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Sam

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  1. News Article
    Hundreds of nurses, paramedics, health and care workers have been disciplined over allegations of sexual assault, including incidents involving child sexual abuse, The Independent can reveal. It comes as the government begins a year-long inquiry into the sexual abuse of dead patients by “morgue monster” David Fuller. Charities claim the true scale of the issue is likely to be hidden by “vast underreporting” while safeguarding experts say there is no “uniformity” in how NHS trusts handle such cases. The Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), which regulates just under 300,000 workers including paramedics, occupational therapists, psychologists and physiotherapists, has taken action on 154 occasions following 293 investigations carried out into allegations of sexual assault or abuse since 2012, according to figures obtained by The Independent. Fifty-three clinicians were struck off, 20 were cautioned and a further 29 were either suspended, had restrictions placed on their practice or agreed to be removed from registration. More than half of the actions followed allegations of sexual abuse of a child patient. Separate data from Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), which has more than 700,000 registered nurses and midwives. shows action was taken 113 times in the past four years against nurses and midwives who did not maintain professional boundaries; in more than 80 per cent of those cases, the clinician was struck off. Read full story Source: The Independent, 21 January 2022
  2. News Article
    A cervical cancer patient has been treated with the aid of artificial intelligence (AI) for the first time in the UK. Emma McCormick, 44, was treated at the St Luke's Cancer Centre in Guildford, Surrey. The Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust treated Ms McCormick, who is from West Sussex, using adaptive radiotherapy. The AI technology uses daily CT scans to target the specific areas that need radiotherapy. This helps to avoid damage to healthy tissue and limit side-effects, the hospital said. Patients are given treatments lasting between 20 and 25 minutes, although Ms McCormick's was slightly longer as she was the first patient, a hospital spokesman said. Ms McCormick received five AI-guided treatments per week for five weeks before having a further two weeks of brachytherapy. She said: "If it works for me, and they get information from me, it can help somebody else. It definitely worked and did what it was meant to do and so hopefully that helps others." Dr Alex Stewart, who treated Ms McCormick, said one of the benefits of the treatment was that it allowed for more precision, meaning there were fewer side-effects for the patients. Read full story Source: BBC News, 21 January 2022
  3. Event
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    The next NHS England and NHS Improvement wellbeing community event, hosted by the People Directorate and facilitated by NHS Horizons will be focusing on: ‘Supporting our NHS People affected by Long Covid’ By joining this session, you will be able to take away information and guidelines on how to support the wellbeing of our NHS people who are affected by Long Covid. Register
  4. Event
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    As the health service continues to absorb covid-19 pressures, and with Omicron adding further strain to an already debilitated workforce, this webinar will look into the core issues and gaps around staff safety and wellbeing and the subsequent risk to patients. Join this webinar to engage in an open and honest discussion with valuable perspectives from frontline clinicians on some of the key emerging challenges around workforce safety and contingency options and innovation solutions that will help ensure essential services can be maintained safely. The realities of dealing with continued service disruption and uncertainty: A perspective from frontline clinicians on the impact on patient safety. Is enough being done around staff wellbeing? Find out what kind of support staff really need to ensure they can maintain high standards of care Safety education: How to bring organisational safety standards to the forefront with sections on People, Processes and Performance and discuss the impact of multidisciplinary team training on patient. Register
  5. News Article
    Antimicrobial resistance poses a significant threat to humanity, health leaders have warned, as a study reveals it has become a leading cause of death worldwide and is killing about 3,500 people every day. More than 1.2 million – and potentially millions more – died in 2019 as a direct result of antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections, according to the most comprehensive estimate to date of the global impact of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The stark analysis covering more than 200 countries and territories was published in the Lancet. It says AMR is killing more people than HIV/Aids or malaria. Many hundreds of thousands of deaths are occurring due to common, previously treatable infections, the study says, because bacteria that cause them have become resistant to treatment. “These new data reveal the true scale of antimicrobial resistance worldwide, and are a clear signal that we must act now to combat the threat,” said the report’s co-author Prof Chris Murray, of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington. “We need to leverage this data to course-correct action and drive innovation if we want to stay ahead in the race against antimicrobial resistance.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 20 January 2022
  6. Event
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    Gross spending on public sector procurement was £357 billion in 2020/21 across the UK a rise of 17% from 2019/20 due to the public sector response to the pandemic. This figure equates to approximately a third of all public expenditure every year and government accounts published for 2021/22 suggest that public sector procurement will remain around these higher levels. On the eve of the UK leaving the European Union, the Cabinet Office published the green paper, entitled Transforming Public Procurement. This green paper set out a bold and ambitious reform package which aimed to speed up and simplify the procurement processes, place value for money front and centre, generate social value and increase opportunities for small businesses, charities to innovate in public service delivery which in turn would assist greatly with the Government’s Levelling Up Agenda. After a period of consultation with over 600 stakeholders, the Cabinet Office published its response in December 2021 before embarking on formulating legislation for Parliament. Whilst there is broad support for the majority of the proposals, there has been a rethink in certain areas with the Government responding to make the obligations even clearer by splitting and refining objectives. This timely event, though a mixture of high-level keynotes and practical case studies will address these amendments, the key challenges in public procurement, adaptations to practices and how the general principles set out in this reform process are being met at both local and national levels. Register
  7. News Article
    Giving repeated booster doses of existing CovidD-19 vaccines in developed countries is not a sustainable global strategy for tackling the pandemic, the World Health Organization has said. Instead, WHO argues that the focus should shift towards producing new vaccines that work better against transmission of emerging variants. In a statement, published on 11 January, the WHO Technical Advisory Group on Covid-19 Vaccine Composition said, “A vaccination strategy based on repeated booster doses of the original vaccine composition is unlikely to be appropriate or sustainable.” The expert group, which is assessing the performance of Covid-19 vaccines, said that to deal with emerging variants such as omicron, new vaccines needed to be developed that not only protect people against serious illness but against infection. “Covid-19 vaccines that have high impact on prevention of infection and transmission, in addition to the prevention of severe disease and death, are needed and should be developed,” the group said. Vaccines also need to be more effective at protection against infection, “thus lowering community transmission and the need for stringent and broad reaching public health and social measures,” the group said. Read full story Source: BMJ, 17 January 2022
  8. News Article
    Swedish expert has praised Scotland for leading work in improving patient safety, with a decade-long programme which is now expanding into social care. Dr Pelle Gustafson (below), chief medical officer, of Swedish patient insurer Löf, said he was “particularly impressed” by the work in Scotland over the past 10 years during a meeting of the House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee. The Scottish Patient Safety Programme (SPSP), which has been in existence for around 13 years, was set up to make patient safety a priority in NHS Scotland, drawing on lessons from the airline industry such as introducing checklists. Gustafson was asked by Tory MP Dr Luke Evans which country he would hold at the “very top of the pillar” for preventative work during an evidence session on NHS litigation reform last week. He responded: “If you take all preventive work as regards patient safety, I would say that I am personally very impressed by Scotland. “In Scotland, you have a long-standing tradition of working. You have development in the right direction. “You have a system that is fairly equal all over the place and you also have improvement activities going on. I am very impressed by Scotland.” He added: “I am particularly impressed by the Scottish work over the last 10 years. There are a lot of things that we, in the Nordic countries, can learn from Scotland too.” Read full story Source: The National, 16 January 2022
  9. News Article
    There are serious concerns over the standards of specialist care being provided to patients with the most complex mental health needs, a BBC investigation has found. Patients sent by the NHS to stay in mental health rehabilitation units say they have been placed in unsafe environments, often far from home, with untrained staff. Experts say not enough is being done to regulate the sector, which costs the NHS half a billion pounds a year. Lissa had spent years struggling with her mental health, having experienced traumatic life events. She was diagnosed with mixed personality disorder, depression and high-functioning Asperger's. So when the NHS sent her to a unit in Coventry run by Cygnet Health Care for a specialist talking therapy, she agreed. The hospital, however, was in special measures. There had been two deaths in the previous 20 months. In both cases there was found to be a failure to follow the patient's care plan and carry out observations correctly. Lissa says staff failed to treat her with dignity and respect. The system in England is regulated by the Care Quality Commission, (CQC). Some rehabilitation wards haven't been inspected for four or more years. John Chacksfield, who was a CQC inspector until late 2020, says greater scrutiny is needed. "Sometimes the private sector provides really excellent service, but there are certain units that really do need regular inspections just to make sure staff are being trained enough, or are having enough clinical supervision. It does worry me," he says. Read full story Source: BBC News, 18 January 2022
  10. News Article
    One in four doctors in the NHS are so tired that their ability to treat patients has become impaired, according to the first survey to reveal the impact of sleep deprivation on medics during the coronavirus pandemic. Growing workloads, longer hours and widespread staff shortages are causing extreme tiredness among medics, leading to memory problems and difficulty concentrating, according to the report by the Medical Defence Union (MDU), which provides legal support to about 200,000 doctors, nurses, dentists and other healthcare workers. The survey of more than 500 doctors across the UK, carried out within the past month and seen by the Guardian, uncovered almost 40 near misses as a direct result of exhaustion. In at least seven cases, patients actually sustained harm. Despite encouraging signs the Omicron wave may be fading, doctors admitted the constant pressure of the past 22 months spent fighting coronavirus on the frontline was taking a toll on their technical skills and even their ability to make what should be straightforward medical decisions. Medics admitted for the first time sleep deprivation was causing real harm to patients in the NHS. Almost six in 10 doctors (59%) reported their sleep patterns had worsened during the pandemic. More than a quarter (26%) of medics admitted being so tired that their ability to treat patients was “impaired”. Of these, one in six (18%) said a patient was harmed or a near miss occurred as a result. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 17 January 2022 Read MDU press release
  11. News Article
    The number of Covid patients in hospitals in England and Scotland has continued to rise this week, as NHS England reached a deal with private hospitals to free up beds amid the outbreak of Omicron cases. Meanwhile, Covid staff absences in England rose to their highest level since the introduction of the vaccine. The number of NHS workers in England off sick because of Covid was up by 41% in the week to 2 January, according to the latest figures. Five health workers describe some of the challenges they are facing, including understaffing, waiting times and bed-blocking. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 14 January 2022
  12. News Article
    NHS organisations have been told to prepare for redeploying or dismissing thousands of unvaccinated staff without an exit payment, and to raise the alarm about services which may be rendered unsafe. NHS England today issued guidance on ‘phase two’ of the government’s “vaccination as a condition of deployment”, which requires all patient-facing staff to have had two covid vaccinations by 1 April. Tens of thousands of staff are believed to still be unvaccinated, and the cut off for having a first dose is 3 February. The guidance said efforts should be made to adjust roles or redeploy staff, but added: “From 4 February 2022, staff who remain unvaccinated (excluding those who are exempt) should be invited to a formal meeting chaired by an appropriate manager, in which they are notified that a potential outcome of the meeting may be dismissal.” It continued: “Whilst organisations are encouraged to explore deployment, the general principles which apply in a redundancy exercise are not applicable here, and it is important that managers are aware of this.” Employers will “not be concerned with finding ‘suitable alternative employment’ and there will be no redundancy entitlements, including payments, whether statutory or contractual, triggered by this process”. Trusts also do not have to “collectively consult” with staff being dismissed — as they would with a restructure — although this is “ultimately a decision for each organisation to take”. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 14 January 2022
  13. News Article
    NHS England has encouraged trusts to consider taking legal action against patients who refuse to leave hospital beds when step-down care is made available. NHSE guidance sent to trusts late last year, seen by HSJ, advised clinicians that where people “with mental capacity” refuse to vacate a bed because they do not accept NHS-funded short-term care offers, the “local discharge choice policy” should be followed, which could involve legal action. The guidance said the process “may include seeking an order for possession of the hospital bed” under civil law, and that “appropriate formal notification of the process must be given to the person and their representatives/carers”. These legal powers were open to trusts prior to covid, but the memo from NHSE comes amid increasing pressure on trusts to improve discharge rates, as waits for emergency and elective care continue to soar. Helen Hughes, chief executive of Patient Safety Learning, said: “Given the current pressures posed by covid, it is understandable that the NHS is seeking to ensure that the hospital discharge process is as swift and effective as possible. “However, hospital discharges are complex processes and can potentially result in avoidable harm if patients are discharged before they are clinically ready. It only takes one element of this complex process failing to put a patient’s safety at risk. “We would be particularly concerned if patients and their carers were put under pressure to accept potentially unsafe discharge options due to the threat of possible legal action by an NHS trust.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 14 January 2022
  14. Event
    The National Guidance on Learning from Deaths has driven a strengthening of systems of mortality case review with emphasis on learning. By collecting the data and taking action in response to failings in care, trusts will be able to give an open and honest account of the circumstances leading to a death. This National Conference focuses on improving the investigation and learning from deaths in NHS Trusts and will reflect on learning from deaths during the Covid pandemic and how mortality investigation should be managed in these cases. The conference will discuss the role of Medical Examiners in learning from deaths which is now being extended to all non-coronial deaths wherever they occur. This conference will also update delegates on the New National Patient Safety Incident Response Framework including sharing experience from an early adopter site. For further information and to book your place visit https://www.healthcareconferencesuk.co.uk/conferences-masterclasses/investigation-and-learning-from-deaths-in-nhs-trusts or email kate@hc-uk.org.uk Follow the conference on Twitter @HCUK_Clare #CQCDeathsreview hub members receive a 20% discount. Email info@pslhub.org for discount code.
  15. Event
    This one day masterclass will focus on Safety Management Systems (SMS) in healthcare. It will look at how other sectors and organisations have developed SMS to improve safety. SMS is a systematic and proactive approach to managing safety risks. A formal management system or framework can help you manage health and safety. Use of SMS can be generally interpreted as applying a quality management approach to control safety risks. Put simply, effective safety management systems use risk and quality management methods to achieve their safety goals. All Clinical Staff and Team Leads should attend. Further information: https://www.healthcareconferencesuk.co.uk/conferences-masterclasses/safety-management-systems-in-healthcare or email kerry@hc-uk.org.uk hub members receive 20% discount. Email info@pslhub.org for discount code.
  16. Event
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    At a time when deaths from coronary heart disease and stroke are markedly declining, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, deaths from heart failure are increasing. The management of this devastating long-term condition is estimated to account for 2% of the entire NHS budget, with 70% of this spent on acute hospital admissions. Both prevalence and incidence of heart failure increase steeply with increasing age and with deprivation but outcomes for patients are improved with earlier diagnosis and treatment. Join the King's Fund for this free online event, where we will consider how heart failure is a growing population health problem and the solutions to help overcome the challenges this condition presents. These include preventing the underlying causes of heart failure, as well as identifying risk factors for the condition, such as access to diagnosis, particularly for older people and those from more deprived communities. Register
  17. Content Article
    Pancreatic cancer is the fifth most common cause of cancer death in the UK, with an annual incidence of nearly 9,600. On average, 23 people die each day from the disease. The UK has one of the worst survival rates in Europe, with average life expectancy on diagnosis just 4 to 6 months and a relative survival to 1 year of approximately 20%. Only 3% of people survive for 5 years or longer. This figure has not improved much in over 40 years, and it is not yet clear how the more recent trend of increased surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy will affect survival. There are often delays in access to diagnosis and treatment and this NICE guideline will help to improve this.
  18. News Article
    A nurse who was struck off for refusing to admit a woman to a mental health unit before she killed herself said 'leave her, she will faint before she dies' before he kicked her out of the facility. Paddy McKee allegedly made the comment as Sally Mays, 22 - who had mental health issues - tried to strangle herself when she was refused admission. Ms Mays killed herself at home in Hull in July 2014 after being refused a place at Miranda House in Hull by McKee and another nurse. Despite her being a suicide risk, they would not give her a place at the hospital after a 14-minute assessment. Her parents Angela and Andy have fought for several years for improvements to be made and lessons to be learnt from her death. McKee was this month struck off following a Fitness to Practice hearing conducted by the Nursing and Midwifery Council. The report by the NMC was this week published and condemned McKee, saying 'he treated her in a way that lacked basic kindness and compassion'. The NMC found his actions to refuse Ms Mays' admission had contributed to her death. Read full story Source: Mail Online, 12 January 2022
  19. Event
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    On Wednesday 26th January from 10:30-12:00, the All-Party Parliamentary Group for First Do No Harm (APPG FDNH) will hold a virtual public meeting on the topic of redress schemes for those who have suffered avoidable harm linked to pelvic mesh, sodium valproate and Primodos. This meeting will be an opportunity to hear from representatives of various patient groups about what victims need and what they are missing from current support mechanisms. Officers and members of the APPG FDNH will also provide an update on the Health and Care Bill, which will have passed through Committee in the House of Lords earlier that month. The meeting will be Chaired by Baroness Cumberlege (Co-Chair, APPG FDNH), who will be joined on a virtual panel by representatives of the following patient groups, as well as Officers and members of the APPG FDNH: Sling the Mesh Organisation for Anti-Convulsant Syndrome (OACS) Association for Children Damaged by Hormone Pregnancy Tests (ACDHPT) Independent Fetal Anti-Convulsant Trust (IN-FACT) Attendees will have the opportunity to put forward questions during the meeting and are invited to follow the event on social media by using #Redress and #FirstDoNoHarm. Those interested in attending are welcome to express their interest by emailing the APPG FDNH Secretariat via fdnh@luther.co.uk.
  20. News Article
    Hospitals across Kent, Sussex and Surrey are being asked to discharge hundreds of patients who are well enough to leave by Friday. The head of NHS South East, Anne Eden, said the beds are needed to deal with an expected surge in admissions of people ill with the Omicron variant. The NHS nationally has agreed to a reduction of 30% of such patients based on the baseline figure of 13 December. South East hospitals are being asked to make a 50% reduction by 31 January. In a letter seen by the BBC, Ms Eden said: "This is in order to create the headroom to manage any further Covid pressures, with current modelling indicating a peak in Covid activity in mid-January." She wrote: "It is now critical that we redouble our efforts to discharge those patients who no longer require bedded care, to create capacity, improve flow and reduce the pressure on staff." Ms Eden said staff absences and the need to maintain delivery of critical care for patients mean the NHS "must continue to focus on creating the necessary capacity to meet demand". "Failure to do this will significantly increase the risk of a further rise in patient harm," she said. She said hospitals must work with partners, including social care providers, to achieve the reduction in the number of patients in hospital who were well enough to be discharged. Read full story Source: BBC News, 10 January 2022
  21. News Article
    A health minister has asked NHS England to look into a stricken ambulance trust that is asking patients to get a lift to A&E. The North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) said staff should “consider asking the patient to be transported by friends or family.” See previous news story. NEAS medical director Dr Mathew Beattie said the service had “no option than to try to work differently” amid Covid staff shortages. However, Health Minister Gillian Keegan said she would ask NHS England to look into the situation. She told Sky News: "That is not what we have put in place at all. We have more ambulance crews in operation than we have ever had." “We also gave £55 million extra just for this period to cover staff and make sure we had increases in staff and staffing levels. "I've actually asked NHS England to look at that particular case because that doesn't sound to me like that's an acceptable approach. “People should be able to get an ambulance if they have a heart attack and that's why we've put that extra funding in place, and why we've been building up our ambulance service over the last couple of years." Read full story Source: Mirror, 5 January 2022
  22. Content Article
    The Oslo Medicines Initiative: “better access to effective, novel, high-priced medicines – a new vision for collaboration between the public and private sectors” is a new initiative of WHO/Europe, developed together with the Norwegian Ministry of Health and Care Services and the Norwegian Medicines Agency. The Initiative will provide a neutral platform for the public and private sectors to jointly outline a vision for equitable and sustainable access to effective, innovative and affordable medicines.
  23. Content Article
    Core20PLUS5 is a national NHS England and NHS Improvement approach to support the reduction of health inequalities at both national and system level. The approach defines a target population cohort – the ‘Core20PLUS’ – and identifies ‘5’ focus clinical areas requiring accelerated improvement. Supporting information about Core20PLUS5
  24. Content Article
    On 4 July 2021, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) published its delivery plan for 2021-2023: Putting Patients First: a New Era for our Agency. In this plan, the MHRA promises to make drug regulation in the UK more patient centred, while being “an agile and supportive regulator” to accommodate the interests of the United Kingdom’s life sciences industry. In this BMJ Editorial, Huseyin Naci and colleagues argues that the MHRA’s new delivery plan strikes the wrong note.  
  25. Content Article
    The National Audit of Inpatient Falls (NAIF) has published their latest report into the care given to patients who fell while they were in hospital and sustained a hip fracture. Based on data from 1,357 patients in 2020, the report presents information on post-fall management and tracks performance against NICE Quality Standard 86, which includes checking the patient for injury before moving, using safe lifting equipment and prompt medical assessment after the fall. 
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