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Content Article
Opposition to vaccines has a long history (26 April 2022)
Patient Safety Learning posted an article in Blogs
In January 2019, not long before the COVID-19 pandemic began, Laurent-Henri Vignaud and Françoise Salvadori published what would turn out to be a very timely book, Antivax: Resistance to Vaccines from the 18th Century to the Present Day. In a recent presentation at the French College of General Medicine's 15th Congress of General Medicine, Vignaud, a historian of science, gave examples from the past to show that opposition to vaccines, which has come to light during the COVID-19 pandemic, is neither a recent phenomenon nor specific to France. -
Content ArticleGPOnline Editor, Emma, speaks with Dr Carey Lunan, a GP in Edinburgh and chair of the Deep End GP Group in Scotland, and Dr David Blane a GP in Glasgow and clinical research fellow in General Practice, University of Glasgow, who is the academic lead of the Deep End GP Group. The Deep End Group covers the 100 most deprived practices in Scotland and the discussion highlights what the group is doing to tackle health inequalities, the impact of COVID-19 and what other practices can learn from their work.
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Content Article
This is part of our series of Patient Safety Spotlight interviews, where we talk to people working for patient safety about their role and what motivates them. Angela talks to us about how her role enables her to promote collaboration for patient safety between different layers of the healthcare system. She also tells us about how Northern Ireland is using World Patient Safety Day 2022 to help the public and healthcare staff understand how they can contribute to medication safety. -
Content ArticleNon-communicable illness is responsible for 88% of the burden of disease in England, with the majority falling most heavily on the poorest in society. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted pervasive socioeconomic, ethnic and geographical health inequalities in our society. But quantifying health inequalities can be difficult due to the complexities of comparing people with multiple different long-term conditions (multimorbidity) and assessing the implications for their health care needs. In this analysis from the The Health Foundation, a novel tool known as the Cambridge Multimorbidity Score was used to assess the relative impact of different patterns of diagnosed illness on people and their use of the health care system.
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Content ArticleHealth inequalities are not inevitable and are unfair. Many people from different backgrounds across our society suffer health inequalities which can negatively impact the whole community, not just those directly affected. Birmingham and Lewisham African Caribbean Health Inequalities Review (BLACHIR) set out to urgently reveal and explore the background to health inequalities experienced by the Black African and Black Caribbean communities. Birmingham is home to 8% of the Black African and Black Caribbean populations in England and 23% of Lewisham’s population is Black African or Black Caribbean (ONS 2011). The main aim of the Review is to improve the health of Black African and Black Caribbean people in the communities by listening to them, recognising their priorities, discussing, and reflecting on the findings and coproducing recommended solutions for the Health and Wellbeing Board and NHS Integrated Care Systems to consider and respond to.
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Content ArticleThis opinion piece in The BMJ looks at the impact of the government's decision to make the wearing of masks in healthcare settings the decision of local providers, dependent on local risk assessment and prevalence. It highlights reports of patients wearing high-filtration FFP2 or FFP3 respirator—many of who are immunocompromised—being asked to remove and replace them with less effective single-use masks in order to gain entry to NHS facilities for treatment. The authors highlight that Covid-19 is an airborne pathogen and that the likelihood of contracting the virus increases with length of time spent in contaminated air. They argue that downgrading mask use in healthcare settings puts everyone at risk, but that it is a particular issue for patients who are clinically extremely vulnerable due to underlying health conditions or because they are undergoing treatment for cancer. They call on the government to upgrade masks to FFP2 or FFP3 respirators in order to protect staff and patients and reverse the worrying trend of clinically extremely vulnerable patients avoiding attending healthcare services.
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Content ArticleThis report examines the approaches and key decisions taken by UK governments during the pandemic and the public health measures they introduced. It assesses whether these choices were timely, appropriate, and proportionate to deal with the threat and impact of COVID-19.
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Content ArticleThis report outlines the Royal College of Psychiatrists in Scotland's priorities for the Scottish Parliament. The report centres on the idea that there should be 'no wrong door' for individuals in all communities to accessing the right care, in the right place, at the right time for mental ill health. It highlights the significant effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on the mental health of the population: The number of people with high levels of psychological distress (indicating a potential psychiatric disorder) has doubled during the Covid-19 pandemic to 35.6%. Those most vulnerable to psychological distress (67%) were those with pre-existing mental ill health–the population already supported by psychiatrists. Women, young people, ethnically diverse communities and the economically disadvantaged have also been disproportionately affected.
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Content ArticleThis report by NHS Wales summarises the ways in which the cost of living crisis can impact on health and well-being. It takes a public health lens to identify actions for policy makers and decision-makers to protect and promote the health and well-being of people in Wales in their response to the cost of living crisis, outlining what a public health approach to the crisis could look like in the short and longer-term.
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Content ArticleThe Health Survey (Northern Ireland) has run annually, on a continuous basis, since 2010/11. The 2021/22 survey included questions relating to general health, mental health and wellbeing, smoking and drinking alcohol. The sample size for the survey was 3,154 individuals aged 16 and over. This article presents the key findings of the Health Survey (Northern Ireland): First Results 2021/22 report. One important finding was that of respondents who had been in contact with the health and social care system in the last year, 73% were either very satisfied or satisfied with their experience (down from 85% in 2020/21), while almost a fifth (18%) were either dissatisfied or very dissatisfied (double that in 2020/21 – 9%).
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Content ArticleAhead of the government's medium-term fiscal plan, the annual Institute for Government/Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) public services stocktake reveals that public services won’t have returned to pre-pandemic performance by the next election, which in most cases was already worse than when the Conservatives came to power in 2010. Performance Tracker reviews the state of nine public services – general practice, hospitals, adult social care, children’s social care, neighbourhood services, schools, police, criminal courts and prisons – and their comparative and inter-connected problems.
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Content ArticleThis tool developed by the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities aims to provide intelligence about the wider determinants of health to help improve population health and reduce health inequalities. Wider determinants, also known as social determinants, are a diverse range of social, economic and environmental factors which impact on people’s health. They are influenced by the local, national and international distribution of power and resources which shape the conditions of daily life, and they determine the extent to which different individuals have the physical, social and personal resources to identify and achieve goals, meet their needs and deal with changes to their circumstances. The tool is updated on an ongoing basis and provides data on the wider determinants, as well as resources to help organisations take further action to tackle health inequalities.
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Content Article
Understanding Covid-19 as a vascular disease and its implications for exercise
Anonymous posted an article in Blogs
This anonymous blog by a doctor examines the link between Covid-19 and cardiovascular disease. The author calls for greater awareness amongst healthcare professionals and the public to reduce the risk of patients experiencing cardiovascular problems during and after Covid-19 infection.- Posted
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Content ArticleNHS Confederation chair Lord Victor Adebowale and chief executive Matthew Taylor wrote to Rt Hon Rishi Sunak MP on his appointment as Prime Minister. Their letter both highlights the critical role of health in driving growth and sets out urgent action needed to help relieve some of the pressures on the NHS this winter, including: support for the NHS workforce urgently bolstering social care capacity protecting the NHS's capital budget supporting communities during the cost of living crisis asserting the government’s commitment to health protection and prevention.
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Content ArticleThis article in The BMJ by Tessa Richards, Senior Editor for patient partnership and Henry Scowcroft, Patient Editor, looks at the way in which people with expertise rooted in lived experience were excluded from policy decisions during the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic. They argue that engaging patients, families, and frontline health and social care professionals would have prevented some of the excess morbidity and mortality that came from policy responses to the pandemic, particularly among elderly people, those with long term conditions and those in lower socioeconomic groups.
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Content ArticleHealthcare has, in many ways, always been a form of ‘learning system’. Driven by a diverse community of stakeholders, including health care professionals, patients and the public, a learning health system (LHS) uses internal and external knowledge to continually learn about and improve patient care. However, while LHSs have huge potential to support service transformation and population health, there is a lack of consensus about what an LHS actually is, and how to get started. This research report from the Health Foundation helps people understand LHSs and how they can be developed. It is the final output of HDR UK’s Better Care Catalyst Programme’s Policy and Insights workstream, which researched the barriers and enablers for implementing LHS approaches in the UK. It also identifies a range of opportunities and actions that can be taken by policymakers and system leaders to advance the LHS agenda across the UK.
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Content ArticleThis poster highlights some key issues associated with by antimicrobial resistance (AMR), which is caused by inappropriate use of antibiotics. It outlines the objectives and results of the AMR Patient Group, a coalition of patient groups across Europe working to address the serious public health threat posed by AMR. It also outlines the AMR Patient Group's policy recommendations to European and national health authorities.
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Content ArticleThe latest figures from NHS Digital show the number of hospital episodes in England with a primary diagnosis of anaphylaxis increased from 5,497 in 2018-19 to 5,517 in 2019-20. Previous figures have shown the number of cases of children hospitalised with severe allergic reactions in England has increased by 72 per cent over the last six years. Overall, including adults, there has been a 34 per cent rise in admissions over the same period. Figures from 2019 reveal wide regional differences among children admitted to hospital with anaphylaxis. The health region with the highest increase is London where the number of cases has risen by 167% from 180 in 2013-14 to 480 in 2018-19. Among those ten and under, the increase is a staggering 200 per cent. Natasha Allergy Research Foundation (NARF) has renewed its call for the Government to appoint an ‘Allergy Tsar’ to co-ordinate and take steps to make sure people with allergies get the treatment and care they need. NARF first called for the appointment of an ‘Allergy Tsar’ earlier this year following the inquest of Shante Turay-Thomas, 18, who died in 2018 from anaphylaxis after eating hazelnut.
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Content Articlein recent months we’ve seen increasing attention paid to people with ‘long COVID’, whose symptoms were not serious enough to land them in hospital yet have persisted for many weeks or months. This long-term illness is frustrating and debilitating for those who are affected, with the potential to have a significant impact on wider society. But it hasn’t been clear how many people are suffering from long COVID or who is most at risk. The latest analysis of data from thousands of users of the COVID Symptom Study app from ZOE, published as a preprint, shows that one in 20 people are likely to suffer from COVID-19 symptoms lasting more than 8 weeks.
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Content ArticleThis image highlights that no single intervention is perfect at preventing the spread of a respiratory virus. However, multiple layers of protective approaches will improve success. Based on the Swiss Cheese Model of Accident Causation by James Reason, this is an adapted version which has been developed by virologist Ian Mackay and colleagues from the University of Queensland. Join the Patient Safety Learning community and sign up to the hub for free. As a member, you’ll be able to join the conversation, get early access to events and receive regular news and updates about patient and staff safety.
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Content ArticleThe NHS has been fighting for our lives for the last few weeks and months. Throwing all its resources at the COVID-19 pandemic. The millions of health and care workers involved have been magnificent and we must resource them better for the future. And it’s been up to us, the general public, how far and how fast the virus spreads. There will still be a vital role for us when this pandemic is over because the NHS can’t by itself deal with many of today’s major health problems such as loneliness, stress, obesity, poverty and addictions. It can only react, doing the repairs but not dealing with the underlying causes. There are people all over the country who are tackling these causes in their homes, workplaces and communities. People like the Berkshire teachers working with children excluded from school, the unemployed men in Salford improving their community; and the bankers tackling mental health in the City. They are not just preventing disease but creating health. And they take pressure off the NHS, so it is always there when we need it. Health is made at home challenges us to set aside our normal assumptions and take off our NHS spectacles to see the world differently and take control of our health. And it calls for a new partnership between the NHS, government and the general public to build a healthy and health creating society.
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Content ArticleThe NHS should learn lessons from health creators that use a holistic approach to health and wellbeing, creating conducive environment for people to flourish, says Nigel Crisp in this blog for HSJ. Creating health is about creating the conditions for people to be healthy and helping them to be so. It’s what parents do and good teachers and schools – creating healthy, resilient, confident individuals. One of they ways health creators do things differently from the usual NHS and public sector approach is their emphasis on relationships – people get things done primarily through building relationships rather than by just following systems.Their approach is vision and goal-led (rather than plan-led) so people learn by doing, being experimental, adaptable and entrepreneurial. And it is about doing things that have meaning and purpose and not just about processes, checklists and plans. Read Nigel's book: Health is made at home, hospitals are for repairs
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Content Article
Patient safety: this is public health (2014)
Patient Safety Learning posted an article in Improving patient safety
Avoidable patient harm is a major public health concern. While the public health community has contributed much to one aspect of patient harm prevention, infection control, the tools and techniques of public health have far more to offer to the emerging field of patient safety science. Patient safety practice has become increasingly professionalised in recent years, but specialist degree programmes in the field remain scarce. Healthcare organisations should consider graduate training in public health as an avenue for investing in the professional development of patient safety practitioners, and schools and programs of public health should support further research and teaching to support patient safety improvement. Alan J Card discusses this further in his article in the Journal of Healthcare Risk Management. -
Content ArticleA few weeks into the rollout of the Covid-19 vaccination programme, many health care workers across the US are less than eager to roll up their sleeves for this new shot, with roughly three in ten health care workers express hesitancy about getting the vaccine. To address these concerns, the Institute for Healthcare Improvement have worked with partners to develop a guide for conversations with nursing home staff about vaccine hesitancy. The suggestions can be easily modified for discussions with any health care workers.
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Content Article
Falls: applying All Our Health
Claire Cox posted an article in Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC)
Falls and fractures in older people are often preventable. Reducing falls and fractures is important for maintaining the health, wellbeing and independence of older people. A fall is defined as an event which causes a person to, unintentionally, rest on the ground or lower level, and is not a result of a major intrinsic event (such as a stroke) or overwhelming hazard. Having a fall can happen to anyone; it is an unfortunate but normal result of human anatomy. However, as people get older, they are more likely to fall over. Falls can become recurrent and result in injuries including head injuries and hip fractures.
