“The patient is the single most important safety barometer” according to roundtable discussion

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 Introduction Patient safety has featured heavily in the news recently, with the Mid Staffordshire inquiry, childrens heart surgery in Leeds and the investigation into deaths of babies at Furness General Hospital.  It is a top priority for commissioners.  The Health Foundation recently published an evidence review Involving patients in improving safety (1).  This report follows [read the full story…]

Commissioning a good child health service

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Introduction When a child becomes ill, the first clinician they meet is most likely to be their GP. This report is the result of a collaboration between the Royal College of General Practitioners, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, the Royal College of Nursing, and the Department of Health to identify how to [read the full story…]

New framework to help staff protect vulnerable people

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Background This document provides guidance for people working to prevent and reduce the risk of abuse and neglect of adults. It is aimed at NHS staff and their partners in education and social care and has been developed in partnership with the Department of Health, the Department of Education, the NHS and the social care [read the full story…]

Powered toothbrushes are as safe to use as manual toothbrushes

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Powered toothbrushes (PTB) have been available since the 1960s and Cochrane reviews have shown that powered toothbrushes with a rotation oscillation action reduce plaque and gingivitis more than manual toothbrushing (MTB). The main focus of these review has been their effectiveness rather than the safety of these brushes.  Van der Weijden et al undertook a [read the full story…]

Dental care provision by auxilary dental providers

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The aim of this review was to evaluate the existing evidence in relation to the safety, quality, productivity or cost-benefit, and patient satisfaction of the procedures performed by the different groups of dental providers. The authors searched the Cochrane, Medline, Embase, and PubMed databases.  They included  4 papers that addressed safety , 9 for quality  [read the full story…]