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Found 467 results
  1. News Article
    More than 1 in 10 sexual harassment complaints against doctors are not investigated by the General Medical Council because of an “arbitary” rule, the Observer has revealed. According to data obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, 13% of sexual misconduct complaints made between the years 2017-18 and 2021-22 were closed without investigation because the GMC is prevented from considering alleged incidents more than five years after the event. As part of the council’s remit to protect patient safety and improve medical education and practice across the UK it investigates any kind of complaint against doctors. The figures show the GMC refused to investigate 170 complaints relating to sexual assault, attempted rape, and rape in the period analysed. In 22 of those cases the five-year rule was cited. It received 566 sexual harassment complaints in the same period. Anthony Omo, the GMC’s general counsel and director of fitness to practise, told the Observer: “We can and do waive the five-year rule where there are grave allegations involving sexual assault or rape. In many cases involving sexual allegations, the GMC’s position will be that such serious misconduct is incompatible with continued registration.” A government consultation in February heard that the five-year-rule was “arbitrary” and “a barrier to public protection” as it allowed doctors who may be guilty of inappropriate behaviour to continue practising. However, despite commitments from the Department of Health and Social Care to scrap the limitation as a “top priority”, no date has been set. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 30 September 2023
  2. Content Article
    CQC's completed programme, which started in 2014, of comprehensive inspections of all specialist mental health services in England.
  3. Content Article
    In this article, Sharon Hartles highlights the high-profile legal battle involving numerous Primodos-affected claimants against pharmaceutical companies and the government. The court ruled against the claimants, dismissing their claims related to hormone pregnancy tests and foetal harm. This decision led to disappointment and criticism from advocates, MPs, and academics involved in the Primodos scandal. Sharon Hartles is affiliated with the Risky Hormones research project, which is an international collaboration in partnership with patient groups. Additionally, she is a member of the Harm and Evidence Research Collaborative at the Open University. Related reading on the hub: Primodos 2023: The fight for justice continues for the Association for Children Damaged by Hormone Pregnancy Tests Primodos, mesh and sodium valproate: Recommendations and the UK Government’s response Primodos: The next steps towards justice Patient Safety Spotlight interview with Marie Lyon, chair of the Association for Children Damaged by Hormone Pregnancy Tests
  4. Content Article
    The Safety Case is a regulatory technique that requires organisations to demonstrate to regulators that they have systematically identified hazards in their systems and reduced risks to being as low as reasonably practicable. It is used in several high-risk sectors, but only in a very limited way in healthcare. This multisite case study in BMJ Quality and Safety examined the first documented attempt to apply the Safety Case methodology to clinical pathways. The study found that the Safety Case approach was recognised by those involved in the Safer Clinical Systems programme as having potential value. However, it is also fraught with challenge, highlighting the limitations of efforts to transfer safety management practices to healthcare from other sectors.
  5. Content Article
    The 15th annual HSJ Patient Safety Congress brings together more than 1000 attendees with the shared goal of advancing the national agenda for patient safety across health and social care. In this blog, Samantha Warne, the hub's Lead Editor, captures some of the key highlights and messages from day one of HSJ’s Patient Safety Congress.
  6. Content Article
    The important issue of a patient’s right to a second medical opinion has recently hit the headlines with Martha’s Rule, which relates to the tragic death of 13-year-old Martha Mills in NHS care and the circumstances surrounding this. There is a groundswell of support for Martha’s Rule, with Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay committed to introducing the rule in England. This is excellent news, but development and implementation must not be rushed writes John Tingle, Dr Dita Wickins-Drazilova and Steve Gulati from the University of Birmingham.
  7. Content Article
    This Newsnight report looks at the case of Rebecca Wight, an advanced nurse practitioner who raised concerns about a colleague at at Manchester’s Christie cancer hospital and felt her treatment by Trust management as a whistleblower was poor. She is now taking The Christie to an employment tribunal for constructive dismissal. The video also features an interview with Helené Donnelly, a nurse who tried to raise the alarm more than 100 times at Mid Staffs and went on to be a key witness in the subsequent Francis inquiry. She calls for failing NHS managers to be struck off, highlighting that a decade on from one of the worst failings in NHS history, those raising concerns were still not being listened to.
  8. News Article
    Complaints about non-surgical Brazilian butt lifts and breast enhancements have risen at an “alarming” rate, up from fewer than 5 to 50 in a year, an industry body has revealed. Save Face, a national, government-approved register of accredited non-surgical treatment practitioners, is calling for the procedures to be banned, while the Local Government Association has asked Westminster to take urgent action. Ashton Collins, the director of Save Face, said the organisation had noted an “alarming” increase in complaints about these enhancements, which she said should be banned. Collins said: “No reputable healthcare professional would offer these treatments as they are very high risk. “It’s a new and incredibly dangerous trend which has emerged from social media, a trend people think is a cheaper, risk-free alternative to the surgical counterparts. All the cases reported to us have been carried out by non-healthcare practitioners who have prioritised profits ahead of the safety and wellbeing of their clients. “These treatments are incredibly risky, and we have helped people who have contracted sepsis and have had to undergo surgery to remove the filler. In 2021, we had fewer than five complaints about these treatments. That figure has increased tenfold in the past year alone and we are getting more and more complaints each week.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 2 June 2023
  9. News Article
    Practitioners with no professional medical qualifications use social media to target women and girls, an investigation by undercover Times reporters has found. The medicines regulator has begun an investigation after undercover Times reporters found beauticians offering to inject women with “black market” Botox, putting them at risk of being disfigured for life. Practitioners with no professional medical qualifications used social media to target women and girls, suggesting the treatments were safe and would enhance their looks. Many used products that have not gone through safety checks in Britain. Reporters confirmed that at least three practitioners advertising facial injections on social media sites were using cheap versions of Botox that are not licensed in the UK. Campaigners say they are receiving increasing reports of disfigurements such as permanent facial scarring and large sores caused by injections with unlicensed versions of Botox, often carried out in people’s homes and at beauty salons. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said it was reviewing the findings and would “take appropriate regulatory action where any non-compliance is identified”. Sajid Javid, the health secretary, said the practices uncovered were “totally unacceptable” and officials were looking into whether legal changes were needed “to ensure no one is harmed”. Read full story (paywalled) Source: The Times, 2 February 2022
  10. News Article
    Lip fillers have grown increasingly popular but the industry is "like the wild west", experts warn, with many patients left in pain and embarrassed by their appearance. As Harriet Green left a salon after getting an injection to add volume to her lips, she was reassured the excess swelling would go down. But three months later her lips were still so bloated she could not close her mouth properly. The 22-year-old from Acle in Norfolk needed three corrective procedures - costing a total of more than £700 - to get them back to normal. Dr Saba Raja, a GP who runs her own aesthetics clinic in Norwich, says she is increasingly having to correct treatments which have gone wrong, describing the experience as "really distressing". "Every month I'm getting enquires from young girls who have gone to a non-medical practitioner for lip or tear trough fillers under the eye and had complications. "They often try to contact the practitioner but due to lack of training they are unable to deal with the complications. It is becoming more and more of a problem." Dr Raja describes the industry as "like the wild west", with people injecting patients "out of the back of their cars" and in kitchens. "Anti-wrinkle injections (Botox) are prescription-only but the injector can be anybody who has been on a day course. Dermal filler (for the lips and face) is not even a prescription-only medication, you can buy it off any website," she says. "A lot of non-medical practitioners are buying cheap filler online, with no idea where it has come from. We really need strict regulations and minimum training standards." Read full story Source: BBC News, 9 May 2023
  11. News Article
    More than 100,000 doctors in Australia hold the right to call themselves cosmetic surgeons, without having undergone the specific training to be competent and safe. President of the Australasian College of Cosmetic Surgery and Medicine Dr Patrick Tansley says cosmetic surgery does not form part of the traditional medical training undertaken in Australia, due to the practice being relatively new. “Society has moved faster than legislation has followed it,” he told Sky News Australia. Dr Tansley said he is advocating for the introduction of a national standard to endorse this area of practice in Australia, where doctors would be placed on a public register for patients to review their accreditation. “Once they had met those standards and then were endorsed, they could be placed on a public register, independently administered by the regulator AHPRA. “And the public would then be able to see, with clarity and transparency, which of those doctors have been trained and accredited in cosmetic surgery.” Read full story Source: Sky News, 23 April 2022
  12. News Article
    People administering Botox or fillers will be required to have a licence under new laws after an “unacceptable” rise in reports of botched cosmetic procedures in the UK. The legislation to protect against rogue practitioners will make it an offence to perform such non-surgical work without a licence after Sajid Javid said “far too many people have been left emotionally and physically scarred” when things have gone wrong. The health secretary recognised that most of those in the aesthetics industry “follow good practice” when it comes to patient safety but said it was time to think about the harm botched cosmetic procedures can have. “We’re doing all we can to protect patients from potential harm, but I urge anyone considering a cosmetic procedure to take the time to think about the impact on both their physical and mental health and ensure they are using a reputable, safe and qualified practitioner,” he said. Maria Caulfield, the minister for patient safety, said the spread of images online via social media has led to a rise in demand for Botox and fillers and there had been a subsequent increase in people suffering the consequences of badly performed procedures. She said: “While these can be administered safely, we are seeing an unacceptable rise in people being left physically and mentally scarred from poorly performed procedures.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 28 February 2022
  13. News Article
    The government has rejected an urgent call by MPs to bring in a new licensing regime for non-surgical procedures such as Botox injections, chemical peels, microdermabrasion and non-surgical laser interventions. Ministers also rejected recommendations by the House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee to make dermal fillers available as prescription only substances—as Botox is—and to bring in specific standards for premises that provide non-surgical cosmetic procedures. The government also rejected several recommendations aimed at tackling obesity—including a dedicated eating disorder strategy, annual health and wellbeing checks for every child and young person, and restrictions on buy-one-get-one free deals for foods and drinks high in fat, salt, or sugar. Read full story Source: BMJ, 2 February 2023
  14. News Article
    The government could ban unlicensed providers of cosmetic treatments in England, in what industry bodies say would be the biggest shake-up in a generation. Under the plans, anyone carrying out Botox, breast or butt lift injections would have to be trained and licensed, with their premises also inspected. The proposals have been have been opened up for public consultation. At present, healthcare professionals such as doctors, nurses and dentists carrying out non-surgical cosmetic procedures have to be trained and insured to do them as part of the requirements laid down by their regulatory bodies. But there is no set training for beauty therapists and other non-professionals. Read full story Source: BBC News, 3 September 2023
  15. News Article
    More than two-thirds of people who are administering cosmetic surgery injections such as Botox in the UK are not qualified medical doctors, a new study suggests. The study is the first survey of who is providing cosmetic injectable services, including botulinum toxin (Botox) and dermal fillers, in the country. Dr David Zargaran, UCL Plastic Surgery, an author of the study, said: “There are well-documented, yet to-date unaddressed challenges in the UK cosmetic injectables market. “Without knowledge of the professional backgrounds of practitioners, we cannot adequately regulate the industry. “Our research highlights that the majority of practitioners are not doctors and include other healthcare professionals, as well as non-healthcare professionals such as beauticians. “The range of backgrounds opens a broader question relating to competence and consent. Read full story Source: The Independent, 24 July 2023
  16. News Article
    A high-profile government climbdown which legalised a type of cannabis medicine on the NHS five years ago misled patients, campaigners say. It was thought the law change would mean the unlicensed drug, which treats a range of conditions, could be freely prescribed by specialist doctors. But fewer than five NHS patients have been given the medicine, leaving others to either pay privately or miss out. The government says safety needs to be proven before a wider rollout. Legalisation of whole-cannabis medicine was hailed as a breakthrough for patients - giving either NHS or private specialist doctors the option to prescribe it if they believed their patients would benefit. But patients are being turned away, say campaigners, because doctors often do not know about the medicine, which is not on NHS trusts' approved lists. Some specialists who do know about it say there is insufficient evidence of the drug's safety and benefits to support prescribing. Senior paediatric consultant Dr David McCormick, from King's College Hospital in London, says it was "disingenuous" of the government to suggest in 2018 that NHS prescribing was ready to take place. "Parents were clamouring at our door, or phoning all the time, as they believed we were able to prescribe and that was not the case. "The message went out, 'doctors can now prescribe cannabis products' and that put us in a difficult position, because in truth we need to apply for that to be approved by NHS England." Read full story Source: BBC News, 13 September 2023
  17. News Article
    YouTube has launched a verification system for healthcare workers in the UK as it battles disinformation online. In 2022, health videos were viewed more than three billion times in the UK alone on the video-sharing platform. Doctors, nurses and psychologists have been applying for the scheme since June and must meet rigorous criteria set by the tech giant to be eligible. Successful applicants will have a badge under their name identifying them as a genuine, licensed healthcare worker. But YouTubers have warned the system is only meant for education purposes, not to replace medical advice from your GP. Vishaal Virani, who leads health content for YouTube, said it was important simply due to the sheer number of people accessing healthcare information on the video-sharing platform. "Whether we like it or not, whether we want it or not, whether the health industry is pushing for it or not, people are accessing health information online," he told the BBC. "We need to do as good a job as possible to bring rigour to the content that they are subsequently consuming when they do start their care journey online." Read full story Source: BBC News, 8 September 2023
  18. Content Article
    Demand for surgical and non-surgical cosmetic treatments has spiralled in the past ten years among men and women, especially young women in the 18-34 age group, thanks to social media, reality TV and celebrity endorsements. A corresponding increase in ‘botched’ procedures is putting pressure on the NHS to solve problems created by unregistered, unqualified practitioners.  Official advice is to check your practitioner is qualified and has appropriate insurance. This makes sense but it’s not always easy to know where to look. That’s why the Professional Standards Authority have done the hard work for you. The Check a Practitioner service exists for situations like these. You can check if a practitioner is regulated by law or belongs to a reputable Accredited Register.
  19. Content Article
    The government brought forward an amendment to the Health and Care Act 2022 which gives the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care the power to bring into force a licensing scheme in England for non-surgical cosmetic procedures. The purpose of the scheme is to ensure that consumers who choose to undergo a non-surgical cosmetic procedure can be confident that the treatment they receive is safe and of a high standard. Under the proposed scheme, practitioners will need to be licensed to perform specific procedures and the premises from which they operate will also need to be licensed.
  20. Content Article
    Rebecca Bauers, Interim Director for People with a Learning Disability and Autistic People, and Chris Dzikiti, Director for Mental Health, talk about CQC’s new cross-sector policy position statement on restrictive practice, what it means for providers, and what people receiving healthcare services have the right to expect. As well as sharing the new policy, they discuss what forms restrictive practices can take, and explain how the use of blanket restrictions diminishes the therapeutic power of person-centred, trauma-informed care.
  21. Content Article
    Healthcare is where the "most exciting" opportunities for artificial intelligence (AI) lie, an influential MP has said, but is also an area where the technology's major risks are illustrated. Greg Clark, chairman of the Commons Science, Innovation and Technology Committee (SITC), said the wider adoption of AI in healthcare would have a "positive impact", but urged policy makers to "consider the risks to safety". He said: "If we're to gain all the advantages, we have to anticipate the risks and put in place measures to safeguard against that." An interim report published by the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee sets out the Committee’s findings from its inquiry so far, and the twelve essential challenges that AI governance must meet if public safety and confidence in AI are to be secured.
  22. News Article
    After receiving more than 12,000 complaints about Australia's Victorian mental health services, the state’s regulator has not taken compliance action against a single mental healthcare provider in seven years. This is despite the royal commission into the Victorian mental health sector last year finding systemic breaches of the law and human rights across the system. Annual reports from Victoria’s mental health complaints commissioner (MHCC) showed that in the seven years since it was first established in July 2014, it received 14,160 inquiries, of which 12,470 were complaints. Yet no compliance notices were issued, despite the MHCC having regulatory powers to compel providers to improve. The MHCC is an independent body that resolves complaints about Victoria’s public mental health services and makes recommendations for improvements. The MHCC’s service provider complaint reports, obtained under freedom of information, show that some mental health services do not hand over data on the outcomes of complaints, in breach of the state’s Mental Health Act (2014). The chief executive of Mind Australia – a community-based mental health provider, Gill Callister, said it was vital people with mental health concerns, their families and carers had access to “information about the performance and approach” of the mental health services they access. “For a lot of people, a lack of transparency reinforces the view that they’re sitting at the bottom of the pile in terms of priority even when seeking information about their own care,” she said. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 25 May 2022
  23. News Article
    Britain’s safety at work regulator refused to investigate reports from NHS trusts that 10 frontline staff had died as a result of catching Covid-19 during the pandemic. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) declined to look into at least 89 dangerous incidents that NHS trusts said involved healthcare workers being exposed to Covid, including 10 deaths. The stance taken by the HSE, which oversees workplace health and safety and can bring prosecutions, is disclosed in freedom of information requests by the Pharmaceutical Journal. It has prompted concern that the regulator is too strict in its definition of workplace harm. It found that 173 trusts in England submitted at least 6,007 reports about employees’ exposure to Covid-19 in the course of their duties to the HSE between 30 January 2020 and 11 March 2022, under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR). They included 213 “dangerous occurrences”, which are incidents that have the potential to cause significant harm; 5,753 cases where a staff member had caught Covid-19; and 41 deaths among people who had been exposed to the disease at their workplace. However, the HSE refused to look into five Covid deaths reported under the RIDDOR scheme by the Yorkshire ambulance service (YAS) because of what it considered a lack of evidence. The regulator also decided not to look into the Covid deaths of five staff at University College London hospital acute trust, despite the trust’s belief they had caught it at work. “The HSE found that there was no reasonable evidence that the infection was contracted at work,” a trust spokesperson said. Shelly Asquith, the health, safety and wellbeing officer at the Trades Union Congress, said the HSE’s decisions and claimed lack of evidence was “really concerning”. It suggested a continued “element of denial about Covid being airborne and it not being possible to necessarily pinpoint where exactly somebody was exposed once it’s in the air”, she added. Read full story Source: Guardian, 26 May 2022
  24. News Article
    The US Supreme Court could be about to overturn the nationwide legal right to abortion, according to an unprecedented leaked draft of a court document. In a 98-page draft opinion, Justice Samuel Alito writes that the 1973 Roe v Wade decision legalising abortion across the US is "egregiously wrong". If the top US court strikes down the ruling, "trigger laws" could instantly make abortion illegal in 22 US states. The justices are not expected to issue a ruling until early July. It sparked immediate outcry from Democrats, and protests - by both pro and anti-abortion supporters - outside the Supreme Court on Monday night. Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer - both Democrats - issued a joint statement saying that if the report was accurate, the "Supreme Court is poised to inflict the greatest restriction of rights in the past 50 years". News outlet Politico published the leaked document in full, quoting Justice Alito as saying: "Roe was egregiously wrong from the start. Its reasoning was exceptionally weak, and the decision has had damaging consequences. "And far from bringing about a national settlement of the abortion issue, Roe and Casey have enflamed debate and deepened division." Read full story Source: BBC News, 3 May 2022
  25. News Article
    The Doctors’ Association UK (DAUK) has expressed its support for the Whistleblowing Bill launched in Parliament last week, with its first reading in the House of Commons by Mary Robinson MP, Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Whistleblowing. DAUK urged people to tweet their MP to show their support for the Bill. DAUK Chair Dr Jenny Vaughan said: "Healthcare staff need to be able raise patient safety issues all of the time. We’re trained to do that, expect it, point this out as best we can. But sometimes poor safety arises because of the way we are told to work. Then, it can be just as hard for staff to speak up as it is for anyone else, because we can also be threatened, sanctioned, isolated, ignored and bullied. "Blowing the whistle for us means saving lives, in the end. But we stand to lose as much as anyone. DAUK has supported many doctors who have been made to suffer because they spoke out, and there are many more who feel they should but are afraid to. That is why this Bill is so important. For all staff within healthcare. And most of all, for patients - the public. Stopping the greater harm for the greater good.” The most important changes in the private members bill, led by Baroness Kramer would: Require disclosures to be acted upon and whistleblowers protected. Provide criminal and civil penalties for organisations and individuals failing to do so. Establish a fully independent parliamentary body on whistleblowing, and provide easy access to redress. Read full story Source: Medscape UK, 26 April 2022
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