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Found 2,339 results
  1. News Article
    Care home operators have accused the UK government of “a complete system failure” over testing for COVID-19 after officials repeatedly deflected responsibility for the task and left vulnerable residents unchecked. As ministers admitted it will be more than three weeks before all homes are offered tests, care home managers said lives have been put at risk and conditions for dementia sufferers worsened because of the government’s failure so far to test hundreds of thousands of staff and residents. The programme was announced by the health secretary, Matt Hancock, two weeks ago but only tens of thousands of people have been tested. Public Health England (PHE), the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) have repeatedly passed the buck about who should carry out the tests, according to correspondence with care homes seen by the Guardian. When Nottingham Community Housing Association (NCHA) tried to get tests for its care home residents and staff, a PHE official said it didn’t know anything about testing residents, before pointing them to the CQC. PHE then changed its mind again saying it would send the tests, but when they failed to arrive, PHE reversed again saying CQC was responsible. “It is very frustrating because we can’t effectively manage the risk without knowing [who has the virus],” said Holly Dagnall, director of homes and wellbeing at NCHA. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 12 May 2020
  2. News Article
    Tens of thousands of cancer patients have not yet received letters advising them to “shield” themselves from the coronavirus threat, The Times has learnt. Peter Johnson, national clinical director for cancer, has written to charities asking for their help in tracing the missing patients and alerting them to the need to take stringent self-protection measures against infection. His appeal comes as the government increased by one million its estimate of the number of people at greatest risk of severe illness should they contract COVID-19. Its new strategy document stated that it had identified 2.5 million people who were “clinically extremely vulnerable and advised to shield”. At the onset of the lockdown in March, ministers estimated the number at 1.5 million. Professor Johnson’s letter, seen by The Times, states: “We are still receiving reports of cancer patients who believe that they should have received a shielding letter but have not yet received one or have not been added to the national list. It is crucial that those who are clinically extremely vulnerable receive a letter advising them to shield. Read full story Source: The Times, 12 May 2020
  3. News Article
    Tens of thousands of outpatient video consultations have been carried out by NHS trusts following the national rollout of a digital platform to support the coronavirus response. Digital healthcare service Attend Anywhere was introduced across the country at the end of March after NHSX chief clinical information officer Simon Eccles called for its rapid expansion. There has been a major push to boost digital healthcare services across the country in order to support the national response to coronavirus. Much of primary care has already switched to working virtually. Undertaking hospital outpatient appointments digitally has been identified as a way of keeping patients safe by removing their need to travel. There have now been more than 79,000 consultations with Attend Anywhere. The number of consultations started at around 200 per day, but has rapidly increased to more than 6,000 per day. Data released by NHS Digital showed that GPs moved swiftly to change their practice model in the face of COVID-19. The proportion of appointments conducted face-to-face nearly halved and the proportion of telephone appointments increased by over 600 per cent from 1 March to 31 March as GPs moved to keep patients out of surgeries except when absolutely necessary. However, concerns have been raised over the limitation of remote appointments, particularly in mental health services. Royal College of GPs chair Martin Marshall raised concerns that video appointments could make it difficult for doctors to diagnose and manage patients’ conditions during the pandemic. Read full story Source: HSJ, 11 May 2020
  4. News Article
    The government said it will set up ‘dedicated team’ to look for innovative ways for the NHS to continue treating people for coronavirus, while also providing care for non-covid health issues. In its pandemic recovery strategy published today, the government also said step-down and community care will be “bolstered” to support earlier discharge from acute hospitals. The 60-page document contained little new information about plans for NHS services, but said: “The government will seek innovative operating models for the UK’s health and care settings, to strengthen them for the long term and make them safer for patients and staff in a world where COVID-19 continues to be a risk. “For example, this might include using more telemedicine and remote monitoring to give patients hospital-level care from the comfort and safety of their own homes. Capacity in community care and step-down services will also be bolstered, to help ensure patients can be discharged from acute hospitals at the right time for them". To this end, the government will establish a dedicated team to see how the NHS and health infrastructure can be supported for the COVID-19 recovery process and thereafter. Read full story Source: 12 May 2020
  5. News Article
    The Joint Committee on Human Rights has published a report on the contact tracing app, concluding that if effective, the app could pave the way out of the current lockdown restrictions and help prevent the spread of coronavirus, but there are significant concerns regarding surveillance and the impact on other human rights which must be addressed first. Last month the Committee launched their inquiry into the Government’s response to Covid-19: human rights implications. Following this, the Committee has produced a Reportthat outlines the key actions the Government must take to ensure that the app respects human rights including the right to privacy and non-discrimination at the same time as enabling individuals to move around more freely whilst helping to prevent the spread of the virus. The Chair of the Committee, Harriet Harman MP, said: “Assurances from Ministers about privacy are not enough. The Government has given assurances about protection of privacy so they should have no objection to those assurances being enshrined in law." "The contact tracing app involves unprecedented data gathering. There must be robust legal protection for individuals about what that data will be used for, who will have access to it and how it will be safeguarded from hacking. Parliament was able quickly to agree to give the Government sweeping powers. It is perfectly possible for parliament to do the same for legislation to protect privacy.” Read full story Source: www.parliament.uk, 7 May 2020
  6. News Article
    Drugs that could relieve the symptoms of coronavirus in vulnerable patients and help them avoid admission to hospital are to begin trials in homes across the UK. The experiment, led by a team at Oxford University, seeks to test pre-existing treatments for older people in the community who show signs of the disease. Known as Principle, or “Platform Randomised trial of interventions against Covid-19 in older People”, it is the first to take place in primary care settings such as health clinics. Read full story (paywalled) Source: The Independent, 12 May 2020
  7. News Article
    The number of deaths linked to coronavirus in care homes in England and Wales has fallen, figures show. The Office for National Statistics analysis showed there were 2,423 fatalities where the virus was mentioned on the death certificate in the week ending 1 May. That is down from nearly 2,800 the week before. More than 8,300 deaths in care homes have been linked to virus since the epidemic started. The number of hospital deaths have been falling since early April but the government and care sector had been struggling to contain outbreaks in care homes. Despite the drop, the virus is still have a major impact on the overall number of deaths in care homes. The total number seen in the week to 1 May is still nearly three times higher than you would normally expect. That means there a large number of deaths happening where the cause is unclear. One suggestion has been that the lack of testing in care homes has meant coronavirus has not always been listed on death certificates when it should. Read full story Source: BBC News, 12 May 2020
  8. News Article
    The NHS will this week begin to publish the numbers of people who are dying from coronavirus in mental health and learning disability units, the government has announced. England's national medical director Stephen Powis told the Downing Street daily press briefing that the figures would be published on an "ongoing basis" after calls to paint a clearer picture of the problem. It comes as figures from the Care Quality Commission showed a sharp increase in deaths among mental health patients compared to last year. Asked by The Independent whether the numbers could be made public, he replied: "Yes, I can commit that we will publish that data. "We've been looking at how we can do that; we publish deaths daily, we're looking at how we can report on those groups and I can commit that from next week we'll be publishing data on learning disabilities, autism, and mental health patients who have died in acute hospitals and we will do that on an ongoing basis." Read full story Source: The Independent, 9 May 2020
  9. News Article
    Ministers have asked local directors of public health to take charge of COVID-19 testing in English care homes in what will be seen as a tacit admission that centralised attempts to run the programme have fallen short. In a letter to sector leaders, seen by the Guardian, the care minister, Helen Whately, acknowledged that testing of care home residents and staff needs to be “more joined up”. She describes the new arrangements as “a significant change”. Under the new approach, public health directors employed by local councils will take lead responsibility for arranging the testing of some 400,000 care home residents and 500,000 staff, in discussion with directors of adult social services, local NHS bodies and regional directors of Public Health England (PHE). Critically, the local public health directors will decide which homes should have priority in the testing programme, which is still working up to a capacity of 30,000 tests a day for the sector. The switch is a conspicuous, if belated, vote of confidence in local government’s ability to help get a grip on the Covid crisis. There has been frustration and incomprehension that public health teams have until now been left as bit-players in the testing programme and in tracking and tracing carriers of the virus. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 8 May 2020
  10. News Article
    The NHS in London is planning to “fundamentally shift the way we deliver health and care” in the wake of coronavirus, according to documents obtained by HSJ. The plans from NHS England and Improvement’s London office say leaders should: Plan for elective waiting times to be measured at integrated care system level, rather than trust level. Accept “a different kind of risk appetite than the one we are used to”. Expect decisions from the centre on the location of cancer, paediatric, renal, cardiac, and neurosurgical services. Plan for a permanent increase in critical care capacity. Transform to a “provider system able to be commissioned and funded on a population health basis”. Work towards “a radical shift away from hospital care”. Expect “governance and regulatory landscape implications” plus “streamlined decision-making”. The document, titled Journey to a New Health and Care System, says there are three “likely” phases, with the final new system in place “from November 2021”. The preceding two phases are “action programmes” over the next 12 to 15 months which will be about reconfiguring services to deal with “immediate covid, non-covid and elective need”, and “transition” when the move to new configurations is evaluated and “public consent” sought. Read full story Source: HSJ, 11 May 2020
  11. News Article
    The deaths of more than 50 hospital and care home workers have been reported to Britain’s health and safety regulator, which is considering launching criminal investigations, the Guardian has learned. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which investigates the breaking of safety at work laws, has received 54 formal reports of deaths in health and care settings “where the source of infection is recorded as COVID-19”. These are via the official reporting process, called Riddor: Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences. Separately, senior lawyers say any failures to provide proper personal protective equipment (PPE) may be so severe they amount to corporate manslaughter, with police forces drawing up plans to handle any criminal complaints. Despite weeks of pleading, frontline medical staff complain that PPE is still failing to reach them as hospitals battle the highly contagious virus. Senior barristers say criminal investigations should be launched, and that there are grounds to suspect high-level failures. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 10 May 2020
  12. News Article
    About 8,000 more people have died in their own homes since the start of the coronavirus pandemic than in normal times, a Guardian analysis has found, as concerns grow over the number avoiding going to hospital. Of that total, 80% died of conditions unrelated to COVID-19, according to their death certificates. Doctors’ leaders have warned that fears and deprioritisation of non-coronavirus patients are taking a deadly toll. Doctors’ leaders have warned that some sick people are too scared to go to hospital and are aware that much of the usual NHS care had been suspended in the pandemic. “These figures underline that the devastation wrought by Covid-19 spreads far beyond the immediate effects of the illness itself,” said Dr Chaand Nagpaul, the council chair of the British Medical Association. “While all parts of the NHS have rallied round in a bid to meet the immediate rocketing demand caused by the pandemic, more than half of doctors in a recent BMA survey have told us that this is worsening the care of non-Covid patients.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 8 May 2020
  13. News Article
    Surgeons have invented a new device to make it safer to diagnose some cancers during the coronavirus pandemic. Most nose and throat investigations have been cancelled due to increased risks of medics contracting COVID-19 via patients' coughs and sneezes. Two consultants have developed a device that clips over patients' masks and protects front-line workers. The West Midlands-based doctors want to raise £50,000 they say is enough to make devices for use across the NHS. Chris Coulson, a consultant ear, nose and throat surgeon at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, said procedures involving an endoscope to examine the nose or throat were known to put clinicians at a significantly increased risk of contracting coronavirus. "When clinicians carry out a nasendoscopy it can make patients cough, sneeze, and splutter - which risks spreading the virus to doctors, nurses and therapists," he said. His company endoscope-i Ltd, co-founded with Ajith George, a consultant head and neck surgeon at University Hospitals North Midlands, has now developed the SNAP. It clicks on to a conventional surgical mask, creating a hole through which the clinician can pass an endoscope directly into a patient's nose. A valve means, despite there being a hole, any coughs, sneezes or splutters are caught within the mask. Mr George said: "If we can raise the money needed to produce the devices, we can keep looking after patients and ensure that diagnosis and treatment is not delayed." Read full story Source: BBC News, 11 May 2020
  14. News Article
    Deaths in mental health hospitals have doubled compared to last year after 54 deaths linked to coronavirus in just three months, it has emerged. The care watchdog, the Care Quality Commission (CQC), has issued a warning to mental health hospitals that they must take action to protect vulnerable patients. New data published by the regulator showed there was a total of 106 deaths of people in mental health hospitals between 1 March and 1 May compared to 51 in the same period in 2019. In total 54 of these deaths are from confirmed or suspected coronavirus infections. The CQC has now written to all mental health hospital providers highlighting its fears over the spread of the virus within secure hospitals and units. Read full story Source: The Independent, 8 May 2020
  15. News Article
    Deaths of those with learning disabilities and autism fromCOVID-19 are to be analysed by Public Health England (PHE), HSJ can reveal. Several senior sources have confirmed PHE has put together a group, which includes independent experts, to analyse mortality data. They had previously not been included in the government’s inquiry into the over-representation of some groups among covid fatalities. The news comes amid mounting concerns from major charities over the of lack transparency in data collected centrally on the deaths of people from these these groups during the pandemic. In a letter yesterday , seen by HSJ, Labour’s shadow secretary for social care Liz Kendall, urged Department of Health and Social Care minister Helen Whately to publish data on deaths reported to the Learning Disabilities Mortality Review Programme (LeDer). Earlier this week NHS England and NHS Improvement told HSJ the weekly data it is receiving from the national learning disability morality review programme (LeDer) on suspected and confirmed deaths of those with learning disabilities and autism from COVID-19 would not be published until next year. In her letter Ms Liz Kendall said the Government should “immediately” release the deaths notifications being provided by LeDer along with a “retrospective” analysis from the beginning of the pandemic. Read full story Source: HSJ, 7 May 2020
  16. News Article
    The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has published its first figures analysis Covid-19 related deaths by ethnic group in England and Wales between March 2 and April 10. The results showed that the risk of death involving the coronavirus among Black, Asian, and minority ethnic (BAME) groups is “significantly higher” than that of those of white ethnicity. Researchers found that when taking age into account, in comparison to white men and women, black men are 4.2 times more likely to die from a Covid-19-related death and black women are 4.3 times more likely. People with Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Indian and mixed ethnicities have a raised risk of death, too. Read full story (paywalled) Source: The Telegraph, 7 May 2020
  17. News Article
    The shipment of 400,000 gowns from Turkey which was part of a delayed consignment of personal protective equipment (PPE) has been impounded in a warehouse after falling short of UK standards. The personal protective equipment (PPE) was flown into the UK by the RAF last month, arriving three days late, but has been held in a government warehouse near Heathrow since, the Daily Telegraph said. During mid-April, when coronavirus deaths in the UK were at their highest, the NHS required 150,000 gowns each day. Cabinet minister Brandon Lewis said the gowns were “not be of the quality that we feel is good enough for our frontline staff”. Speaking on Sky News, Mr Lewis said: “Well when we’re securing PPE from around the world you do it based on a set of standards that you’re looking to acquire to, but obviously once it’s here we check that it is good enough for what we want to use and in this instance some of this PPE turned out not to be good enough.” “I think it is right that if we have got particular standards for what we want our frontline staff to be able to have access to we make sure we stick to that. If something isn’t right, if we’re not even sure about it then I think it is better to be safe and not use that product and stick with products we are confident are the right products and the right standards.” Read full story Source: ITV News, 7 May 2020
  18. News Article
    Trials have begun in the UK to test the effectiveness of blood plasma transfusions in treating patients suffering from COVID-19. NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) have started delivering the first units of convalescent plasma, which contains the antibodies of people who have recovered from coronavirus, to hospitals in England. In total, 14 units have been supplied to Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust. The first transfusions have been administered, NHSBT confirmed on Wednesday, though the efficacy of the treatment will not be known until the trial ends. Seven hospitals are currently taking part in the trials, which will assess a patient’s speed of recovery and chances of survival, with more expected to join in the coming months as the number of people eligible to donate blood plasma increases. As of Tuesday, more than 6,500 people had signed up while around 400 donations had been made. Gail Miflin, Chief Medical Officer for NHS Blood and Transplant, said: “We’re delighted the first patients are receiving convalescent plasma transfusions thanks to the generosity of our donors." Read full story Source: The Independent, 7 May 2020
  19. News Article
    Concerns for the wellbeing of babies born in lockdown are being raised, as parents struggle to access regular support services. England's children's commissioner is highlighting pressures facing mothers caring for babies without the usual family and state support networks. Playgroups are closed and health visitor "visits" are being carried out remotely in most cases. The NHS said adaptations had been made to keep new mothers and babies safe. The briefing paper from Anne Longfield's office says an estimated 76,000 babies will have been born in England under lockdown so far. But births are not being registered, because of temporary rules tied to the virus pandemic, so even basic information about new babies is not being gathered. At the same time, support services provided by health visitors and GPs are not readily accessible, with many taking place via phone and video calls or not at all. There are concerns many babies may have missed their developmental health checks, due in the first few weeks of life to pick up urgent developmental needs. "In some areas, the six-week GP baby check hasn't been available or parents haven't wanted to attend it due to a potential risk of infection," she said. Read full story Source: BBC News, 7 May 2020
  20. News Article
    More than three quarters of GPs fear delays to care because of COVID-19 will harm patients, with one in three reporting that urgent referrals have been rejected during the pandemic, a GPonline poll shows. The poll of 415 GPs found that 77% were concerned that delays to operations and treatments for non-COVID-19 issues would result in patients coming to harm. Meanwhile, 30% of GPs said they have had an urgent referral rejected during the pandemic. Rejected referrals included two-week-wait referrals for suspected cancer as well as urgent referrals for investigations such as ECGs, echocardiograms and CT scans. GPs also highlighted concerns over delays to treatment for cancer, with respondents warning that breast cancer surgeries had been postponed or chemotherapy delayed. Read full story Source: GP Online, 5 May 2020
  21. News Article
    A planned Amazon-style delivery system for personal protective equipment to care workers will not be nationally available for at least another fortnight, the housing and communities secretary has told MPs, before weekly figures for deaths in care and nursing homes which are on course to rise by more than 2,000. Robert Jenrick told the housing, communities and local government select committee on Monday that the logistics system for PPE could take three more weeks to launch. Clipper Logistics was contracted by the government at the end of March and care home operators have been increasingly outspoken in their warnings that a lack of masks, aprons, gloves, gowns and face shields is causing the spread of the virus in their facilities and putting workers’ lives at risk. About 340 people a day have been dying in care homes of COVID-19, according to official figures. The largest private care home provider, HC-One, said on Monday that 703 of its residents had died across the UK while last week, Sam Monaghan, the chief executive of MHA, the largest charitable provider, warned: “Our residents and staff have not received the enhanced level of protection they need. The government will be held to account for this.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 4 May 2020
  22. News Article
    Local authorities must be at the heart of contact tracing because COVID-19 is best understood as a pattern of local outbreaks rather than a national pandemic, says Sir Chris Ham and Robin Tuddenham in an HSJ article. Community testing and contact tracing represent our greatest hope for managing the risks to health of COVID-19 until a vaccine and effective treatments become available. Experts in infectious disease base their understanding of this on previous pandemics, and the experience of countries like South Korea and Germany. Work is underway at pace to resume contact tracking and tracing in England. It is understood that this programme will begin in earnest from 18 May following a pilot on the Isle of Wight. This work is a core part of Matt Hancock’s five-point plan for combating COVID-19, in support of some relaxation of lockdown anticipated soon. Whilst the pace is understandable, the methods and approach taken are top down, lack an effective role for key regional co-ordination through the Integrated Care Systems/Sustainability and Transformation Partnerships and Local Resilience Forums, and risk marginalising the essential skills of local authorities, GPs and the voluntary and community sector in place, according to Ham amd Tuddenham. Read full story Source: HSJ, 5 May 2020
  23. News Article
    A Nottingham mum recovering from breast cancer surgery said she 'hates to think' what could have happened, if she had let the cancer go undetected. Claire Knee, 45 of Beeston, was diagnosed with breast cancer in March shortly before lockdown measures were introduced. Having felt slightly off and noticing lumps in her breast, she was encouraged to contact her GP who referred her for tests. After a serious of diagnostic tests at Nottingham City Hospital's Breast Institute, specialists confirmed the presence of a tumour in the early stages. Surgeons successfully removed the tumour from her right breast amid the pandemic and Claire has been recommended some follow up treatment. She now wants to share her experience of seeking help and getting treatment to advise others who may be showing signs of cancer but are too scared to contact their GP. "Looking back I just think that if I hadn’t made the call to my GP I would be walking around with undetected breast cancer, which could still be growing now. I would urge anyone in similar circumstances to contact their GP and get checked - even if it’s just for peace of mind.” Read full story Source: Nottinghamshire Live, 4 May
  24. News Article
    More than 170 carers have called a whistleblowing helpline since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak, according to a report that highlights the voices of frontline workers and lays bare a catalogue of safety concerns. Compassion in Care, which operates the helpline for care workers, says it is seeing the whistleblowing process move at “unprecedented speed” as the coronavirus crisis unfolds, with many concerns being ignored. With the coronavirus death toll mounting in care homes, the charity’s report flags the “horrendous” unsafe conditions workers are facing amid concerns over lack of personal protective equipment (PPE), as well as the impact on carers’ mental health. One whistleblower likens the situation to a “war zone” with people struggling to breathe, while another describes the pain of not having the time, because of the overwhelming workload, to even hold distressed residents’ hands. In a new report, titled When the Silence Wins, Compassion in Care’s founder, Eileen Chubb, who is herself a former care whistleblower, writes: “During this crisis I have experienced the whistleblowing process moving at unprecedented speed, at such a high-volume and involving whistleblowing issues that are without exception extremely serious." “What is emerging from these cases is a lack of action by employers in response to genuine concerns." Read full story Source: The Guardian, 6 May 2020
  25. News Article
    Hospitals are continuing to discharge patients infected with Covid-19 into Britain’s struggling care homes, despite new figures showing deaths in the care sector still rising while those in hospitals are falling. Deputy chief scientific adviser Dame Angela McLean revealed the government was now seriously concerned about the scale of the outbreak in care homes. She said the number of deaths was now almost half of those in hospitals adding: “There is a real issue that we need to get to grips with.” In March care homes were told they had to accept thousands of patients discharged from hospitals to help hospitals free up 33,000 beds ahead of the coronavirus surge. But due to a lack of community testing it was not possible to test all patients, meaning the virus may have been able to spread without detection. Public Health England data last week showed the virus has now established itself in more than 4,500 care homes across the country. Sarah Scobie from the Nuffield Trust health think tank said: “The vulnerable social care sector is now becoming the epicentre of the COVID-19 pandemic in this country. Despite a very small decrease in overall deaths from the previous week, the numbers in care homes are still growing." Read full story Source: The Independent, 6 May 2020
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