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Found 112 results
  1. News Article
    Deliberate attempts were made to “conceal the extent of racial discrimination” at a national NHS agency, according to a report leaked to HSJ. A highly critical internal report at NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) also said fewer than half the recommendations made in 2020 by external mediation experts, around issues of racism, had so far been actioned. A review conducted by Globis Mediation Group in 2020 found “systemic racism” among management at the agency’s large Colindale site in north London, with ethnic minority staff being “ignored, being viewed as ineligible for promotion and enduring low levels of empathy”. It made nine recommendations, including exploring whether similar issues existed at the other 15 NHSBT sites. Read full story Source: HSJ, 16 March 2023
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    A chief executive has apologised after a survey of his trust’s staff from minority ethnic backgrounds found many had been subjected to racist behaviour by colleagues. The staff at East of England Ambulance Service Trust said peers had made monkey noises and referred to banana boats in front of them, excluded them from social events, and assumed they could speak Middle Eastern and Asian languages just because of their skin colour, they told researchers. The trust has had substantial cultural problems for several years, and commissioned the survey to “better understand the experience, perceptions and realities of the trust BME staff”, a board paper said. The report on its findings, published this week in trust board papers, warns: “There are risks that a minority of EEAST employees are demonstrating behaviours or using language which could be perceived as racist. Reports of subsequent inaction by managers further risk this behaviour being normalised.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 15 March 2023
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    In the letter. Professor Tim Kendall, National Clinical Director for Mental Health outlines NHS England's position that SIM or similar models must no longer be used in NHS mental health services. More specifically, the following three elements, which were all included within SIM but were not exclusive to it, must be eradicated from mental health services: Police involvement in the delivery of therapeutic interventions in planned, non-emergency, community mental health care (this is not the same as saying all joint work with the police must stop). The use of sanctions (criminal or otherwise), withholding care and otherwise punitive approaches, as clarified in National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance. Discriminatory practices and attitudes towards patients who express self-harm behaviours, suicidality and/or those who are deemed ‘high intensity users’.
  4. News Article
    The government must end “age discrimination” against eating disorder patients that is causing avoidable deaths, experts have warned. A cross-party parliamentary group and the Royal College of Psychiatrists are calling for access targets to make sure adults with eating disorders get treated within a set time. The demands come after the healthcare watchdog said patients were dying while waiting to be seen. Wera Hobhouse, chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group, and Agnes Ayton, chair of the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ eating disorder committee, said the targets must be equal to those for children, which were set in 2016. According to the Health Service Journal, 19 patients under the care of inpatient and community eating disorder services have died since 2017. A senior coroner in Norfolk also highlighted failings in 2019 and sent a warning to both NHS England and the Department for Health and Social Care, over the deaths of five young women. Read full story Source: The Independent, 1 March 2023 To support Eating Disorders Awareness Week, we have pulled together eight useful resources to help healthcare professionals, friends and family support people with eating disorders: Top picks: Eight resources on eating disorders
  5. News Article
    Staff endured a “toxic and difficult working environment” at a maternity unit an employment tribunal has found. The tribunal panel said that the case of a black midwife, Kemi Akinmaji, who partially won her case against East Kent Hospitals University Foundation Trust for racial discrimination showed “there were wider issues beyond the specific allegations before us and which were possibly related to race”. The tribunal judgment said: “The evidence we heard reflected a toxic and difficult working environment generally where the claimant and colleagues were shouted and sworn at over differences of professional opinion. There was some evidence before us that there were wider issues beyond the specific allegations before us and which were possibly related to race… “There is evidence of wider bullying of the claimant in the way the group of colleagues treated the claimant… We’ve also heard that the previous grievance had highlighted risks in respect of unconscious bias and identified recommendations which were not actioned. “The race champion was not appointed and the unconscious bias training not sufficiently followed through. We also heard evidence of staff being wary of further such complaints. These matters were all concerning but we had to limit ourselves to the specific allegations brought by the claimant and which the respondent had been given an opportunity to address.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 1 March 2023
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  7. News Article
    NHS Ambulance service have a “fear of speaking up” amid pervasive “cliquey”, sexist, racist and homophobic cultures, a watchdog has warned. A national guardian has warned of negative cultures in trusts preventing workers from raising concerns as she called for a “cultural review” of ambulance organisations. The review into whistleblower concerns, by the Freedom to Speak Up Guardian’s office, has found widespread cultural issues including clique-like behaviour and bullying and harassment. Dr Jayne Chidgey-Clark, the NHS National Freedom to Speak Up Guardian, has now called on ministers and the NHS to independently review ambulance services, after speaking with ambulance staff across five NHS trusts. The report has called for a cultural review of the ambulance service by NHS England, the Care Quality Commission, the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives and ministers. Read full story Source: The Independent, 24 February 2023
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    The National Guardian’s Office undertook this Speak Up review as the speaking up culture in NHS Ambulance Trusts appeared be more challenged compared to other trust types. The Speak Up review heard from a number of ambulance workers, ex-workers, managers and senior leaders of their experiences of a culture of bullying, harassment and discrimination which contributed to not feeling able to speak up for fear of retaliation. The fear of the consequences was one of the main barriers to people speaking up about anything getting in the way of delivering great patient care. Those who did speak up, often faced intimidation or inaction as a result. The report summarises the key findings of the review into five themes: culture of ambulance trusts leadership and management experience of people who speak up implementation of the Freedom to Speak Up guardian role role of system partners and regulators. The target-driven, command and control environment of ambulance trusts meant that Freedom to Speak Up – and by extension – workers’ wellbeing, was often not viewed as a priority by leadership. One senior leader from an ambulance trust told the review: “When I first started, everyone I spoke to said we have a culture problem. Sexism, racism, homophobic, cliquey. We are going to fix it but not yet. We need to sort out other things like wait times.” This was having a negative impact on the culture of ambulance trusts and workers’ wellbeing, including experiencing poor mental health and moral distress and injury. It also found insufficient time and resources given to Freedom to Speak Up guardians which limited their ability to be effective .
  9. Content Article
    Key findings: As at 31 March 2021, 22.4% (309,532) of staff working in NHS trusts in England were from a BME background. This is an increase from 19.1% in 2018. There were 74,174 more BME staff and 71,296 more white staff in 2020 compared to 2018. The total number of BME staff at very senior manager level has increased by 69.7% since 2018 from 201 to 341. 93.5% – the proportion of trusts, where a higher proportion of BME staff compared to white staff experienced harassment, bullying or abuse from staff in the last 12 months. The number of BME board members in NHS trusts increased by 128 (38.1%) between 2020 and 2022. BME staff were 1.14 times more likely to enter the formal disciplinary process compared to white staff. This is the same as in 2021. There is a significant improvement from 2016 when the likelihood ratio was 1.56. BME staff were more than 1.25 times more likely to enter the formal disciplinary process at just under half of trusts. 1 in 4 staff experienced abuse or harassment from the public, and as many from other staff. The difference is that the abuse or harassment from the public affects both white and BME staff (this varies by region). Abuse or harassment from other staff is mostly a problem of harassment for BME staff (and is seen in all regions). White applicants were 1.54 times more likely to be appointed from shortlisting compared to BME applicants; this is lower than 2021. There has been year-on-year fluctuation but no overall improvement over the past seven years. 42.8% of women from a white Gypsy or Irish Traveller background experienced harassment, bullying or abuse from patients, relatives or the public in the last 12 months. Women from a black background (19.8%) and women from an Arabic background (18.4%), experienced high levels of discrimination from a manager/team leader or other colleagues in the last 12 months. 35.4% of staff from a black background believed their trust provides equal opportunities for career progression or promotion, with levels below those of other ethnic groups since at least 2015, irrespective of gender.
  10. News Article
    NHS England has lost an employment tribunal case against a senior black nurse on grounds of race discrimination and whistleblowing, and has been criticised for serious flaws in its own investigations. A judgement published today found Michelle Cox, a black woman who was an NHS continuing healthcare manager based in NHSE’s North West regional team, was excluded by her manager “at every opportunity”. The case centres on problems between Ms Cox and her line manager, then regional head of continuing healthcare, which took place from around April 2019 to November 2020. The tribunal ruled Ms Cox's line manager– who is now an associate director of nursing in the West Yorkshire integrated care system – had created an “intimidating and hostile and humiliating environment” for Ms Cox, which had the purpose and effect of unlawful harassment. The tribunal also upheld Ms Cox’s complaint of detriment for whistleblowing, including for raising concerns that members of her team were sitting on continuing healthcare “independent review panels”, which she pointed out was a breach of independence and legal obligations. Read full story Source: HSJ, 22 February 2023
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    Black people have the highest rate of sexually transmitted infections in Britain and officials are not doing enough to address the issue, sexual health experts have warned. Black Britons have “disproportionally high rates” of various STI diagnoses compared to white Britons, with those of Black Caribbean heritage specifically having the highest rates for chlamydia, gonorrhoea, herpes and trichomoniasis. Experts have told The Independent that healthcare providers are failing to address these disparities in STIs. They have called for more research to fully understand the complicated reasons why STIs are higher among people of Black ethnicity. Research conducted through the Health Protection Research Unit (HPRU) found that there were no clinical or behavioural factors explaining the disproportionately high rates of STI diagnoses among Black people. But higher rates of poverty and poor health literacy among marginalised communities are all linked with higher STI rates, according to a 2016 study, which found that behavioural and contextual factors are likely to be contributing. Moreover, experiences of racism among Black people can fuel a reluctance to engage with sexual health services and test frequently, according to HIV activist Susan Cole-Haley. She told The Independent: “I very much believe that it is linked to socioeconomic disadvantage and racism, often in healthcare settings, which can be a significant barrier for people accessing testing, for instance, and feeling comfortable engaging with care.” Read full story Source: The Independent, 19 February 2023
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    Over the past few years, Patient Safety Learning has heard from many patients about significant safety concerns relating to hysteroscopy procedures in the NHS.[1] From the countless women who have shared individual experiences on the hub to the conversations we have had with the patient group the Campaign Against Painful Hysteroscopy, it is clear that this is a topic needing further exploration and advocacy from a patient safety perspective. I therefore welcomed a recent opportunity to engage with healthcare professionals involved in hysteroscopy procedures and share these concerns when I was invited to attend the Association of Anaesthetists Winter Scientific Meeting 2023 last month. This is the Association’s flagship conference, attended by healthcare professionals from across the UK, and I was invited to contribute to a panel session. This was focused on differing approaches to sedation for hysteroscopy procedures in both operating theatres and outpatient settings. Healthcare professional perspective from Leeds Hysteroscopy is a procedure used as a diagnostic tool to identify the cause of common problems such as abnormal bleeding, unexplained pain or unusually heavy periods in women. It involves a long, thin tube being passed through the vagina and cervix, into the womb, often with little or no anaesthesia. The panel session started with a presentation about hysteroscopies from Dr John Dalton, Dr Tracy Jackson and Maria Chalmers, Specialist Nurse Hysteroscopist. Maria spoke about the approach to hysteroscopy at the Leeds Centre for Women’s Health, emphasising the importance of: appropriate patient consent for the procedure discussing the likelihood of pain in advance of obtaining consent the patient’s right to withdraw consent or stop the procedure at any time. They described how patients, if they wanted to, were invited to review the procedure on a screen, and reported that there had been positive feedback from patients who have undergone procedures with this option. They also spoke about the value of these procedures taking place in outpatient settings where possible, creating a quicker diagnostic assessment. In their presentation, they reflected on the importance of collecting data about patient outcomes and pointed to broadly positive satisfaction scores with their service. Reflections on consent It was positive to hear a strong emphasis on the importance of patient consent, both before and during a procedure. It is an area of concern that has been consistently raised with us by patients who have undergone hysteroscopy. Through our work, we know that a significant number of women are not given sufficient information beforehand about the nature of the procedure or the potential for high levels of pain. Many have told us they were not asked about their medical history or offered different options for pain relief. These patients often reflect that the consent they gave was therefore not informed. When a patient experiences unexpected levels of pain, they can understandably feel very unsafe. This can lead to lasting trauma and a fear of accessing further important procedures or screenings. It’s therefore essential to make sure women undergoing this procedure feel they have been given all the information available. Panel discussion I introduced the concerns being expressed by many women and this generated an open discussion with colleagues from Leeds and an engaged audience of anaesthetists, many of whom were unaware of the issues that patients are raising about outpatient hysteroscopy. In the panel discussion I spoke about the experiences that have been shared with us at Patient Safety Learning. Some women have described how the lack of forewarning about this procedure, coupled with the trauma of the experience itself, left them feeling that both their body and their trust had been violated. Many women have also described receiving little or no pain relief and not being given the information they needed to make an informed choice about their own care and their own bodies. More than 50,000 people have viewed our community discussion on the hub about hysteroscopy experiences, with many having shared awful experiences exhibiting bullying, lack of compassion, lack of information and horrendous pain. Recent research, published in the British Journal of Anaesthesia, shows that a significant number (17.6%) of women rate their pain during hysteroscopy as greater than 7/10, and only 7.8% report no pain at all.[2] We know that outpatient hysteroscopy is a valuable procedure when done right, with full information, appropriate pain relief options and informed consent. However, as we have heard all too often from patients, in many cases this is not what they are experiencing.[3] Similar concerns were raised this week in a debate in the House of Commons. When discussing the implementation of good practice in these procedures, Government Minister Maria Caulfield note that such guidance was only as effective as its implementation: “The royal college is important because it can bring clinical change on the ground, but it is not enough just to assume that its updated guidance will be enough to change what happens in practice.”[4] Patients and campaigners are not unsupportive of hysteroscopy as a procedure. However, I shared our view, and that of many, that patients should not be expected to tolerate extreme pain or inconsistency of service. I emphasised a need for: increased efforts to ensure that good practice is shared widely and consistently applied. more research to better inform risk assessments about which women are most likely to affected by severe pain. ensuring that all those healthcare professionals involved in these procedures understand the importance of listening to and responding patients, giving women a range of pain relief options and providing the option to stop the procedure. It was useful to discuss with Maria and other clinical colleagues the value of hysteroscopy and the efforts that some centres are making to ensure that patients’ needs are met, and their voices heeded. It was helpful also to see in person the responses of anaesthetists in the room. There was, in some cases, clear concern about the negative experiences that have been shared with Patient Safety Learning by patients. Then we had some interesting reflections on the pain scores presented by the staff at Leeds. Many anaesthetists expressed shock that despite the good service being provided there, median pain scores are 5 out of 10. Some anaesthetists commented that patients wouldn’t be let out of recovery rooms by nursing staff with that extent of pain, and some said that they themselves wouldn’t want to undergo such a procedure in an outpatient setting with that median pain rating. The discussion was an important multi-disciplinary conversation of the value of hysteroscopy as a procedure while highlighting the very real concerns that women are experiencing when Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists guidelines are not being met consistently. The opportunity to engage in discussion with clinicians who are aiming to put patients’ experience at the heart of their service was much appreciated and we’re going to follow up with Maria and John to hear more about their service and the plans they have for continual improvement and for the best experience for women. We applaud the Association of Anaesthetists for highlighting these issues and aim to engage further to increase awareness of hysteroscopy pain and the need for urgent action. We look forward to sharing the recording of the session via the hub as soon as it becomes available. Join the conversation There is much work still needed to raise awareness of the patient safety issues concerning hysteroscopy procedures and to make the changes required to ensure good practice is applied consistently across the country. In the coming weeks, we will be publishing a new policy blog looking at this in greater detail and considering what more needs to be done to improve patient safety. In the meantime, if you have an experience you would like to share with us, please do get in touch. Perhaps you are a healthcare professional with insights to share on this topic? A patient who has had a hysteroscopy? A researcher? We'd love to hear from you if have a different perspective to add. You can join the conversation on the hub or get in touch with us directly by emailing content@pslhub.org. References 1. Campaign Against Painful Hysteroscopy, Open letter to the Department of Health and Social Care, 20 October 2020 2. Richard Harrison, William Kuteesa, Atul Kapila, Mark Little, Wiebke Gandhi, Deepak Ravindran, Carien M. van Reekum and Tim. V Salomons, Pain-free day surgery? Evaluating pain and pain assessment during hysteroscopy, 13 September 2020 3. Patient Safety Learning, Guidance for outpatient hysteroscopy: Consultation Response, 16 March 2022 4. House of Commons Debate, NHS hysteroscopy treatment, 31 January 2023
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  20. News Article
    A third of Black and ethnic minority health staff have suffered racism or bullying as the NHS fails to address “systemic” levels of discrimination, The Independent can reveal. Levels of bullying and harassment of minority workers have not improved in the past five years with almost 30% saying they have been targeted in the past year, compared to 20%of white staff. Despite being one-quarter of the workforce, minority ethnic staff make up just 10% of the most senior positions, the NHS’s flagship report is set to reveal. One nurse told The Independent she was forced to leave her job following a campaign of bullying, while another, who has left for the private sector, said her mental health was hugely impacted by the discrimination she experienced. Another nurse said she was left “traumatised” by bullying and harassment and she was “gaslighted” by her employer. “This incident is going to affect me for the rest of my life … when I first joined [the NHS trust] I thought I was going to retire there but ... my career [has been cut] short and it’s not fair,” she said. Equality for Black Nurses, a membership organisation founded by Neomi Bennett in 2020, has launched 200 cases of alleged racism against a number of NHS trusts since it was set up. “Racism is driving nurses out of the NHS,” Ms Bennett, told The Independent, warning that this issue had reached “pandemic levels”. Read full story Source: The Independent, 24 January 2023
  21. News Article
    An invitation to a cervical screening test upon your 25th birthday has become a necessary but often unwanted coming-of-age present. Despite years of education and advocacy about the benefits of screening, many women still do not attend. About 16 million women in the UK aged 25-64 are eligible for testing, but only 11.2 million took a test in 2022, the lowest level in a decade. There unfortunately remains a false narrative that there are good reasons to be nervous about cervical screening tests. In reality, the test is not physically painful for the vast majority of women, although it can be a bit uncomfortable. However, the test can be needlessly emotionally painful, and for no good reason. This is in part because some women go through the experience of sitting with legs spread apart and “private parts” out, and then hear the nurse call for “the virgin speculum” to be used. This is the archaic and unnecessarily sexualised term for the extra-small speculum. It should have no place being used in 2023, and it clearly creates feelings of vulnerability. Next week it is Cervical Cancer Awareness week, and campaigners are hoping to shine a light on barriers to cervical screening testing that must be removed. By creating feelings of vulnerability around testing, we are allowing cervical cancer to continue to go undetected. All women should be aware of the importance of attending their cervical screening test and do so with confidence, regardless of their sexual status. This will play a valuable role in reducing the mortality rate. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 19 January 2023 Further hub reading: Doctors’ shocking comments reveal institutional misogyny towards women harmed by pelvic mesh Misogyny is a safety issue: a blog by Saira Sundar Gender bias: A threat to women’s health (August 2020)
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    In 2015 the Government introduced a Freedom to Speak Up Guardian and a system of Local Speak Up Guardians in response to the recommendations made by Sir Robert Frances following the scandal at Mid Staffordshire. From the outset, this system has attracted significant criticism and the APPG has heard from whistleblowers who have been failed by local guardians sharing their experiences that included the disclosure of their identity to hospital management and boards – resulting in retaliation. The APPG has also heard from Local Guardians who were not supported and themselves the target of retaliation after supporting whistleblowers. Local Guardians in East Kent were described as, “dishonest” and that the Guardian system had failed in every case that had been investigated throughout the UK. Further evidence was provided of a tick box approach to the Duty of Candour introduced by the former Secretary of State for Health. The APPG was told that both the Guardian and Duty of Candour systems are beyond resurrection and that across the NHS there is no ownership of problems. All attempts to encourage speaking up have been hindered by a failure to introduce an effective and safe whistleblowing regime across the NHS, resulting in the NHS being unsafe for whistleblowers, making it unsafe for patients. The APPG were told that, in over 50 years of investigation experience, little has changed, and that “these issues are not new, nor are they confined to a small number of rogue hospitals”. That league table results are inaccurate because of a flawed regulatory system with no ownership of the problems and where the regulators are “caught up in the fraud”. The APPG was provided with a series of examples of what were described as “deep seated problems” relating to teamwork and culture, which resulted in the failure to join up clinical and ethical responsibilities. These responsibilities were described as being on separate tracks and a failure by the regulatory regime to identify or report on the impact of this has significant consequences for patients, whistleblowers and the future of the NHS, as demonstrated by the case of the Bristol Children’s Heart scandal brought to light by Dr Steve Bolsin 30 years ago. Dr Bolsin was shunned for exposing the failures that resulted in the death of so many babies because funding the unit was more of a priority that the lives of the babies (he has since made a successful career in Australia). In every case, a failure to listen to whistleblowers, followed by attempts to discredit the whistleblowers, and a deliberate cover up has proved in many cases fatal for patients. What has been proved time and time again is that The Public Interest Disclosure Act (PIDA) has made little or no difference to this failure to protect patients or whistleblowers or to learn and improve our NHS. Evidence provided to the APPG is of a lack of system-wide action and an absence of commitment to speaking up beyond excellent PR. It is unclear who, if anyone, is responsible for the monitoring and reporting on recommendations contained in investigation reports. In addition, there is no coherent process for triggering high-level independent reviews of major patient safety failings. This causes confusion, suffering and leads to missed opportunities. Mary Robinson MP, chair of the APPG for Whistleblowing, said: “We have a duty to support and protect whistleblowers because without them we cannot prevent more deaths like those in East Kent. My APPG is committed to making whistleblowing safe and will continue to press the Government to introduce the Whistleblowing Bill which will incentivise and normalise speaking up. I encourage everyone to write to their MPs and ask them to join the APPG and support the Whistleblowing Bill.” The Right Hon. Baroness Susan Kramer, said: “Doing nothing is not an option that we can afford. It’s time to put an end to ‘tick box culture’ and turning a blind eye to whistleblowers. Whistleblowing law must be meaningful, easily understandable and enforceable. The Whistleblowing Bill will do this and in doing so will save lives and protect our NHS.” Wendy Morden MP, member of the APPG for Whistleblowing, said: “I hear about problems when I am at the hairdresser because people are too afraid to speak up in their place of work. The Office of the Whistleblower will be the catalyst for meaningful change.” Dr Bill Kirkup, author of Reading the Signals Report, said: “I support the proposals set out in the Whistleblowing Bill because the NHS urgently needs an effective early warning system.”
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