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Found 996 results
  1. News Article
    NHS staff should “feel free” to speak out about problems like protective equipment shortages, Matt Hancock has said, despite many having been warned not to do so. The health and social care secretary told the daily coronavirus briefing on 21 April that it’s “totally normal” for NHS staff to raise concerns about personal protective equipment shortages in their areas and said “transparency is important”. HSJ has heard from multiple senior local NHS leaders that they have been given strong warnings not to communicate externally about the COVID-19 response, with national officials seeking to closely grip information given to the media. There have been several reports of healthcare professionals having been “gagged” by hospitals and NHS bodies, with some reports of threats of disciplinary action if they raise concerns on social media or speak to journalists. Read full story Source: HSJ, 21 April 2020
  2. News Article
    Concerns have been raised that updated government guidance on personal protective equipment (PPE) could put hospital staff and patients at risk. Healthcare workers have been advised to reuse gowns or wear different kit if stocks in England run low. Unions representing doctors and nurses have expressed concerns about the updated Public Health England guidance. Healthcare staff treating patients with Covid-19 have previously been advised to wear long-sleeved disposable fluid-repellent gowns. But Public Health England changed its guidance on Friday, outlining three options if the gowns are not available as "some compromise is needed to optimise the supply of PPE in times of extreme shortages". Read full story Source: BBC News, 18 April 2020
  3. News Article
    NHS staff still do not have the protective equipment they need to treat coronavirus patients, medics have said. The British Medical Association (BMA) said doctors were putting their lives at risk by working without adequate protection. It comes as the health secretary said 19 NHS workers had died with coronavirus since the outbreak began. Read full story Source: BBC News, 11 April 2020
  4. News Article
    London trusts have been warned not to expect deliveries of gowns from the national supply chain for at least the next few days, HSJ understands. Without central deliveries, providers risk running out of gowns ahead of the Easter weekend. Trusts will have to rely on existing supplies and any new stock they procure independently. Staff performing or assisting aerosol-generating procedures on confirmed or suspected covid-19 patients should wear gowns, according to the latest guidance from Public Health England. But supplies have been an issue for weeks, with trust procurement leads raising concerns about dwindling gown stocks last month. It recently emerged that gowns were not included in national pandemic stockpiles, unlike other forms of personal protective equipment like masks and gloves. Read full story Source: HSJ, 9 April 2020
  5. News Article
    The NHS is launching a hotline to support and advise healthcare staff during the coronavirus pandemic. Volunteers from charities including Hospice UK, the Samaritans and Shout, will listen to concerns and offer psychological support. The phone line will be open between 07:00 and 23:00 every day, while the text service will be available around the clock. The phone number is 0300 131 7000 or staff can text FRONTLINE to 85258. It comes as staff face increasing pressure to care for rising numbers of patients who are seriously ill with the virus. Read full story Source: BBC News, 8 April 2020
  6. News Article
    Doctors in Britain are being “bullied and shamed” into treating patients with COVID-19 despite not having the masks, gowns and eyewear they need to protect themselves from the virus, frontline medics have said. Others are being told to hold their breath to avoid getting infected because of persistent shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE) . The findings raise questions about how far a huge effort by NHS bosses, ministers and the military has succeeded in banishing previously widespread supply problems with PPE. “Lack of personal protective equipment continues to be a critical issue. It is heartbreaking to hear that some staff have been told to simply ‘hold their breath’ due to lack of masks,” said Dr Samantha Batt-Rawden, the president of the Doctors’ Association UK (DAUK). “Doctors are dying. Nurses are dying. We are devastated, and can no longer stand by and watch as more dedicated colleagues lose their life,” she said. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 7 April 2020
  7. News Article
    The first two coronavirus deaths among care workers in England were announced, as industry leaders hit out at chronic shortages of protective equipment and urged the government to start treating social care as “a second front line”. Carol Jamabo, 56, a community carer for Cherish Elderly Care in Bury in Greater Manchester, died last Wednesday. Another carer died in a home run by MHA, the UK’s largest charitable social care provider, which said it was unclear where she contracted the virus. The death of a West Dumbartonshire care worker that emerged on Sunday was also confirmed by the Scottish first minister, Nicola Sturgeon. The fatalities came amid rising concern that those working in social care still do not have the protection they need amid the Covid-19 pandemic and that, without testing for the virus, staff risk contaminating care homes where elderly people are supposed to be “shielded”. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 6 April 2020
  8. News Article
    Doctors and nurses will need treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder after working in harrowing conditions on wards during the coronavirus crisis, health leaders warn. The strain on their mental and physical health is already unprecedented and the virus has not yet reached its expected peak, they say. NHS staffing is at levels that were previously unthinkable as workers – forced to spend hours in hot conditions while wearing full protective gear – try to keep up with demand amid a lack of equipment. It comes as the head of intensive care at London’s Royal Free Hospital described in a memo how most units had already shifted from the usual one nurse to one patient ratio to one to six and were running out of key machines and equipment. Dr Alison Pittard, dean of the Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine, told The Independent: “I am really concerned about the toll this is taking and will continue to take on staff." “We are used to dealing with emergencies, but we have never been exposed to this sort of demand. We know staff are already struggling physically and mentally and that this will only continue." Read full story Source: The Independent, 6 April 2020
  9. News Article
    A healthcare worker in north-west London quit her job after she was refused permission to wear a protective face mask, the Guardian has learned. In her resignation letter, Tracy Brennan chastised her superiors at Hillingdon Hospitals NHS foundation trust for forbidding her from wearing a surgical mask she had bought to protect herself – and the patients she was caring for – from contracting the deadly virus. Brennan, a healthcare assistant, said she had returned to work after self-isolating for 14 days because her daughter had shown symptoms of Covid-19. She said that patients in the ward where she was working, which was not a coronavirus treatment ward, felt comfortable with her wearing the surgical mask and some positively encouraged her to do so. Brennan wrote: “With a heavy heart and sadness, I feel I have no alternative but to hand this letter in as my formal resignation and will be unable to work my notice due to not being allowed to wear sufficient personal protective equipment (PPE) for the duties I perform.” Read full story Source: Guardian, 4 April 2020
  10. News Article
    A major hospital trust has told staff they should attend work even if a household member is showing covid-19 symptoms, contrary to national guidance. Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals Foundation Trust’s occupational health department has told staff who had reported having family members with covid-19 symptoms they were still expected to attend work. In the email exchanges seen by HSJ, some as recently as a couple of days ago, the trust’s occupational health department was clear there was an NUTH policy agreement with Public Health England. Read full story Source: HSJ, 1 April 2020
  11. News Article
    Healthcare professionals have been told to consider not treating patients with the COVID-19 coronavirus if they themselves would be put at risk, part of new ethical guidance that calls on doctors to prioritise some ailments over the pandemic. The new recommendations for healthcare professionals over 70 years, or with pre-existing conditions, to put themselves first when tackling the pandemic comes following the death of a doctor who returned to the frontlines as a volunteer following a call to arms from the government. The guidance from the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) makes up part of a sweeping list of ethical considerations faced by healthcare workers in the face of the global pandemic. Read full story Source: The Independent, 2 April 2020
  12. News Article
    Frontline doctors have told the Independent they have been gagged from speaking out about shortages of protective equipment as they treat coronavirus patients – with some claiming managers have threatened their careers. Staff have been warned not to make any comments about shortages on social media, as well as avoiding talking to journalists, while NHS England has taken over the media operations for many NHS hospitals and staff. The Independent has seen a series of emails and messages warning staff not to speak to the media during the coronavirus outbreak. One GP has been barred from working in a community hospital in Ludlow after making comments about the lack of equipment, while another in London said they were told to remove protective equipment they had purchased themselves. NHS England confirmed it was controlling media communications, which it said was part of its national emergency incident planning to ensure the public received “clear and consistent information”. Read full story Source: The Independent, 1 April 2020
  13. News Article
    Amid growing shortages of vital protective equipment in New York hospitals, healthcare workers are desperately scrounging to find facemasks, hiding supplies from colleagues in other departments, and sometimes even pilfering for themselves. The novel coronavirus has infected nearly 45,000 across New York, and more than 550,000 globally. Nurses in New York City were shaken on Tuesday, when Kious Kelly, a nurse manager at a Mount Sinai Health System hospital, died after being infected. Nurses who would normally use masks and other protective gear only once are keeping them for entire shifts or longer to conserve supplies. "Masks disappear," said Diana Torres, a Mount Sinai nurse. "We hide it all in drawers in front of the nurses' station. We hide masks, we have to hide chucks for beds," she said, referring to incontinence pads. Read full story Source: MedScape Nurses, 30 March 2020
  14. News Article
    A paramedic in the London Ambulance Service (LAS) has claimed the kit workers have been given to protect them from coronavirus would be more suitable for people making sandwiches. The south London medic, who did not want to be identified, said the basic apron, gloves and masks were not sufficient protection from infection. "It feels like every day I'm exposing myself and potentially my family to this virus," he told the BBC. In a document seen by the BBC, LAS has told its paramedics to wear basic PPE - a plastic apron, gloves and a surgical mask - for most call-outs. The advanced PPE - including a white boiler suit, FFP3 mask, and goggles - is reserved only for confirmed cases of coronavirus, and in situations where paramedics have to perform invasive procedures such as full CPR. Read full story Source: BBC News, 31 March 2020
  15. News Article
    Hundreds of healthcare professionals in Zimbabwe have refused to work without protective equipment, beginning strike action in a standoff with the government as the nation begins to see its first impacts of coronavirus. With the risk of an outbreak increasing day by day, industry chiefs in the country have warned doctors face inadequate supplies of gloves, masks and gowns. The president of the Zimbabwe Hospital Doctors Association, Tawanda Zvakada, said doctors would return to the frontlines of the battle against the virus when adequate protection was provided. "Right now we are exposed and no one seems to care," he said, adding that doctors have inadequate stocks of gloves, masks and gowns. Read full story Source: Independent, 26 March 2020
  16. News Article
    GPs are demanding "urgent clarification" from the government on whether they should now wear protective equipment to examine all patients. Family doctors now wear it if they see a patient with suspected coronavirus. But the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) has written to Health Secretary Matt Hancock to ask if GPs should wear it for all face-to-face consultations. It says patients with the virus but no symptoms could still infect staff. The BBC understands GPs in some surgeries have decided to wear personal protective equipment (PPE) for all face-to-face consultations, but this is not currently recommended by Public Health England. In the letter, Prof Martin Marshall, chairman of the RCGP, wrote: "GPs across the country have never been more concerned, not just for the safety of themselves and their teams, but for patients too. They are unsure as to whether they have enough supplies [of PPE], either now, or as the crisis deepens". "They are not confident that the current guidance provides the necessary clarity about whether GPs are using the right type of equipment, at the right times," he said. Read full story Source: BBC News, 26 March 2020
  17. News Article
    Protection for staff, clean covid-negative wards, and enforcing social isolation are the three take home messages from Italy’s fight against COVID-19, according to rapid findings shared exclusively with HSJ. By 6 March 2020, Italy had recorded 4,636 cases and 197 deaths attributable to COVID-19. On 20 March, two weeks later, the UK announced 3,983 cases and 177 deaths due to the novel coronavirus. Models put us two weeks behind Italy and on the same trajectory. PanSurg.org, an international collaborative created at Imperial College London, organised a series of webinars to rapidly share experiences and learning around the pandemic amongst the global healthcare community. Nearly 1,000 healthcare professionals from around the world took part in these events, and several important messages emerged. 1) Protect your staff: full PPE (including, FFP3 masks) for COVID-19 suspected or COVID-19 positive areas. This is both for them and to keep your workforce numbers intact. 2) Treat everyone as if they could haveCOVID-19, as they may do and “fear the covid negative ward”. 3) Enforce social isolation and contact tracing and place a significant focus on testing. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 25 March 2020
  18. News Article
    A GP has criticised the practice of giving doctors surgical masks with expiry dates that have passed. Dr Kate Jack said doctors felt "like cannon fodder" after discovering the paper masks had expired in 2016. A box delivered to her Nottingham surgery had a 2021 label placed over the original date of 2016. The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said equipment underwent "stringent tests" and was given a "new shelf-life" where appropriate. "I don't feel protected at the moment," said Dr Jack, a GP of 22 years. "They are really not designed for prevention of infection and are practically useless." Read full story Source: BBC News, 25 March 2020
  19. News Article
    A leading NHS doctor has warned frontline medical staff dealing with Britain’s coronavirus outbreak feel like “cannon fodder” and "lambs to the slaughter". Dr Rinesh Parmar, chairman of the Doctor's Association UK, is battling the disease on an intensive care ward at a city hospital in Birmingham. The Anaesthetic Registrar begged Boris Johnson to provide better Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), describing the current crisis the "calm before the storm" Doctors and nurses fear a lack of masks, gloves, aprons and protective suits is putting them at risk as they care for patients diagnosed with Covid-19. Speaking after a night shift on the ward, Dr Parmar told The BBC's Andrew Marr Show: "We have had doctors tell us they feel like lambs to the slaughter, that they feel like cannon fodder. GPs tell us that they feel absolutely abandoned." Read full story Source: The Sun, 23 March 2020
  20. News Article
    The NHS must ensure that doctors have proper protective equipment, Jeremy Hunt, the former health secretary, has urged. NHS chiefs say that there are no problems with national stock levels of items including masks, gowns and gloves and that local supply issues should have been resolved over the weekend. However, hospital staff say that they are still experiencing shortages, with nurses going to DIY shops to stock up or even refusing to work without the right equipment. One London doctor said: “Every time the government is asked they say the equipment is there, and it is just not true.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: The Times, 23 March 2020
  21. News Article
    Nurses caring for patients in the community have been spat at and called ‘disease spreaders’ by members of the public, according to England’s chief nurse and the Royal College of Nursing (RCN). The nursing union urged members of the public to support the UK’s “socially critical” nursing workforce during the coronavirus outbreak. The RCN said it had received anecdotal reports of community nurses receiving abuse while working in uniform. Separately, England’s Chief Nurse Ruth May said she had heard reports of nurses being spat at. Susan Masters, the RCN’s director of policy, said abuse of nurses was “abhorrent behaviour”. She said a number of nurses had raised concerns about abuse on forums used by members to talk confidentially. Describing one incident she told The Independent: “These were community nurses who had to go into people’s homes and were in uniform. Members of the public who saw them called out to them and said they were ‘disease spreaders’.” She added: “We don’t know how big this problem is, it is anecdotal, but it is absolutely unacceptable. Read full story Source: The Independent, 21 March 2020
  22. News Article
    Social care has a vital part to play in the fight against Covid-19, but without proper support more lives will be put at risk, says Vic Rayner, Executive Director of the National Care Forum. "We are working round the clock to keep the people we care for safe and happy and to protect our staff. We know the COVID-19 situation is moving fast – but the care sector can only effectively play its part with more direct support from the government." Social care providers, like many across the country, are working hard to prepare for the escalation of COVID-19. This includes refresher training on infection control, robust measures to ensure any visitors to care services are safe to enter, planning for how to keep going in the face of significant workforce shortages, and ensuring the people they care for and their staff are kept safe and well. However, it is clear that social care is in urgent need of help, more directly and more quickly, to meet the needs of the most vulnerable, or to ensure that their staff are adequately protected. The issue of protection is never far from care providers’ minds, and the lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) for care staff remains a pressing problem. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 20 March 2020
  23. News Article
    NHS staff are to be given access to testing for covid-19, the government said this morning, but it remains unclear how the policy will be applied. A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said at lunchtime: “Our testing regime is set up to provide for those who need tests the most. This includes key workers, such as NHS staff. We will set out more details shortly.” It remains unclear how this will be applied. The announcement follows concerns from healthcare professionals they are not being tested for the virus, even if they had been exposed to infected patients. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 17 March 2020
  24. News Article
    As coronavirus spreads widely across the UK, many of those who fall sick may seek treatment at their GP's surgery. But are family doctors ready to deal with a wave of patients, prevent the spread of the disease and protect the most vulnerable? "This is a massive crisis, probably the biggest crisis the NHS has ever had to face," says Prof Martin Marshall, an east London GP who is also chair of the Royal College of General Practitioners' council. He says not enough has been done yet to prepare family doctors for the epidemic, although he adds: "We need to be a little bit understanding of the pressures that the whole system is under." As the virus circulates in the community, he says we need "urgent action" to protect healthcare workers, give them the information they need and provide technology to allow for more consultations by phone or the internet. Given the pressures the NHS will be under, Prof Marshall says it is vital that doctors and nurses are not taken out of action for seven days of isolation unnecessarily. "We're not saying that health professionals are more important than patients, we're saying that health professionals have a responsibility," he says. "We therefore need to keep them as healthy as possible and we need to get them back into the workforce as quickly as possible. So we're asking that health professionals are tested early." Read full story Source: BBC News, 16 March 2020
  25. News Article
    Two out of five GPs have still not received any personal protective equipment (PPE) against coronavirus, a Pulse survey suggests. The poll of over 400 GPs saw 41% of respondents say they have not received any PPE, while a further 32% said they had not received enough. Just 15% of GPs said they have sufficient PPE, with the remainder unsure. This comes despite NHS England promising last week that it would ship PPE free of charge to practices. The Welsh Government made the same announcement this week, while in Scotland health boards should be distributing PPE. A GP who has received no proper equipment, Dr Kate Digby, in Cirencester, said she feels "woefully underprepared". She told Pulse: "I'm becoming increasingly concerned at the lack of resources being provided for frontline primary care". Read full story Source: Pulse, 2 March 2020
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