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Hospitals must cease irresponsible practice of sending patients home in middle of the night
This week the news broke that hospitals are sending patients home in the middle of the night, a practice it is claimed is to 'free up hospital beds' ( The Telegraph ).
Figures obtained from NHS trusts show that up to 400,000 patients were discharged from hospital wards between 11pm and 6am...
Nurse numbers fall but their impact on patient safety cannot be overestimated
Official figures have reportedly shown that NHS staff numbers have seen their biggest drop in a decade ( BBC ).
While many will welcome the reduction in unnecessary admin and managerial roles at a time when the NHS is facing unprecedented budgetary pressure, the fall in the number of nurses...
Hospital care for older people compromised by lack of nurses
Today the BBC has reported news from the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) that the care of elderly people is being compromised because there are too few nurses on duty.
The RCN has called for minimum staffing levels of one nurse per seven patients to be brought into force to address the...
Woman died in hospital after being given paracetamol overdose
The story the Mirror published today about a mum who died in hospital after being given an overdose of paracetamol struck a chord with me. The Mirror reports that Cynthia Shearer had been in hospital having routine hip surgery when she was given 85 per cent more than the safe dose of the...
Hospital consultants told to rethink weekend working to address patient safety issues
Hospital consultants have been told by a doctor's leader that they should consider working at weekends to help address higher death rates ( BBC ).
Higher mortality rates at weekends have been widely reported in recent months and now Dr Mark Porter, of the British Medical Association...
Risk of hospital death significantly higher on Sundays
That patients are more likely to die on Sundays and Saturdays than week days comes as no surprise to me as it is something that medical negligence lawyers are all too aware of ( BBC ). Many of the cases of hospital patient death that we have handled have happened at the weekend, which signals...
A&E closures – the Army’s battle?
Concerns have been raised today about the shortage of doctors at hospitals, which is forcing them to consider bringing in Army medics ( BBC ). Yvette Cooper, the Shadow Home Secretary, has said she is deeply worried about proposals to bring in Army resources at the A&E unit at a...
