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Found 183 results
  1. News Article
    The British government was willing to risk infecting NHS patients to get “lower-priced” blood products, according to a document that campaigners claim proves state and corporate guilt in one of the country’s worst ever scandals. A public inquiry into the deaths of an estimated 2,900 people infected with conditions such as HIV and hepatitis will publish its final report in May, four decades after the NHS started prescribing blood and blood products – including from drug users, prisoners and sex workers – sourced from the USA. Within the thousands of documents disclosed to the inquiry, internal company minutes have emerged that campaigners say provide the final compelling piece of evidence of the commercial greed and state negligence that destroyed thousands of lives. In November 1976, Immuno AG, an Austrian company that was a major supplier to the Department of Health, was seeking a licence change to allow it to supply a blood product from those paid to donate in the US rather than donors without a financial incentive in Europe. According to the minutes of a meeting of medics in the company, it had been “proven” that there was a “significantly higher hepatitis risk” from a concentrate known as Kryobulin 2 made from US plasma compared with that from Austria and Germany. The company had concluded there was a “preference” in the UK for the cheaper US option. The memo of the meeting said: “Kryobulin 2 will be significantly cheaper than Kryobulin 1 because the British market will accept a higher risk of hepatitis for a lower-priced product. In the long-term, Kryobulin 1 will disappear from the British market.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 14 April 2024
  2. Content Article
    The trend towards health system mergers and acquisitions in the US is likely to continue in 2024. Mergers can be beneficial. However, post-merger integration can take years to complete and can have an adverse effect on patient safety, care culture and care quality. Some healthcare researchers have dubbed mergers as 'life events' for health systems.[1] Health system mergers and acquisition projects need to include a special task force to assess the risks to patient safety management practices. 
  3. News Article
    Cancer patients in the UK wait up to seven weeks longer to begin radiotherapy or chemotherapy than people in comparable countries, research has revealed. The stark findings are yet more damning evidence of the extent to which the UK lags behind other nations, as experts warn that people’s chances of survival are being affected by long waits for treatment. In the first research of its kind, experts at University College London analysed data from more than 780,000 cancer patients diagnosed between 2012 and 2017 in four comparable countries: Australia, Canada, Norway and the UK. Eight cancer types were included: oesophageal, stomach, colon, rectal, liver, pancreatic, lung and ovarian cancer. The two studies, published in the Lancet Oncology, were the first to examine treatment differences for eight cancer types in countries across three continents. UK patients experienced the longest waits for treatment, the research found. The average time to start chemotherapy was 48 days in England, 57 in Northern Ireland, 58 in Wales and 65 in Scotland. The shortest time was 39 days in Norway. In radiotherapy, the UK fared even worse. It took 53 days on average for treatment to begin in Northern Ireland, 63 in England, 79 in Scotland and 81 in Wales. Cancer Research UK, which part-funded the two studies, said delays to begin treatment were partly a result of the UK government’s lack of long-term planning on cancer in recent years. Countries with robust cancer strategies backed by funding had seen better improvements in survival rates, it said. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 27 February 2024
  4. Content Article
    "Our #health system in the UK is in a mess. It has failed to modernise (by this I mean to become fully accountable to #patients and the public, and truly patient-led). Instead, the system has become more and more hierarchical, bureaucratic and crony ridden, mostly as a result of constant meddling and pointless reorganisations instigated by politicians. All political parties in government for the past 30 years have had a hand in this decline." This is my view? What is yours? A new Inquiry gives us all an opportunity to have our say. I am proud to have worked in and for the NHS for most of my working life; proud to have been trained in the #NHS and proud of the work being carried out by clinical teams today. Great work which has benefited patients, often not because of the leadership but despite of the leadership. I'm retired so I can say what I like. If I were working and said anything even vaguely like criticism, however constructive it was, I would be out of a job and my career would be blighted for life. I'm speaking from experience here, unfortunately. I urge everyone to respond to the consultation (link below). In your response think forensically and write it as a statement of truth. Acknowledge the successes and areas that have delivered safe and effective services. If you are being critical give examples and say if it is an opinion or back up what you say with evidence. If we work together across boundaries we can develop a truly patient-led NHS.
  5. News Article
    The UK has some of the worst cancer survival rates in the developed world, according to new research. Analysis of international data by the Less Survivable Cancers Taskforce found that five-year survival rates for lung, liver, brain, oesophageal, pancreatic and stomach cancers in the UK are worse than in most comparable countries. On average, just 16% of UK patients live for five years with these cancers. Out of 33 countries of comparable wealth and income levels, the UK ranks as low as 28th for five-year survival of both stomach and lung cancer, 26th for pancreatic cancer, 25th for brain cancer and 21st and 16th for liver and oesophageal cancers respectively. The six cancers account for nearly half of all common cancer deaths in the UK and more than 90,000 people are diagnosed with one of them in Britain every year. The taskforce calculated that if people with these cancers in the UK had the same prognosis as patients living in countries with the highest five-year survival rates – Korea, Belgium, the US, Australia and China – then more than 8,000 lives could be saved a year. Anna Jewell, the chair of the Less Survivable Cancers Taskforce, said: “People diagnosed with a less survivable cancer are already fighting against the odds for survival. If we could bring the survivability of these cancers on level with the best-performing countries in the world then we could give valuable years to thousands of patients. “If we’re going to see positive and meaningful change then all of the UK governments must commit to proactively investing in research and putting processes in place so we can speed up diagnosis and improve treatment options.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 11 January 2023
  6. Content Article
    The UK is the “sick man” of Europe at the moment—on almost every health indicator including life expectancy, healthy life expectancy, obesity rates and healthcare capacity—we lag behind our peers. Recent data from the Office for National Statistics shows the substantial impact this is having on our national prosperity. The number of people who cannot work primarily because of long-term illness reached a record nearly 2.6 million. In this article for The Guardian, Professor Dame Sally Davies, former chief medical officer for England, argues that this is not the first time the UK has lagged behind on health outcomes and faced the associated economic harm. During the 19th-century Industrial Revolution and the 20th-century post-war period, Britain faced health crises that, like today’s, also undermined labour supply, economic participation and growth. She highlights that in both of these instances, national leaders implemented bold new public health strategies on both health and economic grounds and asks the question, 'Why is the Government not taking a more comprehensive policy approach to tackling the serious health issues we face in 2023?'
  7. Content Article
    The Prescribing Safety Assessment (PSA) is a 60-question exam required as part of UK medical training to progress from FY1 to FY2. This independent review into the PSA was commissioned by the Medical Schools Council (MSC) together with the British Pharmacological Society (BPS) in the summer of 2022. It suggests a strategic future direction for the PSA and addresses how the PSA has impacted prescribing assessment and practice for medical students and Foundation Year 1 (FY1) doctors. It is intended to support national decision making about the future of UK prescribing assessment in the context of the imminent introduction of the Medical Licensing Assessment (MLA).
  8. News Article
    A group of potent synthetic opioids called nitazenes have been linked to a rise in overdoses and deaths in people who use drugs, primarily heroin, in England over the past two months, drug regulators have warned. The Office for Health Improvements and Disparities has issued a National Patient Safety Alert on potent synthetic opioids implicated in heroin overdoses and deaths. In the past 8 weeks there has been an elevated number of overdoses (with some deaths) in people who use drugs, primarily heroin, in many parts of the country (reports are geographically widespread, with most regions affected but only a few cities or towns in each region). Testing in some of these cases has found nitazenes, a group of potent synthetic opioids. Nitazenes have been identified previously in this country, but their use has been more common in the USA. Their potency and toxicity are uncertain but perhaps similar to, or more than fentanyl, which is about 100x morphine. The National Patient Safety Alert provides further background and clinical information and actions for providers.
  9. News Article
    The UK’s status as a global leader on vaccination is at risk because of falling uptake rates among children and an “alarming” decline in clinical trial activity, MPs have warned. The Health and Social Care Committee said in a report that it was concerned that England did not meet the 95% target for any routine childhood immunisations in 2021-22.1 Committee chair Steve Brine MP said that new spikes in measles cases in London and the West Midlands because of low uptake of MMR vaccines should be a “massive wake-up call” for the government to take action. “Vaccination is the one of the greatest success stories when it comes to preventing infection. Unless the government tackles challenges around declining rates of childhood immunisations and implements reform on clinical trials, however, the UK’s position as a global leader on vaccination risks being lost,” he said. The Health and Social Care Committee said, “It is unacceptable that there are people who are unable to take advantage of the important protection that vaccination offers because of practical challenges of time and location that can and must be tackled.” Read full story Source: BMJ, 27 July 2023
  10. Content Article
    The UK Covid-19 Inquiry is the independent public inquiry set up to examine the UK’s response to and impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, and learn lessons for the future. In order to fully understand the impact of the pandemic on the UK population, the Inquiry is inviting the public to share their experiences of the pandemic by launching Every Story Matters. It will inform the Inquiry’s work by gathering pandemic experiences which can be brought together and represent the whole of the UK, including those seldom heard. The output of Every Story Matters will be a unique, comprehensive account of the UK population’s experiences of the pandemic, to be submitted to the Inquiry’s legal process as evidence. This toolkit contains information and creative assets that can be used to encourage participation in Every Story Matters. Every Story Matters aims to provide inclusive methods for people to talk about their experience of the pandemic, so anyone that wants to share their story feels heard, valued, and can contribute to the Inquiry.
  11. Content Article
    In this report, Professor Brian Edwards summarises contributions given to the UK Covid-19 Inquiry by various politicians and senior civil servants, relating to how prepared the UK and Scottish Governments were for the Covid-19 pandemic. It contains reflections on the contributions of: Nicola Sturgeon (First Minister of Scotland during the pandemic) Matt Hancock (Secretary of State for Health and Social Care during the pandemic) Jenny Harries (Chief Executive of the UK Health Security Agency) Emma Reed (civil servant, DHSC)
  12. Content Article
    “Crisis,” “collapse,” “catastrophe” — these are common descriptors from recent headlines about the NHS in the UK. In 2022, the NHS was supposed to begin its recovery from being perceived as a Covid-and-emergencies-only service during parts of 2020 and 2021. Throughout the year, however, doctors warned of a coming crisis in the winter of 2022 to 2023. The crisis duly arrived. In this New England Journal of Medicine article, David Hunter gives his perspective on the current state of the NHS.
  13. News Article
    The UK risks becoming highly reliant on overseas care workers after nearly 58,000 visas were issued for the sector last year, a report says. Analysis by the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford found that the demand for foreign staff had left the NHS and care homes open to “vulnerabilities” including “exposure to international competition for health workers and risks of exploitation”. The study, commissioned by the employment group ReWAGE, also examined where care workers were coming from. In 2022, 99% of care workers sponsored for work visas in the UK were from non-EU countries. The top countries were India (33%), Zimbabwe (16%), Nigeria (15%) and the Philippines (11%). Dr Madeleine Sumption, the director of the Migration Observatory, said: “Health and care employers have benefited a lot from international recruitment. “But relying this much on overseas recruits also brings risks. For example, care workers on temporary visas are vulnerable to exploitation and the rapid growth in overseas recruitments makes monitoring pay and conditions a real challenge.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 27 June 2023
  14. Content Article
    This is part of our series of Patient Safety Spotlight interviews, where we talk to people working for patient safety about their role and what motivates them. Dan talks to us about how his experiences as a paediatrician and military doctor have influenced his view of patient safety. He also describes the increasing complexity in healthcare systems and highlights the need for the Government to commit policy and resources to building and sustaining the NHS workforce.
  15. Content Article
    Are whistleblower reward programmes a charter for malicious complaints, as some claim, or are they a genuine incentive providing a safety net against retaliation? How successful are these programmes in recovering fraud and other proceeds of crime and serious organised crime? This paper aims to answer these questions—it was produced by WhistleblowersUK in collaboration with US lawyers who contributed to the development and improvement of US reward programmes. It aims to address questions about the legislation around US reward programmes, dispel some of the myths and look at some of the objections attributed to British attitudes about rewarding whistleblowers.
  16. Content Article
    There has been growing concern about doctors’ conflicts of interests (COIs) but it is unclear what processes and tools exist to enable the consistent declaration and management of such interests. This study in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine mapped existing policies across a variety of organisations and settings to better understand the degree of variation and identify opportunities for improvement. The analysis of organisational policies revealed wide variation in what interests should be declared, when and how. This variation suggests that the current system may not be adequate to maintain a high level of professional integrity in all settings and that there is a need for better standardisation that reduces the risk of errors while addressing the needs of doctors, organisations and the public.
  17. Content Article
    The Women's Health Strategy for England was developed and published in 2022 in response to the growing recognition of the unique health needs and challenges faced by women in England (and the U.K.) and was brought forward to address longstanding gaps in women's healthcare and to promote better health outcomes for women across the country. This Forbes article looks at why women’s health should be included in every government’s agenda. The author speaks to Professor Dame Lesley Regan, Women's Health Ambassador for England about the progress of the strategy and Dr. Ranee Thakar, President of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists about the need to ensure underrepresented groups are included in the strategy.
  18. Content Article
    This BMJ article by journalist Andrew Kersley reports on a meeting of 157 medical experts and academics held at the Royal Society of Medicine on poverty and the cost-of-living crisis, which took place in May 2023. One academic at the event warned that the long term effect of ongoing economic inequality on life expectancy was worse than six unmitigated covid pandemics. The three solutions proposed at the meeting that received the most support were: a national strategy to tackle poverty the nationwide delivery of “more affordable, quality, secure social and rental housing” urgently increasing the rate of Universal Credit as well as removing the restrictions related to total benefits and multiple children.
  19. Content Article
    For decades the NHS has collected routine data on millions of patients. In a world where big data has increasing value, the UK has an opportunity to truly leverage its health data assets to benefit people in the UK and across the world—both through better health and through the generation of more research and development and economic growth. This report by the Institute of Global Health Innovation at Imperial College London provides a broad overview of the UK’s health data policy landscape. It identifies strategic and technical recommendations to move towards a health data policy ecosystem that allows clinical, societal or financial value to be more readily extracted from patient data.
  20. Content Article
    The Relatives and Residents Association (R&RA) is conducting a survey which aims to gather evidence on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on access to healthcare services for those living in care homes. R&RA is seeking responses from people who were living in care homes at any point during the pandemic, or from their relatives and friends. Our analysis of the responses will be shared with the UK Covid-19 Inquiry, including anonymised examples. The survey should take around 10-15 mins to complete.
  21. Content Article
    The National Clinical Guideline for Stroke for the UK and Ireland provides authoritative, evidence-based practice guidance to improve the quality of care delivered to every adult who has a stroke in the United Kingdom and Ireland, regardless of age, gender, type of stroke, location, or any other feature. The guideline is intended for: Those providing care – nurses, doctors, therapists, care staff. Those receiving care – patients, their families, their carers. Those commissioning, providing or sanctioning stroke services. Anyone seeking to improve the care of people with stroke. The guideline is an initiative of the Intercollegiate Stroke Working Party.
  22. Content Article
    Unpaid carers play a substantial and vital role in meeting social care needs. The care they provide has enormous value, both for the people they care for and for wider society. Many carers experience great satisfaction from their role, and through the help and support they provide to friends and family members they may also reduce the costs of formal social care provision. At the same time, caring responsibilities can come at a high personal and financial cost, despite the 2014 Care Act giving carers the right to receive support. 1 in 5 carers report feeling socially isolated and 4 in 10 report financial difficulties because of their caring role. This report by The Health Foundation aims to explore national data on the number of unpaid carers and trends over time, as well as which groups are more likely to have caring responsibilities and who they provide care for. It gives an overview of the types of support available to carers, and what we know–and don’t know–about how many carers are accessing support.
  23. Content Article
    This report is the National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Safety in Mental Health's (NCISH) annual report on UK patient and general population data for 2010-2020. It includes findings relating to people aged 10 and above who died by suicide between 2010 and 2020 across all UK countries as well as people under mental health care who have been convicted of homicide, and those in the general population.
  24. Content Article
    In this article, critical criminologist Sharon Hartles looks at the ongoing fight for justice by families affected by the hormone pregnancy test (HPT) Primodos. Primodos was given to thousands of women in the 1960s and 70s which has been linked to miscarriages, birth defects and stillbirth. The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and pharmaceutical company Bayer are applying to strike out court proceedings against them in a civil litigation case brought by the Association for Children Damaged by Hormone Pregnancy Tests (ACDHPT). This would prevent a five-day hearing scheduled to take place at the Royal Courts of Justice in May 2023 from going ahead. The article outlines the argument brought by the DHSC and Bayer that no additional evidence has been found to warrant the case being brought by the ACDHPT. It then goes on to highlight recent research that has established a causal link between HPTs and birth malformations and that therefore gives credence to the litigation. Sharon highlights the importance of the legal system acknowledging and confronting the damage inflicted upon the families affected by the use of Primodos, many of whom have been seeking justice for decades. Related reading Primodos, mesh and sodium valproate: Recommendations and the UK Government’s response (Sharon Hartles, August 2021) Sodium Valproate: The Fetal Valproate Syndrome Tragedy A year on from the Cumberlege Review: Initial reflections on the Government’s response (Patient Safety Learning, 23 July 2021)
  25. Content Article
    The National Centre for Social Research’s (NatCen’s) British Social Attitudes (BSA) survey has been conducted annually since 1983. Each year the survey asks people what it's like to live in Britain and what they think about how Britain is run, including measuring levels of public satisfaction with the health and care services.  The most recent survey was carried out between 7 September and 30 October 2022 and asked a nationally representative sample (across England, Scotland and Wales) of 3,362 people about their satisfaction with the National Health Service (NHS) and social care services overall, and 1,187 people about their satisfaction with specific NHS services, as well as their views on NHS funding.  This report highlights the key findings of the survey, which was jointly sponsored this year by The King's Fund and the Nuffield Trust.
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