Select a region
Neurology is set to become the latest Hospital department to be subject to an independent review amid “ongoing issues and concerns” within the service, it has emerged.
It has been confirmed that a Royal College of Physicians review of the island's Neurology Department is expected by the end of this year.
The terms of reference for the review were agreed in April, according to a report presented in today's meeting of the Health Advisory Board.
Neurology is the branch of medicine concerned with the study and treatment of disorders of the nervous system, which comprises the brain, the spinal cord and the peripheral nerves.
Common neurological conditions include stroke, epilepsy, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, brain injuries, migraines, brain tumours and dementias such as Alzheimer's disease.
Pictured: Neurology is the branch of medicine concerned with the study and treatment of disorders of the nervous system, including the brain.
Proposals to develop neurology and neurosciences in Jersey were outlined in a Medicine Improvement Plan established in November 2023.
The plan was created following multiple reviews from the Royal College of Physicians, an invited review of Acute Medicine by Dr Rob Haigh, and "serious incidents".
An update on the Medicine Improvement Plan was included in a report presented in today's meeting of the Health Advisory Board.
It showed that only 10 out of 66 recommendations outlined in the plan have been identified as complete so far.
One of the incomplete recommendations was to "review neurology and neurosciences with the aim of improving the provision of medical expertise in this specialty, in particular the inpatient provision".
This was prompted by a "serious incident".
Pictured: Proposals to develop neurology and neurosciences in Jersey were outlined in a Medicine Improvement Plan established in November 2023.
The report explained that a Royal College of Physicians review of neurology is due to take place in the third or fourth quarter of 2024.
It also confirmed that terms of reference for this review were agreed with the Royal College of Physicians on 10 April 2024.
A collation of neurology medical notes are to be sent to the Royal College prior to the review, according to the report.
It continued: "The upcoming review has been discussed with the Neurology service on 3 June 2024.
"Following publication of report, to review the recommendations and develop an action plan for improvements.
"This recommendation has been confirmed to remain red due to ongoing issues and concerns within the service."
It comes after recent Royal College of Physicians reviews of rheumatology and radiology revealed serious concerns within both departments.
Pictured: Chief Officer of Health, Chris Bown with the Royal College of Physicians' review of Jersey's rheumatology department.
The review of the rheumatology department "found the standard of care to be well below what the review team would consider acceptable for a contemporary rheumatological service".
This week, it emerged that as many as 20 rheumatology patient deaths have been referred to the Viscount so far amid concerns they could be linked to incorrect treatment.
Meanwhile, the radiology review found that "aggression" and "gatekeeping" had destroyed diagnosis opportunities.
As a result, 20 women had to be recalled for a breast cancer screening over fears of a possible misdiagnosis by a radiologist, while a further 14 were told that their diagnosis was initially missed – in some cases delaying their treatment for up to a year.
The Health Advisory Board, an independent group which oversees the operations of the Health Department and holds its senior leaders to account, met this morning, but the Medicine Improvement Plan and pending Neurology review were not discussed.
Express has asked the Government to provide the terms of reference for the neurology review and confirm:
Why was this review commissioned?
What are the “ongoing issues and concerns within the [neurology] service”?
What is being done about these issues in the interim?
Comments
Comments on this story express the views of the commentator only, not Bailiwick Publishing. We are unable to guarantee the accuracy of any of those comments.