Patient safety advocate. Working to reduce avoidable harm in healthcare. Posting in a personal capacity.
Cumbria
Joined September 2011
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Remembering Joshua on what would have been his birthday today, and thinking about the young man he would be now had the maternity unit at Furness General Hospital been operating a safe service on this day 18 years ago.
#neverforgotten #Joshua
James Titcombe retweeted
🚨 EXC: Nottingham hospital launches urgent investigation into hip fracture deaths as its mortality rate hits 50% more than national average - the problem is linked to long delays for emergency surgery according to internal documents.
Full story: thetimes.com/article/b5bc397…
Appalled that this example of harmful normal birth ideology has not been taken down by @StockportNHS.
@MichelleWelshMP @YvetteCooperMP
beta.jobs.nhs.uk/candidate/j…
“Losing an independent HSSIB would have been a tragic step backwards.
Now it’s time for HSSIB to crack on with its world-leading work – and for the system to make sure its recommendations are owned and acted on.”
“HSSIB saved – now let it get on with the job”
Our latest #patientsafety newsletter is now available via @HSJnews here:
hsj.co.uk/patient-safety/pat…
James Titcombe retweeted
“HSSIB saved – now let it get on with the job”
Our latest #patientsafety newsletter is now available via @HSJnews here:
hsj.co.uk/patient-safety/pat…
My heart goes out to @FionaWinserRamm & her family.
It’s shocking that @nmcnews have taken nearly 7 years to act in this case - action take to protect the public now is not safe and effective regulation.
bbc.com/news/articles/c6zjx0…
James Titcombe retweeted
Concerning findings in today's CQC State of Care report - 571k patients waited 12+ hrs on a trolley to be admitted, with CQC warning 'corridor care' must never become normalised. Ending corridor care will be a key focus for the APPG on Patient Safety
cqc.org.uk/system/files/2026…
Really buoyed by the Government's U-turn on abolishing HSSIB 🙏
HSSIB was created by politicians, patients, academics & clinicians coming together. Now those same groups have worked together again to protect its future.
It shows what can be done when people work together for #patientsafety
James Titcombe retweeted
Hugely welcome news for patient safety that plans to abolish HSSIB have been dropped.
The APPG for Patient Safety has worked hard to oppose these proposals. Particular thanks to @bernardjenkin for his tireless efforts to protect independent patient safety investigations.
Exclusive: Ministers drop plan to scrap investigations body ift.tt/14g6vLH
Might be a controversial take - but we have a problem with too many recommendations that aren’t high quality / evidence based. We need roles like this to be able to highlight problems & what needs to change - but non necessarily designing the interventions needed to deliver change itself - which is a highly complex task.
Seems the new maternity commissioner role will be quite toothless…
Although NHS orgs will be obliged to share info, the commissioner’s recommendations “won’t be binding”, says @GillianMerron
“…a doctor should have been called earlier when concerns emerged about Effie's heart rate.
She said: "Once it became apparent that Effie was struggling, that her heart rate wasn't how it should have been, that the CTG wasn't entirely reassuring, a doctor should have been called.”
nwemail.co.uk/news/26656852.…
Fantastic news for patient safety. The government has abandoned plans to abolish HSSIB and transfer its functions to CQC.
The u-turn follows a relentless campaign from @bernardjenkin & interventions from @Jeremy_Hunt & the APPG for Patient Safety.
hsj.co.uk/policy-and-regulat…
Japan will no longer use the term “abnormal delivery” to describe births involving medical procedures such as caesarean sections, following concerns that the wording could cause psychological distress to expectant parents.
japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/1…
“….the dominant "normal birth" discourse marginalized cesarean sections as "abnormal", fostering feelings of "maternal failure" and widespread societal pressure”
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/4286…
James Titcombe retweeted
Exclusive: An independent review into 10 child deaths has identified fundamental governance and sepsis care failings at Mid and South Essex FT
Comes amid CQC prosecution over deaths of two young children from sepsis hsj.co.uk/patient-safety/rev…
James Titcombe retweeted
So, here is the whole screenshot. It looks to me as though they are promoting “normal birth”. Can’t see anything about collaborative working. I think Catherine has a point.
Supporting physiological birth safely, in line with women’s informed choices, is clearly a central and important part of good maternity care.
But adopting a “midwifery philosophy and agenda” that seeks to promote one type of birth over another should absolutely not be.
@YvetteCooperMP @MichelleWelshMP
Same wording. It's spreading.
Job ad. Stockport NHS Foundation Trust
Delivery Suite Coordinator
"To encourage and support midwives to engage the philosophy & principle of the midwifery agenda thus promoting normal birth."
beta.jobs.nhs.uk/candidate/j…
James Titcombe retweeted
I presented this case at a national conference as an example of how the 'matters of concern' listed here are indicative of widespread malaise and not just a one off case at one homebirth. 1/5
“Jen had not made an informed decision to have a home birth & if the out of guidance plan had been completed & all the relevant information provided to her, it is more likely than not she would have given birth in an alternative setting & both Jen and Agnes would have survived.”
judiciary.uk/wp-content/uplo…
“The severity of her condition had not been recognised at the midwife led birthing centre in South Tyneside despite numerous interactions with her and her mother, all of which were compounded by delays in the decision making to transfer…”
judiciary.uk/wp-content/uplo…
“…every patient at a birthing centre should be the subject of obstetric review….There should be MDT meetings with the obstetric staff and midwifery staff and obstetric staff encouraged to work closely together in the management of low risk cases.”
judiciary.uk/wp-content/uplo…