Jump to content
  • articles
    7,179
  • comments
    76
  • views
    6,373,912

Contributors to this article

About this News

Articles in the news

 

Whole health system’s IT goes down

HSJ understands that IT systems across the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly ICS went down around midday, prompting the declaration of a major incident.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the ICS said the incident was a “local issue” and not a “cyber attack”.

As a result of the issue, some planned outpatient appointments, including operations, have been cancelled. The outage is also thought to have contributed to a large ambulance handover backlog.

Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust, Cornwall Partnership NHS Trust, and University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust, as well as GP surgeries and community providers, are understood to have been affected by the outage.

Read full story (paywalled)

Source: 11 June 2024

 

Read more

‘Health MOTs’ planned for people aged 65 and over arriving at A&E in England

People aged 65 and over arriving at A&E in England who appear frail will soon receive a “health MOT at the front door”, the head of the NHS will pledge.

A&E units must start giving everyone that age a battery of tests to see if they are frail or have any other underlying condition and then arrange whatever care they may need.

NHS England hopes the initiative will reduce the number of older people being admitted to hospital, and cut overcrowding, “trolley waits” and “corridor care”.

Amanda Pritchard, the organisation’s chief executive, will tell an audience of health service heads on Wednesday they must ensure by next April that all A&E units start offering detailed assessments of older people’s health. However, the service will only operate for 10 hours a day.

“Health MOTs at the front door of A&Es for older people could be a lifeline for many. From blood pressure tests to a review of their falls history, these checks mean patients can be assessed quickly and directed to the right support for their needs,” Pritchard will say.

“While some people do need to be admitted, it isn’t always the most suitable place for older patients’ needs, and they can also rapidly lose mobility while in hospital.”

Read full story

Source: The Guardian, 12 June 2024

Read more

Call to change ‘outdated’ prostate cancer guidance that could be putting lives at risk

“Outdated” guidance on prostate cancer could be putting men’s lives at risk, a charity has said.

Prostate Cancer UK said that men at high risk of the disease can get a test, but only if they request one.

It said that GPs are told not to raise the issue with men unless they have symptoms.

But most men with early prostate cancer – when it is easiest to treat – do not have any signs or symptoms.

Chiara De Biase, director of health services, equity and improvement at Prostate Cancer UK, said: “We simply can’t continue with a system where men at high risk of prostate cancer can get a test – but only if they know to request one.

“This outdated guidance is failing both men and their clinicians, making health inequalities worse and putting lives at risk. It’s about time that changed.

She added: “We know that a lot of men don’t come forward because they think they’ll be invited as part of routine tests – when this simply isn’t true".

Read full story

Source: The Independent, 12 June 2024

Read more

New support for families critical of pregnancy care

A new service in Somerset is being set up to support women who have had adverse outcomes during pregnancy.

Maternity and neonatal independent senior advocates (MNISA) say they will act on behalf of women if they feel their experience when being cared for during pregnancy led to something going wrong.

This can include death, babies being diagnosed with brain injuries or mothers needing critical care. MNISAs can attend meetings or support users through investigations and complaints.

The service will be piloted until next year and while the role is independent from the maternity and neonatal trust provider (Somerset NHS Foundation Trust), it sits within NHS Somerset.

Jane Innes, a qualified lawyer who has worked across the NHS for 30 years, will take up the new role in Somerset.

She said: "There is an acknowledgement that people's voices need to be heard and listened to so systems can act and respond appropriately."

Read full story

Source: BBC News, 11 June 2024

Read more

Hospitals harm hundreds of patients a year by misidentification

Hundreds of patients are being harmed each year because NHS organisations have incorrectly identified who they are, an HSJ investigation has found.

Responses to Freedom of Information requests from 166 trusts revealed 58,537 cases of patient misidentification logged in Datix or other patient safety systems between 2019 and 2023, including 4,713 causing some sort of harm. This is equivalent to 11,707 incidents a year, with 943 leading to harm.

It includes a wide range of errors, but harm typically happens when patients are given the wrong treatment or medicine, or miss out on the right treatment, as a result of errors in recording and/or miscommunication. A typical example is patients being given a wristband with the wrong name – or ID information resulting in patients not being treated, or the wrong treatment being given.

Some of the worst examples are where the wrong patient, or the wrong part of the body, is operated on.

Patient Safety Learning's CEO Helen Hughes called on NHS England to review cases nationally to identify root causes.

She added: “Where avoidable harm has occurred, it is vital these incidents are investigated, that causes and contributory factors are identified, and steps put in place to prevent their reoccurrence. In some cases, this may require standardisation of approaches to patient identification, while others may highlight contributory factors that are more difficult to address, such as staff fatigue.”

Read full story (paywalled)

Source: HSJ, 11 June 2024

Read more

Moderna combi flu and Covid jab gives better protection, study finds

A combined flu and coronavirus vaccine brings about a higher immune response to both diseases than when the vaccines are administered separately, a clinical trial has shown.

Moderna, the biotech firm behind the Spikevax vaccine used in NHS booster programmes, is trialling a two-in-one jab that can also protect from the flu. Initial results have shown it may be better at protecting against them than what is now being used.

The results showed that the antibody response in the participants brought about higher immune responses against flu and Covid-19 than when the vaccines were administered separately.

Stéphane Bancel, the chief executive of Moderna, said: “Combination vaccines have the potential to reduce the burden of respiratory viruses on health systems and pharmacies, as well as offer people more convenient vaccination options that could improve compliance and provide stronger protection from seasonal illnesses.

Read full story

Source: The Guardian, 10 June 2024

Read more

Landmark study compares risks of water births to births out of water

A landmark study has compared the risk of complications of water births.

The results could have implications for thousands of women each year who use birthing pools as a form of pain relief during labour, researchers said.

It concluded having a water birth does not increase the risk of complications for mother or baby.

The Pool study analysed 73,229 records from low-risk pregnant women who used a pool during labour across 26 NHS organisations in England and Wales between 2015 and 2022.

The team explored the rate of severe tears suffered by women during childbirth, as well as the number of babies who needed antibiotics or help with breathing on a neonatal unit after birth.

They also looked at the number of babies that died.

According to researchers, risks “were no higher among waterbirths compared with births out of water”.

Read full story

Source: The Independent, 11 June 2024

Read more

First NHS physiotherapy clinic run by AI to start this year

The first NHS AI-run physiotherapy clinic is to be rolled out this year in an effort to cut waiting times amid growing demand and staff shortages.

The new platform will provide same-day automated video appointments with a digital physiotherapist via an app that responds to information provided by a patient in real time.

It is the first platform of its kind to be approved by the health regulator, the Care Quality Commission, as a registered healthcare provider.

Patients seeking physiotherapy for issues such as back pain can be referred to the platform Flok Health through a community or primary care healthcare setting, such as their GP. They can also self-refer directly into the service.

The service aims to provide faster care and reduce waiting times and pressure on clinicians, those behind it say.

However, some in the industry say that AI cannot yet replicate the skill of a fully trained physiotherapist, and that treatment needs to be nuanced due to the complexity of cases.

CSP health informatics lead, Euan McComiskie, said of the AI clinic: “There is no doubt that more needs to be done to tackle huge NHS waiting lists, particularly for musculoskeletal services and AI has huge potential to be an adjunct to the work of physiotherapists. However, AI cannot yet replicate the clinical judgment and skills of a physiotherapist, who is required to be registered with a statutory regulator, the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).”

McComiskie added that physiotherapists manage “increasing complexity in patient presentation and their treatment needs to be individually tailored”. He said: “It is early days to know how much AI can eventually provide clinical decision making and more research is needed … but not at the cost of patient access, safety, experience nor trust.”

Read full story

Source: The Guardian, 9 June 2024

Read more
 

Woman bled to death after hip replacement operation

A 79-year-old woman bled to death following a hip operation after being rushed to a hospital which lacked a service to save her, a coroner has said.

Christine Booker from Wareham died on 24 February 2023, the day after her hip replacement.

Coroner Brendan Allen said she was initially transferred to Dorset County Hospital in Dorchester, which had no out-of-hours interventional radiology (an imaging procedure), before being sent to Royal Bournemouth Hospital.

In a Prevention of Future Deaths report, he said patients in west Dorset faced a "potentially considerable and significant delay in the provision of urgent and life-saving treatment".

Writing to Dorset County Hospital, external, the coroner said the lack of an out-of-hours service in Dorchester exposed patients to an "increased risk of death".

Read full story

Source: BBC News, 10 June 2024

Read more

Hundreds of cancer patients hit by NHS cyberattack as thousands of appointments cancelled

Patients with cancer and those needing emergency operations were among those who had their treatment cancelled this week due to a major cyberattack on NHS hospitals in London.

More than 200 emergency and life-saving operations, including those which should be done within 24 hours, had to be cancelled by Guy’s and St Thomas’ Foundation Trust (GSTT) and King’s College University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.

It is not yet clear how long the disruption will last, however hospitals are concerned they will struggle if it continues for more than a few days. According to a source, Synnovis carries out tens of thousands of tests a day but is unable to do so as it cannot access systems.

The Independent revealed:

  • More than a third of procedures and operations have been cancelled, which includes over 3,000 non-surgical appointments and hundreds of patients who have been referred for urgent cancer diagnosis.
  • Mothers waiting to have c-sections have also had their procedures cancelled and hospitals are investigating potential harm.
  • Transplant operations have been cancelled and hospitals have had to reduce the number of people they’re able to book in.

Read full story

Source: The Independent, 10 June 2024

Read more

NHS appeals for O-type blood donations after cyberattack delays transfusions

An appeal has been launched for O blood-type donors to book appointments across England after the ransomware attack affecting major London hospitals.

NHS Blood and Transplant is appealing for O blood-type donations as this is safe to use for all patients. The cyber-attack means the affected hospitals cannot match patients’ blood at the same frequency as usual.

Several London hospitals last week declared a critical incident, cancelled operations and tests, and were unable to carry out blood transfusions after the attack on the pathology firm Synnovis, which Qilin, a Russian group of cybercriminals, is thought to have been behind.

Memos to NHS staff at King’s College hospital, Guy’s and St Thomas’ (including the Royal Brompton and the Evelina London Children’s hospital) and primary care services in London said a critical incident had been declared.

NHS Blood and Transplant is calling for O-positive and O-negative blood donors to book appointments in one of the 25 NHS blood donor centres in England to boost stocks.

The hospitals affected by the cyber-attack cannot match patients’ blood at the same frequency as usual, NHS Blood and Transplant said.

For surgeries and procedures requiring blood to take place, hospitals need to use O-type blood as this is safe to use for all patients. Blood has a shelf life of 35 days, so stocks need to be continually replenished, the NHS said.

Read full story

Source: The Guardian, 10 June 2024

Read more

Parents hope documentary will help maternity inquiry bid

A couple whose child died before birth due to failings in her care hope a new documentary can support their calls for a public inquiry into England's maternity services.

Jack and Sarah Hawkins' daughter Harriet was stillborn at Nottingham City Hospital in April 2016.

They hope an ITV programme - Maternity: Broken Trust - shown on Sunday evening can help their bid for a wider probe.

An independent review into failings in maternity services in Nottingham is now the biggest maternity investigation in NHS history, but a report is not expected to be returned until 2025.

Dr and Ms Hawkins - who received a £2.8m settlement over failings in their daughter's care - said a wider investigation was needed to highlight national issues.

"I think maternity services across England are absolutely terrible," Ms Hawkins said.

"We're in contact with people with dead babies from Leeds to Plymouth, and I think what really needs to happen is for there to be a public inquiry into England's maternity services.

"It's not just Nottingham, it's everywhere, and hopefully this platform will give people the strength to come forward and speak up."

Read full story

Source: BBC News, 10 June 2024

Read more

My schizophrenic son killed his father. We speak every day

Dan Harrison, who had schizophrenia and psychotic delusions about his parents, had been sectioned ten days before he attacked his father. He was detained at Neath Port Talbot Hospital, run by the Swansea Bay University Health Board.

During those ten days he received no treatment or medication. He escaped through a door being held open by a member of staff who was talking to someone else and immediately headed for the family home where he killed his father.

The attack came after Dan's mother, Jane, and her husband repeatedly asked for help from mental health services as their son’s state of mind and behaviour deteriorated. They were refused.

Last month Kirsten Heaven, assistant coroner for Swansea, recorded in a narrative verdict that there had been repeated failings by the Swansea University Health Board and local council. She said multiple system failures had contributed to Kim’s death and warned of more deaths if they were not addressed.

Jane is speaking out now, with her son’s permission, after a Sunday Times investigation highlighted the scale of mental health-related killings in Britain. There have been at least 233 reported since 2020 and there have been repeated warnings about NHS services failing to provide crisis care.

Read full story (paywalled)

Source: The Times, 1 June 2024

Read more

Three more babies die after developing whooping cough, says UKHSA

Three more babies have died from whooping cough this year as cases continue to rise across the country, according to the UK Health Security Agency.

Since January, there have been 4,793 confirmed cases of whooping cough, with 181 babies under the age of three months diagnosed with the illness. A total of eight babies have now died from whooping cough this year.

Pregnant women have been urged to get the whooping cough vaccine in order for their babies to be protected before they are old enough to receive the vaccine themselves.

Babies can first be vaccinated against the disease when eight weeks old, while pregnant women are advised to get the vaccine at 16 and 32 weeks.

Dr Gayatri Amirthalingam, a consultant epidemiologist at UKHSA, said: “Our thoughts and condolences are with those families who have so tragically lost their baby.

“With whooping cough case numbers across the country continuing to rise and sadly the further infant deaths in April, we are again reminded how severe the illness can be for very young babies.

“Pregnant women should have a whooping cough vaccine in every pregnancy, normally around the time of their mid-pregnancy scan (usually 20 weeks). This passes protection to their baby in the womb so that they are protected from birth in the first months of their life when they are most vulnerable and before they can receive their own vaccines.

“The vaccine is crucial for pregnant women, to protect their babies from what can be a devastating illness.”

Read full story

Source: The Guardian, 6 June 2024

Read more

Antidepressant withdrawal affects one in six people

One out of every six people have symptoms when they stop taking antidepressants - fewer than previously thought, a review of previous studies suggests.

The researchers say their findings will help inform doctors and patients "without causing undue alarm".

The Lancet Psychiatry review looked at data from 79 trials involving more than 20,000 patients.

Some had been treated with antidepressants and others with a dummy drug or placebo, which helped researchers gauge the true effect of withdrawing from the drugs.

Some people have unpleasant symptoms such as dizziness, headache, nausea and insomnia when they stop taking antidepressants, which, the researchers say, can cause considerable distress.

Previous estimates suggested antidepressant discontinuation symptoms (ADS) affected 56% of patients, with almost half of cases classed as severe.

But this review, from the Universities of Berlin and Cologne, estimates one out of every every six or seven patients can expect symptoms when stopping antidepressants and one in 35 will have severe symptoms.

Read full story

Source: BBC News, 6 June 2024

Read more

Patient violence against staff falls to five-year low

The proportion of NHS staff who have experienced physical violence from patients has fallen to its lowest levels in five years, according to the latest survey data.

New figures showed the percentage of staff reporting at least one incident of physical violence from patients or the public, within the last 12 months, had declined from 15.1 per cent in 2019, down to 13.7 per cent in 2023. That is also almost one percentage point lower than 14.6 per cent in 2022, which is the biggest year-on-year percentage point fall in the five years. 

The 2023 NHS staff survey, first published in early March, was updated recently to include the questions on physical violence. NHS England said earlier this week it had received a “higher than expected rate of missing data” for the questions, which meant they were not originally reported, but these issues had now been resolved. 

However, ambulance workers remain disproportionately affected by physical violence compared to other roles, with 27.6 per cent saying they had experienced at least one instance of physical violence from patients or the public in the past year. This is down from 32.5 per cent five years ago in 2019.

Acute and community staff were the next highest (13.7 per cent), followed by mental health (13.5 per cent), community (7 per cent), and then acute specialist (5.3 per cent). 

Read full story (paywalled)

Source: HSJ, 5 June 2024

Read more

Trust suspends treatment for premature babies after several deaths

A national study is examining whether a treatment for premature babies could cause harm, amid concerns about the deaths of four infants last year, it has emerged.

HSJ has learned a national study into the use of prophylactic low-dose hydrocortisone steroids, also known as “premiloc”, is being carried out at the Neonatal Data Analysis Unit, part of the Imperial College London Medical School.

Meanwhile, University College London Hospitals Foundation Trust confirmed that four children died in January and February 2023 last year, having been transferred from UCLH to nearby Great Ormond Street Hospital, after receiving the treatment.

They had been given hydrocortisone steroids at UCLH to reduce the risk of developing a lung condition called bronchopulmonary dysplasia.

UCLH said its own internal investigations “did not confirm a direct link” between the deaths and the drug, “but concern remained” so they were reported to the regional neonatal network. UCLH noted that the national study at Imperial was now under way, although the Imperial team told HSJ it was not specifically aware of the UCLH/GOSH deaths last year.

A report from GOSH’s safety team last year, seen by HSJ, said: “In all four deaths the mortality review group identified modifiable/potential modifiable factors around the administration of premiloc prior to admission to GOSH. Administration of premiloc (hydrocortisone steroids) to these babies may have been associated with the subsequent perforations. A series of incidents of perforations was flagged to the UCLH neonatal unit who reviewed data and have stopped the administration of premiloc.”

Read full story (paywalled)

Source: HSJ, 5 June 2024

Read more

USA: National Nurses United pushes back against deployment of 'unproven' AI in healthcare

The United State's largest nurses union is demanding that artificial intelligence tools used in healthcare be proven safe and equitable before deployment. Those that aren’t should be immediately discontinued, the union says.

Few algorithms, if any, currently meet their standard.  

“These arguments that these AI tools will result in improved safety are not grounded in any type of evidence whatsoever,” Michelle Mahon, assistant director of nursing practice at National Nurses United, told Fierce Healthcare. 

NNU represents 225,000 nurses in the US and has a presence in nearly every state through affiliated organisations, like the California Nurses Association, which protested the use of AI in healthcare in late April. NNU nurses also represent nearly every major hospital and health system in the nation. 

Most AI nurses interact with is integrated into electronic health records and is often used to predict sepsis or determine patient acuity, union nurses said at an NNU media briefing last month. 

EHRs cause an estimated 30,000 deaths per year, which is the third leading cause of death in the nation, Mahon said. Adding what they call “unproven” algorithms to EHRs is not how the health system should be spending dollars, NNU says.

The union is demanding that all AI used in healthcare meet the precautionary principle, a philosophical approach that requires the highest level of protection for innovations without significant scientific backing. Any AI solution that does not meet this principle, which NNU claims is most of the AI currently on the market and deployed in hospitals, should be immediately discontinued, they say.

Read full story

Source: Fierce Healthcare, 3 June 2024

Read more

Loss of NHS specialist nurses will lead to deaths of people with learning disabilities, experts warn

More hospital patients with learning disabilities will die if politicians do not tackle the “devastating collapse” in specialist nurse numbers, a leading charity and a union have warned.

The number of specialist learning disability nurses working in the NHS has dropped by 44 per cent over the course of the Conservative party’s time in government, a new analysis by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has revealed.

The nursing union found a 36 per cent drop in applicants for specialist nursing degrees, while applicants are so low some universities have stopped funding courses altogether, according to a report shared exclusively with The Independent.

The RCN and the charity Mencap have warned specialist nurses are vital in keeping patients with learning disabilities in hospital safe, as they are trained to spot life-threatening illnesses, such as sepsis, which can present differently.

Dan Scorer, head of policy at Mencap, said: “Learning disability nurses have that in-depth training and understanding about the complexity of how people with a learning disability can present, and about how they will show they are experiencing pain. They’ve got vital expertise and insights to make sure that we don’t miss things.”

He said the government must increase the number of training places available, and warned some universities have stopped courses altogether. He added: “I think the government removing bursaries for nurse training was pretty devastating. The impact of that was really significant, and whilst that’s been partially reversed, it significantly impacted the undergraduate training capacity that was available.”

Read full story

Source: The Independent, 4 June 2024

Read more

Critical incident declared as cyber attack affects major London hospitals

Major hospitals in London have declared a critical incident after a cyber attack led to operations being cancelled and patients being diverted elsewhere for care.

NHS officials said they were working with the National Cyber Security Centre after the attack on Synnovis, which provides pathology services to large hospitals and GP surgeries in the capital.

The company said the ransomware attack has affected all of its IT systems, which has impacted its pathology services.

Some procedures and operations have been cancelled or have been redirected to other NHS providers as hospital bosses continue to establish what work can be carried out safely.

Synnovis was the victim of a ransomware cyberattack. This has affected all Synnovis IT systems, resulting in interruptions to many of our pathology services.

Mark Dollar, Synnovis chief executive

Health service leaders said there has been a “significant impact” King’s College Hospital, Guy’s and St Thomas’ – including the Royal Brompton and the Evelina London Children’s Hospital – and GP services in south-east London.

A memo to staff said the “critical incident” has had a “major impact” on the delivery of services, with blood transfusions particularly affected.

Patients have described last-minute cancellations to operations and blood tests.

Read full story

Source: The Independent, 4 June 2024

Read more

WHO member states agree better ways to detect health threats and set new deadline for pandemic treaty

The negotiation of a pandemic accord intended to prevent the global disaster seen during Covid-19 should be completed in the next year, WHO have announced.

“The amendments to the international health regulations will bolster countries’ ability to detect and respond to future outbreaks and pandemics by strengthening their own national capacities and coordination between fellow states, on disease surveillance, information sharing, and response,” said WHO’s director general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “This is built on commitment to equity, an understanding that health threats do not recognise national borders, and that preparedness is a collective endeavour.”

The revised international health regulations includes a commitment to strengthening access to medical products and financing, and stronger, more precise language that should accelerate the detection of health threats and the necessary global action to manage them.

“Full implementation of the international health regulations brings the world closer to being safer from pandemic threats. A new pandemic agreement with equity at its heart would further strengthen the rules around and guide international collaboration,” said Helen Clark, former New Zealand prime minister and co-chair of the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response.

Read full story 

Source: BMJ, 4 June 2024

Read more
 

Gonorrhoea cases reach record high in England

A record number of people in England were diagnosed with gonorrhoea last year, annual UK Health Security Agency figures show.

Diagnoses rose 7.5% - from 79,268 in 2022 to 85,223 in 2023.

Syphilis, meanwhile, rose 9.4% - from 8,693 to 9,513, the highest number since 1948 - with more heterosexual men and women becoming infected.

Overall, sexually transmitted infection diagnoses, including several different STIs, rose 4.7%.

The British Association of Sexual Health and HIV said the rise in STIs was a “concerning indicator” of pressure on sexual-health services and called for a new strategy.

President Prof Matt Phillips said: “We find ourselves at a critical point for securing the viability of sexual-health services.

“From recruitment challenges, to public-health funding, to ensuring the right experts are supporting every clinic, the next government has an opportunity to change the tides and address these barriers, to ensure everyone has timely access to expertise to support good sexual health and wellbeing.”

Read full story

Source: BBC News, 4 June 2024

Read more
 

Cyber attack strikes multiple hospitals

A major health system’s pathology IT has been hit by a cyber attack, HSJ understands.

A letter sent by Guy’s and St Thomas’ Foundation Trust chief executive last night said his £2.5bn-turnover trust was unable to connect to the servers of Synnovis.

The problem is ongoing, and several senior sources told HSJ the system had been the victim of a ransomware attack. One said gaining access to pathology results could take “weeks, not days”. 

As well as GSTT – the NHS’s largest provider – neighbouring King’s College Hospital FT, which runs several hospitals in the system, and is thought to be affected. Synnovis also provides pathology services for primary care across all six of south east London’s boroughs.

The news would make it one of the largest critical NHS systems brought down by a cyber attack.

Read full story (paywalled)

Source: HSJ, 4 June 2024

Read more
 

Politicians and NHS criticised as they fail to carry out actions urged by Jimmy Savile inquiry after 10 years

The NHS and government have failed to implement a single recommendation from a key Jimmy Savile inquiry – almost 10 years after plans to prevent future sex abuse of patients in hospitals were put forward, The Independent can reveal.

The shocking discovery was uncovered by the panel tasked to chair the public inquiry into Lucy Letby, the nurse who killed several newborn babies in her care.

Analysing the progress made by the NHS and government after some of the most high-profile health scandals in the UK, it found across 30 inquiries, dating back to 1967, just 302 out of more than 1,400 key recommendations had been adopted.

Alan Collins, a lawyer who represented dozens of victims in claims against Savile’s estate, slammed politicians and public bodies over the failure.

He says: “The thread that runs through the numerous reports, the investigations behind them, and the ongoing failures with lack of implementation is the lack of accountability.

“We have seen time after time the lack of professional curiosity in the face of glaring wrongdoing yet this cultural vacuum rarely sees those charged with responsibility for safeguarding subject to any consequences.”

Read full story

Source: The Independent, 3 June 2024

Read more

NHS patients face intimate examinations in corridors and nights sleeping in chairs, warns union

Patients are being squeezed onto wards, forced to have intimate examinations in front of each other and left dying in hospital corridors as nurses are forced to play “trolley tetris”, NHS staff have revealed.

Testimonies from nurses, given to the Royal College of Nursing and seen by The Independent, reveal they are regularly forced into “unsafe” practices, such as squeezing more patients into wards with insufficient space and staffing.

The warnings come as the RCN has urged the next government to act on the “national emergency” with a survey of thousands of nurses revealing patients are being left without access to oxygen and put in undignified situations.

RCN deputy chief nurse Lynn Woolsey said in May: “We have increasing evidence from members up and down the country of patients being cared for in undesignated bed spaces, vending machines being moved out of A&E to make space for patients, two patients being put in one bed space, with one patient being asked to face the wall while a rectal exam was carried out on the other patient... shocking, shocking information and situations.”

In the face of the worsening A&E and ambulance waiting times last year, The Independent revealed hospital staff in many areas were ordered to move patients from emergency departments on, regardless of space.

In one example, a nurse said her trust ordered workers to accept patients from A&E at midday every day, adding: “Doesn’t matter what capacity A&E is or the ward. It’s just what has to be done. We have no space, no tables, no curtains.”

Read full story

Source: The Independent, 3 June 2024

Read more
×
×
  • Create New...