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Content ArticleThere is evidence of disproportionate mortality and morbidity amongst black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) people, including NHS staff, who have contracted COVID-19. The authors of this blog argue that this is not just an equality, diversity and inclusion issue but an urgent medical emergency and we need to act now.They look at how the NHS can support BAME staff through the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond, focusing on: protection of staff engagement with staff representation in decision making rehabilitation and recovery communications and media.
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Content ArticleOur NHS staff are doing fantastic work to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic and keep essential services going – their hard work and dedication during this difficult time is remarkable. As the NHS Chief Executive Sir Simon Stevens made clear in his letter of 29 April 2020 to NHS chief executives, it is important to remind everyone of the duty – and right – of those who work in the NHS to speak up about anything which gets in the way of patient care and worker wellbeing. Hear what Prerana Issar, the first NHS Chief People Officer, has to say in her blog. See also our hub resources on Whistleblowing and Speak Up Guardians.
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Content Article
Choices for the “New Normal” (4 May 2020)
Patient Safety Learning posted an article in Blogs
No one can say with certainty what the consequences of this pandemic will be in 6 months, let alone 6 years or 60. Some “new normal” may emerge, in which novel systems and assumptions will replace many others long taken for granted. But at this early stage, it is more honest to frame the new, post–COVID-19 normal not as predictions, but as a series of choices. In this article in JAMA, Donald Berwick proposes six properties of care for durable change: tempo, standards, working conditions, proximity, preparedness, and equity. -
Content Article
Safe communication during Covid-19
Claire Cox posted an article in Good practice and useful resources
A six-minute communication science video how to protect yourself against disinformation during COVID-19. -
Content Article
NHS Employers: Risk assessments for staff – COVID-19
PatientSafetyLearning Team posted an article in Staff safety
This page contains guidance for employers on how to carry out risk assessments particularly for vulnerable groups, to understand the specific risks staff members face from exposure to COVID-19 and actions which employers can take to keep staff safe. This includes staff returning to work for the NHS, and existing staff who are potentially more at risk due to their race, age, disability or pregnancy. -
Content ArticleDesperate times offer opportunities for the light to come streaming in. Currently, we are seeing that light in the outpouring of support and love for health and care staff across the world during this pandemic. In the UK, a large proportion of those staff come from ethnic minorities and some are dying at a much higher rate than white staff. The same is true in the general population. The authors of this article, published by the Kings Fund, take a look at the statistics and ask 'what are we to do now?'
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Content ArticleFrom the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK, Patient Safety Learning has been working with others in healthcare – from patients and staff to healthcare leaders and politicians – to identify the impact the pandemic is having on non COVID-19 treatment and care, and on patient safety. Recently, Patient Safety Learning hosted a webinar, in partnership with HealthPlusCare, titled ‘Patient safety: Time for questions? Non Covid-19 care and treatment’. The webinar took place on Wednesday 6 May, with a panel consisting of: Professor Maureen Baker CBE, Chair of the Professional Records Standards Body and past Chair of the Royal College of GPs Professor Mike Bewick, Chair of CECOPS and past Deputy Medical Director to Sir Bruce Keogh at NHS England Dr Jane Carthey, Human Factors and Patient Safety Specialist Mike Fairbourn, Chair of ABHI Patient Safety Working Group and BD Country General Manager Dean Russell MP, MP for Watford and member of the Health and Social Care Select Committee Claire Cox, Patient Safety Learning’s Associate Director of Patient Safety and Critical Care Outreach Nurse Helen Hughes, Patient Safety Learning’s Chief Executive We are delighted with the success of the webinar, with 542 participants. Those who attended represented stakeholders from across the health and care system, and were well-engaged, making good use of the chat, Q&A and polls.
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Content Article
NHS trade unions’ blueprint for return (May 2020)
PatientSafetyLearning Team posted an article in Exit strategies
As we enter what could be the start of a gradual easing of lockdown restrictions, discussion has turned to how the NHS restarts those services that were stepped down during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this document, 16 NHS trade unions That is why 16 NHS trade unions are asking UK governments and employers to work with them to deliver their Blueprint for Return, in which they set out 9 key recommendations. -
Content Article
COVID-19 Mental Health Improvement Network
Claire Cox posted an article in Mental health
The COVID-19 Mental Health Improvement Network has been set up by the Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCPsych) on behalf of NHS England & Improvement. Its aim is to support mental health teams to share and learn from each other to maintain and improve safety in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This flyer has more information on the network and they are sharing changes that mental health providers have put in place to respond to COVID-19 challenges /safety issues on social media using #MHSIPCV19. -
News Article
Five key areas identified ahead of restarting NHS services
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
A joint letter from the Health Foundation, The King’s Fund and Nuffield Trust has been delivered to the Health and Social Care Select Committee identifying five key aspects which need addressed ahead of their evidence session on delivering core NHS and care services during and beyond the coronavirus pandemic. Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock told the House of Commons on 22 April 2020 that the pandemic had reached its peak and talked of his intention to ‘gradually reopen’ the NHS as soon as it was safe to do so. For the joint authors of the letter, before any services look to begin being restarted key areas need addressed including a reliable supply of PPE to protect staff and a clear understanding within the system of the full extent of unmet need – particularly important as at present, from a big picture view, it is not clear how many services have been suspended. The joint letter puts five key questions to the Select Committee to address: How and when will appropriate infection prevention and control measures be available for all settings delivering care, and what impact will these have on capacity to reopen? How will the system understand the full extent of unmet need? How will the public’s fear of using NHS and social care services be reduced? What is the strategy for looking after and growing the workforce? Can the system improve as it recovers? Read full story Source: National Health Executive, 14 May 2020 -
Content ArticleDuring the COVID-19 pandemic it is important to reduce the variation in individual ward/service/organisational practices and try as much as possible to adopt a shared, safe standard for staff looking after ward patients. SPACES (Sharing Patient Assessments Cuts Exposure for Staff) is a standardised approach to the management of ward care. It is based on the principles of 'maximum patient contact, minimum staff exposure'. SPACES can help keep staff safe and reduce PPE use. It is for everyone working on a ward with suspected or proven COVID-19 cases, and particularly for multi-professional teams. Attached is more information and a poster for the ward area.
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News Article
'Make or break' moment to break PTSD
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
NHS staff are at risk of high rates of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) if they don't get the right support as the coronavirus outbreak subsides, health service adviser Prof Neil Greenberg has said. For now there's a national focus on health and care workers. Public billboards praise them, millions turn out on the street for a weekly round of applause and volunteers have been rushing to help in any way they can. But the height of the crisis is when many staff will be in coping mode. It's when things slow down - and the clapping stops - that, psychologists believe, the real risk of difficulties will arise. People may need months or even years of "active monitoring" of their mental health after things return to some semblance of normality, according to Prof Greenberg, a world-leading expert in trauma at King's College London. The NHS in England is providing crisis support to its staff. But it hasn't produced a formal long-term plan to offer extra psychological services in the aftermath of the pandemic. It's what happens after the trauma that is "most predictive of what people will be like in terms of their mental health", according to Prof Greenberg. How well people are supported and how much stress they're put under as they try to recover can make or break whether someone manages well or develops far more serious difficulties including PTSD. "If we muck it up then that's going to make the trauma they've already had much more difficult to deal with," he says. Read full story Source: BBC News, 15 May 2020 -
News Article
Coronavirus: Reopening NHS services must be safe, unions say
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Rapid testing and an adequate supply of protective equipment must be in place when the NHS reopens services cancelled during the peak of the coronavirus oubreak, health unions have said. The unions have put forward a nine-point plan for the NHS to reopen safely as lockdown restrictions ease. NHS England has told hospitals to restart routine and non-urgent operations and procedures which were put on hold to create more capacity for COVID-19 patients. But 16 unions, including Unison, the Royal College of Nursing, Unite and GMB, said they wanted the NHS to continue to operate a "safety-first" approach as outpatient clinics and operations resume. They said they wanted to avoid a repeat of the PPE supply problems which "sapped" staff confidence and "caused widespread and unnecessary anxiety". Unison's Sara Gorton, who also chairs the NHS group of unions, said the health sector faced another "crucial test" after handling the outbreak. She added: "As hospitals get busier, and clinics and other services begin to reopen, the safety of staff and patients is paramount. But this can't happen without plentiful and constant PPE supplies." Read full story Source: BBC News, 15 May 2020 -
Content ArticleBetween 25-30 April 2020, three nurses working at Waitakere Hospital, New Zealand tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19). In the week prior to testing positive, the nurses had been working on a ward caring for a group of elderly patients with COVID-19. The patients were from an aged residential care (ARC) facility in West Auckland.
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News ArticleHospital staff may be carrying SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 disease, without realising they are infected, according to a study by researchers at the University of Cambridge. Patients admitted to NHS hospitals are now routinely screened for the SARS-CoV-2 virus, and isolated if necessary. But NHS workers, including patient-facing staff on the front line, such as doctors, nurses and physiotherapists, are tested and excluded from work only if they develop symptoms of the illness. Many of them, however, may show no symptoms at all even if infected, as a new study published in the journal eLife demonstrates. The implications of the new study, say senior authors Dr Mike Weekes and Professor Stephen Baker from the Cambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology and Infectious Disease (CITIID), are that hospitals need to be vigilant and introduce screening programmes across their workforces. “Test! Test! Test! And then test some more,” Dr Weekes explains. “All staff need to get tested regularly for COVID-19, regardless of whether they have any sort of symptoms – this will be vital to stop infection spreading within the hospital setting.” Read full story Source: University of Cambridge, 12 May 2020
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Content ArticleNHS National Services Scotland has produced this video for Primary Care staff to aid safe donning, doffing and disposal of personal protective equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Content ArticleThis infographic designed by Public Health England shows how to remove personal protective equipment safely.
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Content ArticleMore than six weeks into the lockdown and if you were to gauge the mood of the nation, it would be one of fatigue. It started as an all-hands-on-deck emergency situation, but it now transpires that the current work situation for healthcare professionals is not going to change any time soon. This is a marathon rather than a sprint. So how can we better look after ourselves to cope with this new realisation? This BMJ podcast features Dr Caroline Walker, an NHS-based psychiatrist and therapist. Wait until the end for Caroline's simple technique she uses to help when feeling overwhelmed.
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Content ArticleInternational Council of Nurses (ICN) CEO, Howard Catton, expresses his concern for healthcare workers rising COVID-19 infections and deaths due to lack of personal protective equipment. He also speaks of the lack of data which should be collected systematically by governments to better monitor and control the spread of COVID-19 among healthcare workers.
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Content Article
Hindsight 30: Wellbeing during COVID-19
Claire Cox posted an article in Good practice and useful resources
This is issue 30 of HindSight magazine (a publication about the safety of air traffic management). The theme of this Issue is ‘wellbeing’, which has an undeniable link to safe operations, though this is not often spoken about. This issue coincides with the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors of the articles were considering wellbeing in the context of aviation, and other industries. But the articles touch on topics that are deeply relevant to the pandemic. The spread of the virus and its effect on our everyday lives has brought the biological, psychological, social, environmental, and economic aspects of wellbeing into clear view in a way we have never seen before. -
News Article
UK health watchdog may investigate coronavirus deaths
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The deaths of more than 50 hospital and care home workers have been reported to Britain’s health and safety regulator, which is considering launching criminal investigations, the Guardian has learned. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which investigates the breaking of safety at work laws, has received 54 formal reports of deaths in health and care settings “where the source of infection is recorded as COVID-19”. These are via the official reporting process, called Riddor: Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences. Separately, senior lawyers say any failures to provide proper personal protective equipment (PPE) may be so severe they amount to corporate manslaughter, with police forces drawing up plans to handle any criminal complaints. Despite weeks of pleading, frontline medical staff complain that PPE is still failing to reach them as hospitals battle the highly contagious virus. Senior barristers say criminal investigations should be launched, and that there are grounds to suspect high-level failures. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 10 May 2020 -
News Article
New face cover for cancer test patients to stop COVID-19 spread
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Surgeons have invented a new device to make it safer to diagnose some cancers during the coronavirus pandemic. Most nose and throat investigations have been cancelled due to increased risks of medics contracting COVID-19 via patients' coughs and sneezes. Two consultants have developed a device that clips over patients' masks and protects front-line workers. The West Midlands-based doctors want to raise £50,000 they say is enough to make devices for use across the NHS. Chris Coulson, a consultant ear, nose and throat surgeon at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, said procedures involving an endoscope to examine the nose or throat were known to put clinicians at a significantly increased risk of contracting coronavirus. "When clinicians carry out a nasendoscopy it can make patients cough, sneeze, and splutter - which risks spreading the virus to doctors, nurses and therapists," he said. His company endoscope-i Ltd, co-founded with Ajith George, a consultant head and neck surgeon at University Hospitals North Midlands, has now developed the SNAP. It clicks on to a conventional surgical mask, creating a hole through which the clinician can pass an endoscope directly into a patient's nose. A valve means, despite there being a hole, any coughs, sneezes or splutters are caught within the mask. Mr George said: "If we can raise the money needed to produce the devices, we can keep looking after patients and ensure that diagnosis and treatment is not delayed." Read full story Source: BBC News, 11 May 2020 -
Content ArticleProvides guidance for both employers and staff on promoting positive mental health and supporting those experiencing mental ill health in the workplace Mental Health & Wellbeing in the Workplace is a valuable resource for those in the workplace wanting to look after their physical and mental wellbeing, and those looking for guidance in managing staff with mental health issues. 20% off for key workers! use code MWKEY
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Content ArticleA blog in the Guardian from an anonymous care worker about the unfair treatment of care home workers, the lack of personal protective equipment available, the fear of speaking up, and the stress and anxiety the pandemic is causing.
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Content ArticleThis is a guide from the British Psychological Society, for leaders and managers of healthcare services who will need to consider the wellbeing needs of all healthcare staff (clinical and non-clinical) as a result of the Coronavirus outbreak. It offers practical recommendations for how to respond at individual, management and organisational level involving the appropriate utilisation of expertise within their practitioner psychologist and mental health professionals and anticipates the psychological reactions over time, and what people may need to recovery psychologically from this.
