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Content Article
Forgotten generation: shaping better services for children and young people
Sam posted an article in Paediatrics
A forgotten generation’s life chances are being harmed due to delays accessing care. The NHS is struggling to meet rapidly rising demand and increasingly complex and acute care needs among children and young people, a survey by NHS Providers highlights. There is deep concern among leaders of NHS trusts about the long-term harm caused by delays in services for children and young people (CYP), including a widening health inequalities gap. -
News ArticleThousands of children’s lives are being blighted by shocking delays to NHS care of up to three years, according to a report that warns a “forgotten generation” will suffer long-term harm as a result. The health service is struggling to cope with rapidly rising demand for increasingly complex and acute care needs among children and young people, the research by NHS Providers shows. Health leaders say the crisis in England is so severe that there is now “deep concern” that lifelong, permanent harm is being caused by crippling delays to NHS care. Long waits for basic healthcare are derailing children’s development, educational attainment and mental health, they revealed. One trust reported that waiting times for children’s autism assessments had risen from about 14 months before the Covid-19 pandemic to 38 months today. Children are also being forced to wait too long for essential speech and language therapy, hearing tests, medical treatment and surgery. “Too many young lives are being blighted by delays to accessing vital NHS care,” said Sir Julian Hartley, the chief executive of NHS Providers. “We’re in danger of seeing a forgotten generation of young people.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 15 July 2024
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Content ArticlePatients with endometriosis are having their symptoms dismissed and investigations delayed because of a lack of awareness among healthcare professionals of the chronic condition and how it presents, a report has found. The National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death (NCEPOD) set out to determine the quality of care provided to adult patients with endometriosis by reviewing questionnaire responses from 623 clinicians, 167 hospitals, and 941 patients and looking at 309 sets of case notes. The inquiry found that, unlike with other chronic conditions, there is no NHS care pathway for endometriosis.
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News ArticlePopular weight-loss jabs have been linked to an eye condition that can cause blindness. People with diabetes prescribed semaglutide (brand names Wegovy and Ozempic) were more than four times more likely to be diagnosed with a condition called non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION), according to a new study. Meanwhile, people who were overweight or obese prescribed the drugs were more than seven times as likely to develop the condition as those on other weight-loss medicines. NAION, which is uncommon, occurs from a lack of sufficient blood flow to the optic nerve. People typically suffer sudden vision loss in one eye, without any pain, and patients often notice the issue on waking up. There are no current treatments for NAION and vision often does not improve. The new study, published in JAMA Ophthalmology, was led by Joseph Rizzo, a professor of ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School in the US. He said: “The use of these drugs has exploded throughout industrialised countries and they have provided very significant benefits in many ways, but future discussions between a patient and their physician should include NAION as a potential risk. “It is important to appreciate, however, that the increased risk relates to a disorder that is relatively uncommon.” Read full story Source: The Independent, 5 July 2024
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Content Article
Clinical Communiqué (June 2024)
Anonymous posted an article in Patient stories
The Communiqués are an Australian not-for-profit group that develop, produce and distribute innovative and free electronic educational publications and podcasts on lessons learned from Coroners’ investigations into preventable healthcare-related deaths. -
Content Article
In this blog, patient advocate and healthcare communications consultant, Tambre Leighn, summarises her poster, Ask Me! Transforming Patient Communication to Improve Enrolment & Adherence in Clinical Trials and Cancer Care, presented at this year's American Association of Cancer Researchers conference. Tambre discusses how effective communication is essential for ensuring patient safety in clinical trials and cancer care, and why poor communication can lead to negative outcomes. She shares her strategies to improve patient safety through communication. -
News Article
Man’s life-saving heart surgery cancelled after NHS cyber attack
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
A heart patient has been left fearing for his health after his life-saving operation was cancelled due to a major cyber attack on London NHS hospitals. Russell Ashley-Smith, 81, is waiting for complex open heart surgery at King’s College Hospital in Denmark Hill, south London, without which he may only have up to two years to live. More than 200 emergency procedures were cancelled due to the ransomware hack earlier this month. Mr Ashley-Smith said: “I understand if I don’t [have the operation] it’s terminal. Doctors said you’ll live for one to two years with declining health and become less and less capable of doing things like walking. “I would become more dependent on my wife, and more dependent on being taken somewhere by car if I wanted to go outside. I would be unable to make music – I play the cello and the piano – all the things I like doing and I don’t want to be a couch potato." As well as operations, thousands of patient hospital appointments had to be cancelled across Guy’s and St Thomas’ Foundation Trust and King’s College University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust due to the cyber attack. The NHS admitted on Friday it would take months for services to recover even once the attack has been resolved, as staff will have to rebook patients for appointments and operations. Read full story Source: The Independent, 19 June 2024 -
Content Article
Age UK: It’s a struggle to be seen (May 2024)
Patient Safety Learning posted an article in Older people
Results of Age UK’s research into the experience of people aged 50 and over accessing health and social care services. This research into older people’s experiences of health and care services has revealed the extent of the challenges they face in accessing and receiving them. These challenges are confronted at a time in their lives when people are likely to be most reliant on such services to keep them well, independent, connected and safe. People from across the age spectrum, from 50 to over 100 years old, told Age UK about difficulties in accessing primary care services, including GPs and dentists. Health problems that could have been quickly and easily resolved have worsened through long waits for appointments and treatment. In some cases, older people have given up seeking treatment and care as they had lost hope of being able to see a clinician at all. For those of working age the problems in accessing appointments, referrals and treatment have had an impact on their ability to maintain good health, to remain in work and to care for others. Lack of access to support for carers has led to deteriorations in their physical and mental health. -
News Article
Millions of over-50s in the UK fear they can't access healthcare
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Millions of people over the age of 50 in the UK have concerns about struggling to access healthcare, according to new analysis by Age UK. It comes as one elderly and disabled patient admitted he cannot afford to wait on hold to his GP practice for an appointment for long due to rising phone bill costs. A new report by Age UK – It’s a Struggle to be Seen – analysed the results of a representative poll, conducted for the charity by Kantar, of 2,621 UK adults over 50, as well as its own online survey which attracted more than 17,000 responses. The report claims less than half (48%) of people over 50 are confident their medical issue would be solved by NHS services. Some 49% – which Age UK equates to 12.6 million people – were concerned about their ability to access their GP, while 42% were worried about access to hospital appointments. The same proportion expressed concerns about access to emergency departments, the charity said. Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK, said: “Sadly, for some older people, healthcare delayed means healthcare denied, because they do not have time on their side. “Our new analysis highlights just how many are being subjected to distress and, in some cases, enduring pain, because of their difficulties in accessing the GP services that they need.” Read full story Source: Medscape. 17 June 2024 -
News Article
Sussex NHS trust apologises for cancer treatment delays before man’s death
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
A troubled NHS trust has apologised to the family of a man who died after a series of delays led to him waiting four times longer for an operation than a national cancer target. Before he died in November 2022, Ken Valder, 66, complained of “delays after delay” to his treatment for oesophageal cancer. University Hospitals Sussex – the focus of a separate police investigation into allegations of surgical negligence and cover-ups over dozens of deaths between 2015 and 2021 – admitted that errors, failures and disagreements between surgeons contributed to delays to Valder’s treatment. They also accepted that the case highlighted patient safety concerns that prompted the hospital regulator in 2022 to suspend upper gastrointestinal cancer services at the trust, which includes the Royal Sussex County hospital in Brighton. An independent review of the case also found that Valder’s care was “suboptimal” and that if he had received surgery earlier it “might have led to a better oncological outcome”. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 17 June 2024 -
Content ArticleCurrent adverse effects of medical treatment (AEMT) incidence estimates rely on limited record reviews and underreporting surveillance systems. This study evaluated global and national longitudinal patterns in AEMT incidence from 1990 to 2019 using the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) framework. It found that although the global population increased 44.6% from 1990 to 2019, AEMT incidents rose faster by 59.3%. The net drift in the global incidence rate was 0.631% per year. The proportion of all cases accounted for by older adults and the incidence rate among older adults increased globally. The high SDI region had much higher and increasing incidence rates versus declining rates in lower SDI regions. The age effects showed that in the high SDI region, the incidence rate is higher among older adults. Globally, the period effect showed a rising incidence of risk after 2002. Lower SDI regions exhibited a significant increase in incidence risk after 2012. Globally, the cohort effect showed a continually increasing incidence risk across sequential birth cohorts from 1900 to 1950. As the global population ageing intensifies alongside the increasing quantity of healthcare services provided, measures need to be taken to address the continuously rising burden of AEMT among the older population.
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Content ArticleThis cohort study in JAMA Network Open aimed to assess how patients receiving radiation treatment for cancer rated their satisfaction with fully remote management by doctors. It also identified the associated safety events, financial implications and environmental consequences. The authors found that: more than 99% of safety events did not reach patients or caused no harm to patients. 98% of patient ratings of satisfaction with fully remote management were good to very good. out-of-pocket cost savings associated with fully remote management totalled approximately $612 913 ($466 per patient). estimated carbon dioxide emissions decreased by 174 metric tons.
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News Article
Deadly cancer treatment delays now ‘routine’ in NHS, say damning reports
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Hundreds of thousands of people are being forced to wait months to start essential cancer treatment, with deadly delays now “routine” and even children struck by the disease denied vital support, according to a series of damning reports. Health chiefs, charities and doctors have sounded the alarm over the state of cancer care in the UK as three separate studies painted a shocking picture of long waits and NHS staff being severely hampered by a worsening workforce crisis and a chronic lack of equipment. The first report, by Cancer Research UK, found that 382,000 cancer patients in England were not treated on time since 2015. The charity investigated how many patients had begun treatment 62 days or longer after being urgently referred for suspected cancer. The national NHS target – under which at least 85% of people should start treatment within 62 days – was last met in December 2015. The second report, by the Royal College of Radiologists (RCR), said delays in cancer care had become routine, with nearly half of UK cancer centres experiencing weekly delays in starting treatment. The RCR also warned of a “staggering” 30% shortfall in clinical radiologists and a 15% shortfall in clinical oncologists – figures it projects will get worse in the next few years. The third paper, from four children’s cancer charities – Young Lives vs Cancer, Teenage Cancer Trust, Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust, and Children’s Cancer and Leukaemia Group – said young patients were being failed by a lack of support after diagnosis. Naser Turabi, the charity’s director of evidence, said the crisis was causing widespread treatment delays that “negatively impact” patients. “One study has estimated that a four-week delay to cancer surgery led to a 6-8% increased risk of dying, and delays can also reduce the treatment options that are available. There are also the psychological effects – with waiting causing major stress and anxiety for cancer patients and their loved ones.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 13 June 2024 -
Content ArticleCancer Research UK has published a manifesto that sets out the measures and commitments the next government can make to help prevent 20,000 cancer deaths every year by 2040.
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Content ArticleThe Royal College of Radiologists (RCR) have published their 2023 clinical radiology and clinical oncology workforce census reports. These reveal dangerous shortages of doctors essential in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, and other conditions including stroke.
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News Article
Hospitals harm hundreds of patients a year by misidentification
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Hundreds of patients are being harmed each year because NHS organisations have incorrectly identified who they are, an HSJ investigation has found. Responses to Freedom of Information requests from 166 trusts revealed 58,537 cases of patient misidentification logged in Datix or other patient safety systems between 2019 and 2023, including 4,713 causing some sort of harm. This is equivalent to 11,707 incidents a year, with 943 leading to harm. It includes a wide range of errors, but harm typically happens when patients are given the wrong treatment or medicine, or miss out on the right treatment, as a result of errors in recording and/or miscommunication. A typical example is patients being given a wristband with the wrong name – or ID information resulting in patients not being treated, or the wrong treatment being given. Some of the worst examples are where the wrong patient, or the wrong part of the body, is operated on. Patient Safety Learning's CEO Helen Hughes called on NHS England to review cases nationally to identify root causes. She added: “Where avoidable harm has occurred, it is vital these incidents are investigated, that causes and contributory factors are identified, and steps put in place to prevent their reoccurrence. In some cases, this may require standardisation of approaches to patient identification, while others may highlight contributory factors that are more difficult to address, such as staff fatigue.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 11 June 2024 -
Content ArticleNeonatal herpes simplex virus (HSV) disease is a rare, and potentially fatal, disease which usually occurs in the first four weeks of a baby's life. Early recognition and treatment of the virus has been shown to significantly improve babies' chances of making a full recovery. Kit Tarka Foundation works to prevent newborn baby deaths; primarily through raising awareness of neonatal herpes, funding research and providing advice for healthcare professionals and the general public.
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News Article
Staff shortages force women to travel 125 miles for breast cancer care
Patient-Safety-Learning posted a news article in News
Hundreds of breast cancer patients have travelled more than 100 miles for diagnosis and treatment after waiting times soared at another health board because of staffing shortages. NHS Grampian, which previously received NHS Tayside patients because of staffing problems in Dundee, is now sending its own cases to Larbert, near Falkirk, because its breast cancer department can no longer cope. About 520 people from the Aberdeen area urgently referred to hospital with breast cancer symptoms have travelled to the Forth Valley Royal Hospital for diagnosis with some going on to receive their treatment miles away from home. It is anticipated that at least another 330 Grampian patients will be sent to Forth Valley while the waiting lists are brought under control in Aberdeen. Read full story (paywalled) Source: The Times, 2 May 2024 -
Content Article
A growing number of patients with eating disorders are reporting having treatment withdrawn by services, often without notice and without their consent. We spoke to eating disorder campaigner Hope Virgo about how pressures on services, enduring stigma around eating disorders and dangerous new narratives are leading to the practice of treatment withdrawal. Hope explains how this is affecting vulnerable patients and highlights that as the number of people developing eating disorders increases, the risks to patient safety will only get worse. -
News Article
NIHR funded study offers hope for targeted treatment of long COVID
Patient-Safety-Learning posted a news article in News
An NIHR and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) funded study has revealed that Long Covid leads to ongoing inflammation which can be detected in blood. This suggests that existing drugs which help treat conditions that affect the body’s immune system could be helpful in treating Long Covid, and should be investigated in future clinical trials. The study, which has been published in Nature Immunology, is from two collaborative UK-wide consortia, PHOSP-COVID and ISARIC-4C. These involve scientists and clinicians from universities across the UK, including Imperial College London and the Universities of Leicester, Edinburgh and Liverpool, among others. The research compared 426 people who were experiencing symptoms consistent with Long Covid with 233 people who were also hospitalised for Covid-19 but had fully recovered. The researchers took samples of blood plasma and measured a total of 368 proteins known to be involved in inflammation and immune system modulation. They found that, relative to patients who had fully recovered, those with Long Covid showed a pattern of immune system activation indicating inflammation of myeloid cells and activation of a family of immune system proteins called the complement system. Read full story Source: NIHR, 11 April 2024 -
News Article
How Covid is pushing up waiting lists for cancer treatment
Patient-Safety-Learning posted a news article in News
New figures have quantified what the pandemic has meant for cancer waiting lists—and the impact is stark. Official data show that 15,971 cancer patients in the UK have had to wait more than 124 days, or four months, after diagnosis for their treatment to start since 2020 as the pandemic sends waiting lists soaring. The statistics show that the number of untreated patients has more than doubled since Covid began, with one patient waiting for more than two years, according to data released following a freedom of information request from the Liberal Democrats. This is despite an NHS target for patients to receive cancer treatments within two months of an urgent referral. Last year, 6,334 patients waited more than 124 days, compared to 2,922 in 2022, the figures show. Data was received from 69 out of 137 acute health trusts in the UK, meaning the true number of people waiting long periods for treatment is likely to be much higher. Over 1,100 cancer patients last year were left waiting more than six months to receive treatment, triple the NHS target time. Liberal Democrat Leader, Ed Davey, said: “Every single one of these figures is a tragedy. Long delays for treatment can have a devastating impact on cancer patients and their families, and in certain cases can even cost lives." Read full story Source: inews, 22 April 2024 -
News Article
Almost 600,000 in England awaiting gynaecological treatment, figures show
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The government has been accused of “deprioritising women’s health” as analysis shows that almost 600,000 women in England are waiting for gynaecological treatment, an increase of a third over two years. There are 33,000 women waiting more than a year for such treatment, an increase of 43%, according to Labour analysis of data from the House of Commons library. It found that there is no region in England that meets the government’s target for cervical cancer screening of 80% coverage, with just over two-thirds of women (68.7%) having been screened in the past five and a half years. Also, one in four women (26%) with suspected breast cancer waited more than a fortnight to see a specialist in the year to September 2023. Under two-thirds (66.4%) of eligible women have been screened for breast cancer in the last three years, with just two English regions meeting the 70% coverage target. The NHS target in England is that 92% of patients have a referral-to-treatment time of less than 18 weeks. The figures come after the government pledged to end decades of gender-based health inequalities through a new women’s health strategy for England. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 22 April 2024 -
News Article
Seven more avoidable sepsis deaths spark coroner warnings
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Preventable deaths of seven people from sepsis – including four children – have prompted coroners to flag major concerns about NHS services’ management of the condition. Since the start of March, six English coroners have sent formal warnings to trusts, NHS England and the government warning of systemic failures to spot sepsis and delays in administering antibiotic treatments. It comes after an HSJ investigation in February uncovered more than 30 avoidable deaths from sepsis, and undertook analysis of internal figures revealing repeated failures by NHS trusts to provide prompt treatment. Coroner warnings since March include: Two notices were sent this week by Nottingham assistant coroner Elizabeth Didcock to Sherwood Forest Hospitals Foundation Trust, raising concerns over its ability to provide safe paediatric care following the deaths of 10-week-old Tommy Gillman and five-year-old Meha Carneiro from sepsis; A warning from earlier in April criticising University Hospitals Birmingham FT for its failure to treat 56-year-old Tracey Farndon’s sepsis and low blood pressure. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 17 April 2024 -
News Article
Report suggests people with breast cancer are being ‘systematically left behind’
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Many people with breast cancer are being “systematically left behind” due to inaction on inequities and hidden suffering, experts have said. A new global report suggests people with the condition are continuing to face glaring inequalities and significant adversity, much of which remains unacknowledged by wider society and policymakers. The Lancet Breast Cancer Commission highlights a need for better communication between medical staff and patients, and stresses the importance of early detection. It also highlights the need for improved awareness of breast cancer risk factors, with almost one in four cases (23%) of the disease estimated to be preventable. The Lancet Commission’s lead author, Professor Charlotte Coles, department of oncology, University of Cambridge, said: “Recent improvements in breast cancer survival represent a great success of modern medicine. “However, we can’t ignore how many patients are being systematically left behind. “Our commission builds on previous evidence, presents new data and integrates patient voices to shed light on a large unseen burden. “We hope that by highlighting these inequities and hidden costs and suffering in breast cancer, they can be better recognised and addressed by healthcare professionals and policymakers in partnership with patients and the public around the world.” Read full story Source: The Independent, 15 April 2024 -
Content Article
The Lancet Breast Cancer Commission (15 April 2024)
Patient Safety Learning posted an article in Cancers
Despite tremendous advances in breast cancer research and treatment over the past three decades—leading to a reduction in breast cancer mortality of over 40% in some high-income countries—gross inequities remain, with many groups being systematically left behind, ignored, and even forgotten. The work of the Lancet Breast Cancer Commission highlights crucial groups, such as those living with metastatic breast cancer, and identifies how the hidden costs of breast cancer and associated suffering are considerable, varied, and have far-reaching effects. The Commission offers a forward-looking and optimistic road map for how the health community can course correct to address these urgent challenges in breast cancer.
