Jump to content

Search the hub

Showing results for tags 'Virus'.


More search options

  • Search By Tags

    Start to type the tag you want to use, then select from the list.

  • Search By Author

Content Type


Forums

  • All
    • Commissioning, service provision and innovation in health and care
    • Coronavirus (COVID-19)
    • Culture
    • Improving patient safety
    • Investigations, risk management and legal issues
    • Leadership for patient safety
    • Organisations linked to patient safety (UK and beyond)
    • Patient engagement
    • Patient safety in health and care
    • Patient Safety Learning
    • Professionalising patient safety
    • Research, data and insight
    • Miscellaneous

Categories

  • Commissioning, service provision and innovation in health and care
    • Commissioning and funding patient safety
    • Digital health and care service provision
    • Health records and plans
    • Innovation programmes in health and care
    • Climate change/sustainability
  • Coronavirus (COVID-19)
    • Blogs
    • Data, research and statistics
    • Frontline insights during the pandemic
    • Good practice and useful resources
    • Guidance
    • Mental health
    • Exit strategies
    • Patient recovery
    • Questions around Government governance
  • Culture
    • Bullying and fear
    • Good practice
    • Occupational health and safety
    • Safety culture programmes
    • Second victim
    • Speak Up Guardians
    • Staff safety
    • Whistle blowing
  • Improving patient safety
    • Clinical governance and audits
    • Design for safety
    • Disasters averted/near misses
    • Equipment and facilities
    • Error traps
    • Health inequalities
    • Human factors (improving human performance in care delivery)
    • Improving systems of care
    • Implementation of improvements
    • International development and humanitarian
    • Safety stories
    • Stories from the front line
    • Workforce and resources
  • Investigations, risk management and legal issues
    • Investigations and complaints
    • Risk management and legal issues
  • Leadership for patient safety
    • Business case for patient safety
    • Boards
    • Clinical leadership
    • Exec teams
    • Inquiries
    • International reports
    • National/Governmental
    • Patient Safety Commissioner
    • Quality and safety reports
    • Techniques
    • Other
  • Organisations linked to patient safety (UK and beyond)
    • Government and ALB direction and guidance
    • International patient safety
    • Regulators and their regulations
  • Patient engagement
    • Consent and privacy
    • Harmed care patient pathways/post-incident pathways
    • How to engage for patient safety
    • Keeping patients safe
    • Patient-centred care
    • Patient Safety Partners
    • Patient stories
  • Patient safety in health and care
    • Care settings
    • Conditions
    • Diagnosis
    • High risk areas
    • Learning disabilities
    • Medication
    • Mental health
    • Men's health
    • Patient management
    • Social care
    • Transitions of care
    • Women's health
  • Patient Safety Learning
    • Patient Safety Learning campaigns
    • Patient Safety Learning documents
    • 2-minute Tuesdays
    • Patient Safety Learning Annual Conference 2019
    • Patient Safety Learning Annual Conference 2018
    • Patient Safety Learning Awards 2019
    • Patient Safety Learning Interviews
    • Patient Safety Learning webinars
  • Professionalising patient safety
    • Accreditation for patient safety
    • Competency framework
    • Medical students
    • Patient safety standards
    • Training & education
  • Research, data and insight
    • Data and insight
    • Research
  • Miscellaneous

News

  • News

Find results in...

Find results that contain...


Date Created

  • Start
    End

Last updated

  • Start
    End

Filter by number of...

Joined

  • Start

    End


Group


First name


Last name


Country


Join a private group (if appropriate)


About me


Organisation


Role

Found 2,335 results
  1. News Article
    People with a learning disability must be urgently prioritised for the coronavirus vaccine, charities have warned as new data shows they are almost twice as likely to die from the virus than the general population. The latest data for learning disability deaths shows 80% of deaths in the week to 22 January were linked to COVID-19. This compares to just 45% in the general population. The charity Mencap said everyone with a learning disability should be prioritised for the vaccine. According to its analysis of deaths reported to the Office for National Statistics and the national Learning Disabilities Mortality Review programme, the proportion of deaths among the learning disabled has been increasing every week since November when it was just above 35%. Harry Roche, an ambassador at Mencap who has a learning disability, said: “The death rate for 18- to 34-year-olds with a learning disability is 30 times higher than the rest of the population. I’m 32 years old and have a learning disability – this statistic scares me. I’m calling on Boris Johnson and Matt Hancock to rethink and prioritise everyone with a learning disability. We are too often forgotten, don’t ignore us now.” Read full story Source: The Independent, 3 February 2021
  2. News Article
    With the first phase of the UK’s vaccination programme now fully under way, the government’s self-congratulatory tone suggests all clinically vulnerable groups are soon in line for protection. There’s certainly reason to be positive: millions of people are on their way to safety. But look a little closer and many high-risk people are struggling to access the vaccine. When the vaccine was first introduced last year, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) put shielders – or the “clinically extremely vulnerable” (CEV) – as low as sixth on the priority list, behind older people with no underlying health conditions. It resulted in the baffling situation where a marathon-running 65-year-old was given priority for the vaccine over a 20-year-old with lung disease who needs oxygen support. The government U-turned after pressure, moving CEV people up to fourth spot behind healthy over-75s. These are complex calculations, but there are still fears some will miss out. Some young disabled people who don’t meet the government’s narrow criteria of CEV and are worried they won’t be prioritised at all. Shielders – many of whom are of working age and live with children – also have extra risk factors compared with older people. As the British Medical Association said this month, we need a more sophisticated vaccine delivery that takes into account circumstantial factors such as race, health inequality and employment. I’ve received many messages from shielders who are terrified of being forced out to work, or of schools reopening before they get their vaccine. There are also those with learning disabilities to consider. Currently, only older people with a learning disability, those who have Down’s syndrome or people who are judged as having a severe learning disability are on the priority list. This means that people with a mild or moderate learning disability aren’t prioritised at all. This is despite the fact all people with learning disabilities have a death rate six times higher than the general population. Young adults with a learning disability are 30 times more likely to die of Covid than young adults in the general population. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 3 February 2021
  3. News Article
    Coronavirus patients who call an ambulance but are not yet sick enough to go to hospital are being given new home oxygen monitoring kits to help spot those who may deteriorate earlier. Across the Thames Valley region, thousands of patients will be given the kits which include a pulse oximeter device to monitor blood oxygen levels, a diary to track their symptoms and advice on what to do if they become sicker. South Central Ambulance Service Trust (SCAS) has become the first ambulance service in the country to launch the scheme after research showed a small drop in oxygen levels among some patients could be an early warning sign of serious complications. Patients with pneumonia and non-Covid lung conditions often experience shortness of breath before a drop in oxygen levels. But with coronavirus, patients can suffer what has been called ‘silent hypoxia’ where their oxygen levels can fall before the patient becomes breathless and calls for help. Read full story Source: The Independent, 2 February 2021
  4. News Article
    The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine could lead to a "substantial" fall in the spread of the virus, say scientists. The impact of Covid vaccines on transmission has been a crucial unknown that will dramatically shape the future of the pandemic. The study, which has not been formally published, also showed the vaccine remained effective while people waited for a second dose. It was 76% effective during the three months after the first shot. The UK, amid global debate and in sharp contrast to other countries, is prioritising giving the first dose to as many people as possible. The idea is to save more lives by giving more people some protection, but it means people will have to wait around three months for the booster instead of three weeks. This study - on 17,000 people in the UK, South Africa and Brazil - showed protection remained at 76% during the three months after the first dose. This rose to 82% after people were given the second dose. Prof Andrew Pollard, from the Oxford Vaccine Trial, said: "These new data provide an important verification of the interim data that was used by more than 25 regulators including the MHRA and EMA to grant the vaccine emergency use authorisation." "It also supports the policy recommendation made by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation for a 12-week prime-boost interval, as they look for the optimal approach to rollout." The report does not tackle the impact of the new variants on how well the vaccines work. Read full story Source: BBC News, 2 February 2021
  5. News Article
    The pandemic has had a deep impact on children, who are arriving in A&E in greater numbers and at younger ages after self-harming or taking overdoses, writes Dr John Wright of Bradford Royal Infirmary. Children are a lost tribe in the pandemic. While they remain (for the most part) perplexingly immune to the health consequences of COVID-19, their lives and daily routines have been turned upside down. From surveys and interviews carried out for the Born in Bradford study, we know that they are anxious, isolated and bored, and we see the tip of this iceberg of mental ill health in the hospital. Children in mental health crisis used to be brought to A&E about twice a week. Since the summer it's been more like once or twice a day. Some as young as 10 have cut themselves, taken overdoses, or tried to asphyxiate themselves. There was even one child aged eight. Lockdown "massively exacerbates any pre-existing mental health issues - fears, anxieties, feelings of disconnection and isolation," says A&E consultant Dave Greenhorn. Read full story Source: BBC News, 2 February 2021
  6. News Article
    A hospital has reported a "significant" increase in the number of pregnant women being treated for coronavirus. New Cross Hospital, in Wolverhampton, said part of its maternity ward had been sectioned off for Covid patients. Nationally, the proportion of pregnant women in intensive care has almost doubled since the first wave. The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists said pregnant women were at no greater risk of being infected with Covid than the general public. The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust's chief executive said the cause of the increase in the city was unclear. "We're seeing a lot more pregnant women now suffering with Covid and some of them have been very, very ill," Prof David Loughton said at a regional coronavirus briefing on Friday."We have had some deaths," he continued, "so that is really sad". An intensive care audit has shown the percentage of pregnant women aged 16-49 has almost doubled in the second wave compared to the first wave of the pandemic. Up until the end of August, 29 women in that age bracket who had been admitted with coronavirus were pregnant, compared to 103 from September to the end of January. Recently, the intensive care unit treated two Covid-positive pregnant patients and almost 200 expectant mothers tested positive in the city during the past quarter. Read full story Source: BBC News, 2 February 2021
  7. News Article
    More than 2.5 million people over the age of 80 have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, NHS England has said. But the vaccine is failing to reach thousands of elderly people who receive care in their own homes, according to a provider, because they are too frail to travel to vaccination centres or fear catching the virus if they do. The Guardian spoke to three people who have family members over 80 still waiting to be vaccinated. “How on earth are elderly people expected to negotiate the system if they don’t have any help?” says Amanda Elliott, 59. Her father-in-law, George Elliott, 98, of Polegate, East Sussex, is still waiting to be vaccinated. “It seems very unfair,” she says. George, who was a glider pilot in the second world war, doesn’t feel entitled to a jab but finds the situation “puzzling”, Amanda says. He has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), finds it very difficult to move and has a carer going into his home twice a day. Amanda, a support worker at a school in Sutton, says George received a letter inviting him to book his vaccination online and “tried without success”. He then called to book over the phone and was offered an appointment in Brighton, Hastings or Petersfield, to which he would have difficulty travelling. “I called the booking line on his behalf last week to find out what he should do as he is housebound. I was directed to his GP and his surgery told me they are not carrying out vaccinations and that I shouldn’t have contacted them about this. They were very unhelpful,” Amanda says. In Kirkcaldy, Fife, 88-year-old Christina McPhee, who is housebound, is still waiting to be vaccinated. “The district nurse has to administer the vaccine to those who can’t leave their homes, but the local GP practice told me last Friday they have none allocated for those in the area,” says her niece Mary. AdMcPhee has a tracheostomy and has carers and nurses visiting her several times a day, making her “very vulnerable” because she is high risk. Her sister, Mary’s mother, who is 82 and lives with McPhee, was able to get the vaccine because she could travel to the surgery, but there is no news about when McPhee is likely to receive hers. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 1 February 2021
  8. News Article
    Maternity staff are facing extreme burnout during the pandemic as staff shortages and longer, busier shift patterns lead to the workforce becoming increasingly overwhelmed, healthcare leaders warned. Senior figures working in pregnancy services told The Independent healthcare professionals are working longer hours, covering extra shifts around the clock, and spending more time on call to compensate for increasing numbers of employees taking time off work after getting coronavirus. Staff say stress-related absences have reached “worryingly” high levels, with junior doctors and midwives “thrown into the deep end” due to having to fill in for colleagues. Professionals argued the coronavirus crisis will lead to a rise in doctors, nurses and midwives suffering post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other mental health issues – raising concerns staff exhaustion could curb patient safety and standards of care. Read full story Source: The Independent, 31 January 2021
  9. News Article
    Dozens and potentially hundreds of urgent operations for children have been cancelled during the third wave of the covid pandemic, HSJ can reveal. There are also concerns that national guidance for prioritising surgery “disadvantages” young people. Several well placed sources told HSJ that urgent operations for children have been delayed in recent weeks because of covid pressures. This is because of a combination of staff being diverted to help with adults sick with covid, and space in children’s facilities — including intensive care — being taken over for adult covid care, as well as other staff being absent due to covid. The royal college of surgeons has told HSJ that urgent children’s operations “are increasingly being cancelled around the country”. Dozens and potentially hundreds of children’s operations rated as priority two — those which are urgent and should be carried out within a month — have been cancelled and delayed in recent weeks in the capital, according to several well placed sources. This is alongside potentially thousands of priority three operations being cancelled, which are those needing to be carried out within three months. Read full story Source: HSJ, 31 January 2021
  10. News Article
    "Traumatised" and "exhausted" medical staff need time to recover before tackling an NHS backlog, says the group representing hospitals in England. Many staff could resign if their wellbeing is not factored into plans to cut waiting lists, NHS Providers said. The number of people waiting more than a year for surgery rose 1,613 to 192,000 during the Covid pandemic. NHS Providers said demand for hospital beds is easing, but the pressure on intensive care units is still intense. NHS Providers estimates that it is going to be at least a month before the NHS gets back to normal winter pressures, and trusts are concerned about the transition into the next phase of the pandemic. Critical work that has been postponed, including a small number of urgent cancer cases, will be a priority, but there remains a need to tackle a wider backlog of routine operations alongside the vaccination programme. NHS Providers said trusts will work as fast as possible to tackle the backlog, but leaders cannot do so at the expense of staff burnout. Last month, a study suggested that many hospital staff treating the sickest patients during the first wave of the pandemic were left traumatised by the experience. Nearly half reported symptoms of severe anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder or problem drinking. One in seven had thoughts of self-harming or being "better off dead". Read full story Source: BBC News, 1 February 2021
  11. News Article
    At least twenty-two people have died at a Basingstoke care home in one of the worst known outbreaks of the coronavirus pandemic to date. The deaths occurred at Pemberley House Care Home in Grove Road, Viables, operated by private firm, Avery Healthcare. The outbreak was first declared on Tuesday, January 5, with 60 per cent of its residents testing positive for the disease, according to sources. Within three weeks, 22 people had died - over one-third of the home's residents. The Gazette's former picture editor Ron Boshier was among the residents to have died after contracting the disease. A spokesman for Avery Healthcare told The Gazette they were "deeply saddened" by the loss of a number of their residents. Read full story Source: Gazette, 27 January 2021
  12. News Article
    Care watchdogs are investigating concerns that staff with Covid-19 have been working with care home residents as operators said absence levels are as high as 70% owing to sickness and self-isolation, increasing pressure to get staff back to work. The Care Quality Commission has ordered several councils to investigate allegations about the practice, which puts lives at risk, and possible breaches of the Care Act relating to abuse or neglect of residents. It is understood to be dealing with fewer than 10 cases. But the regulator has issued a warning to all care homes in England with the Department of Health and Social Care and council social services chiefs that “under no circumstances should staff who have tested positive for COVID-19, regardless of whether they are displaying symptoms or not, work in a care setting” until their self-isolation has ended. The Rights for Residents group said on Thursday it had been contacted by a carer whose boss had asked her to return to work only a few days after a positive test because of staff shortages. She refused and no longer works for the care home. In many homes, a quarter of staff are sick or self-isolating, with the ratio as high as 70% in some cases and operators are bringing in friends and family to try to cover shifts, said Nadra Ahmed, executive chairman of the National Care Association. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 28 January 2021
  13. News Article
    Surplus COVID-19 vaccines have been given to healthy young people in parts of England and some GPs have “run out” of eligible patients to vaccinate in the scramble to inoculate the country. While supplies have been cut in some areas, one GP in the Midlands told the Guardian he had “hundreds of unused vaccines” which he is not allowed to use, having already inoculated all priority patients. Other vaccination centres have taken a more liberal approach, inviting younger patients for jabs at the end of the day if they find themselves with surplus doses of the Pfizer vaccine, which has a shelf life of three days. Currently, only four groups are eligible for vaccines in England: the over-70s, the clinically extremely vulnerable, care home residents and frontline health and social care workers. But one 38-year-old in Sheffield in none of those groups said she was offered the jab on “the iciest day of the year” if she could get to the clinic within half an hour because of weather-related cancellations. A 24-year-old in Manchester said she’d had a spare after volunteering at a vaccination centre. In Reading, one clinic is calling local police stations and offering surplus jabs to officers at the end of the day. Others are offering spares to frontline charity workers. One medic in Greater Manchester told the Guardian they managed to receive their second dose of the vaccine by repeatedly turning up at their local vaccine site at the end of each day, receiving it on day three. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 29 January 2021
  14. News Article
    A new COVID-19 test that is able to detect even asymptomatic cases of the virus through saliva is being piloted in the UK. The new LamPORE test, developed by UK-based company Oxford Nanopore, will be tested in mobile laboratories in four areas across the country. It is already being used in Aberdeen, with plans to roll it out in Telford, Brent and Newbury, and results so far have shown it is even effective at detecting the virus in people who are not showing symptoms. LamPORE will allow for additional testing capacity where it is needed for large numbers of people and be used alongside existing PCR and lateral flow test, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said. Read full story Source: The Independent, 28 January 2021
  15. News Article
    Cancer services at large hospital trust have been at ‘catastrophic’ risk of being overwhelmed, after two of its hospital sites had to suspend life-saving cancer surgeries in the last month due to COVID-19. In its latest board papers Mid and South Essex Foundation Trust rated the “cancellation of cancer elective activity” at its highest risk level of 25 – which based on their own risk-scoring key is “catastrophic”. It said the expected consequences at this risk level include “permanent disability or death, serious irreversible health effects” and an “unacceptable… quality of service”. The trust runs three general acute hospitals in the county. Its 2,000 plus beds make it the third largest trust in England after University Hospitals Birmingham FT and Leeds Teaching Hospitals. The same board papers, dated 28 January, said cancer surgery at Southend University Hospital, one of three hospital sites run by the trust, “ceased on 24 December”. At a second hospital site, Mid Essex Hospital covid “hit hard just before Christmas” and elective work was “dramatically impacted with short period of life and limb only carried out on site”. This meant all P2 cancer surgery — which requires treatment in less than four weeks — did not take place. Both hospital sites said they hoped the independent sector could help them restart cancer surgeries this month with a focus on “long waiting and clinical urgent patients”. It is not clear how much capacity the sector has to work through waiting lists and the board papers said “some of this capacity may be reduced” because of recent changes to a new national contract for the independent sector. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 29 January 2021
  16. News Article
    Bereavement support charities are calling for more funding in light of what they call the "terrible toll of 100,000 deaths from Covid-19". They say many families have been unable to be with loved ones as they died or gather to support one another. They argue there has been "huge demand" for counselling and guidance but some providers lack sufficient resources. The government says it is committed to ensuring those who are grieving have access to the support they need. In a letter to the Health Secretary Matt Hancock, and mental health minister, Nadine Dorries, charities call for some of the £500 million funding allocated to mental health in England in the November spending review to be used to support the bereaved. The request has come from the National Bereavement Alliance, which represents a range of charities. Members include CRUSE Bereavement Care, Support after Suicide Partnership and AtALoss. The letter quotes academic research suggesting more than 80% of bereaved people since the start of the pandemic have had limited contact with family and friends and two-thirds have experienced social isolation or loneliness. They say there are long waiting lists for support but some services providing advice and guidance are not adequately funded. The alliance argues deaths have been heavily felt in disadvantaged and deprived communities where there is a greater need for assistance. Read full story Source: BBC News, 27 January 2021
  17. News Article
    People infected with the new variant of coronavirus that first emerged in the UK are less likely to report a loss of taste or smell, but more likely to report “classic” symptoms, such as coughing, sore throat or fatigue, a survey has found. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the symptom of impaired taste and smell in those with COVID-19 was “significantly less common” in people who tested positive for the new variant compared with those who had other variants. However, there was no evidence of any difference in symptoms related to shortness of breath or headaches, according to the provisional data published in the organisation’s infection survey. The data also indicated that people infected with the new variant were more likely to report having symptoms. These were self-reported and not professionally diagnosed, and cover the period between 15 November and 16 January. Read full story Source: The Independent, 27 January 2021
  18. News Article
    The number of covid positive patients in English hospitals fell by 1,491 yesterday, by far the biggest decline recorded since the start of the pandemic. The previous record was set during the decline of the first wave, when numbers fell 1,055 on 17 April. The largest drop in the third wave before yesterday’s record was the 798 seen last Saturday. The national total of covid positive hospital patients now stands at 30,846, a drop of 9 per cent on the peak set on 18 January, but still 163 per cent of the mid-April peak. All seven English regions are now seeing a week-on-week decline in the number of their covid hospital patients for the first time. All have well established trends in falling admissions, with London and the south east seeing the running seven-day total fall by almost a third since a peak on 9 January. The east and south west have seen their admissions total decline by a fifth, while the midlands total has dropped 16 per cent in just five days and north east and Yorkshire nine in only four. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 28 January 2021
  19. News Article
    Black people over the age of 80 were half as likely as their white peers to have been vaccinated against Covid by 13 January, a large study suggests. This is despite the fact black people are four times more likely to die with COVID-19 than their white counterparts. People living in deprived areas or who have severe mental-health conditions or learning disabilities were also less likely to have received a vaccination. The study was based on more than 20 million patient records in England. The OpenSafely study, by the University of Oxford and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, found of the million of those over 80 but not living in a care home: 43% of the white people had been given their first dose of the vaccine 30% of the Bangladeshi and Pakistani people had 21% of the black people had. Bangladeshi and Pakistani people are twice as likely to die with COVID-19 as white peple. Birmingham-based business owner Tru Powell told BBC Radio 5 Live of a "lack of trust between the government and people of colour". "People of colour have been subject to institutionalised racism within the healthcare system," she said. "We are five times more likely to be detained under the Mental Health Act and four times more likely to die in childbirth." Read full story Source: BBC News, 28 January 2021
  20. News Article
    Only a third of local authorities that are rolling out lateral flow testing have made the test’s limitations clear to the public—including that it does not pick up all cases and that people testing negative could still be infected, an investigation by The BMJ has found. A search of the websites of the 114 local authorities rolling out lateral flow testing found that 81 provided information for the public on rapid COVID-19 testing. Of these, nearly half (47%; 38) did not explain the limitations of the tests or make it clear that people needed to continue following the restrictions or safety measures even if they tested negative, as they could still be infected. Although 53% (43) did advise people to continue to follow the current measures after a negative result, only 32% (26) were clear about the test’s limitations or its potential for false negatives. The advice the websites gave to the public about a negative test result ranged from “A single negative test is not a passport to carrying on your daily life ‘virus-free’... don’t let a negative COVID-19 test give you a false sense of security” to “It is good news that you don’t have the coronavirus.” On 10 January England’s health secretary, Matt Hancock, launched the drive for local authorities to test asymptomatic people who cannot work from home, to try to halt the spread of the virus. But many public health experts are concerned about false reassurance from mass testing. Read full story Source: BMJ, 26 January 2021
  21. News Article
    New advice on how to treat coronavirus has been issued by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as it also begins a wide-reaching study into the effects of so-called "long COVID". For COVID-19 patients at home, WHO is now suggesting the use of a pulse oximetry machine to measure oxygen levels in the blood - but warns that this should only be done after full patient education and with medical follow-up support if necessary. For hospitalised patients, WHO is recommending the use of low-dose anticoagulants to prevent clots forming in blood vessels, known as thrombosis. And for sufferers who are already using supplemental oxygen, the organisation is officially endorsing the positioning of patients on their stomachs to increase oxygen flow. This is known as "awake prone positioning". The new guidelines also include a recommendation that healthcare professionals favour "clinical judgement over models" in making decisions for individual patients. Read full story Source: Sky News, 26 January 2021
  22. News Article
    A trust has warned it may reach a ‘tipping point’ where it is ‘impossible’ to separate covid positive and negative patients. Surrey and Sussex Healthcare Trust also revealed in papers published ahead of its Thursday board meeting that it planned to distribute a “duty of candour” leaflet for patients, warning them of the risk of contracting covid in hospital. The papers noted covid patients at the trust increased from 80 pre-Christmas to 230 by January, filling half its beds. HSJ’s figures suggest covid patients at the trust continued to rise until around 14 January before dropping back slightly. The report from the trust’s safety and quality committee — which met on 7 January — said: “It is becoming more difficult to separate the covid+ and covid- patients. In an increasing number of instances, patients are admitted to cold areas for non-covid treatment and without symptoms but then test positive. These patients then need to be admitted to hot areas and any contacts (including patients from the same bay) isolated. “At some point a tipping point could be reached where it may be impossible to retain hot and cold areas.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 27 January 2021
  23. News Article
    Rotating clinicians and keeping ventilation running are among Public Health England’s (PHE) recommendations for how to avoid spreading covid while looking after patients in the back of ambulances outside emergency departments. The suggestions are made in unprecedented new guidance issued by PHE amid sky-high rates of very long ambulance handovers outside hospitals. This is because emergency departments (EDs) are struggling with attempts to maintain distancing for infection control, along with high occupancy and severe operational pressures elsewhere in hospitals. It has led over the past two months to large numbers of patients being looked after in ambulances for extended times while they wait for space in ED. The PHE guidance, added last week to existing covid guidance for ambulance services, says it should only happen in “exceptional circumstances”. But it says staff in this situation should adopt infection prevention and control procedures including: if more than one clinician is available, rotating them regularly, so allowing them time to change PPE and have a drink; keeping ventilation systems running which may require the engine to be kept running; ensuring patients and any essential escorts wear surgical masks, as long as patient care is not compromised; minimising the number of people within the patient compartment and avoiding sitting face-to-face with patients; and decontaminating contact surfaces more frequently and during the delay if possible. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 25 January 2021
  24. News Article
    London’s largest acute trust has been accused of ‘emotional blackmail’ by suggesting junior doctors could do voluntary shifts in its ‘really short staffed’ critical care unit. In an email cascaded to all junior doctors at Whipps Cross Hospital, run by Barts Health Trust, hospital medical director Heather Noble said day and night shifts at another trust site, the Royal London Hospital, “really need cover”. She said doctors could work overtime through a “voluntary or paid shift”, and that if they made contact, should “state whether or not they want to be paid”. Doctors working at the trust who received the email, who wished to remain anonymous, described the email as “tone deaf” and “not the right way to incentivise anyone to do what they want”. One medic said: “There has been a lot of anger generated by this correspondence amongst junior doctors. People already working antisocial and demanding rotas are very unhappy about being asked to work more hours for free.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 26 January 2021
  25. News Article
    Men working in low-skilled jobs or care, leisure and service roles are more than three times as likely to die from Covid as professionals, according to new data. Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures show there were 7,961 coronavirus-related deaths registered among the working-age population (those aged 20 to 64 years) in England and Wales between 9 March and 28 December last year. Nearly two-thirds of those deaths were among men (5,128 fatalities). Analysis by the ONS shows men who worked in low-skilled occupations (699 deaths) or care, leisure and other service occupations (258 deaths) had the highest rates of death involving Covid-19, with 66.3 and 64.1 deaths per 100,000 males, respectively. Men working in process plants, as security guards or as chefs, had some of the highest COVID-19 death rates. Plant workers recorded a rate of 143.2 deaths per 100,000 males, while for security guards and related occupations, the figure stood at 100.7 deaths per 100,000 males. Ben Humberstone, ONS head of health analysis and life events, said: “Jobs with regular exposure to Covid-19 and those working in close proximity to others continue to have higher COVID-19 death rates when compared with the rest of the working-age population.” However, the figures do not prove that rates of death are caused directly by differences in employment. “There are a complex combination of factors that influence the risk of death, from your age and your ethnicity, where you live and who you live with, to pre-existing health conditions,” Mr Humberstone said. Read full story Source: The Independent, 25 January 2021
×
×
  • Create New...