Big Changes in Place for the NHS to Prevent Cover Up Culture

Jeremy Hunt has vowed to change the culture within the NHS to cover up medical mistakes. A national review will be put in place to prevent needless mistakes, deaths and to safeguard members of staff who whistle blow.

It is hoped that these reforms will change the culture of the health service and ultimately improve their safety record.

The plan is to review a sample of 2,000 deaths at Hospitals across the country in an attempt to drive down mortality rates.

The Government is also looking at putting further safeguards in place to support whistleblowers who speak out against poor standards of care within NHS Hospitals.

Mr Hunt compared his aims to other service industries such as airline and nuclear industries. Vigorous protocols are in place within these kind of industries to ensure that safety risks are identified and not tolerated, saying that we need to urgently introduce the same kind of protocols. The plans are for a two-pronged strategy that would force Hospital Boards to have a laser like focus on eradicating avoidable deaths while a new policy on whistleblowing would give more support to NHS staff who speak out about poor standards of care.

One can hope that these new policies will drive down the numbers of unnecessary deaths and medical mistakes.

If you or your family has been affected by a medical mistake, we are here to help.

Over the last few months there has been endless, daily reports on the NHS service and the crisis that it is in (and has been for a long time). Reports of Hospitals being on ‘black alert’, ambulances in queues at the A&E Departments and therefore not being back on the road ready to respond to the next person in need of help.

Alongside this, and particularly now it is the start of a new year, there are endless reports of obesity putting the biggest strain on the NHS, and a big emphasis on how people can lead a healthier lifestyle. I have read many articles about healthy eating, dieting, exercise, the fact that inactivity is worse for your health than being obese.

We all know that obesity is a serious problem, a health risk that can cause many complications such as heart disease, diabetes, etc. The information is out there and has been for a long time. This hasn’t changed.

What does change, however, is the constant new studies that are published about what is good for you and what isn’t. Alcohol, for example, is one of confusing areas to consider. We are told that drinking a moderate amount of alcohol per week can prevent heart attacks. This is then challenged later on in a separate report saying it may well prevent heart attacks and heart failure, but it increases the risk of bowel cancer and, for women, breast cancer. No wonder people are confused about what they should or should not be doing to increase their health. And what constitutes as a “moderate amount” of drinking? A glass of wine (175ml) a night, for example, is approximately 2-3 units, which is the daily guideline for women. Over a week that is between 14-21 units of alcohol. So, are you best to stick to one glass of wine per day or just having a few drinks once or twice a week? It seems to me that putting alcohol unto your body every single day is a bit excessive….but then so is “binge drinking” at the weekend. But surely you are allowed some sins?

So is it bad education or our busy lifestyles that puts chips and ready meals on our plates most nights of the week? Personally, I don’t think it is bad education, as I said before, the information is not only out there for us to research but is literally thrust in our faces every day in the news and social media. Is a “busy lifestyle” a good enough excuse for poor diet? It takes no more than 10-15 minutes to boil some vegetables, which is not as long as pre-heating your oven and shoving some chips in for 20-30 minutes.

If we tackle obesity (as we are trying to do) it will of course ease the pressure of the NHS, however there are still many other factors adding to the strain, the big one being smoking. Another strain is the fact that we are living longer and the elderly require a lot more in the way of care and assistance.

The next big decision the Government needs to make is whether to privatise the NHS or not - it certainly looks like it’s heading that way. Will this be the answer to our NHS crisis? But it is difficult to see how the Government walking away from the problem could be any kind of answer. There is no NHS in America, so surely this shows that no NHS would not reduce obesity.