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News ArticleThe coronavirus pandemic is a “magnifier of inequality” that threatens the wellbeing of women, children, and adolescents worldwide, a roundtable of influential female leaders has heard. The United Nations has predicted that 47 million women could lose access to contraception resulting in 7 million additional unintended pregnancies over the next six months1 because of “deadly and disabling” COVID-19, the virtual event was told. There could also be 31 million additional cases of gender based violence in low and middle income countries. Policy makers have a clear duty to protect the most vulnerable and disadvantaged and to tackle the root causes of inequality with targeted policies and resources, the participants concluded. Henrietta Fore, executive director of Unicef, said that, in countries with already weak health systems, COVID-19 was disrupting medical supply chains and straining financial and human resources. Visits to healthcare centres are declining owing to lockdowns, curfews, and transport disruptions, and as communities remain fearful of infection. She cited recent research that indicated there could be an increase in child deaths amounting to an additional 6000 a day over the next six months, and 56 700 more maternal deaths. “This is a statistic we want to avoid. We are concerned about access to services,” she said. Read full story Source: BMJ, 29 May 2020
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COVID-19 rehab centre takes first patients
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The first hospital dedicated to helping coronavirus patients recover from the long-term effects of the illness has received its first patients. Surrey's NHS Seacole Centre opened this month at Headley Court, a former rehab centre for injured soldiers. COVID-19 patients can be left with tracheostomy wounds from having a tube inserted in the windpipe or need heart, lung or muscle therapy, the NHS said. Others who have survived the virus may need psychological or social care. NHS chief executive Sir Simon Stevens said: "While our country is now emerging from the initial peak of coronavirus, we're now seeing a substantial new need for rehab and aftercare." He said while patients had survived life-threatening complications, many would see a longer-lasting impact on their health. Read full story Source: BBC News, 29 May 2020- Posted
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Recovery concerns as most ICUs still well above normal capacity
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Dozens of intensive care units are still running well over their normal capacity – in some cases more than double – weeks after the peak of demand, figures seen by HSJ reveal. It contrasts with the picture painted at some government coronavirus press conferences that there is huge “spare capacity” in critical care and has been throughout the outbreak, with Downing Street charts putting England-wide occupancy at around 20% currently. The government’s assertions include the additional “surge” capacity which was hurriedly established at the start of the outbreak. But intensive care staff have been frustrated by this being labelled spare capacity, when the number of patients being treated is still well above normal levels. In addition, the ongoing reliance on keeping surge beds open – with ICUs still spilling over other spaces and calling on staff and equipment from other services – will limit hospitals’ ability to resume normal care, such as planned surgery. Steve Mathieu, a consultant in intensive care medicine in the south of England, said: “The majority of ICUs will currently be operating at over 100 per cent capacity and typically somewhere around 130-150 per cent, although there is significant regional variation". “There are uncertainties whether this will now represent the ‘new normal’ for the foreseeable future and there is a national need to plan for further potential surges in activity requiring more critical care demand." Read full story Source: HSJ, 21 May 2020- Posted
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Coronavirus: Cancer surgery delays risk 'thousands' of deaths
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The NHS must ensure cancer-surgery delays do not cost more lives than the number of COVID-19 patients saved, the Institute of Cancer Research says. In some cancers, a three-month delay could make the difference between a tumour being curable or not, Prof Clare Turnbull said. And her modelling suggested delaying surgery risked thousands of additional deaths. NHS England is already urging people to seek help for worrying symptoms, but by the end of April, cancer referrals had dropped by an estimated 70%. Cancer doctors have told BBC News of having to make difficult decisions to postpone some patients' care during the coronavirus crisis. As normal service resumed, the NHS should prioritise "certain cancer types in particular", Prof Turnbull said. Lung and colorectal cancers, for example, were particularly fast moving. But for others, such as prostate and certain breast cancers, treatment could more safely be delayed. Read full story Source: BBC News, 20 May 2020- Posted
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Second more deadly wave of coronavirus 'to hit Europe this winter'
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European countries should brace themselves for a deadly second wave of coronavirus infections because the pandemic is not over, the World Health Organization’s top official in Europe has said. In an exclusive interview with The Telegraph, Dr Hans Kluge, director for the WHO European region, delivered a stark warning to countries beginning to ease their lockdown restrictions, saying that now is the "time for preparation, not celebration". Dr Kluge stressed that, as the number of cases of COVID-19 in countries such as the UK, France and Italy was beginning to fall, it did not mean the pandemic was coming to an end. The epicentre of the European outbreak is now in the east, with the number of cases rising in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan, he warned. Read full story (paywalled) Source: The Telegraph, 20 May 2020- Posted
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News ArticleMore than 460 people with a learning disability have died from coronavirus in just eight weeks since the start of the outbreak in England. New data shows between the 16 March and 10 May 1,029 people with a learning disability died in England, with 45 per cent, 467, linked to coronavirus.Overall the number of deaths during the eight weeks is 550 more than would be expected when compared to the same period last year. The charity Mencap warned people with a learning disability were “being forgotten in this crisis” and called for action to tackle what it said could be “potentially discriminatory practice.” It highlighted the percentage of Covid-19 related deaths among learning disabled people was higher than those in care homes, where the proportion of Covid-19 deaths was 31 per cent for the same period. The data has been published after an outcry over the lack of transparency about the impact of Covid-19 on mental health patients and people with a learning disability or autism. Read full story Source: The Independent, 19 May 2020
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Cancer referrals are being rejected by hospitals, GPs warn
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Suspected cancer patients are being refused hospital appointments despite being referred by GPs, it has emerged. Family doctors working for one NHS trust in north east London claimed that hundreds of referrals had been rejected in recent weeks. Many were for ultrasounds and chest X-rays and were sent via the two-week wait system, in which suspected cancer patients referred by GPs are seen within a fortnight. A rejection letter sent from Whipps Cross hospital seen by Pulse magazine, said the referral had been “due to the Covid-19 pandemic”. It added: “Following triage by a consultant radiologist, your imaging request has been assessed as non-urgent and cancelled.” Read full story Source: The Telegraph (18 May 202)- Posted
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News ArticleGlobal efforts to vaccinate children against fatal diseases such as measles and polio could be set back a decade due to the disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic, Unicef has warned. Immunisation campaigns and routine vaccine services have been suspended across the world to limit the transmission of COVID-19, leaving countries with weak health systems susceptible to a resurgence in preventable illnesses once lockdown restrictions are lifted and societies reopen. More than 25 vulnerable countries have placed their immunisation programmes for measles on hold, while the delivery of Ebola vaccinations across central Africa, in countries such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Central African Republic (CAR), has similarly been suspended or curtailed. “Our immediate concern is with disruption to currently available vaccines,” Dr Robin Nandy, global chief of immunisation at Unicef, told The Independent. “We expect to go back maybe five to 10 years. The longer the disruptions continue, the more concerned we are as it builds the number of susceptible kids in populations. “What we’re trying to avoid is countries recovering from the current Covid pandemic then being hit by another outbreak of a vaccine-preventable disease.” Read full story Source: The Independent, 18 May 2020
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Coronavirus: Half a million access suicide prevention course
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
More than half a million people have accessed online training that aims to prevent suicide in the last three weeks alone, a charity has said. The Zero Suicide Alliance said 503,000 users completed its online course during lockdown. It aims to help spot the signs that a person may need help. It comes as health leaders warned front-line workers tackling coronavirus could suffer from mental ill health. NHS England launched a mental health hotline to support staff last month. The alliance's Joe Rafferty said the true impact of the coronavirus on mental health will not be known until the pandemic ends, but he said "the stress and worry of the coronavirus is bound to have impacted people's mental health". Read full story Source: BBC News, 18 May 2020 -
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'Make or break' moment to break PTSD
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
NHS staff are at risk of high rates of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) if they don't get the right support as the coronavirus outbreak subsides, health service adviser Prof Neil Greenberg has said. For now there's a national focus on health and care workers. Public billboards praise them, millions turn out on the street for a weekly round of applause and volunteers have been rushing to help in any way they can. But the height of the crisis is when many staff will be in coping mode. It's when things slow down - and the clapping stops - that, psychologists believe, the real risk of difficulties will arise. People may need months or even years of "active monitoring" of their mental health after things return to some semblance of normality, according to Prof Greenberg, a world-leading expert in trauma at King's College London. The NHS in England is providing crisis support to its staff. But it hasn't produced a formal long-term plan to offer extra psychological services in the aftermath of the pandemic. It's what happens after the trauma that is "most predictive of what people will be like in terms of their mental health", according to Prof Greenberg. How well people are supported and how much stress they're put under as they try to recover can make or break whether someone manages well or develops far more serious difficulties including PTSD. "If we muck it up then that's going to make the trauma they've already had much more difficult to deal with," he says. Read full story Source: BBC News, 15 May 2020- Posted
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News ArticleA&E admissions in the UK have fallen to the lowest on record, with a 57% year-on-year drop in attendances in England, new NHS data shows. The latest figures show a dramatic fall in demand for emergency treatment, falling below one million attendances per month for the first time since records began in 2010. The coronavirus crisis has placed additional strain on NHS resources, but is thought to have had the opposite effect on A&E, with the public staying at home and avoiding hospitals where possible. Read full story (paywalled) Source: The Telegraph, 14 May 2020
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NHS England seeks advice amid ‘shielded’ patient concerns
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NHS England has set up an advisory group to look at how physical and mental health services can be delivered to patients who are most vulnerable to COVID-19 and have been asked to shield themselves from the pandemic. There are now around 2.5 million patients on the list of people considered to be at the highest clinical risk, including solid organ transplant recipients and patients on chemotherapy, who have been told to cut themselves off from society as far as possible. They are going to have to stay that way beyond the end of June, with suggestions that their isolation could continue for many more months hence, and there is significant concern about the impact of this on their ongoing physical and mental health. The NHS has therefore set up an advisory group to examine how care can be provided to these patients. Read full story Source: HSJ, 13 May 2020- Posted
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News ArticleMeasures to ease the lockdown in the UK could lead to tens of thousands of extra deaths if vulnerable people are not sufficiently protected and health care systems are put under strain, a study has suggested. Boris Johnson announced the first step towards normalcy — allowing unlimited exercise, one on one outdoor social meetings and a return to work for those who cannot do so at home — against a background of flattening infection numbers and fatalities caused by the virus. However in a study published in medical journal The Lancet, research led by University College London (UCL) has warned between 37,000 and 730,000 excess deaths could take place due to the direct and indirect effects of the virus within a year. Lead author Dr Amitava Banerjee said: “Older people, those with one or more underlying conditions and their carers are asking what easing the lockdown might mean for their health. Using data modelling on a number of different scenarios, our findings show the mortality risk for these vulnerable groups increases significantly, and could lead to thousands of avoidable deaths.” Read full story Source: The Independent, 13 May 2020
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Ministers to set up ‘dedicated team’ to aid NHS recovery
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The government said it will set up ‘dedicated team’ to look for innovative ways for the NHS to continue treating people for coronavirus, while also providing care for non-covid health issues. In its pandemic recovery strategy published today, the government also said step-down and community care will be “bolstered” to support earlier discharge from acute hospitals. The 60-page document contained little new information about plans for NHS services, but said: “The government will seek innovative operating models for the UK’s health and care settings, to strengthen them for the long term and make them safer for patients and staff in a world where COVID-19 continues to be a risk. “For example, this might include using more telemedicine and remote monitoring to give patients hospital-level care from the comfort and safety of their own homes. Capacity in community care and step-down services will also be bolstered, to help ensure patients can be discharged from acute hospitals at the right time for them". To this end, the government will establish a dedicated team to see how the NHS and health infrastructure can be supported for the COVID-19 recovery process and thereafter. Read full story Source: 12 May 2020- Posted
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News ArticleThe NHS will this week begin to publish the numbers of people who are dying from coronavirus in mental health and learning disability units, the government has announced. England's national medical director Stephen Powis told the Downing Street daily press briefing that the figures would be published on an "ongoing basis" after calls to paint a clearer picture of the problem. It comes as figures from the Care Quality Commission showed a sharp increase in deaths among mental health patients compared to last year. Asked by The Independent whether the numbers could be made public, he replied: "Yes, I can commit that we will publish that data. "We've been looking at how we can do that; we publish deaths daily, we're looking at how we can report on those groups and I can commit that from next week we'll be publishing data on learning disabilities, autism, and mental health patients who have died in acute hospitals and we will do that on an ongoing basis." Read full story Source: The Independent, 9 May 2020
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More people dying at home during COVID-19 pandemic – UK analysis
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
About 8,000 more people have died in their own homes since the start of the coronavirus pandemic than in normal times, a Guardian analysis has found, as concerns grow over the number avoiding going to hospital. Of that total, 80% died of conditions unrelated to COVID-19, according to their death certificates. Doctors’ leaders have warned that fears and deprioritisation of non-coronavirus patients are taking a deadly toll. Doctors’ leaders have warned that some sick people are too scared to go to hospital and are aware that much of the usual NHS care had been suspended in the pandemic. “These figures underline that the devastation wrought by Covid-19 spreads far beyond the immediate effects of the illness itself,” said Dr Chaand Nagpaul, the council chair of the British Medical Association. “While all parts of the NHS have rallied round in a bid to meet the immediate rocketing demand caused by the pandemic, more than half of doctors in a recent BMA survey have told us that this is worsening the care of non-Covid patients.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 8 May 2020- Posted
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Urgent referrals rejected for one in three GPs during COVID-19 outbreak
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More than three quarters of GPs fear delays to care because of COVID-19 will harm patients, with one in three reporting that urgent referrals have been rejected during the pandemic, a GPonline poll shows. The poll of 415 GPs found that 77% were concerned that delays to operations and treatments for non-COVID-19 issues would result in patients coming to harm. Meanwhile, 30% of GPs said they have had an urgent referral rejected during the pandemic. Rejected referrals included two-week-wait referrals for suspected cancer as well as urgent referrals for investigations such as ECGs, echocardiograms and CT scans. GPs also highlighted concerns over delays to treatment for cancer, with respondents warning that breast cancer surgeries had been postponed or chemotherapy delayed. Read full story Source: GP Online, 5 May 2020 -
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Coronavirus: Lockdown psychiatric care 'severely disrupted'
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Isolation during lockdown is exacerbating psychosis in some patients, a consultant psychiatrist at a leading mental-health trust warns. Steve Church said the South London and Maudsley NHS Trust had now had to shift its focus to crisis management. He leads the psychosis recovery team, one of the trust's five teams helping patients struggling with their mental health during the coronavirus pandemic. Some have had to move homes to isolate and many no longer visit the clinic. Dr Church, who has been working in the field for almost three decades, said: "In normal times, and we're not in normal times, the whole treatment is about trying to help people not self-isolate, trying to help people to re-engage with society. "Self-isolation is one of the red flag-hallmarks of somebody becoming unwell in the first place, where they take themselves into a psychosis-induced lockdown." One of his patients, Tracey, told Dr Church, in a phone consultation, staying at home had increased her hallucinations. "It's been quite daunting," she said. "I do hear the voices a little bit more now. They're domineering - they tell me to run across the road and they're following me and they say horrible and nasty things." Read full story Source: BBC News, 5 May 2020- Posted
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News ArticleThe health service will face a “tsunami” of coronavirus survivors discharged from hospitals needing long-term physical and mental support that the NHS will struggle to provide, The Independent has been told. Coronavirus can leave patients with lasting physical damage and scarring to their lungs, meaning many could struggle to breathe and move around as well as they did before – in some cases permanently. Patients admitted to intensive care can also suffer physical effects of being paralysed weeks and almost half who are ventilated with a tube in their windpipe will experience a form of delirium that can include terrifying hallucinations and leave survivors with lasting mental problems including post-traumatic stress. Experts have warned a long-term lack of funding of NHS rehabilitation services and post-discharge care for ITU patients means the health service will struggle to help the thousands of patients who beat the virus but face a long road to recovery. Read full story Source: 3 May 2020
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News ArticleMany people in Britain are likely to suffer from physical and mental problems for several years after the COVID-19 epidemic has subsided. That is the grim message from doctors and psychologists who last week warned that even after lockdown measures had been lifted thousands of individuals would still be suffering. Some of these problems will be due directly to the impact that the virus has had on those it has infected, especially those who went through life-saving interventions in intensive care units (ICUs) in hospital. In addition there will be a considerable impact on vulnerable people affected by the lockdown and isolation. Read full Source: The Observer, 2 May 2020
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Severely ill eating disorder patients getting least support, says leading expert
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Patients with the most severe eating disorders have received the least support during the COVID-19 pandemic, a leading expert has warned. Dr Agnes Ayton, chair of the Royal College of Psychiatrists eating disorder faculty, told HSJ that although it was an achievement that services had implemented digital consultations so quickly, for the most severe and high-risk patients this would not work as well. She also warned that some specialist eating disorder units across the country have had to limit admissions and run below full capacity. Her warning comes after a leading charity for eating disorders, Beat, said it has seen a 35% increase in calls to its national helpline since the pandemic began. Read full story Source: HSJ, 1 May 2020- Posted
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Coronavirus: What is the hidden health cost?
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The rising death toll from coronavirus is never far from the headlines, but hidden behind the daily figures is what public health experts refer to as the "parallel epidemic". This is the wider impact on people's health that is the result of dealing with a pandemic. UK chief medical adviser Prof Chris Witty has been referring to this with increasing frequency during the daily briefings, speaking about the "indirect" costs of coronavirus. But what is it, and how significant could it be? Routine treatments, such as hip and knee replacements, were cancelled across the UK. This alone will have a significant impact on people's lives, though it is unlikely to kill anyone. However, the pandemic has also had a knock-on effect on emergency care. Data collected by Public Health England from a sample of A&E departments in England shows attendances have halved since the pandemic started. The trend has prompted NHS leaders to urge patients to come forward for treatment. Cancer screening has been suspended in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland and drastically cut back in England. But it is not only an issue for cancer patients, people with chronic conditions like diabetes or kidney disease may face trying to manage their conditions remotely without the regular face-to-face contact they would have with health professionals. The pandemic is also the 'perfect storm' for mental health. The full impact could take years to unravel. Read full story Source: BBC News, 29 April 2020- Posted
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Almost 18,000 more people could die of cancer due to coronavirus, study shows
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The coronavirus pandemic could lead to almost 18,000 more deaths from cancer in England over the next year and there could also be a 20% spike in fatalities of newly diagnosed cancer patients, according to research by University College London (UCL) and DATA-CAN, the Health Data Research Hub for Cancer. The figures stem from real-time hospital data for urgent cancer referrals and chemotherapy attendances, which have experienced a 76% and 60% fall, respectively. Professor Peter Johnson, the NHS Clinical Director for Cancer, has urged people to not hesitate in seeking help or being checked after worrying research showed nearly half of the public have concerns about seeking help. Moreover, the poll by Portland revealed 1 in 10 people would not contact their GP even if they discovered a lump or a new mole that remained for a week or more. Read full story Source: BBC News, 28 April 2020- Posted
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England campaign targets seriously ill patients avoiding hospitals
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A government campaign has been launched to encourage people who are seriously ill with non-coronavirus conditions such as heart attacks to seek help amid concerns some are avoiding hospitals. The campaign, which will be rolled out this week, aims to encourage people to use vital services – such as cancer screening and care, maternity appointments and mental health support – as they usually would. The NHS chief executive, Sir Simon Stevens, said delays in getting treatment posed a long-term risk to people’s health. He stressed that the NHS was still there for patients without coronavirus who needed urgent and emergency services for stroke, heart attack, and other often fatal conditions. Read full story Source: 25 April 2020, -
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Missed vaccinations could lead to other fatal outbreaks, doctors warn
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Senior doctors fear that thousands of routine vaccination appointments may be missed or delayed because of the coronavirus lockdown, raising the risk of sudden and potentially fatal outbreaks of other diseases when restrictions on movement are finally eased. GPs and accident and emergency departments have witnessed unprecedented falls in the numbers of people seeking medical care in recent weeks, prompting concerns that vital routine immunisations for infections such as measles, mumps, rubella, tetanus and whooping cough are falling by the wayside. “We are very concerned. There are no data yet because we have only been in lockdown for a month, but there are plenty of anecdotes from practice nurses and others saying they have noticed a decline in vaccine uptake,” said Helen Bedford, a professor of children’s health at the UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health and member of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health’s health promotion committee. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 26 April 2020