Health chief's fears for over-60s after four more coronavirus deaths in Northamptonshire

Health chief's fears for over-60s after four more coronavirus deaths in Northamptonshire We are seeing patients in hospital who were fit and well before they caught Covid, says county director.

Four more coronavirus deaths have today been confirmed at Northamptonshire's two main hospitals and in county care homes. Northamptonshire Telegraph

See also:

• Northampton dorm rooms a 'Covid-secure' solution for town's homeless BBC Northampton
• A stricter post-lockdown tier system could be decided for England next week Northampton Chronicle and Echo
• Northampton car wash fined after continuing to operate during lockdown Northampton Chronicle and Echo
• Kettering school sends whole year group home to self-isolate after third Covid case Northamptonshire Telegraph
• Coronavirus pandemic 'may have reversed progress on lung cancer survival' in Northamptonshire, experts fear Northamptonshire Telegraph

NHS urges people with mental health worries to seek help

NHS urges people with mental health worries to seek help People with mental health worries are being urged to seek help in a new phase of the NHS’s Help Us Help You campaign.

Although mental health services have been running throughout the pandemic there was a marked dip in referrals despite evidence that coronavirus is making problems more common. NHS England

Investigation into government procurement during the COVID-19 pandemic

Investigation into government procurement during the COVID-19 pandemic The National Audit Office (NAO) reports a lack of transparency and adequate documentation of some key decisions, such as why particular suppliers were chosen or how government identified and managed potential conflicts of interest, in the awarding of some contracts while government was procuring large volumes of goods and services at high speed to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. Some contracts were also awarded after work had already begun, and many were not published in the timeframe they should have been. 

See also:

• Covid spending: Watchdog finds MPs' contacts were given priority BBC News
• Lord Feldman: Department of Health adviser's firm took work from Covid company BBC News
• PPE suppliers with political ties given 'high-priority' status, report reveals The Guardian
• 'No documentation, no justification': NAO criticism of Covid contracts The Guardian
• Businessman was paid £21m of taxpayer cash for securing NHS PPE The Guardian

New film shows importance of ventilation to reduce spread of COVID-19

New film shows importance of ventilation to reduce spread of COVID-19 New short film released by the government shows how coronavirus lingers in enclosed spaces, and how to keep your home ventilated. Department of Health and Social Care 

 

See also:

• NHS launches 40 ‘long COVID’ clinics to tackle persistent symptoms NHS England
• Research and analysis: COVID-19: comparison of geographic allocation of cases in England by lower tier local authority Public Health England

More than 70,000 excess deaths during the pandemic

More than 70,000 excess deaths during the pandemic Rising numbers of Covid-19 deaths have pushed the total number of UK deaths further above the expected level for this time of year.

2,225 deaths involving Covid-19 were registered in the week of 6 November, up by 628 in a week.

Deaths registered for any reason were 15% above the level expected at this time of year. BBC News

See also:

• Covid vaccine: Pfizer says it's '94% effective in over 65s' BBC News
• Coronavirus: Doctors spell out how to exit England's lockdown BBC News
• Too early for Christmas Covid rules, says minister BBC News
• Coronavirus: Head of NHS Test and Trace Dido Harding self-isolating BBC News
• Covid: Thousands of cases relocated in England in data change BBC News
• Coronavirus: What are the EU coronavirus schemes? BBC News
• Doctors and nurses were not prepared to see 'so much illness and death' during Covid pandemic The Daily Mail
• UK 'may have paid TWICE as much as the US' for Moderna's Covid-19 vaccine The Daily Mail
• Has a five-day delay ruined England's second lockdown? The Daily Mail
• Chinese Covid vaccine appears safe and provokes immune response, says study The Daily Telegraph
• Call to protect UK doctors from prosecution over life-or-death Covid rationing The Guardian
• Vaccinating patients against Covid will be a mammoth task for GPs like me | Zara Aziz The Guardian
• Number of global daily Covid deaths hits new record The Independent
• Immunity against coronavirus lasts at least eight months, new study finds The Independent

Lockdown plus autumn sends loneliness soaring

Lockdown plus autumn sends loneliness soaring The week after the clocks went back saw Britain's highest levels of loneliness since the pandemic began, according to Office for National Statistics figures.

The start of November, with darker evenings, had 4.2 million adults always or often lonely, compared with 2.6 million before the pandemic.

This was the peak in levels of acute loneliness since the lockdown in March. BBC News

See also:

• Lockdown loneliness advice from a 91-year-old BBC News

Suicide bereavement: 'Just reach out to us'

Suicide bereavement: 'Just reach out to us' Dr Sharon McDonnell and colleagues at Manchester University have carried out the largest ever survey of suicide bereaved families in the UK. 

More than 7,000 people responded, and the results show a third have suffered from mental health problems, and have considered taking their own lives.

Dr McDonnell began researching the subject after losing her brother in 1990, going on to earn a PhD despite leaving school with no qualifications. BBC News

Lesbian couple demand equal fertility treatment from NHS

Lesbian couple demand equal fertility treatment from NHS They just want to become mothers, but say they’re being discriminated against because of their sexuality.

YouTube stars Megan and Whitney have launched a campaign demanding equal fertility treatment – after they were told they’d have to pay up to £30,000 to a private clinic before they could get any help from the NHS. Channel 4 News