Category Archives: Hospitals

Boris Johnson faces investigation into claims over 40 ‘new’ hospitals

Posted on by

Trusts reveal only five wholly new hospitals planned, as Labour says the scheme ‘exists only in PM’s imagination’

The government’s official spending watchdog is to launch an inquiry into Boris Johnson’s claim that 40 new hospitals will be built by 2030, as concerns grow in Whitehall that the pledge is unaffordable and has been greatly oversold to the public.

In a move that could prove hugely embarrassing for the prime minister, the independent National Audit Office (NAO) has decided to conduct a “value for money review” into the entire scheme, which was a cornerstone of the Conservative party’s 2019 general election manifesto.

Continue reading...

Knee replacements stall in regions of England with weight rules for patients

Posted on by

Stricter CCGs told patients that they have to attain a certain body mass index before surgery

The number of knee replacement operations carried out has dropped in regions of England with restrictions on surgery for overweight patients, with people in more deprived areas worst affected, researchers have found.

Patients needing surgery but unable to lose weight are being denied surgery that could ease pain and increase mobility, the team from the University of Bristol said.

Continue reading...

London NHS hospital trusts in row over £190m rebuilding scheme

Posted on by

Exclusive: UCLH says Great Ormond Street’s development of ageing site will endanger safety of patients

An extraordinary row has broken out between two NHS hospital trusts, with one accusing the other of endangering the safety of seriously ill patients through a £190m development scheme.

University College London Hospital (UCLH) claims Great Ormond Street (GOSH) children’s hospital’s rebuilding of its ageing site will lead to patients being denied time-critical care because they will become stuck in ambulances trapped in construction site traffic.

Continue reading...

Coeliac patient died after being fed Weetabix in hospital, inquiry hears

Posted on by

Hazel Pearson’s condition not signposted by her bed as coroner deems Wrexham Maelor’s plan of response ‘amateurish’

An 80-year-old woman with coeliac disease died within days of being fed Weetabix in hospital, an inquest has heard.

Hazel Pearson, from Connah’s Quay in Flintshire, was being treated at Wrexham Maelor hospital and died four days later on 30 November from aspiration pneumonia. Although her condition was recorded on her admission documents, there was no sign beside her bed to alert healthcare assistants to her dietary requirements, BBC News reported.

Continue reading...

Almost 100,000 facing excessive wait for serious cardiac care in England

Posted on by

Some patients will have heart attack and die as a result of ‘dangerous’ delays, charity warns

Almost 100,000 people with serious heart problems, including some “living on borrowed time”, are enduring long waits for potentially life-saving NHS care because hospitals are so busy.

Some of them are in such poor health they will have a heart attack and die as a consequence of facing such “dangerous” long delays, the British Heart Foundation has warned.

Continue reading...

Improved disease control in public buildings ‘could save UK billions a year’

Posted on by

Measures such as improved ventilation would boost economy by helping prevent ill health, says report

Mandating improved ventilation and other forms of disease control in public buildings could save the UK economy billions of pounds each year through the prevention of ill health and its societal impacts, according to a report.

It is the first study to comprehensively evaluate the health, social and economic costs of airborne infections, including Covid. Even without a pandemic, seasonal respiratory diseases cost the UK about £8bn a year in disruption and sick days, said the report by the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers. In the event of another severe pandemic within the next 60 years, the societal cost could be as high as £23bn a year.

Continue reading...

‘Demoralised’ nurses being ‘driven out’ of profession, RCN survey finds

Posted on by

Only a quarter of shifts have the planned number of registered nurses on duty, according to Royal College of Nursing report

Only a quarter of nursing shifts have the planned number of registered nurses on duty, a survey of more than 20,000 frontline staff has suggested.

According to the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), most nurses warn that staffing levels on their last shift were not sufficient to meet the needs of patients, and that some are now quitting their jobs.

The RCN said the findings shone a light on the impact of the UK’s nursing staff shortage, warning that nurses were being “driven out” of their profession.

Continue reading...

Sleep-deprived medical staff ‘pose same danger on roads as drunk drivers’

Posted on by

British anaesthetist pleads for doctors and nurses to be allowed naps and limited night shifts, as in other critical workplaces

About half of all hospital doctors and nurses have had accidents or experienced near misses while driving home after a night shift.

The risks they pose to themselves and other road users have been calculated as the same as those posed by drivers who are over the legal alcohol limit, delegates at a European medical conference were told last week.

Continue reading...

‘Deficiency’ in care for Broken Hill teen who was refused patient transfer to SA

Posted on by

Coroner identifies unacceptable treatment in lead-up to death from multi-organ failure due to sepsis, calls for new interstate rules

Broken Hill teenager Alex Braes’s parents remember him as a ray of sunshine, a funny and smart young man ready to live a full life.

But the 18-year-old mechanic died with “tragic suddenness”, suffering multi-organ failure due to sepsis, one month after treatment for an infected ingrown toenail.

Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning

Continue reading...

Australian hospitals postpone screening tests as world grapples with shortage of imaging dyes

Posted on by

Australian Medical Association backs delay of non-urgent tests but says supply issues highlight need for national stockpile of critical medical supplies

Public hospitals in Australia are postponing non-urgent screening tests and are recommending doctors consider alternative imaging options as the health system grapples with a global shortage of medical imaging dyes, widely used in diagnostic tests such as CT scans.

The shortage of medical imaging dyes is further proof Australia needs to develop a national stockpile of critical medical supplies and increase its domestic manufacturing of crucial medicines, the Australian Medical Association has said.

Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning

Continue reading...

Scenes of chaos witnessed at Queensland hospital in the hours before boy’s death

Posted on by

Five-year-old Hiyaan Kapil died early on Monday after being sent home from the Logan hospital

A patient has described chaotic scenes at an emergency department in the lead-up to the death of a five-year-old boy, who was discharged from a hospital south of Brisbane while still visibly sick.

Hiyaan Kapil died in the early hours of Monday morning, after being sent home from the Logan hospital at about 10pm on Sunday night.

Continue reading...

Thousands of NHS workers may quit for better-paid jobs, ministers warned

Posted on by

Exclusive: health leaders call for uplift for lowest-paid staff, to prevent ‘mass exodus’ to pubs and supermarkets

The NHS faces a “mass exodus” of thousands of staff to better-paid jobs in pubs, shops and supermarkets as a result of the cost of living crisis, ministers have been warned.

Health leaders fear significant numbers of lower-paid workers will leave for higher wages in the private sector amid rising food and heating bills and soaring inflation. The NHS already has 110,000 vacancies, and there are fears that a further deepening of the workforce crisis will “jeopardise” the ability of hospitals to tackle record-high waiting lists.

Continue reading...

Revealed: one in five patients leave some A&E departments in England without treatment

Posted on by

Long waiting times and difficulty in accessing other NHS facilities drive a trebling in those leaving without completing care

More than one in five patients at some hospitals are leaving accident and emergency departments before completing treatment, and in some cases before being seen for assessment at all, with the rate across England trebling since before the pandemic.

Experts told the Observer that the increase was probably driven by a combination of long A&E waiting times and by difficulties accessing NHS facilities such as GPs, community health services and NHS 111.

Continue reading...

‘Caught unawares’: Covid is preventing Australians in hospital from voting

Posted on by

Mobile polling in health facilities was stopped amid the pandemic and patients in hospital unexpectedly have no way to cast their ballot

Australians unexpectedly admitted to hospital before the election are struggling to cast their vote due to a decision to abort mobile polling in health facilities due to Covid.

The Australian Electoral Commission announced before the campaign that it would not be sending mobile teams into hospitals to take votes in the lead-up to polling day, in an attempt to balance voting access with the risk of spreading Covid in vulnerable settings.

Continue reading...

Surge in NSW flu cases sparks concern over hospital capacity with Covid numbers high

Posted on by

State’s chief health officer, Dr Kerry Chant, urges people to get flu vaccinations as 2,000 cases reported in last week

Surging cases of the flu are putting extra demand on emergency departments around New South Wales, with major outbreaks in boarding houses contributing to a doubling in cases in a week.

According to NSW Health, 2,000 flu cases were reported in the week to 7 May – up from 1,024 the week before.

Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning

Continue reading...

Hundreds of mentally ill prisoners denied urgent treatment in England

Posted on by

Most seriously ill inmates left to wait in cells often due to bed shortages at secure hospitals, data shows

Hundreds of severely mentally ill prisoners in urgent need of hospital treatment are being left in prison cells due to bed shortages in secure NHS psychiatric units, an investigation has discovered.

Freedom of information (FoI) responses from 22 NHS trusts reveal for the first time that just over half of the 5,403 prisoners in England assessed by prison-based psychiatrists to require hospitalisation were not transferred between 2016 and 2021 – an 81% increase on the number of prisoners denied a transfer in the previous five years.

Continue reading...

NSW health system failing rural and regional residents, report finds

Posted on by

Issues include understaffing, poor access to services and discrimination towards First Nations people seeking medical help

People in rural New South Wales have “significantly poorer health outcomes” due to a system that is “failing” them, according to a scathing report handed to the state government on Thursday.

The report included 44 recommendations to fix the healthcare system in rural, regional and remote areas which it found was “in crisis”.

Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning

Continue reading...

Volunteers to be used for 999 calls in London as ambulance service struggles

Posted on by

Pilot scheme will see trained volunteers responding to ‘category three’ calls where extra help needed due to mobility problems

Volunteers could be responding to urgent 999 calls in London within weeks, as the capital’s ambulance service tries to tackle mounting delays.

A pilot scheme, revealed in London ambulance service (LAS) board papers at the end of March, will focus on people who fall into “category three”, where they require a response within two hours, and need extra help because of mobility problems.

Continue reading...

Australian Medical Association disappointed by major party funding inaction amid hospital crisis

Posted on by

AMA chief to call on Anthony Albanese to ‘stand for health’, saying funding boost is urgent to alleviate pressure on medical system

The head of Australia’s peak medical body will meet with the Labor leader, Anthony Albanese, to urge him to reconsider his “small target” strategy on health. Dr Omar Khorshid will warn that substantial funding is urgently needed to address the crisis in the country’s hospitals.

The message from the Australian Medical Association president comes after Albanese called him on Thursday morning in response to the association criticising Labor’s $135m urgent care clinic policy, announced this week, as “incoherent”.

Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning

Continue reading...

Babies missing out on health checks in Melbourne due to Covid-related workforce shortages

Posted on by

Exclusive: two Victorian councils limiting maternal and infant service, despite government lifting statewide pause enacted during Covid surge

There are fears health issues in babies could be going undetected as infant and maternal health checks remain suspended in parts of Melbourne’s west due to a shortage of workers.

Early childhood and maternal care experts warned the ongoing limits to the free service meant some parents were relying on blogs instead to find health information about their child’s development.

Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning

Continue reading...