Rise in A&E visits in June at Northampton General Hospital Trust

Rise in A&E visits in June at Northampton General Hospital Trust More people visited A&E last month at the Northampton General Hospital Trust – but attendances were still far lower than in June last year. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Coronavirus: Thirty-six at Desborough home with Covid 'recovering'

Coronavirus: Thirty-six at Desborough home with Covid 'recovering' Thirty-six people who tested positive for Covid-19 at a Northamptonshire care home are recovering, the home said.

The outbreak at Cheaney Court, Desborough, had been put down to two Kettering General Hospital patients and one from a hospice moved to the home.

The hospital said its patients, sent to the home between 25 May and 4 June, had tested negative but were later found to be positive for the virus. BBC Northampton

See also:

• Too little, too late; many people won’t bother and it's the staff who will suffer — Northampton's view on wearing face masks in shops Northampton Chronicle and Echo
• Health bosses link car sharing to rise in Covid-19 cases in Northampton and Kettering Northamptonshire Telegraph
• How the coronavirus pandemic unfolded at KGH as deaths finally slow down Northamptonshire Telegraph

It’s no longer enough to know, we must act: workforce race inequality in the NHS

It’s no longer enough to know, we must act: workforce race inequality in the NHS If the sheer weight of reports, reviews and inquiries was a measure of progress, race inequalities would have been consigned to historical textbooks long ago. This has not been the case, and while the pursuit of equity in opportunities and experiences for all has not yet been realised, including in the NHS, its promise still exists. The King's Fund

Strategic Health Authorities and regions: lessons from history

Strategic Health Authorities and regions: lessons from history In 2019, NHS England and NHS Improvement aligned to operate as a single organisation, resulting in the creation of seven regional teams. But this is not the first time national oversight of health care has been supported by these kinds of regional bodies. This report considers what lessons might be learned from recent previous experiences, what works, and what are the pitfalls for this kind of intermediate-level management. A range of senior representatives who were responsible for running regional health authorities in their previous incarnation were interviewed for the report and the issues were discussed with people working in other parts of the health system hierarchy at that time. Nuffield Trust

Coronavirus: impact on young people with mental health needs

Coronavirus: impact on young people with mental health needs This second survey with young people by YoungMinds investigating the mental health impact of the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic shows that many are under increasing pressure and struggling to get the right support. The report reflects the results of a survey with 2,036 young people aged 13-25 with a history of mental health problems, carried out between 6th June and 5th July. It follows on from a similar survey carried out in March, at the start of the lockdown period. YoungMinds 

Rebuilding the NHS: improving medical pathways for acute care

Rebuilding the NHS: improving medical pathways for acute care The RCEM, together with the Royal College of General Practitioners, Royal College of Physicians and the Society for Acute Medicine, have made recommendations for the immediate transformation of the urgent and emergency care pathway. As the Covid-19 pandemic continues, the public must be confident that they will receive urgent and emergency care in a safe environment The statement set out some principles and makes ten recommendations. Royal College of Emergency Medicine

£62 million to help discharge people with learning disabilities or autism into the community

£62 million to help discharge people with learning disabilities or autism into the community People with learning disabilities or autism who could be better supported in their community will have their discharges from hospital accelerated. Department of Health and Social Care

New focus on babies' and children's health as review launches

New focus on babies' and children's health as review launches A major new review into improving health outcomes in babies and young children has launched. Department of Health and Social Care

Coronavirus: Call to infect volunteers in Covid-19 vaccine hunt

Coronavirus: Call to infect volunteers in Covid-19 vaccine hunt Nobel laureates are among scientists calling for volunteers to be exposed to coronavirus after receiving a vaccine to see if it offers protection.

They signed an open letter to the head of the US National Institutes of Health, saying these "challenge trials" could accelerate vaccine development.

The Oxford University Covid-19 vaccine programme's director said such studies should be "feasible and informative". BBC News

See also: 

• Coronavirus: Russian hackers target Covid-19 vaccine research BBC News
• Matt Hancock admits he is 'worried' about Covid-19's 'debilitating' effects The Daily Mail
• Hopes build over UK Covid vaccine as Oxford drug trials work The Daily Mail
• Up to two thirds of elderly were discharged from hospitals to care homes without a Covid-19 test The Daily Mail
• Is Britain's coronavirus outbreak GROWING? Symptom-tracking app shows daily cases doubled in a week The Daily Mail
• More than a quarter of close contacts not reached by NHS Test and Trace The Daily Telegraph
• Mandatory face covering in GP practices vital as face-to-face contacts rise, warns BMA GPonline
• Hospital boss who blamed Covid-19 outbreak on staff pictured without mask The Guardian

Care costs in England should be capped, says social care adviser

Care costs in England should be capped, says social care adviser Sir Andrew Dilnot says uncapped care costs leave families at risk of losing assets

Care costs should be capped at £45,000 a year in England and more cash ploughed into provision for the poorest in society, according to Sir Andrew Dilnot, who has advised successive Conservative governments on reform.

The measures to bring care funding closer into line with the NHS would cost an extra £3.1bn a year – a 14% increase on councils’ social care budget – Dilnot said in evidence on Tuesday to the House of Commons health and social care committee. The Guardian

Poor work-life balance is a likely cause of ill health

Poor work-life balance is a likely cause of ill health Those who struggle to achieve a balance between their professional and personal lives are twice as likely to report physical ill health, according to a new study published in the journal BMC Public Health. The Daily Telegraph

See also:

• Work-life balance and self-reported health among working adults in Europe: a gender and welfare state regime comparative analysis (Open Access) BMC Public Health
• A balancing act: gender and welfare regimes in the association between work-life conflict and poor health BMC Nwetwork