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Sam

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  1. Sam
    Cases of psychosis have risen significantly in England during the pandemic, according to new NHS data.
    The number of people referred to mental health services for their first suspected episode of psychosis increased by 75% between April 2019 and April 2021, figures showed.
    The data, which has been analysed by the charity Rethink Mental Illness, showed that much of the increase in referrals has happened over the last year, after the first national lockdown.
    The charity, Rethink Mental Illness, said that the data offers some of the first concrete evidence of the impact of the pandemic on the mental health of the population.
    It is calling on the government to invest more in early intervention for psychosis to halt the further deterioration in people’s conditions.
    The NHS defines psychosis as “when people lose some contact with reality”. This could involve seeing or hearing things that other people cannot see or believing things that are not actually true.
    People experiencing symptoms of psychosis need to seek medical help very quickly and charity Rethink Mental Illness is campaigning to get people faster access to vital treatment.
    Read full story
    Source: The Independent, 18 October 2021
  2. 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
  3. Sam
    The ceiling of an intensive care ward collapsed onto a patient on life support and hours later a falling lift broke a doctor’s leg in a 24-hour snapshot of Britain’s crumbling NHS hospitals last week.
    Staff rushed to evacuate the ten-bed unit at the Princess Alexandra Hospital, in Harlow, Essex, and the local trust declared a major incident on Thursday morning as engineers carried out urgent safety checks and patients were moved to other wards.
    The next day, a surgeon was in a lift at the Royal London Hospital, in Whitechapel, east London, when the lift plummeted four floors. His leg was broken when the lift’s emergency brakes activated. Hospital managers shut down four other lifts pending a safety investigation. The day before, another lift in the hospital had also fallen.
    The incidents signify that “chickens are coming home to roost” after years of underinvestment in NHS facilities, Dame Meg Hillier, chairwoman of the Commons public accounts committee, said.
    “It’s a sign of the crumbling infrastructure, not just of our hospitals but of the whole country,” she said. “These are not conditions that patients or hospital staff should have to work in.”
    Read full story (paywalled)
    Source: The Times, 17 March 2024
  4. Sam
    A GP commissioning leader has publicly criticised hospital visiting rules at local hospitals, after hearing that a stroke patient was denied seeing family or friends for six weeks.
    Philip Stevens, a locality chair at Northamptonshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), described the situation reported to him by one of his patients as “heartbreaking”, and has challenged visiting policies at Northampton General Hospital and Kettering General Hospital trusts. 
    During a CCG governing body meeting, Dr Stevens called for explanation from the county’s director of public health, Lucy Wightman, who said trusts could choose their own rules.
    Dr Stevens, who is also a GP at Brackley Medical Centre, argued that visitors were permitted in neighbouring counties, where he claimed there were similar covid case rates to Northamptonshire, which remains in tier 1 restrictions under the government’s framework.
    He said: “I’ve been dealing this week with a family who, the wife’s husband, has been in Northampton General for six weeks now and has had no visitors at all during that time. He’s had a profound stroke and when he comes home he’ll need considerable community support which ordinarily the family would have been trained in but discharge is planned without any of that training.”
    Mr Stevens said in an “adjacent county” hospital policy was that each patient would have ”one hour, one visitor each day” with 30-minutes in between visiting slots. While not named, trusts in neighbouring Cambridge and Lincolnshire both have policies that permit pre-booked visitors.
    He added: “When I heard this story it seemed heartbreaking to me for this woman and her husband and I just wonder whether that this is a situation we should be challenging, particularly since it appears that the public health advice in an adjacent county may be different to that which is being offered within Northamptonshire.”
    Read full story (paywalled)
    Source: HSJ, 27 October 2020
  5. Sam
    Famous faces, including TV chefs Gordon Ramsay, Nadiya Hussein, and actress Emma Thompson are backing a major new campaign urging anyone concerned about cancer to get checked and to keep routine appointments, as new research found that even now, nearly half (48%) of the public would delay or not seek medical help at all.
    A fifth (22%) would not want to be a burden on the health service while a similar number said that fear of getting coronavirus or passing it onto others was a major reason for not getting help.
    More than four in ten people would leave it longer to get health advice than they normally would have before the coronavirus outbreak, however delaying can have serious consequences for some cancers.
    NHS staff have pulled out all the stops to keep cancer services going throughout the pandemic, with almost one million people referred for checks or starting treatment since the virus took hold.
    The NHS’s Help Us Help You access campaign will use TV adverts, billboards and social media to urge people to speak to their GP if they are worried about a symptom that could be cancer, and also remind pregnant women to attend check-ups and seek advice if they are worried about their baby.
    People with mental health issues are also been encouraged to access NHS support.
    Read full story
    Source: NHS England, 9 October 2020
  6. Sam
    Trust chief executives risk becoming “prisoners” of organisations with poor cultures if they do not “step back and see the bigger picture”, a former chief inspector of hospitals has said.
    Ted Baker said he was “tired” of people getting angry about cultural problems in the NHS while doing nothing to change it, amid an appeal for “less anger and more thoughtful interventions”.
    He told HSJ’s Patient Safety Congress greater understanding was needed about what will change culture, and working to do so, rather than “rail against the culture in the way people do all the time”.
    Professor Baker said: “One of my real concerns is that we often end up criticising individuals in organisations because they, if you like, embody the ‘wrong’ culture.
    “But many individuals are often prisoners of the culture themselves, but we don’t see that.
    “You put a chief executive into an organisation with a poor culture, if they don’t have the wisdom and the vision to step back and see the bigger picture, they could become trapped in the culture themselves.”
    Read full story (paywalled)
    Source: HSJ, 24 October 2022
  7. Sam
    More than 4,000 women in the Republic of Ireland were not told the results of cervical cancer smear tests due to an IT problem, a report has revealed.
    It found in about 870 of the cases, results letters were not issued to the women or their GP. In the other 3,200 cases the results were issued to GPs, but not the women. The report concluded there was not proper due diligence and risk assessment in appointing a new lab as a cervical check test facility.
    Quest Diagnostics Chantilly Laboratory was appointed in an effort to help clear a major backlog of cervical cancer test samples. This, the review said, was well intentioned but no testing took place to see if it could be seamlessly integrated into the way the system operated.
    Read full story
    Source: BBC News, 6 August 2019
  8. Sam
    As part of wide-reaching work being carried out to review the methods and processes the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) uses to develop guidance, the organisation has launched a public consultation on proposals for changing how it selects the topics it will develop guidance on.
    Covering guidance on medicines, medical devices and diagnostics, the proposals clarify the criteria which would see a device or diagnostic selected for NICE guidance development.
    In particular, these include where costs and impacts are expected to be significantly cost-incurring or cost-saving – or there is uncertainty around the likely cost or the impact it would have on the healthcare system.
    With regard to medicines, the new proposals would confirm the commitment made in the 2019 Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines Pricing and Access that pledged NICE would appraise all new active substances and significant licence extensions for existing medicines, except where there was a clear rationale not to do so.
    Similarly, all new or significantly modified interventional procedures that would protect patient safety will be selected if they are available to the NHS or independent sector, or set to be used outside of formal research.
    This proposed approach would move away from the 15 criteria currently used to select topics for evaluation by NICE’s Centre for Health Technology Evaluation and provide a clearer and simpler process.
    Helen Knight, Programme Director for Technology Appraisals and Highly Specialised Technologies at NICE, said: “Topic selection plays an important role in the development of NICE guidance and is designed to ensure that the guidance we produce is on topics that support healthcare professionals and others to provide care of the best possible quality.
    “These proposals will ensure we can continue to meet these ambitions at a time of unprecedented change in the healthcare system.”
    The consultation on the proposals runs until 19 November. This will be followed by a separate public consultation on the case for change to its processes in February and March 2021.
    Read full story
    Source: NHE, 12 October 2020
  9. Sam
    Children's doctors are calling for a complete ban on disposable vapes because they are likely to damage young lungs and are bad for the environment.
    But an anti-smoking campaign group says a ban would make it harder for some adults to give up smoking and increase the trade in illegal vapes.
    UK governments are planning steps to reduce vaping among under-18s.
    Prime Minister Rishi Sunak recently said it was "ridiculous" that vapes were designed and promoted to appeal to children when they were supposed to be used by adults giving up smoking.
    A BBC investigation found unsafe levels of lead, nickel and chromium in vapes confiscated from a secondary school, which could end up being inhaled into children's lungs. Scientists analysing the vapes said they were the worst lab test results of their kind they had ever seen.
    The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) now says the UK government should "without a doubt" ban disposable e-cigarettes.
    Read full story
    Source: BBC News, 6 June 2023
  10. Sam
    A world-leading children’s hospital has been accused of a “concerted effort” to cover up the mistakes that led to the death of a toddler.
    Jasmine Hughes died at London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital aged 20 months after suffering acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM), a condition in which the brain and spinal cord are inflamed following a viral infection.
    Doctors said that her death in February 2011 had been caused by complications of ADEM. But an analysis of detailed hospital computer records shows the toddler died after her blood pressure was mismanaged – spiking when she was treated with steroids then allowed to fall too fast. Experts say this led to catastrophic brain damage. 
    Although the detailed computer records were supplied to the coroner who carried out Jasmine’s inquest, crucial information concerning her blood pressure was not included in official medical records that should hold the patient’s entire clinical history.  
    Dr Malcolm Coulthard, who specialises in child blood pressure and medical records examination, carried out the analysis of the files, comprising more than 350 pages of spreadsheets. Dr Stephen Playfor, a paediatric intensive care consultant, examined the computer records and came to the same conclusion as Dr Coulthard, that mismanagement of Jasmine’s blood pressure by Great Ormond Street and Lister Hospital, in Stevenage, was responsible for her death.
    Dr Coulthard told The Independent: “As a specialist paediatrician, it is with great regret and disappointment that I have concluded that the doctors' records in Jasmine Hughes’ medical notes fail to reflect the truth about her diagnosis and treatment.”
    Read full story
    Source: The Independent, 20 November 2020
  11. Sam
    Record numbers of children and young people are seeking access to NHS mental health services, figures show, as the devastating toll of the pandemic is revealed in a new analysis.
    In just three months, nearly 200,000 young people have been referred to mental health services – almost double pre-pandemic levels, according to the report by the Royal College of Psychiatrists.
    Experts say the figures show the true scale of the impact of the last 18 months on children and young people across the country.
    “These alarming figures reflect what I and many other frontline psychiatrists are seeing in our clinics on a daily basis,” said Dr Elaine Lockhart, the college’s child and adolescent faculty chair. “The pandemic has had a devastating effect on the nation’s mental health, but it’s becoming increasingly clear that children and young people are suffering terribly.”
    Read full story
    Source: The Guardian, 23 September 2021
  12. Sam
    China has introduced a new law with the aim of preventing violence against medical workers.
    The announcement comes days after a female doctor was stabbed to death at a Beijing hospital.
    The law bans any organisation or individual from threatening or harming the personal safety or dignity of medical workers, according to state media.
    It will take effect on 1 June next year.
    Under the new law, those "disturbing the medical environment, or harming medical workers' safety and dignity" will be given administrative punishments such as detention or a fine. It will also punish people found illegally obtaining, using or disclosing people's private healthcare information.
    Read full story
    Source: BBC News, 29 December 2019
  13. Sam
    A health watchdog has scrapped a previous recommendation of graded exercise therapy for ME.
    The National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has published a long-awaited and contentious final update to guidance on treatment.
    Many patients with ME or chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) say the therapy, which encourages patients to slowly increase their levels of activity, makes their condition worse.
    The advice was due out in August, but NICE pulled the publication at the last minute.
    At that time, NICE said the delay was necessary to allow more conversations with patient groups and professionals, so that its advice would be supported.
    There are strong and varied views on how the illness should be best managed.
    The updated guidance for England and Wales recommends people judge their own "energy limit" when undertaking activity of any kind, and a physical activity programme should only be considered in specific circumstances.
    It warns practitioners: "Do not advise people with ME/CFS to undertake exercise that is not part of a programme overseen by an ME/CFS specialist team, such as telling them to go to the gym or exercise more, because this may worsen their symptoms."
    It also clarifies advice on a talking therapy, known as CBT, stressing that it is only helpful in treating anxiety around the condition, not the illness itself.
    And it emphasises the need for early and accurate diagnosis.
    Read full story
    Source: BBC News, 29 October 2021
  14. Sam
    People suffering from chronic pain that has no known cause should not be prescribed painkillers, the medicines watchdog has announced, recommending such patients be offered exercise, talking therapies and acupuncture instead.
    In a major change of pain treatment policy, the National Institute for health and Care Excellence (NICE) say that in future, doctors should advise sufferers to use physical and psychological therapies rather than analgesics to manage their pain.
    Painkillers such as aspirin 'do more harm than good' for chronic primary pain
    Medical teams can also consider prescribing antidepressants, the government health advisers suggest.
    NICE’s new guidance potentially affects the way many hundreds of thousands of people in England and Wales tackle their condition because between 1% and 6% of the population of England is estimated to have chronic primary pain.
    Read full story
    Source: The Guardian, 7 April 2021
  15. Sam
    Women suffering from chronic urinary tract infections (UTIs) are facing mental health crises after being “dismissed and gaslighted” by health professionals for years, according to a leading specialist.
    Daily debilitating pain has left patients feeling suicidal, with those in recovery describing lingering mental health problems “akin to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)”, said Dr Rajvinder Khasriya, an NHS consultant urogynaecologist at the Whittington Hospital in London.
    Patients have said they feel crippling anxiety over planning ahead to ensure there is always a toilet around, even after their condition has been controlled with treatment. 
    Vicky Matthews, who searched for a diagnosis for three years after a recurrent UTI became chronic, said the condition caused a “gradual decline” in her mental health as medical professionals were unable to pinpoint what was causing her pain.
    "I questioned my pain. I questioned what was going on. I questioned whether it was actually real and that was a pretty awful thing to be dealing with on top of having physical pain,” the 43-year-old said, describing what she felt was “mental torture”.
    Read full story
    Source: I News, 12 February 
    Further reading on the hub
    The clinical implications of bacterial pathogenesis and mucosal immunity in chronic urinary track infection
  16. Sam
    Think 2020 has been awful for the NHS? Next year is shaping up to be far worse – and most of the huge hole it’s in was dug long before Covid. The virus has merely finished off the job.
    The health service does not have the beds, staff or equipment to recover the ground it lost during the first two waves of the coronavirus pandemic, but the government is blocking desperately needed improvements, and another round of organisational upheaval is on its way.
    Roughly one in 11 clinical posts are vacant, and it would hardly be a surprise to see many staff rush for the retirement door once the worst of the pandemic is behind us. The NHS can’t solve the problem without long-term certainty over funding for staff.
    Around 140,000 patients in England have been waiting more than a year for surgeries such as a hip replacements, up a hundredfold from a year ago. With the whole system beset by delays long before we had even heard of coronavirus, the lack of spare capacity means it will take years to help many patients.
    Unprecedented interruptions and delays to cancer tests and treatments have been exacerbated by the pitiful state of diagnostic equipment. Access to CT and MRI scanners is far behind countries with a fraction of our wealth, such as Slovenia and Slovakia. Y
    In the midst of all this turmoil, the NHS in England faces another round of legislative and organisational upheaval next year, the likely arrival of a new chief executive, and a potential fight with Downing Street over the extent of political control.
    Read full story
    Source: The Guardian, 18 December 2020
  17. Sam
    Staff at a teaching hospital which has struggled with emergency care pressure this winter have warned that patient safety is being compromised as crowding is becoming “normalised”.
    A letter sent by a group of clinical staff at Cambridge University Hospitals Foundation Trust to the trust board calls for immediate action to tackle concerns.
    It says: “The normalisation of crowding, the lack of effective flow management and the lack of effective escalation policies and procedures are resulting in patient safety, dignity and comfort being repeatedly and seriously compromised.”
    Details of the letter were shared with HSJ but it is unclear how many and which staff it is signed by.
    Read full story (paywalled)
    Source: HSJ, 23 December 2020
  18. Sam
    A Colorado surgeon has been convicted of manslaughter in the death of a teenage patient who went into a coma during breast augmentation surgery and died a year later.
    Emmalyn Nguyen, who was 18 when she underwent the procedure 1 August 2019, at Colorado Aesthetic and Plastic Surgery in Greenfield Village, near Denver, fell into a coma and went into cardiac arrest after she received anaesthesia, officials said.
    She died at a nursing home in October 2020.
    Dr. Geoffrey Kim, 54, a plastic surgeon, was found guilty of attempted reckless manslaughter and obstruction of telephone service.
    At Kim’s trial, a nurse anesthetist testified that he advised Kim that the patient needed immediate medical attention in a hospital setting and that 911 should be called, prosecutors said.
    An investigation determined Kim failed to call for help for five hours after the patient went into cardiac arrest, prosecutors said. The obstruction charge was linked to testimony that multiple medical professionals, including two nurses, requested permission to call 911 to transfer care for Nguyen, but Kim, the owner of the surgery centre, denied the request, prosecutors said.
    Read full story
    Source: ABC News, 15 June 2023
  19. Sam
    Pharmacists say physical and verbal abuse against them has become unacceptably common and many now feel unsafe when at work.
    Police forces say they are being called out to handle pharmacy-based crimes.
    The Pharmacists' Defence Association (PDA) says there have been reports of a stabbing and physical attacks in pharmacies around the UK and that more needs to be done to enforce the NHS's zero tolerance policy on worker abuse..
    Pharmacist Conor McAreavey was stabbed in the hand with a knife at his pharmacy in Belfast in March. He told the BBC he was "very lucky" not to have suffered tendon damage.
    Glasgow pharmacist Chand Kausar was threatened with a knife by an agitated patient, who - after demanding non-prescribed medication - produced a six-inch knife and cornered her against a wall.
    "I just froze," explains Ms Kausar. "My hands were above my head and I could hear all the noise around me, but I actually felt very calm. In my head all was quiet. I remember thinking it was like a movie scene. I'd never seen a knife like that, and I never imagined I'd have one held to my throat."
    The PDA launched an online survey in April 2022 and nearly 550 community pharmacists, mostly staff working in England, have responded so far.
    Some 468 of them - 85% - say they, or someone they work with, experienced verbal or racial abuse in the previous month while at work.
    One respondent said: "I feel terrified going to work every single day, and yet management are ignoring the issue."
    Read full story
    Source: BBC News, 6 June 2022
     
  20. Sam
    Record numbers of patients are complaining to the NHS Ombudsman about poor care, exorbitant fees and difficulty getting treatment from NHS dental services in England.
    Mistakes by dentists mean some patients are being left in agony – in some cases unable to eat – while others are being landed with huge bills for work on their teeth.
    “Poor dental care leaves patients frustrated, in pain and out of pocket,” said Rob Behrens, the parliamentary and health service ombudsman.
    The number of complaints he receives every year about NHS dental services has jumped from 1,193 in 2017-18 to 1,982 in 2022-23 – a rise of 66%.
    Behrens also disclosed that the proportion of complaints he upholds about NHS dentistry after an investigation has increased from 42% to 78% over the same period. That 78% figure for upheld complaints about dental services is “significantly more” than for any other area of NHS care, such as GP, hospital or mental health care, where the overall average is 60%, he said.
    Dentistry has become one of the public’s main concerns about the NHS, especially the obstacles many people face when trying to access NHS care. A BBC survey last year found that 90% of surgeries across the UK were not accepting new adult patients and 80% were not taking on children as new patients.
    Read full story
    Source: The Guardian, 30 October 2023
    Related reading on the hub:
    “I’ve been mocked, scolded and gaslighted”: a harmed patient’s experience of orthodontic treatment
    A patient harmed by orthodontic treatment shares their story
    We want to hear from patients with experience of NHS and/or private orthodontists and dentists in any healthcare setting, including community practices and hospitals.
    Did the orthodontist/dentist give you the treatment and support you needed? If you had ongoing problems, how did the orthodontist/dentist and other healthcare professionals respond? Have you tried to make a complaint? Share your experience of orthodontist and dentistry services
     
  21. Sam
    Dozens of women who thought they were having a "complete mesh removal" have discovered material has been left behind, the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire programme has been told.
    Some women have been left unable to walk, work or have sex after having the initial vaginal-mesh implants.
    Specialist surgeons say in some cases total or partial mesh removal can be beneficial. But some women said their symptoms had become worse. One was left suicidal.
    Vaginal-mesh implants remain available on the NHS in England but only when certain conditions are met. In Scotland, the use of mesh was halted in 2018.
    One paitent said her surgeon had promised her a "full mesh removal", but she has now been told more than 10cm (4in) could have been left behind. She had the mesh implanted several years ago to treat urinary incontinence and said she had woken after the surgery with "chronic pain in my legs, my groin and my hips". It is believed she suffered nerve damage.
    A year later – after being told by one expert a mesh removal would be unlikely to resolve her pain – she found a surgeon who told her the implant could be completely removed. She had two operations, each taking her half a year to recover from, and was told there had been a full removal. But "within a few months" the pain began to return and her health deteriorated and she found out that only 5–8cm had been removed.
    "My whole world turned upside down," she said, breaking into tears.
    She has since been told by a separate specialist her form of mesh was one of the most difficult to remove and could cause significant nerve damage if not removed properly. She said she had never been told this by her surgeon.
    The number of women affected is unknown but the Victoria Derbyshire programme understands there are at least dozens of such cases.
    The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists said in a statement that it took "each and every complication caused by mesh very seriously". It said: "Women must be informed of all options available and the benefits and risks of each so they can make the best decision about their care."
    Read full story
    Source: BBC News, 6 February 2020
  22. Sam
    Police forces will be able to “strong-arm” NHS bodies into handing over confidential patient data under planned laws that have sparked fury from doctors’ groups and the UK’s medical watchdog.
    Ministers are planning new powers for police forces that would “set aside” the existing duty of confidentiality that applies to patient data held by the NHS and will instead require NHS organisations to hand over data police say they need to prevent serious violence.
    Last week, England’s national data guardian, Dr Nicola Byrne, told The Independent she had serious concerns about the impact of the legislation going through parliament, and warned that the case for introducing the sweeping powers had not been made.
    Now the UK’s medical watchdog, the General Medical Council (GMC), has also criticised the new law, proposals for which are contained in the Police, Crime and Sentencing Bill, warning it fails to protect patients’ sensitive information and could disproportionately hit some groups and worsen inequalities.
    Read full story
    Source: The Independent, 18 October 2021
  23. Sam
    The NHS’ response to the third wave of the coronavirus pandemic saw the number of whistleblowing concerns raised with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) almost double in December, with the strength of local leadership among the most frequent complaints.
    Many parts of the NHS, particularly in the South East, were suffering major covid pressures in December, and the regulator received 204 whistleblowing concerns, compared to 105 in the same month in 2019.
    The most common complaints were around staffing levels, infection control and leadership.
    The rise in complaints was revealed by CQC chief inspector of hospitals Ted Baker in an interview with HSJ. Professor Baker also said the pandemic had proved that the NHS’ emergency care system lacked “resilience”.
    Trusts which the regulator has received concerns about in recent months have included Liverpool University Hospitals Foundation Trust, over poor staffing levels and infection controls, University Hospitals Birmingham FT, around staffing levels and leadership concerns, and Mid and South Essex FT, over concerns around the provision of oxygen.
    Professor Baker told HSJ: “One of the really positive things that has happened during the pandemic is an increase in the number of people raising concerns with us. It’s been really helpful for us in assessing the risk in the system."
    Read full story (paywalled)
    Source: HSJ, 8 February 2021
  24. Sam
    The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) are warning that thermal cameras and other such “temperature screening” products, some of which make direct claims to screen for COVID-19, are not a reliable way to detect if people have the virus.
    In July 2020 the Agency told manufacturers and suppliers of thermal cameras that they should not make claims which directly relate to COVID-19 diagnosis, and now are reminding businesses to follow Government advice on safe working during COVID-19.
    Graeme Tunbridge, MHRA Director of Devices, said:
    "Many thermal cameras and temperature screening products were originally designed for non-medical purposes, such as for building or site security. Businesses and organisations need to know that using these products for temperature screening could put people’s health at risk. These products should only be used in line with the manufacturer’s original intended use, and not to screen people for COVID-19 symptoms. They do not perform to the level required to accurately support a medical diagnosis."
    Read full story
    Source: BBC News, 27 July 2021
  25. Sam
    Deep-rooted relationship problems between consultants in a major trust’s neurosurgery department distracted from patient care, according to a review leaked to HSJ.
    A review by the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) into neurosurgery services at University Hospitals Birmingham FT last year found serious concerns over consultant “cliques” and relationship problems across the department.
    It comes as a new review has been launched into the care of 23 patients in the deep brain stimulation service, which is a sub-speciality in the department.
    According to the RCS report, which was completed in May last year, there have been wide-ranging problems within the department for several years.
    The report said: “Poor team working and inter-relational difficulties, which had been deep-rooted and recognised to have existed for some time, have had the potential to compromise patient care and will be likely to continue to do so if these issues remain unresolved.”
    It suggested some consultant neurosurgeons had prioritised their personal or professional differences over patient care, with the relationship issues being “amplified” within the wider surgical workforce.
    Read full story (paywalled)
    Source: HSJ, 7 April 2021
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