Patient Safety
Warning over scale of task of replacing PCTs
The true scale of the task which will be picked up by GPs, local authorities, the national commissioning board and other agencies following the abolition of primary care trusts is being significantly underestimated.
Junior doctors 'spend too long on admin'
Junior doctors spend more time on admin than they do on formal medical training, research suggested today.
Superbug risk from hospital sinks
The Department of Health has issued an alert warning that hospital wash basins have been identified as a source of gram negative bacteria.
Patients ‘should be able to complain by email’
Patients should be able to make complaints to the health service ombudsman about NHS services via email or telephone, the Law Commission has proposed.
Budget risk to future MRSA success
The downward trend in the number of deaths involving MRSA and C difficile revealed by official figures could be reversed as a result of budget cuts, an infection control specialist warned last week.
Nicola Sturgeon hails 'best ever' waiting times
Health secretary Nicola Sturgeon has hailed the “best ever” waiting time figures achieved by the NHS in Scotland.
Hundreds of patients face hip replacement recall
A medical device company has issued an urgent safety notice after discovering problems with hip replacement devices thought to have been fitted in hundreds of NHS patients.
Infant deaths prompt deep clean at UCH
A leading hospital has said it had stepped up cleaning and taken other measures after four premature babies were found to be infected with a an infection resistant to common antibiotics.
CQC tells United Lincs to improve on dignity and workforce support
An acute trust has been told to improve standards on quality and safety following an unannounced inspection by the Care Quality Commission.
Trust not meeting Royal College of Surgeons' decontamination policy
Hillingdon Hospital Trust, where contaminated surgical instruments were identified last week, is not complying with the Royal College of Surgeons of England policy on decontamination.
Dithering trusts increase their staff agency bills
Acute trusts are inadvertently increasing staffing costs and reducing patient safety through indecision over whether to employ bank staff, according to a report seen by HSJ.
Doctors call for standardised NHS prescription system
The prescription system in Scotland should be standardised to reduce errors and improve patient safety, and should then be rolled out across the NHS, a doctors’ group has said.
Hospital ward closed after fatal streptococcus outbreak
A Drumchapel Hospital ward has been closed following a Group A streptococcal bacterial outbreak that claimed the life of an elderly patient, a health board has revealed.
Trust urged to improve quality and safety standards
United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust has been urged by the Care Quality Commission to improve several areas, including safeguarding people from abuse, amid concerns it does not meet quality and safety standards.
Hospital Guide consultation - share your views
HSJ readers have until 3 September to help determine the metrics that will be used in this year’s Dr Foster Hospital Guide.
Operations suspended after flesh contamination
Operations at two hospitals have been suspended after surgical kits were found to be contaminated with human flesh.
Dr Foster consults on the Good Hospital guide
HSJ readers have been given the exclusive opportunity to help determine the metrics which will be used in this year’s Dr Foster Hospital Guide.
Hospital criticised over maternity unit standards
HEI inspectors uncovered a number of problems, including finding out-of-date medical supplies dating back to 2002, when they visited a hospital maternity unit, it has been revealed.
Cleaning cut claims rejected
A Scottish health board has rejected claims by Labour that “cuts” to cleaning jobs are putting patients’ health at risk.
C diff deaths falling
The number of deaths from healthcare associated infections in Scotland is falling, official statistics show.
More on Patient Safety
Stop lethal blood clots: get good ideas into circulation
In Salisbury work on upgrading risk assessment for lethal blood clots halved secondary venous thromboembolism rates in two years, reports Jennifer Taylor
AHRQ patient safety indicator composite
Including postoperative haemorrhage, physiologic and metabolic derangement, respiratory failure, and pulmonary embolism
How to tackle poor housing standards and improve health
Environmental health officers and advocates in Liverpool used PCT funding to help reduce poor housing standards that harm health. Marie-Claire Kidd reports
Fundamentals of Patient Safety - conference sessions
A business critical briefing from HSJ’s Fundamentals of Patient Safety conference
Fundamentals of Patient Safety
A business critical briefing from HSJ’s Fundamentals of Patent Safety conference.
How New Labour changed NHS management culture
Deep shifts in management team culture may be Labour’s most enduring legacy to the NHS, says Russell Mannion.
