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Showing results for tags 'Europe'.
Found 69 results
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News Article
Persistent cough may be tuberculosis not Covid, doctor warns
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The UK's top public health doctor says anyone with a persistent cough and fever should not dismiss it as Covid - and should consider other infectious illnesses like tuberculosis (TB). Dr Jenny Harries' warning comes as provisional data shows there were 4,430 cases recorded in England in 2021, despite sharp declines in recent years. Charities are calling for more funding to tackle the disease around the world. They say the pandemic and conflicts have set back progress worldwide. In 2020, global deaths because of tuberculosis ranked second to Covid for any infectious disease. The charity Stop TB Partnership warns the war in Ukraine could have "devastating impacts on health services", including the country's strong national TB treatment programme. The charity is urging all countries to put facilities in place urgently so refugees can be given the care they need. In the UK a requirement for Ukrainians to take a TB test before arrival has been waived for those who are coming to the country on the family scheme visa. Refugees arriving on the scheme will get medical care and testing via GPs. Meanwhile Dr Jenny Harries, chief executive of the UK Health Security Agency, said delayed diagnosis and treatment, particularly during the pandemic, will have increased the number of undetected cases in England. Read full story Source: BBC News, 24 March 2022 -
Content ArticleThe UK Government has opened a consultation on changes to the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005 Code of Practice, and implementation of Liberty Protection Safeguards (LPS). This consultation is also seeking views on the LPS regulations, which will underpin the new system. This consultation applies to England and Wales and is open until 7 July 2022.
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EventThis webinar from The European Hospital and Healthcare Federation (HOPE) on 29 March at 14:00 BST (15.00 CEST) will look at the Flemish Institute for Quality of Care (VIKZ). VIKZ is a network organisation financed by the Flemish government that has as primary goal to measure, follow up and publicly report quality and safety of care in the Flemish healthcare sector for the purpose of quality improvement. The objectives of the webinar are to: present the methodology used. give an overview of preliminary results. discuss challenges and future objectives of the VIKZ. Speaker Svin Deneckere, director Flemish Institute for Quality of Care (VIKZ) Register
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Content ArticleThe spread of the Covid-19 pandemic presented significant challenges in the management of patients with chronic diseases like multiple sclerosis (MS). This article in Frontiers in Neurology looks at how telemedicine was used as an alternative to face-to-face consultations with MS patients during the pandemic. Recognising the variation in care that occurred as different centres adopted telemedicine, they make a series of recommendations for the use of telemedicine in managing MS patients.
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News Article
Ukraine’s hospitals ‘desperate’ for medical supplies as oxygen runs out
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Hospitals across Ukraine are “desperate” for medical supplies, doctors have warned, as oxygen stores are hit and other vital health supplies run low amid bombardment from Russian forces. UK-based Ukrainian doctors have issued an urgent appeal for donations of supplies as they travel to eastern Europe in response to reports of shortages of medical equipment and medicines. The World Health Organisation warned on Sunday evening that oxygen supplies in Ukraine were “dangerously low” as trucks were unable to transport oxygen supplies from plants to hospitals across the country. Dr Volodymyr Suskyi, an intensive care doctor at Feofaniya Clinical Hospital in Kyiv, told The Independent he had been forced to use an emergency back-up system to supply oxygen to a patient on life support after the area near plant which supplies his hospital was bombed. Dr Dennis Olugun, a UK-based doctor who is leading the group of medics from the Ukrainian Medical Association of the United Kingdom (UMAUK) to deliver medical supplies, said the situation was “desperate” in some areas. He said some hospitals did not have basic necessities such as rubber gloves. He told The Independent: “What they need in the hospitals is portable ultrasound machines, portable x-ray machines because they have so many patients they much rather walk around the wards and do whatever diagnostic work rather than transporting patients." The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry and European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations have called for medicines, pharmaceutical ingredients and raw materials to be excluded from the scope of sanctions being levied against Russian trade. Read full story Source: The Independent, 1 March 2022 -
EventuntilThe European Alliance for Access to Safe Medicines (EAASM) invites you to join its Parliament roundtable debate entitled “Preventing Medication errors across European hospitals to protect patient safety: Launch of the White Paper on Medication Errors and Traceability” , taking place on 22 March 2022 from 11:30 to 13:30 CET, on Zoom. The EAASM has been coordinating the European Collaborative Action on Medication Errors and Traceability (ECAMET) with the overall objective to markedly reduce medication errors (MEs) at European and national levels, to protect and enhance patient safety and the quality of health care. This event will represent the occasion to officially release a comprehensive White Paper on Medication Errors and Traceability, co-written by the EAASM and the members of the ECAMET Scientific Committee, collecting the results of a pan-European survey on medication errors which acts as a catalyst to understand where improvements can be identified and acted upon, and thus stimulate innovation in the hospital setting via proven digital processes and internal dynamic behavioural changes. Register to attend Please note, this event will take place at 11.30 CET, which is 10.30 GMT
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Content ArticleIn this study, 156 participants were recruited and randomised to placebo (n=83) or ketamine (n=73), stratified by centre and diagnosis: bipolar, depressive, or other disorders. Two 40-minute intravenous infusions of ketamine (0.5 mg/kg) or placebo (saline) were administered at baseline and 24 hours, in addition to usual treatment. The primary outcome was the rate of patients in full suicidal remission at day 3, according to the scale for suicidal ideation total score ≤3. Analyses were conducted on an intention-to-treat basis. The findings indicate that ketamine is rapid, safe in the short term, and has persistent benefits for acute care in suicidal patients. Comorbid mental disorders appear to be important moderators. An analgesic effect on mental pain might explain the anti-suicidal effects of ketamine. There are also some useful and thought-provoking comments on this research, and a helpful visual aid.
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Content Article
WHO European non-communicable disease dashboard (January 2022)
Patient-Safety-Learning posted an article in WHO
Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) including cardiovascular disease, cancer, chronic respiratory disease and diabetes, are leading causes of morbidity, disability and mortality in the WHO European Region, causing nearly 90% of all deaths and 67% of premature deaths. The World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Europe has released the WHO Europe NCD Dashboard, which provides graphical data on NCDs in the 53 Member States of the Region and makes comparisons between them. The dashboard enables analysis of a country’s health situation and its progress towards meeting NCD health targets. It includes standardised data from national and international registries and surveys collected by countries, WHO and other international organisations -
Content ArticleThe resilience of health systems and cooperation between Member States have become particularly important during the COVID-19 pandemic. On the occasion of the French Presidency of the European Union (FPEU) 2022, the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies and the General Directorate for HealthCare Services of the French Ministry of Health have worked together to produce this special issue of Eurohealth to better understand how health systems have responded to the health crisis and to draw lessons for improving resilience of health systems. (Available in both English and French.)
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Content Article
The Oslo Medicines Initiative
Sam posted an article in Other countries and national agencies
The Oslo Medicines Initiative: “better access to effective, novel, high-priced medicines – a new vision for collaboration between the public and private sectors” is a new initiative of WHO/Europe, developed together with the Norwegian Ministry of Health and Care Services and the Norwegian Medicines Agency. The Initiative will provide a neutral platform for the public and private sectors to jointly outline a vision for equitable and sustainable access to effective, innovative and affordable medicines. -
Content ArticleThe Covid-19 pandemic has precipitated a huge increase in the use of digital technology in healthcare. This is a welcome development following years of slow progress in embedding digital technologies into England’s NHS. This Nuffield Trust report explores the approach that other countries have taken to advance digital health. It asks four key research questions: How have policy-makers in different countries defined the objectives of digitalisation within healthcare? What policy approaches have been used in different countries to support and promote digitalisation in healthcare? What worked well, what were the challenges and how were they overcome? What are the implications for NHS digital health policy?
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Content Article
The Buurtzorg Model
Patient Safety Learning posted an article in International patient safety
Buurtzorg is a pioneering healthcare organisation established in 2006 with a nurse-led model of holistic care that revolutionised community care in the Netherlands. Self-management, continuity, building trusting relationships, and building networks in the neighbourhood are all important and logical principles for the teams. -
Content ArticleTCC-CASEMIX has created a unique infrastructure to provide total traceability of medical device performance. This infrastructure is supported by The Association of British HealthTech Industries [ABHI]. We refer to it as an 'Open Registry Infrastructure' for medical devices. It is 'open', because unlike existing clinically focused registries, which are 'closed', we enable wide searches across the registries connected into it. It is 'open' because registries will 'declare the content' (I don't know what I don't know, so how can I search for what I don't know?) Access to this infrastructure is through a Data Access Portal which is being configured for the specific needs of each stakeholder group. We are seeking interest from patient groups who would like to join an Advisory Board to help specify how data should be presented to patients in a way that is relevant and meaningful. Our vision is to link this portal into an enhanced pre-operative assessment process, and to transform patient informed consent.
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Content ArticleThis cross-sectional study in BMJ Quality & Safety examines the association of hospital nursing skill mix with patient mortality and quality of care. The study analysed patient discharge data, hospital characteristics and nurse and patient survey data from adult acute care hospitals in Belgium, England, Finland, Ireland, Spain and Switzerland. The authors found that a bedside care workforce with a greater proportion of professional nurses is associated with better outcomes for patients and nurses. They suggest that having a higher proportion of assistive nursing personnel without professional nurse qualifications reduces the skill mix and may: contribute to preventable deaths erode quality and safety of hospital care contribute to hospital nurse shortages.
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News Article
Europe must act now to stop the spread of deadly diseases due to COVID-19
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Healthcare workers and patients are being put at risk not only from COVID-19 but other deadly diseases as a result of an increase in sharps injuries due to the pandemic. Sharps injuries are accidents where a needle or other medical sharp instrument penetrates the skin with the potential to transfer blood borne viruses, including HIV or hepatitis B or C, from the patient to healthcare worker and vice versa. Sharps injuries cause increased costs and disruption in the healthcare system, which have all been exacerbated by the pandemic anyway. Sharps injuries also have a major emotional and mental impact on staff who always put patients first and literally have put their lives on the line during COVID-19. The European Biosafety Network has commissioned a survey to be published in June on the impact COVID-19 has had on sharps injuries in Europe. The preliminary findings of the survey by Ipsos MORI, covering more than 300,000 healthcare workers in 80 large public hospitals across Europe, show that the number of sharps injuries has increased by some 276,000 injuries (23%) over the last year: with 98% of respondents saying that the increase was a result of the increased pressure and stress due to COVID-19. Other recent published survey results also show that the number of reported sharps injuries has increased as a result of the pandemic. We need to ensure that other existing legislation and regulations which prevent sharps injuries are both understood and complied with. Read full story Source: The Brussels Times, 28 April 2021 -
Content Article
COVID-19: COGER Study (30 November 2020)
Patient Safety Learning posted an article in Data, research and statistics
The COGER study is collecting data to gain insight into the course of functional and medical recovery in older people affected by COVID-19 participating in rehabilitation across Europe. -
Content ArticleMedication errors present a major public health burden and there is a need to optimise risk minimisation and prevention of medication errors through the existing regulatory framework. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) in collaboration with the EU regulatory network was mandated to develop regulatory guidance for medication errors, taking into account the recommendations of a stakeholder workshop held in London in 2013. This guidance is intended to support the implementation of the new legal provisions regarding the reporting, evaluation and prevention of medication errors and is intended mainly for the pharmaceutical industry and national competent authorities. Healthcare professionals (HCP) are expected to consult national clinical guidance on reducing the risk of medication errors.
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Content ArticleQuality improvement and patient safety have been important topics on the agenda in the Danish health care system for >20 years. Over the years, Denmark has developed an array of national quality and patient safety initiatives. This paper aims to describe how quality improvement and patient safety initiatives have been organised in the Danish health care system and highlight how accountability has been achieved.
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Content ArticlePatient safety has gained less attention in primary care in comparison to specialised care. Kongsvik et al. explore how local medical centres (LMCs) can play a role in strengthening patient safety, both locally and in transitions between care levels. LMCs represent a form of intermediate care organisation in Norway that is increasingly used as a strategy for integrated care policies. The analysis is based on institutional theory and general safety theories.
