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Found 500 results
  1. News Article
    The trust with the highest perinatal mortality rates in the country has been told it must improve its midwifery staffing. Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust is now reporting weekly to the Care Quality Commission about staffing on its maternity wards after being served a section 29A warning notice, it has emerged. It followed inspections of its maternity and neonatal services in December and January. The trust, one of the largest in England, has already moved some neonatal care out of one of its hospitals, after issues were raised by the inspection. It was also told to provide details to the CQC about how its board is informed about unmitigated risks and how its quality review meetings are assured over midwifery staffing, according to information seen by HSJ. The trust also promised to provide assurance shifts would be filled by qualified and competent staff and that its rota would be compliant with numbers dictated by the Birthrate Plus safer staffing tool. The requirements remain in force until the CQC decides they are no longer needed. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 11 June 2025
  2. News Article
    People with cancer face a “ticking timebomb” of delays in getting diagnosed and treated because the NHS is too short-staffed to provide prompt care, senior doctors have warned. An NHS-wide shortage of radiologists and oncologists means patients are enduring long waits to have surgery, chemotherapy or radiotherapy and have a consultant review their care. Hold-ups lead to some people’s cancer spreading, which can reduce the chances of their treatment working and increase the risk of death, the Royal College of Radiologists (RCR) said. NHS cancer services are struggling to keep up with rising demand for tests, such as scans and X-rays, and treatment, created by the growing number of people getting the disease. All radiology bosses surveyed said during 2024 their units could not scan all patients within the NHS’s maximum waiting times because they did not have enough staff. “Delays in cancer diagnosis and treatment will inevitably mean that for some patients their cancer will progress while they wait, making successful treatment more difficult and risking their survival,” said Dr Katharine Halliday, the RCR’s president. The findings are particularly worrying because research has found that a patient’s risk of death can increase by about 10% for each month they have to wait for treatment. Nine out of 10 cancer centre chiefs said patients were delayed starting their treatment last year while seven in 10 said they feared workforce gaps were putting patients’ safety at risk. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 5 June 2025
  3. News Article
    Physician associates in the NHS will be renamed to stop patients mistaking them for doctors after a review found that their title caused widespread confusion. Thousands of physician associates who work in hospitals and GP surgeries across the UK take medical histories, examine patients and diagnose illnesses but are not doctors. However, Prof Gillian Leng, whose government-ordered review is looking into whether they pose a risk to patients’ safety, has concluded that they must be given a new name, so patients they treat are not misled into thinking they have seen a doctor, according to sources with knowledge of her thinking. Doctors who fear the term has created widespread confusion among the public and risks undermining trust in the medical profession will regard ditching it as a major victory. Wes Streeting, the health secretary, is expected to accept Leng’s recommendation and instigate the change, which could lead to physician associates being renamed “physician assistants” or “doctors’ assistants”. She will also specify in her final report, due later this month, that those who perform those roles must make clear to patients that they are assistants, not fully fledged medics. Physician associates have been implicated in several high-profile patient deaths. Earlier this year, a coroner found that in February 2024 a physician associate (PA) in the A&E at East Surrey hospital had misdiagnosed 77-year-old Pamela Marking as having a nosebleed when she had a small bowel obstruction and hernia that required emergency surgery. She returned to the hospital two days later but she died soon after. In her prevention of future deaths report the coroner, Karen Henderson, warned that the term “physician associate” was “misleading to the public” and that there was a “lack of public understanding of the role”. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 4 June 2025 Further reading on the hub: Physician associates: What are the patient safety issues? An interview with Asif Qasim Partha Kar: We need a pause to assess safety concerns surrounding Physician Associates
  4. News Article
    Spending on agency staff across the NHS in England dropped by almost £1bn in the last financial year, ministers have said, after a pledge by Wes Streeting to cut the amount going to agencies by 30%. According to the Department of Health and Social Care, the total spent by trusts on agency staff during 2024-25 was nearly £1bn lower than the previous year. In a speech to the NHS Providers conference in November, Streeting, the health secretary, said a lack of permanent staff had seen gaps filled by more expensive agency-provided replacements totalling about £3bn a year. Under proposals outlined at the time, but not yet enacted, Streeting suggested that NHS trusts could be completely banned from using agency staff for lower level jobs such as healthcare assistants and domestic support workers. In addition to employing agency staff, which can mean paying a doctor thousand of pounds for a single shift, NHS trusts also routinely plug gaps by using what are known as “bank” staff – NHS employees who do extra shifts at their own workplace or one nearby, via an organisation usually run by the trust. UK-wide figures reported by the Guardian in January 2024 showed that the combined spend of hospitals and GP surgeries for agency staff was an annual £4.6bn, with another £5.8bn used for bank shifts. As part of the clampdown on agency spending, Streeting and James Mackey, the chief executive of the imminently abolished NHS England, have jointly written to all NHS providers and integrated care board executives to set out that each should target the 30% reduction, and that their progress will be monitored. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 2 June 2025
  5. News Article
    The health minister has said the recruitment of up to 26 emergency medicine consultants will help stabilise and strengthen the healthcare workforce in Northern Ireland. The Department of Health said some of the consultants are already in post, with the others set to begin in their roles across all five health trusts by the end of the year. It said funding for the new posts comes from reducing spending on locum doctors in emergency departments and that it comes as part of work to find roles for newly-qualified consultants in the health system. Mike Nesbitt said everyone was "acutely aware of the very significant pressures" on emergency departments. "Both staff and patients want us to do all we can to alleviate those pressures and that's been a central focus for my department and trusts in recent months." Prof Lourda Geoghegan, deputy chief medical officer, said she was "very encouraged" by early reports on the impact of the new consultants, who had not only helped reduce locum spending but also increased the "presence of senior decision-making in emergency departments". Read full story Source: BBC News, 27 May 2025
  6. Content Article
    The purpose of this study was to identify which, and to what extent, demographic and operational factors are indicative of likelihood for a new call handler or paramedic to remain in role within the first two years of employment at an ambulance trust using data held in the trust’s bespoke data warehouse. Several factors showed a significant contribution to the likelihood of remaining in post within an ambulance NHS Trust. Among the findings, short-term sick leave in the first two years of employment was associated with increased retention for paramedics. In addition, female call handlers were found to have increased retention and paramedic retention increased with time outside of ‘job cycle time’ (JCT) activities (ie, activities other than responding to calls). This study presents a method for extracting new insights from routinely collected operational data, identifying common drivers and specific predictors for retention among the ambulance NHS workforce. It emphasises the importance of workforce-centred retention strategies, highlighting the need for non-JCT time, which in turn would allow paramedics to have time to reflect and recuperate to avoid burnout and attrition. The study also suggests that a lack of sick leave might indicate a lack of trust and self-care culture, potentially leading to paramedic staff attrition. Our approach to retention analytics provides a new mechanism for trusts to monitor and respond to their attrition risks in a timely, proactive fashion.
  7. Content Article
    Understaffing by nursing staff in hospitals is linked to patients coming to harm and dying unnecessarily. There is a vicious cycle whereby poor work conditions, including understaffing, can lead to nursing vacancies, which in turn leads to further understaffing. Is hospital investment in nursing staff, to eliminate understaffing on wards, cost-effective? This longitudinal observational study analysed data on 185 adult acute units in four hospital Trusts in England over a 5-year period. The study found that exposure to registered nurse understaffing is associated with increased hazard of death, increased chance of readmission and increased length of stay, while exposure to nursing support understaffing is associated with smaller increases in hazard of death and length of stay but reduced readmissions. Rectifying understaffing on inpatient wards is crucial to reduce length of stay, readmissions and deaths. According to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence £10 000 per QALY threshold, it is cost-effective to eliminate understaffing by nursing staff. This research points towards investing in registered nurses over nursing support staff and permanent over temporary workers. Targeting particular patient groups would benefit fewer patients and is less cost-effective.
  8. Content Article
    The fundamental importance of having enough registered nurses present to deliver care is well supported by evidence. Lower registered nurse staffing levels are associated with higher risks to patients and poorer quality care.  The Royal College of Nursing has issued their position statement on registered nurse staffing levels for patient safety, care quality and cost effectiveness. The RCN has a duty to uphold standards in nursing, support all members of the nursing team and lead the way towards safe and effective care. In relation to safe staffing, the RCN Nursing Workforce Academy (launched as part of the RCN Institute of Nursing Excellence) is leading the way by: Launching refreshed nursing workforce standards, making explicit what we see as the fundamentals needed to underpin safe and effective care delivery. Sharing the evidence on safe staffing (this article has highlighted some key references, but a more formal summary of the evidence is being produced). Bringing together the nurse staffing guidance that exists for each specialty and making explicit where there are recommended registered nurse to patient ratios. Taking forward the RCN’s commitment to ‘safety critical redlines’ – minimum nurse to patient ratios to protect patients and staff from harm caused by low registered nurse staffing levels. Our forthcoming ‘nest’ community platform will offer all relevant resources, latest publications and networking opportunities.
  9. Content Article
    At 10.45am on 23 November 2024, Peter Anzani sadly died from a pulmonary embolism in Birmingham Heartlands Hospital. He had been admitted to hospital the day before and was receiving treatment for a community acquired pneumonia when he suddenly and unexpectedly collapsed due to a pulmonary embolism. Peter had previously suffered a number of falls at home in August and September 2021 and was subsequently diagnosed with suffering a spontaneous infection of the cervical vertebral canal which caused a complete spinal cord injury and left him tetraplegic. This made him more vulnerable to chest infections and pulmonary embolisms which he experienced in the years that followed. There is no evidence of any human intervention that rendered his death unnatural.  Based on information from the Deceased’s treating clinicians the medical cause of death was determined to be:  1a Pulmonary Embolism 1b 1c 1d II Pneumonia Spinal cord injury resulting in Tetraplegia Matters of concern To The Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust I considered evidence from a [REDACTED] who indicated at paragraphs 20-21 of his statement, “I did not see any record of his pulse, blood pressure or oxygen saturation. The normal practice is to complete these observations, and I would expect this to be done, especially with him presenting with chest issues. However, I am unable to comment why this was not recorded or confirm that these were carried out. (21) This is a learning point for the department, and I have taken steps to ensure this learning is taken forward by theTrust. I have alerted the Sister in charge of the Spinal Injuries Outpatients’ Department and requested that adequate measures are taken to ensure that all observations made are recorded in the outpatient forms…” It was unclear whether this was a single one-off event involving human error or indicative of a wider and systemic issue involving a lack of training. There was no evidence before the court that this “learning point” had been actioned or that any adequate steps had been taken to ensure proper and accurate recording of records by staff. There is a real risk of future deaths occurring where staff do not have adequate training and that patient records are not being properly completed. To NHS England / Department of Health and Social Care I heard evidence that The Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (“The Trust”) have been experiencing difficulties with patient waiting lists – due to both an increase in the quantity of patients being treated and staffing shortages – which has led to patients waiting longer than is reasonable or necessary for reviews and treatments. As part of the inquest, there was evidence that Peter Anzani himself had been waiting for nearly a year for a follow-up review, which should have been carried out after no more than 6 months. I heard evidence from representatives of the Trust that they have repeatedly requested additional funds for workforce development and expansion to assist with cutting patient waiting lists and waiting times. I understand that an initial Workplace Funding Review was submitted in 2023 but was rejected by NHS England due to a funding shortage. I understand that a further Workplace Funding Review was submitted in the Autumn of 2024, but in February/March of this year, NHS England indicated that the same would again be rejected under a “no growth policy”. Whilst naturally I am aware of the pressures on the public purse and on the NHS generally, it is concerning to hear that the Trust do not appear to be being adequately supported financially by NHS England, and do not currently appear to be able to address their workplace staffing issues without additional financial support (which does not appear to be forthcoming). It is obvious that where patients are waiting for longer than is reasonable or necessary for treatment or reviews, there is a real risk of deaths occurring. No patient should be waiting longer than absolutely necessary for treatment. In light of HM Government’s decision on 13 March 2025 to abolish NHS England and for its role to be subsumed within the Department of Health and Social Care, this report is being sent to both Agencies to consider, as it relates to issues of both a local and national significance.
  10. Content Article
    Each year since May 2023 the Sands & Tommy’s Joint Policy Unit have published an annual report setting out the extent of pregnancy and baby deaths across the UK. This year’s report argues that progress made to date falls short of what is needed to stop babies dying every day in the UK, and that unacceptable inequalities in pregnancy and baby loss persist despite continued calls for change. It estimates that at least 2,500 fewer babies – the equivalent of around 100 primary school classrooms - would have died since 2018 if the government had achieved its ambition of halving the 2010 rates of stillbirth, neonatal and maternal deaths in England. The report draws on the latest data from MBRRACE-UK, which shows that the gap continues to grow between neonatal death rates in the most deprived areas and those in the least deprived areas of the UK. It highlights that the stillbirth rate among babies of Asian ethnicity has risen sharply, and Black babies are still twice as likely as White babies to be stillborn. It includes 10 key actions for policymakers Renew commitments to save babies’ lives. Specifically, a stillbirth rate of 2.0 stillbirths, and a neonatal mortality rate of 0.5 neonatal deaths for babies born at 24 weeks’ gestation and over (per 1,000 live births). A preterm birth rate of 6.0%. Count miscarriages in the UK. The number and rate of miscarriages are not reported across the UK or for any individual nation. All UK governments should set up routine data collection on miscarriage. Take coordinated and meaningful action to eliminate inequalities. There are a range of policy areas where specific action is needed, including: understanding whether current efforts to reduce inequalities are working, and a comprehensive review of translation and interpreting services in maternity and neonatal care. Strengthen national leadership to make progress on the safety of maternity and neonatal services. Clarify the workforce needed to deliver safe care. Future development of the workforce must move away from a binary debate focussed on whether we do or don’t have enough staff and focus on the staffing requirements needed to deliver safe care, in line with nationally-agreed standards. Put the resources needed in place to deliver safe care. More investment is needed to improve the safety and quality of services if the government is going to deliver on its commitments to reduce rates of stillbirth and neonatal death and eliminate inequalities. Make informed choice a reality. Everyone should receive personalised care, know what they are entitled to, such as their birth choices, and services need the resources and operational capacity to provide this. Address unwarranted variation in care. Too often babies are dying because of care that is not in line with nationally-agreed standards. We need clarity on how national guidance is applied and clear national standards to improve the consistency of service provision. Ensure lessons are learned when babies die. The NHS is still not properly learning lessons when babies die or listening to the experiences of bereaved families to improve care in the future. There must be more robust oversight of the implementation of actions that are identified by reviews and investigations. Prioritise pregnancy and baby loss in research. This requires a broad range of research topics, the involvement of bereaved parents and communities, and a strong connection with policy and practice.
  11. Content Article
    The NHS workforce is under considerable operational pressure at every level from the combined effects of record demand and shortages of capital and resource. In addition, seismic shifts are on the horizon, including the abolition of NHS England (NHSE), the expected recommendations from the second Penny Dash report on patient safety, and the upcoming 10 year health plan. The level of change the NHS is facing, as a safety critical sector, makes culture a strategic priority. To achieve the ambition behind these changes, we need an engaged, motivated workforce and a supportive, enabling environment, writes Isabelle Brown and Laura Turner. Getting the “how” right of any reform that might be introduced by the 10 year health plan is just as important as the “what” and the ”why.”
  12. Content Article
    The fundamental importance of having enough registered nurses present to deliver care is well supported by evidence. Lower registered nurse staffing levels are associated with higher risks to patients and poorer quality care. Here is the Royal College of Nursing's position statement on registered nurse staffing levels for patient safety.
  13. News Article
    The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is warning that a rapid rise in the number of nurse lecturer redundancies and severances shows the higher education financial crisis is spreading through nursing courses in England and posing a risk to domestic workforce plans. This comes just days after the UK government announced immigration plans which could lead to an exodus of international nursing staff, and poses a serious risk to patient safety. The RCN believes the UK government must take action to protect all nursing courses. The capacity and state of the educator workforce must be a key consideration in nursing workforce planning. The RCN say the crisis in higher education is a real threat to the supply of nurses into the workforce and poses a serious risk to patient safety, potentially derailing the government’s new NHS 10-Year Health Plan due to be published this summer. A nurse educator workforce strategy and funded action plan which addresses recruitment and retention issues is needed, alongside those planned for the NHS and NHS workforce. Freedom of Information requests, sent by the RCN to universities in England offering nursing courses, have revealed nurse educator jobs decreased in 65% of institutions between August 2024 and February 2025. Nurse educators have a critical role to play in ensuring we have a nursing workforce that's sufficiently able and equipped to deliver high quality, innovative, safe and effective care to meet current and future population needs. They're essential to growing the nursing profession and keeping patients safe. Read full story Source: RCN, 15 May 2025
  14. News Article
    Sweeping changes to immigration rules could cut the “lifeline” of international recruitment for the UK care sector and negatively impact the NHS, leaders have warned. The government unveiled its Restoring Control over the Immigration System white paper on 12 May in which it said it would close social care visas to new applications from abroad because of “significant concerns over abuse and exploitation of individual workers.” “The agreements will move the UK away from dependence on overseas workers to fulfil our care needs,” said the paper, which aimed to tackle longstanding levels of low pay and poor working conditions in the sector in other ways, such as through establishing fair pay agreements. Read full story (paywalled) Source: BMJ, 13 May 2025
  15. Content Article
    The global nursing workforce has grown from 27.9 million in 2018 to 29.8 million in 2023, but wide disparities in the availability of nurses remain across regions and countries, according to the State of the World’s Nursing 2025 report, published by the World Health Organization (WHO), International Council of Nurses (ICN) and partners. Inequities in the global nursing workforce leave many of the world’s population without access to essential health services, which could threaten progress towards universal health coverage (UHC), global health security and the health-related development goals.  The new report released on International Nurses Day provides a comprehensive and up-to-date analysis of the nursing workforce at global, regional and country levels. Consolidating information from WHO’s 194 Member States, the evidence indicates global progress in reducing the nursing workforce shortage from 6.2 million in 2020 to 5.8 million in 2023, with a projection to decline to 4.1 million by 2030. But, the overall progress still masks deep regional disparities: approximately 78% of the world’s nurses are concentrated in countries representing just 49% of the global population.   Low- and middle-income countries are facing challenges in graduating, employing and retaining nurses in the health system and will need to raise domestic investments to create and sustain jobs. In parallel, high-income countries need to be prepared to manage high levels of retiring nurses and review their reliance on foreign-trained nurses, strengthening bilateral agreements with the countries they recruit from.   
  16. News Article
    Hospitals in England are cutting staff, closing services and planning to ration care in order to make “eye-watering” savings demanded by NHS bosses. Rehabilitation centres face being shut, talking therapies services cut and beds for end-of-life care reduced as part of efforts by England’s 215 NHS trusts to comply with a “financial reset”. Sir Jim Mackey, NHS England’s new chief executive, has ordered them to make unprecedented savings during 2025-26 to avoid a projected £6.6bn deficit becoming a reality. But trust bosses are warning that delivering what for some equates to 12% of their entire budget in “efficiency savings” will affect patients and waiting times. “These [savings targets] are at eye-wateringly high levels”, said Saffron Cordery, the interim chief executive of NHS Providers, which represents trusts. “It’s going to be extremely challenging.” Trusts have to make, in some cases, deep cuts in order to stay in the black this year, despite the government having given the NHS an extra £22bn for last year and this one. A survey it conducted among trust leaders found that diabetes services for young people and hospital at-home-style “virtual wards” were among the areas of care likely to be scaled back. Trusts are planning to shrink their workforce by up to 1,500 posts each to save money, even though they fear that could damage the quality or safety of care provided. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 9 May 2025
  17. News Article
    A government crackdown on visas for overseas workers could put overstretched care homes under threat of closure, with tens of thousands fewer staff coming to the UK, The Independent can reveal. Applications for Britain’s health and care worker visa are at a record low after care workers were prevented from bringing children and other dependants with them in a bid to curb climbing migration numbers. Between April 2023 to March 2024, when the new rules came in, there were 129,000 applicants, but that plummeted to just 26,000 in the year to March 2025, according to government figures. The revelation comes as care homes struggle to retain staff, with more than 100,000 vacancies across England last year - a rate of 8 per cent and three times the national average. Age UK warned that overseas recruits were “keeping many services afloat” and some care homes could be forced to shut if they could not find alternatives, piling more pressure on NHS hospitals. Read full story Source: The Independent, 6 May 2025
  18. News Article
    NHS managers should receive “cultural intelligence training” to tackle issues such as “the legacy of the British Empire” and improve the experience of overseas recruits, the National Guardian’s Office has recommended. The NGO’s report examined the experience of international recruits to the NHS, with a particular focus on their willingness to speak out about concerns. It found overseas staff face disproportionately higher scrutiny, are given limited support and are often penalised before they have had time to settle into their role. International recruits often felt “invisible”, the report concluded. The report states the responsibility for adapting, including the implications for speaking up, was often on overseas-trained staff and “a lack of cultural intelligence” was a “repeated theme”, according to the body which leads, trains and supports a network of Freedom to Speak Up Guardians in England. It said this highlighted the need for better understanding and outreach by employers. The NGO calls for “a meaningful approach to cultural competence” which goes “beyond superficial gestures like cultural exchange days”. It stated that: “A two-way process of cultural intelligence is needed, where organisations actively seek to understand and adapt to the experiences and perspectives of overseas-trained workers.” Most FTSU Guardians said training on speaking up was available in their organisations, however, only 16.9% surveyed said their organisations provided training to managers on how to support overseas-trained workers. More than half said they did not know if any such training existed. The report recommends NHS England includes “cultural intelligence training” for NHS staff, managers and leaders as part of its Leadership and Management Framework programme by April 2026. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 1 May 2025
  19. Content Article
    Overseas-trained healthcare workers are reluctant to speak up about issues such as patient safety fearing it could lead to losing their right to work in the UK, according to a review from the National Guardian Freedom to Speak Up Listening and learning: Amplifying the voices of overseas-trained workers, a review of the speaking up experiences of overseas-trained workers in England highlights the unique challenges faced by NHS workers trained outside the UK when speaking up. Overseas-trained workers are a vital part of the NHS workforce. The National Guardian Freedom to Speak Up review sheds light on their experience, looking at the specific issues faced by overseas-trained workers in speaking up. The report also highlighting examples of good practice. The review finds that overseas-trained workers experience additional barriers to speaking up compared to domestically trained colleagues. To make it easier for overseas-trained workers to speak up, we are calling for action to: Make recruitment and retention guidance support speaking up. Design speaking up arrangements that work for everyone. Use better data to understand and improve experiences. Build cultural competence and awareness to remove barriers to speaking up.
  20. Content Article
    The aim of the Yorkshire Quality and Safety Research Group (YQSR) seminar series is to bring together academics, clinicians and NHS managers in an intellectual and social environment to exchange knowledge, experience, and ideas. Invited guests include researchers from our partner institutions (Universities of Leeds, York and Bradford), Yorkshire and Humber research partners, Yorkshire and Humber Academic Health Science Network colleagues, NHS Trust managers, clinicians, and research students. From 2020 YQSR have uploaded the recordings of their seminars.
  21. Content Article
    Allied health professionals (AHPs) in inpatient mental health, learning disability and autism services work in cultures dominated by other professions who often poorly understand their roles. Furthermore, identified learning from safety incidents often lacks focus on AHPs and research is needed to understand how AHPs contribute to safe care in these services. A rapid literature review was conducted on material published from February 2014 to February 2024, reporting safety incidents within adult inpatient mental health, learning disability and autism services in England, with identifiable learning for AHPs. The review found that misunderstanding of AHP roles, from senior leadership to frontline staff, led to AHPs being disempowered and excluded from conversations/decisions, and patients not getting sufficient access to AHPs, contributing to safety incidents. A central thread ‘organisational culture’ ran through five subthemes: (1) (lack of) effective multidisciplinary team (MDT) working, evidenced by poor communication, siloed working, marginalisation of AHPs and a lack of psychological safety; (2) (lack of) AHP involvement in patient care including care and discharge planning, and risk assessment/management. Some MDTs had no AHPs, some recommendations by AHPs were not actioned and referrals to AHPs were not always made when indicated; (3) training needs were identified for AHPs and other professions; (4) staffing issues included understaffing of AHPs and (5) senior management and leadership were found to not value/understand AHP roles, and instil a blame culture. A need for cohesive, well-led and nurturing MDTs was emphasised.
  22. Content Article
    Physicians in the USA are facing a number of changes and challenges in 2025 — with some good news about burnout rates, some bad news around aging physicians and some surprising shifts in the physician workforce makeup. This article highlights 10 things to know about the current state of the physician workforce.
  23. Event
    As part of Care Forward, a national movement focused on making care better for over a million people across the country, Healthcare Excellence Canada with supporting organisations are launching new offerings that provide participants with funding, resources and coaching to drive impact on four key priorities: expanding care access, helping more people age where they call home, advancing person-centred long-term care and strengthening the health workforce. Join this webinar series to explore these offerings and how you can get involved: Right Care Challenge supports health and social care organizations to launch or enhance initiatives that ensure patients receive the right care, at the right time, in the right place—all while helping reduce avoidable emergency department visits.   Enhancing Integrated Care supports primary and community care organisations to strengthen integrated team-based care models, including virtual care, making access easier and reducing pressure on emergency departments. Paramedics and Social Prescribing helps paramedic teams use social prescribing to connect clients with local community services, improving overall health and wellbeing. Primary Care Access Improvement helps team-based primary care organisations  create efficiencies and optimise team functioning, so patients receive timely care, regardless of urgency or demand.   Nursing Home Without Walls supports jurisdictions across the country to bring nursing home support and services to older adults in their own homes, helping them age safely and comfortably where they already live. Sparking Change in Appropriate Use of Antipsychotics Awards Program provides long-term care homes across Canada with support to use person-centered approaches to reduce potentially inappropriate antipsychotic use. Register
  24. News Article
    A new poll reveals a deepening staffing crisis within the NHS, jeopardising patient safety, particularly in maternity and rehabilitation wards. A Unison survey of nurses, healthcare assistants, and midwives found that a staggering 69%of shifts were understaffed, a marked increase from 63% just two years ago. The survey, conducted across 42 hospitals in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, paints a stark picture of the strain on frontline staff. Workers anonymously reported their experiences after their shifts in October and November of last year, totaling 1,470 shifts surveyed. Alarmingly, 81% of respondents working in maternity and rehabilitation units, and 82% in elderly care, expressed serious safety concerns due to inadequate staffing levels. The findings highlight a worrying trend of "red flag" events, indicating serious safety risks, occurring on over half (56%) of all shifts. Read full story Source: The Independent, 23 April 2025
  25. Content Article
    This report on public service performance at the local level, shows that patient satisfaction is higher in GP practices that have more GPs (particularly GP partners), have smaller list sizes, deliver more GP appointments and do more of those appointments face-to-face. Additional direct patient care staff – such as physiotherapists, pharmacists and care co-ordinators – are not associated with higher satisfaction. Despite that, all those trends are heading in the opposite direction: the number of GP partners continues to fall, particularly among those aged under 40. GP practices do far more appointments remotely than they did before the pandemic. The closure and merging of practices means that patient list sizes continue to creep up. In addition, the addition of almost 40,000 direct patient care staff since 2019 does not seem to have improved satisfaction.  The report argues that the government needs to urgently address the crisis in the GP partner workforce, aim to improve the conversion rate from GP traineeship into the GP workforce, understand how to use the expanded direct patient care workforce most effectively, and better communicate how its reform programme will improve patients' experience of general practice.
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