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News Article
Covid inquiry: Race should be at its core, say campaigners
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Race should be made a central part of the UK's independent public inquiry into the pandemic, campaigners say. A letter seen by BBC News, sent to the chairwoman of the Covid-19 inquiry, calls for it to look at "racism as a key issue" at every stage. Ethnic minorities were significantly more likely to die with Covid-19, according to official figures. An inquiry spokesperson said the unequal impacts of the pandemic would be at the forefront of its work. People from ethnic minority backgrounds who lost loved-ones during the pandemic also told BBC News they felt "sidelined" by the process so far. The letter to Baroness Hallett, who is chairing the inquiry, has been co-ordinated by the group Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice and race equality think tank Runnymede. It calls for ethnic minority communities to be "placed firmly at the centre" of the inquiry. Read full story Source: BBC News, 28 February 2023 -
News Article
Lateral flow tests being prepared for UK outbreaks of avian flu
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
British health officials are preparing plans to deploy lateral flow tests if signs emerge that avian flu has begun to spread from one person to another. The programme would provide rapid information about the dangers posed by the disease. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is also working on blood tests to detect antibodies against the virus and officials will analyse the disease’s genetic mutations to reveal data about the increased risk to human health from avian flu. The moves follow last week’s news that an 11-year-old girl in Cambodia has died from H5N1, the flu strain that is being spread around the globe by migrating birds and is infecting poultry farms. At present, evidence suggests the H5N1 virus does not pass easily to people although scientists have urged care and caution. “The risk to humans is still very low, but it’s important that we continue to monitor circulation of flu in both bird and mammal populations", said Prof Jonathan Ball, of Nottingham University. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 26 February 2023 -
News ArticleThe National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has decided not to recommend Evusheld for adults who are unlikely to have an adequate immune response or cannot have the vaccine against Covid-19, citing a lack of evidence that it is effective against circulating variants. However, it is still reviewing whether the antibody drug could be used to prevent covid-19 infection in adults at the highest risk of severe illness, including people with immunodeficiency, people who have had a solid organ transplant, and people with cancer. NICE’s director of medicines evaluation, Helen Knight, acknowledged that the decision would be “disappointing for the many thousands” of vulnerable people who “continue to significantly modify their behaviour to avoid infection. Commenting on NICE’s decision, Lennard Lee, senior clinical research fellow at the University of Birmingham, said, “While it’s right for NICE to ensure that treatment options are based on the best possible evidence for their safety, efficacy, and cost effectiveness, it must be recognised that those who remain extremely vulnerable to covid need to be prioritised in trials akin to those early days of the pandemic to find treatments fit for them. “Otherwise, we run the risk of consigning half a million people to continue to live in 2020, stuck in their homes, not able to see their families and friends for fear of infection with no protection.” Read full story Source: The BMJ, 16 February 2023
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News ArticleThe ‘optimal layout’ for an isolation room to contain the spread of Covid has been created following tests at a London hospital. The room was designed by researchers at Imperial College London to reduce the risk of infection for health care staff as far as possible. Researchers used a state-of-the-art fluid model to simulate the transmission of the virus within an isolation room at the Royal Brompton Hospital in Chelsea, west London. They found that the area of highest risk of infection is above a patient’s bed at a height of 0.7 to two metres, where the highest concentration of Covid is found. After the virus is expelled from a patient’s mouth, the research team explained that it gets driven vertically by wind forces within the room. The research, published in the journal Physics of Fluids, is based on data collected from the room during a Covid patient’s stay. The work centred on the location of the room’s air extractor and filtration rates, the location of the bed, and the health and safety of the hospital staff working within the area. Read full story Source: The Independent, 8 February 2023
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News ArticleFree HIV tests that can be done at home are being offered this week to people in England. It is part of a government drive to improve diagnosis, which dropped off during the Covid pandemic. The kit is small enough to fit through the letterbox and arrives in plain packaging through the post. It gives a result within 15 minutes by testing a drop of blood from a finger prick. A "reactive" result means HIV is possible and a clinic check is needed. Support and help is available to arrange this. About 4,400 people in England are living with undiagnosed HIV, which comes with serious health risks. HIV medication can keep the virus at undetectable levels, meaning you cannot pass HIV on and your health is protected. Most people get the virus from someone who is unaware they have it, according to the Terrence Higgins Trust (THT) charity which campaigns about and provides services relating to HIV and sexual health. HIV testing rates remain a fifth lower than before the Covid-19 pandemic - with heterosexual men in particular now testing far less than in 2019. Read full story Source: BBC News, 5 February 2023
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News Article
Covid-19: US will end public health emergency on 11 May, says Biden
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
President Joe Biden has announced to the US Congress that he will end the country’s Covid-19 public health emergency on 11 May, although about 500 Americans are currently dying every day from Covid-19. He also plans to end the related national Covid-19 emergency. In contrast, the World Health Organization said on 27 January that the Covid-19 pandemic was still a public health emergency. The US administration’s statement said that extending the emergencies until May would provide time for an orderly transition. Ending the emergencies will mean that many Americans will lose the health insurance provided through the Medicaid programme, which helps people on low incomes and was extended during the pandemic. Many others will find that they no longer get free tests, treatments, or vaccines. Read full story Source: BMJ, 1 February 2023 -
News Article
Breakthrough in preventing hepatitis B transmission from mothers to children
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Hepatitis B transmission from mothers to babies has been eliminated in England, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). The WHO elimination target is that less than 2% of babies born to mothers with hepatitis B go on to develop the infection. And data from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) shows the figure for England currently stands at 0.1% The UKHSA said progress had been made in tackling the viral infection, which can cause liver damage, cancer and death if left untreated. A six-in-one vaccine is offered to all babies on the NHS when they are eight, 12 and 16 weeks of age. Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay said: “We are paving the way for the elimination of hepatitis B and C, with England set to be one of the first countries in the world to wipe out these viruses.” Read full story Source: The Independent, 2 February 2023 . -
News Article
Immensa Covid test lab concerns ignored by Test and Trace
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Concerns raised about dangerous discrepancies at a Covid testing lab which has since been blamed for causing an estimated 23 deaths were ignored by health officials for months. Documents show Public Health Wales flagged "significant concerns" about results from Immensa, in Wolverhampton, in letters to colleagues in England. They were told nothing was wrong and testing continued for six months. Letters were released after a Freedom of Information request by the Times. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has said as many as 39,000 positive results were wrongly reported as negative in September and October 2021, mostly originating from south-west England. Read full story Source: BBC News, 26 January 2023 -
News Article
Dreaded Covid-flu twindemic cost NHS this winter
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Simultaneous big waves of Covid and flu - the 'twindemic' experts warned of as people returned to 'normal' pre-pandemic mixing - cost the NHS this winter, say NHS bosses. NHS England chief strategy officer Chris Hopson said hospital pressures in England peaked on 29 December. The workload involved gave hospitals a "significant problem" at the turn of the year, he said. It was at this point that record-long waits at A&E were seen. Since then the pressures have begun to ease a little. Speaking to MPs on the House of Commons' health committee, Mr Hopson said: "The issue was always going to be this winter was the degree to which we saw prevalence of both Covid and flu and the degree to which they combined. "Now we're obviously not through winter yet but the really important point - that I don't think has come out enough - is both Covid and flu peaked so far on 29 December." At the turn of the year one in eight beds were occupied by patients with either Covid or flu. And Mr Hopson added this combined with the 12,000 beds occupied by patients medically fit to leave but unable to be discharged because of the lack of support in the community meant more than a quarter of beds were lost. "It gives a significant problem in terms of patient flow, which then means you get the back up right the way through the system." Read full story Source: BBC News, 24 January 2023 -
News ArticleThe BBC has come under fire from scientists for interviewing a cardiologist who claimed certain Covid vaccines could be behind excess deaths from coronary artery disease. Experts have criticised Dr Aseem Malhotra’s appearance on the BBC's news channel last Friday, accusing him of pushing “extreme fringe” views, which are “misguided”, “dangerous” and could mislead the public. Scientists have described the doctor as “hijacking” an interview on statins to air his views, causing BBC staff to be “alarmed and embarrassed” by their booking. Malhotra recently retweeted a video by the MP Andrew Bridgen, who had the Tory whip removed on Wednesday after comparing the use of Covid vaccines to the Holocaust. After criticising new guidance on statins, he cited British Heart Foundation (BHF) figures that suggested there had been more than 30,000 excess deaths linked to heart disease since Covid first arrived. Malhotra, a cardiologist at ROC Private Clinic, claimed mRNA Covid vaccines play a role, saying his “own research” showed “Covid mRNA vaccines do carry a cardiovascular risk”. He added that he has called for the vaccine rollout to be suspended pending an inquiry because of the “uncertainty” behind excess deaths. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 13 January 2023
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News Article
Wales coroner rules nurses’ Covid deaths as industrial disease
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The deaths of two nurses from Covid-19 in the early days of the pandemic have been ruled as industrial disease. Gareth Roberts, 65, of Aberdare, and Domingo David, 63, of Penarth, were found to have been most likely to have contracted the virus from colleagues or patients while working for hospitals under the Cardiff and Vale University Health Board. The senior coroner Graeme Hughes concluded on Friday that although they were given appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE), Roberts and David were “exposed to Covid-19 infection at work, became infected and that infection caused” their deaths. He made a finding of industrial disease. Roberts’ family had argued for a conclusion of industrial disease, while the health board had made the case for ruling that both deaths were from natural causes. Unions are campaigning for Covid-19 to be considered an industrial disease by the UK government so workers affected by it would receive greater financial support. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 13 January 2023 -
News Article
Up to 500 people dying each week from emergency care delays, doctor says
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Up to 500 people are dying every week because of delays in emergency care, Britain’s top accident and emergency doctor has said. Dr Adrian Boyle, the president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM), said a bad flu season was compounding systemic problems, leading to hundreds of unnecessary deaths. NHS leaders warned last week that the health service is in the grip of a “twindemic”, with soaring flu admissions and the impact of Covid “hitting staff hard”. Dr Boyle told Times Radio: “If you look at the graphs they all are going the wrong way, and I think there needs to be a real reset. We need to be in a situation where we cannot just shrug our shoulders and say this winter was terrible, let’s do nothing until next winter. “We need to increase our capacity within our hospitals, we need to make sure that there are alternative ways so that people aren’t all just funnelled into the ambulance service and emergency department. We cannot continue like this – it is unsafe and it is undignified.” Read full story Source: The Telegraph, 1 January 2023 -
News ArticleCoronavirus modelling data will stop being published in early January, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) says. Statistics covering the growth rate of the virus are currently released fortnightly, but the agency says this is no longer necessary. Chief data scientist Dr Nick Watkins said this is due to the UK living with Covid-19 because of vaccines and therapeutics. At the height of the pandemic both the R rate and growth rate for England were published weekly. Since April this year it has been published fortnightly. Dr Watkins said it served as a useful and simple indicator to inform public health action and government decisions. "Vaccines and therapeutics have allowed us to move to a phase where we are living with Covid-19," Dr Watkins said. "We continue to monitor Covid-19 activity in a similar way to how we monitor a number of other common illnesses and diseases. "All data publications are kept under constant review and this modelling data can be reintroduced promptly if needed, for example, if a new variant of concern was to be identified." Read full story Source: BBC News, 26 December 2022
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News ArticleThe NHS is set to eliminate hepatitis C in England by 2025 due to targeted screening campaigns for those at risk and effective drug treatments, according to health officials. NHS England said the measures are helping to dramatically cut deaths from the virus five years ahead of global targets. Deaths from hepatitis C – including liver disease and cancer – have fallen by 35% since NHS England struck a five-year deal worth almost £1bn to buy antiviral drugs for thousands of patients in 2018. The World Health Organization’s target of a 10% reduction in hepatitis C-related death by 2020 has been exceeded threefold in England. An NHS screening programme launched in September is also enabling up to 80,000 people unknowingly living with the disease to get a diagnosis and treatment sooner by searching health records for key risk factors, such as historic blood transfusions or HIV. Prof Sir Stephen Powis, NHS England’s national medical director, said the health service was “leading the world” in the drive to save lives and eliminate hepatitis C while also tackling health inequalities. He said: “Thanks to targeted screening and because the NHS has a proven track record of striking medicine agreements that give patients access to the latest drugs, we are on track to beat global targets and become the first country to eliminate hepatitis C.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 28 December 2022
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News ArticleFlu and Covid are on the rise in England, with experts stressing the importance of vaccination and warning that people who feel unwell should stay at home rather than mingling with others during the festive season. The figures come as cases of scarlet fever and strep A infections continue to rise. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) added that while invasive strep A infections remain rare there have now been a total of 94 deaths in England, including 21 children. Dr Colin Brown, the deputy director at UKHSA, sought to reassure parents. “I understand how this large rise in scarlet fever and ‘strep throat’ may be concerning to parents, however the condition can be easily treated with antibiotics and it is very rare that a child will go on to become more seriously ill,” he said, adding that parents should visit NHS.UK, contact 111 online or their GP surgery if their child has symptoms so they can be assessed for treatment. Dr Mary Ramsay, the director of public health programmes at UKHSA, noted a link between indoor mixing and the rise in cases and hospital admissions for flu and Covid. “Both Covid and flu can cause severe illness or even death for those most vulnerable in our communities, and so it is also important to avoid contact with other people if you are unwell in order to help stop infections spreading over the Christmas and new year period,” she said. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 23 December 2022
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News Article
Antiviral does not cut Covid hospital admissions or deaths in vaccinated
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The antiviral, molnupiravir, does not reduce coronavirus hospital admissions or deaths in vaccinated people at high risk, new research suggests. But the treatment was associated with a shorter recovery time, by four days, and reduced viral load. People who received molnupiravir reported feeling better compared to those who received usual care, the study found. Researchers suggest that while the drug could have some benefits in terms of symptom reduction, the cost of the drug may mean it is not the best choice for the general population, given the study findings. But it may be useful in reducing the pressure on UK health systems, they added. Chris Butler, professor of primary care in the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences and co-chief investigator of Panoramic, said: “Finding effective, safe and scalable early treatments for Covid-19 in the community is the next major frontier in our research response to the ongoing worldwide pandemic. “It is in the community where treatments could have a massive reach and impact. “But decisions about who to treat should always be based on evidence from rigorous clinical trials that involve people who would most likely be prescribed the drugs.” Read full story Source: The Independent, 23 December 2022 -
News Article
How Covid has dealt the NHS a lasting blow
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The NHS in England has more funding and staff than before the pandemic - but in many types of care, it is treating fewer patients. Why? The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) says this is a puzzle with no simple explanation - but the pandemic has dealt a lasting blow to the NHS and it could be costing more to treat patients, on average, than before. Despite higher staff sickness rates, compared with pre-pandemic levels, the NHS has available to work: 8% more nurses 9% more consultants 15% more junior doctors. But - not counting those filled by patients who have tested positive for Covid, even though they may be there mainly for something else - there were 5% fewer beds available in the third quarter of this year than in 2019, the IFS says. IFS research economist Max Warner says: "The NHS is showing clear signs of strain heading into the winter and is treating fewer patients than it was pre-pandemic, across many types of care. "The real risk, almost three years on from the start of the pandemic, is that the Covid hit to NHS performance is not time-limited. "Going forward, we need to grapple with the possibility that the health service is just able to treat fewer patients with the same level of resources." A Department of Health spokesperson said: "As the IFS report acknowledges, Covid had a significant impact on the NHS, and we are focused on delivering the biggest catch-up programme in health history". Read full story Source: BBC News, 14 December 2022 -
News Article
Flu hospitalisations in England soar as NHS braces for severe outbreak
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Flu hospitalisations in England have jumped by more than 40 per cent in a week as the NHS braces for one of the worst outbreaks of the virus in recent years. Analysis of NHS data by The Telegraph shows that rates are more than eight times higher than expected at this time of year. On the current trajectory, admissions next week could pass the peak of the 2017-18 outbreak – one of the worst of the last 20 years – which led to nearly 30,000 deaths. Flu hospitalisations are so high that they have overtaken Covid admissions for the first time since the start of the pandemic. The rise could not come at a worse time for the NHS. It is already suffering the biggest treatment backlog in its history, which is set to be exacerbated by strikes by nurses and ambulance paramedics. Read full story Source: The Telegraph, 15 December 2022 -
News ArticleThe UK had one of the worst increases in death rates of major European economies during the Covid pandemic, BBC analysis has found. Death rates in the UK were more than 5% higher on average each year of the pandemic than in the years just before it, largely driven by a huge death toll in the first year. That was above the increase seen in France, Spain or Germany, but below Italy and significantly lower than the US. It would take many inquiries to tease apart the effect of all the possible reasons behind every nation's pandemic outcomes: preparedness, population health, lockdown timing and severity, social support, vaccine rollout and health care provision and others. But some argue that there are lessons for the UK that need to be learned even before we think about future pandemics. The UK's heavy pandemic death toll "built on a decade of lacklustre performance on life expectancy" says Veena Raleigh, of the King's Fund, a health think tank. She argues that government action to improve population health and turn that around has "never been more urgent. Read full story Source: BBC News, 22 June 2023
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News Article
Children to be given single HPV jab instead of two doses
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination given in schools – which is helping to virtually eliminate cervical cancer – will move to a single dose from September, it has been announced. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said the change in England follows advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) and World Health Organisation scientists that a single dose “delivers robust protection” against HPV when compared with the two doses given at present. The HPV vaccine programme is offered to all children in school Year 8, when they are aged 12 to 13. Dr Vanessa Saliba, immunisation consultant epidemiologist at the UKHSA, said: “The HPV vaccination programme is one of the most successful in the world and has dramatically lowered the rates of cervical cancer and harmful infections in both women and men – preventing many cancers and saving lives. “The latest evidence shows that one dose provides protection as robust as two doses. This is excellent news for young people." Read full story Source: The Independent, 20 June 2023 -
News Article
Super-engineered vaccines created to help end polio
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Scientists have "super-engineered" polio vaccines to prevent them mutating into a dangerous form that can cause outbreaks and paralysis. The oral vaccines contain weakened live polio viruses and the genetic redesign locks them into that weakened state. The US and UK teams have now created upgraded vaccines against all three types of polio. However, better vaccines still need to reach every child in order to stop the disease. Read full story Source: BBC News, 14 June 2023 -
News Article
Health officials ‘ignored evidence of non-Covid deaths’ during lockdown
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The Covid inquiry is being urged to investigate if health officials dismissed evidence of collateral deaths during lockdown after a whistleblower claimed that pathologists’ concerns were shut down. As the inquiry prepares to hold its first full public hearing this week, Prof Sebastian Lucas, who worked as a consultant pathologist at St Thomas’ Hospital in London, claimed that PHE was not interested in what he described as “collateral deaths”. Prof Lucas wrote to Prof Kevin Fenton, the director of PHE London, on behalf of the London Inner South Jurisdiction Pathology Advisory Group. He approached the agency in January 2021 as the UK entered its third lockdown, warning that collateral deaths as a result of the pandemic had not been recorded properly. The group, which was headed up by a coroner, had identified several deaths that would not have happened had the NHS been functioning as normal. This included people who did not want to bother the doctor or who took their own lives because of lockdowns. Read full story (paywalled) Source: The Telegraph, 10 June 2023 -
News Article
Covid inquiry prepares for first hearing after 220,000 deaths
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
More than three years after Boris Johnson announced a nationwide lockdown, the Covid investigation will cover every aspect of the UK’s pandemic response. More than three years after the first lockdown began, two years after the last one ended, the public hearings are at last starting. Over the months that come the inquiry will have many questions to answer. Should we have locked down earlier? Should we have not locked down at all? Did we eat out to help restaurants out, or eat out to help the virus out? Could more have been done to protect care homes from infection? Should more have been done to protect residents from loneliness? Baroness Hallett, the judge presiding, said her chief role is “to determine whether [the] level of loss,” in the broadest sense of the word, “was inevitable or whether things could have been done better”. Read full story (paywalled) Source: The Times, 13 June 2023 -
News Article
Covid inquiry: Families unhappy with Welsh government
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Bereaved families of coronavirus victims feel the Welsh government has not adequately taken part in the Covid public inquiry, their solicitor says. Craig Court, who represents bereaved families, said the Welsh government had not participated "as well as they should have". He claimed the Welsh government failed to deliver crucial paperwork with just days to go before Tuesday's inquiry. The UK-wide inquiry could go on as long as three years, and will predominantly look at the UK government's approach to the pandemic. A Wales-specific inquiry was blocked by Labour members of the Senedd, with First Minster Mark Drakeford saying it should wait until after the UK-wide investigation had been completed. Mr Court told BBC Wales "there is a great concern over the duty of candour" displayed by the Welsh government. Read full story Source: BBC News, 9 June 2023 -
News ArticleA group of doctors, including some GPs, has begun legal proceedings against the GMC based on what they say is a failure to act on Covid-19 vaccine misinformation. On Friday, the group, whose members wish to remain anonymous, sent a formal pre-action protocol letter to the GMC, which is a warning that legal action is imminent. In January, these doctors called on the regulator to investigate Dr Aseem Malhotra’s fitness to practise due to what they claim is his ‘high-profile promotion of misinformation about Covid-19 mRNA vaccines’. Dr Malhotra, a consultant cardiologist, campaigner and author, has over half a million followers on Twitter, with most recent posts focusing on the Covid vaccine. The upcoming action, which is led by lawyers from the Good Law Project, is based on the GMC’s refusal to carry out an investigation. Professor Trish Greenhalgh, a GP and academic in primary care at the University of Oxford who has been in touch with the group, told Pulse the ‘scandal is that the GMC do not think it’s their job to investigate doctors who have massive, massive followings on social media and who fan the flames of disinformation’. Read full story Source: Pulse, 5 June 2023
