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Showing results for tags 'Data'.
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Content ArticleAlthough several studies have tried to quantify the cost of ‘adverse events’ in healthcare, the true costs remain unknown. To understand the ‘true cost’ of serious incidents, Jane Carthey argues we need to consider:The cost of additional treatment for the affected patient.The opportunity costs that accrue from reporting and managing incidents, claims and complaintsBusiness costs that accrue when, for example, healthcare staff are suspended.Costs resulting from implementing the duty of candour process, andPenalties and sanctions imposedIn other industries, the HSE’s Incident Cost Calculator is used to quantify the true costs of incidents. Inspired by this tool, Jane developed the Healthcare Serious Incident Cost Calculator. Available via the link below.
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Content ArticlePreventable conditions are costing the NHS and wider society hundreds of billions of pounds and leading to reduced quality of life for large numbers of people. This paper from the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change proposes ways in which the NHS can use existing tools for screening and preventing ill health, to make the UK healthier and more productive and reduce pressure on the health system. It suggests a prevention programme that uses AI to highlight risk factors and screen individuals most likely to develop chronic health conditions.
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Content ArticleThe National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) pioneered the Health Technology Assessment (HTA) processes and methodologies. Technology appraisals (TAs) focus on pharmaceutical products and clinical and economic data, which are presented by the product manufacturers to the NICE appraisal committee for decision-making. Uncertainty in data reduces the chance of a positive outcome from the HTA process or requires a higher discount. This study in the BMJ Open aimed to investigate the quality of clinical data submitted by product manufacturers to NICE. The authors found that the primary components of clinical evidence influencing NICE’s decision-making framework were of poor quality. They argue that there is a need to generate robust clinical data for premarket and postmarket introduction of medicines into clinical practice, to ensure they deliver benefits to patients.
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News Article
Record 180,000 patients suffered ‘degrading’ 12 hour waits in A&E last month
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The number of patients waiting more than 12 hours in A&E hit a record in January of almost 180,000 people. Worsening pressures on A&E come as prime minister Rishi Sunak has officially missed his pledge, made in January last year, to cut the NHS waiting list. NHS England began publishing previously-hidden data on patients waiting 12 hours or more last year, after reports by The Independent. The latest figures for January show 178,000 people were waiting this long to be seen, treated or discharged after arriving from A&E – a record since February 2023 when the data was first published. In that month, 128,580 people waited more than 12 hours, and in December there were 156,000. The number waiting at least four hours from the decision to admit to actual admission has also risen, from 148,282 in December to 158,721 last month – the second-highest figure on record. Dr Tim Cooksley, past president of the Society for Acute Medicine, warned: “Degrading corridor care and prolonged waits causing significant harm is tragically and increasingly the expected state in urgent and emergency care.” Read full story Source: The Independent, 8 February 2024 -
News Article
Cancer waiting times in 2023 worst on record in England
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Cancer waiting times for 2023 in England were the worst on record, a BBC News analysis has revealed. Only 64.1% of patients started treatment within 62 days of cancer being suspected, meaning nearly 100,000 waited longer than they should for life-saving care. The waits have worsened every year for the past 11. Macmillan Cancer Support chief executive Gemma Peters called the figures "shocking". "This marks a new low and highlights the desperate situation for people living with cancer," she said. "Behind the figures are real lives being turned upside down, with thousands of people waiting far too long to find out if they have cancer and to begin their treatment, causing additional anxiety at what is already a very difficult time. "With over three million people in the UK living with cancer and an ageing population, this is only set to rise." The records go back to 2010, shortly after the cancer target was introduced. However, improvements have been made over the course of 2023 in how quickly patients are diagnosed with 72% told whether they have cancer or not within 28 days of an urgent referral. Read full story Source: BBC News, 8 February 2024 -
News Article
Cancer deaths in UK set to rise by more than 50% by 2050, experts warn
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Deaths from cancer in the UK are set to rise by more than 50% in the next 26 years, stark new estimates suggest. Experts from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have found there were 454,954 new cases of cancer in the UK in 2022 and warned this is expected to rise to 624,582 by 2050. In 2022, 181,807 people died in Britain from cancer, but researchers warned this is expected to rise to 279,004 by 2050 – a 53% increase. The estimates suggest the rising rates of cancer will be driven by the UK’s growing and ageing population. However, researchers have also called for new policies to tackle levels of smoking, unhealthy diets, obesity and alcohol to help lower the expected surge in cases. The study examined cancer data from 115 different countries and estimated global cases would rise by 77 per cent, from 20 million in 2022 to 35 million in 2050. The organisations estimate that cancer deaths around the world will almost double from 9.7 million to 18.5 million in that time. Dr Panagiota Mitrou, director of research, policy and innovation at the World Cancer Research Fund, said the new estimates “show the increased burden that cancer will have in the years to come”. “UK governments’ failure to prioritise prevention and address key cancer risk factors like smoking, unhealthy diets, obesity, alcohol and physical inactivity has in part widened health inequalities,” she added. Read full story Source: The Independent, 1 February 2024 -
Content ArticleOperating room black boxes are a way to capture video, audio, and other data in real time to prevent and analyse errors. This article from Campbell et al. presents the results of two studies on operating room staff's perspectives of black boxes. Quality improvement, patient safety, and objective case review were seen as the greatest potential benefits, while decreased psychological safety and loss of privacy (both staff and patient) were the most common concerns.
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Content ArticleThis statement from NHS England outlines how NHS organisations should collect and present data on health inequalities and explains the powers available to them to collect such data. Integrated care boards, trusts and foundation trusts should use the statement to identify key information on health inequalities and set out how they have responded to it in annual reports. The statement has been produced according to NHS England's duty under section 13SA of the National Health Service Act 2006.
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News Article
UK records highest annual cardiovascular deaths since 2008
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The rate at which people are dying early from heart and circulatory diseases has risen to its highest level in more than a decade, figures show. Data analysed by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) shows a reverse of previous falling trends when it comes to people dying from heart problems before the age of 75 in England. Since 2020, the premature death rate for cardiovascular disease has risen year-on-year, with the latest figures for 2022 showing it reached 80 per 100,000 people in England in 2022 – the highest rate since 2011 when it was 83. This is the first time there has been a clear reversal in the trend for almost 60 years. Between 2012 and 2019 progress slowed and, from 2020, premature death rates began to clearly rise, the data reveals. Dr Sonya Babu-Narayan, associate medical director at the BHF and a consultant cardiologist, said: “We’re in the grip of the worst heart care crisis in living memory. “Every part of the system providing heart care is damaged, from prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and recovery; to crucial research that could give us faster and better treatments. “This is happening at a time when more people are getting sicker and need the NHS more than ever. “I find it tragic that we’ve lost hard-won progress to reduce early death from cardiovascular disease.” Read full story Source: Medscape, 22 January 2024 -
Content ArticleThis report outlines the results of a survey carried out by The Institute of Health Visiting (iHV)—the largest UK survey of frontline health visitors working with families with babies and young children across the UK. Poverty was the cause of greatest concern to health visitors, with 93% reporting an increase in the number of families affected by poverty in the last 12 months. Other key findings included: 89% of health visitors reported an increase in the use of food banks 78% an increase in perinatal mental illness 69% an increase in domestic abuse 63% an increase in homelessness and asylum seekers 50% an increase in families skipping meals as a result of the cost-of-living crisis.
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News Article
Leak reveals trust omitting two-year waits from reported figures
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
A hospital trust has been breaching national guidance by excluding some long waiters from its reported waiting list figures, in a move experts warned could put patient safety at serious risk. The practice appears to have helped Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals report zero patients waiting more than two years for treatment during most of last year. Its policy means cases that unexpectedly “pop up” as two-year waits in its datasets are temporarily removed. The trust will then review whether the cases are data errors or genuine two-year waits, and if genuine, aim to provide treatment within a month. If not treated within a month, the cases would be added back to the reported waiting list the following month. Rob Findlay, an expert on RTT waiting lists, said the implications of the SWBH policy are far more serious than simply reporting incomplete numbers for a month. He said allowing a month to deal with the pop-up without declaring it “relieves them of pressure to solve the problems that are causing patients to be lost in the first place”. He added: “Some patients – the hospital would never know – might never pop up and be lost from the waiting list forever. “[This is] a serious patient safety issue which could potentially have a significant impact on how long patients are waiting for treatment.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 19 January 2024 -
News ArticleFewer Americans are dying of cancer, part of a decades-long trend that began in the 1990s as more people quit smoking and doctors screened earlier for certain cancers. However, the American Cancer Society warned that those gains are threatened by an increase in cancers among people younger than 55, in particular cervical and colorectal cancer, and by the continued disparities between white Americans and people of colour. “The continuous sharp increase in colorectal cancer in younger Americans is alarming,” said Dr Ahmedin Jemal, senior vice-president for surveillance and health equity science at the American Cancer Society. “We need to halt and reverse this trend by increasing uptake of screening, including awareness of non-invasive stool tests with follow-up care, in people 45-49 years, [old]” said Jemal. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 17 January 2024
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Content ArticleThis study in JAMA Psychiatry aimed to assess whether multivariate machine learning approaches can identify the neural signature of major depressive disorder in individual patients. The study was conducted as a case-control neuroimaging study that included 1801 patients with depression and healthy controls. The results showed that the best machine learning algorithm only achieved a diagnostic classification accuracy of 62% across major neuroimaging modalities. The authors concluded that although multivariate neuroimaging markers increase predictive power compared with univariate analyses, no depression biomarker could be uncovered that is able to identify individual patients.
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News Article
Mapped: Areas of England with the highest risk of dying from cancer
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Large regional variations in the risk of death from cancer by the age of 80 have been revealed in research by Imperial College London based on NHS data for England. Analysis of the figures by The Independent shows the risk of dying is highest in northern England cities, while men and women living in the London boroughs had the lowest chance. Although the risk of dying from cancer has decreased across all areas of England in the last two decades, it is now the leading cause of death in England, having overtaken cardiovascular diseases. The Less Survivable Cancers Taskforce has that warned Britain has some of the worst cancer survival rates among the world’s wealthiest countries. It ranked the UK 28th out of 33 countries for five-year survival rate for stomach and lung cancer; for pancreatic cancer the UK was 26th, and it was 25th for brain cancer. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 13 January 2024 -
News Article
NHS data breach: trusts shared patient details with Facebook without consent
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
NHS trusts are sharing intimate details about patients’ medical conditions, appointments and treatments with Facebook without consent and despite promising never to do so. An Observer investigation has uncovered a covert tracking tool in the websites of 20 NHS trusts which has for years collected browsing information and shared it with the tech giant in a major breach of privacy. The data includes granular details of pages viewed, buttons clicked and keywords searched. It is matched to the user’s IP address – an identifier linked to an individual or household – and in many cases details of their Facebook account. Information extracted by Meta Pixel can be used by Facebook’s parent company, Meta, for its own business purposes – including improving its targeted advertising services. Records of information sent to the firm by NHS websites reveal it includes data which – when linked to an individual – could reveal personal medical details. It was collected from patients who visited hundreds of NHS webpages about HIV, self-harm, gender identity services, sexual health, cancer, children’s treatment and more. It also includes details of when web users clicked buttons to book an appointment, order a repeat prescription, request a referral or to complete an online counselling course. Millions of patients are potentially affected. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 27 May 2023 -
EventThis masterclass will focus on developing your role as a SIRO (Senior Information Risk Owner) in health and social care. Key learning objectives: Understanding the role of the Senior Information Risk Owner. Identifying Information Risks across the organisation. Working with others to mitigate the risk to patients, staff and organisation. Confidence that all reasonable technical and organisation measure are in place. Giving assurance to the Board that risks have been considered, mitigated or owned. Understand the requirements of external confidence that policies, procedures are in place to deal with Data Breaches. hub members receive a 20% discount. Email info@pslhub.org for discount code. Register
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News Article
Why are so many women dying during pregnancy and what can be done?
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The number of women dying during pregnancy or soon after childbirth has reached its highest level in almost 20 years, according to new data. Experts have described the figures as “very worrying”. Between 2020 and 2022, 293 women in the UK died during pregnancy or within 42 days of the end of their pregnancy. With 21 deaths classified as coincidental, 272 in 2,028,543 pregnancies resulted in a maternal death rate of 13.41 per 100,000. This is a steep rise from the 8.79 deaths per 100,000 pregnancies in 2017 to 2019, the most recent three-year period with complete data. The death rate has increased to levels not seen since 2003 to 2005. The data comes from MBRRACE-UK, which conducts surveillance and investigates the causes of maternal deaths, stillbirths and infant deaths as part of the national Maternal, Newborn and Infant Clinical Outcome Review Programme (MNI-CORP). Urgent action is needed to bolster the quality of maternal healthcare, ensure it is accessible to all, and repair the damage inflicted by the pandemic on women’s healthcare services more generally. Clea Harmer, the chief executive of bereavement charity Sands, said improving maternity safety also needs to be at the top of the UK’s agenda. The government said it was committed to ensuring all women received safe and compassionate care from maternity services, regardless of their ethnicity, location or economic status. Anneliese Dodds, the shadow women and equalities secretary, said Labour would seek to reverse the “deeply concerning” maternal mortality figures by training thousands more midwives and health visitors and incentivising continuity of care for women during pregnancy. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 11 January 2024 -
News Article
UK has some of worst cancer survival rates in developed world
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The UK has some of the worst cancer survival rates in the developed world, according to new research. Analysis of international data by the Less Survivable Cancers Taskforce found that five-year survival rates for lung, liver, brain, oesophageal, pancreatic and stomach cancers in the UK are worse than in most comparable countries. On average, just 16% of UK patients live for five years with these cancers. Out of 33 countries of comparable wealth and income levels, the UK ranks as low as 28th for five-year survival of both stomach and lung cancer, 26th for pancreatic cancer, 25th for brain cancer and 21st and 16th for liver and oesophageal cancers respectively. The six cancers account for nearly half of all common cancer deaths in the UK and more than 90,000 people are diagnosed with one of them in Britain every year. The taskforce calculated that if people with these cancers in the UK had the same prognosis as patients living in countries with the highest five-year survival rates – Korea, Belgium, the US, Australia and China – then more than 8,000 lives could be saved a year. Anna Jewell, the chair of the Less Survivable Cancers Taskforce, said: “People diagnosed with a less survivable cancer are already fighting against the odds for survival. If we could bring the survivability of these cancers on level with the best-performing countries in the world then we could give valuable years to thousands of patients. “If we’re going to see positive and meaningful change then all of the UK governments must commit to proactively investing in research and putting processes in place so we can speed up diagnosis and improve treatment options.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 11 January 2023 -
Content Article
MBRRACE-UK: Maternal mortality 2020-2022
Patient Safety Learning posted an article in Maternity
MBRRACE have released their latest UK maternal mortality figures. The maternal death rate in 2020-22 was 13.41 per 100,000 maternities. This is significantly 53% higher than the rate of 8.79 deaths per 100,000 maternities in the previous three year period (2017-19). -
Content ArticlePatient safety is a US national priority, yet lacks a comprehensive assessment of progress over the past decade. The aim of this study from Eldridge et al. was to determine the change in the rate of adverse events in hospitalised patients. The study found that in the US between 2010 and 2019, there was a significant decrease in the rates of adverse events abstracted from medical records for patients admitted for acute myocardial infarction, heart failure, pneumonia, and major surgical procedures, and there was a significant decrease in the adjusted rates of adverse events between 2012 and 2019 for all other conditions. Further research is needed to understand the extent to which these trends represent a change in patient safety.
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Content ArticleThe Maternal, Newborn and Infant Clinical Outcome Review Programme has published an MBRRACE-UK Perinatal confidential enquiry report that compares the care of Asian and White women who have experienced a stillbirth or neonatal death. It is based on deaths reviewed in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, for the period between 1 July 2019 and December 2019. The overall findings of this enquiry were based on the consensus opinion of panel members concerning the quality of care provided for 34 Asian and 35 White mothers and their babies. This enquiry was developed to try and identify any differences in the quality of care provided to women of Asian ethnicity compared with their White counterparts, and forms the main focus of this report. As such, the recommendations are targeted at trying to ensure equity for the quality of care provision for both Asian and White mothers and their babies.
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Content ArticleAuthors of this report conclude that: "...patient-reported experience measures (PREMs) offer great insights into what is happening on the ground. The chances of any intentional/ unintentional bias are minimal as it comes directly from the patients. If appropriately implemented, PREMs can be a great proactive tool to ensure good quality of service rather than depending on near misses or incidents to happen and be reported. PREMs offer a unique opportunity to directly involve the patients in their care as they are essential stakeholders in the quality of care."
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Content ArticleThis performance tracker produced by the Institute for Government looks at the state of adult social care in 2023. It highlights that although the Government has provided more funding, the sector may struggle to address unmet need in the face of rising costs and competing priorities. Key findings Spending remains well above pre-pandemic levels The government continues to rely on a model of ‘crisis-cash-repeat’ for the service Without extra funding, reforming the charging model for adult social care in 2023 would have been difficult Cost pressures mean that increased funding might not achieve all the government’s objectives Vacancy rates are falling, but remain high Staff turnover is high in some key roles The size of the workforce recovered somewhat in 2022/23 International recruitment has been crucial in filling vacancies Recruitment and retention are hampered by low pay… as well as poor career progression and lack of training Requests for support increased after a drop in the first year of the pandemic Local authorities have not cleared the assessment backlog More people are providing large amounts of unpaid care The number of people receiving long-term care rose in 2022/23 A decline in people receiving long-term support is unlikely to be because other models are working
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Content Article
In this article, Natalie Tikhonovsky, Analyst at Lane, Clarke and Peacock, looks at results from the 2022 NHS Staff Survey in order to identify the reasons staff are increasingly dissatisfied. The article contains graphics that visualise this data to demonstrate a mixed picture of staff satisfaction across England. -
Content ArticleIn its 75th anniversary year, the strains on the NHS are all too clear, with demand from an ageing population increasing, while the number of patients treated is still lower than before the pandemic. The Chancellor recently announced the “most ambitious productivity review ever undertaken by government”, yet it is unclear how to bring about the necessary productivity improvements in the NHS to meet the challenges of the future. For the 2023 REAL challenge lecture, Professor Dame Diane Coyle, Bennett Professor of Public Policy at the University of Cambridge, explored some of the key drivers of UK healthcare productivity and discuss what we might hope the NHS will look like when it reaches its centenary. You can watch the video of the lecture and download the slides below.
