Northamptonshire hospitals face double whammy of staff shortages and rising Covid cases

Northamptonshire hospitals face double whammy of staff shortages and rising Covid cases Nearly 300 NHS workers told to stay at home as virus patients occcupy 10% of beds.

Hospitals are starting to facing a double whammy of pressure as the number of Covid-19 cases in the county rises.

Public Health England has revealed 785 lab-confirmed positive virus tests in the county in the last three days. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

See also:

• Northamptonshire hospitals see 16 coronavirus deaths in eight days Daventry Express
• Public Health chief warns picture is "very stark" after another record rise in Northamptonshire's coronavirus cases Northampton Chronicle and Echo
• Nearly two in five close contacts still not being reached by test and trace regime in Northamptonshire Northampton Chronicle and Echo
• Northampton university students could be offered Covid tests before returning home for Christmas Northampton Chronicle and Echo
• KGH staff told 'actions needed now' as patient numbers rise Northamptonshire Telegraph
• More than a dozen Northamptonshire Police officers have tested positive for Covid-19 since the pandemic began Northamptonshire Telegraph

St Andrew’s Hospital responds to union’s threat of taking action over redundancy pay changes

St Andrew’s Hospital responds to union’s threat of taking action over redundancy pay changes Union claimed changes were being made with consultation...but the hospital denies claims and has now doubled redundancy pay for those who earn the least. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Recruitment begins for two new hospital CEOs as Northampton and Kettering move closer to 'group model'

Recruitment begins for two new hospital CEOs as Northampton and Kettering move closer to 'group model' As Northamptonshire’s hospitals move closer to a ‘group model’ two new CEOs are being recruited.

Following the recruitment of the first group chief executive officer, Simon Weldon, earlier this year, Northampton General Hospital and Kettering General Hospital are looking for a ‘hospital CEO’ to run each site. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Time to bring our care workers in from the cold

Time to bring our care workers in from the cold A new report published by Age UK shows how tough life has been for care workers during the pandemic. The report, ‘Time to bring our care workers in from the cold’, highlights the extent to which care workers have often had to put their own health and financial worries at the bottom of the pile while battling to keep the virus at bay and their clients safe and well. It looks at staff shortages and levels of pay within the care workforce calls for pay equalisation with the NHS.

Delays to intrapartum intervention once fetal compromise is suspected

Delays to intrapartum intervention once fetal compromise is suspected This report aimed to dentify improvements in maternity care to help reduce the risk of delays in crucial interventions during labour when a baby is suspected to be unwell. It was compiled after a review of 289 maternity investigations into intrapartum stillbirths, neonatal deaths and potential severe brain injuries. In 14.9 per cent of cases the delay was a contributory factor. The review identified issues such as inadequate staffing, poor infrastructure and high workload as contributory factors to the delays. Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch

A critical juncture for public services: lessons from COVID-19

A critical juncture for public services: lessons from COVID-19 This report discusses lessons to be learned from the pandemic and recommends a number of principles to transform public service delivery. It finds that decisions were made much more quickly and concludes that many public service providers and councils developed “remarkable innovations” to meet the Covid-19 challenge. However the Committee raise concerns about public service provision during the pandemic for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic and Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people, homeless people, and people with complex needs. House of Lords Public Services Committee 

People with learning disabilities had higher death rate from COVID-19

People with learning disabilities had higher death rate from COVID-19 The report, Deaths of people identified as having learning disabilities with COVID-19 in England in the Spring of 2020 examined data from The English Learning Disabilities Mortality Review (LeDeR) and NHS England’s COVID-19 Patient Notification System (CPNS) which records deaths in hospital settings. 

It found 451 per 100,000 people registered as having a learning disability died with COVID-19 between 21 March and 5 June, a death rate 4.1 times higher than the general population after adjusting for other factors such as age and sex. Public Health England

See also:

• Covid: Learning disability death rates 'six times higher' BBC News

Two new megalabs to open in 2021 to transform the UK’s diagnostic facilities

Two new megalabs to open in 2021 to transform the UK’s diagnostic facilities The labs in Leamington Spa and Scotland will add 600,000 to the UK's daily testing capacity when operating at full capacity, meaning faster turnaround times for test results. Department of Health and Social Care 

See also:

• Pilot for family members to get regular testing for safer care home visits Department of Health and Social Care
• Open consultation: Stopping movement of staff between care settings Department of Health and Social Care
• Latest findings from COVID-19 study published Department of Health and Social Care
• Official Statistics: REACT-1 study of coronavirus transmission: October 2020 final results Department of Health and Social Care
• More than 2 million people reached by NHS Test and Trace Department of Health and Social Care

Covid vaccine: Major new trial starts in UK

Covid vaccine: Major new trial starts in UK A major trial of a vaccine to protect against Covid-19 has launched in the UK - the third such trial in the country.

The jab - designed by the Belgian company Janssen - uses a genetically modified common cold virus to train the immune system.

It comes a week after preliminary results showed another vaccine offered 90% protection. BBC News

See also:

• Covid-19: Next two weeks 'crucial' for ending lockdown BBC News
• 'Covid-19: Normal life back next winter, says vaccine creator BBC News
• Coronavirus: Safety officials had 'political' pressure' to approve PPE BBC News
• Covid: Children more likely to be infected in second wave BBC News
• Coronavirus: Patients face long waits for hospital ops in England BBC News
• Covid: Care home visitors to trial regular testing BBC News
• Covid-19: Labour calls for law to stop anti-vaccination fake news online BBC News
• Why does COVID-19 kill some people and spare others? The Daily Mail
• Schools are to blame for more than a thousand outbreaks of coronavirus since September The Daily Mail
• Coronavirus: PPE 'is STILL being denied to some NHS workers' despite huge stockpiles The Daily Mail
• Don’t put key workers at end of the Covid vaccine queue, warn UK unions The Guardian
• Covid vaccines in the UK: who is in charge, and what is the plan? The Guardian
• NHS needs extra £4bn next year because of Covid, Rishi Sunak told The Guardian
• England's test and trace system hit by 'huge' IT problems last month The Guardian
• Better, smarter, local response systems are the only way to avoid further lockdowns The Guardian
• ‘A long and difficult slog’: Chris Whitty predicts hardest winter for NHS in recent memory The Independent
• Specialist ‘long Covid’ clinics to be launched across England The Independent
• Covid UK deaths up by 462 over 24 hours The Independent
• COVID-19: Boris Johnson self-isolating after meeting with MP who tested positive for coronavirus Sky News

Most statin problems caused by mysterious 'nocebo effect', study suggests

Most statin problems caused by mysterious 'nocebo effect', study suggests Most of the debilitating effects of statins are not caused by the drug, but by people believing it will make them sick, a UK study suggests.

The phenomenon is known as the "nocebo effect" and may account for 90% of the ill health associated with the cholesterol-lowering drugs. 

The British Heart Foundation said the results were undeniable. BBC News

See also:

• N-of-1 Trial of a Statin, Placebo, or No Treatment to Assess Side Effects (abstract) New England Journal of Medicine

Medical ‘advances’ of 2020 could transform future healthcare, leading experts say

Medical ‘advances’ of 2020 could transform future healthcare, leading experts say The technology used to develop the Pfizer vaccine could be used to tackle illnesses such as cancer and other infectious diseases similar to Covid-19, leading health experts have said, raising hopes that humanity can take a major scientific “leap forward” in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

Oncologists, vaccinologists, biomedical engineers and doctors have all told The Independent that the technological advancements seen throughout 2020 could come to have a “profound” impact on the future provision of care for patients suffering from a variety of conditions.

Heart disease deaths soar in England during Covid pandemic

Heart disease deaths soar in England during Covid pandemic Almost 5,000 more people in England have died from heart problems than would be expected since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, a charity has said. 

The British Heart Foundation (BHF) said there had been 4,622 “excess deaths” from heart and circulatory diseases between the start of the pandemic and mid-October. The Guardian

Thousands of NHS staff face a 'disgusting' 200 per cent hike in hospital parking fees

Thousands of NHS staff face a 'disgusting' 200 per cent hike in hospital parking fees Thousands of NHS staff will be hit with ‘disgusting’ hikes for their hospital car parking, making a mockery of Ministers’ temporary free parking pledge, The Mail on Sunday can reveal. 

An internal document leaked to this newspaper shows the cost of annual parking permits will go up by 200 per cent for NHS workers at one of the UK’s biggest trusts, with new permits costing up to £1,440.