With meningitis still affecting thousands each year, is it time to introduce a life-saving vaccine? Sarah Freeman reports.
In January this year Andrea Walker was out shopping for bridesmaid dresses with her youngest daughter Ellie. Within the week, without any warning, her three-year-old daughter had died.
“Ellie was due to be bridesmaid at the wedding of my eldest daughter and she couldn’t have been more excited,” says Andrea, who lives in Keighley. “The next day she seemed a bit sniffly, but nothing major. Every parent worries about meningitis and even though Ellie hadn’t complained of a headache or anything like that, I did check for a rash.”
Relieved to find there was nothing abnormal, Andrea thought all her daughter needed was a dose of Calpol and a good night’s sleep. “She was such a bright, happy child and always used to wake up around the same time as me, but that morning she didn’t,” says Andrea. “I went into her room and she just felt so cold. I screamed to my husband to call an ambulance but it was too late.”
Ellie was pronounced dead on arrival at hospital and while a post-mortem initially proved inconclusive, a later coroner’s report concluded she had died from streptococcal septicaemia, a strain of bacteria which also causes meningitis.
“Ellie didn’t have a chance. In the months since she died I’ve asked myself so many times could I have done anything different, but it was out of my hands. Had I once thought there was something seriously wrong I would have taken her straight to hospital.”
The rapid speed at which meningitis and septicaemia can claim lives is one of the reasons why calls for the introduction of a new vaccine having being growing louder. It’s also the focus of Meningitis Awareness Week which begins today.
The Meningitis Research Foundation estimates that meningitis and septicaemia affects more than 3,600 people in the UK and Ireland each year. They can strike without warning, killing one in 10, and leaving a quarter of survivors with life altering after-effects ranging from deafness and brain damage to loss of limbs. Children under five and students are most at risk, but while a vaccine to protect against meningococcal B infection is currently under consideration, there are fears it may not be introduced because of costs.
“The Department of Health’s own studies show meningitis is the disease most feared by parents,” says Chris Head, chief executive of the foundation. “It’s one of the few illnesses in modern Britain that can kill or seriously maim a healthy child within hours of the first symptoms.
“With the UK Government committed to reducing child deaths it is inconceivable that a MenB vaccine should be licensed yet go unused in the UK.
“The UK’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation has failed to take into account the full impact of Men B and cost to the NHS, adopting a narrow view which ignores the years of expensive and traumatic treatment or the tens of millions of pounds which are paid out in negligence claims to families who successfully sue for mismanagement and misdiagnosis.
“Prevention has to be the best option, that’s why we have invested more than £17m in vital research. But now the UK has the chance to save more than 1,000 a year from the devastation of Men B. Surely we should be seizing it and taking that all-important step towards a world free from meningitis and septicaemia.”
This article is courtesy from the Yorkshire Post.
Regularly updated blog featuring news, articles and information relating to clinical/medical negligence.
Showing posts with label Casualty. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Casualty. Show all posts
Friday, 27 September 2013
Tuesday, 18 June 2013
4,000 lives a year lost by poor hospital care at weekends
The disclosure comes in an official review of Britain’s emergency and urgent healthcare which says the current system is unsustainable, unaffordable and soaking up more than half of the health service budget.
Health officials will on Monday launch plans which attempt to tackle a deepening crisis in Accident & Emergency (A&E) units, hospital wards and out-of-hours GP services.
They have collected evidence of system buckling under the strain and placing patients at increased risk - especially if they fall sick at weekends.
The dossier is published as NHS England begins a public consultation on a review which could lead to a major restructuring of the NHS, with specialist services concentrated in larger units and changes to put hospitals on a “seven-day” footing, with more consultants and diagnostic tests available at weekends.
The damning official report warns of:
The report comes amid increasing fears about the pressures on A&E departments, which senior doctors have likened to “warzones,” while the head of the NHS regulator has said emergency care is “out of control”.
Ministers have indicated that they want GPs to take more responsibility for the care given to their patients when surgeries are not open, but it remains unclear how this will work.
NHS England is now undertaking a review of “urgent and emergency care,” which on Monday publishes a case for significant changes in the way health services are provided.
Specific proposals will be published in September, but ideas under consideration include increasing specialisation of some services, such as stroke and trauma, a drive to train more A&E doctors, investment in telemedicine, and changes to the disastrous 111 non-emergency phoneline, so that more clinically-trained staff are involved in decisions.
Professor Keith Willett, the director of NHS England in charge of urgent and emergency care, told The Daily Telegraph: “We need to redesign the system because it is not sustainable as it is. We need a lot more care closer to home and we also have to have high-quality specialist services.”
He said changes which have already occurred in some parts of the country - such as the reorganisation of specialist stroke services in London, into a smaller number of units - had saved lives and reduced disability levels of stroke sufferers because patients received expert care more quickly.
Pressures on A&E units in recent months have come amid the national roll-out of the 111 phone line, which was supposed to reduce the number of people arriving at hospitals, by diverting those with minor complaints to out-of-hours GP services.
Instead, there have been widespread concerns about areas in which the service has collapsed under the pressure of calls, while in others, call handlers without clinical training dispatched paramedics to the most trivial cases, heaping pressure on A&E units.
There have been investigations into at least 22 potential “serious untoward incidents” since April, including three deaths.
A separate review by NHS England will recommend changes to the way the phonelines are run.
However, Prof Willett, a consultant trauma and orthopaedic surgeon at the John Radcliffe Hospital, in Oxford, indicated that the future model is likely to rely heavily on phone access to services.
He said those in need of urgent NHS care needed to be directed to the right place, so they did not just turn up at hospitals without a full range of services.
He said: “The concept behind 111 is really good - where the delivery falls down may be to do with the need for senior clinical input.”
Prof Willett said it was “a really important principle” of any future model of services that the public would be expected to phone first to ensure they got the right help. He said: “If you don’t phone first, the risk is you are essentially joining the wrong queue.”
The report does not single out any one factor for the current pressure on hospitals, but says public confidence in 999 services is far higher than that in family doctors, while one in ten patients who fail to get a suitable GP appointment turn up at A&E.
In less than a decade, the number of calls for ambulances has risen from 4.7 million to over 8 million.
The report says many such calls relate to non life-threatening conditions, and are made because the public does not know where else to turn, with a “perceived or actual lack of alternative options” in parts of the country when GP surgeries are closed.
It also describes ageing and increasingly frail population, and says that the increasing number of emergency admissions to hospital, combined with cuts to bed numbers, have meant patients have been discharged too quickly, without being properly assessed or given help at home.
As a result, the number of patients readmitted to hospital within one month has increased by more than 50 per cent between 2003/2004 and 2010/11, the report says. Over the same period, the number of hospital beds has been cut by more than 80,000, down to 104,000, separate figures show.
Dr Cliff Mann, from the College of Emergency Medicine, which represents A&E doctors, urged the Government to take quick action, and said the most pressing problem was the crisis in staffing.
“From this August we will be short of between 200 and 300 registrars [trainee doctors] in A&E, and just as many consultants,”he said. “That means the pressures we are seeing now are going to be exacerbated. We need a clear signal that there will be some quick action to tackle this - I am worried that despite all this analysis, what we will see instead is an exercise in prevarication.”
This article is courtesy of The Telegraph.
Health officials will on Monday launch plans which attempt to tackle a deepening crisis in Accident & Emergency (A&E) units, hospital wards and out-of-hours GP services.
They have collected evidence of system buckling under the strain and placing patients at increased risk - especially if they fall sick at weekends.
The dossier is published as NHS England begins a public consultation on a review which could lead to a major restructuring of the NHS, with specialist services concentrated in larger units and changes to put hospitals on a “seven-day” footing, with more consultants and diagnostic tests available at weekends.
The damning official report warns of:
- More than 4,400 lives a year lost in England because hospital mortality rates are worse at weekends, largely because of shortages of senior doctors;
- Spiralling numbers of patients readmitted to hospital because they were discharged too quickly, because of cuts to bed numbers;
- Evidence of a 30 per cent rise in death rates when casualty units are crowded;
- Widespread shortages of A&E doctors, with half of training posts unfilled for the past two years;
- Confusion among the public about how to access urgent care and lack of confidence in the care provided by GPs;
The report comes amid increasing fears about the pressures on A&E departments, which senior doctors have likened to “warzones,” while the head of the NHS regulator has said emergency care is “out of control”.
Ministers have indicated that they want GPs to take more responsibility for the care given to their patients when surgeries are not open, but it remains unclear how this will work.
NHS England is now undertaking a review of “urgent and emergency care,” which on Monday publishes a case for significant changes in the way health services are provided.
Specific proposals will be published in September, but ideas under consideration include increasing specialisation of some services, such as stroke and trauma, a drive to train more A&E doctors, investment in telemedicine, and changes to the disastrous 111 non-emergency phoneline, so that more clinically-trained staff are involved in decisions.
Professor Keith Willett, the director of NHS England in charge of urgent and emergency care, told The Daily Telegraph: “We need to redesign the system because it is not sustainable as it is. We need a lot more care closer to home and we also have to have high-quality specialist services.”
He said changes which have already occurred in some parts of the country - such as the reorganisation of specialist stroke services in London, into a smaller number of units - had saved lives and reduced disability levels of stroke sufferers because patients received expert care more quickly.
Pressures on A&E units in recent months have come amid the national roll-out of the 111 phone line, which was supposed to reduce the number of people arriving at hospitals, by diverting those with minor complaints to out-of-hours GP services.
Instead, there have been widespread concerns about areas in which the service has collapsed under the pressure of calls, while in others, call handlers without clinical training dispatched paramedics to the most trivial cases, heaping pressure on A&E units.
There have been investigations into at least 22 potential “serious untoward incidents” since April, including three deaths.
A separate review by NHS England will recommend changes to the way the phonelines are run.
However, Prof Willett, a consultant trauma and orthopaedic surgeon at the John Radcliffe Hospital, in Oxford, indicated that the future model is likely to rely heavily on phone access to services.
He said those in need of urgent NHS care needed to be directed to the right place, so they did not just turn up at hospitals without a full range of services.
He said: “The concept behind 111 is really good - where the delivery falls down may be to do with the need for senior clinical input.”
Prof Willett said it was “a really important principle” of any future model of services that the public would be expected to phone first to ensure they got the right help. He said: “If you don’t phone first, the risk is you are essentially joining the wrong queue.”
The report does not single out any one factor for the current pressure on hospitals, but says public confidence in 999 services is far higher than that in family doctors, while one in ten patients who fail to get a suitable GP appointment turn up at A&E.
In less than a decade, the number of calls for ambulances has risen from 4.7 million to over 8 million.
The report says many such calls relate to non life-threatening conditions, and are made because the public does not know where else to turn, with a “perceived or actual lack of alternative options” in parts of the country when GP surgeries are closed.
It also describes ageing and increasingly frail population, and says that the increasing number of emergency admissions to hospital, combined with cuts to bed numbers, have meant patients have been discharged too quickly, without being properly assessed or given help at home.
As a result, the number of patients readmitted to hospital within one month has increased by more than 50 per cent between 2003/2004 and 2010/11, the report says. Over the same period, the number of hospital beds has been cut by more than 80,000, down to 104,000, separate figures show.
Dr Cliff Mann, from the College of Emergency Medicine, which represents A&E doctors, urged the Government to take quick action, and said the most pressing problem was the crisis in staffing.
“From this August we will be short of between 200 and 300 registrars [trainee doctors] in A&E, and just as many consultants,”he said. “That means the pressures we are seeing now are going to be exacerbated. We need a clear signal that there will be some quick action to tackle this - I am worried that despite all this analysis, what we will see instead is an exercise in prevarication.”
This article is courtesy of The Telegraph.
Tuesday, 4 June 2013
Policeman who had his leg amputated after waiting 13 hours to be seen in A&E to receive £600,000 compensation
An award-winning police officer is in line for a £600,000 compensation payout after doctors delayed his treatment for so long they were forced to amputate his leg.
Dennis Stewart, 52, who was undergoing treatment for a rare form of nasal cancer, was left waiting for 13 hours in A&E when he was rushed into hospital with a blood clot in his left leg.
Doctors at Nottingham City Hospital originally dismissed the pain as cramp on December 30, 2010.
But he was rushed back to the same hospital the following day after waking up in the middle of the night in agonising pain.
Despite discovering tell-tale signs of a dangerous clot, Mr Stewart was forced to wait for over half a day for an ambulance to transfer him to Queen's Medical Centre - just four miles away.
Because of the delay, specialists were unable to save his limb despite an operation - putting to an end his 20-year career as a policeman.
He is now in line to receive a £600,000 compensation payout after Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust admitted that the delay in his treatment was unacceptable.
The former PC, from Nottingham, said: 'I waited far too long to see a doctor and I've paid my price.
'I don't want to criticise any doctors or nurses. They work hard - it's the system which doesn't work.
'On the day it happened I woke up in the middle of the night with such searing pain in my leg that I called a friend and got them to take me to Nottingham City Hospital.
'I was there by 3.30am. Eventually they told me a specialist would have to come from another hospital to see my leg.
'The, at about 1pm, a nurse said she would get an ambulance for me to transfer me to the Queen's Medical Centre.
'But it wasn't until around 5pm that they eventually brought the ambulance - I was in agony.
'They rushed me into theatre once I got there - but I had lost all feeling and movement in my toes by then.
'After the operation, when I first looked at my leg they told me I might be shocked.
'I've seen murders and suicides as a policeman and when I looked down and it did not look like a leg.
'They amputated the next day - I was devastated.'
It later emerged that the blood clot had formed while Mr Stewart was undergoing treatment for a rare form of nasal cancer which had developed behind his left eye.
During his 21-year career he was twice commended for persuading a suicidal man not to throw himself off a multi-storey car park and for stopping thieves during a post-office raid.
In 2011, Mr Stewart was presented with a lifetime achievement award after returning to work following the amputation.
His solicitors have told him to expect a total payment of up to £617,000 after the Trust admitted partial liability.
Mr Stewart added: 'Firstly I want to get a new leg, the money is for my quality of life; I need to make that as good as possible.
'I don't mind the cancer, but it would have been a lot easier to deal with if I had my leg.
'I miss my salsa dancing, I miss my karate. Now I want to get a bungalow I can walk around easier and go and see the world.
'I just want the NHS to sort it out and make sure it never happens again.'
James Bell, a clinical negligence lawyer representing Mr Stewart, said: 'Dennis' tragic situation is one that could have been so easily avoided were the right procedures in place.
'He should never have lost his leg.
'This case is not about bashing the NHS, but ensuring that Dennis receives justice and is able to enjoy the best quality of life.'
Dr Stephen Fowlie, medical director at Nottingham University Hospitals, yesterday apologised for the error.
He said: 'We are very sorry Mr Stewart's treatment was delayed, with such distressing consequences.
'We hope to reach a final settlement as soon as possible.'
This article is courtesy of the Daily Mail.
Dennis Stewart, 52, who was undergoing treatment for a rare form of nasal cancer, was left waiting for 13 hours in A&E when he was rushed into hospital with a blood clot in his left leg.
Doctors at Nottingham City Hospital originally dismissed the pain as cramp on December 30, 2010.
But he was rushed back to the same hospital the following day after waking up in the middle of the night in agonising pain.
Despite discovering tell-tale signs of a dangerous clot, Mr Stewart was forced to wait for over half a day for an ambulance to transfer him to Queen's Medical Centre - just four miles away.
Because of the delay, specialists were unable to save his limb despite an operation - putting to an end his 20-year career as a policeman.
He is now in line to receive a £600,000 compensation payout after Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust admitted that the delay in his treatment was unacceptable.
The former PC, from Nottingham, said: 'I waited far too long to see a doctor and I've paid my price.
'I don't want to criticise any doctors or nurses. They work hard - it's the system which doesn't work.
'On the day it happened I woke up in the middle of the night with such searing pain in my leg that I called a friend and got them to take me to Nottingham City Hospital.
'I was there by 3.30am. Eventually they told me a specialist would have to come from another hospital to see my leg.
'The, at about 1pm, a nurse said she would get an ambulance for me to transfer me to the Queen's Medical Centre.
'But it wasn't until around 5pm that they eventually brought the ambulance - I was in agony.
'They rushed me into theatre once I got there - but I had lost all feeling and movement in my toes by then.
'After the operation, when I first looked at my leg they told me I might be shocked.
'I've seen murders and suicides as a policeman and when I looked down and it did not look like a leg.
'They amputated the next day - I was devastated.'
It later emerged that the blood clot had formed while Mr Stewart was undergoing treatment for a rare form of nasal cancer which had developed behind his left eye.
During his 21-year career he was twice commended for persuading a suicidal man not to throw himself off a multi-storey car park and for stopping thieves during a post-office raid.
In 2011, Mr Stewart was presented with a lifetime achievement award after returning to work following the amputation.
His solicitors have told him to expect a total payment of up to £617,000 after the Trust admitted partial liability.
Mr Stewart added: 'Firstly I want to get a new leg, the money is for my quality of life; I need to make that as good as possible.
'I don't mind the cancer, but it would have been a lot easier to deal with if I had my leg.
'I miss my salsa dancing, I miss my karate. Now I want to get a bungalow I can walk around easier and go and see the world.
'I just want the NHS to sort it out and make sure it never happens again.'
James Bell, a clinical negligence lawyer representing Mr Stewart, said: 'Dennis' tragic situation is one that could have been so easily avoided were the right procedures in place.
'He should never have lost his leg.
'This case is not about bashing the NHS, but ensuring that Dennis receives justice and is able to enjoy the best quality of life.'
Dr Stephen Fowlie, medical director at Nottingham University Hospitals, yesterday apologised for the error.
He said: 'We are very sorry Mr Stewart's treatment was delayed, with such distressing consequences.
'We hope to reach a final settlement as soon as possible.'
This article is courtesy of the Daily Mail.
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