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Found 195 results
  1. Content Article
    There has been an increasing trend in commercially available diagnostic tests for food allergy and intolerance, but many of these tests lack an evidence base. In this article, Philippe Bégin from the University of Montreal describes the risks involved with using unproven diagnostic tests for food allergies and intolerances. He highlights that alongside their high cost, they may lead to false diagnoses, with associated anxiety and unnecessary strict avoidance diets. They may also lead truly allergic people to believe they are not allergic to certain foods, which could cause them to eat a food that gives them a life-threatening reaction. He also provides a list of tests that are offered to consumers, but that are unproven and should be avoided.
  2. Content Article
    This guidance from the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) should be used to help reduce the spread of Covid-19 in adult social care settings. It applies from 4 April 2022 and should be read in conjunction with: the infection prevention and control (IPC) resource for adult social care, which should be used as a basis for any infection prevention and control response the adult social care testing guidance, which details the testing regimes for all staff, as well as any resident and outbreak testing where applicable.
  3. Content Article
    Government must take a cautious and evidence-based approach to exiting the pandemic, factoring in six key elements for a fail-safe exit strategy.
  4. Content Article
    This leaflet produced by Clare Rayner for The PACS (Post-Acute Covid Syndrome) International Working Group provides information for patients on diagnosing Covid-19 without a positive swab test.
  5. Content Article
    This animation by the Rockefeller Foundation explains how the 'Swiss Cheese' model can be applied to containing the spread of COVID-19. Combining different methods of infection control such as wearing face masks, social distancing and vaccination, creates a more solid and resilient barrier to transmission.
  6. Content Article
    A new report from two House of Commons committees highlights the UK’s failed pandemic response. Martin McKee, professor of European Public Health, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, unpicks the findings.
  7. Content Article
    A major report from a year-long joint inquiry by the House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee and Science and Technology Committee has now been published and offers a forensic analysis of six aspects of the government’s response to covid. Chris Ham is chair of the Coventry and Warwickshire Integrated Care System, Co-Chair of the NHS Assembly and non-executive director of the Royal Free London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, and gave evidence to the inquiry. In this BMJ Opinion article, Chris discusses the report, the recommendations and the omissions.
  8. Content Article
    In the United States many areas have returned to a 'new normal,' as the COVID-19 pandemic has come under control. In this blog, Dr Michael Ramsay, Chairman of the Board, Patient Safety Movement Foundation looks at what we learned and where we failed.
  9. Content Article
    In addition to older individuals and those with underlying chronic health conditions, maternal and newborn populations have been identified as being at greater risk from COVID-19. It became critical for hospitals and clinicians to maintain the safety of individuals in the facility and minimise the transmission of COVID-19 while continuing to strive for optimised outcomes by providing family-centered care. Rapid change during the pandemic made it appropriate to use the plan–do–study–act (PDSA) cycle to continually evaluate proposed and standard practices. Patrick and Johnson describe how their team established an obstetric COVID-19 unit for women and newborns, developed guidelines for visitation and for the use of personal protective equipment, initiated universal COVID-19 testing, and provided health education to emphasize shared decision making.
  10. Content Article
    In this primer for Patient Safety Network, the authors examine the issues surrounding diagnostic error and delay during the Covid-19 pandemic. They discuss the following issues: Biases in the diagnostic process - availability bias, anchoring bias, implicit biases Diagnostic testing for active SARS-CoV-2 Infection Clinical implications of diagnostic error
  11. Content Article
    In this article for The BMJ, Ingrid Torjesen looks at new data from Japan that suggest patients with the omicron variant of Covid-19 shed virus for longer after symptoms emerge, than with other Covid-19 variants. This has a potentially significant impact on hopes of shortening the period of isolation for people testing positive. The article examines new evidence from Japan that suggests that with omicron, the peak of virus shedding may be two or three days later than with other variants. It also looks at the relative value of self-isolation in the UK while omicron is circulating so widely in the community, with up to two-thirds of cases now undetected by testing.
  12. Content Article
    Professor Ahmet Fuat, North East and North Cumbria Cardiac Network Heart Failure Lead, shares how one tool is helping reduce the current pressures and deliver better outcomes for patients. NT-proBNP testing – a NICE recommended diagnostic tool – is being used to rule out heart failure in primary care. In the North East and North Cumbria, patients must have an NT-proBNP test to be referred for an echocardiogram. This mandated testing helps them to streamline the diagnosis journey for heart failure patients by confirming or ruling out heart failure at the earliest possible opportunity, and reducing unnecessary referrals for echos. For patients, this saves time and distress, and for GPs and Nurse Practitioners, which reduces the number of repeat visits these patients often need to make.
  13. Content Article
    This report, published by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) in the United States, presents findings from a review of 5,500 patient safety records in which the Covid-19 public health emergency was included as part of the description of the event or unsafe condition. It forms part of a series of Network of Patient Safety Databases Data Spotlight reports.
  14. Event
    until
    In the context of the complex challenges across the health and care landscape, including significant workforce shortages and limited clinical capacity, this free online event will consider the role of diagnostics in supporting those working in the system and keeping people out of hospital. The King's Fund event will explore: the potential that increased access to diagnostic testing, and in particular in vitro diagnostic testing, in primary care, the community and in community diagnostic hubs offers to diagnosing people earlier and avoiding unnecessary hospital admissions what innovations in patient pathways mean for those working across the system and how they are being supported to make changes, in the context of the significant challenges they are facing the role integrated care systems can play in developing diagnostic services that encourage innovation and are designed with people and communities at their heart. Register
  15. Event
    until
    Sir Mike Richards’ review of diagnostics, Diagnostics: recovery and renewal, which was commissioned in response to recommendations in the NHS Long-Term Plan, outlined a new diagnostic model for services. The review identified key enablers to drive and deliver much needed to change to optimise diagnostic capacity and improve efficiency, along with the need for a major expansion of the workforce and improved connectivity and digitisation across all aspects of diagnostics. Demand for almost all aspects of diagnostics has been rising year on year. The public’s familiarisation with swab testing and testing closer to home through the Covid-19 has provided a strong launch pad to change the approach to diagnostics in response to this rising demand This King's Fund event will explore what can be learnt from the NHS reponse to Covid-19, how partners are working to reshape diagnostic pathways through community diagnostic centres, point-of-care testing and increasing workforce capability and capacity. Register
  16. Community Post
    During the COVID pandemic, it was clear that Emergency Departments across the UK needed to adapt and quickly, with my trust not exempt from this. We have increased capacity, increased our nursing and doctors on the shop floor, obviously with nurse in charge being responsible for all areas. We have different admission wards in terms of symptoms that the patient has, but also have a different type of flow, which i am getting my head around to be able to share I have seen departments split into 2 and various other ideas coming out from various trusts. Which got me thinking about patient safety and how well this is managed. So.... How is your department responding to the pandemic? Do you have any patient safety initiatives as a result of the response? Is there a long term plan? The reason why i am asking this, is so we can share practice and identify individual trust responses.
  17. Community Post
    HOW SAFE ARE OUR GP PRACTICES during covid-19? For the health care professionals, their patients, and families of patients? I'm a 65-yr old diabetic needing routine B12 injections. My GP tells me to turn up as normal so I don't develop neurological problems. I don't think anyone in the practice has been tested for covid-19. I'm refusing to turn up since I suspect the GP practice to be a covid-19 hot-spot. I don't want to transmit this virus to my frail, elderly asthmatic husband who's undergone cancer treatment and a lot of surgery. I've persuaded the GP to give me a precription for oral B12. Have I done the right thing? How can I help GPs and patients in far worse dilemmas than mine?
  18. Content Article
    In this blog, University of Sheffield based researcher Dr Nicholas Farr explains why investing in the development of testing methods is key to ensuring medical devices are safe to use. His current work focuses on how the materials used in medical devices react within the body. Most recently, he has looked at mesh implants and how they degrade and change over time. Nicholas and colleagues at the University of Sheffield have developed innovative testing methods that mimic key features of the human body within the lab. He believes this will improve our understanding of the materials being used in the development of medical devices at an early stage in the process – saving time and money, and reducing the risk of patient harm. 
  19. News Article
    NHS staff absences due to covid have risen by a further 11,000 staff in a week in England, figures seen by HSJ reveal. At a national level, the number of absences for covid-related reasons - including isolation - rose to about 44,200 on 29 December, up from 32,800 on 22 December. The 29 December figure has pushed up overall absence for all reasons to 103,727 - 7.8% of the total reported workforce - the leaked data shows. Numerous senior NHS managers have said their main concern at present is about the level of staff absences, which in some cases is undermining services, with staff having to be redeployed to support others. There is concern about it rising further in the new year. One trust is looking at whether staff who test positive could opt to work on wards dedicated to covid patients. Louise Ashley, the chief executive of Dartford and Gravesham Trust in Kent, tweeted yesterday that some nurses had asked if they could come into work while positive but asymptomatic. Ms Ashley later confirmed to HSJ that the trust had assessed the request and “unfortunately” had to refuse it. The two main reasons for the decision were that staff may have the more dangerous Delta strain and that it be too difficult to keep them isolated from other staff. She added: ”I am amazed at their commitment to their patients and colleagues – very humbling after the two years they have been through. We are seeing high levels of staff absenteeism but we are hurrying through PCR tests to get staff back to work and are managing safe staffing levels currently.” There is also growing concern over NHS staff access to testing, which is required to enable contacts to come to work if they are negative. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 31 December 2021
  20. News Article
    The health secretary, Sajid Javid, has warned MPs he may need to “constrain” the Covid testing system over the next fortnight, as demand for lateral flow kits surges. Ministers have repeatedly encouraged members of the public to test themselves using a lateral flow device (LFD) before attending gatherings or meeting vulnerable relatives. However, test kits have repeatedly been unavailable online in recent days, and many pharmacies have complained of being unable to secure them. Labour has accused the government of presiding over a “shambles”, with many members of the public struggling to obtain tests despite ministers putting testing at the centre of efforts to control the spread of Omicron. Demand for the tests has also been boosted by a change in quarantine rules that allows people to emerge from self-isolation after seven days instead of 10, as long as they carry out two negative lateral flow tests. In a letter sent to MPs on Wednesday evening, Javid acknowledged the intense strain being put on the system as cases of the Omicron variant continue to increase, with 183,037 new infections recorded on Wednesday. “In light of the huge demand for LFDs seen over the last three weeks, we expect to need to constrain the system at certain points over the next two weeks to manage supply over the course of each day, with new tranches of supply released regularly throughout each day,” he wrote. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 30 November 2021
  21. News Article
    Mass lateral flow testing cut the number of people needing hospital treatment for Covid by 32% and relieved significant pressure on the NHS when the measures were piloted last year, a study has shown. Liverpool conducted the first city-wide testing scheme using rapid antigen tests in November last year, amid debate about whether or not lateral flow tests (LFTs) were accurate enough to detect the virus in asymptomatic carriers. It expanded the project to cover the whole of the Liverpool region, offering people LFTs whether or not they had symptoms. Key workers did daily tests before going to work to show they were not infectious. Now an analysis has shown that it was more successful than Liverpool’s scientists and public health teams had anticipated, after they compared Covid cases and outcomes in the region with other parts of England. Professor Iain Buchan, dean of the Institute of Population Health, who led the evaluation, said: “This time last year, as the Alpha variant was surging, we found that Liverpool city region’s early rollout of community rapid testing was associated with a 32% fall in Covid-19 hospital admissions after careful matching to other parts of the country in a similar position to Liverpool but without rapid testing. “We also found that daily lateral flow testing as an alternative to quarantine for people who had been in close contact with a known infected person enabled emergency services to keep key teams such as fire crews in work, underpinning public safety.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 19 December 2021
  22. News Article
    Authorities were aware of discrepancies in Covid test results across England one month before the lab responsible was ordered to shut down its operations, legal papers show. An estimated 43,000 incorrect false negative tests were processed for the NHS by the Immensa laboratory in Wolverhampton between 8 September and 12 October. UK Health Security Agency became aware of an “unusual spike” in suspicious test results on 14 September, with large numbers of people testing positive on lateral flow devices but negative via PCR. It took a month before the UKHSA determined that the “likely cause was a technical issue at the Immensa laboratory”, according to court papers filed by the government in response to a lawsuit. The Independent also revealed in October how machines at the Wolverhampton lab were poorly maintained, concerns over quality control dismissed and untrained staff regularly “left to their own devices”. Samples at the site were wrongly processed or cross-contaminated, leading to incorrect test results, while faulty air conditioning and fluctuating humidity levels within the lab also led to spoiled tests, whistleblowers said. Read full story Source: The Independent, 22 December 2021
  23. News Article
    The spread of the Omicron variant, which is racing through the population at a staggering speed, has brought renewed focus to the value and reliability of the at-home lateral flow test (LFT). These rapid testing devices were initially viewed with caution by some scientists, who were concerned that the LFTs simply weren’t effective enough in detecting infections. But as more data has accumulated over the past year, the consensus around the devices has shifted and become far more positive. Research from University College London, published in October, suggested that LFTs are likely to be more than 80 per cent effective at detecting Covid, and up to 90 per cent effective for those who are most infectious. However, the emergence of Omicron has changed the conversation. Its rapid acceleration throughout the UK, with more than a million infections expected by next week, has placed the country’s key testing routes – both at-home (LFT) and lab-based (PCR) – under immense strain. “Testing capacity will almost certainly fail to keep up with Omicron,” said Dr Jeffrey Barrett, director of the Covid-19 Genomics Initiative at the Wellcome Sanger Institute. “Even with best efforts we can scale supply linearly, but demand will grow exponentially.” Experts have called on the government to temporarily drop the reliance on PCR lab testing, which typically takes 24 hours or more to return a result but is seen as more reliable, in favour of the lateral flow devices. These can be taken from the comfort of your own home and give a result in a matter of minutes. “LFT will be good enough, especially on people showing symptoms,” said Alan McNally, a professor of microbial evolutionary genomics at Birmingham University. Read full story Source: The Independent, 17 December 2021
  24. News Article
    The former chairman of the UK competition regulator has condemned the market for PCR tests for travellers, describing it as a “rip-off jungle”. After the reimposition of the requirement to take the tests on return from abroad, Lord Tyrie accused the government of once again allowing the companies offering PCR tests to manipulate the system by making them available at unrealistic prices. “For this policy to get into a mess once might be seen as a misfortune but for it to resurface again after all the warnings over the summer would have to be described as carelessness,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. “It was a scandal waiting to happen and it’s now happened and it needs very urgent action.” Last week, the Guardian revealed that a slew of the cheapest deals on PCR tests had been removed from the government website amid concerns travellers were being misled by companies advertising the coronavirus testing service for less than a £1. Private companies offering day two tests for travellers are listed on a government website for consumers to search. However, most of the deals were found to not be suitable for most travellers as they were often offered in only one location, on limited dates and only available to those who could attend in person. “It appears that some of the worst practices – misleading online advertisements, overpricing, unacceptably poor service among them – are still widespread,” said Tyrie, the former head of the Competition and Markets Authority, and the ex-chair of the Treasury select committee. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 8 December 2021
  25. News Article
    Misdiagnosed Type 1 diabetes patients could be freed from the need to take insulin after a new test is rolled out. Scotland will become the first country to offer the C-peptide blood test to all patients who have had a Type 1 diagnosis for at least three years. The test shows how much insulin a patient's body is producing itself. A pilot by NHS Lothian allowed some people who had been taking insulin to stop or reduce the treatment. The test will be available from 1 November. C-peptide testing, which has been used as part of diagnosis for some patients for many years, can help distinguish whether a patient has Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes. C-peptide is made in the body at the same time as insulin. By testing levels of C-peptide, doctors can work out how much insulin a diabetes patient is making themselves. If C-peptide is present in significant amounts, it might indicate that the person does not have Type 1 diabetes at all, and consequently may not need daily insulin injections. The tests will be offered at hospital diabetes centres. Public Health Minister Maree Todd said that tackling diabetes was a priority for the Scottish government and that she wanted everyone living with diabetes to access safe, effective healthcare, treatment and support. She said: "Type 1 diabetes is a significant health challenge right across the world." Read full story Source: BBC News, 31 October 2021
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