tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-67801006217291602024-03-14T00:50:42.516-07:00Help me sort out the NHS!The truth about the NHS and why we need to save it. White Man at the Hammersmith Palaishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01720141916776433135noreply@blogger.comBlogger168125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6780100621729160.post-81946316458480902412017-01-10T10:17:00.001-08:002017-01-10T10:17:57.212-08:00The Crisis in Accident and Emergency.<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">It's been quiet on this blog for a while - we've reached the stage where the crisis in the NHS has gone beyond problems that can be fixed - the lack of investment, cutbacks and failure to train enough staff has left sections of the service unable to cope with the basic needs of the population.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">This Christmas we saw two elderly people die while left on trolleys in corridors because there weren't enough staff to admit them to a ward.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">A unattended vulnerable patient died after taking his blood transfusion devise and stand into a toilet, fell over and strangled himself.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">This BBC article publishes a leaked document which sets out the crisis in Accident and Emergency;</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Leak shows full extent of NHS winter crisis</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">By Dr Faye Kirkland and Nick Triggle <br />BBC News<br />10th January 2017</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"><br />Record numbers of patients are facing long waits in A&Es as documents leaked to the BBC show the full extent of the winter crisis in the NHS in England.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Nearly a quarter of patients waited longer than four hours in A&E last week, with just one hospital hitting its target.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">And huge numbers also faced long waits for a bed when A&E staff admitted them into hospital as emergency cases.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">There were more than 18,000 "trolley waits" of four hours or more last week.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">That suggests about one in five patients admitted for further treatment endured one of these long waits on trolleys and in hospital corridors - twice the rate normally seen.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Some 485 of them were for more than 12 hours - treble the number seen during the whole of January last year.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The figures come from a document compiled by NHS Improvement, one of the regulators in England, and show that this winter is proving to be the most difficult for more than a decade.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Since the start of December, hospitals have seen only 82.3% of patients who attended A&E within the four-hour target. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">That is the worst performance since the target was introduced in 2004.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Chris Hopson, of NHS Providers, which represents hospitals, said what was being seen was not "ordinary winter pressures".</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">"Trusts are really struggling," he added.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The leaked document also showed: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Performance started deteriorating markedly in the first week of the new year with 22% of patients waiting longer than four hours to be seen in A&E.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">In one hospital - Weston Area - that reached 44%<br /> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Just one trust hit the target of seeing 95% of patients within four hours with only nine within 5% of hitting the mark<br /> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Dangerously high levels of bed occupancy were reported with 94.7% of beds full<br /> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">- well above the "safe" threshold of 85%</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">It comes after the British Red Cross said over the weekend the NHS was facing a "humanitarian crisis" this winter.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Ministers have denied this is the case, with Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt saying on Monday the health service was coping well given the increasing demands.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">But he did suggest the four-hour target may have to be relaxed - it has not been met since July 2015.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">He said there were growing numbers of patients attending A&E units with minor conditions and suggested in order to "protect" the four-hour guarantee in the future it may need to be applied only to those with urgent needs.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Dr Kathy McLean, of NHS Improvement, said the data given to the BBC had yet to be verified and was meant for "internal" purposes so the true figure could be lower.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">But she accepted that the NHS was facing "exceptionally high" levels of demand. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Neil Harris</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">(a don't stop till you drop production)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Home: <a href="http://helpmesortoutthenhs.blogspot.com/">helpmesortoutthenhs.blogspot.com</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Contact me: <a href="mailto:neilwithp-romisestokeep@gmail.com">neilwithp-romisestokeep</a><a href="mailto:neilwithp-romisestokeep@gmaqil.com"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null"><a href="mailto:neilwithp-romisestokeep@gmaqil.com">@gmail.com</a></a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span>White Man at the Hammersmith Palaishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01720141916776433135noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6780100621729160.post-30503969292764976492016-09-08T05:28:00.000-07:002016-09-08T05:28:11.262-07:00The Tories NHS crisis.<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">This 'Guardian' article neatly sets out the crisis that has developed in the NHS over the last couple of years of Tory rule;</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">NHS 'in perpetual winter of Narnia' as waiting list reaches record 3.9m <br />
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Waiting time targets missed, bed blocking at record levels, and medical leaders say system is close to breaking down</div>
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The <span style="color: #005689;">NHS</span> is missing so many of its key performance targets that it has entered “the perpetual winter of Narnia”, a medical leader has said, after figures revealed the highest ever number of patients on waiting lists.<br />
Claire Marx, president of the Royal College of Surgeons, criticised the NHS’s failure to give patients planned care in hospital within the required 18 weeks, such as surgery for cataract removals, hernia repairs and hip and knee replacements.<br />
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The number of people in England who are awaiting such treatments has climbed to almost 3.9 million. <br />
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<a class="rich-link__link" href="https://www.blogger.com/null">Demand for NHS care is dangerously high, says thinktank</a> </h1>
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Over three-month period to June nearly 6m people visited A&E, creating ‘huge strain’ on the health service, experts say </div>
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</aside>Hospitals are meant to treat 92% of patients on the “referral-to-treatment” (RTT) waiting list within 18 weeks, according to guarantees in the NHS constitution. However, they did so in just 91.3% of cases in July, <span style="color: #005689;">NHS-wide performance data</span> released on Thursday shows. It was the service’s worst RTT performance in more than five years.<br />
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<span style="color: #005689;">Hospitals</span> met the 92% target in nine categories of RTT patients, including those requiring treatment for eye problems (92.7%), cardiac care (92.7%) and gynaecological problems (92.3%). However, it missed the target in 10 other categories. It treated barely four of of five (81.7%) of all those awaiting neurosurgery within 18 weeks, 86.9% of those needing plastic surgery and 88.9% of trauma and orthopaedic patients.<br />
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“It feels as if the NHS has stepped through the wardrobe and into the perpetual winter of Narnia,” Marx said. “We cannot forget that behind these statistics are potentially very ill and anxious patients who are being made to wait far too long for treatment. This is the true impact of the serious financial pressure we’ve seen the NHS come under in recent months.”<br />
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The NHS also missed targets covering A&E, ambulance response times, diagnostic tests, two forms of cancer treatment and rapid first treatment for those experiencing psychosis for the first time. <br />
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Dr Mark Holland, president of the Society for Acute Medicine, said: “This data reflects a system which is close to breaking down.” <br />
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Bed blocking has reached record levels. In July a total of 184,188 bed days were lost to delayed discharges – when patients are fit to leave but social care support is not in place – up sharply from 147,376 in the same month last year, and the highest number since records began in August 2010.<br />
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At midnight on the last Thursday in July, 6,364 patients who were fit to leave were still in their beds, up from the previous record of 6,105 patients the month before. <br />
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“For every 100 people who come to A&E, around 30 are admitted and, of these, 20 come under acute medicine. That number is increasing and our front-of-house workforce is depleted”, Holland said. <br />
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“However, performance is most significantly hampered due to our inability to discharge people at the backdoor of our hospitals. Failure to get people home is, in my view, a national emergency.”<br />
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Medical leaders want ministers to urgently pledge more money for the NHS to tackle its growing problems. <br />
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Marx said: “The forthcoming autumn statement offers an opportunity for the government to provide more money for the NHS and social care, and to agree to a cross-party commission to review how we can make the NHS sustainable for the long-term. Without a serious look at what the NHS needs in funding, we will remain in a state of constant winter.” <br />
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NHS England said that despite missing so many targets, its performance was still very good by international standards. <br />
“As the NHS responds to ever increasing care needs, hospitals are continuing to look after more than nine out of 10 A&E patients within four hours, and more than nine in 10 patients are waiting less than 18 weeks for their routine operations,” said Matthew Swindells, its national director of operations and information.<br />
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“While this is probably the best performance of any western nation, these figures underline the pressures facing the NHS, and the obvious risks to patient care posed by weeks of further drawn-out industrial action. </div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Neil Harris</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">(a don't stop till you drop production)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Home: <a href="http://helpmesortouthenhs.blogspot.com/">helpmesortouthenhs.blogspot.com</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Contact me; <a href="mailto:neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com">neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com</a></span>White Man at the Hammersmith Palaishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01720141916776433135noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6780100621729160.post-36182686832177476682016-07-14T05:47:00.001-07:002016-07-14T05:47:45.297-07:00How privatisation costs us money.<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Here's how saving money by using the private sector ended up costing the NHS nearly £9 million pounds;</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust </span></span><br />
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Millions of pounds of taxpayers' money was wasted on an NHS outsourcing contract, investigators have found.<br />
Under the £726m deal, UnitingCare was meant to provide care for older and mentally ill people in Cambridgeshire.<br />
But the consortium claimed the contract was not financially viable and pulled out of the deal in December.<br />
A joint statement from the two organisations in the consortium said the National Audit Office's (NAO) findings provided "clarity".<br />
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Clinical Commissioning Group had been been in charge of care for older and mentally ill people but put these services out to contract because it was trying to save money.<br />
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The UnitingCare Partnership's business case estimated net savings of £178m to the local health economy by 2020.<br />
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'Astonishing array of errors'</h2>
But the NAO's investigation into the contract - which ended just eight months after it started - has criticised the planning and the lack of data setting out the true cost of the service.<br />
The report found the consortium had not taken account of VAT costs and underestimated both the changeover and running costs of delivering the service in drawing up its bid for the contract.<br />
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The report also found negotiations between the CCG and the UnitingCare were continuing when the contract started.<br />
As a result, one month into the contract UnitingCare asked for £34m in extra funding which triggered fresh negotiations.<br />
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The report said: "The wasted cost to the NHS of the contract set-up and bidder costs was £8.9m."</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Amyas Morse, head of the National Audit Office, said: "This contract was innovative and ambitious but ultimately an unsuccessful venture, which failed for financial reasons which could, and should, have been foreseen.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">"Limited oversight and a lack of commercial expertise led to problems that quickly became insurmountable."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Meg Hillier, chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, said the report "details an astonishing array of errors" in implementing service changes.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">"Despite drafting in specialist expertise from the private sector and the NHS, the assumptions underlying the contract's cost structure were not tested.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">"Instead, the contract - which was not remotely ready - was rushed through without due regard for protecting taxpayers' money."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">A joint statement from the two organisations behind Uniting Care, the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust and Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: "We believe that the report is balanced and provides clarity on the reasons why the contract ended."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The CCG is yet to comment.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">That came from a BBC news article.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Neil Harris</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">(a don't stop till you drop production)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Home: <a href="http://helpmesortoutthenhs.blogspot.com/">helpmesortoutthenhs.blogspot.com</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Contact me: <a href="mailto:neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com">neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com</a></span>White Man at the Hammersmith Palaishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01720141916776433135noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6780100621729160.post-14328964355149015612016-04-01T13:15:00.002-07:002016-04-01T13:15:45.455-07:00Deaths in mental health Units? Just don't count them and they'll go away.<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">This story from the Telegraph actually comes from some excellent Labour party research, or it would be if the Government was doing the research.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">I would urge you to take a look at my other Blog which has highlighted failings at The Abraham Cowley Unit which is a Mental Health Unit based on St. Peter's Site but run by a different trust. I've recorded stories of a series of unacceptable deaths which have occurred at the Unit and these are to be found on the 'Pages' section at the right hand side of the Blog;</span><br />
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<a href="http://helpmesortoutstpeters.blogspot.com/">helpmesortoutstpeters.blogspot.com</a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">It's very distressing to hear that these statistics are not being collected centrally because if you don't know the extent of the problem you are never going to try and do anything about it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Daily Telegraph <br />News <br /><br />Government accused of failing mentally ill people by not collecting data </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Laura Hughes, Political Correspondent <br />1 April 2016 </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">The Government has been accused of failing mentally ill people after it was revealed they have failed to collect basic data about death, suicides and waiting times. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Luciana Berger, the shadow mental health minister, has called on Ministers to address "appalling" levels of negligence after more than 50 freedom of information requests from Labour were dismissed with the response that the data <br />is “not collected centrally”.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Labour have said the lack of information is preventing the NHS from treating mental health with the same importance as physical health. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">On each day this month Labour will release examples of areas in which the Department of Health said it did not collect information on a national scale.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Speaking before the campaign launch, Ms Berger said the government was unable to provide data for the number of children who have died in inpatient care, or the number of people referred to consultant-led mental health services who were seen within the 18 week target time.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">The Labour MP said: “The Prime Minister promised to improve transparency and accountability in mental health, yet his Government is not even collecting basic data. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">"It is absolutely appalling that Ministers have no idea how many new mums have taken their own lives because of mental health problems, how many people diagnosed with mental illness go to prison, or how many children have died in NHS mental health units.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">"How can ministers claim to be focussing on mental health when they don’t have an accurate picture of what is actually happening on the ground? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">“If Ministers couldn’t answer such basic questions on physical health there would be outrage. These findings cast further doubt over the Tory Government’s ability to deliver what they have promised and make mental health the real priority it deserves to be.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Norman Lamb MP, the former Lib Dem mental health minister, told the Guardian he found working in Whitehall had felt like “operating in fog”. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">In a speech last month David Cameron said the NHS was leading a “revolution in mental health treatment in Britain.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">His comments have been echoed by the Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt, who has spoken about the “transparency revolution” going on in Britain's health service. <br /><br />The minister for mental health, Alistair Burt, said: “I have been working on this issue for some time and agree that there is further to go on mental health data as part of making the NHS the safest healthcare system in the world. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">"We have made big improvements, publishing more statistics than ever before – such as recovery rates and waiting times for psychological therapies.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">“We have brought in the first ever waiting times for mental health, setting the NHS challenging targets to drive improvements, and increased mental health funding to £11.7bn.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Neil Harris</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">(a don't stop till you drop production)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Home: <a href="http://helpmesortoutthenhs.blogspot.com/">helpmesortoutthenhs.blogspot.com</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Contact me: <a href="mailto:neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com">neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com</a></span>White Man at the Hammersmith Palaishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01720141916776433135noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6780100621729160.post-85381856191557110072016-01-26T12:41:00.001-08:002016-01-26T12:41:40.397-08:00The '111' emergency service fails again.<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">For the last few years I've highlighted the catastrophe of the closure of the highly effective 'NHS Direct' phone line created by the 2002 Labour government.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">The Conservative Liberal alliance closed it down and replaced it with the 111 service which is staffed by people who have no medical qualification.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">There have been many examples of failure to spot serious conditions - this is just the latest. This inquest report makes it clear once again that 111 needs Nurses and Doctors available for patients; </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">William Mead's 'fate was sealed' after NHS 111 call handlers failed to identify his deadly illness, says mother</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The report called into question the NHS non-emergency helpline’s ability to identify deadly illnesses<br />Kate Ng <br />The Independent</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The mother of a one-year-old baby who died of sepsis said his "fate was sealed" after NHS 111 call handlers failed to identify his deadly illness. </span><span style="font-size: large;">Melissa Mead, mother of William Mead, told BBC Radio 4: “When I dialled 111… we were told William’s condition was non-urgent and didn’t require any emergency treatment, and that we would get a call-back within six hours.</span><br />
<br /><span style="font-size: large;">“But when the doctor called back after three hours, I think William’s fate was sealed. He died within 12 hours of that phone call. We found him just after 8 in the morning… he had been passed away for a little while [already].”</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Her interview follows an NHS England report into William’s death in 2014, which found there were 16 missed chances to save his life.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The report, seen by the Daily Mail and the BBC, said he might still be alive today if NHS 111 call handlers had realised he was in a life-threatening situation.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The NHS 111 non-emergency helpline’s ability to identify deadly illnesses in children and babies has been called into question.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">NHS 111 call handlers are not medically trained. The report suggested that if a doctor had taken the call instead of 111 staff, they would have most likely recognised the need for "urgent medical attention".</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The report detailed the opportunities missed to save William’s life. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Out of 16 missed chances, the five main windows were:<br /> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">William’s GP had not recorded all the relevant information in his notes<br /> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The severity of William’s symptoms had not been recognised<br /> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Inadequate advice was given to William’s parents about what to do if his condition worsened<br /> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The out-of-hours GP service had no access to the baby’s primary care records</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The pathway tool used by NHS 111 call handlers was not sensitive enough to pick up “red-flag” warnings of sepsis</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">It also included failure by GPs, who saw William six times in the months prior to his death, to spot pneumonia which could have prevented his circumstances.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The report said: “Had any of these different courses of action been taken, William could probably have survived.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Recommendations made by the report included training call advisors to spot when there is a need to probe further into the condition of the patient, and when to escalate cases.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">It also called for better recognition of the signs and symptoms of septicaemia by GPs.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The report is the result of a year-long campaign by William’s parents, Paul and Melissa, to find out what really happened to cause their son’s death.<br /><br />Director of nursing with NHS England in the south west, Lindsey Scott, told the BBC: “One of the significant learning points for us is how difficult it is for both professionals and parents to diagnose septicaemia.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">“Everyone involved in this report is determined to make sure lessons are learned from William’s death, so other families don’t have to do through the same trauma.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">“None of this detracts from our profound regret at the loss of William. For that loss, on behalf of all NHS organisations involved, I would like to apologise publicly to Mr and Mrs Mead,” she told BBC.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Neil Harris</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">(a don't stop till you drop production)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Home: <a href="http://helpmesortoutthenhs.blogspot.com/">helpmesortoutthenhs.blogspot.com</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Contact me: neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com</span><br />
White Man at the Hammersmith Palaishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01720141916776433135noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6780100621729160.post-30641515610854956302016-01-02T13:53:00.000-08:002016-01-02T13:53:10.642-08:00Latest figures for NHS payrises.<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">This Daily Telegraph article has researched the current state of pay rises for NHS Chief Executives against a background of staff pay rises limited to 1% and a forthcoming dispute with junior doctors;</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Daily Telegraph</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">By <span rel="author">Laura Donnelly</span>, <span>Health Editor</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> NHS hospital chief executives have been handed pay rises of up to £35,000, with the highest annual earnings reaching a record £340,000, a Daily Telegraph investigation has found. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> Despite government pledges that the most senior NHS managers would have their pay frozen, 40 per cent of trusts increased executives’ wages by at least £5,000 during 2014-15. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> Some managers’ earnings rose by almost a quarter, the findings from more than 200 NHS trust boards show. Patients’ groups accused the NHS of “scandalous excesses” at a time when the health service is facing the greatest financial crisis in its history. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> The head of the Royal College of Nursing said it was “immensely demoralising” to find that some executives had been awarded rises larger than a full year’s salary for the average nurse. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> The highest individual increase of £35,000 went to Sir Andrew Morris, at Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust in Surrey, taking his earnings to £215,000. The 19 per cent rise followed a takeover of another nearby NHS trust. The finance director, Martin Sykes, also received a 19 per cent, or £25,000, increase in his earnings taking them to £155,000. Nicola Ranger, the director of nursing, enjoyed a 23 per cent boost, taking her earnings to £135,000. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> Simon Barber, chief executive of 5 Boroughs Partnership trust in the North West, was paid £200,000 during 2014-15 – a rise of £25,000 thanks to a pay bonus. David Sloman, chief executive of the Royal Free London Foundation Trust received a £20,000 rise, taking his earnings to £240,000. And Lewisham and Greenwich trust in south-east London awarded £20,000 pay rises to its chief executive, Tim Higgingson, whose salary rose to £195,000, and to its director of nursing, Claire Champion, boosting her earnings to £150,000. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">In total, 40 per cent of boards made at least one pay rise of between £5,000 and £15,000. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">At least 10 senior managers received rises of at least £20,000, according to the analysis by the Telegraph. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Because trust boards do not publish precise pay figures, the lowest point of published ranges was used for all calculations, leaving a £5,000 margin.</span> <br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The highest overall package went to Dr Tracey Batten, the chief executive of Imperial College Healthcare, who was paid £290,000 plus a £50,000 relocation payment to move from Australia. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Several of those with the highest earnings left the NHS in recent months. The second highest earner overall was Peter Morris, the chief executive of Barts Health trust, on £275,000 until he resigned in February amid a growing financial crisis. The trust is now facing a deficit of £135 million, the largest any trust has ever had. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> Another of the highest earners, Dr Keith McNichol, who came from Australia to run Addenbrooke’s Hospital, resigned in September — just before a damning inspection report saw the trust plunged into special measures. A salary of at least £260,000 made him the fourth best paid chief executive. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Tim Smart, who earned £255,000 a year as chief executive of Kings College Hospital Foundation Trust, announced his retirement in April, just after an inspection which later saw the trust rated as “requiring improvement”. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Katherine Murphy, the chief executive of the Patients Association, said she was concerned that the NHS had developed a culture of “rewards for failure” with many of the highest salaries paid to chief executives who had left as serious problems emerged. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> In March 2014, the Treasury promised most public sector workers a rise of one per cent in 2014-15, but said the most senior managers would see pay frozen, amid efforts to put the nation’s finances on a sustainable footing. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The NHS is facing the worst financial crisis in its history, with three quarters of trusts forecasting deficits, which are expected to reach £2.2 billion across the service by March. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> The vast majority of overspending has been fuelled by a reliance on agency doctors and nurses, some on rates of more than £3,500 a day. Hospitals are also struggling to cope with rising demand from an ageing population. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Janet Davies, chief executive of the Royal College of Nursing, said: “Nursing staff have been repeatedly told that there isn’t enough money to improve their pay, even after years of pay restraint. To learn that many senior NHS staff are enjoying pay rises and bonuses while nurses struggle to make ends meet is immensely demoralising.” </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The trusts with the most highly paid chief executives defended the sums paid, saying they were among the largest trusts in the country, with rates in line with those for similar roles in other NHS organisations. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">A spokesman for Frimley Health said: “Recent salary adjustments in executive pay at Frimley Health were a reflection of the added responsibility associated with the acquisition of Heatherwood and Wexham Park Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. These were independently assessed by the Hay Group and set by a committee of non-executive directors.” </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">When Frimley Park took over Heatherwood and Wexham Park Hospitals the trust doubled in terms of staff, infrastructure, and patient numbers. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The 5 Boroughs Partnership NHS Foundation Trust said its chief executive had received a 1 per cent pay increase, plus a performance-related bonus which recognised that the trust had achieved quality and financial targets. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">A spokesman for the Royal Free said it became one of the largest trusts in the country after taking over Barnet and Chase Farm hospitals in July 2014. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> It said pay was agreed by a committee of non-executive directors based on value for money. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Lewisham and Greenwich trust said salaries were reviewed after a hospital merger, with the director of nursing taking on added responsibility as deputy executive.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Neil Harris</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">(a don't stop till you drop production)</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Home: <a href="http://helpmesortoutthenhs.blogspot.com/">helpmesortoutthenhs.blogspot.com</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Contact me: <a href="mailto:neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com">neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com</a></span><br />
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White Man at the Hammersmith Palaishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01720141916776433135noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6780100621729160.post-55200680214734449932015-12-11T12:09:00.001-08:002015-12-11T12:09:10.214-08:00The Parliamentary Ombudsman condemns the NHS failure to investigate deaths properly.<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">This Guardian article highlights a report by The Parliamentary Ombudsman. However I would point out that my own complaint to her was dealt with very unsatisfactorily. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The Patients Association has recommended against complaining to The Ombudsman due to the ineffectiveness of her organisation.</span><br />
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<time class="content__dateline-wpd js-wpd content__dateline-wpd--modified tone-colour" data-timestamp="1449532882000" datetime="2015-12-08T00:01:22+0000" itemprop="datePublished">Tuesday 8 December 2015</time></div>
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Three out of four investigations by hospitals into complaints that patients suffered avoidable injury or death fail to identify serious failings in care, leaving distraught families in the dark, the <a class=" u-underline" data-component="auto-linked-tag" data-link-name="auto-linked-tag" href="http://www.theguardian.com/society/nhs"><span style="color: #005689;">NHS</span></a> ombudsman has warned.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Inquiries by hospital staff are so often inadequate that many complainants seeking to understand what went wrong are met with “a wall of silence from the NHS”, according to Dame Julie Mellor. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Mellor, the parliamentary and health service ombudsman, has demanded an urgent overhaul of how hospitals examine serious complaints made against them, in which mistakes allegedly led to patients being harmed or even killed. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #005689;">Frontline staff in the NHS and public services shouldn’t fear complaints</span> </span></h1>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> Organisations should welcome complaints as it shows they are open to feedback. But people need to feel their concerns are acted upon. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> </span><a class="rich-link__link u-faux-block-link__overlay" href="http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/sep/16/frontline-staff-nhs-public-services-complaints"></a><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;">Her review of the quality of internal hospital investigations uncovered a series of major weaknesses. In 73% of cases in which she found evidence of clear failings, the NHS hospitals trust concerned had concluded that no failings occurred. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">“Parents and families are being met with a wall of silence from the NHS when they seek answers as to why their loved one died or was harmed,” said Mellor. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">“Our review found that NHS investigations into complaints about avoidable death and harm are simply not good enough. They are not consistent, reliable or transparent, which means that too many people are being forced to bring their complaint to us to get it resolved.” </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">In just over half (52%) of the cases she examined, the investigation had been led by a doctor who was not independent of the events complained about. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">For example, when a baby girl was left with brain damage after a blood transfusion went wrong, the hospital appointed a close colleague of the paediatrician at the centre of the complaint to investigate. The girl’s family had to wait three years before learning what mistakes had been made. </span><br />
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<a class=" u-underline" data-component="auto-linked-tag" data-link-name="auto-linked-tag" href="http://www.theguardian.com/society/hospitals"><span style="color: #005689; font-size: large;">Hospitals</span></a><span style="font-size: large;"> also failed to categorise 20 out of 28 cases of avoidable harm examined as serious incidents, which meant they were not properly investigated.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #005689; font-size: large;">NHS investigations into care complaints 'appalling'</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></h1>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> More than a third of investigations into deaths or avoidable harm at hospitals found to be inadequate in ombusdsman’s review </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> </span><a class="rich-link__link u-faux-block-link__overlay" href="http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/feb/07/nhs-investigations-into-care-complaints-appalling"></a><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></div>
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</aside><span style="font-size: large;">Mellor said hospitals’ inquiries into serious injuries or deaths too often fail to gather enough evidence, are inconsistent in how they look for proof of errors, and do not look closely enough at material to see what went wrong and why. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Almost a fifth (19%) of inquiries did not gather important evidence such as the patient’s medical records, statements and interviews, Mellor found. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">In investigations that found there had been failings, more than a third (36%) failed to get to the bottom of why they had occurred, even though 91% of complaints managers said they were confident they could find out what happened.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Hospital bosses admitted that too many investigations are substandard.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">“We know we don’t always get this right and it’s crucial that we learn and improve every time,” said <span style="color: #005689;">Rob Webster</span>, the NHS Confederation chief executive. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">“The Care Quality Commission, ombudsman and others are highlighting major inconsistencies and shortcomings in the handling of complaints and those problems cannot be allowed to continue. So we urgently need to learn from what is working and fix what doesn’t, to ensure patients have complete confidence in the National Health Service.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #005689;">Anna Bradley</span>, the chair of <span style="color: #005689;">Healthwatch England</span>, a patient group, said: “Hundreds of thousands of incidents of poor care go unreported every year across the NHS precisely because people fear they either won’t be taken seriously or that nothing will change as a result.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Peter Walsh, the chief executive of the patient safety charity </span><a class=" u-underline" data-component="in-body-link" data-link-name="in body link" href="http://www.avma.org.uk/"><span style="color: #005689; font-size: large;">Action Against Medical Accidents</span></a><span style="font-size: large;">, said the new independent patient safety investigation service, set up by Jeremy Hunt to promote airline-level safety in the NHS, should improve investigations. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">“The ombudsman’s findings are doubly worrying, as they were only reviewing cases where there had already been a complaint under the NHS complaints procedure. If this is how the NHS investigates when there is a formal complaint, one has to wonder how it investigates when it is left entirely to its own devices,” said Walsh. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">“Unfortunately, in our experience it is not uncommon for NHS bodies to carry out investigations without even informing the patient or family affected by an incident.”</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Neil Harris</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">(a don't stop till you drop production)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Home: <a href="http://helpmesortoutthenhs.blogspot.com/">helpmesortoutthenhs.blogspot.com</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Contact me: <a href="mailto:neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com">neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com</a></span><br />
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White Man at the Hammersmith Palaishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01720141916776433135noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6780100621729160.post-43751739582892939452015-12-10T14:24:00.001-08:002015-12-10T14:24:27.144-08:00A failure to investigate deaths at the Southern health NHS Foundation Trust.<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Yesterday I posted a story about a disabled man who was given a 'Do Not Rescusitate' notice by Doctors because he was..... disabled.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">This is a 'Guardian' article about the scandal at "The Southern Healthcare Trust", where deaths of vulnerable people in the Trusts care have not been properly investigated;</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">The Guardian 9/12/15.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">An </span><a class=" u-underline" data-component="auto-linked-tag" data-link-name="auto-linked-tag" href="http://www.theguardian.com/society/nhs"><span style="color: #005689; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">NHS</span></a><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> hospital trust failed to properly investigate the deaths of more than 1,000 patients with learning disabilities or mental health problems over four years, an independent inquiry has found.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">A leaked copy of the inquiry’s report severely criticises a “failure of leadership” at Southern health NHS foundation trust and accuses senior managers of not looking into and learning from deaths. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">NHS England commissioned Mazars, an audit firm, to examine the 10,306 patient deaths which occurred at the trust between April 2011 and March 2010. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">While most of those deaths were expected, 1,454 were unexpected. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The Mazars report, obtained by the BBC, concludes that failures by the trust’s board and senior executives meant that no “effective” management of deaths or investigations took place and there was a lack of “effective focus or leadership from the board”, the BBC said. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The Mazars inquiry team found that when trust board members did ask questions, executives reassured them that investigations were thorough. However, the report concluded: “This is contrary to our findings.” </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">It also found that the culture of the NHS trust, which is led by chief executive Katrina Percy, “results in lost learning, a lack of transparency when care problems occur, as well as assurance to families that a death was not avoidable and has been properly investigated”.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Of the 1,454 unexpected deaths, the trust regarded 272 as critical incidents but classed only 195 of them – or one in seven – as a serious incident that needed to be investigated. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">But while it looked into 30% of the deaths among adults with mental health problems, it did so with only 1% of those with learning disabilities and 0.3% of over-65s with mental health problems. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Patients with a learning disability died at an average age of 56, which is seven years earlier than the usual life expectancy. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">“These are shocking revelations that if proven, reveal deep failures at Southern health NHS foundation trust,” said Luciana Berger, Labour’s shadow minister for mental health. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">“For there to have been so many unexpected deaths in one trust is of deep concern itself, but for so many of those deaths not to have been investigated is extremely alarming. It raises serious questions about the leadership and culture of care at the trust.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">NHS England ordered the inquiry after </span><span style="color: #005689; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Connor Sparrowhawk </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">an 18-year-old with learning disabilities, drowned in a bath at the trust’s Slade House unit after suffering an epileptic seizure. Coroners had also criticised the trust at inquests for producing reports into deaths that were inadequate or very late, but that had failed to prompt the improvements that were needed and staff often made little effort to engage with the relatives of those who had died, the Mazars report found. </span><br />
<a class=" u-underline" data-component="in-body-link" data-link-name="in body link" href="http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/mar/19/connor-sparrowhawk-death-nhs-residential-unit-fight-justice"><span style="color: #005689; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Sara Ryan</span></a><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">, Sparrowhawk’s mother, told the BBC: “There is no reason why in 2015 a report like this should come out. It’s a total scandal. It just sickens me.” </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The trust provides community services, mental health, learning disability and social care services to about 45,000 people in Hampshire, Dorset, Wiltshire, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The Mazars report said that the trust was unable to show that it had a good system in place for learning from deaths and did not use effectively the extensive data it collected on deaths.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">It also found that the trust looked into too few deaths involving either those with a learning disability or older people with mental health problems and failed to involve relatives in almost two out of three of the investigations it did undertake. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Southern accepted that its response to patient deaths was not good enough but denied that its death rate was higher than would be expected. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">“We fully accept that our reporting processes following a patient death have not always been good enough. We have taken considerable measures to strengthen our investigation and learning from deaths including increased monitoring and scrutiny,” it said in a statement. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">“We would stress the draft report contains no evidence of more deaths than expected in the last four years of people with mental health needs or learning disabilities for the size and age of the population we serve.” </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The trust has “serious concerns” about the way Mazars had </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">interpreted the evidence. It added that while it had “had one or more contacts” with the patients in the previous 12 months, “in almost all cases referred to in the report, the trust was not the main provider of care”. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Jan Tregelles, the chief executive of the charity Mencap, said: “Twelve hundred people with a learning disability are dying avoidably in the NHS every year. This is a national scandal.” </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">All such deaths need to be properly analysed so that other avoidable deaths can be prevented, she added.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Neil Harris</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">(a don't stop till you drop production)</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Home: <a href="http://helpmesortoutstpeters.blogspot.com/">helpmesortoutstpeters.blogspot.com</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Contact me: <a href="mailto:neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com">neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span><br />
White Man at the Hammersmith Palaishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01720141916776433135noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6780100621729160.post-86914396058284656532015-12-09T11:45:00.000-08:002015-12-09T11:45:16.652-08:00D.N.R. orders yet again.<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">This is a continuing problem in The NHS; the use of "Do Not resuscitate" orders on peoples files when this has not been discussed with either patients or their families/carers.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">This is just the worst situation....a doctor making a judgement based on a persons d</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">isability.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">It could be you!</span><br />
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<a href="http://swns.com/news/kent-hospital-apologises-for-putting-do-not-resuscitate-order-on-downs-syndrome-man-before-he-died-69869/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to Kent hospital apologises for putting do not resuscitate order on Downs Syndrome man before he died">Kent hospital apologises for putting do not resuscitate order on Downs Syndrome man before he died</a></h1>
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<span class="meta-date"> <span style="font-size: large;">December 8, 2015 </span></span><span style="font-size: large;"> <span class="meta-author"> | by SWNS Reporter</span><span class="meta-comments"> </span> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">A man with Down’s Syndrome was given a ‘do not resuscitate’ order by hospital staff, who listed his learning difficulties among the reasons for doing so.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Andrew Waters (SWNS Group)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">East Kent Hospitals NHS Trust have admitted breaching the human rights of Andrew Waters, 53, by placing the ‘<span class="il">DNR</span>‘ notice on him.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Mr Waters’ family were not consulted or informed and only found out after he was discharged from hospital and they found the crumpled note in his bag.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The order was placed on him when he stayed at the Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother Hospital in Margate, Kent, in 2011 because of problems related to his dementia.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Hospital staff decided he should not be resuscitated if he developed heart or breathing problems.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Mr Waters died in May but the order did not have a bearing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">His brother, Michael Waters, said: “For someone to make that decision, without consulting a family members or any one of his carers, was just totally unacceptable.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">“No-one has the right to make such a decision in such a disgraceful way, to put those reasons down.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">“We were there at hospital and involved in his care at every point.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">“The form was a folded up piece of paper found in his bag after discharge, by his carers.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">“There was nothing wrong with Andrew’s health at the time which would have an effect on his resuscitation.”</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">A statement from the Trusts apologised unreservedly for the distress caused to Mr Waters’ family.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">It read: “The trust accepts that it breached its duty owed to the patient.“Actions have been taken to ensure this does not happen again and the trust has now reached a resolution with the family.”</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Michael Waters welcomed the apology and the trust’s admission that they breached Andrew’s human rights.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Michael said: “It’s taken a long time for the hospital to admit this, which we’ve found hard.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">“All we ever wanted from this case was a simple apology.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">“People with Down’s Syndrome deserve the right to live like you and me.”</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Rosie Neale, 55, who runs a support group called Little Buddies for families and carers of Down’s Syndrome sufferers in Kent yesterday condemned the <span class="il">DNR</span> decision.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">She said: “It is just dreadful. I just think it is wrong. They have got a right to live like everybody else.”</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Rosie, whose 12 year-old daughter Emily suffers from Down’s Syndrome, added: “I have been quite lucky with my daughter.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">“She has not been ill very much. But my experience of being told that my daughter had Down’s Syndrome was not very good. It was just come in, have a look at what’s wrong.”</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The lawyer who brought the case says trust breaks down between doctors and families if the reasons behind resuscitation orders are not communicated effectively.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Leigh Day solicitor Merry Varney, also fought the case of Janet Tracey, which established last year that doctors had a legal duty to consult and inform patients about <span class="il">DNR</span> orders.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">She said: “Sometimes they can be really aimed at trying to give a patient a dignified death.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">“This is not about giving up on someone or writing them off.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">“But that’s generally what I hear people say they feel, if they find out about these after the decision has been made.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">“I still receive around three calls a fortnight from families or patients who are concerned about what a <span class="il">DNR</span> means and whether it means not to treat more generally.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">“Unfortunately, the portrayal of cardio-pulmonary resuscitation in TV dramas sometimes suggests it’s a quick fix and works for everyone.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">“That’s simply not the case – and there’s a real onus on healthcare professionals to communicate that.”</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Yesterday that two orders not resuscitate were placed on Andrew Water’s medical records without the knowledge of his family.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The Do Not Attempt Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (DNACPR) orders were placed on his medical records giving his disability, Down’s Syndrome, as one of the reasons.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Mr Waters, who died from an unrelated cause in May, took legal action against the Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Hospital through a litigation friend, his brother Michael.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">In August 2011 Mr Waters, who suffered from dementia, was admitted to the hospital where it was decided he required a feeding tube.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Without consultation with his family or with carers from his residential home, a DNACPR order was placed on his file.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Despite holding a ‘best interests meeting’ to discuss Mr Waters’ feeding tube, resuscitation was not discussed and his family were not informed of the order, even on his discharge.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">In September 2011 he was again admitted to Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Hospital in Margate, Kent.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Throughout his time at the hospital his family visited virtually every day, yet on admission a DNACPR order was again imposed without any discussion or consultation.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The rationale for the DNACPR order was stated to be:”Downs Syndrome, unable to swallow (PEG fed), bed bound, learning difficulties.”</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">It inaccurately recorded the family as “unavailable” and was marked as indefinite in duration.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Following his final discharge back to the residential home where he lived, staff at the home found the DNACPR in Andrew’s possession.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The manager of his residential care home contacted Andrew’s Community Learning Disabilities Nurse who telephoned the hospital and challenged the doctor about the order.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">She then informed Andrew’s family as she felt they needed to know, not least as Andrew had by that time been admitted back into hospital.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">His family were shocked to learn about the imposition of the DNACPR, not only in light of the comments on the form itself but also the fact a decision to withhold potentially life sustaining treatment had been made with no consultation with the family, let alone their agreement.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Initially, apologies were offered from the Trust but without any actual acknowledgment of any wrongdoing.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Andrew’s brother, Michael Waters : “I still feel very angry about this, especially the fact that my brother’s Down’s Syndrome was put as the reason for the DNACPR.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">“As a family we are also upset that the doctor concerned has still not offered any personal apology despite this admission from the Trust.”</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Jan Tregelles, CEO of Mencap, said: “Many families who have lost their loved ones to poor care within the NHS have told us about the inappropriate use of Do Not Attempt Resuscitate (DNAR).</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">“There have been circumstances where DNAR notices have been applied without the knowledge or agreement of families.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">“DNAR orders have also been applied hastily, in inappropriate situations, solely on the basis of a person’s learning disability.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">“This is unacceptable and highlights the failures of care that are a daily reality for many people with a learning disability trying to get access to good quality healthcare.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">“1,200 people with a learning disability are dying avoidably in the NHS every year.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">“The Government must take action to ensure that people with a learning disability get the right healthcare within the NHS and put an end to this scandal of avoidable deaths.”</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Merry Varney from the Human Rights team at Leigh Day said:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">“The acknowledgment that it was unlawful and in violation of human rights to impose a DNACPR order on Andrew without first discussing it with his relatives is welcomed.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The decision to impose a DNACPR order is a critical and sensitive one, and it is important that family and carers of patients who lack the mental capacity to make their own wishes known, are involved in the decision making process.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">“The Trust had initially argued that there was no unlawfulness as the DNACPR was not acted upon and because “there is no indication that [Andrew] was even aware that the decision had been made or understood its significance.”</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">“Although it is disappointing not to have reached this agreement whilst Andrew was alive, the family welcome the Trust’s acceptance that their actions amounted to a violation of the human rights of a vulnerable adult and hope that no other family will have to endure the nasty surprise of discovering a DNACPRR decision has made unilaterally.”</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Down’s Syndrome sufferer Jack Adcock, six, died after a hospital doctor at Leicester Royal Infirmary called off life-saving treatment after mistakenly thinking he was under a Do Not Resuscitate order.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Neil Harris</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">(a don't stop till you drop production)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Home: <a href="http://helpmesortoutthenhs.blogspot.com/">helpmesortoutthenhs.blogspot.com</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Contact me: <a href="mailto:neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com">neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com</a></span><br />
<br />
White Man at the Hammersmith Palaishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01720141916776433135noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6780100621729160.post-13142682849917786302015-11-08T15:33:00.000-08:002015-11-08T15:33:06.721-08:00The 999 scandal spreads nationwide.<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The South east Coast Ambulance trust scandal (where the trust fiddled their NHS targets by "reassessing" response times whenever a call came via the 111 number) was exposed by a whistleblowing Paramedic.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">He or she has told us more;</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">To put it simply the trust was also doing some other "reassessments". </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Whenever they missed the requirement that an ambulance should arrive within 8 minutes of a call 75% of the time......they changed the rules.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">They created an app which told them whether a defibrillator was nearby and if it was.....that counted as if the ambulance had arrived in time, even if it hadn't.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">What's worse is that this appears to just be an extension of the NHS rules.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">If it's true, all the Ambulance trusts are probably missing their targets and thousands of people are potentially dying unnecessarily.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Here's the full article; </span> <br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Telegraph.co.uk<br />Sunday 08 November 2015</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">NHS accused of 'scandalous' 999 response time policy</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Exclusive: Whistleblower from troubled ambulance trust says thousands of calls that appeared to miss eight-minute target are being counted as hit.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">By Laura Donnelly, Health Editor<br />08 Nov 2015</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The NHS has been accused of operating a "scandalous" policy that means 999 calls are being recorded as receiving a swift response - even if no help was given. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Thousands of “life threatening” calls which apparently miss the response time target have been retrospectively assessed and counted as a hit regardless of whether the patient was seen by professionals, a whistleblower has told the Daily Telegraph. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">It is alleged that the South East Coast Ambulance trust was able to manipulate the figures by proving that equipment used to restart someones heart - put in place in thousands of shopping centres, doctors’ surgeries and village halls – </span><span style="font-size: large;">was within 250 metres of the patient, even if their symptoms were completely unrelated. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The 111 number was brought in for people to call if they felt their medical condition was not life threatening.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Ambulance services are supposed to ensure that three quarters of <br />"life-threatening" calls receive a response in eight minutes. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">South East Coast Ambulance Trust is already under investigation for deliberately delaying thousands of “life-threatening” calls which came to them via 111. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Regulators are trying to establish the extent of the harm to up to 20,000 patients who were forced to wait up to twice as long under a secret scheme. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">But a whistleblower from the trust has spoken out about his concerns about the separate policy affecting thousands more life-threatening calls. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">National NHS guidance about "Red 2" cases - the second most serious level of urgency - says the eight-minute target can be achieved if a response comes from an ambulance, rapid response vehicle or from a "public access defibrillator” with a person trained to use it. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The equipment can be used to try to restart the hearts of those suffering a cardiac arrest. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">But the Telegraph has learned that trusts have been allowed to count the targets as being hit as long as the equipment is on hand. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The rule is applied even if the medical emergency could not have been helped by a defibrillator, and no attempt was made to use it. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS trust has been accused of retrospectively changing more than 5,600 calls in a year, because a public defibrillator was within 250 metres. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">A paramedic whistleblower said a web programme had been deployed to reasess "life-threatening" cases which appeared to have missed the eight-minute target. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">If the mapping tool located a nearby defibrillator, the case would be recorded as meeting the eight minute target, he said – whether or not the heart-starting device was used. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">These included cases in which the patient had suffered conditions such as strokes or breathing problems, in which a defibrillator would be no help. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The trust said the rule would only apply if the 999 caller had been asked if someone was available to collect the device. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">A data report leaked by the paramedic discloses that in the 12 months from April 2014 to March 2015, the “webdefib” tool was applied 5,631 times by the trust. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The classification of such calls as achieved within eight minutes helped the organisation towards the NHS target to achieve this in 75 per cent of “life threatening” cases.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Official figures show that the trust narrowly achieved this last year, with 75.3 per cent of such calls getting a response in eight minutes. Without the reclassification, the target would have been missed. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The paramedic told The Telegraph: “This is a complete scandal, the public would be deeply concerned about this if they knew.” </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">“Every day in the control centre administrators look at every missed 'red' call to see if a defibrillator was within 250 metres. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">They use a mapping tool to see. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">"It doesn’t matter if it was used, or even if it could have been used – some of these are people suffering strokes, or breathing problems. This is occurring when a defibrillator has not left the wall where it was mounted and no one has been sent to collect it.” </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">“We simply should not be doing this,” he added. “We are manipulating data to hide the true picture.” </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The use of the protocols meant that calls appeared to be met far earlier than they were, he said. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">"In areas - especially rural settings where we frequently miss our 8 minute responses - a defibrillator will be placed, meaning we will always reach our 8 minute response time, even if an ambulance takes 30 minutes to get to scene," he <br />said. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The revelations follow a string of disclosures about the trust, which is at the centre of a growing scandal. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Last week, an official investigation found up to 20,000 “life threatening” calls were deliberately delayed under a secret policy. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The NHS England report said a failure to monitor the scheme meant it was impossible to say how many patients had come to harm, under the protocols affecting 111 calls. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Regulators have launched a new investigation to try to establish the extent of the harm. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">A spokeswoman for the trust denied any manipulation of response times. </span><span style="font-size: large;">She said: "Our response time performance is recorded completely in line with the national guidance." </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">She said the trust understood that under NHS rules, such calls would be treated as met within eight minutes if as an automatic external defibrillator was publicly accessible, and the 999 caller had someone available to fetch it. Such public devices were specifically devised for use by those with no training, she <br />said. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">However, NHS England said the clock should only be stopped if a "fully trained" person and a defibrillator were right by the patient's side. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">A spokesman said that if these criteria were met within eight minutes, the response target was achieved - regardless of what turned out to be wrong with the patient or whether the device was used.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Neil Harris</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">(a don't stop till you drop production)</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Home: <a href="http://helpmesortoutthenhs.blogspot.com/">helpmesortoutthenhs.blogspot.com</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Contact me: <a href="mailto:neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail">neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail</a></span><br />
<br />
White Man at the Hammersmith Palaishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01720141916776433135noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6780100621729160.post-26377038387635005852015-11-06T01:15:00.000-08:002015-11-06T01:15:03.103-08:00The NHS Report into the South East Coast Ambulance Trust scandal.<h1 itemprop="headline name">
Investigation into 111 scandal branded a 'whitewash' after it fails to establish who was responsible </h1>
<h2 itemprop="alternativeHeadline description">
Patients groups and safety campaigners have criticised an NHS investigation which found up to 20,000 patients were subjected to deliberate delays under a secret policy - but failed to work out who was responsible for the scandal </h2>
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<span style="font-size: large;">By Laura Donnelly, Health Editor</span></div>
<div class="bylineBody">
<span style="font-size: large;"> 05 November 2015</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">
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<div class="firstPar" itemprop="articleBody">
<span style="font-size: large;">An investigation into deliberate ambulance delays has been branded a "whitewash" after it failed to establish who is to blame for a major NHS scandal. </span></div>
<div class="secondPar" itemprop="articleBody">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">An eight-day-old baby and a patient suffering an obvious stroke were among up to 20,000 patients whose ambulances were delayed as part of a secret policy by South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust. </span></div>
<div class="thirdPar" itemprop="articleBody">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">For two months, “life threatening” cases referred to them from the 111 phone line were routinely forced to wait twice as long for an ambulance. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span> </div>
<div class="fourthPar" itemprop="articleBody">
<span class="ssImg "><span class="artImageExtras" style="max-width: 620px;"><span class="ingCaptionCredit"><span class="caption" style="font-size: large;">The secrecy meant that 111 call handlers assured patients in 'life-threatening' situations that an ambulance was on its way, with no idea that it was not.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span> </div>
<div class="fifthPar" itemprop="articleBody">
<span style="font-size: large;">NHS England on Thursday published the findings of its investigation into the matter, the findings of which were revealed by the Telegraph earlier this week. </span></div>
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<div class="body" itemprop="articleBody">
<span style="font-size: large;">The report was unable to establish which senior managers were responsible for the secret project, and how it came to be hidden from the trust’s medical director, non-executives, and the public. </span></div>
<div class="body" itemprop="articleBody">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span> </div>
<div class="body" itemprop="articleBody">
<span style="font-size: large;">Under NHS rules, calls designated as “life-threatening” are supposed to receive an ambulance response within eight minutes regardless of whether the caller dials 999 or the non-emergency 111 line. The target is to achieve this in 75 per cent of cases. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"></span> </div>
<div class="body" itemprop="articleBody">
<span style="font-size: large;">But the ambulance trust “unilaterally” invented its own system resulting in the routine downgrading of thousands of 111 calls, which were held in a special queue to be reassessed, with ambulances either cancelled or delayed for up to 10 minutes more. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">“They were warned again and again about the risks this was posing to patients.” </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Call handlers were not even told about the secret project – reassuring callers that an ambulance was on its way, when this was simply not true, the report found. </span></div>
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<div class="body" itemprop="articleBody">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span> </div>
<div class="body" itemprop="articleBody">
<span style="font-size: large;">The scheme was introduced by a group which was established by Paul Sutton, the trust’s chief executive, and overseen by at least four executives, but health officials could not work out who was responsible for the scheme. </span></div>
<div class="body" itemprop="articleBody">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span> </div>
<div class="body" itemprop="articleBody">
<span style="font-size: large;">"Because of the lack of documentation and the lack of information provided at interview, we have not been able to understand who made certain decisions or if they were issues that had been considered," the report concluded. </span></div>
<div class="body" itemprop="articleBody">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span> </div>
<div class="body" itemprop="articleBody">
<span style="font-size: large;">It was only when a whistleblower contacted NHS organisations responsible for monitoring safety that the scheme was aborted. </span></div>
<div class="body" itemprop="articleBody">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span> </div>
<div class="body" itemprop="articleBody">
<span style="font-size: large;">Katherine Murphy, chief executive of the Patients Association, said: "The findings of this report are very damning and paint a worrying picture. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"></span> </div>
<div class="body" itemprop="articleBody">
<span style="font-size: large;">"It is unacceptable for NHS England to say they cannot identify who gave the instructions to downgrade calls to 111 services in the South East. These decisions placed the public at risk and their actions were completely inexcusable. </span></div>
<div class="body" itemprop="articleBody">
<span style="font-size: large;">"This is a whitewash and a major scandal.” </span></div>
<div class="body" itemprop="articleBody">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span> </div>
<div class="body" itemprop="articleBody">
<span style="font-size: large;">Surveillance of the scheme was so poor that it was impossible to work out whether patients were harmed by the delays, the report found. </span></div>
<div class="body" itemprop="articleBody">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span> </div>
<div class="body" itemprop="articleBody">
<span style="font-size: large;">Regulators have ordered a further independent investigation to establish how many patients were affected by it. </span></div>
<div class="body" itemprop="articleBody">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span> </div>
<div class="body" itemprop="articleBody">
<span style="font-size: large;">Cases placed in the queue included an eight day old baby, whose “clinical outcome” was not recorded, and a 60 year old man, who was suffering clear signs of a cardiac arrest but was pronounced dead soon after a 40 minute wait for an ambulance. </span></div>
<div class="body" itemprop="articleBody">
<span style="font-size: large;">Peter Walsh, chief executive of patient safety charity Action against Medical Accidents said: "It's unacceptable that after an investigation of several months into a major scandal we are now none the wiser about who was responsible." </span></div>
<div class="body" itemprop="articleBody">
<span style="font-size: large;">"I don't find it credible that neither the ambulance trust nor NHS England seem able to establish who took the critical decisions here." </span></div>
<div class="body" itemprop="articleBody">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span> </div>
<div class="body" itemprop="articleBody">
<span style="font-size: large;">A spokesman for NHS England South said: "The report makes clear that this project was initiated entirely within South East Coast Ambulance Service and resulted in changes to the handling of calls within the 999 service, not the 111 service. </span></div>
<div class="body" itemprop="articleBody">
<span style="font-size: large;">"The regulator, Monitor, will oversee the next steps with the trust." </span></div>
<div class="body" itemprop="articleBody">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span> </div>
<div class="body" itemprop="articleBody">
<span style="font-size: large;">Paul Sutton, trust chief executive said: "Patient safety is fundamental to what we do. </span></div>
<div class="body" itemprop="articleBody">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span> </div>
<div class="body" itemprop="articleBody">
<span style="font-size: large;">"As paramedics, we come to work to save lives and we would never do anything to deliberately put patients at risk. </span></div>
<div class="body" itemprop="articleBody">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span> </div>
<div class="body" itemprop="articleBody">
<span style="font-size: large;">"We understand the concerns that the public have and wish to reassure people that we work constantly to provide the safest service possible. </span></div>
<div class="body" itemprop="articleBody">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span> </div>
<div class="body" itemprop="articleBody">
<span style="font-size: large;">"We recognise that the proper processes were not fully followed in setting up the project and we do apologise for this.” </span></div>
<div class="body" itemprop="articleBody">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span> </div>
<div class="body" itemprop="articleBody">
<span style="font-size: large;">The policy affecting thousands of calls was launched without the knowledge of 111 staff, board non-executives, the medical director or local commissioners of services, the report found. </span></div>
<div class="body" itemprop="articleBody">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span> </div>
<div class="body" itemprop="articleBody">
<span style="font-size: large;">• Patients with life-threatening conditions can wait twice as long for ambulance because they called 111 </span></div>
<div class="body" itemprop="articleBody">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span> </div>
<div class="body" itemprop="articleBody">
<span style="font-size: large;">The secrecy meant that 111 call handlers assured patients in “life-threatening” situations that an ambulance was on its way, with no idea that it was not. </span></div>
<div class="body" itemprop="articleBody">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span> </div>
<div class="body" itemprop="articleBody">
<span style="font-size: large;">Instead, paramedics with just one day’s training in call-handling, were ordered to phone thousands of cases back to see if ambulances were really needed. </span></div>
<div class="body" itemprop="articleBody">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span> </div>
<div class="body" itemprop="articleBody">
<span style="font-size: large;">As a result, life-saving cases forced to wait up 18 minutes, were still counted as hitting the eight-minute target, while non-life threatening cases were given an extra 20 minutes. </span></div>
<div class="body" itemprop="articleBody">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span> </div>
<div class="body" itemprop="articleBody">
<span style="font-size: large;">Because the 111 staff referring the calls were never told about the system, many remained on the phone to monitor patients – blocking the line for the assessment call. </span></div>
<div class="body" itemprop="articleBody">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span> </div>
<div class="body" itemprop="articleBody">
<span style="font-size: large;">Those who should have been in charge of surveillance were not notified, with incidents only reviewed retrospectively by an administrator with no clinical background, it says. </span></div>
<div class="body" itemprop="articleBody">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span> </div>
<div class="body" itemprop="articleBody">
<span style="font-size: large;">The NHS England report examined seven “serious incidents” including five deaths. </span></div>
<div class="body" itemprop="articleBody">
<span style="font-size: large;">However it says such cases are an unreliable way to assess safety, as they are usually under-reported. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">"Not enough work has been done to identify whether patients were harmed as a result of the project" </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">A Monitor spokesman </span></div>
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<a class="tg-pullquote__inline tg-pullquote__shareLink" href="http://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=%22Not%20enough%20work%20has%20been%20done%20to%20identify%20whether%20patients%20were%20harmed%20as%20a%20result%20of%20the%20project%22&url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/nhs/11978525/Investigation-into-111-scandal-branded-a-whitewash-after-fails-to-establish-who-was-responsible.html?WT.mc_id=tmgoff_pq_tw_20150423" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br /></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">Highlighting the main concerns found by the investigation, the report says: </span></div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="body" itemprop="articleBody">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span> </div>
<div class="body" itemprop="articleBody">
<span style="font-size: large;">• "There was no transparency with the public, as they were not told their call was going into a queue. They thought an ambulance was on its way when this was not true. </span></div>
<div class="body" itemprop="articleBody">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span> </div>
<div class="body" itemprop="articleBody">
<span style="font-size: large;">• This organisation potentially put the public at risk by changing nationally agreed operating standards with a project that had no evaluation built into its design. </span></div>
<div class="body" itemprop="articleBody">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span> </div>
<div class="body" itemprop="articleBody">
<span style="font-size: large;">• The governance structures that the Trust had in place were not followed. Whether or not this was intentional we have not been able to answer. </span></div>
<div class="body" itemprop="articleBody">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span> </div>
<div class="body" itemprop="articleBody">
<span style="font-size: large;">• The risks of the project were either not recognised or were ignored. </span></div>
<div class="body" itemprop="articleBody">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span> </div>
<div class="body" itemprop="articleBody">
<span style="font-size: large;">• Key staff were not consulted during the design and implementation of this project. </span></div>
<div class="body" itemprop="articleBody">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span> </div>
<div class="body" itemprop="articleBody">
<span style="font-size: large;">• The project was overseen by at least 4 Executives, who had a responsibility to have worked to the governance policies of the organisation. </span></div>
<div class="body" itemprop="articleBody">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span> </div>
<div class="body" itemprop="articleBody">
<span style="font-size: large;">• Serious Incidents were not identified, as the clinical risk system had no clinical input and key people within the department were unaware of the R3/G5 call partition." </span></div>
<div class="body" itemprop="articleBody">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span> </div>
<div class="body" itemprop="articleBody">
<span style="font-size: large;">The trust's efforts to check whether harm was done to patients were neither "appopriate" nor safe, it concludes.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">This report speaks for itself; the NHS prepared a secret report which we only got hold of because it was leaked.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">The report fails to tell us who was responsible for the scandal because the executives at the trust wouldn't tell them and because they didn't keep any records.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">To me this seems like fraud - a job for the Police.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">After all there's every reason to believe that people died as a result.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Neil Harris</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">(a don't stop till you drop production)</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Home: <a href="http://helpmesortoutthenhs.blogspot.com/">helpmesortoutthenhs.blogspot.com</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Contact me; <a href="mailto:neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com">neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com</a></span><br />
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White Man at the Hammersmith Palaishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01720141916776433135noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6780100621729160.post-50538723584427133882015-11-03T11:48:00.003-08:002015-11-03T11:48:54.133-08:00The South East Coast Ambulance Scandal worsens.<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">There has been a further leak about The South East Coast Ambulance Service and the methods its management used to make it seem as though they were meeting their response time targets when they weren't.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">This </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">is a BBC report, The NHS has given in and the report will be released to us on Thursday.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">The background to this scandal </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">is on the last posting on this site;</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div class="story-body__introduction">
<span style="font-size: large;">Up to 20,000 patients had their ambulances delayed while an NHS trust took extra time to assess their conditions, it has emerged.</span></div>
<div class="story-body__introduction">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span> </div>
<span style="font-size: large;">A leaked document says call handlers told patients ambulances had been dispatched, with no idea they were not.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">It said it is impossible to conclude that patients were not harmed and has examined seven "serious incidents".</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The South East Coast Ambulance trust said it has "not found the process impacted negatively on patients".</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The ambulance service's council of governors met the trust's chairman, chief executive and non-executive directors on Tuesday to discuss the issue. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">It was given further information on the grounds for concerns and the process that will follow.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Brian Rockell, South East Coast Ambulance's (Secamb) lead governor, said: "I am confident that the process outlined will allow the council to fulfil its statutory duties and be assured that a quality service is provided to our patients."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">NHS England has confirmed plans to publish the leaked report on Thursday.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">A Secamb spokesperson reiterated its previous statement that "the purpose of the process was to protect patient safety by ensuring that our most seriously-ill patients received the care they needed as quickly as possible".</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">It added: "There has been some suggestion that this resulted in less serious patients being harmed. We would like to make it clear that our investigations to date have found no evidence to support this suggestion. </span><br />
<h2 class="story-body__crosshead">
'Truly shocking'</h2>
<span style="font-size: large;">The draft report examines a pilot project at Seacamb which was launched in secret by a clique of senior managers.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">It was set up without the knowledge of 111 staff, board non-executives, the medical director or local commissioners of services. Secamb covers Kent, Surrey, Sussex, Brighton and North East Hampshire.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">In the project, the trust decided to transfer certain 111 calls to the 999 system, thus gaining up to 10 additional minutes to assess patients' conditions.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">In one case - known to be the death of a 60-year-old Horsham man who had suffered a cardiac arrest - there was a "missed opportunity" to improve his outcome, the report said.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">It found: "We cannot conclude that patients were not harmed by the R3/G5 project, as all the facts are not known for the calls that went unanswered or for the callers who had significant delay by the re-triage process."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The report said the trust's efforts to check whether harm was done to patients were neither "appropriate" nor safe.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Patients Association Chief Executive Katherine Murphy said: "The reports today are truly shocking. There has been a complete disregard for patient safety through a policy that has put thousands of patients at risk."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Health regulator Monitor said the trust had not fully considered patient safety. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">It has added a condition to Secamb's licence so that if insufficient progress is made, the leadership team could be changed.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Seacamb Chief Executive Paul Sutton has defended the project but also admitted: "These are serious findings."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Neil Harris</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">(a don't stop till you drop production)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Home: <a href="http://helpmesortoutthenhs.blogspot.com/">helpmesortoutthenhs.blogspot.com</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Contact me: neilwith <a href="mailto:promisestokeep@gmail.com">promisestokeep@gmail.com</a></span><br />
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White Man at the Hammersmith Palaishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01720141916776433135noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6780100621729160.post-68713043549571427552015-11-01T02:03:00.000-08:002015-11-01T02:05:03.851-08:00The South east Coast Ambulance Trust Scandal.<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">For the best part of 18 months I've been highlighting problems with the 111 non-urgent phone line which replaced the much loved NHS Direct advise line.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Little did I ever imagine that Ambulance chiefs would decide to secretly change the rules on response times to get themselves out of a hole; they were missing Government targets.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">The answer?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Fiddle the books.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">This is an excellent piece of investigative reporting by the Daily Telegraph and all the more important because whenever anyone in NHS management does something wrong the first response is to cover it all up.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">DailyTelegraph</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">How trust made secret 111 plan to hit all-important NHS targets</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The deaths of up to 25 patients have come under investigation, after <br />whistleblower reveals extent of policy that delayed help for seriously ill patients <br /><br />By Laura Donnelly, Health Editor<br />31 Oct 2015</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">In December last year, South East Coast Ambulance trust was facing major problems. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Key NHS targets - to send an ambulance out within eight minutes for all cases designated as “life-threatening” were slipping far out of reach, with too few crews to send out to meet growing pressures as winter drew in. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The creation of the controversial 111 phone line was supposed to ease demand for ambulances, making sure those with more minor needs could get help without an ambulance being dispatched. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">“The executives knew, there were people warning directors and senior managers in January and February that this was happening and it was extremely dangerous." </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Instead, the phoneline was adding to pressures on services, with fears that “risk averse” call handling were too often sending out ambulances.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">And so a plan was hatched. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Behind closed doors, senior managers at the ambulance trust devised their own protocols.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Any “life-threatening” calls which were sent their way would no longer get an automatic ambulance response. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">• NHS 111 scandal: 25 deaths blamed on ambulance delays </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Those which had been categorised as “Red 2”– life-threatening, but not the most immediately time-sensitive – would be allowed an extra ten minute delay, while the 999 service “re-triaged” them to decide on the best response. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Such cases would still be counted as hitting the all-important NHS targets, implying that a response had still been received within eight minutes.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">In some ways, the policy appeared successful. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">A meeting of the trust’s clinical committees was told that “pro-active” management of the cases meant up to one quarter of the ambulances called were being stood down.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Meanwhile, staff working in the trust’s own 111 call line had no idea that when they had ordered an ambulance to be dispatched, the case could be put aside for up to 10 extra minutes, despite its urgency. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">At the start of this year, a series of clues began to fall into place. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">111 call handlers from Ashford working occasional shifts in the 999 centre in Maidstone stumbled upon the policy – which had never been discussed at the trust’s board meetings, let alone announced publically. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Then a string of serious incidents occurred. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">One, on January 28th, involved the death of a man, aged 60. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">His wife called 111 when her husband was short of breath, clammy, vomiting and suffering pain high in his chest, towards his shoulder. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">During the call, the man began to suffer signs of cardiac arrest, and his wife began attempts to resuscitate him. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Incredibly, under the system, the call passed on to the 999 centre was categorised as “Red 3” – meaning it remained unassigned to an ambulance crew for 10 more minutes. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Crews finally reached the man 39 minutes after the call was made, but could not save him. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The details are contained in a safety report, sent from senior NHS managers to the trust’s chief executive and other senior managers, on 4 February which concerns were raised. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Another email, sent by a senior NHS 111 manager two days earlier, warns of the potential of “severe” reputational damage if the truth came out. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">In the correspondence, the health official says he has “personally amended” official reports to remove references to the controversial policy, but warns that “it is inevitable that this process will filter through to a wider audience at some stage”. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Yet the policy – described as a “rogue operation” by those outside the trust – remained in place. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Two weeks later, one of the trust’s senior managers became so fearful that he decided to contact health officials outside the trust, to warn them what was going on. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The man, who spoke to the Telegraph on condition of anonymity said: “The executives knew, there were people warning directors and senior managers in January and February that this was happening and it was extremely dangerous. “ </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">“They simply did not listen. “ </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">In emails seen by the Telegraph, he contacted two senior managers at local NHS commissioning groups – who are responsible for monitoring safety of the services – warning them of a string of deaths which had not been included in official serious incident reports. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The disclosure caused immediate panic: within two days, orders came from the clinical commissioning groups to close down the scheme. </span><span style="font-size: large;">An NHS investigation was then opened, and handed information suggesting that up to 25 patients might have died after being subject to the deliberate delays. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">But in public, there was nothing. No board papers have been published about the concerns, nor any public statement issue. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Meanwhile there were furious disputes within the trust about how many patients covered by the policy had come to any harm, and whether any such harm was explained by the delay waiting for an ambulance, or would have happened anyway. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">But it was not until this week that NHS watchdogs suddenly announced that the protocols were under investigation, with a major review by regulators about how many patients had come to harm under the rules. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Health officials at NHS England said the trust had acted “unilaterally and inappropriately” while Monitor – the regulator for foundation trusts – said it would now hold its own investigation to establish levels of harm to patients.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The trust has refused to say who introduced the policy and whether any managers have been disciplined. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">On Friday a trust spokesman said: “We will now work closely with Monitor as they undertake the reviews outlined in their recent media announcement and therefore do not feel that it is appropriate to comment further on specific points at <br />present. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The spokesman queried any suggestion that 25 people had died as a result of the policy. He added: "Our investigation and our own internal processes to date have not found that the process impacted negatively on patients."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Yeah right, if you believe that you'll believe anything.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Neil Harris</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">(a don't stop till you drop production)</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Home: <a href="http://helpmesortoutthenhs.blogspot.com/">helpmesortoutthenhs.blogspot.com</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Contact me: <a href="mailto:neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com">neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com</a></span><br />
<br />White Man at the Hammersmith Palaishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01720141916776433135noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6780100621729160.post-87576947624867077402015-10-15T10:05:00.001-07:002015-10-15T10:05:16.194-07:00In court with the Mid Staffordshire NHS Trust.<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The Mid Staffordshire Hospital scandal continues; The health and safety executive are now prosecuting the Health Authority for some of the most blatantly negligent of the 600 odd deaths caused by poor staff and management at this nightmare group of hospitals.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Except it is being wound up and effectively a 'legal body' is being taken to court when it should have been the management and those directly responsible.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">This would be just a farce except one of the deaths occurred last year - long after the scandal was exposed, the official report was published and a 'new' trust created to take over.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">You can read about Mid Staffs and The Francis Report on the archive pages of this Blog.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">This is from The Daily Telegraph;</span><br />
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Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust charged over four deaths</h1>
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The trust at the centre of the worst ever NHS scandal is facing criminal charges over the deaths of four patients </h2>
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<span style="font-size: large;">By Laura Donnelly, <span>Health Editor</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">15 Oct 2015</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> The trust which ran Stafford Hospital is to face criminal charges related to the deaths of four patients - one as recent as last year. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has brought charges against Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust over the deaths of four elderly patients between 2005 and May 2014. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust was at the centre of one of the biggest scandals to hit the health service over the deaths of hundreds of patients, amid appalling failings in care. </span></div>
<div class="fourthPar">
<span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The HSE said the charges related to the deaths of Patrick Daly, aged 89, who died in May 2014, Edith Bourne, aged 83, who died in July 2013, Ivy Bunn, aged 90, who died in November 2008, and Lillian Tucker, aged 77 who died in October 2005. </span></div>
<div class="fifthPar">
<span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Mrs Tucker died after a junior doctor gave her a penicillin-based drug despite being told she was allergic to the antibiotic, an inquest heard. She had suffered fall, which led to a small fracture while on a family holiday in the area. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">His son later said he "would not touch the hospital with a barge pole" after detailing the family's repeated warnings about his mother's allergy. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The HSE said it had charged Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust following a "thorough and comprehensive investigation into the circumstances of four deaths of patients under its care". </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The trust is due to appear before Stafford Magistrates on November 4. A new trust began to run the hospital last November. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Last week police and health officials said they are investigating claims of an NHS “cover-up” over the death of a three-year old boy, Jonnie Meek, at Stafford Hospital, last year.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<span class="ssImg left"><span class="artImageExtras" style="max-width: 620px;"><span class="ingCaptionCredit"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="caption">The parents of Jonnie Meek, who died at Stafford hospital, say failings were covered up</span><span class="credit"> .</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">This probe will check claims that statements from health workers who witnessed his death were falsified. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> It is very rare for the HSE to act in cases involving clinical failings, and the body has previously been criticised for its reluctance to prosecute. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> The Mid Staffs inquiry accused the body of “looking for reasons for not taking action rather than starting from a consideration of what is in the public interest. “ </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">“The more serious and widespread a failure is, the less likely it is that the HSE will decide to intervene, even where it is apparent that no other regulator is likely to do so,” Robert Francis, the chairman of the inquiry said. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Last year the same trust was fined £200,000 over the death of Gillian Astbury, 66, who died in 2007 because nurses at Stafford hospital failed to give her the routine insulin she required to stay alive. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> Wayne Owen, HSE principal inspector in the West Midlands, said: "We have concluded our investigation into the death of four patients at Stafford Hospital and have decided there is sufficient evidence and it is in the public interest to bring criminal proceedings in this case." </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The trust remains in place as a legal entity but no longer provides patient services. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust took over the running of Stafford Hospital and Royal Stoke University Hospital. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The Mid Staffs special administrator Tim Rideout said the remaining "shell organisation" would oversee any "potential criminal liabilities". </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> He added: "I am committed to bringing matters to a conclusion as efficiently and effectively as possible in the best interests of the families concerned.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Neil Harris</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">(a don't stop till you drop production)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Home: <a href="http://helpmesortoutthenhs.blogspot.com/">helpmesortoutthenhs.blogspot.com</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Contact me: <a href="mailto:neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com">neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com</a></span><br />
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White Man at the Hammersmith Palaishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01720141916776433135noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6780100621729160.post-79514669875912215742015-10-14T02:48:00.000-07:002015-10-14T02:50:24.527-07:00Safety staffing levels to be ignored.<h1 class="content__headline js-score" itemprop="headline">
NHS 'backtracking' on ward nurse numbers introduced after Mid Staffs </h1>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Critics fear safety will be sacrificed to cut costs after NHS bosses tell hospitals that 1:8 nurse-to-patient ratio is a guide, not a requirement </span></div>
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<span style="color: #005689; font-size: large;">Denis Campbell</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Health policy editor</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><time class="content__dateline-wpd js-wpd content__dateline-wpd--modified tone-colour" data-timestamp="1444770095000" datetime="2015-10-13T22:01:35+0100" itemprop="datePublished">Tuesday 13 October 2015</time><time class="content__dateline-lm js-lm u-h" data-timestamp="1444781109000" datetime="2015-10-14T01:05:09+0100" itemprop="dateModified"> </time> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The NHS has been accused of backtracking on improvements in patient safety made after the <span style="color: #005689;">Mid Staffs scandal </span>by reducing the number of nurses on wards because of its growing financial crisis. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">NHS bosses have told hospitals they no longer have to ensure that one nurse is caring for no more than eight patients at a time, in order to help tackle a </span><a class=" u-underline" data-component="in-body-link" data-link-name="in body link" href="http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/oct/09/nhs-trusts-in-england-run-up-almost-1bn-deficit-in-three-months"><span style="color: #005689; font-size: large;">£2bn black hole</span></a><span style="font-size: large;"> that has left 80% of hospitals facing deficits of up to £100m each. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The letter states: “We would stress that a 1:8 ratio is a guide not a requirement. It should not be unthinkingly adhered to. Achieving the right number and balance of clinical and support staff to deliver quality care based on patient needs in an efficient way that makes the best possible use of available resources is the key issue for provider [hospital] boards.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The move, set out in a letter to all hospital chiefs, has sparked fears that patient safety will be sacrificed to help hospitals cut costs. It makes clear that financial considerations are deemed to be as important as the safety and quality of care patients receive when deciding how many nurses should be on duty. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<iframe frameborder="0" height="0" id="google_ads_iframe_/59666047/theguardian.com/society/article/ng_1__hidden__" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" name="google_ads_iframe_/59666047/theguardian.com/society/article/ng_1__hidden__" scrolling="no" src="javascript:"<html><body style='background:transparent'></body></html>"" style="border-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; display: none; vertical-align: bottom; visibility: hidden;" width="0">&amp;lt;font size="5"&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/font&amp;gt;</iframe><span style="font-size: large;">Cash-strapped hospitals may be tempted to cut their nurse staffing levels as a result of the new advice, the Royal College of </span><a class=" u-underline" data-component="auto-linked-tag" data-link-name="auto-linked-tag" href="http://www.theguardian.com/society/nursing"><span style="color: #005689; font-size: large;">Nursing</span></a><span style="font-size: large;"> (RCN) warned. Staffing takes up 70% of the NHS’s budget and its bill for employing temporary staff to plug gaps in rotas, especially expensive agency nurses, has hit £3.3bn in the last two years.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The letter has been signed by NHS England, the Care Quality Commission, the National Institute for </span><a class=" u-underline" data-component="auto-linked-tag" data-link-name="auto-linked-tag" href="http://www.theguardian.com/society/health"><span style="color: #005689; font-size: large;">Health</span></a><span style="font-size: large;"> and Care Excellence (Nice), and the regulator NHS Improvement. It recommends that hospitals can ask health professionals, such as physiotherapists, to help look after patients, and use technology to monitor their condition, to reduce the need for nurses on duty.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">It urges hospitals “to take a rounded view of staffing” that shows they are “making the best use of resources” as well as providing safe care. It lists a set of variables, including how ill patients are, and then adds: “In some cases these factors will mean a higher number of nurses per patient, and in other cases it will mean a lower number or different configuration of staff can be justified.” </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">It adds: “It is therefore important to look at staffing in a flexible way which is focused on the quality of care, patient safety and efficiency rather than just numbers and ratios of staff.”</span> <br />
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<h1 class="rich-link__title">
<a class="rich-link__link" href="https://www.blogger.com/null"><span style="color: #005689;">NHS facing £2bn deficit and 'worst financial crisis in a generation'</span></a> </h1>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Hospitals have overspent by nearly £1bn in three months due in part to soaring bill for agency and other temporary staff, according to regulators. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> </span></div>
<a class="rich-link__link u-faux-block-link__overlay" href="http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/oct/09/nhs-trusts-in-england-run-up-almost-1bn-deficit-in-three-months"></a><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></div>
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</aside><span style="font-size: large;">The NHS is under heavy pressure from ministers to make <span style="color: #005689;">£22bn of “efficiency savings"</span> by 2020 to help plug the £30bn gap expected to have developed in its finances. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The new advice is a substantial downgrading of guidelines produced only last year by Nice, which insisted that no nurse should look after more than eight patients to ensure good, safe care. That ratio was widely hailed as a way of avoiding a repeat of the Mid Staffs scandal, in which a lack of nurses was found to be a key cause of the appalling care. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Howard Catton, the RCN’s head of policy, said: “There’s a risk that people in the </span><a class=" u-underline" data-component="auto-linked-tag" data-link-name="auto-linked-tag" href="http://www.theguardian.com/society/nhs"><span style="color: #005689; font-size: large;">NHS</span></a><span style="font-size: large;"> may interpret this letter as a green light to row back on safe staffing when the NHS’s finances are in the perilous state that they are.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">However, he added that other suggestions in the letter, such as allowing hospital managers to use their professional judgment about how many nurses were needed and not rigidly applying fixed ratios, were “common sense”. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Labour said the NHS circular showed that patient care could be put at risk as a result of the fast-ballooning deficit. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">“The idea that hospitals can ignore safe-staffing guidance will alarm patients. Safe staffing levels are essential for patient safety and were a key recommendation of </span><a class=" u-underline" data-component="in-body-link" data-link-name="in body link" href="http://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/feb/06/mid-staffs-hospital-francis-report"><span style="color: #005689; font-size: large;">the Francis report</span></a><span style="font-size: large;">,” said Heidi Alexander, the shadow health secretary. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">“If ministers attempt to balance the books in the NHS by cutting staff and putting patients at risk, then Labour will oppose them all the way. It is yet further evidence that the financial crisis in the NHS is now a real threat to patient care.”</span><br />
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<a class="rich-link__link" href="https://www.blogger.com/null"><span style="color: #005689;"><span class="rich-link__kicker">Analysis</span> Is NHS being overcharged by agencies – or are staff shortages the real issue?</span></a> </h1>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Health secretary Jeremy Hunt is bringing in curbs on the use of employment agencies in the health service, but is he missing the point? </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> </span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"> </span><a class="rich-link__link u-faux-block-link__overlay" href="http://www.theguardian.com/society/reality-check/2015/jun/03/is-nhs-being-overcharged-by-staff-agencies"></a><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></div>
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</aside><span style="font-size: large;">Ian Wilson, chair of the British Medical Association’s representative body, said: “Adequate staffing levels are vital to deliver safe, high-quality patient care. Flatline funding at a time of rising demand has left services and the frontline staff who deliver them under enormous pressure. The solution is not to stretch existing staff even further, but to ensure the NHS has the resources needed to deliver safe care.”</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">But hospital bosses welcomed the move away from the 1:8 ratio. “NHS England boss </span><a class=" u-underline" data-component="auto-linked-tag" data-link-name="auto-linked-tag" href="http://www.theguardian.com/society/simon-stevens"><span style="color: #005689; font-size: large;">Simon Stevens</span></a><span style="font-size: large;"> deserves credit for persuading Jeremy Hunt to soften his previous hard line on safety at any cost. We need to be pragmatic in the face of spiralling deficits,” one told the Guardian .</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">“It will give more discretion to senior nursing colleagues, giving them a vote of confidence. A ‘one size fits all’ is not the solution to staffing levels; it is about empowering frontline leaders.” </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Canadace Imison, director of healthcare systems at the Nuffield Trust thinktank, said: “This letter shows a welcome attempt by NHS regulators to deliver a consistent message about safe staffing levels. It also rightly recognises that the 1:8 nurse to patient ratio is a crude metric and not to be seen as a benchmark.” </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">But it also leaves NHS trusts no wiser about whether they should under-staff or overspend in order to provide high-quality care, Imison added.</span> <br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">This article in today's 'Guardian' is very worrying; we spent two years analysing the appalling mistreatment of patients at Mid Staffordshire Hospitals and the long awaited official report made clear (among many other recommendations) that a minimum of one nurse to 8 patients was an absolute requirement.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">This was endorsed by N.I.C.E. and the other regulatory bodies.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Now that money is short? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Forget it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">All the studies show that patient safety and outcomes are worse when there are too few nurses to patients. We came to this conclusion years after other advanced countries.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">For some reason, we have historically trained too few nurses and doctors and there is always a shortage.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Secondly, there is a historic reluctance to accept that too few staff is dangerous.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Neil Harris</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">(a don't stop till you drop production)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Home: <a href="http://helpmesortoutthenhs.blogspot.com/">helpmesortoutthenhs.blogspot.com</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Contact me: neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com </span><br />
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White Man at the Hammersmith Palaishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01720141916776433135noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6780100621729160.post-8231125704522706902015-07-21T03:34:00.000-07:002015-07-21T03:34:38.504-07:00Hospital Discharge - a silent scandal.<div class="story-body__introduction">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">This is a BBC report dealing with a survey into the discharge of patients from NHS hospitals. It follows perhaps 15 years where hospitals have been pressured (a pressure they have largely been delighted with) to discharge patients as soon as possible.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">The result is that decade on decade, hospital admission periods have been falling, with a corresponding saving of money and a theoretical increase in the number of beds available.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Except that over the same period, the number of beds has been falling which means that the savings have just been used to reduce costs and not to increase operations.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">The problem? Readmissions following discharge have been growing too - it's making people ill sending them home too early.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">The answer? A low dependency ward with reduced staffing for another days convalescence.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Because sending elderly people home too soon increases the number of Accident and Emergency admissions when it all goes wrong.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Here's today's BBC report (21/7/15);</span> </div>
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The way hospitals discharge patients is probably contributing to high levels of readmission, a year-long Healthwatch England inquiry has found.</div>
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It said many hospitals failed to notify relatives or check patients had any accommodation before discharging them.<br />
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The watchdog looked at data from Freedom of Information requests, patient surveys and more than 3,000 patient reports to its local teams.<br />
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Anna Bradley, who chairs Healthwatch England, called some of it "shocking".<br />
"There is a huge human and financial cost of getting discharge wrong," she added.<br />
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One report said an 81-year-old stroke survivor had been sent home in a taxi while his wife was told he was being transferred to a rehabilitation centre. <br />
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Another involved a young man with severe mental health problems who had been discharged with no consultation with his psychiatrist and no treatment.<br />
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Of the 120 hospital trusts that responded to Freedom of Information requests:<br />
<ul class="story-body__unordered-list">
<li class="story-body__list-item">half were failing to record whether the patient's home environment was suitable </li>
<li class="story-body__list-item">a third were failing to record whether the patient's GP or carer had been notified of new medicines</li>
</ul>
In 2014, the National Audit Office reported the NHS saw a million readmissions within 30 days of discharge, costing an estimated £2.4bn a year.<br />
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A spokesman for NHS England said hospitals should be making sure patients are appropriately discharged.<br />
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"We need to ensure appropriate care is put in place before a patient leaves hospital which needs strong joint working across the health service."<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Neil Harris</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">(a don't stop till you drop production)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Sorry about the gap since I last Blogged - I was checking hospital facilities at first hand - I broke my back.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">If you want to know what is going on you can check out my other Blog on;</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<a href="http://helpmesortoutstpeters.blogspot.com/">helpmesortoutstpeters.blogspot.com</a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Home: <a href="http://helpmesortoutthenhs.blogspot.com/">helpmesortoutthenhs.blogspot.com</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Contact me: neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com </span><br />
White Man at the Hammersmith Palaishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01720141916776433135noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6780100621729160.post-10894216248654395112015-04-27T01:24:00.002-07:002015-04-27T01:24:52.905-07:00The real NHS Cuts behind the Tory figures.<br />
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<span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">This article has been ignored by the British press during the
election campaign; it was published on the RT website but it’s a Reuters
article.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The two main health service unions have commissioned a study
into what the NHS pays hospitals for the operations they carry out (that’s
where most of their income comes from).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">When the Tories tell us how well off the NHS is – well this
tells a different story; hidden cuts that hurt:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Stealth
cuts of £2 billion cripple NHS - report — RT UK<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Stealth cuts of £2 billion cripple NHS -
report<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>April 26, 2015<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Reuters /
Toby Melville<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Hospitals
in England are being hit by “stealth cuts” of more than £2 billion <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">($3.03
billion) since 2010 according to new research, blaming the cuts for <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">"rapidly
deteriorating" hospitals’ finances.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Tariffs –
hospital price payments per procedure, fixed by the National Health <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Service
(NHS) – have been massively reduced in the past five years according to <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">research
carried out by the False Economy think tank, which was commissioned by the TUC
and Unison. And those tariffs are where two-thirds of English hospitals' income
comes from, the study adds. <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The
research found that one of four elective procedures, such as treatment for blood
poisoning or diabetes, have had their tariffs slashed by more than 40 percent
since 2010. <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">By
examining 138 NHS procedures, the researchers found that between 2010 and 2015
hospitals suffered an income loss amounting to £70 million ($106). <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Some
treatments suffered cuts of 85 percent, including leukemia, asthma and sickle
cell anemia, while cash for conditions like tuberculosis and glaucoma had been
reduced by more than 70 percent and conditions like septicemia and kidney stones
have had the amount given to them reduced by more than half. <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">When
applied across all 4,500 tariffs, which make up most of the funding given to
hospitals, the cuts amounted to more than £2 billion ($3.03 billion) over five
years, making a mockery of the government’s claim that funding for the NHS has
been ring fenced. <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“These
stealth cuts may have been largely hidden from the public eye, but the effects
are grave. The NHS is in a rapidly deteriorating financial position, with
hospital finances in steep decline,” said Frances O’Grady, TUC general secretary,
in a statement. <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Dr. Mark
Porter, the head of the British Medical Association, said that the reductions
in tariffs are part of a wider problem of cost cutting in the NHS. <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Cutting
hospital tariffs causes real hardship for NHS services which are already
struggling under rising patient demand, especially from an ageing population.
This will push NHS organizations further into deficit, making a mockery of
claims to have protected the NHS from cuts,” he told the Independent. <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">However,
the NHS insisted that funding is going up rather than down. <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Rather
than being cut, hospital funding in England has gone up, rising over the past
three years from £49 billion to over £56 billion, a real terms increase of 9
percent,” said an NHS spokesman in a statement. <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">A spokesman
for the Conservatives also insisted that hospitals had seen an increase in
their budgets. <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Getting
efficiency from the tariff is an important part of driving better value for
taxpayers from the NHS, which is why it has been the policy of successive governments.
Hospitals have seen real-terms increases in their budgets this Parliament, and
unlike Ed Miliband, we’re committing to the £8 billion the NHS says it needs to
transform community care,” he said. <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">However,
NHS providers, like organizations providing mental health and ambulance services,
are opposed to the cuts in tariffs. <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">“It is now
widely accepted that 2015/16 will be the most difficult financial year for the
NHS in its recent history,” they warned in January, according to the
Independent.</span></i><span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I suppose the greatest scandal in all this is the 85%
reduction in rates for the treatment of Sickle cell anaemia, which is a disease
specific to African and afro-Caribbean people and has never been properly
addressed in this country.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">You only have to work for the NHS or be a patient to know
that the Tory figures don’t add up.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Neil Harris<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">(a don’t stop till you drop production)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Home: <a href="http://helpmesortoutthenhs.blogspot.com/">helpmesortoutthenhs.blogspot.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Contact me: </span><a href="mailto:neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.co.uk"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.co.uk</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
White Man at the Hammersmith Palaishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01720141916776433135noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6780100621729160.post-83009366802702595162015-03-18T02:52:00.000-07:002015-03-18T02:52:23.986-07:00Bart's Health trust - told you so!<h2 class="date-header">
<span><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm reprinting an article from September 2013. As you can see, it wasn't the first time that I'd warned about the scandal at Bart's Health Trust.</span></span></span></h2>
<h2 class="date-header">
<span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial;">It's quite simple; I looked at the extraordinary number of 'never happen' events that were taking place at the trust.</span></span></h2>
<h2 class="date-header">
<span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial;">It's not the only measure of what's going wrong at a hospital. It's just one of many.</span></span></h2>
<h2 class="date-header">
<span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial;">Two years down the line and Bart's Health trust has been taken into special measures.</span></span></h2>
<h2 class="date-header">
<span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial;">It's about time....time for managers and senior health professionals at the trust to resign. We'll see if that happens.</span></span></h2>
<h2 class="date-header">
<span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial;">Meanwhile you read it here first, two years ago;</span> </span></h2>
<h2 class="date-header">
<span><span style="color: #222222;"></span></span> </h2>
<h2 class="date-header">
<span><span style="color: #222222;"></span></span> </h2>
<h2 class="date-header">
<span><span style="color: #222222;">Tuesday, 10 September 2013</span></span></h2>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="8895729633130789135"></a> <h3 class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name">
More questions about Barts health NHS Trust. </h3>
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<span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">O.K.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’m getting seriously worried about Bart’s Health NHS Trust which is in fact a large grouping of East End Hospitals, swallowed up by inappropriate mergers over the years. This is what I wrote in May of this year after I analysed the ‘Bottom 21’ Trusts for ‘Never Events’, things that should never happen because they are completely preventable: <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">My own ‘Lantern Rouge’ (that’s the Tour de France prize for finishing last) is because I’ve picked out the two separate entries for ‘Bart’s’;<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Bart’s& The London NHS Trust 8 <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Retained foreign object post-operation 4 <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wrong site surgery 2 <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Misplaced naso-or oro-gastric tubes 2 <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Bart’s Health NHS Trust 11 <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Retained foreign object post-operation 4 <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wrong site surgery 3 <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Misplaced naso-or oro-gastric tubes 2 <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wrong implant/prosthesis 1 <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Air Embolism 1<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">and I did so because Barts Health was formed on 1 April 2012 by the merger of Barts and the London NHS Trust, Newham University Hospital NHS Trust and Whipps Cross University Hospital NHS Trust.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">For starters that means that St Bartholomew’s may have had its figures split in two and actually had 19 ‘never happen’ incidents over that four year period which is seriously worrying. Even more worrying is that the newly combined Trust – the four hospitals together- seems to have had 11 incidents in just under a year (2012/13).<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">If you want to get really frightened, add up the number of incidents over the four hospitals for those four years – it’s a total of 27. Or is there duplication in these figures? Have they tried to separate the new from the old, producing double counting? I hope so – mind you where the NHS is concerned the problem is usually undercounting problems.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Either way, it’s not what I would call a centre of excellence.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">So if Barts it isn’t being investigated right now, it’s time it was.”</span></i><span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I didn’t believe my eyes, so I left it as a question.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Then I got my answer in The London Standard two months later:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“An inquiry was ordered today at Britain’s biggest health trust in response to the deaths of 28 patients due to medical blunders last year.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Barts health trust — which runs six London hospitals — was declared at “high risk” of failing patients, with major concerns about delays in cancer care and hundreds of emergency cases readmitted for further treatment. <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The inquiry was ordered by England’s new Chief Inspector of Hospitals, Professor Sir Mike Richards, in his first day in the job. It comes after Barts last night said it was calling in financial trouble-shooters to address a £93 million debt.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Sir Mike was alerted by whistle-blowers, patient complaints and key measures indicating the performance at Barts was markedly worse than the national average. This included 10 “never events” — things that should never happen in surgery — involving seven cases where swabs were left inside patients, two cases where the wrong teeth were removed and one where the wrong eye implant was inserted.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Barts also admitted 348 serious incidents in 2012/13, including 129 at The Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel, and 105 at Whipps Cross in Leytonstone. Of these, 28 resulted in death.”</span></i><span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Now I am really concerned. Yesterday I posted the Freedom of Information responses from 101 NHS Trusts – replies to requests for Information made by the BBC News team about the number of unfilled vacancies at Accident and Emergency departments.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I went back to the figures to find out what has been going on down at Bart’s Health NHS Trust and the answer is……nothing…..nadda….nowt…zilch.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">They didn’t provide the information.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">So, of course, the only explanation is that the management, after failing to sort out its fairly serious problems has responded by hiding the result of the problems under the carpet. Given the extent of their troubles it would be no surprise to discover that staff are leaving and aren’t replaced and </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 22pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">we have a right to know.<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Its bad when there are problems, it’s much worse when you cover them up.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">What else are they hiding?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Neil Harris</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">(a don't stop till you drop production)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Home: <o:p><a href="http://helpmesortoutthenhs.blogspot.com/">helpmesortoutthenhs.blogspot.com</a></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p>Contact me: <a href="mailto:neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com">neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com</a></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span> </div>
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<span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span> </div>
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White Man at the Hammersmith Palaishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01720141916776433135noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6780100621729160.post-62333600152286727882015-03-03T05:44:00.000-08:002015-03-03T05:44:32.985-08:00Morecombe Bay NHS Trust, 12 avoidable deaths in maternity.<br />
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<span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">This is another very long awaited report.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Morecombe Bay Hospital suffered a series of deaths of babies
and mothers at its maternity unit – a number far higher than this report
accepts.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">There followed a similar pattern; denial by the hospital and
the professionals involved, the deaths rising to a level where local patients start
campaigning, staff move on, there is an investigation and…….everything is fine.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">It isn’t.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Furness General Hospital and it’s trust has had problems in a
number of areas – for example I’ve catalogued it’s poor record in ‘Never happen
Events’.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In this case there seems t have been a climate of incompetence,
bullying and a very real cover up. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Preparing answers for everyone to follow at an inquest is the
offence of ‘perverting the course of justice; prosecutions should follow.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">This report is from ‘The Independent’ newspaper today;<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Morecambe
Bay hospital report finds 'lethal mix' of failures led to 11 baby deaths <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The
investigation has recommended a national review of NHS maternity services<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Charlie Cooper
<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Health
Correspondent<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Tuesday 03
March 2015 <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">A “lethal
mix” of incompetence, cover-up and failure to learn from mistakes led to the
preventable deaths of 11 babies and one mother at a rural NHS hospital in
Cumbria, a long-awaited report has said.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The inquiry
into maternity services at Furness General Hospital between 2004 and 2013 found
“failures at almost every level”, from the maternity ward to national NHS
regulators and the Department of Health, who missed opportunities to
investigate a series of serious incidents.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The
investigation, led by Dr Bill Kirkup, has recommended a national review of NHS
maternity services and care for children in rural areas.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In total
the inquiry uncovered 20 instances of significant or major care failures at
Furness General, part of the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay (UHMB) NHS
Foundation Trust. Failures occurred in the run-up to the deaths of 16 babies at
or shortly after birth, as well as the deaths of three mothers.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Better care
could have saved the lives of 11 of the babies and one of the mothers, the report
said.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Staff on
the unit in Barrow-in-Furness lacked essential “skills and knowledge” and
working relationships between doctors and midwives were “extremely poor” with a
“them and us” mentality that prevented safe working.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Midwives
failed to keep up with the latest national standards of care and were heavily
influenced by a small group of “dominant” midwives who pursued normal
childbirth “at any cost”, the report said, leading to avoidable mortality rates
that were four times higher than neighbouring hospitals.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">A “strong
group mentality” among midwives known as “the musketeers” hindered
investigations into the incidents. The inquiry found “clear evidence of
distortion of the truth” in responses to investigation. In preparation for an
inquest into one of the incidents, "model answers" to difficult
questions were circulated among midwives, the report said.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">However,
the UHMB Trust, as well as regional and national authorities, were slow to
investigate and between them missed seven opportunities to intervene in the three
years from 2008, when five serious incidents occurred within a short space of
time.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Proper
investigations as far back as 2004 would have raised the alarm, the report
said.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The report
added that without the efforts of bereaved families, the scale of the failings
would never have been brought to light.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The report
makes 44 recommendations for the Trust and for the wider NHS.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Investigation
chairman Dr Bill Kirkup said: “All healthcare – everywhere – includes the
possibility of error. The great majority of NHS staff know this and work hard
to avoid it. They should not be blamed or criticised when errors occur despite
their efforts.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">"But
in return, all of us who work for the NHS owe the public a duty to be open and
honest when things go wrong, most of all to those affected, and to learn from
what has happened. This is the contract that was broken in Morecambe Bay.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">He added:
“There was a disturbing catalogue of missed opportunities, initially and most
significantly by the Trust but subsequently involving the North West Strategic
Health Authority, the Care Quality Commission, Monitor, the Parliamentary and
Health Service Ombudsman and the Department of Health.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The report
also recommended that the General Medical Council and the Nursing and Midwifery
Council should consider investigating the conduct of those involved in patient
care during the incidents investigated.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The Trust
has undergone changes in management since 2012, and the report said there were
now “welcome signs of significant recent improvement” including in maternity
services.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Neil Harris<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">(a don’t stop till you drop production)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Home: <a href="http://helpmesortoutthenhs.blogspot.com/">helpmesortoutthenhs.blogspot.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Contact me: </span><a href="mailto:neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
White Man at the Hammersmith Palaishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01720141916776433135noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6780100621729160.post-87917618801088675462015-02-25T05:13:00.002-08:002015-02-25T05:13:37.006-08:00Hips; saving money costs lives yet again.<br />
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">For the last 20 years, it has been a given in the NHS that
patients need to be sent home as soon as possible after an operation or treatment;
‘it’s in the patient’s best interests’.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Ask any patient and they will tell you they were sent home
too early – I certainly was. In my case one extra day would have made all the
difference.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In fact it’s all aimed at reducing the number of occupied
beds and thereby reducing costs.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The assumption that the ‘community’ or ‘family’ will help out
just leaves a lot of vulnerable people at risk.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The problem is that there aren’t the medical facilities and
knowledge available at home. Often there isn’t a family or a community to help
out.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The importance of this study is that it uses survival rates
after hip injuries which are one of a number of international standard for
hospital outcomes. The results for one country are relevant to another; in this
case our results would be worse than Sweden as our community facilities are
worse than theirs.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The fact is that sending patients home too early may save
money but it costs lives.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The answer may well be to have wards with reduced medical cover for those who are recuperating rather than being actively treated</span></span>;<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Short
hospital stays after hip fracture 'may increase risk of death' <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Medical
News Today<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Wednesday
25 February 2015 <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">A new study
published in The BMJ finds that adults aged 50 and older who are subject to
short-term hospital stays after admission for hip fractures may be at higher
risk of death than those who have longer hospital stays.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Researchers
found that hospital stays lasting less than 10 days after hip fracture was
associated with increased risk of death.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Hip
fractures are an increasingly common problem among older adults, with more than
95% of cases being caused by falls. <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In 2010,
there were around 258,000 hospital admissions in the US for hip fractures among
adults aged 65 and older. And according to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC), the number of hip fracture-related hospital admissions is
expected to rise in coming years along with the aging population. <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">These
admissions put an enormous strain on health care services and costs. <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">One-way
health care systems have attempted to reduce this burden is by reducing the
length of hospital stays for patients, referring them to home- or community-based
care instead. <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">However,
the researchers of this latest study - from Umeå University in Sweden - note
that there are fewer sufficiently educated staff outside of hospital settings,
and shorter hospital stays may mean the patient has less time for satisfactory
rehabilitation. <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">These
points raise the question: does early hospital discharge increase patients'
risk of complications and death? <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Patients at
twice the risk of death with short-term hospital stays;<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">To find
out, the team assessed 116,111 Swedish patients aged 50 and older who had been
admitted to the hospital for hip fractures between 2006 and 2012. <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The
researchers analyzed how long the patients stayed in hospital and calculated their
risk of dying within 30 days after being discharged. <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Between
2006 and 2012, the team found that the average length of stay in the hospital
for hip fracture patients fell by around 20%, from 14.2 days to 11.6 days. <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Compared
with patients who stayed in the hospital for at least 15 days, those who stayed
in the hospital for 5 days or less were twice as likely to die within 30 days of
being discharged, according to the researchers. <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In
addition, the researchers found that for patients whose hospital stay lasted less
than 10 days, each 1-day reduction in length of stay was associated with an 8%
increased risk of death in the 30 days following discharge. <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Male
patients and those with pre-existing heart, lung or kidney disease were found
to be at highest risk of death in the 30 days after discharge following short-term
hospital stays. Commenting on their findings, the researchers say: <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">"Our
results suggest that the continuous efforts to decrease length of stay after
major surgery in many countries is associated with higher mortality after hospital
discharge. <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In addition
to evaluation of other diagnoses than hip fractures, further research should
seek to gain a better understanding of the underlying cause of the increased
risk of death after discharge in surgical patients, and evaluate whether early
discharge to rehabilitation centers or nursing homes is associated with a worse
outcome."<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The
researchers admit their findings are subject to some limitations. For example,
following a hip fracture, risk of death is highest early on. This means that if
a patient's length of hospital stay is reduced, they will automatically be at
increased risk of death. "In the present study, this could bias the association
between length of stay and death during follow-up as length of stay decreased,"
the authors note. <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In
addition, the researchers say they were unable to assess whether subjects received
home- or community-based care following discharge, noting that it would be
interesting to see whether one or the other may lead to a more positive outcome.
<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In an
editorial linked to the study, Peter Cram and Raphael Philip Rush - both of the
University of Toronto in Canada - say these study results may "serve as further
warning to those who seek to discharge patients as quickly as possible." <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">"As
clinicians we should be aware that, although hospitals are scarce resources, rapid
discharge of patients should be considered carefully," they add. "For
some patients, early discharge is likely beneficial and for others perhaps not.
As policy makers, we should be aware that, while we have the tools to reduce
length of stay, the potential for unintended consequences should not be
forgotten." <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In February
2014, Medical News Today reported on a study published in JAMA suggesting that
home-based exercise programs may improve recovery for patients following hip
fracture. <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Written by
Honor Whiteman<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">References;<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Length of
hospital stay after hip fracture and short term risk of death after discharge:
a total cohort study in Sweden, Peter Nordström, et al.,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>BMJ, doi: 10.1136/bmj.h696, published online
24 February 2015. <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Length of hospital stay after hip fracture:
how low can we go before patients are at risk?, Peter Cram, Raphael Philip Rush,
BMJ, doi: 10.1136/bmj.h823, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>editorial. <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Additional source: CDC, Hip fractures among
older adults, accessed 23 February 2015. <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Please use one of the following formats to cite
this article in your essay, paper or report:<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whiteman, Honor. "Short hospital stays
after hip fracture 'may increase risk of death'." Medical News Today.
MediLexicon, Intl., 25 Feb. 2015.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Medical News Today is concerned about it's copyrite; in this case this article is really an abstract of a British medical Journal article and therefore (with the correct attributions) I am reproducing it.</span></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Neil Harris<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">(a don’t stop till you drop production)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Home: <a href="http://helpmesortoutthenhs.blogspot.com/">helpmesortoutthenhs.blogspot.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Contact me: </span><a href="mailto:neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
White Man at the Hammersmith Palaishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01720141916776433135noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6780100621729160.post-6746124851489367432015-02-16T07:30:00.000-08:002015-02-16T07:30:15.267-08:00Privatisation hits the most vulnerable and we pick up the tab: Vista Independant healthcare.<span class="story-date"><span class="date"></span></span><br />
<span class="story-date"><span class="date"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I've tried to chronicle the failure of privatising NHS services to profit making entities, this is just the latest.</span></span></span><br />
<span class="story-date"><span class="date"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span></span></span><br />
<span class="story-date"><span class="date"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">A contract is awarded because the private supplier undercuts the NHS in the tendering process.</span></span></span><br />
<span class="story-date"><span class="date"></span></span><br />
<span class="story-date"><span class="date"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Then after a while the level of care collapses as they try to make a profit out of the contract.</span></span></span><br />
<span class="story-date"><span class="date"></span></span><br />
<span class="story-date"><span class="date"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Then the tax payer has to pick up the pieces, once again.</span></span></span><br />
<span class="story-date"><span class="date"></span></span><br />
<span class="story-date"><span class="date"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">This is from today's BBC News site;</span> </span></span><br />
<span class="story-date"><span class="date"></span></span><br />
<span class="story-date"><span class="date">16 February 2015</span></span><br />
<h1 class="story-header">
Vista Independent Hospital: Patients moved after violence
concerns
</h1>
<br />
<div class="introduction" id="story_continues_1">
Patients have been moved out of a
mental health hospital that was criticised over a "disturbing" number of violent
attacks.</div>
<br />
A Care Quality Commission (CQC) report said Vista Independent Hospital at
Winchfield, Hampshire, recorded more than 300 violent incidents.<br />
<br />
NHS England said its decision to move patients was to ensure they were "safe
and well cared for".<br />
<br />
Hospital owner Vista Healthcare has not yet commented on the move.<br />
<br />
A second CQC inspection was carried out earlier this month. <br />
<br />
A spokesman for NHS England said Vista Healthcare has "failed to maintain
safe standards of care and treatment for the vulnerable patients in its
care".<br />
<span class="cross-head">'Considering further enforcement'</span>
<br />
"Commissioners, working with the Care Quality Commission have acted promptly
and already begun the process of transferring these patients, some with complex
needs, to centres that can provide care to the appropriate standards," he
said.<br />
<br />
CQC inspectors - whose initial <a href="http://www.cqc.org.uk/location/1-131732638/inspection-report/INS1-1766364522">unannounced
visit in November</a> was made after concerns were raised - found multiple
breaches of care, safety and health regulations.<br />
<br />
It recorded 334 incidents of physical abuse or violence involving patients in
seven months. There were 272 incidents of physical assaults on staff reported,
with some needing hospital treatment. <br />
<br />
The CQC said police had been involved in 22 incidents. The regulator formally
warned Vista Healthcare, owned by Fairhome Care Group, to make urgent
improvements.<br />
<br />
The inspection also raised concerns over staff numbers, training and
leadership.<br />
<br />
A second inspection was carried out by a team of eight inspectors over three
days from 3 February.<br />
<br />
A CQC statement following that inspection, said: "We have discussed our
findings with the provider and commissioners, and we are now considering whether
further enforcement action is appropriate."<br />
<br />
The hospital is registered for up to 69 patients with mental health needs or
learning disabilities.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Neil Harris</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">(a don't stop till you drop production)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Home: <a href="http://helpmesortoutthenhs.blogspot.com/">helpmesortoutthenhs.blogspot.com</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Contact me: <a href="mailto:neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com">neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com</a></span><br />
<br />
White Man at the Hammersmith Palaishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01720141916776433135noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6780100621729160.post-36774272041636668992015-01-17T08:14:00.003-08:002015-01-17T08:14:58.557-08:00The price of being a courageous Whistle Blower.<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Here is another disgraceful story of how NHS whistle blowers are treated; when will they learn that hiding problems under the carpet cures nothing.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Complainers and whistle blowers should be welcomed - it's the people who keep quiet about problems whjo are dangerous;</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span><br />
BBC News <br />15 January 2015 <br />
A whistleblower paramedic has been banned from two hospitals after he spoke out <br />about overcrowding in A&E.<br />Stuart Gardner, of West Midlands Ambulance Service, received the ban after <br />telling the BBC under-pressure emergency units were "not safe".<br />He said the chief operating officer (COO) of Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS <br />Trust has told him he was "not welcome" on either of its sites.<br />The trust said the ban was imposed as Mr Gardner's comments had upset staff.<br />It said its conversations with him were related to "personal upset" his comments <br />had caused among some A&E staff.<br /><br />Union bosses are now considering taking legal action in the case.<br />Mr Gardner told reporters last week that he had seen patients being treated in <br />corridors at the Worcester Royal Hospital.<br />He said all he did was "raise concerns" about the location of treatment, and had <br />not criticised the behaviour of doctors or nurses.<br />"I was highlighting that issue and saying [patients] should have been on the <br />wards," he said. <br /> Mr Gardner said he had seen patients treated in corridors at Worcestershire <br />Royal Hospital <br />In light of his comments, Mr Gardner said COO Stewart Messer had banned him from <br />entering the hospital in Worcester and the Redditch Alexandra Hospital.<br />Mr Messer e-mailed the ambulance service the night before Mr Gardner appeared on <br />TV, and warned he would "not be welcome" on trust property if he was "critical <br />of managers or emergency department staff".<br />After the broadcast, Mr Messer e-mailed again and wrote: "[Mr Gardner] is no <br />longer welcome on either of our hospital sites, so can you please ensure that he <br />does not attend."<br />Ray Salmon, Unison area manager, said the union was threatening legal action <br />against the trust.<br />"Stuart informed the hospital he was going to blow the whistle, they threatened <br />him, he blew the whistle, they've now excluded him from site," he said.<br />"It's clear victimisation of a whistleblower."<br />The trust said it "actively encouraged" whistleblowing and it was "critical" to <br />preserve good relations with the ambulance service.<br />"[But] in response to this isolated incident, we have suggested it would be <br />appropriate for Mr Gardner to address the upset he has caused amongst A&E staff <br />who are working tirelessly under... extreme pressure," it said.<br />West Midlands Ambulance Service said it did not wish to comment.<br />However, the BBC understands it wrote to the trust to inform it Mr Gardner would <br />continue to be deployed in the same way.<br />Correction: This story was amended on 16 January 2015 in light of updated <br />information.<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We should all be supporting Mr Gardner in this dispute, his cause is just.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Neil Harris</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">(a don't stop till you drop production)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Home: <a href="http://helpmesortoutthenhs.blogspot.com/">helpmesortoutthenhs.blogspot.com</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Contact me: <a href="mailto:neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com">neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<br />
White Man at the Hammersmith Palaishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01720141916776433135noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6780100621729160.post-3460935272749546632015-01-14T06:55:00.000-08:002015-01-14T06:55:01.384-08:00111 Emergency - still an emergency.
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">This is an article from The Daily Telegraph today – figures are
now coming through which prove what this Blog has been saying for over a year.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The old ‘NHS Direct’ phone line was a real help to patients;
it offered quick access to experienced nurses who could confidently divert patients
away from Accident and Emergency.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The new ‘111’ line is staffed by unqualified staff who use a
computer programme to advise patients.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">If in doubt? Send them to A and E because you can’t go wrong.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">It’s not the whole answer, of course. The real delays are
because too many Nursing jobs have been lost, too many beds are empty and too
many wards have shut.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The effect of this is that when patients are treated in A and
E but need in patient time – there aren’t the beds.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Every one waits, operations are cancelled, simple problems
become emergencies.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">By<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Laura Donnelly, Health Editor<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Daily
Telegraph.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">14 Jan 2015<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">NHS 111 is
to blame for almost all of the last year's rise in Accident & Emergency
admissions, one of the country's most senior medics has said. <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Dr Cliff
Mann, president of the College of Emergency Medicine, said it was
"absurd" to suggest patients were wrong to go to casualty units, when
large numbers were being directed there by the telephone service. <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Speaking at
a session of the Commons health select committee on Wednesday, he said the NHS
needed to change its systems so they work better for patients. <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">He told MPs
that the 111 phoneline, which was supposed to help patients and relieve
pressures on hospitals has had the opposite effect. <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">"The
reason these people are attending these emergency departments is because we
told them to," he said. <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">"Of
the 450,000 extra attendances in the system in the last year, 220,000 were
advised by NHS 111 to come to the emergency department and another 220,000 had
an ambulance despatched to them by NHS 111. <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">"If
you put those figures together you have more than 95 per cent of the rise in
type 1 [major A&E unit] attendances. I don't think we should blame people
for attending the emergency department when we've told them to go there. It's
absurd." <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Earlier
this month, emergency medicine experts said that when nurses handled calls on
the helpline's predecessor, NHS Direct, they had the experience to know when an
A&E visit was not appropriate. <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">It came as
figures emerged showing that NHS 111 sends an extra 50 per cent more patients
to A&E at the weekend, when GP surgeries and other clinics are shut -
increasing the strain on already stretched hospitals. <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Latest
figures show A&E waiting times in England are now at their worst levels in
more than a decade. <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Suzanne
Mason, professor of emergency medicine at the University of Sheffield said the
numbers of patients being sent to A&E after calling 111 was a huge problem.
<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She said
ambulance services in some parts of the country had been "brought to their
knees" by call handlers, who follow a risk-averse computer symptom
checker, that defaults to A&E as a safety-first option.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Neil Harris<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">(a don’t stop till you drop production)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span> </div>
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<span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Home: <a href="http://helpmesortoutstpeters.blogspot.com/">helpmesortoutthenhs.blogspot.com</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Contact me: <a href="mailto:neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com">neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"></span> </div>
White Man at the Hammersmith Palaishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01720141916776433135noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6780100621729160.post-21001708585896918592014-12-30T04:43:00.000-08:002014-12-30T04:43:01.259-08:00Overpaid NHS Mangers - can anyone be worth £600,000 a year?<br />
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<span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’ve been monitoring the huge amounts of money paid to NHS
Managers in past articles; here is another Daily Telegraph investigation.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Of course what would be interesting would be to compare the
biggest salaries with the quality of treatment in the NHS Trust – I doubt there
is any benefit from overpaying managers.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Quite separately the NHS itself has released a study which
indicates that NHS mangers are using outdated and inefficient methods which
indicates that these payments are unjustified.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Far worse; failure is never punished – they just leave and
grab another NHS job somewhere else.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Of course….we are paying for all this.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Oh and care workers who do the real work are earning between
one twentieth and one fortieth of these fat cat salaries.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Telegraph.co.uk<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Tuesday 30
December 2014</span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The rise of
the £300,000 NHS fatcats<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i><br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Investigation
discloses doubling in number of NHS managers being paid equivalent of at least
£300,000 a year, with some on as much as £620,000 annually <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">NHS trusts
said the payments were justified to secure “high calibre” expertise at short
notice.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">By<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Laura Donnelly, Health Editor<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">10:00PM GMT
27 Dec 2015<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The number
of NHS managers being paid the equivalent of more than £300,000 a year has
doubled in just 12 months, it can be disclosed. <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In some
cases, cash-strapped health trusts are hiring temporary executives for hundreds
of thousands of pounds, an investigation by The Telegraph has found. <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Patients’
groups said the “exorbitant” rates could not be justified, and nursing leaders
said the sums were a “kick in the teeth” for junior staff who were refused a
one per cent pay rise. <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">NHS board
reports indicate that during 2013-14, 44 “interim” executives were employed on
rates of £1,000 a day — the equivalent of £228,000 a year — compared with 24
the year before. <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">There was
an even sharper increase at the top end of the scale. In the last financial
year, 22 executives were paid the equivalent of at least £300,000 a year —
compared with 11 the year before and just four in 2010-11. In most cases, the
payments were not made directly to the managers, but via agencies, which were
able to take a share. <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Meanwhile,
NHS finances spiralled out of control, with trusts running up a combined
deficit of £500 million, before the Government announced plans to spend an
extra £2 billion next year on the NHS. <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Rotherham
Foundation Trust paid the equivalent of £621,000 a year for the services of
Michael Morgan as chief executive. Mr Morgan worked for Rotherham trust for 10
months, until last November. <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Accounts
for eight of the months show payments of £380,000 plus expenses — the equivalent
of £621,000 over 12 months, a sum that would cover the salaries of 28 nurses. <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">NHS trusts
said the payments were justified to secure “high calibre” expertise at short
notice. <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">But the
investigation found some managers stayed in post for more than a year, on rates
worth far more than the Prime Minister’s £142,500 salary. <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Peter Reading
was paid £405,000 to be chief executive of Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals
Foundation trust. He left in June, after almost two and a half years. Several
of the organisations which hired executives at high rates faced major problems.
<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Colchester
Hospitals foundation trust, which last month told patients to keep away from
A & E unless their condition was life-threatening, hired two temporary executives,
Kim Hodgson and Evelyn Barker, on rates of £387,000 a year during 2013-14. <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Medway foundation
trust, recently named as having one of the worst A & Es in the country
according to patient surveys, paid Nigel Beverley rates of £1,740 a day until
he left just before an inspection found A & E in a “state of crisis”. <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Some
individuals saw their pay rates soar. In 2010, Ian Miller was the highest paid
NHS manager in the England, earning £310,000 for nine months’ work for the South
East Coast Strategic Health Authority in 2009-10 — which equates to £400,000 a
year. <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Last year
he was paid £251,000 for five months’ work as director of finance at Maidstone
and Tunbridge Wells — the equivalent of £602,000 a year. </span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In 2012,
the NHS said senior managers should not be employed “off payroll” — often
through an agency — except in exceptional circumstances that should never last
more than six months. But the 10 highest earners were all employed off payroll,
in some cases through companies they owned or controlled, and three stayed more
than six months. <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The
payments included VAT, and there is no suggestion that any individuals were using
their off-payroll status to avoid paying tax or national insurance contributions.
<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Others
moved from trust to trust, often commanding the same high rates while keeping
within the “six-month” rule. <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Although
trusts do not have to pay national insurance and pension contributions for
managers who are off payroll, in some cases they have paid significant
expenses. <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Rotherham
paid £7,000 a month to cover the expenses of Mr Morgan and two colleagues paid
via a consultancy firm, amounting to an extra £84,000 a year between the three.
<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Katherine
Murphy, chief executive of the Patients Association, said the spending was
“unacceptable.” She added: “Investment is urgently needed on the front line.” <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Dr Peter
Carter, chief executive of the Royal College of Nursing said: “For sums this
large to be spent instead on paying temporary managers is a kick in the teeth
to nurses and a blow to patient care. <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Rotherham
trust said the majority of those it hired on an interim basis, including Mr
Morgan, were no longer working for the organisation. <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">A spokesman
added: “The majority of board members who were on the Board 18 months ago when
the contract was awarded, are no longer working for the trust; this includes
the chief executive and chairman.” <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Maidstone
and Tunbridge Wells said the sums paid to Maxentius specialist financial
support, which provided Mr Miller’s services, “provided independent financial expertise
that was essential in helping the Trust achieve £23.5 million in efficiency
savings last year without impacting on patient care”. <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Peterborough
and Stamford Hospitals said payments for Dr Reading’s services did not include
any provision for pension, holiday pay or sick pay adding that the trust was
not able to recruit a permanent candidate at the time. <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Colchester
Hospital foundation trust, which has been in special measures since October
2013, said its exceptional circumstances required “outstanding leaders with the
right skills and experience.” <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Monitor,
the regulator for foundation trusts, which was responsible for the appointments
to Medway, said trusts with failing leadership sometimes needed to appoint
senior staff on an interim basis. <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The
paychecks: <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Michael
Morgan chief executive, Rotherham Foundation Trust <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Payment
during 2013/14: £380,000 plus expenses to work 7 months, 3 weeks <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Annual
equivalent: £621,000 including expenses <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Ian Miller,
director of finance, Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells Trust <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Payment
during 2013/14: £251,000 to work 5 months <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Annual
equivalent: £602,000 <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Peter
Reading, chief executive, Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals Foundation Trust <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Payment
during 2013/14: £405,000 to work all year <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Antony
Sumara, chief executive, Royal Bolton Foundation Trust <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Payment
during 2013/14: £105,000 to work 12 weeks <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Annual
equivalent: £399,000 <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Nigel
Beverley, chief executive, Medway Foundation Trust <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Payment
during 2013/14: £40,000 to work 7 weeks - trust said he was on daily <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">rates of
£1,740 <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Annual
equivalent: £397,000 <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Kim
Hodgson, chief executive, Colchester Hospitals Foundation Trust <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Payment
during 2013/14: £95,000 to work 11 weeks <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Annual
equivalent: £387,000 <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Evelyn
Barker, chief operating officer, Colchester Hospitals Foundation Trust <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Payment
during 2013/14: £95,000 to work 11 weeks <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Annual
equivalent: £387,000 <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Jon Scott,
chief operating officer, Kettering General Hospital Foundation Trust<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Payment
during 2013/14: £135,000 to work 4 months, 1 week <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Annual
equivalent: £383,000 <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Colin
Gentile, director of finance, Dartford and Gravesham Trust <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Payment
during 2013/14: £185,000 to work 6 months <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Annual
equivalent: £370,000 <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Bill Boa,
interim director of finance, Burton Hospitals Foundation Trust<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Payment
during 2013/14: £134,000 to work 6 months <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Annual
equivalent: £368,000 <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">All figures
taken from trusts’ annual reports and other documents. <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Rotherham Foundation
Trust paid an additional £7K a month for expenses for Mr Morgan and two
colleagues: a third share of this has been included in calculations of his yearly
cost to the trust.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Neil Harris</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">(a don't stop till you drop production)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Home: <a href="http://helpmesortoutthenhs.blogspot.com/">helpmesortoutthenhs.blogspot.com</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Contact me: <a href="mailto:neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com">neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"> </span><br />
White Man at the Hammersmith Palaishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01720141916776433135noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6780100621729160.post-28033606026561654002014-12-27T04:12:00.003-08:002014-12-27T04:13:41.477-08:00Is it better to be ill when the senior Doctors are all away?<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I thought I’d reprint this excellent and amusing research study
reported in Ars technica which is a very good technical website and well worth
looking at.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">It’s Christmas nonsense but given the problems I’ve had with
some Doctors it made me laugh.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’ve put the simple explanation for this at the end of the
reprinted article; <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Ars
technica<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">When the
doctor’s away, the patient is more likely to survive<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Deaths due
to heart problems drop during major cardiology gatherings.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">by John Timmer
- Dec 26 2014<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">"Don't
get sick on a weekend." That advice is also part of a title of a research
paper that evaluates the fates of patients who go through the emergency room on
a weekend. These patients are more likely to die. It's just one of a number of
studies that suggests patients who enter the hospital while the staffing is
lower or the staff more relaxed end up with worse results.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">But the
precise cause of this enhanced weekend mortality has been hard to determine; is
it the reduced staff, a more leisurely approach to care, or some other factor?
To try to get at the cause, some researchers obtained records of heart patients
who had a critical event during a time when hospitals were at full staff, but
heart specialists were likely to be out of town. Unexpectedly, they found that
the patients did significantly better when the relevant specialists were
unavailable.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The study
relied on medicare records to track patients that were admitted to a hospital
with a serious heart condition: acute myocardial infarction, heart failure, or
cardiac arrest. The key measure was simply whether the patient was still alive
30 days later.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">That may
sound simple, but the rest of the analysis was remarkably sophisticated. To
figure out when heart specialists were most likely to be present at hospitals,
they selected two large cardiology meetings: the American Heart Association and
the American College of Cardiology, both of which attract over 10,000 participants.
Patients admitted during the meetings were compared with groups admitted three
weeks before and after. Reasoning that researchers are more likely to attend
these meetings, they analyzed teaching hospitals separately from regular ones.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">As
additional controls, they checked a number of additional meetings for oncology,
gastroenterology, and orthopedics specialists. They also looked at the impacts
of additional critical injuries, like gastrointestinal bleeding and hip
fractures, as well as non-critical cardiac problems.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In total,
there were tens of thousands of patients involved. And the trends were clear.
At teaching hospitals, the rate of death after heart failure was 24.8 percent
on non-meeting days. While the cardiologists were out of town, it dropped to 17
percent. A similar trend was apparent with cardiac arrests, where death rates
fell from 68.6 percent to 59 percent while cardiology meetings were happening.
There was no significant difference with acute myocardial infarction patients.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">So, having
specialists in town appeared to make matters worse for patients—the exact
opposite of the hypothesis the researchers set out to examine. The various
controls suggested the effect was robust, and it persisted after adjusting for
other potential influences, like age and sex.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In a press
release accompanying the report, one of its authors, Anupam Jena, said
"That's a tremendous reduction in mortality, better than most of the
medical interventions that exist to treat these conditions." What could possibly
be causing it? The authors consider three possibilities. First, there's
something involved with the changes in cardiology staffing that occur when
specialists go out of town that actually increases care. The second is that
there are fewer people having outpatient or same-day procedures, given that
doctors wouldn't schedule these when they knew they'd be absent. This would
allow the remaining physicians to better focus care on the serious cases.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The final
possibility that they consider is that the doctors that remain behind are more
cautious about the care they give, avoiding aggressive procedures such as the
use of angioplasty or stents to re-open clogged heart vessels. This would be
consistent with the lack of effect in acute myocardial infarction patients,
where this procedure is used less often.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Although
their analysis can't distinguish among these possibilities, it's clear that
this effect warrants further attention. Both because it's possible that the
long-term survival evens out thanks to more aggressive treatment, and because
we might find out that we've been acting a bit too aggressively.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Obviously, the reason why death rate falls when senior
Doctors are away at conventions is very simple; these are the most experienced
and senior doctors. They do the most complex and dangerous procedures and they
make sure they are available to follow up operations.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">When there is a convention, they reschedule difficult
procedures for when they are back.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The most complex and dangerous procedures (being the most
risky) are most likely to result in deaths.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Still, a bit of Christmas fun!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Neil Harris<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">(a don’t stop till you drop production)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Home: <a href="http://helpmesortoutthenhs.blogspot.com/">helpmesortoutthenhs.blogspot.com</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Contact me: <a href="mailto:neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com">neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"></span> </div>
White Man at the Hammersmith Palaishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01720141916776433135noreply@blogger.com0