Pleas to Northamptonshire residents to 'play their part' as Covid restrictions remain unchanged

 Pleas to Northamptonshire residents to 'play their part' as Covid restrictions remain unchanged ‘Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should’ says Northamptonshire’s top Public Health boss following lockdown announcement.

As the country enters the next phase of tackling coronavirus with a new lockdown system, the message from the local health authority is clear. Northamptonshire Telegraph

See also:

• The government has launched a new postcode checker for coronavirus restrictions - how to use it Northampton Chronicle and Echo
• Vulnerable people don’t need to go back to shielding yet - this is the updated advice based on the tier where you live Northampton Chronicle and Echo
• Children told to self-isolate after Covid case at Barton Seagrave school Northamptonshire Telegraph
• Finedon club to pay penalty after two Covid breaches Northamptonshire Telegraph

How should general practice be preparing for winter?

How should general practice be preparing for winter? In the early days of the Covid-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, the call to 'protect the NHS' was very much focused on preventing hospitals from becoming overwhelmed. As we enter winter facing a second wave of the pandemic, ensuring the hospital system is resilient enough to endure another crisis will be key. But as we’ve said before, NHS resilience is so much more than hospital beds. The King's Fund

State of the nation 2020: children and young people’s wellbeing

State of the nation 2020: children and young people’s wellbeing This report collates published evidence on the wellbeing in children and young people over the period of March to August 2020, including: statistics on the personal wellbeing of children and young people in England and the UK; a wider set of indicators on their; relationships; health; education and skills; personal finance; activities; and where they live. Department for Education

Stories of shielding: life in the pandemic for those with health and care needs

Stories of shielding: life in the pandemic for those with health and care needs When lockdown began, Local Voices created a digital platform - Our Covid Voices - for people with health and care needs to share their experiences of the impact of the the pandemic. This provided the unfiltered views and stories from people at great risk of all the effects of the pandemic, including anxiety, uncertainty and changes to their care. Also their relationships, their jobs and dealing with the everyday aspects of life in the pandemic. This report is a compliation of the contributions to help inform any decisions taken in the future regarding the way their needs are addressed. National Voices

Levelling up communities

Levelling up communities The Covid Recovery Commission was formed in July 2020. The independent Commission brings together some of the UK’s most prominent business figures and entrepreneurs. The Commission will release three short papers before the end of 2020 and a final report in February 2021.

This first report presents the Commission’s initial analysis on how inequality impacts on individuals, neighbourhoods and communities right across the UK and how these inequalities have been impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. It argues that a new approach to levelling up is needed to tackle these inequalities. This should focus on local impacts and use a comprehensive strategy, wider than simply rebalancing economic fortunes, to ensure the UK economy and society is fairer post-Covid-19, than it was before.

Cutting-edge treatments to be fast-tracked to patients through international collaborations

Cutting-edge treatments to be fast-tracked to patients through international collaborations The UK will join the USA, Canada, Australia, Switzerland, Singapore and Brazil to speed up the approval of innovative medicines. Department of Health and Social Care

Clinically extremely vulnerable receive updated advice tailored to local COVID alert levels

Clinically extremely vulnerable receive updated advice tailored to local COVID alert levels Clinically extremely vulnerable people in England will receive new guidance to help them reduce their risk from coronavirus, tailored to where they live. Department of Health and Social Care

See also:

• Guidance: COVID-19: guidance on shielding and protecting people defined on medical grounds as extremely vulnerable Department of Health and Social Care
• Guidance: COVID-19 surveillance Department of Health and Social Care
• Official Statistics: National flu and COVID-19 surveillance reports Public Health England

Covid-19: New three-tier restrictions come into force in England

Covid-19: New three-tier restrictions come into force in England The new three-tier system of Covid-19 restrictions has begun in England.

Most of the country is in the lowest tier - medium - but millions of people in the North and the Midlands face extra curbs on households mixing.

The Liverpool region is the only area to be under the toughest rules, with pubs and bars not serving meals closed. BBC News

See also:

• Covid Sage documents: What was the evidence and what happened? BBC News
• Shielding not needed yet, despite rising Covid rate BBC News
• Covid 19: Care home visitor scheme to be piloted in England BBC News
• Coronavirus: Patient has sudden permanent hearing loss BBC News
• Trial to test if Vitamin D protects against Covid BBC News
• Covid-19 deaths continue to creep up with 321 victims in England and Wales last week The Daily Mail
• What the SAGE scientists REALLY told Boris Johnson: 10pm pubs curfew won't work The Daily Mail
• Just 2% of Britons are getting Covid-19 test results within a day, data shows The Daily Mail
• Up to ONE-THIRD of people believe unproven theories that the coronavirus was made in a Chinese lab The Daily Mail
• What has gone wrong with England's Covid test-and-trace system? The Guardian
• 'Operation Moonshot': doubts over UK's Covid test ambitions after trial scaled back The Guardian
• Coronavirus: Surge in UK cases makes decision on Oxford vaccine more likely before end of year, says trial director The Independent
• Coronavirus: Liverpool intensive care units '90% full' as city braces for second wave The Independent
• Winter pressures and Covid surge 'causing concern' for NHS staff ITV News

NHS app updated to 'fix' phantom messages

NHS app updated to 'fix' phantom messages The NHS Covid-19 app has been updated to fix an issue with confusing alerts that pop up suggesting exposure to the virus and then disappear.

Users have complained that the notifications are scary and confusing. BBC News

Migrants denied NHS care for average of 37 weeks, research finds

Migrants denied NHS care for average of 37 weeks, research finds Report finds hospital charged destitute anti-FGM campaigner with brain tumour £8,397 for initial treatment

Migrants who need NHS care are being denied treatment for an average of 37 weeks, despite suffering from conditions such as cancer, heart problems or kidney failure, according to research.

One in three end up waiting between six and 12 months, some face even longer delays and in one case a woman with a serious heart complaint could not access care for more than four years, a report found. The Guardian

Parents shocked to learn of maternity failings at ‘inadequate’ hospital unit

 Parents shocked to learn of maternity failings at ‘inadequate’ hospital unit The parents of a baby boy who suffered brain damage at a maternity unit criticised by regulators say they fear more babies could have been harmed.

Basildon University Hospital’s maternity services were rated inadequate by the Care Quality Commission in August after inspectors identified a cluster of babies who were starved of oxygen during birth and put at risk of brain damage. The Independent