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NHS to offer 150,000 people with type 1 diabetes an artificial pancreas

More than 150,000 adults and children with type 1 diabetes in England and Wales are to be offered an artificial pancreas on the NHS, which experts are hailing as a “gamechanger” that will “save lives and heartbreak”.

The groundbreaking device, also called a hybrid closed-loop system, uses a hi-tech algorithm to determine the amount of insulin that should be administered and reads blood sugar levels to keep them steady. A world-first trial on the NHS showed it was more effective at managing diabetes than current devices and required far less input from patients.

Final draft guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommends that people in England and Wales should benefit from the wearable device if their diabetes is not adequately controlled by their current pump or glucose monitor. The decision to give the go-ahead for widespread use of the artificial pancreas was announced on Tuesday at NICE’s annual conference in Manchester by Dr Sam Roberts, its chief executive.

The artificial pancreas has been found to be better at keeping blood sugar levels within a healthy range, cutting the risk of people suffering complications from diabetes. It works via a continuous glucose monitor sensor attached to the body which transmits data to a body-worn insulin pump.

This pump then calculates how much insulin is needed and delivers the precise amount to the body. Hybrid closed-loop systems mean people do not need to rely on finger-prick blood tests or injecting insulin to control their blood sugar levels.

Yasmin Hopkins, who took part in trials of the artificial pancreas, said: “From day one it was amazing. Before the closed-loop system, I would experience a lot of highs, which I’d then overcorrect, go low and eat a lot of sugar. All of that has been eradicated.

“This technology gives me the freedom to get on with my life and live without fear of what might happen in a few hours, days or years.”

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Source: The Guardian, 7 November 2023

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Record NHS drug shortages as HRT, contraceptives and ADHD medicines run low

Britain faces record shortages of medicines amid a row between drug makers and the NHS over payments. 

Patients face issues getting hold of drugs for epilepsy and ADHD, as well as hormone replacement therapy (HRT) for the menopause. 

A total of 111 drugs are currently facing supply issues, according to the British Generic Manufacturers Association (BGMA). This is the highest level on record and more than double the number of drugs facing shortages at the start of 2022. 

The BGMA blamed an NHS drugs levy for the supply issues, saying it was discouraging pharmaceutical companies from supplying the health service.

Dr Leyla Hannbeck, chief executive of the Association of Independent Multiple Pharmacies, said pharmacists were “spending long hours in the day trying to source medicines for patients and this is on top of all the other activities they do in a busy pharmacy”.

She said: “Our pharmacy teams see firsthand the anxiety and stress experienced by patients caused by medicines shortages.” Shortages have also led to more abuse and aggression towards pharmacists, she said.

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Source: The Telegraph, 

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GP leaders in England call for a pause in recruitment of physician associates

The BMA’s GP committee for England (GPC England) has called for an immediate pause in the recruitment of physician associates (PAs) in general practice.

In an emergency motion passed on 2 November the committee expressed “concerns over the increasing trend of PAs being used to substitute GPs” and called on practices and primary care networks to stop PA recruitment “until appropriately safe regulatory processes and structures are in place.”

GPs and GP registrars were also reminded that they can refuse to sign prescriptions and turn down requests for investigations made by PAs.

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Source: BMJ, 3 November 2023

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US nurse charged with killing 2 patients admits to trying to kill 17 more

A former Pennsylvania nurse admitted she tried to kill 19 people at multiple different care facilities, piling dozens of new charges on the woman who allegedly administered lethal doses of insulin to numerous patients, killing two.

On Thursday, the state's attorney general's office announced the new charges against Heather Pressdee, who now faces two counts of first-degree murder, 17 counts of attempted murder and 19 counts of neglect of a care-dependent person.

The 41-year-old nurse was first arrested in May for killing two nursing home patients and injuring a third.

From 2020 up until her arrest, prosecutors say Pressdee gave 19 patients at five different care facilities excessive amounts of insulin, some of whom were diabetic and needed it and others who did not.

The plaintiff would typically administer these insulin doses overnight while fewer staff members were working and as "emergencies wouldn't prompt immediate hospitalization," Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry said.

"If Pressdee sensed the victim would 'pull through' there is a pattern of her taking additional measures to try to kill the victims before they could be sent to the hospital by either administering a second dose of insulin or the use of an air embolism to ensure death," the criminal complaint, which also said Pressdee admitted to harming patients with intent to kill, said.

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Source: Scripps News, 3 November 2023

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Drug that can halve breast cancer risk offered to 289,000 women in England

Drug that can halve breast cancer risk offered to 289,000 women in England

Anastrozole to be made available to women who have been through the menopause and have family history of breast cancer

Almost 300,000 women at higher risk of developing breast cancer are being given access to a drug that can halve their risk in a “major step forward” in the fight against the disease.

An estimated 289,000 women in England who are at moderate or high risk of breast cancer will from Tuesday be able to take the tablet to try to prevent it from developing, NHS bosses said.

The drug, anastrozole, is being made available to women who are in greater danger because they have been through menopause and have a major family history of Britain’s commonest form of cancer. It displays “remarkable” potential to reduce the number of people who go on to develop the disease, the head of the NHS said last night.

Every year, around 56,000 women in the UK are diagnosed with breast cancer – about 150 a day. While survival rates have improved, it still claims about 11,500 lives each year.

“It’s fantastic that this vital risk-reducing option could now help thousands of women and their families avoid the distress of a breast cancer diagnosis,” said Amanda Pritchard, NHSC England’s chief executive. The drug will be taken as a 1mg tablet once a day for five years.

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Source: The Guardian, 7 November 2023

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Struggling trust CEO says provider has ‘turned dial’ following care scandals

A mental health trust at the centre of several care scandals has ‘turned the dial’ on improvement, its chief executive has said, following the Care Quality Commission noting some progress but retaining a ‘requires improvement’ rating

The CQC said earlier this month that improvements had been made at some services at Tees Esk and Wear Valleys Foundation Trust, including for its forensic secure inpatient service, where the rating was raised from “inadequate” to “good”. But the improvements were not enough to shift its overall “requires improvement” rating.

Chief executive officer Brent Kilmurray argued the CQC report was evidence the trust was going in the right direction following a number of highly critical reports relating to patient deaths, but he also told HSJ it was a “challenge” for the trust to “tell a balanced story around where we are making progress”.

TEWV has recently admitted care failings relating to the deaths of two inpatients in 2019 and 2020, following prosecution from the CQC. The trust will go on trial for alleged failings relating to another death in February next year.

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Source: HSJ, 6 November 2023

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Poor maternity care at Hull Royal Infirmary risked babies' lives, say mums

Maternity services at Hull Royal Infirmary have recently been described in a damning report by the health watchdog as chaotic, unsafe and not fit for purpose. Three mothers, who claim staff missed signs of life-threatening conditions that could have killed them or their babies, have spoken to the BBC about their harrowing experiences at the hospital.

One woman, a BBC journalist who does not want to be named, said she knew her newborn son was seriously ill within minutes of giving birth at the infirmary in 2021.

"As soon as they handed him to me, I noticed something was wrong. He was panting and his breathing wasn't right," she said.

Over the course of an hour, she said her concerns were dismissed by the newly-qualified midwife who said his breathing was "completely normal".

"She kept reassuring me over and over that's how babies breathe. I felt like I was drowning surrounded by lifeguards," she said.

But after being examined by a more experienced midwife, the baby was rushed to intensive care and diagnosed with potentially fatal sepsis.

"It was like time stood still. The midwife ripped him off me and she slammed an oxygen mask on his face, called the crash team and he was taken away to the neonatal intensive care unit.

"The anger I felt was overwhelming because I'd been saying for nearly an hour he was seriously ill. I was right and he had sepsis."

A few months after her son's birth, she read about an inquest into the death of a four-day-old baby who had sepsis and was born at Hull Royal Infirmary.

A coroner found that midwives had failed to respond to his infection quickly enough.

"My blood ran cold because it was exactly the same circumstances that happened to me and that baby died. I thought they clearly haven't learned anything," she said.

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Source: BBC News, 6 November 2023

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DRC offers free maternity care to cut death rate among mothers and babies

Pregnant women across the Democratic Republic of the Congo are to be offered free healthcare in an effort to cut the country’s high rates of maternal and neonatal deaths.

Women in 13 out of 26 regions in the country will, by the end of the year, be entitled to free services during pregnancy and for one month after childbirth. Babies will receive free healthcare for their first 28 days under the scheme, which the government plans to extend to the rest of DRC – although there is no timetable for that yet.

However, health workers have raised concerns that hospitals and medical centres are ill-equipped to cope with any increased demand on services. Some told the Guardian there were not enough staff, facilities or equipment to successfully introduce the $113m (£93m) programme, which is supported by the World Bank.

The rollout of the programme comes amid nationwide strikes by nurses, midwives, technicians and hospital administrative staff, who are calling for higher pay and better conditions.

Congo has one of the highest number of maternal and neonatal deaths in the world. Latest figures record the maternal morality ratio at 547 deaths for every 100,000 live births, and its neonatal rate – the number of babies dying before 28 days of life – at 27 per 1,000 live births. 

The minister of public health, Roger Kamba Mulamba, said the programme would free women from a “prison sentence”.

He said: “Mothers today get healthcare without fear when they are pregnant. Babies today do not die because they have no access to antibiotics. Mothers today do not die because they cannot afford to pay for a caesarean delivery.”

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Source: The Guardian, 6 November 2023

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Patient safety at risk as pharmacists replace GPs, doctors warn

Doctors are warning that patient safety is being put at risk as podiatrists and pharmacists replace GPs “on the cheap”.

Dozens of family doctors have contacted The Telegraph claiming that talk of a GP shortage is “a big lie” and that they are being replaced by less qualified, cheaper staff, in a “crisis”.

Documents seen by The Telegraph show staff including podiatrists, pharmacists and physician associates being used in lieu of GPs to diagnose and treat patients with conditions they are not trained in.

In the most extreme cases, poorly children with viral infections, asthma-related issues and concerns about menstruation have been seen and diagnosed by a podiatrist – a healthcare professional trained exclusively to care for feet.

It is not clear what happened to any of the patients afterwards, or if their parents were aware they had seen a podiatrist rather than a doctor.

One GP said it was “a matter of patient safety” and the notion of “everything being supervised” did not work at a GP practice like it does in hospitals.

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Source: The Telegraph, 4 November 2023

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Private health firm Sciensus fails to fix defects that led to UK patient’s death

A private health company paid millions by the NHS has failed to fix safety defects that led to the death of a cancer patient, the Guardian can reveal.

Three patients were hospitalised and a fourth died when they were given the wrong doses of a powerful chemotherapy drug after a catastrophic IT failure at the medicine manufacturing unit of Sciensus in April this year.

The incident, first revealed by the Guardian in July, prompted an investigation by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). Its inspectors found “significant deficiencies” at the Sciensus manufacturing facilities and ordered the partial suspension of its manufacturing licence.

However, six months after the IT blunder, Sciensus has not fixed the problems identified by the regulator, according to people familiar with the matter. As a result, the suspension of its licence – originally due to be lifted last month – has been extended until July next year.

Sciensus is the UK’s biggest provider of medicines services to NHS and private patients at home. It is contracted by the NHS and other organisations to deliver and administer medicines to more than 200,000 people with conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, dementia, HIV and cancer.

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Source: The Guardian, 5 November 2023

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Stevens hits out at raft of ‘pound foolish’ government decisions

‘Chronic short-termism’ by government is undermining the nation’s ability to respond to another pandemic, a previous NHS England chief executive has said. 

In his first written statement to the covid public inquiry, Lord Stevens said ministers had failed to upgrade NHS infrastructure and modernise social care, delayed public health improvements, and cut testing and research programmes.

This is despite the 2023 national risk register identifying a further pandemic as the highest risk, with “5-25%pa

Lord Stevens – NHSE CEO from 2014 to summer 2021 – said it was “encouraging the government has now permitted NHS England to publish a funded long-term workforce plan”, but added: “There is also a strong case for revisiting several other national decisions.

“These include the dismantling of some community infection surveillance infrastructure; cancelling some scientific and clinical research programmes developed during the pandemic; postponing various preventative health measures; deferring reform of social care; and further delaying upgrades of health buildings, equipment and technology.”

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Source: HSJ, 3 November 2023

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Maternity care ‘in crisis’ as pregnant women are forced to delay induced deliveries

Pregnant women are being forced to wait days longer than expected for “urgent” inductions of labour as NHS staff shortages and a lack of beds lead to severe delays.

New mothers told i the delays, which the health watchdog has found can last up to five days, increased the anxiety they felt during labour.

One first-time mother, who wanted to remain anonymous, said that her ordeal has put her off having any more children. The woman, who gave birth to a son in August, said she was “pushed” to book an induction when her waters broke and her baby was almost two weeks overdue. Despite being told by multiple healthcare professionals she needed to “give birth within 24 hours” due to a risk of infection, she did not end up delivering her baby for another 49 hours – without being induced.

A birthing expert told i she has “never seen a crisis in maternity” like it during her almost 10 years working in the sector.

It comes after it was revealed that the Care Quality Commission (CQC) watchdog has issued warnings to seven hospitals due to delays to the induction of labour since last year.

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Source: inews, 5 November 2023

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Hospital management criticised over helipad death

A trust failed to identify risks associated with a helipad in one of its car parks, contributing to the death of an elderly woman who was blown over as a heavy search and rescue helicopter came into land. 

The Air Accident Investigations Branch found multiple factors contributed to 87-year-old Jean Langan’s death at Derriford Hospital in Plymouth in March 2022. Ms Langan was on her way to an appointment when she was blown over and another person seriously injured.

Crispin Orr, chief inspector of air accidents, said: “Our in-depth investigation revealed systemic safety issues around the design and operation of hospital helicopter landing sites which need to be addressed at a national level.”

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Source: HSJ, 2 November 2023

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Martha’s rule must be available 24/7, England’s patient safety commissioner says

Patients and their relatives will be able to request a second opinion from senior medics around the clock when the “Martha’s rule” system starts in hospitals in England.

The government’s patient safety commissioner, asked by the health secretary, Steve Barclay, to advise on how to implement the change, has said access to a medic’s opinion must operate 24/7.

Dr Henrietta Hughes made clear to Barclay in a letter that inpatients and families worried that their loved one’s health is deteriorating should be able to seek a second opinion at any time of day or night.

In her letter, which she published on Wednesday, Hughes also said the availability of that service must be widely advertised in hospitals, so patients know they can use it.

She told Barclay that all staff in acute and specialist medical NHS trusts in England “must have 24/7 access to a rapid review from a critical care outreach team who they can contact should they have concerns about a patient”.

Hughes added: “All patients, their families, carers and advocates must also have access to the same 24/7 rapid review from a critical care outreach team which they can contact via mechanisms advertised around the hospital and more widely if they are worried about the patient’s condition. This is Martha’s rule.”

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Source: The Guardian, 3 November 2023

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Pritchard warns strikes threaten elective targets and safety

NHS England boss Amanda Pritchard has warned that meeting key elective recovery targets to eliminate 65-week waiters by March and ensure the waiting list is falling by next year is becoming “increasingly challenging”.

Ms Pritchard also re-emphasised concerns already expressed by NHS England that “if strikes continue into winter, it will be extremely difficult for us to provide safe care to our patients, particularly with a twindemic of covid and flu”.

The NHSE boss was asked by HSJ at the King’s Fund’s annual conference on Thursday how confident she was about the NHS achieving its next elective recovery target on 65-week waiters and the prime minister’s pledge in January to reduce overall waiting lists.

Ms Pritchard said: “We are really encouraged that there are talks under way between the government and the British Medical Association but clearly having had the level of disruption over the last 10 months of industrial action, we have seen really significant challenge on maintaining focus on reducing both long waits and on tackling overall waiting list size.”

She said that on weeks when there were no strikes, waiting lists reduced, and there had been sustained progress on cutting long waiters “despite the pressures of industrial action”. She praised the “extraordinary amount of focus and creativity from NHS staff” to achieve this.

But she added: “[There has to be] a real recognition that with ongoing industrial action [reducing long waiters and the overall list] is going to be an increasingly challenging target.”

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Source: HSJ, 3 November 2023

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Patient left permanently blind after hospital failure

A patient was left with permanent sight loss after a hospital failed to spot the signs of a blood vessel blockage for several months. The person referred to only as Mr L, visited the emergency department at one of Wales' hospitals in January, 2018, but medics failed to consider the possibility he had suffered a watershed stroke.

Details of how it took nine months before Mr L was offered a scan to consider this diagnosis have been described in a report from the Public Service Ombudsman detailing the care under Betsi Cadwaldr University Health Board.

The Ombudsman, Michelle Morris, also slammed the health board for its failure to act promptly with the complaints process. She said she "cannot fail to be shocked by the fact that, although Mr L first complained to the health board in June, 2019, it took until February, 2023 for it to recognise any failings."

The report details how between January and September, 2018, the health board failed to promptly and appropriately identify, investigate and treat a blockage of blood vessels in his neck (a condition called carotid artery stenosis, where the blockage restricts the blood flow to the middle of the brain, face and head). Mr L also complained that when the issue was eventually identified in September, there was a delay in getting the treatment (surgery) until November.

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Source: Wales Online, 2 November 2023

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Children's health warning system rolled out by NHS

NHS England is rolling out a national early-warning system to help medics spot and treat a deteriorating child patient quickly - and act on parents' concerns.

Parents and carers are "at the heart of the new system", NHS chiefs say.

Scores for signs such as blood pressure, heart rate and oxygen levels will be tracked on a chart.

But if a parent is worried their child is sicker than the chart suggests, care will be rapidly escalated.

While similar systems already exist in many hospitals, NHS national medical director, Prof Sir Stephen Powis, said staff and patients alike would welcome the introduction of a standardised system across hospitals.

"We know that nobody can spot the signs of a child getting sicker better than their parents, which is why we have ensured that the concerns of families and carers are right at the heart of this new system, with immediate escalation in a child's care if they raise concerns and plans to incorporate the right to a second opinion as the system develops further," he said.

The rollout follows the patient safety commissioner, Dr Henrietta Hughes, recommending that Martha's rule is delivered across England's hospitals, giving patients and families the right to an urgent second opinion and rapid review from a critical care team if they are worried about a patient's condition.

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Source: BBC News, 3 November 2023

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New MHRA rules for treatment with isotretinoin

Treatment with isotretinoin for UK patients under 18 years of age must be approved by two prescribers in a series of regulatory changes announced by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to strengthen the safe use of this drug.

Isotretinoin, also known by the brand names Roaccutane and Reticutan, is an effective treatment for severe acne or when there is a risk of permanent scarring. While the drug has helped many patients with severe acne, concerns have arisen among patients and members of the public regarding suspected mental health side effects, including depression, anxiety, psychotic symptoms, and suicide, as well as sexual side effects.

Following an expert safety review, the Commission on Human Medicines (CHM) agreed in April of this year to a number of recommendations to strengthen the safe use of the treatment.

The safety review concluded that because of gaps in the available evidence, it was not possible to say that isotretinoin definitely caused many of the short-term or long-term mental health and sexual side effects. However, since the individual experiences of patients and families continued to cause concern, the experts recommended that action be taken to ensure patients were made aware of these potential risks and that they were carefully monitored during treatment.

"The overall balance of risks and benefits for isotretinoin remains favourable," the authors of the report concluded, but further action should be taken to ensure patients were fully informed about isotretinoin and were effectively monitored during and after treatment, they recommended.

Anna Rossiter, programme manager for Medicines for Children at the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said the information for young people and their families "needs to be written in a format that is easy to understand and must set out the possible side effects that might be experienced".

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Source: Medscape, 1 November 2023

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Hunt tech adviser calls for ‘new central investment’

The NHS requires a ‘new central investment’ to achieve digital maturity and realise the potential of emerging technologies, according to the person who was commissioned by Jeremy Hunt to examine the issue in 2015.

Bob Wachter was commissioned by the then health and social care secretary in 2015, and authored the 2016 report Making IT Work, which called on all NHS trusts to achieve the “realistic target” of a good level of digital maturity by 2023.

While Professor Wachter told HSJ that there had been “reasonably good” progress, he said it was “not quite what I would have hoped for” seven years on from his report. 

He acknowledged that factors such as the pandemic and the subsequent economic situation slowed progress, but added that he was “a little bit worried” at the state of digital maturity in some areas, including interoperability and reliability of key systems such as electronic patient records.

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Source: HSJ, 1 November 2023

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Launch of a new Patient Entrepreneur Programme

Are you a patient whose experience has led you to develop a healthcare innovation? Do you want to develop your skills to help scale this innovation?  

The NHS Clinical Entrepreneur Programme (CEP) is offering a 12-month pilot programme for people who have experience of a long-term health condition and are working on healthcare innovations.  

The NHS CEP Patient Entrepreneur Programme, ran by Anglia Ruskin University and in collaboration with NHS England’s Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) team, is free, part-time, and open to all patients, or carers with an innovation in healthcare. The programme aims to give individuals the skills and knowledge to develop their innovation, while giving them access to a network of mentors, healthcare experts, and patient support. 

Applications for this programme will open on the 1 November 2023, with the programme starting March 2024.  

So, if you are a patient with lived experience of an illness or condition who has developed an innovation to improve patient care, this is your chance to scale your idea with the help of the NHS Clinical Entrepreneur Programme.  

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Essex mental health inquiry relaunched with new legal powers

A public inquiry into the deaths of at least 2,000 mental health inpatients has been relaunched with new powers.

The Essex Mental Health Independent Inquiry was established in 2021 to investigate the deaths of people on mental health wards in the county.

The number of initial responses to the inquiry from current and former staff was described as "disappointing".

The inquiry has converted to a statutory inquiry meaning witnesses can be forced to give evidence.

It is understood the new chairwoman is considering extending the inquiry's timeframe to include deaths from the start of 2000 until the end of 2023.

Baroness Kate Lampard, leading the inquiry, said: "I am determined to conduct this inquiry in a fair, thorough and balanced manner.

"I am also concerned to ensure that I do not take any longer than necessary - the recommendations from this inquiry are urgent and cannot be delayed."

She added: "To be clear from the outset, I will not be compelling families to give evidence.

"Evidence from staff, management and organisations will be gathered in a proportionate, fair and appropriate manner."

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Source: BBC News, 1 November 2023

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Hospitals fail people with learning disabilities, says watchdog

The safety of people with learning disabilities in England is being compromised when they are admitted to hospital, a watchdog says.

The Health Services Safety Investigations Body (HSSIB) reviewed the care people receive and said there were "persistent and widespread" risks.

It warned staff are not equipped with the skills or support to meet the needs of patients with learning disabilities.

The watchdog launched its review after receiving a report about a 79-year-old who died following a cardiac arrest two weeks after being admitted to hospital.

As part of its investigation, HSSIB also looked at the care provided in other places to people with learning disabilities.

It warned systems in place to share information about them were unreliable, and that there was an inconsistency in the availability of specialist teams - known as learning disability liaison services - that were in place in hospitals to support general staff.

It also said general staff had insufficient training - although it did note a national mandatory training programme is currently being rolled out.

Senior investigator Clare Crowley said: "If needs are not met, it can cause distress and confusion for the patient and their families and carers, and raises the risk of poor health outcomes and, in the worst cases, harm."

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Source: BBC News, 2 November 2023

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Suicidal children have to ‘make several attempts’ before accessing NHS mental health services

Children feel they have to attempt suicide multiple times before they get treatment from NHS mental health services, the former children’s commissioner has warned.

Anne Longfield said that schoolchildren were aware that NHS mental health infrastructure was “buckling and far from being able to cope with the demand”.

She told the Times Health Commission: “When I first became children’s commissioner in 2015, the thing that children talked about most often was mental health. They said they knew they couldn’t get help and treatment easily, because there just wasn’t enough help to go around.

“Some said, we know that we’ve almost got to try and take our own life before we can get help. And I thought that was pretty shocking at the time. Now, young people are saying not only do they have to try to take their own life, they have to try and take their own life several times, and they say there will be an assessment of levels of intent within that.”

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Source: The Times, 1 November 2023

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The ‘wrecked’ lives of forgotten Long Covid sufferers

Nearly four years since the start of the coronavirus outbreak, you could be forgiven for believing the pandemic is behind us. But for many, it feels far from over.

Close to two million people face a daily battle with debilitating symptoms of Long Covid – the lasting symptoms of the virus that remain after the infection is gone – with some now housebound, unable to walk and even partially blind.

Alan Chambers, 49, is among those who have been grappling with the illness for years, having caught coronavirus in March 2020.

Mr Chambers went from being “a fit, healthy, working member of the community who would do anything to help anyone” to being “ill and isolated in our bedroom”, blind in one eye and no longer able to walk unaided, his wife Vicki said.

As of March, an estimated 1.9 million people in the UK have experienced coronavirus symptoms for more than four weeks, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics. Of those, 1.5 million reported the condition had adversely affected their day-to-day activities.

It comes as coronavirus case rates have shown an overall increase since July, with fears the approaching winter will bring a further surge in infections.

Yet in May, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared that coronavirus no longer represents a global health emergency, which was seen as a symbolic step towards the end of the pandemic.

Dr Jo House, founding member and health advocacy lead at Long Covid Support, said the advocacy group now has 62,000 members, with about 250 more people joining every month.

“In their words, they feel ‘forgotten, unheard, disbelieved, isolated, unemployed, disabled, immobile’. 

NHS England admitted to The Independent that access to necessary support, treatment and care for Long Covid patients is still lacking. It said there was “still more to do to ensure support is there for everyone who needs it”, so that patients requiring specialist assessment and treatment for Long Covid can access care in a timely way.

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Source: The Independent, 29 November 2023

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Millions of patients given access to GP records under new rules

Millions of patients will be handed the power to view their own medical records and test results online after the NHS overruled opposition from the doctors’ union.

From 1 November every GP surgery in England will be contractually obliged to give all patients over the age of 16 access to their health information on their phones.

It means patients will no longer have to ring up their surgery or book a GP appointment to get details of blood test results, medications and repeat prescriptions, but instead they can access them by logging in to the NHS app.

The British Medical Association (BMA) had threatened to go to court over the plans, arguing that granting people access to their records would add to GP workloads and could put patients at risk.

However, Jacob Lant, the chief executive of the charity umbrella group National Voices, said: “Ensuring everyone has access to their own medical records through the NHS app is an important step in building a more equal partnership between patients and clinicians.

“It gives people much easier access to the information they need to prepare for appointments, and having quick access to test results can help patients manage their conditions better. Using technology in this way has the potential to help millions, and free up capacity of staff to help those who are less able to make use of digital services.”

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Source: The Times, 31 October 2023

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