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Showing results for tags 'Communication'.
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News Article
NHSE director calls out trust over ‘speak English’ rule
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
An ‘outstanding’ London trust has come under fire for asking staff to communicate ‘only in English’ when around other people. A document published under the ‘trust values’ section of Homerton University Hospital Foundation Trust’s website, says: “I will only communicate in English in the presence of others.” The document has been widely shared on social media in the last 24 hours, with many criticising the trust for its wording. The document itself is dated 2014, but was reposted by the trust in 2019, and remained on its website as of midday today. NHS England’s director of equality – medical workforce, Partha Kar, who is also NHSE’s diabetes lead, questioned the document on Twitter. He also said: “I am not aware of any NHS England ‘diktat’ suggesting we must all only speak in English to uphold NHS values.” It follows a separate notice being posted on Twitter yesterday signed simply by “Matron”, by a doctor who claimed her friend saw it at her “hospital placement”. It seemingly threatened staff with “disciplinary action” if they spoke any other language other than English. It reads: “English is the only language to be spoken in the ward area – this includes the kitchen. Disciplinary action will be taken against staff who do not comply, including agency and bank.” The documents have prompted a backlash on Twitter, with many criticising them and raising concerns about racism and inclusivity of staff. NHSE’s chief nursing officer, Ruth May, has publicly queried where the document is from. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 16 March 2022 -
Content Article
Blog - Why do I have to wait? (12 July 2021)
Patient-Safety-Learning posted an article in GP and primary care
This blog by GP Dr Abbie Brooks examines rising patient demand for GP services and the need to manage patient expectations around appointment waiting times. It looks at the impact of the pandemic, and how patients can help primary care cope with increased demand by ensuring they are using the appropriate NHS service for their needs and being patient while waiting for initial and follow up appointments. -
Content ArticleThe spread of the Covid-19 pandemic presented significant challenges in the management of patients with chronic diseases like multiple sclerosis (MS). This article in Frontiers in Neurology looks at how telemedicine was used as an alternative to face-to-face consultations with MS patients during the pandemic. Recognising the variation in care that occurred as different centres adopted telemedicine, they make a series of recommendations for the use of telemedicine in managing MS patients.
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Content ArticleIn this article for The BMJ, Partha Kar, consultant in diabetes and endocrinology, looks at the importance of education and peer support in self-management for people with long-term conditions. He looks at how diabetes peer support and education programmes have adapted to the need for remote access during the pandemic, and suggests that increased access to these elements of diabetes care may have helped reduce diabetic ketoacidosis hospital admissions during the first wave of Covid-19.
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News ArticleMore than 200 women were affected by failures in Ireland’s CervicalCheck screening system. It emerged in 2018 that 221 women and families were not told about misreported smear tests. The Minister for Health said that non-disclosure issues which arose in the cervical check screening controversy will be legislated for to prevent it from happening again. Stephen Donnelly said new legislation will address the negligence issues and ensure that the failure to inform the women of the clinical audit of their screening will “never happen again”. Mr Donnelly was discussing a number of amendments at the committee stage of Ireland's Patient Safety Bill. The new legislation will require the mandatory open disclosure of serious patient safety incidents, and sets out a list of incidents which must be reported to the health watchdog, Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA). Mr Donnelly said that he will introduce an amendment at the report stage of the Bill that will provide for non-disclosure and will deal with issues around delayed diagnosis and delayed screening. Mr Donnelly said: “I’ve had lengthy discussions with the department on this and it doesn’t fit neatly with this Bill because the serious patient safety issues which result in death or serious harm, they are very clear and binary. “Legislating around delayed diagnosis and delayed screening, it is really complex and doesn’t fit neatly in this Bill, however my view is that the non-disclosure that happened in cervical check, even though it doesn’t neatly fit here, should still be legislated for." Read full story Source: The Independent, 11 March 2022
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Content ArticleThrough her work on a range of different elements of the Midlands leadership learning offer, Emma Coller has had great success in facilitating the development of the leadership skills and behaviours needed for positive change. Here she shares her insights on the appreciative inquiry process and how it works.
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News Article
British Sign Language to be used in NHS mental health service
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The charity SignHealth has been awarded a national contract with NHS England to supply the mental health service Talking Therapies in British Sign Language. The new specialist service will help to support deaf people who are experiencing anxiety, depression and other mental health issues. This marks the first time NHS England have granted a national contract to a deaf specialist service and will hope to bridge the gap and tackle the health inequalities recognised after a recent freedom of information (FOI) request found that around 100 NHS trusts do not comply with accessible information standards (AIS). Prior to the contract, deaf people experiencing mental health related issues would have to rely on funding from their Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) to approve additional communication assistance on an individual basis. Waiting for approval of the funding for British Sign Language (BSL) therapy services meant that many deaf patients were having to wait considerably longer than their able hearing counterparts. Many CCGs do not grant additional funding and would not offer these kinds of services to deaf people, often resulting in ‘postcode lottery’. Dr Sarah Powell, Clinical Lead at SignHealth, said: "Deaf people are twice as likely to experience mental health challenges such as depression and anxiety compared to hearing people. This is a serious and sometimes life-threatening health inequality. Therapy delivered in sign language has been proven to have higher recovery rates and we are delighted that this contract removes the funding barrier so that more Deaf people are able to access life-changing treatment." Read full story Source: NHE, 9 March 2022 -
Content ArticlePeople like being treated well. A civil approach to relationships in the healthcare workplace – any workplace – has merit, but there are many questions to explore. While most doctors interact with others in a civil manner most of the time, anyone can experience lapses occasionally. When the many dimensions of civility are considered more closely, it appears that there is much that can be learned about the causes of incivility and the strategies that can be adopted to foster civil behaviour, even at times of risk. Physician Health Programme offers a series of articles below as Five Fundamentals of Civility for Physicians.
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EventuntilAre you interested in storytelling health? Do you want to use narrative as the basis for improvement? Do you want to work with people and hear about their experiences of care? Are you curious about storytelling? If so, come along to the NHS/Hope storytelling festival which is taking place between 9 and 23 March. You will find out about filmmaking, arts therapy, live performance, storytelling for quality improvement, staff stories, digital stories, how volunteers can capture stories, and hear from the author of a book about storytelling in health and how patient leaders are shaping our programme of digital storytelling. You will also hear how stories are being used across systems as a learning tool. There will also be the opportunity to take part in online training where you can gain a contribution to your CPD and gain some essential knowledge about a broad range of storytelling methods. Each session takes place between 6pm and 7.30pm and details can be found here.
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Content ArticleSpeaking to patients about what matters to them helps healthcare teams understand individuals' priorities, leading to better care partnerships and improved patient experience. This toolkit developed by the Montefiore Medical Center in New York provides an outline of how to implement "what matters to you?" (WMTY) conversations in healthcare settings.
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Content ArticleThis thesis explores different aspects of risk and safety in healthcare, adding to previous research by studying patient safety in first-contact care, primary care and the emergency department. The author investigated preventable harm and serious safety incidents in primary health care and emergency departments, and found that diagnostic error was the most common type or error. The thesis makes recommendations for safety improvements at all levels of a healthcare system.
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Content Article
WHO medsafe app
Patient-Safety-Learning posted an article in Medication
The World Health Organization has released a mobile application for patients and their families and caregivers as part of its Global Patient Safety Challenge: 'Medication Without Harm'. The app is designed to guide patients through the five key moments where action can reduce the risk of medication-related harm, and to facilitate patients to ask their healthcare professional important questions about their medications. The app is available from Google Play and the Apple App Store. -
Content Article
In this blog, Clare Rayner, an occupational physician, describes how an international collaboration to help understand Long Covid was established by harnessing the power of technology and social media. This collective, between a group of UK doctors experiencing prolonged health problems after Covid-19 infection and a globally renowned rehabilitation clinic at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, aims to help both patients and healthcare professionals by disseminating learning about Long Covid from both sides of the Atlantic. -
Content ArticleIn this blog, Aimee Robson, Deputy Director of Personalised Care at NHS England, talks about how healthcare workers can introduce one simple question into their communication with patients: “What matters to you?” She highlights that facilitating dialogue with patients about their own priorities is the first step in achieving personalised care, a key commitment outlined in the NHS Long Term Plan.
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News Article
RCN launches toolkit to help nursing staff raise concerns
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has designed a 'Raising Concerns toolkit', which includes information to help members navigate the process of escalation, from identifying a potential concern through to formally reporting it to senior colleagues. It’s been designed to help members decide when to escalate a workplace issue and includes a flowchart to support them in deciding what, when and how to report concerns. The toolkit outlines the types of concerns that might be raised such as staffing and patient safety, a lack of support or training, as well as cultural or criminal issues. It supports nursing staff to understand the importance of remaining factual, staying neutral and keeping records of events. RCN Deputy Director of Nursing Eileen Mckenna said: “We know that raising a concern at work isn’t easy, but it safeguards nursing staff and can provide learning opportunities. Our Raising Concerns toolkit can be used by nurses, nursing associates, students and health care support workers in the NHS and independent sector to help them through the process of escalating an issue. “All workplaces that employ nursing staff should have a culture of safety and focus on system learning, not individual blame in the event of a mistake being made. We will always support members who challenge unsafe practices, processes or conditions at work in the interests of their own safety and that of patients. It’s an important skill that promotes psychological safety, a positive learning environment and wellbeing.” Read full story Source: RCN, 2 March 2022 -
Content ArticleThe Perfect Patient Information Journey is Patient Information Forum's long-running project investigating how high-quality information can be provided throughout a person’s journey with a long-term condition.
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Content ArticleThis investigation by the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB) looks at the issue of emergency blood transfusions given to newborn babies who need resuscitation when they are born. If a baby has lost blood before or during birth, efforts to resuscitate them may be less effective because they may not have enough blood to carry the oxygen their body needs. Delays in the administration of a blood transfusion in this scenario can therefore result in brain injury caused by lack of oxygen to the baby’s brain. As its ‘reference case’, the investigation examined the experience of Alex and Robert, whose baby Aria was born by emergency caesarean section following an acute blood loss. Baby Aria required resuscitation and was given a blood transfusion before being transferred to the neonatal (newborn baby) unit. Baby Aria sadly died when she was two days old.
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Content ArticleThis article details the case and findings of an investigation by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) into the death of Stephen Durkin. Stephen died after suffering organ failure from sepsis, while under the care of Wye Valley NHS Trust. His wife, Michelle Durkin, subsequently made a complaint that delays in the diagnosis and treatment of sepsis led to her husband’s death.
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Content ArticleThe latest newsletter from the Patient Safety Authority highlights the importance of stronger warnings on medications, tracking the way misinformation spreads online, treating brain conditions through art and music, and more.
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Content Article
Key questions for boards: What to ask yourself and others
Patient Safety Learning posted an article in Boards
NHS Providers provide a selection of example questions boards should ask themselves in relation to their role in improvement. These aim to help guide personal reflection, conversations between board members and in quality committees, with staff and with partners locally. This list does not cover everything you may wish to or need to ask, but is intended to help provide a starting point and overview of important aspects to consider. -
Content Article
TAKE STOCK – Hot debrief tool (29 October 2019)
Patient-Safety-Learning posted an article in Emergency medicine
Debriefing after a patient death or serious incident is important for staff wellbeing, especially in the emergency medicine environment. While on placement in an emergency department, medical student Max Sugarman realised there was no debrief for staff or students involved in critical incidents. This led him to develop the TAKE STOCK hot debrief tool, which is an adaption of the STOP5 model created by Edinburgh EM and the Scottish Centre for Simulation and Clinical Human Factors. In this blog, Max talks about how critical incidents affect staff, how to make time for debriefs and how the TAKE STOCK tool works in practice. -
Content ArticleIn this blog, Sarah Tilsed, Head of Patient Partnership at the Patient's Association, reports on an HSJ webinar which discussed how engaging patients could help deal with the NHS care backlog. She talks about the need to involve patients in ways that make them feel supported and in control, and highlights the importance of better communication with patients to improve care.
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Content ArticleThis article by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) summarises recent evidence about the information and support pregnant women need to make decisions about their maternity care, and any interventions they may need. It discusses the following areas: The importance of continuity of carer and personalised care in maternity services Women need clear information and better access to mental health care Helping women with complicated pregnancies make informed decisions about their care Supporting shared decision-making when there are problems with the baby
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Content Article
It’s time to rename the ‘visitor’: reflections from a relative
Anonymous posted an article in By patients and public
In my first blog, ‘Visiting restrictions and the impact on patients and their families’, I highlighted how the pandemic has shone a stark spotlight on so many inequities and inconsistencies in access to health and social care. I wanted to draw attention to how visiting restrictions can result in worse outcomes for patients and their families. In my second blog I want to focus on the terms ‘visiting’ and ‘visitor’ and discuss what defines a visitor and why, in my opinion, it requires redefining and renaming. -
Content ArticleAn introduction to Appreciative Inquiry from NHS England and some team-based exercises for staff.
