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Sam

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  1. News Article
    Clinical trials run in the UK will be automatically registered from 2022, the country’s Health Research Authority has announced. The new system seeks to ensure that every single clinical trial with be listed on a trial registry from the outset. UK researchers have been formally required to register trials since 2013, but that rule was never enforced, and many trials remained unregistered. Trial registration is a key pillar of clinical trial transparency. It helps scientists to gain an overview of who is currently researching which treatments, preventing needless duplication of medical research efforts . In addition, because investigators have to specify in advance what exactly they will be measuring, trial registration supports research integrity by discouraging post hoc statistical shenanigans and evidence distortion. While there are various rules and regulations around trial registration, no other country currently enforces these nationwide. The new trial registration system forms part of the wider UK national Make it Public strategy, which aims to ensure that every single clinical trial run in the UK is registered and makes its results public. The strategy was developed in the wake of a 2018-2019 parliamentary enquiry into clinical trial transparency. Read full story Source: TranspariMED, 20 October 2021
  2. News Article
    The government is being “wilfully negligent” by not introducing measures to suppress the recent rise in coronavirus cases, the chair of the British Medical Association (BMA) has said. Dr Chaand Nagpaul made the comments after the health secretary ignored NHS leaders’ pleas for the implementation of ‘Plan B’, which could see the return of mandatory mask wearing in indoor spaces and the need to work from home where possible. Speaking at a No 10 press conference on Wednesday afternoon, Sajid Javid said the current pressure on the NHS was not “unsustainable”, noting that the contingency plan would only be introduced if hospitals were at risk of being “overwhelmed”. However, Dr Nagpaul disagreed with the minister’s assessment, suggesting that the NHS was already reaching breaking point and that the government should follow through on its promise to protect the health service. “By the health secretary’s own admission we could soon see 100,000 cases a day and we now have the same number of weekly Covid deaths as we had during March, when the country was in lockdown,” he said. Dr Nagpaul described the government’s decision not to take further preventative action as “wilfully negligent”, branding the current rate of coronavirus infections and deaths as “unacceptable”. Read full story Source: The Independent, 21 October 2021
  3. News Article
    An innovative type of medicine - called gene silencing - is set to be used on the NHS for people who live in crippling pain. The drug treats acute intermittent porphyria, which runs in families and can leave people unable to work or have a normal life. Clinical trials have shown severe symptoms were cut by 74% with the drug. While porphyria is rare, experts say the field of gene silencing has the potential to revolutionise medicine. Sisters Liz Gill and Sue Burrell have both had their lives turned around by gene silencing. Before treatment, Liz remembers the trauma of living in "total pain" and, at its worst, she spent two years paralysed in hospital. Younger sister Sue says she "lost it all overnight" when she was suddenly in and out of hospital. Both became used to taking potent opioid painkillers on a daily basis. But even morphine could not block the pain during a severe attack that needed hospital treatment. Gene silencing gets to the root-cause of the sisters' disease rather than just managing their symptoms. Their porphyria leads to a build-up of toxic proteins in the body, that cause the physical pain. Gene silencing "mutes" a set of genetic instructions to block that protein production. Both had been taking the therapy as part of a clinical trial and are still getting monthly injections. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), which approves drugs for use in England, said the therapy "would improve people's quality of life" and was "value for money". Read full story Source: BBC News, 21 October 2021
  4. News Article
    Almost three out of five GPs reported managing patient expectations about vaccinations to be one of the most challenging issues of the pandemic, with multiple changes to vaccine eligibility requirements leaving many people confused and overwhelmed, the president of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, Dr Karen Price, said. In her foreword to the college’s Health of the Nation report, published on Thursday, Price said: “Unfortunately, some of these patients took their frustrations out on general practice staff”. “Differing eligibility requirements across jurisdictions added to the strain.” Schools should stay open as greatest risk of Covid transmission is in households, research finds The report is published annually and provides an insight into the state of general practice in Australia. It includes the findings of a survey of 1,386 GPs between April and May, of which 70% were in major cities, 20% inner-regional, 8% outer‐regional, and 2% remote and very remote. Read full story Source: Guardian, 21 October 2021
  5. News Article
    On Tuesday, there were 356 COVID-19 patients being treated in intensive care wards throughout Australia. Of those, 25 were fully vaccinated. While the data points to the extraordinary efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines in preventing people from becoming severely unwell, being hospitalised and dying, it does raise the question: why do a small number of people become seriously ill and, in rare cases, die, despite being fully vaccinated? An intensive care unit staff specialist at Nepean hospital in Sydney, Dr Nhi Nguyen, said those who are fully vaccinated and die tend to have significant underlying health conditions. Being treated in intensive care, where people may be on a ventilator and unable to move, added to any existing frailty, especially in elderly people, she said. “If we think about intensive care patients in general, whether they are there due to COVID-19, pneumonia or any other infection, we know that those who have underlying disorders, those who are frail, and those with co-morbidities will have a higher risk of dying from whatever the cause of being in intensive care is,” she said. “Being fully vaccinated against Covid protects you from getting severe disease, yes, but it doesn’t completely protect you from getting Covid. So if you are someone with chronic health conditions, what might be a mild disease or mild infection in a young person or a person who is in good health, will have a greater impact on you.” She said this was why the Australian Technical Advisory Group for Immunisation (Atagi) had recommended boosters for those people who are severely immunocompromised. On Wednesday the government said it intended booster shots to be rolled out to the aged care sector within weeks, and to be available to the whole population by the end of the year. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 20 October 2021
  6. News Article
    Scotland's booster jag rollout has hit a major snag after some of the country's most vulnerable people were given half their third vaccine. In total, 140 people who were given their extra dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine in the Gorebridge vaccine centre in Midlothian were affected by the error. Health authorities have maintained there is no risk to individuals due to the error and that half a dose will provide sufficient protection. The individuals affected were all immunosuppressed, the Midlothian Health and Social Care Partnership said, meaning they are more vulnerable to infection and at higher risk from serious complications caused by COVID-19. The Midlothian Health and Social Care Partnership apologised for the mistake and any anxiety caused. Read full story Source: The Scotsman, 19 October 2021
  7. Event
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    During the COVID-19 pandemic, partnership and collaboration between the NHS, patient and community organisations, and the life-sciences sector has been vital in enabling the system to adapt quickly and effectively to new challenges. This free online event will explore how this approach can be embedded to support system recovery and enable transformation, particularly where COVID-19 has led to significant disruption of services for people with long-term conditions. It will identify the challenges and opportunities people with long-term conditions face in securing good-quality, person-centred care, as well as the role of innovation in supporting early intervention, ensuring access to care in the right place at the right time and reducing pressures on hospital services. Register
  8. News Article
    Cases of psychosis have risen significantly in England during the pandemic, according to new NHS data. The number of people referred to mental health services for their first suspected episode of psychosis increased by 75% between April 2019 and April 2021, figures showed. The data, which has been analysed by the charity Rethink Mental Illness, showed that much of the increase in referrals has happened over the last year, after the first national lockdown. The charity, Rethink Mental Illness, said that the data offers some of the first concrete evidence of the impact of the pandemic on the mental health of the population. It is calling on the government to invest more in early intervention for psychosis to halt the further deterioration in people’s conditions. The NHS defines psychosis as “when people lose some contact with reality”. This could involve seeing or hearing things that other people cannot see or believing things that are not actually true. People experiencing symptoms of psychosis need to seek medical help very quickly and charity Rethink Mental Illness is campaigning to get people faster access to vital treatment. Read full story Source: The Independent, 18 October 2021
  9. News Article
    Police forces will be able to “strong-arm” NHS bodies into handing over confidential patient data under planned laws that have sparked fury from doctors’ groups and the UK’s medical watchdog. Ministers are planning new powers for police forces that would “set aside” the existing duty of confidentiality that applies to patient data held by the NHS and will instead require NHS organisations to hand over data police say they need to prevent serious violence. Last week, England’s national data guardian, Dr Nicola Byrne, told The Independent she had serious concerns about the impact of the legislation going through parliament, and warned that the case for introducing the sweeping powers had not been made. Now the UK’s medical watchdog, the General Medical Council (GMC), has also criticised the new law, proposals for which are contained in the Police, Crime and Sentencing Bill, warning it fails to protect patients’ sensitive information and could disproportionately hit some groups and worsen inequalities. Read full story Source: The Independent, 18 October 2021
  10. Content Article
    John Drew, Director of Staff Experience and Engagement at NHS England and Improvement, presented at the NHS Health at Work Network Conference on how the NHS are supporting the health and wellbeing of staff by growing and developing NHS-delivered Occupational Health services. View the presentation slides below.
  11. Event
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    We’re no longer in a national lockdown and life feels as though it is slowly getting back to normal, but for those who contracted COVID-19 and are still living with the debilitating consequences of the virus, the battle is far from won. With almost 400,000 UK adults experiencing the prevailing symptoms of COVID-19 over a year after first contracting the virus, Long Covid continues to remain on the agenda as a pressing and pertinent issue. This webinar from National Voices explores a person-centred response to Long Covid. This webinar event emerges as a sub-section of National Voices’ larger programme of work commissioned by NHSE/I, working alongside six VCSE organisations who support members of the community at risk of exclusion. During this event we will be joined by Michael MacLennan of covid:aid, Claire Hastie of Long Covid Support, Sammie Mcfarland of Long Covid Kids, and Davine Forde, a Lived Experience Associate from Manchester Health & Care Commissioning. They will engage in a panel discussion, sharing the lived experiences of those with Long Covid and shining a light on the crucial work that community-based organisations are doing to alleviate the burden on health services in response to Long Covid. Rachel Matthews, our Head of Experience, and Keymn Whervin, our Lived Experience Associate, will also examine the impact of implementing strategic co-production in working with lived experience leaders, uncovered through their Voices for Improvement project at National Voices. Discussions will be followed by a Q&A session with questions invited from attendees. Register
  12. News Article
    Some acute trusts have failed to report large numbers of hospital-acquired covid infections as patient safety incidents, despite NHS England describing this as ‘fundamental’. HSJ examined the numbers of “infection control” patient safety incidents reported to the national reporting and learning system in 2020-21, and compared this to separate NHS England data on covid infections most likely to have been acquired in hospital. The number of incidents reported to the NRLS in the 12-month period should in theory be higher, as it covers all types of hospital-acquired infections, while the NHSE data only covered covid infections in the last seven months of the year. This appears to hold true nationally, with almost 59,000 incidents reported to the NRLS, compared to around 36,000 likely hospital-acquired covid infections suggested by the NHSE data. But for around a third of trusts, the incident numbers reported to the NRLS were smaller, with some appearing to report very low numbers. Helen Hughes, chief executive of patient safety charity Patient Safety Learning, said: “The scale of the under-reporting set out in these findings is particularly concerning.” “As this data informs assessment of performance at both organisational and national levels, it is possible that this could create a false assurance about the extent of harm in this period,” Ms Hughes said. “Where organisations are now retrospectively completing serious incident reports, there are obvious questions as to whether key insights will have been lost as memories of incidents fade over time and their causes.” “However, they rely on the capacity and commitment of staff behind them. The pandemic has placed an enormous strain on the health service and we have heard from staff the time constraints this has put on them to report patient safety incidents,” she added. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 15 October 2021
  13. Event
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    The duty of candour is a central to patient safety – the idea that, when things go wrong, healthcare professionals should be open and honest about this with patients and colleagues. But while incident reporting is a central plank to patient safety, the evidence still suggests that adverse outcomes and near misses are under-reported. This even before the challenges of the pandemic – which has left staff understandably exhausted, overstretched and under pressure – is taken into account. So how, in an environment as challenging as the service currently finds itself in, can candour in healthcare continue to be supported? How can leaders ensure that their colleagues have the time and space to report issues as they emerge? How can a no-blame culture continue to be fostered, from the boardroom down? What barriers remain to consistent reporting of incidents, how have they changed since the pandemic, and how can they be overcome? How might a culture of openness help combat health inequalities, not least those linked to ethnicity? This HSJ webinar, run in association with RLDatix, will bring together a small panel to discuss these important issues. Register
  14. Event
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    The conference aims to bring all the Directors, Specialists, Professors, Doctors, Scientists, Academicians, Healthcare professionals, Nurses, Students, Researchers, Business Delegates, Industrialists to share the knowledge, experience, challenges, innovations, and trends encountered in the field of nursing, healthcare and patient safety. Register
  15. News Article
    A new study by Staffordshire University shows that people who understand their ‘heart age’ are more likely to make healthy lifestyle changes. 50 preventable deaths from heart attack or stroke happen every day and Public Health England’s online Heart Age Test (HAT) allows users to compare their real age to the predicted age of their heart. The tool aims to provide early warning signs of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk, encouraging members of the public to reduce their heart age through diet and exercise and to take up the offer of an NHS Health Check. CHAD Research Associate Dr Victoria Riley, who led the study, said: “Deaths from heart attack or stroke are often preventable and so addressing health issues early is incredibly important. Our findings show that pre-screening tests, such as the HAT, can encourage individuals to evaluate their lifestyle choices and increase their intentions to change behaviour.” Read full story Source: Brigher Side of News, 10 October 2021
  16. News Article
    Dr Katherine Henderson, a senior A&E consultant in London and President of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, says physical and verbal attacks have increased in recent months. Speaking to the Guardian, she says: “It is a sad reality that in recent months there has been a rise in abuse directed towards healthcare workers, but this abuse is not something new to frontline staff or emergency departments. It was bad before the pandemic, but there’s a changed atmosphere now. “During the pandemic people were being very positive about healthcare workers. But now the public are frustrated that services aren’t getting back to normal. Maybe people who weren’t the source of abuse before are now being the source of abuse. Abuse may be physical or verbal, it may be through social media, or it may be racial or misogynistic. “People are being angry – very angry – with us. They are angry about long waits, about having to stand outside emergency departments in queues, about delays in ambulances coming, including to take their relative home from hospital. The public haven’t really caught up with how struggling the whole NHS is." Read full story Source: The Guardian, 10 October 2021
  17. Event
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    The NHS spends £8.3 billion a year treating chronic wounds on an estimated 3.8 million people, according to the recently updated study evaluating the “Burden of Wounds” to the NHS. Costs have increased by 48% in the five years since the study was first published and the overwhelming majority of this burgeoning demand, around 80% of the caseload, impacts on community healthcare. This session chaired by Jacqui Fletcher OBE, focusses on managing the burden of wounds by focusing on prevention, and how technology and digitisation will enable a prevention focus. Prof Julian Guest will focus on the costs of wounds with a specific drill down on pressure ulcers and the impact prevention would have. Secondly Una Adderley will discuss the National Wound Care Strategy and the role will have on pressure ulcers prevention. Register
  18. News Article
    One of the largest hospital trusts in England has been downgraded by the care watchdog amid safety fears and criticism that bosses did not act on staff concerns. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) said it found bedpans covered in faeces, urine and hair during 10 visits to wards at University Hospitals Birmingham Trust in June. Staff in A&E told inspectors they were put under pressure to nurse patients in corridors. At one stage 20 ambulances were queuing outside Heartlands Hospital with patients waiting outside. The CQC said staff felt “disconnected from leaders” who didn’t show an understanding of the pressures they were under. Consultants to the regulator staff were experiencing fatigue and they felt executives at the trust “were no longer interested in staff welfare”. In its inspection report, the CQC said staff did not always clean equipment and said labels for when items were last cleaned were being applied incorrectly. Read full story Source: The Independent, 8 October 2021
  19. News Article
    Continuity of care in general practice reduces use of out-of-hours care, acute hospitalisations and mortality, researchers have shown - as GP leaders warned staff shortages and heavy workload means it is becoming harder to deliver in the UK. Long-lasting personal continuity with a GP is 'strongly associated with reduced need for out-of-hours services, acute hospitalisations, and mortality', according to a study by researchers in Norway. An association lasting more than 15 years between a patient and a specific GP reduces the probability of any of these factors by 25-30%, the study published in the British Journal of General Practice found. The researchers said 'promoting stability among GPs' should be a priority for health authorities, and warned that continuity of care was under pressure. The findings come as general practice in the UK faces intense pressure amid a shortage of GPs and intense workload after more than 18 months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Responding to the findings, RCGP chair Professor Martin Marshall said: "Continuity of care is highly valued by patients and GPs and our teams alike. It is what allows us to build relationships with our patients, often over time, and this study builds the strong evidence base of its benefits for patients and the NHS." Read full story Source: GP Online, 4 October 2021
  20. Content Article
    Continuity, usually considered a quality aspect of primary care, is under pressure in Norway, and elsewhere. An association lasting more than 15 years between a patient and a specific GP reduces the probability of any of these factors by 25-30%, a study by Sandvik et al. found. The researchers said 'promoting stability among GPs' should be a priority for health authorities, and warned that continuity of care was under pressure.
  21. News Article
    Flu deaths could be the worst for 50 years because of lockdowns and social distancing, health chiefs have warned, as the NHS launches the biggest ever flu vaccination drive. More than 35 million people will be offered flu jabs this winter, amid concern that prolonged restrictions on social contact have left Britain with little immunity. Officials fear that this winter could see up to 60,000 flu deaths – the worst figure in Britain since the 1968 Hong Kong Flu pandemic – without strong uptake of vaccines. There is also concern about the effectiveness of this year’s jabs, because the lack of flu last year made it harder for scientists to sample the virus and predict the dominant strains. Health chiefs said the measures introduced over the past 18 months to protect the country against coronavirus would now put the public at greater risk of flu. The NHS has already begun the rollout of flu jabs and COVID-19 boosters. Health chiefs will urge everyone eligible to take up their chance, with the launch of a major campaign today to drive take-up. Read full story Source: The Telegraph, 8 October 2021
  22. News Article
    An adoptive mother is calling for the NHS to improve its diagnosis for children exposed to alcohol in the womb, so their families can be helped. Amanda Boorman's two sons have Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) but they were not diagnosed correctly. She said: "This is a brain and body condition that is lifelong so really the professionals need to step up." Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) covers the various health and mental issues which can affect children. A spokesperson for the Department for Health and Social Care said: "We are committed to reducing future cases of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) and we have asked NICE [National Institute for Healthcare Excellence] to produce a Quality Standard in England for FASD to help the health and care system improve diagnosis and care of those affected. "We have also published England's first Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Health Needs Assessment to improve the lives of families living with it and increase understanding amongst clinicians and policy makers." Mrs Boorman, from Brent Knoll in Somerset, said: "There's no way an adoptive parent should ever have to go to a chief executive of a hospital and say 'what is your strategy for diagnosing FASD?' What needs to happen is that clinical commissioning groups, the boards of those, chief executives in hospitals, directors of children's services, social care and education need to be much more proactive." "What we've seen is reactive or just not really knowing - it's complete ignorance." Read full story Source: BBC News. 7 October 2021
  23. News Article
    More than one in ten secondary school pupils and over a third of school staff who had COVID-19 have suffered ongoing symptoms, figures suggest. The most common symptom reported by staff and pupils was weakness/tiredness, while staff were more likely to experience shortness of breath than pupils, according to a small study of schools in England. The survey from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimates that about 35.7% of staff and 12.3% of secondary school pupils with a previously confirmed Covid-19 infection reported experiencing ongoing symptoms more than four weeks from the start of the infection. Among those experiencing ongoing symptoms, 15.5% of staff and 9.4% of secondary school pupils said their ability to carry out day-to-day activities had been significantly reduced. Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “This survey data reveals the largely hidden long-term effects of Covid on both students and school and college staff. Read full story Source: Wales Online, 28 September 2021
  24. News Article
    Sajid Javid has said medical device manufacturers should check their products work well for people of all ethnic backgrounds, citing problems that those with dark skin have experienced when using pulse oximeters. Several studies have found oximeters are not as good at identifying hypoxia in people with darker skin. The devices have been widely used during the covid pandemic to monitor people at risk of deteriorating at home. They are meant to trigger a response when needed. Official guidance was updated this summer to encourage caution in their use. The health and social care secretary has identified health inequalities as one of his priorities. He gave the issue as an example of racial bias in healthcare when speaking at the Conservative party conference on Tuesday evening. He said: “It turned out that pulse oximeters, all of them that exist in the world, were giving often the wrong reading for people with dark skin, because they were designed by companies where basically all they were thinking about were white people. Why is that? Because the companies, their market was white countries with a majority of white people.” Mr Javid, who has a British Pakistani background, continued: “They just weren’t thinking whether these things could work on people with a skin colour like mine or just darker skin, and that’s not right. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 6 October 2021
  25. News Article
    The first new sickle-cell treatment in 20 years will help keep thousands of people out of hospital over the next three years, NHS England has said. Sickle-cell disease is incurable and affects 15,000 people in the UK. And the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence said the hope of reducing health inequalities for black people, who are predominantly affected and often have poorer health to start with, made the drug worth recommending. It called it "an innovative treatment". Read full story Source: BBC News, 5 October 2021
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