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Found 1,558 results
  1. News Article
    Plans to give the health secretary control over a patient safety watchdog risks “massive untold consequences” for the NHS, experts have warned. Under proposals, Matt Hancock would be able to determine which incidents the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB) should investigate, while also being able to remove protections for NHS staff that mean they can give evidence without fear of reprisals. The move, outlined as part of wider reforms to the NHS, would give the health secretary far greater control over the HSIB than ministers currently have over the Air Accident Investigation Branch – on which the watchdog was modelled. Experts said the proposals cut across the original intention of an independent body that would act without fear or favour and earn the confidence of NHS staff. It is designed to operate under a so-called “safe space” for NHS staff to provide evidence of what went wrong during an incident without their testimony being used against them. Martin Bromiley, chair of the Clinical Human Factors Group and member of the expert panel that recommended the creation of HSIB in 2016, said he was seriously concerned over the plans. He said: “I am concerned about the reference to lifting safe space. As it stands with the Air Accident Investigation Branch people can apply to the High Court for it to be lifted and that makes sense because a judge can consider the whole case and the longer-term impact." Carl Macrae, Professor of Organisational Behaviour and Psychology at Nottingham University Business School, told The Independent: “I am very pleased to see there are concrete plans to establish HSIB as an independent body, but I am concerned this independence appears to be undermined by giving the secretary of state the power to tell it what to investigate." “People need to be able to trust that the healthcare investigator is acting with the sole purpose of improving safety and isn’t subject to political interference.” Read full story Source: The Independent, 24 February 2021
  2. News Article
    A national safety watchdog has been forced to release almost 100 pieces of evidence, including names of NHS staff, after being ordered to by courts. A freedom of information request, submitted by HSJ, has revealed the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB) has been required to release 93 interviews with staff, family members and external experts, along with their identities, over the last two years. The interviews, which relate to HSIB investigations involving hospital trusts across England, were released to coroner’s courts through eight separate orders dating from February 2019. A further four court orders compelled HSIB to release other information to coroners, including reports into trusts, findings of internal panel reviews, and evidence from external experts. The orders were made under the Coroners and Justice Act 2009. When HSJ asked whether any NHS staff or family members were named in open court, HSIB said it was “not able to comment on specific instances”, but added that all those whose evidence was shared with the coroners were notified in advance. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 23 February 2021
  3. News Article
    A man who was treated with imported blood products in the 1980s became the first haemophiliac in the UK to test HIV positive and die of Aids, an inquiry has heard. Kevin Slater, from Cwmbran, was 20 when he developed Aids in 1983 the Infected Blood Inquiry has been told. He was not informed that he had been diagnosed with the condition for at least 18 months and died in 1985. Records show it was recommended that the diagnosis be kept from him. The UK-wide inquiry is looking into what has been described as the worst treatment disaster in the history of the NHS. Haemophilia is a blood condition which affects the clotting of blood in those affected. In the 1980s some of the blood products used to treat the condition were infected with HIV. The inquiry heard there were about 100 haemophiliac patients in Wales at the time. Mr Slater's sister-in-law Lynda Maule said she does not believe he was ever told he had Aids. "He was treated disgustingly," she told the inquiry. "There was no care, nothing. Read full story Source: BBC News, 2 February 2021
  4. News Article
    An urgent inquiry to investigate how alleged systemic racism in the NHS manifests itself in maternity care will be launched on Tuesday with support from the UK charity Birthrights. The inquiry will apply a human rights lens to examine how claimed racial injustice – from explicit racism to bias – is leading to poorer health outcomes in maternity care for ethnic minority groups. Data published last month by MBRRACE-UK (Mothers and Babies: Reducing Risk through Audits and Confidential Enquiries across the country) showed black women were four times more likely than white women to die in pregnancy or childbirth in the UK while women from Asian ethnic backgrounds face twice the risk. Barrister Shaheen Rahman QC, who will lead the inquiry, said: “In addition to these stark statistics there are concerns about higher rates of maternal illness, worse experiences of maternity care and the fact black and Asian pregnant women are far more likely to be admitted to hospital with COVID-19. “We want to understand the stories behind the statistics, to examine how people can be discriminated against due to their race and to identify ways this inequity can be redressed.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 7 February 2021
  5. News Article
    A hospital trust has admitted that ‘medically fit’ patients caught covid on its wards while waiting to be discharged, with some of the cases under investigation. Bedfordshire Hospitals FT board papers said that a “number” of medically fit patients “acquired [covid] infection while awaiting appropriate and safe discharge”. Trusts nationwide have struggled to discharge patients as quickly as they wanted, the reasons including a Department of Health and Social Care mandate to only allow designated care homes to accept covid patients; the resumption of NHS Continuing Healthcare tests; shortages of community beds; and capacity in the care sector. The trust, formed in April by the merger of Luton and Dunstable University Hospital FT and Bedford Hospital FT, said a “significant proportion of [its covid] cases [were] due to acquisition in the hospital”. It continued: “A significant additional factor was the length of stay for many patients who were medically fit for discharge but were unable to return to their place of residence. Case reviews have shown that a number of these patients acquired infection while waiting appropriate and safe discharge.” The board papers said its covid serious incident reviews covered “some deaths on both sites… and the majority [were] patients with very severe co-morbidity”. It said six out of 15 serious incidents being investigated at its Bedford hospital site were “of potentially avoidable nosocomial covid infection (hospital acquired)”. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 4 Februrary 2021
  6. News Article
    Relatives of patients who died after receiving "dangerous" levels of painkillers at Gosport War Memorial Hospital have called for new inquests. An inquiry found 456 patients died after being given opiate drugs at the hospital between 1987 and 2001, but no charges have ever been brought. Four families told the BBC they have requested judge-led "Hillsborough-style" hearings with a jury. The Attorney General's Office said it was reviewing the application. Police began a fresh inquiry in 2019 into 700 deaths after the Gosport Independent Review Panel found there was a "disregard for human life" at the hospital in Hampshire. Coroner-led inquests in 2009 found drugs administered at the hospital contributed to five deaths. However, lawyers representing some of the families told the BBC more wide-ranging inquests similar to those that examined the events of the Hillsborough disaster should be undertaken. Read full story Source: BBC News, 5 February 2021
  7. News Article
    The Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB) has launched an investigation into the risks involved in prescribing, dispensing and administering medicines to children. The investigation was triggered after HSIB was notified of an incident including a child aged four years, who, after being diagnosed with a blood clot in her leg following a surgical procedure, received ten times the intended dose of anticoagulant on five separate occasions, over three days. This, HSIB said, was owing to errors that occurred during the prescription, dispensing and administration processes. The errors resulted in the child being admitted to the paediatric intensive care unit, with evidence of a bleed in her brain, where she stayed for three months until she was discharged with an ongoing care plan. HSIB said that studies showed that prescribing errors were the most frequent type of medication error in children’s inpatient settings. The investigation will look at this and other incidents to examine the role of multidisciplinary teamworking and checking in medication errors, as well as considering the risks associated with the implementation of electronic prescribing and medication administration (ePMA) systems in clinical areas using weight-based paediatric prescribing. “‘Wrong dose’ errors are a particular risk in children’s wards,” said Alice Oborne, consultant pharmacist in safe medication practice and medicines safety officer at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust. Read full story Source: The Pharmaceutical Journal, 26 January 2021
  8. News Article
    A special Crown Office unit set up to probe Covid-linked deaths is investigating cases at 474 care homes in Scotland, the BBC can reveal. The unit was set up in May to gather information on the circumstances of all deaths in care homes. Prosecutors will eventually decide if the deaths should be the subject of a fatal accident inquiry or prosecution. Care homes say the investigation is "disproportionate" and placing a huge burden on overstretched staff. The COVID-19 Deaths Investigation Team (CDIT) had received 3,385 death reports as of Thursday. The majority of them relate to people who lived in care homes. Behind the Crown Office statistics are hundreds of families grieving for loved ones who died in Scotland's care homes. Alan Wightman's 88-year-old mother Helen died in May last year during a Covid outbreak at Scoonie House in Fife Helen's death is part of the Crown Office probe and Mr Wightman's hopes for the investigation are that it looks "at the bigger picture and appreciates that on the ground people were doing the best they could". He added: "I thought that Scoonie House did the best they could in a very difficult situation, sourcing their own PPE and stopping people coming from hospital." "My own view is that care homes were put in an impossible situation because we had successive governments which did not properly prepare for a pandemic, you only have to look at the lack of PPE at the beginning of the pandemic to see that." Read full story Source: BBC News, 22 January 2021
  9. News Article
    At least seven so-called NHS “never events” should be reclassified because the health service has failed to put in place effective measures to stop them from repeatedly happening, safety experts have said. The independent Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB) said NHS England should remove the never event incidents from the list of 15 it requires hospitals to report, because they are not “wholly preventable” and the NHS has not adequately recognised the systemic risks that mean they keep happening. The errors include examples such as a 62-year-old man having the wrong hip replaced during surgery and a nine-year-old girl who was given a drug by injection that should have been given by mouth. Other incidents included a woman who had a vaginal swab left inside her following the birth of her first child and a 26-year-old man who had a feeding tube accidentally inserted into his lung rather than his stomach. In a new report, investigators from HSIB carried out a detailed analysis of seven incidents it has investigated which account for the majority of never events recorded by NHS hospitals in 2018-19. NHS England claims there are steps hospitals can take that mean the errors should never happen but HSIB says many of the steps are administrative, such as a checklist, and do not fully take into account the environment staff work in, the nature of the errors or how they happen. Read full story Source: The Independent, 21 January 2021
  10. News Article
    A mental health trust prosecuted for failings after 11 patients died must make further safety improvements, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) said. Inspectors found safety issues on male wards and psychiatric intensive care units run by Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (EPUT). The Trust said it had taken "immediate action" to remedy the concerns. In November, EPUT pleaded guilty to safety failings related to patient deaths between 2004 and 2015. The CQC's report followed inspections in October and November last year at the Finchingfield Ward - a 17-bed unit in the Linden Centre in Chelmsford which provides treatment for men experiencing acute mental health difficulties. The CQC said the visit was prompted "due to concerning information raised to the commission regarding safety incidents leading to concerns around risk of harm". The inspection, which looked at safety only, found the following concerns: Some staff did not follow the required actions to maintain patient safety. Closed-circuit television showed staff who were meant to be observing were not present, and this contributed to an incident of patient absconding. Staff did not keep accurate records of patient care and managers did not check the quality and accuracy. of notes. Shifts were not always covered by staff with appropriate experience and competency Stuart Dunn, head of hospital inspection at the CQC, said EPUT had "responded quickly to concerns raised" including improving security measures. Read full story Source: BBC News, 14 January 2021
  11. News Article
    A public inquiry into allegations of abuse of patients at Muckamore Abbey Hospital is under way. The hospital is run by the Belfast Health Trust and provides facilities for adults with special needs. With the terms of reference agreed, the inquiry panel will begin trying to establish what happened between residents and some members of staff, and also examine management's role. Seven people are facing prosecution. There have been more than 20 arrests. It was announced in June 2021 that the inquiry will be chaired by Tom Kark QC, who played a key role in the 2010 inquiry into avoidable deaths at Stafford Hospital in England. Speaking on Monday, Mr Kark said it was a "significant date for all those patients and families who have been affected by the issues under examination by the inquiry, many of whom have campaigned very hard to ensure this inquiry takes place". "I want to reassure you that a thorough and impartial investigation will be carried out by the Muckamore Abbey Hospital Inquiry," he added. Read full story Source: BBC News, 12 October 2021
  12. News Article
    An inquest into the death of a London bus driver at London’s Nightingale Hospital during the first wave of coronavirus has heard evidence about equipment mistakes which may have harmed patients. Kishorkumar Patel, aged 58, was one of the first patients to be admitted to the field hospital at London’s Excel Conference Centre in April last year. An inquest at East London Coroner’s Court was told doctors and nurses were forced to work “leanly” because of limited staff and ventilators to help patients breathe. Mr Patel is one of 10 patients who had the wrong filter used on the ventilator machines which it is thought triggered a cardiac arrest in Mr Patel, a father of six. A serious incident report identified 10 patients were affected by the use of the wrong filter, with three said to have been harmed as a result. Read coroner's report Read full story Source: The Independent, 6 October 2021
  13. News Article
    A third of stillbirths at two south Wales hospitals could have been prevented with better care or treatment, an investigation has concluded. It emerged two years ago that more than 60 women suffered the heartbreak of a stillbirth at at the Royal Glamorgan, Llantrisant, and Prince Charles Hospital, Merthyr Tydfil, and that many of these were never reported or investigated. An independent panel set up by the Welsh Government to oversee improvements in these maternity units has now concluded that many of these babies could have been saved. It looked at whether the care provided to women and their babies between January 2016 and September 2018 fell below the standards expected. The failures were split into different levels of severity, known in the report as "modifiable factors". Their investigation looked at 63 stillbirths between January 1, 2016, and September 30, 2018, and discovered that 21 (33%) of them had at least one "major modifiable factor", meaning the stillbirth could potentially have been avoided. More than half (59%) of the 63 had at least one "minor modifiable factor" while in three-quarters (76%) of them "wider learning" was required. In only four of the 63 stillbirths the panel found no modifiable factors. The panel also discovered that "areas for learning" were identified in 59 of the 63 episodes of care reviewed. Read full story Source: Wales Online, 5 October 2021 Read report
  14. News Article
    NHS Highland says it expects to pay £3.4m in settlements to current and former staff who have complained of bullying. Whistleblowers exposed a "culture of bullying" at NHS Highland in 2018. A Scottish government-commissioned review suggested hundreds of health workers may have experienced inappropriate behaviour. So far 150 cases have been settled since the start of a "healing process", costing the health board more than £2m. Whistleblower Brian Devlin told BBC Scotland the scale of settlements made so far was "heartening", but he added that he continued to have concerns about bullying at the health board. A group of Highlands GPs first complained of a culture of bullying at NHS Highland in September 2018. Staff said they had not felt valued, respected or supported in carrying out "very stressful work". Others told of not being listened to when raising matters regarding patient safety concerns and decisions being made "behind closed doors". The review also said that "many described a culture of fear and of protecting the organisation when issues are raised". Read full story Source: BBC News, 28 September 2021
  15. News Article
    The US Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) has expressed its shock that the Tennessee (TN) Board of Nursing has recently revoked RaDonda Vaught’s professional nursing license indefinitely, fining her $3,000, and stipulating that she pay up to $60,000 in prosecution costs. RaDonda was involved in a fatal medication error after entering “ve” in an automated dispensing cabinet (ADC) search field, accidentally removing a vial of vecuronium instead of VERSED (midazolam) from the cabinet via override, and unknowingly administering the neuromuscular blocking agent to the patient. While the Board accepted the state prosecutor’s recommendation to revoke RaDonda’s nursing license, ISMP doubts that the Board’s action was just, and believe that it has set patient safety back by 25 years. On September 27, 2019, in a stark reversal of a 2018 decision to take no licensing action against the nurse, the TN Board of Nursing filed disciplinary action against RaDonda that focused on three violations: Unprofessional conduct related to nursing practice and the five rights of medication administration Abandoning or neglecting a patient requiring nursing care Failure to maintain a record of interventions. During the hearing, RaDonda was given an opportunity to testify and defend herself; however, she never shrank from admitting her mistake. According to her defense attorney, her acceptance of responsibility for the error was immediate, extraordinary, and continuing. However, RaDonda also testified that the error was made because of flawed procedures at the hospital, particularly the lack of timely communication between the pharmacy computer system and the ADC, which led to significant delays in accessing medications and the hospital’s permission to temporarily override the ADC to obtain prescribed medications that were not yet linked to the patient’s profile in the ADC. Although many questions regarding RaDonda’s alleged failures and the event remain unanswered, the Board still voted unanimously to strip RaDonda of her nursing license and levy the full monetary penalties allowed, noting that there were just too many red flags that RaDonda “ignored” when administering the medication. The ISMP has asked whether the Board’s action was fair and just in this situation? Read full story Source: ISMP, 12 August 2021
  16. News Article
    The co-founder of a coronavirus bereaved families group has said he hopes Boris Johnson will "at long last... take us seriously" when he meets them at Number 10 today. Matt Fowler said it is vital the prime minister understand the need to start a public inquiry as soon as possible. Mr Johnson will meet members of the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice group today - more than a year after promising to meet people whose loved ones had died. They will share how their family members caught the disease and died, and repeat calls for a public inquiry to get priority. The group plans to raise issues with the PM such as the disproportionate effect of COVID on some ethnic groups, transmission of the disease on public transport and in the workplace, the impact of late lockdowns, and failures to learn from the first wave. Boris Johnson previously said the inquiry would start in spring 2022. Read full story Source: Sky News, 28 September 2021
  17. News Article
    The backlog of serious clinical incidents that need investigating is building up throughout the NHS, due to the impact of coronavirus and emergency service pressures. Concerns have been raised by commissioners in some areas over the delays. Meanwhile, patients and families who have been harmed are waiting longer to see their cases resolved and the organisations involved are not learning the lessons taught by care failures as quickly as they should. Staff redeployment or absences due to COVID-19 are among the reasons why many investigations are being delayed. As result, trusts are attempting to recruit additional investigators to manage their backlogs. Tina Ivanov, the trust’s director of quality governance, said: “Learning from serious incidents when they occur is an important part of our improvement culture. “We are increasing the number of trained investigators at the trust and have brought in additional resource to help complete the outstanding investigations. The reasons for the increase in outstanding serious incidents include staff absences and clinical pressures.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 27 September 2021
  18. News Article
    Police have launched a criminal investigation into a number of deaths at a Glasgow hospital, including that of 10-year-old Milly Main. It comes as a separate public inquiry into the building of several Scottish hospitals is being held. Milly's mother recently told the inquiry her child's death was "murder". A review in May found an infection which contributed to Milly's death was probably caused by the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital environment. The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service has now instructed police to investigate the deaths of Milly, two other children and 73-year-old Gail Armstrong at the Glasgow campus. It is understood the probe could lead to criminal charges or a fatal accident inquiry. A spokesperson said: "The investigation into the deaths is ongoing and the families will continue to be kept updated in relation to any significant developments." The Crown Office added that it was committed to supporting the Scottish Hospitals Inquiry and "contributing positively" to its work. Read full story Source: BBC News, 26 September 2021
  19. News Article
    A patient died from a serious spinal injury after emergency staff incorrectly attributed his physical condition to his mental health issues, an inquest heard. Robert Walaszkowski, who had been detained at a secure mental health unit run by North East London Foundation Trust in October 2019, suffered a serious injury after running into a door on the unit. Staff from London Ambulance Service did not suspect a spinal injury and he was taken to the emergency department at Queen’s Hospital in Romford with a suspected head injury. An inquest heard he did not receive a spinal examination and imaging of the spine, despite this being required due to the nature of his injury and presentation. He was discharged from A&E the following day, and was then placed on the floor of a private patient transport vehicle, to be transported back to the mental health unit, Goodmayes Hospital. He arrived at the hospital unresponsive. He never recovered consciousness and died of his injuries a month later. An inquest jury has recorded a narrative conclusion and found that neglect contributed to Robert’s death. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 24 September 2021
  20. News Article
    The health service ombudsman has warned he will ‘be in no position to investigate’ the behaviour of another watchdog under the government’s health service reforms. Rob Behrens, the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, said plans to create a “closed safe space” for the information provided by clinicians to the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB) will mean a reduction in his powers and he will not be able to hold HSIB to account. Mr Behrens, speaking at HSJ’s Patient Safety Congress, said that although coroners would be able to access information gathered by HSIB investigations under the reforms, the ombudsman would not be able to access this “safe space” without the permission of the High Court. The reforms would see HSIB become a new statutory independent organisation, the Health Service Safety Investigations Body, and prohibit the disclosure of “protected material” such as information or documents obtained during investigations. However, this prohibition of disclosure would not apply to information required by coroners, ordered by the High Court or necessary to investigate an offence or address a “serious and continuing” safety risk to a patient or the public. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 22 September 2021
  21. News Article
    It was "regrettable" that the government said there was "no conclusive proof" AIDS could be transmitted by blood products in 1983, a public inquiry has heard. Giving evidence, former secretary of state Lord Fowler said it would have been better to add that it was likely NHS treatment could be contaminated. But he said he didn't think the change would have made a crucial difference. Survivors have accused ministers of playing down the risks at the time. It's thought around 3,000 haemophiliacs died of AIDS and hepatitis C after being treated with a blood-clotting product called Factor VIII in the 1970s and 1980s. Groups representing families of those affected by the scandal claim the use of the phase "no conclusive proof" minimised the danger from blood products at the time. Read full story Source: BBC News, 22 September 2021
  22. News Article
    An inquiry will begin hearing evidence on Monday into problems at two flagship Scottish hospitals that contributed to the death of two children. The Scottish Hospitals Inquiry is investigating the construction of the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) campus in Glasgow and the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People and Department of Clinical Neurosciences in Edinburgh. The inquiry was ordered after patients at the Glasgow site died from infections linked to pigeon droppings and the water supply, and the opening of the Edinburgh site was delayed due to concerns over the ventilation system. Earlier this year, an independent review found the death of two children at the QEUH were at least in part the result of infections linked to the hospital environment. The review investigated 118 episodes of serious bacterial infection in 84 children and young people who received treatment for blood disease, cancer or related conditions at the Royal Hospital for Children at the campus. It found a third of these infections were “most likely” to have been linked to the hospital environment. The inquiry will aim to determine how issues at the two hospitals relating to ventilation, water contamination and other matters impacted on patient safety and care and whether this could have been prevented. Read full story Source: The Herald, 20 September 2021
  23. News Article
    76 people were unintentionally exposed to ionising radiation in Irish hospitals in 2020, according to the Health and Information Quality Authority (HIQA). This figure represents an 11% increase on the total reported in 2019. HIQA today published an overview report on the 'increase in accidental and unintended exposure to ionising radiation events notified to HIQA in 2020. Under the European Union (Basic Safety Standards for Protection against dangers arising from Medical Exposure to Ionising Radiation) Regulations 2018 and 2019, HIQA is the competent authority for patient protection in relation to medical exposure to ionising radiation in Ireland. In its 2019 report — its first such publication — HIQA expressed hope that the areas of improvement it identified "would help reduce the likelihood of such events and drive quality improvements in safety mechanisms for medical exposures in Ireland." Despite this, eight more accidental exposure incidents were recorded in 2020 than in the previous year. Human error was identified as the main cause of accidental exposure in 58% of the incidents, however, HIQA determined that other factors likely contributed to these. Some 34% of the incidents involved the wrong patient being exposed to ionising radiation. HIQA said these exposures occurred at varying points along the medical exposure pathway. It stressed that the number of unintended exposure to ionising radiation incidents last year was small compared with the total number of procedures carried out, estimated to be in the region of three million. Read full story Source: Irish Examiner, 15 September 2021
  24. News Article
    Changes to maternity services during the pandemic, including the mandatory redeployment of midwives and doctors to care for infected patients, may have affected the care given to women who had stillborn babies, a Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB) investigation has found. The safety watchdog launched an investigation after the number of stillbirths after the onset of labour increased between April and June 2020. During the three months there were 45 stillbirths compared to 24 in the same period in 2019. The HSIB launched a probe examining the care of 37 cases. Among its findings the watchdog said staffing levels were affected because of the NHS response to the pandemic. In its report it said this “influenced normal work patterns and the consistency and availability of clinicians.” As an example, in one maternity unit the staffing numbers were short by three midwives due to sickness and redeployment. In another consultant presence was reduced overnight. During the pandemic both the Royal College of Midwives and the Royal College of Obstetricians criticised NHS trusts for redeploying maternity staff when mothers continued to need services regardless of the pandemic. HSIB said none of the women in its report were recorded as having the virus, but it found the pressures and changes as a result of the pandemic may have affected the care they received. The study stressed that the proportion of consultations undertaken remotely was not known and "the impact of remote consultations is not clear from this review". Read full story Source: The Independent, 16 September 2021
  25. News Article
    Failures by a health board led to eight cancer patients not being appropriately monitored or included in treatment targets after being referred to England, the ombudsman has found. Of the 16 patients on Wale's Betsi Cadwaladr health board's prostatectomy waiting list in August 2019, eight were referred to England for treatment. None of those treated in England met the health board's targets. The health board, which covers north Wales, has apologised to the patients. It said it had accepted the findings of the report and agreed to implement its recommendations. The investigation was launched after a report into the case of a prostate cancer patient raised suspicion there were further incidents. Public Services Ombudsman for Wales Nick Bennett said: "Clearly there's consequences for any type of cancer treatment, where people who are treated in England do not receive the same monitoring, do not receive the same harm reviews... "Going forward, this must never happen again." Read full story Source: BBC News, 9 September 2021
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