Latest news with #NHSFoundationTrust
Daily Mirror
5 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mirror
Death of girl after vomiting at NHS hospital was preventable
Rose Harfleet died at Royal Surrey Hospital in Guildford after visiting the emergency department the day before with her mother, as she had been experiencing vomiting The death of a 12-year-old girl at an NHS hospital was preventable, a coroner has ruled. Rose Harfleet passed away at Royal Surrey Hospital in Guildford after visiting the emergency department the day before with her mum, following a sudden onset of abdominal pain and vomiting earlier that morning. However, there was "failure" of the medical and nursing staff to "appreciate Rose was clinically deteriorating," a report released on Tuesday read. The tragedy has now led to concerns over the management of children with profound disabilities within hospital settings. Rose was diagnosed with global developmental delay (GDD) at birth, and also had a background of chronic intermittent constipation. But the youngster, who was suffering from intestinal obstruction after she vomited green bile during her admission to the hospital, was treated for constipation the day before she died. According to the coroner's report, Rose's death "would have been prevented" if she had been transferred to St George's Hospital in Tooting, south London for curative surgery. The Royal Surrey County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust has apologised "unreservedly" to the family for its failures. Although the plan was made to transfer Rose for further assessment and management at St George's, this was not carried out and she died within hours on January 30, 2024 after experiencing a cardiorespiratory arrest. An autopsy confirmed the abdominal pain, and clinical deterioration was due to a caecal volvulus causing intestinal obstruction and bowel ischaemia. The report released on Tuesday noted this and said Rose's mother was not given the opportunity to "actively participate" in the care and management provided to her daughter, which reportedly resulted in "poor clinical decisions" that contributed to Rose's death. In the report, Dr Karen Henderson, assistant coroner for Surrey, said: "This gives rise to a concern that by not listening to parents or guardians as a matter of course leads to discrimination of disabled children." The coroner went onto say she found the ongoing concerns Rose's mother had when she was transferred to the children's ward "were not recognised" by the nursing and medical staff and "consequently not acted upon". She went on to suggest this thereby contributed to the 12-year-old's death. Dr Henderson added: "There appears to be a prevailing culture that in the absence of a patient being able to explain their symptoms themselves the voice of the parent or guardian is not given the significance it should be for the most vulnerable in a hospital setting." Additionally, the coroner's report also found that despite the fact that Rose's admission came during the working week, there was "no consideration or offer given" by hospital staff to provide the mother and daughter with a Learning Disability Liaison Nurse. "This led to Rose's mother being unsupported during this admission or for a nursing professional to be able to liaise and advocate for Rose and her mother with medical and nursing staff in the emergency department." And, as Surrey Live reports, he coroner's report states that had the transfer to St George's hospital been facilitated for Rose, so that she could have had surgery; her death could have been prevented. Louise Stead, group chief executive of Royal Surrey and Ashford and St Peter's Hospitals NHS Foundation Trusts told SurreyLive: "I unreservedly apologise to Rose's family for the failures in her care and am deeply sorry for their devastating experience. "I appreciate that no words or actions can bring Rose back or reduce the grief felt by her loved ones and can only offer the assurance that we have carried out a thorough investigation into all aspects of this tragic case and implemented several areas of learning." "We will now go through all of the coroner's recommendations to further review our practices and ensure we take every possible action in response to this extremely distressing incident."
Daily Mirror
7 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mirror
See full list of hospitals getting machines to speed up cancer treatment
The Department for Health and Social Care said the updated tech will cut rounds of radiotherapy and reach cancers in harder to treat areas like chest, abdomen and pelvis Thousands of cancer patients will see faster treatment with cutting-edge radiotherapy machines being rolled out at NHS hospitals. The Department for Health and Social Care said the updated tech will cut rounds of radiotherapy and reach cancers in harder to treat areas like chest, abdomen and pelvis. The government said that by March 2027 the new linear accelerator (LINAC) treatment machines will help 4,500 more patients get treatment faster. They are being rolled out in 28 hospitals across England from August - backed by £70million in funding to improve the nation's cancer care. The roll-out will first be prioritised in hospitals which are currently using outdated treatment machines older than 10 years, the government said. Writing for The Mirror, Health Minister Karin Smyth, who has previously spoken about her own diagnosis of skin cancer, said the changes will mean fewer hospital visits for many patients. She added: "For anyone who has experienced cancer, you'll know that time is precious. Every day spent waiting for treatment is a day of added worry. By modernising our NHS, we will help ease the anxiety of waiting while delivering world class care. Health Secretary Wes Streeting added: 'There is a revolution taking place in medical technology which can transform treatment for cancer patients. But NHS hospitals are forced to use outdated, malfunctioning equipment thanks to 14 years of underinvestment under the previous government. "Thanks to the investment this government is making in our NHS, we will provide more cancer patients with world-class, cutting-edge care." He added: "By reducing the number of hospital visits required and preventing cancelled appointments, these state-of-the-art radiotherapy machines free up capacity so that thousands more patients are treated on time. "As a cancer survivor, I know just how important timely treatment is. These machines are part of the investment and modernisation that will cut waiting times for patients, through our plan for change." Kate Seymour, Head of External Affairs at Macmillan Cancer Support, added: 'Today marks an exciting step forward for cancer treatment in England. Many people across the country are facing long delays for care but today proves that better is possible. Investment in cutting edge technology is essential to bring down waiting times and help more people with cancer get the best care the UK has to offer, whoever and wherever they are.' The full list of hospitals receiving an upgraded scanner - Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust - Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust - Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust - United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust - University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust - Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust - Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust - Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust - The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust - Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust - Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust - The Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust - East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust - Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust - Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust - Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust - University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust - South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust - The Christie NHS Foundation Trust - Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust - Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust - Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust - The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Foundation Trust - University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust - Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust - University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust - Barts Health NHS Trust - Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust
BBC News
13-05-2025
- Health
- BBC News
'Significant' £6 gender pay gap in Gloucestershire hospitals
There is a "significant pay gap" between men and women working in a county's hospitals, a new report to the Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust report men are paid - on average - £6 more per hour, although this is largely due to differences between male and female medical staff rather than all chiefs said excellence in care awards, from which male medical staff have predominantly benefited from, and 64% of bonus payments being made to male medical and dental staff are the main trust said it will be concentrating on ensuring fair career opportunities, supporting senior female staff, and reviewing pay structures. There is no significant gender pay gap among non-medical staff and they represent around 81.6% of the trust's workforce, according to the report, the Local Democracy Reporting Service non-medical staff, the mean pay gap is 0.62% in favour of men, while the median pay gap is -5.3%, indicating that pay equity exists for most staff, the report 399 bonus payments were made to medical and dental staff - 64% awarded to men and 36% to consultants earned an average bonus of £8,802.24, compared to £5,644.48 for women – a 35.90% pay report, presented to a board meeting, says 22% of its workers are male while 78% are female. But, while there is an average £6 an hour pay gap, this drops significantly when excluding medical and dental staff. When those staff along with their Local Clinical Excellence Awards (LCEA), are excluded from the analysis, the gender pay gap disappears."The significant pay gap seen overall is primarily influenced by the medical workforce," the report reads."The Trust's annual LCEA scheme, which rewarded consultants for outstanding care, ended in 2020."Funds were then equally shared among all substantive consultants, regardless of hours worked."
Scoop
09-05-2025
- Health
- Scoop
‘Giant In Stroke Research' Focuses On Role Of Nurses
Press Release – University of Auckland Evidence showing how nursing care can improve stroke patient outcomes has been Professor Julia Slark's focus. The strength of the waiata at Professor Julia Slark's inaugural lecture, celebrating her promotion to professor, spoke volumes about her leadership at the University of Auckland's School of Nursing. Slark's purple robe was offset by a korowai and pounamu, gifted by Māori colleagues in recognition of her commitment to transforming the culture of the nursing school with guidance from matua John Tuoro and whaea Erana Poulsen. 'We have daily tikanga, we do karakia together and that connection and learning about matauranga Māori has been a real priority for everybody,' Slark says. 'It has seen a real cultural shift and the creation of a much safer space for our Māori colleagues to come and work with us.' Slark's promotion to professor recognised her excellence in research and teaching, yet associate head of school (pre-registration programmes) Dr Lisa Stewart said what makes her so exceptional is that everything she does comes from a place of caring. 'Whether it's patients in the stroke unit, students, staff or the nursing profession, it is compassion, kindness, social justice and concern for others that drives her.' Slark started her inaugural lecture by laying out the importance of both the art and science of nursing. 'The impact of the profession of nursing is based on the application of theoretical concepts and scientific research evidence, which are underpinned by our conscious commitment to the art of caring through the relationship we have with the person we are caring for,' she said. Slark spoke of her life growing up on the southeast coast of England knowing she was born to be a nurse. She moved to London at 17 to follow her dream and, after a short stint in a surgical ward, found her home in neurology. After qualifying as a registered nurse in 1993, the next decade was consumed by her twin passions of nursing and travel, including extended leave to travel around Southeast Asia. When the money ran out, Slark returned to the UK in 1999, working as a charge nurse at Hammersmith Hospital's NHS Foundation Trust then from 2001 as a stroke clinical nurse specialist. In this role, she 'inadvertently' became involved in clinical trials, seeking an evidence base to support her experience and intuition. 'I enjoyed the complexity and the variety of patient care in the neurology ward. But, as stroke nurse specialist, I found the lack of evidence-based practices for the acute phases very frustrating.' A masters degree in strategic leadership in 2007 was followed by doctoral research that concluded with a randomised controlled trial exploring the impact of patient education to reduce risk factors for secondary prevention. 'The results showed significant improvements in lifestyle behaviour changes and a trend towards blood pressure reduction in hypertensive participants.' There were many more research papers arising out of the challenges of stroke nursing. 'One example was a terrible weekend when a patient died after they received too much IV fluid and an error in their feeding regime. 'We took this failure in care very seriously and developed an initiative of nurse-led ward rounds, specifically undertaken on a Friday afternoon to plan for the weekend. 'We met the nurse in charge of the patients at the door to the bay, and we went to each patient with clear, patient-centred measures to focus on. 'This was three o'clock on a Friday afternoon. It did not take long before the physios started joining us, and then the OTs joined us, patients' whānau and then the junior doctors. 'We were determined to focus on fundamental patient care such as hydration, nutrition, mouth care, pressure care, bowels and bladders. 'We published that project. It's one of my most cited publications, because it's meaningful and it's about care, and it's about nurses taking charge when things go wrong.' In 2013, Julia and her Kiwi partner moved to Aotearoa New Zealand to care for ageing parents. Difficulty finding work as a clinical nurse specialist eventually led to Slark taking up a teaching post in the University's School of Nursing. Her energy, enthusiasm and expertise saw her work her way up to head of school in 2019. It has been a privilege, she says, to work with brilliant students and to encourage quality nursing research. One achievement Slark is excited about has been writing a stroke course that started as a nurse-led course and has become interprofessional. It is offered online, leads to a masters and is highly accessible for people across the whole country, Slark says. 'It's just such a joy to see these people coming together, learning from completely different areas of practice, paramedics, GPs, nurses, and rural and urban clinicians. It's a fantastic opportunity for everybody.' At her inaugural celebration, Dean of the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences Professor Warwick Bagg praised Slark's outstanding research. 'It used to be that people with strokes would arrive in hospital and we would tell the family the first 24 hours would tell clinicians where the person would land. But now, people come in with terrible strokes and walk out. 'I think we need to recognise the academic giant that Julia is and how she has been part of the journey to provide excellence in stroke care.' Julia spoke with enthusiasm of looking forward to a symposium later this year of the Council of Deans of Nursing and Midwifery, which she chairs and that includes universities across Australia and New Zealand. She's also working on a new research project looking at how to prioritise the relational aspect of care; the connection between a nurse or a health professional with patients and whānau. 'We think that that is a key to improving the patient experience and ultimately patient outcomes.'
Scoop
09-05-2025
- Health
- Scoop
‘Giant In Stroke Research' Focuses On Role Of Nurses
Evidence showing how nursing care can improve stroke patient outcomes has been Professor Julia Slark's focus. The strength of the waiata at Professor Julia Slark's inaugural lecture, celebrating her promotion to professor, spoke volumes about her leadership at the University of Auckland's School of Nursing. Slark's purple robe was offset by a korowai and pounamu, gifted by Māori colleagues in recognition of her commitment to transforming the culture of the nursing school with guidance from matua John Tuoro and whaea Erana Poulsen. 'We have daily tikanga, we do karakia together and that connection and learning about matauranga Māori has been a real priority for everybody,' Slark says. 'It has seen a real cultural shift and the creation of a much safer space for our Māori colleagues to come and work with us.' Slark's promotion to professor recognised her excellence in research and teaching, yet associate head of school (pre-registration programmes) Dr Lisa Stewart said what makes her so exceptional is that everything she does comes from a place of caring. 'Whether it's patients in the stroke unit, students, staff or the nursing profession, it is compassion, kindness, social justice and concern for others that drives her.' Slark started her inaugural lecture by laying out the importance of both the art and science of nursing. 'The impact of the profession of nursing is based on the application of theoretical concepts and scientific research evidence, which are underpinned by our conscious commitment to the art of caring through the relationship we have with the person we are caring for,' she said. Slark spoke of her life growing up on the southeast coast of England knowing she was born to be a nurse. She moved to London at 17 to follow her dream and, after a short stint in a surgical ward, found her home in neurology. After qualifying as a registered nurse in 1993, the next decade was consumed by her twin passions of nursing and travel, including extended leave to travel around Southeast Asia. When the money ran out, Slark returned to the UK in 1999, working as a charge nurse at Hammersmith Hospital's NHS Foundation Trust then from 2001 as a stroke clinical nurse specialist. In this role, she 'inadvertently' became involved in clinical trials, seeking an evidence base to support her experience and intuition. 'I enjoyed the complexity and the variety of patient care in the neurology ward. But, as stroke nurse specialist, I found the lack of evidence-based practices for the acute phases very frustrating.' A masters degree in strategic leadership in 2007 was followed by doctoral research that concluded with a randomised controlled trial exploring the impact of patient education to reduce risk factors for secondary prevention. 'The results showed significant improvements in lifestyle behaviour changes and a trend towards blood pressure reduction in hypertensive participants.' There were many more research papers arising out of the challenges of stroke nursing. 'One example was a terrible weekend when a patient died after they received too much IV fluid and an error in their feeding regime. 'We took this failure in care very seriously and developed an initiative of nurse-led ward rounds, specifically undertaken on a Friday afternoon to plan for the weekend. 'We met the nurse in charge of the patients at the door to the bay, and we went to each patient with clear, patient-centred measures to focus on. 'This was three o'clock on a Friday afternoon. It did not take long before the physios started joining us, and then the OTs joined us, patients' whānau and then the junior doctors. 'We were determined to focus on fundamental patient care such as hydration, nutrition, mouth care, pressure care, bowels and bladders. 'We published that project. It's one of my most cited publications, because it's meaningful and it's about care, and it's about nurses taking charge when things go wrong.' In 2013, Julia and her Kiwi partner moved to Aotearoa New Zealand to care for ageing parents. Difficulty finding work as a clinical nurse specialist eventually led to Slark taking up a teaching post in the University's School of Nursing. Her energy, enthusiasm and expertise saw her work her way up to head of school in 2019. It has been a privilege, she says, to work with brilliant students and to encourage quality nursing research. One achievement Slark is excited about has been writing a stroke course that started as a nurse-led course and has become interprofessional. It is offered online, leads to a masters and is highly accessible for people across the whole country, Slark says. 'It's just such a joy to see these people coming together, learning from completely different areas of practice, paramedics, GPs, nurses, and rural and urban clinicians. It's a fantastic opportunity for everybody.' At her inaugural celebration, Dean of the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences Professor Warwick Bagg praised Slark's outstanding research. 'It used to be that people with strokes would arrive in hospital and we would tell the family the first 24 hours would tell clinicians where the person would land. But now, people come in with terrible strokes and walk out. 'I think we need to recognise the academic giant that Julia is and how she has been part of the journey to provide excellence in stroke care.' Julia spoke with enthusiasm of looking forward to a symposium later this year of the Council of Deans of Nursing and Midwifery, which she chairs and that includes universities across Australia and New Zealand. She's also working on a new research project looking at how to prioritise the relational aspect of care; the connection between a nurse or a health professional with patients and whānau. 'We think that that is a key to improving the patient experience and ultimately patient outcomes.'
