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Found 103 results
  1. Content Article
    As reported recently, the Scottish Healthcare Workers Coalition called upon the Scottish Government to reinstate 'universal masking' in health and social care settings.  In this statement written in support of their campaign, an occupational safety and health practitioner, David Osborn, explains the legal requirements for risk assessments that the Government ought to have undertaken before reaching such a decision that exposes healthcare staff to the life-changing consequences associated with repeat Covid-19 infections.  He also explains the legal duty of the Government to consult with workers before implementing changes that may affect their health and safety. Neither duty (risk assessment nor prior consultation with workers) appears to have been well met, putting the Scottish Government and Health Boards in breach of UK-wide health and safety law. 
  2. Content Article
    In this report, Professor Brian Edwards summarises contributions given to the UK Covid-19 Inquiry by various politicians and senior civil servants, relating to how prepared the UK and Scottish Governments were for the Covid-19 pandemic. It contains reflections on the contributions of: Nicola Sturgeon (First Minister of Scotland during the pandemic) Matt Hancock (Secretary of State for Health and Social Care during the pandemic) Jenny Harries (Chief Executive of the UK Health Security Agency) Emma Reed (civil servant, DHSC)
  3. News Article
    Doctors have warned the decision to remove face mask guidance in healthcare settings is "playing Russian roulette" with staff and patients' welfare. It was withdrawn in May in hospitals, dentists and GP surgeries having been in place since June 2020. Doctors from the British Medical Association (BMA) Scotland condemned the decision at the time. Now, the Scottish Healthcare Workers Coalition has written to ministers to highlight the "very serious flaws" in changing the guidance. The group is made up of Scottish healthcare workers who worked throughout the pandemic and are now living with long Covid or another chronic post-viral illness or disability. In the letter, the coalition states the updated guidance is not based on the science of coronavirus transmission and "represents a flawed and dangerous decision which will result in more infection in health and social care settings". Dr Shaun Peter Qureshi, of the Scottish Healthcare Workers Coalition, said: "At-risk patients have entirely legitimate concerns that they may endanger their health by visiting their GP or hospital. "With at least 4% of NHS staff now living with chronic post-Covid complications, the Scottish government must follow the evidence and improve protections from the airborne spread (of the virus) in healthcare settings, not reduce them." Read full story Source: BBC News, 17 July 2023
  4. Content Article
    The final report on the Transvaginal Mesh Case Record Review.
  5. News Article
    AN Ayrshire MSP has called for an end to surgical mesh being implanted in hernia patients in Scotland. A Freedom of Information request by Labour's Katy Clark has revealed that one in 12 of all hernia patients in NHS Ayrshire and Arran who have been implanted with surgical mesh since 2015 have been readmitted to hospital due to complications. And the West of Scotland MSP has backed a petition by constituents calling for the suspension of the use of surgical mesh until an independent review has been carried out. It follows the recent public health scandal over the pain and suffering endured by many women across Scotland implanted with transvaginal mesh. It took years of tireless campaigning by affected women before the Scottish Government took action, last year creating a mesh removal reimbursement scheme. Read full story Source: Irvine Times, 9 June 2023
  6. News Article
    Almost 780,000 Scots found themselves on an NHS waiting list for an appointment, treatment, or test, new figures show. Statistics published on Tuesday by Public Health Scotland show a rise in the number of people waiting, from 772,887 on December 31 to 779,533 as of March 31. Some 479,725 people were waiting for an outpatient appointment on March 31, an increase of 0.5% (2,617) from December 31 and 14.5% higher than the same date last year. Since March 2020 – the beginning of lockdowns in response to the pandemic in the UK – the waiting list has grown by 87%. A Scottish Government target aims to ensure 95% of patients are seen within 12 weeks. Of those waits, 31,498 people had been waiting longer than 1 year for their procedure, the figures show. Humza Yousaf, Scotland's First Minister said: "There’s going to be a long way to go. The recovery plan is purposely a 5-year recovery plan because we know that recovery from the pandemic—which was the biggest shock the NHS faced for almost 75 years—is going to take us not weeks or months, but years to recover from." Read full story Source: Medscape, 31 May 2023
  7. Content Article
    In this article, Professor Paul Bowie, Programme Director for Safety & Improvement at NHS Education for Scotland (NES), outlines an NES research project which aimed to critically review the safety-related content, language and assumptions of a small but diverse range of health and care safety learning reports, policies, databases and curricula.
  8. Content Article
    The COVID-19 Recovery Committee has published its report on Long Covid and post-Covid syndrome, urging the Scottish Government to take action to address the stigma surrounding the condition and improve awareness among the public and healthcare professionals. The inquiry focussed on the awareness and recognition, therapy and rehabilitation, and study and research linked to Long Covid, with the Committee noting “concern” in their findings over reports of patients being unable to get the correct diagnosis and the lack of treatment for common conditions associated with the condition. The Committee said it was “deeply saddened” to learn about the stigma faced by those with lived and living experience of Long Covid, and the report highlights the impact that the lack of awareness and recognition of Long Covid can have on those with the condition.
  9. News Article
    Thousands of women are to be called for smear tests after errors in Scotland's cervical screening programme. In June 2021 it was discovered that several women had died from cervical cancer after being wrongly excluded from NHS Scotland's screening list. Now a further review expects to find 13,000 patients who have had a hysterectomy will need further tests. MSPs were told two years ago that a small number had died from cervical cancer after wrongful exclusion from the programme, and that further incorrect exclusions were possible. The most common reason for exclusion was after a total hysterectomy, where the entire cervix has been removed, meaning there was no need for cervical screening. But some were recorded as having had this procedure where there was only a sub-total or partial hysterectomy, meaning cervical screening was still needed. An urgent audit followed and all affected women were invited for follow-up examination. Now, a wider audit of 150,000 women who have had subtotal hysterectomies has been launched. Read full story Source: BBC News, 17 April 2023
  10. Content Article
    Hospital at Home is a short-term, targeted intervention that provides a level of acute hospital care in an individual’s own home, or homely setting that is equivalent to that provided within a hospital. In mid-2020, the ihub within Healthcare Improvement Scotland began working with a number of NHS boards and health and social care partnerships to support the implementation of Hospital at Home services across Scotland. This toolkit was created as part of that work, providing a range of tools and resources to support areas to implement and expand Hospital at Home services.
  11. News Article
    NHS Highland has been reprimanded for a data breach which revealed the personal email addresses of people invited to use HIV services. The health board used CC (carbon copy) instead of BCC (blind carbon copy) to send an email to 37 people. The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) said the error amounted to a "serious breach of trust". It called for improvements to be made to data protection safeguards for HIV service providers. The mistake meant all recipients of the email could see the personal addresses of the others receiving it. One person said they recognised four other individuals, one of whom was a previous sexual partner. Read full story Source: BBC News, 30 March 2023
  12. Content Article
    This document brings together some of NHS Education for Scotland (NES) sepsis educational resources. Note: given the changes to the definition of sepsis, some of these resources may refer to previous, alternative terms, which are now not formally recognised. The management and need for urgent treatment remain unchanged, and resources will be updated, as appropriate.
  13. Content Article
    This report from the National Asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Audit Programme (NACAP) shows what happened after people were admitted to hospital with an asthma attack or COPD exacerbation between 2018 and 2020. The data show that many people are being readmitted to hospital within three months of going home and that some, particularly with COPD, are dying within three months of their exacerbation.
  14. News Article
    A cross-border trial has improved care for patients prescribed multiple medicines. The iSIMPATHY project, funded by the European Union's INTERREG VA Programme, worked with professionals in Scotland, the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland to comprehensively review patient medication. Taking multiple medicines can be problematic if the increased risk of harm from interactions between drugs, or between drugs and diseases, outweighs the intended benefits. Interim findings showed these interventions potentially prevented major organ failure, adverse drug reactions, avoided hospital admissions and saw patients moved to more appropriate medication. Scotland’s Public Health Minister Maree Todd said: “This project looked at some of our most vulnerable patients taking more than five medications. The reviews have avoided adverse combinations of drugs and hospitalisations while also reducing prescriptions and drugs costs. “We will know more when the full evaluation is published in June, we will work with partners to see how we can these improvements can be applied more widely, potentially saving lives and money.” Read full story Source: Scottish Government, 10 March 2023
  15. News Article
    Scotland has become the first country in the world to stop its hospitals using the anaesthetic desflurane because of the threat it poses to the environment. NHS data suggests the gas, used to keep people unconscious during surgery, has a global warming potential 2,500 times greater than carbon dioxide. Banning it in Scotland - from its peak use in 2017 - would cut emissions equal to powering 1,700 homes a year. In the last few years, more than 40 hospital trusts in England and a number of hospitals in Wales have stopped using it. Dr Kenneth Barker, anaesthetist and clinical lead for Scotland's national green theatres programme, said he was shocked to find the anaesthetic drug he had used for more than a decade for many major and routine operations was so harmful to the environment. "I realised in 2017 that the amount of desflurane we used in a typical day's work as an anaesthetist resulted in emissions equivalent to me driving 670 miles that day," he said. "I decided to stop using it straight away and many fellow anaesthetists have got on board. "When you are faced with something as obvious as this and with the significance it has to the environment - I am very glad we have got to this stage." Read full story Source: BBC News, 3 March 2023
  16. News Article
    The number of GPs seeing patients outside standard surgery hours in Scotland has dropped by almost a quarter in three years. Nurses and paramedics have had to fill in for doctors in the out-of-hours urgent care centres because GPs could not be found to cover the shifts. Some health boards have had to close their centres and send patients to overstretched A&Es instead because of the GP shortage. Dr Andrew Buist, chairman of the British Medical Association’s Scottish GP committee, said, “Patient demand is outstripping GP capacity across the whole service, including out-of-hours. We simply do not have enough GPs in Scotland. Those who are working in out-of-hours may be doing more hours now than they perhaps did in 2019 which comes as no surprise if there are fewer GPs to go around but it is unsustainable and puts those working in the service at risk of exhaustion and burnout.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: The Times, 15 February 2023
  17. Content Article
    The Scottish Patient Safety Programme (SPSP) is a national quality improvement programme that aims to improve the safety and reliability of care and reduce harm.  Since the launch of SPSP in 2008, the programme has expanded to support improvements in safety across a wide range of care settings including Acute and Primary Care, Mental Health, Maternity, Neonatal, Paediatric services and medicines safety. Underpinned by the robust application of quality improvement methodology SPSP has brought about significant change in outcomes for people across Scotland. 
  18. News Article
    A senior doctor has told Scottish ministers to drop “patient-blaming language” over “unnecessary attendances” at emergency departments. Lailah Peel, the deputy chairwoman of the British Medical Association in Scotland, said the phrase suggested that patients were responsible for the problems and showed a misunderstanding of the issues. Patients have waited 30 hours for beds in overcrowded A&E units while ambulances have queued outside hospitals waiting to hand over patients to overstretched staff. Sturgeon, announcing measures to ease the strain, said: “To reduce the pressures in hospital and the knock-on impacts at the front door we need to do more firstly to avoid unnecessary attendances at hospital and second to speed up the discharge of patients from hospital.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: The Times, 12 January 2023
  19. News Article
    Some hospitals in Scotland have been told to postpone surgeries to ‘decongest’ the system as the crisis in the health service deepens. A group of NHS hospitals has stopped routine surgery for three weeks in an unprecedented step, as pressures mount on the health service. Health bosses at the NHS Ayrshire & Arran trust warned of “extremely high demand” across the system, as they also asked GPs to see only urgent cases. Rishi Sunak has repeatedly urged trusts to avoid cancelling elective surgery, urging hospitals not to repeat the errors made in the pandemic, which resulted in record backlogs. Clare Burden, the chief executive of NHS Ayrshire & Arran, said the cancellations were necessary "due to a combination of staff absence across the system, high bed occupancy levels in our acute and community hospitals, high levels of flu and Covid in our community, some delayed transfers of care, and high volumes of frail patients whose recovery includes complex care.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: The Telegraph, 11 January 2023
  20. News Article
    Patient safety is at risk “every single day”, with patients in desperate need of intensive care waiting hours in Accident and Emergency departments across Scotland, the deputy chair of British Medical Association Scotland has said. The harrowing description of the scenes in hospitals came as health secretary Humza Yousaf admitted patients were receiving care he would not want to receive himself as the NHS continues to battle intense winter pressures. Dr Lailah Peel, deputy chair of the Scottish arm of the British Medical Association (BMA), told the BBC’s Sunday Show the crisis was “years in the making”. She blamed a creaking social care system and increased delayed discharges. The comments come after details of a January 2021 briefing from the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) and the College of Paramedics to the health secretary warned of an unacceptable situation in Scotland’s hospitals. Reported in the Sunday Times, the briefing also specified the actions needed to avoid a similar situation during the current winter crisis, warning an increase of at least 1,000 new beds was needed as well as more doctors and nurses. Dr Peel said it was the case patients were “absolutely” dying in hospitals in Scotland due to the ongoing crisis in the health service. "There’s no shadow of a doubt that that is happening,” she told the BBC. Read full story Source: The Scotsman, 8 January 2023
  21. News Article
    Orthopaedic patients in NHS Highland face a wait of up to seven years for surgery, new research has found. A University of Aberdeen study said the worst case estimate would apply if surgical rates did not increase for those listed in July this year. Researchers also discovered the average wait across Scotland's 14 health boards could be as long as two years and three months. The Scottish government said it was working to maximise NHS capacity. Luke Farrow, clinical research fellow, warned that the significance of the delays could not be underestimated. He said: "Prolonged waits for certain orthopaedic procedures can have a major negative impact on patient health. "This occurs both in terms of deterioration in quality of life whilst awaiting surgery, as well as potential negative connotations for post-operative recovery and longer-term health in addition to reduced independence and increased social care needs." Read full story Source: BBC News, 14 December 2022
  22. News Article
    More than 1000 investigations have been launched in Scotland over the past decade into adverse events affecting women and infants' healthcare. Figures obtained by the Herald show that at least 1,032 Significant Adverse Event Reviews (Saers) have been initiated by health boards since 2012 following "near misses" or instances of unexpected harm or death in relation to obstetrics, maternity, gynaecology or neonatal services. The true figure will be higher as two health boards - Grampian and Orkney - have yet to respond to the freedom of information request, and a number of health boards reported the totals per year as "less than five" to protect patient confidentiality. Saers are internal health board investigations which are carried out following events that could have, or did, result in major harm or death for a patient. Major harm is generally classified as long-term disability or where medical intervention was required to save the patient's life. They are intended as learning exercises to establish what went wrong and whether it could have been avoided. Not all Saers find fault with the patient's care, but the objective is to improve safety. NHS Lanarkshire was only able to provide data from April 2015 onwards, but this revealed a total of 194 Saers - of which 102 related to neonatal or maternity services, and 80 for obstetrics. A Fatal Accident Inquiry involving NHS Lanarkshire has already been ordered into the deaths of three infants - Leo Lamont and Ellie McCormick in 2019, and Mirabelle Bosch in 2021 - because they had died in "circumstances giving rise to serious public concern". Read full story (paywalled) Source: The Herald, 10 December 2022
  23. News Article
    Nicola Sturgeon has been accused of running a two-tier NHS after it emerged that tens of thousands of patients are going private for crucial operations and healthcare. Anas Sarwar, the Scottish Labour leader, cited figures that showed more than 39,000 patients underwent private procedures in the past year. These included thousands of hip and knee surgeries, costing an average of £12,500 per patient. “Often these are people who are forced to borrow money, turn to family and friends, or even remortgage their home to get healthcare that should be free at the point of need,” Sarwar told MSPs at first minister’s questions. He said that almost 2,000 people had gone for private treatment for endoscopies and colonoscopies, more than 7,800 for cataract surgery and 3,500 have had a hip or knee replacement in a private hospital. “These figures make clear that under the SNP, healthcare in Scotland is already a two-tier system,” he added. Read full story (paywalled) Source: The Times, 24 November 2022
  24. News Article
    A report by the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO) said the health board's own investigation into the patient's complaint was of "poor quality" and "failed to acknowledge the significant and unreasonable delays" suffered. The delays led 'Patient C' to develop a severe hernia which left them unable to work, reliant on welfare benefits, and requiring riskier and more complex surgery than originally planned. The watchdog criticised NHS bosses for blaming Covid for the delays when the patient had been ready for surgery since December 2018, and said there had been "no sense of urgency" despite "the gravity of C's situation". The report said: "It is of significant concern that the Board has failed to fully acknowledge the consequences of the delays and the adverse effects upon C's physical and mental health as a result. "The consequences for C of these delays cannot and should not be underestimated." Read full story Source: The Herald, 24 November 2022
  25. Content Article
    A complaint from a patient was made to the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO) about the care and treatment provided during the period January 2018 to September 2021. In January 2018 the patient underwent emergency surgery for a perforated sigmoid diverticulum (a complication of diverticulitis, an infection or inflammation of pouches that can form in the intestines). An emergency Hartmann's procedure (a surgical procedure for the removal of a section of the bowel and the formation of a stoma - an opening in the bowel) was performed. In April 2018, the patient was seen in an outpatient clinic and informed it would be possible to have a stoma reversal. The patient complained that the Board had continually delayed the stoma reversal surgery which they required, which as of September 2021 had not taken place. The patient also complained that Covid-19 could not account for the delays between the Board informing patient they were ready for surgery around December 2018 and the start of the pandemic in March 2020. The patient noted that as a consequence they had developed significant complications: a large hernia. The patient added that this had severely impacted their personal life and self-esteem, and left them unable to work and reliant on welfare benefits.
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