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Sam

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Everything posted by Sam

  1. News Article
    Thousands of people in a mental health crisis are enduring waits of up to three days in A&E before they get a bed, with conditions “close to torture” for those in such a distressed state. At one hospital, some patients have become so upset at the delays in being admitted that they have left and tried to kill themselves nearby, leading nurses and the fire brigade to follow in an attempt to stop them. A&E staff are so busy dealing with patients seeking help with physical health emergencies that security guards rather than nurses sometimes end up looking after mental health patients. The findings are included in research by the Royal College of Nursing. Its leader, Prof Nicola Ranger, called the long waits facing those in serious mental ill health, and the difficulties faced by A&E staff seeking to care for them, “a scandal in plain sight”. The RCN’s research into “prolonged and degrading” long stays in A&E also disclosed that: Some trusts that previously had no long waits for mental health patients now have hundreds. The number of people seeking help at A&E for mental health emergencies is rising steadily and reached 216,182 last year. The recruitment of mental health nurses has lagged far behind the rise in demand. The number of beds in mental health units has fallen by 3,699 since 2014. Rachelle McCarthy, a senior charge nurse at Nottingham university hospitals NHS trust, said: “It is not uncommon for patients with severe mental ill health to wait three days. Many become distressed and I totally understand why. I think if I was sat in an A&E department for three days waiting for a bed I would be distressed too.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 13 May 2025
  2. News Article
    Vulnerable patients at a struggling A&E died or needed intensive care after their needs “were not met” while being cared for in corridors and waiting areas, inspectors have warned after an unannounced inspection. The Care Quality Commission has raised concerns about how some of the “most vulnerable patients” were being treated in temporary escalation spaces at the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro, according to a document published in board papers this month. NHSE has said systems should “consider reporting the number of patients” in temporary escalation spaces, which include corridors or makeshift wards. Its guidance followed the broadcast of a Channel 4 documentary that included scenes of patients being neglected in corridors in the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital. Published CQC reports have since raised concerns about corridor care, but senior figures told HSJ the findings at the Royal Cornwall were among the most severe of this kind. The inspectors said one 96-year-old woman in a temporary escalation space died following a fall and staff “were unaware of the risk of falls due to lack of verbal handover”. Another patient “with a history of delirium” suffered a fractured collarbone from a fall in the same area of the hospital. In another case, an incontinent patient was transferred to a “fit to sit” area but by the end of the day “had deteriorated and was in intensive care”. The CQC’s letter said: “We were concerned the most vulnerable patients were not having their needs met when cared for in a temporary escalation space. “We weren’t assured that every ward is accounting for additional patients in the temporary escalation areas in terms of staffing numbers and skill mix.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 13 May 2025 Further reading on the hub: Corridor care: are the health and safety risks being addressed? The crisis of corridor care in the NHS: patient safety concerns and incident reporting A nurse's response to the NHSE guidance on their principles for providing safe and good quality care in temporary escalation spaces
  3. News Article
    A Northern Ireland nurse failed to properly manage a dying patient's pain on the last night of her life, a tribunal has heard. Veteran staff nurse Bernard McGrail has been issued with a four-month suspension order over his failings in dealing with an end-of-life care resident while on a night shift at a Spa Nursing Homes Group facility in July, 2021. A Nursing and Midwifery Council fitness to practice panel said Mr McGrail's misconduct had caused "emotional distress" to the family of the woman, identified as Resident A. It added: "There was a real risk of harm to Resident A through the inadequate management of their pain on their last evening." A remorseful and apologetic Mr McGrail admitted a series of allegations including: a failure to appropriately manage Resident A’s pain; failure to investigate whether Resident A’s syringe driver was working correctly and a failure to escalate that the alarm on Resident A’s syringe driver sounded repeatedly. Mr McGrail also admitted that without clinical justification, he administered a 5mg doses of Apixiban to Resident B on three dates on October 2020. And on occasions between April 2020 and May 2022 failed to administer and/or record the administration of named medications to six other residents. Read full story (paywalled) Source: Belfast Telegraph, 12 May 2025
  4. News Article
    A former health ombudsman has condemned mental health services for their handling of two vulnerable young men who died in their care. Sir Rob Behrens, who was parliamentary and health service ombudsman (PHSO) from 2017 to 2024, spoke at the Lampard Inquiry, which is examining the deaths of more than 2,000 people under mental health services in Essex over a 24-year period. Sir Rob said it was "a disgrace" how Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (EPUT) had failed in its care of 20-year-old Matthew Leahy, who died in 2012, and a 20-year-old man referred to as Mr R, who died in 2008. "This was the National Health Service at its worst and needed calling out," Sir Rob said. Sir Rob referred in his inquiry appearance to several reports made during his tenure, including "Missed Opportunities", which looked into the circumstances surrounding the deaths of Mr Leahy and Mr R. Mr Leahy was found unresponsive at the Linden Centre in Chelmsford. He reported being raped there just days before he died. Sir Rob told the inquiry the PHSO identified "19 instances of maladministration" in Mr Leahy's case by North Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust - a predecessor to EPUT - including that his care plan was falsified. The former ombudsman said there had been "a near-complete failure of the leadership of this trust, certainly before it was merged" with South Essex Partnership Trust to become EPUT. "This was an indictment of the health service," he added. Read full story Source: BBC News, 6 May 2025
  5. Content Article
    Professor Frank Smith's presentation to the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh on confidential reporting and surgical safety.
  6. News Article
    A groundbreaking artificial intelligence (AI) model is being trained using NHS data from 57 million people in England in the hope it could predict disease and complications before they occur. The world-first study, spearheaded by researchers at University College London (UCL) and King’s College London (KCL), has the potential to “unlock a healthcare revolution”, officials said. The AI, known as Foresight, uses technology similar to that of ChatGPT, however, instead of predicting text, Foresight analyses a patient's medical history to forecast potential future health issues. As part of the pilot, it will be trained using eight routinely collected datasets, including hospital admissions, A&E attendances and Covid-19 vaccination rates, which have been stripped of personal information. “Foresight is a really exciting step towards being able to predict disease and complications before they happen, giving us a window to intervene and enabling a shift towards more preventative healthcare at scale,” Dr Chris Tomlinson of UCL said. Read full story Source: The Independent, 7 May 2025
  7. News Article
    A government crackdown on visas for overseas workers could put overstretched care homes under threat of closure, with tens of thousands fewer staff coming to the UK, The Independent can reveal. Applications for Britain’s health and care worker visa are at a record low after care workers were prevented from bringing children and other dependants with them in a bid to curb climbing migration numbers. Between April 2023 to March 2024, when the new rules came in, there were 129,000 applicants, but that plummeted to just 26,000 in the year to March 2025, according to government figures. The revelation comes as care homes struggle to retain staff, with more than 100,000 vacancies across England last year - a rate of 8 per cent and three times the national average. Age UK warned that overseas recruits were “keeping many services afloat” and some care homes could be forced to shut if they could not find alternatives, piling more pressure on NHS hospitals. Read full story Source: The Independent, 6 May 2025
  8. News Article
    NHS-funded access to private autism and ADHD services is “unsustainable” and “up to three times more expensive than our local provision”, according to an integrated care board’s review. Northamptonshire ICB found the use of independent providers under “right to choose” rules for diagnosis and treatment of autism and ADHD was expected to cost it £3m in 2024-25, according to the document obtained by HSJ. This represents an additional 66% on top of its £4.5m budget for its commissioned autism and ADHD services. Extremely long waits, rocketing demand, and a growing market nationally have seen a big rise in people exercising choice rules, which require commissioners to pay for treatment if a provider has a contract with at least one other ICB. In its review of community paediatric services, the ICB said its spending growth on the independent sector is “unsustainable” as “costs are up to three times more expensive than our local provision”. NHS funding of the same services is effectively capped as they are on “block” contracts. The review was completed in December and recently released after a Freedom of Information request. Government has deprioritised tackling long waits for these services, but NHS England last year launched a national taskforce on the issue. The ICB’s review warned any “national solution will almost certainly involve greater use of the independent provider market”, which it said was less cost-effective than its commissioned services. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 6 May 2025
  9. Event
    Don't miss this insightful conversation with C-level executives Leah Binder, President and CEO of the Leapfrog Group and Devin Jopp, President and CEO of APIC. In this leadership conversation, they'll share their perspectives on how the new presidential administration presents both opportunities and challenges to advancing patient safety and infection prevention. Register
  10. Event
    This webinar will have an emphasis on the role of local Healthwatch organisations and it will provide practical guidance on how Healthwatch can safeguard patient data, adhere to regulations, and ensure trust in healthcare services. It will be looking at: Importance of cybersecurity and data protection Role of local Healthwatch in data and cyber protection Cybersecurity threats in healthcare Best practices for data security Legal framework for data protection Collaboration with healthcare providers Who can attend? This joint event with Healthwatch England is designed for adult health and social care providers in England and are aimed at people who make decisions about the use of technology in care services. For Healthwatch staff who support this sector. This might also include: Owners Registered Managers Nurses Senior Care Staff Domiciliary Care Administrators IT Professionals Quality & Compliance Leads Register
  11. Content Article
    The Hand Hygiene Self-Assessment Framework is a systematic tool with which to obtain a situation analysis of hand hygiene promotion and practices within an individual healthcare facility. While providing an opportunity to reflect on existing resources and achievements, the Hand Hygiene Self-Assessment Framework also helps to focus on future plans and challenges. In particular, it acts as a diagnostic tool, identifying key issues requiring attention and improvement. The results can be used to facilitate development of an action plan for the facility’s hand hygiene promotion programme. Repeated use of the Hand Hygiene Self-Assessment Framework will also allow documentation of progress with time. Overall, this tool should be a catalyst for implementing and sustaining a comprehensive hand hygiene programme within a healthcare facility.
  12. Event
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    Join the Patients Association for a candid conversation with Sir Julian Hartley, Chief Executive of the Care Quality Commission (CQC), as he shares his vision for rebuilding a trusted approach to regulation. Sir Julian will reflect on the challenges ahead and the opportunity for change and to restore confidence. Hosted by Rachel Power, Chief Executive of the Patients Association, this webinar offers a unique chance to hear directly from Sir Julian about his approach to leadership, transparency, and driving improvement. It takes place ahead of our Patient Partnership Week (30th June - 4th July 2025), a week dedicated to highlighting the importance of shared decision-making and championing patient power and agency. Whether you're a healthcare provider, patient advocate, policymaker or someone who uses care services, book your free place. Register
  13. News Article
    The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is a federal agency in the United States that administers major healthcare programmes, including Medicare, Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and the Health Insurance Marketplace. CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz has set out his vision for the agency, including a commitment to President Trump’s “Make America Healthy Again” agenda and modernisng Medicare, Medicaid and the ACA marketplace. As a first step, CMS will implement President Trump’s executive order from February aimed at boosting healthcare price transparency. The order directs the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Labor and Treasury departments to “rapidly implement and enforce” healthcare price transparency enforcement regulations that the president introduced during his first term. It will work to streamline access to life-saving treatments by “equipping providers with better patient information versus unnecessary paperwork.” The agency did not elaborate further on how it would streamline care access. Identifying and eliminating fraud, waste and abuse is a top priority for the agency. During his confirmation hearing process, Dr Oz promised scrutiny of the Medicare Advantage program amid allegations of widespread fraud, and expressed concerns about MA sales and brokers encouraging seniors to switch to MA policies for financial gain. CMS will focus on prevention, wellness and chronic disease management. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has identified chronic disease as a key priority under his leadership. He has criticised the influence of the pharmaceutical and food industries, linking issues like obesity and diabetes to ultra-processed foods, federal subsidies and dietary guidelines. He has called for reforms targeting food additives, pesticides and environmental health risks, alongside overhauls of agencies like the CDC and FDA. Read full story Source: Becker's Hospital Review, 10 April 2025
  14. News Article
    A growing number of healthcare workers and patients are demanding immediate legislative action to address rising workplace violence in hospitals, a survey by Black Book Research has found. The survey, which included responses from 240 individuals — emergency department physicians, nurses, hospital-based staff and 200 healthcare consumers — reveals widespread concern over increasing aggression toward medical professionals and overwhelming support for federal intervention. Key findings show that 98% of hospital staff and 93% of healthcare consumers support federal legislation mandating workplace violence prevention measures. All staff respondents said they had experienced or witnessed violence at work, with many expressing dissatisfaction with current safety protocols. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, an average of 57 healthcare workers are injured daily due to workplace violence, resulting in lost workdays, job reassignment or medical care. Incidents range from verbal threats and physical assaults to chronic aggression, particularly in emergency departments and behavioral health units. “Technology is now a cornerstone of prevention strategies in hospital safety plans,” Doug Brown, founder of Black Book Research, said in the report. “Healthcare IT vendors play a vital role in safeguarding hospital staff by embedding safety-focused features into the software and services used every day.” Read full story Source: Becker's Health IT, 14 April 2025
  15. News Article
    Thousands of miles from a manufacturing plant in China, where the key active ingredient in heparin is sourced, Wanda Crowell receives a daily infusion of the drug in her bed at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Doctors give Crowell the inexpensive, essential anticoagulant every day, to prevent life-threatening blood clots from forming in her central line, a plastic tube inserted in her chest that delivers the nutrients she needs to live. A two-time cancer survivor, the 66-year-old has not been able to eat solid food since 2021. She also needs heparin to treat a history of blood clots. For Crowell, there is no suitable alternative. While other patients may have options, she cannot take oral medications. “If Wanda’s line is clotted off and we can’t get another line in, she would not get her nutrition,” said Peggy Kraus, a pharmacist on Crowell’s care team. “The drug is essential for her survival.” The main focus of President Donald Trump’s on-again, off-again tariff campaign has been high-profile industries such as steel, automobiles and consumer electronics. But on Tuesday, Trump warned that another target will soon be the wide variety of medications whose active pharmaceutical ingredients are largely made in China and India. No one knows how big a tariff is coming or what its effect on generic drugs like heparin may be. But along the supply chain that ends at Crowell’s bedside, many are worried. Health experts warn that the impact could be felt quickly. Tariffs could disrupt pharmaceutical supply chains, drive up costs for generic drugs and place additional strain on an already burdened healthcare system. Read full story Source: Washington Post, 13 April 2025
  16. Event
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    Join HSSIB to discuss their series of patient safety investigations looking at mental health inpatient care, directed by the Secretary of State for Health. You'll find out what HSSIB's mental health investigations and recommendations mean to different people, including patients, health and care staff, commissioners and charities. Register
  17. News Article
    Wes Streeting has rejected the notion of merging the delivery or funding of social care with the NHS, arguing it is better “delivered and commissioned through local government”. Speaking at the Commons health and social care committee today on the reorganisation of NHS England, the health and social care secretary was definitive that health and adult social care are best as “distinct services”. Wes Streeting told MPs: “I am now even more strongly of the view as secretary of state for health and social care that social care has different roles and responsibilities than the NHS… “[Social care is] not all about treating or preventing ill health. It’s about promoting dignity, independence, quality of life, and a range of caring functions, which I think not only are not delivered by the NHS today, but are better delivered and commissioned through local government than they would be through the NHS.” His comments come despite an ongoing government commission on social care policy by Baroness Louise Casey, reporting to the prime minister, and the hopes of some in the Labour Party for its proposed “National Care Service” to result in a “free at the point of delivery” service combined with the NHS. Combining funding pots, accountability, and delivery across the two has also been a long-standing recommendation of experts and integration projects. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 8 April 2025
  18. News Article
    Postnatal mental health services are closing across the country due to a lack of funding despite record numbers of women seeking help, The Independent can reveal. One in five of the 600,000 women a year who give birth in the UK experience a mental health condition, NHS figures show – and a quarter have a negative birth experience. Mental health conditions are the leading cause of maternal death between six weeks and a year after birth – accounting for one in three deaths, according to the Oxford University-led group MBBRACE-UK, which records all maternal and baby deaths in the UK. Postnatal suicide rates rose by more than 50 per cent during the pandemic and have remained high ever since. Between 2017 and 2019, the rate of suicide was 0.46 for every 100,000 mothers who gave birth in that period, but between 2021 and 2023 - the latest figures available - the rate was 0.70 per 100,000 mothers. But in January, the Government announced it was scrapping funding for the nationwide rollout of Women’s Health Hubs, which aimed to improve access to services such as perinatal mental health support. “This is a completely neglected mental health crisis, on an extremely large scale,” Danny Chambers MP, the Lib Dem spokesperson on mental health, warned Parliament in February. "And now several charities which plug the gaps in NHS support, by helping parents unable to access NHS help or who are stuck on waiting lists, have been forced to close or suspend services because of funding cuts." Read full story Source: The Independent, 8 April 2025
  19. News Article
    The abrupt withdrawal of Dr David Weldon’s nomination to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) highlights the ongoing political and financial entanglements that shape public health policy. Weldon, a former congressman and internist, was informed just twelve hours before his scheduled Senate confirmation hearing on 13 March that his nomination was being pulled due to insufficient support. The decision, reportedly made by the White House after realising they lacked the votes, raises critical questions about the rigidity of political gatekeeping in public health leadership. Weldon’s nomination was doomed by concerns over his past inquiries into vaccine safety. As he explained in his statement, he was repeatedly accused of being ‘anti-vax,’ despite never claiming that vaccines cause autism. In today’s political climate, however, even a small, measured scepticism about certain vaccines is enough to disqualify someone from holding public office. The issue of whether vaccines cause autism is considered settled by the medical establishment. As Senator Bill Cassidy stated during Jay Bhattacharya’s confirmation hearing, conducting further studies on the matter would be “wasting” resources on research that already confirms what we know. While this argument has some merit (since research funding is finite and often squandered), Bhattacharya countered with a crucial point: vaccines are a public health intervention, and the public must have confidence in them. If people do not trust the data, then the government has a responsibility to present more evidence to convince them. Refusing to engage in further study only fuels scepticism and deepens public distrust. Read full story Source: Maryanne Demasi, 14 March 2025
  20. News Article
    The family of a man who died in hospital only discovered after his death that a Do Not Attempt Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (DNACPR) order had been put in place. An investigation by the Parliamentary and Health Ombudsman (PHSO) found that Barts Health NHS Trust failed in its duty to tell Ali Asghar and his family about the order. A DNACPR order means that, if someone’s heart or breathing stops, doctors will not attempt resuscitation. The decision is made by a doctor and does not require patient consent but a patient must be informed if they have capacity. If they do not have capacity their next of kin must be informed. The Ombudsman is urging all healthcare providers to make sure their teams are trained to have these crucial conversations about end-of-life care in a timely and sensitive manner. Read full story Source: PHSO, 11 March 2025
  21. News Article
    The hospital where Lucy Letby murdered babies is now being investigated for gross negligence manslaughter as well as corporate manslaughter, police have announced. Cheshire Constabulary has released a statement saying that its corporate manslaughter investigation into the Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust has been “widened”. “We will not be confirming the number of people involved or their identity" The scope of the investigation now includes gross negligence manslaughter, which is where a death is caused by an otherwise lawful but grossly negligent “act or omission” by an individual or individuals. The corporate manslaughter investigation, which is looking into the actions of senior leaders at the hospital trust in relation to deaths at the neonatal unit, was launched in October 2023. This happened a few months after the conviction of 35-year-old Letby for the murder of seven babies and attempted murder of six others while working as a neonatal nurse at the trust in 2015 and 2016. Letby was later found guilty of attempting to murder a seventh baby. Read full story (paywalled) Source: Nursing Times, 14 March 2025
  22. Event
    To create impactful innovation in healthcare, effective collaboration between clinicians, solutions providers and other key stakeholders is essential. Many promising innovations fail to address real clinical needs because they are developed without clinician input or lack co-design from the start. This webinar will explore how clinician-led collaboration can shape better innovation projects, ensuring new solutions align with clinical priorities and are successfully adopted in practice. Drawing from real-world examples of successful partnerships between NHS organisations, industry and service users, the BMJ Future Health webinar will provide attendees with advice on problem identification and leading co-design approaches to ensure effective collaboration and better healthcare outcomes. Key themes: Involving clinicians early to define priorities and uncover pain points, and align with actual challenges faced in clinical settings. Strategies and practical tips for effective collaboration between clinicians, other stakeholders and solution providers. How to engage wider clinical teams to champion solutions and drive adoption, and overcoming resistance to change and embedding solutions into everyday workflows. How clinicians, service users and solution providers can work together to evaluate and refine solutions over time. Register
  23. News Article
    The rate of patients dying by suicide shortly after discharge from mental health units has increased in recent years, with researchers calling for better post-discharge support. According to the National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Safety in Mental Health annual report – an audit published by the Health Quality Improvement Partnership – the number and rate of deaths after discharge from a ward have been gradually increasing since 2017, after falling from 2013-17. The rate in 2022, the most recent figures reported, was 14.1 per 10,000 discharges. Isabelle Hunt, senior research fellow at the Manchester University and report co-author, told HSJ the most recent figures should be “treated with caution”, but added that the rise in post-discharge suicides could be attributed to the case mix of patients. A “reduction in inpatient beds” could mean “a higher-risk group of patients are being managed by services” and being discharged when more unwell. Dr Hunt said the increases could also be associated with changes in the circumstances patients are being discharged to. “Around a quarter of patients who died by suicide within three months of discharge were known to have been discharged to housing, financial or employment problems and a fifth were discharged to poor social support,” Dr Hunt said. “Awareness of the stressors patients may face after leaving hospital is a key element when judging the appropriateness of discharge, and greater involvement of families and carers is likely to provide a clearer picture of the circumstances a patient is returning to.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 12 March 2025
  24. Content Article
    The Learning Healthcare System is a summary of the Institute of Medicine (US)  two-day workshop held in July 2006, convened to consider the broad range of issues important to reengineering clinical research and healthcare delivery so that evidence is available when it is needed, and applied in health care that is both more effective and more efficient than we have today. Embedded in these pages can be found discussions of the myriad issues that must be engaged if we are to transform the way evidence is generated and used to improve health and health care—issues such as the potential for new research methods to enhance the speed and reliability with which evidence is developed, the standards of evidence to be used in making clinical recommendations and decisions, overcoming the technical and regulatory barriers to broader use of clinical data for research insights, and effective communication to providers and the public about the dynamic nature of evidence and how it can be used.
  25. News Article
    An interim national director of patient safety has been appointed, after the permanent postholder was seconded to the Care Quality Commission. Professor Ramani Moonesinghe will replace Aidan Fowler, who is to be the CQC’s interim chief inspector of healthcare. His secondment is expected to last six months and will be full time. Professor Moonesinghe has been NHSE’s clinical director for critical and perioperative care since 2020. She played a key part in the pandemic, leading on the NHS’s critical care response. She works as a consultant in anaesthetics, perioperative and critical care medicine at University College Hospitals London Foundation Trust and is a professor of perioperative medicine at University College London, where she leads on a patient safety research collaborative. She is also head of the Centre for Perioperative Medicine and the Research Department for Targeted Interventions at UCL. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 6 March 2025

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