Staff sickness rate at Northamptonshire Healthcare fell during lockdown

Staff sickness rate at Northamptonshire Healthcare fell during lockdown The sickness absence rate among staff at Northamptonshire Healthcare fell at the start of lockdown, figures show, despite illness rising elsewhere in the NHS. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Greencore: Northampton factory at centre of Covid-19 outbreak remains open

Greencore: Northampton factory at centre of Covid-19 outbreak remains open A sandwich-making factory at the centre of a coronavirus outbreak has remained partially open despite almost 300 staff testing positive for the virus.

Workers at M&S supplier Greencore in Northampton, say departments including dispatch are still working despite a temporary government closure.

The company said a "small number" of workers were working "in order to monitor and maintain the site". BBC Northampton

See also:

• Greencore completes deep clean as 'small number' of staff return to Northampton site, company confirms Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Time to deliver real change for people with a learning disability and autistic people

Time to deliver real change for people with a learning disability and autistic people A new report by NHS Providers calls for immediate action to tackle stigma and the historic underfunding of services for people with a learning disability and autistic people.

The report says the longstanding inequity in the development, commissioning and delivery of these services has harmed the health and wellbeing of these vulnerable groups of individuals, resulting in reduced life expectancy and – in extreme cases – increased risk of abuse.

However the report also highlights the fact that most learning disability and autism services are providing people with good care according to Care Quality Commission, and there are some services rated as outstanding. NHS Providers

See also:

• Getting it right for everyone: meeting the needs of people with a learning disability and autistic people in NHS services NHS Providers
• Making 2020s the decade we deliver real change for people with a learning disability and autism NHS Providers
• Sending learning disabled patients to private hospitals increases risk of abuse, NHS warned The Independent

Face coverings in education

 Face coverings in education Guidance on the use of face coverings for schools and other education institutions that teach people in Years 7 and above in England. Department for Education

Coronavirus: Nottinghamshire woman, 75, 'first positive test within UK'

Coronavirus: Nottinghamshire woman, 75, 'first positive test within UK' The earliest known person to contract coronavirus within the UK has been identified, scientists believe.

Analysis of samples by the University of Nottingham showed a 75-year-old woman, from Nottinghamshire, tested positive on 21 February.

She is also understood to be first in the UK to die after contracting Covid-19. BBC News

See also:

• Coronavirus: Face coverings U-turn for England’s secondary schools BBC News
• Pressure grows for masks in England's schools BBC News
• Ministers have defied SAGE advice to screen all hospital patients for Covid-19 The Daily Mail
• Drug giant AstraZeneca starts trial of Covid-19 antibody injections The Daily Mail
• From face masks to contact tracing: the full list of Government coronavirus U-turns The Daily Telegraph
• Boris Johnson drops advice against face mask use in English schools The Guardian
• Has England learned any lessons from the first wave of coronavirus? The Guardian 
• Coronavirus: Two more cases of reinfection reported in Europe The Independent

Oral sex linked to vaginal condition bacterial vaginosis

Oral sex linked to vaginal condition bacterial vaginosis Oral sex may create an environment for a common vaginal condition called bacterial vaginosis or BV, according to research in the journal PLoS Biology.

BV is not a sexually transmitted infection. It is an imbalance of the usual bacteria found in the vagina. BBC News

See also:

• Glycan cross-feeding supports mutualism between Fusobacterium and the vaginal microbiota (open access) PLOS Biology

Spreadsheet error led to Edinburgh hospital opening delay

Spreadsheet error led to Edinburgh hospital opening delay A mistake in a spreadsheet set in motion a series of events that delayed the opening of a £150m hospital, a new report has revealed.

Last-minute issues with ventilation prevented the opening of Edinburgh's new children's hospital last July. BBC News

Parliament officials reject petition over lack of non-Covid NHS care

Parliament officials reject petition over lack of non-Covid NHS care Committee accused of censorship after petition deemed ‘not a matter for ministers’.

Parliamentary authorities have been accused of censorship after refusing to accept a charity’s petition highlighting non-Covid patients not receiving NHS care during the pandemic. The Guardian

NHS prescription 'season ticket' would have saved a million people money, investigation reveals

NHS prescription 'season ticket' would have saved a million people money, investigation reveals Over a million people could have saved on NHS prescriptions with a “season ticket” last year, an investigation has revealed.

Patients who paid for at least 12 prescriptions last year could have saved £40 on average, the consumer website MoneySavingExpert.com found. iNews

Doctors call on BMA to survey members on industrial action over 'real-terms pay cuts'

Doctors call on BMA to survey members on industrial action over 'real-terms pay cuts' Doctors will call on the BMA to ask members if they would support a ballot on industrial action to tackle the 'real-terms pay erosion' the profession has experienced over the past decade at a meeting next month. GPonline

See also:

• Pay award for hospital medical and dental staff, doctors and dentists in public health, the community health service and salaried primary dental care NHS Employers