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Found 641 results
  1. Content Article
    Healthcare-associated infection (HAI) prevention has been difficult for healthcare providers to maintain during the Covid-19 pandemic. This study summarises themes for maintaining infection prevention activities learnt from the implementation of a quality improvement (QI) programme in intensive care units (ICUs) during the pandemic. The authors of the study conducted qualitative analysis of participants’ semi-structured exit interviews, self-assessments on HAI prevention activities, participant-created action plans, chat-box discussions during webinars and informal correspondence. The study identified four themes for successful maintenance of infection prevention activities during the pandemic: the value of a pre-existing infection prevention infrastructure flexibility in approach broad buy-in for maintaining QI programmes the facilitation of idea-sharing.
  2. Content Article
    Ensuring everyone has clean hands can protect patients from serious infections in healthcare facilities. However, studies show that on average, healthcare workers wash their hands less than half as many times as they should. This contributes to the spread of healthcare-associated infections, which affect 1 in 31 hospital patients in the US. This campaign by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) aims to improve healthcare provider adherence to hand hygiene recommendations, address myths and misperceptions about hand hygiene, and empower patients to play a role in their care by asking or reminding healthcare providers to clean their hands.
  3. News Article
    Flu and Covid are on the rise in England, with experts stressing the importance of vaccination and warning that people who feel unwell should stay at home rather than mingling with others during the festive season. The figures come as cases of scarlet fever and strep A infections continue to rise. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) added that while invasive strep A infections remain rare there have now been a total of 94 deaths in England, including 21 children. Dr Colin Brown, the deputy director at UKHSA, sought to reassure parents. “I understand how this large rise in scarlet fever and ‘strep throat’ may be concerning to parents, however the condition can be easily treated with antibiotics and it is very rare that a child will go on to become more seriously ill,” he said, adding that parents should visit NHS.UK, contact 111 online or their GP surgery if their child has symptoms so they can be assessed for treatment. Dr Mary Ramsay, the director of public health programmes at UKHSA, noted a link between indoor mixing and the rise in cases and hospital admissions for flu and Covid. “Both Covid and flu can cause severe illness or even death for those most vulnerable in our communities, and so it is also important to avoid contact with other people if you are unwell in order to help stop infections spreading over the Christmas and new year period,” she said. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 23 December 2022
  4. Content Article
    This paper has been produced by the Infection Management Coalition, provides an overview of the challenges in infection control and antimicrobial resistance. It offers recommendations for improving infection management in the following areas: Data Diagnostics and treatment End-to-end care Awareness and education.
  5. Content Article
    This blog is written by David Osborn, a health and safety consultant, reflecting on the blog written by Anna Carey regarding her guilt about not being able to return to work because of her Long Covid.
  6. News Article
    Antibiotics could be given to children at schools affected by Strep A to stop the spread of the infection, schools minister Nick Gibb has said. Mr Gibb told Sky News that the UK Health and Security Agency (UKHSA) is "working closely with the schools involved and giving very specific advice to those schools which may involve the use of penicillin". He added that health officials will "have more to say about that". "They're providing more general advice to parents, which is to look out for the symptoms - so, sore throat, fever, high temperature and also a red or raised rash on the skin are symptoms of this invasive Strep A outbreak." His comments came after the ninth death of a child from the infection. Read full story Source: Sky News, 6 December 2022
  7. Content Article
    Questions have been raised as to whether medical masks offer similar protection against Covid-19 compared with N95 respirators. This study in The Annals of Internal Medicine aimed to determine whether medical masks are noninferior to N95 respirators in preventing Covid-19 in healthcare workers providing routine care. The authors of the study conducted a multicentre, randomised, noninferiority trial at 29 healthcare facilities in Canada, Israel, Pakistan and Egypt. The study found that among healthcare workers who provided routine care to patients with Covid-19, the overall estimates rule out a doubling in hazard of PCR–confirmed Covid-19 for medical masks when compared with N95 respirators.
  8. News Article
    Public health leaders were slow to act on repeated warnings over Christmas 2020 that contact tracing and isolation should be triggered immediately after a positive lateral flow test result, leaked evidence to the Covid inquiry shows. A scathing “lessons learned” document written by Dr Achim Wolf, a senior test and trace official, and submitted to the inquiry, gives his account of a trail of missed opportunities to improve the NHS test-and-trace regime in the first winter and spring of the pandemic – before vaccines were available. It suggests that people will have unnecessarily spread the virus to friends and relatives in the first Christmas of the pandemic and subsequent January lockdown period because they were not legally required to isolate and have their contacts traced as soon as they got a positive lateral flow test. Instead, for around two months, those eligible for rapid testing were told to get a confirmatory PCR test after a positive lateral flow. About a third of those who subsequently got a negative PCR result were likely to have had Covid anyway. In the “lessons learned” document seen by the Guardian, Wolf says: “Over the winter months, the prevalence in individuals who had 1) a positive lateral flow; followed by 2) a negative PCR; may have been upwards of 30%. These individuals were then allowed to return to their high-risk workplaces.” The former head of policy at NHS test and trace highlights how it took too long to get clear advice from Public Health England about policy on contact tracing and isolation rules in the face of changing scientific evidence on the accuracy of lateral flows. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 30 November 2022
  9. News Article
    Staff mistakes in a private laboratory may have caused 23 extra deaths from Covid-19. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) made the claim in a report into errors at the Immensa lab in Wolverhampton. It said as many as 39,000 positive results were wrongly reported as negative in September and October 2021. The mistakes led to "increased numbers of [hospital] admissions and deaths", the report, published on Tuesday, concluded. Thousands of people, many in the South West, were wrongly told to stop testing after their results were processed by Immensa. The Wolverhampton laboratory was used for additional testing capacity for NHS Test and Trace from early September 2021, but testing was suspended on 12 October following reports of inaccurate results. Experts said high case rates in some areas were down to people unwittingly infecting others when they should have been isolating. UKHSA experts said the mistakes could have led to as many as 55,000 additional infections in areas where the false negatives were reported. "Each incorrect negative test likely led to just over two additional infections," the report said. "In those same geographical areas, our results also suggest an increased number of admissions and deaths." Read full story Source: BBC News, 29 November 2022
  10. News Article
    A coroner has written to the health secretary warning a lack of guidance around a bacteria that could contaminate new hospitals' water supply may lead to future deaths. It follows inquests into the deaths of Anne Martinez, 65, and Karen Starling, 54, who died a year after undergoing double lung transplants at the Royal Papworth Hospital in Cambridge in 2019. Both were exposed to Mycobacterium abscessus, likely to have come from the site's water supply. The coroner said there was evidence the risks of similar contamination was "especially acute for new hospitals". In a prevention of future deaths report, external, Keith Morton KC, assistant coroner for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, said 34 people had contracted the bacteria at the hospital since it opened at its new site in 2019. He said the bacteria "poses a risk of death to those who are immuno-suppressed" and there was a "lack of understanding" about how it entered the water system. There was "no guidance on the identification and control" of mycobacterium abscesses, the coroner said. Mr Morton said documentation on safe water in hospitals needed "urgent review and amendment". "Consideration needs to be given to whether special or additional measures are required in respect of the design, installation, commissioning and operation of hospital water systems in new hospitals," he said. Read full story Source: BBC News, 22 November 2022
  11. Content Article
    Karen Lesley Starling died on 7 February 2020 aged 54 and Anne Edith Martinez died on 17 December 2020 aged 65. Both deceased underwent successful lung transplant procedures at the new Royal Papworth Hospital. However, both women became infected with a hospital acquired infection, namely Mycobacteria abscessus (M. abscessus), and died. M. abscessus is an environmental non-tuberculous mycobacterium (NTM). It can sometimes be found in soil, dust and water, including municipal water supplies. It is usually harmless for healthy people but may cause opportunistic infection in vulnerable individuals. Lung transplant patients and lung defence patients such as Mrs Starling and Mrs Martinez were at particular risk of infection from mycobacteria, including M. abscessus.
  12. Content Article
    The Industrial Injuries Advisory Council (IIAC) is an independent scientific advisory body that looks at industrial injuries benefit and how it is administered. Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, the IIAC has been reviewing and assessing the increasing scientific evidence on the occupational risks of Covid-19. This report builds on an IIAC interim Position Paper published in February 2021 and considers more recent data on the occupational impacts of Covid-19, particularly around the longer term health problems and disability caused by the virus. IIAC found the most convincing and consistent evidence was for health and social care workers in certain occupational settings, who present with five serious pathological complications following Covid-19 that have been shown to cause persistent impairment and loss of function in some workers.
  13. Content Article
    The Covid Airborne Protection Alliance – formerly the AGP Alliance – (Chaired by BAPEN's Dr Barry Jones) is calling on Governments and health services in all four nations of the UK to review and update its guidance regarding personal protective equipment (PPE) for all health and social care staff as a matter of urgency. Stay up to date with their latest news.
  14. Content Article
    In this episode of 'Better Never Stops', Virginia Mason Institute Senior Partner Melissa Lin interviews Dana Nelson-Peterson, Vice President of Nursing Operations at Virginia Mason Franciscan Health, who shares what happens when you trust a management system and improvement process to solve your toughest challenges. Dana shares her story of leading a critical part of Virginia Mason’s Covid response.
  15. Content Article
    Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major challenge to the UK’s health security, and is already responsible for a significant burden of death, disability and prolonged illness globally. The growing resistance of bacteria, viruses and fungi to the drugs commonly used to treat them threatens modern medicine, and our ability to carry out standard medical procedures. This report draws on the expert input of a roundtable held by public service think tank Reform in October 2022, to assess progress made against proposals published by Reform in 2020.
  16. News Article
    Care homes and hospitals will be forced to allow visitors under plans being drawn up by the government. Helen Whately, the care minister, said shutting out relatives showed a lack of humanity. Covid-19 rules mean some of the country’s most vulnerable people still cannot have loved ones at their bedside. Whately, who has told of her personal grief and frustration at being barred from visiting her critically ill mother, is now developing laws to give residents and patients a right to receive visitors. Although official visiting restrictions were dropped in the spring in England, there are still widespread reports of care homes and hospitals refusing to let in relatives or imposing stringent conditions that ministers do not believe are justified by public health guidance. Hundreds of care homes still refuse to accept visitors entirely, according to government figures, while others restrict residents to one relative at a time. Campaigners report residents losing weight because their relatives cannot go in to help them at mealtimes amid staff shortages. They also fear residents are being left in bed for long periods because staff know there will be no visitors to check on them. Whately said that she was “determined to fix” the issue, adding: “No one can be in any doubt now how much visits matter”. Read full story (paywalled) Source: The Times, 11 November 2022 Related reading on the hub: Visiting restrictions and the impact on patients and their families: a relative's perspective It’s time to rename the ‘visitor’: reflections from a relative
  17. Content Article
    At the beginning of the pandemic, there was an important question to resolve: is coronavirus “airborne”? If it was, then this meant that the virus could transmit through the air from person to person, even over long distances, in indoor environments. We now know the answer is yes. In the 19th century diseases such as cholera and typhoid taught us the importance of water quality – coronavirus in the 21st century should provide that same realisation on the importance of air quality. Ideally, all indoor environments where people congregate should be fitted with modern, efficient ventilation systems that flush out potentially contaminated air and replace it with fresh, clean air continually. This would prevent the build-up of virus-containing aerosols and reduce the likelihood of transmission of covid-19 and other diseases such as influenza. With energy costs rising, it is vitally important to find methods of preventing virus transmission that are safe, quick to implement and affordable, writes Dr Alice Bunn in this HSJ article.
  18. Content Article
    The third leading cause of death in the US is its own healthcare system—medical errors lead to as many as 440,000 preventable deaths every year. To Err Is Human is an in-depth documentary about this silent epidemic and those working quietly behind the scenes to create a new age of patient safety. Through interviews with leaders in healthcare, footage of real-world efforts leading to safer care, and one family’s compelling journey from being victims of medical error to empowerment, the film provides a unique look at the US healthcare system’s ongoing fight against preventable harm.
  19. Content Article
    This webinar hosted by GovConnect features three presentations about digital wound management:Digital data and information (National Wound Care Strategy Programme)York Community Services approach to engagement of staff in digital changeDigitising wound care in the community: The challenges and successes (Livewell Southwest)
  20. News Article
    The Covid public inquiry has asked to see Boris Johnson's WhatsApp messages during his time as prime minister as part of its probe into decision-making. Counsel for the inquiry, Hugo Keith KC, said the messages had been requested alongside thousands of other documents. He said a major focus of this part of the inquiry was understanding how the "momentous" decisions to impose lockdowns and restrictions were taken. The revelations came as he set out the details of how this module will work. The inquiry is being broken down into different sections - or modules as they are being called. The preliminary hearing for module one, looking at how well prepared the UK was, took place last month. Monday marked the start of the preliminary hearing for module two, which is looking at the political decision-making. Mr Keith said this allowed the inquiry to take a "targeted approach". He said it would look at whether lives could have been saved by introducing an earlier lockdown at the start of 2020. Read full story Source: BBC News, 31 October 2022
  21. News Article
    A case of MRSA has been reported at the congested asylum processing centre at Manston in Kent, the Guardian has learned, after it emerged that Suella Braverman ignored advice that people were being kept at the centre unlawfully. The antibiotic-resistant bacteria was identified in an asylum seeker who initially tested positive for diphtheria. But the asylum seeker was moved out of the site in Ramsgate to a hotel hundreds of miles away before the positive test result was received, raising concerns about the spread of the infection. The Manston site is understood to now have at least eight confirmed cases of diphtheria, a highly contagious and potentially serious bacterial infection. Migrants are meant to be held at the short-term holding facility, which opened in January, for 24 hours while they undergo checks before being moved into immigration detention centres or asylum accommodation such as a hotel. But giving evidence to a committee of MPs last week, David Neal, the independent chief inspector of borders and immigration, said he had spoken to a family from Afghanistan living in a marquee for 32 days, and two families from Iraq and Syria sleeping on mats with blankets for two weeks. Conditions at the site left him “speechless”, he said. On a visit to the site on 24 October, Neal was told there were four confirmed cases of diphtheria. Protective medical equipment for staff has now been brought on to the site. Although diphtheria is a notifiable disease, meaning cases must be reported to authorities, those at Manston have not appeared on weekly public health reports. A Home Office spokesperson said it was “aware of a very small number of cases of diphtheria reported at Manston”, and that proper medical guidance and protocols were being followed. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 30 October 2022
  22. News Article
    A surge in Covid cases over winter could lead to harsh visiting restrictions being reimposed in care homes and hospitals, MPs and campaigners have warned. Families are still facing a “postcode lottery” of Covid restrictions in care homes, with visiting times restricted and personal protective equipment (PPE) obligatory. However MPs are worried that some will reimpose even harsher measures if Covid cases rise this winter. Daily global Covid infections are projected to rise slowly to around 18.7 million by February, up from the current 16.7 million average daily cases this October. MPs are calling for the government to enact legislation that would enshrine the right for an essential care giver to be present with their loved ones in care settings. Liberal Democrat MP Daisy Cooper said that one of her constituents, Lynn, was not allowed into a hospital A&E ward to see her husband Andy when his dementia deteriorated over Christmas last year. The hospital refused to let Andy have any visitors for two weeks until Ms Cooper intervened. When she was allowed in, Lynn was distraught to find that Andy had lost a significant amount of weight in the weeks he was isolated. Ms Cooper continued: “We have come a long way since last Christmas, and since the start of the pandemic, but as winter approaches the NHS and care settings are once again expected to struggle with a surge in Covid cases. “It is not inconceivable that what happened to Lynn and Andy could happen again to them and to many others.” Read full story Source: Independent, 30 October 2022 Further hub reading Visiting restrictions and the impact on patients and their families: a relative's perspective It’s time to rename the ‘visitor’: reflections from a relative Mother knows best – a blog by Dr Abha Agrawal
  23. News Article
    Eighteen people died at two Teesside hospital trusts following patient safety lapses over a 12-month period. Sixteen such deaths were recorded at the South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, with two at the North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust. Examples of patient safety lapses include a failure to provide or monitor care, a breakdown in communication, an out-of-control infection in a hospital, insufficient staffing or a missed diagnosis. NHS England figures show that, between April 2021 and March this year, there were 16,557 incidents at the South Tees Trust, which operates James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough, and Northallerton's Friarage Hospital. Thirty-four resulted in "severe" harm. Middlesbrough MP Andy McDonald told the Local Democracy Reporting Service the figures were a concern and that he planned to take them up with the South Tees Trust's chief executive. He said NHS staff worked under "the most demanding of conditions" but added: "Every person going into hospital rightly expects to receive the best treatment. Patient safety is paramount and no family wants to see a loved one suffer." Dr Mike Stewart, the trust's chief medical officer, said: "We encourage an open and transparent culture and promote the reporting of all patient safety incidents, even when there is uncertainty over a direct link between any problems in care and incidents of severe harm or death. "In the last year there were no deaths graded as definitely preventable due to a problem in the care delivered by the trust. "While our reporting has increased consistently over the last three years, the number of serious incidents has not risen, which is strong evidence of a positive safety culture." Read full story Source: BBC News, 30 October 2022
  24. Content Article
    This document by the World Health Organization (WHO) outlines an easy to follow country approach to developing or adapting an infection prevention and control guideline. It gives guidance on five steps countries can take: Prepare for action Baseline assessment Develop/adapt and execute Evaluate impact Sustain over the long term
  25. Content Article
    The Covid-19 pandemic has, in many ways, been healthcare’s finest hour. Clinicians performed miracles as they battled to understand a new disease, learning as they went along the techniques and approaches that gave patients the best chance of survival. But, for all this quiet heroism, the crisis also turned a harsh spotlight on the deficiencies of health systems, writes Sarah Neville in this Financial Times article.
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