Communicating with patients about the coronavirus
THE coronavirus outbreak has now been declared a global emergency by the World Health Organisation, and MDDUS has drawn up a risk alert to guide general practices in maximising communication with patients at key contact points.
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Risk reduction: prioritisation, delegation and communication
Winter is always a busy time for the NHS. However, this year seems to be particularly bad and the public are bombarded with news of over-crowded A&E departments and patients waiting for hours in ambulances and corridors to be seen by a doctor.
Risk reduction: stopping medicines when patients default from review
In a previous blog I illustrated the importance of robust processes that ensure any patient with a condition requiring clinical monitoring is added to practice recall systems, so that an alert is prompted should they fail to attend for review.
GP trainees – asset or risk
Consider this scenario – a patient complains to their GP that their lung cancer diagnosis was delayed. In the subsequent significant event analysis the practice discovers that the trainee doctor involved in their care was unaware of NICE guidelines on early investigation of cancers, including lung cancer.
Reducing risk: young people welcome here!
A recent report published by the Health and Social Care Information Centre highlighted that the number of children (10 –14 year olds) being admitted to hospital in England for self-harm is at a five-year high, with admissions of girls increasing by almost 93 per cent and a rise of 45 per cent in boys.
Confidentiality risks: disclosure without consent
Issues around confidentiality still feature commonly among calls to our advice line and some recent cases have highlighted complexities with regard to sharing patient information with third parties.