NHS England has .听罢丑别 (SHOT) haemovigilance scheme has flagged this consultation to the BSH. The SHOT team have a particular interest in Never Event 12: 鈥淭ransfusion or transplantation of ABO-incompatible blood components or organs鈥�, though 鈥渁dministration of medicine by the wrong route鈥� will also be relevant to haematology.
Factors still contributing to preventable errors are staffing issues, high workload mismatched to staff capacity, poor IT, suboptimal staff training, under-resourced systems, and ineffective learning from incidents. Notably, all are increasingly pressure points in our hospitals.
You may wish to review the consultation and take part by providing your views on the never events you have experience with via the link above.
Continuing the theme of risk and harm, I鈥檝e been contemplating coroners鈥� courts, my mind focussed somewhat by a recent appearance. I suspect I鈥檓 not alone in admitting it鈥檚 never been an experience I鈥檝e relished, but my impression is that my attendance has been requested much more frequently over recent years. There are, of course, two possible explanations: either this is a national trend, or I need to retire!
To reassure myself it was not the latter, I looked at the coroners鈥� statistics for England and Wales (Scotland reports separately). There has been a national increase in inquests of 10%, though this is highly variable by region, with some areas showing a minor decrease and others seeing an astounding 40% increase. Prevention of future deaths notices have remained relatively steady, and the most common outcome is death by natural causes (a 40% rise).
Although I found this largely reassuring, I do have persistent concerns. That our NHS is under enormous stress is unarguable. The system is creaking. We have normalised poor care, gradually accepting nursing and medical staffing gaps despite an inpatient population who are increasingly complex and dependent. Against this backdrop, there will be errors and never events. In many circumstances, we will appear, as clinicians, to have failed rather than the systems that support us.
My point being that despite the inevitable 鈥渢here is no money鈥� mantra, we must not be complacent about the provision of safe, high-quality care, raising concerns where necessary and pushing back hard against inadequate staffing and poor facilities.
On that bleak note, I shall move to more positive matters.
Firstly, for trainees thinking about out-of-programme experience overseas, can I draw your attention to a BSH Global 91自拍 SIG document highlighting the merits of working in low- and middle-income countries?
Secondly, at the recent BSH Board meeting, we discussed a summary of ongoing projects across the BSH鈥檚 various committees. Seeing the extent of the Society鈥檚 work laid out like this never ceases to impress me. It鈥檚 a testament to our volunteers鈥� talent, dedication and drive. I encourage you to click the link, have a quick marvel at it, and see if there are projects which 鈥渇loat your boat鈥� and volunteer! Here are a few other vacancies for you to consider.
When we surveyed members and asked what held them back from volunteering, I was surprised to see 鈥渋mposter syndrome鈥� given as a common reason. So, to reassure all of you imposters out there, we don鈥檛 recognise this phenomenon. Have a go. You won鈥檛 regret it.
Our is rapidly approaching. Registration numbers are up compared to this time last year, so I鈥檓 hoping we will again be looking at a record attendance.
I may be biased, but the Programme Committee has assembled a varied, interesting with over 40 sessions and 120 invited speakers. We have tried to improve on last year鈥檚 conference dinner, and I鈥檇 encourage you to sign up for the big event at the 鈥渃rown jewel of Liverpool鈥檚 dining and entertainment scene鈥� (well, that鈥檚 what it says on the venue website, and they should know!)
Finally, two items of Society business:
If you鈥檙e a full or full (reduced) BSH member, please take the time to vote in the trustee elections, which close at 17:00 on Monday, 1 April 2024. Eligible members should have received an email with codes for voting. If you believe you鈥檙e eligible and haven鈥檛 received an email, contact our Head of Operations, Si Mohamed Dahiri.
I鈥檓 excited to announce that Carol Bewick, our new CEO, commences her role on 2 April. I鈥檓 confident Carol will be an excellent CEO and wish her well. I鈥檓 sorry we will only be working together for a matter of weeks before I hand over the reins to Sue Pavord. Carol will be at the ASM, so please look out for her.