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Found 2,341 results
  1. News Article
    Family doctors are being forced out of their jobs after developing long Covid, prompting demands for the government to compensate NHS staff with the debilitating condition who cannot work. GPs struggling with the condition have told the Observer they felt “shocked and betrayed” when their colleagues removed them from their posts because of prolonged sick leave. “I received a lawyer’s letter on behalf of the other partners in the GP surgery telling me that they were ending my partnership. I understood why they did what they did, because I was too sick to work at the time. But it was also callous and mercenary,” said one doctor who lost her job. “It was hard on me, as one of the partners was also my best friend. The partners were worried I’d be a ‘disabled partner’ and wouldn’t be able to pull my weight. Long Covid meant I simply couldn’t function normally and so couldn’t meet the return to work date they gave me, so they exercised their right under our partnership agreement to end my partnership at the surgery,” added the GP, who asked to remain anonymous. The issue has prompted soul-searching within the medical profession about what duty of care family doctors owe each other when they cannot work because they have been laid low with exhaustion, brain fog, breathlessness and other symptoms of long Covid. Locum medics and hospital doctors with the condition are also having problems including loss of income, trouble accessing sick pay, contractual difficulties and getting employers to accept that they cannot work normally, sometimes for months. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 23 May 2021
  2. Content Article
    The COVID-19 pandemic has imposed extraordinary strains on healthcare workers. But, in contrast with acute settings, relatively little attention has been given to those who work in mental health settings. Liberati et al. aimed to characterise the experiences of those working in English NHS secondary mental health services during the first wave of the pandemic.
  3. News Article
    Almost as soon as the pandemic struck early last year, NHS England recognised that patients catching Covid-19 while they were in hospital for non-Covid care was a real risk and could lead to even more deaths than were already occurring. Unfortunately their fears have been borne out by events since – every acute hospital in England has been hit by this problem to some extent. Over the last 15 months various NHS and medical bodies have looked into hospital-acquired Covid and published reports and detailed guidance to help hospitals stem its spread. They include the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB) and Public Health England (PHE). Last May, for example, PHE estimated that 20% of coronavirus infections in hospitalised patients and almost 90% of infections among healthcare staff may have been nosocomial, meaning they were caught in a hospital setting. Before the pandemic the NHS was over-stretched and resources were limited. The crisis distorted it further out of shape and despite NHS staff making huge efforts to contain the virus in extremely challenging circumstances, too often they were overwhelmed. There are many other reasons, including inadequate ventilation, the sharing of equipment, and nurses and doctors having to gather at nurses’ stations and in doctors’ messes. Some bereaved relatives also cite hospitals deciding – inexplicably – to put their Covid-free loved ones in a bay or ward with one or more people who had the disease, sometimes resulting in tragedy. While some of these inherent weaknesses have been addressed, others remain, leaving further infections and even more deaths in this way a distinct possibility if the NHS is hit by another Covid surge. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 24 May 2021
  4. News Article
    Hospitals have been accused of “unnecessary secrecy” for refusing to disclose how many of their patients died after catching Covid on their wards. The Patients Association, doctors’ leaders and the campaign group Transparency International have criticised the 42 NHS acute trusts in England that did not comply fully with freedom of information request for hospital-acquired Covid infections and deaths. The Guardian revealed on Monday that up to 8,700 patients lost their lives after probably or definitely becoming infected during the pandemic while in hospital for surgery or other treatment. That was based on responses from 81 of the 126 trusts from which it sought figures. The British Medical Association, the main doctors’ trade union, said the 42 trusts that did not reveal how many such deaths had occurred in their hospitals were denying the bereaved crucial information. “No one should come into hospital with one condition, only to be made incredibly ill with, or even die from, a dangerous infectious disease,” Dr Rob Harwood, chair of the BMA’s hospital consultants committee, said. “Families, including those of our own colleagues who died fighting this virus on the frontline, deserve answers. We will only get that if there is full transparency." Read full story Source: The Guardian, 25 May 2021
  5. News Article
    Up to 8,700 patients died after catching Covid-19 while in hospital being treated for another medical problem, according to official NHS data obtained by the Guardian. The figures, which were provided by the hospitals themselves, were described as “horrifying” by relatives of those who died. Jeremy Hunt, the former health secretary, said that hospital-acquired Covid “remains one of the silent scandals of this pandemic, causing many thousands of avoidable deaths”. NHS leaders and senior doctors have long claimed hospitals have struggled to stop Covid spreading because of shortages of single rooms, a lack of personal protective equipment and an inability to test staff and patients early in the pandemic. Now, official figures supplied by NHS trusts in England show that 32,307 people have probably or definitely contracted the disease while in hospital since March 2020 – and 8,747 of them died. That means that almost three in 10 (27.1%) of those infected that way lost their lives within 28 days. “The NHS has done us all proud over the past year, but these new figures are devastating and pose challenging questions on whether the right hospital infection controls were in place”, said Hunt, who chairs the Commons health and social care select committee. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 24 May 2021
  6. News Article
    The refusal of an arm of the Scottish Government to release information about deaths in individual care homes during the pandemic has been branded “shameful” and “shocking” by opposition parties. National Records of Scotland, which is responsible for the official recording of deaths in Scotland, breached Freedom of Information legislation by refusing to release the number of confirmed and suspected COVID-19 related deaths in each of Scotland’s care homes, the Scottish Information Commissioner has ruled. While care home death figures have been published, the NRS refused to break these down by care home, citing “speculative” arguments about this release impacting care workers and the commercial interests of care home operators, the commissioner said. “This is another devastating blow for the care home residents and families who have been denied justice,” he said. “Those responsible must be held accountable and lessons must be learned. “We need a Scottish public inquiry without delay.” Read full story Source: The Scotsman, 21 May 2021
  7. News Article
    NHS England has asked hospitals to prepare for a potential further surge of covid cases reaching around half the level of first wave of the virus last year – and to seek to deliver 80% of normal elective activity throughout it, HSJ has learned. Well-placed sources said NHSE officials have held meetings in recent weeks discussing the possibility of a fourth wave of covid later this year, which modelling suggests could see up to 50% of the patient numbers seen in April last year. Trusts have been asked by NHSE officials, as part of the planning process, what resources they would need to run at 80 per cent of previous volumes of elective work if this scenario occurred. They are also taking into account that it is likely to come on top of greater non-covid emergency care demand, which has been lower then normal over the past 15 months. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 21 May 2021
  8. Content Article
    Neonatal herpes is a rare, and potentially fatal, disease which usually occurs in the first four weeks of a baby's life. Early recognition and treatment have been shown to significantly improve babies' chances of making a full recovery. In the second blog of this series, Sarah de Malplaquet, Chief Executive and Founder of the Kit Tarka Foundation, shares Kit’s story, who died at just 13 days old. Sarah reflects on a number of ‘missed signs’, highlighting the urgent need for increased awareness among staff.  
  9. News Article
    A glitch in the government’s £37bn test-and-trace system may have helped fuel the spread of a highly-transmissible Covid variant in one of the UK’s worst-hit towns, it has emerged. The software error meant that more than 700 infected people and their close contacts were not promptly passed on to local health teams, allowing them to potentially spread the disease further. The number of missing cases was highest in Blackburn with Darwen, where about 300 people are believed to have been lost in the system during a faulty IT upgrade. The Lancashire town is battling one of the UK’s largest outbreaks of the fast-spreading variant first identified in India. Labour has described the news as “jaw-dropping”. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 20 May 2021
  10. News Article
    A new wave of coronavirus infections could throw into jeopardy efforts to clear a backlog of surgery in the NHS, experts have warned. They say the relaxation of Covid restrictions is expected to cause a rise in infections, while at least some resurgence in hospital admissions and deaths is also expected at some point. However, the sharp rise in cases of a variant of concern first discovered in India, B.1.617.2, has caused consternation, with modelling suggesting that if it is as transmissible as some estimates suggest, it could fuel a serious “third wave”. Now experts have said that a new wave of infections may cause further problems, exacerbating what has already been described as “a truly frightening backlog” of care. “We are anticipating that as lockdown is eased that cases are going to go back up slightly, that is with or without the Indian variant,” Dr David Strain, a senior clinical lecturer at the University of Exeter medical school, told the Guardian. “The biggest concern we’ve got is that if these [Covid case] numbers do start to go up, it will put a strain on trying to get other services up and running.” “GPs are crying out under the stress at the moment … we still have people not having their operations: we have had procedures postponed for over 12 months, and we have got longer waiting lists that ever before,” he said. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 20 May 2021
  11. Content Article
    The aim of this study from Gurol-Urganci et al. was to determine the association between COVID-19 infection at the time of birth and maternal and perinatal outcomes. Covid infection at the time of birth is associated with higher rates of fetal death, preterm birth, preeclampsia and emergency Caesarean delivery. There were no additional adverse neonatal outcomes, other than those related to preterm delivery. Pregnant women should be counseled regarding risks of covid infection and should be considered a priority for vaccination.
  12. News Article
    A large UK study suggests having coronavirus around the time of birth may increase the chance of stillbirths and premature births - although the overall risks remain low. Scientists say while most pregnancies are not affected, their findings should encourage pregnant women to have jabs as soon as they are eligible. The majority are offered vaccines when they are rolled out to their age group. The study appears in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. The research, led by the National Maternity and Perinatal Audit, looked at data involving more than 340,000 women who gave birth in England between the end of May 2020 and January 2021. Researchers say a higher risk of stillbirth and prematurity, as well as a greater chance of having a Caesarean section, remained even once factors such as the mother's age, ethnicity, socio-economic background and common health conditions were taken into account. Babies born to women who tested positive were more likely to need special neonatal intensive care because they were born early and needed more support - rather than being infected with coronavirus itself. Professor Asma Khalil, co-author of the paper, said it was important for women and healthcare workers to be aware of the potential risks. Read full story Source: BBC News, 21 May 2021
  13. News Article
    The NHS “was largely overwhelmed” at the height of the UK’s Covid second wave in January, according to a study. New research published in Anaesthesia, a journal of the Association of Anaesthetists, revealed the scale of the pressure on hospitals during the pandemic and how stretched some units were. Based on surveys of all NHS hospitals, with more than half responding, the study found almost a third of anaesthetists were redeployed to look after critically ill patients, leaving 42% of operating theatres closed. This meant operations, including for cancer and emergency surgery patients, had to be cancelled. The research, by Professor Tim Cook, a consultant in anaesthesia and intensive care at the Royal United Hospitals Bath Foundation Trust, said: “Three-quarters of critical care units were so expanded that planned surgery could not be safely resumed. At all times, the greatest resource limitation was staff.” It is thought the findings are an underestimate of how bad the situation really was in some hospitals because the busiest units were less able to respond to the survey. Read full story Source: The Independent, 19 May 2021
  14. Content Article
    In this anonymous blog, the author draws on her son’s experience of glandular fever to highlight the value of listening to parents, in order to reduce avoidable harm.
  15. News Article
    Monica Evans's initial misdiagnosis could have proved life-threatening – and she is just one of many to have suffered during pandemic. Since The Telegraph began reporting on the struggles of patients around the country to access GP services during the pandemic, they have been inundated with messages and letters. There have been multiple stories of serious misdiagnoses made after telephone consultations with doctors that took place in lieu of face-to-face assessments; of interminable waits to get through to practices on jammed phone lines; and of lengthy delays while worried patients have waited for referrals to be made. Those who shared their experiences have also shared their fury, frustration, fear and dismay. Some who could afford to have felt they had no option but to turn to private healthcare, unable to obtain the help they needed from an NHS struggling with Covid and all its knock-on effects. Others have been left with nowhere to turn. GPs have spoken, too, about their dissatisfaction with a system that has discouraged face-to-face consultations. Amid an outpouring of anger from both patients and doctors, NHS England yesterday rowed back on plans for "total triage" of patients to keep them out of surgeries whenever possible. But for many the damage has already been done. Read full story (paywalled) Source: The Telegraph, 13 May 2021
  16. Event
    Chaired by Mr Bibhas Roy Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust this conference focuses on elective surgical caseload and post recovery. The challenge of current waiting lists for elective procedures is clear, the conference will discuss practical strategies and solutions for meeting demand and ensuring safety post COVID-19 including creating clear accountability for elective recovery and improving productivity. New models will be discussed for delivering increased activity including supporting supporting trusts and clinical teams to work together across Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) to eliminate variation and embed recognised best practice, patient scheduling and prioritisation, optimising theatre utilisation and performance and developing the role of the independent sector. Register
  17. Event
    until
    This webinar is organised by the Fellowship of Postgraduate Medicine. The panel will review the neurological and neuropsychiatric sequelae of COVID-19, what is known about this emerging spectrum of disorders, It is timely to review what we know and don’t know about the neurological and neuropsychiatric sequelae of COVID-19, what is known about why they happen and what treatments to consider. Register
  18. News Article
    Doctors in Wales have faced bullying and disciplinary action for raising concerns over working conditions and safety, a union leader has said. Dr Phil Banfield, of BMA Wales, said doctors who complained about work, both before and during the Covid pandemic, were seen as "troublemakers". He said there are worries bullying among staff will get worse as longer post-Covid waiting lists are tackled. The Welsh government said bullying of NHS staff was "entirely unacceptable". Dr Banfield, who is chairman of the BMA Welsh consultants' committee, said staff have faced the prospect of being victimised by colleagues, or even being forced to leave the Welsh NHS, for raising concerns over bullying or health and safety. He said: "Staff are quite good at raising concerns, but they don't raise concerns if they're going get in trouble for it, or they sense nothing is going to happen. What happens is you think 'I can't be bothered'. "Decent people develop a kind of learned helplessness and it means that people who keep raising concerns stand out." Read full story Source: BBC News, 15 May 2021
  19. Content Article
    This pre-print study looks at the impact of using FFP3 Personal Protective Equipment on a Covid-19 ward. Authors estimated a 37% reduction in staff sick days when immunity (infection and vaccination) were factored in.
  20. News Article
    Nearly one in five pregnant women in the UK were forced to wear a face covering during labour, according to research by a charity, despite official health guidance saying they should not be asked to do so. Women described feeling unable to breathe, having panic attacks or even being sick during labour because they were made to wear a face covering. The research was carried out by the charity Pregnant Then Screwed, who surveyed 936 women who gave birth during December. It found that 160 of those who went into labour were made to wear a face covering. This goes against current joint UK guidance, published in July 2020 by the Royal College of Midwives and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. The guidance says that women should not be asked to wear a face covering of any kind during natural labour or during caesarean births because of the risk of harm and complications. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 14 May 2021
  21. News Article
    The chief medical officers of the four UK nations are set to warn about a surge in admissions of severely ill, very young children later this year, due to the resurgence of a respiratory virus which has been suppressed by anti-covid measures, HSJ can reveal. Public Health England modelling shows a possible sharp rise in cases of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), which can cause bronchiolitis, this autumn and winter, several senior sources said. The modelling shows between 20 and 50% more cases needing hospitalisation than normal, HSJ understands. Official projections conclude that such a surge would require, at least, a doubling of paediatric intenstive care beds and a significant increase in other critlcal care resources for sick children. Most of those expected to be affected by the rise in RSV are forecast to be three years old or younger. The UK’s four chief medical officers are considering the issue and planning to write to ministers to highlight it, the sources said, while NHS England is working on a response plan, and is expected to alert local NHS leaders. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 14 May 2021
  22. Content Article
    The primary objective of this multicenter, observational, retrospective study from Giacobbe et al. was to assess the incidence rate of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients in intensive care units (ICU). The secondary objective was to assess predictors of 30-day case-fatality of VAP.
  23. News Article
    The government is "fully committed to learning the lessons at every stage" of the pandemic, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said. He told MPs an independent public inquiry into the handling of the pandemic would be held in spring 2022. The inquiry would place "the state's actions under the microscope", he added, and take evidence under oath. The inquiry's terms of reference have not yet been defined but would be published in "due course", he said, adding that the devolved administrations would be consulted. Mr Johnson acknowledged many bereaved families would want the inquiry to begin sooner, but said because of the threat of new variants and a possible winter surge in infections, spring next year would be the "right moment". Read full story Source: BBC News, 12 May 2021
  24. News Article
    Covid has left a toxic legacy for the NHS, with hospitals facing a huge backlog, putting lives at risk, patient groups and staff are warning. And in-depth analysis by BBC News has found: waiting lists have ballooned at some hospitals in England, with more than one out of every 10 of patients in a quarter of trusts left at least a year without treatment major disruption to cancer services, with some hospitals struggling to treat half of their patients within the target time of two months concern growing for 45,000 "missing cancer patients", after drops in GP referrals and screening services across the UK. Elaine Walsh was diagnosed with womb cancer in January. She should have been operated on within weeks, but her operation was cancelled because of the pandemic and the backlog it had caused. Elaine's story is not unique. Analysis by BBC News shows the numbers starting treatment within the target time have fallen during the pandemic. And some trusts are struggling to start treatment for even half of patients in the recommended timeframe - two months following an urgent referral from their GP. About one in every four of the patients waiting the longest has postponed treatment themselves - and nurses at the trust have been phoning and pleading with them to have treatment. This reluctance to come forward coupled with problems accessing GP and screening services at points in the pandemic is the reason why the number of patients coming forward for checks and being diagnosed has dropped. Analysis by Macmillan Cancer Support suggests across the UK there are 45,000 "missing" cancer patients. Read full story Source: BBC News, 13 May 2021
  25. News Article
    Major change is required if Northern Ireland's emergency departments are to avoid another "exceptionally difficult" winter, a senior consultant has warned. Dr Brendan Lavery, who works for the Western Health Trust, said "standing still is not an option". He described the system as currently operating on a "knife edge". The Department of Health said it was "a very challenging time" for staff "with COVID-19 restrictions impacting on an already fragile system". Speaking to BBC News NI, Dr Lavery likened the situation to "Groundhog Day" with decade-long problems like capacity and staffing exacerbated by the lingering effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on other healthcare services. The department responded: "Well before COVID-19, there was clear evidence that our urgent and emergency care services were under increasing pressure. This is an unsustainable position that requires sustained investment and reform, including, of course, long-term investment in staffing. There is no quick or easy solution to these problems." Read full story Source: BBC News, 12 May 2021
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