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Showing results for tags 'Health inequalities'.
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Content ArticleThe model of general practice is changing and, at the core of this, general practice is moving away from a model of 'seeing a GP' to a model that is 'consulting with the multi-disciplinary team'. National Voices set up a project to understand awareness and experience of multidisciplinary teams across two groups: frequent users of primary care services and those who experience health inequalities. This report presents those insights and includes recommendations on how to improve experiences of multidisciplinary teams within general practice amongst populations who experience health inequalities and frequent users of primary care services. In particular, the report highlights how primary care teams can build trust and assure people that general practice has oversight of their care.
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Content ArticleThe USA President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology have released their report to the US President, Joe Biden, on patient safety. The report contains recommendations aimed at dramatically improving patient safety in Amercia.
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Content ArticleFrom endometriosis to heart attacks, this Guardian article look into the causes and symptoms, and explore gender disparities in quality of care
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News Article
NHS staff to be asked about sexual harassment for the first time
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
NHS staff will be asked if they have experienced sexual harassment or inappropriate behaviour in the workplace for the first time. In a letter, NHS England chief delivery officer Steve Russell said the upcoming annual staff survey would include the following question: “In the last 12 months, how many times have you been the target of unwanted behaviour of a sexual nature in the workplace? This may include offensive or inappropriate sexualised conversation (including jokes), touching or assault.” Mr Russell said the anonymous answers to the new question would “help us understand the potential prevalence of sexual misconduct in your organisation and inform further action to protect and support staff across the NHS”. It comes as NHSE launches the health service’s first sexual safety charter to help protect staff from harassment and inappropriate behaviour. The charter is an agreement comprising 10 pledges, including commitments to provide staff with clear reporting mechanisms, training, and support from managers. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 6 September 2023 -
News ArticleTonjanic Hill was overjoyed in 2017 when she learned she was 14 weeks pregnant. Despite a history of uterine fibroids, she never lost faith that she would someday have a child. But, just five weeks after confirming her pregnancy she seemed unable to stop urinating. She didn’t realize her amniotic fluid was leaking. Then came the excruciating pain. “I ended up going to the emergency room,” said Hill, now 35. “That’s where I had the most traumatic, horrible experience ever.” An ultrasound showed she had lost 90% of her amniotic fluid. Yet, over the angry protestations of her nurse, Hill said, the attending doctor insisted Hill be discharged and see her own OB-GYN the next day. The doctor brushed off her concerns, she said. The next morning, her OB-GYN’s office rushed her back to the hospital. But she lost her baby. Black women are less likely than women from other racial groups to carry a pregnancy to term — and in Harris County, where Houston is located, when they do, their infants are about twice as likely to die before their 1st birthday as those from other racial groups. Black fetal and infant deaths are part of a continuum of systemic failures that contribute to disproportionately high Black maternal mortality rates. “This is a public health crisis as it relates to Black moms and babies that is completely preventable,” said Barbie Robinson, who took over as executive director of Harris County Public Health in March 2021. “When you look at the breakdown demographically — who’s disproportionately impacted by the lack of access — we have a situation where we can expect these horrible outcomes.” Read full story Source: KFF Health News, 24 August 2023
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News ArticleAn NHS body is encouraging women with breast cancer from minority backgrounds to take part in more clinical trials, after research found they are under-represented in studies that can offer life-saving treatment. The pilot project, supported by the NHS Race and Health Observatory, is intended to improve representation in breast cancer clinical trials partly through culturally sensitive communications to people from racially diverse backgrounds. Research from the UK Health Security Agency suggests young black women are more likely to have aggressive breast cancer tumours, experience poorer care and have higher mortality rates, but are significantly under-represented in clinical research. Their lack of inclusion in trials could be partly down to distrust of the research process and a lack of knowledge, according to research by the UK’s National Institute for Health Research. The project, which works in conjunction with Macmillan Cancer Support and the pharmaceutical company Roche, will run for a year and look at developing new ways for people with breast cancer to access clinical trials. It will develop action plans to improve representation and provide enhanced support for patients. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 31 August 2023
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News Article
A public defibrillator may be a mile away in deprived areas
Patient-Safety-Learning posted a news article in News
In the most deprived areas of England and Scotland, the nearest 24/7 accessible defibrillator is on average a round trip of 1.8 km away—over a mile—according to a pioneering study supported by the British Heart Foundation (BHF). The researchers, led by Dr Chris Wilkinson, senior lecturer in cardiology at Hull York Medical School, used data from national defibrillator network The Circuit to calculate the median road distance to a defibrillator with unrestricted public access across Great Britain's 1.7 million postcodes. Among the 78,425 defibrillator locations included, the median distance from the centre of a postcode to a 24/7 public access defibrillator was 726.1 metres – 0.45 miles. In England and Scotland, the more deprived an area was, the farther its average distance from a 24/7-accessible defibrillator – on average 99 metres more in England, and 317 metres farther in Scotland for people living in the most compared with the least deprived areas. There was no link between defibrillator location and deprivation in Wales. The researchers said they hoped the findings, presented at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress in Amsterdam and published in the journal Heart, would lead to more equal access to defibrillators. They noted that there were over 30,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCA) annually in the UK; in England nearly 30% happened at weekends, and 40% between 6pm and 6am. Read full story Read research study: Automated external defibrillator location and socioeconomic deprivation in Great Britain (28 August 2023) Source: Medscape, 29 August 2023 -
Content ArticleThe early use of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) improves outcomes in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). This study in the journal Heart investigated AED access across Great Britain according to socioeconomic deprivation. The authors found that in England and Scotland, there are differences in distances to the nearest 24/7 accessible AED between the most and least deprived communities. They concluded that equitable access to ‘out-of-hours’ accessible AEDs may improve outcomes for people with OHCA.
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News Article
‘Cost of living crisis’ contributing to stillbirths, research finds
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The cost of living squeeze is a significant factor in some stillbirths, according to case reviews carried out in one of England’s most deprived areas. The review was undertaken in Bradford last year, and concluded: ”the current financial crisis is impacting on the ability of some women to attend essential antenatal appointments”. Missing these appointments was a factor in a range of maternity safety events, including stillbirths, it said. The researchers are now calling for new national funding to help ensure expectant parents do not miss important appointments because they cannot afford to attend. The research findings include: ‘Did not attend’ rates increased due to lack of funds for transport to antenatal appointments; “Lack of credit on phones prevented communication between women and maternity services, for example, making [them] unable to rearrange scans or appointments”; Wide spread incidence of “digital poverty, [for example] a lady with type 1 [diabetes] was unable to monitor her glycaemic control over night due to only having one phone charger in the house”; and “Families with babies on a neonatal unit going without food in order to finance transport to and from the unit.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 25 August 2023 -
News ArticleThe United States is in the middle of a maternal health crisis. Today, a woman in the US is twice as likely to die from pregnancy than her mother was a generation ago. Statistics from the World Health Organization show the United States has one of the highest rates of maternal death in the developed world. Women in the US are 10 or more times likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than mothers in Poland, Spain or Norway. Some of the worst statistics come out of the South - in places like Louisiana, where deep pockets of poverty, health care deserts and racial biases have long put mothers at risk. Dr Rebekah Gee: The state of maternal health in the United States is abysmal. And Louisiana is the highest maternal mortality in the US. So, in the developed world, Louisiana has the worst outcomes for women having babies." A third of Louisiana's parishes are maternal health deserts – meaning they don't have a single OB-GYN, leaving more than 51 thousand women in the state without easy access to care and three times more likely to die of pregnancy related causes. Read full story Source: CBS News, 20 August 2023
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Content ArticlePeople living in deprived areas experience the most significant health inequalities in terms of access, experience and outcomes. There are large reductions in life expectancy for those living in the most deprived areas compared to people living in the least deprived areas. NHS England commissioned a research project into access, experience and outcomes related to health services in socio-economically deprived communities. This communications and engagement toolkit is an output of the research. The toolkit is designed to be used by communications and engagement professionals and others across the NHS with a responsibility for communicating to and engaging with people in the most deprived areas.
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News ArticleHundreds of migrants have declined NHS treatment after being presented with upfront charges over the past two years, amid complaints the government’s “hostile environment” on immigration remains firmly in place. Data compiled by the Observer under the Freedom of Information Act shows that, since January 2021, 3,545 patients across 68 hospital trusts in England have been told they must pay upfront charges totalling £7.1m. Of those, 905 patients across 58 trusts did not proceed with treatment. NHS trusts in England have been required to seek advance payment before providing elective care to certain migrants since October 2017. It covers overseas visitors and migrants ruled ineligible for free healthcare, such as failed asylum seekers and those who have overstayed their visa. The policy is not supposed to cover urgent or “immediately necessary” treatment. However, there have been multiple cases of people wrongly denied treatment. Dr Laura-Jane Smith, a consultant respiratory physician and member of the campaign group Medact, said: “I had a patient we diagnosed as an emergency with lung cancer but they were told they would be charged upfront for treatment and then never returned for a follow-up. This was someone who had been in the country for years but who did not have the right official migration status. A cancer diagnosis is devastating. To then be abandoned by the health service is inhumane.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 20 August 2023
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Content ArticleChris Graham of the Picker Institute and Jacob Lant from charity National Voices join host Annabelle Collins to discuss patient experience revealed by recent national surveys, how the findings should be used to improve quality and reduce health inequalities, and whether there is a bigger role for “real-time” experience measures.
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Content ArticleGeorgia Stevenson discusses NHS England’s Long Term Workforce Plan, evaluating its potential to alleviate staffing shortages, enhance training routes, and ultimately improve care quality in maternity and neonatal services.
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Content ArticleThere is a well-established case for involving communities and people with lived experience in health and care policy, service design and delivery. NHS England guidance on working in partnership with communities highlights the financial benefits and improvements to quality and health outcomes that working with local communities brings. But could this involvement go further? In this article, Loreen Chikwira, Researcher at The King's Fund looks at the arguments for the use of intersectional approaches in understanding people’s lived experience of care in tackling ethnic health inequalities. These intersectional approaches help health and care providers shift their focus from people’s behaviours to also identifying and addressing ways of working that create and reinforce inequalities and poor experiences of care.
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EventuntilProfessor Bola Owolabi, Director of the National Healthcare Inequalities Improvement Programme at NHS England, will be kicking off Patient Partnership Week 2023 on Monday 25th September. Prof Owolabi, who also works as GP in the Midlands, will be in conversation with Rachel Power, Chief Executive of the Patients Association. They'll be talking about the vital role partnerships with patients and communities play in tackling health inequalities. Sign up for this free event which will be held on Zoom About CORE20PLUS5 Prof Owolabi has spearheaded NHS England’s Core20PLUS5 approach to narrowing healthcare inequalities. Core20PLUS5 is a national approach to reducing healthcare inequalities. It defines a target population – the ‘Core20PLUS’ – and identifies ‘5’ clinical areas that require improvement. The Core20 refers to the most deprived 20% of the population. The PLUS are groups identified in a local area such as ethnic minority communities or people with multiple long-term health conditions. The 5 are these clinical areas: maternity, severe mental illness, chronic respiratory disease, early cancer diagnosis, and hypertension.
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EventuntilCare experienced young people are much more likely to experience poorer health, wellbeing, social and educational outcomes compared with the general population. These inequalities are not new, but were exacerbated by Covid-19 as care leavers experienced disrupted relationships and reduced access to support services. Specific groups of care leavers are likely to face additional disadvantages, such as those from ethnic minority backgrounds, unaccompanied refugee and asylum seeking children and/or disabled young people. Yet the health and health inequalities of young care leavers have largely been ignored within policy and practice. As part of AYPH’s youth health inequalities programme we reviewed the available evidence and undertook a youth engagement project with young people to draw together what we know. In this webinar you will hear directly from young people who will share their experiences of the barriers they face in leading healthy lives and accessing healthcare services. We will also highlight the latest available data on care leavers and health outcomes, demonstrating where inequalities exist for young people aged 10-25. During the event we will be launching two major publications that explore in more detail the role of care experience in understanding young people’s health, this will be the first opportunity to hear the learnings and recommendations from this research. The webinar is hosted jointly by the Association for Young People's Health and Coram Voice and will be co-chaired by a young person with experience on this topic. We will be joined by a range of expert speakers – more information to follow soon. Register for the webinar
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News Article
Mapped: RTT waiting times
Patient-Safety-Learning posted a news article in News
HSJ has published an interactive map of local NHS waits around England in June 2023, showing the pressures, with links to all the details by organisation and specialty. It shows the local picture on 18-week referral to treatment taken from the latest Referral to Treatment (RTT) waiting times data released by NHS England. View the map Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 14 August 2023 -
Content ArticleNew research from Healthwatch shows that people are currently facing multiple cancellations or postponements of care which are having a significant impact on their lives and symptoms, while further increasing health inequalities. Healthwatch cmmissioned a survey of 1084 people who have seen their NHS care either cancelled or postponed this year to understand the extent of disruption to care amid rising waiting lists, workforce issues, and industrial action, and other pressures on the NHS.
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EventuntilThe Cancer Care Conference will be a culmination of Public Policy Projects' year-long programme to develop the Cancer Care Delivery Plan, and will feature a broad range of high-level speakers who are key players in cancer care policy and delivery. This full-day in-person conference in London will give you a unique opportunity to take part in conversations that will shape a broad range of healthcare policy that aims to improve delivery of cancer care. The Conference will also feature delegates from NHS England, NHS trusts, cancer specialists, academics, patient advocacy groups and leading industry partners, providing a space to network and develop relations that can enable substantive improvements in cancer care. Key topics Improving prevention, screening and treatment practices Addressing inequalities in access and outcomes Delivering personalised care and precision medicine Effectively utilising technology and data to improve care Addressing workforce and resource challenges Register for the conference
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News Article
Bisexual people ‘experience worse health outcomes than other adults’
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Bisexual people experience worse health outcomes than other adults in England, a study has found. Data from lesbian, gay or bisexual (LGB) patients indicates these groups have poorer health outcomes compared to those who identify as heterosexual. The new findings indicate that bisexual people face additional health disparities within an already marginalised community. Experts from the Brighton and Sussex Medical School, and Anglia Ruskin University who led the analysis of more than 835,000 adults in England, suggest the differences could result from unique prejudice and discrimination that can come from both mainstream society and LGBTQ+ communities. Read full story Source: The Independent, 25 July 2023 -
Content ArticleThis toolkit summarises good practice for Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) and primary care commissioners and providers regarding the provision of primary care services for people seeking asylum who are living in initial and contingency accommodation. It aims to ensure equality in access to services and improved long-term health outcomes for residents in Home Office accommodation, minimising health inequalities and encouraging collaborative working with accommodation providers and other local stakeholders.
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News Article
‘A critical emergency’: America’s Black maternal mortality crisis
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
America is facing an intensified push to pass stalled federal legislation to address the US’s alarming maternal mortality rates and glaring racial disparities which have led to especially soaring death rates among Black women giving birth. Maternal mortality rates in the US far outpace rates in other industrialised nations, with rates more than double those of countries such as France, Canada, the UK, Australia, Germany. Moms in the US are dying at the highest rates in the developed world. Overall maternal mortality rates in the US spiked during the pandemic. Maternal deaths in the US rose 40% from 861 in 2020 to 1,205 in 2021, a rate of 32.9 deaths per 100,000 live births. For Black women, these maternal mortality rates were significantly higher, at 69.9 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2021. These racial disparities in maternal health outcomes have persisted and worsened for years as the number of women who die giving birth in the US has more than doubled in the last two decades. The CDC noted in a review of maternal mortalities in the US from 2017 to 2019, that 84% of the recorded maternal deaths were preventable. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 23 July 2023 -
Content ArticleThe NHS Long Term Workforce Plan 2023 is crucial to the long term sustainability of the health service. The National Centre for Rural Health and Care is concerned that the plan has not been 'rural proofed' and makes very few references to rural issues. They are preparing a response and are looking for views about the plan through this survey. The closing date for responses is 4 August 2023.
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Content ArticleThe New Zealand Ministry of Health has released its first Women’s Health Strategy, which sets the direction for improving the health and wellbeing of women over the next 10 years. It outlines long-term priorities which will guide health system progress towards equity and healthy futures for women. The vision of the strategy is pae ora (healthy futures) for women. All women will: live longer in good health have improved wellbeing and quality of life be part of healthy, and resilient whānau and communities, within healthy environments that sustain their health and wellbeing. A key priority is equitable health outcomes for wāhine Māori, a commitment under Te Tiriti o Waitangi (The Treaty of Waitangi). The strategy also aims to help achieve equity of health outcomes between men and women, and between all groups of women.
