St Andrew's Healthcare: Overhaul for 'failings' mental health charity

St Andrew's Healthcare: Overhaul for 'failings' mental health charity A mental health hospital charity which made "repeated and systemic failings" in its leadership is to overhaul its current services.

Several concerns were raised at St Andrew's Healthcare, based in Northampton, following an inspection by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

The charity will replace its facility at Fitzroy House, which could hold 110 patients, for a smaller service.

Chief executive Katie Fisher said its current model of care was "wrong". BBC Northampton

Record number of people visit Northampton's A&E for help with mental health crises

Record number of people visit Northampton's A&E for help with mental health crises More people than ever went to Northampton's A&E last year asking for help with their mental health.

Northampton General Hospital was visited 1,870 times in 2018/19 by people suffering from a mental health episode.

It compares to 1,214 people in 2016/17, a jump of more than a third in just two years. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

First Patients Begin Gene Therapy Treatment For Blindness As Part Of NHS Long Term Plan

First Patients Begin Gene Therapy Treatment For Blindness As Part Of NHS Long Term Plan The first patients have received a revolutionary new gene therapy that can restore eyesight as part of the NHS Long Term Plan. Babies born with an inherited retinal disorder, known as Leber’s Congenital Amaurosis (LCA), have poor sight which swiftly deteriorates, with many ultimately losing their vision completely in childhood. NHS England

The health, safety and wellbeing of shift workers in healthcare environments

The health, safety and wellbeing of shift workers in healthcare environments The guidance explores: how shift work can impact on health, safety and wellbeing; what can employers and employees do; and the importance of partnership working on shift working patterns. NHS Employers

Advancing population health management

Advancing population health management Population health management (PHM) – the use of data to identify specific groups within a population that may have similar characteristics and similar needs, and develop targeted interventions to meet those needs – was a notable theme of the NHS Long Term Plan. But it’s something that clinical commissioners have been doing for some time. This report brings together PHM stories from ten different areas of England – led by clinical commissioners – to demonstrate the progress that has been already been made in advancing this approach to healthcare, and what more will need to be done. NHS Clinical Commissioners

Rescue plan 'considered' for virus cruise Britons

Rescue plan 'considered' for virus cruise Britons The Foreign Office is "considering all options" for Britons trapped on a quarantined cruise liner in Japan struck by coronavirus - including flying them home.

Some of the 74 UK passengers and crew on the Diamond Princess said they felt "forgotten", as other countries flew citizens home.

The ship was quarantined on 3 February. BBC News

See also:

• Detailed guide: Coronavirus (COVID-19): latest information and advice Department of Health and Social Care
• Guidance to educational settings about COVID-19 Public Health England
• NHS is 'under pressure' but 'used to emergencies' BBC News
• Coronavirus death toll climbs to almost 1,900 The Daily Mail
• Fascinating microscope images reveal the coronavirus's 'crown' shape The Daily Mail
• Coronavirus takes brutal toll on Chinese healthcare worker The Daily Telegraph
• Sharp spike in China's coronavirus cases after change in diagnostic methods The Daily Telegraph
• Coronavirus: UK to evacuate Britons from stricken cruise ship The Independent
• Coronavirus: Holiday Inn near Heathrow Airport designated quarantine centre for at-risk passengers Sky News

Rapid tests to help tackle Glasgow's HIV outbreak

Rapid tests to help tackle Glasgow's HIV outbreak New HIV tests that provide results in minutes have been introduced in Glasgow to help tackle the worst outbreak of the infection in decades.

Drug users sharing needles are in the group most affected by the surge of HIV cases in Scotland's biggest city.

Previously, test results could take up to two weeks to come back from the laboratory and it could be difficult to trace people to tell them the outcome. BBC News

Transgender patients self-medicating over NHS waits

Transgender patients self-medicating over NHS waits Transgender patients are choosing to self-medicate with hormones bought online from unregulated sources due to waiting times to see NHS specialists, the BBC has learned.

In many areas, some patients wait over two years to be seen, new figures show. England's target time is 18 weeks.

One woman said she was so low it felt like a choice between self-medicating or suicide.

NHS England said it had increased investment to respond to rising demand. BBC News

Women As Young As 35 Are Being Denied NHS IVF Because Of Their Age. This Is The Impact

Women As Young As 35 Are Being Denied NHS IVF Because Of Their Age. This Is The Impact Data analysed by HuffPost UK reveals one-in-nine CCGs in England that offer IVF is imposing its own age restrictions on women under 40.

“I won’t ever get to experience carrying a child. I won’t get to have my baby that I grow and that I feel move, and that’s really hard.”

These are the words of Steph Coath, a 38-year-old woman who is unable to access NHS IVF because of her age.

Despite official recommendations stating women should be eligible for IVF up to the age of 42, Steph’s local clinical commissioning group (CCG) has decided it will only offer treatment to women under 35. Huffington Post UK

Female domestic abuse survivors '44 per cent more likely' to die from any cause

Female domestic abuse survivors '44 per cent more likely' to die from any cause Women who have been subjected to domestic abuse are 44 per cent more likely to die from any cause than the wider population, a new study has found.

Researchers at the University of Warwick and Birmingham discovered domestic abuse survivors are at increased risk of developing cardiometabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

The study stresses the prevalence of domestic abuse – noting an estimated one in three women have experienced it globally and one in four women in Britain have suffered it. The Indepdendent

See also:

• Risk of Cardiometabolic Disease and All‐Cause Mortality in Female Survivors of Domestic Abuse (open access) Journal of the American Heart Association
• Matters of the Heart and Mind: Interpersonal Violence and Cardiovascular Disease in Women (open access) Journal of the American Heart Association

Take action now to avoid worse winter NHS crisis next year, hospitals chief inspector warns

Take action now to avoid worse winter NHS crisis next year, hospitals chief inspector warns Action must be taken now if the NHS is to avoid an even worse winter crisis next year, the chief inspector of hospitals has warned.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) said the use of corridors to treat sick patients in A&E was “becoming normalised”, with departments struggling with a lack of staff, poor leadership and long delays leading to crowding and safety risks. The Independent

The great vape debate: are e-cigarettes saving smokers or creating new addicts?

The great vape debate: are e-cigarettes saving smokers or creating new addicts? The US is cracking down on vaping while the UK is promoting e-cigarettes as an aid to giving up smoking. Where does the truth lie? By Sarah Boseley

Gone With the Smoke is already no more than a distant whiff of bubblegum-flavoured vapour. The vape shop and lounge, one of many in San Francisco, has been forced to close. So have Vapor Den (“eclectic lounge & hipster go-to”) and Happy Vape. From late January, it became illegal to sell e-cigarettes and e-liquids in San Francisco. Even online sales to addresses within the city limits have been stopped. Stores outside the city that dispatch e-cigarettes to an SF postcode will face prosecution. The Guardian