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Showing results for tags 'Staff safety'.
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Content ArticleThe 'Living with Long Covid' podcast series from Julie Taylor aims to raise awareness of Long Covid, and provide a platform of support, education and the lived experience.
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Content ArticleHealth and care workers in all parts of Europe are experiencing overwork, with high levels of burnout. This opinion piece in the BMJ looks at the issue of healthcare professionals leaving European health systems to take early retirement or work in other countries where pay and conditions are better. It highlights the causes of this exodus, including increasing patient complexity, salary erosion and work-life balance. It argues that policies should prioritise retaining existing staff, as increased training numbers offer only a partial, long term answer.to the crisis, highlighting potential approaches governments can take to retain highly qualified healthcare staff.
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Content ArticleThe latest NHS Workforce Race Equality Standard (WRES) data shows that it is still over twenty times more likely that a White Band 5 nurse will become a Director of Nursing compared to a Band 5 BME nurse. In this letter Roger Kline, Research Fellow at Middlesex University Business School, outlines his concerns about discrimination and bullying taking place within the NHS. Addressed to Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Steve Barclay, the letter recalls the findings of the Messenger report commissioned by Mr Barclay's predecessor Sajid Javid, which found that “acceptance of discrimination, bullying, blame cultures and responsibility avoidance has almost become normalised in certain parts of the system, as evidenced by staff surveys and several publicised examples of poor practice." Referring to recent calls to reduce spending on equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI), he outlines why patient care and frontline services cannot be detached from efforts to improve EDI. He argues that research strongly suggests how staff are treated (including whether they face discrimination) impacts on patient care, staff well-being and organisational effectiveness.
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Content ArticleThis mixed-methods study in the Journal of Multidisciplinary Healthcare examined how health staff in Indonesian hospitals perceived open disclosure of patient safety incidents (PSIs). The authors surveyed 262 health workers and interviewed 12 health workers. In the quantitative phase they found a good level of open disclosure practice, a positive attitude toward open disclosure and good disclosure according to the level of harm. However, in the qualitative phase they found that most participants were confused about the difference between incident reporting and incident disclosure. The authors concluded that a robust open disclosure system in hospitals could address several issues such as lack of knowledge, lack of policy support, lack of training and lack of policy. They also suggest that the government should develop supportive policies at the national level and organise initiatives at the hospital level in order to limit the negative implications of disclosing situations.
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Content ArticleOn paper, a GP’s working schedule can look quite inviting: consulting for three and a half hours in the morning, with a coffee break in the middle, then a gap for lunch and home visits before a similar length afternoon surgery. However, this is rarely the reality for NHS GPs. In this BMJ opinion piece, GP Helen Salisbury talks about what working life is really like for GPs and highlights the mismatch between their scheduled hours and tasks and the reality, which often involves them doing much more. She highlights how the unrealistic demands GPs face have been exacerbated by a movement of work from secondary to primary care, and argues that this is contributing to the workforce crisis that general practice faces.
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Content Article
Breaks from operational duty are an important factor in the management of fatigue. But as highly committed and professional operational staff often perform several secondary tasks and activities—inside or outside the ops room—breaks can become a victim. This blog by Chartered Ergonomist and Human Factors Specialist Stephen Shorrock offers some general guidelines about what kinds of tasks add to stress and fatigue and should be avoided during rest breaks. He places break activities into three categories which place different demands on the individual: red, amber and green activities. He also highlights that when it comes to breaks from operational duty, changes in activity are the key to reducing fatigue-related risks. -
News Article
‘Don’t overwork staff’, says trust with just one 52-week waiter
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Allowing staff enough rest has been ‘the key’ to elective recovery for an acute trust which has the lowest number of 52-week waiters in England, it has said. Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells (MTW) Trust currently has just one patient who has waited 52 weeks or more on its lists, compared with a high of 976 at one point in April 2021. MTW is one of a handful of trusts with very few long waiters. All are relatively small trusts – and are not regional centres for specialist/tertiary patients – but their 52-week-waiters also represent less than 1% of their total list. MTW chief of service for the surgery division Greg Lawton told HSJ its success in tackling long waiters was down to “attention to detail” in tracking each patient, and not expecting staff to run too many extra sessions. “Any problems patients are having getting through their pathways are identified early and addressed,” he said. "Treatment had been prioritised on the grounds of clinical need, he added, with cancer treatments still going ahead and cancer targets being met." The trust, in the South East, has put on extra operating sessions to clear some of its backlog of patients but these had been limited in number, Dr Lawton said. “What we have never done is try to run too many and I think that may be the key. If you try to do too much you will burn staff out,” he said. The trust had “been mindful that staff need a break,” he added. “Morale is very important.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 16 February 2022 -
News ArticleRegistered nurses at Alhambra Hospital Medical Center in Los Angeles, California, voted overwhelmingly in favor of ratifying a new three-year contract yesterday, winning protections to improve patient safety and nurse retention.. The collective bargaining agreement was the result of an almost six-month fight, which included an informational picket for patient safety and multiple other actions. So Hee Park, an ICU nurse at Alhambra, said, “We are so thrilled that after months of negotiations, we have ratified an agreement that provides substantial measures to ensure nurses feel supported and can continue to provide optimal patient care, as well as numerous provisions that will improve recruitment and retention of experienced nurses.” The contract includes several highlights that will help nurses create better outcomes for their patients, such as provisions for ensuring hospital compliance with existing registered nurse-to-patient safe staffing laws. The agreement also establishes a new Infectious Disease Task Force that will offer new protections against communicable diseases and guarantee levels of PPE supplies. The contract also expands workplace violence prevention plans for all hospital units, as well as stating that quality care be provided to all patients regardless of their immigration status. Under the contract, nurses will also receive proper orientation when they’re floated to new hospital units, improving care for patients. And, rather than being sent home at management's whims, RNs will be able to remain at work to provide meal and break relief to other nurses, bolstering safe staffing. These measures will ensure nurses are prepared to provide patients with the highest and safest levels of care possible, resulting in improved nurse retention at Alhambra, which will benefit the entire community long term. Read full story Source: National Nurses United, 10 November 2022
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News ArticleA formal complaint accuses the British Government of facilitating ‘the largest single health and safety disaster to befall the United Kingdom workforce since the introduction of asbestos products’. An expert letter to the UK Government’s Health & Safety Executive (HSE) from one of its own advisors accuses the agency of failing to use its statutory authority to correct “seriously flawed” guidance on infection protection and control (IPC), imperilling “the health and safety of healthcare workers by failing to provide for suitable respiratory protection”. The continued failure to protect healthcare workers by ensuring they are wearing the appropriate form of PPE (personal protective equipment) to minimise the risk of infection from COVID-19 airborne transmission, the letter says, has led to thousands of avoidable deaths. The failures amount both to “gross negligence” and serious “criminal offences”, claims the letter seen by Byline Times. The letter addressed to HSE chief executive Sarah Albon is authored by 27-year chartered health and safety consultant David Osborn, who is a ‘consultee member’ of the HSE’s COSHH (Control of Substances Hazardous to Health) Essentials Working Group, where he has helped HSE to prepare guidance for employers and employees. Written in his own personal capacity, the letter is a formal complaint accusing the members of the Government’s “IPC Cell” – a group of experts behind official guidance on infection protection and control – along with other senior Government officials of committing a “criminal offence… ultimately punishable by fine and/or imprisonment” by breaching Section 36 of the Health and Safety at Work Act. The letter argues that a police investigation is needed. The guidance, Osborn writes in his letter, has failed to ensure that healthcare workers understand that they should wear and have access to respiratory protection equipment (RPE) designed to protect from COVID-19 airborne transmission. “There is sufficient prima-facie evidence to suggest that the offence has led to the potentially avoidable deaths of hundreds of healthcare workers and the debilitating disease known as Long COVID in thousands of other healthcare workers,” the letter says. “I firmly believe that the primary source of infection was the inhalation of aerosols whilst caring for infected patients at close quarter,” says Osborn in his letter. Read full story Source: Byline Times, 10 February 2022
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News Article
More than half of NHS paramedics suffering from burnout
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Over half of paramedics are suffering from burnout caused by “overwhelming” workloads, record numbers of 999 calls and the public misusing the ambulance service, a study has found. Frontline crew members also blame lack of meal breaks, delays in reaching seriously ill patients and their shift often not ending when it should for their high levels of stress and anxiety. The working lives of ambulance staff are so difficult that nine out of 10 display symptoms of “depersonalisation”, characterised by “cynicism, detachment and reduced levels of empathy” when dealing with patients who need urgent medical treatment. The widespread poor mental welfare of paramedics is a problem for the NHS because it is leading to some quitting, thus exacerbating its shortage of ambulance personnel, the authors said. The findings, published in the Journal of Paramedic Practice, have prompted concern that the demands on crews, alongside the injury, violence and death they encounter, are storing up serious mental health problems for them, including post-traumatic stress disorder. “Ambulance staff are passionate about their role. However, burnout is a significant and very real issue that decreases staff efficacy and reduces quality of patient care,” the study said. It was undertaken by Rachel Beldon, who works for the Yorkshire ambulance service, and Joanne Garside, a professor and school strategic director of Huddersfield university’s health and wellbeing academy. “Participants wanted better resources and staffing levels. The current workload appeared to be overwhelming and negatively affected their mental health and work-life balance.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 6 February 2022 -
News ArticleThe NHS is "riddled with racism", the chair of the British Medical Association's council has told the BBC. Dr Chaand Nagpaul has spoken out in response to a survey by the BMA, shared exclusively with BBC News. At least 75% of ethnic minority doctors experienced racism more than once in the last two years, while 17.4% said they regularly faced racism at work, the survey said. NHS England said it takes a "zero-tolerance approach" to racism. Racism affects patients as well as doctors' wellbeing, by stopping talented people from progressing fairly and affecting doctors' mental health, Dr Nagpaul warned. "This is about a moral right for anyone who works for the NHS to be treated fairly," he said. Around 40% of the NHS's 123,000 doctors are from minority backgrounds, compared to about 13.8% of the general population. But despite this diversity, doctors told the BBC that there was a toxic "us versus them" culture in NHS trusts across the UK. They said they had faced bogus or disproportionate complaints from colleagues, racist comments from superiors, and even physical assault in the workplace. Some said they had tried to lodge complaints which were then ignored or dismissed without investigation. One consultant, from a black African background, told the BMA that after reporting previous incidents "no action was taken... I feel uncomfortable and anxious of reprisals". Read full story Source: BBC News, 2 February 2022
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News Article
NHSE review accuses outstanding trust of ‘dismissive’ attitude to whistleblowers
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The leadership of a prominent cancer trust acted in a ‘defensive and dismissive’ manner when serious concerns were raised about bullying behaviours and multiple failings in the handling of a major research contract, an external review has found. As previously revealed by HSJ, NHS England commissioned the review into events at The Christie Foundation Trust after whistleblowers raised numerous concerns over a research project with pharmaceutical giant Roche, and about the way they were treated as a result of speaking out. The NHSE review, which was led by Angela Schofield, chair of Harrogate and District FT, was published earlier today within trust board papers. It described the trust’s research division as “ineffective” and said it had “allowed inappropriate behaviours to continue without challenge”. The review added: “It may… be thought to be surprising that NHSE/I found it necessary to commission an external rapid review to look into concerns which had been raised by colleagues within the research and innovation division." “The root cause of this seems to be an apparent failure by those people in leadership positions who were aware of the concerns that had been raised, in the circumstances covered by the review, to listen to and take notice of a number of people who have some serious issues about the way they are treated and wish to contribute to an improvement in the culture." It also summarised the experiences of 20 current and former staff members who said they suffered “detriment as a result of raising concerns”, although it did not make a clear judgement on whether their claims were justified. They said: “An experience of bullying, harassment and racial prejudice was described along with lack of respect at work… Patronising behaviour, humiliation and verbal aggression by managers and clinicians in public and private spaces contributed to the perception that working environments were emotionally unsafe.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 27 January 2022 -
News Article
Growing number of trusts defy system leaders on FFP3 guidance
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Over 30 trusts are now mandating FFP3 masks are used beyond settings stipulated in national rules, amid calls for system leaders to clarify the national position on the key staff and patient safety issue. Fresh Air NHS, a group of frontline staff who campaign for better protection against Covid-19, said it now knows of 32 trusts which have already introduced enhanced infection prevention control policies that mandate FFP3 use beyond national guidance. News that a growing number of trusts are mandating more stringent PPE use comes amid fresh confusion around the national guidance after small but potentially significant alterations were made last week. A new line has been added to guidance which says:: “FFP3 respirator or equivalent must be worn by staff when caring for patients with a suspected or confirmed infection spread by the airborne route.” David Tomlinson, consultant cardiologist and also a member of Fresh Air NHS, said NHS trusts were “in fear of going beyond the guidance and allowing non-ICU staff to wear FFP3 respirators”. “The guidance doesn’t mandate respirators for staff in highest risk of transmission areas, for example, medical wards housing symptomatic patients at a time in their disease when they are releasing greatest amounts of infectious aerosols,” Dr Tomlinson said. “Real world data has consistently shown far greater rates of SARS2 infection comparing non-ICU healthcare workers to those on ICU.” Alison Leary, chair of healthcare and workforce modelling at London Southbank University, said: “Trusts choosing to implement evidence based safety interventions is a positive move towards workforce safety.” Read full story Source: HSJ, 27 January 2022 -
News Article
Give FFP3 masks to NHS staff during Omicron, doctors say
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
NHS staff treating Covid patients should be given much more protective facewear than thin surgical masks to help them avoid getting infected during the Omicron rise, doctors say. The British Medical Association (BMA), Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association (HCSA) and Doctors’ Association UK are calling for frontline personnel to be given FFP3 masks. Making the much higher-quality face masks standard issue would save the lives of health workers who fall ill as a result of treating Covid patients, the BMA said. “At this critical point in the pandemic this is extremely urgent – a matter of life and death,” said Prof Raymond Agius, the acting chair of the doctors’ union’s occupational health committee. FFP3 masks, also known as filtering facepiece respirators, have been shown in a trial in Addenbrooke’s hospital in Cambridge to reduce the number of healthcare staff who become infected. However, the Department of Health and Social Care’s (DHSC) guidance on personal protective equipment, updated last week, only recommends their use in limited circumstances. “With a high transmissible new strain now circulating, and clear evidence that Covid-19 spreads in small airborne particles, healthcare workers must be given the best possible protection against the virus. Surgical masks don’t give the necessary protection against airborne transmission of Covid,” Agius said. The BMA has written to every hospital trust in England demanding that any health professional treating patients who are or may be Covid-positive should be routinely issued with FFP3s, which are much more expensive than the surgical masks usually provided. Surgical masks are “unsuitable” given the threat Covid poses, the BMA believes. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 27 December 2021 -
News Article
NHS hospitals are not ‘scaremongering’ about a winter Covid wave
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
David Oliver, NHS consultant physician and a columnist for the BMJ makes a plea on behalf of his colleagues as they face a surge of admissions due to the spread of the omicron variant of COVID-19 this Christmas. "Pandemic health protection measures are not all about you and your own personal risk or appetite for it, your own ‘natural immunity’ or fitness, your own liberty or freedom. They are about protecting everyone else. It might be your own parent, grandparent or sibling that dies from COVID-19 or from lack of access to overwhelmed services. It might be your neighbour’s or someone in another town or from another social class or ethnic group, This isn’t a game and we need to take it seriously and stop posturing and point-scoring, before, once again, we have left it too late to act" Read full story Source: Byline Times, 21 December 2021 -
News Article
Health staff 'kicked, spat at, hit and scratched'
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Attacks against health and social care workers in Northern Ireland have risen sharply during the pandemic, available data suggests. Workers have reported being bitten, spat at, hit, scratched, kicked, abused on social media and sexually assaulted. Most of the 5,500 attacks recorded in the six months to March were physical, said a forum representing local health bodies and the Fire and Rescue Service. It has called on politicians and the public to support their staff. The abuse affected staff across the sector, and those targeted were often already exhausted and caring for people in difficult conditions, said the chairman of the Health and Social Care Chairs' Forum, Peter McNaney. "This is beyond intolerable," he added. GPs, pharmacy, dental and ophthalmology staff had all been affected, and some had resigned as a result, said Eileen Mullan, chairwoman of the Southern Health and Social Care Trust. "Even just in the last few days, with the uptake of the vaccinations across our centres, we've seen a significant increase in the amount of verbal abuse at those centres when people are waiting," she said. "Some are abusing our staff while they are there." Read full story Source: BBC News, 15 December 2021 -
News ArticleNHS bosses have warned the high prevalence of long Covid among staff is adding to rising healthcare pressures, amid growing concern that the new omicron variant could further drive infections and absences in the workforce. Some 40,000 (3.26%) of healthcare workers in the UK are estimated to have long Covid, according to the Office for National Statistics. This figure has risen by 5,000 since July. Many will be unable to work, though others are continuing to work despite their debilitating symptoms, experts say. “Trust leaders have told us they are concerned about the prevalence of long Covid amongst health and care staff,” said Chris Hopson, chief executive of NHS Providers. “Staff who are unwell need time to recover with support. But this may worsen unavoidable absences and sickness levels in the NHS at a time when pressures on the health service are mounting.” Read full story Source: The Independent, 9 December 2021
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News Article
Female ambulance staff subjected to ‘macho and sexualised’ culture
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
A ‘macho’ culture within ambulance trusts is leading to widespread abuse of female staff. HSJ has been told of multiple cases including sexual misconduct, harassment or abuse against staff in the last two and a half years. These include: women being told that giving sexual favours would help them get on to paramedic training a woman who was told she would pass her driving course if she gave oral sex to a superior a student on placement who could not take off her jacket without comments being passed on her breasts, and therefore would wear it even on the hottest days a student given a lift by her supervisor who then proceeded to rub his hands up and down her legs during the journey. In a freedom of information request, the 10 ambulance trusts in England were asked for the number of incidents in which allegations of sexual misconduct, harassment or abuse had been made against staff. The trusts reported 221 cases since April 2019, of which at least 27 resulted in dismissal and at least 44 resulted in other disciplinary action, with some cases still under investigation. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 7 December 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 Article
Unsupportive Government ‘indirectly puts GP patient lives at risk’
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
A lack of support for general practice is indirectly putting patient lives at risk, amid escalating abuse in GP practices, the England LMCs conference has heard. A debate around abuse saw 99% of conference delegates agree that ‘the abuse of primary care staff directly affects patient care and puts patient safety at risk’. And 98% agreed that ‘when Government and [NHS England] choose not to support NHS staff, they directly affect patient safety and knowingly put lives at risk’. The conference also voted to ‘demand that healthcare policy is decided based on high-quality evidence on population health, and not the whims of a handful of vitriolic media’, with the vote unanimous on the topic. Speaking in the debate, which focussed on GP abuse and wellbeing, Dr Abel Adegoke of Wirral LMC told delegates that the NHS "runs on the blood of GPs" He said: "About four weeks ago, my younger sister was being buried and I had to watch via Zoom because that was taking place in Nigeria – yet I was still seeing patients. That was the day I felt so sad about being a GP because despite that sacrifice, I was still abused by a patient who wanted to be seen urgently for an absolutely non-urgent condition." "We are being taken for granted." Read full story Source: Pulse, 30 November 2021 -
News Article
NHS bosses advise all hospitals to review security after Liverpool blast
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
NHS chiefs are advising all hospitals to review their security arrangements in the wake of Sunday’s terrorist incident at Liverpool Women’s hospital, the Guardian can reveal. NHS England is finalising new guidance to send to all 213 health trusts in England, which between them provide services at more than 500 hospital sites. It will tell them to check that their security measures are adequate and also to ensure that their staff know what to do and how to stay safe if their hospital is targeted by terrorists. It is being finalised and will be sent imminently to hospital bosses, who are still taking in the implications of the taxi explosion outside Europe’s largest maternity hospital. Many hospitals have beefed up their security over the last year in response to numerous incursions by Covid deniers and anti-lockdown activists and the growing abuse of frontline staff. But Sunday’s incident has prompted NHS England to write to all trusts urging them to take any steps needed to ensure they are protected. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 16 November 2021 -
News Article
Research confirms impact of COVID-19 on doctors’ mental health
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The COVID-19 crisis triggered high levels of anxiety and depression among doctors in the UK, Italy and Spain, a new study has found The research of 5,000 survey responses, across the three countries, found Italian doctors were most likely to have suffered during the crisis last year. The study, published in PLOS ONE, measured the mental wellbeing of doctors in Catalonia (Spain), Italy and the UK during June, November and December 2020. It found that around one in four medical doctors in Italy had experienced symptoms of anxiety in June and December 2020, with around one in five reporting symptoms of depression over the same period. In Catalonia around 16% of doctors reported anxiety and around 17% experienced depression. In the UK around 12% of doctors reported anxiety and around 14% had symptoms of depression. The study is among the first cross-country analysis of mental wellbeing among healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic and the first to focus on medical doctors. Across all countries, female doctors and doctors under 60 were more likely to have anxiety or depression. Professor Quintana-Domeque, professor of economics at the University of Exeter Business School, who carried out the study said: “The COVID-19 pandemic has been classified as a traumatic event, with healthcare workers arguably having the most direct and longest exposure to this disease." “The results of this study suggest that institutional support for healthcare workers, and in particular doctors, is important in protecting and promoting their mental health in the current and in future pandemics.” Read full story Source: The Independent, 3 November 2021 -
News Article
Trainee doctors 'scared to come to work'
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Some trainee doctors and consultants at one Welsh health board are "scared to come to work", a report has found. A report by the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) described "frightening experiences" staff faced at Aneurin Bevan University Health Board. Chronic understaffing and excessive workloads at the Grange hospital in Cwmbran were causing "very serious patient safety concerns", it added. The Health Board said it had taken the findings of the report very seriously. The report, obtained by BBC Wales, said that some trainee doctors and consultants were worried about working in case they lost their licence to practise. It also said the problems had caused some consultants to feel demoralised and on the brink of leaving. One trainee told the authors of the report: "On one overnight shift, I treated a four-year-old with seizures. The ambulance took six hours. Colleagues treated an 18-month-old with burns. Lots of kids come in with respiratory distress. Paediatric cases are not uncommon. We've treated stabbing victims. Colleagues delivered a baby earlier in the minor injuries unit. These things shouldn't happen at all." Another trainee said: "There's so much patient movement with [this] model. I recently sent someone from Nevill Hall to the Grange to get a scan, then to the [Royal] Gwent to get a follow-up procedure, then back to Nevill Hall. "That's three bed moves, three ambulance crews and three medical people dealing with the same patient. It's extremely inefficient." And another added: "I worry about the safety of the patients coming into this hospital." Read full story Source: BBC News, -
News ArticleFollowing the unprecedented impact and strain that the COVID-19 pandemic has placed on the NHS and social care, both the public and the healthcare sector believe politicians must prioritise the improvement of both patient and healthcare worker safety. The Safety for All white paper, Patient and Healthcare Worker Safety – Two sides of the same coin, is published today by the Safety for All campaign, set up by the Safer Healthcare and Biosafety Network (SHBN), an independent forum focused on improving healthcare worker and patient safety, including Patient Safety Learning and the Association of British HealthTech Industries. The white paper sets out the symbiotic relationship between healthcare worker safety and patient safety and that you cannot have one without the other. The pandemic has shone a light on the interconnection of these two issues, from the importance of effective infection control to ensuring healthcare professionals feel safe to speak up about incidents of unsafe care. This white paper makes the case for a new focus and priority for improvements in, and between, patient and healthcare worker safety to prevent safety incidents and deliver better outcomes for all. Dean Russell MP, a member of the Health and Social Care Select Committee, said: “The NHS estimates that there are 11,000 avoidable deaths in the UK each year due to patient safety incidents. We must look at the issue of patient safety holistically. If we can change our approach then then we can reduce the number of serious safety incidents. Also, if we ensure, in the transition back to normality following the pandemic, that the safety of healthcare workers is a priority this will also impact positively on patient safety.” Jonathan Hazan, chair of Patient Safety Learning, said: “I welcome the publication of the Safety for All white paper with its focus on the relationship between patient safety and staff safety. At Patient Safety learning, we have always understood that improvements in one area reinforce safety in the other. We recognise that avoidable harm has complex causes and to address them, we must transform the system so that patient safety is core to the purpose of health and social care, not just one of many competing priorities. We are engaging with politicians, healthcare organisations, professionals and patients to push for the system-wide change which will result in the reduction of harm. Dean Russell and his colleagues in Parliament have a key role in improving safety and we look forward to working with them.” Mike Fairbourn, Board Member of the Association of British HealthTech Industries, said: “Today the Safety for All campaign is launching its white paper called “Patient and Healthcare Worker Safety – Two sides of the same coin”. This makes the case for a new focus and priority for improvements in, and between, patient and healthcare worker safety to prevent safety incidents and deliver better outcomes for all. There needs to be a better understanding and advocacy of the mutual benefits to be accrued for patient safety by improving healthcare worker safety, and vice versa. Safety needs to be a core purpose for both the NHS and social care and for patient and workplace safety, with greater support for staff and for them to speak up following patient safety incidents.” Read the full story Source: Safer Healthcare and Biosafety Network (20 October 2021)
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News Article
West Suffolk Hospital: Midwives' critical letter right says boss
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
A whistleblowing letter sent by maternity staff to inspectors and a newspaper was "the right thing to do", the hospital's boss said. Midwives at West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds said they were "exhausted and broken" and claimed the unit was "consistently short-staffed". The hospital had previously been criticised for its treatment of whistleblowers. Its interim chief executive Craig Black said the letter was a "brave thing". The anonymous letter was sent to the Bury Free Press, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and the West Suffolk Foundation NHS Trust, in August. It claimed the midwives had spoken out because standards of care had fallen sharply. Staff were "under extreme pressures all the time, which has left them fed up, exhausted and burnt out", it said. Read full story Source: BBC News, 19 October 2021
