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Showing results for tags 'Staff safety'.
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News Article
Trust fears medics will be ‘harassed’ if it publishes surgery report
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Two external reviews have been carried out into a trust’s general surgery services amid concerns about whether it is a ‘safe interpersonal working environment’. But University Hospitals Sussex Foundation Trust has refused to make the reviews – which were both completed last year – public, partly because of what it says are concerns that they could lead to “harassment” of doctors who spoke to the authors. Both reviews were into aspects of the general surgery services at the Royal Sussex County Hospitals in Brighton. The trust has had a series of highly critical Care Quality Commission reports into some of its surgical services and a “well led” report is expected to be released in the next few weeks. The trust has refused HSJ’s Freedom of Information Act request to release the reviews, arguing that those interviewed had been promised confidentiality, and the issues involved are “emotive and sensitive matters”. “Disclosure could cause those involved in the reviews damage, distress and upset and could even lead to harassment,” it said. Read full story Source: HSJ, 27 March 2023 -
News Article
Two-thirds of UK workers with Long Covid have faced unfair treatment, says report
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
UK ministers should act to ensure Long Covid sufferers receive the support they need from employers, with as many as two-thirds claiming they have been unfairly treated at work, a report argues. The report, from the TUC and the charity Long Covid Support, warns that failing to accommodate the 2m people who, according to ONS data, may be suffering from long Covid in the UK will create, “new, long-lasting inequalities”. The analysis is based on responses from more than 3,000 long Covid sufferers who agreed to share their experiences. Two-thirds said they had experienced some form of unfair treatment at work, ranging from harassment to being disbelieved about their symptoms or threatened with disciplinary action. One in seven said they had lost their job. The report makes a series of recommendations, including urging the government to designate Long Covid as a disability for the purposes of the 2010 Equality Act, to make clear sufferers are entitled to “reasonable adjustments” at work; and to classify Covid-19 as an occupational disease to allow people who contracted it through their job to seek compensation. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 27 March 2023 -
Content ArticleThe Covid-19 pandemic continues to impact heavily on all our lives and one of the long-lasting, but unanticipated, impacts is the emergence of Long Covid. Whilst many people infected by Covid-19 may fully recover, significant numbers will experience varied, ongoing and debilitating symptoms that last weeks, months or years following the initial infection. This prolonged condition has been given the umbrella term Long Covid. Recognition of Long Covid was accelerated by people-led advocacy groups such Long Covid Support. The Office of National Statistics (ONS) reported that, as of 1 August 2021, 970,000 people in the UK were experiencing self-reported Long Covid. The most recent data from 2 January 2023, shows that this has increased to 2 million people This report summarises the findings of a self-selecting survey of 3,097 people with Long Covid in September and October 2022 on their experiences of work.
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Content Article
In this blog, Patient Safety Learning looks in detail at the results of the NHS Staff Survey 2022, focusing on responses relating to reporting, speaking up and acting on safety concerns. It includes the following key points: It is difficult to imagine other safety critical industries would deem these results acceptable. Nearly half of all respondents did not feel confident their organisation would address their concerns about unsafe clinical practice. It is hugely concerning that over 40% of respondents could not say that they would be treated fairly if involved in a patient safety incident. This could significantly undermine the willingness of staff to raise concerns, with significant consequences for patient safety. There needs to be greater urgency to improve the safety culture in the health service. NHS England needs to recognise the scale of this challenge and provide clarity on how it will work with organisations to tackle this. NHS England, working in partnership with the National Guardian and the Care Quality Commission, should bring forward as a matter of urgency robust and specific commitments to drive forward the work of improving the safety culture in the NHS. -
News Article
UK GPs have the highest stress levels, finds survey of 10 countries’ doctors
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
GPs in the UK have some of the highest stress levels and lowest job satisfaction among family doctors, a 10-country survey has found. British GPs suffer from high levels of burnout, have a worse work/life balance and spend less time with patients during appointments than their peers in many other places. Heavy workloads, seemingly endless paperwork and feelings of emotional distress are prompting many GPs to stop seeing patients regularly or even retire altogether, the research found. Seven in 10 (71%) NHS family doctors find their job “extremely” or “very stressful”, the joint-highest number alongside GPs in Germany among the countries analysed. The Health Foundation, which undertook the survey, said its “grim” findings showed that the “unsustainable” pressures on GPs and number of them quitting pose a threat to the NHS’s future. -
Content ArticleGPs in the UK are under extreme strain and public satisfaction with general practice has plummeted. Pressures on general practice are not unique to the UK and GPs around the world are contending with the impact of the pandemic on their patients and working lives. The 2022 Commonwealth Fund survey compares perspectives from GPs across 10 high‑income countries. The survey asked GPs’ views about their working lives and wellbeing, quality of care and how services are delivered. The Health Foundation analysed the survey data to understand the experiences of GPs in the UK and how they compare to other countries.
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Content Article
In a series of blogs for the hub, we will be highlighting the impact fatigue has on staff and patients. In their first blog, Emma Plunkett and Nancy Redfern, part of the Joint Working Group on Fatigue, shared how they became involved in investigating night shift fatigue, setting up the Joint Working Group on Fatigue and the aims of the #FightFatigue campaign. In this second blog, Emma and Nancy are joined by Roopa McCrossan to highlight how tiredness can impact on our performance, the patient and staff implications of fatigue, and the actions that need to be taken not only at an organisational level to improve culture, but the effort required at national level too.- Posted
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News ArticleSome hospitals are suspending supplies of gas and air, after it was found to pose health risks to midwives. What can be done to ensure pregnant women still get the help they need? When Leigh Milner was expecting her first baby, she knew exactly how she wanted her labour to go. Her birth plan included an epidural for the pain and she was hoping, she says ruefully, for “all the drugs”. But that is not how things worked out. Milner, 33, a BBC presenter, ended up giving birth to Theo at Princess Alexandra hospital in Harlow last month with nothing but paracetamol for pain relief, in what she calls a positively “Victorian” experience. “I kept begging over and over again – ‘I need something for pain relief’ – and the only thing they could give me was paracetamol because they didn’t have gas and air. I was quite frightened, I didn’t know what else to do,” says Milner. "Birth is painful, but it shouldn’t be traumatic.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 16 March 2023
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News Article
Steve Barclay accused of breaking pledge over NHS staff abuse data
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
NHS staff have accused Steve Barclay of breaking a pledge to publish details of how many of them are abused and assaulted in the course of their work. In 2018, when Barclay was a junior minister in the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), he promised he would resume publication of those statistics in the following year. However, five years later, Barclay has not fulfilled his pledge, despite being in his second stint as health secretary. Health unions and NHS leaders have warned that frontline staff have been on the receiving end of increased abuse, threats, aggression and assaults since the first outbreak of Covid. Long waiting times for care appear to be a particular source of frustration for some patients or their relatives. Growing numbers of ambulance crew personnel have begun using body-worn cameras in recent years to deter assaults and record any that do occur. In 2022, the London ambulance service recorded 877 reports of verbal abuse or threats of violence, 516 physical assaults – including kicking, punching, head-butting and use of a weapon – and 49 sexual assaults on staff. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 16 March 2023 -
News Article
USA: Top 10 patient safety concerns for 2023
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The US Emergency Care Research Institute (ECRI) has said the paediatric mental health crisis is the most pressing patient safety concern in 2023. ECRI, which conducts independent medical device evaluations, annually compiles scientific literature and patient safety events, concerns reported to or investigated by the organization, and other data sources to create its top 10 list. Here are the 10 patient safety concerns for 2023, according to the report: 1. The pediatric mental health crisis 2. Physical and verbal violence against healthcare staff 3. Clinician needs in times of uncertainty surrounding maternal-fetal medicine 4. Impact on clinicians expected to work outside their scope of practice and competencies 5. Delayed identification and treatment of sepsis 6. Consequences of poor care coordination for patients with complex medical conditions 7. Risks of not looking beyond the "five rights" to achieve medication safety 8. Medication errors resulting from inaccurate patient medication lists 9. Accidental administration of neuromuscular blocking agents 10. Preventable harm due to omitted care or treatment For the number one spot, ECRI said the COVID-19 pandemic raised the situation, which includes high rates of depression and anxiety among children, to crisis levels. ECRI President and CEO Marcus Schabacker, MD, PhD, said social media, gun violence and other socioeconomic factors were fueling the issue, but COVID-19 pushed it into a crisis. "We're approaching a national public health emergency," Dr. Schabacker said in a statement. Read full story Source: Becker's Hospital Review, 13 March 2023 -
Content ArticleECRI’s Top 10 Patient Safety Concerns 2023 list identifies potential sources of danger for patients and staff. ECRI believe these risks require the greatest focus for the coming year and offer actionable recommendations for reducing these risks. ECRI conducts independent medical device evaluations, annually compiles scientific literature and patient safety events, concerns reported to or investigated by the organization, and other data sources to create its top 10 list.
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Content ArticleThe Association of Anaesthetists (AoA) has developed a set of resources to help NHS staff and boards tackle the impact of healthcare worker fatigue. Part of the AoA's #FightFatigue campaign, these resources can be downloaded as a whole package or separate items.
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Content ArticleThis practical advice and guidance from the Association of Anaesthetists aims to help anaesthetists and other healthcare staff to look after their mental wellbeing. It covers the following topics: Achieving a work/life balance Using mindfulness Managing stress Coping with death Dealing with bullying Guidelines to help anaesthetists at risk of suicide
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Content ArticleSleep deprivation and fatigue lead to a wide range of performance issues that may pose risks to workers and others in the work environment. This review in Frontiers in Neuroscience discusses relevant literature on the topic of fatigue-related performance effects, with a special emphasis physiological and behavioural response variables that have shown to be sensitive to changes in fatigue. It also looks at methods for mitigating these performance effects and discusses their usefulness in regulating them.
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Content ArticleIn this blog, Laura Pickup, Senior Investigation Science Educator at the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB) talks about NHS staff fatigue in the run up to World Sleep Day and HSIB's fatigue event on 17 March 2023. She looks at the scientific basis of fatigue and the impact it can have on safety in healthcare settings. She also examines how the rail industry has made changes to deal with staff fatigue and improve safety, highlighting the unique challenges faced by healthcare due to workforce shortages. Laura highlights the conversation that HSIB has initiated about fatigue in healthcare and how to tackle the challenges it poses to safety.
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Content Article
In a series of blogs for the hub, Emma Plunkett and Nancy Redfern, part of the Joint Working Group on Fatigue, will highlight the impact staff fatigue has not only on the staff themselves but also on patient safety, and why healthcare needs a robust fatigue risk management system like other safety-critical industries. In their first blog, Emma and Nancy share how they became involved in investigating night shift fatigue after the death of a colleague driving home tired. They discuss how they set up the Joint Working Group on Fatigue and the aims of the #FightFatigue campaign. -
Content ArticleThis article in the journal Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery for the Clinician looks at the importance of recognising and addressing human factors in surgery. It explores human factors in the context of optimising individual performance, enhancing team working to improve patient safety, and creating better working lives for healthcare professionals across surgery and medicine.
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Content Article
Psychosocial risk webinar series (FEFO, October 2022)
Patient-Safety-Learning posted an article in Staff safety
This series of webinars by FEFO Consulting looks at how to identify psychosocial hazards at work and manage the associated risks. You can watch the four webinars on FEFO's YouTube channel: ISO 45003 vs Model code of practice – Getting started Change management – Managing psychosocial risks Mental fitness – Opening up conversations HR vs safety – Psychosocial ownership -
Content ArticleEvery year more than 12.7 million healthcare and veterinary workers in the European Union are potentially exposed to hazardous medicinal products (HMPs) which are carcinogenic, mutagenic and reprotoxic (CMR). HMPs are used mainly in cancer treatment, but also as antivirals, vaccines and immuno-suppressants, for treating such diseases as multiple sclerosis, psoriasis and systemic lupus erythematosus (an auto-immune disease) and in organ transplant. Studies show that hospital workers who handle these HMPs are three times more likely to develop malignancy and that nurses exposed are twice as likely to miscarry. Increased genetic damage has been demonstrated particularly among day-hospital nurses, who handle HMPs most during their administration. In an article for Social Europe, Ian Lindsley, Tony Musu and Adam Rogalewski examine the revised directive and new guidelines on hazardous medicinal products and discusses why awareness still needs to be raised to protect workers.
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Content Article
Useful tips to aid sleep (Association of Anaesthetists)
Patient-Safety-Learning posted an article in Staff safety
This article by the Association of Anaesthetists offers guidance for healthcare workers on how to get a good sleep. It includes advice on the following techniques and ideas: Unchallenge your brain Have a hot bath Sleep in a way that works for you Be prepared Power napping tips -
Content ArticleIn this episode of the Coffee and a Gas podcast, consultant anaesthetists Dr Roopa McCrossan and Dr Emma Plunkett talk about fatigue and how they pioneered the Association of Anaesthetists' Fight Fatigue campaign.
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Content Article
Poster - Working well at night (RCOA, 8 November 2018)
Patient-Safety-Learning posted an article in Staff safety
This poster by the Royal College of Anaesthetists, The Association of Anaesthetists and the Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine outlines practical principles for minimising the impact of fatigue for staff working night shifts. It includes tips for what to do before nights, during nights and between nights and advice on recovery after nights. -
Content Article
Guiding principles for determining work shift duration and addressing the effects of work shift duration on performance, safety, and health: guidance from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society (1 November 2021)
Patient-Safety-Learning posted an article in Workforce and resources
Regulators, organisations, communities and workers often struggle with how to manage shift duration and address associated risks from fatigue and sleepiness, while continuing to meet the societal demands for work. This article in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine proposes a series of guiding principles help design a shift duration decision-making process that effectively balances the need to meet operational demands with the need to manage fatigue-related risks. -
Content ArticleIn this video Kenny Gibson, Head of Safeguarding for NHS England and NHS Improvement, explains what trauma informed care is and describes the role of healthcare professionals in recognising trauma in colleagues and patients. He talks about the importance of overcoming unconscious bias around whether individuals have experienced trauma and outlines the importance of avoiding retraumatising victims. He also highlights that healthcare professionals can play a key role in bringing hope to people who have been traumatised.
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Content ArticleHealthcare is a $4 trillion component of the US economy, and the well-being of the clinician workforce is a major factor determining its effectiveness. Extensive evidence indicates that inefficiency, poorly designed workflows and processes, suboptimal teamwork, work overload, isolation, problems with work-life integration, and a professional culture that expects perfection and discourages help-seeking are currently contributing to high levels of occupational distress among clinicians. Although the problem and its impact on the health care delivery system are well defined, there is minimal evidence regarding effective interventions to drive progress. This knowledge gap is, in large part, due to the near-complete absence of federal funding for research to address one of the critical challenges facing the US health care delivery system.
