Families sue government for failing to protect care homes from Covid – BBC News

Posted August 25th, 2023 in bereavement, care homes, damages, families, government departments, hospitals, news by sally

‘Thirty families are starting legal action against the government, care homes and several hospitals in England over the deaths of their relatives in the early days of the Covid pandemic.’

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BBC News, 25th August 2023

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Should there be a statutory public inquiry into the murders and attempted murders by Lucy Letby? – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted August 24th, 2023 in attempted murder, birth, hospitals, inquiries, murder, news, nurses by sally

‘Why wasn’t Lucy Letby stopped sooner? This is the burning question that the families of her victims, and the public, are now asking. Steve Barclay, the Health Secretary, has decided that the best means of answering it is a “non-statutory public inquiry”. But what is such an inquiry, and will it be better than a full-blown statutory public inquiry?’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 23rd August 2023

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

Doctors can stop treating man who suffered brain damage in car crash – judge – The Independent

Posted August 24th, 2023 in Court of Protection, hospitals, medical treatment, news by sally

‘Doctors can lawfully stop providing life-support treatment to a father-of-two who suffered “catastrophic” brain damage in a car accident early this year, a judge has ruled.’

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The Independent, 23rd August 2023

Source: www.independent.co.uk

High Court Finds Long Waiting Times for Trans Healthcare are Lawful – QMLR

‘The demand for young people receiving gender identity development services (“GIDS”) and for adults receiving gender identity disorder services (also, helpfully, “GIDS”) has increased substantially from 2012 to 2017, and the NHS is struggling to meet this demand. In May 2022, young people seen for the first time following a children’s GIDS referral waited on average for 1066 days (i.e. nearly three years), see [32]. The reality is that many trans patients feel forced to have treatment privately, often resorting to “crowdfunding” to cover their private medical expenses. For many young trans people, such long waiting times for treatment have a significant detrimental impact on their mental health and in the process, many undergo irreversible physiological changes.’

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QMLR, 18th July 2023

Source: 1corqmlr.com

Lucy Letby: How could the NHS stop a future killer within? – BBC News

‘Nearly a quarter of a century before Lucy Letby began attacking babies on a neonatal unit, another hospital experienced similarly sudden and unexpected losses.’

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BBC News, 21st August 2023

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Ministers ‘dragging feet’ on forcing killers to court as Lucy Letby to skip sentencing – The Independent

‘Ministers have been accused of “dragging their feet” over laws to force killers into the dock as Lucy Letby refuses to appear in court for her sentencing.’

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The Independent, 21st August 2023

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Lucy Letby trial: why the babies remain anonymous – The Guardian

‘The trial of Lucy Letby was conducted amid levels of press secrecy for victims and witnesses rarely seen outside proceedings involving matters of national security.’

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The Guardian, 18th August 2023

Source: www.theguardian.com

Medical neglect by London NHS trust contributed to suicide of girl, 12, rules coroner – The Guardian

‘Medical neglect and “gross failures” by a mental health trust contributed to the suicide of a 12-year-old girl in a case that has highlighted national concerns about underfunding, a coroner has ruled.’

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The Guardian, 17th August 2023

Source: www.theguardian.com

Lancashire woman died from brain tumour after surgery delay – BBC News

Posted August 10th, 2023 in cancer, delay, hospitals, medical treatment, news, ombudsmen, reports by tracey

‘A woman died from an operable brain tumour after doctors failed to properly monitor her scan results, a health watchdog has found.’

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BBC News, 10th August 2023

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

‘Chaotic’ maternity unit ‘not fit for purpose’ rated inadequate by CQC – The Independent

Posted August 9th, 2023 in birth, hospitals, midwives, news, ombudsmen, pregnancy by tracey

‘A maternity unit has been given the lowest possible rating by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) after the regulator described it as a “chaotic environment which was not fit for purpose”.’

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The Independent, 9th August 2023

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Consent and Factual Causation – Two Recent Cases – QMLR

‘Two cases from the past year illustrate the importance of factual causation as an issue in litigation concerning consent to treatment and provide various reminders on points of practice that will be of interest to those working in the field of clinical negligence.’

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QMLR, 18th July 2023

Source: 1corqmlr.com

Bilal and Malik v St George’s University Hospital NHS Trust [2023] EWCA Civ 605 – 3PB

Posted August 1st, 2023 in causation, hospitals, negligence, news, personal injuries by sally

‘Sidra Bilal, Hassaan Aziz Malik (Administrators on behalf of the estate of Mukhtar Malik, deceased) v St George’s University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, [2023] EWCA Civ 605 provides an interesting insight into the post-Montgomery landscape. It provides further clarification on informed consent as well as reminding practitioners of the importance of tightly crafted pleadings in clinical negligence claims.’

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3PB, 12th July 2023

Source: www.3pb.co.uk

The Serious Incident Investigation Report (Root Cause Analysis) is being phased out. Will this benefit patients and what are the implications for clinical negligence litigation? – St John’s Chambers

Posted August 1st, 2023 in chambers articles, hospitals, negligence, news, reports by sally

‘A criticism of the NHS generally is that it does not learn from mistakes. Despite the “never event” framework, the number of such incidents remains stubbornly high. In response to the perceived failures to the improvement of patient safety, NHS England are introducing the Patient Safety Incident Response Framework (“PSIRF” pronounced “pea surf”) to replace the Serious Incident Framework. The transition to PSIRF from the Serious Incident Framework should be completed by autumn 2023.’

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St John's Chambers, 13th July 2023

Source: www.stjohnschambers.co.uk

NHS midwife sacked for claiming terrorists could poison baby milk – BBC News

‘A midwife who told a patient that terrorists could contaminate milk formula to “kill the babies” has been struck off.’

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BBC News, 30th July 2023

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Aberdare’s Priory Hospital firms fined £400k after workers assaulted – BBC News

‘Companies running a mental health unit have been fined more than £400,000 after staff suffered bite attacks from inpatients.’

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BBC News, 26th July 2023

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

NHS trust accused of cover-up is refusing to release report into deaths – The Guardian

‘An ambulance trust accused of hiding information from a coroner about patients that died is keeping a damning internal report about the deaths secret, the Guardian can reveal. A consultant paramedic implicated in the alleged cover-ups continues to be involved in decisions to keep the report from the public.’

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The Guardian, 24th July 2023

Source: www.theguardian.com

Eight out of 10 NHS claims now settle pre-issue – Legal Futures

Posted July 20th, 2023 in budgets, costs, health, hospitals, negligence, news, statistics by tracey

‘The proportion of claims settled by NHS Resolution pre-issue hit a record 80% in the last year, but the cost of claims still rose, according to its annual report.’

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Legal Futures, 20th July 2023

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Hospital discharge and subsequent placement should be considered as separate matters when determining capacity: CoP – Local Government Lawyer

‘The Court of Protection has allowed an appeal against a decision that a woman lacked capacity to consent to discharge from hospital and to be placed in specified accommodation, saying that the discharge and placement offer should have been treated as separate matters.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 11th July 2023

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Nottingham maternity review set to become UK’s largest – BBC News

Posted July 10th, 2023 in bereavement, birth, children, families, hospitals, inquiries, news, pregnancy by sally

‘A review into failings in maternity care in hospitals in Nottingham is set to become the largest in the UK, the BBC understands.’

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BBC News, 10th July 2023

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Case Note on the Supreme Court case of R (Maguire) v The Coroner for Blackpool & Fylde [2023] UKSC 20 – 2 Hare Court

‘The long running case of Maguire has finally been concluded in a Supreme Court judgment handed down last week. The bottom line is and remains that the threshold for Article 2 remains high in cases involving health and social care. The case is particularly helpful for its detailed and comprehensive analysis of the authorities and the relevant legal principles in relation to the application of Article 2 and is a must read for those practising in the coronial area.’

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2 Hare Court, 30th June 2023

Source: www.2harecourt.com