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Found 1,334 results
  1. News Article
    Complaints about non-surgical Brazilian butt lifts and breast enhancements have risen at an “alarming” rate, up from fewer than 5 to 50 in a year, an industry body has revealed. Save Face, a national, government-approved register of accredited non-surgical treatment practitioners, is calling for the procedures to be banned, while the Local Government Association has asked Westminster to take urgent action. Ashton Collins, the director of Save Face, said the organisation had noted an “alarming” increase in complaints about these enhancements, which she said should be banned. Collins said: “No reputable healthcare professional would offer these treatments as they are very high risk. “It’s a new and incredibly dangerous trend which has emerged from social media, a trend people think is a cheaper, risk-free alternative to the surgical counterparts. All the cases reported to us have been carried out by non-healthcare practitioners who have prioritised profits ahead of the safety and wellbeing of their clients. “These treatments are incredibly risky, and we have helped people who have contracted sepsis and have had to undergo surgery to remove the filler. In 2021, we had fewer than five complaints about these treatments. That figure has increased tenfold in the past year alone and we are getting more and more complaints each week.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 2 June 2023
  2. News Article
    Practitioners with no professional medical qualifications use social media to target women and girls, an investigation by undercover Times reporters has found. The medicines regulator has begun an investigation after undercover Times reporters found beauticians offering to inject women with “black market” Botox, putting them at risk of being disfigured for life. Practitioners with no professional medical qualifications used social media to target women and girls, suggesting the treatments were safe and would enhance their looks. Many used products that have not gone through safety checks in Britain. Reporters confirmed that at least three practitioners advertising facial injections on social media sites were using cheap versions of Botox that are not licensed in the UK. Campaigners say they are receiving increasing reports of disfigurements such as permanent facial scarring and large sores caused by injections with unlicensed versions of Botox, often carried out in people’s homes and at beauty salons. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said it was reviewing the findings and would “take appropriate regulatory action where any non-compliance is identified”. Sajid Javid, the health secretary, said the practices uncovered were “totally unacceptable” and officials were looking into whether legal changes were needed “to ensure no one is harmed”. Read full story (paywalled) Source: The Times, 2 February 2022
  3. News Article
    Lip fillers have grown increasingly popular but the industry is "like the wild west", experts warn, with many patients left in pain and embarrassed by their appearance. As Harriet Green left a salon after getting an injection to add volume to her lips, she was reassured the excess swelling would go down. But three months later her lips were still so bloated she could not close her mouth properly. The 22-year-old from Acle in Norfolk needed three corrective procedures - costing a total of more than £700 - to get them back to normal. Dr Saba Raja, a GP who runs her own aesthetics clinic in Norwich, says she is increasingly having to correct treatments which have gone wrong, describing the experience as "really distressing". "Every month I'm getting enquires from young girls who have gone to a non-medical practitioner for lip or tear trough fillers under the eye and had complications. "They often try to contact the practitioner but due to lack of training they are unable to deal with the complications. It is becoming more and more of a problem." Dr Raja describes the industry as "like the wild west", with people injecting patients "out of the back of their cars" and in kitchens. "Anti-wrinkle injections (Botox) are prescription-only but the injector can be anybody who has been on a day course. Dermal filler (for the lips and face) is not even a prescription-only medication, you can buy it off any website," she says. "A lot of non-medical practitioners are buying cheap filler online, with no idea where it has come from. We really need strict regulations and minimum training standards." Read full story Source: BBC News, 9 May 2023
  4. News Article
    Proposals by the Scottish Government to give a licence to unregistered professionals to carry out cosmetic procedures are “fundamentally flawed” and put lives at risk, leading nurses in the field have warned. A consultation has been launched seeking views on plans for a new regulatory regime of non-surgical aesthetic treatments that pierce or penetrate the skin like dermal fillers or lip enhancements. Ministers want to bring non-health professionals under existing legislation allowing them to obtain a licence to perform these procedures in unregulated premises such as beauty salons and hairdressers. The move comes after a UK-wide review carried out in 2013, by then NHS medical director Sir Bruce Keogh, identified that little regulation existed within the cosmetic industry. Since then there has been growing concern that people are coming to physical and psychological harm from treatments gone wrong. Leaders at the British Association of Cosmetic Nurses (BACN) told Nursing Times that they were “totally opposed” to non-medical practitioners carrying out injectable beauty procedures. BACN Chair Sharon Bennett said holding a medical, nursing or dentistry qualification should be a “basic prerequisite” before being accepted to an aesthetics training course. SHe said BACN believed even clinically trained practitioners, including nurses, needed further training in aesthetics before working in this “specialist” area. “[This is] because there is no educational framework, training or statutory provision to establish or task beauty therapists to detect disease, care for patients or carry out medical treatment, so to do so would breach public health safety and endanger lives.” Read full story Source: The Nursing Times, 20 January 2020
  5. News Article
    UK plastic surgeons have released new guidelines to try to make Brazilian Butt Lift (BBL) procedures safer for people who desire a bigger bottom. Some women have died from the operation, which involves sucking out fat from elsewhere - such as the belly - and injecting it into butt cheeks. The British Association of Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) says the injections should not go very deep to help avoid complications such as dangerous clots. According to the NHS, it has the highest death rate of all cosmetic procedures, and the risk of death from BBL surgery is at least 10 times higher than many other procedures. A major concern is that the injected fat can cause a blockage in a blood vessel in the lungs - called a pulmonary embolism - which can be fatal. This happened to Leah Cambridge, a beautician and mother of three from Leeds. She suffered a massive pulmonary embolism during the operation at a private hospital in Turkey in 2018, a coroner found. BAAPS president Marc Pacifico told the BBC: "Unfortunately we don't know how many people have been going for these risky BBL procedures. We have been recommending against it for a number of years after seeing quite a frightening death rate associated with it. But people have been going abroad to get it done." "Make sure you ask if the surgeon will be using ultrasound for gluteal fat grafting. We are recommending that surgeons should only perform this with real time ultrasound guidance as the only way to ensure the procedure is performed superficially and safely." Read full story Source: BBC News, 10 October 2022
  6. News Article
    People administering Botox or fillers will be required to have a licence under new laws after an “unacceptable” rise in reports of botched cosmetic procedures in the UK. The legislation to protect against rogue practitioners will make it an offence to perform such non-surgical work without a licence after Sajid Javid said “far too many people have been left emotionally and physically scarred” when things have gone wrong. The health secretary recognised that most of those in the aesthetics industry “follow good practice” when it comes to patient safety but said it was time to think about the harm botched cosmetic procedures can have. “We’re doing all we can to protect patients from potential harm, but I urge anyone considering a cosmetic procedure to take the time to think about the impact on both their physical and mental health and ensure they are using a reputable, safe and qualified practitioner,” he said. Maria Caulfield, the minister for patient safety, said the spread of images online via social media has led to a rise in demand for Botox and fillers and there had been a subsequent increase in people suffering the consequences of badly performed procedures. She said: “While these can be administered safely, we are seeing an unacceptable rise in people being left physically and mentally scarred from poorly performed procedures.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 28 February 2022
  7. News Article
    A cosmetic surgeon who did not have adequate insurance for operations that went wrong has been struck off. Dr Arnaldo Paganelli worked privately for The Hospital Group in Birmingham. The Medical Practitioners' Tribunal Service ruled his actions constituted misconduct. Four women took their case to the body and the tribunal heard evidence about his time at Birmingham's Dolan Park Hospital where he made regular trips from Italy to work. Lead campaigner Dawn Knight, from Stanley, County Durham, said too much skin was removed from her eyes during an eyelift in 2012 and they became "constantly sore". She told BBC Radio 4's You and Yours programme she felt relieved Dr Paganelli "cannot injure anyone else on UK soil" and called for the government to tighten regulation around cosmetic procedures to protect the public. "The process has been long, emotional and exhausting. This situation must never be repeated. After all, when are you more vulnerable than when under aesthetic at the hands of a surgeon who has no insurance?" Read full story Source: BBC News, 12 August 2020
  8. News Article
    A grandfather who went into hospital with stomach problems needed both of his legs and his left hand amputating after contracting a life-threatening infection. Stephen Hughes, from Edmondstown, had been admitted to the Royal Glamorgan Hospital in Llantrisant, in March 2022, with gallstones and aggressive stomach inflammation. This led to pancreatitis corroding a hole in the duodenum which caused a significant bleed into his gut. The 56-year-old's condition deteriorated and he was transferred to the ICU at the University Hospital of Wales as a patient in critical condition. Whilst at UHW, his family said that the NHS staff worked tirelessly to stop the internal bleeding he was suffering. His gallbladder was removed on September 8th, 2022, and stents were placed along his arteries. Although these operations were successful, his family claims that Mr Hughes caught sepsis from the feeding tube in his neck on 11 September 2022 whilst recovering. Stephen’s body prioritised sending blood to his vital organs which resulted in his outer limbs being deprived of blood and oxygen. Stephen then had to have life-altering operations, which resulted in both of his legs being amputated towards the end of September, and his left hand being amputated at the start of October. He was later discharged on 31 October. A spokesperson for Cardiff and Vale University Health Board said: “As a Health Board we are unable to comment on individual patient cases, however we appreciate how life altering operations are particularly distressing for the individual and also their loved ones. Read full story Source: Wales Online, 9 September 2023
  9. Content Article
    On 18 August 2023, Lucy Letby was found guilty of murdering seven babies and convicted of trying to kill six other infants at the Countess of Chester Hospital. Looking ahead to the forthcoming independent inquiry into this case, Patient Safety Learning, reflecting on the inquiries of the past, sets out some key patient safety themes and issues that should be considered as part of this.
  10. News Article
    A hospital review of mesh operations by a surgeon who left dozens of patients in agony is now looking into another type of procedure he carried out. Tony Dixon, who used mesh surgery to treat bowel problems, has always maintained he did the operations in good faith. Now it has emerged that other patients who had their rectum stapled are also being written to. Spire Hospital Bristol said its "comprehensive" review remains ongoing. Mr Dixon pioneered the use of artificial mesh to lift prolapsed bowels and a review of the care he gave patients receiving Laparoscopic ventral mesh rectopexy has already concluded. Now the Spire has contacted patients who underwent a Stapled Transanal Rectal Resection (STARR operation) with Mr Dixon. Many of the affected patients have told the BBC they did not give informed consent for the procedure and are in chronic pain. Read full story Source: 11 September 2023
  11. News Article
    A public inquiry will be held into the disgraced brain surgeon Sam Eljamel, the Scottish government has confirmed. Eljamel harmed dozens of patients at NHS Tayside, leaving some with life-changing injuries. He was head of neurosurgery at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee until December 2013, when he was suspended. Health Secretary Michael Matheson said he was persuaded of the need for the inquiry after reading a damning due diligence review into NHS Tayside. It follows a long-running campaign which saw almost 150 former patients of the surgeon calling for the inquiry. Mr Matheson said he had concluded that a public inquiry was "the only route to get to the bottom of who knew what and when, and what contributed to the failures described by NHS Tayside". The health secretary said he also wanted to see individual cases reviewed independently of NHS Tayside in a "person-centred, trauma-informed" manner. Read full story Source: BBC News, 7 September 2023
  12. Content Article
    Healthcare professionals prescribing fluoroquinolone antibiotics (ciprofloxacin, delafloxacin, levofloxacin, moxifloxacin, ofloxacin) are reminded to be alert to the risk of disabling and potentially long-lasting or irreversible side effects. Do not prescribe fluoroquinolones for non-severe or self-limiting infections, or for mild to moderate infections (such as in acute exacerbation of chronic bronchitis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) unless other antibiotics that are commonly recommended for these infections are considered inappropriate. Fluoroquinolone treatment should be discontinued at the first signs of a serious adverse reaction, including tendon pain or inflammation.
  13. Content Article
    In this article in the Scotsman, former whistle blower, Iain Kennedy, writes about the culture of fear and blame in Scotland's NHS and how NHS staff must feel free to speak up about problems that affect patient safety.
  14. Event
    until
    World Patient Safety Day, observed annually on 17 September, aims to raise global awareness about patient safety and calls for solidarity and united action by all countries and international partners to reduce harm to patients. Patient and family engagement is one of the main strategies to eliminate avoidable harm in healthcare and ‘Engaging Patients for Patient Safety’ is the defining theme for World Patient Safety Day 2023. Access to safe, quality, and affordable medicines and their correct administration and use is critical for patient treatment and satisfaction. However, harm from medication treatment, including that resulting from a medicine shortage, in hospitals is common. 80 million people in Europe report experiencing a serious medication error during hospitalisation. With the outcomes of enhanced pharmacovigilance practices on medication safety practices in hospitals unclear and widespread deployment and adoption of digitalisation that can contribute to medication safety lagging, error reporting remains one of the most effective strategies to improve patient safety from medication harm. The 72nd World Health Assembly affirms that informed patients and carers could support the elimination of avoidable harm during care delivery. However, in many cases, patients nor their families are unaware of what systems are available to report the error. Therefore, awareness, access and use of patient-centred, user-friendly, reporting systems, will strengthen the evidence base that medication errors are not an unfortunate occupational hazard in healthcare delivery. This webinar will raise awareness of the importance of all stakeholders engaging with patients to improve medication safety in hospitals. It will discuss the importance of ensuring that patients are informed about medication safety and know how to report an unintended medication error when it occurs. Register
  15. Content Article
    The USA President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology have released their report to the US President, Joe Biden, on patient safety. The report contains recommendations aimed at dramatically improving patient safety in Amercia.
  16. Content Article
    The horrifying case of neonatal nurse Lucy Letby, convicted of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder six others at the Countess of Chester Hospital, has raised hard questions for NHS leaders about how organisations respond to concerns about staff, but could digital systems help detect NHS staff who harm patients at an earlier point? If the pattern connecting Letby to the babies’ deaths had been detected by a digital system, would the response from the trust have been different? Would a machine have been believed?    Alison Leary, chair of healthcare and workforce modelling at London South Bank University and a leading expert on nursing and data, suggests there is potentially a much bigger role for digital in patient safety.
  17. Content Article
    This is an oral statement given to the House of Commons by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Steve Barclay MP, to update on the Lucy Letby statutory inquiry.
  18. News Article
    Two hundred women in the UK who claim they were left in pain after having a permanent contraception device fitted, can now take group legal action through the courts, against its manufacturer. The Essure coil "has caused irreparable damage physically and mentally", the women's lawyers say. German maker Bayer says it will defend itself vigorously against the claims. When Essure was withdrawn from sale, in 2017, the UK medicines regulator said there was no risk to safety. Lawyers in England began legal action in 2020 and now have permission to bring a group claim on behalf of 200 women. Other women wishing to join the group action have until 2024 to do so. The Essure device is a small metal coil inserted into a woman's fallopian tubes. Scar tissue forms around the coil, creating a barrier that keeps sperm from reaching the eggs. Launched in 2002, the device was marketed as a simpler alternative to sterilisation by surgery. But some women say they suffered constant pain and complications, including heavy bleeding, with some ending up having hysterectomies or the device removed altogether. Read full story Source: BBC News, 5 September 2023
  19. Content Article
    In 2020, the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review (IMMDS), chaired by Baroness Cumberlege, highlighted the avoidable harm caused by both pelvic and sodium valproate. It also set out the devastating impact on people’s lives when patients’ voices go unheard. The Minister for Mental Health and Women’s Health Strategy, Maria Caulfield MP, asked the Patient Safety Commissioner (PSC) to explore redress options for those who have been harmed by pelvic mesh and sodium valproate. The work will focus on what a suitable redress scheme for those affected should look like, to meet the needs of those affected. 
  20. News Article
    A Bristol woman says her life has 'never been the same' since receiving unnecessary operations on her bowel more than ten years ago. Following a recent review, Mandy Giltrow is one of more than 200 patients who received a mesh bowel procedure - which she says may not have been needed. The operations were all conducted by surgeon Tony Dixon who has been sacked by the North Bristol NHS Trust. Mandy Giltrow underwent a mesh bowel procedure which was performed by Mr Dixon at Frenchay Hospital in April 2011. Following the surgery her symptoms continued. Following follow up appointments Mandy, a mum-of-four, underwent a further procedure in April 2013. Mr Dixon carried out a further operation in October 2014 at Spire Bristol to replace mesh. However Mandy, who is 49 and lives in Staple Hill, continues to suffer issues including stomach and bowel pain as well as recurrent water infections. She also has a hernia near her surgery scars. North Bristol NHS Trust has since admitted liability. Mandy told ITV West Country: "I got anxiety for all the different operations I had and then I physically could not do anything. I was stuck for three months in a bubble." "I couldn't go out, I couldn't do anything with my children not even take them to school." Mandy says her mental health was badly affected by the operations leading to a nervous breakdown and agoraphobia, meaning she could not lead the house. "You have an operation. It doesn't resolve the original problem and now you have another problem which is twice as bad." Read full story Source: ITV, 30 May 2022
  21. News Article
    The NHS has lost almost 25,000 beds across the UK in the last decade, according to a damning report says the fall has led to a sharp rise in waiting times for A&E, ambulances and operations. The Royal College of Emergency Medicine said the huge loss of beds since 2010-11 was causing “real patient harm” and a “serious patient safety crisis”. At least 13,000 more beds are urgently needed, it added, in order to tackle “unsafe” bed occupancy levels and “grim” waiting times for emergency care and handover delays outside hospitals. Patients are increasingly “distressed” by long waiting times, the college said, as are NHS staff who face mounting levels of burnout, exhaustion and moral injury. The UK has the second lowest number of beds per 1,000 people in Europe at 2.42 and has lost the third largest number of beds per 1,000 population between 2000 and 2021 (40.7%), the report said. There are currently 162,000 beds in the NHS across the UK, according to the college. “The situation is dire and demands meaningful action,” said Dr Adrian Boyle, the college’s vice-president. “Since 2010-11 the NHS has lost 25,000 beds across the UK, as a result bed occupancy has risen, ambulance response times have risen, A&E waiting times have increased, cancelled elective care operations have increased. “These numbers are grim,” Boyle added. “They should shock all health and political leaders. These numbers translate to real patient harm and a serious patient safety crisis. The health service is not functioning as it should and the UK government must take the steps to prevent further deterioration in performance and drive meaningful improvement, especially ahead of next winter.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 31 May 2022
  22. News Article
    An ambulance trust has been accused of acting like a “criminal gang” and lying to dead patients’ families by an employee who repeatedly warned about paramedics’ mistakes being covered up. Paul Calvert, a coroner’s officer whose job was to produce reports on deaths, tried to raise concerns about managers at the North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) for three years before walking out last year on the verge of a breakdown. “My life was being made a misery,” said Calvert, who was previously a detective with Northumbria police. “They were basically like a criminal gang. I had tried everything I could to warn the proper authorities about how the service was destroying and concealing evidence meant for the coroner. I spoke to my managers, to human resources, to external auditors. I even made disclosures to the Care Quality Commission and Northumbria police. Nothing was done about it.” Despite their denials of a large-scale cover-up of mistakes, the NEAS this year offered Calvert £41,000 as part of a non-disclosure agreement it asked him to sign. One of the clauses meant destroying all the evidence he had collected. Another tried to stop him making any further disclosures to police. Reports and witness statements from ambulance staff were not being disclosed to the coroner “on a daily basis”, according to Calvert, amounting to key pieces of evidence relating to deaths being hidden from the public. Read full story (paywalled) Source: The Times, 29 May 2022
  23. 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
  24. News Article
    More than 200 women were harmed when a rogue surgeon carried out operations on them unnecessarily, an NHS inquiry has found. Some of the women were left with life-changing physical problems or unable to work, while many also suffered trauma and serious psychological harm as a result. Overall, 203 women on whom Anthony Dixon performed procedures between 2007 and 2017 came to harm, according to a review by the North Bristol NHS trust (NBT). Dixon, who for years was Britain’s most influential pelvic surgeon, worked for both the trust and the private Spire hospital in the city. In 2017, NBT launched a review of Dixon’s performance and suspended him after dozens of women he had performed procedures on complained that they had experienced appalling consequences, including unmanageable pain and incontinence. The Guardian revealed in late 2017 that 100 women were suing him for medical negligence. Some cases have since been settled, but dozens are ongoing. NBT sacked Dixon in 2019 and he is currently banned from practising in the UK. During the review, 378 women were recalled and asked to set out their dealings with Dixon. All had undergone a procedure called laparoscopic ventral mesh rectopexy (LVMR), in which plastic mesh is inserted to repair weakened tissue in the pelvic floor. In papers presented to NBT’s board on Thursday, board members were told that the inquiry had concluded. “The trust has notified 203 NHS patients that, although their LVMR operation was carried out satisfactorily, they should have been offered alternative treatments before proceeding to surgery. We have defined these patients as suffering ‘harm’ as a result,” it said. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 26 May 2022
  25. News Article
    A struggling ambulance trust could face a ‘Titanic moment’ and collapse entirely this summer if the region’s worsening problems with hospital handover delays are not taken more seriously, its nursing director has told HSJ. Mark Docherty, of West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS), said patients were “dying every day” from avoidable causes created by ambulance delays and that he could not understand why NHS England and the Care Quality Commission were “not all over” the issue. He revealed that handover delays at the region’s hospitals were the worst ever recorded, that rising numbers of people were waiting in the back of ambulances for 24 hours, and that serious incidents have quadrupled in the past year, largely due to severe delays. More than 100 serious incidents recorded at WMAS relate to patient deaths where the service has been unable to respond because its ambulances are held outside hospitals, according to the minutes of the trust’s March quality and safety committee. "Around 17 August is the day I think it will all fail,” he said. “I’ve been asked how I can be so specific, but that date is when a third of our resource [will be] lost to delays, and that will mean we just can’t respond. Mathematically it will be a bit like a Titanic moment. ”It will be a mathematical certain that this thing is sinking, and it will be pretty much beyond the tipping point by then.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 25 May 2022
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