Report reveals more NHS workers feel confident to speak up… and more are doing so

Report reveals more NHS workers feel confident to speak up… and more are doing so Over the last two years over 19,000 cases of speaking up by NHS workers in trusts have been handled by Freedom to Speak Up Guardians. These include cases with an element of bullying and harassment and that have impacted on patient safety and quality of care.

A new report published by the National Guardian’s Office reveals that over the last year cases of speaking up to guardians have risen by 73 per cent, compared to 2017/18.

Of the 12,000 cases raised between 1 April 2018 and 31 March 2019, guardians reported that almost a third included an element of patient safety/quality of care, and just over forty per cent included an element of bullying/harassment.

Ethical and economic issues in the appraisal of medicines for ultra-rare conditions

Ethical and economic issues in the appraisal of medicines for ultra-rare conditions In the light of concerns around the suitability of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence's Highly Specialised Technologies (HST) appraisal route, this report discusses the distinct ethical and economic challenges faced by ultra-orphan medicines, with particular reference to the challenges of health technology assessment in the UK. Office of Health Economics

NHS tells betting firms to stop 'vicious gambling cycle'

NHS tells betting firms to stop 'vicious gambling cycle' The head of mental health services in England has written to five major gambling companies, demanding urgent action on tackling gambling addiction and its impact on people's health.

Claire Murdoch said incentives like VIP treatment should be banned to stop the "vicious gambling cycle".

The industry said it was determined to make gambling safer. BBC News

See also:

• Female gambling addicts growing faster than men amid rise in online slot machines The Daily Telegraph

HIV infection rate falls by 73% in the UK

HIV infection rate falls by 73% in the UK The number of people diagnosed with HIV in the UK has dropped substantially since 2014, according to figures released by Public Health England.

Gay and bisexual men have experienced the most dramatic decline in new infections, with rates falling by 73%.

It has been attributed to a rise in the use of pre-exposure prophylaxis (Prep). BBC News

Warning over warring Great Ormond Street surgeons

Warning over warring Great Ormond Street surgeons Warring between two surgeons at Great Ormond Street Hospital could put patients at risk, a review suggests.

A board paper released by the leading children's hospital said a "fractured" relationship between two consultants in the paediatric surgical urology team was affecting the service last year.

It said the problems had an impact on the whole team, creating the potential for longer waits for sick children. BBC News

Key measures to stop next Harold Shipman ignored by hospitals, Jeremy Hunt warns

Key measures to stop next Harold Shipman ignored by hospitals, Jeremy Hunt warns Many NHS trusts yet to fill medical examiner posts as deadline approaches despite pilot schemes covering 27,000 deaths since 2008 finding that one in four hospital death certificates were inaccurate and one in five causes of death were wrong.

Dozens of NHS hospitals have yet to appoint medical examiners whose roles are aimed at preventing a repeat of Harold Shipman‘s serial killings – with just months to go before the deadline.

A survey of more than 100 NHS trusts in England found that more than half had yet to set up the key posts, which it is hoped will be a crucial part of efforts to improve patient safety in the NHS. The Independent

See also:

• NHS hospitals need to appoint medical examiners now or risk mistakes such as Mid Staffs happening again The Independent

Shrewsbury maternity scandal: More than 900 cases of potential poor care identified at hospital

Shrewsbury maternity scandal: More than 900 cases of potential poor care identified at hospital About 100 new cases of poor maternity care at a beleaguered hospital trust have been identified, bringing the total to 900, the government has revealed.

The scandal at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals Trust ​- the largest maternity scandal in NHS history – is already under investigation and lawyers are preparing to act on behalf of families who say they suffered.

Nadine Dorries, a health minister, told the Commons the total number of suspected cases now stood at 900. The Independent

See also:

• Maternity cases being investigated at Telford and Shrewsbury NHS Trust rises to 900 Chanel 4 News
• NHS maternity scandal: Inquiry into baby deaths now looking at 900 cases The Daily Telegraph
• I helped expose the Mid Staffs hospital scandal – and fear the NHS is about to repeat its worst mistakes The Independent

Matt Hancock signals A&E waiting targets likely to be scrapped

Matt Hancock signals A&E waiting targets likely to be scrapped Health secretary defends NHS’s performance and says targets should be ‘clinically appropriate’

Matt Hancock has signalled that four-hour waiting targets for A&E are likely to be scrapped for the NHS in England after the worst figures on record this winter.

The health secretary said it would be better if targets were “clinically appropriate” and the “right targets”, as he defended the NHS’s failure to meet the standard that 95% of patients attending A&E should be admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours. The Guardian

See also:

• Matt Hanock: staff must be 'more robust' in kicking out non-emergency patients from A&E The Daily Telegraph
• Are the Tories about to abolish A&E targets? The Guardian
• Plan to scrap A&E target sparks furious backlash from medics The Guardian
• NHS crisis: Health secretary hints at scrapping A&E target in wake of longest waiting times on record The Independent
• Boris Johnson vows to 'get those waiting lists down' after worst NHS figures Sky News

Staff say hospital bosses misled them in hunt for whistleblower

Staff say hospital bosses misled them in hunt for whistleblower Doctors told a patient’s widower about the failings in an operation that led to her death

Doctors at Matt Hancock’s local hospital accused bosses of misleading senior staff about their unprecedented demand for fingerprint samples in a bid to identify a whistleblower, it has emerged.

Minutes of a meeting seen by the Guardian show that after managers at West Suffolk hospital used “bullying and intimidatory” tactics to seek out the whistleblower who revealed details of a botched operation to a patient’s widower, they were accused of deliberately misrepresenting their actions in communications with staff. The Guardian

Frail older people in England missing out on vital medicines checks

Frail older people in England missing out on vital medicines checks Just 59% of ‘extremely frail’ older people received annual drugs review by GP last year.

Almost 75,000 severely frail, older people in England are missing out on vital medicine checks, putting them at risk of hospitalisation, falls and adverse drug reactions, according to an analysis of NHS data.

At least 10% of hospital admissions of frail older people are directly attributable to mismanagement of medicine. But the analysis of all patients aged over 65 in England found that only 59% – 108,507 – of people identified as being extremely frail received their annual medicines review last year. The Guardian

See also:

• Tens of thousands of severely frail older people miss out on vital medicines checks The Pharmaceutical Journal

Prostate deaths hit record high of 12,000 after soaring by more than a quarter in less than 20 years

Prostate deaths hit record high of 12,000 after soaring by more than a quarter in less than 20 years Prostate cancer deaths have passed 12,000 a year for the first time.

The toll has risen by more than a quarter in less than 20 years, official figures show.

By contrast, the number of annual deaths from breast cancer dropped by nearly 1,600 between 1999 and 2017, from 12,947 to 11,371. Annual prostate deaths have risen by nearly 2,600 in the same period, from 9,460 to 12,031 – a 27 per cent increase. The Daily Mail

See also:

• As prostate cancer deaths hit all-time high, we renew our MANifesto Prostate Cancer UK
• Prostate cancer set to become most common form of disease, with half of cases diagnosed late The Daily Telegraph
• Number of men dying from prostate cancer surges to record levels The Independent