Displaying items by tag: hospitals

March marked the busiest month on record for A&E departments in England, with 2.35 million attendances. This surpasses the previous high, in December 2022. The total for the year up to March was also a record at 26.2 million. While there were slight improvements in waiting times, cancer response, and ambulance response times, these often fell short of NHS targets. Only 74.2% of patients were seen within four hours, missing the interim target of 76%. The number of patients waiting over 12 hours decreased from February, but remains high. For urgent cancer referrals, 75% of cases were diagnosed or ruled out within 28 days, yet the wait for first treatment after a cancer referral increased. Healthcare professionals are overstretched, highlighting the need for a comprehensive cancer strategy. Ambulance response times improved slightly but still exceeded the target times. The data coincide with a period of strikes and increased scrutiny of NHS performance. Research revealed that nearly half of NHS staff are considering work outside the health service; stress and workload are key factors.

Junior doctors in England are currently engaged in the longest strike in NHS history, demanding a 35% pay increase from their current hourly rate of £15-£17 to around £20. Despite five weeks of unsuccessful talks last year with the British Medical Association, the Government remains firm in its refusal to negotiate during the strike. The doctors, who claim strong public support, argue that their six-day strike is the only way to get the government's attention regarding their pay and working conditions. Health secretary Victoria Atkins is accused of pushing medics out of the negotiation room. Dr Robert Laurenson, co-chair of the BMA’s junior doctors committee, stressed the necessity of the strike, citing a workforce crisis and the government's alleged unresponsiveness to other forms of dialogue. Public opinions are mixed, with some expressing sympathy for the doctors’ plight, acknowledging their critical role and the current economic pressures. Others, however, suggest gratitude for employment during difficult times. The strike has sparked concerns about junior doctors moving abroad for better pay and conditions; Dr Georgia Blackwell notes a growing trend of doctors relocating to countries like Australia for improved work-life balance and higher earnings.

Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, has warned that upcoming strikes by junior doctors could push the NHS to a tipping point early in the new year. The strikes coincide with typical winter pressures, including cold weather illnesses, bed shortages, and increases in norovirus cases, potentially overwhelming the health service. Junior doctors in England have been on strike this week, and are planning a six-day stoppage from 3 January. The strikes have already led to the postponement of outpatient appointments and operations, with Cheltenham general hospital closing its A&E unit due to staff shortages. The dispute centres on their demands for a 35% pay rise. Recent talks between the British Medical Association and the department of health have not resolved the issue. Dr Vivek Trivedi, for the BMA, argues that the Government's offer of an additional 3% pay rise is insufficient. He emphasises that junior doctors need fair pay to prevent them from seeking employment abroad, and believes the public still supports their right to strike.

A study suggests that 95,000 to 167,000 people in England may have contracted Covid-19 in hospitals during the second wave of the pandemic, from June 2020 to March 2021. Researchers from Oxford University analysed data from 145 English NHS acute hospital trusts, considering factors like the availability of single rooms and vaccination of healthcare workers. The study found that 1% to 2% of all hospital admissions during this period led to hospital-acquired infections. The highest infection rates were observed in the north-west regions of England. The research underscores the importance of improving hospital design to limit the transmission of future pathogens and the need for measures to reduce hospital transmissions. Vaccination of healthcare workers was associated with lower infection rates. The findings are significant for protecting vulnerable patients, healthcare workers, and communities.

The CEO of a large NHS trust has expressed his concerns about the ongoing industrial action by NHS consultants and junior doctors, comparing the situation to going into a battle with one arm tied behind their backs. The joint action by consultants and junior doctors has led to the cancellation of over 10,000 outpatient appointments, more than 1,000 non-urgent surgeries, and some urgent surgeries. Hospitals have even stopped booking appointments for strike days, exacerbating the disruption to elective care. The industrial action, now in its tenth month, is causing significant challenges for patients and healthcare staff. Trainer highlighted two main issues: patients not receiving the care they need and healthcare staff working in increasingly difficult circumstances, especially in emergency departments. The situation poses significant challenges as the NHS prepares for the winter season.

The British Journal of Surgery (BJS) reported outcomes from a survey regarding experiences of sexual misconduct during surgery carried out by colleagues over the past 5 years in the UK. The authors reported misconduct ranging from sexual harassment to assault and rape which had occurred among colleagues in the surgical workforce. Female surgeons more commonly both witness and are targets of such acts. Moreover, there were indications that among female respondents, trust in various accountable organisations to handle sexual misconduct is low. Needless to say, these results are both distressing and very disappointing. Surgery remains a male-dominated and highly hierarchical speciality where harassment and bullying are prevalent. The most common scenario is when a junior female trainee is abused by a senior male perpetrator. The junior doesn’t report anything as the offender is often their supervisor and their future and career may suffer if they speak up. They also lack confidence that the NHS will take action.

When Archie Battersbee’s accident left him unconscious, he was put on life support treatment, but months later he had not regained consciousness and doctors said he was brain-stem dead. They planned to stop treatment. Archie's mother disagreed, wanting a ‘realistic time’ for her child to recover saying, ‘Planned death is euthanasia, which is illegal in this country. It is for God to decide what should happen to Archie, including if, when and how he should die.’ On 22 July we highlighted Archie’s situation and the need for law changes so that the vulnerable and their families are protected in end-of-life matters.  His parents began legal proceedings to keep Archie on life support treatment, but finally on 4 August the European Court of Human Rights refused their application to delay any changes to his treatment. Continue to pray for changes to be made around hospitals' power to make life or death decisions for the vulnerable.

The hospital authority says the number of patients dying from Covid-19 or serious complications triggered by the cold weather has sharply increased over the past two weeks, putting immense pressure on the mortuary service in public hospitals where storage space has reached capacity. Dozens of bodies are waiting in hospital accident and emergency rooms to be transported to mortuaries, and the health-care system is under enormous stress as workers battle to control a surge in cases. Empty grocery shelves were seen across several supermarkets as residents stocked up on essentials after health secretary Sophia Chan said the government has not ruled out a city-wide lockdown during the mass testing period. Hong Kong has a large proportion of unvaccinated elderly. The government announced that ‘the deaths are mostly among unvaccinated people’. Previously that information would not have been readily given.

A BBC investigation found that 100 people with learning disabilities have been held in specialist hospitals for twenty years or more, including Tony Hickmott whose parents are fighting to get him rehoused in the community. A support worker at the hospital said he was the loneliest man there. He was sectioned under the Mental Health Act in 2001 and expected to be treated for nine months and then return home. He was declared fit for discharge by psychiatrists in 2013 but at the age of 44 Tony is still waiting for a home to be found with the level of care for his special needs. In 2015, the Government promised ‘homes not hospitals’ in its Transforming Care programme but repeatedly misses targets to close hospitals with excessive restraint, overuse of medication, lack of qualified, competent staff and violence on many wards. Pray for people to be moved close to home, back in their community with the right care and independence.

Health bosses say that patients will be put at risk unless the NHS receives an extra £10bn next year to recover from the pandemic. A five-year settlement will see the funding increase by £33bn by 2023-24, but Covid has added to costs in a way that could not have been envisaged when Theresa May's government agreed the settlement in 2019. NHS leaders say the pandemic has led to pressures never seen in the history of the health service. Hospital layouts have had to be overhauled, services moved off site into new buildings, extra infection control procedures have been brought in, and the scale of sickness being seen means extra staff are needed to care for patients. At the same time, there is a growing backlog of traditional care such as hip and knee operations. Instead of budget growth by £4bn under the existing settlement, NHS leaders need almost £15bn.