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Content ArticleThis report by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) looks at which staff are more likely to leave the NHS acute sector. There is still little analysis available on the reasons why staff leave the NHS, but increasing our understanding of the complex factors that cause people to leave the health service would allow the NHS to develop more effective retention strategies. The report uses the Electronic Staff Record, the monthly payroll of directly employed NHS staff, to analyse the leaving rates of consultants, nurses and midwives, and health-care assistants (HCAs) between 2012 and 2021. The authors highlight that many other factors that influence retention remain unknown, and much more research is needed in this area.
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PHSO - Our strategy 2022 to 2025 (5 April 2022)
Patient-Safety-Learning posted an article in PHSO investigations
This document sets out the Parliamentary and Health Services Ombudsman's (PHSO) strategy 2022-25 and outlines its vision to be a voice for improvement in public services, providing an independent, impartial and fair complaints handling service. The document describes how PHSO will achieve its three strategic objectives: People who use public services have a better awareness of the role of the Ombudsman and can easily access our service People we work with receive a high quality, empathetic and timely service, according to international Ombudsman principles We contribute to a culture of learning and continuous improvement, leading to high standards in public service -
Content ArticleThis statement from Chair Peter Wyman addresses allegations of bullying and racism within NHS Blood and Transplant as reported in The Times on 21 August 2022. In the statement, Peter Wyman says, "I cannot overstate the importance we place in ensuring we have a strong, positive and inclusive culture so we can serve the public and patients who need us. “Issues of racism and bullying came to light in parts of our organisation two years ago after an in-depth staff listening exercise. We’ve moved on a lot in the past two years. Our actions have included providing a safe way for staff to raise and discuss issues by appointing a Freedom to Speak Up Guardian, improving recruitment processes to be more inclusive, matured how we manage conflict and grievances and refreshing our code of conduct so we all know the behaviours that are expected of us. We continue to measure progress through ongoing staff engagement. “We are making progress but like every good organisation we should always be challenging ourselves to do even better. In particular, I want to ensure we have a culture that enables each of us to be our best, that encourages everyone to speak up without fear or favour if they see something wrong or something which might be done better. I want a culture where everyone is valued for who they are and what they contribute. "There can be no place for any form of discrimination, bullying or harassment.”
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Content ArticleThis thesis by Suzette Woodward describes a project that aimed to identify how the National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) could support improvement in implementing patient safety guidance. It explored the factors that help or hinder successful implementation and its findings led to the design and development of an implementation toolkit, initially targeted at NPSA staff and other national bodies responsible for issuing guidance about safer practices.
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Content ArticleRecent data shows that people aged 10–25 in the poorest areas of the UK will die earlier than those in richer areas. It’s also predicted that people aged 10–14 living in the most deprived areas will live 18 more years in ill health than their peers in the least deprived areas. In this blog for The Health Foundation, Association for Young People's Health (AYPH) policy fellow Rachael McKeown outlines data recently published by AYPH that shows the scale and complexity of young people’s health inequalities, and the need for action.
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AYPH Youth health data website
Patient-Safety-Learning posted an article in Children, young people and families
This website from the Association for Young People's Health (AYPH) aims to provide useful data about young people’s health for healthcare professionals, researchers and other professionals working with young people. At its heart is a data compendium called ‘Key Data on Young People’s Health’ produced AYPH, which gives up to date national data on key health outcomes for 10-24 year olds. The website also include links to other resources and sources of data about the key issues facing young people. -
Content ArticleYoung people from different backgrounds with different lived experiences can have different physical and mental health outcomes. This briefing document by the Association for Young People’s Health (AYPH) offers a definition for health inequalities that is specific to young people, and a conceptual framework to help identify key causes and factors that influence health outcomes. As well as highlighting the impact of Covid-19 on young people's health and wellbeing, the paper focuses on different factors that will affect young people's health outcomes now and in the future, including education, employment, housing, geographical area, development of behaviours and relationships.
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UK Infected Blood Inquiry website
Patient-Safety-Learning posted an article in Other reports and inquiries
This is the website of the independent public statutory Inquiry established to examine the circumstances in which patients in the UK were given infected blood and blood products, in particular since 1970. The Inquiry is Chaired by barrister Keith Langstaff, who has experience of health-related public inquiries. The website contains information on: public hearings and meetings evidence latest news on the Inquiry how to get support if you have been affected by infected blood products. The Inquiry team is also inviting patients and family members of patients who received infected blood or infected blood products to give evidence to the Inquiry, either as a written statement or by speaking to an intermediary. Evidence given to the Inquiry will contribute to its findings and recommendations. -
Content ArticleThis briefing paper by thinktank The Centre for Mental Health explores evidence about the links between factors that worsen mental health, showing that living in poverty increases people’s risk of mental health difficulties, and that more unequal societies have higher overall levels of mental ill health. It also demonstrates that poverty and economic inequality intersect with structural racism to undermine the mental health of racialised and marginalised groups in society. Among other things, it highlights inequalities in access to primary care and mental health services across the UK.
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Marie Curie - Better end of life report (April 2021)
Patient-Safety-Learning posted an article in End of life care
The Better End of Life programme is a collaboration between Marie Curie, King's College London Cicely Saunders Institute, Hull York Medical School, the University of Hull and the University of Cambridge. It's first research report outlines key findings of the programme relating to the experience of death and dying during 2020, at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. This interactive webpage presents graphics which highlight the key findings of the research. -
Content ArticleThe Covid-19 pandemic presented the need for fast decision-making in a rapidly shifting global context. This article in BMJ Evidence Based Medicine looks at the limitations of traditional evidence-based medicine (EBM) approaches when investigating questions in the context of complex, shifting environments. The authors argue that it is time to take a more varied approach to defining what counts as ‘high-quality’ evidence. They introduce some conceptual tools and quality frameworks from various fields involving what is known as mechanistic research, including complexity science, engineering and the social sciences. The article proposes that the tools and frameworks of mechanistic evidence, sometimes known as ‘EBM+’ when combined with traditional EBM, may help develop the interdisciplinary evidence base needed to take us out of this protracted pandemic.
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Content ArticleIn this article, Kamran Abbasi, editor in chief of the BMJ outlines the need for reform to the General Medical Council (GMC), which is responsible for regulating doctors in the United Kingdom. He talks about how the GMC received a significant backlash from doctors after its handling of the case of Manjula Arora, a GP who was disciplined for a word she used when asking her employer for a laptop. However, he highlights that the GMC's issues started long before this case, with racial bias, discrimination and an adversarial culture present over the last 30 years. Kamran also outlines measures that should be taken to ensure organisational change and accountability for the GMC.
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Content ArticleThe Industrial Injuries Advisory Council (IIAC) is an independent scientific advisory body that looks at industrial injuries benefit and how it is administered. Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, the IIAC has been reviewing and assessing the increasing scientific evidence on the occupational risks of Covid-19. This report builds on an IIAC interim Position Paper published in February 2021 and considers more recent data on the occupational impacts of Covid-19, particularly around the longer term health problems and disability caused by the virus. IIAC found the most convincing and consistent evidence was for health and social care workers in certain occupational settings, who present with five serious pathological complications following Covid-19 that have been shown to cause persistent impairment and loss of function in some workers.
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Content ArticleThis analysis from the Health Foundation examines how healthcare spending in the UK compares with EU countries in the decade preceding the pandemic. Taking a longer-term view enables us to see how trends in spending may have impacted healthcare resilience today.
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Survey - Keeping up to date with NICE guidance (November 2022)
Patient-Safety-Learning posted an article in NICE
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is looking for feedback on how people currently keep up to date with NICE guidance and what they do when an update has been made to NICE guidance. NICE will use your feedback to help shape the future of its guidelines. The survey takes around 10 minutes to complete. The closing date of the survey is 28th November 2022. -
Content ArticleAntimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major challenge to the UK’s health security, and is already responsible for a significant burden of death, disability and prolonged illness globally. The growing resistance of bacteria, viruses and fungi to the drugs commonly used to treat them threatens modern medicine, and our ability to carry out standard medical procedures. This report draws on the expert input of a roundtable held by public service think tank Reform in October 2022, to assess progress made against proposals published by Reform in 2020.
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Content ArticleThis framework produced by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) aims to improve how healthcare organisations recognise and respond to children at risk of deterioration. A safer system can work in partnership with families and patients, develop a patient safety culture and support ongoing learning. The framework covers: Patient safety culture Partnership with families Recognising deterioration Responding to deterioriation Open and consistent learning Education and training
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Content ArticleCornerstone is a free publication for anyone passionate about evidence-based healthcare, including Quality Improvement (QI), audit and clinical effectiveness professionals, and those who plan, deliver and receive healthcare. It is produced by the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP), which was established in 2008 to increase the impact of clinical audit on healthcare quality improvement and support improved outcomes for patients.
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Content ArticleClinical trials are the foundation of modern medicine, but regulators, doctors and patients often do not get to see the full picture about how safe and effective drugs and treatments are. The results of around half of all clinical trials remain hidden and there are international efforts to resolve this issue; even government agencies often lack access to the information they need to decide whether treatments are safe and effective. The paper analyses six case studies in which lack of transparency in medical research has directly harmed patients, taxpayers and/or investors. It illustrates how these harms could have been avoided through three simple solutions promoted by the AllTrials campaign: trial registration, results posting, and full disclosure of trial reports.
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Content ArticleIn the UK, regulation prevents prescription-only medications being advertised directly to consumers, but not medical tests. This opinion piece in the BMJ raises concerns about the growing availability and popularity of consumer blood testing. The authors found that dozens of companies are offering health screening for a range of conditions and deficiencies through blood testing kits for use at home. They are often advertised to people with symptoms such as tiredness, low energy, irritability, sleep problems and weight issues. The authors highlight that reading blood test results requires context and training, and results can give people a false sense of security or panic depending on whether they are perceived to be in 'normal' range. They call for guidance on mixing NHS and private care to be updated and recommend that the Care Quality Commission (CQC) should be empowered to appraise private screening and the apps that recommend it.
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Content ArticleInflammatory rheumatic disease (IRD), such as rheumatoid arthritis, can cause poor outcomes in pregnancy, and the health of the mother and developing foetus must be balanced when making decisions about medication. This updated guideline from the British Society for Rheumatology contains evidence and best practice for prescribing rheumatology medications during pregnancy and breastfeeding. It includes a table that summarises information about drug compatibility in pregnancy and breastfeeding.
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Content ArticleAppreciative Inquiry (AI) is a research approach that aims to create practical and collaborative change by taking participants through an in-depth exploration of their organisation, team or role. This article in the European Journal of Midwifery reflects on the process of using AI in a study that explored staff wellbeing in a UK maternity unit. The authors share key lessons to help others decide whether AI will fit their research aims, and highlight issues in its design and application.
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Content ArticleThey play a vital role in society, but workers in adult social care – who are mostly women – are among the lowest paid in the UK and experience poor working conditions. This report by The Health Foundation analyses national survey data from 2017/18 to 2019/20 to understand rates of poverty and deprivation among residential care workers in the UK. It then compares these rates to other sectors including health, retail, hospitality and administration. The analysis demonstrates that: over a quarter of the UK’s residential care workers lived in, or were on the brink of, poverty. Nearly 1 in 10 experienced food insecurity. Around 1 in 8 children of residential care workers were ‘materially deprived’, meaning they may not have access to essential resources such as fresh fruit and vegetables or adequate winter clothing. the prevalence of poverty and deprivation in residential care is similar to hospitality, retail and administration. But residential care workers experienced much higher rates than most workers – and were at least twice as likely to experience poverty and food insecurity than health workers. Their dependent children were nearly four times as likely to experience material deprivation than children of health workers. The report highlights that political and economic conditions have changed since the data they looked at was collected, meaning that the situation is likely to have worsened for many social care workers. The poorest households in the UK are being disproportionately affected by sharp rises in inflation and poverty is set to increase. The report also highlights chronic underfunding in the social care sector, particularly in England, and calls on the new Government to make it a priority to ensure social care workers are paid fairly.
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Content ArticleThis joint position statement from The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) and National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) sets out a series of recommendations for making research part of everyday practice for all clinicians. Its recommendations are aimed at stakeholders across the health and care system, with the overall aim of embedding research in clinical practice: Trusts, health boards and integrated care systems (ICSs) Health Education England and NHS England and statutory education bodies and the departments of health in the other UK nations Regulators Funders
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Content ArticleThis article in The BMJ by Tessa Richards, Senior Editor for patient partnership and Henry Scowcroft, Patient Editor, looks at the way in which people with expertise rooted in lived experience were excluded from policy decisions during the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic. They argue that engaging patients, families, and frontline health and social care professionals would have prevented some of the excess morbidity and mortality that came from policy responses to the pandemic, particularly among elderly people, those with long term conditions and those in lower socioeconomic groups.
