Latest news with #patient safety
Washington Post
2 days ago
- Health
- Washington Post
Organ retrieval reforms ordered after some donors showed 'signs of life'
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced reforms to the nation's organ transplant system Monday, citing recent findings that the process of removing organs has on some occasions begun even when donors showed signs of life. The federally chartered nonprofit groups known as organ procurement organizations (OPOs) that coordinate the donation process will face decertification if they fail to follow protocols that regulate when an organ can be extracted from a dead patient, according to a release from HHS. The announcement, which comes ahead of a House hearing Tuesday morning on safety breaches in the organ donation system, stems from an HHS investigation into reports that workers for OPOs pressured doctors to start procuring kidneys, livers and other organs from patients even as they showed signs of life. It follows a report by the New York Times Sunday about such patients, including one who was presumed to be dead but whose heart was discovered to be beating after a surgeon made an incision in her chest for procurement surgery. 'Our findings show that hospitals allowed the organ procurement process to begin when patients showed signs of life, and this is horrifying,' Kennedy said in a statement. In a March report, HHS looked at 351 cases in which organ donation was authorized but not completed. It found 103 cases with 'concerning features, including 73 patients with neurological signs incompatible with organ donation,' according to Kennedy's statement. At least 28 patients may not have been deceased when organ procurement was initiated, the statement said. HHS also said it found evidence of 'poor neurological assessments, lack of coordination with medical teams, questionable consent practices and misclassification of causes of death.' Kennedy said OPOs will need to adopt a formal process allowing any staff member to halt a donation process if patient safety concerns arise. They also will need to review any failures to follow protocols — including a requirement to wait five minutes after a patient is dead before making an incision — and develop clear policies around who is and isn't eligible for organ donation. The nation's supply of organs — which falls far short of demand — has been boosted in recent years by the practice of removing organs from patients who have experienced 'circulatory death.' Such patients may still show brain activity but doctors have determined they are near death and won't recover. With family consent, life support can be withdrawn and doctors then wait for the heart to stop beating. Most organ donations are still from brain-dead patients, but OPOs in some cases have pressured doctors to move quickly in procuring organs in the short time frame required. HHS launched its investigation after a House committee hearing in September, where the former employee of an OPO revealed that she, a surgeon and other workers refused to procure organs from a patient who was being prepared for surgery but was shaking his head and crying. The procurement organization, Network for Hope, is responsible for coordinating organ donation in Kentucky and parts of Ohio and West Virginia. Its officials were not immediately available for comment.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Concerns raised about patient safety ahead of resident doctor walkouts
Changes to the way hospitals will work during resident doctor strikes could 'risk patient safety', the British Medical Association (BMA) has said. A five-day walkout is scheduled to start on Friday and could cause significant upheaval to the NHS in England. It is hoped the strikes could be averted by ongoing talks between the Government and the Resident Doctors Committee (RDC) of the BMA. But with just days before the strikes are due to start, the union has criticised the way the health service is preparing. Following yesterday's strike ballot result, we met with @wesstreeting It's clear: the Government is refusing to negotiate on pay. We are now preparing for a full 5 day walk-out, beginning on Friday 25 July. Our door will always be open to constructive talks.#PayRestoration — Resident Doctors (@BMAResidents) July 9, 2025 In previous walkouts, urgent and emergency services have been staffed by senior hospital doctors, including consultants, and pre-planned work was largely postponed. But the BMA said that hospital leaders have been told to continue with scheduled non-urgent care during the fresh bout of strike action. The union said this approach would put patients at risk. Speaking earlier this month, NHS England boss Sir Jim Mackey said 'we can't allow this to play out in a way that it did last time'. We've written to NHS England with concerns about inadequate planning ahead of possible strike action later this week. Attempts to run non-urgent services with fewer doctors risk patient safety. It's imperative that Trusts postpone work to protect urgent and emergency care. — The BMA (@TheBMA) July 21, 2025 The last round of strikes, which also included walkouts by other health workers, came at an estimated cost of £1.5 billion to the NHS in England. Some 1.5 million appointments, procedures and operations were postponed as a result of the stoppages. In a letter to Sir Jim, BMA council chairman Dr Tom Dolphin and deputy council chairwoman Dr Emma Runswick wrote: 'Your decision to instruct hospitals to run non-urgent planned care stretches safe staffing far too thinly, and risks not only patient safety in urgent and emergency situations, but in planned care too. 'Consultants cannot safely provide elective care and cover for residents at the same time. 'We therefore strongly urge you to reconsider your instructions to hospitals, which should be preparing now to postpone non-urgent planned activity in order to provide a safe urgent and emergency service in keeping with the levels of staff available.' In previous strikes, there was a so-called 'derogation' process where hospitals can request striking doctors return to work if there is risk to patient safety. The BMA said that it is 'committed' to the process but not to facilitating non-urgent work. The previous strikes ended last September when resident doctor members voted to accept a Government pay deal worth 22.3% on average over two years. The 2025/26 pay deal saw resident doctors given a 4% increase plus £750 'on a consolidated basis', working out as an average rise of 5.4%. Government officials said these two increases equate to a 28.9% pay rise. But the BMA said resident doctors need 29.2% to reverse 'pay erosion' since 2008/09. The strikes are due to begin at 7am on Friday and last for five days. NHS England has been approached for comment.
The Independent
2 days ago
- Health
- The Independent
Concerns raised about patient safety ahead of resident doctor walkouts
Changes to the way hospitals will work during resident doctor strikes could 'risk patient safety', the British Medical Association (BMA) has said. A five-day walkout is scheduled to start on Friday and could cause significant upheaval to the NHS in England. It is hoped the strikes could be averted by ongoing talks between the Government and the Resident Doctors Committee (RDC) of the BMA. But with just days before the strikes are due to start, the union has criticised the way the health service is preparing. In previous walkouts, urgent and emergency services have been staffed by senior hospital doctors, including consultants, and pre-planned work was largely postponed. But the BMA said that hospital leaders have been told to continue with scheduled non-urgent care during the fresh bout of strike action. The union said this approach would put patients at risk. Speaking earlier this month, NHS England boss Sir Jim Mackey said 'we can't allow this to play out in a way that it did last time'. The last round of strikes, which also included walkouts by other health workers, came at an estimated cost of £1.5 billion to the NHS in England. Some 1.5 million appointments, procedures and operations were postponed as a result of the stoppages. In a letter to Sir Jim, BMA council chairman Dr Tom Dolphin and deputy council chairwoman Dr Emma Runswick wrote: 'Your decision to instruct hospitals to run non-urgent planned care stretches safe staffing far too thinly, and risks not only patient safety in urgent and emergency situations, but in planned care too. ' Consultants cannot safely provide elective care and cover for residents at the same time. 'We therefore strongly urge you to reconsider your instructions to hospitals, which should be preparing now to postpone non-urgent planned activity in order to provide a safe urgent and emergency service in keeping with the levels of staff available.' In previous strikes, there was a so-called 'derogation' process where hospitals can request striking doctors return to work if there is risk to patient safety. The BMA said that it is 'committed' to the process but not to facilitating non-urgent work. The previous strikes ended last September when resident doctor members voted to accept a Government pay deal worth 22.3% on average over two years. The 2025/26 pay deal saw resident doctors given a 4% increase plus £750 'on a consolidated basis', working out as an average rise of 5.4%. Government officials said these two increases equate to a 28.9% pay rise. But the BMA said resident doctors need 29.2% to reverse 'pay erosion' since 2008/09. The strikes are due to begin at 7am on Friday and last for five days. NHS England has been approached for comment.
Bloomberg
5 days ago
- Health
- Bloomberg
Sarepta Says Another Patient Died After Receiving Gene Therapy
Sarepta Therapeutics Inc. said another patient has died from acute liver failure after receiving one of its gene therapies, putting additional pressure on the biotech company after the recent deaths of two teenage boys. A company spokesperson said a patient had died of acute liver failure last month in an early-stage trial of a gene therapy to treat limb-girdle muscular dystrophy, which often weakens muscles around the hips and shoulders. The company told regulators and investigators about the death 'in an appropriate and timely manner,' the spokesperson said in a statement.
Telegraph
6 days ago
- Health
- Telegraph
Doctors to supervise physician associates
Doctors will be hauled off the front line so they can supervise physician associates. Wes Streeting, the Health Minister, has accepted in full the recommendations of a review into physician associates who will have their titles changed to physician assistants (PAs) going forward. One of the 18 recommendations is to make sure doctors are properly trained in supervising PAs and have enough time to do it. Some doctors have argued that allocating time to oversee the work of PAs will take away from the time they can spend treating patients themselves. The government-commissioned review, led by Professor Gillian Leng, president of the Royal Society of Medicine, also said PAs should be banned from diagnosing patients who have not seen a doctor, such as the GP or in A&E, where results of a `. As well as changing the job title of the 3,500 PAs in the NHS, Mr Streeting has accepted recommendations to make it clearer which staff are which. The review proposed giving all NHS staff their own uniforms and lanyards that clearly state their job, because of a tendency for PAs to wear doctors' scrubs and stethoscopes. Concerns ignored for too long Mr Streeting said: 'Patients should always know who they are being treated by and should always receive appropriate care. 'Legitimate concerns about patient safety have been ignored for too long,' he said. 'We're accepting all of the recommendations of the Leng review, which will provide clarity for the public and make sure we've got the right staff, in the right place, doing the right thing.' He said physician assistants 'should assist doctors, but they should never used to replace doctors'. Mr Streeting ordered the review in 2024 after a series of scandals involving PAs either causing patient harm or death, practising beyond what they are qualified to do or being used in place of doctors. Doctors also criticised NHS plans to increase the number of PAs to more than 10,000 as an attempt to replace them, and some feel that the review hasn't gone far enough to stop this. Prof Leng said it was just the 'start of the conversation' and the opportunity for a 'reset'. PAs have no medical degree and must only undergo a two-year postgraduate course following a science undergraduate degree. Prof Leng and her team reviewed six prevention of future death reports issued by coroners that directly linked the role of a PA to the cause of a patient's death. They spoke to the family members of three of the deceased as part of discussions with more than 1,000 healthcare professionals, patients and other parties. The report found that there was a lack of evidence that the PA role was either safe or effective, echoing the findings of a University of Oxford review earlier in 2024. Prof Leng said the lack of a 'clear answer' from existing research meant she had to draw on the perspectives and insights of a range of material and experts, including those from other countries where the profession exists. 'The roles are not so unsafe that they have to be discontinued, but neither does the evidence support proceeding with no change,' she said. One of the 'crucial' changes recommended is for PAs to be banned from seeing patients presenting at the GP or A&E for the first time. Risk missing a condition 'PAs should not see undifferentiated or untriaged patients,' she said. 'Moving forwards, we need to provide more detail on what patients can appropriately be seen by PAs.' However, setting this out will be the responsibility of the Department of Health, NHS and Royal Colleges, to work through. The report said the 'safety concerns raised in relation to PAs were almost always about making a diagnosis and deciding the initial treatment '. It said that in GP surgeries and A&Es where patients often arrive with new symptoms that 'the risk of missing an unusual disease or condition is highest'. 'Making the wrong initial diagnosis and putting patients on an inappropriate pathway can be catastrophic,' Prof Leng said. 'This was frequently flagged as the principal risk of PAs seeing undifferentiated patients.' Dr Claire Fuller, co-national medical director at NHS England, said: 'Following legitimate concerns raised, it is right this review has gathered expert insight and evidence from across the health service and internationally. 'We will now work with the service and Government to fully consider and implement its recommendations.'
