News
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Widespread Prescription Errors Discovered by GMC
December 3, 2009A report by the GMC has found widespread errors in the prescription of drugs to hospital patients.
The study examined prescriptions in 19 hospitals and found errors in 11,077 prescriptions, which amounts to approximately 1 in 9 prescriptions.
The study also analysed the experience of the doctors who had made errors and found that, contrary to popular [...] -
Basildon Hospital Criticised By Care Quality Commission
November 27, 2009The government’s healthcare watchdog, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) has publsihed a report making numerous criticisms of the Basildon & Thurrock University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust “the Trust”.
The Trust is responsible for Basildon and Orsett Hospitals in Essex, which were the subject of a surprise inspection by the CQC. The inspection uncovered a number of [...] -
Chairman of Colchester Hospital University NHS Foundation Trust Sacked
Monitor, the government body who oversee NHS Foundation Trusts has dismissed the chairman of Colchester Hospital University NHS Foundation Trust.
Richard Bourne was removed from his post after Monitor found the Trust failed to meet a series of waiting time targets, including those for cancer referrals and for patients waiting in the accident and emergency department.
The Trust [...] -
NHS Funded “Private” Hip Replacements 20 Times More Likely To Fail
September 29, 2009A study has found that hip replacements paid for by the NHS but carried out at a private treatment centre are 20 times more likely to fail than hips replaced in NHS hospitals.
In order to reduce waiting times, some NHS patients are treated in the private sector at centres funded by the NHS. There has [...] -
GPs Fear Flu Service Misdiagnosis
August 6, 200990% of general practitioners polled by GP magazine said that they feared that patients with serious illness could be misdiagnosed by the National Flu Pandemic Service (NFPS).
The NFPS has been set up to cope with the outbreak of swine flu. Patients who have concerns telephone the service or log on to its website and are [...] -
Infection Kills Heart Operation Patients
July 29, 2009Three patients who underwent heart surgery at a Nottingham hospital have died as a result of an infection acquired whilst in hospital.
The patients had undergone heart valve replacement surgery at the Trent Cardiac Centre at Nottingham’s City Hospital. Five other patients have also developed the infection and are being treated, whilst a further 14 patients are undergoing [...] -
GPs Paid Bonuses Not To Refer Patients
February 4, 2009A scheme that pays GPs bonuses not to refer patients to hospital has come under fire from the British Medical Association (BMA).
Under the scheme operated by some local Primary Care Trusts, GP surgeries are paid cash bonuses of as much as £20,000 if they meet targets to reduce the number of patients whom they refer to hospitals for investigation and treatment.
The [...] -
Hospital Errors Kill 3,645
January 8, 2009Figures revealed by the National Patient Safety Agency show an alarming increase in the number of patients who die as a result of hospital errors.
The figures for 2007/2008 show that 3,645 patient deaths were reported as caused by errors, an increase of 60% over the previous year.
The increased number is, in part, attributed to increased reporting of errors. However, [...] -
Patient Safety Risked By Shortage Of Doctors In A&E Departments
December 9, 2008The College of Emergency Medicine, the body for doctors working in accident and emergency departments, has criticised the staffing levels in hospitals across the country.
The College’s incoming President, Dr John Heyworth, says that the number of senior doctors employed in accident and emergency departments needs to be doubled in order to provide adequate cover.
The College [...] -
Two Thirds Of GPs Fail To Meet Waiting Time Target
October 16, 2008An investigation by the Healthcare Commission has found that less than a third of GP’s are able to offer patients an appointment within 48 hours, the target set by the government.
These findings are in stark contrast with figures published a year ago, when 80% of GPs were said to be meeting the target.
GP services are [...]
