National news
Stroke services inconsistent throughout England
Stroke is the single largest cause of disability in adults. Access to high quality support and services is imperative for recovery. However, our national report reveals inconsistencies regarding: peoples’ transfer from hospital to home; access to specialist community-based rehabilitation services, such as speech and language therapy; support for carers; information given to people around the time they leave hospital; how well services take account of the communication needs of people with aphasia.
Action required: To be read by all stroke clinicians and managers.
Increasing safety for maternity services by using the surgical checklist
The National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) has released a Surgical Safety Checklist for Maternity aimed at improving patient safety and reducing harm in maternity care across the NHS. Successful implementation of a checklist enhances communication between all members of the surgical team and their patients and can reduce the level of patient safety incidents.
Action required: To be read by all midwives and maternity managers.
Essential care after an inpatient fall
The NPSA has issued guidance to NHS organisations in England and Wales, to improve care after a patient has suffered a fall in a clinical setting. NHS organisations with inpatient beds are encouraged to ensure safe manual handling and prompt assessment and treatment of a patient after a fall has happened as this greatly increases the chances of a patient making a full recovery.
Action required: To be read by all clinicians and managers.
Cancer strategy could save 5,000 lives a year
The DoH has published detailed plans to transform cancer care in England and drive up England’s cancer survival rates so that by 2014/15 an extra 5,000 lives will be saved every year. NICE will produce a series of quality standards on cancer care, as part of this plan. Quality standards will be developed for colorectal, lung, ovarian and prostate cancer, while good early progress has been made on key topics such as patient experience, end of life care and breast cancer.
Action required: To be read by all oncologists and cancer care managers.
NPSA calls for safer ambulatory syringe drivers
NHS organisations are being encouraged to replace ambulatory syringe drivers with rate of administration settings in mm in favour of safer ambulatory syringe drivers with rate settings in millilitres (ml). Ambulatory syringe drivers that have their rate settings in mm require manual calculation to set the correct rate of administration and this introduces the risk of error.
Action required: To be read by all healthcare professionals and managers.
2011-12 NHSLA Evidence Templates available
Evidence Templates for use by organisations in relation to the 2011/12 risk management standards and assessments are now available, including:
Acute, Community & Independent Sector Evidence Template - 2011/12 (ET1).
Maternity Evidence Template - 2011/12 (ET4)
Action required: To be read by all risk managers.
This bulletin is brought to you by Library and Knowledge Services. It aims to keep you up-to-date with infection control issues. At the beginning of each month, a librarian will update the bulletin with relevant information published in the preceding month. If there are areas you think we also need to cover, please let us know.
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