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‘Long covid’ clinics still not operating despite Hancock claim
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The government and NHS England appear unable to identify units set up to treat ‘long covid’, contrary to a claim by Matt Hancock in Parliament that the NHS had ‘set up clinics and announced them in July’. There are growing calls for wider services to support people who have had COVID-19 and continue to suffer serious follow-up illness for weeks or months. Hospitals run follow-up clinics for those who were previously admitted with the virus, but these are not generally open to those who were never admitted. Earlier this month the health secretary told the Commons health committee: “The NHS set up long covid clinics and announced them in July and I am concerned by reports from Royal College of General Practitioners that not all GPs know how to get into those services.” Asked by HSJ for details, DHSC and NHS England declined to comment on how many clinics had been set up to date, where they were located, how they were funded or how many more clinics were expected to be “rolled out”. However, two charities and support groups — Patient Safety Learning and the Long Covid Support Group — told HSJ they were not aware of dedicated long covid clinics for community patients. An enquiry from Patient Safety Learning to NHS England has not been answered. The number of people affected by long covid is unclear due to a lack of research but there are suggestions it could be half a million or more. Symptoms can include fatigue, sleeplessness, night-time hypoxia, “brain fog” and cardiac problems. It appears to affect more people who were not hospitalised with coronavirus than those who were were. There is some evidence that small clinics have been set up locally on a piecemeal basis, without national funding. HSJ has only been able to identify only one genuine “long covid clinics” open to those who have never been in hospital with covid. Trisha Greenhalgh, an Oxford University professor of primary care health sciences who has interviewed around 100 long covid sufferers, told HSJ: “Nobody I have interviewed had been seen in a long covid clinic but there is an awful lot of people who would like to be referred and who sound like the need to be but they haven’t.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 23 September 2020 Read the letter Patient Safety Learning sent to NHS England hub Community thread - Long Covid: Where are these clinics?- Posted
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News ArticleSweeping bans on visiting at thousands of care homes risk residents dying prematurely this winter as they give up hope in the absence of loved ones, experts in elderly care have warned. More than 2,700 care homes in England are either already shut or will be told to do so imminently by local public health officials, according to a Guardian analysis of new government rules announced to protect the most vulnerable from COVID-19. Care groups are calling for the government to make limited visiting possible, including by designating selected family members as key workers. Since Friday any care homes in local authority areas named by Public Health England for wider anti-Covid interventions must immediately move to stop visiting, except in exceptional circumstances such as end of life. It also halts visits to windows and gardens and follows seven months of restrictions in many care homes that closed their doors to routine visits in March. The blanket bans will result in the “raw reality of residents going downhill fast, giving up hope and ultimately dying sooner than would otherwise be the case”, warned the charity Age UK and the National Care Forum (NCF), which represents charitable care providers. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 23 September 2020
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News ArticleNHS England has been asked for a “clear plan and timescale” for development during covid of its controversial scheme which aims to provide extra support for care homes. In its adult social care winter plan the government has advised NHS England to push forward with the rollout of the “enhanced health in care homes” programme, ensuring that all care homes are assigned to primary care networks by 1 October. The scheme requires GP practices to provide extra clinical support and advice to homes. PCNs should also nominate a clinical lead for the care homes and work with other providers, such as social prescribing link workers, health and wellbeing coaches and care co-ordinators, to provide personalised care. The winter plan responds to a number of recommendations published by the COVID-19 support taskforce, after reviewing the management of the virus in the sector. It asks NHSE to provide a clear plan and timetable for its “enhanced health in care homes” programme. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 23 September 2020
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The N95 mask is not the best protection you can have from COVID-19! Discover Virimask
Sam posted a calendar event in Community Calendar
Virimask is a full face mask designed to offer the ultimate protection and maximum comfort against 99.99% of micron-sized particles. Commonly used masks, such as the N95 are limited in continuous use and are not particularly comfortable, or hygienic in longer-term wear. Virimask is designed to last each user a lifetime and uses replaceable HEPA14 filters which block out viral transmission. Unique advantages include the exceptional ventilation and speech clarity, integrated eye protection and varied size range. In this live webinar, the inventor of Virimask, Professor Noam Gavriely, will give a background on Virimask and the challenges faced during the initial phase along with plans for future development. We will highlight the problems with the lack of PPE available during the COVID-19 outbreak and discuss how Virimask can assist our front line workers during the COVID-19 outbreak and any possible future pandemics. The webinar will include customer testimonials and insight to how the world has reacted to the PPE crisis. We will have live discussion and an opportunity for the audience to ask questions in our live Q&A. Registration -
News Article
Flu and COVID-19 at same time significantly increases risk of death
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Having flu and COVID-19 together significantly increases your risk of death, say government scientists who are urging all those at risk of getting or transmitting flu to get the vaccine in the coming weeks and months. The evidence for the double whammy is currently limited and comes mostly from a study with small numbers – 58 people – carried out in the UK during the early phase of the pandemic. “As I understand it, it’s 43% of those with co-infection died compared with 26.9% of those who tested positive for Covid only,” said England’s deputy chief medical officer, Prof Jonathan Van-Tam. These were people who had been hospitalised and had been tested for both viruses, he said, and so were very ill – but the rate of death from Covid alone in the study between January and April was similar to the known rate of Covid hospital mortality generally of around 25% or 26%. "I think it is the relative difference in size of those rates that’s rather more important than the absolute rate,” he said. The study may have been small and they would be doing further studies this season, but the findings tallied with other work that has been done, he said. “If you get both, you are in some serious trouble, and the people who are most likely to get both of these infections may be the very people who can least afford to in terms of their own immune system, or their risk for serious outcomes. So please protect yourself against flu, this year,” says said Prof Yvonne Doyle, medical director of Public Health England The government has bought 30,000,000 doses of flu vaccine, which is more than ever before. They will arrive in batches, so the elderly – over 65 – and those with medical conditions will be called for immunisation first. Relatives of those who are on the shielding list will also be called up. The letters will begin to go out this week. Because of the threat of Covid and the risk that people with flu could be infected if admitted to hospital, all those aged 50-64 will be offered flu vaccination, but not straight away. They should wait to be called by their GP. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 22 September 2020 -
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'I'm traumatised now': Covid bereaved call for inquiry into NHS 111
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Hundreds of people believe the helpline failed their relatives. Now they are demanding their voices be heard. Families whose relatives died from COVID-19 in the early period of the pandemic are calling for an inquiry into the NHS 111 service, arguing that many critically ill people were given inadequate advice and told to stay at home. The COVID-19 Bereaved Families for Justice group says approximately a fifth of its 1,800 members – more than 350 people – believe the 111 service failed to recognise how seriously ill their relatives were and direct them to appropriate care. “We believe that in some cases it is likely these issues directly contributed to loved ones dying, due to causing a delay in receiving treatment, or a total lack of treatment leading to them passing away at home,” said the group’s co-founder Jo Goodman, whose father, Stuart Goodman, died on 2 April aged 72. Many families have said they had trouble even getting through to the 111 phone line, the designated first step, alongside 111 online, for people concerned they may have COVID-19. The service recorded a huge rise in calls to almost 3m in March, and official NHS figures show that 38.7% were abandoned after callers waited longer than 30 seconds for a response. Some families who did get through have said the call handlers worked through fixed scripts and asked for yes or no answers, which led to their relatives being told they were not in need of medical care. “Despite having very severe symptoms including skin discolouration, fainting, total lack of energy, inability to eat and breathlessness, as well as other family members explaining the level of distress they were in, this was not considered sufficient to be admitted to hospital or have an ambulance sent out,” Goodman said. Some families also say their relatives’ health risk factors, such as having diabetes, were not taken into account, and that not all the 111 questions were appropriate for black, Asian and minority ethnic people, including a question to check for breathlessness that asked if their lips had turned blue. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 21 September 2020 -
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Nigeria: World Patient Safety Day 2020
Patient Safety Learning posted an article in Staff safety
Ehi Iden, Chief Executive Officer of the Occupational Health and Safety Managers, shares with the hub his blog 'Safety of the patients and correlation with the safety of the healthcare workers' (see attachment below). He also share the interview he did for TVC News Nigeria on World Patient Safety Day. Images from the day -
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Content ArticleThe taskforce carefully considered an extensive range of issues in relation to the social care sector as a whole, brought together as key themes. These included the provision of personal protective equipment, COVID-19 testing arrangements, the winter flu vaccination programme, infection prevention and control, and issues of funding. The taskforce examined a number of issues relating to the workforce and family carers (unpaid), including how best to restrict the movement of people between care and health settings. Among other themes, the taskforce reviewed the role of clinical support within the sector, the availability and application of insights from data, and implications of inspection and regulation. This report sets out the action that will need be taken to reduce the risk of transmission of COVID-19 in the sector, both for those who rely on care and support, and the social care workforce. This report sets out how we can enable people to live as safely as possible while maintaining contacts and activity that enhance the health and wellbeing of service users and family carers. Throughout this report, a number of recommendations are made based on learning from the first phase of the pandemic. They range from 'quick wins' to consideration of topics that will require a degree of more substantial change and/or additional resource. In addition, there are a number of supporting recommendations in the annexed reports of the subject-specific advisory groups, which should be considered in tandem with the main report recommendations.
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Content ArticleThe results paint a bleak picture of the massive toll on all patients of the coronavirus pandemic and the emergency measures taken in response to it. Despite the large scale celebration of the NHS over the spring and early summer, the emergency measures came at a huge cost to patients. In particular, access to services became very difficult, and many patients were left feeling unsupported, anxious and lonely. The relationship between patients and the NHS has been significantly disrupted. It was by no means all bad: some patients reported good ongoing care, and were impressed by the way their local communities came together to support them. This report uses what patients said to look to the future, both near and long-term. It contains recommendations for the next phase of the emergency response, and also a call for the health and care system to be built back better after the pandemic: the current emergency footing cannot be the basis for the ongoing relationship between patients and the NHS.
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EventuntilAs the NHS recovers from the first wave of the COVID-19 crisis, many organisations and health systems are not seeking to return to their pre-Covid ways of working. Instead, they are using the ‘reset and recovery’ phase as an opportunity to transform and enhance patient care whilst locking-in efficiencies and operational improvements. This transformation is seen as essential by many as the NHS prepares for ‘Winter Pressures’, builds resilience for any future Covid waves and, importantly, manages the backlog of elective procedures. The pace and extent of disruptive transformation driven by the Covid crisis would have been unimaginable at the turn of the year. Since the pandemic erupted, organisations and networks across the NHS have implemented, almost overnight, many transformation initiatives that have been in planning stages for months or years. It has also necessitated a radical redesign of many ways of working. These changes have led to a fundamental rethink of both the speed and level of change that is possible. Despite all of these pressures it is recognised that the speed and level of change must be implemented in a managed and phased way. This webinar will highlight: The challenges the NHS faces. How solutions to those challenges have been designed – by listening to what the NHS needs. How the NHS has successfully implemented the solutions (hearing success stories from the NHS itself). The importance of embedding transformation and new ways of working for the future. This webinar is applicable to a wide range of NHS personnel, including Clinicians, Operational Staff and Patient Groups. Registration
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News ArticleCovid has brought many hidden tragedies: elderly residents in care homes bereft of family visits, families in quarantine missing loved one’s funerals, and mums forced to go through labour alone. Much of this has been necessary, however painful, but Jeremy Hunt fears we’re getting the balance badly wrong in maternity care. That’s why he is backing The Mail on Sunday’s campaign to end lone births, which has been championed in Parliament by Alicia Kearns. Infection control in hospitals is critically important, but mothers’ mental health can’t be pushed down the priority list. Imagine the agony of a new mum sent for a scan on her own, only to be told that her much longed-for baby has no heartbeat. Or the woman labouring in agony for hours who is told she is not yet sufficiently dilated to merit her partner joining her for moral support. "I have heard some truly heartbreaking stories, which quite frankly should have no place in a modern, compassionate health service. One woman who gave birth to a stillborn baby alone at 41 weeks; another woman who was left alone after surgery due to a miscarriage at 12 weeks," says Jeremy. Perhaps most concerningly of all, there are reports of partners being asked to leave their new babies and often traumatised mothers almost immediately after birth. That means they miss out on vital bonding time and mums lose crucial support to help them recover mentally and physically, in some cases with partners not allowed back to meet their new child properly for several days. "This is a question of basic compassion and decency – the very values that the NHS embodies and the reason we’re all so proud of our universal health service – so we need every hospital to commit to urgent action without delay." Read full story Source: MailOnline, 19 September 2020
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News ArticleWatchdog chief says increasing patient feedback will be the fuel to drive improvements in patient safety Some hospitals and care homes are failing to take action to protect patients from coronavirus as cases rise across the country, the head of the care watchdog has warned. In an interview with The Independent, Ian Trenholm, the chief executive of the Care Quality Commission (CQC), said a series of inspections had revealed a minority of homes and hospitals were not doing enough to prevent infection. He said in one case a care home appeared to have made a “conscious decision” not to follow the rules on wearing masks and gloves and was now in the process of being closed down by the watchdog due to safety fears. Mr Trenholm also revealed the CQC would be looking closely at patients struggling to access services because of the impact of COVID-19 and he warned it would act if some groups were disproportionately affected. The CQC is being forced to move away from its regular inspections of hospitals, care homes and GPs due to the pandemic but Mr Trenholm said it would be redoubling efforts to encourage patients to give feedback on the care they received, adding the watchdog would be more explicit in future about the action it takes. Read full story Source: The Independent, 21 September 2020
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News ArticleA third of coronavirus patients in intensive care are from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, prompting the head of the British Medical Association to warn that government inaction will be responsible for further disproportionate deaths. Chaand Nagpaul, the BMA Council chair, was the first public figure to call for an inquiry into whether and why there was a disparity between BAME and white people in Britain in terms of how they were being affected by the pandemic, in April. Subsequent studies, including a Public Health England (PHE) analysis in early June, confirmed people of certain ethnicities were at greater risk but Nagpaul said no remedial action had been taken by the government. Nagpaul told the Guardian: “We are continuing to see BAME people suffering disproportionately in terms of intensive care admissions so not acting means that we’re not protecting our vulnerable communities. Action was needed back in July and it’s certainly needed now more than ever. “As the infection rate rises, there’s no reason to believe that the BAME population will not suffer again because no action has been taken to protect them. They are still at higher risk of serious ill health and dying.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 20 September 2020
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News ArticleA series of hospitals will be designated as coronavirus-free zones during the second wave of the outbreak in a significant policy shift designed to ensure the NHS continues treatment for cancer and other conditions, the Guardian has learned. NHS England is determined not to repeat the widespread suspension of normal service that occurred in the first wave, which doctors and charities have criticised for damaging patients’ health, leading to more deaths and creating a backlog of millions of treatments. In a tacit admission that the March shutdown denied patients vital care, NHS bosses have drawn up plans for certain hospitals – mainly small district generals – to treat no COVID-19 patients and focus instead on common planned operations such as cancer surgery, hip and knee replacements, and cataract removals. Under NHS plans, such “clean” hospitals will as far as possible be kept free of coronavirus patients in a reversal of the approach taken in spring. That should reduce the risk of patients admitted for normal care becoming infected with COVID-19 while on wards. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 21 September 2020
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News Article'Long Covid' is leaving people with so-called ‘brain fog’ for months after their initial recovery, NHS experts have revealed. Dr Michael Beckles, consultant respiratory and general physician at The Wellington Hospital, and the Royal Free NHS Foundation, said he has seen a number of patients suffering from ongoing effects of the disease. He said the main symptom being reported is breathlessness, with patients also describing a brain fog. Dr Beckles said: "I'm seeing more and more patients who have had Covid-19 infection confirmed in the laboratory and on X-ray, who have cleared the infection, and are now still presenting with persistent symptoms. "Some of those symptoms are respiratory, such as breathlessness, chronic cough. "And some have other symptoms such as what the patients describe as brain fog, and I understand that to be a difficulty in concentration." "Some still have loss of sense of taste or smell." He added that it can be frustrating for patients because investigations after the infection can be normal, yet the symptoms persist. Dr Beckles is part of a team of specialists at the new post-COVID-19 rehabilitation unit at The Wellington Hospital. Read full story Source: The Telegraph, 21 September 2020
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