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News Article
PM’s local hospital warned by CQC over covid infection control
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
A hospital serving the prime minister’s constituency has been issued a warning notice by inspectors over poor infection control, including staff having to share two small toilet cubicles for changing. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) announced it has issued the notice to The Hillingdon Hospitals FT today following an unannounced inspection in September. It comes after the watchdog placed urgent conditions on the provider following a coronavirus outbreak among staff at Hillingdon Hospital in August. At least 70 members of staff had to isolate, some of whom had tested positive for covid. The watchdog said it found there had been improvements, but that “further work is needed”. The CQC’s inspection report, published today, said there were no staff changing rooms available for people to change in and out of their scrubs, and that they were sharing two small toilet cubicles at the start and end of shifts. These were not cleaned with an “enhanced” cleaning schedule, it added, and the lack of separate changing rooms “caused a risk of cross-contamination”. However, senior leaders were aware of the risk and were seeking ways to improve access to changing areas for staff. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 4 December 2020 -
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The impact of staff well-being on creating safety
Sam posted a calendar event in Community Calendar
untilHow looking after staff health and well-being contributes to patient safety. "It’s about a work place that’s more respectful, inclusive and open as a means of creating safety”. Martin Bromiley OBE To deliver high-quality care, the NHS needs staff that are healthy, well and at work. A challenge highlighted further by the pandemic. Join the Clinical Human Factors Group (CHFG) for short and lively presentations, questions and panels with: Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt MP Chair of the Commons Health and Social Care Select Committee Suzette Woodward - culture, conditions and values Scott Morrish - the legacy of avoidable harm Dr Henrietta Hughes OBE – speaking up, culture change and well-being Prof. Jill Maben - staff well-being and patient experience Aliya Rehman – NHS Employers - the well-being framework Mark Young – Learning from the rail industry - team dynamics Ed Corbett – Health & Safety Executive – Sustainable health and safety improvement Alice Hartley – Royal College of Surgeons Edinburgh – undermining and bullying – the team, individual and the patient Register -
News ArticleA review of a clinical commissioning group has discovered “microaggressions and insensitivities” towards Black, Asian and minority ethnic staff, and the use of derogatory slurs about other groups. The report into Surrey Heartlands CCG also uncovered incidents of shouting, screaming and bullying among other inappropriate behaviour. And it was reported some staff were unwilling to accept Black Lives Matter events as important, stating “all lives matter”. The review also discovered a culture of denial and turning a blind eye to consistent concerns, with staff fearful of speaking up. In particular, the HR department was said to have been repeatedly told about the behaviour of one staff member but had chosen to ignore or delay dealing with the issues. However, the review found “no evidence for widespread discriminatory practices” and “no clear evidence for a widespread culture of bullying and ill-treatment” — but it added the systems to deal with concerns had failed and there was a sense of “organisational inaction”. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 27 November 2020
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Content Article
Keeping staff safe during COVID-19: Risk assessments
PatientSafetyLearning Team posted an article in Staff safety
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News ArticleNHS trust chief executives have told HSJ they need more clarity the Pfizer-BioNTech covid vaccine is safe to reassure their worried staff. Trusts were told last week they need to be ready to start vaccinating their staff from early next month. On Tuesday, it was confirmed that they would initially be asked to use the covid vaccine produced by Pfizer and BioNTech, assuming it is granted a licence by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. Speaking at the HSJ Provider Virtual Summit, St George’s University Hospitals Foundation Trust chief executive Jacqueline Totterdell said there was a lot of “anxiety” around the vaccine among her staff. Leeds Community Healthcare Trust chief Thea Stein added leaders in her city feel “anxious and uncertain”. Ms Totterdell said: “As a responsible officer for 9,000 staff, I also need to be clear that the vaccination is safe. That bit of narrative just needs to come out from the centre, about the reasons why they think it is safe. “I think there is a lot of anxiety, and some of the polls we’ve done around south west London show that as little as 50 per cent of people are willing just to have it without any of that [assurance]." Northumbria Healthcare FT chief executive Sir Jim Mackey, who also spoke at the summit, admitted he was “a bit surprised” by some staff who said they were not going to get the vaccine. The former NHS Improvement chief added: “I think when it actually comes to it, and we get the messaging right about it, not just the responsibility for you but also your responsibility for the people you work with… then the vast majority of people will get it and take confidence in the fact that it’s been developed really quickly and effectively. “These things don’t get signed off if they’re dangerous, so we need to embrace it as the thing that’s going to get us back to normal.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 26 November 2020
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News Article
Thousands still being denied PPE for procedures with ‘high covid risk’
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Thousands of frontline workers delivering treatments where the risk of transmitting coronavirus is heightened are still being denied personal protective equipment (PPE), according to multiple unions and professional bodies. Eleven organisations, including Unison and the British Association of Stroke Physicians, believe numerous procedures have been “wrongly excluded” from the list of 13 “aerosol generating procedures” that require PPE, despite the NHS now having adequate supplies. They say their members are “facing illness and even death” while performing procedures such as chest physiotherapy, introducing feeding tubes, and assessing whether a patient can swallow safely. The unions have formed an alliance to lobby on the issue, and its chair Dr Barry Jones told HSJ: “We’ve asked ministers and the Department of Health and Social Care again and again to take action and provide PPE to frontline NHS staff carrying out procedures which are not currently listed as AGPs but which the scientific evidence shows should be. Read full story Source: HSJ, 13 November 2020 -
Content Article
I think you’re on mute… a blog by Sally Howard
Sally Howard posted an article in Culture
Anyone who has the pleasure of virtual meetings in the current climate will hear the phrase "I think you’re on mute" at least two or three times a week. And this may not be the only place where people feel they are ‘on mute’. The dangers we know: voices unheard, frustrations hidden, staff feeling overwhelmed, undervalued. So if this is you, here’s three simple tips that may help: Make time to talk things through 1:1 Create a safe space to talk things through with a trusted colleague, maybe your boss or a colleague, a good friend or a trained coach. The NHS Leadership Academy offers access to trained coaches: https://www.leadershipacademy.nhs.uk/resources/coaching-register/. Make time for a 5–10 minute daily check-in with people around you Less a luxury more a necessity, especially now. A lot of teams have daily huddles in place. It’s a time to listen, a time to ask the right questions and have your say. What you think, what you see; your great ideas matter. Appreciate those around you Nancy Kline recommends a 5 to 1 ratio of praise to criticism. It really does work. And finally be kind to yourself Years ago a brilliant colleague recommended her three treats approach: A daily treat Maybe a special coffee or a just take a bit of fresh air during another long shift A weekly treat Long walk, lovely meal, whatever gets you in a happy place, A monthly treat Very long walk (only joking) – you’ll think of something. "You can buy your employees' time and muscle... but their hearts and minds come free.” Stephen Covey- Posted
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News Article
Covid: NHS staff helped through crisis by 'wobble room'
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
In small room in the Royal Derby Hospital, there's a table bearing a laminated sign. "You are not alone," it says. It continues: "Kindness will get you through. Embrace the challenge. Look after each other. You are stronger than you think." This is the "wobble room", set aside not for patients but for front-line staff to get them away - briefly - from the intense pressure and strain experienced in the first wave of COVID-19. "We made a wobble room because that's what we needed," Kelly-Ann Gurney, an intensive-care nurse, told the BBC. "It's a room where staff could just go and sit and cry if they needed to and get it all out and then come back and 'put their face on' and get back into it again." Now the second wave is hitting the hospital, and the need for the room is just as great. Concerns are growing about the physical and mental health of front-line NHS staff. There has been no lull since the April peak of the virus as normal treatments and operations, postponed during the crisis, have returned to hospitals. Caroline Swan, a senior sister and manager of the intensive care unit at the Royal Derby, says she is ready to face what is ahead but feels very tired. "I am also very concerned. My staff are very tired and stressed out. We have a lot of sickness either due to burnout or they are unwell," she says. "A lot of staff have to self-isolate at home - and that puts a lot of strain on staffing here." Dr Magnus Harrison, medical director of the University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Trust, says managing rotas is getting harder due to staff sickness and the need for some to self-isolate if family members are infected. "It is worth acknowledging what staff did in the first wave. They behaved tremendously and worked incredibly hard, and we're expecting them to do it again in winter - and Covid numbers could be higher than in the first wave. People are tired out." Read full story Source: BBC News, 10 November 2020 -
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RSM: Exercise and fitness for wellbeing
Patient Safety Learning posted a calendar event in Community Calendar
untilJoin this interactive webinar for an overview of the benefits of exercise and physical activity on wellbeing for healthcare professionals. Anja Hudson, specialist physiotherapist and Dr Elizabeth Haxby, immediate Past President of the RSM Patient Safety Section, will explore the benefits of exercise on our physical and mental health. Outlining the risks associated with working from home and how this may affect wellbeing, this session will arm you with the resources, confidence and motivation needed to pursue exercise in the coronavirus era. We will also offer you tools to facilitate exercise during lockdown along with some general physiotherapy and musculoskeletal advice to maximise your exercise goals. Register -
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RSM: Healthy sleep and sleep for health
Patient Safety Learning posted a calendar event in Community Calendar
untilExplore the key role of sleep in physical and mental health and wellbeing in the third episode of the Royal Society of Medicine's Patient Safety Section's Optimising Strength and Resilience webinar series. Dr Allie Hare, consultant physician in respiratory and sleep medicine, and Dr Elizabeth Haxby, immediate Past President of the RSM Patient Safety Section, will help you to understand what happens when you sleep and how to improve your sleep. Arguably the most undervalued component of health in today’s society, sleep is the foundation of energy recovery, growth and repair. Even small amounts of sleep deprivation can affect us. Fast-paced modern life and busy wards and clinics can leave little time to rest and relax, which can be detrimental to health and impact our ability to unwind and sleep well. This webinar will offer evidence-based tips and techniques to help you improve the quality and quantity of your sleep to enhance your health, wellbeing and productivity. Register -
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RSM: Managing stress and building resilience
Patient Safety Learning posted a calendar event in Community Calendar
untilUsing psychological theory and research-based techniques, this session will demonstrate how to enhance recovery and build resilience for healthcare professionals. In this interactive webinar, Dr Anne-Marie Doyle, consultant clinical psychologist and Dr Elizabeth Haxby, immediate Past President of the RSM Patient Safety Section, will offer strategies to protect the wellbeing of healthcare professionals by helping to anticipate and manage stress, recovery and build resilience. Register -
News Article
1 in 3 doctors have suffered verbal or physical abuse during COVID-19
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Over a third (35%) of healthcare professionals say they have suffered verbal or physical abuse from patients, or patients’ relatives during COVID-19, according to a survey by Medical Protection. The Medical Protection survey of 1250 doctors in the UK, also showed that a further 7% have experienced verbal or physical abuse from a member of the public outside of a medical setting, with some saying they have been sworn at for using the NHS queue at the supermarket. This follows reports that GP’s are facing abuse and complaints from patient’s who believe they aren’t offering enough face-to-face appointments, despite face-to-face appointments increasing in recent months. Medical Protection said the abuse presents yet another source of anxiety for doctors at the worst possible time. In the same survey, 2 in 5 doctors say their mental wellbeing is worse compared to the start of the pandemic. “I have been sworn at for using the NHS queue at the supermarket.” “I have had more unpleasantness from patients in the last 6 months than in all my previous 50 years in healthcare.I am almost at the point of stopping all clinical practice.” “There is too much verbal abuse to mention but the most upsetting is patients believing that we haven`t been open – we are all on our knees.” Read full story Source: Medical Protection, 31 October 2020 -
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Global introduction of OSHversity
Clive Flashman posted a calendar event in Community Calendar
OSHAfrica (an Occupational health and safety site that spans the whole of Africa, based in Lagos) has now created OSHversity. This will provide training for people in workplace safety, regardless of their location and type of workplace. Joinn session using this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUkcu-upzojHdA2-ZT9MFJe1UDY9lzqJYr7 Register for the session by emailing info@oshversity.com You can find out more about the courses offered by going to www.oshversity.com -
News Article
Tens of thousands of NHS staff off sick because of COVID-19, data reveals
Clive Flashman posted a news article in News
Almost half of all staff absence linked to coronavirus in parts of northern England Tens of thousands of NHS staff are off sick or self-isolating because of coronavirus, according to data shared with The Independent as the second wave grows. In some parts of northern England, more than 40% – in some cases almost 50% – of all staff absences are linked to COVID-19, heaping pressure on already stretched hospitals trying to cope with a surge in virus patients. The problem has sparked more calls for wider testing of NHS staff from hospital leaders and nursing unions who warned safety was being put at risk because of short staffing on wards. Across England, more than 76,200 NHS staff were absent from work on Friday – equivalent to more than 6% of the total workforce. This included 25,293 nursing staff and 3,575 doctors. Read full article Source: The Independent, 1 November 2020 -
News Article
Report into Covid-related whistleblowing calls to the Protect advice Line
Clive Flashman posted a news article in News
What does whistleblowing in a pandemic look like? Do employers take concerns more seriously – as we would all hope? Does the victimisation of whistleblowers still happen? Does a pandemic compel more people to speak up? We wanted to know, so Protect analysed the data from all the Covid-19 related calls to theirr Advice Line. They found: * 41% of whistleblowers had Covid-19 concerns ignored by employers * 20% of whistleblowers were dismissed * Managers more likely to be dismissed (32% ) than non-managers (21%) They found that too many whistleblowers feel ignored and isolated once they raise their concerns and that these failing are a systematic problem. Protect, which runs an Advice Line for whistleblowers, and supports more than 3,000 whistleblowers each year, has been inundated with Covid-19 whistleblowing concerns, many of an extremely serious nature. Its report, The Best Warning System: Whistleblowing During Covid-19 examines over 600 Covid-19 calls to its Advice Line between March and September. The majority of cases were over furlough fraud and risk to public safety, such as a lack of social distancing and PPE in the workplace. -
News ArticleNHS staff and their families accounted for one in six patients in hospital with Covid, due in part to inadequate personal protective equipment (PPE), new research suggests. A study of hospitals from March to June revealed that healthcare workers in patient-facing roles were around three times more likely to be hospitalised with the virus than the general population. Writing in the BMJ, the study's authors called for an urgent focus on how COVID-19 spreads around hospitals to prevent a similar toll in future waves of the pandemic. They also call for hospitals to consider re-deploying staff with vulnerable family members away from high-risk zones. Read full story Source: The Telegraph, 29 October 2020
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News Article
Hospital Covid ‘hotspots’ mapped out in a new HSIB report
Clive Flashman posted a news article in News
Hospital hotspots for COVID-19 have been highlighted in a new report by safety investigators. The report by the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB) makes a series of observations to help the health service reduce the spread of coronavirus in healthcare settings. Hospital hotspots for COVID-19 included the central nurses’ stations and areas where computers and medical notes were shared, the HSIB found. The investigation was initiated after a Sage report in May which found that 20% of hospital patients were reporting symptoms of Covid-19 seven days following admission – suggesting that their infection may have been acquired in hospital. In response to the report, NHS England and NHS Improvement confirmed they would publish nosocomial – another term for hospital acquired infections – transmission rates from trusts, the HSIB said. Read full story Source: Express and Star, 28 October 2020 -
News Article
Structural racism led to worse Covid impact on BAME groups
Clive Flashman posted a news article in News
Minority ethnic people in UK were ‘overexposed, under protected, stigmatised and overlooked’, new review finds. Structural racism led to the disproportionate impact of the coronavirus pandemic on black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities, a review by Doreen Lawrence has concluded. The report, commissioned by Labour, contradicts the government’s adviser on ethnicity, Dr Raghib Ali, who last week dismissed claims that inequalities within government, health, employment and the education system help to explain why COVID-19 killed disproportionately more people from minority ethnic communities. Lady Lawrence’s review found BAME people are over-represented in public-facing industries where they cannot work from home, are more likely to live in overcrowded housing and have been put at risk by the government’s alleged failure to facilitate Covid-secure workplaces. She demanded that the government set out an urgent winter plan to tackle the disproportionate impact of Covid on BAME people and ensure comprehensive ethnicity data is collected across the NHS and social care. The report, entitled An Avoidable Crisis, also criticises politicians for demonising minorities, such as when Donald Trump used the phrase “the Chinese virus”. The report, which is based on submissions and conversations over Zoom featuring “heart-wrenching stories” as well as quantitative data, issued the following 20 recommendations: Set out an urgent plan for tackling the disproportionate impact of Covid on ethnic minorities Implement a national strategy to tackle health inequalities Suspend ‘no recourse to public funds’ during Covid Conduct a review of the impact of NRPF on public health and health inequalities Ensure Covid-19 cases from the workplace are properly recorded Strengthen Covid-19 risk assessments Improve access to PPE in all high-risk workplaces Give targeted support to people who are struggling to self-isolate Ensure protection and an end to discrimination for renters Raise the local housing allowance and address the root causes of homelessness Urgently conduct equality impact assessments on the government’s Covid support schemes Plan to prevent the stigmatisation of communities during Covid-19 Urgently legislate to tackle online harms Collect and publish better ethnicity data Implement a race equality strategy Ensure all policies and programmes help tackle structural inequality Introduce mandatory ethnicity pay gap reporting End the ‘hostile environment’ Reform the curriculum Take action to close the attainment gap Read full story Source: The Guardian, 28 October 2020 -
Content Article
What did YOU say staff needed to be safe?
Margot posted an article in content_cat_name_294
According to the responses we received, the four themes that became most obvious - the four things you think staff most need to be safe - are: Compassionate leaders and role models who prioritise their staff’s wellbeing A respectful, supportive team with good communication and united by a common purpose A safe and just culture that invites staff to speak up Psychological safety, protecting staff form burnout -
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News Article"I still have nightmares most nights about being completely out of my depth." Gemma, a ward nurse in Northern Ireland, was redeployed to a critical care unit at the end of March when the first wave of coronavirus struck. "I had never looked after a critically ill intensive care patient in my life," she says. "I just thought, I'm coming in here and I'm going to die. I'm going to catch Covid and I'm going to be one of those patients in the beds." As the second wave of the pandemic takes deep root across parts of the UK, thousands of NHS workers are struggling to recover from what they have already been through. "We were all in PPE all the time," recalls Nathan, a senior intensive care nurse at a hospital in the Midlands. "All you can see is people's eyes, you can't see anything else." He describes trying to help junior members of staff survive long and difficult days. "And I'd see these eyes as big as saucers saying help me, do something. Make this right. Fix this." "The pressure was insane, and the anxiety just got me," he says. "I couldn't sleep, and I couldn't eat, I was sick before work, I was shaking before I got into my car in the morning." Nathan ended up having time off with severe anxiety, but he is now back at the hospital, waiting for the beds to fill up again. The BBC has spoken to a number of nurses and doctors across the UK who are deeply apprehensive about what lies ahead this winter. Read full story Source: BBC News, 24 October 2020
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News ArticleA trust is investigating after two junior doctors developed covid following an offsite event attended by 22 juniors where social distancing rules were allegedly ignored. The cases, involving doctors from the Royal Surrey Foundation Trust in Guildford, have been declared an outbreak by Public Health England and police have investigated the incident. But HSJ understands that contact tracing has concluded no patients needed to be tested because staff had worn appropriate PPE at all times and those involved had swiftly self-isolated once they realised they might have covid or had been at risk of exposure to it. It is not known whether any of the doctors had returned to work after the event before realising they might have been exposed to covid. Dr Mark Evans, deputy medical director, said: “Protecting our patients is our priority and we are committed to ensuring that all of our staff follow government guidance. This incident took place outside of work and has been reported appropriately, and there was no disruption to our services for patients.” Read full story Source: HSJ, 22 October 2020
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