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Content Article
A silent safety scandal: A nurse’s first-hand account of a corridor nursing shift
Anonymous posted an article in Florence in the Machine
Corridor nursing is increasingly being used in the NHS as demand for emergency care grows and A&E departments struggle with patient numbers. In this anonymous account, a nurse shares their experience of corridor nursing, highlighting that corridor settings lack essential infrastructure and pose many safety risks for patients. They also outline the practical difficulties providing corridor care causes for staff, as well as the potential for moral injury. Using the System Engineering Initiative for Patient Safety (SEIPS) framework, they describe the work system, the processes and how that influences the outcomes.- Posted
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Content ArticleOn 29 December 2022, Shahzadi Khan was detained under section 2 of the Mental Health Act due to her mental state and the risks she presented. She was found to have had a manic episode with psychotic symptoms. Due to a lack of beds, she was placed in a privately-run mental health hospital in Norfolk. She remained there until her discharge to the family home on 26 January 2023. She was commenced on Olanzapine and Zopiclone for her mental health whilst an inpatient. Her diagnosis on discharge was mania with psychotic symptoms. She was to remain on olanzapine in the community. Her placement out of area contributed to disjointed and inadequate discharge planning to support her in the community and was exacerbated by poor communication between the team managing out of area placements and the local team. As a consequence, the aftercare planning did not take place in accordance with S117 Mental Health Act. This was exacerbated by a failure by all health professionals involved in her care within the mental health trust to recognise that she needed to be referred on to the Trafford Shared Care pathway. A referral would have ensured she received support and care for at least 12 weeks when she returned to the community. There is no clear reason for this failure. She was seen by the Home-Based Treatment Team (HBTT) on 28 January and 2 February, then discharged back to her GP. Within a week of that discharge from HBTT, which meant she had been left with no mental health support, she had deteriorated significantly. On 9 February her GP sent her to hospital for emergency assessment due to her presentation. She was discharged home to be seen by the Home- Based Treatment Team on 11th February. She was seen by that team on 11, 12, and 13 February. There was still no recognition of the fact that the Trafford policy was not being followed. She had indicated her lack of compliance with olanzapine, suicidal thoughts and her behaviour on 13th February was erratic. On 14 February 2023 she took a fatal overdose of prescribed zopiclone at her home address.
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News Article
12-hour A&E waits in winter 'becoming normalised'
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The number of patients waiting more than 12 hours for a bed on a ward after being seen in A&E in England was 19 times higher this winter than it was before the pandemic, figures show. There were nearly 100,000 12-hour waits in December and January - compared with slightly more than 5,000 in 2019-20. A decade ago these waits were virtually unheard of - in the four winters up to 2013-14 there were fewer than 100. The King's Fund said long delays were at risk of becoming normalised. It said the pressures this winter had received little attention compared with last winter, despite no significant improvement in performance. During December 2023 and January 2024, 98,300 patients waited more than 12 hours for a bed on a ward after A&E doctors took the decision to admit them. The Northern Ireland branch of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) said the pressures were "unsurmountable" and it was having a detrimental impact on patients. Read full story Source: BBC News, 15 February 2024 -
Content ArticleThe press has all been full of headlines about staffing levels in the NHS, but this is probably a problem across healthcare around the country. What this does is provide the perfect patient safety quandary, how do we keep all the areas safe. This often results in the redeployment of nursing staff to different areas, but does this provide the required levels of safety. It appears that having several areas in an “amber” staffing level is preferable than one red area. It is simple logic, but does this create an unrealistic expectation on staff that means the safety is better but only at a barely satisfactory level? Do we think that any of these decisions influences the efficiency of a ward? Is the ward safe and effective? In this blog, Chris Elston explores these issues and uses a Safety Engineering Initiative for Patient Safety (SEIPS) to show some of the lesser appreciated risks to redeploying staff and consider some ways to reduce the risks.
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News ArticleThe family of a man who needlessly died after a 12-hour delay in surgery have called for changes at a troubled NHS trust as regulators expressed alarm about patient safety and waiting times. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) upgraded the surgery department at the Royal Sussex county hospital in Brighton from “inadequate” to “requires improvement” at a time when it is at the centre of a police investigation into dozens of patient deaths, allegations of negligence and cover-up. In their report, the regulator expressed concern about already long and lengthening waiting times, repeated cancelled operations and staff shortages that could compromise safety. The inspection report comes as the Guardian can reveal the trust apologised and settled with the family of Ralph Sims, who died aged 65 after heart surgery in April 2019 when doctors failed to act appropriately to a drop in his blood pressure. Sims, who was a keen runner, suffered a drop in blood pressure and developed an irregular heart rhythm eight hours after surgery to replace an aortic valve at the hospital. An internal investigation into Sims’ treatment acknowledged that hospital staff failed to “recognise the significance of the fall in blood pressure”. University Hospitals Sussex NHS foundation trust, which runs the hospital, accepted that the father of three should have returned to surgery to identify the cause of his deterioration. Instead, medics decided that he should be observed overnight. Due to another emergency case, an angiogram was not carried out on Sims until just before noon the following day – 12 hours after the drop in pressure. The delay caused irreversible – and avoidable – heart muscle damage, leading to his death five weeks later. The family said: It added: “Whilst the trust has apologised to our family it feels hollow. Ralph’s death was entirely unnecessary, and despite the issues in his care, it took the trust several years to apologise.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 14 February 2024
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News Article
Woman found under coat in Nottingham A&E died days later
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
An investigation has been launched after a woman died days after being found unconscious underneath her coat while waiting in A&E for seven hours. The 39-year-old woman is understood to have first attended A&E at Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham on the evening of 19 January complaining of a severe headache. She was triaged and then observed by nurses three times. Her case was escalated but she was not seen by a doctor before being discovered. When the woman was called to see a doctor, she did not respond. It was assumed that she had left A&E because she had waited so long. She was discovered and transferred to intensive care but died three days later on 22 January. A source familiar with the hospital told LBC, which first reported the incident, that the A&E department could have up to 80 patients waiting at a single time and that wait times could be as long as 14 hours. Dr Keith Girling, the medical director at Nottingham university hospitals NHS trust, said: “I offer my sincere condolences to the family at this difficult time. An investigation, which will involve the family, will now take place and until this has been concluded, we are unable to comment further.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 10 February 2024 -
News ArticleHospitals are being pressured to shift their resources to treating patients with less serious conditions to meet a “politically motivated” target, according to multiple senior sources. The pressure appears to be coming through NHS England’s regional teams, with local sources saying they are being told to focus energies on patients in their emergency departments who do not need to be admitted to a ward. These cases are typically faster to deal with, and therefore shifting resources to this cohort could significantly improve performance against the four-hour target. However, experts in emergency care repeatedly warn that admitted patients are the most likely to suffer long waits and harm. The NHS has been tasked with lifting performance against the four-hour target to 76% in 2023-24, but has failed to meet that in any month this year. Performance in December was 69%. Some trust leaders told HSJ they would ignore the instructions, saying they would continue to focus resources on reducing the longest waits. One chief executive in the north of England said: “It’s a complete nonsense and just politically motivated. We’re getting a very clear message to hit 76 per cent which is hugely problematic because it will drive non patient focussed behaviour. We have said ‘no, we are focussing on long waiters and ambulance delays’… in other words doing the right thing for patients.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 5 February 2024
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News Article
The NHS is failing our children, says top children’s doctor
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Children are being forgotten by the government as they face “disgraceful” waiting times for NHS treatment, Britain’s top paediatric doctor has warned. Dr Camilla Kingdon said children are being failed because their care is not being treated as a priority, despite considerable progress having been made in reducing waiting times for adults. In her final interview as president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, she also issued a stark warning over the impact of poverty on young people’s health, lamenting the rise in the number of children being treated for severe lung disease due to damp and poor ventilation in inadequate housing. Many parents cannot afford to be at their dying or sick child’s bedside because of financial pressures – an issue that has grown significantly worse in the past five years, she said. She told The Independent: “Children simply need to be made a priority. We cannot afford to be ignoring this problem.” The latest NHS figures show that the backlog for children’s hospital care has risen again, increasing from 387,000 in August to 412,000 in January, despite the adult waiting list having fallen since October. Read full story Source: The Independent, 31 March 2024 -
News ArticleReductions in the number of long ambulance delays have come at a “huge cost” as hospitals are having to take in more emergency patients than they have space for, NHS England’s urgent care director has said. Sarah-Jane Marsh told NHS England’s board meeting on Thursday that emergency departments and hospital wards are now taking more “risk” by taking extra patients in a bid to get ambulances back on the road quicker. This year, many fewer hours have been lost to ambulance delays, although the total number of delays of more than 60 minutes is approaching the same as last winter. Emergency department waits in November and December were better than last year, although still much worse than pre-covid and a long way below targets. But Ms Marsh said the improvement was a result of hospitals agreeing to take more patients into EDs and acute wards, even when they did not have space or staff to properly care for them. She said: “It’s come at a huge cost. Some of the things we have achieved are because we have moved pressures around in the system. “We have moved risk out of people’s houses and from the back of ambulances, and in some cases we’ve moved that into emergency departments [and] wards, that have had to take the pressure of taking additional patients. “Next year one of our learnings is that we need to have a really big focus on what is happening inside our hospitals [so] we decongest some very crowded areas.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 1 February 2024
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News Article
Northern Ireland: Dentists warn radical action needed to save dental services
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Health service dentistry in Northern Ireland could be caught in a "death spiral" without radical action, more than 700 dentists have warned. They say a combination of factors could make the service unsustainable. These include a potential ban on dental amalgam metals used in fillings, budget pressures and a "financially unviable contractual framework". The dentists have called on the Department of Health (DoH) "to show leadership and take action now". A DoH spokesperson said the department "valued the important role" of dentists and was "aware of the ongoing pressures on dental practices". In an open letter to Peter May, the top civil servant at the DoH, dentists from the British Dental Association (BDA) Northern Ireland warned that services were under "intolerable pressure". The letter said: "Despite clear evidence and repeated warnings issued by the BDA about the death spiral health service dentistry in Northern Ireland appears to be in, we have seen inaction from the authorities." The dentists added that a move away from health service dentistry was "well and truly underway" and dentists would "be increasingly driven out of health service dentistry to keep their practices afloat". Read full story Source: BBC News, 30 January 2024 -
News Article
Diabetes patients struggling without 'wonder drug'
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Diabetes patients have told the BBC they are struggling without what they have called a "wonder drug". Experts estimate about 400,000 people with Type 2 diabetes could have been affected by a national supply shortage caused by rising demand. The new generation of medicines - GLP-1 receptor agonists - mimic a hormone that not only controls blood sugar levels but also suppresses appetite. The government said it was trying to help resolve the supply chain issues. NHS England has issued a National Patient Safety Alert for the drugs. The NHS alerts require action to be taken by healthcare providers to reduce the risk of death or disability. The diabetes medicines in short supply are Ozempic, Trulicity, Victoza, Byetta, and Bydureon. They work via injections instead of tablets. The group of medicines has been used by the NHS for diabetes for around a decade but in recent years there has been a growth in private clinics prescribing the same drugs for weight loss for people who do not have diabetes, pushing up demand. Novo Nordisk, which manufactures Ozempic and Victoza, told the BBC it was experiencing shortages of its medicines for people in the UK with Type 2 diabetes due to "unprecedented levels of demand". Read full story Source: BBC News, 26 January 2024 Have you (or a loved one) ever been prescribed medication that you were then unable to get hold of at the pharmacy or in hospital? To help us understand how these issues impact the lives of patients and families, please share your experience and insights in our hub community thread on the topic here or drop a comment below. You'll need to register with the hub first, its free and easy to do. -
News Article
Claims patients are dying in queuing ambulances
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Paramedics are "watching their patients die in the back of ambulances because they can't get them into A&E", according to the health union, Unison. It was commenting on data showing 2,750 hours were lost by ambulance crews waiting to hand over patients at Hull Royal Infirmary in October 2023. One crew was stuck outside A&E for 10 hours and 27 minutes. Hull University Teaching Hospitals said it was "confident" a new urgent treatment centre on the hospital site would "improve overall waiting times" and lost ambulance hours had "reduced notably" this month. The figures, obtained by the BBC through a freedom of information request, showed on 9 October 2023 ambulance crews lost 144 hours and 18 minutes, the equivalent to one crew being out of action for six full days and nights. Megan Ollerhead, Unison's ambulance lead in Yorkshire, said paramedics were "literally watching their patients die in the back of these ambulances because they can't get into A and E." "I talk to a lot of the people who receive the 999 calls in the control rooms and they're just listening to people begging for ambulances and they know there are none to send." Read full story Source: BBC News, 26 January 2024 -
Content ArticleThis is a safety critical and complex National Patient Safety Alert. Implementation should be co-ordinated by an executive lead (or equivalent role in organisations without executive boards) and supported by clinical leaders in diabetes, GP practices, pharmacy services in all sectors, weight loss clinics, private healthcare providers and those working in the Health and Justice sector.
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News Article
EU plan for medicine stockpile could worsen UK’s record shortages
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The EU is to stockpile key medicines that will worsen the record drug shortages in the UK, with experts warning that the country could be left “behind in the queue”. The EU is seeking to safeguard its supplies by switching to a system in which its 27 members work together to secure reliable supplies of 200 commonly used medications, such as antibiotics, painkillers and vaccines. But the bloc’s move to insulate itself from growing drug shortages threatens to exacerbate the increasing scarcity of medicines facing the NHS, posing serious problems for doctors. “Europe is securing access to key drugs and vaccines as a single region, with huge influence and buying power. As a result of Brexit the UK is now isolated from this system, so our drug supplies could be at risk in the future,” said Dr Andrew Hill, an expert on the pharmaceutical trade. Britain is experiencing a record level of drug shortages, with more than 100 – including treatments for cancer, type 2 diabetes and motor neurone disease – scarce or impossible to obtain. Mark Dayan, the Brexit programme lead at the Nuffield Trust health thinktank, said the EU’s decision to act as a buying cartel could seriously disadvantage Britain. “There is a real risk that measures in such a large neighbour, which is now a separate market due to Brexit, will leave the UK behind in the queue when shortages strike,” Dayan said. It also has an initiative for member states to transfer stocks of medicine to cover shortages in others. These measures could shut UK purchasers out in certain scenarios. “This would risk worsening shortages from a starting point where they are already exceptionally severe for the UK and other countries, with a mounting impact in terms of costs and wasted time for the NHS, and in terms of patients struggling to get what their doctors have said they need.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 25 January 2024 Have you (or a loved one) ever been prescribed medication that you were then unable to get hold of at the pharmacy or in hospital? To help us understand how these issues impact the lives of patients and families, please share your experience and insights in our hub community thread on the topic here or drop a comment below. You'll need to register with the hub first, its free and easy to do. -
Content ArticleMedicine shortages in the UK have been a regular feature on newspaper front pages in recent years. As a doctor on the frontline, Ammad Butt sees how this instability in our medicine supply chain is playing out on the ground. Ammad works in a large city hospital and is used to meeting disgruntled patients who have had to wait hours in clinic to receive treatment. But just imagine their concern when he has to explain to them that the medication they usually took to treat them with is not available, and that they will have to take an alternative instead or stay in hospital for even longer as a result. In the past year, Ammad has routinely seen patients having to go without medication for common conditions such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), diabetes and even acne that would otherwise be easily managed, or being forced to take alternatives that are less appropriate. And new EU plans for its members to work together to stockpile key medicines will only worsen shortages in the UK. Patients tell Ammad they feel others are receiving better treatment than they are. And they are right, in some ways. Healthcare professionals are being put in a difficult situation having to explain why they are making compromises in their care. It all adds to the sense among patients and healthcare professionals alike that the health service is not working for the most vulnerable. Have you (or a loved one) ever been prescribed medication that you were then unable to get hold of at the pharmacy? Have you (or a loved one) ever been prescribed medication that you were then unable to get hold of at the pharmacy or in hospital? To help us understand how these issues impact the lives of patients and families, please share your experience and insights in our hub community thread on the topic here or drop a comment below. You'll need to register with the hub first, its free and easy to do.
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News ArticlePeople with buildups of ear wax are being left with hearing loss and socially isolated because of an NHS “postcode lottery” in removing it, a new report claims. Ear wax removal services have declined so dramatically that 9.8 million people in England now cannot access help on the NHS, forcing some to pay a “tax on wax” for private treatment. The report, from the RNID hearing loss charity, also found that more than half of NHS commissioners are breaching official guidelines by not ensuring that all adults can access care. The RNID, formerly the Royal National Institute for Deaf People, said its “horrifying” findings highlighted the misery people who cannot get wax removed are suffering. “Ear wax buildup can cause painful and distressing symptoms – such as hearing loss, tinnitus and earache – and lead to social isolation and poor mental health,” the RNID said. “With a patchy service across England, many people are left living in silence or forced to pay for private removal,” it added. Non-NHS providers charge £50-£100 a visit to suction wax out. Older people and those who wear hearing aids are most likely to experience buildups. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 24 January 2024
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Content ArticleOn the 9 December 2022, Dennis John William King suffered sudden chest pain which extended down his arm. His wife called 999 and spoke with an ambulance service call handler. Following triage of the call, the response to Mr King's call was graded as a Category 3 (a potentially urgent condition which is not life threatening with a target response of 120 minutes). This call was subsequently re-graded following review in the call centre to a Category 2 (a potentially serious condition requiring rapid assessment, urgent on scene intervention or transport to hospital, with a response within 40 minutes and a target of 18 minutes). Upon hearing that the waiting time for an ambulance could be as long as six hour, Mr and Mrs King decided to make their own way to the West Suffolk Hospital. The ambulance service were advised and the response stood down. Within 40 minutes of arrival Mr King had been diagnosed as suffering an ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Treating clinicians assessed his condition as necessitating an urgent transfer to the Royal Papworth and for the angioplasty procedure to be conducted forthwith. The ambulance call centre was contacted by the hospital emergency department with a request for an urgent transfer to the Royal Papworth. Emergency department staff were advised that there would be a 5 hour delay for an ambulance to attend. The call from the hospital emergency department to the ambulance service was graded by the ambulance call handler as a category 2 response. When the response timing was challenged the emergency department matron was advised that the hospital was a place of safety. The ambulance call handler assessment did not seem to take into account the clinical assessment of accident and emergency department staff who, in consultation with the regional cardiac intervention hospital, had determined Mr King's further treatment at the regional cardiac centre was a matter of urgency. An ambulance subsequently arrived at West Suffolk Hospital Accident and Emergency Department and transferred Mr King to the Royal Papworth Hospital where he underwent treatment for what was identified as an occluded left anterior descending artery. About 1 hour after the procedure, Mr King's condition deteriorated and he suffered a left ventricular wall rupture, a recognised complication of either the myocardial infarction he had suffered or the surgical procedure to correct the occluded artery, or both. He received emergency surgery to repair the rupture by way of a patch which was successful. However, his condition deteriorated and he died on the 13 December 2022. The medical cause of death was confirmed as: 1a Multi Organ Failure 1b Post myocardial infarction left ventricular free wall rupture (operated on).
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News Article
USA: ED boarding at crisis levels, Mass General says
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Boston-based Massachusetts General Hospital is requesting permission from the state to add more than 90 inpatient beds amid what it says is an "unprecedented capacity crisis." The hospital's emergency department has experienced critical levels of overcrowding nearly every day for the past six months, Massachusetts General said in a news release. The hospital boards between 50 to 80 ED patients every night who are waiting for a hospital bed to open. On 11 January, Massachusetts General had 103 patients boarding in the ED, representing one of the most crowded days in the hospital's more than 200-year history. "While hospital overcrowding has significantly affected patient care for many years, COVID-19 and the post-pandemic demand for care has escalated this challenge into a full-blown crisis – for patients seeking necessary emergency care, as well as for staff who are required to work under these increasingly stressful conditions," David F.M. Brown, president of Massachusetts General, said in a news release. Massachusetts General's request comes as hospitals across the state grapple with capacity issues, workforce shortages and a jump in respiratory illnesses this winter. On 9 January. the Massachusetts Department of Public Health issued a memo urging hospitals to expedite discharge planning amid the capacity crunch. Some health plans have also waived the need to obtain prior authorisation for short stays in post-acute care facilities. Read full story Source: Becker Hospital Review, 19 January 2024 -
News Article
Ambulance transfer delays are 'matter of concern', coroner warns
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The availability of ambulances to transfer patients to specialist units is a "matter of concern", a coroner has warned. Darren Stewart, area coroner for Suffolk, made the comments in a Prevention of Future Deaths report. It followed the death of 84-year-old Dennis King, who waited three hours to be transferred from West Suffolk Hospital to Royal Papworth in 2022. Mr King had made his own way to the West Suffolk Hospital's accident and emergency department in December 2022, after being told an ambulance could take six hours to arrive at his home due to high demand in the area, the report said. His call had been graded as category two, which should have led to a response within 40 minutes - or a target of 18 minutes. After tests at West Suffolk Hospital showed Mr King had suffered a STEMI heart attack, emergency clinicians liaised with experts from the regional heart unit and decided he needed an urgent transfer to Royal Papworth in Cambridgeshire. The report said a matron at West Suffolk told ambulance call handlers they needed an urgent transfer - but because Mr King was classed as being in a "place of safety", control room staff said the delay would be "several hours". Mr Stewart said: "the availability of ambulances to carry out transfers in a timely manner, in urgent cases" was "a matter of concern". In the report, Mr Stewart said the circumstances of the case "raised concerns about the NHS approach to centralising care in regional centres" if the means to deliver it were "inadequate". Read full story Source: BBC News, 23 January 2024 -
News Article
National shortage of epilepsy medication putting thousands at risk
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
A national shortage of epilepsy medication is putting patients' safety at risk, consultants have said. Medical professionals are becoming genuinely concerned as ever more frequent supply issues continue to bite tens of thousands of sufferers. According to the Epilepsy Society charity, over 600,000 people in the UK have the condition, or about one in every 100 people. Among them is Charlotte Kelly, a mother of two living in London who has had epilepsy for over 20 years. She must take two tablets a day to manage her condition but issues with supply have forced her to start rationing her medication. Speaking to Sky News, Ms Kelly told us of the fear surrounding the restricted access to the medicate she needs to survive. "I'm scared. If I'm truly honest, I'm scared knowing that I might not get any medication for a few weeks, or a couple of months, I just don't know when. "It's scary to know that I have to worry about getting hold of medication. I do believe that something needs to happen very quickly because even if it's pre-ordered there's no guarantee you're going to get it. Speaking to Sky News, Professor Ley Sander, director of medical services at the Epilepsy Society, says the supply concern is not just on the minds of patients but those in the industry too. "It might be that we need a strategic reserve for storage of drugs, we might have to bring drugs over from other parts of the world to avoid this from recurring. "We're not at that point yet, but this is an urgent issue." Read full story Source: Sky News, 21 January 2024 -
News ArticleOne in 20 patients has to wait at least four weeks to see a GP at a time when funding for family doctor services is falling, NHS figures show. In November 2023, 1.5m appointments in England at a GP surgery took place four weeks or more after they were booked, 4.8% of the 31.9m held that month. In one in six appointments, 5.4m (17.3%), the patient was forced to wait at least two weeks after booking it to see a GP, practice nurse or other health professional. “Millions of people are being left anxious or waiting in pain because they can’t get an appointment with their GP,” said Ed Davey, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, who highlighted the latest evidence underlining the long delays that many patients face to see a GP. “Staggering” numbers of patients now have to wait a long time, he said. GP leaders blamed the situation on the widespread shortage of family doctors, which they said was making it impossible to keep up with the rising demand for appointments. Burnout due to intense workloads is prompting more GPs to work part time. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 22 January 2024
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Content Article
How to cut time out of cancer pathways (HSJ, 19 January 2024)
Patient Safety Learning posted an article in Cancers
Meeting cancer performance targets is a challenge for many trusts with waiting times for diagnosis and treatment growing since the pandemic. But this is a worrying time for patients as well, and they would welcome quicker turnaround of results and diagnosis. Cutting time out of this pathway would benefit everyone but are there ways to do this which do not compromise patient safety? An HSJ webinar, in association with SS&C Blue Prism, addressed this important question and tried to find ways trusts could reduce waiting times. -
Content ArticleElizabeth Roberts was severely frail and bedbound, supported by visits from care agency carers four times per day and her local District Nursing Team. She had ischaemic and hypertensive heart disease and developed a large sacral sore with associated sepsis. She was admitted to Tameside General Hospital on 19 May 2023 where despite treatment, she died the same day of Sepsis with congestive cardiac failure. In this report the Coroner notes concerns about the her case and the capacity of the District Nursing Team providing here care.
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News Article
Patients’ hearts stopping in ambulance queues for A&E
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Patients have suffered cardiac arrests while waiting in A&E departments or in ambulances queueing outside because Scottish hospitals are overwhelmed, doctors have warned. At least three cases in which patients’ hearts stopped beating while they were waiting for care have been reported to the Royal College of Emergency Medicine in Scotland. Some of the incidents, the college said, may have been preventable. One frontline doctor told The Times that a patient with heart problems had died waiting in a queue of ambulances outside an emergency department. Staff could not take the patient inside because there was no capacity. JP Loughrey, vice-president of the college and an A&E consultant in the west of Scotland, said that people who should be in resuscitation rooms with a team of experts and equipment to monitor their vital signs were instead lying in ambulances outside hospital buildings. He also said that tensions were growing between frontline staff and NHS managers in large hospitals because doctors and nurses, who were already struggling to cope, were under increasing demands to work harder to process more patients. Read full story Source: The Times, 19 January 2024 -
News ArticleHalf of surgeons in England have considered leaving the NHS amid frustration over a lack of access to operating rooms, a new survey shows. More than 3,000 surgeons contemplated quitting the health service in the last year, with two-thirds reporting burn out and work-related stress to be their main challenge, a new survey by the Royal College of Surgeons England has revealed. As the NHS tries to reduce the 7.61 million waiting list backlog, the survey, covering one quarter of all UK surgeons, found that 56% believe that access to operating theatres is a major challenge. RCS England president, Mr Tim Mitchell, said: “At a time when record waiting lists persist across the UK, it is deeply concerning that NHS productivity has decreased. “The reasons for this are multifactorial, but access to operating theatres and staff wellbeing certainly play a major part. If surgical teams cannot get into operating theatres, patients will continue to endure unacceptably long waits for surgery. “There is an urgent need to increase theatre capacity and ensure existing theatre spaces are used to maximum capacity. There is also a lot of work to be done to retain staff at all levels by reducing burnout and improving morale.” Read full story Source: The Independent, 18 January 2024
