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News Article
Covid-positive care home plan failing to relieve pressure on crowded hospitals
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Trusts in more than half English local authorities still do not have an agreed safe place to discharge recovering covid patients to, despite the government asking councils to identify at least one such ‘designated setting’ by the end of October. The situation is leading to an increase in delayed discharges from hospital just as the service comes under increased pressure from the second covid wave and returning elective and emergency demand. In a letter last month, the government told local authorities to identify at least one “designated setting” – typically a care home – which hospitals could discharge covid positive patients to when they no longer need secondary care. The designated setting would also take discharged patients who had not received a negative covid test. The plan is designed to protect residents in other homes, after thousands of care home residents died due to outbreaks of the virus in the spring. But a well-placed source in the care sector told HSJ less than half of the 151 upper tier councils met the 31 October deadline, due to a range of reasons including insurance costs, fear of high mortality rates and reputational damage to the designated homes. It means that in many parts of the country, there are a lack of options when it comes to discharging patients, which is causing a rise in delayed discharges. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 5 November 2020 -
News ArticleA woman has been arrested after attempting to take her 97-year-old mother out of a care home for lockdown. Qualified nurse Ylenia Angeli, 73, wanted to care for her mother, who has dementia, at home. But when she told staff at the care home, they called the police who then briefly arrested Ms Angeli. The family have not been able to see their elderly relative for nine months, and decided to act ahead of the second national lockdown. Assistant Chief Constable Chris Noble, from Humberside Police, said: "These are incredibly difficult circumstances and we sympathise with all families who are in this position." "We responded to a report of an assault at the care home, who are legally responsible for the woman's care and were concerned for her wellbeing. We understand that this is an emotional and difficult situation for all those involved and will continue to provide whatever support we can to both parties." The incident came to light on the day the government announced new rules for families wishing to visit their loved ones in care homes. Under the guidance, issued hours before lockdown, families can meet relatives through a window or in a secure outdoor setting. Visits will need to be booked in advance, but the Department of Health and Social Care advice said care homes "will be encouraged and supported to provide safe visiting opportunities". All care home residents are allowed to receive visits from friends and family during the second national lockdown. Read full story Source: Sky News, 5 November 2020
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Content ArticleIn this Episode of the 'This Is Nursing' podcast series, Gavin Portier speaks to Amanda McKie, Matron -for Learning Disabilities & Complex Needs Coordinator at Calderdale & Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust. In this episode Amanda talks about health inequalities, mental capacity, advocacy and high profile key documents such as Death by Indifference, the LeDer Mortality programme and the current case of Oliver McGowan. Learning disabilities is a life long condition and they can present in any areas of health care. In this podcast we discover how important it is to have an understanding an appreciation and insight into the care experience of a person with a learning disability and their parents or carers.
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News Article
Using Twitter to assess patient takes on patient experience
Clive Flashman posted a news article in News
A qualitative study of Twitter hashtags revealed power hierarchies can damage the patient experience and clinician relationship. In an analysis of a popular Twitter hashtag, researchers found that patients largely take umbrage when they feel their doctor does not believe their ailment or knowledge about their healthcare, and when they perceive a power hierarchy between themselves and their clinician. Although not as many patients are using Twitter to get peer feedback on certain providers (the Binary Fountain poll showed only 21% of patients do this), the social media website still holds a lot of power, researchers from the University of California system explained. Twitter is a large platform that hosts social discourse. Healthcare professionals use Twitter to disseminate public health and patient education messages and to network, while 61% of patients use Twitter to learn more about their health, as well. Read full article Source: Patient Engagement HIT, 29 October 2020- Posted
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Content ArticleEvidence suggests that full implementation of the WHO surgical safety checklist across NHS operating theatres is still proving a challenge for many surgical teams. The aim of the current study from Charles Vincent and colleagues was to assess patients’ views of the checklist, which have yet to be considered and could inform its appropriate use, and influence clinical buy-in.
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News ArticleA GP commissioning leader has publicly criticised hospital visiting rules at local hospitals, after hearing that a stroke patient was denied seeing family or friends for six weeks. Philip Stevens, a locality chair at Northamptonshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), described the situation reported to him by one of his patients as “heartbreaking”, and has challenged visiting policies at Northampton General Hospital and Kettering General Hospital trusts. During a CCG governing body meeting, Dr Stevens called for explanation from the county’s director of public health, Lucy Wightman, who said trusts could choose their own rules. Dr Stevens, who is also a GP at Brackley Medical Centre, argued that visitors were permitted in neighbouring counties, where he claimed there were similar covid case rates to Northamptonshire, which remains in tier 1 restrictions under the government’s framework. He said: “I’ve been dealing this week with a family who, the wife’s husband, has been in Northampton General for six weeks now and has had no visitors at all during that time. He’s had a profound stroke and when he comes home he’ll need considerable community support which ordinarily the family would have been trained in but discharge is planned without any of that training.” Mr Stevens said in an “adjacent county” hospital policy was that each patient would have ”one hour, one visitor each day” with 30-minutes in between visiting slots. While not named, trusts in neighbouring Cambridge and Lincolnshire both have policies that permit pre-booked visitors. He added: “When I heard this story it seemed heartbreaking to me for this woman and her husband and I just wonder whether that this is a situation we should be challenging, particularly since it appears that the public health advice in an adjacent county may be different to that which is being offered within Northamptonshire.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 27 October 2020
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News Article"Women may be suicidal or want to die. They may have thoughts about harming their baby. It's our job to keep them safe until they can keep themselves safe," says Debbie Sells. She manages a mother-and-baby unit in Nottingham which supports a small group of new mothers and pregnant women with serious psychological problems. It's one of 19 units across England which each year treat about 800 women with perinatal mental health problems like psychosis and severe depression. Clinicians say it is important to keep mothers and babies together to protect their relationship and the infant's development. Some clinicians fear there may soon be an increased demand for their services due to extra pressures pregnant women are facing during the pandemic. "We are hearing stories of women delivering on their own and not having the support of their partner, says Debbie. "A traumatic birth can lead on to other things. Now not only are women becoming seriously unwell with a baby, but it's happening within a pandemic" NHS England says while it is understandable some women and their families may have felt uneasy about seeking help in the early stages of the outbreak, it is vital they ask for support if it is needed. Read full story Source: BBC News, 26 October 2020
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News ArticleIn ‘Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed For Men’ author Caroline Criado Perez writes about Rachael, a woman who suffered years of severe and incapacitating pain during her period. It takes, on average, eight years for women in the UK to obtain a diagnoses of endometriosis. In fact, for over a decade, there has been no improvement in diagnostic times for women living with the debilitating condition. You might think, given the difficulty so many women experience in having their symptoms translated into a diagnosis, that endometriosis is a rare condition that doctors perhaps don’t encounter all that often. Yet it is something that affects one in ten women – so what is going wrong? Read the full article here in The Scotsman
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Content Article
Patient Safety Movement: Story of Pat Denton
Patient Safety Learning posted an article in By patients and public
The story of Pat Denton who died from a surgery site infection after surgery. -
Content Article
AbbVie: Shared decision making
Patient Safety Learning posted an article in Patient-centred care
The involvement of patients in decisions about their care is essential to help effectively manage long-term conditions and help achieve the best possible patient outcome. ‘Shared decision making’ ensures that individuals are supported, by their healthcare partners, to make decisions about their care or treatment, that are right for them. Shared decision making is included in the NHS Constitution, and AbbVie, a research-driven biopharmaceutical company. hopes to help continue raising the profile of patient involvement. AbbVie wants to see shared decision making be widely adopted across NHS services. To support this ambition, AbbVie held the Shared Decision Making Showcase in Parliament on the 10 March 2020. A year on from the publication of the NHS Long Term Plan, and Universalised Personalised Care Plan – which established ambitious targets to put shared decision making at the heart of patient care – the showcase provided a platform for patient groups, NHS Trusts, and healthcare providers to share their innovative work. The projects showcased ranged from MS, arthritis, Lymphoma, Autism, Hepatitis C, kidney dialysis and more—all focused on empowering patients to take an active part in decisions about their treatment and care. AbbVie has supported a number of organisations and projects to develop and enable shared decision making including two of the showcased initiatives: a survey of treatment decision experience amongst psoriasis patients and the work of the Patient Information Forum to develop and implement the Perfect Patient Information Journey. -
Content ArticleThe Patient Information Forum ran a survey on covid choices. It asked how people are balancing the need to have new or ongoing health conditions treated and managed versus the risks of contracting COVID-19. The aim of the survey was to identify the factors important to patients’ decision-making. This will help charities and the NHS produce the information patients need to make crucial decisions about health and well-being.
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Content ArticleWith the emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic disrupting many patients’ access to GP services, the Patients Association investigated what patients felt about their GP’s premises, and whether they would be confident to return to them.
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Content ArticleAsk anyone with tattoos and they’ll tell you every bit of body art means something. But it’s fair to say Graeme Holdsworth’s short script of ink means more than most. The single word, Anicca - Sanskrit for ‘impermanence’ - hides beneath the watchband on his left wrist. “I look at it whenever I need reminding that what’s happening now won’t be happening in a minute’s time.” For the retired architect and project manager who spent most of his life planning the future of multi-million dollar developments, a one-word reminder to live in the moment seems an odd choice. But to someone who was a habitual high achiever, it’s an important reality check. In this blog for Movember, Graeme talks about living with depression.
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EventuntilAre you a patient who has been waiting to receive a diagnosis or test results during the last six months? This includes, but is not limited to, CT scans, MRI scans, and endoscopy and dermatology procedures. Has the COVID-19 pandemic affected your service? Would you like to help to improve the patient experience of waiting for a diagnosis? The Patients Association is holding an online Zoom patient group discussion on this topic on Tuesday 27th October, 2.00-4.00pm, and we are seeking patients to take part. An £80 incentive payment will be offered in Amazon vouchers and places are limited. Participants will be chosen on the basis of suitability to ensure the group is representative of a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences. Please fill in the registration form https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/CRNMC2T if you are interested.
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EventDr Donna Prosser, Chief Clinical Officer at the Patient Safety Movement Foundation, will be joined by a multidisciplinary group of patient advocacy experts and clinicians to understand the various meanings of the term 'patient advocacy' and to evaluate how an empowered patient can improve healthcare delivery, experience, and outcomes for all involved. The group will discuss the history and current state of patient advocacy, and will propose recommendations regarding the extent to which various healthcare disciplines and patients and their families can improve patient advocacy. Register
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Content ArticlePatient Safety Movement's Dr Donna Prosser is joined by Dr Steven Deeks, Professor of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, and Dr Jake Suett, Staff Grade Anaesthetist and Intensive Care Doctor, UUK, to discuss the long term implications of COVID-19 from clinical and personal perspectives. Dr Deeks shares the research around long COVID-19 symptoms and Dr Suett provides a personal anecdote of his experience with symptoms that have lasted months. Dr. Suett shares information about the COVID symptom study, which consists of an international mobile app to track COVID-19 symptoms over time.
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Content ArticleIn September, Patient Safety Learning worked with Gill Phillips, Director of Nutshell Communications Ltd, to host an online workshop with staff and patients on the subject of staff safety, the theme of this year's World Patient Safety Day. Known as Whose Shoes?®, the workshop was an an intimate, highly participative event, giving participants the chance to talk openly about their personal experiences around key issues in staff safety and how they impact patient safety.
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News Article
Infection control experts issue open letter on care home visiting
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
A group of experts in nursing and infection prevention and control (IPC) is today warning against the use of IPC measures as a “rationale” for stopping safe and compassionate visits in care homes during the Covid-19 pandemic. In a new open letter published in Nursing Times, the specialists say that preventing people from visiting loved ones in social care settings in the name of IPC is a “misinterpretation and at times even abuse” of IPC principles. The letter is the brainchild of independent global health consultant and former Infection Prevention Society (IPS) president, Jules Storr. Among the signatories are five former IPC presidents, current president Pat Cattini as well as incoming president Jennie Wilson. Dr Ron Daniels, chief executive of the UK Sepsis Trust, is also on the list, Helen Hughes, chief executive of Patient Safety Learning, as well as leading IPC nurse specialists, nurse academics, a GP and carers. Ms Storr, a nurse by background, and the hub topic lead, said she was motivated to take action after hearing “the most heart-breaking” stories from health professionals and relatives of residents about restricted visits in the UK in the wake of COVID-19. Some had not seen relatives for weeks or months, whilst others were only allowed to see their loved one once a week for 20 minutes at a distance, she said. One individual had told her how when their father had died only one family member was permitted in the home and they were not allowed to sit close enough to hold his hand. Ms Storr said these practices were “absolutely outrageous and wrong from an infection prevention point of view”. Read full story Source: Nursing Times, 16 October 2020 -
Content ArticlePatients collectively made Long Covid – and cognate term ‘long-haul Covid’ – in the first months of the pandemic. Patients, many with initially ‘mild’ illness, used various kinds of evidence and advocacy to demonstrate a longer, more complex course of illness than laid out in initial reports from Wuhan. Long Covid has a strong claim to be the first illness created through patients finding one another on social media: it moved from patients, through various media, to formal clinical and policy channels in just a few months. This initial mapping of Long Covid – by two patients with this illness – focuses on actors in the UK and USA and demonstrates how patients marshalled epistemic authority. Patient knowledge needs to be incorporated into how COVID-19 is conceptualised, researched, and treated.
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Content ArticleThis report from the Samaritans finds that there is no consistently effective support available to people who self-harm. The research identified four key support needs for people who self-harm, which are seen as essential to providing effective care: distraction from immediate self-harm urges emotional relief in times of stress developing alternative coping strategies addressing the underlying reasons for self-harm.
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Content ArticleParents know better than anyone if their child is not behaving as they usually do or seem different in some way. Studies have shown that caregivers are often the first people to spot changes in the health of their child, even when in a clinical environment. You should feel able to raise any concerns if you think something is ‘just not right’ with your child. Great Ormond Street Hospital has produced guidance on what to look out for and how to raise a concern if you are worried about your child when in hospital.
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Content ArticleA Virtual Clinic was set up at an acute general hospital in the Mid-Essex area with the specific aim to co-ordinate the care of adults diagnosed with intellectual disabilities (ID) coupled with two or more long term conditions. This is one of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) shared learning case studies. NICE has over 800 examples showing how our guidance and standards can improve local health and social care services.
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Content ArticleIn this blog for the Guardian, a well respected surgeon tells of the time they were admitted to the intensive care unit of the hospital where they worked following a suicide attempt. The surgeon explains how depression is a lot more common in medicine than realised but how it is still stigmatised, even within the medical profession. Many medical staff often display signs of depression differently to others and keep working right up until they break; work brings comfort from the feelings of hopelessness and worthlessness. Very few have the opportunity to attend counselling, since this would require taking time off work. "I would be smiling and laughing on the outside, but on the inside was a continuous mantra of self-loathing that kept getting louder. I pushed myself harder, took extra shifts, tried to put my head down and just get through it. One day, I had had enough. The pain had become physical as well as mental, and the idea of having to live any longer was unbearable."
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Content ArticlePatient Safety Learning’s response to the announcement by the NHS on the 7 October 2020 of a new five-part package of measures to boost support for Long Covid patients.
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News Article
Stevens announces £10m for ‘long covid’ clinics
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
NHS England will spend £10m on new clinics for ‘long covid’ sufferers, it was announced yesterday. Sir Simon Stevens, NHSE chief executive, told the NHS Providers annual conference the clinics would offer support to the “probably hundreds of thousands” of people suffering persisting symptoms such as fatigue, breathlessness and ‘brain fog’ months after being infected with COVID-19. It comes amid growing calls for wider services to support people with ‘long covid,’ as hospital follow-up clinics are generally only open to those who were previously admitted with the virus. HSJ was last month only able to identify one genuine “long covid clinic”, despite claims by health secretary Matt Hancock they had “announced them in July”. It appears that comment was a mistake. Speaking about long covid, he said: “The NHS has got to be just as responsive and agile in respect of… new needs, including long covid, as we were in repurposing critical care, and ventilators, and acute capacity in the first phase in March, April and May." “Today we are going to be allocating £10m to establish a network of designated long covid clinics across the country, which, in line with new NICE guidelines on effective treatment pathways, will offer support for the tens of thousands, probably hundreds of thousands, of patients who have got long covid.” Sir Simon also told the conference today that NHSE was “enthusiastic” about introducing regular asymptomatic covid testing for NHS staff “if and when” it is recommended by the government chief medical officer, and when Test and Trace has enough capacity. There are growing calls for regular testing of asymptomatic NHS staff, especially in hotspot areas, including from former health secretary Jeremy Hunt. Sir Simon said it was “something the chief medical officer and the test and trace programme are continuing to review”. He said: “We would be enthusiastic about doing that if and when that is the clinical recommendation and if and when the Test and Trace programme has got the testing capacity to do that. The plan was always that it would largely have to be sourced out of the total testing capacity available to the nation, not just the NHS labs.” Read full story Source: HSJ, 7 October 2020 Read Patient Safety Learning's response to this news Please share your thoughts with us on the support that is needed on our patient safety platform, the hub.
