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Showing results for tags 'Organisation / service factors'.
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News Article
NHS ambulance wait figures prompt call to tackle shortages
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Almost a million people waited at least half an hour for an ambulance after having a medical emergency such as a heart attack or stroke last year, NHS figures show. Ambulance crews responding to 999 calls in England took more than 30 minutes to reach patients needing urgent care a total of 905,086 times during 2019–20. Of those, 253,277 had to wait at least an hour, and 35,960 – the equivalent of almost 100 patients a day – waited for more than two hours. In addition to heart attacks and strokes, the figures cover patients who had sustained a serious injury or trauma or major burns, or had developed the potentially lethal blood-borne infection sepsis. Under NHS guidelines, ambulances are meant to arrive at incidents involving a medical emergency – known as category 2 calls – within 18 minutes. The Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran, who obtained the figures using freedom of information laws, said: “It’s deeply shocking that such huge numbers of seriously ill patients have had to wait so long for an ambulance crew to arrive after a 999 call. It shows the incredible pressure our ambulance services were under even before this pandemic struck. “Patients suffering emergencies like a heart attack, stroke or serious injury need urgent medical attention, not to be left waiting for up to two hours for an ambulance to arrive. These worryingly long delays in an ambulance reaching a seriously ill or injured patient could have a major long-term impact on their health.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 16 August 2020- Posted
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News Article
Public Health England 'to be replaced'
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Public Health England (PHE) is to be replaced by a new agency that will specifically deal with protecting the country from pandemics, according to a report. The Sunday Telegraph claims Health Secretary Matt Hancock will this week announce a new body modelled on Germany's Robert Koch Institute. Ministers have reportedly been unhappy with the way PHE has responded to the coronavirus crisis. A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: "Public Health England have played an integral role in our national response to this unprecedented global pandemic." "We have always been clear that we must learn the right lessons from this crisis to ensure that we are in the strongest possible position, both as we continue to deal with Covid-19 and to respond to any future public health threat." The Telegraph reports that Mr Hancock will merge the NHS Test and Trace scheme with the pandemic response work of PHE. The paper said the new body could be called the National Institute for Health Protection and would become "effective" in September, but the change would not be fully completed until the spring. Read full story Source: BBC News, 16 August 2020- Posted
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- Virus
- Infection control
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Content ArticleThe dangers of health care in Britain have been long understood. Systematic data collection of the hazards of health care can be traced back at least to the time of Florence Nightingale's publications in the 1860s. This short paper from Susan Burnett and Charles Vincent, outlines the evolution of patient safety and trace its development and progress over the last 10 years in Britain, where a nationalised health service and sustained commitment from Chief Medical Officer Sir Liam Donaldson and other senior figures have brought patient safety to considerable prominence.
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- Patient safety strategy
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Content ArticleThis overview considers how the NHS has performed over the current parliament in relation to patient safety. It looks at data relating to reported incidents and harm, episodes of care free of certain types of harm, and patient and staff perceptions of safety.
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- Patient safety incident
- Patient harmed
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News Article
Record poor performance ‘dashes hopes of near normal’
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Unprecedentedly poor waiting time data for electives, diagnostics and cancer suggests the chances of NHS England’s ambitions for ‘near normal’ service levels this autumn being met are very unlikely, experts have warned. The statistics prompted one health think tank to urge NHS leaders to be “honest that with vital infection control measures affecting productivity, and a huge backlog, there are no shortcuts back to the way things were”. NHS England data published today revealed there were 50,536 patients who had been waiting over a year for elective treatment as of June – up from 1,613 in February before the covid outbreak, a number already viewed as very concerning. The number represents the highest level since 2009 and 16 times higher than they were in March. Nuffield Trust deputy director of research Sarah Scobie said: “These figures are a serious warning against any hope that the English NHS can get planned care back to normal before winter hits. The number of patients starting outpatient treatment is still a third lower than usual and getting back to 100 per cent by September will be a tall order.” “The increase in patients waiting more than a year has continued to accelerate at a shocking pace, with numbers now at their highest since 2009 and 16 times higher than they were in March. “Unfortunately, despite the real determination of staff to get back on track, some of these problems are set to grow… We need to be honest that with vital infection control measures affecting productivity, and a huge backlog, there are no shortcuts back to the way things were.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 13 August 2020- Posted
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- Virus
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News Article
Social care at breaking point in England after 'lost decade'
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Policymakers’ failure to tackle chronically underfunded social care has resulted in a “lost decade” and a system now at breaking point, according to a new report. A team led by Jon Glasby, a professor of health and social care at the University of Birmingham, says that without swift government intervention including urgent funding changes England’s adult social care system could quickly become unsustainable. Adult social care includes residential care homes and help with eating, washing, dressing and shopping. The paper says the impact has been particularly felt in services for older people. Those for working-age people have been less affected. It suggests that despite the legitimate needs of other groups “it is hard to interpret this other than as the product of ageist attitudes and assumptions about the role and needs of older people”. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 9 August 2020- Posted
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- Community care facility
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Content ArticleDrawing on a 2010 analysis of the reform and costs of adult social care commissioned by Downing Street and the UK Department of Health, this paper from Glasby et al., published in the Journal of Social Policy, sets out projected future costs under different reform scenarios, reviews what happened in practice from 2010-19, explores the impact of the growing gap between need and funding, and explores the relationship between future spending and economic growth. It identifies a ‘lost decade’ in which policy makers failed to act on the warnings which they received in 2010, draws attention to the disproportionate impact of cuts on older people (compared to services for people of working age) and calls for urgent action before the current system becomes unsustainable.
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- Community care facility
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News Article
The NHS’ approach to waiting list management needs urgent reform
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Waiting lists for treatment in 2019 were at record levels, with the proportion of patients waiting less than 18 weeks for treatment at its lowest level in a decade. Cancer waiting times were the worst on record, with 73% of trusts not meeting the 62-day cancer target. Waiting for diagnostic tests was at the highest level since 2008: 4.2% of patients were waiting over six weeks against a target of less than 1%. On 17 March 2020, NHS England and NHS Improvement asked trusts to postpone all non-urgent elective operations to free up as much inpatient and critical care capacity as possible. At this point, there were 4.43 million people on waiting lists for consultant-led elective treatment. It is imperative that we open a national debate on what the NHS can deliver in a resource-constrained environment. To translate into action, this must involve patients, clinicians, system and regional leaders, the public and politicians. Such a debate is long overdue: current methods for prioritising elective care, such as referral to treatment or the 62-day cancer standard, are no longer fit for purpose. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 14 July 2020- Posted
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News Article
Man plans to sue NHS after cancer surgery delayed due to coronavirus
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
A former senior NHS official plans to sue the organisation after he had to pay a private hospital £20,000 for potentially life-saving cancer surgery because NHS care was suspended due to COVID-19. Rob McMahon, 68, decided to seek private treatment after Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS trust told him that he would have to wait much longer than usual for a biopsy. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer after an MRI scan on 19 March, four days before the lockdown began. McMahon was due to see a consultant urologist on 27 March but that was changed to a telephone consultation and then did not take place for almost two weeks. “At that appointment, the consultant said: ‘Don’t worry, these things are slow-growing. You’ll have a biopsy but not for two or three months.’ I thought, ‘that’s a long time’, so decided to see another consultant privately for a second opinion.” A PET-CT scan confirmed that he had a large tumour on both lobes of the prostate and a biopsy showed the cancer was at risk of breaking out of the prostate capsule and spreading into his body. He then paid to undergo a radical prostatectomy at a private Spire hospital. “This is care that I should have had on the NHS, not something that I should have had to pay for myself. I had an aggressive cancer. I needed urgent treatment – there was no time to waste,”, he said. “With the pandemic, he added, “it was almost like a veil came down over the NHS. He worked for the NHS for 17 years as a manager in hospitals in London, Birmingham and Redditch, Worcestershire, and was the chief executive of an NHS primary care trust in Leicester.” Mary Smith of Novum Law, McMahon’s solicitors, said: “Unfortunately, Rob’s story is one of many we are hearing about from cancer patients who have been seriously affected by the disruption to oncology services as a result of COVID-19." Read full story Source: The Guardian, 11 July 2020- Posted
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- Cancer
- Organisation / service factors
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EventThis free four-week online course from the King's Fund will provide you with a broad understanding of the NHS – its inner workings, how it all fits together and the challenges it typically faces. You will build your knowledge of the health system in England through articles, quizzes and videos with experts from The King’s Fund. Plus you can study each week at a time that suits you. Sign up
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News ArticleA quarter of people who sought help for mental health problems during lockdown were unable to access NHS services, a new survey shows. A survey by the mental health charity Mind found that 25% of respondents who contacted primary care services could not get support. More than a fifth (22%) of adults with no previous experience of poor mental health now say that their mental health has deteriorated, according to the survey. Many people who were previously well will develop mental health problems as a “direct consequence of the pandemic and all that follows”, according to Mind. Two out of three (65%) adults aged 25 and over and three-quarters of young people aged 13-24 with an existing mental health problem reported worse mental health during the lockdown. Mind predicts that prolonged worsening of wellbeing and “continued inadequate access” to NHS mental health services will lead to a marked increase in people experiencing longer-term mental health problems. Read full story Source: The Independent, 30 June 2020
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Content ArticleCOVID-19 is an unprecedented crisis which has had a profound impact on health and care services across the UK and will continue to have an impact for the months and years to come. To guide the restoration of services, 25 cancer charities have come together and developed this document to set out a ‘12-point plan’, supported by available data and intelligence, for what they believe the health service in England will need to do to enable cancer services to recover from the pandemic.
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Content ArticleCaring for people with learning disabilities in an acute hospital setting can be challenging, especially if that patient has transitioned from children’s services to adult services. The experience in children’s acute care differs to adult acute care; this difference in processes of care can cause great anxiety for the patient and their family and carers. The reasonable adjustments that were perhaps made and sustained in children’s services may now not exist. The purpose of this blog is to demonstrate the importance for services to be designed around patients’ needs with patients, families and carers. If we get this right, the quality of care given will be improved, patient satisfaction increases and, in turn, a reduction in patient harm. It is important to note that designing services around patients is not exclusive to learning disabilities; designing services with ALL patients at the centre with their involvement is crucial for trusts to provide safe care.
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- Learning disorders
- Patient
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Content Article
"I know this is burnout. I didn’t want it to be. But it is."
Claire Cox posted an article in Blogs
I have been honest in my blogs during the pandemic. I have been apprehensive, scared and, at times, excited to work in the pandemic. So why do I feel so low at this moment? I am experiencing feelings that I have not had before. I have thoughts of leaving nursing. Surely, I can’t be the only one? Why now? Why am I feeling like this? This blog is to explore why this might be.- Posted
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- Safety culture
- Motivation
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News Article
After coronavirus, we may not recognise changed NHS
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
In many ways it is wrong to talk about the NHS restarting non-coronavirus care. A lot of it never stopped — births, for instance, cannot be delayed because of a pandemic. However, exactly what that care looks like is likely to be very different from what came before. There are more video and telephone consultations and staff treat patients from behind masks and visors. That is likely to be the case for some time, experts have told The Times. Read full story (paywalled) Source: The Times, 6 June 2020 -
Content Article
Designing a safe space for neonatal care
Claire Cox posted an article in Process improvement
As well as designing specific products, ergonomists and human factors specialists can help understand how the space within which we work can be best designed. This can help encourage effective communication in a workplace, as well as considering the comfort of all those present. The Chartered Institute for Ergonomics and Human Factors have come together with stakeholders involved in the care of neonates to design a space that is safe for newborn babies and staff that care for them.- Posted
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- Paediatrics
- Obstetrics and gynaecology/ Maternity
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News Article
Intensive care capacity must be permanently doubled, says Nightingale chief
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Intensive care capacity in London must be doubled on a permanent basis following the coronavirus pandemic, according to the chief executive of the city’s temporary Nightingale hospital. Speaking to an online webinar hosted by the Royal Society of Medicine, Professor Charles Knight said London had around 800 critical care beds under normal operations but “there’s a clear plan to double intensive care unit capacity on a permanent basis”. He added: “We must have a system of healthcare in this country that means, if this ever happened again, that we wouldn’t have to do this, that we wouldn’t have to build an intensive care unit in a conference centre because we had enough capacity under usual operating so that we could cope with surge.” It would also mean the NHS would no longer be in a position “where lots of patients, as we all know, get cancelled every year for lack of an ITU bed,” he said. Read full story Source: HSJ, 28 April 2020- Posted
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- HDU / ICU
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Event
Human Factors for Patient Safety Course
Patient Safety Learning posted an event in Community Calendar
Patient Safety is an essential part of health and social care that aims to reduce avoidable errors and prevent unintended harm. Human Factors looks at the things that can affect the way people work safely and effectively, such as the optimisation of systems and processes, the design of equipment and devices used and the surrounding environment and culture, all of which are key to providing safer, high quality care. New for September 2020, this part-time, three year, distance learning course, from the Centre of Excellence Stafford, focuses specifically on Human Factors within the Health and Social Care sectors with the aim of helping health and social care professionals to improve performance in this area. The PgCert provides you with the skills to apply Human Factors to reduce the risk of incidents occurring, as well as to respond appropriately to health, safety or wellbeing incidents. Through the study of Human Factors, you will be able to demonstrate benefit to everyone involved, including patients, service users, staff, contractors, carers, families and friends. Further information- Posted
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- Ergonomics
- Organisation / service factors
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Content ArticleThis document from NHS England offers a practical interpretation of the Managing conflicts of interest guidance, providing optional content to support organisations in amending local policies. The guidance: introduces common principles and rules for managing conflicts of interest provides simple advice to staff and organisations about what to do in common situations supports good judgement about how interests should be approached and managed Sets out the issues and rationale behind the policies.
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- Clinical governance
- Policies
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Content Article
NHS: Specialty guides for patient management
Claire Cox posted an article in Guidance
Speciality guides for patient management during the coronavirus pandemic.- Posted
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- High risk groups
- Organisational Performance
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News Article
London begins major COVID-19 reconfiguration
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
St Bartholomew’s Hospital is to be the emergency electives centre for the London region as part of a major reorganisation to cope with the coronavirus outbreak. Senior sources told HSJ the London tertiary hospital, which is run by Barts Health Trust, will be a “clean” site providing emergency elective care as part of the capital’s covid-19 plan. It is understood the specialist Royal Brompton and Harefield Foundation Trust will also be taking some emergency cardiac patients. The news follows NHS England chief executive Sir Simon Stevens telling MPs on Tuesday that all systems were working out how best to optimise resources and some hospitals could be used to exclusively treat coronavirus patients in the coming months. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 18 March 2020- Posted
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- Accident and Emergency
- Medicine - Infectious disease
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Content Article
COVID-19: Provision of intensive care beds
Claire Cox posted an article in Data, research and statistics
This interview with intensivist and CEO of the the UK Sepsis Trust, Ron Daniels, shown on the Victoria Derbyshire programme, states the '... the UK cannot increase its ICU capacity "rapidly enough" to deal with levels of coronavirus patients'' Fears are growing for the safety of patients who will be contracting the virus, some of who will need intensive care, but there is not enough beds or trained staff to care for them appropriately.- Posted
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- Workforce management
- Safe staffing
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Content ArticleA Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) report of an investigation that found that Averil Hart's tragic death from anorexia would have been avoided if the NHS had cared for her appropriately. Ignoring the alarms: How NHS eating disorder services are failing patients highlights five areas of focus to improve eating disorder services.
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- Mental health unit
- Mental health - CAMHS
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News ArticleNHS patients could be denied lifesaving care during a severe coronavirus outbreak in Britain if intensive care units are struggling to cope, senior doctors have warned. Under a so-called “three wise men” protocol, three senior consultants in each hospital would be forced to make decisions on rationing care such as ventilators and beds, in the event hospitals were overwhelmed with patients. The medics spoke out amid frustration over what one said was the government’s “dishonest spin” that the health service was well prepared for a major pandemic outbreak. The doctors, from hospitals across England, said the health service’s existing critical care capacity was already overstretched and “would crumble” under the demands of a pandemic surge in patients who may all need ventilation to help them breathe. Those denied intensive care beds could be those suffering with coronavirus or other seriously ill patients, with priority given to those most likely to survive and recover. Doctors said this would lead to “tough decisions” needing to be made about the wholesale cancellation of operations to free-up beds. Read full story Source: Independent, 28 February 2020
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- Medicine - Infectious disease
- Lack of resources
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Content Article
Association for Anaesthetists: Tips for night shifts
Claire Cox posted an article in Motivating staff
The Association for Anaesthetists have produced some 'top tips' for night shift workers. What tips do you have to keep you feeling well overnight?- Posted
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- Fatigue / exhaustion
- Job design
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