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News Article
We’re being asked to save the NHS again. But isn’t it supposed to save us?
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
“Protect the NHS” sounds like the team name for an illegal Downing Street quiz, but it won’t be winning any prizes for patient safety, writes Dr Phil Hammond in The Times. The fact is, the NHS, as was the case long before the pandemic, is woefully understaffed. Even more billions have been thrown at the system, but, as ever, so little of it finds its way to the frontline carers we all clapped for. The NHS is always fighting a losing battle. When the government first asked us to protect the NHS, it may as well have said: “Stay at home, die alone, protect the NHS.” Thousands of people have done just that since the pandemic started, for reasons not fully understood. They may have had Covid or non-Covid diseases, or both. They didn’t ask for, or couldn’t find, help when they were seriously ill. They followed their “stay at home” orders. Many died. "The NHS does some amazing things but the truth is it has never had the staff nor capacity — and sometimes not the culture — to provide safe, effective and timely care to all its citizens," says Hammond. "We also have appalling levels of public health inequality. The rich live a decade longer than the poor, and the poor suffer 20 more years of chronic disease and NHS dependency. No health service can cope with such high demands, many of them avoidable." Today, many people can’t even access care, never mind the quality of it. But we don’t need to dismantle the NHS, we need to staff it safely. We need to start with a proper, costed workforce plan for now and the future. If we put even more money into healthcare, we need to prove it’s being spent on frontline care that is proven to work. Just as we didn’t plan properly for Covid, we have never had a proper workforce plan for the NHS to estimate what staff increases we need to cope with an ageing, anxious and increasingly isolated population chock full of chronic diseases. How did we get in this mess? There is good evidence that safe staffing levels deliver better care, and that continuity of care and a long-standing relationship with your GP or nurse is hugely beneficial to your health. It’s much more rewarding for health professionals too. Alas, they don’t grow on trees and there’s a global shortage. There’s a limit to how many we can steal from countries who may need them more. No matter how much money we throw at the NHS in a pandemic panic, this tanker won’t be turned around quickly. Read full story (paywalled) Source: The Times, 18 December 2021 -
News Article
Care home under investigation following claims of unsafe conditions
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
A care home with some of the highest Covid death rates recorded in the pandemic is facing whistleblower claims over unsafe conditions. Golfhill Nursing Home, in Dennistoun in Glasgow's East End, Scotland, is run by Advinia Healthcare, which confirmed a "large scale" investigation was taking place. A report by the Crown Office, published in April, showed Golfhill care home recorded 11 deaths related to coronavirus, among the highest rates. The Care Inspectorate investigation is said to have followed "months of complaints" about sub-standard and unsafe conditions at the home, including residents being admitted to hospital suffering from dehydration. The problems are said to centre on the intermediate care unit, where elderly residents are transferred after being discharged from hospital, requiring a higher level of care and remaining there for around a month before being sent home or into long-term care. According to a source, the unit has been short staffed "almost on a daily basis" because employees were being transferred to other areas of the home. Read full story Source: The Scotsman, 17 December 2021 -
News Article
Resident died after treatment at failing care home
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
A resident at an inadequate care home died after their blood glucose increased to high levels and staff acted too slowly, a report found. Inspectors said The Berkshire Care Home in Wokingham breached guidelines in nine areas and must improve. They found residents were put at risk after medicines were not used properly and that records were not up to date. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) said an ambulance was only called for the person who died when they were found to be unresponsive. They later died in hospital. Its report said staff were "not sufficiently skilled" to safely care for people with diabetes. A resident was given paracetamol and co-dydramol eight times over three days, when they should not be used together because they both contain paracetamol, the report said. Another person was burned by a cup of tea and staff did not treat the injury properly, leading to the person developing an infection and later being admitted to hospital. Staff sometimes felt "rushed and under pressure", the report found. Read full story Source: BBC News, 18 December 2021 -
News ArticleEntire hospital units could be forced to shut because of staff quitting in protest at the government’s order that they must all be vaccinated against COVID-19, a senior NHS leader has warned. Chris Hopson, the chief executive of NHS Providers, said that at one hospital trust in England, 40 midwives were refusing to get jabbed, raising fears that the maternity unit may have to close. “Trust leaders are acutely aware that, from April onwards, when Covid vaccinations will become mandatory, decisions by staff to remain unvaccinated could – in extreme circumstances – lead to patient services being put at risk,” said Hopson. “If sufficient numbers of unvaccinated staff in a particular service in a particular location choose not to get vaccinated, the viability and/or safety of that service could be at risk.” Hopson did not name the trust. But he cautioned that its maternity unit is “one representative example” of potential closures on grounds of patient safety that the government’s decision to compel NHS staff in England to be vaccinated or risk losing their job could lead to. Hopson said: “I was talking to a [trust] chief executive who said that 40 of the midwives on their midwifery service … were saying they were not prepared to be vaccinated. Those staff, given their skills and their expertise, are not easily redeployed but they’re also extremely difficult to replace." Read full story Source: The Guardian, 20 December 2021
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News Article
NHS whistleblower in West Suffolk will ‘never be the same again’
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
A whistleblower at the centre of a bullying scandal at West Suffolk hospital says she will “never be the same again” after being “pursued” by NHS managers when she raised concerns about a doctor injecting himself with drugs while on duty. Dr Patricia Mills was exonerated last week in an independent NHS review that was highly critical of the way she was ignored and then subjected to disciplinary investigation that verged on “victimisation”. The review, by Christine Outram, chair of the Christie NHS foundation trust, said Mills’s concerns about the self-injecting doctor were “well founded” and yet, instead of acting on them, managers subjected her to an investigation that lacked “fairness, balance and compassion”. It included what Outram called the “incendiary” and “extremely ill-judged” demand to Mills and other doctors for fingerprint samples as part of a management hunt for an anonymous letter-writer who had tipped off a grieving family about a potentially botched operation. “I do feel vindicated,” Mills, a 53-year-old anaesthetist, told the Guardian, but she said the 21-month investigation into her conduct, which was only formally dropped in September, has had a lasting impact. “I will never be the same again. To be absolutely pursued like that by your employer inevitably has long-term consequences in terms of psychological wellbeing. It was an orchestrated campaign that really floored me.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 17 December 2021 -
News Article
Government blocks ‘blanket’ rule to suspend all staff where safety is at risk
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The government has rejected advice from an independent inquiry into the actions of disgraced surgeon Ian Paterson to suspend all healthcare professionals who are suspected of posing a risk to patient safety. The Department of Health and Social Care today published its response to 15 recommendations from the inquiry, which found Mr Paterson, jailed for 20 years in 2017 for 17 offences of wounding with intent, may have conducted up to 1,000 botched and unnecessary operations over a 14-year period. Of its 15 recommendations, the DHSC accepts nine in full, five in principle, rejects one entirely and there is another further point which it is keeping under review. In particular, the inquiry panel members recommended that when a hospital investigates a healthcare professional’s behaviour, including the use of an HR process, any perceived risk to patient safety should result in the suspension of that healthcare professional. DHSC chiefs said they agree practice exclusions and restriction can be necessary, and in some cases immediate exclusion is an appropriate response while an investigation is ongoing. But they added: “However, we do not believe it would be fair or proportionate to impose a blanket rule to exclude practitioners in such cases. “Such a step may inadvertently cause a chilling effect, dissuading healthcare professionals from raising concerns and negatively impacting patient safety.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 16 December 2021 -
News ArticleLondon’s hospitals have been plunged into a “dangerous situation” as the Omicron wave has sent staff sickness levels soaring to around 10%, a top doctor has warned. Dr Katherine Henderson, a consultant at a central London hospital but speaking as President of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, said so many doctors and nurses are having to be off that it was already having an impact on patient safety. She told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “We are seeing increasingly that our staff are testing positive and that means that they have to go off." “Usually, staff sickness would last a couple of days but of course, if you test Covid positive, you are off for ten days. “People need to understand that this is a dangerous situation,” she added. “The acute problem is actually to do with staffing, with workforce. “Because there is so much in circulation, even if we are not seeing a big rise in hospitalisations yet, we are already seeing the effect on not having the staff to run shifts properly and safely." “So we are worried about patient harm coming about because we just don’t have the staff to keep the eye on the person on the trolley who is maybe a bit agitated.” Read full story Source: The Evening Standard, 16 December 2021
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News ArticleVacancies for nurses and midwives in Scotland have increased by almost 20% in just three months, new figures show. Official figures revealed that at the end of September the whole time equivalent (WTE) of 5,761.2 posts were unfilled across the NHS – a rise of 18.9% from the WTE total of 4,845.4 that was recorded at the end of June. The rise in vacancies comes at the same time as health service staffing reached a record high, with the NHS employing the equivalent of 154,307.8 full-time workers as of September 30 – 5.2% higher than a year ago. However, opposition leaders warned the health service, which is coming under ongoing pressure as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, is facing a “staffing crisis” this winter. Scottish Labour health spokeswoman and deputy leader Jackie Baillie said: “Across our NHS services are on the brink of collapse, and things will only get worse as the cold weather bites. “This staffing crisis at the heart of this catastrophe has unfolded entirely on Nicola Sturgeon’s watch and will jeopardise the ability of services to remobilise and cope with demand. “Looking at the state of services in Scotland, we can all only hope we don’t get sick this winter.” Read full story Source: The Independent, 8 December 2021
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News Article
Staff who refuse covid vaccination may see ‘impact upon their pay and pension’
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
NHS staff who have to be redeployed because they refuse to be vaccinated against covid may be forced to ‘compete’ for a new role and could find their pay and pensions affected if their transfer becomes permanent, according to new NHS England guidance. Health and social care secretary Sajid Javid announced last month that all patient-facing NHS staff would need to have received two doses of the covid vaccine by 1 April 2022. This includes non-clinical staff who may have face-to-face contact with patients, such as receptionists, porters and cleaners. Guidance published this week urged organisations to identify options for potential redeployment to non-face-to-face roles, but advised against taking formal action until the new rules receive Parliamentary approval. The guidance said: “Employers should consider the possibility of redeployment for staff in scope of the regulations and who remain unvaccinated on 1 April 2022.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 8 December 2021 -
News Article
‘Sheer desperation’ felt by A&E staff admitted by trust
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
An investigation into whistleblowing claims which described patients “hanging off trolleys” and “vomiting down corridors” in a crowded emergency department has upheld most of the concerns. It comes after a staff member at Northern Lincolnshire and Goole Foundation Trust wrote to the chief executive and trust’s commissioners after working a weekend shift within the emergency department at Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital in Grimsby. In their original email, sent in January 2020, the anonymous whistleblower said they were writing out of “sheer desperation for the safety of patients”. They added: “I have never in my whole career seen patients hanging off trolleys, vomiting down corridors, having [electrocardiograms] down corridors, patients desperate for the toilet, desperate for a drink. Basic human care is not being given safely or adequately…" “Your hospital is full, your A&E department is over-flowing, you are expecting staff to manage treble the amount of patients in majors and resus than they would do normally, without breaks, this is not safe. They cannot provide that care – which is evident.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 7 November 2021 -
News Article
Republic of Ireland: Most HSE staff felt negative change at work during pandemic
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The vast majority of HSE staff in the Republic of Ireland felt supported during the COVID-19 pandemic but more than half felt there has been a negative change in their working environment, a new survey has found. Staff across the health service were asked about their work, and responses from almost 13,000 staff showed a mixed impact since the pandemic with staff saying they were more enthusiastic about their job than in 2018 but were less optimistic about their future in the health service. Three in 10 said they had been subject to assault from the public in the past two years. One in three felt more positively towards the HSE since before the pandemic began. The survey found there had been an increase in the satisfaction with the level of care delivered since 2018 but almost 4 in 10 felt the service delivered was deteriorating. There was a strong sense of job security among staff, but satisfaction levels have fallen back on the previous survey three years ago. A third said they were dissatisfied at present. Despite the fact that an anti-bullying taskforce was set up after the previous survey, the same number of staff reported experiences of being bullied by a colleague as in 2018. Three in 10 said they had experienced bullying or harassment at work from a manager, team leader or other colleagues. Read full story Source: The Irish Times, 6 December 2021 -
News ArticleThe vast majority of front-line clinical support staff are reporting moderate to extreme burnout, and nearly two-thirds have considered quitting, a new US survey found. "While much has been reported on doctor and nurse burnout, less attention has been paid to the front-line clinical support staff who have been working tirelessly throughout the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure high-quality patient care was maintained," Meg Aranow, senior vice president and platform evangelist for patient experience vendor Well Health, told Fierce Healthcare. "We recognize the critical role clinical support staff play in provider organizations—this study further validates the cascading impact clinical support staff have on the patient experience and so many facets of our healthcare system," Aranow said. Well Health surveyed 320 clinical support staff who are primarily responsible for communicating and coordinating with patients, mostly through phone calls, which can be time-consuming. According to the survey results, the patient-communication coordination process is overwhelming staff to the point of wanting to quit, with 82% saying that contacting and coordinating with patients about their appointments, follow-ups and health issues via phone, email, text or live chat is a direct cause of their burnout. The survey found that 58% of clinical support staff believe their burnout has negatively affected a patient’s quality of care, and 60% report poor or ineffective patient communication has negatively affected a patient’s health outcomes. Read full story Source: Fierce Healthcare, 20 October 2021
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News ArticleA House of Lords committee has raised several concerns about the proposed legislation to make vaccination against COVID-19 mandatory for all NHS staff in England, particularly whether the benefits of vaccinating the remaining 8% of NHS workers were proportionate and how the NHS would cope with losing the 5.4% who don’t want to be vaccinated. The Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee said that the government’s plans had not been thoroughly thought through, leaving the House of Lords unable to scrutinise the proposed legislation. On 9 November England’s health and social care secretary, Sajid Javid, announced that all staff who work in health and social care settings regulated by the Care Quality Commission will have to be fully vaccinated by 1 April 2022.2 “We must avoid preventable harm and protect patients in the NHS, protect colleagues in the NHS, and protect the NHS itself,” he said. But in a report published on 30 November the committee said that the benefit of increasing the protection from vaccinating staff who had not yet taken up offers of the jab “may be marginal” and that the government had failed to publish any contingency plans on how it would cope with the loss of staff who do not want the vaccine. The report said that of the 208 000 NHS staff who weren’t currently vaccinated 54 000 (26%) would take up the vaccine under the law and 126 000 (61%) would leave their jobs. “Given the legislation is anticipated to cause £270m in additional recruitment and training costs and major disruption to the health and care provision at the end of the grace period, very strong evidence should be provided to support this policy choice. DHSC [Department for Health and Social Care] has not provided such evidence,” it said. Read full story Source: BMJ, 3 December 2021
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News Article
Elizabeth Dixon: Lessons not learned after baby death cover-up, says family
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The family of a baby who died after errors in her care have criticised the failure of the NHS to learn lessons. Elizabeth Dixon died due to a blocked breathing tube shortly before her first birthday and a subsequent independent investigation found a 20-year cover-up. A year on, Elizabeth's mother Anne told the BBC: "My daughter has not been a catalyst for change." The Department of Health said it was working on the report's recommendations and will publish "a full response". Elizabeth Dixon, known as Lizzie, was born prematurely at Frimley Park Hospital, in Surrey, in December 2000. But a series of errors by the hospital and by Great Ormond Street Hospital, which took over her care shortly after birth, left Elizabeth with brain damage and needing to breathe through a tracheostomy. She was further let down by Nestor Primecare, a private nursing agency, which was hired to support her parents when Elizabeth returned home. She died 10 days before her first birthday. An official investigation, published last year, found a "20 year cover-up" by health workers, with some of those involved described as "persistently dishonest". "I would have expected them to take it seriously," Mrs Dixon said in response to the lack of action. She believes that if a similar incident happened today, there would be a danger it would also be covered up. "That's the default option - if its bad enough, they'll cover up," she said. Read full story Source: BBC News, 1 December 2021 -
News Article
Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust told it must improve
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Changes must be made across services at one of England's biggest NHS trusts following its first wide-ranging inspection, a health watchdog said. Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust - which runs Basildon, Southend and Broomfield hospitals - has been rated as "requires improvement". The Care Quality Commission (CQC) turned up unannounced after concerns over standards were raised. Philippa Styles, the CQC's head of hospital inspection, said they "found a mixed picture" of positive improvements and areas of concern. "Following the trust's formation in 2020, leaders should now be able to work together effectively to ensure care is consistent across all services," she said. "I recognise the enormous pressure NHS services are under... and that usual expectations cannot always be maintained, especially in the urgent and emergency department, but it is important they do all they can to mitigate risks to patient safety." The report said: Patients had not always been protected from harm. Staff had not all received mandatory training. There had been nine "never-should-happen" medical events. Records were sometimes inaccurate and not kept securely. Nursing and medical staffing was a "challenge across the trust", with shifts regularly below planned staffing numbers. There had been a high number of whistle-blowers raising concerns. Read full story Source: BBC News, 1 December 2021 -
News ArticleA watchdog is "very concerned" about the safety of people using the services of Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Trust. The damning report says inspectors found there was not always enough nursing staff and that permanent staff did not feel safe if bank or agency workers were used as they didn't have the relevant training. It follows an unannounced inspection in September by the Care Quality Commission "due to on-going concerns about the safety of services". Three young patients died in nine months at Prestwich Hospital, one of the Trust's units. A campaign group and the families are campaigning for a full investigation into those cases by NHS England. The CQC's two-day inspection of eight wards across five of the the Trust's seven sites found: The service did not always have enough nursing staff, who knew the patients or received basic and essential training to keep patients safe from avoidable harm. The environment on Poplar ward (Park House) was not clean on the first day of inspection and space on the ward was limited for patients. It was not clear that immediate concerns or learning from incidents was shared across the locations, although local learning and reviews were taking place. The wards did not all have up to date and recently reviewed ligature risk assessments. Staff on two wards could not locate the ligature risk assessments at the time of the inspection. Read full story Source: Greater Manchester News, 26 November 2021
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News Article
Burnt out staff ‘triggered’ by ‘it’s OK’ messaging from ministers
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Frontline staff are being ‘triggered’ by ministers playing down the ‘overwhelming’ pressures facing the health service with “a ‘move along, no story here’-type attitude”, a royal college president has warned. The Royal College of Emergency Medicine’s Katherine Henderson said the intentions of those making such comments may be “well meaning” but that it was important ministers and NHSE leaders were “humble and transparent about the scale of the problem [facing the NHS] at the moment”. Katherine Henderson said: “The scale of the problem feels quite overwhelming, and the kind of ‘move along, no story here’-type attitude I think is not great for the people working in healthcare. They need to feel heard.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 24 November 2021 -
News Article
Treasury’s dead hand over NHS policy is the biggest patient safety threat
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Patients are dying in the backs of ambulances or on trolleys in A&E while others languish in beds unable to be discharged due to the collapse in social care. Others waiting in pain are desperate to get a bed for much-needed surgery. While there are many ingredients mixing together to create the current NHS crisis, a widespread shortage of nurses, doctors and other essential staff is one of the major contributory factors. Many in the NHS reacted with disbelief on Tuesday after 280 MPs voted with the government to reject a bid to force through better workforce planning for the NHS. Former health secretary Jeremy Hunt had pulled together a coalition of health organisations and charities who backed his proposal which demanded ministers draw up and publish workforce plans every two years. Mr Hunt’s amendment fell victim to the fear of the cost of actually training enough doctors and nurses to work in the NHS. The Treasury’s dead hand over NHS policy has and continues to be one of the biggest patient safety threats in the UK. As Mr Hunt told MPs, the costs are borne not only from huge bills for locum doctors and nurses who earn incredible pay working alongside exhausted full-time staff, but also in the safety failures caused by staff shortages. Exhausted nurses will make mistakes. One nurse cannot safely look after a ward of 16 elderly patients. A doctor can only see one patient at a time in A&E. Speaking to MPs, Mr Hunt pleaded with the Commons to offer some hope to the NHS workforce. He said NHS staff were “exhausted” but also “daunted” by the challenges they were seeing. He added: “All they ask is one simple request, that they can be confident we are training enough of them for the future.” Read full story Source: The Independent, 23 November 2021 -
News Article
Trust in staffing crisis as eight ICU nurses quit in just two weeks
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Eight highly skilled intensive care (ICU) nurses have resigned from one trust in the past two weeks and more could follow, a leading nurse has warned. More resignations expected as working conditions remain unsustainable Belfast Health and Social Care Trust in Northern Ireland has confirmed it is redeploying non-specialist nursing staff to fill the gaps in staffing on ICU wards, with experienced ICU nurses expected to provide supervision. RCN Northern Ireland director Rita Devlin said the college has heard others at the trust are ‘considering their position’. "These are highly skilled nurses who are difficult to replace and this is a very worrying situation," she said. "Nursing staff are doing everything they can to keep services going, but it is not sustainable to work under such pressure for long periods of time without a break." The resignations come just months after it was revealed that 182 nurses and 50 healthcare assistants had quit their jobs at the trust between January and July. Read full story Source: Nursing Standard, 23 November 2021 -
News ArticleMidwives across England are still not receiving enough essential safety training with the pandemic leaving hospitals delivering less training than three years ago. A new report from the charity Baby Lifeline, based on an investigation of 124 NHS trusts in England, found 9 in 10 units had training affected by the pandemic with staff shortages named as a major factor in preventing workers from taking time out for learning. This was cited by 72% of units as a problem. The average spend on maternity training was significantly lower in 2020-21 at £34,290 compared to £59,873 in 2017-18, with NHS trusts delivering less training to staff than they did in 2017-18. Despite concerns over the poor quality of safety investigations in the NHS, fewer than a third of NHS units trained staff in how to carry out investigations. Judy Ledger, chief executive and founder of Baby Lifeline, said: “Today’s report highlights how gaps and variation in the delivery of maternity training across the NHS continues to impact on the safety and care women and babies receive. Time and again evidence shows that training investment can save lives, and the pandemic has widened existing, detrimental gaps that years of chronic under-funding and staff shortages have created. Read full story Source: The Independent, 23 November 2021
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News Article
'Some progress' made at failing Shropshire hospital trust
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
An inspection at a failing hospital trust has identified "some progress" but its services are still inadequate. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspected the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH) in August. The Trust has been in special measures since 2018 and its maternity services are subject of a review following a high rate of baby and maternal deaths. The CQC said SaTH still had "significant work to do" to improve its patient care and safety standards. Inspectors highlighted particular concerns around risk management at the Trust which it said was "inconsistent" and and urgent and emergency care where patients "did not always receive timely assessment". The CQC also reported a shortage of staff working in end-of-life care and midwifery, however maternity staff were said to have "an exceptionally dedicated and caring approach". "I recognise the enormous pressure NHS services are under across the country and that usual expectations cannot always be maintained, but it is important they do all they can to mitigate risks to patient safety while facing these pressures," chief inspector of hospitals, Ted Baker, said. "While the trust continues to have significant work to do to provide care that meets standards people have a right to expect, it is providing more effective care overall. "However, its risk management remains inconsistent and we are not assured it is doing all it can to ensure people's safety." Read full story Source: BBC News, 18 November 2021 -
News Article
Staffing agencies triple rates as care homes and NHS fight over nurses
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Nursing shortages are allowing “profiteering” staffing agencies to triple their rates, care leaders have warned, raising the risk of vulnerable patients being forced to move care homes and increasing the burden on the NHS. The crisis is forcing some nursing homes to become standard residential care homes without support for people with chronic diseases. The shortage also makes it harder for NHS hospitals to discharge patients. Some hospitals have redeployed their own staff into nursing homes to free beds in hospitals. In other places, NHS trusts are competing for staff with care providers. Geoff Butcher, director of Blackadder Corporation, which runs six homes in the West Midlands, said that he paid nurses about £19.50 an hour, slightly higher than the NHS rate of £16.52. “Two of our nurses resigned recently and they’ve gone to an agency for £35 an hour,” he said. “And that agency then came to us and said we can have these staff back at £52 an hour. They want £95 an hour for those nurses on a bank holiday nightshift. It’s utterly unaffordable. “Because the NHS can’t recruit they are having to use these agencies as well. So the NHS is bidding against us, therefore they’re pushing the rates up, and the whole thing has gone into a completely crazy spiral. The agencies are just grossly profiteering out of it." Read full story Source: The Guardian, 14 November 2021 -
News Article
COVID-19: Vaccines to be compulsory for frontline NHS staff in England
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Frontline NHS staff in England will have to be fully vaccinated against Covid, the health secretary has announced. A deadline is expected to be set for 1 April next year to give unvaccinated staff time to get both doses, Sajid Javid told the Commons. Between 80,000 and 100,000 NHS workers in England were unvaccinated, said Chris Hopson, head of NHS Providers. Thursday is the deadline for care home workers in England to get vaccinated. The government's decision follows a consultation which began in September and considered whether both the Covid and flu jabs should be compulsory for frontline NHS and care workers. Mr Javid said the flu vaccine would not be made mandatory. There will be exemptions for the Covid vaccine requirement for medical reasons, and for those who do not have face-to-face contact with patients in their work, he added. In a statement to MPs, Mr Javid said: "Having considered the consultation responses, the advice of my officials and NHS leaders including the chief executive of the NHS, I have concluded that all those working in the NHS and social care will have to be vaccinated." "We must avoid preventable harm and protect patients in the NHS, protect colleagues in the NHS and of course protect the NHS itself." Read full story Source: BBC News, 9 November 2021- Posted
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News Article
‘It’s going to get worse’: view from inside the NHS as winter approaches
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Bed occupancy in England’s hospitals has already reached normal peak winter levels, NHS leaders have warned. While modelling suggests that the rise in Covid infection levels appears to have stalled for now, the chief executive of NHS Providers has stressed that bed occupancy levels at acute hospitals are already at 94-96%, an “unprecedented” situation not normally seen until the middle of winter. It comes as long waiting times in England’s emergency departments are becoming normal, with the number of patients waiting for more than 12 hours increasing tenfold since 2019. Meanwhile, the NHS is undergoing a mounting workforce crisis and an enormous backlog of routine treatments that have built up over the pandemic. Six healthcare workers describe to the The Guardian the pressures they are facing at the moment, highlighting staff shortages, rising wait times and abuse toward NHS workers. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 8 November 2021 -
News Article
‘Outstanding’ rated trust given CQC warning notice after staff raised alarm
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
An acute trust currently rated ‘outstanding’ has been served with a warning notice by the Care Quality Commission, after senior doctors’ safety concerns prompted an inspection. Inspectors visited University Hospitals Sussex Foundation Trust days after HSJ reported on a letter from consultants highlighting “an extremely unsafe situation” and calling for elective work to be moved away from one of the trust’s main hospitals. The inspection looked at surgical areas at the Royal Sussex County Hospital, in Brighton, and maternity services at four sites – the RSCH, St Richard’s in Chichester, Worthing Hospital and the Princess Royal Hospital in Haywards Heath. In a letter to all staff, seen by HSJ, chief executive Dame Marianne Griffiths said the trust was “striving to improve” but that “the last four months are like nothing I have ever seen before. Like others we are facing unprecedented daily challenges”. She said: “High patient numbers combined with continuing to work through the pandemic with the stringent infection prevention and control processes that entails make for a challenging work environment.” Chief nurse Maggie Davies said: “The safety of our patients is always our number one priority. Our services remain under unprecedented pressure and our staff are working hard to provide the highest standards of care to all our patients. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 5 November 2021
