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Found 165 results
  1. News Article
    England’s NHS Ombudsman has warned that cancer patients could be put at risk because of over-stretched and exhausted health staff working in a system at breaking point and delays in diagnosis and treatment. The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) revealed that between April 2020 and December 2023, his Office carried out 1,019 investigations related to cancer. Of those 185 were upheld or partly upheld. Issues with diagnosis and treatment were the most common cancer-related issues investigated by PHSO. These issues included treatment delays, misdiagnosis, failure to identify cancer, the mismanagement of conditions, and pain management. Complaints about cancer care also included concerns about poor communication, complaint handling, referrals, and end-of-life care. Most investigations were about lung cancer, followed by breast cancer and colorectal cancer. The Ombudsman recently closed an investigation around the death of Sandra Eastwood whose cancer was not diagnosed for almost a year after scans were not read correctly. The delay meant she missed out on the chance of treatment which has a 95% survival rate. In 2021, PHSO published a report about recurrent failings in the way X-rays and scans are reported on and followed up across the NHS service. Mr Behrens said, “What happened to Mrs Eastwood was unacceptable and her family’s grief will no doubt have been compounded by knowing that mistakes were made in her care. “Her case also shows, in the most tragic of ways, that while some progress has been made on my recommendations to improve imaging services, it is not enough and more must be done. “Government must act now to prioritise this issue and protect more patients from harm.” Read full story Source: Parliamentary Health and Health Service Ombudsman, 9 March 2024
  2. Content Article
    Elective care refers to when patients receive non-urgent treatment, normally in hospital, including, tests and scans, outpatient care, surgery and cancer treatment. The NHS is currently seeing long waiting times for some elective procedures, with the Government setting an ambition to reduce elective waiting times to less than a year by 2025. Increased waiting times mean patients have to wait longer for the care they need. This can lead to patients suffering increased pain, their condition may worsen, or they may develop other illnesses associated with the reason that they are waiting for elective care. This can cause both physical harm and mental distress to patients, their families, and carers. The Health Services Safety Investigations Body (HSSIB) Senior Safety Investigator, Neil Alexander, blogs about the challenges facing the NHS in tackling the elective care backlog and how learning from our investigation reports may be able to help the NHS rise to this challenge.
  3. Content Article
    Spina bifida develops early in the embryonic stage of pregnancy but is not usually detected until the midterm (20 week) ultrasound scan.  Shine conducted a survey to assess the antenatal care experiences of parents to children with spina bifida. Volunteers were recruited via social media and 71 eligible (UK-based) responses were received, revealing numerous elements of antenatal care in need of significant improvement. Shine have published the findings and recommendations for improving antenatal diagnosis and care for spina bifida. 
  4. News Article
    Mothers of babies who died or suffered brain damage from a Group B Strep (GBS) infection say routine screening is needed. Oliver Plumb, from the charity Group B Strep Support, said it was a "small number of babies" exposed to the bacteria that developed a serious and potentially fatal infection. He said around 800 babies a year developed the infection - which is about two babies a day - and about one a week will die, while another a week will be left with a lifelong disability. "It's a heart-breaking start to life for families and that often the first they hear of Group B Strep is when their baby is sick or in intensive care". The charity has called for GBS to be a notifiable disease to make it a legal responsibility for infections to be reported. It added that current figures could be "missing around one fifth of the infections". There was a "postcode lottery" in terms of how many families will hear about GBS, he said. The charity also backed calls for screening. "In the UK we don't sadly have a routine testing programme, that's at odds with much of the rest of the high-income world. " A DHSC spokesperson said a public consultation on the notifiable diseases list was carried out last year. "DHSC and UKHSA are considering the responses and confirmation of any changes will be published in due course," they said. Several reasons for not recommending routine screening have been given by the committee, including that results can change in the last few weeks of labour, and that GBS does not cause infection in every baby. Read full story Source: BBC News, 26 February 2024 Further reading on the hub: Leading for safety: A conversation with Jane Plumb, Founder of Group B Strep Support
  5. Content Article
    Preventable conditions are costing the NHS and wider society hundreds of billions of pounds and leading to reduced quality of life for large numbers of people. This paper from the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change proposes ways in which the NHS can use existing tools for screening and preventing ill health, to make the UK healthier and more productive and reduce pressure on the health system. It suggests a prevention programme that uses AI to highlight risk factors and screen individuals most likely to develop chronic health conditions.
  6. News Article
    England’s largest hospital trust has written to GPs warning their patients face 15-week waits for routine MRIs, ultrasound and CT scans. Guy’s and St Thomas’ Foundation Trust in central London said it was prioritising suspected cancer and other “urgent cases”, meaning “unfortunately waiting times for routine patients are now an average of 15-16 weeks for an appointment against a target of six weeks”. This is much worse than national averages, which December figures showed were 3.2 weeks, 2.5 weeks and 3.3 weeks for MRI, CT and ultrasound waits respectively. It its letter to GPs in Lambeth and Southwark – its main patches – GSTT said: “Current imaging referral demand outstrips capacity, despite these services consistently delivering near 120 per cent levels of activity compared to 2019-20. “The radiology service is exploring multiple routes to increase imaging capacity, including increased weekend working, insourcing and outsourcing contracts, but there is still a significant shortfall of slots every week.” In particular, it said primary care staff should expect long waits for the reporting of routine MRI scans. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 13 February 2024
  7. Content Article
    The promise of diagnosing conditions early is an exciting one. But there are fears among some health professionals that more screening might not be entirely helpful. In this programme, the BBC's Health Correspondent Matthew Hill finds out whether screening programmes can really help us live both better and longer lives. He asks whether diagnosing conditions decades before they might affect us causes more harm than good. He also examines what lessons from the past could tell us about the current surge in screening and considers some of the dilemmas it might present us with.
  8. Content Article
    The Care Quality Commission's (CQC) annual report on their work to enforce the Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) Regulations in England has been published. The regulations protect people from the dangers of being accidentally or unintentionally exposed to ionising radiation in a healthcare setting. Errors can happen when healthcare providers use ionising radiation to diagnose or treat people. Healthcare providers must notify CQC about these. The report gives a breakdown of the number and type errors that CQC was notified about between 1 April 2022 and 31 March 2023. The report also presents the key findings from our inspection and enforcement activity in that time.
  9. Content Article
    In October 2021 the government announced plans for new community diagnostic centres (CDCs) across England. The ambition was that these centres would provide people with increased and more convenient access to diagnostics tests, and would lead to earlier diagnosis and reduce pressure on hospitals. Two years on, with 127 centres open and 1,563,400 patients waiting for a diagnostic test as of the end of August 2023, how are community diagnostic centres getting on and what challenges are they facing?  
  10. News Article
    Women affected by a review of cervical smears in the Southern Health Trust have said they are "angry, frustrated and scared" for their future. About 17,500 patients in the trust are to have their previous smears re-checked as part of a major review of cervical screening dating back to 2008. Some of these women will be recalled to have new smear tests carried out. But the process has not started yet and will take at least six months to complete. Letters were sent out by the trust earlier this month to those affected. The Southern Trust says it expects to recall around 4,000 women for a new smear test after it reviews 17,368 historic slides. The Trust's medical director, Dr Steve Austin, told its board meeting that the review of slides was expected to start next week. It also emerged that the number of calls from concerned women has increased with many asking for more "specialist" answers. Read full story Source: BBC News, 27 October 2023
  11. News Article
    Some patients in England are waiting up to two-and-a-half years for important diagnostic tests such as ultrasound, MRI and CT scans, according to figures seen by the Guardian. The longest waits were two-and-a-half years for an MRI scan, almost two years for an ultrasound and a year for a CT scan, responses to freedom of information requests by the Liberal Democrats show. People with heart problems are among the worst affected. Examples from NHS trusts included a 49-week wait for an echocardiogram and a 475-day wait for an angiography. Under the NHS constitution, patients should wait less than six weeks for diagnostic tests. The target is for only 1% to wait more than six weeks, but now 25% of all patients do so, according to research from the House of Commons library, commissioned by the Lib Dems. Ed Davey, the leader of the Lib Dems, said: “What this Conservative government has done to the NHS is nothing short of a national scandal. Millions are forced to wait in pain and discomfort, anxiously wondering when they will get a diagnosis, let alone treatment. “We cannot fix our economy without fixing our NHS. People can’t get back to work when they’re stuck waiting to see a GP, get a diagnosis or start treatment. The longer they wait, the worse their health gets and the greater the stress for themselves and their loved ones." Read full story Source: The Guardian, 24 September 2023
  12. News Article
    People living with long Covid after being admitted to hospital are more likely to show some damage to major organs, according to a new study. MRI scans revealed patients were three times more likely to have some abnormalities in multiple organs such as the lungs, brain and kidneys. Researchers believe there is a link with the severity of the illness. It is hoped the UK study will help in the development of more effective treatments for Long Covid. The study, published in Lancet Respiratory Medicine, looked at 259 patients who fell so ill with the virus that they were admitted to hospital. Five months after they were discharged, MRI scans of their major organs showed some significant differences when compared to a group of 52 people who had never had Covid. The biggest impact was seen on the lungs, where the scans were 14 times more likely to show abnormalities. MRI scans were also three times more likely to show some abnormalities in the brain - and twice as likely in the kidneys - among people who had had severe Covid. Dr Betty Raman, from the University of Oxford and one of the lead investigators on the study, says it is clear that those living with long Covid symptoms are more likely to have experienced some organ damage. She said: "The patient's age, how severely ill they were with Covid, as well as if they had other illnesses at the same time, were all significant factors in whether or not we found damage to these important organs in the body." Read full story Source: BBC News, 23 September 2023
  13. Content Article
    When it comes to your health, it's easy to fall into the mindset that unless you are having signs or symptoms of an illness, you can put off going to see your doctor and skip yearly exams or tests. But preventative care—such as blood tests, cancer screening, mental health check-ins, vaccinations and tests for genetic conditions—can help keep you from developing a serious illness or having to receive care at the hospital.  Speak Up™ To Prevent Serious Illness is a patient safety campaign from The Joint Commission designed to educate patients on how to find preventative care services, get past barriers and try to avoid reaching a crisis point with their health. The Joint Commission has produced a video, infographic and distribution guide as part of the campaign.
  14. News Article
    Targeted screening of patients with type 2 diabetes could more than double new diagnoses of heart conditions, a study suggests. When applied at a larger scale, such an approach could translate into tens of thousands of new diagnoses, researchers believe. Conditions such as coronary artery disease, atrial fibrillation and heart failure affect millions of people worldwide, causing a large number of deaths and increasing healthcare costs. Treatments are available that can prevent stroke or acute heart failure, but systematic screening is not currently common practice. Those living with conditions such as type 2 diabetes or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) – a group of lung conditions that cause breathing difficulties – are at high risk of such conditions. A team of researchers led by Dr Amy Groenewegen, from the University Medical Centre Utrecht in the Netherlands, has developed a three-step screening process to detect conditions in high-risk people at an early stage. Study author Dr Groenewegen said: “An easy-to-implement strategy more than doubled the number of new diagnoses of heart failure, atrial fibrillation and coronary artery disease in high-risk patients.” Read full story Source: Independent, 29 August 2023
  15. News Article
    At-home smear tests should be introduced in Wales, campaigners say. Love Your Period campaigners said self-sampling at home would encourage more people to have the tests. For women aged 25 to 64 a smear test is an effective way of detecting human papillomavirus (HPV) and preventing cervical cancer. According to Public Health Wales data, cervical cancer is the most common cancer in women under the age of 35, with regular screening helping to reduce the risk of getting cervical cancer by 70%. The Welsh government said it followed advice from the UK National Screening Committee (UKNSC), which is yet to make a recommendation on self-sampling. However, it said Public Health Wales (PHW) was considering how the tests could be implemented in Wales. Currently, women in Wales are invited for a screening to check for the presence of high-risk HPV every five years. Campaigner Jess Moultrie said tests should be made available to those who have experienced trauma and find the process of in-hospital smears triggering. "Being able to do it at home gives you that power, you can be a little bit more relaxed, it's not as intimidating." Read full story Source: BBC News, 14 August 2023
  16. News Article
    Women could be screened for cervical cancer every five years instead of every three and as many cancers could still be prevented, a new study suggests. Researchers at King’s College London said that screening women aged 24 to 49 who test negative for human papillomavirus (HPV) at five-year intervals prevented as many cancers as screening every three years. The study of 1.3 million women in England, published in the BMJ, found that women in this age group were less likely to develop clinically relevant cervical lesions, abnormal changes of the cells that line the cervix known as CIN3+, and cervical cancer three years after a negative HPV screen compared to a negative smear test. Lead author Dr Matejka Rebolj, senior epidemiologist at King’s College London, said the results were “very reassuring”. She added: “They build on previous research that shows that following the introduction of HPV testing for cervical screening, a five-year interval is at least as safe as the previous three-year interval. “Changing to five-yearly screening will mean we can prevent just as many cancers as before, while allowing for fewer screens.” Read full story Source: The Independent, 31 May 2022
  17. News Article
    NHS Scotland is to change the way women are called to breast cancer detection appointments after major recent errors in the screening programme. Some eligible for screening were not invited because they had moved between GP practices or were aged over 71 by the time their practice was called. Women aged 50 to 70 are invited for appointments once every three years, based on their GP practice. It emerged hundreds of women in NHS Lothian may have missed screenings. The health board said in January that 369 women considered to have a higher risk of developing the disease may not have received appointments at the right time. A major review of the programme in Scotland has made 17 recommendations to strengthen and improve services. They include: A more "person-centred" approach based on calling individual women - rather than the GP practice where they are registered - to set their next test date. Greater flexibility of appointments to provide better access and uptake, with more contact such as texts or phone calls to keep appointments on patients' radar. An online appointment cancellation and rebooking system to provide greater individual convenience. Evening and weekend appointments and more availability in rural and semi-urban locations. Read full story Source: BBC News, 24 May 2022
  18. News Article
    A record 2.7 million people were referred for cancer checks in the last year, NHS England has said. It comes after figures suggested the Covid pandemic saw numbers dramatically decline in 2020. But at least 30,000 people are still waiting to start treatment. Charities have welcomed the increase in referrals but warned of the "devastating" impact the pandemic has had on cancer care. Referrals for suspected cancer remain at about 16% higher than pre-pandemic levels and rose overall from 2.4 million to 2,65m in the past 12 months. Dame Cally Palmer, national cancer director for NHS England, said there were still 30,000 people who had not started treatment due to the pandemic but that the new figures suggested some progress. She said: "We are going further and faster than ever before in our ambitions to diagnose more cancers at an earlier stage so that we can save more lives." It is "vital that we keep these referral rates high", she added. Read full story Source: BBC News, 2 May 2022
  19. News Article
    NHS leaders are urging people to attend vital lung cancer check-ups as figures reveal almost two-thirds of those invited are not coming forward. The NHS targeted lung health check service offered in some parts of England aims to help diagnose cancer at an earlier stage when treatment may be more successful. Current and former smokers aged between 55 and 74 are invited to speak to a healthcare professional and, if they have a higher chance of developing lung cancer, are offered a scan of their lungs. Doctors are keen to reach those who may not have sought help for symptoms during the pandemic and could be living with undiagnosed lung cancer. People diagnosed at the earliest stage are nearly 20 times more likely to survive for five years than those whose cancer is caught late, according to the NHS. The NHS has already diagnosed 600 people with the disease in travelling trucks, which visit convenient community sites across the UK, such as supermarkets and sports centres, aiming to make it easier for people to access check-ups. But figures show only a third (35%) of patients go to their lung health check when invited by the NHS. “These lung checks can save lives,” said Dame Cally Palmer, the NHS cancer director. “By going out into communities we find more people who may not have otherwise realised they have lung cancer, with hundreds already diagnosed and hundreds of thousands due to be invited." Read full story Source: The Guardian, 19 April 2022
  20. News Article
    More than 200 women were affected by failures in Ireland’s CervicalCheck screening system. It emerged in 2018 that 221 women and families were not told about misreported smear tests. The Minister for Health said that non-disclosure issues which arose in the cervical check screening controversy will be legislated for to prevent it from happening again. Stephen Donnelly said new legislation will address the negligence issues and ensure that the failure to inform the women of the clinical audit of their screening will “never happen again”. Mr Donnelly was discussing a number of amendments at the committee stage of Ireland's Patient Safety Bill. The new legislation will require the mandatory open disclosure of serious patient safety incidents, and sets out a list of incidents which must be reported to the health watchdog, Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA). Mr Donnelly said that he will introduce an amendment at the report stage of the Bill that will provide for non-disclosure and will deal with issues around delayed diagnosis and delayed screening. Mr Donnelly said: “I’ve had lengthy discussions with the department on this and it doesn’t fit neatly with this Bill because the serious patient safety issues which result in death or serious harm, they are very clear and binary. “Legislating around delayed diagnosis and delayed screening, it is really complex and doesn’t fit neatly in this Bill, however my view is that the non-disclosure that happened in cervical check, even though it doesn’t neatly fit here, should still be legislated for." Read full story Source: The Independent, 11 March 2022
  21. News Article
    Less than half of women are being seen following an urgent breast cancer referral, as NHS performance drops to a new low. ‘Alarming’ new NHS figures have shown just 47% of women in England referred “urgently” for breast cancer symptoms were seen by a specialist within two weeks. For women without symptoms but referred urgently to see a specialist, just 49% were seen within two weeks. In both cases this is the first time since records began that less than 50% cent of women were seen. Within some trusts less than 10% of women referred with symptoms were seen within two weeks, with less than two per cent of women referred to United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust being seen within this time frame in January. Wes Streeting, Labour shadow health secretary said: “I know from experience the importance of an early cancer diagnosis and quick treatment. It is appalling that most suspected breast cancer patients are left waiting so long before being seen, with the insecurity of not knowing." Baroness Delyth Morgan, chief executive at Breast Cancer Now, said: “It’s alarming that in January, for the first time, less than half of women 47.5 per cent in England who were urgently referred with potential breast cancer symptoms, were seen by a specialist within two weeks." “...the government must consider what immediate steps it can take to reverse this rapid decline. Agonising delays must be replaced with prompt diagnoses for all women – and the sooner breast cancer is diagnosed the greater the chance of treatment being successful.” Read full story Source: The Independent, 11 March 2022
  22. News Article
    A Scottish hospital has become the first in the UK and one of the first in the world to pilot using artificial intelligence (AI) in its cervical cancer screening programme. University Hospital Monklands has increased capacity by around 25% and improved analysis turn-around times with the measure, which experts said could “revolutionise” the screening process. The system, from medical technology company Hologic, creates digital images of cervical smear slides from samples that have tested positive for Human Papilloma Virus (HPV). These are then reviewed using an advanced algorithm, which quickly assesses the cells in the sample and highlights the most relevant to medical experts, saving them time in identifying and analysing abnormalities. “Preliminary results from the pilot are promising, as the team at University Hospital Monklands has increased capacity by around 25 per cent in the slide assessment and improved analysis turn-around times, as well as allowing screeners to dedicate more time to training on the latest technologies and dealing with difficult-to-diagnose cases,” says Allan Wilson, consultant biomedical scientist at NHS Lanarkshire who is leading the pilot. "Through AI and digital diagnostics, we have the potential to improve outcomes for women not only in Scotland, but around the world.” Samantha Dixon, chief executive of Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust, welcomed the pilot. “Catching cervical cell changes means they can be treated to prevent them from developing into cervical cancer,” she said. Read full story Source: The Scotsman, 4 March 2022
  23. News Article
    Women who have the HPV vaccine may need only one smear test to prevent cervical cancer in their lifetime, according to a leading scientist. Women are currently invited for screening every three to five years in the UK. But Prof Peter Sasieni said the vaccine was leading to such dramatic reductions in cancer that the screening programme would need to change soon. The NHS invites women, and people with a cervix, for regular screening. Swabs of the cervix are used to check for signs of abnormalities using a microscope (the traditional smear test) or more recently to test for the virus itself. However, a seismic shift in preventing cervical cancer started in the UK in 2008 with the introduction of the HPV vaccine. It is offered to girls (and boys since 2019) aged between 11 and 13. Research published in December shows the vaccine is cutting cervical cancer by nearly 90% in those who choose to have the jab. "This is really exciting," Prof Sasieni, the director of the clinical trials unit at King's College London, told Inside Health on BBC Radio 4. His modelling suggests between one and three checks a lifetime would be appropriate for people who have been immunised. "There's a new vaccine which will be used in the UK from the next school year, which protects against even more types of the virus, and I think with that probably one screen would be enough, maybe two, over a lifetime." However, the Department of Health and Social Care said one in three people do not come for screening when invited, and a spokesperson added: "The NHS Cervical Screening programme remains an important way of protecting the population - including those who have not been vaccinated - from developing cervical cancer." Read full story Source: BBC News, 2 March 2022
  24. News Article
    A new pregnancy screening tool cuts the risk of baby loss among women from black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds to the same level as white women, research suggests. The app calculates a woman's individual risk of pregnancy problems. In a study of 20,000 pregnant women, baby death rates in ethnic groups were three times lower than normal when the tool was used. Experts say the new approach can help reduce health inequalities. The screening tool is already in use at St George's Hospital in London and is being tried out at three other maternity units in England, with hopes it could be rolled out to 20 centres within two years. Researchers from Tommy's National Centre for Maternity Improvement, led by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and the Royal College of Midwives, developed the new tool. Professor Basky Thilaganathan, who led the research team at St George's Hospital, said the new approach could "almost eliminate a large source of the healthcare inequality facing black, Asian and minority ethnic pregnant women". "We can personalise care for you and reduce the chances of having a small baby, pre-eclampsia and losing your baby," he said. The current system of a tick-box checklist to assess pregnancy risk has been around for 70 years, and is limited. The new digital tool, which uses an algorithm to calculate a woman's personal risk, can detect high-risk women more accurately and prevent complications in pregnancy, the researchers say. Both pregnant women and maternity staff can upload information on their pregnancy and how they are feeling to the app during antenatal appointments and at other times. Dr Edward Morris, president of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, said it was "unacceptable" that black, Asian and minority ethnic women faced huge inequalities on maternity outcomes. "The digital tool provides a practical way to support women with personalised care during pregnancy and make informed decisions about birth. Read full story Read Tommy's press release Source: BBC News, 28 February 2022
  25. News Article
    Breast cancer screening uptake fell to its lowest point ever during the pandemic, as the numbers of women seen dropped by more than one third. Just 1.19 million women aged 45 and over were screened for breast cancer in 2020-21, while the numbers of women who actually took up their invitation for screening dropped to 61%. Analysis by Breast Cancer Now, of the new NHS figures published on Thursday, found that uptake during the first year of the pandemic was the lowest it had been since records began. The number of women who had cancer detected through screening decreased by almost 40 per cent, although rates when calculated per 1,000 women were up by 8.4%. The news comes after NHS figures revealed that half of patients in October waited more than two weeks following an urgent breast cancer referral. According to analysis from the Labour Party in January, breast cancer patients faced the longest waits when compared to all other cancer referrals. Breast Cancer Now chief executive Baroness Delyth Morgan said: “Screening uptake has hit its lowest point in history, with less than 62% of women invited being screened, despite NHS staff working tirelessly, in the toughest of circumstances, to restart and continue breast screening services after they needed to be paused in March 2020. “The human cost behind these figures is stark, with an estimated 8,870 women in the UK living with undetected breast cancer as a result of the pandemic – a significant number of which would have been detected at routine screening. Tragically, research suggests that up to an additional 680 women could die from breast cancer in the next decade due to impacts of the pandemic on screening.” Read full story Source: The Independent, 24 February 2022
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