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Warning over 'nursing staffing crisis' after NHS trust told to improve

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has issued a warning about insufficient staffing in the NHS in the wake of a mental health trust being downgraded.

Earlier this week, Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys (TEVW) NHS Foundation Trust being rated as "requiring improvement" by the Care Quality Commission. It had previously been rated as "good" but inspectors said some services had deteriorated. Among the concerns raised were ones over staffing, workload and delays. 

Glenn Turp, Northern Regional Director of the RCN: "The CQC has rightly highlighted some very serious concerns and failings which call into question whether this trust can provide safe patient care. After the very tragic and sad deaths of two vulnerable patients last year and the findings of the CQC, the trust and NHS commissioners must take immediate action to ensure patient and staff safety."

"They have a responsibility not to commission and open new beds with insufficient nursing staff to provide safe patient care. Having the right number of nursing staff with the right skills in the right place at the right time is critical to protecting patients. It also protects those staff who too often find themselves struggling to maintain services in the face of nursing vacancies."

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Source: The Northern Echo, 7 March 2020

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Call for bosses to quit at hospital that tried to conceal blunders

Executives in charge of the health secretary’s crisis-hit local hospital are facing calls to step down after The Sunday Times raised serious questions about attempts to cover up catastrophic medical mistakes.

West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds had placed Dr Patricia Mills, one of its most senior consultants, under disciplinary investigation after she had voiced concerns about blunders that had killed one patient and left another seriously brain-damaged. A number of doctors have claimed that a bullying management culture has led to staff being too afraid to speak up about patient safety concerns at the hospital.

Executives were accused of being obsessed with maintaining the hospital’s “outstanding” status in annual Care Quality Commission. One of the governors said their were "frustrations and concerns" among his fellow council members that they were being kept in the dark by the hospital's executives.

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Source: The Sunday Times, 8 March 2020

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Maternity safety campaigners head to Downing Street to demand action

More than 20 leading NHS doctors and experts back Baby Lifeline demand for safety training for maternity staff to cut £7m a day negligence costs

The Independent’s maternity safety campaign goes to Downing Street today as senior figures from across the health service deliver a letter demanding action from prime minister Boris Johnson.

Charity Baby Lifeline will be joined by bereaved families, Royal Colleges and senior midwives and doctors in Downing Street to hand in a letter calling on the government to reinstate a national fund for maternity safety training.

Baby Lifeline, which has also launched an online petition today, said the government needed to find £19m to support training of both midwives and doctors to prevent deaths and brain damage, which can cost the NHS millions of pounds for a single case.

The letter to Mr Johnson has also been signed by Dr Bill Kirkup, who led the investigation into baby deaths at the Morecambe Bay NHS trust and is investigating poor care at the East Kent Hospitals University Trust.

He said: “There have been real improvements in maternity services, but as recent events in Kent and Shropshire have shown only too clearly, much more remains to be done. The Maternity Safety Training Fund is badly needed.”

Sir Robert Francis QC, Chairman of the public inquiry into poor care at Stafford Hospital, who also signed, said: “The cost in lost and broken lives, not to mention the unsustainable financial burden and the distress of staff caused by these avoidable mistakes, is indefensible.”

Other signatories included former health secretary Jeremy Hunt, the Royal College of Midwives, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and a number of senior maternity figures, charities and clinical associations.

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Source: The Independent, 6 March 2020

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Feeling the strain: UK GPs the least satisfied with amount of time they have with patients

Just 1 in 4 UK GPs are satisfied with time they are able to spend with patients – appointment times are among the shortest of 11 countries surveyed.

A report published today by the Health Foundation paints a picture of high stress and low satisfaction with workload among UK GPs. The report is an analysis of an international survey of GPs from 11 high-income countries, including 1,001 UK GPs, undertaken by the Commonwealth Fund in 2019.

Among 11 high-income countries included in the study, only France has lower levels of overall satisfaction with practising medicine, and only Sweden reported higher levels of stress. Over half of UK GPs (60%) say they find their job 'extremely' or 'very' stressful, and almost half (49%) plan to reduce their weekly hours in the next three years.

UK GPs also reported significantly shorter appointment lengths than their international colleagues. The average length of a GP appointment in the UK is 11 minutes, compared with a 19 minute average appointment for GP and primary care physicians in the other countries surveyed. 

Dr Rebecca Fisher, one of the Health Foundation report's authors and a practising GP, says: "These findings illustrate the pressures faced by general practice, and the strain that GPs are under. Right now the health system is in unprecedented territory and mobilising to meet the challenge of Covid-19. This survey shows that over the long term we need concerted action to stabilise general practice. Despite performing strongly in some aspects of care, many GPs consider that appointments are simply too short to fully meet the needs of patients. Too many GPs are highly stressed and overburdened – to the point of wanting to leave the profession altogether."

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Source: The Health Foundation, 5 March 2020

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Shropshire baby deaths: Trust will return £1m it received for 'good care'

An NHS trust at the centre of an inquiry into preventable baby deaths will repay money it received for providing good maternity care.

In 2018, Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust received almost £1m, weeks before its services were rated inadequate. The BBC revealed in December the trust had qualified for the payment under the NHS's Maternity Incentive Scheme.

The trust said an "incorrect submission" had been made and it had ordered an independent review.

Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust (SaTH) is at the centre of England's largest inquiry into poor maternity care, with more than 900 families contacting a review looking into concerns over preventable deaths and long-term harm.

Former health secretary Jeremy Hunt wrote to ministers questioning if improvements to the Maternity Incentive Scheme were needed in light of payments made to both Shrewsbury and Telford and East Kent Hospitals, despite both facing serious questions over the safety of maternity services.

The trust in Shropshire was paid £963,391 after certifying it had met the 10 safety standards demanded by the scheme, which is run by NHS Resolution.

In the letter, seen by the BBC, Mr Hunt suggested one improvement would be to link payments to CQC maternity and safety ratings.

"The whole approach is likely to be discredited if trusts can meet all 10 actions and yet still be delivering poor standards of care," the letter said.

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Source: BBC News, 6 March 2020

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Late diagnosis of ectopic pregnancy 'putting women at risk'

Women are at risk of serious harm and death because hospitals are not always diagnosing ectopic pregnancies quickly enough, an investigation reveals.

About 12,000 women a year in the UK suffer an ectopic pregnancy – when a fertilised egg grows outside the womb – putting them at risk if a fallopian tube containing the foetus ruptures and causes potentially fatal heavy bleeding.

An investigation by the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB)  has found flaws in the treatment women receive. It has highlighted late diagnosis and consequent delay in treatment as a major concern, especially as a result of the condition being mistaken for a urinary tract infection.

NHS patient safety data shows that 30 ectopic pregnancies were missed and led to “serious harm” between April 2017 and August 2018.

As well as the risk to life, an ectopic pregnancy can also damage a woman’s chances of conceiving again and have serious psychological effects.

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Source: The Guardian, 5 March 2020

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Distance not always factor in ambulance response times

There is significant variation in ambulance response times to patients with serious conditions such as suspected strokes or heart attacks, which is not fully explained by how rural an area is, an HSJ analysis has revealed.

The exclusive analysis represents the first time ambulance performance for category two calls, which have an 18-minute response time target, have been broken down to clinical commissioning group level. Category two, known as emergency calls, covers a wide range of conditions, including suspected stroke and heart attacks (except cardiac arrests), major burns and epileptic seizures. They account for well over half of ambulance responses.

The findings — described as “alarming” by the Stroke Association — lay bare the incredibly long waits which are usually hidden, because average waiting time data is usually published for ambulance trusts, which cover far larger areas than CCGs.

Mark MacDonald, Deputy Director of Policy at the Stroke Association, said: “It is alarming to hear that in some cases ambulance staff are taking over an hour to reach patients because when it comes to stroke, being assessed quickly and then, if necessary, transferred to hospital, is really important.”

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Source: HSJ, 5 March 2020

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"The public has a right to the truth": NHS staff speak out on coronavirus fears

The health service lacks the beds, staffing and resources to cope with a serious outbreak of the coronavirus, The Independent has been told by senior doctors and nurses.

NHS staff from across the country warned hospitals are already unable to cope, with patients being looked after in spill-over wards and waiting hours for a bed, with one doctor saying it was already a “one in, one out mentality” for intensive care.

Other staff reported delays in lab tests, rationing of protective masks and equipment, and a lack of isolation areas for suspected coronavirus patients.

Suggestions from the Health Secretary Matt Hancock that the NHS would use “home ventilation kits”, and that an extra 5,000 intensive care beds could be created, were labelled “fanciful” by the chair of the British Association of Critical Care Nurses today.

Nicki Credland said: “If you already have a system running at 100 per cent capacity, the idea you can get a significant amount of additional beds is just not realistic. There simply aren’t enough beds for them. We will need to make difficult decisions about which patients are going to be admitted to intensive care."

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Source: The Independent, 5 March 2020

 

 

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East Kent baby deaths: "Hospital did not learn from mistakes"

The parents of a baby who nearly died after a series of failings during his birth said they were "heartbroken" mistakes continued to be made

East Kent Hospitals told Harry Halligan's parents they would learn lessons from his delivery in 2012. But similar failings recently came to light after the death of Harry Richford in 2017 and the trust is now being probed over up to 15 baby deaths.

The trust said it made "many changes to the maternity service" after 2012.

Parents Dan and Alison Halligan, from New Romney, said watching news coverage of an inquest into Harry Richford's death earlier this year, which laid bare the failings, had brought back stressful memories.

Mr Halligan said the trust "clearly haven't learned from [the] mistakes" made in his son's care, adding that it was "heartbreaking" to see "the same mistakes being repeated".

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Source: BBC News, 5 March 2020

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NHS 'failing' patients living with HIV

The failure to address the mental-health needs of people with HIV could lead to an increase in infections, a cross-party group of MPs suggests.

People with HIV are twice as likely to experience mental-health difficulties. However, in those with depression, support raises adherence to medication by 83%. But most HIV clinics have no mental-health professionals on staff, which, the MPs say, could be reversing progress made over the past decade toward ending the epidemic in the UK.

The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on HIV and AIDS met with patients living with HIV at a range of hospital trusts throughout England, as well as numerous healthcare professionals.

Unless serious mental-health treatment shortfalls are addressed, the government will fail to achieve its target of zero transmissions by 2030, its report says.

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Source: BBC News, 5 March 2020

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Coronavirus reveals limits of AI health tools

Technology and healthcare companies are racing to roll out new tools to test for and eventually treat the coronavirus epidemic spreading around the world. But one sector that is holding back are the makers of artificial-intelligence-enabled diagnostic tools, increasingly championed by companies, healthcare systems and governments as a substitute for routine doctor-office visits.

In theory, such tools, sometimes called “symptom checkers” or healthcare bots,sound like an obvious short-term fix: they could be used to help assess whether someone has Covid-19, the illness caused by the novel coronavirus, while keeping infected people away from crowded doctor’s offices or emergency rooms where they might spread it.

These tools vary in sophistication. Some use a relatively simple process, like a decision tree, to provide online advice for basic health issues. Other services say they use more advanced technology, like algorithms based on machine learning, that can diagnose problems more precisely.

But some digital-health companies that make such tools say they are wary of updating their algorithms to incorporate questions about the new coronavirus strain. Their hesitancy highlights both how little is known about the spread of Covid-19 and the broader limitations of healthcare technologies marketed as AI in the face of novel, fast-spreading illnesses.

Some companies say they don’t have enough data about the new coronavirus to plug into their existing products. London-based symptom-checking app Your.MD Ltd. recently added a “coronavirus checker” button that leads to a series of questions about symptoms. But it is based on a simple decision tree. The company said it won’t update the more sophisticated technology underpinning its main system, which is based on machine learning.

“We made a decision not to do it through the AI because we haven’t got the underlying science,” said Maureen Baker, Chief Medical Officer for Your.MD. She said it could take 6 to 12 months before sufficient peer-reviewed scientific literature becomes available to help inform the redesign of algorithms used in today’s more advanced symptom checkers.

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Source: The Wall Street Journal, 29 February 2020

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Infant mortality rate in Northern Ireland is the worst in the UK, report finds

Northern Ireland's infant mortality rate remains the highest of any UK region although it has decreased, according to a new report.

Infant mortality is a measure of deaths of children under one year of age. The report from the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) shows the current rate is 4.2 deaths per 1,000 live births. In 2017, the figure stood at 4.8 deaths.

Infant mortality rates decreased in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales but remained unchanged in England, which has the second highest rate of 3.9 deaths per 1,000.

The report also highlights an increase in the suicide rate among young people aged 15–24 years.

Responding to the figures, Health Minister Robin Swann said the physical and mental health of children and young people was a "priority" for the for the Northern Ireland Executive.

"My department is already investing in a number of programmes and strategies which seek to address child health inequalities and improve the wellbeing of our children."

Dr Ray Nethercott, RCPCH officer for Ireland acknowledged the current healthcare crisis as well as concerns about waiting lists and standard of care but added that "children's health and wellbeing should not be seen as being in competition with adult services or health provision".

"Acting early to treat and prevent conditions, and reducing the impact of factors such as poverty, can really improve health outcomes. A healthier population of children and young people will reduce many of the pressures on adult services in the long term."

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Source: BBC News, 4 March 2020

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Neglect and serious failings contributed to death of vulnerable man in removal centre, inquest finds

Neglect and serious failures by the Home Office and multiple other agencies contributed to the death of a vulnerable man who died from hypothermia, dehydration and malnutrition in an immigration removal centre, an inquest has found.

Prince Fosu, a 31-year-old Ghanaian national, died in October 2012 when his naked body was found on the concrete floor of his cell in Harmondsworth, a detention centre near Heathrow. He had been experiencing a psychotic episode but he was not referred for a mental health assessment due to “gross failures” by all agencies to recognise the need to provide appropriate care to a person unable to look after himself.

Four GPs, two nurses, two Home Office contract monitors, three members of the Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) and countless detention custody officers and managers who visited him failed to take any meaningful steps, the inquest found.

Three doctors have since been referred to the UK’s medical watchdog for their alleged failures relating to the death of Mr Fosu on recommendation of the Prison and Probation Ombudsman (PPO), who said the care he received fell “considerably below acceptable standards”.

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Source: The Independent, 3 March 2020

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Women in labour being refused epidurals, official inquiry finds

Women in labour are being refused epidurals in breach of official guidelines, a government inquiry has found.

In findings reported by the Guardian, an investigation by the Department of Health and Social Care also found that women may not be being kept fully informed that if they choose to give birth at home or in a midwife-led unit they may have to be transferred if they want an epidural. Failing to make women aware of that possibility would also be in breach of National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines.

As a result of the inquiry, the Health Minister Nadine Dorries will write to all heads and directors of midwifery and medical directors at NHS trusts this week to remind them of the NICE guidance regarding pain relief during childbirth and to ensure it is being followed.

Clare Murphy, Director of external affairs at the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, said the “results of the government’s inquiry are sadly not surprising”. She added: “We have spoken with many women who have been so traumatised by their experience of childbirth that they are considering ending what would otherwise be wanted pregnancies. Pain relief is sometimes treated as a ‘nice extra’ rather than an integral part of maternity care, and women and their families can suffer profoundly as a result."

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Source: Guardian, 3 March 2020

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Woman was left with PTSD after routine NHS medical check caused pain worse than childbirth

Every week for nearly a year, Lorraine Shilcock attended an hour-long counselling session paid for by the NHS.

She needed the therapy, which ended in November, to cope with the terrifying nightmares that would wake her five or six times a night, and the haunting daytime flashbacks. Lorraine, 67, a retired textile worker from Desford, Leicester, has post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Her psychological scars due to a routine NHS medical check, which was supposed to help her, not leave her suffering.

In October 2018, Lorraine had a hysteroscopy, a common procedure to inspect the womb in women who have heavy or abnormal bleeding. The 30-minute procedure, performed in an outpatient clinic, is considered so routine that many women are told it will be no worse than a smear test and that, if they are worried about the pain, they can take a couple of paracetamol or ibuprofen immediately beforehand.

Yet for Lorraine, and potentially thousands more women in the UK, that could not be further from the truth.

Many who have had a hysteroscopy say the pain was the worst they have ever experienced, ahead of childbirth, broken bones, or even a ruptured appendix, commonly regarded as the most agonising medical emergency.

Yet most had no warning it would be so traumatic, leaving some, like Lorraine, with long-term consequences. But, crucially, it is entirely avoidable.

Do you have an experience you would like to share? Join our conversation on the hub on painful hysteroscopy. We are using this feedback and evidence to help campaign for safer, harm-free care.

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Source: Mail Online, 3 March 2020

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Call for action following latest 'Never Events' report

The Association for Perioperative Practice (AfPP) is calling for action to be taken after a recent report suggests little progress has been made to prevent errors within the perioperative environment.

The patient safety charity made the call following the release of NHS Improvement’s latest Never Event report; Provisional publication of Never Events reported as occurring between 1 April and 31 December 2019, which revealed an alarming 81% (284) of the never events recorded happened while a patient was on the operating table.

Lindsay Keeley, patient safety and quality lead at AfPP said: “The survey highlighted that there’s a need to take action now if we are to support the healthcare profession in reducing the occurrence of never events. It has become clear that receptive team culture, a strong leadership team and better support for staff is what will help to reduce the risk of a never event occurring. It’s vital that those in leadership positions begin to understand the contributory factors in the recurrence of never events and the challenges faced by staff."

She went on to highlight some of the recent initiative taking place: “What is promising is that there are practitioners who are developing new, practical and simple solutions every day that can support other team members and can be used within theatres across the country."

"One example is Rob Tomlinson’s introduction of the 10,000 Feet initiative – a safety initiative designed to cut through noise and distraction within the theatre environment, particularly at critical points of the patient’s journey. If correctly implemented, initiatives like this can cut through the hierarchies that stop people feeling unable to speak up when they see something that shouldn’t be happening, thus reducing the occurrence of never events"

“We of course need to be mindful that there will always be challenges within perioperative practice in the form of interruptions and distractions, but the key is how as practitioners we engage with this to recognise and reduce never events.”

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Source: Clinical Services Journal, 25 February 2020

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Hundreds of women left ‘distressed’ by hysteroscopies

Hundreds of women have said they’ve undergone “distressing” diagnostic tests at NHS hospitals which were not carried out in line with recommended practice.

Around 520 women who attended NHS hospitals in England to undergo hysteroscopies — a procedure which uses narrow telescopes to examine the womb to diagnose the cause of heavy or abnormal bleeding — have told a survey their doctors carried on with their procedures even when they were in severe pain.

This is despite the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists advising clinicians should offer to reschedule with the use of general anaesthetic, epidural or sedation if the pain becomes unbearable. 

The Campaign Against Painful Hysteroscopy patient group has surveyed 860 women who had had the procedure at an English NHS hospital, and shared the results with HSJ. Of them, 750 said they were left distressed, tearful or shaken by the procedure, with around 466 of them saying that feeling remained for longer than a day.

Many of the women said their painful hysteroscopies damaged their trust in healthcare professionals, had made cervical smears more painful and had a negative impact on sexual relationships.

Patient Safety Learning have connected with the campaigning group 'Hysteroscopy Action' on this issue. We have seen stories and comments posted on the hub from patients who have suffered similar distressing experiences. We are using this feedback and evidence to help campaign for safer, harm-free care. We welcome others to join in the conversation.

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Source: HSJ, 2 March 2020

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Less than 1% of doctors feel NHS is well prepared for coronavirus, poll shows

A new poll has found only 8 out of the 1,618 respondents believed the health service was ready to deal with an outbreak when asked by The Doctors’ Association UK (DAUK), despite the prime minister’s insistence that the NHS will cope if it is hit by a surge in the number of people falling ill.

Common concerns included difficulties coping with increased demand, a shortage of beds and poor staffing levels, according to the group who led the poll. 

Some doctors asked said they were worried that there could be not enough laboratory space to do testing in the case of a pandemic. Others claimed that NHS 111 had been giving out “inappropriate advice” to go to A&E and GP practices, according to DAUK. 

“The NHS has already been brought to its knees and many frontline doctors fear that our health system simply will not cope in the event of a Coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak,” Dr Rinesh Parmar, the DAUK chair, said. 

“Many hoped the threat of Covid-19 would prompt an honest conversation to address the issue of critical care capacity and our ability to look after our sickest patients. By simply saying ‘the NHS is well prepared to deal with coronovirus’ it seems that yet again doctors’ concerns have been brushed under the carpet.”

The findings come after the number of people infected with the coronavirus which rose to 39 in the UK on Monday. 

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Source: The Independent, 3 March 2020

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NHS nurse sacked after warning increased workload on staff led to patient's death

A senior NHS nurse was fired after warning the increased workload on her pressured staff had contributed to a patient’s death.

Linda Fairhall, 60, had an unblemished record of almost 40 years’ service when she turned whistleblower at North Tees and Hartlepool NHS trust. In 2015 she raised concerns over a new requirement for district nurses to monitor patients’ prescriptions. She said it meant a sudden increase of around 1,000 extra visits a month for her hard-pressed team of 50 nurses with no extra resources.

Over the next 10 months she reported 13 matters, alleging the health or safety of patients and staff was being or was likely to be put at risk.

After a patient died in 2016 she claimed it may have been prevented if her concerns had been addressed. She told the trust’s care group director Julie Parks she wished to start the formal whistle-blowing procedure. Soon after she was suspended over allegations of potential gross misconduct relating to her leadership, and then sacked.

Dr Henrietta Hughes, the UK’s national NHS guardian, said: “Workers who speak up should be thanked for doing so and the organisation should demonstrate they are taking action to address the issues raised.”

North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Trust said it will appeal the decision.

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Source: The Mirror, 2 March 2020

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"I know you can recover from an eating disorder, but not in a system on its knees"

Although community-based treatment can improve outcomes for people with eating disorders, it must not be at the expense of vital inpatient services, says Lorna Collins in an article today in the Guardian supporting Eating Disorders Awareness Week.

No single treatment or approach works for every patient experiencing an eating disorder and it is extremely hard to get help;  there is too little money in the system to provide enough care.

"Speaking to patients, carers and clinicians, I am struck by the sheer desperation of so many people saying the system has failed them. Too many find that nothing is done until they are at death’s door. Others say no one talks about binge-eating disorder, which is still too often seen as a weakness or a problem that dieting can fix, rather than a real eating disorder," says Lorna.

Clinicians, too, paint a gloomy picture of the state of services. Oxford-based eating disorder consultant Agnes Ayton, who chairs the faculty of eating disorders at the Royal College of Psychiatrists, is frank about the problems. She believes NHS eating disorder services are on their knees and desperately need more money after years of austerity.

However, there are some encouraging signs. In West Yorkshire and Harrogate, consultant psychiatrist William Rhys Jones, who works for the Connect community and inpatient eating disorders service, says he is seeing real change. Connect’s community outreach teams deliver home-based treatment for people with severe and enduring eating disorders.

This is one of the NHSE new care models and Jones says results so far have been very positive. Clinical community services and early intervention result in a good prognosis, he says – and it is cost effective. While inpatient treatment costs about £434 a day, community treatment costs about £20 to £35 a day, with similar or even improved clinical outcomes.

While there are concerns about limiting inpatient treatment and prioritising community treatment simply because it may be cheaper, positive examples like this can help hold the NHS to its promise to make treatment truly open to all who need it.

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Source: The Guardian, 2 March 2020

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Coronavirus ‘drive through’ testing service

The NHS is currently rolling out services on NHS sites to test people for coronavirus, including a new service now in action in west London, offering ‘drive through’ coronavirus testing.

The new service, provided by Central London Community Healthcare NHS Trust in Parsons Green, is only accessed through a referral from NHS 111, and means people worried about the virus can safely and quickly get checked close to home.

The model is one of the ways in which community testing and home testing are being rolled out nationwide, with the NHS’ strategic incident director for coronavirus, asking health services in every part of England to set up home and community testing.

After being referred through NHS 111, people are invited to an appointment in their car, during which two community nurses carry out a swab in the nose and mouth, which are checked and assessed within 72 hours.

People are asked to self-isolate while checks are completed, to prevent any potential onward transmission of the virus.

Dr Joanne Medhurst, medical director for Central London Community Healthcare NHS Trust, said: “Anyone who is worried about coronavirus should call NHS 111 for up to date advice. We’ve set up the ‘drive through’ service to make sure people in our community can get safe, convenient and quick checks for coronavirus, as part of NHS efforts to keep everyone safe."

“It’s crucial that, as a community service, we help residents in our area to get accurate, timely advice while managing extra pressure on the NHS, and so far this week we’ve had good feedback from people that the swabbing service offers reassurance at what can be a difficult time.”

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Source: NHS England, 28 February 2020

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UK sees coronavirus infections spike as global death toll hits 3,000

Prime Minister Boris Johnson will say there is “little doubt” the coronavirus will present a “significant challenge” for the UK as he chairs a Cobra meeting to discuss the government’s response to the outbreak.

The health secretary, Matt Hancock, has warned it was now “inevitable” the deadly virus would “become endemic” in the UK as 13 more cases of Covid-19 were announced, bringing the total number to 36. The Cobra meeting will bring together senior ministers and the Chief Medical Officer, Professor Chris Whitty and Chief Scientific Adviser Sir Patrick Vallance.

Meanwhile the worldwide death toll from the disease has passed 3,000, with more than 80,000 cases worldwide. Several countries in Europe, the Middle East and the Americas have banned large gatherings and imposed stricter travel restrictions in an attempt to limit infections.the Americas have banned large gatherings and imposed stricter travel restrictions in an attempt to limit infections.

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Source: The Indpendent, 2 March 2020

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Woman died after being given the wrong medication

An 87-year-old woman died after her carers gave her the wrong medication, a coroner was told.

Heather Planner, from Butler's Cross in Buckinghamshire, died at Wycombe Hospital on 1 April from a stroke. Senior coroner Crispin Butler heard three staff from Carewatch Mid Bucks had failed to spot tablets handed over by the pharmacy were for a male patient.

Mr Butler said action should be taken to prevent similar deaths.

A hearing in Beaconsfield on Thursday, where he issued a Prevention of Future Deaths report, followed an inquest in November. In the report he said he was told at the inquest that the carers from Carewatch Mid Bucks gave widow Mrs Planner the wrong medication four times a day for two and a half days. She suffered a fatal stroke because she did not receive her proper apixaban anticoagulation medication.

Mr Butler said he would send his concerns to the chief coroner and the Care Quality Commission. He said there was no procedure in place to ensure individual carers read and specifically acknowledged any medication changes.

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Source: BBC News, 27 February 2020

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Approachable managers linked to better error reporting, analysis finds

There is a “strong association” between staff experience of senior management and whether an organisation acts on error reporting, exclusive analysis for HSJ of the staff survey data suggests.

Analysis by health and social care charity Picker Institute examined statistical relationships between responses to staff survey questions regarding staff communication with managers and those relating to error reporting.

The analysis, which included all trust types, looked at the relationships between statements such as “communication between senior managers and staff is effective” and “I know who the senior managers are here” to “When errors, near misses or incidents are reported, my organisation takes action to ensure they do not happen again” and other similar indicators.

A high correlation to the questions does not categorically prove a direct causal relationship but the data suggested “strong associations”, Picker Institute chief statistician Steve Sizmur told HSJ.

He said: “There are a number of strong associations in the latest staff survey data, to the extent that there is likely to be a link between staff experiences of senior management and their views about error reporting and whether the organisation addresses their concerns.”

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Source: HSJ, 27 February 2020

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