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News ArticleFive months after being infected with the coronavirus, Nicole Murphy’s pulse rate is going berserk. Normally in the 70s, which is ideal, it has been jumping to 160, 170 and sometimes 210 beats per minute even when she is at rest — putting her at risk of a heart attack, heart failure or stroke. No one seems to be able to pinpoint why. She’s only 44, never had heart issues, and when a cardiologist near her hometown of Wellsville, Ohio, USA, ran all of the standard tests, “he literally threw up his hands when he saw the results,” she recalled. Her blood pressure was perfect, there were no signs of clogged arteries, and her heart was expanding and contracting well. Murphy’s boomeranging heart rate is one of a number of mysterious conditions afflicting Americans weeks or months after coronavirus infections that suggest the potential of a looming cardiac crisis. A pivotal study that looked at health records of more than 153,000 U.S. veterans published this month in Nature Medicine found that their risk of cardiovascular disease of all types increased substantially in the year following infection, even when they had mild cases. The population studied was mostly White and male, but the patterns held even when the researchers analyzed women and people of color separately. When experts factor in the heart damage probably suffered by people who put off medical care, more sedentary lifestyles and eating changes, not to mention the stress of the pandemic, they estimate there may be millions of new onset cardiac cases related to the virus, plus a worsening of disease for many already affected. “We are expecting a tidal wave of cardiovascular events in the coming years from direct and indirect causes of covid,” said Donald M. Lloyd-Jones, president of the American Heart Association. Read full story (paywalled) Source: Washington Post, 21 February 2022
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News Article
NHS cuts to cover Covid costs may hit patient care, Labour warns
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Patient care may suffer as a result of cuts to the NHS budget to fund the continuing costs of Covid, NHS leaders and Labour have said, after Sajid Javid refused to say where the axe would fall. The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is trying to make savings from its budget to fund free lateral flow tests for elderly people, Covid surveillance studies and genomic sequencing, after the Treasury refused its request for £5bn in extra funding. Although the government announced an end to most free mass testing and contract tracing on Monday, remaining Covid measures are expected to cost more than £1bn. The Treasury and the DHSC refused to say exactly how much cash would be needed or which services would have to be cut back, prompting fears that the NHS could have to find savings at a time of a huge waiting list backlog. It is understood that DHSC officials are working on identifying savings in the department’s £178.5bn budget for 2022-23, to fund the measures agreed on Monday, including maintaining a “baseline” testing capability that can be scaled up if necessary. They have ruled out hitting Javid’s plan for tackling waiting lists, but a government source would not rule out any other areas being affected, saying a “significant amount of money” would have to be found by “reprioritising”. Saffron Cordery, the deputy chief executive of NHS Providers, warned the government against abandoning its commitment to give the NHS “whatever it needs” to tackle Covid and called for transparency about “where the impact of these extra costs will fall”. “Trust leaders are understandably anxious over reports that the ongoing and significant costs of living with Covid will be met by ‘reprioritising’ the NHS’s existing budget,” she said. “There is a very real risk of trade-offs affecting the quality of patient care – something no one wants to see.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 23 February 2022 -
News Article
Seven-week gap advised for elective surgery after Omicron
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Despite a backlog of routine operations, NHS hospitals are being advised to delay elective surgical procedures by at least seven weeks if a patient has just had Omicron. UK experts say it is a precaution since the first couple of months following infection is a riskier period, linked to poorer post-operative recovery. In some circumstances the surgery may be urgent enough to go ahead, however. Patients should ideally have had all of their Covid vaccines too. The advice has been issued by surgery and anaesthesia experts, including two Royal Colleges representing those professions. The experts who drew up the recommendations say the desire to tackle waiting lists and backlogs must be balanced with delivering the safest care possible. The latest expert guidance on routine operations recommends: Elective surgery should not take place within 10 days of a confirmed Covid infection, mainly because the patient may be infectious which is a risk to staff and other patients. Operations that happen in the six-week period after an infection - even an asymptomatic one - carry a higher risk of serious complications for the patient, experience suggests. Dr Mike Nathanson, president of the Association of Anaesthetists, said: "The frustration felt by patients is immense and we - the healthcare professionals - want to do our jobs and provide these services when it is safe to do so and with the risks clear to all involved." Read full story Source: BBC News, 23 February 2022 -
News Article
"'I feel less safe without Covid measures"
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Medically vulnerable people say the decision to end Covid restrictions means their freedoms being eroded. Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that legal requirements, including the need to self-isolate if you test positive, will end on Thursday. Two clinically vulnerable women in the West say not knowing who is infected means it is now more dangerous for them to leave their homes. "It doesn't feel safe," said Chloe Ball-Hopkins, from Gloucestershire. "My friends and family will continue to try and keep me safe, my partner will keep me safe, they'll continue to test before they meet me," said the 25-year-old from Wotton-under-Edge. Miss Ball-Hopkins has already had her fourth vaccine dose as she is considered extremely clinically vulnerable. She has a rare form of muscular dystrophy called nemaline myopathy which affects her respiratory system, and contracted sepsis in 2019 which undermined her immune system further. Miss Ball-Hopkins said that while the easing of restrictions would feel like freedom to much of the population, it meant the opposite for her. "I'm supposed to go out and live my life normally yet now I won't know if someone next to me in a supermarket is literally breathing Covid down on me, as I'm in a wheelchair. "I was actually probably safer in January when everyone was wearing masks than I will be in a week's time. That makes no sense," she said. Read full story Source: BBC News, 22 February 2022 -
News ArticlePatients face limits on visitors in every hospital trust in England, The Telegraph has revealed, with restrictions set to continue even once the country moves to "living with Covid". It comes as Boris Johnson announces that all Covid regulations including self-isolation will be abolished at the end of February. The health service supports keeping some visiting restrictions in place while Covid remains in circulation among the general population, it is understood. A spokesman said: "The NHS regularly reminds hospitals that visits for patients should continue to go ahead as much as possible and extra measures should already be in place so that this can be done safely." NHS England encourages trusts to facilitate visits "wherever possible, and to do so in a risk-managed way", but it is up to individual trusts to set their own policies based on UK Health Security Agency guidelines. Analysis by The Telegraph found that at least 34 hospital trusts across England still have routine visits suspended, with exceptions such as those for patients receiving end-of-life care and people with dementia. All 125 trusts have some form of visiting restriction in place. The most common policy is to have one named visitor per patient for the entirety of a patient's stay, who can only visit for one hour once a day. Helen Wildbore, the director of the Relatives and Residents Association, said limiting patients to one nominated visitor put pressure on families, leaving the carer "exhausted". She added: "If you’re going into hospital and you're not able to have your family with you, you're going to come out worse." In some cases, patients who needed hospital care had chosen not to go because they were worried about being isolated from family, she said. Caroline Abrahams, the Charity Director at Age UK, said it was "imperative that hospitals open their doors to visitors again as wide as they possibly can" as the pandemic eases. Read full story (paywalled) Source: The Telegraph, 18 February 2022 You may also be interested in reading: Visiting restrictions and the impact on patients and their families: a relative's perspective
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News Article
Ministers warned getting rid of free Covid tests will lead to £500 ‘caring tax’
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Abolishing free Covid tests for those who look after the vulnerable will amount to a “tax on caring” that would cost them more than £500 a year, ministers have been warned. All remaining domestic Covid regulations that restrict public freedoms are ending, with Boris Johnson announing a move away from government intervention to “personal responsibility”. However, the scale of free testing to be retained is still being thrashed out within government. Current data suggests that nearly 4 million people take regular Covid tests, including those who visit and help vulnerable relatives. That number also includes vulnerable people who work in settings that could put them at greater risk, where they have face-to-face contact with others. Research based on the average cost of tests internationally, compiled by the Liberal Democrats, suggests that people who take two tests a week face an average bill of £534 a year. It comes after the government’s own scientific advisers have warned that removing free testing will “increase anxiety” and limit the “social participation outside the home” of those who are clinically vulnerable or who live with someone in that position. “Charging people for the tests they need to safely see vulnerable loved ones is a tax on caring that risks leaving millions of people in lockdown by stealth,” said Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader. “It means vulnerable people will see fewer loved ones and will be able to enjoy less of their lives. It is unfair and unjust. Ministers need to scrap these plans to stop a ‘cost of living with Covid’ crisis. Throughout the pandemic, people have been trying hard to do the right thing and keep others safe. The government should not be making that harder.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 19 February 2022 -
News ArticleToday the Government is expected to announce the end to all Covid restrictions, including ending self-isolation and free testing in the country. However, in an open letter to the UK's Chief Medical Officer and Chief Scientific Officer, the UK science and medical communities say this is a "HUGE mistake". The open letter expresses concern about the Government plans to end testing, surveillance surveys and legal isolation of Covid-19 cases and asks the Government to clarify the scientific advice underpinning these policy decisions as they do not believe there is a solid scientific basis for the policy. "It is almost certain to increase the circulation of the virus and remove the visibility of emerging variants of concern." "The emergence of new variants and a resultant wave of infections can occur very quickly, potentially within just several weeks. The ability to rapidly detect and characterise new variants and to scale up necessary responses (such as TTI and vaccinations) quickly will be very important. Considerations for future response preparedness and surveillance infrastructure should take this into account." "We believe humanity is in a race against the virus." The letter goes on to say that some form of surveillance must be continued to ensure the situation is well understood and new variants of concern identified. Lack of testing is not only detrimental to controlling the spread of SARSCoV2 and detecting new variants, it also puts people who develop Long Covid at a great disadvantage by not having a confirmation of their infection, which is integral to the diagnosis, support and care they need to receive. For the 1 in 4 people in the UK who are clinically vulnerable, the current approach appears a perilous and politicised pandemic response. The authors of the letter are asking members of the UK science and medical communities to sign the open letter. Read the letter in full and sign here
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News Article
Millions in England face ‘second pandemic’ of mental health issues
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Millions of patients in England face dangerously long waits for mental health care unless ministers urgently draw up a recovery plan to tackle a “second pandemic” of depression, anxiety, psychosis and eating disorders, NHS leaders and doctors have warned. The Covid crisis has sparked a dramatic rise in the numbers of people experiencing mental health problems, with 1.6 million waiting for specialised treatment and another 8 million who cannot get on the waiting list but would benefit from support, the heads of the NHS Confederation and the Royal College of Psychiatrists have told the Guardian. In some parts of the country, specialist mental health services are so overwhelmed they are “bouncing back” even the most serious cases of patients at risk of suicide, self-harm and starvation to the GPs that referred them, prompting warnings from doctors that some patients will likely die as a result. “We are moving towards a new phase of needing to ‘live with’ coronavirus but for a worrying number of people, the virus is leaving a growing legacy of poor mental health that services are not equipped to deal with adequately at present,” said Matthew Taylor, the chief executive of the NHS Confederation, which represents the whole of the healthcare system in England. “With projections showing that 10 million people in England, including 1.5 million children and teenagers, will need new or additional support for their mental health over the next three to five years it is no wonder that health leaders have dubbed this the second pandemic. A national crisis of this scale deserves targeted and sustained attention from the government in the same way we have seen with the elective care backlog.” One family doctor in Hertfordshire, Dr David Turner, said he was so concerned about the situation that he had chosen to speak out publicly for the first time in his 25-year career. “I and many other GPs feel the issue has become critical and it is only a matter of time before a child dies,” he told the Guardian. Turner said access to child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) was “never great pre-Covid” but was now “appalling”. The double whammy of a spike in demand and underinvestment in CAMHS was putting patients at risk, he added. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 21 February 2022 -
News Article
'My child is in pain - but I'm helpless'
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Thomas Hebbron is one of the forgotten victims of the pandemic. He was diagnosed with leukaemia in February 2019 - a year before Covid hit the UK. The eight-year-old, from Leeds, has been treated with chemotherapy which has continued throughout the pandemic, but his health has suffered in other ways - and his mother believes the unrelenting focus on the virus is to blame. Pre-pandemic he was seen in person by doctors every two weeks. But that changed to monthly video calls, and liver and urinary problems went undetected. His treatment also affected his fine motor skills and has weakened his legs, but he has not seen an occupational therapist since before the pandemic. "I want to take this pain away from him," says his mother, Gemma. "I don't want to sit and watch him in this pain, but I can't do anything. I just feel completely helpless." Thomas's story is not unique. An analysis by the Nuffield Trust and Health Foundation has for the first time laid bare how access to core health services in England has been squeezed, threatening to leave behind a generation of young people. The review has looked at both physical and mental health services and come to the same conclusion - support has been badly disrupted and the plight of children overlooked. The Nuffield Trust and Health Foundation have been joined by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) in calling for a dedicated plan for children to help them recover from the pandemic. Dr Camilla Kingdon, RCPCH president, said the figures "do not take into account the many other 'hidden' waiting lists of children waiting for community therapies and diagnostic assessments, especially for autism". She added that children are "struggling" and, despite services being stretched, no-one should be deterred from speaking to a health professional. Read full story Source: BBC News, 18 February 2022 -
News Article
The millions of people stuck in pandemic limbo
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
When the coronavirus pandemic began, Emily Landon thought about her own risk only in rare quiet moments. An infectious-disease doctor at the University of Chicago Medicine, she was cramming months of work into days, preparing her institution for the virus’s arrival in the United States. But Landon had also recently developed rheumatoid arthritis—a disease in which a person’s immune system attacks their own joints—and was taking two drugs that, by suppressing said immune system, made her more vulnerable to pathogens. Normally, she’d be confident about avoiding infections, even in a hospital setting. This felt different. “We didn’t have enough tests, it was probably around us everywhere, and I’m walking around every day with insufficient antibodies and hamstrung T-cells,” she said. Two years later, Covid-19 is still all around us, everywhere, and millions of people like Landon are walking around with a compromised immune system. A significant proportion of them don’t respond to Covid vaccines, so despite being vaccinated, many are still unsure whether they’re actually protected—and some know that they aren’t. Much of the United States dropped COVID restrictions long ago; many more cities and states are now following. That means policies that protected Landon and other immunocompromised people, including mask mandates and vaccination requirements, are disappearing, while accommodations that benefited them, such as flexible working options, are being rolled back. This isn’t a small group. Close to 3% of US adults take immunosuppressive drugs, either to treat cancers or autoimmune disorders or to stop their body from rejecting transplanted organs or stem cells. That makes at least 7 million immunocompromised people. In the past, immunocompromised people lived with their higher risk of infection, but COVID represents a new threat that, for many, has further jeopardised their ability to be part of the world. From the very start of the pandemic, some commentators have floated the idea “that we can protect the vulnerable and everyone else can go on with their lives.” Seth Trueger, who is on immunosuppressants for an autoimmune complication of cancer, said. “How’s that supposed to work?” He is an emergency doctor at Northwestern Medicine; he can neither work from home nor protect himself by avoiding public spaces. “How am I supposed to provide for my family or live my life if there’s a pandemic raging?” he said. Read full story Source: The Atlantic, 16 February 2022 Further reading Read further Covid-19 blogs and stories from staff on the frontline -
News Article
Covid vaccines should be available to buy privately in UK, scientists say
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Covid vaccines should be made available for people to buy privately in Britain, leading scientists have urged, amid concerns over a new wave of the virus which could worsen in autumn and winter. Unlike flu jabs, which individuals or employers can buy for about £15 from high street pharmacies, Covid jabs are only available on the NHS in the UK. This month the UK government announced that the Covid autumn booster programme would cover a smaller pool of the population than earlier vaccination drives. The age limit has been raised from 50 to 65 and above, with some younger vulnerable groups also eligible. Covid is on the rise, according to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA). Experts raised concerns the wave could continue to grow and add to winter pressures on the NHS. Prof Adam Finn, of the University of Bristol, a member of the UK’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), said Covid jabs should be available commercially. Some employers might want to offer the vaccines to their staff, he added. Speaking in a personal capacity, Finn said: “I think it will be a good idea for vaccines to be made available to those that want them on the private market. I don’t really see any reason why that shouldn’t be happening.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 17 August 2023 -
News ArticleUpdated Covid vaccines are expected to become available in the US next month as alarm grows over a new variant dubbed Eris. Healthcare providers are grappling with a rise in hospitalisations stemming from Covid infections. Eris or EG.5.1, a subvariant of Omicron that originally emerged in late 2021, now accounts for around 17per cent of current COVID cases, according to the CDC. Symptoms of the new variant include a runny nose, headache, fatigue, sneezing and a sore throat. In the week of 30 July to 5 August, the latest period that data is available for, hospitalisations spiked by more than 14per cent, while deaths rose 10per cent compared to the previous week. It comes as providers and pharmacies prepare to roll out an updated vaccine designed to combat Omicron — but experts are not very optimistic that the greater majority of Americans will opt to be vaccinated. Fewer than 50 million people in the US got the shot last fall, compared to 250 million, or 73 per cent of the country’s population, when the vaccine was first made available in 2021, according to the agency. Read full story Source: Independent, 16 August 2023
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News Article
Heart attacks at record level after pandemic
Patient-Safety-Learning posted a news article in News
Record numbers of people have been hospitalised with heart attacks in the wake of the pandemic, official figures show. On Tuesday, health chiefs will launch a campaign urging those with symptoms to seek help, with fears that too many cases are being detected too late. The new figures for England show that more than 84,000 patients were admitted to hospital because of a heart attack in 2021/22 – a rise of more than 7,000 in a year. It follows warnings that heart deaths have risen by more than 500 a week since the first lockdown, with a fall in the numbers prescribed vital medication amid struggles to access GP care. Health officials are afraid that people are still failing to come forward, adding to the collateral damage caused by the pandemic. From this week, an NHS advert will encourage people to call 999 as soon as they experience symptoms of a heart attack, such as squeezing across the chest, sweating and a feeling of uneasiness, so people have the best chance of survival. Prof Nick Linker, a cardiologist and NHS national clinical director for heart disease, said: “Cardiovascular disease causes one in four deaths across the country, so it is vital that people are aware of the early signs of a heart attack. Every moment that passes during a heart attack increases heart muscle damage, and nearly all of the damage takes place within the first few hours, so if you experience symptoms such as a sensation of squeezing or tightness across the chest alongside sweating, nausea, or a sense of unease, please call 999 so you have the best chance of a full recovery”. Read full story (paywalled) Source: The Telegraph, 15 August 2023 -
News Article
Mysterious new long Covid symptom identified by scientists
Patient-Safety-Learning posted a news article in News
A new symptom of long Covid has been revealed by scientists at the University of Leeds. Though most people who contract Covid recover within a few days or weeks of experiencing initial symptoms, some people can experience longer, more persistent symptoms – termed Long Covid or post Covid-19 syndrome by the NHS. Until now, the most commonly identified symptoms have included extreme tiredness, loss of smell, muscle aches and shortness of breath. Others include memory problems, chest pain, insomnia, heart palpitations, dizziness, joint pain, tinnitus and depression and anxiety. Now, a new study has revealed a previously unidentified symptom of long Covid. Published in The Lancet medical journal, the research detailed a new symptom of the condition after a 33-year-old man was referred to the specialists’ clinic. The patient had a six-month history of what the authors describe as a “rapid purple discolouration” on his legs. When standing, he remarked that they would feel progressively heavier and become “tingly, itchy and dusky” in colour. He added that a rash would occasionally appear on his feet, but that the mysterious symptoms would disappear when laying down. The disorder is known as acrocyanosis or persistent and extreme blue or cyanotic discolouration. It typically occurs in the hands and feet but can also appear across the nose and ears. “This was a striking case of acrocyanosis in a patient who had not experienced it before his Covid-19 infection”, said co-author Dr Manoj Sivan, associate clinical professor and honorary consultant in rehabilitation medicine at the University of Leeds. “Patients experiencing this may not be aware that it can be a symptom of Long Covid and dysautonomia, and may feel concerned about what they are seeing. Similarly, clinicians may not be aware of the link between acrocyanosis and Long Covid. We need to ensure that there is more awareness of dysautonomia [malfunctioning of the nervous system] in Long Covid so that clinicians have the tools they need to manage patients appropriately.” Read full story Source: The Independent, 15 August 2023 -
News ArticleMedics have welcomed clarification from health officials over when the upcoming flu and Covid-19 vaccination programme will begin. NHS England had been criticised for pushing back the start date a month with pharmacists saying the change of plan would likely “catch patients off guard”. While school-aged children will be able to receive the flu shot from 1 September, adults were not expected to start getting flu and Covid jabs until October, a month later than recent years. Officials briefed that the later start time was so sites can co-administer both vaccines wherever possible, to make it more convenient, and to ensure protection in later winter months – typically when viruses are more likely to spread. But NHS England was criticised for a lack of transparency and communication, as healthcare teams had been preparing to provide the service as usual from September. NHS England said to maximise and extend protection during the winter and through the period of greatest risk in December and early January 2024, care home residents and care home staff must start receiving their jabs from 2 October, and other eligible flu and Covid cohorts from 7 October. However, in updated guidance officials said that as some firm commitments and appointments have already been made, any patient wishing to receive their vaccination in September will be allowed to do so. Most people are still likely to have their vaccines in October, officials believe. Responding to news that NHS England will, if needed, now allow practices to deliver both vaccination programmes from September rather than October, Dr Katie Bramall-Stainer, chair of GPC England at the British Medical Association (BMA), said: “This news is very welcome, coming after the BMA made clear yesterday to NHS England that shifting the entire programme at the last minute to October would not only cause widespread confusion, but also serious disruption as flu clinics would have to be rearranged to fit the new timetable." Read full story Source: inews, 11 August 2023
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Scottish Covid inquiry start condemned as ‘shambolic and disrespectful’
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Bereaved families in Scotland questioned the credibility of the Covid-19 inquiry on its opening day. Proceedings started with a presentation in Dundee by the public health physician Dr Ashley Croft, who talked about the scientific and medical understanding of the virus as it existed in late 2019 and how it developed up to the end of last year. Members of the Scottish Covid Bereaved group were said to be “bewildered” by the choice of Croft as first speaker of the inquiry, having previously raised concerns about his being used as an expert witness. The lawyer Aamer Anwar, who is representing the group, highlighted a High Court judgment that reportedly described Croft as providing “flawed, unreliable” and “unconvincing” evidence and displaying “a cavalier approach to important evidence”. Pointing out that no respects were paid to the many people who lost their lives during the pandemic during the presentation either, Anwar described the inquiry’s start as “embarrassing” and “deeply disrespectful”. Read full story (paywalled) Source: The Times, 27 July 2023 -
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Covid Inquiry: Bodies were treated like toxic waste, says daughter
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The bodies of people who died with Covid were treated like "toxic waste" and families were left in shock, a bereaved woman has told the inquiry. Anna-Louise Marsh-Rees said her father Ian died "gasping for breath" after catching the virus while in hospital. Ms Marsh-Rees, who leads Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice Cymru, said he was "zipped away", and his belongings put in a Tesco carrier bag. Ian Marsh-Rees died after catching the virus while in hospital, aged 85. His daughter said finding information regarding his care in hospital and how he became infected was "almost like an Agatha Christie mystery". She said no GP ever suggested he might have Covid, although she now knows his discharge notes said he had been exposed to Covid. "It wasn't until we saw his notes some months later that we saw the DNA CPR (do not attempt CPR) placed on him, and this was without consultation with us," she said. "It kind of haunts us all that… people used to say 'well they're in the right place' when they go to hospital. I'm not sure they would say that any more," Ms Marsh-Rees said. She now wants to change the way deaths are handled by health boards. She said it was important to prepare families before and support them after the death of a loved one, from palliative care to dignity in death. Read full story Source: BBC News, 18 July 2023 -
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MPs criticise ‘staggering’ failures at UK Health Security Agency
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Britain’s lead public health body has a staggering lack of control over billions of pounds of spending, and there is no plan for stockpiling vaccines or personal protective equipment (PPE) for a future pandemic, a damning MPs’ report has found. The public accounts committee was highly critical of the repeated governance and financial failings at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), which was set up with great fanfare under Boris Johnson. Meg Hillier, the committee chair, said it would be “utterly inexcusable” for the government to have failed to make serious preparations for future health emergencies and warned the lack of a plan for stockpiling could leave health workers once again exposed to danger as they were in 2020. The committee lambasted the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), which oversees UKHSA, for lacking a strategy for reserves of PPE, vaccines and medicines despite its mandate to protect the country’s health security. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 5 July 2023 -
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Long Covid causing 'debilitating impact' on doctors
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
A "significant" number of doctors are still suffering with the "debilitating effects" of Long Covid, according to a new report. Many are left in financial limbo as they have been forced to quit work or reduce their hours, the British Medical Association (BMA) report warns. Some 600 doctors with long COVID were quizzed about the impact on their day-to-day lives. One in five told the BMA and the Long COVID Doctors for Action group they had been forced to stop work or significantly cut back on their hours. Carrying out essential daily activities such as getting dressed, household activities, and childcare have become difficult or not possible for 60% of the medics who took part in the survey. Nearly half (49%) said they have experienced loss of earnings as a result of Long Covid symptoms of which include: fatigue, headaches, muscular pain, nerve damage, joint pain, ongoing respiratory problems. The BMA has made a series of calls to support doctors with Long Covid, including: Financial support for doctors and other health workers with Long Covid. Long Covid to be recognised as an "occupational disease". Better access to physical and mental health services for those affected after the report said that access to NHS long COVID clinics is "patchy". Greater "workplace protection" for staff. More support to help healthcare workers return to work "safely". Read full story Source: Medscape, 3 July 2023 -
News ArticleMany vulnerable patients are struggling to access covid treatments after commissioning responsibility switched to integrated care boards this week, charities have warned. Approximately two million vulnerable patients must now contact local services themselves to access treatments designed to combat covid infections, such as the antivirals Paxlovid and Sotrovimab. Integrated care boards are expected to coordinate and fund “equitable” access. Prior to 27 June, identification of patients and the delivery of treatment was coordinated nationally under pandemic arrangements. However, a group of 20 patient charities have written to Steve Barclay warning that most ICBs have not drawn up plans to deliver this new responsibility, leaving patients and primary care clinicians unclear on how to access the treatments. “Despite continually raising our concerns with those carrying out the planning, implementation, and communication of this [policy], we now find that we are in exactly the position we warned against,” they said. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 3 July 2023
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Covid pandemic linked to surge in child and teen diabetes
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
There has been an unusual rise in the number of children and teenagers around the world diagnosed with type 1 diabetes since Covid, say researchers. A new study in JAMA Network Open journal has collated available data from different countries, including the UK, on more than 38,000 young people diagnosed during the pandemic. The authors describe the increase in cases of diabetes as "substantial". More work is needed to understand why the rise is happening, they say. Some of the rise could be attributed to catch-up - from backlogs and delays when health services were shut - but does not explain all of the newly diagnosed cases, say scientists. Before the pandemic, the incidence rate of childhood type 1 diabetes was already increasing - by about 3% a year. -
News Article
Matt Hancock says UK's pandemic strategy was completely wrong
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Ex-health secretary Matt Hancock has criticised the UK's pandemic planning before Covid hit, saying it was "completely wrong". He told the Covid Inquiry that planning was focused on the provision of body bags and how to bury the dead, rather than stopping the virus taking hold. He said he was "profoundly sorry" for each death. After giving evidence he approached some of the bereaved families, but they turned their backs on him as he left. The former health secretary, who answered questions from the inquiry on Tuesday, said he understood his apology might be difficult for families to accept, even though it was "honest and heartfelt". Under questioning from Hugo Keith KC, lead counsel to the Covid Inquiry, Mr Hancock stressed that the "attitude, the doctrine of the UK was to plan for the consequences of a disaster". Read full story Source: BBC News, 27 June 2023 -
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Health service chief critical of Covid-19 ‘Protect the NHS’ slogan
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The head of NHS England was critical of the government’s slogan urging people to “protect the NHS” at the start of the Covid pandemic, amid concerns it would stop people coming forward for much-needed treatment. Simon Stevens, who led the NHS until July 2021, was one of the slogan’s “greatest critics” and was not involved in the government discussion that led to the phrase being deployed. “It was a tremendously powerful slogan,” writes journalist Isabel Hardman in Fighting for Life: The Twelve Battles That Made Our NHS, and the Struggle for Its Future. “It was popular in government – but not universally so. In fact, one of its greatest critics was Simon Stevens. Stevens wasn’t on the calls where [government advisers] came up with ‘Protect the NHS’, and initially he complained in private that it gave the impression that the public was there for the health service – not the health service being there for the public. “Either way, the focus quickly became about the importance of ‘protecting the NHS’. But there was never a clear definition of what it was being protected from.” Later in 2020, Lord Stevens referred to his concerns about the slogan, writing: “Rather than say ‘Protect the NHS’, health service staff prefer to say: ‘Help us help you’.” Senior NHS figures also attempted to battle against the slogan from the spring of 2020, urging patients to come forward as normal. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 25 June 2023 -
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What’s behind the mystery of thousands of excess deaths this summer?
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Over the past couple of months, deaths in England and Wales have been higher than would be expected for a typical summer. In July and August, there were several weeks with deaths 10% to 13% above the five-year average, meaning that in England about 900 extra people a week were dying compared with the past few years. The leading causes of death are within the typical range (the five-year average): heart and lung diseases, cancers, dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Covid-19 deaths could account for half of the excess mortality, but the other half is puzzling, as there’s no one clear reason that jumps out. It’s likely to be a mix of factors: Covid is making us sicker and more vulnerable to other diseases (research suggests it may contribute to delayed heart attacks, strokes, and dementia); an ageing population; an extremely hot summer; and an overloaded health service meaning that people are dying from lack of timely medical care. The excess mortality puzzle has been weaponised by some to argue that this is a delayed consequence of lockdown. In essence, this is to say that mandatory restrictions on mixing and stay-at-home legal orders, as well as turning the NHS into a Covid health service during the first and second waves of infection, prevented people from being diagnosed or treated for other conditions such as cancer, heart disease, or even depression – and that those long-hidden conditions are now killing people. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 13 September 2022 -
News Article
Excess deaths continue to soar despite Covid deaths decreasing
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Excess deaths in the UK have continued to soar, as Covid deaths decreased for fourth week in a row, the latest data shows. A total of 10,942 deaths from all causes were registered in England and Wales in the week to 26 August, according to the Office for National Statistics. This is 16.6%above the five-year average, the equivalent of 1,556 “excess deaths” during this week. However, new figures show a continued downward trend in deaths involving Covid-19, which have fallen to the lowest level since the beginning of July. A total of 453 deaths registered in the seven days to August 26 mentioned coronavirus on the death certificate, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) – down 18 per cent on the previous week. Stuart Macdonald, from the Covid-19 actuaries’ response group, wrote: “There have been around 5,300 deaths with Covid-19 mentioned on the death certificate in the last ten weeks. Covid was the underlying cause for 3,400 of these and may also have contributed to others. Since Covid does not explain all the recent excess we need to look at other causes.” Mr Macdonald outlined a number of potential drivers of excess deaths which included increased risk of heart failure in people following Covid-19 infection, delays for urgent treatment within the NHS and missed or delayed diagnoses earlier in the pandemic. Read full story Source: The Independent, 6 September 2022
