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News Article
UK nursing regulator’s new chief resigns after four days following racism row
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The UK nursing regulator’s new interim chief executive has stepped down just four days into the job after facing widespread staff backlash over her links to a high-profile race discrimination case. Multiple staff working at the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) raised concerns to its directors over the appointment of interim CEO Dawn Broderick, who was head of HR at another trust when it was found to have discriminated against a Black employee. The Independent can now reveal Ms Broderick resigned from the NMC on Monday evening. It is the latest in a succession of controversies to hit the nursing regulator, following reports uncovered by The Independent last year. These include allegations from whistleblowers that racism within the NMC was allowing complaints against nurses to go unchecked. Staff have come forward to The Independent, warning they do not have confidence the NMC’s board will take the issue of racism seriously. Read full story Source: The Independent, 2 July 2024 -
Content Article
PRSB: Transfer of care toolkit
Patient Safety Learning posted an article in Transfers of care
High volumes of patients are transferred every day between health and care settings. Whilst efforts have have been made over several years to improve this process through the implementation of standards and the sharing of digital information, there is more to be done. Whole system improvements are required and significant further progress can be made to improve the quality and consistency of data shared between organisations. The Professional Standards Record Body (PRSB) has published a number of standards that support the transfer of care of patients between settings. This toolkit concentrates on the PRSB eDischarge Summary Standard, which specifies the data to be shared between secondary and primary care to support the discharge of a patient from hospitals across the UK. This toolkit does not propose a one-size-fits-all approach and recognises that health and care services are organised in different ways across the UK. -
News Article
If a female doctor gets treated like this, is there hope for any women?
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The agonising pains came midway through Dr Rageshri Dhairyawan’s third cycle of IVF, ten years ago. “I felt as if a heavy metal shovel was scraping away at the lining of my abdomen,” she recalls. “It was like nothing I’d ever felt before,” she says. Her fear was ovarian torsion — “when the ovaries become so big from all the follicle stimulation that they twist on their stalk, which is excruciating and needs to be repaired surgically because the ovary becomes starved of oxygen.” Her husband rushed her to A&E where she was given morphine, then admitted to a gynaecology ward. As a scan revealed no ovarian torsion, “It was thought the hormones had flared up my endometriosis.” Dhairyawan was in so much pain she couldn’t move, and yet she recalls being treated as though she was an attention-seeker “trying to get strong opioids through dishonest means” and “as a nuisance for pressing my buzzer”. It was as if, she says, “I didn’t have something they thought was very serious so why was I still there? I just remember not wanting to feel like more of a nuisance because I knew what being a nuisance on a ward can look like — I’d been a doctor for ten years.” Dhairyawan’s husband demanded pain relief for her. She left hospital shaken. “It massively changed me,” she says. “The experience of not being listened to as a patient, not being taken seriously — it really shocked me. Because I thought, I’m a senior doctor, I know exactly how the NHS works, I know my medical condition, I now what to ask for. And I still can’t speak up and advocate for myself.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: The Times, 2 July 2024 -
News Article
‘Ludicrous’ expectation pushes trusts to plan savings of up to 9%
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
NHS trusts are signing up to deliver efficiency savings of up to 9% of costs, HSJ has found. The Queen Elizabeth Hospital King’s Lynn has a cost improvement programme of nearly £30m in 2024-25, equivalent to 9% of spending, which is three times higher than the amount it delivered last year. Trusts and commissioners were last month issued with new financial targets as NHS England attempted to bring down a £3bn forecast deficit for local organisations. A spokeswoman told HSJ the trust had already identified three-quarters of the £30m, and said “we believe that there are further efficiencies in our system, which would see us go further than the 3.1% achieved last year.” She added: “All cost-saving initiatives go through a robust process to make sure that they will not impact patient safety or clinical care provided by the trust.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 1 July 2024 -
Content ArticleThe Independent Healthcare Providers Network (IHPN) have launched a toolkit to support independent healthcare providers to further improve multi-disciplinary team (MDT) working in the sector. MDT working is an established practice in many areas of healthcare, including in the independent sector, and for patients with complex care needs such as cancer, MDTs are viewed as the gold standard for care.
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Content ArticleEast Lancashire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust share their guide on human factors. It describes what human factors is and why it is so important alongside example case studies of how human factors is being used within the Trust.
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News Article
Wider use of physician associates will increase inequality, say UK doctors
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Doctors are warning the UK medical regulator that wider use of physician associates in the NHS may risk patient safety and lead to greater inequalities in care in deprived areas that struggle to recruit GPs. The government’s plan to recruit 10,000 physician associates – healthcare professionals supervised by doctors – has angered many clinicians who consider the roles ill-defined and a potential threat to patient safety. The General Medical Council (GMC) is to regulate physician and anaesthesia associates, who also work under doctors’ supervision, from December. The doctors’ union, the British Medical Association, last week announced it was seeking a judicial review of the GMC over the “dangerous blurring of lines” between doctors and medical associate professions. It argues physician and anaesthesia associates need regulating, but not by the GMC. Other professional membership organisations want clarification of associates’ roles. The Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) told the GMC that regulation is a “significant step forward”, but the scope of practice needs to be urgently developed. Read full story The Guardian, 30 June 2024 -
News Article
'We desperately need safety-critical nurse-to-patient ratios enshrined in law'
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The latest release of data from the Royal College of Nursing's Last Shift Survey shows the urgent need for investment in the nursing workforce and safety-critical nurse-to-patient ratios enshrined in law. New analysis finds more than 11,000 members reveals just a third of shifts had enough registered nurses. Chronic staff shortages mean individual nurses are often caring for 10, 12, 15 or more patients at a time. The RCN are now calling for safety-critical limits on the maximum number of patients a single nurse can be responsible for. Our survey found that 1 in 3 hospital shifts were missing at least a quarter of the registered nurses they needed. In A&E settings, significant numbers of nurses reported having more than 51 patients to care for. Across all settings, 80% of respondents said there aren't sufficient nurses to meet the needs of patients safely. RCN Acting General Secretary and Chief Executive Professor Nicola Ranger said: “Without safety-critical limits on the maximum number of patients they can care for, nurses are being made responsible for dozens at a time, often with complex needs. It is dangerous to patients and demoralising for nursing staff. “When patients can’t access safe care in the community, conditions worsen, and they end up in hospital where workforce shortages are just as severe. This vicious cycle fails staff and patients – it can’t go on. “We desperately need urgent investment in the nursing workforce but also to see safety-critical nurse-to-patient ratios enshrined in law. That is how we improve care and stop patients coming to harm.” Read full story Source: RCN, 1 July 2024 -
Content ArticleThe Patient Safety Movement Foundation offers a unique educational opportunity for healthcare professionals around the world to expand their knowledge in the theory and practice of patient safety. Building on the World Health Organization Global Patient Safety Action Plan, the fellowship aims to develop future leaders particularly from lower middle and middle income countries. The programme combines a year-long curriculum developed by patient safety experts in a variety of areas, taught via monthly live virtual classroom sessions. Fellows complete monthly readings on specific topics, actively participate in discussions on the interpretation of theory and methods, and its implication to practice. Fellows submit monthly reflections on their learning as well as a longer reflection at the end of the fellowship. Applied learning is achieved by completing a hands-on improvement project that explores and advances issues of patient safety in each fellow’s respective professional environment. Fellows are encouraged to publish the outcome of their project and present at conferences. Fellows are driven by a deep passion for patient safety, often sparked by first-hand encounters with patient harm events, and a desire to improve care outcomes in their home communities and workplace settings. They become part of a global social movement for patient and healthcare worker safety. Information on how to apply can be found in the link below.
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News Article
Hacked UK trove includes data on newborns, cancer patients...
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Hackers behind a London hospital attack recently published records that include personal information about pregnant women, newborns, cancer patients, people suffering from schizophrenia and thousands of others across the UK and Ireland, revealing the breach was far more widespread than authorities have previously indicated. An analysis of the data trove by Bloomberg News found that it contains tens of thousands of medical records on patients from more than 400 public and private hospitals and clinics. Among the records are some 40,000 highly sensitive documents sent by doctors requesting biopsies and blood tests for individual patients in all regions of the UK and some hospitals in Ireland. A breach of the kind faced by Synnovis was inevitable, according to Saif Abed, a former NHS doctor and expert in cybersecurity and public health. “The NHS has some of best patient safety and cybersecurity standards in the world,” Abed said. “They are just immensely poorly enforced.” Abed said that there was a lack of mandatory cybersecurity audits on any contractors providing services to the NHS, which meant those contractors could have substandard cybersecurity practices that could in turn leave the NHS vulnerable. Read full story Source: Bloomberg UK, 26 June 2024 -
Content Article
National Guardian Freedom to Speak Up: Case studies
Patient Safety Learning posted an article in Speak Up Guardians
Read the latest case studies from the National Guardian’s Office. -
Content ArticleIn the dynamic landscape of healthcare, the unexpected deterioration of a hospital patient presents formidable challenges for medical professionals and families alike. It is during these critical moments that the concept of patient rescue becomes profoundly significant. Families, empowered with knowledge and effective communication strategies, play a pivotal role alongside healthcare providers in advocating for their loved ones and contributing to the success of rescue efforts. Watch this video from the World Patients Alliance to enhance your skills and confidence in advocating for patients' needs.
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EventThe Welsh Government, in partnership with the Restraint Reduction Network and Improvement Cymru, is pleased to announce this lunchtime webinar launching a brand-new coproduced animation and additional resources to support our work to reduce restrictive practices in Wales. In this webinar, co-chaired by Joe Powell, CEO of All Wales People First and Zara Newman, Welsh Government Head of Safeguarding and Advocacy, you will learn more about restrictive practices, the Welsh Government’s Reducing Restrictive Practices Framework and the resources available to support practitioners across health, care and educational settings. The resources, including the new animation, have been developed by the Welsh Government to raise awareness of restrictive practices and their lawful use in care and educational settings. There will be opportunity to ask questions on the day. The webinar is open to all. Please note that this webinar will also be translated into Welsh in real time. Register
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EventThe RRN is currently developing version two of the RRN Training Standards. Over several months they have been hosting a number of events to hear from colleagues across sectors and nations to help inform the development of version 2 of the Standards. The next webinar will provide an update on progress to version 2 of the RRN Training Standards. Hosted by RRN Trustee Salli Midgley and RRN Training Standards authors Sarah Leitch and Dave Atkinson, the webinar will provide an update on progress and provide opportunity for discussion around some key issues. Colleagues from the health, social care and education sectors, and from across the UK and Ireland, are welcome. We warmly welcome people with lived experience. The Restraint Reduction Network is a movement of people who want to eliminate the use of unnecessary restrictive practices, protect human rights and make a positive difference in people's lives. You can join the movement for free today at: https://restraintreductionnetwork.org/become-a-member/ Register
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Content ArticleClive Flashman, Patient Safety Learning's Chief Digital Officer, presented at a Health Tech Alliance meeting to innovators on how to engage with patients to improve the safety of digital health innovation. Clive addressed the challenges in patient engagement such as accessibility, interoperability, safety standards and privacy and data use. The presentation slides from the meeting can be downloaded from the attachment below.
