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Important: please update your RDS app to version 4.7.3 Details with newsletter below.

Please update your RDS app to v4.7.3

We asked you in January to update to v4.7.2.  After the deployment planned for 27th February, this new update will be needed to ensure that you are able to download RDS toolkits even when the RDS website is not available. We will wait until as many users as possible have downloaded the new version before switching off the old system for app downloads and moving entirely to the new approach.

To check your current RDS version, click on the three dots bottom right of the RDS app screen. This takes you to a “More” page where you will see the version number. 

To update to the latest release:

 On iPhones – go to the Apple store, click on your profile icon top right, scroll down to see the apps waiting to be updated and update the RDS app.

On Android phones – these can vary, but try going to the Google Play store, click on your profile icon top right, click on “Manage apps and device”, select and update the RDS app.

Right Decision Service newsletter: February 2025

Welcome to the February 2025 update from the RDS team

1.     Next release of RDS

 

A new release of RDS is planned (subject to outcomes of current testing) for week beginning 24th February. This will deliver:

 

  • Fixes to mitigate the recurring glitches with the RDS admin area and the occasional brief user interface outages which have arisen following implementation of the new distributed technology infrastructure in December 2024.

 

  • Capability to embed content from Google calendar, Google Maps, Daily Motion, Twitter feeds, Microsoft Stream into RDS pages.

 

  • Capability to include simple multiplication in RDS calculators.

 

The release will also incorporate a number of small fixes, including:

  • Exporting of form within Medicines Sick Day Guidance in polypharmacy toolkit
  • Links to redundant content appearing in search in some RDS toolkits
  • Inclusion of accordion headers alongside accordion text in search result snippets.
  • Feedback form on mobile app.
  • Internal links on mobile app version of benzo tapering tool

 

We will let you know when the date and time for the new release are confirmed.

 

2.     New RDS developments

There is now the capability to publish toolkits on the web with left hand side navigation rather than tiles on the homepage. To use this feature, turn on the “Toggle navigation panel” option at the top of the Page settings menu at toolkit homepage level – see below. Please note that publication to downloadable mobile app for this type of navigation is still under development.

The Benzodiazepine tapering tool (https://rightdecisions.scot.nhs.uk/benzotapering) is now available as part of the RDS toolkit for the national benzodiazepine prescribing guidance developed by the Scottish Government Effective Prescribing team. The tool uses this national guidance developed with a wide-ranging multidisciplinary group. This should be used in combination with professional judgement and an understanding of the needs of the individual patient.

3.     Archiving and version control and new RDS Search and Browse interface

Due to the intensive work Tactuum has had to undertake on the new technology infrastructure has pushed back the delivery dates again and some new requirements have come out of the recent user acceptance testing. It now looks likely to be an April release for the search and browse interface. The archiving and version control functionality may be released earlier. We’ll keep you posted.

4.     Statistics

At the end of January, Olivia completed the generation of the latest set of usage statistics for all RDS toolkits. If you would like a copy of the stats for your toolkit, please contact Olivia.graham@nhs.scot .

 

5.     Review of content past its review date

We have now generated reports of all RDS toolkit content that has exceeded its review date by 6 months or more. We will be in touch later this month with toolkit owners and editors to agree the plan for updating or withdrawing out of date content.

 

6.     Toolkits in development

Some important toolkits in development by the RDS team include:

  • National CVD prevention pathways – due for release end of March 2025.
  • National respiratory pathways, optimal cancer diagnostic pathways and cancer prehabilitation pathways from the Centre for Sustainable Delivery. We will shortly start work on the national cancer referral pathways, first version due for release via RDS around end of June 2025.
  • HIS Quality of Care Review toolkit – currently in final stages of quality assurance.

 

The RDS team and other information scientists in HIS have also been producing evidence summaries for the Scottish Government Realistic Medicine team, to inform development of national guidance around Procedures of Limited Clinical Value. This guidance will in due course be translated into an RDS toolkit.

 

7. Training sessions for new editors (also serve as refresher sessions for existing editors) will take place on the following dates:

  • Friday 28th February 12-1 pm
  • Tuesday 11th March 4-5 pm

 

To book a place, please contact Olivia.graham@nhs.scot, providing your name, organisation, job role, and level of experience with RDS editing (none, a little, moderate, extensive.)

 

To invite colleagues to sign up to receive this newsletter, please signpost them to the registration form  - also available in End-user and Provider sections of the RDS Learning and Support area.   If you have any questions about the content of this newsletter, please contact his.decisionsupport@nhs.scot  If you would prefer not to receive future newsletters, please email Olivia.graham@nhs.scot and ask to be removed from the circulation list.

With kind regards

 

Right Decision Service team

Healthcare Improvement Scotland

 

 

Reporting a perinatal death to the Procurator Fiscal (1010)

Please report any inaccuracies or issues with this guideline using our online form

The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) booklet “Reporting deaths to the Procurator Fiscal: Information and Guidance for Medical Practitioners” provides a clear concise guide to assist medical practitioners to decide whether a death requires to be reported to the Procurator Fiscal and, if so, how to go about doing this.

 

When to report a Perinatal Death

The death of any baby who falls into the following categories should be reported to the Procurator Fiscal:

  • a sudden, unexpected and unexplained perinatal death including deaths where results of investigations which may explain the death are outstanding
  • where the body of a newborn is found
  • where the death may be categorised as a Sudden Unexpected Death in Infancy (SUDI)
  • which arises following a concealed pregnancy
  • stillbirths / neonatal deaths following maternal trauma / assault / domestic abuse
  • unexplained neonatal death including deaths due to hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy where the cause for this is unknown
  • neonatal death with unexplained collapse / poor condition at birth

Many intrauterine deaths will be unexplained at the time of birth.  If the obstetric team are in any doubt about whether to submit a report (even if investigations are in progress), it is advisable to discuss the death with the Procurator Fiscal in advance of submitting the report as it will depend on the individual circumstances in each case.

Factors which make a stillbirth reportable will include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • where concerns have been expressed
  • the circumstances will be likely to be subject to an Adverse Event Review
  • it is an unexpected or unexplained intrapartum stillbirth

Timing of report of death to the Procurator Fiscal

All reportable deaths must be notified to the Procurator Fiscal as soon as possible after occurrence and before any steps are taken to issue a death certificate.

In situations where it is not clear if the perinatal death is reportable, discussion with the Procurator Fiscal should take place as soon after birth as possible.

The need to contact the Procurator Fiscal must be considered before a Post Mortem is discussed with the parents, especially if consent for a PM is not going to be given.

If the obstetric team are unsure what to do in a particular case, Dr Penman (Consultant Paediatric and Perinatal Pathologist) can be contacted for advice via switchboard (out of hours on-call service also provided).

Who should make the report?

The doctor with the most detailed knowledge of the circumstances of the death should report it.  For a perinatal death, the on-call Obstetric Consultant should be involved in determining who is to do this.

The death can only be reported by a medical practitioner – the doctor may need to discuss the death with the midwife in advance of reporting it to ensure he/ she has a detailed knowledge of the death and is in a position to provide all relevant information and answer any questions that may be asked about the circumstances of death.

How to report a death to the Procurator Fiscal

The death should be reported to the Scottish Fatalities Investigation Unit (SFIU) team in whose area the significant event leading to the death occurred.

For perinatal deaths which have occurred in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, contact details for the SFIU West team which is based in the Procurator Fiscal’s office in Glasgow are:

SFIU WEST
Telephone: 0300 020 1798
Email: SFIUWest@copfs.gov.uk

In normal circumstances, death reports should be made to the Procurator Fiscal during office hours.  In situations where the death is suspicious, a death report may be made outside office hours to the on-call service, contactable through the police.  This facility should be used in exceptional circumstances only where the matter cannot wait until the next working day.

Information required by the Procurator Fiscal

The reporting doctor should provide the Procurator Fiscal with all of the information required by completing the ‘Notification of Death’ form (ef5 form), a copy of which is contained in Annex 3 of the COPFS guidance (via above link).

An advance call for advice is not a substitute for submitting a completed ef5 if the outcome of the advice call is that the death is reportable to the Procurator Fiscal.

The blank eF5 form will be emailed to you if you do not have access to a copy and should be returned by email to the SFIU West mailbox as soon as possible.

It may be necessary to have a further discussion with the Procurator Fiscal after the eF5 has been received.

The reporting of the death and all discussions with the Procurator Fiscal should be recorded in the mother’s BadgerNet record.

Editorial Information

Last reviewed: 15/03/2022

Next review date: 15/03/2027

Author(s): Jane Richmond.

Version: 1

Approved By: Obstetrics Clinical Governance Group

Document Id: 1010

References

Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service (2015). Reporting deaths to the Procurator Fiscal: Information and Guidance for Medical Practitioners (last revised May 2019).