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Found 1,491 results
  1. Content Article
    Harold Pedley, known as Derek, attended his GP surgery during the late afternoon on 21.12.22 and after spending most of that day feeling unwell with symptoms including abdominal pain and vomiting. He was appropriately referred to the hospital and travelled there with his friend after his GP had discussed his case with doctors. Due to a lack of available beds in the assessment unit, Derek needed to remain in the emergency department. Following his arrival at 20.07 hours, doctors were not notified of his attendance. He remained in the emergency department waiting area for almost two hours during which time due to significant pressures faced by the department he was not assessed or spoken to by a medical professional. At 21.59 hours a triage nurse called for him. By then, Derek had been unresponsive for some time and had died, his death confirmed at 22.26 hours. A subsequent post mortem examination revealed he died from the effects of non-survivable extensive small bowel ischaemia caused by a significantly narrowed mesenteric artery. His death was contributed to by heart disease.
  2. News Article
    A coroner has warned that a private hospital is relying on NHS ambulances to transport patients despite “being fully aware” of the pressures on the ambulance service and resulting delays. The warning came at the end of an inquest into a patient who died after a 14-hour wait for an ambulance to transfer him from the private Spire hospital in Norwich to the NHS-run Norfolk and Norwich university hospital a few minutes’ drive away. The last two years have seen a succession of inquests relating to ambulance delays. But in the latest case Jacqueline Lake, senior coroner for Norfolk, expressed concerns over Spire hospital’s use of NHS ambulances when complications and emergencies mean its patients need NHS care. “Spire Norwich hospital does not deal with multi-disciplinary and emergency treatment at its hospital and transfers patients requiring such treatment to local acute trusts, usually the Norfolk and Norwich university hospital,” Lake wrote in a prevention of future deaths (PFD) report. “Spire Norwich hospital continues to rely on EEAST [East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust] to transport such patients to the acute hospital, being fully aware of the demands placed on the EEAST generally and the delays which occur as a result.” Research suggests that nearly 600 patients were urgently transferred from private healthcare to NHS emergency care in the year to June 2021 across the UK – around one in a thousand private healthcare patients. But previous analysis by the Centre for Health and the Public Interest (CHPI) thinktank found that some private hospitals were transferring more than one in every 250 of their inpatients to NHS hospitals. ‘“Transferring unwell patients from a private hospital to an NHS hospital is a known patient safety risk which all patients treated in the private sector face – including the increased numbers of NHS patients who are now being treated in private hospitals because of government policy,” said David Rowland, director of the CHPI. “And despite numerous tragedies and despite the fact that politicians and regulators are fully aware of this risk, nothing has been done to address it.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 23 September 2023
  3. Content Article
     On 3 August 2022, Geoffrey Hoad underwent a total hip replacement at The Spire Hospital. On 5 August 2022, Mr Hoad was diagnosed with a paralytic ileus and some respiratory compromise with gradually deteriorating renal function. On 6 August 2022, Mr Hoad’s transfer to Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital was agreed due to possible bowel obstruction, possible pulmonary infection and deteriorating renal function.   Ambulance service was called at 18:16 hours and again at 23.45. On 7 August 2022, the ambulance service was called again at 07.38 hours. The ambulance was on scene at 08:26 hours.         The medical cause of death was: 1a) Sub Acute Myocardial Infarction 1b)  Coronary Artery Atherosclerosis 2) Hospital Admission for Post Operative lieus.
  4. Content Article
    The latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) provides the most comprehensive and up to date national profile of ethnic inequalities in mortality overall and from common physical conditions. It shows a complex picture of ethnic inequalities in mortality in England, with differences between people from ethnic minority and the White British groups, between different ethnic minority groups, and across different health conditions. This King's Fund blog looks at the complex interplay of factors drives ethnic differences in health.
  5. Content Article
    Patient harm due to unsafe healthcare is widespread, potentially devastating, and often preventable. Hoping to eliminate avoidable harms, the World Health Organization (WHO) published the Global Patient Safety Action Plan in July 2021. The UK's National Health Service relies on several measures, including ‘never events’, ‘serious incidents’, ‘patient safety events’ and coroners’ Prevention of Future Deaths reports (PFDs) to monitor healthcare quality and safety. This systematic narrative review of PubMed and medRxiv articles on 19 February 2023 aimed to explore the strengths and limitations of coroners’ PFDs and whether they could be a safety tool to help meet the WHO's Global Patient Safety Action Plan. The authors identified 17 studies that investigated a range of PFDs, including preventable deaths involving medicines and an assessment during the Covid-19 pandemic. The review found that PFDs offered important information that could support hospitals to improve patient safety and prevent deaths. However, inconsistent reporting, low response rates to PFDs, and difficulty in accessing, analysing and monitoring PFDs limited their use and adoption as a patient safety tool for hospitals. The authors concluded that to fulfil the potential of PFDs, a national system is required that develops guidelines, sanctions failed responses and embeds technology to encourage the prevention of future deaths.
  6. News Article
    The death of a retired police officer who got his head trapped in a hospital bed was an avoidable accident, an inquest has concluded. Max Dingle, 83, of Newtown, Powys, died after he became stuck between the rails and mattress at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital on 3 May 2020. The initial post-mortem test gave the cause of death as heart disease. But a second examination, commissioned by Mr Dingle's son, found entrapment and asphyxiation to be the cause. After comparing and discussing their findings, both pathologists then agreed "entrapment did play a significant part in the cause of death", the senior coroner for Shropshire John Ellery said. The inquest was told Mr Dingle's son Phil had asked for the second post-mortem test because "did not accept" the initial findings and had sought the opinion of a pathologist in Australia, where he lives. Max Dingle, who had been admitted to the hospital with shortness of breath, died 15 minutes after he was found to be trapped, the hearing was told. Concluding the inquest, Mr Ellery said: "Based on all the evidence, the conclusions of this inquest are Mr Dingle's death was an avoidable accident." Read full story Source: BBC News, 1 June 2022
  7. News Article
    A lack of diabetes checks following the first Covid lockdown may have killed more than 3,000 people, a major NHS study suggests. Those with the condition are supposed to undergo regular checks to detect cardiac problems, infections and other changes that could prove deadly. But researchers said a move to remote forms of healthcare delivery and a reduction in routine care meant some of the most crucial physical examinations did not take place during the 12 months following the first lockdown. Experts said the findings showed patients had suffered “absolutely devastating” consequences and were being “pushed to the back of the queue”. The study, led by Prof Jonathan Valabhji, the national clinical director for diabetes and obesity, links the rise in deaths to a fall in care the previous year. It showed that, during 2020/21, just 26.5% of diabetes patients received their full set of checks, compared with 48.1% the year before. Those who got all their checks in 2019-20 but did not receive them the following year had mortality rates 66% higher than those who did not miss out, the study, published in Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology, found. The study shows that foot checks, which rely on physical appointments, saw the sharpest drop, falling by more than 37%. “The care process with the greatest reduction was the one that requires the most in-person contact – foot surveillance – possibly reflecting issues around social distancing, lockdown measures, and the move to remote forms of healthcare delivery,” the study found. Those in the poorest areas were most likely to miss out. Read full story (paywalled) Source: The Telegraph, 30 May 2022
  8. News Article
    A London hospital has launched an investigation after a woman whose baby died in the womb had to deliver her son at home due to lack of beds and keep his remains in her fridge when A&E staff said they could not store them safely. Laura Brody and her partner, Lawrence, said they were “tipped into hell” after being sent home by university hospital Lewisham to await a bed when told their baby no longer had a heartbeat but no beds were immediately available to give birth, the BBC reported. Two days later, after waking up in severe pain, Brody, who was four months into her pregnancy, gave birth in agony on the toilet in their bathroom. “And it was then,” she told the broadcaster, “I saw it was a boy”. The couple, who wanted investigative tests to be carried out at a later time, dialled 999 but were told it was not an emergency. They wrapped their baby’s remains in a wet cloth, placed him in a Tupperware box, and went to A&E where they were told to wait in the general waiting room, they said. She was eventually taken into a bay and told she would require surgery to remove the placenta. But, with the waiting room hot and stuffy and staff refusing to store the remains or even look inside the Tupperware box, they decided as it got to midnight they had no option but for her partner to take their baby’s remains home. Brody said the whole experience “felt so grotesque”. “When things go wrong with pregnancy there are not the systems in place to help you, even with all the staff and their experts – and they are working really hard – the process is so flawed that it just felt like we had been tipped into hell,” she told Radio 4’s Today programme. The case is said to have raised wider concerns among campaigners who argue that miscarriage care needs to be properly prioritised within hospitals including A&E. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 30 May 2022
  9. News Article
    Dozens of patients died or suffered ‘severe harm’ after long waits for ambulances during a three-month period in a health system facing ‘extreme pressure’ on its emergency services. The 29 serious incidents in Cornwall included patients waiting many hours for assistance despite being in “extreme pain”, patients having suspected sepsis, patients in cardiac arrest, and patients experiencing a stroke. The incidents were reported to the Care Quality Commission by staff at South Western Ambulance Service Foundation Trust during an inspection of the Cornwall integrated care system’s urgent and emergency care services. According to the CQC, the pressures on the ambulance service were “unrelenting”, while “significant work” was needed to “alleviate extreme pressure”. This meant there was a “high level of risk to people’s health when trying to access urgent and emergency care in the county”, the report said. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 27 May 2022
  10. News Article
    Donna Ockenden, the midwife who investigated the Shopshire maternity scandal, has been appointed to lead a review into failings in Nottingham following a dogged campaign by families. The current review will be wound up by 10 June after concerns from NHS England and families that it is not fit for purpose. It was commissioned after revelations from The Independent and Channel Four News that dozens of babies had died or been brain-damaged following care at Nottingham University Hospitals Foundation Trust. In a letter to families on Thursday, NHS England chief operating officer David Sloman said: “I want to begin by apologising for the distress caused by the delay in our announcing a new chair and to take this opportunity to update you on how the work to replace the existing Review has been developing as we have taken on board various views that you have shared with us.” “After careful consideration and in light of the concerns from some families, our own concerns, and those of stakeholders including in the wider NHS that the current Review is not fit for purpose, we have taken the decision to ask the current Review team to conclude all of their work by Friday 10 June.” “We will be asking the new national Review team to begin afresh, drawing a line under the work undertaken to date by the current local Review team, and we are using this opportunity to communicate that to you clearly.” Ms Ockenden said: “Having a baby is one of the most important times for a family and when women and their babies come into contact with NHS maternity services they should receive the very best and safest care." “I am delighted to have been asked by Sir David Sloman to take up the role of Chair of this Review and will be engaging with families shortly as my first priority. I look forward to working with and listening to families and staff, and working with NHS England and NHS Improvement to deliver a Review and recommendations that lead to real change and safer care for women, babies and families in Nottingham as soon as possible.” Read full story Source: BBC News, 26 May 2022
  11. News Article
    The former health secretary Jeremy Hunt has claimed the government snubbed bereaved families’ requests for Donna Ockenden to chair a review into maternity services in Nottingham as she is “too independent”. Hundreds of families involved in the Nottingham maternity scandal review have called for Ms Ockenden, chair of the Shrewsbury maternity scandal inquiry, to take over the investigation. NHS England had attempted to appoint a former healthcare leader, Julie Dent to chair the review. However, following pressure from families not to accept, Ms Dent announced shortly after she would be declining the role. Following the families’ calls for Ms Ockenden, Mr Hunt, chair of the government’s health committee, said on Wednesday: “I can’t see any other barriers to appointing her but sounds like she still won’t be. For some reason the Department of Health appears to think she is too independent – which is of course precisely why Nottingham families do have confidence in her. It feels like another own goal.” Families involved in the Nottingham maternity review, which will now cover almost 600 cases, have said they’ve been left in limbo by NHS England after if informed them of an interim report which has been completed by the review team. This follows several letters from families to health secretary Sajid Javid raising concerns over the review and calls for it to be overhauled. Speaking with The Independent, a couple whose son died under the care of Nottingham University Hospitals Foundation Trist said: “The key to successful long term change is developing a relationship with harmed families, built on trust, sensitivity and understanding. The current review does not command this. The relationship is untenable.” Read full story Source: The Independent, 26 May 2022
  12. News Article
    RaDonda Vaught has spoken out about her criminal case for the first time last week in an exclusive interview with ABC News. Ms. Vaught, 38, was sentenced to three years of supervised probation on 13 May. She was convicted of criminally negligent homicide and abuse of an impaired adult for a fatal medication error she made in December 2017 after overriding an electronic medical cabinet as a nurse at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn. The error, in which vecuronium, a powerful paralyser, was administered instead of the sedative Versed, led to the death of 75-year-old Charlene Murphey. "I will never be the same person," Ms. Vaught told ABC News, "It's really hard to be happy about something without immediately feeling guilty. She could still be alive, with her family. Even with all the system errors, the nurse is the last to check." Ms. Vaught immediately took responsibility for the medication error after it occurred but contends that her actions alone did not cause the error. Her case has spurred an outcry from nurses across the country, many of whom have expressed concerns about the likelihood of similar mistakes under increasingly difficult working conditions. "So many things had to line up incorrectly for this error to have happened, and my actions were not alone in that," Ms. Vaught said. When Ms. Pilgrim asked her if she felt like a scapegoat, Ms. Vaught said, "I think the whole world feels like I was a scapegoat." "There's a fine line between blame and responsibility, and in healthcare, we don't blame," she said. "I'm responsible for what I failed to do. Vanderbilt is responsible for what they failed to do." Read full story Source: Becker's Hospital Review, 23 May 2022
  13. News Article
    The parents of a girl who died after failings by NHS 111 said they were horrified to learn coroners had already warned about similar shortcomings. Hannah Royle, 16, died in 2020 after the NHS phone service failed to realise she was seriously ill. BBC News found concerns had been raised about the call centre triage software in 2019 after three children died. The NHS said it had learnt lessons from each case, but said it had not established a link between the deaths. Hannah, who was autistic, had a cardiac arrest as she was driven to East Surrey Hospital by her parents. She had suffered a twisted stomach, but call handlers believed she had gastroenteritis. A coroner's report said NHS 111 staff failed to consider her "disabilities and inability to verbalise" when using the triage software. Known as NHS Pathways, the algorithm relies on answers being given over the phone to a set series of questions. The system guides call handlers, who are not medically qualified, to direct patients to other parts of the NHS for further assessment and treatment. In 2019, three coroners issued reports "to prevent future deaths" after serious abdominal illness in Myla Deviren, Sebastian Hibberd, Alexander Davidson and were missed by NHS 111. In all cases, coroners raised concerns about the ability of children to understand call handlers' questions or articulate their symptoms. Read full story Source: BBC News, 24 May 2022
  14. News Article
    The government is to investigate claims an ambulance service covered up details of the deaths of patients following mistakes by paramedics. It follows the Sunday Times report that North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) withheld information from coroners. Labour's shadow health secretary Wes Streeting described the alleged cover-up as "a national disgrace". Health minister Maria Caulfield said she was "horrified" and there would be a further investigation. The newspaper reported that concerns were raised about more than 90 cases and whistleblowers believed NEAS had prevented full disclosure to relatives of people who died in 2018 and 2019. Speaking in the House of Commons, Mr Streeting asked why the regulator - the Care Quality Commission (CQC) - had failed to take action. Ms Caulfield said that while both the NEAS and the CQC had both reviewed the allegations, further investigation was required. The minister said non-disclosure agreements have "no place in the NHS", adding: "Reputation management is never more important than patient safety." Read full story Source: BBC News, 23 May 2022
  15. News Article
    Quinn Evie Beadle died in 2018. Her parents later found out that the “kind, caring” 17-year-old had been failed by a paramedic at the scene of her death — and that the ambulance service altered documents to try to stop them finding out the truth. The teenager, who dreamt of becoming a medic but suffered poor mental health, was found after she hanged herself near her home in Shildon, Co Durham, on the evening of 9 December 2018. The paramedic who attended the scene made basic mistakes, and made no effort to clear her airway or continue with basic life support — despite the fact her heart was still active. But instead of attempting to learn lessons, bosses at the North East Ambulance Trust (NEAS) set out to prevent the family learning what happened. They changed a key witness statement given to the coroner at her first inquest, removing references to mistakes the paramedic had made and inserting the claim that any life support offered would “not have had a positive outcome”. They also withheld from the coroner a key piece of evidence — a reading from a heart monitor — which demonstrated Quinn’s heart activity. It is thought Quinn’s death could be one of more than 90 cases in the past three years in which the NEAS failed to provide families with the whole truth about how their relatives died. Senior managers repeatedly withheld key evidence from coroners about deaths linked to service failures, an internal report shows. In some cases, bosses doctored or suppressed evidence to cover up failures by staff. An independent report into a small number of the cases, including Quinn’s, raised by whistleblowers found that, as in her case, statements were changed or suppressed and pieces of key evidence not disclosed. Read full story (paywalled) Source: The Sunday Times, 22 May 2022
  16. News Article
    A health worker has been arrested on suspicion of administering poison with intent to endanger life after a child died at Birmingham Children's Hospital. The 27-year-old woman was arrested on Thursday and has been suspended from her role at the hospital. The child was being treated in the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit, a spokesperson for the hospital said. Police said the woman had been released while investigations continued and forensic tests were being examined. A spokesperson for Birmingham Women's and Children's NHS Foundation Trust said it was "supporting the infant's family at this distressing time and ask that privacy is respected during this process". "Following the death of an infant at our Paediatric Intensive Care Unit at Birmingham Children's Hospital, we have asked West Midlands Police to examine what has happened, in line with our own safeguarding policy," it added. "The staff member involved has been suspended by the Trust following the national process on the sudden unexpected death of a child." Read full story Source: BBC News, 23 May 2022
  17. News Article
    Respiratory syncytial virus is killing 100,000 children under the age of five every year worldwide, new figures reveal as experts say the global easing of coronavirus restrictions is causing a surge in cases. RSV is the most common cause of acute lower respiratory infection in young children. It spreads easily via coughing and sneezing. There is no vaccine or specific treatment. RSV-attributable acute lower respiratory infections led to more than 100,000 deaths of children under five in 2019, according to figures published in the Lancet. Of those, more than 45,000 were under six months old, the first-of-its-kind study found. More children are likely to be affected by RSV in the future, experts believe, because masks and lockdowns have robbed children of natural immunity against a range of common viruses, including RSV. “RSV is the predominant cause of acute lower respiratory infection in young children and our updated estimates reveal that children six months and younger are particularly vulnerable, especially with cases surging as Covid-19 restrictions are easing around the world,” said the study’s co-author, Harish Nair of the University of Edinburgh. “The majority of the young children born in the last two years have never been exposed to RSV (and therefore have no immunity against this virus).” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 19 May 2022
  18. News Article
    Families involved in a major review into maternity failings at Nottingham University Hospitals Trust (NUH) have criticised the decision of the review team to press ahead with the publication of an interim report, despite serious concerns about its terms of reference and methodology. A “thematic review” into NUH was first announced last year after reports that dozens of babies died or were brain damaged after errors were made at the trust over the last decade. More than 460 families have since contacted the review team. The review has been overseen by NHS England and local commissioners, but, in April, the families called for an independent inquiry and asked for it to be carried out by Donna Ockenden, the senior midwife who chaired the high-profile review of Shropshire maternity services, which reported in March. Last month, NHSE chief operating officer Sir David Sloman wrote to families and said former strategic health authority chair Julie Dent would be brought in to chair the review. However, Ms Dent stepped down from the role weeks later, citing “personal reasons”. A new chair is yet to be appointed. Despite these uncertainties, families have been told by the review team that an interim report will be issued shortly. Gary Andrews, whose daughter Wynter died after being delivered by caesarean section at NUH’s Queens Medical Centre in 2019, said to issue an interim report “seems at odds with the current situation” and risked causing “significant distress” to families. He added: “We need government to get to grips with this review. Put the brakes on, ensure its structure and design and objectives are fully supported by families, before any interim report can be issued.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 19 May 2022
  19. News Article
    Doctors are receiving "inadequate" training about the risk of sepsis after a mother-of-five died following an abortion, a coroner has warned. Sarah Dunn, 31, died of "natural causes contributed to by neglect" in hospital on 11 April 2020, an inquest found. Assistant coroner for Blackpool and Fylde, Louise Rae, said Ms Dunn had been treated as a Covid patient even though the "signs of sepsis were apparent". Her cause of death was recorded as "streptococcus sepsis following medical termination of pregnancy". In her record of inquest, the coroner noted Ms Dunn was admitted to Blackpool Victoria Hospital in Lancashire on 10 April 2020. She was suffering from a streptococcus infection caused by an early medical abortion on 23 March, which had produced sepsis and toxic shock by the time she was admitted to hospital. The coroner said "signs of sepsis were apparent" before and at the time of Ms Dunn's hospital admission but she was instead treated as a Covid-19 patient. "Sepsis was not recognised or treated by the GP surgery, emergency department or acute medical unit and upon Sarah's arrival at hospital, the sepsis pathway was not followed," she added. Read full story Source: BBC News, 19 May 2022
  20. News Article
    A hospital trust has pleaded guilty to failures in care that contributed to the deaths of two patients. One of the charges related to the death of patient Mohammed Ismael Zaman in 2019 at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital. The 31-year-old died of severe blood loss while undergoing dialysis, Telford Magistrates' Court heard. Max Dingle, in his 80s, died after his head became trapped between a mattress and bed rail while he was being treated at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital. Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH) admitted three counts of failing to provide treatment and care in a safe way, resulting in harm or loss, between October 2019 and May 2020. Representing the CQC, Ryan Donoghue said the failures in Mr Zaman's care "were the legal cause of his death, for which the trust is responsible". He said Mr Dingle, who had been admitted with chronic lung disease, died from a cardiac arrest after he was freed. "The basis [of the guilty plea] is that the failures exposed him to a significant risk of avoidable harm," Mr Donoghue said. As well as the two deaths, the CQC accused the trust of exposing other patients to significant risk of avoidable harm. Read full story Source: BBC News, 18 May 2022
  21. News Article
    Fourteen patients with autism or learning disabilities have died since 2015 while detained in psychiatric facilities in Scotland, figures reveal. The statistics were released for the first time by Public Health Scotland (PHS) following a parliamentary question by Scottish Conservative MSP Alexander Burnett, who has campaigned to end the “national scandal” of otherwise healthy people being locked up for months or years due to a lack of community-based support. The PHS report does not detail the causes of death, but does show that seven of the deaths occurred in patients who had been resident at an inpatient psychiatric facility for between 91 and 365 days, with six (43%) in patients whose stay had exceeded at least one year. Rob Holland, acting director of the National Autistic Society Scotland, said the data was a “step forward in understanding the experience of autistic people and people with a learning disability within inpatient psychiatric facilities”. He added: “While it does not shine a light on the reasons for the deaths it does highlight how almost all of those that died had been within institutional care for more than 30 days with 6 people having been there for more than a year. “Hospitals are not homes and it adds further impetus to the Scottish Government’s ‘Coming Home’ strategy to reduce delayed discharge and support people to live in homes of their own choosing.” Read full story Source: The Herald, 18 May 2022
  22. News Article
    RaDonda Vaught was sentenced to three years of supervised probation on the 13 May for a fatal medication error she made in 2017 while working as a nurse at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center in the USA. In remarks made during the sentencing hearing, Ms. Vaught expressed concerns over what her case means for clinicians and patient safety reporting. "This sentencing is bound to have an effect on how [nurses] proceed both in reporting medical errors, medication errors, raising concerns if they see something they feel needs to be brought to someone's attention," she said. "I worry this is going to have a deep impact on patient safety." Numerous medical organisations expressed similar concerns in statements circulated after Ms. Vaught's sentencing. "To achieve our goal of zero patient harm and death from preventable medical errors, we need to foster a culture where leadership of hospitals and healthcare organizations support healthcare workers and encourage them to share near misses," the Patient Safety Movement Foundation said in a statement. "Healthcare workers are human and healthcare systems need to ensure there are appropriate processes in place to provide their staff with a safe and reliable working environment so they can provide their patients with the best care. Only by identifying potential problems and learning from them can change occur." Read full story Source: Becker's Hospital Review, 16 May 2022
  23. News Article
    Junior doctors have been prevented from returning to scandal hit heart surgery unit previously criticised over “toxic” culture, The Independent has learned. A coroner defended cardiac surgery at St George’s University Hospital, criticising an NHS-commissioned review into 67 deaths that warned of poor care. However, The Independent has learned the unit received a critical report from Health Education England (HEE), the body responsible for healthcare training, just last year. The NHS authority was so concerned about culture problems and “inappropriate behaviour” within the unit that it took away the junior doctors working there. This is the third time HEE has intervened since 2018, when the unit was criticised in an independent review for having a “toxic” culture. In a statement, Professor Geeta Menon, postgraduate dean for South London at Health Education England, said: “HEE carried out a review of cardiac surgery at St George’s University Hospital in July 2021 and concluded that further improvements were required to create a suitable learning environment for doctors in training. "Unfounded’ NHS criticism and investigation caused unnecessary deaths at London heart surgery unit “We continue to work closely with the trust to implement our requirements and recommendations and will reassess their progress this summer. HEE is committed to ensuring high quality patient care and the best possible learning environment for postgraduate doctors at St George’s.” The Independent understands that a report issued in December, following the HEE visit, identified problems of “inappropriate behaviour”, poor team working from consultants and raised concerns the culture problems previously identified at the unit persisted. Read full story Source: The Independent, 14 May 2022
  24. News Article
    Nurses from across the country are heading to Washington, D.C., and Nashville, Tenn., this week to march for better working conditions and to show support for nurse RaDonda Vaught. Ms. Vaught, 38, was convicted of criminally negligent homicide and abuse of an impaired adult for a fatal medication error she made in December 2017 after overriding an electronic medical cabinet as a nurse at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville. Her case has spurred a national outcry from nurses who argue the ruling sets a dangerous precedent for the profession and will discourage nurses from speaking up about errors. Ms. Vaught's sentencing is scheduled for 13 May in Nashville, and she faces up to eight years in prison. Hundreds of nurses are planning to march in Nashville the day of the hearing to show their support for Ms. Vaught and to fight for better protection for nurses against criminal prosecution of errors. "We expect a large number of people to show up … just to show our strength in numbers and hope that the judge takes this into consideration and makes it slightly better by not sentencing her to any prison time," said Erica, a Las Vegas-based hospice nurse who is attending the sentencing. Read full story Source: Becker's Hospital Review, 13 May 2022
  25. News Article
    More than 107,000 Americans died of drug overdoses last year, setting another tragic record in the nation’s escalating overdose epidemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated Wednesday. The provisional 2021 total translates to roughly one U.S. overdose death every 5 minutes. It marked a 15% increase from the previous record, set the year before. The CDC reviews death certificates and then makes an estimate to account for delayed and incomplete reporting. Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, called the latest numbers “truly staggering.” The White House issued a statement calling the accelerating pace of overdose deaths “unacceptable” and promoting its recently announced national drug control strategy. It calls for measures like connecting more people to treatment, disrupting drug trafficking and expanding access to the overdose-reversing medication naloxone. Experts say the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the problem as lockdowns and other restrictions isolated those with drug addictions and made treatment harder to get. Read full story Source: AP News, 11 May 2022
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