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Patient-Safety-Learning

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Everything posted by Patient-Safety-Learning

  1. Content Article
    This article written for The Guardian provides an inside look from the University College hospital who allowed access to its new facility and staff to show how the health service is trying to tackle backlogs.
  2. Content Article
    This article by Ed Yong discusses the impact of Long Covid on patients and how for both unvaccinated and vaccinated people, is one of the pandemic’s biggest and least-addressed unknowns.
  3. Content Article
    The What Good Looks Like (WGLL) programme draws on local learning. It builds on established good practice to provide clear guidance for health and care leaders to digitise, connect and transform services safely and securely. This will improve the outcomes, experience and safety of citizens.
  4. News Article
    Glen Burley, an acute trust chief executive has said NHS England risks ‘levelling down’ safety in some maternity services by ‘disproportionately’ directing additional funding to struggling trusts. This comes after NHS England said the funding prioritised the trusts which needed the most support to meet the essential actions in the Ockenden Report, where in March, NHSE invited trusts to bid for a share of £96m extra funding for maternity services. A spokeswoman for NHS England has said: “The NHS made an additional £96m investment in maternity services following the Ockenden Review, the majority of which will bolster the workforce by funding an additional 1,200 midwives and 100 obstetricians. While the funding for additional workforce is for all NHS trusts, it is right that those who most need the support are prioritised.” Read full story. Source: HSJ, 02 September 2021
  5. News Article
    Gavin Williamson, despite the risk of Covid, has insisted children must return to a "normal pre-pandemic" experience in schools. The education secretary said testing could be the key to guarding against infection rates, but refused to rule out a potential rise after experts have warned surges in Covid-19 are linked to classrooms. "This is why we're doing the testing programme and we're encouraging children to take part in it, parents, and of course teachers and support staff as well. This is a way of rooting out Covid. We're trying to strike that constant, sensible balance of actually giving children as normal experience in the classroom as possible, but also recognising we're still dealing with a global pandemic." He told Niall Paterson. Read full story. Source: Sky News, 02 September 2021
  6. News Article
    Experts have said the risk of "long Covid" in children is much lower than many had feared, with research suggesting somewhere between 2% and 14% still had symptoms caused by Covid 15 weeks later. However, while the research team found little evidence to showing huge number seeking help for symptoms that had left them bedridden or unable to attend school, it was still important that they received support if they had any persistent symptoms such as headaches, tiredness and breathing difficulties. Prof Sir Terence Stephenson, from UCL's Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, said of the development of Long Covid in children, "It is nowhere near what people thought in the worst-case scenario". Read full story. Source: BBC News, 01 September 2021
  7. News Article
    Groups representing the NHS have warned services may have to be cut unless NHS England receives an extra £10bn in funding next year, which may put patients at risk. The NHS Confederation and NHS Providers said the money was needed to cover pandemic-related costs and reduce the backlog in operations and treatments, but the government said it had already provided additional money to tackle backlogs. "We are committed to making sure the NHS has everything it needs to continue providing excellent care to the public as we tackle the backlogs that have built up during the pandemic. This year alone we have already provided a further £29bn to support health and care services, including an extra £1bn to tackle the backlog. This is on top of our historic settlement for the NHS in 2018, which will see its budget rise by £33.9bn by 2023-24." Said a government statement. Read full story. Source: BBC News, 02 August 2021
  8. Content Article
    Numerous studies show a link between a positive safety culture (where safety is a shared priority) and improved patient safety within a healthcare organisation. The evidence is so convincing that the US National Patient Safety Foundation (NPSF) lists leadership support for a safety culture as the most important of eight recommendations for achieving patient safety. This overview from the Emergency Care Research Institute (ECRI) provides guidance and recommendations on how to embed approaches to safety culture within healthcare organisations.
  9. Content Article
    Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) is designed to improve the quality of care within the NHS by reducing unwarranted variations. By tackling variations in the way services are delivered across the NHS, and by sharing best practice between trusts, GIRFT identifies changes that will help improve care and patient outcomes, as well as delivering efficiencies such as the reduction of unnecessary procedures and cost savings.
  10. News Article
    The Modality Partnership, one of England's biggest general practice groups told HSJ that its GPs are regularly seeing more patients each day than is safe, after the number of people going to see their GP surged in the wake of Covid-19. Data has shown the provider’s GPs had an average of 20 patient contacts per day during April 2020, which has now risen to to an average of nearly 50 patient contacts per day. Modality, which had drawn up a report on the situation were quoted as saying, "There is just so much to cover – I am worried about missing something.” One partner at Modality who is also quoted in the report said: “An increasing number of patients I see are broken, often in tears, and seeking help to cope with the new stresses of life.” Read full story (paywalled). Source: HSJ, 31 August 2021
  11. News Article
    A new campaign to increase awareness of life-saving treatment that can reverse drug overdoses has been launched in Scotland. The Scottish government and Scottish Drugs Forum (SDF) have joined together to help improve information about naloxone which can prevent deaths in the case of opioids overdoses. Drugs policy minister Angela Constance said: “Firstly, on International Overdose Awareness Day I want to pass on my sincere condolences to all those who have been affected by a drug-related death. That is why I am pleased to launch this joint campaign with Scottish Drugs Forum to encourage the public to get involved in our national mission and equip themselves to save a life." Read full story. Source: The Independent, 31 August 2021
  12. News Article
    A new study has found stress in the workplace could be leading women suffering from warning signs of heart disease. These signs included work-related stress, sleep disorders, and tiredness - which are important but non-traditional risk factors for having a heart attack or a stroke. Dr Wagner, a neurology professor at the University of Zurich, said "Traditionally men have been perceived to be more affected by heart attacks and strokes than women, but in some countries, women have overtaken men. There is a gender gap and further research is needed to find out why”. Read full story. Source: The Independent, 31 August 2021
  13. News Article
    An expensive anti-cholesterol drug called inclisiran could soon be offered to hundreds of thousands of people in England and Wales on the NHS. The drug, which would be administered as a twice-a-year injection, costs around £2,000 per dose, could save about 30,000 lives within a decade. "Inclisiran represents a potential game-changer in preventing thousands of people from dying prematurely from heart attacks and strokes. We're therefore pleased to be able to recommend it as a cost effective option on the NHS." Said Meindert Boysen, NICE deputy chief executive and director of the Centre for Health Technology Evaluation. Read full story. Source: BBC News, 01 September 2021
  14. News Article
    New data has revealed the number of people in hospital with Covid-19 is climbing rapidly, even before the latest surge in infections. These figures highlight the immense pressure the NHS is currently facing, and according to this data, there are now 585 people in hospital with the virus, up from 312 just eleven days ago, showing it to be the highest figure since early March. Health Secretary Huma Yousaf said the situation in A&E is being closely monitored. "Hospitals are reporting increased levels of people attending A&E who are much sicker and require higher levels of care. Weekly performance is impacted due to a range of challenges including high attendances, staffing pressures due to isolation and annual leave and the continued requirement for infection control precautions that is affecting the time people need to spend in A&E." Read full story. Source: The Herald, 01 September 2021
  15. Content Article
    This resource from NHS England provides guidance on how to make improvements in any area that involves safety. The guide includes explanations and advice involving improvement projects, the process of collecting, analysing and reviewing data, the Model for Improvement and how to use it.
  16. Content Article
    This document describes the results of a study conducted by a Calgary study team who entered into a contract with the Canadian Patient Safety Institute (CPSI) to seek out, assess, and compile related research, approaches, and models to help inform the engagement process with patients/families who had been harmed while receiving care.
  17. Content Article
    This research aimed to assess the effects of nurse-to-patient ratios on staffing levels and patient outcomes and whether both were associated. Results from the study suggested minimum nurse-to-patient ratio policies are a feasible approach to improve nurse staffing and patient outcomes with good return on investment.
  18. Content Article
    On 8 April 2014, former Health Minister Edwin Poots announced his intention to commission former Chief Medical Officer of England, Professor Sir Liam Donaldson, to advise on the improvement of governance arrangements across the HSC.   "The Right Time, The Right Place" Sir Liam was subsequently tasked with investigating whether an improvement in the quality of governance arrangements is needed and whether the current arrangements support a culture of openness, learning and making amends.
  19. News Article
    Government experts have said the reopening of schools next month will likely trigger an exponential rise in Covid infections among children. According to members of SPI-M-O, the governments committee on on pandemic modelling, the removal of certain measures such as face masks, and the lack of vaccinations, may mean children will be susceptible to the virus. “Vaccines have amazingly weakened the link between infections and illness and hospitalisations, but not broken it. No one wants to reimpose restrictions but we face a challenging winter. I do believe we need an informed public debate on the options through 2021 and 2022. The infection is not going away, we have incredible tools (tests, treatment, vaccines). No one wants restrictions reimposed but we will have to accept some illness, hospitalisations and deaths.” Said Sage member and director of the Wellcome Trust, Sir Jeremy Farrar Read full story. Source: The Independent, 28 August 2021
  20. News Article
    Doctors have warned GPs are having to make difficult choices about which patients get blood tests because of the ongoing shortage of test tubes, describing it as a "perilous" situation. Due to the shortages, the NHS in England and Wales have told surgeries and hospitals to temporarily stop some blood testing, which includes tests for fertility, allergies and pre-diabetes. One woman, Alison Webb, has said she cannot have her yearly thyroid and cholesterol checked due to the shortages - and her tests are already overdue by four months. A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said, "The health and care system continues to work flat out with the supplier and stakeholders to put mitigations in place, and restore normal supply, and there continues to be stock in place." Read full story. Source: BBC News, 30 August 2021
  21. News Article
    The number of Covid-19 cases reported in Scotland has now reached 7,113, previously recorded as 6,835 on Friday. Health Secretary Humza Yousaf has warned the NHS was facing a "perfect storm" of pressure, with latest government figures showing a total of 507 people are in hospital with Covid and 52 are in intensive care. "We are seeing a rising curve of cases in Scotland. It's reassuring that vaccines are preventing the levels of serious health harms that case numbers like this would once have caused. However, we can't be complacent and are monitoring carefully. In the meantime, please take care." Tweeted First Minister Nicola Sturgeon. Read full story. Source: BBC News, 30 August 2021 (Scotland)
  22. News Article
    A new study focused largely on unvaccinated or partially vaccinated people has found the Delta variant is more likely to cause hospitalisation than the Alpha variant. The Delta variant, first identified in India, is already understood to be far more infectious than the previously dominant Alpha variant that was initially detected in Kent. Dr Gavin Dabrera, one of the study’s lead authors and a consultant epidemiologist for Public Health England has said, “This study confirms previous findings that people infected with Delta are significantly more likely to require hospitalisation than those with Alpha, although most cases included in the analysis were unvaccinated.” Read full story. Source: The Guardian, 27 August 2021
  23. News Article
    According to reports, senior managers at an NHS trust knew up to 30 cancers may have gone undetected two years before an official probe into a backlog of thousands of X-rays. Although the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and Healthwatch made investigations in 2016, neither one were told of potential harm to patients. The backlog was publicly exposed by Ken Hall, who approached the Care Quality Commission in 2016, where it then identified 11,000 X-rays had not been processed, but was subsequently struck off after allegations of fraud. "These go through a rigorous quality assurance process and the Care Quality Commission would not publish any statement in an inspection report that it did not believe to be true." Said the CQC when asked about its findings of no harm after being shown the 2014 trust management committee reports, the CQC also told the BBC it could find no record of inspectors having had sight of them. Read full story. Source: BBC News, 27 August 2021
  24. Content Article
    This article by Alison Moore focuses on the problems and controversy associated with the Queen Elizabeth Hospital King’s Lynn Foundation Trust who had to evacuate its critical care unit earlier this year because of the dangers surrounding the safety of their roof.  
  25. Content Article
    In this article Wang et al. review recent advances in understanding airborne transmission gained from studying the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections and other respiratory pathogens. 
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