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Showing results for tags 'Older People (over 65)'.
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News Article
NHS COVID-19 jab letters 'confusing over-80s'
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
People waiting to receive the COVID-19 vaccine say they are confused by NHS letters inviting them to travel to centres miles away from their homes. The first 130,000 letters have been sent to people aged 80 or older who live about 30 to 45 minutes' drive away from one of seven new regional centres. But patients, many of whom are shielding, questioned why they had to travel so far in a pandemic. Local jabs are available to people if they wait, the NHS said. The seven centres include Ashton Gate in Bristol, Epsom racecourse in Surrey, London's Nightingale hospital, Newcastle's Centre for Life, the Manchester Tennis and Football Centre, Robertson House in Stevenage and Birmingham's Millennium Point. Mary McGarry from Leamington Spa in Warwickshire told BBC News that her letter points to an NHS online booking page which suggests she would have to take her husband, who has cancer and a lung disease, 20 miles to Birmingham. "We're very reluctant to go into Birmingham city centre," she said. "If we can't get somebody to take us, we'd have to go on the train but we're shielding because my husband's got poor health.... we want to know why we've got to travel that far?" People will not miss out on their vaccination if they do not use the letters to make an appointment at one of the centres, the NHS said. Read full story Source: BBC News, 11 January 2021 -
News ArticleElderly people who suffer falls are having to wait up to six hours for an ambulance because of rising Covid pressures, a medical body has warned. The delays are due to paramedics having to prioritise 999 calls from people suffering from coronavirus related breathing difficulties. Read full story (paywalled) Source: The Telegraph, 1 January 2021
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COVID-19: COGER Study (30 November 2020)
Patient Safety Learning posted an article in Data, research and statistics
The COGER study, designed by members of the Special Interest Group for Geriatric Rehabilitation of the European Geriatric Medical Society (EuGMS), study aims to: Explore the course of activities of daily living (ADL) recovery and influencing factors. Describe other outcomes after geriatric rehabilitation in post-COVID-19 patients. Describe geriatric rehabilitation services provided to post COVID-19 patients across Europe. The study group are presently looking for rehabilitation services to volunteer to support the work. By taking part you will help them to understand how older people recover from COVID-19, and the services that make a difference. It is possible that data collected will help further the understanding of long-term questions about the best configuration of rehabilitation for older people. This could help harmonise approaches across Europe in an evidence-based way. How to get involved: Firstly, please download and read the protocol document on the BGS website. If you are a centre in the UK, please email j.gough@bgs.org.uk indicating your interest in participating. Germany - If you are from Germany and wish to participate, please email Stefan Grund. Rest of Europe - If you are elsewhere in Europe, please email Miriam Haaksma. -
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News Article
Older women ‘less likely’ to be offered ovarian cancer treatment
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Older women could be less likely to receive ovarian cancer treatment. A new report analysed data from more than 17,000 cases of ovarian cancer diagnosed across England between 2016 and 2018. Three in five (60%) of women with ovarian cancer over the age of 79 did not receive either chemotherapy or surgery, while 37% of women over the age of 70 did not receive any treatment. The nature of ovarian cancer means surgery is essential in the large majority of cases to remove the tumour. The researchers cautioned that with an ageing population it is vital that women of all ages have access to the best possible treatments. Researchers also examined the various rates of treatments for ovarian cancer among women in different parts of England. They found the probability of receiving any treatment fell below the average in the East Midlands, the East of England, Greater Manchester and Kent and Medway. The report was jointly funded by The British Gynaecological Cancer Society, Ovarian Cancer Action, Target Ovarian Cancer and delivered by analysts at the National Cancer Registration and Analysis Service. Commenting on the report, Cary Wakefield, chief executive of Ovarian Cancer Action, said: "Neither your age nor location should decide your chance of survival if you are diagnosed with ovarian cancer." "Our audit is the first step in addressing the health inequalities women across England face, so we can begin to dismantle them." Read full story Source: The Independent, 11 November 2020 -
Content ArticleProblems related to the care home and the company were known well before the Panorama expose in 2016. When the Panorama programme was aired it resulted in immediate closure of one home and all the homes which were operated by Morleigh being transferred to new operators. The Review includes reports of abuse against residents; residents being left to lie in wet urine-soaked bedsheets; concerns from relatives about their loved ones being neglected; reports of there being insufficient food for residents, no hot water and no heating; claims that dozens of residents were sharing one bathroom. Here's a summary of the report's findings: More than 100 residents had concerns raised more than once. More than 200 safeguarding alerts were made for individuals but only 16 went through to an individual adult safeguarding conference. More than 80 whistleblower or similar reports were made concerning issues that put residents at risk. 44 inspections were undertaken at Morleigh Group homes in the three-year period, the vast majority identifying breaches. There was a period of at least 12 months when four of the homes had no registered manager in place. During the three-year period reviewed the police received 130 reports relating to the care homes. A spokesperson for Cornwall Council said: “We have different procedures and policies in place and have invested time, money and staffing into making sure that we can respond better when concerns are raised.'' “One of the problems was that all the partners had their own policies and procedures but they weren’t integrated. That is probably one of the key issues that we have now addressed.” “The assessment is so different now and the organisations are working much more closely that it reduces the risk dramatically.'' This is an important and long-awaited review. This situation echoes other care home scandals across the UK. I urge everyone to read the full report and reflect on the real root causes of the problem, which I believe go well beyond failings in inter-agency policies and communication. What would your action plan be? How would you monitor it?
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CPSI: Keeping seniors safe (15 May 2020)
Patient Safety Learning posted an article in Older people
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News ArticleThe government is facing criticism over its guidance on safe visits to care homes in England. Labour and a number of charities have described the suggestions, including floor-to-ceiling screens, designated visitor pods and window visits, as impractical. Alzheimer's Society has said it "completely misses the point". Justice Secretary Robert Buckland told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the guidance was "non-exhaustive". The updated government advice, which came into effect on Thursday, says care homes - especially those which have not allowed visits since March - "will be encouraged and supported to provide safe visiting opportunities". Labour's shadow care minister Liz Kendall said many care homes would not be able to comply with the government's requirements which meant "in reality thousands of families are likely to be banned from visiting their loved ones". She said instead of suggesting measures such as screens, the government should "designate a single family member as a key worker - making them a priority for weekly testing and proper PPE". Kate Lee, chief executive at Alzheimer's Society, said: "We're devastated by today's new care home visitor guidance - it completely misses the point: this attempt to protect people will kill them." She said the pandemic had left people with dementia isolated and thousands had died. The guidelines "completely ignore the vital role of family carers in providing the care for their loved ones with dementia that no one else can", she added. She said the "prison-style screens" proposed by the government with people speaking through phones were "frankly ridiculous when you consider someone with advanced dementia can often be bed-bound and struggling to speak". That view was echoed by Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK, who said she was "acutely aware" that the methods being sanctioned were "unlikely to be useable by many older people with dementia, or indeed sensory loss". Read full story Source: BBC News, 5 November 2020
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Content ArticleThe review looked back over the period from 2013 to 2016 and catalogues a number of failings and missed opportunities to address the situation. Among its findings are: More than 100 residents had concerns raised more than once. More than 200 safeguarding alerts were made for individuals but only 16 went through to an individual adult safeguarding conference. More than 80 whistleblower or similar reports were made concerning issues that put residents at risk. 44 inspections were undertaken at Morleigh Group homes in the three-year period, the vast majority identifying breaches. There was a period of at least 12 months when four of the homes had no registered manager in place. During the three-year period reviewed the police received 130 reports relating to the care homes. In total there are 15 recommendations made by the review which have been accepted by Cornwall Council and the Safeguarding Adults Board. These include changes to contract management for the provision of care services so that they link with safeguarding and inspections. On whistleblowing the review says there needs to be a clear whistleblowing process for all staff, residents, families and professionals to follow and to ensure that information is shared across all agencies. Other recommendations include better enforcement to ensure action is taken when breaches are identified. And it calls for a “front door” for all alerts made about care providers so that there is no confusion about who should take responsibility to deal with concerns.
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News ArticleNHS bosses have denied claims that thousands of frail elderly people were denied potentially life-saving care at the peak of the pandemic in order to stop the health service being overrun. NHS England took the unusual step on Sunday of issuing a 12-page rebuttal to allegations in the Sunday Times that patients deemed unlikely to survive were “written off” by being refused intensive care. Prof Stephen Powis, NHS England’s national medical director, said: “These untrue claims will be deeply offensive to NHS doctors, nurses, therapists and paramedics, who have together cared for more than 110,000 severely ill hospitalised Covid-19 patients during the first wave of the pandemic, as they continue to do today." “The Sunday Times’ assertions are simply not borne out by the facts. It was older patients who disproportionately received NHS care. Over two-thirds of our COVID-19 inpatients were aged over 65. “The NHS repeatedly instructed staff that no patient who could benefit from treatment should be denied it and, thanks to people following government guidance, even at the height of the pandemic there was no shortage of ventilators and intensive care.” The newspaper claimed the high coronavirus infection rate in the UK before lockdown began on 23 March and the NHS’s limited supply of mechanical ventilators going into the pandemic meant that “the government, the NHS and many doctors were forced into taking controversial decisions – choosing which lives to save, which patients to treat and who to prioritise – in order to protect hospitals”. The Sunday Times said its claims were the result of a three-month investigation that involved speaking to more than 50 sources in the NHS and the government about the health service’s response to the pandemic. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 25 October 2020
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News Articlen the day Boris Johnson was admitted to hospital with COVID-19, Vivien Morrison received a phone call from a doctor at East Surrey Hospital in Redhill. Stricken by the virus, her father, Raymond Austin, had taken a decisive turn for the worse. The spritely grandfather, who still worked as a computer analyst at the age of 82, was not expected to survive the day. His oxygen levels had fallen to 70% rather than the normally healthy levels of at least 94%. Vivien says she was told by the doctor that her father would not be given intensive care treatment or mechanical ventilation because he “ticked too many boxes” under the guidelines the hospital was using. While ministers delayed lockdown, soaring cases were putting immense pressure on hospitals. This investigation from The Times shows officials devised a brutal ‘triage tool’ to keep the elderly and frail away. Read full story (paywalled) Source: The Sunday Times, 25 October 2020)
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News ArticleSending thousands of older untested patients into care homes in England at the start of the coronavirus lockdown was a violation of their human rights, Amnesty International has said. A report says government decisions were "inexplicable" and "disastrous", affecting mental and physical health. More than 18,000 people living in care homes died with COVID-19 and Amnesty says the public inquiry promised by the government must begin immediately. According to Amnesty's report, a "number of poor decisions at both the national and local levels had serious negative consequences for the health and lives of older people in care homes and resulted in the infringement of their human rights" as enshrined in law. Researchers for the organisation interviewed relatives of older people who either died in care homes or are currently living in one; care home owners and staff, and legal and medical professionals. Amnesty said it received reports of residents being denied GP and hospital NHS services during the pandemic, "violating their right to health and potentially their right to life, as well as their right to non-discrimination". It adds that care home managers reported to its researchers that they were "pressured in different ways" to accept patients discharged from hospital who had not been tested or had COVID-19. Amnesty says the public inquiry into the pandemic should begin with an "interim phase". "The pandemic is not over," it added. "Lessons must be learned; remedial action must be taken without delay to ensure that mistakes are not repeated." Read full story Source: BBC News, 4 October 2020
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Coronavirus: Delirium 'key symptom' in frail older people
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Doctors and carers should look out for signs of confusion or strange behaviour in frail older people because it could be an early warning sign of COVID-19, research suggests. Even if they have no cough or fever, delirium is more common in vulnerable over-65s than other, fitter people of the same age. But it's not yet clear why this extreme confusion or delirium happens. In this King's College London study, data from more than 800 people over the age of 65 was analysed. They included 322 patients in hospital with COVID-19, and 535 people using the Covid Symptom Study app to record their symptoms or log health reports on behalf of friends and family. All had received a positive test result. The researchers found that older adults admitted to hospital who were classified as frail were more likely to have had delirium as one of their symptoms, compared with people of the same age who weren't frail. For one in five patients in hospital with Covid, delirium was their only symptom. The study calls for more awareness of it in hospitals and care homes. Read full story Source: BBC News, 30 September 2020 -
EventuntilThe COVID-19 pandemic has put a spotlight on the rights and needs of older persons. While everyone has been affected, evidence shows that older people are among those most at risk of complications from the disease, with fatality rates for those over 80 years of age five times the global average. They are also at greater risk of poverty, discrimination and isolation. Older persons have been hit particularly hard by the virus itself but it has been the failure to protect their rights in the response that has led to unnecessary deaths, unmet health and care needs, increased isolation, discrimination and stigma. This webinar will: Recognise the impact of COVID-19 on the wellbeing and dignity of older persons across the Commonwealth. Raise awareness of ageism, stigma and discrimination against older people in the COVID-19 response and the need to foster intergenerational connections across the Commonwealth. Reflect on how The Commonwealth needs to adapt to ensure the rights of its citizens of all ages are respected. Register
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Content ArticleRecommendations As a result of the national investigation, HSIB has made three safety recommendations to facilitate better understanding of the role of the ward-based pharmacist, and to encourage best practice and resilience when identifying and developing models of pharmacy provision. It is recommended that NHS England and NHS Improvement carry out work to understand and further define the work of hospital clinical pharmacy teams, including the period between initial medicine reconciliation and discharge, in consultation with relevant stakeholders. It is recommended that the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, supported by NHS England and NHS Improvement, should provide guidance on models of hospital clinical pharmacy provision. The guidance should provide information on the models’ ability to enhance safety and healthcare resilience and include consideration of the appropriate skill mix and experience within the clinical pharmacy team. It is recommended that the NHS Specialist Pharmacy Service should update its resource on the prioritisation of hospital clinical pharmacy services to facilitate the dissemination of developments in good practice and policy with respect to pharmacy prioritisation and the issues highlighted in this report.
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Content ArticleWhat is known • The prevalence of dementia experiences and the cost of dementia care will continue to dramatically escalate in the next 20 years. • At a strategic level, commissioning frameworks in the UK are prioritising effective integrated, multidisciplinary working. • We know very little about the challenges encountered by practitioners at the ground level. What this paper adds • Unique interpretative analysis of the views and perspectives of a range of dementia service practitioners. • Insights into how current commissioning frameworks risk accentuating inter‐practitioner prejudices, communication breakdown and practice overlap. • Suggestions of how commissioning frameworks could proactively diffuse inter‐agency prejudices. For example, through encouraging statutory and third‐sector service providers to form consortia bids and to build relationships through shadowing and shared office space.
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