There is no point in failing to be upfront about shoddy healthcare infrastructure in the worry that fixing it will bankrupt the NHS Face our problems openly and upfront with all the taxpaying public - what should we do next ? Carry on first word medicine in decrepit estate ? Or get a long term plan

Dr Christine Peters@microlabdoc.bsky.social · last mo.

Disappointment Building good hospital infrastructure is expensive Building substandard risky buildings is cheaper We need serious thought and open discussion about the public purse and building for safety and longevity of infrastructure Self delusion re standards being met cheaply is past

Disappointment Building good hospital infrastructure is expensive Building substandard risky buildings is cheaper We need serious thought and open discussion about the public purse and building for safety and longevity of infrastructure Self delusion re standards being met cheaply is past

Plans to replace ageing hospital scrapped after being deemed 'too expensive'

Angela Constance said she had not taken the decision lightly, but the £2.1bn price tag was not affordable in the current climate

news.stv.tv

www.bbc.com/news/article... The question that always needs asked is “did staff raise concerns?” If so - what happened ? If not - why ? Culture creates progress or regress. As money get tighter in the NHS we need better culture, not worse

Staff tell inspectors Glasgow maternity ward is 'unsafe'

The Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow is ordered to improve its patient safety and cleanliness.

bbc.com

If you wait long enough it finally happens.

Statistical significance and infection prevention Does outbreak management require big infection numbers large enough to achieve statistical significance to prove interventions worked? Opposite of prevention in my view “release us from the trap of letting ignorance trump knowledge”

The missed lessons of Sir Austin Bradford Hill

Austin Bradford Hill's landmark 1965 paper contains several important lessons for the current conduct of epidemiology. Unfortunately, it is almost exclusively cited as the source of the "Bradford-Hill...

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Very useful part on risks of mould in the hospital setting “Water ingress may go under-reported and, as such, may be an underestimated source of fungal healthcare-associated infections” pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33636256/

Water springing to life the fungal desert - PubMed

Immunosuppressed patients are at increased risk of developing hospital-acquired fungal infections. The risk of fungal infection from construction is well established, but water ingress also presents a risk if it is not dealt with promptly. This article describes four such scenarios and the learning …

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

It’s time the NHS and GMC put in place some decent systems of investigation and listen to patient voices in the process. There are certainly viscous people who see vindictive revenge as normal process. Externalise all NHS scrutiny and governance.

www.infectioncontroltoday.com/view/droplet...

From Droplets to “Through the Air”: Why Ventilation and Respirators Matter More Than Ever in Infection Prevention | Infection Control Today

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated a shift away from droplet-based precautions toward a “through the air” framework that recognizes aerosol transmission across a continuum of particle sizes. As mea...

infectioncontroltoday.com

For the sake of clarity, as lots of people are asking me : I am not an ICD in NHSGGC I have not resigned I am continuing to work as a Consultant Clinical Microbiologist post Scottish Hospitals Inquiry hearings All my evidence is in the public domain I stand by it.

New crisis at Glasgow hospital as infection control doctors quit

Most consultants in the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital department have tendered their resignation as public inquiry exposes failings

thetimes.com

Incredible substance here from @chrischirp.bsky.social. The 2nd wave of COVID-19 in the UK was a) devastating and b) avoidable. Take time to play the clip of Prof Kevin Fong who breaks down when describing the scale of death and its impact on ICU staff. christinapagel.substack.com/p/the-uk-cov...

The UK Covid Inquiry has laid bare the avoidable horror of the second Covid wave

It is becoming ever clearer both how devastating the second wave of winter 2020/21 was, and how much of that devastation could have been avoided.

christinapagel.substack.com

The problem with NHS decision making is the question is not “does it work?” but “is it cost effective” We have got used to knowing what best practice can achieve, but not achieving it because of the playing off of what a £ can do here versus there Individual benefit weighed against public

HAISCRIBE is based on evidence and experience of how things go wrong from an infection risk point of view throughout every stage of construction. This is old knowledge. Why would it not be adhered to ?

Dr Christine Peters@microlabdoc.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Disappointing doesn’t cover it At what point will the building of hospitals pay heed to the already well established standards and methods of safe construction? There is determination NOT to learn. A headlong rush to deteriorating standards is not a progressive society Well done the whistleblower!

Disappointing doesn’t cover it At what point will the building of hospitals pay heed to the already well established standards and methods of safe construction? There is determination NOT to learn. A headlong rush to deteriorating standards is not a progressive society Well done the whistleblower!

Mould alert over damp wall panels at new Aberdeen hospital

Plasterboard and insulation at the Baird Family Hospital and The Anchor Centre have been stripped out after they were allowed to get wet.

bbc.co.uk

“These observations show that AMR is not a crucial driving factor in the prevalence of a lineage in specific patient populations or disease manifestations” Neonates and E. coli invasive disease. Complexities of pathogen dominance - It’s not all about antibiotic use, virulence factors illuminate.

Alan McNally@alanmcn1.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Am stoked and thrilled that our latest paper is now out. A longitudinal study of invasive E. coli from children in the Netherlands over 50 years www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Brian Devlin my friend is gone and I am heart broken I miss his warmth, wisdom, friendship and solid support as I navigated the hideous realities of NHS whistleblowing He was light and love Irreplaceable model of ethical living in a messed up world www.inverness-courier.co.uk/news/nhs-and...

Prevention means stopping the worst happening by paying attention to the prevention measures assiduously www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

Possums, asbestos and pigeons: snap review into NSW hospitals highlights serious maintenance issues

Health minister pledges to work quickly to improve hygiene after mould outbreak in Sydney’s Royal Prince Alfred hospital left two patients dead

theguardian.com

“The duty of candour is one of the fundamental standards below which care should never fall. It did with Laura" - This comment in a letter from the coroner to CQC has sparked a raft of new actions by regulators years after the family first raised concerns.

Shaun Lintern@shaunlintern.bsky.social · 5mo ago

🚨 EXC: Antony Higginson has fought a one man war against the NHS establishment to get answers after his wife was given 6 toxic doses of paracetamol. Now the actions of 41 doctors and nurses are being re-examined after a coroner blasted their honesty: www.thetimes.com/article/dc5e...

The place to read all the evidence submitted to the Scottish Hospitals Inquiry about the QEUH and RHC hospital building and #infectionControl is link ed below (Documents, transcripts and videos of all witness = Public) The conclusions are awaited and sometime off There is much food for thought

Dr Christine Peters@microlabdoc.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Very torn up for the families The most devastating experience of the SHI was witnessing their visceral pain What politicians don’t seem to grasp is that blanket verbal assurance is not confidence building, nor respectful Transparent work with evidence is We need to get there -starting now

Very torn up for the families The most devastating experience of the SHI was witnessing their visceral pain What politicians don’t seem to grasp is that blanket verbal assurance is not confidence building, nor respectful Transparent work with evidence is We need to get there -starting now

Death bug hospital is STILL not safe families tell Swinney

Grieving relatives of patients who died at a scandal-hit super hospital have joined forces for the first time to issue an unprecedented warning to John Swinney that the £1bn site is still not safe.

dailymail.co.uk

Quite the neon fungus on pine stump.

It’s the details that cheer when the big stuff is too much.

We are now facing the largest measles outbreak since the disease was eliminated from the United States over a quarter-century ago. The science is clear: vaccines are the best way to protect against measles. The NIH Director admits it. Why won’t RFK, Jr.?

Some people touch your life and inspire you and give you hope in a dark place. Jeanne Freeman was one such person. Devastated by her sudden death. She worked for the good of others and we are the poorer for her passing. Deep condolences to those who loved her. www.scotsman.com/news/politic...

Former health secretary Jeane Freeman dies aged 72

The former SNP MSP served as Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport from 2018-2021.

scotsman.com

A lot of chat about keeping public confidence and the importance of reassurance. Facts bring real assurance Fiction brings false assurance We need to discuss that more

This letter has been on my mind for a long time. So many people reaching out and so many stories from different health boards. Something has to change. It’s not just about the QEUH and infections. That’s been just one symptom of a deeper malaise.

Having whistleblown myself I understand and offer my private support to anyone affected - please anyone affected dm me

Tell me this isn’t normal treatment of a journalist in the UK? If it is we are so much further down the USA pathway than a rational being can be comfortable with www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article...

I was spied on by the NHS stasi...but I'll keep on asking questions

An innocuous Google search ended up with me being lied to, harassed and spied on by the health board at the centre of one of Britain's biggest NHS scandals.

dailymail.co.uk

People commit suicide when suffering from the after effects of being vilified as a whistleblower/concern raiser. All the professional bodies and the INWO have an ethical obligation that if they demand speaking up - that they ENSURE safety. Currently it’s a fail on that ethical obligation.

Dr Christine Peters@microlabdoc.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Emma Harper MSP mentioned in her speech in parliament today that staff with concerns in the NHS should speak up and be listened to. No doubt intends well, but demonstrates a shallow understanding of the current state of play. Don’t ask people to speak up until you can PROVE it’s safe to do so.

Emma Harper MSP mentioned in her speech in parliament today that staff with concerns in the NHS should speak up and be listened to. No doubt intends well, but demonstrates a shallow understanding of the current state of play. Don’t ask people to speak up until you can PROVE it’s safe to do so.

The practicalities are preventing proper access and utilisation of Phage as a good option to treat AMR infections. Good to see progress- also focussed work going on in UK.

Vaughn Cooper@vscooper.micropopbio.org · 6mo ago

Phage therapy offers a powerful tool against AMR infections—but only if we move from isolated cases to coordinated systems. The first initiative of the ASM Health Unit, led by Colleen Kraft and Dev Mittar, will tackle this. Delighted by this scientific leadership, join us! asm.org/about-asm/as...