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Showing results for tags 'Staff factors'.
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News Article
UK nursing regulator’s new chief resigns after four days following racism row
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The UK nursing regulator’s new interim chief executive has stepped down just four days into the job after facing widespread staff backlash over her links to a high-profile race discrimination case. Multiple staff working at the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) raised concerns to its directors over the appointment of interim CEO Dawn Broderick, who was head of HR at another trust when it was found to have discriminated against a Black employee. The Independent can now reveal Ms Broderick resigned from the NMC on Monday evening. It is the latest in a succession of controversies to hit the nursing regulator, following reports uncovered by The Independent last year. These include allegations from whistleblowers that racism within the NMC was allowing complaints against nurses to go unchecked. Staff have come forward to The Independent, warning they do not have confidence the NMC’s board will take the issue of racism seriously. Read full story Source: The Independent, 2 July 2024 -
News Article
Thousands of agency workers set to leave NHS and care roles, poll suggests
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Thousands of agency staff could leave the NHS and social care services in the next two years, new research has suggested. More than 20,000 agency staff work across health and social care in the UK – but now a poll of 10,000 workers has revealed that nearly one in five could leave their job by 2026. In the poll, carried out by consultancy Acacium Group, 24% of those surveyed reported feeling overstretched at work. Key reasons for agency workers wanting to leave the NHS and social care included concerns over poor working conditions leading to staff burnout, and a lack of support from managers. Olivia Swain, 29, who has worked as an agency paediatric nurse in the North East since 2019 after moving from a permanent NHS role, told researchers: “While I love my job, the transition into a flexible role has its challenges. You have to learn to adapt quickly. Sometimes I don’t have a login or password for computer systems or swipe access cards, which can be incredibly obstructive and puts undue pressure on colleagues. “This can be a particular issue if I need quick access to patient records or to complete a referral.” Read full story Source: The Independent, 23 June 2024 -
Content ArticleIn healthcare, 'speaking up' refers to when healthcare workers raise concerns regarding patient safety through questions, sharing information, or expressing their opinion to prevent harmful incidents and ensure patient safety. Conversely, withholding voice is an act of not raising concerns, which could be beneficial in certain situations. Factors associated with speaking up and withholding voices are not fully understood, especially in strong authoritarian societies, such as Malaysia. This study aimed to examine the factors associated with speaking up and withholding the voices of healthcare workers in Malaysia, thus providing suggestions that can be used in other countries facing similar patient safety challenges.
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News ArticleThe family of a student who died after hospital staff missed that she had developed sepsis despite a string of warning signs have claimed she was the victim of a “lack of care”, as a coroner ruled there were “gross” failures in her treatment. Staff at Southmead hospital in Bristol failed to carry out the sepsis screening and observations needed to keep 20-year-old Maddy Lawrence safe after she was taken to hospital with a dislocated hip sustained in a rugby tackle. Outside court, the student’s mother, Karen Lawrence, said: “It has been a constant struggle to understand how a healthy, strong and fit 20-year-old could lose her life to sepsis which was allowed to develop under the care of professionals. “Her screams of pain and our pleas for help were merely managed, temporarily quietened with painkillers while the infection progressed unnoticed by hospital staff. “Our daughter was failed by a number of nurses and medical staff; symptoms were ignored, observations were not taken, on one occasion for 16 hours. There was no curiosity, basic tests were not completed even when hospital policy required them. “Maddy herself expressed concern on multiple occasions but her pain was not being taken seriously. As well as failing to fulfil their duty, those nurses and medical staff offered no sympathy, no compassion and little attention. “This failure meant Maddy was not given the chance to beat sepsis. Significant delays in its discovery meant the crucial window for treatment was missed. Maddy did not die due to under-staffing or a lack of money. Her death was the result of a lack of care.” Read full story Source: The Independent, 8 September 2023
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News Article
Trust ‘exited’ 170 staff in three years due to poor behaviour
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
An ambulance chief has said his trust “exited” more than 170 staff due to culture and behavioural problems in the last three years. East of England Ambulance Trust chief executive officer Tom Abell gave the figure while speaking publicly about his team’s efforts to get a grip on the organisation’s long-standing cultural problems. Mr Abell, who is leaving the trust next month to lead Mid and South Essex Integrated Care Board, told a session at the NHS Confed Expo conference that the trust’s leadership knew suspending a large number of staff would create challenges in providing services. But he said it was the only way to ensure the right cultural standards were met and he did not want to “bottle” the decision to tackle this issue. Mr Abell, who became CEO in 2021, said: “The decision we had to make was do we suspend [the staff] and recognise the fact that’s potentially going to have a significant impact in terms of our ability to deliver services, or do we bottle it? “And [so] we suspended and dismissed [the staff in question]. Staff told me after that, ‘we never thought the organisation would ever do that’. “We’ve tried to be consistent. We’ve exited, probably over 170 people from the trust, since I started, for issues around culture and behaviour. It’s not just about being fluffy and engaging, it’s around actually taking practical symbolic action.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 17 June 2024 -
News Article
Three staff disciplined over death at ‘culture of impunity’ trust
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Three staff have been put on “improvement plans” after a patient’s death which a coroner said nurses had been dishonest about, HSJ has learnt. North East London Foundation Trust was heavily criticised over the death of Winbourne Charles at an inquest last year. Coroner Graeme Irvine said staff “had not told the truth” about how Mr Charles came to take his own life in an inpatient unit at Goodmayes Hospital, in east London. Two witnesses refused to give evidence, citing a rule that they could not be compelled to incriminate themselves. Mr Irvine recorded a verdict of “suicide, contributed to by neglect, to which failures in medical intervention contributed and to which failures to respond to an obvious risk of self-harm contributed”. His prevention of future deaths report also noted “observation records appeared to have been created utilising a ‘cut and paste’ function” while there were “factually inaccurate entries” stating Mr Charles “was alive and well” up to two days after his death. In comments reported by the Barking and Dagenham Post last year, Mr Irvine said: “I think witnesses who have given evidence to me in this inquest have not told the truth. “It seems to me that this remarked upon a culture of impunity and that, unless someone sees there are consequences to their actions, nothing is going to change.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 14 June 2024 -
Content ArticleOn 11 April 2021 an investigation into the death of Winbourne Gregory Charles, aged 58, was carried out. Winbourne was admitted into hospital under section 2 of the Mental Health Act 1983 in November 2020 following an attempt to take his own life. In December 2020 on a diagnosis of depressive illness incorporating psychotic symptoms, Mr Charles was made subject to an order under section 3 of the Mental Health Act 1983. On 10 April 2021 Mr Charles was found unresponsive, suspended on the mental health ward. The Court returned a conclusion of: “Suicide, contributed to by neglect, to which failures in medical intervention contributed and to which failures to respond to an obvious risk of self-harm contributed.” Mr Charles’ medical cause of death was determined as 1a Suspension.
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Content Article
Diabetes tech: Do national aspirations and local practice align?
Anonymous posted an article in Diabetes
In this anonymous blog, a person with type 1 diabetes describes their recent experience upgrading their insulin pump, a medical device used to continuously deliver insulin instead of taking multiple daily injections. They describe how communication issues and gaps in staff knowledge led to a significant delay in accessing the pump, which caused them significant stress. They also ask whether recent announcements about increased access to diabetes technology over the next few years will match up to the reality experienced by people with diabetes accessing care at local healthcare organisations. -
Content Article
Locums: threat or opportunity (16 May 2024)
Patient_Safety_Learning posted an article in Systems
In this editorial for BMJ Quality and Safety, Richard Lilford looks at a A paper from Ferguson and colleagues. Lilford concludes by saying that the paper provides useful findings regarding locums and their impact on patient safety. "The paper should not be simply curated among the voluminous safety literature. It should be considered as a call to action by senior policy makers." -
Content ArticleIn this editorial for BMJ Quality and Safety, Kate Kirk explains why staff well-being is the foundation to improving patient safety.
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Content ArticleThis article by Saoirse Mallorie, Senior Policy Analyst at The King's Fund, looks at the detail behind the results of the 2023 NHS Staff Survey. She highlights that although it looks as though there has been improvement in some areas, staff satisfaction is not where it should be. The article also looks at variation between staff groups in terms of work-related stress, autonomy, belonging and workload, representing these differences visually in graphical form.
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Content ArticleThis framework establishes a standardised approach to the annual appraisal of chairs, including ICB, NHS trust and foundation trust chairs. The appraisal should be a valuable and valued undertaking that provides an honest and objective assessment of a chair’s impact and effectiveness, while enabling potential support and development needs to be recognised and fully considered. The framework is aligned with the NHS Leadership Competency Framework and informed by multi-source feedback. It establishes a standard process, consisting of four key stages, to be applied to the annual appraisal of chairs.
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Content ArticleLittle is known as to whether the effects of physician sex on patients’ clinical outcomes vary by patient sex. This study examined whether the association between physician sex and hospital outcomes varied between female and male patients hospitalised with medical conditions. The findings indicate that patients have lower mortality and readmission rates when treated by female physicians, and the benefit of receiving treatments from female physicians is larger for female patients than for male patients.
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News ArticleLeaders of an integrated care system in the Midlands have warned they cannot make the scale of staffing cuts required to balance the books without putting patients at risk. Indicative analysis produced by Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Integrated Care Board also found its provider trusts would have to cut 10 per cent of their workforce to break even. This would equate to 2,300 posts across University Hospitals North Midlands, Midlands Partnership Foundation Trust and North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare, while the ICB would have to cancel a “very high proportion” of third-sector contracts. The document says this “would bring our teams below safe staffing levels” and have a “profound effect on our ability to deliver safe services”. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 23 April 2024
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News Article
NHSE intervenes over ‘fear and bullying’ in surgery department
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Nearly a dozen junior doctors have been relocated from a London hospital’s general surgery department by NHS England, after concerns about a culture of fear, poor support, and reports of bullying. NHSE has withdrawn 11 surgical foundation year trainees from Barnet Hospital, in north London, after a review uncovered concerns regarding staff behaviour and safety. The General Medical Council has opened a case into the hospital’s department, which is run by the Royal Free London Foundation Trust, and the trainees have been placed elsewhere in the trust. Colin Melville, the GMC’s medical director and director of education and standards, told HSJ: “Doctors in training in the department reported a culture of fear, worry, and feeling unsupported and unable to raise concerns in the appropriate manner. “There are also concerns over their supervision, bullying, and undermining behaviours in the department, as well as doctors’ physical and mental wellbeing. “Because of the [trust’s] failure to meet the high standards we require, we stand firmly with NHSE workforce, training, and education London’s decision to relocate the 11 trainees, [to] where they can work and learn in a supportive environment. “This action is necessary not only to ensure their safety, but to protect the public as well.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 18 April 2024 -
Content ArticleThe Nuffield Trust's Health and International Relations Monitor project, supported by the Health Foundation, tracks issues that are important for the delivery of health and care in the UK. It aims to understand how our changing relationship with Europe is changing the picture for the NHS and health more generally, and what the prospects are for the future. This latest report shows that global medicine shortages are being felt particularly acutely in the UK, and the country's reliance on migration as a source of health and social care staff is intensifying.
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Content ArticleThe use of temporary doctors, known as locums, has been common practice for managing staffing shortages and maintaining service delivery internationally. However, there has been little empirical research on the implications of locum working for quality and safety. This study aimed to investigate the implications of locum working for quality and safety. The participants of the study described the implications of locum working for quality and safety across five themes: (1) ‘familiarity’ with an organisation and its patients and staff was essential to delivering safe care; (2) ‘balance and stability’ of services reliant on locums were seen as at risk of destabilisation and lacking leadership for quality improvement; (3) ‘discrimination and exclusion’ experienced by locums had negative implications for morale, retention and patient outcomes; (4) ‘defensive practice’ by locums as a result of perceptions of increased vulnerability and decreased support; (5) clinical governance arrangements, which often did not adequately cover locum doctors. The study concluded that locum working and how locums were integrated into organisations posed some significant challenges and opportunities for patient safety and quality of care. Organisations should take stock of how they work with the locum workforce to improve not only quality and safety but also locum experience and retention.
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Content ArticleTommy Gillman died on 8 December 2022 from sepsis and multi organ failure secondary to Salmonella Brandenburg meningitis. There were missed opportunities to provide him with earlier antibiotics, fluid resuscitation and intensive monitoring from 12.35pm on the 7 December 2022 at Kings Mill Hospital. Once the severity of his illness had been recognised at approximately 17:00 hours on that day, he was provided with prompt treatment for septic shock and meningitis. Sadly however he did not respond to this treatment and died the following day following transfer to Leicester Royal Infirmary. Whilst there were serious missed opportunities to provide earlier treatment of sepsis and meningitis.
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News ArticleA regulator overseeing 340,000 professionals breached a psychologist’s human rights by letting their fitness-to-practise case go on for a decade, amid widespread very long delays, it has emerged. A judgment from the Health and Care Professions Tribunal said the “lamentable” situation for the registrant was down to the “disgraceful… manner in which the Healthcare Professions Council dealt with their case”. The HCPC oversees professional standards for several groups including radiographers, paramedics, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, and operating department practitioners. If a complaint is made about a registrant, it can investigate and refer them to the tribunal, which can strike them off. The Society of Radiographers said the current speed of cases was “simply unacceptable” and its director of industrial strategy Dean Rogers added: “Our members spend too long working — and living — under the intense scrutiny of their regulator, often under the control of an interim order restricting or even preventing their practise while investigations drag on.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 17 April 2024
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News Article
Doctor exodus: tens of thousands planning to move abroad, NHS warned
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Tens of thousands of doctors are hoping to quit the NHS and move abroad this year in search of better pay, the medical regulator has warned. Half of the doctors planning to leave said they wanted to move to Australia, which has been the most popular destination for emigrating UK doctors for the past five years. The General Medical Council surveyed 3,154 doctors about their attitudes towards leaving the UK, including 1,000 who had recently left to practise abroad. Some 13% of those working in the NHS said they were “very likely” to move in the next 12 months, while another 17% said they were “fairly likely” to move. The GMC said this would amount to 96,000 doctors quitting over the next year if applied to the total number of doctors on the medical register, although it acknowledged that the actual rate of departures was likely to be much lower. Read full story (paywalled) Source: The Times, 12 April 2024 -
News ArticleThe boss of the NHS has made a dramatic intervention in The Independent highlighting the shocking amount of sexual abuse against staff in the health service, arguing that a #MeToo moment is needed to safeguard staff. Amanda Pritchard hit out at the “unacceptable” levels of abuse faced by doctors and nurses, demanding that health trusts be judged on their progress in tackling sexual harassment. She has called for sexual harassment against NHS staff to be “stamped out” after it emerged that one in eight workers – 58,000 – had reported experiencing unwanted sexual behaviour last year. Writing exclusively for The Independent, Ms Pritchard said the abuse now levelled at doctors and nurses is unacceptable – with some staff being raped at work, groped, and shown pornography. “The #MeToo movement has powerfully called out this unacceptable behaviour and fuelled important discussions right across society, and the NHS must not be exempt,” Ms Pritchard wrote. Around 58,000 NHS workers reported being subjected to unwanted sexual behaviour last year (PA) “But we can’t just call out unacceptable behaviour and move on: we need to stamp it out across all parts of the NHS.” Read full story Source: The Independent, 13 April 2024
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EventIn this webinar, Chris Burman-Fourie, principal NHS consultant, and Nick Reader, principal consultant at GoodShape, will explore the correlation between employee health and organisational financial savings. The presenters will share actionable insights, best practices, and real world examples that demonstrate how investing in employee health can yield significant financial returns. Key topics to be covered include: Understanding the tangible impact of employee health on productivity, organisational performance, and healthcare costs. Exploring innovative approaches to fostering a culture of wellbeing and resilience among NHS staff. Leveraging data analytics to measure the impact of employee health programs on financial outcomes and savings. Using employee health data to tailor wellbeing programmes and benefits to give measurable results. Understanding workforce absence and health data to drive down bank and agency usage across NHS Trusts. Register
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Content Article
In this report, Patient Safety Learning analyses the results of questions in the NHS Staff Survey 2023 specifically relating to reporting, speaking up and acting on patient safety concerns. It raises questions as to why there has been so little progress despite policy intention in this area. It concludes by setting out the need to improve the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of work seeking to create a safety culture across the NHS. This article contains a summary of the report, which can be read in full here or from downloading the attachment below.- Posted
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News Article
GMC will no longer launch FTP proceedings for ‘minor’ concerns
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The General Medical Council (GMC) has relaxed its fitness to practise (FTP) processes for doctors so that ‘minor’ concerns such as ‘pushing a colleague’ are not taken to tribunal. In an update to its guidance, the regulator has given FTP decision makers and case examiners ‘more discretion’ to throw out complaints if they represent a lower risk to public protection. Concerns which are ‘minor in nature and did not impact patient care’ will fall under this guidance. This is part of the GMC’s efforts to carry out ‘more efficient and proportionate investigations’ and to ‘minimise’ stress for doctors during the FTP process. Two examples of concerns which will no longer need to be investigated, if there are ‘no aggravating factors’, are: A doctor giving false details to a market research company, in order qualify for free products. A doctor pushing a colleague out the way following a heated argument. The regulator has said: "Decision makers will now be able to weigh the full circumstances of a concern earlier in the fitness to practise process to assess the overall risk to public protection including to public confidence in the profession– meaning some concerns may not need to be investigated or referred to a tribunal." However, the guidance, which covers concerns relating to violence and dishonesty, emphasises that allegations which raise a risk to public protection will continue to be investigated. Read full story Source: Pulse, 4 April 2024 -
News Article
NHS told to cut spending on doctors and nurses to save £4.5bn
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Hospitals are preparing to cut spending on doctors and nurses by hundreds of millions of pounds after being ordered to plug a £4.5 billion hole in the NHS budget. Chief executives at hospitals, mental health trusts and community services in England have been ordered to review staffing levels and draw up plans to close some services and merge others. They are also looking at banning or restricting the use of some agency workers. NHS bosses have been alerted in recent days to the scale of the cuts needed after negotiating financial plans for next year. The health service in England has a budget of £165 billion for the 2024-25 financial year, which starts next week. The budget rose by 3.2% in real terms between 2018-19 and 2023-24. Spending has been put under additional pressure by the cost of covering strikes by junior doctors which NHS England has said has cost more than £1.5 billion and affected more than 430,000 patients’ appointments. Saffron Cordery, deputy chief executive of NHS Providers, said services had been stretched by the need to pick up the pieces from a shortage of social care and other community services. She said an ageing population and poor public health meant patients in hospital were sicker and staying longer, needing more care. She said: “Trust leaders are being pushed to the very limits of what is possible, and there will be a situation where they have to make difficult choices about keeping basic services going versus investing in quality and improvement for the future. We are in a situation where we will be patching something that’s already a bit patched-together.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: Times, 31 March 2024
