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Found 479 results
  1. News Article
    More than half of staff at a hospital trust that has been under fire for its "toxic culture" have said they felt bullied or harassed. The findings come from an independent review commissioned by University Hospitals Birmingham (UHB) NHS Trust. It has been at the centre of NHS scrutiny after a culture of fear was uncovered in a BBC Newsnight investigation. UHB has apologised for "unacceptable behaviours". It added it was committed to changing the working environment. Of 2,884 respondents to a staff survey, 53% said they had felt bullied or harassed at work, while only 16% believed their concerns would be taken up by their employer. Many said they were fearful to complain "as they believed it could worsen the situation," the review team found. Read full story Source: BBC News, 27 September 2023
  2. Content Article
    The Culture Review report was published following an independent external review of the organisational culture at University Hospitals Birmingham Trust. The external review was carried out by consultancy firm The Value Circle following a series of investigations into problems at University Hospitals Birmingham Foundation Trust over the last year.
  3. Content Article
    Mental health in the UK is getting worse. Sickness absence due to mental illness is soaring, rates of mental health difficulties are increasing at an alarming rate, and already overstretched services are struggling to meet rising demands. Along with over 30 organisations with an interest in mental health, the Centre for Mental Health has developed a plan to address this and build a mentally healthier nation.
  4. Content Article
     On 3 August 2022, Geoffrey Hoad underwent a total hip replacement at The Spire Hospital. On 5 August 2022, Mr Hoad was diagnosed with a paralytic ileus and some respiratory compromise with gradually deteriorating renal function. On 6 August 2022, Mr Hoad’s transfer to Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital was agreed due to possible bowel obstruction, possible pulmonary infection and deteriorating renal function.   Ambulance service was called at 18:16 hours and again at 23.45. On 7 August 2022, the ambulance service was called again at 07.38 hours. The ambulance was on scene at 08:26 hours.         The medical cause of death was: 1a) Sub Acute Myocardial Infarction 1b)  Coronary Artery Atherosclerosis 2) Hospital Admission for Post Operative lieus.
  5. Content Article
    Dementia remains the biggest killer in the UK and is on track to be the nation’s most expensive health condition by 2030. This report by the charity Alzheimer's Research UK sets out a series of calls for party leaders ahead of the next general election, all of which are underpinned by an urgent recommendation for greater investment in dementia research.
  6. Content Article
    On 3 August 2022 an investigation was carried out into the death of Allison Vivian Jacome Aules. Allison was 12 years old when she passed away on the 19 July 2022. The investigation concluded at the end of the inquest on the 17 August 2023. The conclusion was that Allison died as a result of suicide, contributed to by neglect.
  7. News Article
    In 2018 the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (www.baaps.org.uk) dissuaded all its members from performing Brazilian Buttock Lift (BBL) surgery, until more data could be collated. The decision was taken due to the high death rate associated with the procedure. Now, following an extensive four-year review of clinical data, new technology and techniques, BAAPS has published its Gluteal Fat Grafting (GFG) guidelines. Gluteal fat grafting is currently the procedure with the biggest growth rate in plastic surgery worldwide, with an increase of around 20% year-on-year). It has become the most popular means of buttock volume augmentation, overtaking gluteal augmentation with implants. In 2020, The Aesthetic Society statistics recorded 40,320 buttock augmentation procedures, which included both fat grafting and buttock implants. In 2015, there were reports of intraoperative mortality related to pulmonary fat emboli associated with BBL surgery and in 2018 with growing concern about the high mortality rate associated with this procedure BAAPS recommended it was not performed by its members. The development of the present guidelines and recommendations has been stimulated by the evidence that has emerged since 2018, based on scientific review and analysis. BAAPS guidelines now recommend that Gluteal Fat Grafting is safe to perform under two key conditions: Injection into the subcutaneous plane only - there is a plethora of evidence to suggest this significantly reduces mortality related to the procedure perhaps this needs to be changed to – the evidence shows that the only deaths from the procedure have been when fat has been injected into the deeper muscle layer. Intraoperative ultrasound must be used during the placement of fat in the gluteal area to ensure that the cannula remains in the subcutaneous plane – this is the only way that surgeons can be confident they are not in the muscle layer. Read full story Source: BAAPS, 17 October 2022
  8. News Article
    The trusts that have made the most and least progress on urgent recommendations set out by the Ockenden review have been revealed Published in December 2020, the interim Ockenden review set out 12 immediate and essential actions for all trusts with maternity provision, grouped into seven themes, and in its latest board papers NHS England has set out the progress they have made. The actions which trusts are struggling with most include “risk assessment throughout pregnancy” and clearly describing pathways of care in written information and posted on the trust websites. According to the data, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals Trust is the least compliant provider in England to date, as it is only fully compliant on one action. Last summer Sheffield’s maternity service plunged to “inadequate” from “outstanding” following a Care Quality Commission inspection, with concerns raised about staffing numbers, training and a lack of an open culture. Mid and South Essex Hospitals and York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals were compliant on five actions each. MSE is rated “requires improvement” by the CQC for maternity care, whereas YSTH is “good”. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 20 May 2022
  9. News Article
    The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has issued an unprecedented implementation statement1 setting out the practical steps needed for its updated guideline on the diagnosis and management of myalgic encephalomyelitis (or encephalopathy)/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS)2 to be implemented by the NHS. Such statements are only issued when a guideline is expected to have a “substantial” impact on NHS resources, and this is thought to be the first. It outlines the additional infrastructure and training that will be needed in both secondary and primary care to ensure that the updated ME/CFS guideline, published in October 2021, can be implemented. The statement is necessary because the 2021 guideline completely reversed the original 2007 guideline recommendations that people with mild or moderate ME/CFS be treated with cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and graded exercise therapy (GET). Instead the guideline recommends that any physical activity or exercise programmes should only be considered for people with ME/CFS in specific circumstances and should begin by establishing the person’s physical activity capability at a level that does not worsen their symptoms. It also says a physical activity or exercise programme should only be offered on the basis that it is delivered or overseen by a physiotherapist in an ME/CFS specialist team and is regularly reviewed. Although cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) has sometimes been assumed to be a cure for ME/CFS, the guideline recommends it should only be offered to support people who live with ME/CFS to manage their symptoms, improve their functioning and reduce the distress associated with having a chronic illness. Read full story Source: BMJ, 16 May 2022
  10. News Article
    Women and babies in the UK are “dying needlessly” because of a lack of suitable medicines to use in pregnancy, according to a report that calls for a radical overhaul of maternal health. A “profound” shortage of research and the widespread exclusion of pregnant and breastfeeding women from clinical trials means hardly any new drugs are approved for common medical problems in pregnancy or soon after childbirth, the report finds. Meanwhile, scarce or contradictory information about the safety of existing medicines women may be taking for continuing conditions can make it impossible to reach a confident decision on whether or not to continue them in pregnancy, the experts add. “While pregnancy in the UK is generally considered safe, women and babies are still dying needlessly as a direct result of preventable pregnancy complications,” the authors say. Each year, 5,000 babies in the UK are either stillborn or die shortly after birth, while about 70 women die of complications in pregnancy. The Healthy Mum, Healthy Baby, Healthy Future report draws on evidence from patient groups, clinicians, researchers, lawyers, insurance specialists and the pharmaceutical industry, it proposes “urgent” changes to transform women’s access to modern medicine. The report highlights the “profound lack of research activity” and up-to-date information that leaves pregnant women and their physicians in the dark about whether to continue with certain medicines in pregnancy. Some epilepsy drugs, for example, can increase the risk of birth defects, but coming off them can put the woman at risk of severe seizures, which can also harm the baby. Lady Manningham-Buller said the situation “urgently needs to change”, with the report setting out eight recommendations to prevent needless deaths. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 12 May 2022
  11. News Article
    People with arthritis are being urged to lose weight and exercise more rather than rely on painkillers as the main therapies for their condition. NHS guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) says people who are overweight should be told their pain can be reduced if they shed the pounds. Aerobic exercise such as walking, as well as strength training, can ease symptoms and improve quality of life. Exercise programmes may initially make the pain worse, but this should settle down, the guidance suggests. The guidelines also give recommendations on the use of medicines, such as offering non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) but not offering paracetamol, glucosamine or strong opioids. NICE said there was a risk of addiction with strong opioids, while evidence suggests little or no benefit for some medicines when it comes to quality of life and pain levels. The draft guidelines say people can be offered tailored exercise programmes, with the explanation “doing regular and consistent exercise, even though this may initially cause discomfort, will be beneficial for their joints”. Tracey Loftis, head of policy and public affairs at the charity Versus Arthritis, said: “We’ve seen first-hand the benefits that people with osteoarthritis can get in being able to access appropriate physical activity, especially when in a group setting. Something like exercise can improve a person’s mobility, help manage their pain and reduce feelings of isolation. “But our own research into the support given to people with osteoarthritis showed that far too many do not have their conditions regularly reviewed by healthcare professionals, and even fewer had the opportunity to access physical activity support. “The lack of alternatives means that, in many cases, many people are stuck on painkillers that are not helping them to live a life free from pain. “While we welcome the draft Nice guidelines, healthcare professionals need further resources and support to better understand their role in promoting treatment like physical activity for people with osteoarthritis. “There is clearly a need for people with arthritis to be given a bigger voice so that their health needs are not ignored.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 29 April 2022
  12. News Article
    Patients continue to experience avoidable harms from unsafe care because the NHS fails to learn from its mistakes, a report that tracked what actions the NHS took following safety reviews over several decades has found. Patient Safety Learning looked at the findings of a variety of investigations, including widespread public inquiries, Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB) reports, Prevention of Future Deaths reports, incident reports, and complaints and legal action by patients and their families. It found an “implementation gap” in learning lessons and taking action to prevent future harms. It highlighted an absence of a systemic and joined up approach to safety; poor systems for sharing learning and acting on that learning; lack of system oversight, monitoring, and evaluation; and unclear patient safety leadership. Helen Hughes, chief executive of Patient Safety Learning, said, “Time and time again there is a lack of action and coordination in responding to recommendations, an absence of systems to share learning, and a lack of commitment to evaluate and monitor the effectiveness of safety recommendations. “This is a shocking conclusion that is an affront to all those patients and families who have been assured that ‘lessons have been learnt’ and ‘action will be taken to prevent future avoidable harm to others.’ The healthcare system needs to understand and tackle the barriers for implementing recommendations, not just continually repeat them.” The report calls for “systemwide commitment and resources, with effective and transparent performance monitoring” for patient safety inquiries and reviews and HSIB reports to ensure that the accepted recommendations translate into action and improvement. Read full story Source: BMJ, 8 April 2022
  13. News Article
    Press release: 7 April 2022 Today the charity Patient Safety Learning has published a new report, ‘Mind the implementation gap: The persistence of avoidable harm in the NHS'. The report is an evidence-based summary of the failures over decades to translate learning into action and safety improvement. It highlights that avoidable unsafe care kills and harms thousands of people each year in the UK and costs the NHS billions of pounds for additional treatment, support, and compensatory costs. The report highlights how we fail to learn lessons from incidents of unsafe care and are not taking the action needed to prevent harm recurring. The report focuses on six sources of patient safety insights and recommendations, ranging from inquiry reports into patient safety scandals, such as the recent Ockenden report into maternal and neonatal harm at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital, to the findings of Coroner’s Prevention of Future Deaths reports. It calls on the Government, parliamentarians, and NHS leaders to take action to address the underlying causes of avoidable harm in healthcare and proposes recommendations in each policy area. Patient Safety Learning is calling for system-wide action in healthcare to transform our approach to learning and safety improvement. Helen Hughes, Chief Executive of Patient Safety Learning, said: “Today’s report highlights the all too frequent examples of where healthcare organisations fail to learn lessons from incidents of unsafe care and not taking the action needed to prevent future harm. Time and time again there is a lack of action and coordination in responding to recommendations, an absence of systems to share learning and a lack of commitment to evaluate and monitor the effectiveness of safety recommendations.” “This is a shocking conclusion that is an affront to all those patients and families who have been assured that ‘lessons have been learned’ and ‘action will be taken to prevent future avoidable harm to others’. The healthcare system needs to understand and address the barriers for implementing recommendations, not just continually repeat them. Hope is not a strategy.” This report has been published as part of the Safety for All Campaign, which calls for improvements in, and between, patient and healthcare worker safety to prevent safety incidents and deliver better outcomes for all. The campaign is supported by Patient Safety Learning and the Safer Healthcare and Biosafety Network. Notes to editors: Patient Safety Learning is a charity and independent voice for improving patient safety. We harness the knowledge, insights, enthusiasm and commitment of health and social care organisations, professionals and patients for system-wide change and the reduction of avoidable harm. Safer Healthcare and Biosafety Network an independent forum focused on improving healthcare worker and patient safety and has been in existence more than 20 years. It is made up of clinicians, professional associations, trades unions and employers, manufacturers and government agencies with the shared objective to improve occupational health and safety and patient safety in healthcare. COVID-19 pandemic has provided a stark reminder of the vital role healthcare professionals play in providing care to those in our society who need it most and this was recognized in the WHO Patient Safety Day in September 2020: only when healthcare workers are safe can patients be safe. In 2020, the Network launched a campaign called ‘Safety for All’ to improve practice in, and between, patient and healthcare worker safety to prevent safety incidents and deliver better outcomes for all.
  14. News Article
    Poor culture and leadership must be addressed if we are to make our maternity services the safest place to give birth. This statement from the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) came as the final report of the largest ever review of NHS maternity services was published. The RCM acknowledged that the pain and suffering of the families had been worsened by having to fight for answers and vowed to work with NHS bodies and other professional organisations to ensure lessons are learned from these tragic failings. Today the RCM has pledged to continue its work to be part of the solution to safety improvements and support its members to do the same not only at Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust, but throughout all maternity services across the UK. Commenting, the Royal College of Midwives’ (RCM) Chief Executive, Gill Walton said: “It is heartbreaking that this report only came about because of the determination of the families. We owe them a debt that I fear can never be repaid. What we can do - all of us who are involved in maternity services – is work together to ensure we listen, and we learn from this and ensure that women and families have trust in their care." “This review must be a turning point for all those working in maternity services. The actions recommended are measured and sensible and reflect much of what the RCM has been calling for. We hope that those in a position to enact them – NHS England and the Department for Health & Social Care – will do so in partnership with organisations like ours and with haste.” "A poor working culture, where staff were afraid to raise concerns, has been cited by the report as a key factor in many of the cases. Earlier this year the RCM called for a seismic NHS cultural shift to improve maternity safety as it published guidance for its members to raise concerns about maternity care which outlined steps staff can take and what to do if they feel they are not being listened to or their concerns are ignored." Read full story Source: Royal College of Midwives, 30 March 2022
  15. News Article
    Everyone with type 1 diabetes in England should be offered some form of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) technology to support their care, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has recommended. Updated draft guidelines published on 31 March recommend that all adults with type 1 diabetes should be offered a choice of either real time or intermittent (flash) CGM through a sensor attached to the skin as part of their ongoing NHS care. NICE also recommends that all young people aged 4 years and over with type 1 diabetes should be offered real time CGM and that some people with type 2 diabetes who use insulin intensive therapy (4 or more injections a day) should have access to Flash. Read full story (paywalled) Source: BMJ, 31 March 2022 Read NICE guidelines here.
  16. News Article
    Sajid Javid has issued an apology for the maternity service failings reported at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust. The health secretary spoke in the Commons on Wednesday after an independent inquiry into the UK’s biggest maternity scandal found that 201 babies and nine mothers could have - or would have - survived if the NHS trust had provided better care. Speaking in the Commons, the health secretary said Donna Ockenden - a maternity expert who led the report - told him about “basic oversights” at “every level of patient care” at the trust. He said the report “has given a voice at last to those families who were ignored and so grievously wronged”. Javid said the report painted a tragic and harrowing picture of repeated failures in care over two decades which led to unimaginable trauma for so many people. Rather than moments of joy and happiness for these families their experience of maternity care was one of tragedy and distress and the effects of these failures were felt across families, communities and generations. The cases in this report are stark and deeply upsetting. Mr Javid offered reassurances that the individuals who are responsible for the “serious and repeated failures” will be held to account. Read full story and Sajid Javid's statement Source: The Independent, 30 March 2022
  17. News Article
    A policy ‘at the heart’ of NHS England’s efforts to improve maternity care is under question after being sharply criticised by an independent inquiry, and is the subject of major tensions within NHSE and midwifery, HSJ understands. The Ockenden report into major care failings at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust included 15 “immediate actions” for all maternity services in England, which government has accepted and said it would begin implementation. However, one of these relates to the “continuity of carer” model, which NHS England has championed since 2017, when it was described as “at the heart of” its national plans for improving maternity care and outcomes. The model intends to give women “dedicated support” from the same midwifery team throughout their pregnancy, with claimed benefits including improved outcomes, with a particular focus on some minority groups. However, Ms Ockenden indicated its implementation in recent years had stretched staffing, and therefore harmed quality and safety overall, and also appeared to question whether the model was evidenced. Some midwifery leaders are advocates for the model, but others have described how it can result in awful working patterns, with concerns it is causing some staff to leave the profession. Royal College of Midwives director for professional midwifery Mary Ross-Davie told HSJ: “With the right resources and the right number of midwives, CoC can have a positive impact on maternity care – but in too many trusts and boards this is simply not the situation. We are really pleased, therefore, to see that the review team has echoed the RCM’s recommendations around the suspension of continuity of carer where too few staff puts safe deployment at risk.” She said the model was “something to which many maternity services aspire, particularly for women who need enhanced monitoring throughout their pregnancy to deliver better outcomes for them and their baby”. Helen Hughes, chief executive of Patient Safety Learning charity, said that although it had heard positive feedback that the model can improve outcomes, there must also be a “robust assessment of the safety impact of implementing such changes and the sources and staffing in place to deliver this”. “Otherwise the core intentions and benefits will be lost,” Ms Hughes said. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 31 March 2022 Further reading Midwifery Continuity of Carer: What does good look like? Midwifery Continuity of Carer: Frontline insights The benefits of Continuity of Carer: a midwife’s personal reflection
  18. News Article
    A shortage of more than 2,000 midwives means women and babies will remain at risk of unsafe care in the NHS despite an inquiry into the biggest maternity scandal in its history, health leaders have warned. A landmark review of Shrewsbury and Telford hospital NHS trust, led by the maternity expert Donna Ockenden, will publish its final findings on Wednesday with significant implications for maternity care across the UK. The inquiry, which has examined more than 1,800 cases over two decades, is expected to conclude that hundreds of babies died or were seriously disabled because of mistakes at the NHS trust, and call for changes. But NHS and midwifery officials said they fear a growing shortage of NHS maternity staff means trusts may be unable to meet new standards set out in the report. “I am deeply worried when senior staff are saying they cannot meet the recommendations in the Ockenden review which are vital to ensuring women and babies get the safest possible maternity care,” said Gill Walton, chief executive of the Royal College of Midwives (RCM). The number of midwives has fallen to 26,901, according to NHS England figures published last month, from 27,272 a year ago. The RCM says the fall in numbers adds to an existing shortage of more than 2,000 staff. Experts said the shortage was caused by the NHS struggling to attract new midwives while losing existing staff, who felt overworked and fed up at being spread too thinly across maternity wards. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 29 March 2022
  19. News Article
    The purpose of Care Quality Commission (CQC) ratings has been a hotly contested question since the creation of the four category classifications in the last decade. The original idea was to give the public a sense of how good their local hospital was, as well as providing commissioners, system managers and government with an idea of whether the local, regional or national health services they had responsibility for were getting better or worse. The practicality of the first aim was always questionable given the public’s inability and unwillingness, in most cases, to take their custom elsewhere. The second ran into the lack of desire and/or courage on behalf of most commissioners to challenge their local provider, but it did seem to have traction at the top of the shop. Jeremy Hunt, told HSJ, once they had been dished out across the sector, that their CQC classification now mattered much more then whether or not it had achieved foundation status or not. Another function, whether intended or not, was that by splashing “inadequate” and unsafe care on the front pages, in the wake of the Francis report, CQC ratings fuelled a drive to put more staff on the wards (forcing the Treasury to pay for the consequent agency bills and deficits, and curtailing Simon Stevens’ transformation funds). Whatever your take on their purpose, however, they only make sense if they accurately reflect the state of the service. And the latest data suggests that may not be the case. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 17 March 2022
  20. News Article
    Pregnant women should be asked how much alcohol they are drinking and the answer recorded in their medical notes, new "priority advice" for the NHS says. The advice, from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), is designed to help spot problem drinking that can harm babies. Infants with foetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) can be left with lifelong problems. The safest approach during pregnancy is to abstain from alcohol completely. The more someone drinks while pregnant, the higher the chance of FASD - and there is no proven "safe" level of alcohol. But the risk of harming the baby is "likely to be low if you have drunk only small amounts of alcohol before you knew you were pregnant or during pregnancy", the Department of Health says. An earlier draft of the recommendations for NHS staff in England and Wales suggested transferring data on a woman's alcohol intake to her child's medical notes - but this has now been dropped, following concern women who needed help might hide their drinking. The Royal College of Midwives spokeswoman Lia Brigante said: "As there is no known safe level of alcohol consumption during pregnancy, the RCM believes it is appropriate and important to advise women that the safest approach is to avoid drinking alcohol during pregnancy and advocates for this. "We are pleased to see that the recommendation to record alcohol consumption and to then transfer this to a child's record has been reconsidered. "This had the potential to disrupt or prevent the development of a trusting relationship between a woman and her midwife." Read full story Source: BBC News, 16 March 2022
  21. News Article
    The World Health Organization has published new guidelines on abortion aimed at tackling the unsafe care that leads to up to 39 000 maternal deaths and millions of women being admitted to hospital with complications every year. When carried out using a method recommended by WHO, abortion is a safe procedure. Tragically, however, only half of all abortions take place under such conditions, with unsafe abortions causing around 39 000 deaths globally. Most of these deaths are in lower-income countries – with over 60% in Africa and 30% in Asia – and among those living in the most vulnerable situations. “Being able to obtain safe abortion is a crucial part of health care,” said Craig Lissner, acting Director for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Research at WHO. “Nearly every death and injury that results from unsafe abortion is entirely preventable. That’s why we recommend women and girls can access abortion and family planning services when they need them.” Evidence shows that restricting access to abortions does not reduce the number of abortions that take place. In fact, restrictions are more likely to drive women and girls towards unsafe procedures. In countries where abortion is most restricted, only 1 in 4 abortions are safe, compared to nearly 9 in 10 in countries where the procedure is broadly legal. “It’s vital that an abortion is safe in medical terms,” said Dr Bela Ganatra, Head of WHO’s Prevention of Unsafe Abortion Unit. “But that’s not enough on its own. As with any other health services, abortion care needs to respect the decisions and needs of women and girls, ensuring that they are treated with dignity and without stigma or judgement. No one should be exposed to abuse or harms like being reported to the police or put in jail because they have sought or provided abortion care." “The evidence is clear – if you want to prevent unintended pregnancies and unsafe abortions, you need to provide women and girls with a comprehensive package of sexuality education, accurate family planning information and services, and access to quality abortion care,” Dr Ganatra added. Read full story (paywalled) Source: BMJ. 9 March 2022
  22. News Article
    NHS England wants lessons learned by a trust overhauling its culture after a high-profile bullying scandal to be shared systemwide because similar problems have been evident at other trusts, the hospital’s boss has said. West Suffolk Foundation Trust interim chief executive Craig Black said the trust was getting national level “support” to help with a cultural overhaul after a scathing independent review published in December concluded the trust’s hunt for a whistleblower had been “intimidating… flawed, and not fit for purpose”. Mr Black said he thought NHSE would be “looking to learn from what we are doing” because senior managers viewed concerns raised in the West Suffolk review as having ”resonance with a number of organisations in the NHS at the moment”. As well as the specific “witch hunt” case, the review raises wider issues about how trusts respond to whistleblowing and other concerns about care and patient safety. West Suffolk’s executive director of workforce and communications Jeremy Over told the meeting the cultural change required was “organisational development which will take time, significant time”. The report, West Suffolk Review – organisational development plan, sets out nine broad themes of work, linked to the trust’s core functions, “that capture the priority areas for organisational and cultural development at WSFT in light of the learnings from the report”. The document sets out how the trust’s governance, freedom to speak up, HR, staff voice, patient safety and other parts of its corporate infrastructure failed and contributed to a scandal. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 1 March 2022
  23. News Article
    The death of a "vulnerable" transgender teenager who struggled to get help was preventable, a coroner has said. Daniel France, 17, was known to Cambridgeshire County Council and Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Foundation Trust (CPFT) when he took his own life on 3 April 2020. The coroner said his death showed a "dangerous gap" between services. When he died, Mr France was in the process of being transferred from children and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) in Suffolk to adult services in Cambridgeshire. The First Response Service, which provides help for people experiencing a mental health crisis, also assessed Mr France but he had been considered not in need of urgent intervention, the coroner's report said. Cambridgeshire County Council had received two safeguarding referrals for Daniel, in October 2019 and January 2020, but had closed both. "It was accepted that the decision to close both referrals was incorrect", Mr Barlow said in his report. Mr Barlow wrote in his report, sent to both the council and CPFT: "My concern in this case is that a vulnerable young person can be known to the county council and [the] mental health trust and yet not receive the support they need pending substantive treatment." He highlighted Daniel was "repeatedly assessed as not meeting the criteria for urgent intervention" but that waiting lists for phycological therapy could mean more than a year between asking for help and being given it. "That gap between urgent and non-urgent services is potentially dangerous for a vulnerable young person, where there is a chronic risk of an impulsive act," Mr Barlow said. Read full story Source: BBC News, 25 February 2022
  24. News Article
    Campaigners found to have been harmed by medical products have written to the health secretary warning that government inaction is "causing pain and destroying lives" by ignoring review recommendations. Some 18 months ago, an independent review recommended financial help for people damaged by some products and drugs that had been prescribed by UK doctors. The government - which set up the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review in the first place - has chosen to ignore several of its recommendations. Alleged victims of vaginal mesh, and the drugs valproate and Primodos, have written to Health Secretary Sajid Javid and Maria Caulfield to say they feel ignored. The letter states: "Our members gave evidence to the two-year-long review, sometimes travelling long distances, often with disabilities." "Families shared intimate details of their medical problems, their daily struggles, their difficulties parenting, sometimes even their sex lives. The panel, led by Baroness Cumberlege, was set up by the government to listen, assess and direct policy towards the best course of action. "What was the point of this exercise and the hard work of the panel, if their key recommendations are then ignored by the government?" In the letter, campaigners say: "The decision not to offer an agency for redress (Cumberlege recommendation 3) means that the review has lost its teeth." "Still, no one is facing consequences of medical failures other than the patients. At a time when the public is being asked to put its faith in vaccines, this is a bad look for the government." Kath Sansom, of the campaign group Sling the Mesh, said: "Women must dutifully accept their health has been irreversibly shattered by a medical product they were told was safe, some now needing a disabled blue badge, and they must put up and shut up." Read full story Source: Sky News, 17 February 2022 MeshPrimodosSodiumValproate_LettertoMariaCaulfield_170222.pdf
  25. News Article
    The Government has rejected several policy proposals to promote “continuity of care” in general practice which were put forward by Jeremy Hunt. The now chancellor championed significant policy changes to strengthen the link between patients and an individual, named GP, when he was Commons health and social care committee chair. However, the government’s response to the report rejects several of the key proposals. The committee under Jeremy Hunt said “NHS England should champion the personal list model” – under which each patient is linked to a particular GP – “rather than dismiss it as unachievable”. The Department of Health and Social Care response said: “The department does not accept this recommendation. We agree that continuity of care is important within general practice but do not agree that requiring a return to the personal list model is the correct approach. Government also rejected recommendations from Mr Hunt’s committee to introduce a new national measure to track continuity of care by practice; and to fund primary care networks to appoint a GP “continuity lead” for a session a week. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 24 July 2023
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