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Showing results for tags 'Surgery - General'.
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News ArticleThousands of patients are being forced to wait more than 18 months for treatments such as knee and brain surgery as the health service is set to miss its flagship target because of NHS strikes. NHS England last week claimed it was “on track” to hit the mandated target, but senior sources have warned that the impact of prolonged walkouts combined with unprecedented demand for emergency care means that this is now unlikely. The sources say it is probable that up to 10,000 patients will still be waiting for 18 months or more by the end of March, as a knock-on effect of the cancellation of 140,000 appointments because of strike action. More walkouts are planned over the coming weeks. Patricia Marquis, RCN director for England, said the backlog was “yet even more evidence of what happens when you fail to invest in the workforce. If ministers are serious about preventing a further exodus and cutting the backlog, they need to hear the calls of NHS leaders and come to the table and talk about pay. Only then will patients receive the care they need and waiting lists start to come down.” Read full story Source: The Independent, 15 February 2023
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News ArticleCathy Rice had been in all-consuming pain for 18 months when she decided to fly to Lithuania. “I was going up the stairs on my hands and knees. I couldn’t get to the shop. I had no quality of life,” she says. Rice, 68, who has four grandchildren, had been told she needed a knee replacement for an injury caused by osteoarthritis but – like millions of NHS patients – faced a gruelling wait. At a clinic in Kaunas, Lithuania’s second largest city, the operation was arranged within weeks and cost €6,800 (£5,967) – around half the cost in the UK. The price included a pre-travel consultation, return flights, airport transfers, two nights in an en suite hospital room, pre-surgery check-ups and post operative physio. “I thought, ‘Just look at your choices. You can stay here and be in this kind of pain for another couple of years or you can take a decision’,” Rice says. The former health sector worker, from Glasgow, is one of a growing number of Britons going abroad for routine medical care. She had never gone private before and never had a desire to. But last week, a year after the first surgery, she returned to Lithuania to have the same procedure on her other knee. This time, she says the wait she faced on the NHS was three years. She explains tearfully that to cover the costs of the surgeries in Lithuania, she sold her house. “People think that if you’re doing this you’ve got a wonderful pension or you’re very well off. But the driver here is that people are in pain,” she says. “This is not medical tourism; it’s medical desperation.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 21 January 2023
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News Article
Surgical mesh: "I wish I could go back in time and not have my operation"
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Complications after a procedure to treat IBS left Jennifer Hill in pain – and fighting for compensation. Earlier this year, an NHS inquiry found surgeon Anthony Dixon had caused women to “suffer harm” as a result of the mesh operations he carried out between 2007 and 2017. Dixon, who is now banned from practising in the UK, carried out hundreds of laparoscopic ventral mesh rectopexy (LVMR) operations for both the North Bristol NHS Trust and privately at Bristol’s Spire Hospital. Mesh is used to repair the pelvic floor, but the inquiry concluded that women should have been offered alternative treatments first. Jennifer Hill, from Herefordshire, is one of those women. She wishes she could go back in time and not have her mesh operation, which took place in May 2012. “I was totally unaware of the controversy surrounding mesh,” she says. “I still kick myself that I didn’t get a second opinion or ask more questions.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: The Telegraph, 11 January 2023 -
News Article
Eight trusts win place on elective recovery project
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Eight trusts have been awarded roles trialling a new accreditation scheme for surgical hubs as part of an NHS England pilot that will run until March. The creation of up to 140 surgical hubs, sites which are ring-fenced for surgical work only, is a key plank of the NHS England and government elective recovery plan for addressing the backlog. The full benefits are still being finalised but accredited trusts will likely get better access to additional recovery funding and central support from the Getting It Right First Time team. The hubs will focus mainly on providing high volume, low complexity surgery, as previously recommended by the Royal College of Surgeons of England, with particular emphasis on ophthalmology, general surgery, trauma and orthopaedics (including spinal surgery), gynaecology, ear nose and throat, and urology. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 12 January 2023 -
News Article
Record number of 'foreign objects' left inside patients after surgical blunders
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
A record number of "foreign objects" have been left inside patients' bodies after surgery, new data reveals. Incidents analysed by the PA news agency showed it happened a total of 291 times in 2021/22. Swabs and gauzes used during surgery or a procedure are one of the most common items left inside a patient, but surgical tools such as scalpels and drill bits have been found in some rare cases. A woman from east London described how she "lost hope" after part of a surgical blade was left inside her following an operation to remove her ovaries in 2016. The 49-year-old, who spoke to PA on condition of anonymity, said: "When I woke up, I felt something in my belly. "The knife they used to cut me broke, and they left a part in my belly." She added: "I was weak, I lost so much blood, I was in pain, all I could do was cry." The object was left inside her for five days, leading to an additional two-week hospital stay. Commenting on the analysis, Rachel Power, chief executive of the Patients Association, said: "Never events are called that because they are serious incidents that are entirely preventable because the hospital or clinic has systems in place to prevent them happening. "When they occur, the serious physical and psychological effects they cause can stay with a patient for the rest of their lives, and that should never happen to anyone who seeks treatment from the NHS. "While we fully appreciate the crisis facing the NHS, never events simply should not occur if the preventative measures are implemented." Read full story Source: Sky News, 4 January 2022 -
News Article
NHS operations cancelled in England due to staff shortages double in three years
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The number of operations cancelled by the NHS in England because of staff shortages may have doubled in three years, with an estimated 30,000 not proceeding because no staff were available to perform them. At least a third of cancelled operations were those that were deemed urgent, according to the analysis by Labour. It suggested at least 2,500 cancelled operations for cancer patients and 8,000 on children. It found staff shortages were the most common reason given for cancellations by hospitals, accounting for one in five of all operations cancelled for non-clinical reasons last year. The Department of Health and Social Care said it was “misleading” to extrapolate that figure from the data in the FOIs. “Thousands of elective appointments and procedures had to be cancelled during the pandemic to protect the NHS, and since then we’ve been focused on delivering the biggest catch-up programme in health history - virtually eliminating the longest 2-year waits for treatment,” a spokesman said. In total, 158,000 operations were cancelled for issues including equipment failures, a shortage of beds, and 5,700 because of equipment failure, administrative errors, and theatre lists overrunning. Labour cited one case that involved a 72-year-old woman who had two operations to remove a brain tumour cancelled in September, blamed on a lack of available beds. About 9,500 operations were cancelled because an emergency case took priority, and 250 due to adverse weather. Separate figures from the NHS show record numbers of operations cancelled at the last minute are not rearranged to take place within a month, with one in five patients waiting longer. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 12 December 2022 -
News Article
Ayrshire MSP Katy Clark wants ban on surgical mesh use in hernia ops
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
AN Ayrshire MSP has called for an end to surgical mesh being implanted in hernia patients in Scotland. A Freedom of Information request by Labour's Katy Clark has revealed that one in 12 of all hernia patients in NHS Ayrshire and Arran who have been implanted with surgical mesh since 2015 have been readmitted to hospital due to complications. And the West of Scotland MSP has backed a petition by constituents calling for the suspension of the use of surgical mesh until an independent review has been carried out. It follows the recent public health scandal over the pain and suffering endured by many women across Scotland implanted with transvaginal mesh. It took years of tireless campaigning by affected women before the Scottish Government took action, last year creating a mesh removal reimbursement scheme. Read full story Source: Irvine Times, 9 June 2023 -
News ArticlePolice are investigating about 40 hospital deaths over allegations of medical negligence made by two consultant surgeons who lost their jobs after blowing the whistle about patient safety. The allegedly botched operations took place at Royal Sussex County hospital (RSCH) in Brighton, part of University hospital Sussex NHS trust, when it was run by a management team hailed by Jeremy Hunt as the best in the NHS. Last week, detectives from Sussex police wrote to the trust’s chief executive, George Findlay, confirming they had launched a formal investigation into “a number of deaths” at the RSCH. They were investigating allegations of “criminal culpability through medical negligence” made by “two separate clinical consultants” at the trust, the letter said. It is understood about 40 deaths occurred between 2015 and 2020 after alleged errors in general surgery and neurosurgery departments. Both whistleblowers alleged the trust failed to properly investigate the deaths and learn from the mistakes made. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 9 June 2023
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News Article
People paying for operations up by third since Covid pandemic
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The number of people paying privately for operations and treatments in the UK has risen by more than a third since the pandemic started, the latest figures from the Private Healthcare Information Network (PHIN) show. Last year 272,000 used their own money to pay for treatments, such as knee or eye surgery - up from 199,000 in 2019. The NHS backlog has been blamed for the trend, with some of the treatments costing more than £15,000. But there does appear to have been a shift away from private insurance driven by the cost of living crisis. The numbers treated through that route were just below 550,000 - more than 30,000 fewer than three years ago. Health providers are reporting patients desperate for treatment because of NHS waits are increasingly turning to the private market. Read full story Source: BBC News, 24 May 2023 -
News Article
Use private sector more for NHS patients, says Labour
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The government in England should increase its use of the private sector to tackle the NHS backlog, Labour says. It said as many as 300,000 patients have missed out on treatment since it called for greater use of private clinics in January 2022. And the party said it was unjust that the lack of action meant only those who could afford to pay for treatment themselves were being seen on time. The government said it was delivering by cutting long waits. However, data published by NHS England last week showed key targets to tackle the backlogs in cancer care and routine treatment had been missed. Overall, there are now a record 7.3 million people on a hospital waiting list, which is nearly three million higher than it was before the pandemic started. Read full story Source: BBC News, 19 May 2023 -
News Article
UK surgical workforce census 2023 opens
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The Royal College of Surgeons of England is conducting a census to gain a better understanding of the surgical workforce. Through the census, they will be able to gather comprehensive information on the composition of the surgical workforce, its demographics and working practices. Most importantly, it allows members of the surgical workforce to share the most pressing challenges they are facing. It aims to: Better appreciate the needs, challenges, and working practices of the surgical workforce. More effectively represent and advocate for the workforce. Offer better support Create a better working environment. Enhance sustainability, including measures to improve retention, recruitment and work-life balance. Improve future planning. Take part in the survey -
News Article
Patient scarred for life after botched operation left him with severe burns
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
A patient who was left scarred for life when a botched operation left him with horrific burns has received a payout after suing the NHS. Paul Hickman, 44, underwent routine surgery to improve circulation in his legs when medics at Russell Hall Hospital in Dudley, West Midlands, wrongly used a heated mattress. He ended up with significant burns on his buttocks after an alcohol-based solution came into contact with the back of both thighs and his backside. Mr Hickman, of Walsall, West Midlands, said: “I hoped that the surgery would go well and would improve my health. “However, all I remember afterwards was being in severe pain. “To be told I had suffered burns was a complete shock and at first was difficult to try and take in. I couldn’t understand how that had happened". An NHS investigation found the use of heated mattresses was stopped in the type of procedure Mr Hickman underwent after another patient was burnt in 2016. The report found the use of alcohol-based solution during Mr Hickman’s preparation for surgery and the “inappropriate use” of a heated mattress in surgery led to his burns. Read full story Source: The Independent, 4 May 2023 -
News Article
Global hernia repair devices market is estimated to grow at a CAGR
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The rising prevalence of hernia disorders, technological advancements in hernia repair devices, growing adoption of mesh in hernia repair surgeries, rising geriatric population and high adoption of hernia repair surgical procedures are some of the key factors driving the global hernia repair devices market, reports Yahoo News. Leading players operating in the global hernia repair devices market are adopting both organic and inorganic growth strategies such as collaborations, acquisitions, and new product launches to garner a higher market share. For instance: In February 2023, TELA Bio, Inc announced the launch of two additional configurations of its OviTex LPR device. The new configurations are 15 x 20 cm and 15 x 25 cm ellipses designed for ventral and incisional hernias. In December 2022, Deep Blue Medical Advances announced that they have received an additional 510(k) clearance from the US FDA for its T-Line Hernia Mesh for the subway technique in open hernia surgery. However, in a recent Tweet, campaign group Sling the Mesh voice their concerns: -
News Article
Junior doctors’ April strike led to 195,000 NHS hospital cancellations
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Almost 200,000 hospital appointments and procedures in England were cancelled during last week’s junior doctors’ strikes, it has been revealed. There were 20,000 more appointments cancelled in the strikes that ran between 11 and 15 April than in the shorter strike in March, NHS England figures show. A total of 27,361 staff were not at work during the peak of the strikes, though the true figure could be higher as some workforce data was incomplete. The NHS’s national medical director, Prof Sir Stephen Powis, said the figures showed the “colossal impact of industrial action on planned care in the NHS”, with nearly half a million appointments rescheduled over the last five months. He said every postponed appointment had “an impact on the lives of individuals and their families and creates further pressure on services and on a tired workforce – and this is likely to be an underestimate of the impact as some areas provisionally avoided scheduling appointments for these strike days”. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 17 April 2023 -
News Article
Slimming jabs could see rise in unsafe treatment for excess skin, surgeons warn
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
A rise in the use of slimming jabs could lead to an increase in unsafe treatment for tummy tucks and surgery to remove excess skin, UK surgeons have warned. Drugs such as semaglutide and liraglutide are approved for use on the NHS for certain groups of people with obesity, and could help people reduce their weight by more than 10%. Surgeons have warned that people using the jabs may not realise they could be left with excess skin. “Whilst the newly introduced weight-loss drugs are not likely to produce comparable weight loss to bariatric surgery there is always the possibility that accompanying weight loss, a patient might be left with a degree of deflation and redundant skin,” said Marc Pacifico, the president of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons. However, access to surgery on the NHS to remove excess skin is limited because the NHS do not fund post-weight loss plastic surgery any more, so it has to be undertaken in the private sector. That costs about £4,500 to £6,000 in the UK, so Mr Pacifico warned patients might seek cheaper procedures abroad.. “I would strongly warn against this as there might not be the safeguards and assurances that the drugs being used are of the same quality and provenance as those being prescribed in the UK,” he said. He also warned that there are risks associated with having weight-loss plastic surgery abroad, such as the inability to undertake proper research on a surgeon, as well as the risks associated with flying straight after significant surgery – such as blood clots, as well as a lack of accessible follow-up with the surgeon and clinic to treat post-operative wound infections. Read full story Source: The Independent, 29 March 2023 -
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 ArticleA young woman receiving end-of-life care says she is “just waiting to die” as an agonising three-year wait for a kidney transplant has left her “living like a prisoner”. Diana Isajeva is one of approximately 7,000 patients who are on the waiting list, according to the NHS Blood and Transplant service (NHSBT) – the highest figure in a decade. The 29-year-old was due to have a transplant last year but was denied it at the last minute, after the living donor she was matched with pulled out just 24 hours before her planned surgery. Data from NHSBT shows that the rate of families giving consent for their loved ones’ organs to be donated has dropped – despite a change in the law in 2020 aimed at boosting the number of organs available, which means that consent for donation is now presumed after death. Professor Peter Friend, transplant lead for the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS), said decreasing donor rates are a “big challenge” and that it is concerning that the number of donations has not yet recovered to its pre-pandemic level. Read full story Source: The Independent, 27 March 2023
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News Article
‘Fifth of UK hospitals cancelled operations’ during three days of 2022 heatwave
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
A fifth of UK hospitals were forced to cancel operations during the three days in July last year when temperatures soared, research suggests. The findings, published in a letter to the British Journal of Surgery, are based on surveys from surgeons, anaesthetists and critical care doctors working during the heatwave from July 16-19 2022, when temperatures reached as high as 40C in some parts of the country. The researchers received 271 responses from 140 UK hospitals – with one in five (18.5%) reporting elective surgeries being cancelled due to the heatwave. The respondents also said surgical services were poorly prepared for heatwaves, with 41% of operating theatres having no means to control ambient temperature, while more than a third (35.4%) reported making changes to maintain routine surgical activity during the period. These include delayed discharge of high-risk patients, changes to surgical teams, selecting lower-risk patients to have surgery, and restricting surgical activity to day cases. Other measures included longer staff breaks, extra fluids to patients, and surgeries earlier in the morning when temperatures were lower. Read full story Source: The Independent, 23 March 2023 -
News Article
Warnings against 'reckless' weight loss surgery abroad
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Seven British patients who travelled to Turkey for weight loss surgery died after operations there, a BBC investigation into the trend has found. Others have returned home with serious health issues after having had gastric sleeve operations, during which more than 70% of the stomach is removed. The operations, used to treat morbid obesity, are carried out in the UK, but, because it can take years to get one through the NHS, some people are looking abroad for treatment. British doctors say that they're treating an increasing number of patients who have travelled to Turkey and returned with serious complications. Dr Ahmed Ahmed, a leading surgeon and member of council at the British Obesity and Metabolic Surgery Society, says he's treated patients returning from Turkey who have had an entirely different operation to the one they understood they had paid for. The BBC has also been told that some people are being accepted for surgery who do not have a medical need for it. The BBC contacted 27 Turkish clinics to see if they would accept someone for treatment who was considered to have a normal BMI. Six of the clinics we approached were happy to accept someone with a BMI of 24.5 for extreme weight loss surgery. Separately, the BBC also found that some clinics who refused the treatment actually then encouraged patients to put on weight, to enable them to be accepted for surgery. One said: "You need to gain 6.7kg to have sleeve surgery. I think you can easily eat some food and then lose weight easily." Another asked: "How soon can you gain weight?" Dr Ahmed says the practices are "reckless" and "unethical". Read full story Source: BBC News, 21 March 2023 -
Content Article
Julie Smith, Topic Leader for the hub and Content Director at EIDO Healthcare, takes a look at how patient information can be used to help improve outcomes for those on long surgical waiting lists. -
Content ArticleIn this BMJ opinion piece, Scarlett McNally discusses the revised National Safety Standards for Invasive Procedures (NatSSIP2). The original NatSSIPs were designed to prevent “never events”—yet more than 300 occurrences of wrong site surgery, retained objects after procedure, or wrong implant insertion still occur yearly in the UK. NatSSIP2 brings in safety science and human factors, with expectations for organisations including standardisation, harmonisation, training, and audit. "The biggest danger is if the new standards sit on the shelf. With their benefits for patient safety and teamworking, we must accept the repetitive elements and consistently apply these new standards, every time, in every department", writes Scarlett.
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Content ArticleBased on data from 22,132 patients who had emergency bowel surgery in England and Wales between December 2020 and November 2021, this report from the National Emergency Laparotomy Audit (NELA) found that improvements in in-hospital mortality have levelled off. As such, it calls for hospitals to continue to engage with NELA data collection and, in particular, to make use of real-time data and resources available to drive clinical and service quality improvement.
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Content Article
Lilian Chiwera is an independent surgical site infection (SSI) surveillance and prevention (SSISP) expert with experience setting up and coordinating a very successful SSI surveillance service at Guys & St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust from 2009–2022. Lilian shares the work she and her colleagues are doing around a surgical site infections patient safety initiative and explains why she wants to establish an annual Surgical Site Infections Prevention Day. -
Content ArticleMesh implantation for hernia repair has become standard practice for the majority of hernia repairs. Mesh-based hernia repairs have been shown to be a durable solution, however, postoperative complications, such as chronic postoperative pain, remain a concern. To date, there have been few investigations into the inflammatory response to mesh. In this study, Fadaee et al. present their experience in diagnosing and treating a subpopulation of patients who require mesh removal due to a possible mesh implant illness. They found predisposing factors include female sex, history of autoimmune disorder, and multiple medical and environmental allergies and sensitivities. Presenting symptoms included spontaneous rashes, erythema and oedema over the area of implant, arthralgia, headaches and chronic fatigue. Long-term follow up after mesh removal confirmed resolution of symptoms after mesh removal. The authors hope this provides greater attention to patients who present with vague, non-specific but debilitating symptoms after mesh implantation.
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Content ArticleSimple, and relatively inexpensive, steps to implement care bundles can have a dramatic impact on rates of surgical site infection. The Burden of Infection Symposium provided an insight into the latest evidence and guidance around best practice, as well as offering expert advice on ‘overcoming the challenges of change’. Read a summary of the symposium published in the Clinical Services Journal.
