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Showing results for tags 'Patient / family support'.
Found 285 results
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Content ArticleThe Harmed Patients Alliance (HPA) was founded to highlight and promote restorative approaches to healthcare harm. To support their campaign for action, HPA carried out a survey of 44 people asking how those harmed by their contact with healthcare felt about the response, and what impacts this had on them. They were also asked what could have been done differently.
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Content ArticlePain and trauma experienced as a preterm baby in the NICU have been linked to lasting psychological injury, altered brain development and individuals' ability to regulate emotions later in life. In this blog, Vox's Science and Health Editor Brian Resnick looks at how scientists are investigating how to treat pain in babies who can’t tell you when it hurts.
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Content ArticleThe STOMP and STAMP programme of work is about making sure children and young people with a learning disability, autism or both are only prescribed the right medication, at the right time and for the right reason. This leaflet produced by Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health and NHS England provides information to parents about psychotropic medicines.
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News Article
Somerset care training to help support loved ones at home for longer
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
A training programme is providing people with the skills to care for loved ones suffering from serious conditions at home in their final days. Sarah Bow's partner Gary White, from Somerset, was 55 when he was diagnosed with motor neurone disease in 2021. A team from NHS Somerset provided personalised training to Ms Bow which allowed the couple to spend the final 13 months of his life together at home. The Somerset NHS Foundation Trust social care training team made visits to the couple's home as Mr White's condition progressed, to provide advice and guidance to Ms Bow. The service was set up in November 2021 to provide free NHS standardised training and competency assessments in clinical skills to people involved in social care. Ms Bow said the scheme had helped them spend more time together doing the things Mr White enjoyed. "Being able to care for him meant we could have so many precious moments before he died," she said. The training in a variety of skills including like catheters and injections, aims to reduce hospital admissions and improve patient discharge times. Read full story Source: BBC News, 17 February 2023 -
Content ArticleThis video published by the Irish Health Service Executive (HSE) tells the story of Pat, whose bowel cancer diagnosis was missed, resulting in his premature death. His daughter Patricia talks about the two investigations that took place into her father's death and how the hospital's internal investigation failed to acknowledge that a staff member had raised concerns about Pat's initial colonoscopy on five occasions, but this had not been followed up. She describes the impact of these events on her father and the rest of the family and calls on medical professionals to "trust us (families) more and fear solicitors less."
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Content ArticleInstitute of Health Visiting executive director Alison Morton warns national policy has developed a “baby blind spot” amid the NHS crisis, with many young children missing out on government’s promise of the “best start in life”, and calls for a shift towards prevention and early intervention.
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Content ArticleThis blog published by the Irish Health Service Executive (HSE) tells the story of Mark, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia 15 years ago, aged 15. It describes the issues he and his mother faced in getting him the care he needed, including being treated inappropriately and without dignity during emergency department visits, problems accessing ongoing community support and a reluctance to assist him with reducing his medication dosage. It also highlights how his family were not included in care plans and treatment decisions, and their needs as carers were rarely considered.
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Content ArticleYoung people and expert mental healthcare staff say patients are unlikely to receive in-patient mental health care unless they “have attempted suicide multiple times”, according to a new report published by Look Ahead Care and Support. Launched in the House of Lords, the report – funded by Wates Family Enterprise Trust and produced by experts Care Research – argues Accident and Emergency departments have become an ‘accidental hub’ for children and young people experiencing crisis but are ill-equipped to offer the treatment required. Based on in-depth interviews with service users, parents and carers, and NHS and social care staff from across England, the findings from the Look Ahead Care and Support report draws on experience of treating depression, anxiety, self-harm, suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts, eating disorders, addiction and psychosis.
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Content Article
CQC: Maternity survey 2022
Patient Safety Learning posted an article in Maternity
This survey from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) looked at the experiences of women and other pregnant people who had a live birth in early 2022. -
Content ArticleThis PowerPoint presentation summarises the research approach taken by Sarah Balchin, Associate Director of Community Engagement and Experience and Chief Nurse at Solent NHS Trust, for a study into the experience of family carers. The interpretative phenomenological analysis looked at the lived experience of family carers who adopted the role abruptly after a sudden change in the physical health care needs of a family member.
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Content ArticleIn this editorial. Peter Walsh reflects on 20 years as Chief Executive of Action against Medical Accidents (AVMA) as he retires from the role. AvMA also marks its 40th anniversary this year, and Peter examines the organisation's unique role in focusing on patient safety and justice for patients. He highlights that healthcare systems and patient safety practice still have a long way to go in offering fairness and support to families affected by avoidable harm in healthcare, and argues that focusing on patients and their families must be a top priority when looking at system safety. He highlights the vital role that AvMA has played in bringing Duty of Candour into law in the countries of the UK, and argues that legal action is an important right that must be retained for patients and families who have come to harm as a result of medical error. He also talks about AvMA's recent development of a Harmed Care Pathway in collaboration with the Harmed Patients Alliance, which outlines the specific set of needs that should form part of a package of care for harmed patients and families.
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Content ArticleThis editorial in the Journal of Patient Safety and Risk Management reflects on the achievements of the organisation Action Against Medical Accidents (AvMA) over the past 40 years and looks at the emerging role of Patient Safety Learning amongst organisations working for patient safety. Helen Hughes, Chief Executive of Patient Safety Learning, and Albert Wu, Editor-in-chief of the journal, reflect on the purpose and value of patient safety charities and not-for-profit organisations, highlighting the ways in which they channel and champion the patient voice and campaign to address specific areas of recurrent harm. They discuss the vital nature of the patient perspective in driving safety improvements in healthcare, and look at how these organisations amplify this. They also talk about the role of Patient Safety Learning and what it is doing to both drive system change at policy level, and share widely the knowledge of risk and good practice for safer care. They discuss the ways in which Patient Safety Learning delivers its aim to "listen to and promote the voice of the patient safety front line - patients, families and staff.”
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Content ArticleThe Communication, Apology and Resolution model (CARe) offers healthcare organisations a detailed process for responding to unanticipated adverse outcomes, which includes proactively communicating with patients and families, examining and explaining what happened, avoiding recurrences by improving systems of care and, where appropriate, apologising and offering financial compensation. The model recognises that clinicians and staff will need peer support and training to effectively communicate with patients and families. In June 2022, advocates of the CARe model held an annual forum to highlight the successes of CARe programs in Massachusetts and to look at challenges health care providers face in doing this work consistently across their organisations. This article by the Betsy Lehman Center highlights video recordings shared at the forum including: A family member testimonial by Jane Bugbee, whose healthy daughter, Lindsay, died of Strep A and sepsis shortly after giving birth to her third child in July 2018 A simulation of a resolution conversation with a family A simulation of a conversation with provider after an adverse event.
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Content ArticlePatient safety incident investigations (PSII) are system-based responses to a patient safety incident for learning and improvement. Typically, a PSII includes four phases: planning, information gathering, synthesis, and interpreting and improving. More meaningful involvement can help reduce the risk of compounded harm for patients, families and staff, and can improve organisational learning, by listening to and valuing different perspectives.
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News Article
GPs say parents need clearer strep A advice
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
GP leaders have urged the government to put out clearer advice for parents about when to seek help over potential strep A infections. Prof Kamila Hawthorne, of the Royal College of GPs, said many surgeries were struggling with the extra demand on top of existing pressures. The government should consider "overspill" services for surgeries unable to cope, she said. Since September, 15 UK children have died after invasive strep A infections. This includes the death of one child in Wales, and one in Northern Ireland. There have been no deaths confirmed in Scotland. The UK Health Security Agency figures (UKHSA) show there have also been 47 deaths from strep A in adults in England. Most strep A infections are mild, but more severe invasive cases - while still rare - are rising. Prof Hawthorne, said: "We do not want to discourage patients who are worried about their children to seek medical attention, particularly given the current circumstances. "But we do want to see good public health messaging across the UK, making it clear to parents when they should seek help and the different care options available to them - as well as when they don't need to seek medical attention." Read full story Source: BBC News, 8 December 2022 -
Content ArticleFor patients living at home with advanced illness, deterioration in health can happen at any time of the day or night. This research report funded by the charity Marie Curie looks at issues faced by people with advanced illness and their informal carers in accessing out-of-hours care. The report highlights new evidence on out-of-hours care, based on: UK data on out-of-hours emergency department attendance among people who are in the last year of life. interviews with health professionals about out-of-hours services across the UK. a patient and public involvement (PPI) workshop.
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Content ArticleIn this blog, Louise Pye, Head of Family Engagement at the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB) highlights how the Patient Safety Incident Response Framework (PSIRF) can help NHS trusts involve patients and families in the face of extreme winter pressures. She highlights how the seven themes set out in the PSIRF guidance will help patient safety leaders ensure the involvement of patients and families is maintained even when services are dealing with extreme pressures.
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Content ArticleMaking Families Count (MFC) aims to improve outcomes for families affected by serious harm and traumatic bereavements in health and social care services. In this webinar, which was part of The Patients Association's Patient Partnership Week programme, members of MFC talk through their guide for patients and families on working with the system after a serious incident.
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Content ArticleA recently published report highlights the shortcomings in care provided by the NHS. Peter Walsh, Joanne Hughes and James Titcombe emphasise how millions could be saved if people were empowered early on to have their needs met without the need to turn to litigation
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Content ArticleThis report by the Harmed Patients Alliance (HPA) explores the needs of injured patients and their loved ones for independent advocacy, advice and information when they have been involved in patient safety incidents that are believed to have led to harm. It examines the extent to which this is available or resourced, and aims to stimulate and inform a national discussion about this issue in England among key stakeholders. It looks at the historical context and the moral and economic arguments and implications of resourcing these kinds of services.
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News Article
Palliative care: 'My dad should not have been expected to die in office hours'
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
A woman who struggled to access night-time care for her dying father has told the BBC he "shouldn't have been expected to die in office hours". Tracey Bennett said she was "completely lost" when her dad Michael needed help. Early in 2021, Mrs Bennett, 54, from Doncaster, moved in with her dad, 76-year-old Michael Woodward, to care for him in the last stages of his cancer. One night he had a fall. Mrs Bennett was able to help him back up but turned to the local NHS palliative care phone line for help, only to find it closed. Although she did not feel her father should be in a hospital, she called 999 as she felt she had no-one else to turn to. He died in the early hours of the next morning. "In his hour of need I feel I let my dad down," she said. "He shouldn't have been expected to die in office hours." Almost 70% of the UK does not have a consistent 24-hour help-line for the terminally ill, research suggests. And 27% of these areas do not have a designated phone line, the study funded by Marie Curie found. Ruth Driscoll, from the charity, said the research painted "a bleak picture of out-of-hours care in many areas of the UK". Read full story Source: BBC News, 28 November 2022 -
News Article
Families blame ‘chaotic, splenetic mess of a government’ for compensation hold-up
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Families whose loved ones’ bodies were sexually abused in a hospital mortuary have yet to receive any compensation, because the Department of Health and Social Care has not signed off a proposed framework. A family member involved in the case claimed the delay was due to a “chaotic, splenetic mess of a government… [which] can’t get an arse on a seat long enough to approve it”. Former hospital maintenance supervisor David Fuller is serving life sentences for the murder of two women, committed two decades before he went on to commit sexual offences against 101 dead women and girls in hospital mortuaries in Kent. He was given a total of 12 years, to run concurrently, for 51 sex offences when he was sentenced last December but recently pleaded guilty to 16 additional charges involving 23 bodies and will be sentenced for these next month. But the families of the women and girls involved have waited more than a year to receive any compensation for the emotional distress his actions caused. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 16 November 2022 -
Content ArticleMaking Families Count aims to improve outcomes for families affected by serious harm and traumatic bereavements in health and social care services. They offer peer support, training, information, advice and guidance to families who have suffered a traumatic bereavement. They also provide independent training in the importance of good family engagement for NHS Trusts, public health and social and care organisations. The training includes working with families after serious incidents, developing Family Liasion work, good engagement throughout treatment and developing resilience for professional staff. The charity's vision is that the NHS, social care and other public bodies will make families count by ensuring that families are integral to health and social care investigations, leading to better investigations, better learning, safer services and the right support for families.
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Content ArticleIn this Guardian article, parents reveal their heart-wrenching struggles to access NHS services, which have sometimes been too late to help their children.
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Content ArticleIn this blog, Melanie Ottewill, National Investigator and Senior Investigation Science Educator at the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB), explains how HSIB's work is supporting the NHS to adopt a systems approach to local safety investigations through the Patient Safety Incident Response Framework (PSIRF). She looks at how PSIRF promotes a proportionate response to patient safety incidents, highlights the importance of organisations developing patient safety incident response plans and explores how PSIRF promotes compassionate involvement in patient safety incidents. She also highlights guidance to support staff in planning PSIRF implementation.
