NHS winter pressures: going home from hospital

NHS winter pressures: going home from hospital The spotlight on NHS performance during winter – and this series of blogs so far –lingers on problems getting to and (where necessary) into hospital quickly in an emergency. Problems at the hospital front door may seem more immediate, but the less visible delays at the back door are no less important.

Delays leaving hospital primarily affect older people (those aged 65 plus). In March 2017 the NHS Benchmarking Network suggested that 83% of delayed discharges involved people aged 65 plus and 39% involved people aged 85 plus (based on data from 47 NHS organisations from England, Wales and Northern Ireland). The Health Foundation

Black alerts: for emergencies only?

Black alerts: for emergencies only? The Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Health and Social Care have said that the NHS is delivering more and has planned better for this winter than ever before, but news of long waits and over-crowded A&E departments is still making the headlines. The King's Fund

Fatigue and sleep deprivation – the impact of different working patterns on doctors

Fatigue and sleep deprivation – the impact of different working patterns on doctors This briefing highlights why doctors are at risk of fatigue and the acute and long-term impacts this can have. It also presents a framework for how Government, organisations and doctors themselves can manage this risk. British Medical Association

Thinking on its own: AI in the NHS

Thinking on its own: AI in the NHS This report illustrates the areas where artificial intelligence (AI) could help the NHS become more efficient and deliver better outcomes for patients. It also highlights the main barriers to the implementation of this technology and suggests some potential solutions. Reform

Sharp rise in flu cases

Sharp rise in flu cases Hospitals in England are now seeing very high rates of patients with flu, according to Public Health England figures.

A sharp rise in cases seen by GPs in the past week - up 78% on the week before - suggests it could be the worst flu season for seven years.

But PHE said the current levels of flu were "not unprecedented".

Deaths from flu remained static with 27 in the past seven days.

Around 5,000 people were admitted to hospital with flu in the first week of January, based on PHE figures for 22 out of 137 trusts.

Prof Paul Cosford, medical director from Public Health England, said: "The levels of flu being seen are high and of course that is contributing to the pressures in the NHS, but they are not unprecedented levels." BBC News

See also:

• UK flu levels continue to increase according to PHE statistics Public Health England 
• Syndromic surveillance: weekly summaries for 2018 Public Health England 
• Flu rises again in England putting increasing pressure on general practice services Royal College of General Practitioners
• Why do the majority of NHS staff not get the flu vaccine? BBC News
• Flu deaths soar by 77% in a week, figures show The Daily Mail
• Flu levels soaring with one in five hospital cases suffering 'Aussie flu' The Daily Telegraph
• Flu epidemic will hit within a month if trends continue, new figures show The Daily Telegraph
• Flu cases double as UK faces medium-level epidemic GPonline
• Rate of flu patients placed in intensive care shoots up 65% in a week as 18-year-old dies from disease The Independent

Carillion share price collapse sparks fears Government could be left with cost of NHS contracts

Carillion share price collapse sparks fears Government could be left with cost of NHS contracts A dramatic fall in the share price of one of Britain’s biggest outsourcing companies has sparked fears that the taxpayer could be left to pick up the cost of contracts that provide crucial maintenance work in NHS hospitals.

The Prime Minister’s spokesman said today that the Government was monitoring Carillion closely amid fears that it could collapse as the health service struggles to cope with the worst winter crisis on record. The Independent

Six patients die amid 400 errors as NHS staff accidentally switch off oxygen supply

Six patients die amid 400 errors as NHS staff accidentally switch off oxygen supply An NHS investigation has been launched following the deaths of six patients when hospital staff accidentally switched off their oxygen cylinders.

A safety alert has been issued after watchdogs uncovered more than 400 incidents in which cylinder controls were wrongly operated - including 24 cases where patients came to “moderate or severe harm”.

The blunders saw six patients die, while five suffered cardiac arrest or stopped breathing and five were left unconscious.

Incidents involved newborns, patients on resuscitation trolleys and those on cardiac units, a safety alert discloses. The Daily Telegraph

A&E waiting times hit their worst on record, figures show

A&E waiting times hit their worst on record, figures show The NHS is struggling with its worst winter ever as A&E waiting times hit their highest on record, damning figures released today reveal.

New data from NHS England shows the health service is operating at a poorer level than at the same point in 2016, which was branded a 'humanitarian crisis' and saw the British Red Cross drafted in to help.

The alarming statistics show:

• One in five patients at major casualty units waited longer than four hours - the safe limit set by the Government - to be seen in December
• The statistics showed that for all A&E units, 85.1 per cent of patients were seen within the four-hour period - equaling last January's record low. 
• More than 300,000 patients were forced to wait for at least four hours in all A&E units - the highest amount since figures began in 2010.
• Ambulance delays have also risen to record proportions, with more than 5,000 patients left stuck in the back of the vehicles waiting to be transferred to A&E.
• While bed occupancy levels have hit their worst point yet this winter, with 24 trusts declaring they had no free beds at some point last week, the figures show.

The 'disappointing' figures have been escalating rapidly in the past few weeks, with the crisis now at the forefront of a political row over funding. The Daily Mail

See also:

• Response to the latest NHS waiting time figures The King's Fund
• A&E chiefs warn PM that patients are dying in corridors The Daily Mail
• Hospital crowding soars amid rising cases of norovirus and 'Aussie' flu The Daily Telegraph
• Number of A&E patients treated within four hours at lowest ever level The Guardian
• How the NHS winter beds crisis is hitting patient care The Guardian
• The Guardian view on the NHS crisis: it’s not just the flu | Editorial The Guardian