Patient safety

Controversial shake-up of Kent stroke services given rubber stamp amid calls for judicial review

15.02.19: A major reorganisation of stroke services across Kent and Medway have been approved following a unanimous decision by the Joint Committee of CCGs. The plans to close the six current stroke facilities in the region and create three new speci...

A&E waiting time performance hits all time low as NHS ‘buckles under the strain’

15.02.19: A&E waiting time performances in NHS trusts in England have hit their lowest level since regards began, according to the latest NHS statistics. The NHS’s performance against the flagship four-hour target has hit its lowest level s...

‘No end in sight’: CQC takes urgent action at East Kent FT as children put at risk by staffing levels

14.02.19: The CQC has taken “urgent action” to protect the children being cared for by East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust after they were being put at risk by “unsafe” staffing levels. Inspectors found that th...

GP at Hand cleared to expand to Birmingham after NHS England lifts objections

14.02.19: Babylon’s controversial GP at Hand is to be expanded to Birmingham after NHS England reversed its decision to block the doctor app. Babylon applied last year to launch its remote video consultation service in Birmingham, but the appli...

Family demand wider inquiry into NHS nurse’s death after cervical cancer missed by Bristol trust

14.02.19: The bereaved family of a nurse has called for a full independent inquiry into her care after it took six attempts for her cancer to be diagnosed. Julie O’Connor died on 4 February at Southmead Hospital in Bristol, but days before her...

Thousands of X-rays to be reviewed amid fears of surgical errors

13.02.19: Thousands of NHS patients who had bone fractures repaired with a metal plate now need to have their X-rays reviewed after the NHS has admitted the wrong plates may have been used. NHS Improvement (NHSI) has issued the national patient safet...

Priory Group to close High Wycombe hospital after damning CQC report places it in special measures

13.02.19: A hospital for young people with learning disabilities run by a private mental health group has been put in special measures after a damning CQC report. The group has subsequently decided to apply to de-register the hospital and transfer its pat...

NHS’s largest trust leaves special measures after ‘transformation’

12.02.19: The largest NHS trust in the country has been taken out of special measures for quality after nearly four years, with inspectors finding a substantial improvement in the quality of services – but remains in financial special measures. ...

Another patient dies after contracting infection at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde hospital

08.02.19: A patient has died after contracting a bacterial infection in a hospital in Paisley, marking the fifth infection-control death at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHS GGC). The death occurred at Royal Alexandra Hospital where the patient was...

Five pregnant women deaths in 18 months sparks Birmingham trust investigation

08.02.19: An NHS trust has launched an investigation into maternity deaths at a Birmingham hospital after five pregnant women have died in 18 months. NHS Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals Trust (SWBH) will investigation the deaths, two of which...

Ex-financial special measures trust leaps to ‘good' CQC rating

07.02.19: The former special financial measures trust behind Gloucestershire’s three main hospitals has jumped to a ‘good’ rating after the CQC found “vast improvements” and lessons learnt. Inspectors have praised Glouce...

Couple receives £650k pay out over girl’s delayed meningitis diagnosis

06.02.19: An NHS trust is to pay out £650,000 to a couple after failing to diagnose their adopted child with meningitis fast enough, leaving her with brain damage and acute disability up until her death. London’s High Court heard that in...

Hospital where patients voted on each other’s seclusion placed in special measures

06.02.19: A major provider of mental health services has had one of its hospitals placed into special measures after inspectors were “troubled” to find “a number of serious issues,” including failure to protect patients from risks...

‘Inadequate’ plans to build new mental health hospital next to primary school to be reconsidered by council

05.02.19: Exeter City Council has apologised for an “inadequate” consultation into plans to build a new independent mental health hospital next to a primary school which failed to properly consider the safety of children. The council has...

Six-year-old died after NHS ‘missed numerous opportunities’ to save him, finds inquest

05.02.19: NHS staff “missed opportunities” to save the life of a six-year-old boy in Plymouth who died after medical staff failed to recognise major red flags that he was seriously unwell. An inquest heard how the family of Sebastian Hibb...