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Content ArticleElderly people in care homes in Cornwall were abused and neglected while failings led to reports of concerns not being investigated, a new Safeguarding Adults Review has found. The Morleigh Group, which operated seven homes in Cornwall and has since shut down, was exposed in a BBC Panorama investigation in 2016. A new Safeguarding Adults Review which was commissioned as a result of the TV show has been published making a number of recommendations to all agencies which were involved in the case. The review was completed in April 2019 but has only just been made public - Rob Rotchell, Cornwall Council Cabinet member for adult social care said that this was due to the number of agencies being involved.
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Content ArticleThe Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Safeguarding Adults Review into The Morleigh Group has found elderly people in care homes in Cornwall were abused and neglected while failings led to reports of concerns not being investigated. The Morleigh Group operated seven homes in Cornwall and has since shut down. The review was completed in April 2019 but has only just been made public - Rob Rotchell, Cornwall Council Cabinet member for adult social care said that this was due to the number of agencies being involved.
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News ArticleA privately run child and adolescent mental health unit has been closed permanently, with its residents moved elsewhere, after concerns were raised about their safety. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) said it had taken “urgent action to ensure the provider makes immediate and significant improvements” at the Cygnet Hospital in Godden Green, outside Sevenoaks in Kent, after a series of unannounced inspections last month and this month. The hospital had a CAMHs unit with up to 23 beds – details of which have been removed from the company’s website. However, only a small number of beds were occupied and these patients were either discharged or transferred to other hospitals before the unit closed on Monday. Last year Cygnet Health Care also launched a 12 bed female psychiatric intensive care unit on the site. Some of these beds have been commissioned by Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust since early this year, as there are no NHS female PICU sites in the county. This unit remains open, although the CQC said the concerns raised with it related to the safety of both PICU and CAMHs patients. Karen Bennett-Wilson, the CQC’s head of hospital inspection and lead for mental health in the south, said: “CQC has also worked closely with NHSE/I, Cygnet Healthcare and other local partners who have taken the decision to close the CAMHS unit and move the young people in the service to other care appropriate to their needs." Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 20 October 2020
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News Article
Fears of 'two-tier' system as NHS waiting lists prompt more people to go private
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Concerns are growing that long NHS waiting times caused by the coronavirus crisis are exacerbating pre-existing health inequalities and creating a “two-tier” system, as more people turn to the private sector for quicker treatment. As leading doctors warn mass cancellations of NHS operations in England are inevitable this winter after waiting times reached the highest levels on record this summer, data shows a rise in the number of people self-funding treatment or investing in private health insurance. “COVID-19 has not impacted everyone equally, and there is clearly a risk that the backlog in routine hospital treatment is going to add to those inequalities if some people are able to get treatment faster because they’re able to pay,” said Tim Gardner, from the Health Foundation thinktank. As the NHS heads into winter and a growing second wave of the virus, experts stressed the need to help those affected by the backlog now. “There is a need to prioritise the most urgent cases, but simply because someone’s case isn’t urgent doesn’t mean it’s not important. It doesn’t mean that people aren’t waiting in pain and discomfort, or waiting anxiously for a diagnosis,” said Gardner. “We think it’s incumbent on the health service to make the best possible use of the capacity it’s got. But also it needs to make sure it’s supporting people while they’re waiting. We just can’t have people left in limbo.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 27 October 2020 -
News Article
Independent sector model ‘inherently risky’, says CQC
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The care model run by independent sector mental health and learning disability hospitals is ‘inherently risky’, a Care Quality Commission (CQC) chief inspector has warned. Speaking at the NHS Providers conference, Ted Baker, chief inspector of hospitals for the Care Quality Commission, unveiled the regulator’s plans to change how it inspects health and care services. When asked by HSJ how its new “streamlined” approach would be applied to inpatient units run by the independent sector for people with mental health and learning disability, Professor Baker said: ”One of the things we’ve been doing during the pandemic, and will continue in our transitional approach, is target risk. And one of the risks we have been targeting is exactly this, patients with learning disability and/or autism in some of these small units that have got closed cultures." “I think we do recognise that model of care is an inherently risky model of care and so we have been inspecting many of those under this risk driven model and taking action against many of them. But there is ongoing concern about that model of care and in a few weeks’ time we will be publishing a report on our assessment of that model of care and the importance of it being changed for the benefit of the people being looked after. The model of care needs to be improved but we need to make sure we are tackling the risk.” The chief’s comments come ahead of the regulator’s state of care report, which is due to be published next week. In its report published last year the CQC highlighted a concern regarding the quality and safety of independent learning disability and autism units. In particular it warned these were at a higher risk of developing closed cultures. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 7 October 2020) -
News ArticleAt least 18 serious cases are being investigated by NHS bosses after GP and dermatology services were stripped from private medical company. The Kent and Medway Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) confirmed on Monday an independent review was taking place. It will see if delays to treatment for thousands of patients using DMC Healthcare services "caused harm". The NHS removed contracts worth £4.1m a year from the private firm in July. DMC was responsible for nearly 60,000 patients at nine surgeries in Medway, and skin condition services in other parts of Kent, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said. In north Kent, there were 1,855 patients needing urgent treatment and a further 7,500 on the dermatology service waiting list. Of those, 700 had been waiting more than a year. Nikki Teesdale, from Kent and Medway's CCG, said it was "too early" to reach definitive conclusions around the 18 serious cases. Speaking to Kent and Medway's joint health scrutiny committee on Monday she said of the 18, five had been waiting "significant periods of time" for cancer services. "Until we have got those patients through those treatment programmes, we are not able to determine what the level of harm has been," she added. Read full story Source: BBC News, 29 September 2020
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News ArticleA UK oncologist with a world reputation is facing allegations by the General Medical Council that he provided medication inappropriately in an attempt to keep terminally ill patients alive. Justin Stebbing, professor of cancer medicine and oncology at Imperial College London, who has a private practice in Harley Street, faces allegations at a medical practitioners tribunal of failing to provide good clinical care to 11 patients between March 2014 and March 2017. Read full story (paywalled) Source: BMJ, 15 September 2020
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Content ArticleWhen you are receiving treatment, it is important to feel that you are in safe hands. The Private Healthcare Information Network (PHIN) website publishes information on a range of patient safety measures, including about serious safety incidents. One category of these are known as Never Events. Here we explain what Never Events are, why they are measured, and how you can use them when considering which hospital is right for you.explain what Never Events are, why they are measured, and how you can use them when considering which hospital is right for you.
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Content ArticleThe Private Healthcare Information Network (PHIN) has published new information about serious patient safety incidents for private acute care. The data, covering the period 1 January 2019 to the 31 December 2019, show that 21 Never Events involving non-NHS (insured or self-pay) patients were reported.
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News ArticleThere were 21 “wholly preventable” patient safety incidents of the most serious category at private hospitals last year, new data has shown, as NHS bosses prepare to invest up to £10bn in the sector. This is the first time that a comprehensive dataset of 'never events’ within private hospitals has been published in the UK, and comes ahead of plans to outsource both inpatient and outpatient services, routine surgery operations and cancer treatment to private providers. The audit conducted by the Private Healthcare Information Network (PHIN), established in 2014 to bring greater transparency to the private health sector, showed that 287 out of 595 private hospitals and NHS private patient units (PPUs) provided information on Never Events between 1 January and 31 December 2019. This group accounts for an estimated 86 per cent of privately-funded admitted patient care, PHIN said. It attributed the “gaps in the data” to NHS PPUs, rather than independent hospitals. The fact that more than 300 hospitals or PPUs were unable or unwilling to hand over this data highlights the private sector’s continuing lack of transparency, said the Centre for Health and the Public Interest, a social care and health think tank. Read full story Source: The Independent, 2 September 2020 Private Healthcare Information Network press release
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News Article
Cosmetic surgeon struck off after botched ops
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
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 -
Content ArticleLack of transparency helped Ian Paterson to operate unchecked for years, according to inquiry The recent report of the Paterson Inquiry identified multiple levels of dysfunction across England’s health system. These allowed surgeon Ian Paterson to practise unchecked for many years, causing serious harm to thousands of patients. Among the less surprising of the failings is the lack of transparency in reporting activity and outcomes by the private hospitals where he worked. As the report notes, transparency is no panacea, but it is essential for protecting patients from harm. This BMJ editorial argues that urgent action is now needed to improve reporting by independent sector providers to bring them in line with standards in the NHS.
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Content Article
Acute Data Alignment Programme (ADAPt)
Claire Cox posted an article in Data and insight
The Acute Data Alignment Programme (ADAPt) is a joint programme between NHS Digital and the Private Healthcare Information Network (PHIN) which is looking to adopt common standards for data collections and performance measures across both the NHS and private healthcare. This will ensure that relevant information is consistently recorded and available so it can be more easily analysed and compared. -
Content ArticleThis report by the Center for Health and the Public Interest, brings together what is known about patient safety in private hospitals. It offers insights into the number of patient safety incidents in private hospitals, analyses the potential risks inherent in the way that these services operate, and makes recommendations to improve transparency in the private sector.
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Content ArticleThe Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspected 65 services that provides solely cosmetic surgery and/or hair transplant surgery. This represents just under two thirds of those currently registered. Professor Ted Baker, CQC’s Chief Inspector of Hospitals has written to all independent cosmetic surgery providers. His letter highlights these emerging concerns and clarifies the standards of patient care that CQC expect and patients deserve. It also reminds providers of their responsibility to deliver safe and effective services.
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Content Article
Private hospitals can help the NHS recover from COVID-19
Patient Safety Learning posted an article in Blogs
The pandemic has shown us health service transformation needs to go hand in hand with more beds and resources. The big challenge for all of us now is to to stand back and say: what has this taught us about the strengths and weaknesses of our healthcare system? What did we get right and wrong? The NHS has done an amazing job, proving itself very agile, very productive and very flexible. It’s been a process of constant learning. But there’s a very big backlog of people needing care, because we had this huge emptying out of hospitals and many NHS services were paused, notably elective surgery. Sir Jim Mackey, Chief Executive of Northumbria Healthcare NHS foundation trust and former Chief Executive of NHS Improvement, thinks private hospitals can help the NHS get on top of the backlog, to agreed standards and with the NHS paying. He tells the Guardian that it’s wrong that patients have to wait too long to get treatment and the public won’t care who provides that care. -
News Article
Babylon apology after GP app lets patients see other people's consultations
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Babylon Health is investigating whether NHS patients were among those affected by a 'software error' that allowed people registered with its private GP service to view recordings of other people's consultations earlier this month. Babylon Health has confirmed that a small number of patients were able to view recordings of other patients' consultations earlier this week. The issue came to light after a patient in Leeds who had access to the Babylon app through a private health insurance plan with Bupa reported that he had been able to view around 50 consultations that were not his own. The patient told the BBC he was 'shocked' to discover the data breach. "You don't expect to see anything like that when you're using a trusted app," he said. "It's shocking to see such a monumental error has been made." Babylon told GPonline that the app used by private and NHS patients is the same, but it had yet to confirm whether the roughly 80,000 patients registered with the company's digital first NHS service GP at Hand were among those affected. The problem is understood to have cropped up when a new feature was introduced for patients who switched from audio to video mid-way through a consultation. Read full story Source: GPOnline, 10 June 2020 -
Content ArticleCorporate interests have the potential to influence public debate and policymaking by influencing the research agenda, namely the initial step in conducting research, in which the purpose of the study is defined and the questions are framed. Fabbri et al. conducted a scoping review to identify and synthesise studies that explored the influence of industry sponsorship on research agendas across different fields. The authors concluded that corporate interests can drive research agendas away from questions that are the most relevant for public health. Strategies to counteract corporate influence on the research agenda are needed, including heightened disclosure of funding sources and conflicts of interest in published articles to allow an assessment of commercial biases. The authors also recommend policy actions beyond disclosure such as increasing funding for independent research and strict guidelines to regulate the interaction of research institutes with commercial entities.
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News Article
Only six of 200 NHS private units signed up to complaints watchdog
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Just six of the English NHS’s more than 200 private patient units (PPUs) are signed up to the independent complaints adjudicator, HSJ has learned. The figures follow the publication of the Paterson Inquiry earlier this month. The inquiry’s report warned patients treated in private units, including PPUs, which are not regulated by the Independent Sector Complaints Adjudication Service (ISCAS) “will not have access to independent investigation or adjudication of their complaint”. ISCAS is the main independent adjudicator for the private healthcare sector and takes on approximately 125 adjudications each year on unresolved patient complaints. Most standalone independent providers have signed up to the watchdog. However, ISCAS membership is not mandatory and it is concerned patients wishing to complain about care at PPUs will have little choice but to pursue costly legal action. The government is now considering the inquiry’s recommendation that all private patients are given the right to a mandatory independent resolution of their complaint. Read full story Source: HSJ, 26 February 2020 -
Content Article
My experience as an agency nurse
Martin Hogan posted an article in Stories from the front line
In this blog, Martin Hogan shares his experience of working as an agency nurse and how different behaviours can impact on the safety of both staff and patients.- Posted
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Content ArticleIn this BMJ Opinion article, David Rowland from the Centre for Health and the Public Interest discusses why he thinks the Independent Inquiry into the issues raised by Paterson is yet another missed opportunity to tackle the systemic patient safety risks which lie at the heart of the private hospital business model. David believes that although the Inquiry provided an important opportunity for the hundreds of patients affected to bear witness to the pain and harm inflicted upon them it fundamentally failed as an exercise in root cause analysis. None of the “learning points” in the final report touch on the financial incentives which may have led Paterson to deliberately over treat patients. Nor do they cover the business reasons which might encourage a private hospital’s management not to look too closely. Yet these concerns about how the private hospital system works and the associated patient risks it produces had been established in a number of previous inquiries. He suggests that the Inquiry report threw the responsibility for managing patient safety risks back to the patients themselves in two of its main recommendations but that it should be for the healthcare provider first and foremost to ensure that the professions that they employ are safe, competent and properly supervised, and for this form of assurance to be underpinned by a well-functioning system of licensing and revalidation by national regulatory bodies.
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News ArticleThe Independent Inquiry into the issues raised by Paterson is yet another missed opportunity to tackle the systemic patient safety risks which lie at the heart of the private hospital business model, says David Rowland from the Centre for Health and the Public Interest in a recent BMJ Opinion article. Although the Inquiry provided an important opportunity for the hundreds of patients affected to bear witness to the pain and harm inflicted upon them it fundamentally failed as an exercise in root cause analysis. None of the “learning points” in the final report touch on the financial incentives which may have led Paterson to deliberately over treat patients. Nor do they cover the business reasons which might encourage a private hospital’s management not to look too closely. He suggests that the Inquiry report threw the responsibility for managing patient safety risks back to the patients themselves in two of its main recommendations but that it should be for the healthcare provider first and foremost to ensure that the professions that they employ are safe, competent and properly supervised, and for this form of assurance to be underpinned by a well-functioning system of licensing and revalidation by national regulatory bodies. Read full story Source: BMJ Opinion, 20 February 2020
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News Article
Scans of 1,800 patients reviewed after private contract suspended
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Ultrasound scans for around 1,800 patients have had to be reviewed over concerns about the “quality and safety” of work carried out by two sonographers employed by an independent provider. The two sonographers were employed by Bestcare Diagnostics. The company held an “any qualified provider” contract for non-obstetric ultrasound scans with Coastal West Sussex Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) from April 2017. This contract was suspended in September 2018 over what the CCG said were “quality issues”. However, new information came to light in spring 2019 and the CCG decided to review all 1,800 patients seen by the pair, who worked for the company between April and August 2018. The CCG said scans for these patients were reviewed and, wherever possible, the patients were contacted. A second stage of the review will look at whether any harm was caused to the patients. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 20 February 2020 -
Content ArticleThe independent inquiry into how the rogue breast surgeon Ian Paterson was able to inflict harm on patients over more than decade described the UK healthcare system as “dysfunctional at almost every level.” In this BMJ analysis, Gareth Iacobucci summarises the findings of the inquiry.
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News Article
Surgeon suspended over treatment concerns
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
A doctor who worked at the same private healthcare firm as rogue breast surgeon Ian Paterson has been suspended, it has emerged. Spire Healthcare said Mike Walsh – a specialist in trauma and orthopaedic surgery – was suspended in April 2018 over concerns about patient treatment. Almost 50 of his patients from its Leeds hospital had been recalled. The details emerged following an independent inquiry into Paterson, who is serving a 20-year jail sentence. Earlier this month, an inquiry into the breast surgeon found that a culture of "avoidance and denial" had allowed him to perform botched and unnecessary operations on hundreds of women. Spire said in a statement that it acted after concerns were raised about Mr Walsh's work at its hospital in Leeds in 2018. The company, which contacted the Royal College of Surgeons to assist with its investigation, said it had reviewed the notes of fewer than 200 patients, of which "fewer than 50" had been invited back for a follow-up appointment. "Where we have identified concerns about the care a patient received, we have invited the patient to an appointment with an independent surgeon to review their treatment," a spokesman for Spire Healthcare said. "This is a complex case and the review is ongoing." It said that Mr Walsh, who was immediately suspended after the concerns were raised, was no longer working with Spire Healthcare. The company said any patients at its Spire Leeds Hospital who had concerns about their treatment under Mr Walsh should contact the hospital. It said its findings had also been shared with the Care Quality Commission and the General Medical Council (GMC). Read full story Source: BBC News, 17 February 2020
