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Sam

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  1. Sam
    Patients could be waiting as much as two years for vital operations by the time of the next election due to a “truly frightening” backlog of care caused by the pandemic, the NHS’s former boss has said.
    Lengthening delays in getting treatment in England are will become a major political problem for Boris Johnson and pose a risk to patients’ health, Sir David Nicholson told the Guardian.
    “The backlog is truly frightening. We can very easily get to the next election with people waiting over two years. It’s easy to do that,” said Nicholson, citing an explosion in the number of people waiting at least a year since the start of the COVID-19 crisis.
    “The whole issue of access [to care] is a greater threat to the NHS than privatisation because poor access undermines confidence amongst those people who fund the service – taxpayers,” he added.
    The widespread suspension of normal NHS diagnostic tests and surgery during the pandemic as hospitals prioritised Covid care has left the service in England with a record 4.59 million people waiting for hospital treatment.
    That number is set to rise to what the NHS Confederation believes could be as much as 6.9m cases by the end of the year as people on a “hidden waiting list” – who put off seeking help after discovering symptoms of illness – finally visit a GP.
    According to the most recent figures, the number of people who have been waiting for at least a year has rocketed from 1,613 before the pandemic struck to 304,044.
    Under the NHS Constitution, 92% of people waiting are meant to be treated within 18 weeks. However, a third of the 4.59 million people have already waited longer than that.
    Read full story
    Source: The Guardian, 2 April 2021
  2. Sam
    Mental health "hubs" for new, expectant or bereaved mothers are to be set up around England.
    The 26 sites, due to be opened by next April, will offer physical health checks and psychological therapy in one building. NHS England said these centres would provide treatment for about 6,000 new parents in the first year.
    Five years ago, 40% of areas in England had no dedicated maternal mental health services.
    Things have improved since then with some specialist services available in each of the 44 local NHS areas in England. But in the NHS's Long Term Plan, published in 2019, the health service pledged to offer more "evidence-based" support, including to partners and families through these hubs or "outreach clinics".
    The NHS hopes to offer services to people with moderate-to-severe difficulties, whereas earlier investment focused on the most acutely unwell mothers.
    These clinics will "integrate maternity, reproductive health and psychological therapy for women experiencing mental health difficulties directly arising from, or related to, the maternity experience," NHS England said.
    Read full story
    Source: 5 April 2021
  4. Sam
    Intense pressures on the already overstretched NHS are being exacerbated by the tens of thousands of health staff who are sick with Long Covid, doctors and hospital bosses say.
    At least 122,000 NHS personnel have the condition, the Office for National Statistics disclosed in a detailed report that showed 1.1 million people in the UK were affected by the condition. That is more than any other occupational group and ahead of teachers, of whom 114,000 have it.
    Patient care is being hit because many of those struggling with Long Covid are only able to work part-time, are too unwell to perform their usual duties, or often need time off because they are in pain, exhausted or have “brain fog”.
    “Ongoing illness can have a devastating impact on individual doctors, both physically and by leaving them unable to work. Furthermore, it puts a huge strain on the health service, which was already vastly understaffed before the pandemic hit,” said Dr Helena McKeown, the workforce lead at the British Medical Association, which represents doctors.
    “With around 30,000 sickness absences currently linked to Covid in the NHS in England, we cannot afford to let any more staff become ill. Simply put, if they are off sick, they’re unable to provide care and patients will not get the care and treatment they need.
    “In the longer term, if more staff face ongoing illness from past COVID-19 infection, the implications for overall workforce numbers will be disastrous.”
    Read full story
    Source: The Guardian, 3 April 2021
  5. Sam
    Campaigners have started legal action against the government over guidance that bans care home residents in England aged 65 and over from taking trips outside the home.
    John's Campaign, of residents and their loved ones, says the ban is unlawful. They are also challenging the requirement for residents to self-isolate for 14 days after such visits.
    The government said its guidance provides a "range of opportunities" for visitors to spend time with loved ones.
    Nearly all residents have now had at least one dose of the vaccine, and care homes have been cautiously reopening, allowing indoor visits with designated family or friends.
    But the government guidance, updated on 8 March, says trips to see family or friends "should only be considered" for under-65s while national Covid restrictions apply because they increase the risk of bringing Covid into a home.
    Visits out for residents, whatever their age, "should be supported in exceptional circumstances such as a visit to a friend or relative at the end of their life", it adds - but on returning to the home, the resident must self-isolate for two weeks.
    The legal letter sent to the Department of Health and Social Care by John's Campaign says the decision whether someone can go on a visit outside a care home should be based on individual risk assessments.
    Read full story
    Source: BBC News, 2 April 2021
  6. Sam
    Maternity services are at risk because demoralised midwives are planning to quit the NHS, healthcare leaders have warned.
    A new report, carried out by the Institute for Public Policy Research, suggests 8,000 midwives may depart due to the “unprecedented pressure” of the coronavirus pandemic.
    Researchers, who surveyed about 1,000 healthcare professionals from around the country in mid-February, discovered that two-thirds reported being mentally exhausted once a week or more.
    Read full story (paywalled)
    Source: The Independent, 31 March 2021
  7. Sam
    An estimated 10% to 30% of people who get COVID-19 suffer from lingering symptoms of the disease, or what's known as "long COVID."
    Judy Dodd, who lives in New York City, is one of them. She spent nearly a year plagued by headaches, shortness of breath, extreme fatigue and problems with smell, among other symptoms.
    She says she worried that this "slog through life" was going to be her new normal.
    Everything changed after she got her COVID-19 vaccine.
    "I was like a new person, it was the craziest thing ever," says Dodd, referring to how many of her health problems subsided significantly after her second shot.
    And she's not alone. As the U.S. pushes to get people vaccinated, a curious benefit is emerging for those with this post-illness syndrome: Their symptoms are easing and, in some cases, fully resolving after they get vaccinated.
    Judy Dodd suffered lingering symptoms of COVID-19 for nearly a year, until she got her vaccine.
    It's the latest clue in the immunological puzzle of long COVID, a still poorly understood condition that leaves some who get infected with wide-ranging symptoms months after the initial illness.
    The notion that a vaccine aimed at preventing the disease may also be a treatment has sparked optimism among patients, and scientists who study the post-illness syndrome are taking a close look at these stories.
    Read full story
    Source: NPR, 31 March 2021
  8. Sam
    Coronavirus tests for patients in mental health hospitals should be couriered to testing labs and prioritised for results to prevent patients being forced to self-isolate for longer than is necessary, according to new guidance.
    NHS England has told mental health hospitals they need to use dedicated couriers for urgent swabs and tests should be specifically labelled for mental health patients so they can be turned around faster.
    Health bosses are worried thousands of patients in mental health wards could deteriorate ifare forced to self-isolate in their rooms for longer periods.
    More than 14,000 patients were being detained in hospital under the Mental Health Act in January 2021, with patients needing to be tested on admission to wards and if they show symptoms.
    Read full story
    Source: The Independent, 30 March 2021
  9. Sam
    A quarter of NHS workers are more likely to quit their job than a year ago because they are unhappy about their pay, frustrated by understaffing and exhausted by COVID-19, a survey suggests.
    The findings have prompted warnings that the health service is facing a potential “deadly exodus” of key personnel just as it tries to restart normal care after the pandemic.
    A representative poll of 1,006 health professionals across the UK by YouGov for the IPPR thinktank found that the pandemic has left one in four more likely to leave than a year ago. That includes 29% of nurses and midwives, occupations in which the NHS has major shortages.
    Ministers must initiate a “new deal” for NHS staff that involves a decent pay rise, better benefits, more flexible working and fewer administrative tasks, the IPPR said.
    “The last 12 months have stretched an already very thin workforce to breaking point. Many are exhausted, frustrated and in need of better support. If the government does not do right by them now, more many leave their jobs,” said Dr Parth Patel, an NHS doctor and IPPR research fellow who co-wrote its new report on how the NHS can retain and recruit more staff.
    Read full story
    Source: The Guardian, 30 May 2021
  10. Sam
    Today marks the last day that about four million of the most clinically vulnerable people in England and Wales are advised to shield at home.
    Letters have been sent out to the group in the last few weeks. They are still being advised to keep social contacts at low levels, work from home where possible and stay at a distance from other people.
    The change comes amid falling Covid cases and hospital admissions. According to NHS Digital, there are 3.8 million shielded patients in England and 130,000 in Wales.
    Scotland and Northern Ireland are expected to lift their restrictions later in April.
    People affected by shielding included Rob Smith, from Hull, who has muscular dystrophy.
    Shielding for more than a year has been a "nightmare", he told BBC Breakfast.
    "Where I was able to go out, I didn't feel I wanted to. I didn't feel confident to face people again," he said. "I've always been sociable.... It's had a massive impact."
    Mr Smith now says he feels anxious about the future and believes for many people who have been shielding, it will "take time to get used to being out there again".
    He is also wary of the risk of mixing with others again.
    Read full story
    Source: BBC News, 31 March 2021
  11. Sam
    That throbbing headache just won’t go away and your mind is racing about what may be wrong. But Googling your symptoms may not be as ill-advised as previously thought.
    Although some doctors often advise against turning to the internet before making the trudge up to the clinic, a new study suggests that using online resources to research symptoms may not be harmful after all – and could even lead to modest improvements in diagnosis.
    Using “Dr Google” for health purposes is controversial. Some have expressed concerns that it can lead to inaccurate diagnoses, bad advice on where to seek treatment (triage), and increased anxiety (cyberchondria).
    Previous research into the subject has been limited to observational studies of internet search behaviour, so researchers from Harvard sought to empirically measure the association of an internet search with diagnosis, triage, and anxiety by presenting 5,000 people in the United States with a series of symptoms and asked them to imagine that someone close to them was experiencing the symptoms.
    The participants – mostly white, average age 45, and an even gender split – were asked to provide a diagnosis based on the given information. Then they looked up their case symptoms (which, ranging from mild to severe, described common illnesses such as viruses, heart attacks and strokes) on the internet and again offered a diagnosis. As well as diagnosing the condition, participants were asked to select a triage level, ranging from “let the health issue get better on its own” to calling the emergency services. Participants also recorded their anxiety levels.
    The results showed a slight uptick in diagnosis accuracy, with an improvement of 49.8% to 54% before and after the search. However, there was no difference in triage accuracy or anxiety, the authors wrote in the journal JAMA Network Open.
    These findings suggest that medical experts and policymakers probably do not need to warn patients away from the internet when it comes to seeking health information and self-diagnosis or triage. It seems that using the internet may well help patients figure out what is wrong.
    Read full story
    Source: The Guardian, 29 March 2021
  12. Sam
    A French court has fined one of the country’s biggest pharmaceutical firms €2.7m (£2.3m) after finding it guilty of deception and manslaughter over a pill linked to the deaths of up to 2,000 people.
    In one of the biggest medical scandals in France, the privately owned laboratory Servier was accused of covering up the potentially fatal side-effects of the widely prescribed drug Mediator.
    The former executive Jean-Philippe Seta was sentenced to a suspended jail sentence of four years. The French medicines agency, accused of failing to act quickly enough on warnings about the drug, was fined €303,000.
    The amphetamine derivative was licensed as a diabetes treatment, but was widely prescribed as an appetite suppressant to help people lose weight. Its active chemical substance is known as Benfluorex.
    As many as 5 million people took the drug between 1976 and November 2009 when it was withdrawn in France, long after it was banned in Spain and Italy. It was never authorised in the UK or US.
    The French health minister estimated it had caused heart-valve damage killing at least 500 people, but other studies suggest the death toll may be nearer to 2,000. Thousands more have been left with debilitating cardiovascular problems. Servier has paid out millions in compensation.
    “Despite knowing of the risks incurred for many years, … they [Servier] never took the necessary measures and thus were guilty of deceit,” said the president of the criminal court, Sylvie Daunis.
    Read full story
    Source: The Guardian, 29 March 2021
  13. Sam
    Many GPs find telephone appointments with patients frustrating and want to see them in person because they fear they will otherwise miss signs of illness , the leader of Britain’s family doctors has said.
    Prof Martin Marshall told the Guardian that remote consultations felt like working “in a call centre” and risked damaging the relationship between GPs and their patients.
    Telephone and video appointments had proved useful during the Covid pandemic, when GP surgeries limited patients’ ability to come in for face-to-face appointments, he said. However, while that helped limit the spread of coronavirus, “this way of working has been frustrating for some GPs, particularly when most consultations were being delivered remotely, who have felt like they’ve been delivering care via a call centre, which isn’t the job they signed up for."
    “Remote consultations have advantages, particularly in terms of access and convenience for patients. But we know that patients prefer to see their GP face to face."
    “Remote working has been challenging for many GPs, particularly when delivering care to patients with complex health needs,” said Marshall, who is a GP in London. “It can also make it harder to pick up on soft cues, which can be helpful for making diagnoses.”
    His remarks come as NHS leaders and doctors groups are discussing how far appointments should return to being in person now the pandemic is receding.
    Read full story
    Source: The Guardian, 28 March 2021
  14. Sam
    A 40-year-old mother of four took her own life at an NHSmental health unit after multiple opportunities were missed to keep her safe, an inquest has found, prompting her family to call for a public inquiry.
    Azra Parveen Hussain was allegedly the seventh in-patient in seven years to die by the same means while in the care of Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust (BSMHT).
    Despite this, an inquest at Birmingham and Solihull Coroner’s Court last week heard that the Trust had not installed door pressure sensor alarms, which could have potentially alerted staff to the fatal danger these patients faced.
    While BSMHT is now taking action to install pressure sensors at Mary Seacole House, where Hussain died on 6 May, Coroner Emma Brown noted a lack of national regulation or guidance on the risks presented by internal doors in patients’ bedrooms and is issuing a Prevention of Future Deaths report calling for this to be remedied across the country.
    Read full story
    Source: The Independent, 28 March 2021
  15. Sam
    Devices which measure blood oxygen levels could be giving “seriously misleading” results for Black and minority ethnic people, possibly contributing to increased Covid-19 mortality, experts have warned.
    Pulse oximeters attach a clip-like device to a person’s finger, toe or earlobe and send a beam of infrared light to measure oxygen levels in the blood.
    The resulting reading can be used to monitor oxygen levels of people with a variety of conditions, including by people at home with coronavirus, and to assess patients in hospital.
    At the moment, coronavirus patients who call an ambulance but are not yet deemed sick enough to go to hospital are being given new home oxygen monitoring kits to help spot those who may deteriorate earlier, and over 300,000 oximeters have been sent out by NHS England.
    But a new paper cites a “growing body of evidence” that pulse oximetry is less accurate in darker skinned patients.
    This could be contributing to health inequalities such as the increased COVID-19 mortality rates of ethnic minority patients, according to a review conducted for the NHS Race and Health Observatory.
    It is now calling for the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to urgently review pulse oximetry products for ethnic minority people used in hospitals and by the wider public.
    Read full story
    Source: The Independent, 27 March 2021
  16. Sam
    Wards at a trust facing an inquiry over the deaths of vulnerable patients have been downgraded to ‘inadequate’ over fresh patient safety concerns. 
    The Care Quality Commission said five adult and intensive wards across three hospitals run by Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys (TEWV) Foundation Trust “did not manage patient safety incidents well”. It also criticised the trust’s leaders for failing to make sure staff knew how to assess patient risk.
    The watchdog rated the trust’s acute wards for adults of working age and psychiatric intensive care units as “inadequate” overall as well as for safety and leadership. The trust was also served a warning notice threatening more enforcement action if the patient safety issues are not urgently addressed. At the previous inspection in March 2020, the service was rated “good”.
    TEWV said it has taken “immediate action” to address the issues, including a rapid improvement event for staff and daily safety briefings, and will also spend £3.6m to recruit 80 more staff. The trust’s overall rating of “requires improvement” remains unchanged after this inspection.
    Brian Cranna, CQC’s head of hospital inspection for the North (mental health and community health services), said: “We found these five wards were providing a service where risks were not assessed effectively or managed well enough to keep people safe from harm."
    “Staff did not fully understand the complex risk assessment process and what was expected of them. The lack of robust documentation put people at direct risk of harm, as staff did not have access to the information they needed to provide safe care."
    Read full story (paywall)
    Source: HSJ, 26 March 2021
  17. Sam
    Two nurses whose failures contributed to the death of a disabled woman carried on working at a care home because they "knew residents well".
    Rachel Johnston died after an operation to remove all her teeth in 2018. Staff at Pirton Grange, near Worcester, failed to spot her decline and did not carry out basic checks.
    Worcestershire Coroner's Court heard that despite their actions amounting to misconduct, they were "consistent" and it was better if residents knew carers.
    Senior coroner David Reid concluded last month that neglect contributed to her death. and the 49-year-old would probably have survived if the staff acted sooner.
    Agency nurses Sheeba George and Gill Bennett failed to carry out routine checks and get emergency medical assistance, the inquest heard.
    Giving her delayed evidence on Friday, care home manager Jane Colbourn said she accepted their actions amounted to misconduct, but they were allowed to carry on working at the home and other residents were not at risk.
    "At the time I would say, although what's happened has happened, they were consistent nurses who knew those residents well and it's better to have those nurses rather than nurses that don't know the other 34 residents at all," she said.
    Read full story
    Source: BBC News, 27 March 2021
  18. Sam
    Women and girls in England are being asked to share their experiences of the health system as part of a government strategy to address inequalities.
    Ministers say there is "strong evidence" services for female patients need improving. Fertility, maternity and menopause care are among the areas to be discussed.
    Campaigners say they are "delighted" steps are "finally" being taken to close the so-called "gender health gap".
    While women in the UK have a longer life expectancy than men, the Department for Health and Social Care says they are spending less of their life in good health.
    Nadine Dorries, minister for women's health, said: "Women's experiences of healthcare can vary and we want to ensure women are able to access the treatment and services they need.
    "It's crucial women's voices are at the front and centre of this strategy so we understand their experiences and how to improve their outcomes."
    Studies suggest gender biases in clinical trials are a contributing factor. Less is also said to be known about many female-specific conditions and how to treat them.
    Patients have repeatedly reported to the BBC that they have felt overlooked when talking to doctors about conditions like endometriosis or complications following a pelvic mesh repair.
    Read full story
    Source: BBC News, 6 March 2021
  19. Sam
    A regulator has admitted “concerns” over the software Babylon Healthcare uses in one of its digital health solutions and is exploring how to address this.
    The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority’s (MHRA) concerns relate to Babylon’s symptom checker “chatbot” tool. This is used by thousands of patients, including those registered with digital primary care practice GP at Hand.
    Two senior figures within the agency set out the MHRA’s concerns about the tool in a letter, seen by HSJ, which was sent to consultant oncologist David Watkins following a meeting between the parties last October.
    Dr Watkins has raised doubts over the tool’s safety for several years, including repeatedly documenting alleged flaws in the chatbot through videos posted online. However, last year, Babylon said only 20 of Dr Watkins’ 2,400 tests resulted in “genuine errors” being identified in the software.
    In the letter, dated 4 December, the MHRA’s clinical director for devices Duncan McPherson and head of software related device technologies Johan Ordish said Dr Watkins’ “concerns are all valid and ones that we share”. 
    In the letter to Dr Watkins, the two MHRA directors also said the regulator is further exploring some of the issues highlighted and the work could “be important as we develop a new regulatory framework for medical devices in the UK”.
    Read full story (paywalled)
    Source: HSJ, 4 March 2021
  20. Sam
    Patients with learning disabilities were pushed and dragged across the floor while others had their arms trapped in doors by staff working at a private hospital, the care watchdog has found.
    The Care Quality Commission said instances of abuse caught on CCTV had now been reported to police and staff working at St John’s House, near Diss in Norfolk, have been suspended. Police have said no further action will be taken.
    The regulator has rated the home, part of The Priory Group, inadequate and put it into special measures after inspectors found a string of failures at the 49-bed home during an inspection in December.
    According to the CQC’s report, inspectors reviewed CCTV footage of seven patient safety incidents between August and December last year.
    This showed “issues such as prolonged use of prone restraint, a patient being dragged across the floor despite attempting to drop their weight, a patient being pushed over and the seclusion room door trapping a patients arm and making contact with a patient’s head when closed”.
    The report said that although some staff had been suspended the hospital had not reported all the incidents to the police or the local council. It added: “Following CQC raising this as a concern, the provider has now reported incidents to the police, the safeguarding team and has suspended further staff pending investigation.”
    Read full story
    Source: The Independent, 5 March 2021
  21. Sam
    More than a dozen NHS patients have stopped breathing and 40 others suffered serious effects after having powerful anaesthetic drugs mistakenly “flushed” into their systems by unsuspecting NHS staff.
    In one case a man has been left suffering nightmares and flashbacks after he stopped breathing on a ward when a powerful muscle relaxant used during an earlier procedure paralysed him but left him fully conscious. He only survived because a doctor was on the ward and started mechanically breathing for him.
    An investigation by the safety watchdog, the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB), found there had been 58 similar incidents in England during a three-year period.
    The mistakes happen when residual amounts of drugs are left in intravenous lines and cannulas and not “flushed” out after the surgery. When the IV lines are used later by other staff the residual drugs can have a debilitating effect on patients.
    In a new report HSIB said flushing intravenous lines to remove powerful drugs was a “safety-critical” task but that the process for checking this had been done was not being properly carried out, posing a life-threatening risk to patients.
    It said the use of a checklist by anaesthetic staff can be overlooked when doctors are busy with other tasks and they fail to engage with the process.
    Read full story
    Source: The Independent, 4 March 2021
  22. Sam
    NHS England has ordered an independent review into patient safety and governance concerns at an acute trust which had been resisting calls to take this step, HSJ has learned.
    The intervention at University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay Foundation Trust comes after pressure from staff and local MPs, who believe more extensive investigation is required into cases of patient harm within the trauma and orthopaedics division.
    The broad issues were first revealed by HSJ in November, with documents suggesting several patients were harmed after leaders failed to act on multiple concerns being raised about a surgeon.
    The trust has already commissioned one external review. This reported last year and found the service to be riven by “internecine squabbles”. However, the review was overseen by trust executives and the terms of reference were focused on incident reporting and culture within the department.
    It is understood that some consultants have since been pushing for further investigation into specific cases where patients were harmed, as well as concerns that managers or clinicians who were accused of failing to tackle the issues have since been promoted to more senior positions.
    Read full story (paywalled)
    Source: HSJ, 2 March 2021
  23. Sam
    Hospitals across London are racing to tackle a backlog of tens of thousands of urgent operations that need to be carried out in the coming weeks to prevent patients dying or losing limbs, The Independent has learnt.
    The slow decline in Covid patient numbers means many hospitals across the capital are warning they will still be relying on extra staff, and “surge” beds opened at the height of the crisis, well into March.
    NHS bosses have been briefed that across the city there are about 15,000 priority two (P2) patients. These are classed as needing urgent surgery, including for cancer, within 28 days, or they could die or be at risk of losing a limb.
    But the lack of available operating theatres, nurses and anaesthetists mean the city has a shortfall of more than 500 half-day surgical lists a week.
    The Independent has spoken with multiple NHS insiders and seen briefing documents detailing the challenges facing the capital’s hospitals, which are expected to last up to 21 March in some areas.
    One briefing warned: “Hospitals have insufficient capacity to meet urgent elective demand for P2. P2 demand is intended to be seen within 28 days, the surge has occurred for over 28 days. Patients who would normally have been seen are waiting longer than clinically advisable."
    Read full story
    Source: The Independent, 25 February 2021
  24. Sam
    Amongst the 3.9 million confirmed COVID-19 cases in the UK to date, it is estimated that around one in five people experience symptoms that last for five weeks or longer, and one in ten have symptoms that last for twelve weeks or longer.
    Termed Long COVID, people report a myriad of symptoms including chronic fatigue, breathlessness, loss of sense of smell, depression and concentration difficulties. Already totalling an estimated 186,000 people, long COVID will bring mounting pressure on primary care services.
    Within its COVID-19 rapid guideline for managing the long-term effects of COVID-19, NICE recommends health apps as part of giving advice and information on self-management.
    ORCHA has assessed almost 6,500 health apps to date against more than 350 measures and all major standards. From this research, they identified the top-scoring apps across each of the long COVID symptoms to help primary care, community settings and multidisciplinary assessment and rehabilitation services make informed decisions on the best apps for their patients.
    Read report
  25. Sam
    Plans to give the health secretary control over a patient safety watchdog risks “massive untold consequences” for the NHS, experts have warned.
    Under proposals, Matt Hancock would be able to determine which incidents the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB) should investigate, while also being able to remove protections for NHS staff that mean they can give evidence without fear of reprisals.
    The move, outlined as part of wider reforms to the NHS, would give the health secretary far greater control over the HSIB than ministers currently have over the Air Accident Investigation Branch – on which the watchdog was modelled.
    Experts said the proposals cut across the original intention of an independent body that would act without fear or favour and earn the confidence of NHS staff.
    It is designed to operate under a so-called “safe space” for NHS staff to provide evidence of what went wrong during an incident without their testimony being used against them.
    Martin Bromiley, chair of the Clinical Human Factors Group and member of the expert panel that recommended the creation of HSIB in 2016, said he was seriously concerned over the plans.
    He said: “I am concerned about the reference to lifting safe space. As it stands with the Air Accident Investigation Branch people can apply to the High Court for it to be lifted and that makes sense because a judge can consider the whole case and the longer-term impact."
    Carl Macrae, Professor of Organisational Behaviour and Psychology at Nottingham University Business School, told The Independent: “I am very pleased to see there are concrete plans to establish HSIB as an independent body, but I am concerned this independence appears to be undermined by giving the secretary of state the power to tell it what to investigate."
    “People need to be able to trust that the healthcare investigator is acting with the sole purpose of improving safety and isn’t subject to political interference.”
    Read full story
    Source: The Independent, 24 February 2021
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