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Sam

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  1. Sam
    The NHS in Wales needs to "speed up the process" of treating people waiting over two years for hospital treatment, the health minister said.
    Eluned Morgan said health boards need to prioritise the "longest waiters and they're not always doing that".
    There are 59,350 people waiting over two years in Wales, although the number has fallen for a fifth month in a row.
    The Welsh NHS Confederation, which represents NHS health organisations, has been asked to comment.
    In Wales, there are 183,450 operations and procedures waiting more than a year.
    Overall waits - from referral to treatment - have passed 750,000.
    Scotland has 7,650 patients waiting more than two years, England has 2,646.
    Asked on BBC Politics Wales why so many more people are waiting longer in Wales, Ms Morgan said: "Our health boards need to make sure that they're taking people from the longest waiters and they're not always doing that."
    Read full story
    Source: BBC News, 23 October 2022
  2. Sam
    About 4,000 UK victims of the infected blood scandal are to receive interim compensation payments of £100,000 by the end of this month.
    It is being paid to those whose health is failing after developing blood borne viruses like hepatitis and HIV. It is also being paid to partners of people who have died.
    Conan McIlwrath, from Larne in County Antrim, who is among the 100 or so victims affected in Northern Ireland said it was "very much welcomed".
    "This is the first compensation that's ever been paid - anything prior has been support," he told BBC News NI.
    All victims have campaigned for actual 'compensation' as they have said only this would acknowledge decades of physical and social injury, as well as loss of earnings and the cost of care.
    Read full story
    Source: BBC News, 22 October 2022
  3. Sam
    The NHS is launching an effort to recruit tens of thousands of nurses to help fill the record number of vacancies that low pay, Covid and heavy workloads have created across the service.
    A multimedia blitz will try to raise nursing’s profile as a worthwhile career by featuring patients who benefited from nurses’ skills and dedication.
    NHS England’s “We are the NHS” campaign will use radio, social media and cinema advertisements to portray nursing as a varied and fulfilling role that can change people’s lives.
    It comes soon after NHS figures showed that the number of empty posts in nursing across hospitals, mental health, community care and other services had reached 46,828 – the largest number ever. That means that more than one in 10 nursing roles (11.8%) are unfilled across the service overall.
    While the NHS is short of almost every type of staff, service chiefs say the acute lack of nurses is a key reason why so many patients are waiting so long for A&E, cancer treatment and other care.
    Read full story
    Source: The Guardian, 24 October 2022
  4. Sam
    The troubled agency that supplies blood to the NHS has a ’very serious problem’ with racism, a staff survey has revealed.
    Six hundred staff at NHS Blood and Transplant were surveyed and the results have been summarised in an internal memo, seen by HSJ. 
    It said 55% of respondents felt the problem of racism at NHSBT is “extremely or very serious”, while half had little confidence in the organisation’s recent efforts to tackle racial inequality.
    When contacted for comment, a NHSBT spokeswoman said the results were “difficult to read” and added that “we are deeply sorry to those who have experienced negative behaviour”.
    The issues over race and leadership come at perhaps the most operationally challenging period in NHSBT’s history.  It is struggling to find enough staff for its donation clinics, which meant it issued its first-ever “amber alert” over blood supplies recently. 
    Read full story (paywalled)
    Source: HSJ, 21 October 2022
  5. Sam
    Researchers are calling on five million UK adults to join what they hope will be one of the biggest studies in the world, to create the most detailed picture ever of the nation's health.
    The aim is it to find better ways to prevent, spot and treat illnesses like cancer and dementia early on. It will involve collecting health and genetic data and creating a long-term repository of health information.
    Our Future Health is part-funded by government, industry and charities. They hope to get their first set of results in the next few years.
    Chairman of the programme, Prof Sir John Bell, said the ambition is to use the results to fundamentally shift the focus of healthcare systems to earlier diagnosis and prevention.
    Invitations will go out this autumn to more than three million people in London, West Yorkshire, West Midlands and Greater Manchester. Over time it will be open to all UK adults.
    Volunteers will:
    fill in questionnaires about their lifestyles and any health problems have blood tests for measurements such as blood sugar and cholesterol have their height, weight and blood pressure measured take genetic tests consent to share their NHS records. According to the plans the information will be used in a number of different ways.
    Scientists will collate and combine this information and store it so that people cannot be identified, building up a bank of health and genetic data.
    Read full story
    Source: BBC News, 24 October 2022
  6. Sam
    A patient flow model which involves moving A&E patients to wards “irrespective” of whether there are beds available, is under review for wider rollout by NHS England and is being endorsed by senior clinicians, despite safety fears, HSJ has learned. 
    The Royal College of Emergency Medicine has said it would be “unethical” for leaders not to at least consider implementing some form of “continuous flow” model for emergency patients.
    The approach has been been trialled recently by North Bristol Trust and at several London trusts. HSJ understands NHS England is considering the wider implementation of the continuous flow model, although no final decision has yet been made.
    The calls come despite patient safety concerns about the model being raised by the Nuffield Trust think tank, who said the evidence for the model is “poor” and could spread risk to other parts of the hospital.
    Read full story (paywalled)
    Source: HSJ, 21 October 2022
  7. Sam
    Sarah was only allowed to see her 78-year-old mother through a small, double-glazed window that opened 2in at the bottom. There had been a Covid outbreak in her care home and her family were barred from entry, contrary to government guidelines.
    But this was not December 2020. It was two months ago.
    “It was just horrific,” said Sarah. “Mum said, ‘I feel like I’m in prison.’ And it was hard for us to disagree.” Sarah and her sisters kept pushing for visitor rights, offering to wear full PPE, but the home, which charged £1,050 a week, instead issued a 28-day eviction notice, saying they “could not meet the family’s needs”.
    In March this year, all restrictions on care homes were lifted. In a Covid outbreak — two or more positive tests — “visits should happen in all circumstances”. Each resident is allowed one visitor, and this does not need to be the same person throughout the outbreak. However, privately run homes are not following government guidelines. 
    “We saw a massive, tragic loss of life at the beginning of the pandemic among this demographic,” said Helen Wildbore, director of Relatives and Residents Association. “But now care homes have swung dramatically to the other extreme and they have become medically risk averse at the cost of people’s mental health and quality of life. We know people in isolation who have just given up the will to live, who feel like they have been abandoned.”
    Read full story (paywalled)
    Source: The Times, 23 October 2022
    You may also be interested to read these two original blogs posted on the hub:
    Visiting restrictions and the impact on patients and their families: a relative's perspective It’s time to rename the ‘visitor’: reflections from a relative
  8. Sam
    Paramedics in England cannot respond to 117,000 urgent 999 calls every month because they are stuck outside hospitals looking after patients, figures show.
    The amount of time ambulance crews had to wait outside A&E units meant they were unavailable to attend almost one in six incidents.
    Long delays in handing patients over to A&E staff meant 38,000 people may have been harmed last month alone – one in seven of the 292,000 who had to wait at least 15 minutes.
    Of those left at risk of harm, 4,100 suffered potential “severe harm”, according to the bosses of England’s ambulance services.
    Read full story
    Source: The Guardian, 21 October 2022
  9. Sam
    Some batches of an antibiotic medicine called teicoplanin (brand name Targocid) are being urgently recalled in the UK because of possible contamination.
    The two affected batches are labelled 0J25D1 and 0J25D2, say safety experts.
    Patients and prescribers are being asked to check packs and stop using the medicine if it has either batch number.
    Four patients so far have suffered high fevers just hours after being given a dose from these batches.
    Other products containing teicoplanin are not affected by the recall.
    The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) says the two batches of Targocid 200mg powder for making a solution to take as an injection, by infusion or by mouth, were found to contain high levels of bacterial endotoxins - a toxic compound found in bacterial cell walls that can cause inflammation-related symptoms, high fever and, in very serious cases, septic shock.
    Read full story
    Source: BBC News, 21 October 2022
  10. Sam
    A key national policy change recommended by the inquest which led to the East Kent maternity inquiry will not be implemented until next February – more than three years after it was called for by a coroner.
    The recommendation – that obstetric locum doctors be required to demonstrate more experience before working – was made in a prevention of future deaths report following the inquest into the death of seven-day-old Harry Richford at East Kent Hospitals University Foundation Trust.
    The remaining 18 recommendations from the PFD report were requiring specific actions by the trust, rather than national policy makers. The trust says they have been implemented. 
    However, NHS England and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists have only in recent months produced guidance on using short-term locums in these services, and it will not come into effect until February.
    When it does, it will require them to complete a certification of eligibility, demonstrating they have had recent experience in a number of clinical situations, including complex Caesarean sections. Middle-grade locums have until next February to gain the certificate.
    The independent inquiry into maternity at the trust – prompted by Harry’s death – will report tomorrrow, Wednesday 19 October, and is expected to be highly critical of the trust, and of national efforts to make services safe over recent years. 
    Read full story (paywalled)
    Source: 18 October 2022
  11. Sam
    Very sick babies and children will be diagnosed and start treatment more quickly thanks to a “revolutionary” new genetic testing service being launched by the NHS.
    Doctors will gain vital insights within as little as two days into what illnesses more than 1,000 newborns and infants a year in England have from the rapid analysis of blood tests.
    Until now, when doctors suspected a genetic disorder, such tests have sometimes taken weeks as they had to be done in a sequential order to rule out other possible diagnoses, delaying treatment.
    NHS England bosses say the service could save the lives of thousands of seriously ill children over time and will usher in “a new era of genomic medicine”.
    The clinical scientists, genetic technologists and bioinformaticians will carry out much faster processing of DNA samples, including saliva and other tissue samples as well as blood. They will share their findings with medical teams and patients’ families.
    “This global first is an incredible moment for the NHS and will be revolutionary in helping us to rapidly diagnose the illnesses of thousands of seriously ill children and babies, saving countless lives in the years to come,” said Amanda Pritchard, NHS England’s chief executive.
    Read full story
    Source: The Guardian, 12 October 2022
    Further hub reading
    Genetic profiling and precision medicine – the future of cancer treatment
  12. Sam
    An ambulance service rated ‘inadequate’ by the Care Quality Commission has set out a wide-ranging improvement plan, including ‘civility training’ for senior leaders and ensuring board members hear a mix of ‘positive and negative’ stories from patients and staff.
    South Central Ambulance Service has been moved into the equivalent of “special measures” by NHS England, in the wake of the Care Quality Commission report in August which criticised “extreme positivity” at the highest levels of the organisation.
    This means 3 out of only 10 dedicated ambulance service trusts in England are now in segment four of NHSE’s system oversight framework, the successor to special measures. The other ambulance services in segment four are East of England and South East Coast.
    In a damning inspection report published in August, the care watchdog said that leaders were “out of touch” and staff had faced a “dismissive attitude” when they tried to raise concerns.
    One staff member told inspectors: “When sexual harassment is reported it seems to be brushed under the carpet and the person is given a second chance. Because of this, a lot of staff feel unsafe, unsupported and vulnerable when coming to work.”
    An improvement plan summary published at the start of last month included a large number of priorites and actions, including to “ensure [a] mix of positive and negative patient/staff stories are presented to [trust] board meetings” – an apparent attempt to address CQC concerns that its positive outlook could feel “dismissive of the reality to frontline staff”.
    Read full story (paywalled)
    Source: HSJ, 11 October 2022
  13. Sam
    Nurses will start voting on Thursday on whether to strike over pay amid warnings that record numbers are leaving the profession.
    Around 300,000 members of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) are being asked if they want to mount a campaign of industrial action in the union’s first UK-wide ballot.
    The RCN said new analysis by London Economics to coincide with the ballot launch showed that pay for nurses has declined at twice the rate of the private sector in the last decade.
    It is the first time in its 106-year history that the RCN has balloted members across the UK on strike action and it is urging them to vote in favour. 
    RCN general secretary Pat Cullen said in a message to those being balloted: “This is a once-in-a-generation chance to improve your pay and combat the staff shortages that put patients at risk.
    “Governments have repeatedly neglected the NHS and the value of nursing. We can change this if together we say ‘enough is enough’.
    “Record numbers are feeling no alternative but to quit and patients pay a heavy price. We are doing this for them too."
    Read full story
    Source: The Independent, 6 October 2022
  14. Sam
    Health professionals should not let fears about sharing personal data “stand in the way” of reporting patients at risk of ”being groomed into terrorist activity”, new government guidance has stressed.
    New guidance has been developed in response to concerns raised by clinicians about information sharing without consent for the purposes of the anti-terror Prevent and Channel programmes.
    It stresses that “fears about sharing personal data should not be allowed to stand in the way of the need to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and adults at risk of abuse or exploitation”.
    However, despite the need for clarity it describes how the decision for making a referral without someone’s informed consent should be subject to a “case-by-case” basis assessment, which considers whether the informed consent of the individual can be obtained, and if the proposed data sharing is legitimate, necessary, proportionate and lawful.
    It said: “This assessment should be based on your professional opinion that there is tangible public interest or best interest considerations involved.”
    Read full story (paywalled)
    Source: HSJ, 29 September 2022
  15. Sam
    Children’s doctors plan to help poor families cope with the cost of living crisis and its feared impact on health, amid concern that cold homes this winter will lead to serious ill health.
    In an unusual move, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) is issuing the UK’s paediatricians with detailed advice on how they can help households in poverty.
    It has drawn up a series of resources, including advice for doctors treating children to use appointments to talk sensitively to their parents about issues that can have a big impact on their offspring’s health. These include diet, local pollution levels, socio-economic circumstances and difficulties at home or school, which are closely linked to children’s risk of being overweight, asthmatic or stressed.
    “Don’t shy away from it,” the RCPCH’s 17-page manual says. “If we aren’t asking families about things which may impact on their children’s health, we are short-changing the children themselves.”
    However, it adds that paediatricians should “pick your timing carefully [as] parents can feel alienated if we are perceived as jumping in with two feet to ask about smoking when they are stressed about an acutely unwell child with pneumonia.”
    Read full story
    Source: The Guardian, 22 September 2022
  16. Sam
    Families have blasted a NHS Trust after it said it did not intend to publish an independent review into their loved ones deaths. Three young people died in nine months at the same mental health unit.
    A Coroner was told last week that the review will be "ready" this month. Rowan Thompson, 18, died while a patient at the unit, based in the former Prestwich Hospital, Bury, in October 2020, followed by Charlie Millers, 17, in December that year, and Ania Sohail, 21, in June last year.
    Earlier this year, Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust (GMMH), which runs the hospital, commissioned an 'external report' into the deaths. A pre-inquest hearing into the death of Rowan - who used the pronoun 'they' - heard that the full report would be available for the coroner to read 'on or around September 30'.
    Asked by the Manchester Evening News if the review would be published a spokesperson for the Trust said the Trust "always act on the wishes of the family regarding publication of reports," adding "and so in line with this we have no immediate plans to make the report public."
    But the parents of both Rowan Thompson and Charlie Mllers said they wanted the report publishing. Charlie's mother, Sam, said: "We want it published. It needs to be put out there, otherwise there is no point in having it. We are hoping they (The Trust) will learn lessons. We want answers but it should also be published for the benefit of the wider public - and the parents of other young people who are being treated in that unit."
    Read full story
    Source: The Manchester News, 13 September 2022
  17. Sam
    Millions of people will be invited for their autumn Covid booster jab in England and Scotland, with care home residents the first to receive them.
    Although infections are falling, health bosses are predicting a resurgence of Covid and flu this autumn and winter.
    They are urging those eligible to protect themselves from serious illness by getting vaccines against both.
    A recently approved vaccine against the Omicron variant will be used first.
    However, there is not enough of Moderna's "bivalent" vaccine to protect everyone aged over 50 so health officials say people should take whichever booster they are offered. These will be the vaccines used in the spring.
    The UK's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) announced on Saturday that it had approved a second "bivalent" coronavirus vaccine from Pfizer/BioNTech for people aged 12 and over.
    Read full story
    Source: BBC News, 4 September 2022
  18. Sam
    Internal documents show significant evidence of bullying and discrimination within NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) which dates back at least eight years, when the organisation was led by the current chief executive of the Care Quality Commission.
    HSJ has seen a report which detailed major tensions and dysfunction at NHSBT’s Colindale site in north London in 2016, four years before another report found similar problems.
    Given the damning findings of the second report, in 2020 – which found a “toxic environment”, multiple accounts of bullying, and “systemic racism” at the same site – it raises questions around the actions taken by NHSBT’s former leaders, including current CQC boss Ian Trenholm, to address the issues raised in the 2016 report.
    The 2016 report was commissioned by the manufacturing directorate and concluded the hospital services department at the Colindale site was “dysfunctional” after a highly contentious reorganisation of some services and teams.
    It noted “a series of bullying and harassment incidents” were being reported, but which staff felt were not investigated appropriately, and claims of “discriminatory practice” by managers.
    Read full story
    Source: HSJ, 26 August 2022
  19. Sam
    Dr Ted Baker has been named as the government’s preferred candidate for chair of the Health Services Safety Investigations Body (HSSIB).
    Steve Barclay, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has today (26 August 2022) invited the Health and Social Care Committee to hold a pre-appointment scrutiny hearing with Dr Baker.
    Ted Baker was Chief Inspector of Hospitals at the Care Quality Commission between 2017 and 2022. He trained as a paediatric cardiologist. He was in clinical practice for 35 years and has held a range of clinical and academic leadership roles including medical director at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust.
    He was selected following an open public appointment process.
    Following the select committee hearing, the committee will set out its views on the candidate’s suitability for the role. The Secretary of State will then consider the committee’s report before making a final decision on the appointment.
    Read full story
    Source: HSIB, 26 August 2022
  20. Sam
    A shortage of some medicines is putting patients at risk, pharmacists have warned.
    A poll of 1,562 UK pharmacists for the Pharmaceutical Journal found more than half (54%) believed patients had been put at risk in the past six months due to shortages.
    A number of patients have been facing difficulties accessing some medicines in recent months, sometimes having to go to multiple pharmacies to find their prescription or needing to go back to their GP to be prescribed an alternative.
    Since June, the government has issued a number of "medicine supply notifications", which highlight shortages.
    Some of these include: pain relief drugs used in childbirth; mouth ulcer medication; migraine treatment; an antihistamine; a drug used by prostate cancer and endomitosis patients; an antipsychotic drug used among bipolar disorder and schizophrenia patients; a type of inhaler and a certain brand of insulin.
    Read full story
    Source Sky News, 11August 2022
  21. Sam
    Last month saw the highest number of ambulance callouts for life-threatening conditions since records began, NHS England officials say.
    There were more than 85,000 category one calls, for situations like cardiac arrests and people stopping breathing.
    The heatwave could have been one reason for increased demand, but experts say hospitals already face immense pressures.
    Nearly 30,000 patients waited more than 12 hours to be admitted to hospital.
    The number is up 33% on the previous month and the highest since records began in 2010.
    Richard Murray, chief executive of The King's Fund said the pressure on hospitals was also being felt right across the health and social care system.
    He added: "At the end of July, 13,014 people were still in hospital beds despite being medically fit to be discharged, often due to a lack of available social care support. The challenges affecting the NHS cannot be solved without addressing the issues in social care."
    Read full story
    Source BBC News, 12 August 2022
  22. Sam
    Criminals have issued ‘demands’ to an NHS IT supplier targeted by a cyber attack, leading health chiefs to fear they have accessed confidential patient data, HSJ has learned. 
    IT firm Advanced was targeted last week. The company provides electronic patient records to several trusts and most NHS 111 providers.
    Multiple government agencies – including the National Crime Agency and GCHQ – are now working to identify the extent of the damage caused by the attackers, while leaders of affected mental health trusts have warned of a “pretty desperate” situation as staff are unable to access vital patient records. 
    In a statement issued last night, Advanced said: “With respect to potentially impacted data, our investigation is under way, and when we have more information about potential data access or exfiltration, we will update customers as appropriate.”
    Read full story (paywalled)
    Source HSJ, 11 August 2022
  23. Sam
    NHS England has revealed plans to crack down on poor care being provided by mental health service providers. 
    There will be a particular focus on independent units treating NHS patients, as just over a quarter of these providers are failing to meet quality standards. 
    Official data shared with HSJ shows that of the 238 independent NHS mental health providers licensed by the Care Quality Commission in England, 174 (73 per cent) are classed as “good” or “outstanding”. The remaining 64 (27 per cent) either “require improvement” or are considered “inadequate”. 
    There have been been national concerns about repeated service failures within the sector. Independent units are often used by NHS trusts for out of area placements – a practice it is trying to end – or to cope with the lack of acute mental health beds.
    Read full story (paywalled)
    Source: HSJ, 11 August 2022
  24. Sam
    NHS England patients with Type 1 diabetes will now be eligible for life-changing continuous glucose monitors after the health service secured a new cut-price deal.
    The wearable arm gadget sends information to a mobile app and allows diabetes patients to keep track of their glucose levels at all times without having to scan or take a finger prick test.
    Traditionally, continuous glucose monitors are more expensive than their flash monitor counterparts – which record glucose levels by scanning a sensor – but thanks to the NHS agreeing on a new cost-effective deal with manufacturers DEXCOM, they will now be available for NHS patients on prescription at a similar price.
    The monitor, called Dexcom ONE Real Time-Continuous Glucose Monitoring, uses a sensor no bigger than a bottle cap that attaches to the arm for up to 10 days and measures glucose levels from just under the skin.
    Patients will receive their starter pack – which will include information on the product and usage, a sensor and transmitter – from the hospital or GP surgery once prescribed, after which they can go to the pharmacy for their repeat prescription.
    Dr Partha Kar, national speciality advisor for diabetes and obesity said: “This is a huge step forward for Type 1 diabetes care and these monitors will be life-changing for anyone with the illness – giving them more choice to manage their condition in the most convenient way possible – as well as the best chance at living healthier lives, reducing their risk of hospitalisation and illnesses associated with diabetes, which in turn reduces pressure on wider NHS services.
    “The new deal also delivers on our commitment to get patients the latest cutting-edge medical technology at the best value for taxpayer money – saving the NHS millions over the coming years”.
    Read full story
    Source: NHS England, 2 August 2022
    You may also be interested in:
    “I felt lucky to get out alive”: why we must improve hospital safety for people with diabetes Peer support makes a big difference to living with type 1 diabetes Improving safety for diabetic inpatients: 4 key steps - Interview with Dr Partha Kar
  25. Sam
    The monkeypox outbreak has been declared a global health emergency by the World Health Organization.
    According to the UK Health Security Agency, early symptoms of monkeypox include fever, headache, muscle aches, swollen lymph nodes and chills, as well as other features such as exhaustion.
    Monkeypox does not spread easily between humans, and requires close contact. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it is thought that human-to-human transmission primarily occurs through large respiratory droplets.
    Globally, there have so far been 16,016 monkeypox cases – 4,132 of which were in the past week, according to WHO data. It is now in 75 countries and territories and there have been five deaths.
    The European region has the highest number of total cases, at 11,865, and the highest increase in the past seven days, with 2,705.
    The west African strain of monkeypox is generally a mild infection for most people, but it is important those infected and their contacts are identified. The virus is more of a concern among vulnerable people such as those with weakened immune systems or who are pregnant.
    Read full story
    Source: The Guardian, 23 July 2022
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