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News Article
NHS pulls a million face masks from use after safety warning
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The NHS has been warned not to use or distribute a batch of high-grade face masks after government officials warned they may not meet safety standards. The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said it had “received urgent information” suggesting the items did not meet UK government specifications. Hospital bosses and others including GPs have been told to stop using the FT-045A FFP3 masks, quarantine any remaining supplies and then track down any they might have sent on to other health providers through mutual aid schemes. DHSC said it was pausing further distribution while a rapid review was carried out. Some 1.12 million masks are affected, the department said. DHSC’s warning document told health bosses: “Please be assured that we are working with regional teams and providers to fit-test staff to alternative models and provide of them with alternative masks in the quantities needed. We have a good supply of other FFP3 masks.” Rob Harwood, consultants committee chairman of the British Medical Association, told the BBC: “Healthcare staff working on the frontline do so facing the grave risk of contracting Covid, and deserve the best protection from this deadly virus." “Many will be incredibly concerned to learn that some masks designed to offer enhanced protection, as well as gloves, may not meet standards, potentially placing them at greater risk.” Read full story Source: The Independent, 24 February 2021 -
News ArticleLocal groups of GPs have decided to prioritise all patients with learning disabilities for COVID-19 vaccination, after fresh evidence showed that disabled patients were at much higher risk from the disease. Latest figures from the Office for National Statistics1 showed that 60% of people in England who died from covid-19 from January to November 2020 (30 296 of 50 888) had a disability. This week an extra 1.7 million people in England—including some with severe learning disabilities—are being added to the list of people identified as clinically extremely vulnerable to COVID-19, although this does not include people with mild or moderate learning disabilities. But some clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) have deviated from national guidance and said that they will prioritise all patients with learning disabilities for vaccination given the disproportionate impact on them. In a statement published on its website, Kent and Medway CCG said that it had decided to include all adults with learning disabilities in the current priority phase for vaccination delivery. “Given the evidence of covid-19 inequalities increasing deaths amongst people with learning disabilities, the NHS in Kent and Medway has agreed to prioritise vaccinating the 9500 people on GP learning disability registers,” it said. Oxfordshire CCG was also praised by local campaigners for adjusting its priority list so that everybody with a learning disability is included in priority group 6, regardless of its severity. Read full story Source: BMJ, 19 February 2021
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News Article
Housebound people being missed for vaccination, NHS warned
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
People who need to receive their covid vaccinations at home are missing out because their eligibility is not being recognised by GPs, experts have warned. There have been numerous reports of housebound people being told they are ineligible for a home visit in recent weeks, with some home care providers saying only a minority of their elderly clients have been vaccinated so far. Chit Selvarajah, policy manager at the charity Independent Age, said: “We have heard from people who say they are housebound being told they weren’t considered as housebound and told to go to a vaccination centre as they are not eligible for a home visit." “We don’t know how many people have been vaccinated but it’s likely to be very small numbers at the moment.” Ruthe Isden, head of health and care influencing at Age UK, believes some older people have “slipped into being effectively housebound” over the last year, and are not yet registered as such on GP databases. She said: “The pandemic has hit the fast forward button on ageing for a lot of people. They’ve aged a long way in a short period and seen their health really deteriorate, and often they are not going to proactively identify themselves as needing more help." “It’s vital we are thinking systematically about reaching this group. At the moment, there seems to be considerable variation in how people are followed up.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 22 February 2021 -
News Article
Sharp drop in patient goodwill towards NHS since autumn
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Patient positivity about NHS hospital services suffered a sharp drop during the autumn, and satisfaction with access is now well below pre-pandemic levels, according to analysis exclusively shared with HSJ. The analysis of social media and online sentiment by PEP Health appears to show that a surge of goodwill towards the health service during the first covid peak last spring dissipated last autumn. At that time, the first-wave peak had passed, but hospitals were getting a lot busier — with more emergency attendances, and efforts to get planned appointments and procedures back close to normal levels. Emergency departments were coming under strain, coping with infection control measures, and large numbers of very long waits for elective care had built up. The drop in positive feeling towards NHS hospitals was particularly felt between October and January, especially with concerns over the speed of access to health services. The work only covers acute hospital services. One hospital chief executive told HSJ the change in patient sentiment was palpable at the frontline. “There is quite a lot of chippiness from patients and relatives. The ‘we love the NHS’ feels a very long lost memory. “We see a lot of chippiness to staff, and aggression and irritability — which is understandable because everyone’s been waiting a long time — but is really unhelpful because everyone [staff are] knackered and trying to do their best.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 22 February 2021 -
News Article
The NHS rose to the challenge of Covid, but its next test may be even harder
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Over the past year, our NHS has risen to the challenges of the pandemic. But it’s been a very close-run thing. There have been well-publicised difficulties such as the shortage of ventilators, ICU beds and PPE, and the physical and staffing capacity of the health service has been strained to breaking point. GPs have managed the risks to patients who have been unable to receive specialist care. We now face a growing backlog of postponed treatments and emerging mental health issues. So if we were to imagine a post-Covid NHS, toughened by the challenges of the pandemic but better prepared for the future, what would it look like? To ensure the health service is capable of meeting the challenges it will face in the next decade and beyond, it will require both structural and local reforms. The word “reform” triggers unease among many NHS professionals, who have been subject to numerous reorganisations over the years and have witnessed efforts being diverted into reforms at the expense of improving patient care. While some of the changes in the recent NHS white paper seem sensible, their effectiveness will depend on the final detail. To ensure the focus remains on patients, all policy reforms and local changes should convincingly pass at least one of these six tests: Will they reduce demand on the NHS by preventing disease or improving wellbeing? Will they speed up the time between a patient seeking help and receiving treatment? Will they enhance patient safety before, during or after treatment? Will they enable better clinical outcomes? Will they provide better taxpayer value? And will they reduce the inequality of access that has resulted in some groups receiving less care than others? Read full story Source: The Guardian, 18 February 2021 -
News Article
Long Covid: ‘It’s a year since I’ve felt like myself’
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Today is an anniversary that George Hencken never imagined. It is exactly one year since she caught COVID-19. But unlike most people who have suffered from the disease, she remains ill. “It’s a year since I’ve felt like myself,” she said. “It’s a year since my life as I knew it came to an end. And I don’t know if I’m going to get it back again.” Long Covid doesn’t quite describe the depths of her fatigue. “It’s not tiredness. It’s like having jet lag and a hangover. It feels like I’ve been poisoned,” she said. The problem for Hencken and the thousands still suffering from the virus months later is that long Covid doesn’t describe much at all. The umbrella term covers people who are breathless and fatigued, or who have brain fog, headaches and tingling arms, or who have chest pains and heart palpitations, or all of those and dozens more symptoms besides. Support groups such as LongCovidSOS have been fighting hard for the condition to be recognised and taken seriously – sufferers say they feel disbelieved, and doctors initially had little information, support or even funding. Last week the government announced £18.5m through the National Institute for Health Research to fund four major studies attempting to understand exactly what long Covid means, why it affects so many apparently healthy people, and how they can be helped. Research by University College London will track the health of 60,000 people, including people with long Covid and a control group who will wear a Fitbit-style wristband to measure heart rate, breathing and exercise levels. The aim is to chart and identify clusters of symptoms, Professor Nishi Chaturvedi said. “My sense is that the multiplicity of symptoms that people are reporting suggests to me and many others that it’s not one thing, but several syndromes. We’re not even at the starting point yet of knowing what it is,” she said. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 20 February 2021 -
News Article
Covid: Confusion over gestational diabetes advice
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Some pregnant women who have had gestational diabetes say a change to shielding advice in England has caused confusion. Some have been told to stay at home while others have not, based on a new algorithm which calculates an individual's risk from Covid. It identified an extra 1.7 million people as extremely clinically vulnerable in England this week. They will now be prioritised for a Covid vaccine. NHS England says not everyone with the same condition will be advised to shield but suggests people contact their GP to discuss their individual case. Heather Davis Mahoney, from Hertfordshire, had gestational diabetes while carrying her second child, and was monitored closely during her third pregnancy. She has not been told to shield, but says it's worrying when others from similar backgrounds have been told they should. "There's been an explosion of confusion. People don't know what's going on and are worried about putting themselves and their babies at risk," she says. But GP Dr David Triska said just because someone has gestational diabetes or had it in the past, doesn't mean they should be shielding. "I think the major point of confusion is that people are expecting that this is a binary 'yes' or 'no' per condition algorithm - and it is not," he said. "The reason why people are getting different answers from various sources is because this is an individual risk assessment." Read full story Source: BBC News, 20 February 2021 -
News Article
NHS sets up mental health hubs for staff traumatised by Covid
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The NHS is setting up dozens of mental health hubs to help staff who have been left traumatised by treating Covid patients during the pandemic. There is mounting concern that large numbers of frontline workers have experienced mental health problems such as anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder over the last year. NHS personnel will be able to ring one of the 40 new hubs in England, receive advice and be referred for support from psychologists, mental health nurses, therapists and recovery workers. Frontline workers who are struggling with their mental health will be encouraged to use the service, and hub staff will call workers deemed at highest risk directly to offer their help. Higher-risk groups are likely to include those who work in intensive care, on Covid wards and in A&E units. Almost half of doctors, nurses and other ICU staff have reported symptoms of PTSD, severe depression or anxiety, according to research published last month. Of these, about 40% had probable PTSD – far higher than the rates seen among military veterans. Sir Simon Stevens, NHS England’s chief executive, announced the hubs in an interview with the House magazine. They are being set up at locations across England including Bedfordshire, Lancashire and north-east London. A handful are already in operation. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 22 February 2021 -
News Article
UK’s Covid vaccines cut hospital admissions by around 90%, study shows
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The COVID-19 vaccines deployed in the UK substantially reduce the risk of hospital admission, real-world data from Scotland has shown. Four weeks after receiving a first dose, both the Pfizer/BioNTech and Oxford/AstraZeneca jabs cut hospitalisation with the disease by up to 85 and 94%, respectively. Among those aged 80 years and over – one of the most vulnerable groups – the two vaccines were associated with a combined 81% reduction in hospitalisation risk. Scientists from the University of Edinburgh, the University of Strathclyde, and Public Health Scotland gathered vaccine data between 8 December and 15 February, during which 1.14 million doses were administered among the Scottish population. Researchers analysed data for every week during the study – including GP records on vaccination, hospital admissions, death registrations and laboratory test results – and compared the outcomes of those who had received their first jab with those who had not. Lead researcher Professor Aziz Sheikh said: "These results are very encouraging and have given us great reasons to be optimistic for the future. We now have national evidence – across an entire country – that vaccination provides protection against Covid-19 hospitalisations." Read full story Source: The Independent, 22 February 2021 -
News Article
Staff seeking second vaccination early threatened with ‘regulatory action’
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Staff at one of England’s largest hospital trusts have been threatened with disciplinary and regulatory action if they attempt to get their second COVID-19 vaccine dose early, HSJ has learned In an all staff email today, University Hospitals Birmingham Foundation Trust said: “Any staff trying to obtain a second dose ahead of their booked sessions could be considered deliberately attempting to deceive the NHS in order to obtain medicines and, as such will be a professional conduct issue which may result in disciplinary action and/or regulatory action being taken against you. The new note indicates the FT may have had a particular problem with staff seeking and/or getting second doses. The email said that if they attended vaccination centres, staff would be refused a second dose, and be asked to leave. Staff were also asked not to try and book another appointment at a different vaccination centre or “re-enter” the system through over means. The email added: “The current supply of vaccines is allocated to us to ensure all priority groups can receive their first dose and provide protection to as many as possible.” In December the trust’s executives were heavily criticised by unions for getting their first vaccine doses, after patients didn’t show up for appointments. The trust, which has been dealing with very large numbers of covid patients especially in intensive care, has also been the subject of concerns over culture and management in recent months. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 20 February 2021 -
News ArticleMore than 1 in 10 Covid patients died within five months of being discharged from hospital, while almost a third of those who survived the virus had to be readmitted, new research has warned. Papers released by the governments Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) also revealed half of patients in hospital with the virus suffered complications, with one in four struggling when they got back home. Younger patients under the age of 50 were more likely to suffer complications. The reports present the first substantial evidence that Covid could be the cause of significant long term ill-health, with the virus attacking the body’s organs and causing diseases of the liver, heart, lungs and kidneys. Read full story Source: The Independent, 20 February 2021
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News ArticleNew research led by researchers at King’s College London suggests that restricting testing to the ‘classic triad’ of cough, fever and loss of smell which is required for eligibility for a PCR test through the NHS may have missed cases. Extending the list to include fatigue, sore throat, headache and diarrhoea would have detected 96% of symptomatic cases. A team of researchers at King’s and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) analysed data from more than 122,000 UK adult users of the ZOE COVID Symptom Study app. These users reported experiencing any potential COVID-19 symptoms, and 1,202 of those reported a positive PCR test within a week of first feeling ill. While PCR swab testing is the most reliable way to tell whether someone is infected with the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus that causes COVID-19, the analysis suggests the limited list of three does not catch all positive cases of COVID-19. Testing people with any of the three ‘classic’ symptoms would have spotted 69% of symptomatic cases, with 46 people testing negative for every person testing positive. However, testing people with any of seven key symptoms - cough, fever, anosmia, fatigue, headache, sore throat and diarrhoea - in the first three days of illness would have detected 96% of symptomatic cases. In this case, for every person with the disease identified, 95 would test negative. Researchers also found users of the Symptom Study App were more likely to select headache and diarrhoea within the first three days of symptoms, and fever during the first seven days, which reflects different timings of symptoms in the disease course. Data from the ZOE app shows that 31% of people who are ill with COVID-19 don’t have any of the triad of symptoms in the early stages of the disease when most infectious. Read full story Source: King's College London, 17 February 2021
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News ArticleA new COVID vaccine efficacy study from Israel has concluded that Pfizer/BioNTech's jab is up to 85% effective after the first dose. The research, conducted by the Sheba Medical Centre, the country's largest hospital, has been published in the Lancet medical journal. The hospital assessed the effectiveness of the first dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine among 7,000 of its healthcare employees. The workers each received their first dose in January and the research team observed an 85% reduction of clinical (symptomatic) COVID-19 between 15 and 28 days after the jab. But critically, they also observed efficacy in asymptomatic patients. The study found that all infections, including asymptomatic, were reduced by 75% after the first dose. Professor Eyal Leshem, an infectious disease expert and director of Sheba's Institute for Travel and Tropical Medicine, told Sky News: "This is first real-world evidence of effectiveness that shows up after the first dose of the vaccine." Read full story Source: Sky News, 19 February 2021
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News Article
Covid: Three in 10 care home staff in England not vaccinated
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Three in 10 care home staff have not been vaccinated against COVID-19 despite being in the top four priority groups, according to data from NHS England. More than 435,000 workers in care homes for older adults are eligible in England, but only 304,600 have received a first dose. In London, only 52% of staff have had a jab, rising to 75% in the South West. The UK target of vaccinating 15 million people was met at the weekend. However, these figures, up to 14 February, suggest there are large groups of care workers, who are in the top four priority groups, who have still not come forward. Some care home staff have previously said they refused the vaccine because of "cultural issues", but organisations representing care providers say they must be convinced to have one - to protect them and the services they work in. Read full story Source: BBC News, 18 February 2021 -
News ArticleNearly 20 major healthcare bodies are appealing to the Prime Minister for better personal protection against coronavirus. They say at least 930 health and care workers have died of COVID-19 and more are experiencing long-term effects. In a letter, they say measures to stop airborne spreading are "inadequate" and call for urgent improvement in masks and other defences against variants. The government said it was monitoring evidence on airborne transmission and would update advice "where necessary". The organisations involved represent a wide range of health professionals, from doctors and nurses to dieticians and physiotherapists. Their approach to Downing Street follows repeated efforts to raise the issue with others in government. With health and care workers at three to four times greater risk of becoming infected than the general public, the plea to Boris Johnson is to make an "urgent intervention to prevent further loss of life". It says current policies focus on contaminated surfaces and droplets - for which the best defences are hand hygiene and social distancing - but not on airborne transmission by tiny infectious aerosols. The groups are demanding: ventilation is improved better respiratory protection, such as FFP3 masks, are provided healthcare guidance reflects the evidence of airborne transmission. Read full story Source: BBC News, 19 February 2021
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News Article
Poorer areas falling behind on vaccination against coronavirus
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The NHS is increasing efforts to reach out to ethnic minority communities in more deprived areas of England as analysis by The Independent shows poorer areas are vaccinating fewer at-risk people. Among the most deprived parts of the country, fewer people aged over 80 and in their mid-70s had received their first dose of vaccine against coronavirus by 7 February when compared with more affluent areas, sparking concerns communities most at risk are being left vulnerable. Comparing local NHS vaccination data with Public Health England’s deprivation scores for each NHS region reveals six of the most deprived parts of England were in the bottom 10 local areas for vaccine uptake among the over-80s and those aged over 75. The worst performing NHS region was East London, with just 73& cent of over-80s vaccinated by 7 February. East London was also one of the worst-affected areas during the second wave of the virus as hospitals became overwhelmed early on in the crisis. Dave Finch, a senior fellow at the Health Foundation, said: “Lower vaccine uptake in the most deprived areas is worrying as these areas have seen some of the very highest Covid-19 death rates. A higher likelihood of having poorer pre-existing health increases their risk of more severe symptoms if they do get the virus. And people living in poorer areas are increasingly showing signs of intense financial hardship as a result of lockdown measures." “The government must prioritise understanding why vaccine uptake has been lower in these areas and take urgent, targeted action to address this. However, in the longer term, there must be a focus on investing across the UK to address major health inequalities in order protect everyone’s health and wellbeing.” Read full story Source: The Independent, 18 February 2021 -
News Article
Calls for compensation scheme for UK frontline workers with long Covid
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Boris Johnson is being urged to launch a compensation scheme for frontline workers who are suffering from the long-term effects of coronavirus. The all-party parliamentary group on coronavirus said the prime minister should recognise long Covid as an occupational disease, saying some sufferers have found it hard to return to work. A letter, signed by more than 60 MPs and peers, has been sent to Johnson. Layla Moran, the APPG’s chair, said: “Long Covid is the hidden health crisis of the pandemic, and it is likely to have an enormous impact on society for many years to come. “When it comes to frontline NHS, care and key workers, they were specifically asked to go to work and save lives while everyone else was asked to stay at home." “They were exposed to an increased level of risk of catching the virus, often without adequate levels of PPE.” The group wants the government to follow France, Germany, Belgium and Denmark, which have formally recognised Covid as an “occupational disease”. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 18 February 2021 -
News Article
1 in 5 female doctors concerned about PPE
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
One in five female doctors are concerned about whether their personal protective equipment (PPE) is the correct size as fears grow over more infectious strains of coronavirus. Exclusive data from the British Medical Association, which polled over 7,000 UK healthcare workers, found a fifth of female doctors were not at all confident their PPE is “fully fit-tested” or adjusted to tally with their requirements. Just 13% of men said the same. The professional organisation for doctors argues PPE is generally designed to fit the “size and shape of male bodies” even though women make up 75% of NHS workers. Helena McKeown, chair of the BMA representative body, told The Independent the situation is not improving due to a lack of action from the government as she warned there is a dearth of different sized PPE for a range of body shapes available. Dr McKeown, who is a GP, said: “Without properly sitting face protection, these doctors are putting themselves at risk. Poorly fitting PPE makes performing simple tasks more difficult and at worst exposes health professionals to dangerous infection." “We’ve had the pandemic a year and we know a one size fits all approach does not work. Whether that is for the size of the gown, clothes or fit of the face mask. We have had a year to get this right.” Read full story Source: The Independent, 16 February 2021 -
News Article
Think tank claims NHS waiting list could reach 10 million by April
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Waiting lists for NHS surgery in England could hit 10 million by April, a think tank has claimed while calling for NHS hospitals to use more private sector capacity to reduce delays for patients. In a new report the right-wing think tank Reform said the worst case scenario for patient waits could see one in six people in England waiting for treatment by April. It said the impact of coronavirus had turned the NHS into a “national Covid service” with six million fewer referrals for treatment in 2020. It warned the delays in treatments could have dire consequences for patients with an estimated 1,660 additional lung cancer deaths. But NHS bosses have hit back at the report saying it is inaccurate to say the NHS focused only on Covid, and that despite widespread cancellations it has continued to treat other patients. Predictions that the NHS waiting list would hit 10 million were made last year and proved wrong after hospitals ramped up routine services during the summer – although the second wave of the virus has again led to widespread cancellations including for surgery patients. The new Reform report claims capacity in private sector hospitals, where NHS England has secured new contracts to take on additional work during the Covid surge, have not been effectively used. The think tank wants NHS England to mandate the publication of ‘waiting list recovery plans’ by NHS trusts setting out how each hospital will use the private sector. Read full story Source: The Independent, 17 February 2021 -
News Article
Covid: Extra 1.7m vulnerable added to shielding list
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
There is to be a large expansion of the number of people being asked to shield in England. An extra 1.7 million people are expected to be added to the 2.3 million already on the list. Half of the group have not yet been vaccinated so will now be prioritised urgently by their local GPs. It comes after a new model was developed that takes into account extra factors rather than just health. This calculation includes things such as ethnicity, deprivation (by postcode) and weight to work out a person's risk of becoming seriously ill if they were to catch Covid. It also looks at age, underlying health issues and prescribed medications. Prof Andrew Hayward, a member of the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (Nervtag), which has been involved in the modelling, said it considered a "combination of factors" such as age, ethnicity and chronic illness and put them together to reach a score. He told BBC Radio 4's PM programme that this score could "more or less order people in the population according to their level of risk" and "identify those at the top of that range to say, 'you should be prioritised for vaccine and you have a level of risk that is similar to those on the shielding list'". Read full story Source: BBC News, 16 February 2021 -
News ArticleAvailability of inpatient child and adolescent mental health services beds — particularly for eating disorders — has reached ‘crisis point’, with young people left waiting on a standard paediatric ward or at home as demand surged during the covid pandemic. A report to Surrey Heartlands Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) in January read: “Availability of tier four beds [inpatient mental health beds for children and adolescents, commissioned centrally by NHS England] in the South East and across the country is at crisis point and providers have to compete for the small pool of beds." “Waits for beds or being placed far from home is a distressing and unacceptable experience for children and young people and families and places an additional burden on other parts of the system such as paediatric wards.” The report noted a “demand upsurge to the highest levels in the last three years” since the pandemic. It stated, in mid-January, the CCG had two patients awaiting eating disorder beds being managed on paediatric wards as they had become “physically too unwell to be managed at home”. Four others also waiting for a CAMHS bed were being managed at home. Read full story Source: 16 February 2021
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News ArticleThe World Health Organization (WHO) has urged countries to prioritise rehabilitation for the medium and long term consequences of covid-19 and to gather information on “long covid” more systematically. WHO has produced a standardised form to report clinical data from individual patients after hospital discharge or after their acute illness to examine the medium and long term consequences of COVID-19.1 It has also set up technical working groups to build a consensus on the clinical description of what WHO now calls “the post-covid-19 condition” and to define research priorities. Speaking at the first of a series of seminars, WHO’s director general, Tedros Ghebreyesus, highlighted the “three Rs”—recognition, research, and rehabilitation. Recognition of the post-covid-19 condition was now increasing, he said, but still not enough research was carried out. He added that countries needed to show commitment to including rehabilitation as part of their healthcare service. “Long covid has an impact on the individual, on society, and on the economy,” he warned. Read full story Source: BMJ, 10 February 2021
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News Article
Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine to be tested on children
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
A new trial is to test how well the Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine works in children. Some 300 volunteers will take part, with the first vaccinations in the trial taking place later in February. Researchers will assess whether the jab produces a strong immune response in children aged between six and 17. The vaccine is one of two being used to protect against serious illness and death from Covid in the UK, along with the Pfizer-BioNTech jab. As many as 240 children will receive the vaccine - and the others a control meningitis jab - when the trial gets under way. Andrew Pollard, professor of paediatric infection and immunity, and chief investigator on the Oxford vaccine trial, noted that most children were relatively unaffected by Covid and were unlikely to become unwell with the virus. But he said it was important to establish the safety and immune response to the vaccine in children and young people as some children might benefit from vaccination. Read full story Source: BBC News, 14 February 2021 -
News Article
‘Legally wrong’ to make pregnant women with Covid give birth alone
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
NHS guidance which often forces pregnant women who test positive with coronavirus to give birth alone is legally wrong, lawyers warned. Official guidance drawn up by NHS England states that if a woman tests positive for Covid, their husband or partner must self-isolate at home and is not allowed to support them during childbirth. But campaigners and lawyers told The Independent their guidance for visitor restrictions in maternity services during the pandemic is legally inaccurate as people have the “right to private and family life” under Article Eight of the Human Rights Act. Maria Booker, of Birthrights, a leading maternity care charity, said: “The NHS oversimplifies the government’s self-isolating Covid regulations and tells partners they have to stay at home. But this hasn’t taken into account the legal nuance that government rules state people can leave home if they have a reasonable excuse." “A woman being anxious about giving birth alone, which most people will be, is likely to legally constitute as a reasonable excuse." “It is completely inhumane for a woman to give birth without a partner or supporter. It is even scarier giving birth alone you are Covid positive. It is terrifying. Nobody should give birth alone and that includes Covid positive women.” Read full story Source: The Independent, 13 February 2021 -
News Article
Backlog of long cancer waits has doubled
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The backlog of patients who have been waiting for cancer treatment for more than 104 days has more than doubled since last year, according to internal NHS England papers seen by HSJ. At the start of February, the backlog of cases already at more than 15 weeks had hit 6,109, compared to 3,000 at the same point in 2020. National targets state cancer patients should be treated with 62 days of being referred. In the North West region, the backlog has nearly tripled over the same time period, from 289 to 831 (see regional breakdown below). Senior sources told HSJ the increase had been largely driven by acute providers in Greater Manchester and Merseyside. Cases in which patients have to wait more than 104 days for treatment are generally considered serious breaches, and typically trigger a process to identify if the delay has caused harm to the patient. Some local systems have declared a “zero tolerance” for such instances. The data in the papers is provisional. Michelle Mitchell, Cancer Research UK’s chief executive, said the impact of covid-19 on cancer patients has been “devastating”. She added: “The government must urgently make sure the NHS gets the funding it needs to increase cancer service capacity, and give every person with cancer the timely diagnosis and treatment they deserve.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 13 February 2021
