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Chilling warning that scandals across NHS will be covered up as staff say whistleblowers are ignored

More than half of NHS staff believe bosses would ignore whistleblowers amid fresh concerns hospitals could be covering up potential scandals following the Lucy Letby case.

New national figures seen by the The Independent reveal that in the majority of hospitals, most doctors and nurses do not believe their concerns would be acted upon if they were raised with senior managers.

It comes after The Independent revealed that NHS bosses accused of ignoring complaints about Letby were the very same people later appointed to act on whistleblower concerns at the hospital where she murdered seven babies and tried to kill six more.

Several doctors who worked alongside her during the killing spree say they attempted to raise the alarm with hospital managers – only to have their pleas ignored. They believe the lack of action by bosses resulted in more babies being killed, stating managers who failed to act were “grossly negligent” and “facilitated a mass murderer”.

In nearly three-quarters of general hospitals – such as the Countess of Chester where Letby worked – fewer than half of staff believed their trust would act on a concern, according to results from the latest NHS staff survey.

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Source: The Independent, 27 August 2023

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‘Insecure’ junior medics ‘crying every day’ in ‘chaotic’ department

Delays in patient care and a lack of consultant support have left junior medics fearing for their mental health, an NHS England investigation has discovered.

Junior doctors described haematology services delivered from University Hospitals Birmingham’s Heartlands Hospital as “chaotic”.

Their concerns are raised in a report by NHS England Workforce, Training and Education (formerly Health Education England). UHB’s haematology service has been under scrutiny since 2021, when HSJ revealed whistleblower concerns over patient safety, including a series of blood transfusion’ never’ events.

The WTE team visited UHB in April. As a result, the haematology service is now subject to the General Medical Council’s enhanced monitoring regime. This means intensive support is given to trainees and the trust to improve medical training. UHB’s obstetrics and gynaecology department is also under enhanced monitoring.

The WTE report warns that consultants working across multiple sites left trainee medics at Heartlands without sufficient support and supervision. Most conversations with consultants were via telephone, leaving juniors feeling “unsupported and insecure”. 

The report stated: “Trainees described the workload … as chaotic and some reported the stress … was affecting their mental health… Some reported they do not feel valued, and the panel heard examples of people crying every day. Most described their roles as 100 per cent service provision… [they] reported very limited learning opportunities overall.”

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Source: HSJ, 24 August 2023

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Early death risk grows with just three ‘slightly unhealthy mid-life traits’

Just three “slightly unhealthy traits” in mid-life increase the risk of early death by a third, research suggests.

The study found people carrying extra weight in their 40s and 50s who also had slightly raised blood pressure, cholesterol or blood sugar levels were also 35 per cent more likely to have a heart attack or stroke over the next three decades.

Researchers warned that middle-aged people with this “cluster of slightly unhealthy traits” – known as metabolic syndrome – typically had a heart attack or stroke two years earlier on average than healthier people the same age.

Dr Lena Lönnberg, of Västmanland County Hospital, Sweden, who was lead researcher for the study, said: “Many people in their 40s and 50s have a bit of fat around the middle and marginally elevated blood pressure, cholesterol or glucose but feel generally well, are unaware of the risks and do not seek medical advice. “In fact, most people live with slightly raised levels for many years before having symptoms that lead them to seek healthcare.”

She warned that because the individual “unhealthy traits” did not usually make people feel unwell, most people were unaware of the risks combined with excess weight.

An estimated one in four UK adults has metabolic syndrome, with rising obesity levels one of the main drivers.

On their own, diabetes, high blood pressure, and obesity can damage the blood vessels. 

But even if patients only have mild versions of each condition, experts warn having the three together can be particularly dangerous.

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Source: The Telegraph, 25 August 2023

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Sepsis: Perforated bowel Barry mum told to drink tea

A mum suffered a perforated bowel and sepsis after being told she was anxious and should take constipation medication and drink peppermint tea.

Farrah Moseley-Brown was in "agonising pain" after having her second son, Clay, but the hospital sent her home.

Because of the delay in treating her, Ms Moseley-Brown, 28, of Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, now has a stoma.

Cardiff and Vale health board admitted failures in her care and gave its "sincere apologies".

Since the error, Ms Moseley-Brown has turned to TikTok to inform people about the dangers of sepsis and has had 15 million views one one video alone.

She was booked into University Hospital Wales, Cardiff, for a Caesarean on 7 May 2020. After Clay was born, Ms Moseley-Brown lost about two-and-a-half pints of blood and needed further surgery to stem the bleeding.

"I felt really unwell and I said this to the nurses and the staff at the hospital which they didn't listen to. They kept saying it was after-pain but it was just agonising," Ms Moseley-Brown said.

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Source: BBC News, 25 August 2023

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Covid cases double in a month as scientists warn about spread of new variants

Covid cases in England have almost doubled in a month after the rise of two new variants.

According to the most recent government statistics available, 875 cases were logged in England on August 11, compared to just 449 a month earlier. Hospital admissions have also risen by a fifth in a week.

UKHSA statistics show Covid cases in England rose from a seven-day rolling average of 373 on July 8 to 879 as of August 8. Also, 589 out of 6,500 neighbourhoods in England had detected at least three Covid cases in the week to August 12.

The uptick comes after reports of a new variant called Eris which makes up one in four new cases. Also, another strain nicknamed Pirola is quickly spreading globally. 

The US is also seeing an increase in hospital admissions with coronavirus, its first significant uptick since December 2022.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said they are unsettled by the variant and suggested the rapid spread could suggest an international transmission.

Christina Pagel, a member of the Independent Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies that advises on the virus, said: "Without ramping up surveillance, and in the face of waning immunity, we are travelling into winter more vulnerable and with blinkers on."

Prof Pagel predicted the new wave could cause extreme pressure on the health service, with a repeat of last winter’s “unprecedented” NHS crisis of Covid, flu and respiratory virus that came all around the same time.

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Source: Independent, 24 August 2023

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UK facing ‘brain drain’ of cancer researchers after failure to join EU scheme

Top young cancer researchers are leaving the UK in a “brain drain” fuelled by the continuing failure to reach an agreement over the EU’s study programme, scientists warn.

The two-and-a-half-year delay in joining the £85bn Horizon Europe scheme, the largest collaborative research programme in the world, has “damaged the UK’s reputation” and made it more difficult to attract and retain the brightest researchers into the nation’s labs.

Cancer Research UK (CRUK) surveyed 84 cancer specialists about Horizon Europe and found that three-quarters of respondents favoured association with the programme compared with only 11% who wanted the UK to go it alone with the government’s plan B, known as Pioneer.

Prof Julian Downward, head of the Oncogene Biology Lab at the Francis Crick Institute in London, said: “We need Horizon Europe very badly. The current situation is damaging UK science every day. We are losing top junior faculty regularly who decide to move to EU countries so they can take up European Research Council grants.”

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Source: Guardian, 25 August 2023

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Families sue government for failing to protect care homes from Covid

Thirty families are starting legal action against the government, care homes and several hospitals in England over the deaths of their relatives in the early days of the Covid pandemic.

The families argue not enough was done to protect their loved ones from the virus.

They are claiming damages for loss of life and the distress caused.

The government says it specifically sought to safeguard care home residents using the best evidence available.

The legal claims focus on the decision in March 2020 to rapidly discharge hospital patients into care homes without testing or a requirement for them to isolate.

The cases follow a 2022 High Court judgement that ruled the policy was unlawful - as it failed to take into account the risk to elderly and vulnerable care home residents of asymptomatic transmission of the virus.

One of the cases is being brought by Liz Weager, whose 95-year-old mother Margaret tested positive for the virus in her care home in May 2020 and died later in hospital. "What was happening in the management of those care homes? What advice were they having?" Liz asks. "It goes back to the government. There was a lack of preparedness, which then translated down to the care home."

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Source: BBC News, 25 August 2023

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Bristol mesh surgeon to face allegations of patient harm

Details of allegations against a surgeon who left dozens of patients in agony after undergoing mesh operations have been published.

A tribunal will look at whether Tony Dixon failed to provide adequate clinical care to six patients at Southmead Hospital and the private Spire Hospital in Bristol.

He had pioneered the use of artificial mesh to lift prolapsed bowels.

The surgeon, who was dismissed in 2019, has always maintained the operations were done in good faith, and that any surgery could have complications.

The Medical Practitioners Tribunal, which starts in Manchester on 11 September and is due to end on 23 November, will look into allegations that between 2010 and 2016 Mr Dixon failed to provide adequate clinical care in a number of areas, including:

  • ensuring procedures for some of the patients were clinically indicated
  • adequately advising some of the patients regarding options for treatment
  • obtaining informed consent before performing clinical procedures
  • adequately performing a procedure for one patient
  • providing adequate post-operative care for some
  • communicating appropriately with some of the patients and their family members.

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Source: BBC News, 24 August 2023

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Lucy Letby: NHS could face record compensation bill of more than £60m

The NHS could face a record compensation bill of more than £60m from civil claims lodged by the families of Lucy Letby’s victims, experts have said.

Parents whose babies have disabilities caused by Letby’s attacks at the Countess of Chester hospital could each expect to receive a payout of more than £10m to fund their future care.

Compensation paid by the NHS to parents whose babies died or were left with disabilities as a result of care at Shrewsbury hospital in Britain’s largest maternity scandal reportedly amounted to almost £50m. In a separate case, the health service had to pay £37m to a boy who was left brain damaged at birth.

Stephen Jones, the head of Leigh Day’s medical negligence team in Manchester, said the trust could argue that by committing the offences, Letby breached the employer-employee relationship to an extent such that it was not responsible for her. But he added: “I think there would be outrage that the trust wouldn’t accept responsibility for babies in their care.” He said compensation could run into eight figures for a family whose baby was severely injured and had a long life expectancy.

Emma Wray, a partner in Hodge Jones & Allen’s medical negligence department, suggested the NHS could set up a scheme for victims, as it has done with other scandals, to make claiming compensation easier.

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Source: The Guardian, 23 August 2023

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NHS whistleblowers warn of 'unsafe' A&E staff shortages

A group of senior doctors has accused NHS Grampian of ignoring their safety concerns about emergency departments.

They told BBC Scotland News they were speaking out because they feel they cannot deliver a safe level of care.

The medics said staff shortages meant Grampian's two A&Es have no senior registrars on shift to make key decisions about patients for the majority of weekend night shifts.

Documents seen by the BBC News show medics have been raising concerns since 2021, both with NHS Grampian and the Scottish government, and in July this year submitted a formal whistleblowing complaint about the situation.

One doctor said: "The staff are in an impossible situation.

"We are witnessing ongoing harm with unacceptable delays to the assessment and treatment of patients.

"There have been avoidable deaths and at other times there are too long delays getting to patients who may be suffering from a serious condition like stroke or sepsis."

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Source: BBC News, 23 August 2023

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The new Angel of Death: The chilling comparisons between killer nurses Lucy Letby and Beverley Allitt - from befriending parents to stealing medical notes and passing the blame

In 1991, Stuart Clifton was a detective superintendent with Lincolnshire Police when a phone call came in from Grantham Hospital saying they were looking into a number of suspicious deaths on a children's ward.

Over a period of just 59 days four babies had died after being brought to Ward Four with minor complaints, such as chest infections and gastroenteritis. A further nine had collapsed for inexplicable reasons, only to be resuscitated again.

Two years later, a 22-year-old nurse called Beverley Allitt would be convicted of those crimes. Dubbed The Angel Of Death, she was handed 13 life sentences and to this day remains locked up in Rampton Hospital, a secure psychiatric facility.

Why would a young woman trained to care for the most vulnerable members of society instead choose to harm and, ultimately, kill them?

As the detective who interviewed and analysed the behaviour of Allitt in the two years it took to bring the case to court, Mr Clifton believes he has unrivalled insight into why a nurse would go from healer to harmer.

"She always seemed to want to be the centre of attention,' he explains of Allitt. 'She wanted to be the one that was present, the one that raised the alarm, the one that went in the ambulance with the child when it was transferred to another hospital. It was almost as if she was putting herself centre stage and felt that she needed that adoration from other nursing staff and parents.

"Maybe a part of this was to show she was capable of doing the job but then, obviously, it went further. It went to the stage of her causing the injury that she subsequently then highlighted. I think certainly with Allitt it was this desire to be recognised, to be needed - and what I have seen of the Letby trial also seems to echo that need."

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Source: Mail Online, 23 August 2023

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Vulnerable people’s drug prescriptions to be reviewed following Ombudsman investigation

Hundreds of people across England with drug and alcohol dependencies who have been prescribed Valium long-term, will have their cases reviewed following an Ombudsman investigation.

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has found that Change Grow Live (CGL), on behalf of Cambridgeshire County Council, has been prescribing benzodiazepines to people long-term, against national guidance. The company also provides drug and alcohol services for 50 other councils.

Benzodiazepines – including diazepam (Valium) - are a class of medicines that can relieve nervousness, tension and other symptoms of anxiety and should usually only be prescribed short-term.

CGL’s policy explains people use them for anxiety, insomnia, to enhance opiate effects, to deal with mental health issues, improve confidence and to reduce psychotic symptoms like hearing voices. However, if they are prescribed for too long, they can have significant negative effects including dependence, withdrawal symptoms and drug-seeking behaviour.

People on these medicines should have their prescriptions reviewed regularly, and those reviews should consider the benefits and risks of continuing with the current dose, reducing or stopping it, with a management plan put in place after each review.

However, the Ombudsman’s investigation found CGL were either not reviewing people’s prescriptions regularly enough or not keeping proper records of those reviews.

Nigel Ellis, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman Chief Executive, said:

“Clinicians need to weigh up the benefits and risks for patients who are taking these medicines long-term and should have a clear rationale for continuing to prescribe.

“I am pleased that patients in these vulnerable groups will now have their cases reviewed more regularly and comprehensively following my investigation.

“Both CGL and the council have co-operated fully with our investigation, and I welcome their ready acceptance of our recommendations.”

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Source: Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, 23 August 2023

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Mesh surgeries to be halted in New Zealand because of safety concerns

The use of surgical mesh to treat a common childbirth injury is now suspended in New Zealand because of safety concerns.

The extraordinary step, which follows a similar move in the United Kingdom, was announced today by Te Whatu Ora.

It is being celebrated by a woman who spearheaded a campaign to highlight the harrowing mesh injuries suffered by her and many other Kiwi women. “It is an acknowledgement that their concerns were not just in their heads,” Sally Walker told the Herald. “It will give us some hope.”

About 100 women around the country who are on waiting lists for urogynaecological surgeries involving mesh are being contacted by doctors to tell them their operations for stress urinary incontinence are on hold.

The Director-General of Health Dr Diana Sarfati said the Surgical Mesh Roundtable (MRT), an oversight and monitoring group chaired by the Ministry of Health, had been investigating a “pause” since earlier this year.

The group’s assessment was that the balance of benefit and harm from the procedure would be improved by the series of additional measures already planned, and it recommended a pause until those measures were substantively in place.

“After considering the MRT’s assessment, I have decided to support a pause to allow the following steps to be put in place to reduce the harms linked to the procedure as much as possible,” said Sarfati.

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Source: NZ Herald, 22 August 2023

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Trust reviewing 31,000 patients ‘lost’ by IT system

A trust has had to re-examine the cases of more than 31,000 patients after they were automatically and wrongly discharged from its care because they did not have another appointment within the next six months.

Dartford and Gravesham Trust in Kent has revealed that soaring waiting times post-covid meant patients who needed follow-up appointments were not offered them within six months, which before covid was a very unusual occurrence.

When they passed six months, they were dropped off waiting lists altogether, due to a feature in the trust’s patient administration system designed to ensure outdated pathways are closed. It is a common feature in many such systems, HSJ was told.  

The trust has now “validated” more than 31,000 patients who have been in contact with it since 1 September 2021. So far, it said, it had not found evidence of harm, although some people have been recalled for clinical review or investigation, and a small number are still to be seen.

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Source: HSJ, 22 August 2023

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Nearly 7,000 ambulance workers in England left in past year, figures show

Ambulance services in England have experienced a mass exodus of staff in the past year with nearly 7,000 leaving their jobs, figures have revealed.

The number of emergency service crew leavers has risen sharply compared with 2019 levels, prompting concern for patient safety during the next NHS winter crisis.

The government has been called on to launch an urgent recruitment drive before winter to cover the 2,954 vacancies across all ambulance services in England.

Daisy Cooper, Liberal Democrats' health and social care spokesperson, said: “With patients struggling to see a GP at the front door of the NHS and unable to access social care at the back door of the NHS, ambulance crews are unfairly caught between a rock and a hard place, picking up the slack from a health and care system that is broken at both ends.

“Patients who struggle to access the care they need, when they need it, are then left waiting for emergency assistance in pain and distress for an ambulance. The shortage of NHS staff has caused untold pain for millions of people across the country, especially those left to wait for hours in pain for an ambulance to arrive.

“The government must begin an urgent recruitment drive before winter begins and our ambulance services are yet again put under unsustainable strain. There is no time to waste.”

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Source: The Guardian, 22 August 2023

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‘Chaotic’ maternity service was warned of same problems years earlier

A trust given an “inadequate” rating for its “chaotic” maternity service last week had been criticised for many of the same failings only last year by another regulator, it has emerged.

Bethan Harris died in a hospice 10 days after her birth at St George’s Hospital in South London in 2018. She had suffered hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy – a brain injury caused by lack of oxygen – during delivery, according to the coroner’s report.

HSJ has now seen the conclusions of a Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman report into her death, completed and sent to the trust just last year.

It found that if Ms Heatley had had better care Bethan might have been born in a better condition, as did a 2019 inquest into Bethan’s death, which led to the coroner issuing a “prevention of future deaths” report.

It also shows St George’s University Hospitals Foundation Trust was warned about major problems in the maternity services in 2019 and in the 2022 ombudsman report, but had apparently not dealt with them when the Care Quality Commission inspected in March this year.

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Source: HSJ, 23 August 2023

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In Louisiana, pregnant women struggle to get maternal health care, and the situation is getting worse

The United States is in the middle of a maternal health crisis. Today, a woman in the US is twice as likely to die from pregnancy than her mother was a generation ago.

Statistics from the World Health Organization show the United States has one of the highest rates of maternal death in the developed world. Women in the US are 10 or more times likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than mothers in Poland, Spain or Norway.    

Some of the worst statistics come out of the South - in places like Louisiana, where deep pockets of poverty, health care deserts and racial biases have long put mothers at risk.

Dr Rebekah Gee: The state of maternal health in the United States is abysmal. And Louisiana is the highest maternal mortality in the US. So, in the developed world, Louisiana has the worst outcomes for women having babies."

A third of Louisiana's parishes are maternal health deserts – meaning they don't have a single OB-GYN, leaving more than 51 thousand women in the state without easy access to care and three times more likely to die of pregnancy related causes.

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Source: CBS News, 20 August 2023

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US approves first RSV vaccine for use during pregnancy to protect babies

US regulators this week have approved the first RSV vaccine for pregnant women so their babies will be born with protection against the respiratory infection.

The Food and Drug Administration cleared Pfizer’s maternal vaccination to guard against a severe case of RSV when babies are most vulnerable – from birth through six months of age.

The next step: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention must issue recommendations for using the vaccine, named Abrysvo, during pregnancy. 

“Maternal vaccination is an incredible way to protect the infants,” said Dr Elizabeth Schlaudecker of Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, a researcher in Pfizer’s international study of the vaccine. If shots begin soon, “I do think we could see an impact for this RSV season.”

RSV is a coldlike nuisance for most healthy people but it can be life-threatening for the very young. It inflames babies’ tiny airways so it’s hard to breathe or causes pneumonia. In the US alone, between 58,000 and 80,000 children younger than five are hospitalised each year, and several hundred die, from the respiratory syncytial virus.

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Source: The Guardian, 22 August 2023

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All GP surgeries in England to have digital phone lines by March 2024

Patients at all general practices across England will soon benefit from new digital phone lines designed to make booking GP appointments easier.

Backed by a £240 million investment, more than 1,000 practices have signed up to make the switch from analogue systems - which can leave patients on hold and struggling to book an appointment - to modern, easy-to-use digital telephones designed to make sure people can receive the care they need when they need it.

It is expected every practice in the country will have the new system in place by the end of this financial year, helping put an end to the 8am rush - a key pillar of the Prime Minister’s primary care recovery plan to improve patient access to care.

Patients will be able to contact their general practice more easily and quickly - and find out exactly how their request will be handled on the day they call, rather than being told to call back later, as the government and NHS England deliver on the promises made in the primary care recovery plan announced in May. If their need is urgent, they will be assessed and given appointments on the same day. If it is not urgent, appointments should be offered within 2 weeks, or patients will be referred to NHS 111 or a local pharmacy.

The upgraded system will bring an end to the engaged tone, see care navigators direct calls to the right professional, and the use of online systems will provide more options and help those who prefer to call to get through.

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Source: Department of Health and Social Care, 18 August 2023

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Workplace sexual-harassment clampdown for doctors

Conduct guidelines for UK doctors are being updated to spell out what constitutes workplace sexual harassment, amid concerns abuse is going unchallenged.

The General Medical Council, which regulates doctors to ensure they are safe and fit to care for patients, says it is adopting a zero-tolerance policy.

The new advice explains it is not just physical acts that can be a breach. Verbal and written comments or sharing images with a colleague count too.

The new guidance will not come into effect until the end of January, after a five-month familiarisation period for staff. And some say there is still a long way to go.

Dr Chelcie Jewitt, an emergency-medicine doctor who is part of the Surviving in Scrubs campaign group, which aims to raise awareness of sexism, harassment and sexual assault in the healthcare workforce, said: "We have spoken with the GMC about the guidelines and we do think that they are a step in the right direction - but there is still a long way to go on this journey to eradicating the culture of sexual misconduct within healthcare.

"The GMC has the potential to make a real difference and we need to see them supporting victims when they report perpetrators.

"We need their reporting processes to be transparent and clearly explained to victims.

"We need cases to be thoroughly investigated rather than dismissed.

"And we need appropriate, proportionate sanctioning of perpetrators."

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Source: BBC News, 22 August 2023

Read a blog Dr Chelcie Jewitt wrote for the hub: Calling out the sexist and misogynist culture within healthcare

 

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‘Inhumane’ NHS fees left more than 900 migrants without treatment

Hundreds of migrants have declined NHS treatment after being presented with upfront charges over the past two years, amid complaints the government’s “hostile environment” on immigration remains firmly in place.

Data compiled by the Observer under the Freedom of Information Act shows that, since January 2021, 3,545 patients across 68 hospital trusts in England have been told they must pay upfront charges totalling £7.1m. Of those, 905 patients across 58 trusts did not proceed with treatment.

NHS trusts in England have been required to seek advance payment before providing elective care to certain migrants since October 2017. It covers overseas visitors and migrants ruled ineligible for free healthcare, such as failed asylum seekers and those who have overstayed their visa. The policy is not supposed to cover urgent or “immediately necessary” treatment. However, there have been multiple cases of people wrongly denied treatment.

Dr Laura-Jane Smith, a consultant respiratory physician and member of the campaign group Medact, said: “I had a patient we diagnosed as an emergency with lung cancer but they were told they would be charged upfront for treatment and then never returned for a follow-up. This was someone who had been in the country for years but who did not have the right official migration status. A cancer diagnosis is devastating. To then be abandoned by the health service is inhumane.”

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Source: The Guardian, 20 August 2023

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Revealed: the files that show how Lucy Letby was treated as a victim

Lucy Letby sat with her parents in a meeting with senior managers at the Countess of Chester Hospital, where she worked, waiting patiently for an apology. She had prepared a statement that was read out by her parents to Tony Chambers, the hospital’s chief executive, about being bullied and victimised on the neonatal unit.

It was December 22, 2016, and for the previous 18 months, two doctors on the unit had been trying to find an answer for a series of mysterious deaths of babies. Their detective work had led them to a single common denominator: Letby. The neonatal nurse had been on shift for each of the incidents.

Rumours of a killer on the ward had spread and Letby had complained about the doctors and their finger-pointing, claiming she was being wrongly blamed.

Chambers, who had trained as a nurse, was convinced by Letby’s account, and in front of her parents, John and Susan, offered sincere apologies on behalf of the hospital trust. The doctors in question would be “dealt with’’.

Except the doctors were right. By that point Letby had secretly murdered seven babies and tried to kill six more, one of them twice.

An investigation by The Sunday Times, based on a cache of internal documents, reveals in detail how the hospital delayed calling the police for months and that senior management, including the board, sided with Letby against doctors after commissioning perfunctory investigations.

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Source: The Times, 19 August 2023

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Fury in The Gambia over India cough syrup deaths

In September last year, Ebrima Sajnia watched helplessly as his young son slowly died in front of his eyes.

Mr Sajnia says three-year-old Lamin was set to start attending nursery school in a few weeks when he got a fever. A doctor at a local clinic prescribed medicines, including a cough syrup.

Over the next few days, Lamin's condition deteriorated as he struggled to eat and even urinate. He was admitted to a hospital, where doctors detected kidney issues. Within seven days, Lamin was dead.

He was among around 70 children - younger than five - who died in The Gambia of acute kidney injuries between July and October last year after consuming one of four cough syrups made by an Indian company called Maiden Pharmaceuticals.

In October, the World Health Organization (WHO) linked the deaths to the syrups, saying it had found "unacceptable" levels of toxins in the medicines.

A Gambian parliamentary panel also concluded after investigations that the deaths were the result of the children ingesting the syrups.

Both Maiden Pharmaceuticals and the Indian government have denied this - India said in December that the syrups complied with quality standards when tested domestically.

It's an assessment that Amadou Camara, chairperson of the Gambian panel that investigated the deaths, strongly disagrees with.

"We have evidence. We tested these drugs. [They] contained unacceptable amounts of ethylene glycol and diethylene glycol, and these were directly imported from India, manufactured by Maiden," he says. Ethylene glycol and diethylene glycol are toxic to humans and could be fatal if consumed".

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Source: BBC News, 21 August 2023

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Trust admits patients harmed due to huge follow-ups backlog

At least 20 patients have suffered harm due to their follow-up appointments not being booked at a hospital department where people ‘continue to come to harm’, according to an internal review.

Torbay and South Devon Foundation Trust is reviewing its ophthalmology service after 22 people were harmed following “system failures” with their follow-up appointments.  

The trust’s initial investigation, obtained by HSJ with the Freedom of Information Act, warned there were “potentially” other patients affected by the failures who had not yet been identified.

In response, the trust said its ophthalmology department had already “undertaken a significant amount of work to address a large proportion of the actions arising from the review”, including building another operating theatre and recruiting more staff.

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Source: HSJ, 21 August 2023

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