Staff fear to speak up at NHS hospital trust under police investigation, report says

Staff at a hospital trust where police are investigating at least 90 deaths say they face reprisals and ridicule from bosses if they raise concerns, according to a damning report.Asked to review University Hospitals Sussex, the report’s authors said they “repeatedly heard concerning examples of staff, often at a senior level, being ignored, dismissed and sometimes ridiculed when speaking up”.The report by Niche Health and Social Care Consulting said this fear of reprisals from whistleblowing could be harming patient safety. It also highlighted complaints of misogyny and failures to deal with “unwanted romantic advances”.The review team noted a number of challenges facing the trust, including an investigation by Sussex police into possible corporate and individual manslaughter charges over allegations of medical negligence and cover-up in the general surgery and neurosurgery departments

World’s ‘oldest baby’ born from embryo frozen in 1994

The world’s “oldest baby” has been born in the US from an embryo that was frozen in 1994, it has been reported.Thaddeus Daniel Pierce was born on 26 July in Ohio to Lindsey and Tim Pierce, using an “adopted” embryo from Linda Archerd, 62, from more than 30 years ago.In the early 1990s, Archerd and her then husband decided to try in vitro fertilisation (IVF) after struggling to become pregnant. In 1994 four embryos resulted: one was transferred to Archerd and resulted in the birth of a daughter, who is now 30 and mother to a 10-year-old. The other embryos were cryopreserved and stored

Mother’s instinct not addressed, report on death of boy sent home from Rotherham A&E says

A report into the death of a five-year-old Rotherham boy sent home from A&E has called for national guidance to take into account parents’ intuition that “something feels very wrong” about their child.Yusuf Mahmud Nazir died of pneumonia and sepsis at Sheffield children’s hospital on 23 November 2022, almost a week after his parents first raised concerns that he was unwell.He was seen by numerous clinicians who failed to listen to the concerns of his mother, Soniya Ahmed, that something was seriously wrong with Yusuf, instead relying solely on data that suggested he was not seriously ill.The independent patient safety investigation (IPSI) report, commissioned by NHS England in response to significant concerns raised by Yusuf’s family, recommended that caregivers’ concerns be taken more seriously when assessing children.The report asked healthcare organisations to consider treating parental intuition as a “legitimate and vital form of evidence” and asked: “What becomes possible when the instinct of a mother is given the same attention as a monitor reading?”The report, written by Dr Peter Carter, an independent healthcare consultant and former chief executive and general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, stated: “The system is not designed to capture ‘something feels very wrong’ as an input, and thus a gap opens between family and clinicians

First NHS AI-run physio clinic in England halves back-pain waiting list

The first NHS AI-run physiotherapy clinic has halved the waiting list for back pain and musculoskeletal services, according to the NHS trust where the pilot has taken place.More than 2,500 patients living in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough were able to access Flok Health, a physiotherapy platform run by AI, over a 12-week period starting in February.The platform, which was created using video footage of a human physiotherapist, provides same-day automated video appointments with a digital physiotherapist via an app that responds to information given by a patient in real time.When the clinic was first launched in Cambridgeshire, waiting times for elective community musculoskeletal (MSK) services in the region were about 18 weeks.The waiting times for all MSK conditions decreased by 44% over the course of the 12-week period due to the use of Flok combined with other initiatives such as community assessment days, according to Cambridgeshire Community Services NHS trust (CCS), which deployed the services in those areas of England

The care sector needs migrant workers. Labour’s visa crackdown is a cynical move | Letter

You are right to highlight, in your editorial, the folly of the government’s decision to make it harder for migrant workers to find work as carers in the UK (The Guardian view on Labour’s visa crackdown in social care: another problem for an overstretched system, 22 July).It’s a cynical political move aimed at spiking Reform UK’s guns on immigration, rather than alleviating pressure on the much-maligned care sector. Migrant workers are indispensable in filling roles that have been undervalued, underpaid and unwanted for too long.With thousands more care professionals needed to look after our ageing population, the government needs a joined-up approach if the crisis-ridden sector is to be transformed.While the government’s fair pay agreement is the first step in turning care around, ministers must think again on their approach to foreign help – and, closer to home, announce the funding to make the fair pay agreement a reality

Green burials – the biodegradable alternative | Letter

For those who find the idea of burning their deceased friend’s body distasteful (‘The delivery man arrived with the ashes in a gift bag’ – why are so many people opting out of traditional funerals?, 23 July), an alternative to direct cremation is a green burial, which costs more but not excessively so. Here, the grave is not permanent, and everything that goes in it has to be biodegradable – this rules out embalming. Coffins must be made of cardboard or untreated wood – woven willow is becoming very popular. No permanent memorial is allowed, but usually a wooden plaque can be added, which will last for several years if oiled. Natural wildflowers can often be planted, but vases cannot be used