders, including current CQC boss Ian Trenholm, to address the issues raised in the 2016 report.
    The 2016 report was commissioned by the manufacturing directorate and concluded the hospital services department at the Colindale site was “dysfunctional” after a highly contentious reorganisation of some services and teams.
    It noted “a series of bullying and harassment incidents” were being reported, but which staff felt were not investigated appropriately, and claims of “discriminatory practice” by managers.
    Read full story
    Source: HSJ, 26 August 2022
  6. Sam
    Dr Ted Baker has been named as the government’s preferred candidate for chair of the Health Services Safety Investigations Body (HSSIB).
    Steve Barclay, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has today (26 August 2022) invited the Health and Social Care Committee to hold a pre-appointment scrutiny hearing with Dr Baker.
    Ted Baker was Chief Inspector of Hospitals at the Care Quality Commission between 2017 and 2022. He trained as a paediatric cardiologist. He was in clinical practice for 35 years and has held a range of clinical and academic leadership roles including medical director at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust.
    He was selected following an open public appointment process.
    Following the select committee hearing, the committee will set out its views on the candidate’s suitability for the role. The Secretary of State will then consider the committee’s report before making a final decision on the appointment.
    Read full story
    Source: HSIB, 26 August 2022
  7. Sam
    A shortage of some medicines is putting patients at risk, pharmacists have warned.
    A poll of 1,562 UK pharmacists for the Pharmaceutical Journal found more than half (54%) believed patients had been put at risk in the past six months due to shortages.
    A number of patients have been facing difficulties accessing some medicines in recent months, sometimes having to go to multiple pharmacies to find their prescription or needing to go back to their GP to be prescribed an alternative.
    Since June, the government has issued a number of "medicine supply notifications", which highlight shortages.
    Some of these include: pain relief drugs used in childbirth; mouth ulcer medication; migraine treatment; an antihistamine; a drug used by prostate cancer and endomitosis patients; an antipsychotic drug used among bipolar disorder and schizophrenia patients; a type of inhaler and a certain brand of insulin.
    Read full story
    Source Sky News, 11August 2022
  8. Sam
    Last month saw the highest number of ambulance callouts for life-threatening conditions since records began, NHS England officials say.
    There were more than 85,000 category one calls, for situations like cardiac arrests and people stopping breathing.
    The heatwave could have been one reason for increased demand, but experts say hospitals already face immense pressures.
    Nearly 30,000 patients waited more than 12 hours to be admitted to hospital.
    The number is up 33% on the previous month and the highest since records began in 2010.
    Richard Murray, chief executive of The King's Fund said the pressure on hospitals was also being felt right across the health and social care system.
    He added: "At the end of July, 13,014 people were still in hospital beds despite being medically fit to be discharged, often due to a lack of available social care support. The challenges affecting the NHS cannot be solved without addressing the issues in social care."
    Read full story
    Source BBC News, 12 August 2022
  9. Sam
    Criminals have issued ‘demands’ to an NHS IT supplier targeted by a cyber attack, leading health chiefs to fear they have accessed confidential patient data, HSJ has learned. 
    IT firm Advanced was targeted last week. The company provides electronic patient records to several trusts and most NHS 111 providers.
    Multiple government agencies – including the National Crime Agency and GCHQ – are now working to identify the extent of the damage caused by the attackers, while leaders of affected mental health trusts have warned of a “pretty desperate” situation as staff are unable to access vital patient records. 
    In a statement issued last night, Advanced said: “With respect to potentially impacted data, our investigation is under way, and when we have more information about potential data access or exfiltration, we will update customers as appropriate.”
    Read full story (paywalled)
    Source HSJ, 11 August 2022
  10. Sam
    NHS England has revealed plans to crack down on poor care being provided by mental health service providers. 
    There will be a particular focus on independent units treating NHS patients, as just over a quarter of these providers are failing to meet quality standards. 
    Official data shared with HSJ shows that of the 238 independent NHS mental health providers licensed by the Care Quality Commission in England, 174 (73 per cent) are classed as “good” or “outstanding”. The remaining 64 (27 per cent) either “require improvement” or are considered “inadequate”. 
    There have been been national concerns about repeated service failures within the sector. Independent units are often used by NHS trusts for out of area placements – a practice it is trying to end – or to cope with the lack of acute mental health beds.
    Read full story (paywalled)
    Source: HSJ, 11 August 2022
  11. Sam
    NHS England patients with Type 1 diabetes will now be eligible for life-changing continuous glucose monitors after the health service secured a new cut-price deal.
    The wearable arm gadget sends information to a mobile app and allows diabetes patients to keep track of their glucose levels at all times without having to scan or take a finger prick test.
    Traditionally, continuous glucose monitors are more expensive than their flash monitor counterparts – which record glucose levels by scanning a sensor – but thanks to the NHS agreeing on a new cost-effective deal with manufacturers DEXCOM, they will now be available for NHS patients on prescription at a similar price.
    The monitor, called Dexcom ONE Real Time-Continuous Glucose Monitoring, uses a sensor no bigger than a bottle cap that attaches to the arm for up to 10 days and measures glucose levels from just under the skin.
    Patients will receive their starter pack – which will include information on the product and usage, a sensor and transmitter – from the hospital or GP surgery once prescribed, after which they can go to the pharmacy for their repeat prescription.
    Dr Partha Kar, national speciality advisor for diabetes and obesity said: “This is a huge step forward for Type 1 diabetes care and these monitors will be life-changing for anyone with the illness – giving them more choice to manage their condition in the most convenient way possible – as well as the best chance at living healthier lives, reducing their risk of hospitalisation and illnesses associated with diabetes, which in turn reduces pressure on wider NHS services.
    “The new deal also delivers on our commitment to get patients the latest cutting-edge medical technology at the best value for taxpayer money – saving the NHS millions over the coming years”.
    Read full story
    Source: NHS England, 2 August 2022
    You may also be interested in:
    “I felt lucky to get out alive”: why we must improve hospital safety for people with diabetes Peer support makes a big difference to living with type 1 diabetes Improving safety for diabetic inpatients: 4 key steps - Interview with Dr Partha Kar
  12. Sam
    The monkeypox outbreak has been declared a global health emergency by the World Health Organization.
    According to the UK Health Security Agency, early symptoms of monkeypox include fever, headache, muscle aches, swollen lymph nodes and chills, as well as other features such as exhaustion.
    Monkeypox does not spread easily between humans, and requires close contact. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it is thought that human-to-human transmission primarily occurs through large respiratory droplets.
    Globally, there have so far been 16,016 monkeypox cases – 4,132 of which were in the past week, according to WHO data. It is now in 75 countries and territories and there have been five deaths.
    The European region has the highest number of total cases, at 11,865, and the highest increase in the past seven days, with 2,705.
    The west African strain of monkeypox is generally a mild infection for most people, but it is important those infected and their contacts are identified. The virus is more of a concern among vulnerable people such as those with weakened immune systems or who are pregnant.
    Read full story
    Source: The Guardian, 23 July 2022
  13. Sam
    A pilot scheme to reduce infections following catheter insertions has shown a 100% fall within a hospital trust.
    NHS Supply Chain is now encouraging acute trusts in England to take advantage of the scheme which has shown to not only reduce infection rates but shorten patient length of stay and save clinicians’ time.
    Catheter associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) are not uncommon and can cause patients significant pain, discomfort, confusion and anxiety for family and friends. They further impact healthcare with increased antibiotic use, prolonged hospital stays, increased clinical activity and risk of complaints and litigation. 
    University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust had audited its urethral catheterisation practice, and the way catheterised patients w19 July ere cared for in clinical areas. The audit highlighted a wide variation in care delivery leading to inconsistent outcomes for patients and staff.
    After reviewing the available options, the University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust decided to pilot the BARD® Tray which contains all the essential items to catheterise or re-catheterise a patient in one pack and includes the catheter with a pre-connected urine drainage bag. This unique ‘closed system’ prevents ingress of bacteria and helps avoid catheter related infection. 
    NHS Supply Chain: Rehabilitation, Disabled Services, Women’s Health and Associated Consumables worked alongside supplier Beckton Dickinson to provide the tray products required by the trust.
    During the three-month pilot, catheter related infection rates fell by 100% at the trust which coincided with a reduction in complaints and a reduced length of hospital stay for patients. Clinicians reported that the pack was intuitive and saved around five minutes per catheterisation, which during the pilot process meant saving 83 hours from 1,000 catheterisation procedures.
    While the BARD® Tray was more expensive than the individual components that were currently purchased, the pilot study demonstrated the clinical and financial value that was delivered by the tray being implemented across an organisation. The overall cost of components is slightly cheaper, but due to reduced catheterisations, consumables spend fell by 24%.
    Read full story
    Source: NHS Supply Chain, 19 July 2022
  14. Sam
    A quarter of Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) non-executive directors of NHS trusts have seen or experienced discrimination in the course of their work, a report reveals.
    While almost four out of five (79%) of these BAME non-executives said they challenged such behaviour when they encountered it, only half (50%) said that led to a change of policy or behaviour.
    The other half felt they had been ‘fobbed off’ or subjected to actively hostile behaviour for having spoken up,” says a report commissioned by the Seacole Group, which represents most of the BAME non-executive board members of NHS trusts in England.
    It adds: “This level of discrimination is unacceptable anywhere and even more so in the boardrooms of NHS organisations. Too many Black, Asian and other ethnic NEDs (non-executive directors) are being subjected to it and left to deal with it on their own.”
    Read full story
    Source: The Guardian, 21 July 2022
  15. Sam
    Hormone replacement therapy is to be offered over the counter for the first time in the UK after the medicines watchdog gave the green light.
    Millions of women go through the menopause every year, with the majority experiencing some symptoms that can be severe and have a negative impact on everyday life.
    In a landmark move hailed as a “huge step forward” for women’s health, the first type of HRT to become available at pharmacies without a prescription will be Gina 10 microgram vaginal tablets (containing estradiol).
    The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said the vaginal tablets would be available for post-menopausal women from September after a safety review.
    Maria Caulfield, the minister for women’s health, said: “Menopause affects hundreds of thousands of women every year, but for some its symptoms can be debilitating and for many they can be misunderstood or ignored.
    “Making Gina available over the counter is a huge step forward in enabling women to access HRT as easily as possible, ensuring they can continue living their life as they navigate the menopause.”
    Read full story
    Source: The Guardian, 20 July 2022
     
     
  16. Sam
    Roy Cairns, 58, was diagnosed with liver cancer in 2019. Twelve months later a tumour was found on his lung.
    Mr Cairns said taking part in the cancer prehab programme piloted by the Northern Ireland's South Eastern Health Trust after his second diagnosis was a "win-win", not only for himself but also his surgeons.
    "I think when you get that diagnosis you are left floundering and with prehab the support you get gives you focus and a little bit of control back in your life," he said.
    Prehabilitation (prehab) means getting ready for cancer treatment in whatever time you have before it starts.
    Mr Cairns is one of 175 patients referred to the programme which involves the Belfast City Council and Macmillan Cancer Support.
    Dr Cherith Semple said the point of the programme is to " improve people's physical well-being as much as possible before treatment and to offer emotional support at a time that can be traumatic".
    Dr Semple, who is a leader in clinical cancer nursing, said this new approach to getting patients fit prior to their surgery was proving a success, both in the short and long-term.
    She said: "We know that it can reduce a patient's hospital stay post-surgery and it can reduce your return to hospital with complications directly afterwards."
    Read full story
    Source: BBC News, 20 July 2022
  17. Sam
    In an ongoing effort to improve care and support for elderly women and women’s health satisfaction and outcomes in general, the government have published their report summarising written responses from 436 organisations and experts from the Women’s Health Strategy call for evidence.
    The organisations that contributed to the report included participants from the charity sector, academia, professional bodies, clinicians, royal colleges and other general experts in women’s health.
    The topics highlighted in the report include:
    Menstrual health and gynaecological conditions, including the impact of premenstrual syndrome on someone’s quality of life. Fertility, pregnancy, pregnancy loss and maternal health, including women not feeling listened to during and after pregnancy and the provision of bereavement support services. Menopause, including suggestions for improvements in training and guidelines for healthcare professionals. Gynaecological and other cancers, including barriers to accessing high-quality, up to date information on risk factors for female cancers. Mental health, including its interaction with other health conditions across women’s life course. Healthy ageing, including the need to increase focus on the health needs of older women and emphasise women may experience the same conditions as men in different ways. Violence against women and girls, including the complications associated with hymenoplasty and barriers to accessing healthcare support for those who’ve been subject to years of violence and abuse. Minister for Women’s Health Maria Caulfield said: “For generations, women have lived in a healthcare system primarily designed by men, for men. We are committed to tackling the gender health gap, and the publication of our strategy later this year will mark a significant step forward.”
    She added: “I want to thank the expert individuals and organisations who took the time to respond to our call for evidence. The insights you have provided have been stark and sobering but will be pivotal to ensuring our strategy represents the first-hand experiences of the health care system.”
    Read full story
    Source: NHE, 13 April 2022
  18. Sam
    Contractors could be required to provide trusts with the findings of criminal records checks on their employees, an update from Michael inquiry into mortuary security has suggested.
    The independent inquiry, chaired by Sir Jonathan Michael, was set up to examine the implications of the sexual assaults on the bodies of women and children in hospital mortuaries by maintenance supervisor and convicted murderer David Fuller.
    A progress report published this month by the inquiry highlighted “responsibilities between trusts and contractors” as an area of concern.
    The report said expectations around information sharing should be made clear in policy and, if sharing is deemed necessary, consideration should be given to what checks and evidence is needed to show this is taking place.
    HSJ understands that Mr Fuller did not declare previous convictions for burglary when he was first employed at the Kent and Sussex Hospital in Tunbridge Wells in 1989.
    Other issues flagged to NHS England by the inquiry included how access to “high-risk areas” is monitored and who requires access to these areas. It added that consideration should be given to monitoring access, involving a review of CCTV and swipe card use.
    Read full story (paywalled)
    Source: HSJ, 20 May 2022
  19. Sam
    Cases of monkeypox are being investigated in European countries, including the UK as well as the US, Canada and Australia.
    Monkeypox is caused by the monkeypox virus, a member of the same family of viruses as smallpox, although it is much less severe and experts say chances of infection are low.
    It occurs mostly in remote parts of central and west African countries, near tropical rainforests.
    There are two main strains of virus - west African and central African.
    Two of the infected patients in the UK travelled from Nigeria, so it is likely that they are suffering from the West African strain of the virus, which is generally mild, but this is as yet unconfirmed.
    Another case was a healthcare worker who picked up the virus from one of the patients.
    More recent cases do not have any known links with each other, or any history of travel. It appears they caught it in the UK from spread in the community.
    The UKHSA says anyone with concerns that they could be infected should see a health professional, but make contact with the clinic or surgery ahead of a visit.
    Initial symptoms include fever, headaches, swellings, back pain, aching muscles and a general listlessness.
    Once the fever breaks a rash can develop, often beginning on the face, then spreading to other parts of the body, most commonly the palms of the hands and soles of the feet.
    The infection usually clears up on its own and lasts between 14 and 21 days.
    Experts say we are not on the brink of a national outbreak and, according to Public Health England, the risk to the public is low.
    Prof Jonathan Ball, professor of molecular virology, University of Nottingham, said: "The fact that only one of the 50 contacts of the initial monkeypox-infected patient has been infected shows how poorly infectious the virus is.
    "It is wrong to think that we are on the brink of a nationwide outbreak."
    Read full story
    Source: BBC News, 20 May 2022
  20. Sam
    New figures leaked to HSJ show the true volume of 12-hour waiters in emergency departments is more than four times higher than official statistics suggest.
    Internal NHS England figures for February and March show around one in five admissions through ED waited more than 12 hours from arriving until being admitted to a ward – equating to around 158,000 cases.
    The official stats published by NHSE record a slightly different, and shorter, time period, from ‘decision to admit’ to admission. There were around 39,000 of these cases in the same two months, which equates to 4 per cent of admissions through ED, and 5.4 per cent of total emergency admissions.
    The Royal College of Emergency Medicine has long called for the official stats to reflect the total time spent from arrival in ED (as per the internal data), and for trusts to be measured and regulated on this.
    Senior medics have for some time been warning about the patient safety risks of long waiting in EDs and have appealed to NHS England and the government for plans to tackle the crisis.
    Adrian Boyle, vice president of RCEM, said: “This data show the scale of long waiting times in emergency departments and the scale of the patient safety crisis. Performance continues to deteriorate across multiple metrics meaning we are documenting a failing urgent and emergency care system without any system transformation or improvement."
    Read full story (paywalled)
    Source: HSJ, 13 May 2022
  21. Sam
    More than half of people hospitalised with Covid-19 still have at least one symptom two years after they were first infected, according to the longest follow-up study of its kind.
    While physical and mental health generally improve over time, the analysis suggests that coronavirus patients discharged from hospital still tend to experience poorer health and quality of life than the general population. The research was published in the Lancet Respiratory Medicine.
    “Our findings indicate that for a certain proportion of hospitalised Covid-19 survivors, while they may have cleared the initial infection, more than two years is needed to recover fully,” said the lead author, Prof Bin Cao, of the China-Japan Friendship hospital in China.
    Until now, the long-term health effects of Covid-19 have remained largely unknown, as the longest follow-up studies to date have spanned about a year. The absence of pre-Covid-19 health status data and comparisons with the general population in most studies also made it difficult to determine how well patients with Covid-19 have recovered.
    “Ongoing follow-up of Covid-19 survivors, particularly those with symptoms of long Covid, is essential to understand the longer course of the illness, as is further exploration of the benefits of rehabilitation programmes for recovery,” said Cao. “There is a clear need to provide continued support to a significant proportion of people who’ve had Covid-19, and to understand how vaccines, emerging treatments and variants affect long-term health outcomes.”
    Read full story
    Source: The Guardian, 11 May 2022
  22. Sam
    Women and babies in the UK are “dying needlessly” because of a lack of suitable medicines to use in pregnancy, according to a report that calls for a radical overhaul of maternal health.
    A “profound” shortage of research and the widespread exclusion of pregnant and breastfeeding women from clinical trials means hardly any new drugs are approved for common medical problems in pregnancy or soon after childbirth, the report finds.
    Meanwhile, scarce or contradictory information about the safety of existing medicines women may be taking for continuing conditions can make it impossible to reach a confident decision on whether or not to continue them in pregnancy, the experts add.
    “While pregnancy in the UK is generally considered safe, women and babies are still dying needlessly as a direct result of preventable pregnancy complications,” the authors say. Each year, 5,000 babies in the UK are either stillborn or die shortly after birth, while about 70 women die of complications in pregnancy.
    The Healthy Mum, Healthy Baby, Healthy Future report draws on evidence from patient groups, clinicians, researchers, lawyers, insurance specialists and the pharmaceutical industry, it proposes “urgent” changes to transform women’s access to modern medicine.
    The report highlights the “profound lack of research activity” and up-to-date information that leaves pregnant women and their physicians in the dark about whether to continue with certain medicines in pregnancy. Some epilepsy drugs, for example, can increase the risk of birth defects, but coming off them can put the woman at risk of severe seizures, which can also harm the baby.
    Lady Manningham-Buller said the situation “urgently needs to change”, with the report setting out eight recommendations to prevent needless deaths.
    Read full story
    Source: The Guardian, 12 May 2022
     
  23. Sam
    An NHS boss who had a stroke was taken to A&E by her husband rather than calling for an ambulance because of concerns over long waits.
    In a series of tweets, Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Trust chief executive Deborah Lee praised his swift actions.
    She said he had "bundled her into his car", last week, after she had showed the signs of a stroke because he had heard her "lamenting ambulance delays".
    She is recovering but says it may have been different if they had called 999.
    Waits for an ambulance in England are the longest since new targets were introduced, in 2017.
    And Ms Lee's regional service - the South West - has the longest waits in the country, with category-two calls, which include strokes, taking nearly two hours, on average, to reach patients in March.
    The target is 18 minutes.
    In the tweets, Ms Lee said: "Naturally, I am eternally grateful to my husband for his swift actions… but I can't get one thing out of my head.
    "What if my husband hadn't been there and my daughter had called for an ambulance and I'd been put in the cat[egory]-two stack?"
    She went on to say it was not the fault of the ambulance service and the whole system was "working unrelentingly to this but to no great avail".
    Ms Lee said hospitals were struggling to discharge patients, because of a lack of social care, and so delays were building up in the rest of the system.
    Read full story
    Source: BBC News, 28 April 2022
  24. Sam
    Pregnancy-related deaths among US mothers climbed higher in the pandemic’s first year, continuing a decades-long trend that disproportionately affects Black people, according to a new government report.
    Overall in 2020, there were almost 24 deaths per 100,000 births, or 861 deaths total, numbers that reflect mothers dying during pregnancy, childbirth or the year after. The rate was 20 per 100,000 in 2019.
    Among Black people, there were 55 maternal deaths per 100,000 births, almost triple the rate for white people.
    The report from the National Center for Health Statistics does not include reasons for the trend and researchers said they have not fully examined how Covid-19, which increases risks for severe illness in pregnancy, might have contributed.
    The coronavirus could have had an indirect effect. Many people put off medical care early in the pandemic for fear of catching the virus, and virus surges strained the healthcare system, which could have had an impact on pregnancy-related deaths, said Eugene Declercq, a professor and maternal death researcher at Boston University School of Public Health.
    He called the high rates “terrible news” and noted that the US has continually fared worse in maternal mortality than many other developed countries.
    Reasons for those disparities are not included in the data, but experts have blamed many factors including differences in rates of underlying health conditions, poor access to quality healthcare and structural racism.
    Read full story
    Source: The Guardian, 23 February 2022
  25. Sam
    Hundreds of people identified as contacts following a tuberculosis (TB) outbreak in a Carmarthenshire village are yet to attend a screening, health officials have said.
    Public Health Wales (PHW) said 31 cases of active TB had been identified since the 2010 outbreak in Llwynhendy.
    PHW urged the 485 people who have been identified as contacts, but not attended a screening, to act.
    More than 2,600 people have attended screenings since June 2019.
    TB is a bacterial infection, spread through inhaling tiny droplets from the coughs or sneezes of an infected person. It is a serious condition, but can be cured with proper treatment.
    PHW said since 2010, 303 people - or more than one in 10 of those who had been screened - had been diagnosed with latent TB, which is not infectious and does not affect a person's quality of life, but may develop into active TB at a later date.
    Dr Brendan Mason, from Public Health Wales, said: "We understand that during the coronavirus pandemic people may have been reluctant to go to a hospital to have their screening done, but I can assure them that there are safety measures in place in order to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
    "Now is the time to get tested.
    "It is really important that we screen all the contacts identified and make sure that anyone diagnosed with latent or active TB gets the monitoring or treatment that they need to prevent any further spread."
    Read full story
    Source: 24 February 2022
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