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Showing results for tags 'Surgeon'.
Found 217 results
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News ArticleNew victims of rogue breast surgeon Ian Paterson are being blocked from using lawyers with experience of the scandal to bring fresh compensation claims against the private hospital where he worked, The Independent has learned. Under the terms of a legal settlement for £37m in 2017, 40 law firms are barred from bringing any new claims against Spire Healthcare for 20 years – meaning that former patients who have learned since then that they were victims of the surgeon, who was jailed for carrying out needless surgeries on women, face having to find lawyers with no prior knowledge of the case. When the deal was signed, it was thought that most of Paterson’s victims had been contacted by the hospital company, but an inquiry published in 2020 heavily criticised its failure to reach affected patients and accused the company of seeking to protect its reputation rather than the interests of patients. In response, Spire Healthcare launched a mass recall of 5,500 former patients, with independent clinicians reviewing their medical records. Some are learning for the first time that they had needless surgery at the hands of the surgeon. Read full story Source: The Independent, 11 April 2021
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News Article
PHIN responds to Government update on the Paterson Inquiry
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Following the statement from Nadine Dorries MP, Minister for Patient Safety, providing an update on the Paterson Inquiry, Matt James, Chief Executive of the Private Healthcare Information Network, said: “Although we were expecting the Government’s full response by now, it’s reassuring to know that this is still firmly on the agenda. The updates provided today are all welcome, but perhaps most telling is what remains to be addressed – most notably whole-practice information and better information for patients (recommendations one and three). “While it’s disappointing not to see more specifics, it is crucial that the recommendations are implemented properly and with the right consideration, resisting the temptation to create new systems from scratch and instead build on the excellent progress made by organisations such as NHS Digital, GIRFT, NCIP and PHIN. “We will continue to work with our partners across the NHS and private sector to make positive changes which improve transparency, accountability and information for patients. We will continue to liaise with the Department of Health and Social Care when invited to do so.” Press release Source: PHIN, 23 March 2021 -
News Article
Hospital operating theatres plagued by racist, sexist and homophobic abuse
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Racism, sexism, and homophobia is widespread in hospital operating theatres across England, according to an independent report. In a damning verdict on the atmosphere in some surgical teams, Baroness Helena Kennedy QC said the ‘old boys’ network of alpha male surgeons was preventing some doctors from rising to the top and had fuelled an oppressive environment for women, ethnic minorities and trainee surgeons. The report was commissioned by the Royal College of Surgeons and lays bare the "discrimination and unacceptable behaviour" taking place in some surgical teams. Baroness Kennedy told The Telegraph the field of surgery was "lagging behind" society, adding: "It is driven by an ethos which is very much alpha male, where white female surgeons are often assumed to be nurses and black women surgeons mistaken for the cleaner. And this is by the management. Read full story Source: The Independent, 18 March 2021 -
News ArticleNHS England has ordered an independent review into patient safety and governance concerns at an acute trust which had been resisting calls to take this step, HSJ has learned. The intervention at University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay Foundation Trust comes after pressure from staff and local MPs, who believe more extensive investigation is required into cases of patient harm within the trauma and orthopaedics division. The broad issues were first revealed by HSJ in November, with documents suggesting several patients were harmed after leaders failed to act on multiple concerns being raised about a surgeon. The trust has already commissioned one external review. This reported last year and found the service to be riven by “internecine squabbles”. However, the review was overseen by trust executives and the terms of reference were focused on incident reporting and culture within the department. It is understood that some consultants have since been pushing for further investigation into specific cases where patients were harmed, as well as concerns that managers or clinicians who were accused of failing to tackle the issues have since been promoted to more senior positions. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 2 March 2021
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News ArticleA second “mutilated” patient left with life-changing injuries after botched hospital surgery has described how she was left in urine-soaked bed sheets for days by nurses who called her lazy when she was unable to get out of bed. Lucy Wilson told The Independent she believes she would have been better looked after at a veterinary practice compared to the level of care she received from nurses at Norfolk and Norwich Hospital Trust in January last year. She was one of three patients harmed by surgeon Camilo Valero in the same week and almost died after Dr Valero and other staff failed to recognise her life-threatening injuries following the operation to remove her gall bladder. Dr Valero is under investigation by the General Medical Council but is still practising under supervision at the trust, which has refused to say whether the third patient survived their ordeal. After requests by The Independent, bosses at the NHS trust have now committed to publishing details of a secret review carried out by the Royal College of Surgeons into Dr Valero’s work and the wider surgical services at the trust. Read full story Source: The Independent, 31 May 2021
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EventuntilJoin BD this live educational event designed to promote discussions on the following topics: An overview of the latest evidence-based prevention measures of HAI (SSI). Essential bundles of an effective infection prevention and control program management in cardiac surgery. Review of the sustainable change in practice within operating room. The event is designed for cardiac surgeons, infection control and nurses who are interested in learning more about new techniques and methodologies to minimise some of the most challenging post-operative complications, with an opportunity to debate and share opinions with peers through live discussions with internationally renowned faculty. Register
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Content ArticleThis Quality Improvement Programme for Surgical Site Infections document was developed as an output of an advisory board meeting, convened by Mölnlycke. The meeting focused on developing a resource to aid healthcare professionals to deliver successful infection prevention programmes in their organisations.
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Content ArticleRecent years have seen a surge in interest in the study of resilience in medical professionals. Concern has been expressed about the psychological wellbeing of doctors in general and of surgeons specifically, with increasing individual doctors’ resilience being suggested as a possible solution.1 However, there are potential risks as well as benefits to this focus on individual resilience. This article from Bolderston et al. explores both sides of the resilience coin, and considers potentially helpful ways of addressing psychological wellbeing and resilience in surgeons, including the development of an Acceptance and Commitment Therapy-based intervention.
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Content Article
Impact of adverse events on surgeons (April 2022)
Patient Safety Learning posted an article in Surgery
Surgeons are affected negatively when things go wrong. They may experience guilt, anxiety and reduced confidence following adverse events, which may lead to formal investigation and sanction. Medical errors have been linked with burnout, depression, suicidal ideation and reduced quality of life. This research from Turner et al. explores the impact of adverse events on UK surgeons’ health and wellbeing. Surgeons completed an online survey that involved recalling an error-based or complication-based event and answering questions regarding health, wellbeing and support seeking. -
Content ArticleSurgical smoke or surgical plume is the smoke created by electrical and cauterisation devices used in surgery. When surgical staff are exposed to this smoke, it may cause harm, with some studies finding that exposure increased cancer risk for surgeons. This study in the journal Scientific Reports aimed to compare the concentration of surgical smoke produced by different tissues and electric diathermy modes, and to measure the effectiveness of different local exhaust ventilations. The authors found that: there were varying levels of particulates given off by different devices and different tissues. in the cutting setting, all three smoke extractors had more than 96% efficiency in clearing surgical smoke. adapting an electric diathermy device with a urethral catheter is a simple and effective way to exhaust smoke in surgical operations. They highlight the need for more research to ensure surgical staff are well protected from the risks of surgical smoke.
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Content ArticleEverybody makes mistakes at work but what if you're a doctor and you ruin a patient's life - or even end it? Doctor-turned-writer Jed Mercurio recalls a catalogue of errors from his years as a medical student.
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Content ArticleClinicians at Guy's & St Thomas' Foundation Trust in London are preparing to publish the results of 15 one-day HIT lists between February 2021 and August 2022, involving 300 patients across eight different specialties, in which they claim they have been able to carry out four times as many operations as they would normally expect to complete in a month using conventional lists.
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Content ArticleProven patient safety solutions such as the World Health Organization’s Surgical Safety Checklist can be difficult to implement at scale. This article looks at a voluntary initiative launched in South Carolina hospitals in 2010 to encourage use of the checklist in all operating rooms. Hospitals that implemented the checklist by 2017 had higher levels of CEO and physician participation than comparison hospitals, and engaged more in activities such as in-person meetings and teamwork skills trainings. The authors suggest three considerations for hospital, state and national policy makers: Successful programs must be designed to engage all stakeholders (CEOs, physicians, nurses, surgical technologists, and others) Offering a variety of program activities—both lower-touch and higher-touch—over the duration of the program allows more hospital and individual participation Change takes time and resources
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Content ArticleIn this blog, Luke Yamaguchi describes his experience of hernia mesh surgery and the impact the procedure had on his health. He tells his story of having laparoscopic hernia repair using polypropylene (PP) mesh, which left him with severe chronic pain. After nine years, he underwent mesh removal surgery. Alongside his story, he describes the risks associated with surgical mesh and the use of PP as a material, highlights the lack of research about its side-effects and draws attention to the role of industry in promoting the use of mesh.
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Content ArticleThis tool was developed collaboratively between the Association for Perioperative Practice (AfPP), NHS England (NHSE) and BD to guide perioperative staff in selecting the most appropriate skin preparation solution for respective surgical procedures. By providing a combination of cues pre-defined and selected by the user, this tool recommends the most appropriate surgical skin antiseptic solution, method of use, technique, and precautions. The development of this clinical interactive decision-making tool provides healthcare professionals with evidence-based information at their fingertips to manage surgical site skin preparation effectively. This facilitates clinical decisions in practice, saving time and reducing harm.
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EventSurgeons are affected by adverse events. There is a paucity of data on the impact of adverse events on UK surgeons, on the factors that affect the degree and nature of this impact, and on the interventions that might ameliorate this impact either before or after an adverse event. This presentation will include early results of a UK survey and details of an RCT to evaluate the effectiveness of resilience training for surgical trainees. Registrations
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Content ArticleThe quality of most published robotic surgery studies is low, and studies are often inconclusive when it comes to effectiveness compared to open and laparoscopic procedure approaches. Furthermore, clinical literature has shown significant variation in practice and recommendations for surgeon training and credentialing. However, despite the evidence, the number of robotic surgery procedures continues to increase. In this blog ECRI looks at the risks associated with robotic surgery focussing mainly on three areas: patient safety and surgeon experience, evidence and cost.
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Content ArticleThe objective of this review from Alani et al. is to draw attention to the risk factors, causes and prevention of surgical fires in facial plastic and reconstructive surgery performed under local anaesthesia and sedation using a review of the literature.
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Content ArticleThe latest ECRI and the Institute for Safe Medication Practices PSO Deep Dive explores one of the areas that accounts for a large portion of healthcare volume: surgical care. Annually, surgery accounts for 7 million inpatient hospital stays and 36 million procedures in the outpatient setting. Although surgical safety has been the subject of guidelines, patient safety and quality improvement projects, and attention in the literature, adverse events continue to occur with relative frequency, putting patients at risk.
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Content ArticleIn this blog for the Guardian, a well respected surgeon tells of the time they were admitted to the intensive care unit of the hospital where they worked following a suicide attempt. The surgeon explains how depression is a lot more common in medicine than realised but how it is still stigmatised, even within the medical profession. Many medical staff often display signs of depression differently to others and keep working right up until they break; work brings comfort from the feelings of hopelessness and worthlessness. Very few have the opportunity to attend counselling, since this would require taking time off work. "I would be smiling and laughing on the outside, but on the inside was a continuous mantra of self-loathing that kept getting louder. I pushed myself harder, took extra shifts, tried to put my head down and just get through it. One day, I had had enough. The pain had become physical as well as mental, and the idea of having to live any longer was unbearable."
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Content ArticleThe Association for Perioperative Practice (AfPP) is calling for action to be taken after a recent never events report suggests little progress has been made to prevent errors within the perioperative environment.
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Content Article
A day in the life of an Operating Department Practitioner
Patient Safety Learning posted an article in Surgery
There are three main aspects of the Operating Department Practitioner (ODP) role; namely, anaesthetics, surgery and post-anaesthetic care. There are some overarching qualities that are necessary for any ODP. These include excellent communication skills including verbal, non-verbal and written. Treating patients with dignity and respect, maintaining confidentiality throughout. -
Content Article
Surgical Outcome Risk Tool v2 (SORT)
Patient Safety Learning posted an article in Surgery
Some patients die after major surgery. Risk prediction tools can help shared decision making with the patient, aiding decisions on whether to operate, how to prepare and use of critical care. An international multi-centre prospective observational cohort study in 274 sites with 22,631 patients compared risk prediction with 30-day mortality. In 88.7% of cases clinicians exclusively used subjective assessment. The best predictions were from the SORT tool combined with clinical assessment. P-POSSUM Surgical Risk Scale, SRS and SORT all over-predicted risk, with SORT performing best. This 10-question SORT model has been updated including clinician assessment and provides an accurate means of predicting perioperative risk. -
Content ArticleNational audits, such as the National Emergency Laparotomy Audit (NELA), are a powerful tool. They allow us to see what is happening to our ‘real-life’ patients, to identify gaps in our local services, to see which hospitals are doing best and to share best practice. This learning informs guidelines and pathways such as ‘The High-Risk Surgical Patient’ and the forthcoming international enhanced recovery programmes for emergency laparotomy. The linking of good practice with a financial incentive, the Best Practice Tariff, has also acted as a carrot for hospitals to support funding for new models of care. Previously we have seen how audit, linked with guidelines and associated financial incentives, has improved outcomes in hip fracture and now it is encouraging to observe similar results in emergency laparotomy. In this blog, Dr Jugdeep Dhesi, Consultant Geriatrician and Deputy Director for the Centre of Perioperative Care, discusses NELA and older patients, and how we must deliver patient-centred rather than surgical-speciality based pathways and to ensure the best outcomes for all of our patients.
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Content ArticleHealthcare organisations are designed to achieve consistent and reproducible outcomes when faced with planned, predictable or ‘routine’ emergencies. Unfortunately, the more robust the system, the less agile it is when faced with a novel clinical crisis. This is not surprising, as it is impossible to create emergency operating procedures for every new or unforeseen catastrophe. Similarly, many surgeons in positions of leadership have limited exposure to executive decision-making or clinical expertise outside their area of specialist training. It is not unreasonable therefore for surgical leaders and their organisations to feel overwhelmed by complex and evolving crises, such as the recent COVID-19 pandemic. At such times, it is important to reflect on key strategies that can provide pragmatic, timely and cohesive means of restructuring the delivery of surgical care at an organisational level.
