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Showing results for tags 'Children and Young People'.
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News ArticleA fresh inquest into the death of Raychel Ferguson has found she died of a cerebral oedema, or swelling in the brain, due to hyponatraemia. He said the "inappropriate infusion of hypertonic saline fluid" was the most significant factor. The nine-year-old died at the Royal Victoria Hospital for Sick Children in June 2001. Coroner Joe McCrisken said her death was due to a series of human errors and not systemic failure. He outlined three causes of the hyponatraemia but said he was satisfied the "inappropriate infusion of hypertonic saline fluid... played the most significant part". The new inquest into Raychel's death was first opened in January 2022 after being ordered by the attorney general but was postponed in October when new evidence came to light. Raychel was one of five children whose deaths over the course of eight years at the same hospital prompted a public inquiry. In 2018 the Hyponatraemia Inquiry - which examined the deaths of five children in Northern Ireland hospitals, including Raychel - found her death was avoidable. The 14-year-long inquiry was heavily critical of the "self-regulating and unmonitored" health service. In his report in 2018, Mr Justice O'Hara found there was a "reluctance among clinicians to openly acknowledge failings" in Raychel's death. Read full story Source: BBC News, 11 December 2023
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Content ArticlePaediatric health research is fraught with both ethical and practical challenges that can prevent the successful completion of research studies. Listening to, and acting on, the voices of children and young people in the design and delivery of paediatric health research (otherwise known as Patient and Public Involvement) is one way to overcome these challenges. This paper describes the authors' experiences of working directly with children and young people in various health research initiatives. They outline the journey of involving children and young people as partners and give examples to demonstrate the unique knowledge and insights gained in the production of high-quality research.
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Content ArticleMartha Mills was 13 when she tragically died due to a series of medical errors. In this video by the Patient Safety Movement Foundation (PSMF), Martha's mother Merope Mills tells her story and aims to raise awareness about the consequences of medical errors. Merope advocates for improved patient safety measures including the introduction of Martha's Rule, which will allow patients and their families to trigger an urgent clinical review from a different team if they are in hospital, are deteriorating rapidly and feel they are not getting the care they need.
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Content ArticleSocial prescribing can be life changing for many children and young people, allowing them to have a voice about what matters to them, access the things they enjoy and can give them a route to achieve their ambitions. The greater choice and control that social prescribing brings also empowers them to make positive decisions, build confidence and increase self-esteem. This toolkit has been developed collaboratively by the charity StreetGames, the South West Integrated Personalised Care Team and other key partners across the UK. It is a guide to developing, implementing and delivering high quality social prescribing for children and young people. It provides a framework to help providers assess what is needed and examples of what others have achieved through social prescribing, and how. It also demonstrates how partnership working allows organisations to achieve more and support young people to have truly great lives.
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News Article
Boy, 10, with asthma died due to ‘neglect by healthcare professionals’
Patient-Safety-Learning posted a news article in News
A 10-year-old boy with severe asthma died as a result of multiple failings by healthcare professionals amounting to neglect, a coroner has concluded. William Gray, from Southend, died on 29 May 2021 from a cardiac arrest caused by respiratory arrest, resulting from acute and severe asthma that was “chronically very under controlled”. His death has led to calls to improve asthma treatment for children nationwide. The court heard that William’s death was a “tragedy foretold” having previously suffered a nearly fatal asthma attack on 27 October, 2020, which he survived. The coroner said that William’s death was avoidable, his symptoms were treatable, and he should not have needed to use 16 reliever inhalers over 17 months, but instead his condition should have been treated with preventer medications and should have been controlled. Julie Struthers, a solicitor at Leigh Day who represented the family, said, “In an inquest involving concerns with medical treatment it is rare for a coroner to find neglect, and even rarer for a coroner to find Article 2, a person’s right to life, to be engaged. This reflects the real tragedy of what happened to William, the substantial number of failures by multiple healthcare professionals in his care, and the importance of improving asthma treatment for children nationwide.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: inews, 22 November 2023 -
News Article
Watch for measles, UK doctors told, as vaccine rate dips
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Doctors must be on high alert for measles as vaccine rates among young children have dipped to a 10-year low, leaving some unprotected and risking outbreaks of the highly infectious and dangerous virus, experts say. It is the first time in decades the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) has issued national guidance such as this. At least 95% of children should be double vaccinated by the age of five. But the UK is well below that target. Latest figures show only 84.5% had received a second shot of the protective measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) jab - the lowest level since 2010-11. Measles can make children very sick. The main symptoms are a fever and a rash but it can cause serious complications including meningitis. For some, it is fatal. The RCPCH is worried the UK is now seeing a "devastating resurgence" of virtually eliminated life-threatening diseases such as measles, because of low vaccine uptake. Read full story Source: BBC News, 22 November 2023 -
Content Articlee-Bug, operated by the UK Health Security Agency, is a health education programme that aims to promote positive behaviour change among children and young people to support infection prevention and control efforts, and to respond to the global threat of antimicrobial resistance. e-Bug provides free resources for educators, community leaders, parents, and caregivers to educate children and young people and ensure they are able to play their role in preventing infection outbreaks and using antimicrobials appropriately.
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News Article
Record number of child deaths last year with hundreds more dying since pandemic
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The number of child deaths has hit record levels, with hundreds more children dying since the pandemic, shocking new figures show. More than 3,700 children died in England between April 2022 and March 2023, including those who died as a result of abuse and neglect, suicide, perinatal and neonatal events and surgery, new data from the National Child Mortality Database has revealed – with more than a third of the deaths considered avoidable. Children in poorer areas were twice as likely to die as those in the richest, while 15 per cent of those who died were known to social services. The UK’s top children’s doctor, Dr Camilla Kingdon, president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, hit out at the government for failing to act to tackle child poverty, which she said was driving the “unforgivable” and “avoidable” deaths. The report said: “Whilst the death rate in the least deprived neighbourhoods decreased slightly from the previous year, the death rate for the most deprived areas continued to rise, demonstrating widening inequalities.” Read full story Source: The Independent, 11 November 2023 -
Content ArticleThe National Child Mortality Database (NCMD) was launched on 1 April 2019 and collates data collected by Child Death Overview Panels (CDOPs) in England from reviews of all children who die at any time after birth and before their 18th birthday. There is a statutory requirement for CDOPs to collect this data and to provide it to NCMD, as outlined in the Child Death Review statutory and operational guidance. The guidance requires all Child Death Review (CDR) Partners to gather information from every agency that has had contact with the child, during their life and after their death, including health and social care services, law enforcement, and education services. This is done using a set of statutory CDR forms and the information is then submitted to NCMD. The data in this report summarise the number of child deaths up to 31 March 2023 and the number of reviews of children whose death was reviewed by a CDOP before 31 March 2023.
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Content ArticleThe Health Equity Network (HEN) aims to build momentum for health equity across the UK. It provides an opportunity for organisations, community and voluntary groups and individuals to share their work on health equity and to engage across the country with others with the same interests. This is the report of HEN's first annual conference held on 5 October in Birmingham. The report includes links to videos of key speakers from the conference and bullet points detailing their input. It also includes brief summaries of the breakout sessions and a summary of feedback from attendees.
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News Article
Children's health warning system rolled out by NHS
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
NHS England is rolling out a national early-warning system to help medics spot and treat a deteriorating child patient quickly - and act on parents' concerns. Parents and carers are "at the heart of the new system", NHS chiefs say. Scores for signs such as blood pressure, heart rate and oxygen levels will be tracked on a chart. But if a parent is worried their child is sicker than the chart suggests, care will be rapidly escalated. While similar systems already exist in many hospitals, NHS national medical director, Prof Sir Stephen Powis, said staff and patients alike would welcome the introduction of a standardised system across hospitals. "We know that nobody can spot the signs of a child getting sicker better than their parents, which is why we have ensured that the concerns of families and carers are right at the heart of this new system, with immediate escalation in a child's care if they raise concerns and plans to incorporate the right to a second opinion as the system develops further," he said. The rollout follows the patient safety commissioner, Dr Henrietta Hughes, recommending that Martha's rule is delivered across England's hospitals, giving patients and families the right to an urgent second opinion and rapid review from a critical care team if they are worried about a patient's condition. Read full story Source: BBC News, 3 November 2023 -
News ArticleChildren feel they have to attempt suicide multiple times before they get treatment from NHS mental health services, the former children’s commissioner has warned. Anne Longfield said that schoolchildren were aware that NHS mental health infrastructure was “buckling and far from being able to cope with the demand”. She told the Times Health Commission: “When I first became children’s commissioner in 2015, the thing that children talked about most often was mental health. They said they knew they couldn’t get help and treatment easily, because there just wasn’t enough help to go around. “Some said, we know that we’ve almost got to try and take our own life before we can get help. And I thought that was pretty shocking at the time. Now, young people are saying not only do they have to try to take their own life, they have to try and take their own life several times, and they say there will be an assessment of levels of intent within that.” Read full story Source: The Times, 1 November 2023
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Content ArticleSolving Together is a partnership that enables people with different ideas and views to put forward solutions and experiences. From Monday 9 October to Friday 3 November 2023, Solving Together is hosting a series of conversations on Children and Young People’s Mental Health that aim to get ideas on how access and waiting times for community services could be improved. The conversation topics are: Reducing inequalities in access, experience and outcomes Prevention and early intervention Experience of services Transfer of care and wider support
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Community Post
Long waits for ADHD diagnosis and treatment - share your experience
Patient-Safety-Learning posted a topic in Conditions
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The impact of living with undiagnosed ADHD can be significant, but adults and children in the UK are sometimes having to wait years for an initial ADHD assessment. Have you been diagnosed with ADHD? Are you or your child on a waiting list for ADHD diagnosis or treatment? Or are you a healthcare professional that works with people with ADHD? Please share your experiences of assessment and diagnosis with us. You'll need to be a hub member to comment below, it's quick, easy and free to do. You can sign up here. You can read more about the issues related to ADHD diagnosis in this blog: Long waits for ADHD diagnosis and treatment are a patient safety issue- Posted
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News Article
Mental health help for under-fives overlooked - report
Patient-Safety-Learning posted a news article in News
More support is needed to prevent babies and young children developing mental health problems in later life, leading doctors say. Their report shows there is growing evidence that intervening very early on - from conception to the age of five - may help stop conditions arising or worsening. The Royal College of Psychiatrists is calling for more specialist services. The government says the mental health of children and parents is paramount. Officials say they are investing more in expanding NHS services, alongside funding programmes designed to support children and caregivers. NHS data shows about 5% of two to four-year-olds struggle with anxiety, behavioural disorders and neurodevelopmental conditions including ADHD. The Royal College of Psychiatrists' report suggests half of mental health conditions arise by the age of 14, and many start to develop in the first years of life, making early action "vital". Dr Trudi Seneviratne, from the Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCPsych), said the majority of under-fives with mental health conditions were not receiving the level of support needed "to help them become productive, functioning adults and reach their full potential. The period from conception to five is essential in securing the healthy development of children into adulthood. Unfortunately, these years are often not given the importance they should be, and many people are unaware of what signs they should be looking out for. Parents, carers and society as a whole have a critical role to play. This includes securing positive relationships and a nurturing environment that supports the building blocks of a child's social, emotional and cognitive development." Read the RCPsych report Infant and early childhood mental health: the case for action Read full story Source: BBC News, 21 October 2023 -
News ArticleChildren are waiting years for autism and cerebral palsy treatments as NHS leaders accuse the government of ignoring warnings of a crisis in community care. The number of patients waiting for NHS community services hit more than one million in August and a new analysis has revealed one in five of those patients are children. The waits are so bad in some areas of England that a 12-year-old needing treatment might not get it until they are 16, the NHS Community Services Network warned. The analysis, by NHS Confederation and NHS Providers, also found 34,000 children have been waiting more than 18 weeks for diagnosis and care, which is the maximum time anyone should be waiting, with the backlogs growing quickly in spinal and eye care. Matthew Taylor, chief executive for NHS Confederation, which represents hospitals, community service providers and primary care, told The Independent that long waits can impact children more severely than adults because delays in treatment can have a knock-on effect on communication skills, social development and educational as well as mental wellbeing. “We have a real and growing problem with long waits in community services, but despite repeated warnings that neglect of these vital services is having a detrimental impact on patients, these warnings seem to be met with a shoulder shrug from the government. Leaders are working incredibly hard to deliver these important services for patients but are fighting a rising tide and need help,” he said. Read full story Source: The Independent, 20 October 2023
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News ArticleDozens more children than initially thought have come to “severe” harm following failings in audiology care, HSJ can reveal. Two more trusts have confirmed that, between them, 30 children suffered severe harm – which is defined as ”permanent or long-term harm” – after the failings. Northern Lincolnshire and Goole Foundation Trust said an external investigation had revealed 14 such cases, while Worcestershire Acute Hospitals Trust found 16 more after going through the same process. A total of 36 confirmed or suspected severe harm cases from paediatric audiology failings across six English trusts are now known about. I NHS England wrote to all 42 integrated care boards at the end of August, asking them to ensure the “approximately” 130 paediatric hearing services in England were running safely. Sir David Sloman, then-chief operating officer, and Dame Sue Hill, chief science officer, said the NHSE “review of these trusts has identified root causes that have led to poor service delivery and outcomes… [which include] lack of clinical governance and oversight, poor reporting of data, poor interpretation of results, poor retention of diagnostic data, and lack of accreditation.” The National Deaf Children’s Society called the speed of the NHS’s response “a scandal”. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 19 September 2023
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News Article
Sick children’s health worsening as record numbers wait for NHS care in England
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Sick children’s health problems are getting worse as record numbers wait up to 18 months for NHS care, doctors treating them have warned. The number of under-18s on the waiting list for paediatric care in England has soared to 423,500, the highest on record. Of those, 23,396 have been forced to wait over a year for their appointment. Delays facing children and young people are now so common that Dr Jeanette Dickson, the chair of the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, the body representing all UK doctors professionally, warned that children are “the forgotten casualties of the NHS’s waiting list crisis”. “As a paediatrician, I’ve seen first hand the damaging impact that long waiting times have on children, on their education and overall wellbeing, and of course on their families,” said Dr Camilla Kingdon, the president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH). The figures came from the RCPCH’s analysis of official performance data recently published by NHS England. The health of some children was deteriorating while they languished on the waiting list because their illness and age meant they needed to have their treatment fast, Kingdon added. “Many treatments and interventions must be administered within specific age or developmental stages. No one wants to wait for treatment, but children’s care is frequently time-critical.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 17 September 2023 -
News ArticleA London coroner has warned the health secretary that preventable child suicides are likely to increase unless the government provides more funding for mental health services. Nadia Persaud, the east London area coroner, told Steve Barclay that the suicide of Allison Aules, 12, in July 2022 highlighted the risk of similar deaths “unless action is taken”. In a damning prevention of future deaths report addressed to Barclay, NHS England and two royal colleges, Persaud said the “under-resourcing of CAMHS [child and adolescent mental health services] contributed to delays in Allison being assessed by the mental health team”. An inquest into Allison’s death last month found that a series of failures by North East London NHS foundation trust (NELFT) contributed to her death. In her report, Persaud said delays and errors that emerged in the inquest exposed wider concerns about funding and recruitment problems in mental health services. “The failings occurred with a children and adolescent mental health service which was significantly under-resourced. Under-resourcing of CAMHS services is not confined to this local trust but is a matter of national concern,” she said. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 14 September 2023
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News Article
Trusts admit ‘severe’ harm to children
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Children have suffered severe harm at two further hospital trusts as a result of failures in paediatric audiology, HSJ has revealed. HSJ reported in July that three children at Croydon Health Service Trust may have come to “severe harm” – meaning they may have suffered permanent damage – following failures in the trust’s processes in audiology. Now East and North Hertfordshire Trust and North West Anglia Foundation Trust have also confirmed a small number of cases of severe or serious harm; while some trusts have yet to confirm findings from case reviews they have carried out. Major problems emerged earlier this year, initially in Scotland, of poor quality checks missing children with hearing problems who should have received support, and of a failure to inspect the services. NHS England ordered a review of data from the national newborn screening programme which, alongside other review work, identified six English trusts as having likely failures in their service: Croydon, East and North Herts, North West Anglia, Warrington and Halton Hospitals, North Lincolnshire and Goole, and Worcestershire Acute Hospitals. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 14 September 2023 -
Content ArticleThis is the first report of a national confidential enquiry specifically focussed on child deaths. Confidential enquiries have already contributed to major improvements in obstetrics, neonatal, and perioperative care in the UK. However they are time consuming and require extensive collaboration between various professional groups as well as the attention of a dedicated full-time research team. Hence, when planning a confidential enquiry in a new patient group, it is pertinent to investigate both feasibility and utility at its outset. The aim of this enquiry was to evaluate the feasibility of using this methodology to reduce the number of child deaths and make a significant contribution to child health in the UK. The basic functions of a confidential enquiry are: To develop and maintain a register of the cases under scrutiny. To subject cases in the register (or a specific sample of them) to review by a panel of experts with a focus on identifying avoidable factors where there have been adverse outcomes. Subsequent recommendations are then derived from both the analysis of the register and the conclusions of the expert review panels. This report presents the findings of a feasibility study “The Child Death Review” in which confidential enquiry methodology was applied to child deaths (28 days to 17 years 364 days) occurring in three regions of England, all of Wales and Northern Ireland in the calendar year 2006. A surveillance programme was mounted in order to determine where and when deaths occurred. A comprehensive core dataset was developed and then collected on all deaths. A sample, designed to have an even spread across age groups and the geographical areas involved, was then subjected to more detailed enquiry. This involved scrutiny of the available records by a multidisciplinary panel in each case.
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Content ArticleResearch clearly demonstrates that from conception onwards, rapid brain development influences the cognitive, emotional and social development of babies and young children. Pre-conception to five years is an important time in a child’s life and critical for brain and psychological development, the formation of enduring relationship patterns, and emotional, social and cognitive functioning – all of which are foundations for healthy development, but which can also confer protection against mental health conditions. The establishment of sensitive, attuned and responsive relationships is essential for positive mental health and wellbeing and underpins interventions to address problems in social and emotional development, poor mental health and mental health conditions in under 5s. This report by the Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCPsych) aims to outline the importance of mental health in babies and young children under 5 to policy makers, commissioner and healthcare practitioners.
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EventuntilTackling health inequalities for children and young people has never been more important with NHS England’s Core20plus5 approach gives a clear steer on how to address these health inequalities from the top. As the health and care system continues to grapple with operational and strategic challenges, and there are increasing and competing pressures on the budgets of integrated care systems (ICSs). This King's Fund conference will take a solution-focused approach to explore how the health and care system can adapt to deliver meaningful change for children and young people, and how their voices and equitable resource allocation can take centre stage in decision-making. Register
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Content ArticleNHS colleagues are working hard to restore elective care, but data shows that activity for children and young people (CYP) is still below pre-pandemic levels and recovery remains behind rates seen in adult services. The specialties of ENT, dental services, ophthalmology, urology, and trauma and orthopaedics (including spinal surgery) are especially challenged, with the longest waiting lists for surgery for young patients. Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) has supported NHS England’s drive for CYP elective recovery by developing concise guidance –Closing the gap: Actions to reduce waiting times for children and young people – offering ten actions which can help reduce waiting times for children, as well as quick links to data, resources and best practice case studies. The ten actions address how to improve theatre capacity, increase theatre utilisation and streamline pathways of care, and include practical measure such as adding extra sessions or ‘super events’ for children’s surgery, avoiding procedures of limited medical benefit by using clinical decision tools, and staggering children’s admission times. The guidance links to a series of case studies demonstrating how teams across England have taken innovative measures to address their waiting times.
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News Article
ADHD ‘not over-diagnosed’ despite surge in Ritalin prescriptions
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Children are not being over-diagnosed with ADHD despite concerns about a spike in prescriptions of powerful stimulant drugs, a leading psychiatrist has said. NHS statistics show 125,000 children and teenagers in England are taking drugs such as Ritalin for symptoms such as poor concentration, up by a quarter since before the Covid pandemic. Isobel Heyman, a consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist at Great Ormond Street Hospital and lead for child mental health at Cambridge Children’s Hospital, said that on the whole ADHD remained “under-treated” and that this was driving high levels of mental illness in young people. Speaking to the Times Health Commission, Heyman said: “My understanding is that the increase in prescribing is largely related to increased diagnosis and increased recognition … We are still overall slightly under-treating [rather] than over-treating. “There is a problem about over-medicalisation of ordinary distress, ordinary ebullience and over-enthusiasm in young people.” She said the public should be reassured that ADHD diagnoses follow a “very stringent” process. However, she said private adult ADHD clinics may be less “rigorous” in providing a diagnosis. Read full story (paywalled) Source: The Times, 18 October 2023 Further reading: Long waits for ADHD diagnosis and treatment are a patient safety issue
