Northamptonshire's Covid-19 death toll now stands at 571 lives lost in just 81 days

Northamptonshire's Covid-19 death toll now stands at 571 lives lost in just 81 days Covid-19 is now known to have claimed the lives of at least 571 people in Northamptonshire.

Official figures released yesterday put the total at 447 in the county's two main hospitals, plus another 124 among care home residents. Northamptonshire Telegraph

See also:

• Coronavirus: Northampton school closed as two staff test positive BBC Northampton
• Official figures reveal coronavirus deaths in the Anglia region have increased by 124 ITV News
• Death rate slows but two more Covid-19 victims adds to tragic total at Northampton General Hospital Northampton Chronicle and Echo
• Northamptonshire's hospitals were "in the dark" over new rules on face coverings for visitors and staff Northampton Chronicle and Echo
• Northampton General Hospital says a big thank you to its army of volunteers Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Personal message from Sir Simon Stevens on Black Lives Matter and health inequalities

Personal message from Sir Simon Stevens on Black Lives Matter and health inequalities The following is a personal message from NHS Chief Executive Simon Stevens, shared internally yesterday with all NHS England and NHS Improvement staff. NHS England

Learning from staff experiences of Covid-19: let the light come streaming in

Learning from staff experiences of Covid-19: let the light come streaming in  month before the Covid-19 pandemic hit the United Kingdom, the 2019 NHS Staff Survey results were released. The results made for grim reading including the highest levels of stress ever recorded among NHS staff. There is a workforce crisis in the NHS in the United Kingdom with more than 100,000 vacancies, more than a third of GPs intending to quit, nurses’ and midwives’ stress levels leading to sickness absence levels at a new high, and nurses feeling desperate with chronic excessive workload and staff shortages. We were already in a very dark crisis. And then the tidal wave that is the pandemic broke upon the health and care system. The King's Fund

Getting the NHS back on track: planning for the next phase of Covid-19

Getting the NHS back on track: planning for the next phase of Covid-19 This report outlines the key challenges that local organisations will face over the coming months. It also suggests some changes in policy and practice that will be required as the NHS prepares to restart a wide range of services either paused or stopped when the pandemic struck. The key challenges identified are: funding; capacity; rehabilitation; health inequalities; regulation and inspections; system working; and managing public expectations. NHS Confederation

Face masks and coverings to be worn by all NHS hospital staff and visitors

Face masks and coverings to be worn by all NHS hospital staff and visitors All staff in hospitals in England will be provided with surgical masks which they will be expected to wear from 15 June. All visitors and outpatients must wear face coverings at all times. Department of Health and Social Care
 
See also:

• NHS volunteers extend support to frontline health and social care staff Department of Health and Social Care
• COVID-19 tests offered to every care home for elderly or those with dementia Department of Health and Social Care
• Study launched to monitor prevalence of COVID-19 in schools Department of Health and Social Care
• BAME women and Covid-19: research evidence Fawcett Society
• Covid-19 rapid summary: modelling the pandemic House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology
• 'The true death toll for Covid-19 is significantly higher than the numbers reported so far' The King's Fund
• COVID-19 is creating an 'epidemic of loneliness', says RCGP in response to 'undetected' home deaths Royal College of General Practitioners

Coronavirus: NHS waiting list 'could hit 10 million this year'

Coronavirus: NHS waiting list 'could hit 10 million this year' Health bosses fear the Covid-19 crisis could see the number of people waiting for NHS treatment double to 10 million by the end of the year.

The NHS Confederation said challenges include a backlog of cases, maintaining social distancing, and staffing.

The body, which represents health and care leaders, said emergency funding and longer-term spending were needed.

The Department of Health has said it will continue to provide the resources, funding and support the NHS needs. BBC News

See also:

• Coronavirus came to UK 'on at least 1,300 separate occasions' BBC News
• Coronavirus: Is R number balanced on knife edge? BBC News
• Coronavirus: 40,000 UK deaths - what happened? BBC News
• Coronavirus: NHS trust bosses not consulted over new face mask rules BBC News
• Coronavirus: Malaria drug hydroxychloroquine 'does not save lives' BBC News
• UK's REAL coronavirus death toll is at least 10,000 too low The Daily Mail
• Coronavirus UK: SAGE experts question Test and Trace scheme The Daily Mail
• Health Minister blames scientists for care home deaths before backtracking The Daily Mail
• Doctors blast report they say did nothing to explain why Covid hits black and ethnic minorities hard The Daily Mail
• UK patients face a TWO-YEAR wait for elective surgery with NHS backlog set to hit 650,000 The Daily Mail
• All BAME staff must be risk-assessed before seeing patients face-to-face, warns NHS England GPonline
• Britons with life-threatening conditions denied care during pandemic The Guardian
• Omission of air pollution from report on Covid-19 and race ‘astonishing’ The Guardian
• ‘We need a strategy’: senior clinicians fear UK has no plan for second wave The Guardian
• UK ministers face legal challenge for refusal to order PPE inquiry The Guardian
• Coronavirus: Why are there so many different death tolls? The Independent

NHS blood unit systematically racist, internal report finds

NHS blood unit systematically racist, internal report finds Large London site ‘toxic’ and ‘dysfunctional’ with promotion ‘based on race and class’

A large unit within the NHS’s blood and organ transplant division has been found to be “systematically racist” and “psychologically unsafe”, according to an internal investigation into working conditions that was leaked to the Guardian.

The report will raise renewed concern about discriminatory practices across the NHS, following allegations last week from the Royal College of Nursing that nurses routinely faced “structural racism”. The Guardian

Babylon Health admits GP app suffered a data breach

Babylon Health admits GP app suffered a data breach Babylon Health has acknowledged that its GP video appointment app has suffered a data breach.

The firm was alerted to the problem after one of its users discovered he had been given access to dozens of video recordings of other patients' consultations.

A follow-up check by Babylon revealed a small number of further UK users could also see others' sessions. BBC News