Search the hub
Showing results for tags 'Virus'.
Found 2,339 results
-
Content ArticleThis report sets out the progress and learning from the first phase of the COVID-19 pandemic in informing advice and recommendations to government and the social care sector. The Social Care Sector COVID-19 Support Taskforce was commissioned in June 2020, with this report seeing the completion of its work in August 2020. The taskforce was set up to oversee the delivery of two packages of support that the government had put in place for the care sector: the Social Care Action Plan and the Care Home Support Plan. In addition, the taskforce was asked to support the government's work on community outbreaks – areas of the country that needed particular help and intervention to deal with higher rates of infection – and advising and supporting local places to consider and respond to reducing the risk of infection in care homes and the wider social care sector. Its further remit was to provide advice on the requirements for the response to COVID-19 in the next few months, ahead of and into winter.
-
Content ArticleThe COVID-19 crisis has created a watershed moment for the NHS, demanding a reappraisal of how essential services are delivered to the public. Even prior to COVID-19, the NHS recognised a pressing need to rethink healthcare using user-centred design principles, based on populations, not organisations. With the advent of the pandemic that pressing need has become an operational imperative. Digital capability has been and will continue to be a key part of transformation, but will only work when aligned with reforms in other key enablers such as financial flow, workforce planning and regulation. Many industries have already made the shift to enabling collaboration and innovation through more agile models of delivery by embracing technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), internet of things (IoT) and/or flexible and secure forms of (multi) cloud storage. Health, on the other hand, until now has introduced new technologies with the objective of improving existing pathways and service delivery models. There is now an opportunity to reimagine healthcare, driving true transformation enabled by digital capabilities.
-
Content ArticleBetween 6 May and 17 August 2020, the Patients Association asked patients about their experiences during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in an online survey.
-
EventuntilAs the NHS recovers from the first wave of the COVID-19 crisis, many organisations and health systems are not seeking to return to their pre-Covid ways of working. Instead, they are using the ‘reset and recovery’ phase as an opportunity to transform and enhance patient care whilst locking-in efficiencies and operational improvements. This transformation is seen as essential by many as the NHS prepares for ‘Winter Pressures’, builds resilience for any future Covid waves and, importantly, manages the backlog of elective procedures. The pace and extent of disruptive transformation driven by the Covid crisis would have been unimaginable at the turn of the year. Since the pandemic erupted, organisations and networks across the NHS have implemented, almost overnight, many transformation initiatives that have been in planning stages for months or years. It has also necessitated a radical redesign of many ways of working. These changes have led to a fundamental rethink of both the speed and level of change that is possible. Despite all of these pressures it is recognised that the speed and level of change must be implemented in a managed and phased way. This webinar will highlight: The challenges the NHS faces. How solutions to those challenges have been designed – by listening to what the NHS needs. How the NHS has successfully implemented the solutions (hearing success stories from the NHS itself). The importance of embedding transformation and new ways of working for the future. This webinar is applicable to a wide range of NHS personnel, including Clinicians, Operational Staff and Patient Groups. Registration
-
Content ArticleSarah Scobie, Deputy Director of Research at the Nuffield Trust, looks at the continued high numbers of people dying at home, even as hospital deaths return to close-to-average levels, and discusses what reasons might lie behind the continued high numbers of home deaths since the onset of the pandemic. Whatever the reasons for the greater number of deaths at home, a third more people are now dying at home than prior to the pandemic. Although it is widely thought that many people prefer to die at home, this shift presents a significant challenge for community health and care services to deliver high quality care for patients, and to support families at the end of life.
-
News ArticleCovid has brought many hidden tragedies: elderly residents in care homes bereft of family visits, families in quarantine missing loved one’s funerals, and mums forced to go through labour alone. Much of this has been necessary, however painful, but Jeremy Hunt fears we’re getting the balance badly wrong in maternity care. That’s why he is backing The Mail on Sunday’s campaign to end lone births, which has been championed in Parliament by Alicia Kearns. Infection control in hospitals is critically important, but mothers’ mental health can’t be pushed down the priority list. Imagine the agony of a new mum sent for a scan on her own, only to be told that her much longed-for baby has no heartbeat. Or the woman labouring in agony for hours who is told she is not yet sufficiently dilated to merit her partner joining her for moral support. "I have heard some truly heartbreaking stories, which quite frankly should have no place in a modern, compassionate health service. One woman who gave birth to a stillborn baby alone at 41 weeks; another woman who was left alone after surgery due to a miscarriage at 12 weeks," says Jeremy. Perhaps most concerningly of all, there are reports of partners being asked to leave their new babies and often traumatised mothers almost immediately after birth. That means they miss out on vital bonding time and mums lose crucial support to help them recover mentally and physically, in some cases with partners not allowed back to meet their new child properly for several days. "This is a question of basic compassion and decency – the very values that the NHS embodies and the reason we’re all so proud of our universal health service – so we need every hospital to commit to urgent action without delay." Read full story Source: MailOnline, 19 September 2020
-
News ArticleA third of coronavirus patients in intensive care are from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, prompting the head of the British Medical Association to warn that government inaction will be responsible for further disproportionate deaths. Chaand Nagpaul, the BMA Council chair, was the first public figure to call for an inquiry into whether and why there was a disparity between BAME and white people in Britain in terms of how they were being affected by the pandemic, in April. Subsequent studies, including a Public Health England (PHE) analysis in early June, confirmed people of certain ethnicities were at greater risk but Nagpaul said no remedial action had been taken by the government. Nagpaul told the Guardian: “We are continuing to see BAME people suffering disproportionately in terms of intensive care admissions so not acting means that we’re not protecting our vulnerable communities. Action was needed back in July and it’s certainly needed now more than ever. “As the infection rate rises, there’s no reason to believe that the BAME population will not suffer again because no action has been taken to protect them. They are still at higher risk of serious ill health and dying.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 20 September 2020
-
News ArticleWatchdog chief says increasing patient feedback will be the fuel to drive improvements in patient safety Some hospitals and care homes are failing to take action to protect patients from coronavirus as cases rise across the country, the head of the care watchdog has warned. In an interview with The Independent, Ian Trenholm, the chief executive of the Care Quality Commission (CQC), said a series of inspections had revealed a minority of homes and hospitals were not doing enough to prevent infection. He said in one case a care home appeared to have made a “conscious decision” not to follow the rules on wearing masks and gloves and was now in the process of being closed down by the watchdog due to safety fears. Mr Trenholm also revealed the CQC would be looking closely at patients struggling to access services because of the impact of COVID-19 and he warned it would act if some groups were disproportionately affected. The CQC is being forced to move away from its regular inspections of hospitals, care homes and GPs due to the pandemic but Mr Trenholm said it would be redoubling efforts to encourage patients to give feedback on the care they received, adding the watchdog would be more explicit in future about the action it takes. Read full story Source: The Independent, 21 September 2020
-
News ArticleA series of hospitals will be designated as coronavirus-free zones during the second wave of the outbreak in a significant policy shift designed to ensure the NHS continues treatment for cancer and other conditions, the Guardian has learned. NHS England is determined not to repeat the widespread suspension of normal service that occurred in the first wave, which doctors and charities have criticised for damaging patients’ health, leading to more deaths and creating a backlog of millions of treatments. In a tacit admission that the March shutdown denied patients vital care, NHS bosses have drawn up plans for certain hospitals – mainly small district generals – to treat no COVID-19 patients and focus instead on common planned operations such as cancer surgery, hip and knee replacements, and cataract removals. Under NHS plans, such “clean” hospitals will as far as possible be kept free of coronavirus patients in a reversal of the approach taken in spring. That should reduce the risk of patients admitted for normal care becoming infected with COVID-19 while on wards. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 21 September 2020
-
News Article'Long Covid' is leaving people with so-called ‘brain fog’ for months after their initial recovery, NHS experts have revealed. Dr Michael Beckles, consultant respiratory and general physician at The Wellington Hospital, and the Royal Free NHS Foundation, said he has seen a number of patients suffering from ongoing effects of the disease. He said the main symptom being reported is breathlessness, with patients also describing a brain fog. Dr Beckles said: "I'm seeing more and more patients who have had Covid-19 infection confirmed in the laboratory and on X-ray, who have cleared the infection, and are now still presenting with persistent symptoms. "Some of those symptoms are respiratory, such as breathlessness, chronic cough. "And some have other symptoms such as what the patients describe as brain fog, and I understand that to be a difficulty in concentration." "Some still have loss of sense of taste or smell." He added that it can be frustrating for patients because investigations after the infection can be normal, yet the symptoms persist. Dr Beckles is part of a team of specialists at the new post-COVID-19 rehabilitation unit at The Wellington Hospital. Read full story Source: The Telegraph, 21 September 2020
-
Content ArticleThis guidance from the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) sets out: key messages to assist with planning and preparation in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic so that local procedures can be put in place to minimise risk and provide the best possible support to people in supported living settings. safe systems of working including, social distancing, respiratory and hand hygiene and enhanced cleaning. how infection prevention and control (IPC) and personal protective equipment (PPE) applies to supported living settings.
-
Content ArticleAll health workers require knowledge and skills to protect themselves and others from the occupational risks they encounter, so that they can work safely and effectively. This course consists of five sections in response to these needs: Introduction Module 1: Infectious risks to health and safety Module 2: Physical risks to health and safety Module 3: Psychosocial risks to health and safety Module 4: Basic occupational health and safety in health services. The target audience for this course is health workers, incident managers, supervisors and administrators who make policies and protocols for their health facilities.
-
News ArticleNHS hospitals have been banned from launching their own coronavirus testing for staff and patients who have symptoms – despite a nationwide shortage in tests. Leaked NHS documents, passed to The Independent, show the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has now capped funding for COVID-19 testing in the health service, even though the lack of tests has left hospital doctors, nurses, teachers and other key workers forced to stay at home. The diktat warned hospitals that, if they did choose to go ahead, the six figure costs would have to come from their own budgets. The warning was sent just a day after testing tsar Baroness Dido Harding admitted to MPs that demand for coronavirus tests is three to four times the number available. One senior NHS director told The Independent that NHS trusts had the ability to buy Covid-19 test capacity in local laboratories but now faced the risk of not getting the money to pay for it. They said: “This is just barmy at a time when we have cases rising and we need to get test results for staff and patients who are isolating at home waiting for results. Read full story Source: The Independent, 18 September 2020
-
News ArticleTens of thousands of people avoided going to hospital for life-threatening illnesses such as heart attacks during Britain's coronavirus crisis, data has revealed. Shocking figures reveal that admissions for seven deadly non-coronavirus conditions between March and June fell by more than 173,000 on the previous year. Previous data for England shows there were nearly 6,000 fewer admissions for heart attacks in March and April compared with last year, and almost 137,000 fewer cancer admissions from March to June. Analysis by the Daily Mail found that the trends were alarmingly similar across the board for patients who suffered strokes, diabetes, dementia, mental health conditions and eating disorders. Health experts said the statistics were 'troubling' and warned that many patients may have died or suffered longterm harm as a result. Gbemi Babalola, senior analyst at the King's Fund think-tank said: "People with some of the most serious health concerns are going without the healthcare they desperately need. Compared with the height of the pandemic, the NHS is seeing an increase in the number of patients as services restart, and significant effort is going into new ways to treat and support patients." "But the fact remains that fewer people are being treated by NHS services." Read full story Source: Daily Mail, 13 September 2020
-
Content Article
My hospital experiences during COVID-19 by Chris Maddocks
Patient Safety Learning posted an article in Blogs
Chris Maddocks has dementia and on 28 July, after suddenly becoming unwell, she was admitted to her local hospital. She shares her experience of being in hospital and explains how small things can become much bigger for someone living with dementia. She hopes by sharing that this will help others who may be admitted in the future. -
Content ArticleIf you’re a mental health professional helping frontline healthcare workers who are providing care to people affected by COVID 19, Professor Neil Greenberg, from Kings College London, offers three important things to think about: How do you prevent staff from developing mental health difficulties? How do you find out really early on in order that you can provide simple interventions? How do you provide treatment for people who unfortunately do go on and develop mental health difficulties?
-
Content ArticleEditorial from Liam J Donaldson and Neelam Dhingra in the Journal of Patient Safety and Risk Management for World Patient Safety Day.
-
EventThere is growing concern that a significant number of COVID-19 patients continue to experience persistent physical and mental symptoms weeks and months after first contracting the virus. Chaired by RSM President Professor Roger Kirby, this webinar will tackle the topic of ‘Long COVID’, hearing insights from Dr Alastair Miller, Deputy Medical Director at the JRCPTB, Dr Nisreen Alwan, Associate Professor in Public Health at the University of Southampton and Long COVID sufferer, and Dr Carolyn Chew-Graham, GP Principal in Central Manchester and Professor of General Practice Research at Keele University. The panel will look at the symptoms and diagnosis of Long COVID, discuss current research and evidence, hear experiences of living with Long COVID, and ask what needs to be done to manage this significant healthcare concern. The webinar will include plenty of opportunities for questions. All views expressed in this webinar are of the speakers themselves and not of The RSM. Please note this webinar will be recorded and stored by The RSM and may be used in the future on various internet channels. Registration
-
News ArticlePeople requiring A&E will be urged to book an appointment through NHS 111 under a trial in parts of England. The aim is to direct patients to the most clinically-appropriate service and to help reduce pressure on emergency departments as staff battle winter pressures, such as coronavirus and flu. The pilots are live in Cornwall, Portsmouth, Hampshire and Blackpool and have just begun in Warrington. If they are successful, they could be rolled out to all trusts in December. However, people with a life-threatening condition should still call 999. Under the new changes, patients will still be able to seek help at A&E without an appointment, but officials say they are likely to end up waiting longer than those who have gone through 111. More NHS 111 call handlers are being brought in to take on the additional workload, alongside extra clinicians, the Department of Health and Social Care said. A campaign called Help Us Help You will launch later in the year to urge people to use the new service. Read full story Source: BBC News, 17 September 2020
-
News ArticleHealth inspectors have uncovered multiple problems with infection control and the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) in care homes in England ahead of a second spike in COVID-19, which is starting to be detected in care facilities across the country. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) found homes where PPE was not being worn and that had out-of-date infection prevention policies and were failing to take steps to protect black and minority ethnic residents and staff who have been identified as potentially more vulnerable to the virus. The checks took place last month in 59 English care homes and were triggered by concerns about safety and quality or complaints by residents, staff and relatives. The checks precede a government announcement within days of a winter infection control fund that is expected to broadly match the £600m already committed this year. The fund will pay additional staff costs stemming from using fewer highly mobile temporary workers, who have been shown to spread the virus. However, the CQC inspections found PPE being worn inconsistently by staff members, limited supplies of masks in some places, and a failure to store PPE safely away from infection risk. “We found examples of infection prevention and control policies that were out of date,” the inspectors said. “Some had been updated early on in the Covid-19 outbreak but had not been amended since and so contained out-of-date information. This posed a risk to the staff and people who live in the care home. Others had not been updated since 2019. One care home had completed a [contingency] plan, but it only covered the hot weather and did not include preparations for autumn and winter.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 16 September 2020
-
News ArticleMinisters have given the green light for NHS England and Improvement to consult before December on a proposed new basket of metrics to replace the four-hour accident and emergency target. The Department of Health and Social Care announced the move, a significant step towards ditching the target, while confirming another batch of winter capital funding allocations, and confirming a national “111 first” model. The announcement does however mean the process of replacing the four-hour target with new A&E standards will move slower than NHSE/I had outlined this summer. It said in July it wanted the new A&E standards in place before winter, a plan also backed by the Royal College of Emergency Medicine as revealed by HSJ. These moves come amid mounting concern that people unable to get COVID-19 tests are heading to emergency departments; and that some emergency departments are now becoming busy with growing non-covid demand. The proposals for the consultation have not yet been finalised. HSJ understands they will consist of work largely drawn up by NHSE’s clinical review of standards group before March but put on hold when the COVID-19 outbreak hit the UK. Likely choices for the metrics are: time to initial clinical assessment in A&E, time to emergency treatment for critically ill, mean waiting time, and a new 12-hour metric where the clock starts from when the patient arrives at the emergency department rather than at decision to admit as is currently the case. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 17 September 2020
-
News ArticleAn acute hospital in Greater Manchester is now experiencing a spike in coronavirus patients, following weeks of high infection rates in the community. Figures released by Bolton Foundation Trust today said it currently has 26 suspected covid patients, including three in critical care. These are the highest numbers reported by the trust since the end of May.For most of July, August and early September, the trust had fewer than five covid patients on its wards at any one time. The borough of Bolton has reported high infection weeks for several weeks, with the latest figures suggesting 200 infections per 100,000 people, the highest rate in the country. Dr Francis Andrews, the trust’s medical director, said: “We are seeing more people being admitted with confirmed or suspected covid-19 as a result of the very high rate of infections in Bolton. “This is not a shift we want to see. The situation at the hospital is under control and we were well prepared for this. However, the rate continuing to rise is of concern, and we continue to urge the people of Bolton to consider others when making decisions that could jeopardise their safety." Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 15 September 2020
-
News ArticleA protective device against coronavirus for at-risk doctors is to be provided free to the NHS. The SNAP device for ear, nose and throat surgeons was created after Burton-upon-Trent consultant Amged El-Hawrani died with COVID-19 in March. He was one of the UK's first senior medics to die with the virus, his death showing that they were at serious risk. The device clips over patients' masks to prevent the virus spreading through coughs and sneezes. It was developed by surgeons Ajith George and Chris Coulson, with the help of Aston University, who said nasendoscopy procedures - where a small flexible tube fitted with a camera is inserted into the nose - often made patients cough, splutter and sneeze. It works by clipping on to either side of a normal surgical face mask, creating a hole for an endoscope to be inserted while keeping the patient's nose and mouth completely covered. When it is removed, a one-way valve closes the hole so no virus can escape. "We were concerned about the safety of doctors but also about the risk of missed diagnoses and opportunities for treatment of patients," Mr Coulson, an ENT surgeon working at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, said. "Our aim has been to produce an easy-to-use, cheap device that would allow clinicians to return to routine practice." Read full story Source: BBC News, 16 September 2020
-
News ArticleTens of thousands of people may require kidney dialysis or transplants because of coronavirus, according to experts who warn the long-term effects of Covid are causing an “epidemic in primary care”. Up to 90% of coronavirus patients admitted to hospital may still experience symptoms two to three months later – from breathlessness to joint pain, fatigue and chest pain – scientists told the Lords science and technology committee on Tuesday. Donal O’Donoghue, a consultant renal physician at Salford Royal NHS trust, said damage to the kidneys was of major concern. It is believed the virus may attack the organ directly, he said, while the kidneys could also be injured by body-wide inflammation caused by the virus. “Normally we see maybe 20% of people that go on to intensive care unit need to have a form of dialysis. During Covid it was up to 40% – and 85% of people had some degree of kidney injury,” he said. “No doubt that is happening out in the community as well, probably to a lesser extent.” Tom Solomon, professor of neurology at the University of Liverpool, told the committee more needed to be done to support Covid survivors. “[GPs] are seeing lots of patients who are left over with problems from their Covid and they need to be able to refer them to get help in understanding what is going on,” he said, adding: “This is really the current epidemic in primary care.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 15 September 2020
-
News Article"It’s March and I’m lying awake at 3am struggling to breathe. There’s a heaviness in my chest. I’m terrified at the speed and inconsistency of my heartbeat, but I’m too afraid to call for medical help again. They’ve told me that it will get better and I need to persevere. I live on my own, and I’m trying to control my panic." Six months later Louise Cole is still dealing with the symptoms. Like thousands of others, it turns out she has “long Covid”. Like them, Louise has struggled to be taken seriously by doctors. "While for some life is slowly returning to normal, the same cannot be said for long-term COVID-19 patients. Forgetting us is not an option — not least because the burden of caring for people like me is something the NHS and government will have to reckon with. Something must be done to ease our suffering — and that starts with paying us some attention." Read full story Source: Evening Standard, 11 September 2020
