A National Patient Safety Alert has been issued on the risk of inappropriate anticoagulation of patients with a mechanical heart valve. National Patient Safety Alert – Inappropriate anticoagulation of patients with a mechanical heart valve About this alert All patients with prosthetic mechanical heart valves require life-long oral anticoagulation with a vitamin K antagonist (VKA), […]

A National Patient Safety Alert has been issued asking all providers that use piped medical air to eliminate the risk of inadvertently connecting patients to medical air via a flowmeter instead of oxygen. National Patient Safety Alert – Eliminating the risk of inadvertent connection to medical air via a flowmeter About this alert Air flowmeters […]

A potentially life threatening TikTok trend, involving tiny magnets that can be easily swallowed, has triggered the NHS to call for a ban. These tiny magnetic balls are widely sold as creative toys, with a recent TikTok craze seeing them used as fake facial piercings by teenagers. The viral prank sees people place two magnetic […]

A joint National Patient Safety Alert has been issued by the NHS England and NHS Improvement National Patient Safety Team and Royal College of Emergency Medicine on the need for urgent assessment/treatment following ingestion of ‘super strong’ magnets. National Patient Safety Alert – Urgent assessment/treatment following ingestion of ‘super strong’ magnets About this alert Small […]

The NHS has teamed up with law enforcement and security agencies to warn the public not to fall victim to con men trying to exploit the coronavirus vaccine campaign. England’s top GP has joined the head of Action Fraud, the National Crime Agency (NCA) and the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) in issuing joint advice […]

A joint National Patient Safety Alert has been issued by the NHS England and NHS Improvement National Patient Safety Team, British Thoracic Society (BTS) and Association of Respiratory Nurse Specialists (ARNS), on the risk of deterioration due to rapid offload of pleural effusion fluid from chest drains. National Patient Safety Alert – Deterioration due to […]

A National Patient Safety Alert has been issued on the risk of foreign body aspiration during intubation, advanced airway management or ventilation. National Patient Safety Alert – Foreign body aspiration during intubation, advanced airway management or ventilation About this alert Foreign body aspiration can occur if loose items are unintentionally introduced into the airway during […]

A joint National Patient Safety Alert has been issued by NHS Improvement and NHS England national patient safety team, Royal College of General Practitioners, Royal College of Physicians and Society for Endocrinology, regarding the introduction of a new Steroid Emergency Card to support the early recognition and treatment of adrenal crisis in adults. National Patient […]

A National Patient Safety Alert has been issued on the risk of death from unintended administration of sodium nitrite. National Patient Safety Alert – Risk of death from unintended administration of sodium nitrite About this alert Sodium nitrite has one licensed indication: as an antidote to cyanide poisoning. It can cause significant side effects and […]

NHS leaders are calling on all hospital trusts and other healthcare providers to ensure additional information and guidance around social distancing, hand hygiene and PPE measures are widely promoted and accessible to staff working at all levels within their organisation. This will involve looking at new and more effective ways to ensure those colleagues who […]