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News ArticleAmid 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
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Aerosol generating procedures, Covid-19 and cardiopulmonary resuscitation
Ken Spearpoint posted an article in Blogs
Blog from Ken Spearpoint on the aerosol generating procedures in cardiopulmonary resuscitation in Covid-19 patients. Ken is a Lecturer in Post Graduate Medicine at the University of Hertfordshire and critical care nurse for the match day medical team at Millwall FC,- Posted
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Coronavirus: Paramedic protective kit 'only fit for making sandwiches'
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
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- Posted
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Content ArticleDuring the covid-19 pandemic trainees may be asked to work in unfamiliar environments. Abi Rimmer asks experts how doctors can deal with the change
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Content ArticleThis article was published by Medigram, for chief medical officers and chief operating officers of hospitals and health systems to review with their infectious disease teams and chief executive officers. It looks at key lessons and strategies for preventing COVID-19 transmission within hospitals, including Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) standards, workflows, infrastructure. and workforce management. The content is based on the response to COVID-19 on South Korea.
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Content ArticleThis free course from the World Health Organization includes content on clinical management of patients with a severe acute respiratory infection. It is intended for clinicians who are working in intensive care units (ICUs) in low and middle-income countries and managing adult and paediatric patients with severe forms of acute respiratory infection (SARI), including severe pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), sepsis and septic shock. It is a hands-on practical guide to be used by healthcare professionals involved in clinical care management during outbreaks of influenza virus (seasonal) human infection due avian influenza virus (H5N1, H7N9), MERS-CoV, COVID-19 or other emerging respiratory viral epidemics. Learning objectives: By the end of this course, participants should possess some of the necessary tools that can be used to care for the critically ill patient from hospital entry to hospital discharge. Course duration: Approximately 10 hours. Target audience: This course is intended for clinicians who are working in intensive care units (ICUs) in low and middle-income countries.
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First shift on the COVID-19 ward
Claire Cox posted an article in Blogs
A trainee ophthalmologist shares his experience with BMJ Opinion of being redeployed to the frontline of COVID-19 preparation and hopes that it will allay fears.- Posted
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Free Headspace Ap access for NHS workers
Claire Cox posted an article in Suggest a useful website
Meditation has been shown to help people stress less, focus more and sleep better. Headspace is meditation made simple, teaching you life-changing mindfulness skills in just a few minutes a day.- Posted
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Content ArticleSara Albolina and Giulia Dagliana share the lessons learned from Italy and provide valuable guidance in this podcast shared on the Project Patient Care website. The podcast has been widely circulated among US healthcare provider organisations, patient advocates, and government organisations.
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Content ArticleA careful planning for a pandemic, like COVID-19, is critical to protecting the health and welfare of entire humanity. Hospitals play a very critical role within the health system in providing essential medical care to the community, particularly during the crisis. But hospitals are complicated and vulnerable institutions, dependent on crucial external support and supply lines. During the current outbreak, an interruption of these critical support services and supplies would potentially disrupt the provision of acute health care by an unprepared health-care facility. Any shortage of critical equipment and supplies could limit access to the needed care and have a direct impact on healthcare delivery and panic could potentially jeopardise established working routines. In such scenario, even a modest rise in admission volume can overwhelm a hospital beyond its functional reserve. Even for a well-prepared hospital, coping with the health consequences of a COVID-19 outbreak would be a complex challenge for sure. WHO hospital readiness checklist shows the key actions to take in the context of a continuous hospital emergency preparedness process.
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Content ArticleAhead of the Health and Social Care Select Committee’s next oral evidence session, Patient Safety Learning have raised several urgent safety issues with the Chair, Jeremy Hunt MP. Below is a blog summarising our submission to the Committee.
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News ArticleHundreds 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
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COVID-19: what are you wearing? Working in a soup of droplets
Patient Safety Learning posted an article in Blogs
Blog series from Claire, a critical care outreach nurse, reflecting her experiences, thoughts and fears during the coronavirus pandemic.- Posted
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Coronavirus: GPs demand 'clarity' over protective gear guidance
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
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- Posted
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How are you feeling today NHS? toolkit (14 January 2019)
Patient Safety Learning posted an article in Staff safety
It’s easier to recognise someone’s physical wellbeing than their emotional wellbeing. We also find it much easier to engage in conversations about physical health, but often find talking about emotional wellbeing to be more of a challenge. The implications of decreased emotional wellbeing are detrimental as it can contribute to mental health and stress concerns, it is important to ensure good staff wellbeing by encouraging conversation in the workplace.- Posted
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Content ArticleIn this paper published in JAMA Network Open, Lai et al., looked at what factors are associated with mental health outcomes among healthcare workers in China who are treating patients with coronavirus disease (COVID-19). In this cross-sectional study of 1257 healthcare workers in 34 hospitals equipped with fever clinics or wards for patients with COVID-19 in multiple regions of China, a considerable proportion of them reported experiencing symptoms of depression, anxiety, insomnia and distress. These findings suggest that, among Chinese healthcare workers exposed to COVID-19, women, nurses, those in Wuhan, and front-line health care workers have a high risk of developing unfavourable mental health outcomes and may need psychological support or interventions.
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The three vital lessons Italian hospitals have learned in fighting COVID-19
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
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- Posted
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GP given masks with expiry dates that have passed
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
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- Posted
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Content Article"My blood ran cold when I was instructed to conserve personal protective equipment in the fight against COVID-19. Masks and other supplies are severely limited. Rather than following deeply ingrained safety standards, healthcare providers across the country are switching to what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calls “strategies that are not commensurate with U.S. standards of care.” In her blog published in the Washington Post, Dorothy Novick, a paediatrician in Philadelphia, highlights the lack of personal protective equipment in the US and why the shortage of protective equipment is not only a crisis for healthcare providers on the front lines but also a potential disaster for patients.
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News ArticleA 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
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Content ArticleThe four chief nursing officers of the UK asked all nurses who have retired from nursing in the last three years to consider re-joining the register held by the Nursing and Midwifery Council and come back into practice to help health and care services to support patients with COVID-19. In this article in the Independent, Elaine Maxwell explains why she is stepping up having left the Nursing and Midwifery Council register twelve months ago and not having worked clinically for 10 years.
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News ArticleThe 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
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Nurses treating coronavirus spat at and called ‘disease spreaders’
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
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- Posted
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"The tsunami is coming and we’re all terrified"
Anonymous posted an article in Blogs
I am a nurse providing specialist support to seriously ill patients at a large acute Trust in England. Today I have been working with patients who have COVID-19. I am angry and scared.- Posted
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COVID-19: advice for staff (updated 18 March 2020)
PatientSafetyLearning Team posted an article in Guidance
Please note, this is an evolving situation and the advice changes based on the latest published Public Health England guidance.- Posted
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