Jump to content

Search the hub

Showing results for tags 'Accident and Emergency'.

More search options

  • Search By Tags

    Start to type the tag you want to use, then select from the list.

  • Search By Author

Content Type


Forums

  • All
    • Commissioning, service provision and innovation in health and care
    • Coronavirus (COVID-19)
    • Culture
    • Improving patient safety
    • Investigations, risk management and legal issues
    • Leadership for patient safety
    • Organisations linked to patient safety (UK and beyond)
    • Patient engagement
    • Patient safety in health and care
    • Patient Safety Learning
    • Professionalising patient safety
    • Research, data and insight
    • Miscellaneous

Categories

  • Commissioning, service provision and innovation in health and care
    • Commissioning and funding patient safety
    • Digital health and care service provision
    • Health records and plans
    • Innovation programmes in health and care
    • Climate change/sustainability
  • Coronavirus (COVID-19)
    • Blogs
    • Data, research and statistics
    • Frontline insights during the pandemic
    • Good practice and useful resources
    • Guidance
    • Mental health
    • Exit strategies
    • Patient recovery
    • Questions around Government governance
  • Culture
    • Bullying and fear
    • Good practice
    • Occupational health and safety
    • Safety culture programmes
    • Second victim
    • Speak Up Guardians
    • Staff safety
    • Whistle blowing
  • Improving patient safety
    • Clinical governance and audits
    • Design for safety
    • Disasters averted/near misses
    • Equipment and facilities
    • Error traps
    • Health inequalities
    • Human factors (improving human performance in care delivery)
    • Improving systems of care
    • Implementation of improvements
    • International development and humanitarian
    • Safety stories
    • Stories from the front line
    • Workforce and resources
  • Investigations, risk management and legal issues
    • Investigations and complaints
    • Risk management and legal issues
  • Leadership for patient safety
    • Business case for patient safety
    • Boards
    • Clinical leadership
    • Exec teams
    • Inquiries
    • International reports
    • National/Governmental
    • Patient Safety Commissioner
    • Quality and safety reports
    • Techniques
    • Other
  • Organisations linked to patient safety (UK and beyond)
    • Government and ALB direction and guidance
    • International patient safety
    • Regulators and their regulations
  • Patient engagement
    • Consent and privacy
    • Harmed care patient pathways/post-incident pathways
    • How to engage for patient safety
    • Keeping patients safe
    • Patient-centred care
    • Patient Safety Partners
    • Patient stories
  • Patient safety in health and care
    • Care settings
    • Conditions
    • Diagnosis
    • High risk areas
    • Learning disabilities
    • Medication
    • Mental health
    • Men's health
    • Patient management
    • Social care
    • Transitions of care
    • Women's health
  • Patient Safety Learning
    • Patient Safety Learning campaigns
    • Patient Safety Learning documents
    • Patient Safety Standards
    • 2-minute Tuesdays
    • Patient Safety Learning Annual Conference 2019
    • Patient Safety Learning Annual Conference 2018
    • Patient Safety Learning Awards 2019
    • Patient Safety Learning Interviews
    • Patient Safety Learning webinars
  • Professionalising patient safety
    • Accreditation for patient safety
    • Competency framework
    • Medical students
    • Patient safety standards
    • Training & education
  • Research, data and insight
    • Data and insight
    • Research
  • Miscellaneous

News

  • News

Categories

  • Files

Calendars

  • Community Calendar

Find results in...

Find results that contain...


Date Created

  • Start
    End

Last updated

  • Start
    End

Filter by number of...

Joined

  • Start

    End

Group

First name

Last name

Country

Join a private group (if appropriate)

About me

Organisation

Role

Found 434 results
  1. News Article
    Some hospitals are using an out of date triaging tool for emergency patients suffering from sepsis that could leave them at risk of harm. A warning has been issued to NHS trusts to make sure their triage tools are up to date with the latest advice after several reported incidents in accident and emergency departments. The Royal College of Emergency Medicine flagged the risk to NHS England in a letter seen by The Independent warning patients could come to harm if action wasn’t taken. NHS England and NHS Digital has issued an alert to hospital chief executives warning of a potential safety risk. It told members: “The latest version of the system has updated treatment priorities especially in relation to the treatment of adult and paediatric sepsis. It is therefore crucial that if your organisation uses the Manchester Triage System clinical risk management triage tool, please ensure that the most recent version is being used and where this is not the case, specific local mitigation for the risks is in place.” It added that hospitals should ensure the latest versions of any clinical systems were being used to safeguard patient care. Read full story Source: The Independent, 8 April 2021
  2. News Article
    A young NHS patient suffering a sickle cell crisis called 999 from his hospital bed to request oxygen, an inquest into his death was told. Evan Nathan Smith, 21, died on 25 April 2019 at North Middlesex Hospital, in Edmonton, north London, after suffering from sepsis following a procedure to remove a gallbladder stent. The inquest heard Smith told his family he called the London Ambulance Service because he thought it was the only way to get the help he needed. Nursing staff told Smith he did not need oxygen when he requested it in the early hours of 23 April, despite a doctor telling the inquest he had “impressed” on the nurses he should have it. Smith’s sepsis is thought to have triggered the sickle cell crisis – a condition that causes acute pain as blood vessels to certain parts of the body become blocked. Barnet Coroner's Court heard Smith, from Walthamstow in east London, might have survived if he had been offered a blood transfusion sooner but the hospital’s haematology team were not told he had been admitted. Read full story Source: The Independent, 3 April 2021
  3. News Article
    Accident and emergency staff at Bristol Royal Infirmary do not feel equipped to deal with the violence they face from the public, inspectors have found. Health watchdog The Care Quality Commission (CQC) rated the department as "requires improvement" following an inspection in February. It said "urgent action" must be taken to protect staff and patients. University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust said it was working on improvements. Amanda Williams, CQC's head of hospital inspections, said: "We were... particularly concerned to find high levels of violence and aggression against staff from patients in the department and to learn that staff did not feel adequately trained to deal with this." "Staff need to be given the appropriate training and support to ensure they feel safe and to enable them to defuse tension and prevent violence from escalating." Read full story Source: BBC News, 17 March 2021
  4. News Article
    A hospital A&E department has been downgraded by regulators amid fears of “significant risk of harm” to patients after inspectors found some were crammed “head to toe” on trolleys during a surge in coronavirus cases. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has told bosses at the Royal Oldham Hospital to urgently improve its A&E service after the November inspection found staff were not following infection rules and patients were at risk of catching the virus. The inspection confirms reports, revealed by The Independent last year, that patients in the A&E unit were being forced to wait close together for long periods. Whistleblowers from the trust said the practice was unsafe and the president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, Katherine Henderson, said it was a “potentially lethal” situation. The CQC visited the emergency department on 30 November after it said concerns were raised over the safety of patients. Read full story Source: The Independent, 10 February 2021
  5. News Article
    The pandemic has had a deep impact on children, who are arriving in A&E in greater numbers and at younger ages after self-harming or taking overdoses, writes Dr John Wright of Bradford Royal Infirmary. Children are a lost tribe in the pandemic. While they remain (for the most part) perplexingly immune to the health consequences of COVID-19, their lives and daily routines have been turned upside down. From surveys and interviews carried out for the Born in Bradford study, we know that they are anxious, isolated and bored, and we see the tip of this iceberg of mental ill health in the hospital. Children in mental health crisis used to be brought to A&E about twice a week. Since the summer it's been more like once or twice a day. Some as young as 10 have cut themselves, taken overdoses, or tried to asphyxiate themselves. There was even one child aged eight. Lockdown "massively exacerbates any pre-existing mental health issues - fears, anxieties, feelings of disconnection and isolation," says A&E consultant Dave Greenhorn. Read full story Source: BBC News, 2 February 2021
  6. News Article
    The chief executive of a small acute trust has described the “terrifying situation” faced by ambulance crews and hospital staff in trying to provide adequate emergency care as coronavirus threatens to overwhelm the local NHS services. Susan Gilby, of Countess of Chester Hospital Foundation Trust, told HSJ staff are seeing “tragic and potentially avoidable” instances where patients with COVID-19 have reached the emergency department too late. She suggested this is due to a combination of patients waiting too long to call 999, and then having to wait long periods for an ambulance to arrive. Cheshire has been among the hardest hit areas in England during this third wave of coronavirus, with all four of its acute hospitals having very high covid occupancy rates. Dr Gilby, a former critical care consultant, said her trust has been at around 60 per cent covid occupancy for the last fortnight, which has made her increasingly fearful of the difficulties in admitting patients through the emergency department due to a lack of beds. This can then cause knock-on delays for patients arriving in ambulances, and ties those ambulance crews up for long periods, preventing them from responding to further 999 calls. She said ambulance turnaround times had been relatively good at the Countess of Chester, but she had spoken to paramedics handing over patients who were “really struggling” to get to people quickly enough. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 22 January 2021
  7. News Article
    The percentage of patients visiting A&E who are seen within four hours has hit a “terrifying” new low in Scotland, latest figures show, with ministers urged to “get a grip” on the growing crisis. The figure has been declining since the summer amid high demand, staffing shortages and a lack of patient flow through hospitals. In the week to 3 October, just 71.3% of patients were seen within four hours, a five percentage point drop on the previous week, according to a data published by Public Health Scotland. The figure is the lowest since records began in 2015, with the Scottish Government target set at 95%. With 25,000 visits to A&E in that week, it means more than 7,000 patients waited longer than four hours. Some 1,782 people waited more than eight hours, while a record 591 patients waited longer than 12 hours. Last week, Scotland’s Health Secretary, Humza Yousaf, warned that Scotland’s NHS faces an “incredibly difficult winter” despite announcing a £300 million funding boost. But opposition parties have now accused him of “overseeing a scandalous situation” and leaving A&E departments “beyond breaking point”. Read full story Source: The Scotsman, 12 October 2021
  8. News Article
    Between April 2020 and March 2021 there were approximately 185,000 ambulance handovers to emergency departments throughout Wales. However, less than half of them (79,500) occurred within the target time of 15 minutes. During that period there were also 32,699 incidents recorded where handover delays were in excess of 60 minutes, with almost half (16,405) involving patients over the age of 65 who are more likely to be vulnerable and at risk of unnecessary harm. Data published by the Welsh Government highlighted that in December 2020 alone, a total of 11,542 hours were lost by the ambulance service due to handover delays. This figure has been rising sharply and has now reached pre-pandemic levels once again. Inspectors said these delays have consistently led to multiple ambulances waiting outside A&E departments for excessive amounts of time, unable to respond to emergencies within their communities. "These delays have serious implications on the ability of the service to provide timely responses to patients requiring urgent and life-threatening care," the report stated. Read full story Source: Wales Online, 7 October 2021
  9. News Article
    Sick patients have been forced to wait outside a hospital A&E department on chairs and wrapped only in blankets while being treated by nurses in shocking photographs and videos captured by one worried relative. The situation, at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge, is a regular occurrence, workers have told The Independent. Footage shared with The Independent by a concerned member of the public shows one patient being cannulated, where a needle and intravenous line is inserted into a vein, while another patient has a monitor attached to track their vital signs. Patients waiting outside the A&E were said to be extremely sick, with some vomiting and complaining of worsening symptoms. “It was like something out of a horror movie,” said Maria, who has asked for her surname not to be used. “The system is completely broken from the beginning to the end..." Addenbrooke’s Hospital has been under severe pressure for months with patients queuing out the door earlier this year and patients waiting over 24 hours for a bed. One mental health patient was detained in the back of an ambulance for over 12 hours. It is just one symptom of a nationwide summer crisis in the NHS, with the military called in to support ambulance services that have reported their busiest months ever. A&E units are also witnessing record levels of attendance. Patients are being made to wait so regularly outside Addenbrooke’s A&E that heat lamps have been installed on the walls outside one entrance, used by non-Covid patients. The hospital has also built a marquee as a permanent space for waiting patients. Read full story Source: The Independent, 28 September 2021
  10. News Article
    A patient died from a serious spinal injury after emergency staff incorrectly attributed his physical condition to his mental health issues, an inquest heard. Robert Walaszkowski, who had been detained at a secure mental health unit run by North East London Foundation Trust in October 2019, suffered a serious injury after running into a door on the unit. Staff from London Ambulance Service did not suspect a spinal injury and he was taken to the emergency department at Queen’s Hospital in Romford with a suspected head injury. An inquest heard he did not receive a spinal examination and imaging of the spine, despite this being required due to the nature of his injury and presentation. He was discharged from A&E the following day, and was then placed on the floor of a private patient transport vehicle, to be transported back to the mental health unit, Goodmayes Hospital. He arrived at the hospital unresponsive. He never recovered consciousness and died of his injuries a month later. An inquest jury has recorded a narrative conclusion and found that neglect contributed to Robert’s death. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 24 September 2021
  11. News Article
    Scotland's Health Secretary Humza Yousaf says the NHS is facing the "biggest crisis" of its existence. There's a shortage of beds, the demand for ambulances is soaring and waits in accident and emergency departments are getting longer. On top of that, COVID-19 admissions have been rising fast as the number of infections in Scotland spiralled at the end of the summer. BBC News share five charts illustrating the enormous pressures currently being felt by NHS Scotland. Read full story Source: BBC News, 23 September 2021
  12. News Article
    A survey of almost 50,000 patients by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) found people’s experiences of emergency departments improved in 2020, compared to the last time the poll was conducted in 2018. On a scale of one to 10, the regulator found 33% of patients scored their overall experience as 10, compared to 29% in 2018. Eighty-eight per cent of patients scored their care at six or higher, compared to 85% three years ago. However, overall satisfaction levels declined at around 20 providers. Ted Baker, CQC’s chief inspector of hospitals, said: “This year’s survey shows some encouraging improvements with trust and confidence in clinicians, perceptions of cleanliness and overall experience all performing better than in previous years… “However, the scope for further improvement remains. Access to emotional support, help with pain relief and information provided at discharge were all areas where some people surveyed were less positive.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 16 September 2021
  13. News Article
    A new snapshot survey by the Royal College of Emergency Medicine has found that in August 2021 half of respondents stated that their Emergency Department had been forced to hold patients outside in ambulances every day, compared to just over a quarter in October 2020 and less than one-fifth in March 2020. The survey, sent out to Emergency Department Clinical Leads across the UK, also found that half of respondents described how their Emergency Department had been forced to provide care for patients in corridors every day, while nearly three-quarters said their department was unable to maintain social distancing every day. One-third said that the longest patient stay they had had in their Emergency Department was between 24 and 48 hours, with 7% reporting the longest stay to be more than 48 hours. Dr Ian Higginson, Vice President of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, said: “It is shocking to see the extent of the challenges faced by Emergency Departments across the UK. Holding ambulances, corridor care, long stays – these are all unconscionable practices that cause harm to patients. But the scale of the pressures right now leaves doctors and nurses no options. We are doing all we can to maintain flow, maximise infection prevention control measures, and maintain social distancing. Our priority is to keep patients safe, and ensure we deliver effective care quickly and efficiently, but it is extremely difficult right now." Read full story Source: The Royal College of Emergency Medicine, 6 September 2021
  14. News Article
    The family of a senior medic and lifelong NHS campaigner have called for an investigation into his death as it took paramedics more than half an hour to arrive at his home after operators were told he was suffering a cardiac arrest. Professor Kailash Chand, a former British Medical Association deputy chair, had complained of chest pains before one of his neighbours, a consultant anaesthetist at Manchester Royal Infirmary, called 111 for help before telling the call handler within three minutes that he believed his friend was having a cardiac arrest. “I was answering their questions when Kailash’s eyes began rolling and he slipped into unconsciousness. That’s when I said ‘this looks like a cardiac arrest’ and to upgrade the call. They kept asking questions as I started CPR and asked for an urgent ambulance. That was two or two and a half minutes into the call." Evidence seen by i News shows that it took another 30 minutes after the neighbour told the operator about the cardiac arrest for the paramedics to arrive at Professor Chand’s flat in Didsbury, Greater Manchester. National standards for ambulance trusts show that ambulance trusts must respond to category 1 calls – those that are classified as life-threatening and needing immediate intervention and/or resuscitation, such as cardiac or respiratory arrest – in 7 minutes on average, and respond to 90% of Category 1 calls in 15 minutes. Read full story Source: iNews, 3 September 2021
  15. News Article
    New data has revealed the number of people in hospital with Covid-19 is climbing rapidly, even before the latest surge in infections. These figures highlight the immense pressure the NHS is currently facing, and according to this data, there are now 585 people in hospital with the virus, up from 312 just eleven days ago, showing it to be the highest figure since early March. Health Secretary Huma Yousaf said the situation in A&E is being closely monitored. "Hospitals are reporting increased levels of people attending A&E who are much sicker and require higher levels of care. Weekly performance is impacted due to a range of challenges including high attendances, staffing pressures due to isolation and annual leave and the continued requirement for infection control precautions that is affecting the time people need to spend in A&E." Read full story. Source: The Herald, 01 September 2021
  16. News Article
    According to reports, a hospital in the northeast of England is having to turn away non-emergency patients from A&E due to "unrelenting" pressures on the service. This new policy was announced on Tuesday by Hull Teaching Hospitals Trust, warning patients they may need to travel up to 30 miles in order to receive care. Dr Makani Purva, chief medical officer said in a statement on the trust website on Tuesday: “Staff are working incredibly hard to provide care for patients in challenging circumstances but we need people to use the full range of services available. One in four patients who attend A&E in Hull could have been treated more appropriately elsewhere, that’s around 100 patients every day. So from today, after an initial screening process, those arriving at A&E who could safely be cared for elsewhere will be referred on to one of several alternative care centres and providers. Doing so will help us to reduce waiting times for more seriously ill patients and ensure they receive the priority care they need in hospital, while enabling those patients with non-urgent needs to receive care more quickly from a suitably skilled health professional elsewhere.” Read full story. Source: The Independent, 24 August 2021
  17. News Article
    The authors of a new study in Australia, published in the Emergency Medicine Journal, have said moving emergency care patients to other hospital departments by wheelchair or trolley is prone to a high rate of mishaps, with nearly 40% leading to incidents. The study, which took place at Austin Hospital, a teaching hospital in the Melbourne suburb of Heidelberg, also found endotracheal tubes, ventilator hoses, and arterial lines were also associated with high mishap rates. “Risk events are common and some result in harm. Risk factors include a high equipment number, transport to a ward and some abnormal vital signs. As many risk events are likely preventable, our identified predisposing factors may inform preventative strategies that may benefit other emergency departments.” The authors have said. Read full story. Source: Nursing Times, 24 August 2021
  18. News Article
    Performance data published by NHS England has revealed a big surge in the number of immediately life-threatening incidents ambulance services have responded to. The data also showed average response times have increased and a large number of patients are attending emergency departments. So far, the reason for the increase remains unclear, however, a potential factor could be the return of respiratory illnesses, particularly in children, as the lockdown has eased. In a statement Association of Ambulance Chief Executives said, ”The reasons for the demand increases are complex and will include some patients who have not accessed care as early as they might have done normally and therefore present to the ambulance service as a high acuity patient and many patients who are contacting us for lower acuity issues which in some cases could have been managed by accessing other parts of the UEC system. We continue to work closely with NHS England to mitigate the demand as much as possible and encourage sign-posting of patients to other parts of the UEC system when that is a safe and more appropriate solution to their problem.” Read full story (paywalled). Source: HSJ, 12 August 2021
  19. News Article
    Latest data has revealed more than one million 999 calls were placed in July, showing paramedics were sent out to 82,000 emergencies last month and 8,000 more than the record set in June. This comes after A&E departments became overwhelmed with an influx of new patients over the summer, with many hospitals having to cancel operations due to being dangerously understaffed. Dr Katherine Henderson, president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine has said, "The NHS has been running hot for months now and these figures show we are nearly at boiling point. We are worried that the public think things are getting back to normal on the virtual eve of a further reduction in restrictions, and messages from the centre that say things are OK are disingenuous – the reality is that the health service is really struggling." Read full story. Source: The Independent, 12 August 2021
  20. News Article
    A report published today has revealed the creation of single regional boards to commission ambulance services is under discussion with NHS England and Improvement. According to the report titled Rapid response: the role of the ambulance sector in transforming services and coping with the long-term impact of covid-19, ambulance trusts are to be involved in regional, integrated care system and place-level decision-making to maximise their contribution to more integrated services has also been called for. NHS Providers chief executive Chris Hopson and Association of Ambulance Chief Executives chair Daren Mochrie said: “As well as providing mobile treatment services, ambulance trusts have the potential to be an absolutely crucial co-ordinator on the urgent and emergency care pathway. We think there is a real opportunity there that is being missed." Read full story (paywalled). Source: HSJ, 12 August 2021
  21. News Article
    A new BBC report has found ambulance crews are unable to respond to calls quickly due to the pressure on hospitals to find free beds. Some paramedics are even spending most of their 12 hour shift waiting in the back of their ambulance, waiting to be called. "We know there are people in the community that are screaming out for an ambulance, but as you can see, a lot of ambulances are waiting here. It never ever used to be like this. We used to bring poorly patients in, and we were out on the road again in 15 minutes. We could do 10 jobs a shift, today we've done two. It's so demoralising" Paramedic Osian Roberts has said. Read full story. Source: BBC News, 11 August 2021
  22. News Article
    Not enough people know about the NHS 111 First A&E booking service as the messaging hasn't been strong enough, says Healthwatch England. The service can be used for patient who need urgent care but are not in an emergency situation, and patients can call 111 to "book" into urgent care. However, not enough people know about it, or what it's used for. “There’s a real gap in high quality communication to the public,” she said. “They [the NHS leadership] expect the public just to catch up with the changes they have made. 111 First [or] online booking services come along and we’re all supposed just to know how to use it. That’s caused a lot of frustration for people. Our evidence shows that when people understand and use [111 First], they like it. But not enough people know about it and the comms have not been strong enough.” Says Imelda Redmond, the outgoing national director for Healthwatch England. Read full story (paywalled). Source: HSJ, 2 August 2021
  23. News Article
    In a letter seen by The Independent to ambulance trust chief executives, union officials have warned the health of paramedics is being put at risk due to "unsustainable demand". Union bosses have also warned paramedics are being left in tears at the end of their 12 hour shifts and often working overtime in order to meet demand, warning this increased amount of pressure is taking its toll on the health of ambulance workers. “Ambulance workers have faced exceptional pressures over the past 17 months. It’s not surprising many have reached burnout. They cannot be left to just carry on doing excessive hours without proper breaks and rest between shifts. Employers must act swiftly by doing all they can to limit the unprecedented pressures on staff. Additional welfare support is needed, and the government should make this a top priority.” Says Deputy head of health Helga Pile. Read full story. Source: The Independent, 02 August 2021
  24. News Article
    Maria Whale, 67, has died after waiting more than two hours for an ambulance after her husband dialled 999 when she began experiencing "severe abdominal" pain. Mr Whale has said the family have questioned whether she would have lived if the ambulance had arrived sooner, saying they had waited "four to five hours" for it to come. However, the Welsh ambulance service has said its records showed the call was placed at 02:10 BST before a paramedic arrived at 04:22 BST, with the ambulance following shortly thereafter at 04:35 BST - two hours and 25 minutes after the first call. "We are deeply sorry to hear about the passing of Mrs Whale and would like to extend our thoughts and deepest sympathies to her loved ones. An investigation to determine what happened started earlier this month and given this is underway we are unable to comment further at this time." Says Welsh Ambulance operations director, Lee Brooks. Read full story. Source: BBC News, 28 July 2021
  25. News Article
    New data has revealed hundreds of paramedics experience physical assault and verbal abuse whilst serving the public. According to NHS, there has been a 32 per cent rise in assault against paramedics over the past 5 years, with more than 1,600 saying they had been threatened while on duty or feared for their own lives. Now, ambulance trusts are aiming to fit paramedics with body cameras while the West Midlands have CCTV inside their ambulances. "After years of lobbying, the legislation is now in place to ensure that the worst offenders are severely and appropriately dealt with. The problem is that the law is not being used to full effect and sentences are still far too lenient. We are calling today on the courts to step up and impose the harshest penalties available to them." Said Tracy Nicholls, chief executive of the College of Paramedics. Read full story. Source: The Independent, 28 July 2021
×
×
  • Create New...