News

Archived News Pages:

2007 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001

In The Event Of Death

Sunday 31 December 2006

Nurses, paramedics and care home staff from across the country, and in particular across the East Midlands, are to be offered training from coroners, police officials and undertakers to help deal with one of the most harrowing aspects of their job – dealing with death.

The University of Derby is offering a short course entitled Verification of Expected Death which consists of a theory day and then a separate session to test their abilities with Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCE). These sessions test students' clinical and communication skills.

The course is designed to support front–line medical staff to understand the procedures related to handling such a sensitive area of work.

More than 40 people can take part in the next course at the University's Kedleston Road Campus in Kedleston Road, Derby in January 17 next year – and places are still available.

Dr Nigel Chapman, Coroner for Nottinghamshire, will lead a panel of experts for the event alongside University of Derby academics, scenes of crime officers and other police officers.

Course participants will learn:
communication skills, support available for professionals, verification of death theory, verification of death practical demonstration, the role of the coroner, the role of the undertaker, what the police need to know, and what to do with a potential crime scene.

While chiefly addressing situations where the death is expected, the course will also look at what to do with suspicious and unexpected death within the parameters of the law.

The event has been organised by Carol Vaughan, Senior Lecturer, at the University on the Common Foundation Programme at the Chesterfield Campus, Chesterfield and North Derbyshire Health Education Centre. The University was approached to offer the course by the local Primary Care Trusts in the area and Tree Tops Hospice.

Carol said: "I have carried out extensive research into this area and only private companies offer such training. We have assembled a team of experts in this field to offer their guidance and expertise to nurses and paramedics. It is a valuable opportunity."

"Verification of Expected Death is obviously an emotive subject, but an area of the course related to communications and supporting people will help by offering tips on how to handle such situations."

"The course has already attracted a lot of interest including from members of the Royal College of Nursing who may attend."

For more details about the course contact Catherine Foster, based in the Faculty of Education, Health and Sciences, at the University of Derby, on email: c.foster@derby.ac.uk or telephone at 01332 591567. Please mention the OTJ.

Outbreak of PVL–positive community–associated MRSA

Monday 18 December 2006

Eight cases of Panton–Valentine Leukocidin (PVL)–positive community–associated MRSA have been identified among individuals in a hospital and their close household contacts in the West Midlands region. Four of these individuals developed an infection, two of whom subsequently died.

PVL–producing strains of MRSA have been seen in the UK before – however, the small numbers of cases reported have usually been in the community rather than a hospital setting. This outbreak is the first time transmission and deaths due to this strain are known to have occurred in a healthcare setting in England and Wales.

PVL-producing strains are more commonly contracted in the community and generally affect previously healthy young children and young adults – this contrasts with the so called 'hospital–associated MRSA' strains which do not produce PVL and are more commonly associated with causing wound infections and blood–poisoning in more elderly hospitalised patients.

Dr Angela Kearns, an MRSA expert with the Health Protection Agency, said: "When people contract PVL–producing strains of MRSA, they usually experience a skin infection such as a boil or abscess. Most infections can be treated successfully with everyday antibiotics but occasionally a more severe infection may occur."

"The Health Protection Agency is advising the hospital on outbreak control measures, and will continue to monitor MRSA infection nationally."

To see the full article on this outbreak in the Communicable Disease Report weekly publication click here.

Drive to improve patient safety

Monday 18 December 2006

The government has announced a shake-up of systems to improve patient safety as a study finds current safeguards are failing.

NHS staff should ensure incidents involving serious patient harm are reported within 36 hours, says the chief medical officer's (CMO) report.

It calls for a blame-free culture where staff feel confident to report, plus quicker and simpler reporting systems.

A British Medical Journal study says most are missed by the current system.

The National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) estimates that 900,000 incidents a year result in harm or near harm to NHS patients.

Earlier this year MPs said nearly a quarter of incidents and 39% of "near misses" go unreported, with doctors being the worst culprits.

They criticised the National Patient Safety Agency for failing to provide enough advice on improving safety.

The CMO report recommends the NPSA refocus its efforts to concentrate on collecting and analysing patient safety information.

Plans are also afoot for a national campaign to encourage clinical staff to report incidents.

These can include medication errors, equipment defects and patient accidents, such as falls.

Most incidents 'missed'

The York University authors of the BMJ study analysed data from the local reporting system in a large NHS hospital trust in England as well as case notes for the same patients.

From a random sample of 1,006 admissions, 324 patient safety incidents were found – 136 (42%) resulting in patient harm.

The 21 incidents missed by case note review were minor, whereas the 130 incidents missed by the reporting system led to patient harm.

Thus, the routine reporting system missed most patient safety incidents that were identified by case note review and detected only 5% of those incidents that resulted in patient harm.

Chief Medical Officer Sir Liam Donaldson said: "Improvements have been made across the NHS to embed patient safety into everyday practice."

"However, more needs to be done to accelerate the pace of change in this area."

He added: "Often it is systems that have failed, rather than any individual being at fault."

A spokesman for the NPSA said: "We endorse the move to an open and fair culture where staff feel confident to report, as the more we know about the sort of incidents that occur, the more we can do to address problems."

"We're already seeing a change in reporting patterns."

Source: BBC News

Awareness of, and testing for, Hepatitis C is increasing

Monday 18 December 2006

A life–saving technique dubbed a "brain bypass" has been carried out for the first time in the UK.

A new report from the Health Protection Agency shows that the number of people newly diagnosed with hepatitis C has increased; from 2,116 in 1996, to 7,580 in 2005. New figures also show that testing for hepatitis C has increased overall, for example, in GP surgeries', testing has increased by almost 60 per cent between 2002 and 2005.

The latest estimates on the number of adults infected with hepatitis C showed there were around 231,000 in 2003. Many of these infected people do not realise they have the virus as it can take years or even decades for symptoms to appear. Early treatment, however, is effective at clearing the virus in the majority of people. It is therefore important that individuals at risk are tested by their GP or other health services.

Dr Helen Harris, a Hepatitis C expert from the Agency said "This is the second annual report on Hepatitis C from the Health Protection Agency, summarising current knowledge of the infection and the action being taken to tackle it. Hepatitis C is very under–diagnosed simply because people are unaware that they are carrying it. By increasing awareness of the infection, more people will be tested, will receive earlier and more effective treatment, and they can avoid passing it on to others."

"We estimate that almost 6 in 10 people with hepatitis C injected drugs at some point in their past. If someone has ever shared equipment for injecting drugs – even if it was a long time ago, and even if they only did it once or twice – they could be at risk from hepatitis C. A simple blood test can establish whether someone has ever been infected with the virus."

Professor Pete Borriello, Director of the Agency's Centre for Infections said, "Testing for hepatitis C has increased significantly, however there is still much work to be done as a significant number of individuals remain undiagnosed. If you don't know you've got it, you can't do anything about it. Health services should consider this as they formulate strategies to increase testing."

The report highlights the Department of Health's hepatitis C awareness campaign, FaCe It, which has now reached over 16 million people. The exhibition campaign visits cities across England and features large photographic portraits of people living with Hepatitis C.

Hepatitis C in England – An Update 2006 is published by the Health Protection Agency and contributors. To see a full copy of the report click here.

UK 'brain bypass' op breakthrough

Monday 18 December 2006

A life–saving technique dubbed a "brain bypass" has been carried out for the first time in the UK.

The operation, which has been carried out abroad, was performed on four UK patients with brain tumours and aneurysms – blood vessel weakness.

It works – like a heart bypass – by re–routing blood supply around the problem using a piece of grafted vein.

All the operations were carried out successfully, the London King's College Hospital team said.

The technique, known as Elana, was originally developed in Holland and has been carried out on about 300 patients worldwide so far.

The main benefit is that it eliminates the need to temporarily clip the artery and cut off the blood supply, which increases the risk of stroke.

Neurosurgeon Christos Tolias, who headed the team, said the operations were a "real advancement in the field".

"In all operations performed no patient has died or suffered deterioration as a result of using this technique, as compared to conventional treatment."

"The advancement will make a significant difference to the treatment we can offer these patients."

"The traditional method will still be used for the majority of cases, but this gives us an option for people with large tumours or aneurysms where clipping is not sufficient."

The technique has been used on a patient with a tumour at the base of the skull and three with giant aneurysms.

Cut

It uses two specially designed tools, a laser catheter and an implanted ring.

The catheter makes a hole in the affected vessel wall, and the ring prepares the connection between the artery and the graft vein.

The ring is either directly attached to the artery, with the graft vein being attached afterwards or the graft and the ring can be attached simultaneously. This is done using microsurgical techniques.

The laser catheter is then inserted into the graft vein, and cuts out a hole through the artery wall.

Blood flow through the graft indicates that penetration of the artery has been successful.

The tumour or aneurysm can then be cut away or isolated.

But Professor Tipu Aziz, a neurosurgeon at Oxford's John Radcliffe Hosptial, said the technique was not new.

"As well as being used in other countries, the approach is used in other bypass operations."

"I would also say that this form of survery will only be relevant to a select few patients."

Source: BBC NEWS

More mystery deaths than thought

Monday 18 December 2006

The rate of sudden unexplained deaths in England is around eight times higher than previously thought, warn experts.

Around 500 people may die every year from sudden arrhythmic death syndrome, a study published in Heart shows.

SADS is linked to a genetic heart defect and family members should be screened to prevent more deaths, the researchers said.

The study also found that only one–third of cases had been correctly identified by post–mortem.

The researchers identified 56 cases of SADS from 115 coroners' reports of unascertained causes of death.

None of those who died had a history of heart disease, and they had all last been seen alive within 12 hours of death.

The average age of death was 32 and 63% were men.

Four had had some heart symptoms in the 48 hours before death, and two–thirds had experienced cardiac symptoms at some point in the past.

From their sample, the researchers calculated that the total annual numbers of SADS cases per 100,000 of the population was 0.16.

This figure was higher than the number of SADS deaths listed in national statistics, at 0.10 per 100,000 of the population.

But, when the researchers added up all the unknown causes of death in national records that might have actually been SADS, they uncovered a potentially much bigger discrepancy.

They found the rate could be as high as 1.34 per 100,000 – up to eight times higher than they had estimated and equating to 500 deaths per year.

Underreporting of SADS could be due to deaths being misclassified, inconsistency in referral by coroners or families not agreeing to further expert cardiac examination, they explained.

Some of the deaths in the study were attributed to heart attack or other causes, such as epilepsy and drowning.

Genetic link

Almost one in five SADS cases had a family history of sudden unexplained deaths before the age of 45.

Previous research by the team showed a 22% incidence of underlying inheritable cardiac disease.

The team concluded that SADS should be a certifiable cause of death and that affected families should be screened by a specialist.

"Deaths from SADS occur predominantly in young males," the researchers concluded. "When compared with official mortality, the incidence of SADS may be up to eight times higher than estimated."

"Families with SADS carry genetic cardiac disease, placing them at risk of further sudden deaths."

Ellen Mason, a British Heart Foundation heart nurse, said: "Clearer ways to identify possible victims of SADS are vital."

"If a person dies from SADS, specialist centres can offer genetic screening to their bereaved families. Monitoring people who could be at risk of SADS and giving them specialist treatment may prevent further tragic deaths."

"By underestimating the number of deaths caused by SADS every year, families who might be at risk may slip through the net and this may result in further tragedies."

Anne Jolly, from SADS UK, said the charity heard from many families left devastated and bewildered after the premature sudden and unexpected death of an apparently healthy child or spouse.

She added: "When there is no cause of death given this adds to their confusion and pain."

"Some of these conditions are genetic and it is important that other family members seek specialist advice as they too may be at risk of death from the same genetic condition."

Source: BBC NEWS

'NHS-wide faults' led to deficits

Wednesday 13 December 2006

Mismanagement at all levels of the NHS in England has led to the current multimillion pound deficit, a committee of MPs has found.

The Commons health select committee said existing deficits were made worse by the cost of new staff pay deals and the expense of meeting NHS targets.

But it added local financial mismanagement was also a factor. Last year's NHS deficit was £547m.

The government said it had increased NHS spending since it came to power.

Shifting targets

The committee said historic deficits, long hidden, were revealed when the government changed the rules so trusts could not underspend their capital budget to subsidise current spending.

But it said the government fuelled the problem by agreeing to new pay deals for doctors and nurses using estimates of the cost which were "hopelessly unrealistic".

And far more staff have come in to the NHS than were proposed by the government.

In addition, meeting national targets such as the requirement that no patient should wait more than four hours in A&E had been costly.

Changing targets at short notice also placed unnecessary financial costs on trusts, the report said.

It attacked short–term measures being used by the government to address deficits.

And it said raiding staff training budgets was "unacceptable", and warned such cuts were affecting staff morale and could damage the quality of the workforce.

Trusts criticised

MPs also warned other "soft targets" such as mental and public health service budgets should not be raided to ease trusts' deficits.

And they said the creation of a new contingency fund to help out failing trusts and top–slicing primary care trusts' (PCTs) budgets should only be temporary measures.

However, the committee also said trusts should shoulder some of the blame for the current situation.

It cited one hospital trust which recruited staff without knowing if it could afford to pay them, and a primary care trust which had failed to recruit key finance staff.

The report said: "The most basic errors have been made; there are too many examples of poor financial information, inadequate monitoring and an absence of financial control."

It said the NHS may well be in balance as a whole by the end of this financial year, but warned trusts with the highest deficits were unlikely to be in the black within the next five years.

The MPs say the government should change the NHS's accounting system, which both reduces a trust's income by the amount of its deficit while also asking it to repay the sum owed.

More funding

Kevin Barron, chairman of the committee, said: "I hope the rush for balancing all NHS budgets does not mean further top–slicing next year, particularly in areas of high health inequalities."

Both the British Medical Association and the Royal College of Nursing condemned the decision to raid training budgets.

And Professor Stephen West, who is on the Council of Deans and Heads of UK Health and Nursing Professions, said: "The universities and statutory bodies were advised that this was a one–year blip where they needed to make some significant reductions."

"Unfortunately it would appear that this was not, and that in order to balance the books there is going to have to be a two or three–year period of reductions in education and training."

However Dr Gill Morgan, chief executive of the NHS Confederation which represents managers, said: "It is a shame that the health select committee has taken the easy route of blaming NHS managers for all the financial problems in the NHS."

Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt said the NHS budget had doubled since 1997 and would almost triple by 2008, when UK healthcare spending would reach the European average.

"As a result of this investment, backed by reform, the NHS has cut waiting times, built new hospitals and surgeries, paid for more doctors and nurses to work and train, and improved access to healthcare for millions of people."

But she said a small number of trusts had built up deficits "due to overspending and inefficient use of their funding".

Shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley warned financial problems were leading to cutbacks when reform should have led to service improvements.

Sandra Gidley, Liberal Democrat health spokeswoman, said targeting "soft targets" such as staff training and mental health services was a "false economy", the effects of which would be felt for years to come.

Source: BBC NEWS

Woman has double hand transplant

Tuesday 12 December 2006

A Spaniard has become the first woman in the world to receive a double hand transplant.

A team of surgeons at Hospital La Fe in Valencia carried out the pioneering operation.

After 10 hours in the operating theatre, doctors say Alba, 47, from Castellón, whose full name has not been released, is recuperating well.

The woman faced the press this week, and looked happy and content despite heavy bandages on her hands.

Alba said after waking up from the anaesthetic and seeing her new hands for the first time, she thought: "They look beautiful!"

The operation took place on 30 November after a suitable donor was found.

It involved a team of more than 10 medical professionals, including surgeons and anaesthetists.

Arms matched

The surgeons performed the transplants on both arms simultaneously after adjusting Alba's forearms to match the size of the donor's.

Bones were fixed with metal plates and screws, and microscopic surgery was used to attached the arteries, veins and nerves.

Alba had both her original hands amputated after an explosion in a laboratory where she was studying chemistry nearly 30 years ago.

Pedro Cavadas, the lead surgeon, said she should have sensitivity and movement in her new hands within five to six months.

Mr Cavadas has told the Spanish press that the intention of the surgery was to allow Alba to lead an independent and normal life with two useful hands.

He admitted that it was difficult to know exactly how much use Alba will be able to make of her hands.

But he added: "In any case this is much better than any prosthesis."

Six double–handed transplants have been carried out on men. The first was carried out on a 33–year–old man in France in 2000.

Source: BBC NEWS

HPC In Focus – Issue 8

Tuesday 12 December 2006

Issue 8 of HPC In Focus is available to download online (along with previous issues)

Please feel free to advise your colleagues.

Top clinicians argue case for NHS reform

Tuesday 05 December 2006

Two of the top clinicians in the country today publish reports on the need to change how emergency care and heart and stroke services are delivered to ensure that patients get the best care in the right place.

Sir George Alberti, National Clinical Director for Emergency Care and Professor Roger Boyle, National Clinical Director for Heart Disease and Stroke, both argue that traditional A&E departments are not the only option when dealing with life and death situations. The reports also include personal accounts of the recent service changes and improvements to patient care that they have seen in their own areas of expertise and that are already making a difference for patients.

Presenting his report to leading health experts, Professor Roger Boyle said:

"There have been vast improvements in the treatment of heart disease since the National Service Framework was published in 2000. We have seen an increase in the number of heart attack patients treated within 30 minutes of arrival at hospital from 38% to an impressive 83%. Paramedics are now trained to assess, diagnose and provide thrombolysis treatment at the scene and eleven pilot schemes are in place to test the feasibility of providing angioplasty as the first treatments for heart attack patients."

"Looking to the future, I expect to see 500 fewer deaths, 1000 fewer recurrent heart attacks and 250 fewer serious complications such as stroke, every year as a result of developments in the speed and effectiveness of treatment for heart attacks. A further 1000 stroke victims a year would regain independence rather than die or be left dependent on others if they were given clot–busting treatment in specialist centres. By giving life–saving drugs to heart attack victims on their doorstep and using clinical judgements to by–pass A&E to deliver heart attack and stroke patients directly to specialists, we are acting only in the best interest of the patient. This is not driven by saving money but by the aim of saving lives."

Outlining details of his report, National Clinical Director Sir George Alberti said:

"Care for emergencies is good, and indeed there has been a transformation in A&E departments over the last five years. But there is increasing specialisation and we need to ensure that people are seen quickly by an experienced doctor or health professional."

"We have to be upfront and tell the public that, in terms of modern medicine, some of the A&E departments that they cherish are not able to provide this type of care and cannot and will not be able to provide the degree of specialist services that modern medicine dictates and the public deserves. That means we have to change services so we can deliver safe, high-quality care to everyone who needs it, when they need it."

"Every service cannot be offered by every A&E department - it never has been, and never can be - so it makes sense to create networks of care with regional specialist centres to give the best possible treatment to the sickest people. For the majority of people, care is still going to be as local as it ever was. Major emergencies affect a relatively small number of people. For most people, care will continue to be as local – or indeed more local – than ever."

Speaking at the breakfast event, Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt said:

"The NHS is at a crucial stage in a ten year process of investment and reform, and as part of this process, a number of service changes are being proposed across the NHS. The prompts for these changes are not only financial, as many would have us believe."

"The NHS is changing because medicine and patients needs are changing. As both National Clinical Directors have highlighted, the NHS in the future will save more peoples lives by taking the most seriously ill patients to the right specialist centre. But it will also give many people with less serious conditions more convenient care by taking A&E to the patient rather than expecting every patient who wants urgent care to go to A&E."

"Mending Hearts and Brains" by Prof. Roger Boyle and "Emergency Access" by Sir George Alberti, are available on the Department of Health website

Leaked paper reveals Labour fears on NHS

Tuesday 05 December 2006

Government must be smarter, health secretary says at private briefing

Patricia Hewitt and other ministers have privately conceded that the government is in real difficulty over its efforts to sell controversial health reforms, a minute of a private briefing reveals.

At a brainstorming on the future of the NHS between the health secretary and ministers last Thursday, some raised anxieties about the way the reforms were being presented to the public. "Too often the debate on public service reforms seemed to pitch the government against frontline staff," said the minute, which was marked restricted.

One unnamed minister warned Ms Hewitt that financial pressures were mounting too.

This was because "increasing life expectancy and medical advances would lead to new pressures, which would need to be reconciled with the public's expectations about taxation".

The minute reveals that Ms Hewitt admitted that the government needed to "be smarter about communications".

She said the government needed to involve senior NHS staff to help make the case for change. "Where clinicians are prepared to make the arguments for reform, it can have a high impact," she told the meeting.

She said it was also necessary "to involve the public and patients through patient panels, working with local MPs so they focus on ensuring the best health outcomes for their constituents rather than the number of beds, pursue value for money through shorter hospital stays which the evidence shows can often result in better health outcomes as well as savings".

The minute also shows that Ms Hewitt told ministers she was determined to press on with the reform, despite the criticisms from colleagues.

The meeting was part of a frank debate being led by Downing Street and the Treasury into the future direction of all government policy. She argued that "it was true there would always be clinicians and frontline workers who did not welcome reforms, but the government has to take on the argument and win over NHS staff and the public".

The situation has become so acute that Ms Hewitt has staked her ministerial position on returning the NHS in England to financial balance by the end of March.

The health secretary will adopt a tougher approach today when she launches a counter–attack against campaigners across England who are protesting about proposals to close key facilities at NHS hospitals.

She will parade medical experts who are convinced that hundreds of lives could be saved every year if the NHS reorganised to provide specialist care in a small number of regional centres.

Five weeks ago the Guardian identified more than 50 campaigns against proposed or rumoured closures that are building up into the most widespread and prolonged unrest since the poll tax revolt in 1990.

Most of the campaigns present the closures as an economy measure to eliminate NHS overspending. Ms Hewitt will argue that her plans for restructuring the NHS are driven by the need to save lives, not money.

She will also present reports by Sir George Alberti, the government's emergency care tsar, and Roger Boyle, the heart disease tsar, calling for patients with the most serious conditions to be treated in specialist centres.

Sir George is expected to back proposals from the Royal College of Surgeons and other senior clinicians for "super–regional" A&E departments serving populations of between 400,000 and 500,000.

These plans imply that 50 or more of the existing A&Es might be downgraded into urgent care clinics providing a less comprehensive service.

Ms Hewitt is expected to stress, however, that the changes should not be imposed from the centre.

Local NHS managers should seek agreement with their hospital consultants and GPs on solutions that fit the local geography and health needs, avoiding excessive ambulance journey times for people in sparsely populated rural areas.

A Department of Health spokeswoman said: "Very few of 18.5 million people who attend A&E departments have life-threatening conditions".

"Many are just in pain, while others are just uncertain. For these people it is better to offer more convenient and appropriate care closer to home."

"But patients in a critical life–threatening emergency needed to be taken to super regional A&E departments with 24–hour consultant cover and access to state–of–the–art diagnostic equipment."

Lives could be saved if heart attack patients drove past the local hospital and went straight to a specialist centre for angioplasty, a new keyhole treatment for narrowed and blocked arteries. But not every hospital could justify employing the expert surgical team required to carry out the procedure.

Source: The Guardian

Consult staff on smoke breaks, DWF tells employers

Monday 04 December 2006

Employers should bring smoking and non-smoking workers together to agree an acceptable policy on smoking before the ban is introduced on 1 July 2007, says law firm DWF.

The new rules will make it unlawful to light up in workplaces, public places and even company cars and employers who fail to comply could face fines of up to £2,500. The ban will be introduced in Wales on 2 April.

Stephen Robinson, associate with DWF says companies should develop a policy that is in line with the law and has the support of all employees: "While there is no automatic right to a smoke break, some people will still want to smoke during working hours. Employers must balance their wishes with those of non-smokers who often believe smokers enjoy more rest breaks."

He says the policy should state that it has been developed following consultation with staff to help provide a safe and healthy workplace and that it applies to all employees and visitors including contractors and workmen.

It should say what arrangements have been put in place for smokers such as 'smoking shelters' outside the premises but make it clear that smoking breaks are not an automatic right and leaving butts is unacceptable.

It should also give guidance on how managers should handle smoking in the workplace and what disciplinary action may be taken. In addition, employers should display no smoking signs and consider providing support to smokers who want to give up.

"Employers who do not enforce the ban may not only face fines, but also employment tribunal claims and in the long term even personal injury actions," adds Robinson. "Having a clear policy which is communicated to staff and enforced by the employer should minimise these risks."

DWF is one of the fastest growing law firms in the UK, with over 370 legal advisers (including 70 partners) and 595 people based in Manchester and Liverpool. DWF provides a range of services grouped under the following practice areas: Corporate, Banking & Finance, Litigation, Real Estate, People, Insurance.

£10m burns centre to 'give hope'

Wednesday 29 November 2006

A burns research centre which a charity says offers "hope to thousands" is to be set up in both Cardiff and Swansea.

The Healing Foundation UK Centre for Burns Research will examine physical and psychological effects of burns, and how to improve treatment and support.

The £10m centre, the UK's first, is joint initiative by both cities' universities and Morriston Hospital with the charity Healing Foundation.

Over 14,000 people are admitted to UK hospitals with serious burns each year.

About half of those are children under 16.

The new centre will be located at the Heath Park campus of Cardiff University's School of Medicine and the Centre for Burns and Plastic Surgery at Morriston Hospital.

It will look at the physical effects of burns, including inflammation and scar formation and the psychological and social aspects of living with burn scars, long-term rehabilitation and prevention.

Organisers said they had fought off competition from across the UK to win the award.

'Prestigious'

Cardiff University said it would support the centre by making a £5m investment in new staff and a £4m investment in new and refurbished laboratories.

William Dickson, director of the Centre for Burns and Plastic Surgery at Morriston, said: "This prestigious award – the first and only chair of burn injury study in the UK – will put Wales at the international forefront of burns research."

Brendan Eley, chief executive of the Healing Foundation, a charity which funds research into disfiguring conditions and has Falklands veteran Simon Weston as its "lead ambassador" said the centre would "provide hope to thousands".

He said: "This award represents a major step forward in our goal to improve the treatment, care and long-term understanding of burn injuries".

'Great news'

"The Cardiff/Swansea centre will become a global leader, improving the outcome for patients, enhancing our understanding of burns and offering hope to thousands of people, worldwide."

Health and Social Services Minister Brian Gibbons welcomed the award as "great news" for Wales.

"It is a mark of how highly regarded the academic team in Cardiff University is and how respected the clinicians and care staff of the Welsh Centre for Burns and Plastic Surgery have become", he said.

Source: BBC NEWS

National Cot Locator for critically ill babies

Monday 27 November 2006

A new system to find intensive care cots for sick and premature babies was launched today by Health Minister, Ivan Lewis.

Developed by clinical and professional experts, the National Cot Locator will allow nurses and clinicians to see at a glance where available cots are located around the country. Around 40 level 3 neonatal intensive care units in England will be covered on the system.

Neonatal networks aim to provide 95% of neonatal intensive care for babies locally. However, in circumstances where babies have to be transferred outside of the local network and also to more specialist units, the cot locator will allow these transfers to be planned and co-ordinated way.

Health Minister, Ivan Lewis, said:
"About 17,000 babies a year require neonatal intensive care. On the occasions when a suitable cot is needed outside of the local network, a call to the National Neonatal Cot Locator will provide immediate up-to-date information about more distant options, making sure that these transfers can happen quickly, are effectively planned and can go as smoothly as possible."

"This will make a real difference to families and professionals seeking to ensure that babies and parents get the best possible care in usually very challenging circumstances."

Andy Cole, Chief Executive of Bliss said:
"BLISS welcomes this important strategic development. We hope to see the cot locator have a significant impact across England on the crucial issues of available cots and transfers for babies in need of intensive care."

Over the last year, the average number of cots available was 957, ranging between 900 to over 1,000 cots according to demand.

New NICE guidance to reduce the risk of transmission of Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (CJD) via surgical procedures

Saturday 25 November 2006

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has issued guidance to the NHS on reducing the risk of transmission of Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (CJD) via surgical procedures.

NICE has recommended that:

For certain surgical procedures carried out on the brain or eye (which carry a higher risk of potential transmission than other procedures):
- Steps should be taken urgently to ensure that instruments do not move from one set of instruments to another. Practice should be audited and systems should be put in place to allow these surgical instruments to be tracked
- Supplementary instruments that are used in these procedures should either be single use or should remain with the set to which they have been introduced
- A separate pool of new reusable surgical instruments should be used for children born since 1 January 1997 (who are unlikely to have been exposed to BSE in the food chain or CJD through a blood transfusion) and who have not previously undergone these procedures
For neuroendoscopy, a procedure using a tube inserted into the brain :
- Rigid neuroendoscopes should be used whenever possible. They should be of a kind that can be autoclaved (steam cleaned at a high temperature and pressure) and they should be autoclaved after each use.
- All accessories used through neuroendoscopes should be single use
- A separate pool of new neuroendoscopes should be used for children born since 1 January 1997
For all other surgical procedures, the risk of possible transmission of CJD is so low that it does not justify a change to single-use instruments.

Professor Peter Littlejohns, Clinical and Public Health Director at NICE and Executive Lead for this guidance says: "CJD is a terrible disease but thankfully it is extremely rare. This guidance is still important however, in order to help reassure the public that everything possible is being done to keep this risk as low as possible whilst also ensuring that surgeons have clear guidance."

Professor Bruce Campbell, Surgeon and chair of the committee who developed the guidance on behalf of NICE said: "Our guidance recommends two really important and practical measures for minimising the risk of CJD being spread by operations that NHS Trusts should implement immediately. The first is to be sure that all surgical instruments remain in their sets. The second is to check that systems are properly in place to track all instruments, so we know that they have stayed in their sets and we know which patients they have been used on."

Commenting on the use of single use instruments for surgical procedures, Professor Campbell continues "NICE has carefully considered the idea of introducing single use instruments for a whole range of operations. The problem is that single use instruments simply don't exist for many operations. They take time to design and produce and they have to be of very high quality, otherwise patients may be harmed. We have also had to bear in mind that effective methods for removing CJD infectivity from instruments are likely to be available and widely introduced within 5 years. Therefore our recommendations for changes in practice have to be both practical and achievable within a short time frame."

Lester Firkins, lay member of the CJD Advisory Committee says: "As someone whose son died from vCJD, I consider even one preventable death to be one too many. There are so many uncertainties around this disease and whilst the only way to remove all risk is to destroy every single instrument after every single intervention, I understand that in practice this is unachievable. I have been fully involved in the NICE review process throughout and am comfortable that the final guidance fully takes into account the best research evidence as well as the cost implications for the wider NHS."

The full guidance, which includes a list of all the surgical procedures covered by the guidance, can be found on the NICE website.

Inquiry launched after woman dies and four fall ill in operating theatre

Tuesday 14 November 2006

Police and managers at Britain's largest hospital have begun an investigation after it emerged that one patient had died and four others had fallen ill during surgery in the same operating theatre.

All five patients were operated on in the neurosurgical theatre at the Queen's Medical Centre (QMC) in Nottingham during the past three weeks.

The woman, aged 36, whose death has prompted the investigation had undergone spinal surgery on Thursday when her condition suddenly deteriorated in what the hospital described as "a very marked and unexpected way". She died on Friday. Sources said it was thought, at first, that the woman died as a result of an allergic reaction to anaesthetic but her death was later deemed "unexplained".

Detectives are expected to examine the possibility that either the surgical equipment or the drugs used in the theatre may have been faulty. They will also consider the possibility that equipment might have been tampered with.

A spokesman for the QMC, Europe's largest teaching hospital, would not confirm or deny last night whether anyone had been suspended in connection with any of the incidents. But staff working in the theatre at the time of the operations are likely to be interviewed.

The four patients who fell ill are now said to be well.

Peter Homa, QMC chief executive, said: "This was so unusual that we immediately looked to see if any other patient had experienced similar problems. This identified that possibly four other patients had experienced similar unexpected – though much less severe – clinical problems during surgery."

"Our own urgent inquiries continue, and we are being valuably supported by the police in the investigation of this unusual sequence of events."

All other neurosurgical patients have now had their cases delayed. All emergency neurosurgery was halted yesterday and it will start again today in a different theatre.

The hospital moved quickly to reassure all patients and their families. In a statement, it said: "Investigations will continue until we have gained a complete understanding of what occurred, and can put in place appropriate permanent safety checks or changes in practice."

"We would like to reassure all patients and their families that we are confident that the exceptional safety checks and additional measures we have introduced will ensure the safety and well-being of our patients."

Source: Independent, by Ian Herbert

ROYAL COLLEGE OF SURGEONS' PRESIDENT CALLS FOR JOINT MULTI–PROFESSIONAL TEAM TRAINING ACROSS ALL ROYAL MEDICAL COLLEGES

Friday 10 November 2006

The President of the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS), Bernard Ribeiro will say today (Friday 10 November) how important team–working – and team–training – is for surgeons. "Traditionally, nurses, doctors, surgeons and anaesthetists and other members of the medical team have trained separately. But, we work together. We should train together. There is strong evidence that training is far more effective when all members of the team develop their skills together."

"Professional failures are more often due to behavioural difficulties, personal conflict, lack of insight, systems failure or defective infrastructure than technical failings or lack of knowledge. Accidents are rarely caused by a single individual. They are more often the result of a sequence of avoidable errors or organisational defects."

Mr Ribeiro opens a one–day conference at the Royal College of Surgeons today – Everybody's Business: Lessons from High–Risk Industries for the Safety of Patients.

"The outcomes of surgical procedures have vastly improved due to advances in technology and technical skills," says Mr Ribeiro. "Surgery has become technically more complex and specialised. It takes a long time to acquire the skills. But there are other non–technical factors to take into account in the operating theatre – human factors."

The Royal College of Surgeons has introduced a new course into surgeons' training which has been developed with the help of human factors experts and senior airline training captains.

"It aims to improve the way we work together," says Mr Ribeiro, "and reduce the risk of harm from errors. It supports the generic skills defined in the new surgical curriculum – those of communication; collaboration with one's colleagues; professionalism; and acting always in the best interest of the patient. These are the key principles which should guide all surgeons in their practice. Future trainees will be expected to demonstrate competence in these areas and maintain these skills throughout their careers."

Mr Ribeiro has made surgical training his Presidential commitment. "I have pressed the Government on the importance of taking training into consideration as they continue with their plans to introduce more Independent Sector Treatment Centres. I have pointed out to the Prime Minister the impact of the European Working Time Directive. And I have said publicly many times that the damaging effect on training of the twin political realities of public service targets and NHS deficits will have repercussions on the safety of patients."

ROYAL COLLEGE OF SURGEONS' PRESIDENT CALLS FOR JOINT MULTI–PROFESSIONAL TEAM TRAINING ACROSS ALL ROYAL MEDICAL COLLEGES

Friday 10 November 2006

The President of the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS), Bernard Ribeiro will say today (Friday 10 November) how important team–working – and team–training – is for surgeons. "Traditionally, nurses, doctors, surgeons and anaesthetists and other members of the medical team have trained separately. But, we work together. We should train together. There is strong evidence that training is far more effective when all members of the team develop their skills together."

Mr Ribeiro opens a one–day conference at the Royal College of Surgeons today – Everybody's Business: Lessons from High–Risk Industries for the Safety of Patients.

The Royal College of Surgeons has introduced a new course into surgeons' training which has been developed with the help of human factors experts and senior airline training captains.

NHS's new computer system 'useless'

Friday 10 November 2006

Health workers lack confidence in a new NHS computer system and few believe it will help them do their jobs better, according to a new survey.

The survey of more than 300 NHS staff in London showed most workers are angry that their views were not taken into account before the introduction of the system, which is aimed at improving information passed between hospitals and GPs.

Trade union Amicus said its study showed lack of staff involvement was symptomatic of how the NHS is run.

National officer Kevin Coyne said: "It's appalling that so many NHS staff lack confidence in the implementation of the world's largest civil IT project."

"Without consulting the people who will use these IT systems, the NHS management and IT providers will leave patients and NHS staff floundering in the dark."

"We are dealing with systems which can either vastly improve the way we treat patients or hinder it."

"Amicus is calling on the NHS and its providers to give users a greater say and more information on the delivery of the new system."

"While the NHS has undoubtedly got better, morale amongst health service employees is at rock bottom. This is made worse by a series of rapidly-introduced changes that have been introduced without staff involvement."

One health worker told the union he believed computer systems had been developed at great cost but were "useless".

Workers taking part in the survey included scientists, psychologists and pharmacists.

Joint RCN and Unison march through Leeds on Saturday 11 November, 2006

Friday 10 November 2006

Around 2,000 nurses, cleaners, porters, along with other clinical and hospital staff will march through the centre of Leeds on Saturday 11 November, 2006, protesting against the impact of budget deficits on NHS services at the Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust and other hospitals in the region.

The march will assemble at 10.45am in the car park at the rear of the Yorkshire Playhouse, beneath the Department of Health building on Quarry Hill, central Leeds, LS2 7UP.

Timetable

10.45 March assembles
11.15 Photocall with RCN Deputy President, Bobbie Chadwick; & Kevin Austerberry, Regional Director for Yorkshire & the Humber
11.30 March commences and follows route along Eastgate, Vicar lane, Duncan Street onto Briggate
12.30 Rally at Briggate. Speakers include RCN Deputy President, Bobbie Chadwick.

NHS Supply Chain Announces Two New Supplier Conferences

Wednesday 8 November 2006

NHS Supply Chain, incorporating the former NHS Logistics and some of the scope of NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency, announces that it is hosting two supplier conferences, for current and potential suppliers.

The events take place on Monday 13 and Tuesday 14 November in Leeds and Heathrow respectively, from 1.00pm – 6.15pm.

Key services include procurement, logistics, e–commerce and customer and supplier support, across the following key areas:

theatre/surgical services
medical
food and facilities (including office supplies)
clinical markets
orthopaedics
cardiology
pathology
ophthalmics
renal
dental
resonance imaging

The supplier conferences will provide companies with precise details on how the contracting and tender process will work, plus discuss key areas such as innovation and clinician engagement. There will be a chance to meet with NHS Supply Chain management to discuss ways of working.

To register, visit www.supplychain.nhs.uk or www.logistics.nhs.uk and click on the supplier conferences button.

For further information, please contact Liz Perry.

Source: NHS Supply Chain PRNewswire

HPC launches fees consultation

Monday 6 November 2006

The Health Professions Council (HPC) has launched a three month consultation to ask registrants and stakeholders for their views on the level of increase in fees.

The HPC's existing fees have remained unchanged over the last three years despite a steady increase in the costs of regulation and inflation. This consultation sets out why the HPC is proposing an increase and how the money will be spent. In particular, the increase will enable the HPC to manage the growing number of fitness to practise allegations which have more than doubled since its inception. It will also be used to help maintain the register, develop the levels of engagement with registrants and the public and to maintain the high standards of approvals visits carried out by the education department.

Anna van der Gaag, HPC President said "It is vital that the HPC has an appropriate and realistic level of income to enable us to operate effectively, give registrants an efficient service and to protect the public".

"We are looking forward to listening to registrant and stakeholder views on our proposals. Anyone who wishes to take part in the consultation and have their views heard, can write to us with their comments by post or email. We look forward to hearing a variety of views and ideas over the coming months."

In the consultation, the HPC have put forward two options for renewal fees and for the fees charged to applicants who have successfully completed an approved course and are applying to be registered for the first time. It also proposes that the scrutiny fees charged for processing applications via the international, EEA and grandparenting routes should increase. The HPC also propose to introduce higher fees for people who are applying to come back on to the Register.

The Council is consulting with a variety of stakeholders, including professional bodies, employers, higher education institutions and others with an interest in the HPC's work.

The consultation will run until Tuesday 6 February 2007. If the proposals are adopted the changes to the fees will be effective from June 2007. Existing registrants would pay the new renewal fee when their profession next renews its registration.

The full documents are available on-line and a copy can be downloaded from here.

Warning over privacy of 50m patient files

Wednesday 1 November 2006

Call for boycott of medical database accessible by up to 250,000 NHS staff

Millions of personal medical records are to be uploaded regardless of patients' wishes to a central national database from where information can be made available to police and security services, the Guardian has learned.

Details of mental illnesses, abortions, pregnancy, HIV status, drug-taking, or alcoholism may also be included, and there are no laws to prevent DNA profiles being added. The uploading is planned under Whitehall's bedevilled £12bn scheme to computerise the health service.

After two years of confusion and delays, the system will start coming into effect in stages early next year.

Though the government says the database will revolutionise management of the NHS, civil liberties critics are calling it "data rape" and are urging Britons to boycott it. The British Medical Association also has reservations. "We believe that the government should get the explicit permission of patients before transferring their information on to the central database," a spokeswoman said yesterday.

And a Guardian inquiry has found a lack of safeguards against access to the records once they are on the Spine, the computer designed to collect details automatically from doctors and hospitals. The NHS initiative is the world's biggest civilian IT project. In the scheme, each person's cradle–to–grave medical records no longer remain in the confidential custody of their GP practice. Instead, up to 50m medical summaries will be loaded on the Spine.

The health department's IT agency has made it clear that the public will not be able to object to information being loaded on to the database: "Patients will have data uploaded … Patients do not have the right to say the information cannot be held."

Once the data is uploaded, the onus is on patients to speak out if they do not want their records seen by other people. If they do object, an on–screen "flag" will be added to their records. But any objection can be overridden "in the public interest".

Harry Cayton, a key ministerial adviser, warned last month of "considerable pressure to obtain access to [the] data from … police and immigration services", but he is confident that these demands can be resisted by his department.

Another concern is the number of people who can view the data. The health department has issued 250,000 pin–coded smart cards to NHS staff. These will grant varied access from more than 30,000 terminals – greater access for medical staff, and less for receptionists. Health managers, council social workers, private medical firms, ambulance staff, and commercial researchers will also be able to see varying levels of information. Officials say the data will be shared only on a need–to–know basis. But Guardian inquiries show a lack of safeguards.

Although data protection laws supposedly ban unnecessary build–ups of computer information, patients will get no right to choose whether their history is put on the Spine. Once uploading has taken place, a government PR blitz will follow. This will be said to bring about "implied consent" to allow others view the data. Those objecting will be told that their medical care could suffer.

The government claims that computerised "sealed envelopes" will allow patients selectively to protect sensitive parts of their uploaded history from being widely accessed. But no such software is yet in existence. It is being promised for an unspecified date. Some doctors say "sealed envelopes" may be too complex to be workable. The design also allows NHS staff to "break the seal" under some circumstances. Police will be able to seek data, including on grounds of national security. Government agencies can get at records, according to the health department, if "the interests of the general public are thought to be of greater importance than your confidentiality". Examples given of such cases include "serious crime and national security".

The department's guidelines say: "The definition of serious crime is not entirely clear … Serious harm to the security of the state or to public order, and crimes that involve substantial financial gain or loss will … generally fall within this category." The health department says confidentiality can already be breached in such cases.

At present, police have to persuade a GP, who knows the patient, to divulge limited facts, or insist on a court order.

Under the new system, data may be disclosed centrally and anonymously, at the touch of a button. Health department privacy advisers say they do not wish to allow police to have clinical information. But they are prepared to disclose patients' addresses.

Another safeguard initially promised was that all patients would be able to check their records on the internet for mistakes. But a system involving the issue of smart cards to patients has not yet been tried out.

Current criminal penalties are so weak they have failed to stop tabloid journalists and private detectives raiding such data on an industrial scale, according to a recent special report by Richard Thomas, the information commissioner.

Sir John Bourn's National Audit Office also wrote a recent report warning of significant concerns among NHS staff "that the confidentiality of patient information may be at risk". But officials persuaded the NAO to delete the warnings in the published version.

The original draft said: "Patient confidentiality remains a controversial issue among critics … both as regards the adequacy of the planned safeguards to protect information, and whether patients should have a right to opt out of having their information recorded".

Source: The Guardian, David Leigh and Rob Evans

HPC cautions Operating Department Practitioner

Monday 30 October 2006

A Panel of the Conduct and Competence Committee met on the 18th, 19th and 24th October to consider the case of Angus Sutherland at The Health Professions Council in Kennington, London. The panel heard the allegation that his fitness to practice was impaired by reason of misconduct whilst employed by Addenbrookes NHS Foundation Trust in that he used the internet excessively during work hours and accessed inappropriate websites during work hours which included pornography.

Chair of the Panel Ian Griffiths said… "The Panel finds that the use of the internet was excessive. This finding the Panel makes by reference to the standards of behaviour they would expect of a registered health professional – it does not make that finding by reference to the Trust's internet policy. Clearly many of the sites visited were inappropriate. This conduct clearly amounts to misconduct. Equally clearly this misconduct impairs Mr Sutherland's fitness to practice."

"However, there was no risk that patients would have been exposed to the images being viewed by Mr Sutherland and there was no scope for patients to be affected by his behaviour. Further, there is no evidence that other members of staff were affected by his activities. Although the sites were pornographic, there is no evidence or suggestion that any sites involved children, bestiality or violence."

"Although Mr Sutherland has not admitted the allegations, the Panel has had the opportunity to observe him over a long period of time and has come to the conclusion that the whole saga has had a devastating effect on him. The Panel is satisfied that there is a low risk of repetition of this sort of behaviour."

The Panel concluded that a caution order for a period of two years would be the most appropriate sanction in this case.

The Health Professions Council is a UK wide health regulator set up to protect the public. It sets standards for thirteen health professions. The HPC only registers people who meet its standards for their professional skills, behaviour and health, and will take action against people who do not.

Maggots drop into hospital:
Major clean-up after accident

Wednesday 25 October 2006

Maggots have been falling from air vents near operating theatres in Barnet Hospital, it was revealed this week by hospital staff.

One worker said that in two weeks, 50 maggots had fallen from the ceiling, but a hospital spokesman said there had been only three.

The maggots, which had apparently been eating dead pigeons, fell onto the floor between two operating theatres on the hospital's third floor.

They first appeared after flies laid eggs on pigeons' carcasses which had nested in the hospital roof, in Wellhouse Lane, Barnet.

A staff member said: "When birds died, they are not being removed from the building. The problem is not being fixed but the hospital is trying to stop them from coming into the theatres."

"The other week, maggots were falling through the air vents in the ceiling between theatres one and two, about five feet away from the theatre. They were dropping like there's no tomorrow."

"I was standing there and we counted 50. I was shocked - operating theatres are meant to be the most sterile places in a hospital. If a maggot fell onto a patient during surgery and the wound was open, they could get an infection."

But a hospital spokesman said staff had found some dead pigeon remains in a part of the loft that was awkward to access, which is why the incident happened, but that it had all been cleared out and resealed.

He said: "In the past there was a problem that maggots had dropped through the ceiling into the theatres. The ceilings were sealed up and the cracks were made airtight."

"What happened recently was that three maggots fell, not in the theatres but in the corridor. Within an hour of it happening, there were people in the roof checking everything. There has been absolutely no impact on clinical care."

He added that regular checks would take place and the hospital had employed the services of a hawk to scare pigeons away.

Alex Nunes, chairman of Barnet Hospital's Patient and Public Involvement forum, added: "It is pretty worrying. It's a very unpleasant accident, and I know the hospital has been very disturbed by it."

"We are very upset that such a thing could occur, but the hospital has done all it can to disinfect, clean and prevent a reoccurrence and stop the pigeons from getting in."

SOURCE: Hendon & Finchley Times By Alex Galbinski

Veils Banned to Muslim medicos in Birmingham Hospital

Monday 23 October 2006

Adding fuel to the already raging controversy in Britain, Birmingham city hospitals have banned Muslim medicos from donning full−face veils.

Birmingham University School of Medicine has passed this ban on wearing of a full-face veil by Muslim women in an attempt to "help to aid good communications" between Muslim medical students, their colleagues and patients.

The University will allow Islamic women to cover their faces in lectures and around campus but would not be permitted to do so in the "clinical environments" of hospital buildings and GPs' surgeries. Only in the sterile surroundings of an operating theatre can they cover their faces - with regulation surgical masks.

The ban extends to women Muslim students who has been required to show their faces if they are talking to patients in hospital or surgery or if they are in meetings with other medical staff.

Presently the school has 450 students of all faiths who are sent to practise to a number of different hospitals and primary care units, including the University Hospital of Birmingham NHS Trust.

Birmingham has a large population of Muslims of South Asian origin.

A spokesman said, "We do not place restrictions on the wearing of headscarves by staff or students, except in cases where they are required to work in a clinical environment."

"This is particularly the case when it involves direct contact with patients. In these cases students are allowed to wear a headdress as part of their religious observance, as long as it does not cover the face."

"This is necessary to help aid communications with patients and other colleagues," the spokesman said.

This move comes close on the heels of a nationwide debate over wearing of veil that was sparked by Commons Leader Jack Straw's comments that he asks Muslim women to remove their veils when they visit his constituency office in Blackburn, northwest England.

According to him the veil made community relations "difficult" and removing it would improve communication.

Muslim Labour MP Khalid Mahmood, whose constituency is in Birmingham, said "We have to consider the safety and security of all, as there is times when people must be identified."

He added, "Removal is fine where professional issues are called into question, when doctors and nurses meet with patients."

Source: Medindia
NLA

NHS pay rise plans prompt anger

Monday 23 October 2006

Doctors' leaders have voiced anger over proposals for pay rises below the rate of inflation for NHS staff.

The British Medical Association accused the government of trying to "claw back" money by suggesting staff should get only 1.5‰.

It says pay should go up by 4% to motivate doctors and attract new recruits to the profession.

The Department of Health warned pay rises had to be affordable or patient services funding would suffer.

In March, the government awarded a pay rise of 3‰ for dentists, 2.5‰ for nurses and 2.2‰ for junior doctors.

But consultants are angered by their staged increase, which saw them get a 1‰ rise on April 1 and a further 1.2‰ increase in November.

BMA chairman James Johnson, said: "The Department of Health proposal for a pay uplift of only 1.5‰ is an attempt to claw back the pay increases resulting from the contracts introduced for consultants and GPs in the last few years."

"We don't negotiate contracts in good faith for them to be whittled away over the succeeding years."

"Doctors are working intensively and under pressure to cut waiting times and deliver high−quality services. They deserve a pay rise that reflects their continuing hard work, not one that erodes the value of contracts the government has agreed to."

Balancing the books

Peter Allenson, from the Transport and General Workers' Union, said: "Offering health workers an effective pay cut is an insult."

"To recommend a below−inflation rise is particularly baffling."

Karen Jennings, from Unison, said a 1.5‰ pay increase would work out at less than 2p an hour extra for newly−qualified nurses and paramedics.

"It is also less that half the latest retail price index figure which stands at 3.6‰," she said.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Health said all staff groups had benefited from the improved pay and conditions, adding: "A 1.5‰ uplift will deliver a 4‰ increase in average earnings for NHS staff, which compares with the current average across the whole economy."

"The NHS is facing a challenging financial period with the need to change a £512m deficit in 2005/06 into lasting financial balance."

"It is clear that a period of pay restraint is necessary to support the NHS in achieving that lasting balance."

"Pay uplifts must be affordable otherwise funding for patient services will suffer."

"If pay levels are too high, NHS employers may well need to reduce staff posts."

Josie Irwin, of the Royal College of Nursing, said: "For the government to say more than 1.5‰ would mean more job losses and redundancies is an outright threat; you can't deliver care without staff and, ultimately, it's about where the government chooses to spend public money."

Negotiations are ongoing about pay rises for all health workers, with the government and several unions submitting evidence to independent pay review bodies.

Story from BBC NEWS

Give up or we won't operate, smokers told

Monday 23 October 2006

Smokers will be denied life-changing operations unless they agree to kick the habit, it was revealed today.

Cash-strapped hospitals say patients will not be given treatments such as hip and knee replacements until they try to give up. Those who fail could be denied treatment all together.

Managers in Norfolk and Newcastle, where trusts are millions of pounds in debt, say smokers are at a greater risk of complications and the move will help save them money on further care.

But critics accused them of putting its finances before the health of its patients − and warned it could lead to surgeons being "brow-beaten" into breaking the Hippocratic Oath.

The move will hit patients of Norfolk Primary Care Trust which is £50million in the red and provides healthcare to the residents of Norwich and surrounding towns and villages. Newcastle-Under-Lyme PCT in north Staffordshire, which is £1.4million in debt, has taken a similar decision.

Last year, health bosses in east Suffolk barred obese patients from the operating theatre until they tried to lose weight.

While urgent operations are not covered by the Norfolk policy, the treatments include hip and knee replacements as well as hernia operations.

Norfolk PCT said smokers were being targeted because they are at increased risk of complications and take more time to recover from surgery meaning they have longer − and more expensive − stays in hospital.

Stopping smoking will reduce the risk of complications − and cut the cost of their care. Simple saliva tests can quickly prove if a smoker is telling the truth about quitting.

Defending the move Dr John Battersby, the trust's director of public health, said: "The situation across Norfolk is that one in four people smokes and that is the same for the proportion of people coming through for surgery."

"There is increasing evidence that smokers have three times the number of complications as non-smokers."

"What we are proposing is that if someone who smokes is being referred for surgery, we would instead want them to be referred to a smoking cessation clinic and give them three months to stop smoking."

Dr Battersby added: "What we are doing is asking people to have a stab at giving up for three months and at the end we would review the situation. Some people will have stopped and will go on and have a referral for surgery. Others will not have stopped."

In those cases, decisions will be taken along the lines of clinical need.

The PCT says if smokers have tried hard and need the surgery, they may get it. But if it is felt they have not made a strong effort to stop and are at high risk from the proposed surgery, they may not be referred to the operation at that stage.

Dr Battersby said: "I am not saying there is an absolute block on smokers getting surgery but there is evidence that if they successfully stop smoking they have a much lower risk of developing complications and there will be a better outcome for them."

"There is a cost implication in terms of those complications. If they stop, it is going to have a positive impact on the health system."

The trusts are taking advantage of guidance from the Government's medical rationing body, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, which allows them to take patients' lifestyles into account when deciding if a treatment would be effective.

Smokers, however, claim they are being discriminated against. Neil Rafferty, of the pro-smoking pressure group Forest, said: "This is blackmail, pure and simple."

"Smokers pay their taxes like everyone else. In fact, because of the very high duty on tobacco, they probably pay a lot more tax than the average person."

"They are entitled to free healthcare and health trusts do not have the right to make up conditions."

Other critics say that while there are valid medical reasons for recommending smokers quit before an operation, finances, should not play a part in the decision to operate.

Michael Summers, of the Patients Association, said: "Finance has got nothing to do with making sure people are made well and every effort should be made to do it the best one can."

He added that managers doctors could be forced into breaking the Hippocratic Oath, under which they pledge to treat the ill to the best of their ability.

"The patient is the responsibility of the doctor or surgeon, not that of the manager of the PCT," he said. "The responsibility is a moral one. Many of those doctors and surgeons will have taken the Hippocratic Oath and therefore they shouldn't be brow-beaten by managers over whether a patients should or should not have an operation."

Liberal Democrat Health Spokesman Steve Webb said: "If it is about making surgery more effective, that is quite legitimate."

"But if it is a back door way of trying to reduce demand and save money, it is picking on smokers."

"We all do things that are bad for our health and we shouldn't discriminate against one particular group."

Simon Lockett, secretary of the British Medical Association's Norfolk committee for GPs, said: "Clearly the PCT believes it has got to act as quickly as possible because of its financial position but I think GPs would be very concerned about this idea."

"GPs refer people when they think people need to have things done. Most people who smoke wish to stop anyway and we really do not think it appropriate that they should be disadvantaged by being forced to wait for important operations."

The ban comes as the NHS struggles to cope with mounting debt.

Officially, the deficit for the last financial year is £512million, however, it is claimed the true figure is near £1.3billion.

The Government says simple measures such as reducing staff turn-over and cutting down the amount of time patients spend in hospital before operations could save the health service £2.2billion a year.

Launceston hospital set to feel industrial unrest impact

Monday 23 October 2006

Patients undergoing elective surgery at Launceston General Hospital may be affected by industrial action today.

Operating theatre nurses have joined their colleagues in the north-west, imposing bans on elective surgery unless there are safe staffing levels.

Last week, Health Minister Lara Giddings announced the state would adopt new staffing models for operating theatres to try and stop the action.

But the Australian Nurses Federation says it will make no difference to funded nursing positions in surgeries.

The federation's Neroli Ellis says Launceston will feel the effects of the strike from today.

"Launceston had the bans commence on Friday when we had two theatres closed anyway, so those elective surgery cases will be reviewed on a daily basis and we do expect some to be cancelled this week", she said.

Revolutionary Adhesive for Prostheses Saves the NHS Money!

Thursday 5 October 2006

Professor Alan Roberts OBE, has made a major break through for the plastic and reconstructive surgery field by masterminding and developing − Zeflosil, a prosthetic adhesive, which is used to attach devices to the skin.

"Zeflosil is the first product of its kind to be produced in the UK", said Professor Roberts, "it can be used on patients who have had any cancer reconstructive surgery or on patients undertaking colostomy treatments, and also on the attachment of diagnostic devices", he added.

Zeflosil will be marketed through Prosthetic Solutions Ltd, a company recently established by Professor Roberts. Prosthetic Solutions is based in the Bioscience Business Incubator at the University of Bradford's Institute of Pharmaceutical Innovation (IPI)

"It was an excellent choice to be based at the IPI as I have access to pharmaceutical analysis, expertise and equipment, and a wide network of business services and support", said Professor Roberts.

"The IPI incubator provides new companies a prestigious address, laboratory and office space and a support system during their early development", said Dr Kevin Adams, Bioscience Business Incubator Manager, "It is really exciting to see Prosthetic Solutions get their first product to market. It's even better when you know that there are more significant developments in the pipeline." he added.

During clinical trials Zeflosil exceeded all expectations and has recently achieved quality standards such as CE marking (EU approval), and approval by MHRA (Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency)

"Using Zeflosil gives the patient ease of application, other benefits include durability and cost effectiveness compared with other products available in the market place", said Professor Roberts. "In fact, I am currently in discussion with senior management from NHS Trusts following the results of Zeflosil", he added.

Professor Roberts specialises as a Consultant Clinical Scientist, he is a former Director of the Centre for Clinical Prosthetics, Department of Plastic and Maxillo−Facial Surgery; and former Director for Research and Development for Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.

He is currently Chairman of the Bradford Research Ethics Committee and Professor of Biomaterials in Surgery at the Academic Surgical Unit, Schools of Medicine, University of Hull and Honorary Professor of Biomaterials, University of Bradford. Professor Roberts has received many National Honours and Awards and has an International standing in the field of Material Science in medicine.

The IPI Bioscience Business Incubator is keen to support pharmaceutical entrepreneurs who are looking to develop innovative ideas.

For further information on how the IPI can support business please contact Dr Kevin Adams, Bioscience Incubator Manager, Institute of Pharmaceutical Innovation

Man died from massive blood loss after surgery

Thursday 5 October 2006

A coroner has ordered further investigations into how a patient died from massive blood loss after an operation at Bradford Royal Infirmary.

Cancer sufferer Victor Dewhirst died in May last year, the morning after surgeons removed his right lung. An inquest heard how Mr Dewhirst, 62, of Queen's Road, Bradford, had eaten breakfast and was sitting in a chair having an X-ray when he "just went very white", collapsed and died.

Surgeon Alan Mearns, who has since retired, said the blood loss into Mr Dewhirst's chest was "a no−win situation".

At the inquest in Bradford yesterday a statement from Staff Nurse Annaliza Tacardon told how the operating theatre did not have the right staples needed to close Mr Dewhirst's pulmonary artery so Mr Mearns said he would "stitch" instead.

Giving evidence, Mr Mearns said he had carried out about 400 lung removals and in about 80 to 100 of them he had used stitches, in the remainder he had used staples. But he said he had 30 years' experience of suturing vessels in chests.

Mr Mearns also said there was "only a fortnight to go", at the time of Mr Dewhirst's operation before the cancer theatres at BRI were closed and the service moved to St James's Hospital in Leeds. He said: "We were basically clearing out all the stocks. We would only take the big equipment with us."

Cynthia Hocklea, an operations director at BRI, said theatre staff should have been responsible for checking levels of stock but said it was a possibility no one had checked the staple supply.

She said Bradford Teaching Hospitals Trust had since carried out a review of its theatre ordering systems and introduced an electronic system which alerted them when staff needed to re−order certain supplies.

Pathologist Dr Karen Ramsden said the post−mortem examination found Mr Dewhirst's pulmonary artery "completely open" and although there was still a ligature round it, the suture that looped round the artery had slipped.

Mr Mearns told the inquest the pulmonary artery was an elastic−like vessel and that he had to accept his sutures were not tight enough but stressed if he had been too rough with the artery it could have torn. He said: "My closure was adequate at the time but there's been enough slack in it for some kind of pull-back in the vessel to occur."

Mr Whittaker adjourned the inquest for further investigations after independent medical expert Francis Wells, a consultant cardiothorasic surgeon at Papworth Hospital, Cambridge, raised the possibility a surge of blood pressure might have led to the blood loss which he described as "tragic, extremely bad luck".

After the hearing, Mr Dewhirst's widow Linda, 54, said her family's search to get an answer into why he died would continue. She said: "We can't move forward. All we want to know is the truth. Victor was a bubbly, happy-go-lucky man with three grandchildren who he adored. It's been a horrendous 16 months."

Source:
This is Bradford.co.uk
Kathie Griffiths

Man needed surgery after sex with hedgehog

Thursday 5 October 2006

A Serbian man needed emergency surgery after he had sex with a hedgehog on a witchdoctor's advice.

Zoran Nikolovic, 35, from Belgrade, says the witchdoctor told him it would cure his premature ejaculation.

But he ended up in an operating theatre after the hedgehog's needles left his penis severely lacerated.

A hospital spokesman said: "The animal was apparently unhurt and the patient came off much worse from the encounter. We have managed to repair the damage to his penis."

Source: Ananova

Linkz Healthcare Provides Careers in New Zealand

Thursday 5 October 2006

Healthcare recruitment specialists, National Locums, report high levels of interest in their Linkz Healthcare service, which enables UK health professionals to experience a complete career and lifestyle change by working and living in New Zealand.

New Zealand is keen to recruit healthcare staff, particularly nurses of all grades, midwives, operating department practitioners and radiographers, either on a permanent basis or for extended tours of duty, in full or part time positions.

The natural beauty, mild climate, sporting facilities and less frantic lifestyle of New Zealand have all contributed to make it a favourite emigration destination for the British, so it's no surprise that National Locums' ability to arrange high quality healthcare career opportunities is creating such a stir.

The service operates in reverse too, providing employment within the NHS and the UK's private health organisations for trained New Zealanders.

Speaking of the service's success, Rae McGlone, a Director of National Locums and a recent Regional Finalist in the National Business Awards said: "We are delighted to be able to assist anyone with the necessary healthcare qualifications to enjoy a new career in New Zealand − we are finding that the lure of working there is particularly appealing to many healthcare professionals who have become frustrated and disillusioned working within the NHS."

Further Information:
Rae McGlone or Mark Hathway
Tel: 0870 129 8538
www.nationallocums.com

First national strike threatened in the NHS Blood Service

Thursday 5 October 2006

Amicus is warning that it is preparing to ballot for industrial action in the NHS blood service over the potential closure of fourteen blood centres across the country.

The health union say that putting at risk centres in Leeds, Newcastle, Sheffield, Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham, Bristol, Plymouth, Southampton, Tooting, Colindale, Brentwood, Oxford and Cambridge threatens the loss of hundreds of highly skilled technical and scientific staff from the NHS and will leave major cities without facilities for the testing and processing of blood.

Amicus say the cuts are being made without meaningful consultation with either the trade unions or the local communities and despite making representations to the NHS Blood and Tissue Authority, its' head, Peter Garwood, announced at a meeting of the British Blood Transfusion Society last week that the existing centres are to be replaced with new super centres in Bristol and unnamed locations in the South East and the North.

The union has pledged to lobby Health Ministers, MPs and councillors to fight the closures and says it will ballot its 2,000 members on strike action if the plans go ahead.

Amicus' National Officer for Health, Kevin Coyne, said: "This mirrors exactly what is wrong with the NHS reform agenda."

"Modernisation is being rushed through without engagement and consultation with either staff or local communities."

"Furthermore, hundreds of technical and scientific staff jobs are being put at risk and these highly skilled jobs cannot just be recruited or relocated to different parts of the country."

"The NHS and the nation has invested millions in training these staff and now proposes to just dispose of them."

"The geographical gaps in service will also mean delays for the vital testing of blood for many thousands of people, putting lives at risk and making the service dependent upon a charity − air ambulances, in emergencies as motorways cannot be relied upon."

Amicus say existing centres need to be replaced with at least five national centres, with additional facilities required in the North East, North West and the Midlands.

The Birmingham, Plymouth and Southampton Centres test for HIV, Hepatitis B and C, Syphilis and also for confirmation of Blood Group and screening for rare antibodies. Blood is also processed to split into red cells, plasma and platelets. The Birmingham Blood Centre also does Nucleic Acid Testing on blood donations for the whole of the Midlands and South West England to prevent infection with Hepatitis C.

Wrong body part op claims 'rise'

Tuesday 3 October 2006

Operations in which patients had the wrong body parts operated on have risen by a half in the last three years, claim figures show.

Last year, 40 patients in England had claims settled by the NHS Litigation Authority – up from 27 in 2003–4. The cost of settling the claims topped £1m. Among the mistakes were cases of the wrong leg and hips being operated on. Campaigners said the errors were “unforgivable” and should never happen. The data was released by the NHS Litigation Authority after a Freedom of Information request.

There were 27 claims settled for what is known as “wrong site surgery” in 2003–4, rising to 35 the following financial year and 40 in 2005–6. Over the period, the cost of settling those claims, including damages and costs, increased from £447,694 in 2003-4 to £663,145 the following year and £1,098,975 last year. A third of claims involved surgery on the wrong tooth, but wrong hips, knees and legs were also operated on.

Peter Walsh, chief executive of Action Against Medical Accidents, said: “These are accidents that should not be happening. This is not rocket science. It is all about having the correct procedures in place, it is not like we are talking about risk surgery. These mistakes have devastating impact on patients and is unforgivable.”

A Department of Health spokeswoman said: “Millions of surgical procedures are carried out safely and correctly every day in the NHS and only a tiny number of cases are ever performed incorrectly. But the government is very clear, NHS patients who are injured as a result of clinical negligence should receive correct and full compensation.”

And she added last year guidance was issued to doctors to ensure consistent methods were used to mark which body parts were due to be operated on.

Source: BBC NEWS

NHS external manager bill 'soars'

Tuesday 12 September 2006

The NHS in England is set to spend £172m this year on external management consultants — a rise of 83% in two years — the Conservatives have claimed.

Welwyn Hatfield MP Grant Shapps used the Freedom of Information Act to obtain figures from 76% of NHS trusts.

The data shows a link between trusts with the biggest debts and most job cuts, the Tories said.

But the Department of Health said the figure should be seen in the context of the annual £70bn NHS budget.

NHS trusts are able to employ external consultants for advice on how to run their services and staff.

The government has also enlisted companies like KPMG and Price Waterhouse Coopers to act as “turnaround teams” for some failing trusts.

'Dubious effect'

In their report, the Tories said trusts' spending on management consultants was increasing, and that the use of consultants was a “reliable yardstick” for job losses and debts.

The report added that a total of £93.8 million was spent in 2004/05 on external consultants, rising to £117.9 million in 2005/06.

The projected spend for 2006/07 is £171.6 million.

The figures were calculated using the data returned from trusts, and projections for the remainder.

Mr Shapps said several trusts refused to respond to his request, adding they had an even worse track record than some in the report.

He added: “I think it's extremely dubious as to how much effect these consultants are having, other than sacking lots of staff.”

The government needed to look at whether taxpayers were getting value for money when jobs and services were being cut and wards closed, he continued.

'Waste'

The report said 10 of the worst trusts had millions of pounds of debt, yet had a projected spend each of between £1.9 million and £3.6 million on consultants for 2006/07.

Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust owes more than £6 million and is cutting 325 jobs, but has a projected consultants spend of £3.6 million, it added.

Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust has a debt of more than “16 million and 300 job cuts but a projected spend of £3.5 million.

And United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust owes more than “11 million, and is cutting 320 job cuts but has a projected spend of £2.7 million on consultants for 2006/07, the report said.

Dr Paul Miller, chairman of the British Medical Association's (BMA) consultants' committee, said he would not be surprised if trusts' total spend was even higher.

He added: “The NHS is wasting hundreds of millions of pounds on management consultants who don't have the answers.”

“I would like the secretary of state to stop the NHS wasting all this money on management consultants — it takes money away from patient care.”

Dr Miller, who has an MBA, continued: “The NHS needs good management and good managers but that involves people who know the trust, the staff, the locality and the services it provides — not just people parachuted in from outside with no health experience.”

A spokeswoman for the Department of Health said it not comment on the figures in the report because there were no details of what kind of services were included in the costs, and said the total spend on management consultants was not collated.

“However, any figure should be looked at in context — the NHS budget is over £70 billion and the NHS is one of the largest employers in the world.”

She denied that there was a link between deficits and the use of management consultants and said independent evaluation had found “no common cause” for deficits.

Source: BBC NEWS

Government moves to curb number of ineffective treatments in the NHS

Monday 11 September 2006

SOMETHING'S OP
Patient facing ear surgery is horrified when nurses start shaving … his chest

A DAD in hospital for an ear op realised something was wrong when nurses started to shave his chest before surgery. John Jeffrey, 40, spoke out to alert staff just moments before he was due to receive an anaesthetic.

The customer services worker, who was due for treatment to repair a perforated ear-drum, had mistakenly been booked in for a lung op.

He believes there was a mix-up with his medical records, as he has previously had surgery for a collapsed lung.

Last night, John said: “If they had gone ahead with the pre-med, I would have ended up in the operating theatre.”

“Thank goodness I said something when I did. The surgeon and nurses seem mortified when they realised what had happened.”

“I can laugh about it now - but that's because I spoke out in time.”

He is partially deaf in his right ear after an accident and now faces a delay while his op is re-scheduled.

He was admitted to East Kilbride's Hairmyres Hospital on Friday.

John, who lives in the Lanarkshire town, said at first he assumed his chest was being shaved as part of the usual procedure.

He explained: “When I had surgery on my chest before, they shaved my thigh so a monitor lead could be attached. I assumed something similar was happening with my ear operation, so I did not say anything.”

"In any case, you put your faith in the doctors and nurses.”

“They are the experts and you take it for granted they know what they're doing.”

It only dawned on him he had been booked for the wrong op after a nurse mentioned something he knew related to lung surgery.

John said: “When I told the nurse and anaesthetist that I was in for an ear operation, they looked shocked and called the surgeon.”

“He said they don't even do ear operations at that hospital.”

It's understood the blunder happened after John remained on Hairmyres' waiting list following his lung operation at Glasgow Royal Infirmary.

A Hairmyres spokeswoman said: “Patients on our lung waiting list are sent a letter and telephoned ahead of surgery.”

“We would expect anyone who has had their surgery in another board area to inform us of that before they came to hospital.”

Source: Daily Record Craig Mcdonald

Government moves to curb number of ineffective treatments in the NHS

Thurday 7 September 2006

NICE proposals to release millions in NHS resources and reduce health inequalities

Health Minister Andy Burnham today announced that the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) will begin a significant new programme of work to help the NHS identify and stop ineffective interventions and make health services more equitable across the country.

Reducing ineffective practice will potentially allow the NHS to reinvest millions of pounds on drugs and approaches that do improve patient care.

Andy Burnham said “This is not about cutting services that benefit patients. New drugs and treatments are continually emerging and trusts have to make difficult decisions about how to invest funding. I believe this important new work will show how the NHS can free up millions of pounds from obsolete or ineffective treatments.” “NICE has an excellent track record in identifying and recommending the most effective new treatments for widespread use in the NHS. But we need to ensure that we balance this with better advice on unnecessary and ineffective interventions that can be stopped.”

In his annual report earlier this year, Chief Medical Officer Liam Donaldson highlighted unnecessary tonsillectomies and hysterectomies as procedures being regularly performed at an annual cost of £21million to the NHS, despite other treatment options being available. He called for disinvestment from established interventions that are of no proven value.

Commenting on today's announcement Liam Donaldson said “As technology advances to expand the range of possible health interventions, it is important that effective therapies to address significant health problems are adopted and that ineffective treatments are abandoned. NICE's new work programme will support this vital process by providing an objective assessment of the evidence.”

As well as developing a new stream of guidance on treatments, which may be inappropriate or unnecessary for patients, NICE's programme of work will include:

actively promoting existing NICE recommendations, on topics such as home haemodialysis.
specific advice for NHS commissioners Identifying and highlighting recommendations within existing guidance that reduce ineffective practice

Further information on this work, including details of the first topics that the programme will look at, are being published today by NICE.

NICE will select the topics included in the new programme, based on clear criteria. Details are available at www.nice.org.uk

The CMO report was release in July 2006 and can be found here.

DoH gives DHL and US purchasing giant Novation a mission to create a monopoly in NHS procurement

Tuesday 5 September 2006

The Department of Health today announced its decision to go ahead with the outsourcing of the NHS Logistics Authority to DHL. Although not named in the DoH announcement it has been established that US purchasing giant Novation will perform the vital role of procurement of NHS supplies under this agreement. This deal will give DHL and Novation control of almost one third of a total NHS medical supplies and equipment market worth around £3.7bn a year. However, the DoH makes clear that DHL/Novation will be expected to increase that market share by as much as possible over the course of the 10 year contract.

The DoH have charged DHL with making savings of £1bn over 10 years, while DHL claims that it stands to make a further £1.6bn profit from the deal. This adds up to around a 12‰ cut in NHS procurement spend over the next 10 years, and there are fears that this will impact on the quality of service to patients.

ABHI Director General John Wilkinson has expressed grave concerns over this deal,

“This is a bad day for patients and the NHS. A very efficient and collaborative supply chain partner stands to be replaced by a purchasing organisation which will be focused on price and will restrict choice for patients and clinicians. The UK is already established as a “slow, late adopter” of modern treatments and it is difficult to see how this transaction is going to improve matters. In most markets the competition authorities get uneasy when one player gets around 25% market share. Here we have a company which says that it has control of around 33% of the supply market to the NHS and is aspiring to achieve 80 to 90%. This will put DHL/Novation in a position of considerable power over hospitals and suppliers and could create a dangerously anti-competitive environment. This whole deal has been conducted in virtual secrecy with minimal consultation or parliamentary scrutiny, and with no evidence produced on how this new regime will benefit patients or the taxpayer”.

There are also serious concerns over the role of the US giant Novation in this deal. In the US Group Purchasing Organisations (GPO) such as Novation have come in for strong criticism for alleged anti-competitive practices and financial secrecy, and are the subject of an ongoing US Senate investigation. A recent report into GPOs by the International Centre for Corporate Accountability states,

“The GPO industry is a classic example of a highly concentrated oligopolistic structure, where a handful of companies control over 80% of the hospital supplies purchased through GPOs. This oligopolistic market structure has allowed these privately owned and controlled entit

News Roundup:

Milton Keynes Hospital Consultant Pioneers Safer Childbirth World Wide

News

Archived News Pages:

In The Event Of Death

Nurses, paramedics and care home staff from across the country, and in particular across the East Midlands, are to be offered training from coroners, police officials and undertakers to help deal with one of the most harrowing aspects of their job – dealing with death.

Outbreak of PVL–positive community–associated MRSA

Eight cases of Panton–Valentine Leukocidin (PVL)–positive community–associated MRSA have been identified among individuals in a hospital and their close household contacts in the West Midlands region. Four of these individuals developed an infection, two of whom subsequently died.

Drive to improve patient safety

The government has announced a shake-up of systems to improve patient safety as a study finds current safeguards are failing.

Most incidents 'missed'

Awareness of, and testing for, Hepatitis C is increasing

A life–saving technique dubbed a "brain bypass" has been carried out for the first time in the UK.

UK 'brain bypass' op breakthrough

A life–saving technique dubbed a "brain bypass" has been carried out for the first time in the UK.

Cut

More mystery deaths than thought

The rate of sudden unexplained deaths in England is around eight times higher than previously thought, warn experts.

Genetic link

'NHS-wide faults' led to deficits

Mismanagement at all levels of the NHS in England has led to the current multimillion pound deficit, a committee of MPs has found.

Shifting targets

Trusts criticised

More funding

Woman has double hand transplant

A Spaniard has become the first woman in the world to receive a double hand transplant.

Arms matched

HPC In Focus – Issue 8

Issue 8 of HPC In Focus is available to download online (along with previous issues)

Top clinicians argue case for NHS reform

Two of the top clinicians in the country today publish reports on the need to change how emergency care and heart and stroke services are delivered to ensure that patients get the best care in the right place.

Leaked paper reveals Labour fears on NHS

Government must be smarter, health secretary says at private briefing

Consult staff on smoke breaks, DWF tells employers

Employers should bring smoking and non-smoking workers together to agree an acceptable policy on smoking before the ban is introduced on 1 July 2007, says law firm DWF.

£10m burns centre to 'give hope'

A burns research centre which a charity says offers "hope to thousands" is to be set up in both Cardiff and Swansea.

'Prestigious'

'Great news'

National Cot Locator for critically ill babies

A new system to find intensive care cots for sick and premature babies was launched today by Health Minister, Ivan Lewis.

New NICE guidance to reduce the risk of transmission of Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (CJD) via surgical procedures

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has issued guidance to the NHS on reducing the risk of transmission of Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (CJD) via surgical procedures.

Inquiry launched after woman dies and four fall ill in operating theatre

Police and managers at Britain's largest hospital have begun an investigation after it emerged that one patient had died and four others had fallen ill during surgery in the same operating theatre.

ROYAL COLLEGE OF SURGEONS' PRESIDENT CALLS FOR JOINT MULTI–PROFESSIONAL TEAM TRAINING ACROSS ALL ROYAL MEDICAL COLLEGES

ROYAL COLLEGE OF SURGEONS' PRESIDENT CALLS FOR JOINT MULTI–PROFESSIONAL TEAM TRAINING ACROSS ALL ROYAL MEDICAL COLLEGES

NHS's new computer system 'useless'

Health workers lack confidence in a new NHS computer system and few believe it will help them do their jobs better, according to a new survey.

Joint RCN and Unison march through Leeds on Saturday 11 November, 2006

Around 2,000 nurses, cleaners, porters, along with other clinical and hospital staff will march through the centre of Leeds on Saturday 11 November, 2006, protesting against the impact of budget deficits on NHS services at the Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust and other hospitals in the region.

Timetable

NHS Supply Chain Announces Two New Supplier Conferences

NHS Supply Chain, incorporating the former NHS Logistics and some of the scope of NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency, announces that it is hosting two supplier conferences, for current and potential suppliers.

HPC launches fees consultation

The Health Professions Council (HPC) has launched a three month consultation to ask registrants and stakeholders for their views on the level of increase in fees.

Warning over privacy of 50m patient files

Call for boycott of medical database accessible by up to 250,000 NHS staff

HPC cautions Operating Department Practitioner

Maggots drop into hospital: Major clean-up after accident

Maggots have been falling from air vents near operating theatres in Barnet Hospital, it was revealed this week by hospital staff.

Veils Banned to Muslim medicos in Birmingham Hospital

Adding fuel to the already raging controversy in Britain, Birmingham city hospitals have banned Muslim medicos from donning full−face veils.

NHS pay rise plans prompt anger

Doctors' leaders have voiced anger over proposals for pay rises below the rate of inflation for NHS staff.

Balancing the books

Give up or we won't operate, smokers told

Smokers will be denied life-changing operations unless they agree to kick the habit, it was revealed today.

Launceston hospital set to feel industrial unrest impact

Patients undergoing elective surgery at Launceston General Hospital may be affected by industrial action today.

Revolutionary Adhesive for Prostheses Saves the NHS Money!

Professor Alan Roberts OBE, has made a major break through for the plastic and reconstructive surgery field by masterminding and developing − Zeflosil, a prosthetic adhesive, which is used to attach devices to the skin.

Man died from massive blood loss after surgery

A coroner has ordered further investigations into how a patient died from massive blood loss after an operation at Bradford Royal Infirmary.

Man needed surgery after sex with hedgehog

A Serbian man needed emergency surgery after he had sex with a hedgehog on a witchdoctor's advice.

Linkz Healthcare Provides Careers in New Zealand

Healthcare recruitment specialists, National Locums, report high levels of interest in their Linkz Healthcare service, which enables UK health professionals to experience a complete career and lifestyle change by working and living in New Zealand.

First national strike threatened in the NHS Blood Service

Amicus is warning that it is preparing to ballot for industrial action in the NHS blood service over the potential closure of fourteen blood centres across the country.

Maggots drop into hospital:
Major clean-up after accident

SOMETHING'S OP
Patient facing ear surgery is horrified when nurses start shaving … his chest