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Found 110 results
  1. News Article
    All new hospitals built in England must have only single patient rooms, health infrastructure chiefs have confirmed, requiring an overhaul of many trusts’ current proposals. Leaders of the New Hospitals Programme said the NHS needed to be “brave”, with the move marking an end for multi-bed bay wards and representing a major change in hospital design. Previously, NHS trusts were expected to consider a minimum of 50% single rooms when refurbishing or building new facilities, but HSJ revealed in September that officials were considering a 100 per cent requirement. Natalie Forrest, senior responsible officer for NHP, said England was “behind the times” on single patient rooms. She said: “If we really want to look for evidence of why patients should have the ability to sleep in privacy and choose to socialise in social areas… we need not look very far. Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Europe, the US – where they wouldn’t dream of building a hospital that didn’t provide single bedroom occupancy.” Ms Forrest, who is also a nurse, acknowledged an “anxiety” among NHS staff that they can’t care for patients in single rooms as well, and stressed the need to combine them with “digital technology”. “I have said we need to be brave and take on new challenges, and this is one of those brave decisions the NHS needs to stand up and move forward with.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 13 December 2022
  2. News Article
    English hospitals have increased emergency fuel supplies and put staff on standby to postpone operations and switch off X-ray scanners amid heightened concerns over energy provision this winter. NHS hospital trusts across England have put their power plans under the microscope as they look to protect patients from potential outages for lifesaving equipment. Responses to freedom of information requests to 63 NHS trusts revealed that 41 are re-examining their plans for a loss of power for this winter. A further 10 trusts said they conducted routine reviews of their business continuity plans this year, while 12 had not revised their strategies. National Grid warned in October that, in extreme circumstances, it would be forced to enact planned three-hour power cuts with a days’ notice. Major hospitals are exempt from this system, called rota disconnection, however businesses and the government have studied their plans for a complete power failure on the network. Despite the pressure on the NHS budgets, the responses show that most hospitals have up-to-date plans and backup generators to ensure lives are not lost due to lack of power. A quarter of hospital trusts said they were able to run indefinitely on backup diesel generator power, providing they had access to fuel supplies. Just over 10% said they could run on backup power for 10 days. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 12 December 2022
  3. News Article
    Dilapidated mental health facilities across the country are in need of £677m worth of repairs to fix sewerage issues, collapsing roofs and wards that deprive patients of their dignity, The Independent has been told. An NHS analysis of the government’s flagship programme to build 40 hospitals, seen by The Independent, shows ministers have failed in their promise of “parity” for mental health services as issues are not addressed. NHS trust and psychiatry leaders warned that the out-of-date buildings are putting patients at risk and urged the government to include six mental health hospitals within its next round of improvements. Data analysis by the Royal College of Psychiatrists, shared with The Independent, found that the cost of fixing “high and significant” risks in mental health and learning disability hospitals has rocketed from £92m in 2019-20 to £186m in 2021-22 – far higher than the 16 per cent increase in costs seen in acute hospitals. These are risks that must be fixed to avoid “catastrophic” failure or safety problems that could result in serious injury. Saffron Cordery, interim chief executive at NHS Providers, said patients and staff are at risk because so many buildings aren’t fit for purpose, and warned that things will get worse until mental health trusts get the capital funding they need. Read full story Source: The Independent, 11 December 2022
  4. News Article
    NHS England has warned trusts not to compromise on fire safety when using corridor spaces to treat patients, amid growing pressure to accommodate more patients. It comes as emergency departments face increasing pressure from national and regional officials to find more space for patients this winter – even when they are deemed full to capacity – to reduce ambulance handover delays. The guidance, issued earlier this month, says trusts should complete new fire safety risk assessments before bringing any new part of a hospital into use for patient care, or extending the capacity of an existing area. It also said trusts have a legal duty to ensure escape routes are kept clear. It added: “As we continue to find extra capacity in the estate by newly using, or re-using, parts of hospitals for patient treatment or care, or increasing the capacity of existing areas, we would like to remind you of how any change of use of areas may affect fire safety requirements. “Under no circumstances must fire compliance be compromised on sites which have been changed.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 29 November 2022
  5. 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
  6. 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.
  7. News Article
    The Government has insisted that plans to build 48 ‘new’ hospitals by 2030 will still go ahead, despite widespread concerns over timelines and increasing construction costs. In its 2019 manifesto, the Conservative Party announced the New Hospitals Programme, a pledge to build 48 new hospitals across the country, including eight schemes that had been announced by previous governments. However, since then, the number has been seemingly interchangeable, with the Government, in a response to questions from BBH, referring to just 40 developments in total, even though the GM Government website clearly mentions 48. And, to date, just two of those projects have been completed, while only five others are under construction. The remaining schemes are still in the planning or approval stages, and this, combined with rising inflation and construction costs and a shortage of building materials, has led to concerns that they will not go ahead. Read full story Source: Building Better Healthcare, 28 November 2022
  8. Content Article
    Behind the scenes at one of the UK’s biggest hospitals as it transitions from old to new.  The Royal Liverpool University Hospital moves thousands of patients and staff to a new building. This programme documents their journey, the challenges faced and human factors involved.
  9. Content Article
    This is part of our series of Patient Safety Spotlight interviews, where we talk to people working for patient safety about their role and what motivates them. Tracey talks to us about the role of NHS Supply Chain in ensuring the products procured through the NHS Supply are of high quality and are safe for healthcare organisations to use. She also highlights the vital importance of complaints and the need for staff who don’t work in direct care delivery to recognise their role in patient safety.
  10. News Article
    Patients have been asking to go to other hospitals rather than one where the ageing roof is being held up by more than 2,400 wooden and steel posts. The Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King's Lynn has already had to close four of its seven operating theatres because of concerns the ceiling could collapse. Alex Stewart, head of Healthwatch Norfolk, said some pregnant women have asked to go to other hospitals. The Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) opened in 1980, one of seven hospitals built using a material called reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC). The material has serious weaknesses and is deteriorating, with uncertainty over its structural integrity leading to more than £100m being spent this financial year on safety measures across the affected sites. Mr Stewart told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "I think people are very frustrated, they're well aware that the hospital staff inspect the hospital on a daily basis, several times a day. "That said, we are aware of patients, for example, who are giving birth, who have asked to go to other hospitals because they're scared in case the roof might fall in on them." The hospital's interim chief executive, Alice Webster, said while four theatres have had to be closed, "potentially" there could be problems with the ceilings in the others. "We continue to monitor it on a daily basis," she said. "We're making sure our theatres are functioning longer, we're functioning at weekends and trying to manage the waiting lists that way." She added: "If we don't get a new hospital we will have to review all the services that we currently provide, but we won't be able to provide all the services that we currently do." Read full story Source: BBC News, 13 November 2022
  11. 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.
  12. News Article
    A health visitor wrote to housing officials expressing concern about conditions in a rented flat months before a two-year-old died after his exposure to mould. An inquest in Rochdale is investigating the death of toddler Awaab Ishak who lived with his mother and father in a one-bedroom housing estate flat managed by Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH). Awaab’s father, Faisal Abdullah, first reported the damp and mould in autumn 2017, a year before the birth of his son. He made numerous complaints – phoning and emailing – and requested re-housing. In December 2020 Awaab developed flu-like symptoms and had difficulty breathing. He was given hospital treatment and then discharged. Two days later his condition at home worsened and he was seen at Rochdale urgent care centre where he was found to be in respiratory failure. He was transferred to Royal Oldham hospital where, upon arrival, he was in cardiac arrest and died. It was just a week after his second birthday. A pathologist told the inquest that the child’s throat was swollen to an extent it would compromise breathing. Exposure to fungi was the most plausible explanation for the inflammation. Lawyers for the family say the inquest will consider a number of matters including concerns about mould and damp and how they were dealt with. It will also look at the sharing of information between agencies and how the family’s cultural and language requirements were taken into account. Officials from RBH have yet to give evidence at the inquest but a statement was provided to the coroner on Tuesday in which RBH admits it “should have taken responsibility for the mould issues and undertaken a more proactive response”. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 8 November 2022
  13. News Article
    A trust has called for ministers to make an ‘urgent’ decision on funding for a new hospital, as a raft of maintenance problems such as leaking roofs and overflowing sewage pipes are hampering efforts to tackle waiting list backlogs. There was a surge in estates’ incidents reported by Princess Alexandra Hospital Trust last year — to an average of nearly 12 each week — and the Essex trust is calling for clarity on whether it will be given the green light to build a new hospital. The trust is one of eight given priority status under the government’s new hospitals programme, but there has been speculation in recent weeks the programme could be scaled back as departments are told to find spending cuts. Michael Meredith, estates director at Princess Alexandra Hospital, said patients still received good care, but admitted the problems – which include sewage overflow, outdated electrics and theatre roofs leaking – were “absolutely” affecting the hospital’s ability to recover elective care. He told HSJ: “It means you have to cancel some of your elective work. And at the moment that is critical, because we know [we’ve] got a long waiting list, we know we need to recover, we know we’ve got people waiting longer than they need to… “That has a real impact on our staff morale, and a real impact on patients waiting to be seen.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 1 November 2022
  14. Content Article
    In this blog, Saffron Cordery, Interim Chief Executive at NHS Providers, examines progress on the Government's manifesto pledge to build 40 new hospitals in England by 2030. Known as the New Hospital Programme (NHP), many of these projects are facing serious delays, with seven of the 40 not yet having a completion date. In a recent survey by NHS Providers, nearly two in three leaders said delays to the programme affected their ability to deliver safe and effective patient care, with all those facing delays reporting cost implications. Saffron highlights the opportunity the NHP presents to boost healthcare and renew services, and argues that the impact on communities will be huge if the new hospital plans are scrapped.
  15. News Article
    New hospitals may be required to have single patient rooms only, HSJ has revealed Chiefs at the New Hospitals Programme (NHP) are assessing whether to include a requirement for 100% single rooms in the new facilities, in what would be a major change for NHS hospital design. It comes a year after NHS England medical director Stephen Powis said single patient rooms should be “the default” in hospitals as this would improve infection control and patient flow. Currently, the Department of Health and Social Care expects hospitals to consider a minimum of 50% single rooms when refurbishing or building new sites. HSJ understands the NHP is working with the NHS’ technical standards team on how many single rooms will be required in the new hospitals the government has committed to building by 2030. The teams are considering recommending the percentage to be raised from 50% to 100%. The work is part of efforts to standardise design across the NHP projects and so therefore better control costs. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 30 September 2022
  16. News Article
    Dangerous roofs that could collapse at any time at hospitals across England will not be fixed until 2035, NHS bosses have admitted. The disclosure came in NHS England’s response to a freedom of information request from the Liberal Democrats about hospitals that have roofs at risk of falling down on to staff, patients and equipment. One of the hospitals used by Liz Truss’s constituents, the Queen Elizabeth in King’s Lynn, Norfolk, is at joint highest risk, with four dangerous roofs. The roofs are built with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC), a lightweight, cheaper form of material that one hospital boss has called “a ticking timebomb”. Some hospital managers are so worried that their RAAC roofs could crash down without warning that they have had to install hundreds of steel props to hold them up. Matthew Taylor, the chief executive of the NHS Confederation, a hospitals group, said: “The prime minister acknowledged during the leadership contest that her own local hospital is falling apart and is being held up by stilts. Yet her government has not yet signalled any intention to give the NHS the urgent capital investment it needs to update its buildings and estates. The Department of Health and Social Care said it was “committed to urgently addressing any risks to patient and staff safety”. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 28 September 2022
  17. News Article
    A major acute site has issued a ‘full capacity’ alert to staff, just days before the services are due to move into a replacement hospital with fewer beds. In an email seen by HSJ, medical leaders at the Royal Liverpool Hospital alerted staff to extreme pressures on the site, with ambulances being held outside and “no space” in resuscitation areas. The RLH currently has around 685 beds, but at the end of this month the services are due to start transferring to the long-awaited new Royal Liverpool, on an adjacent site. The new hospital has 640 beds, and several frontline staff have told HSJ this is causing significant concern, with the current services under so much pressure. One senior source at the trust said there has been a push since 2017 to reduce inpatients beds at the current hospital, to try and match the capacity of the new build, but this hasn’t been achieved. They added: “Surgeons are concerned that their beds will get filled with medical outliers. The whole issue is all the patients who are waiting for social care. It was supposed to have been sorted by now.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 13 September 2022
  18. News Article
    Over 50 new surgical hubs will open across the country to help bust the Covid-19 backlogs and offer hundreds of thousands more patients quicker access to vital procedures, Steve Barclay, has announced. These hubs will provide at least 100 more operating theatres and over 1,000 beds so people get the surgery they need. And they will deliver almost two million extra routine operations to reduce waiting lists over the next three years, backed by £1.5billion in government funding. They will focus mainly on providing high-volume, low-complexity surgery, as previously recommended by the Royal College of Surgeons of England, with particular emphasis on ophthalmology, general surgery, trauma and orthopaedics, gynaecology, ear nose and throat, and urology. Located on existing hospital sites, the surgical hubs will bring together skills and expertise of staff under one roof – reducing waiting times for some of the most-common procedures such as cataract surgeries and hip replacements. Improving quality and efficiency will mean patients have shorter waits for surgery, will be more likely to go home on the same day, and will be less likely to need additional treatment. And, as the hubs are separated from emergency services, surgical beds are kept free for patients waiting for planned operations, reducing the risk of short-notice cancellations and improving infection control. Read full story Source: Building Better Healthcare, 5 September 2022
  19. News Article
    When the new Royal Liverpool Hospital opens its doors in October, every patient will have a single room with an en-suite bathroom. That set-up is unusual for acute hospitals in England, but many feel it is the future for all new buildings. "There's the privacy and dignity from the patient's point of view," says Jacqui Stamper, the hospital's associate chief nurse. "If they're in the room and talking to the doctors or the nurses, there isn't somebody just the other side of a curtain listening." "And then there's the infection prevention side of it as well. "It's absolutely the state of the art way of hospital care really." The new system will require staff to work differently, so patients can be properly monitored. Each ward has been broken up into smaller zones of between six and eight beds, and each zone has its own base where the nurses will sit. The trust which runs the hospital is currently running workshops to get staff used to the layout. "Nursing staff will be used to working in a bigger team than a couple of people, so it is a different way of working," Ms Stamper says. "We're listening to our staff and their concerns and answering those to see how we can address them going forward." Read full story Source: BBC News, 2 September 2022
  20. News Article
    Half of healthcare facilities worldwide lack basic hygiene services with water and soap or alcohol-based hand rub where patients receive care and at toilets in these facilities, according to a new report by WHO and UNICEF. Around 3.85 billion people use these facilities, putting them at greater risk of infection, including 688 million people who receive care at facilities with no hygiene services at all. “Hygiene facilities and practices in health care settings are non-negotiable. Their improvement is essential to pandemic recovery, prevention and preparedness. Hygiene in health care facilities cannot be secured without increasing investments in basic measures, which include safe water, clean toilets, and safely managed health care waste,” said Dr Maria Neira, WHO Director, Department of Environment, Climate Change and Health. “I encourage Member States to step up their efforts to implement their 2019 World Health Assembly commitment to strengthen water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services in health care facilities, and to monitor these efforts.” The latest report, “Progress on WASH in health care facilities 2000–2021: special focus on WASH and infection prevention and control”, has for the first time established this global baseline on hygiene services – which assessed access at points of care as well as toilets – as more countries than ever report on critical elements of WASH services in their hospitals and other health centres. For hygiene, data are now available for 40 countries, representing 35% of the world’s population, up from 21 countries in 2020 and 14 in 2019. The newly established global estimate reveals a clearer and more alarming picture of the state of hygiene in health care facilities. Though 68% of health care facilities had hygiene facilities at points of care, and 65% had handwashing facilities with water and soap at toilets, only 51% had both and therefore met the criteria for basic hygiene services. Furthermore, 1 in 11 (9%) of health care facilities globally have neither. “If health care providers don’t have access to a hygiene service, patients don’t have a health care facility,” said Kelly Ann Naylor, UNICEF Director of WASH and Climate, Environment, Energy, and Disaster Risk Reduction (CEED). “Hospitals and clinics without safe water and basic hygiene and sanitation services are a potential death trap for pregnant mothers, newborns, and children. Every year, around 670,000 newborns lose their lives to sepsis. This is a travesty – even more so as their deaths are preventable.” Read full story Source: WHO, 30 August 2022
  21. News Article
    Hospital trusts in England face “eye-watering” rises in energy bills of £2m a month each due to the fuel price surge, with NHS leaders saying patients may face longer waiting times or even see their care “cut back” as a result. NHS trusts are concerned they will have to make critical choices on staff levels and the services they provide in order to keep operating, with energy costs predicted to be as much as three times higher than a year ago. The BMJ surveyed NHS trusts in England for details of their recent and predicted future energy bills and how they expected to operate this coming winter when taking into account the additional energy charges on the way. Most said they expected their energy bills to double at least. Rory Deighton, senior acute lead at the NHS Confederation, which represents the whole healthcare system in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, said: “This isn’t an abstract problem, as the gap in funding from rising inflation will either have to be made up by fewer staff being employed, longer waiting times for care, or other areas of patient care being cut back." Read full story Source: The Guardian, 1 September 2022
  22. News Article
    Thirty-four hospital buildings in England have roofs made of concrete that is so unstable they could fall down at any time, ministers have admitted. The revelation has prompted renewed fears that ceilings at the hospitals affected might suddenly collapse, injuring staff and patients, and calls for urgent action to tackle the problem. Maria Caulfield, a health minister, made the disclosure in a written answer to a parliamentary question asked by the Liberal Democrats’ health spokesperson, Daisy Cooper. Caulfield said surveys carried out by the NHS found that 34 buildings at 16 different health trusts contained reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC), which one hospital boss has likened to a “chocolate Aero bar”. RAAC was widely used in building hospitals and schools in the 1960s, 70s and 80s but has a 30-year lifespan and is now causing serious problems. In 2020 Simon Corben, NHS England’s director of estates, declared that RAAC planks posed a “significant safety risk” because their age meant they could fall down without warning. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 14 August 2022
  23. News Article
    NHS England has called for a “deep dive” into local evacuation and shelter arrangements, amid ongoing concerns about outdated and unsafe estate. NHS England’s director of emergency preparedness, resilience and response Stephen Groves wrote to trusts: “Following the publication of the updated evacuation and shelter guidance for the NHS in England, and recent work driven by the heightened risk associated with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC), the 2022-23 EPRR annual deep dive will focus on local evacuation and shelter arrangements.” The letter, sent at the end of last week, comes amid growing concerns about NHS estate, including RAAC planks which were used in constructing public sector buildings in the 1960s, 70s and 80s. Areas to be examined in the deep dive vary by type of organisation. However, according to a self-assessment tool referenced in the letter, questions for providers include: whether they have “a process in place to triage patients in the event of an incident requiring evacuation and/or shelter of patients”; whether there are “effective arrangements in place to support partners in a community evacuation, where the population of a large area may need to be displaced”; and whether “evacuation and shelter arrangements include resilient mechanisms to communicate with staff, patients, their families and the public, pre, peri and post evacuation”. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 5 August 2022
  24. News Article
    Implementation of Boris Johnson’s flagship pledge to build 40 new hospitals is “moving at a glacial pace” and is hamstrung by delays and a lack of funding, NHS bosses have warned. Some of the construction schemes have already fallen as much as four years behind schedule, while others have been hit by massive cost increases because of difficulties in obtaining sign-off on certain points. The new hospitals programme in England is progressing so slowly that bosses of half of the hospitals earmarked to benefit doubt whether they will ever get the money to deliver the promised rebuild, according to a report and survey of health service trust chiefs by NHS Providers. One hospital in a rural area had to send seriously ill patients to other hospitals as much as 50 miles away and cancel cancer surgery when an inspection found that the ceiling of its intensive care unit was in danger of collapsing. Another hospital has had to close an entire ward for the same reason, while another is plagued with sewage regularly leaking into clinical areas because of the age of the facility. One trust chief executive said: “The whole fabric of the building is shot and we need to rebuild. The build was supposed to be completed in 2024 but [we are] now looking at 2027.” Another boss said: “We operate 21st-century healthcare from 19th-century buildings – increasingly unsustainable.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 8 July 2022
  25. News Article
    Some hospital leaders in England say they are "living with risk" every day, with buildings in urgent need of repair. According to NHS trust bosses, delays to funding allocations have stalled vital upgrade projects. Structural safety concerns caused the critical care unit at one trust to be temporarily closed and planned operations were stopped. The government said it was working closely with trusts on building plans. One trust has installed props and steel beams in the maternity unit, making life very difficult for staff and mothers, according to hospital managers. The hospital leaders said the current political situation - with the government looking for a new leader - complicates matters. "This kind of political paralysis and instability is deeply unhelpful for the NHS when we've got a whole range of critical decisions that need to be made not only in capital investments but also NHS pay," said NHS Providers chief executive Saffron Corder. Read full story Source: BBC News, 8 July 2022
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