Northamptonshire reaching "breaking point" as NHS confirms 15 more coronavirus deaths

Northamptonshire reaching "breaking point" as NHS confirms 15 more coronavirus deaths NHS England has confirmed 15 more coronavirus deaths registered by Northamptonshire hospitals in the last four days.

Friday's daily bulletin revealed ten previously unrecorded deaths at Northampton General Hospital since Monday and a further five at Kettering General Hospital. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

See also:

• Covid-19: Nursing Covid patients 'a harrowing experience' BBC Northampton
• Children's ward at Northamptonshire hospital to be used as Covid-19 ward from next week Northampton Chronicle and Echo
• Only a matter of time before Northamptonshire community pharmacists are giving out coronavirus vaccines Northampton Chronicle and Echo
• Police dish out 400 Covid fines during first nine days of lockdown in Northamptonshire Northampton Chronicle and Echo
• KGH chief promises children's ward relocation will be internal - but cannot rule out NGH move if cases rise Northamptonshire Telegraph
• These care home residents in Northamptonshire have received the Covid-19 vaccine in the comfort of their own home  Northamptonshire Telegraph
• Anti-mask, anti-lockdown, anti-common sense: Kettering protest planners warned by police Northamptonshire Telegraph
• Police to start spot checks on car-sharing workers on Northamptonshire industrial estates Northamptonshire Telegraph

Five traps to avoid in a new round of NHS legislation

Five traps to avoid in a new round of NHS legislation Long read: With proposals having been made for a significant legislative overhaul of the English health service, in this long read we look at both history and current trends to highlight the traps that need to be avoided if any reforms are to be successful. Nuffield Trust 

Measuring mortality during Covid-19: a Q&A

Measuring mortality during Covid-19: a Q&A With another lockdown underway for most of the UK, Sarah Scobie answers some key questions on how mortality figures are collected and measured during the pandemic. This explainer was originally published last May, was updated again in October, and has now been updated further to reflect the latest data. Nuffield Trust 

Support for staff following patient safety incidents

Support for staff following patient safety incidents This report explores feedback from national investigators around positive efforts identified in the support of NHS staff by their organisations following patient safety incidents. It describes the literature around NHS staff support to attempt to identify areas of best practice and the impact of any interventions. Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch 

Communications toolkit for local maternity teams to improve communications with Black, Asian and minority ethnic women

Communications toolkit for local maternity teams to improve communications with Black, Asian and minority ethnic women This toolkit aims to provide helpful suggestions about how to communicate with women of different backgrounds, about the extra support that is available to them, as well as signposting to currently available publications, messaging, insights and templates. NHS England 

New Every Mind Matters campaign

New Every Mind Matters campaign The new campaign launches to support the nation’s mental health, as half of adults say they are more worried during this current lockdown than in March 2020. Public Health England 

Stepping up: the response of stop smoking services in England to the Covid-19 pandemic

Stepping up: the response of stop smoking services in England to the Covid-19 pandemic This report, written in partnership with Cancer Research UK, examines the performance of stop smoking services in England during the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic. It finds that the Covid-19 pandemic forced local authorities to reconfigure their stop smoking services at an unprecedented speed. Many found that smokers welcomed remote methods of engagement such as telephone consultations. The impact of the pandemic on the NHS meant that NHS providers of stop smoking support could no longer offer the same level support. Many specialist stop smoking services and lifestyle services were able to pick up the demand that could not be met in primary care. Action on Smoking and Health 

Delivering core NHS and care services during the pandemic and beyond: Government response to the Committee’s second report of session 2019–21

Delivering core NHS and care services during the pandemic and beyond: Government response to the Committee’s second report of session 2019–21 This report finds that the Covid-19 response has greatly accelerated the use of digital technology, has mainstreamed remote consultations and similar effects are being seen for remote monitoring. There has been greater flexibility and resilience in the workforce, as well as improved decision making and access to information through the better use of data and simplified information governance guidance. It concludes that these changes should be embedded and extended to support the health and care system’s recovery from the pandemic and ongoing resilience. House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee

COVID-19 vaccines rolled out to people aged 70 years and over from today

COVID-19 vaccines rolled out to people aged 70 years and over from today Millions of people aged 70 and over and those clinically extremely vulnerable to COVID-19 will be invited to get their vaccinations from today (Monday 18 January) as the NHS begins roll out of the vaccines to the next 2 priority groups. Department of Health and Social Care 

See also:

• AI at the forefront of efforts to treat coronavirus patients Department of Health and Social Care
• British public urged to play their part in historic vaccine roll out Department of Health and Social Care
• Research and analysis: Liverpool COVID-19 community testing pilot: interim evaluation report summary Department of Health and Social Care
• Transparency data: Coronavirus cases by local authority: epidemiological data, 14 January 2021 Department of Health and Social CareNHS Test and Trace reaches one million people over new year, as record numbers test positive
• Transparency data: NHS Test and Trace (England) statistics: 31 December 2020 to 6 January 2021 Department of Health and Social Care
• Social care sector to receive £269 million to boost staffing levels and testing Department of Health and Social Care
• A&E visits 50 per cent higher in December than April COVID peak NHS England
• Docs and cops warn on COVID-19 cons NHS England
• Confirmed cases of COVID-19 variant from South Africa identified in UK Public Health England
• Official Statistics: National flu and COVID-19 surveillance reports Public Health England
• More than a third of over 80s vaccinated against COVID-19 Public Health England

Covid-19: England delivering 140 jabs a minute, says NHS chief executive

Covid-19: England delivering 140 jabs a minute, says NHS chief executive People in England are being vaccinated four times faster than new cases of the virus are being detected, NHS England's chief executive has said. 

Sir Simon Stevens told the BBC that 140 people a minute were now being given the jab, usually the first dose of two.

But he said the NHS had never been in a more precarious position, with 75% more Covid patients than at the April peak. BBC News 

See also:

• Covid-19 vaccinations done 'four times faster' than people catching virus BBC News
• Covid-19: Vaccination rollout begins for over-70s in England BBC News
• Covid: Intensive care patients transferred from London to Newcastle BBC News
• Covid-19: Early signs of lockdown restrictions working BBC News
• Covid-19: Can you catch the virus outside? BBC News
• Covid: 'Convalescent plasma no benefit to hospital patients' BBC News
• Coronavirus doctor's diary: Karen caught Covid from the hospital - and took it home BBC News
• Covid UK: One-in-eight 'recovered' Covid patients DIE within 140 days The Daily Mail
• Covid: Brazilian 'super strain' already in the UK, scientist reveals The Daily Mail
• Care home Covid cases TRIPLE in a month: MOST outbreaks are among elderly residents The Daily Mail
• Thousands of doses of the Oxford Covid-19 vaccine 'could be wasted' The Daily Mail
• UK faces delays in delivery of Pfizer coronavirus vaccine The Daily Telegraph
• Inside an NHS hospital at the peak of the coronavirus crisis The Guardian
• Doctors in UK and Ireland face 'ongoing distress' from Covid first wave The Guardian
• NHS in most precarious position in its history, says chief executive The Guardian
• NHS crisis in charts: how Covid has increased strain on health service The Guardian
• Public confidence NHS can cope with Covid at lowest ever level – poll The Guardian
• UK 'nowhere near' looking at lifting Covid lockdown restrictions The Guardian
• Hospitals told to free up beds ahead of influx of patients as ‘toughest part’ of pandemic looms The Independent
• NHS doctors 'told to throw out leftover Covid vaccines' Metro

'Being sectioned felt like a punishment'

'Being sectioned felt like a punishment' Black people are four more times more likely than white people to be sectioned under the Mental Health Act, according to NHS figures.

When Antonio Ferreira was sectioned he says he felt he was discriminated against because of his skin colour.

Now a student at Essex University, he hopes to improve police understanding of mental health problems. BBC News 

Migrant healthcare workers on Covid frontline angry about deportation risk

Migrant healthcare workers on Covid frontline angry about deportation risk Migrant doctors and other healthcare professionals who have contracted Covid-19 while caring for NHS patients sick with the virus say they are devastated that a parliamentary bill that would have given them the right to remain in the UK has been postponed.

The healthcare workers said they were holding out hope that the second reading of the private members’ bill – which had been scheduled for 15 January and is now cancelled – could give them immigration security if passed. The Guardian 

Rise in youngsters with eating disorders is yet another distressing cost of the Covid lockdown

Rise in youngsters with eating disorders is yet another distressing cost of the Covid lockdown The UK’s leading eating disorder charity, Beat, has seen an 81 per cent increase in calls to its helpline since March. In the same period, hospital admissions for bulimia, which involves periods of compulsive eating and purging, rose by 75 per cent. Across the UK, referrals for treatment are up roughly 40 per cent – an increase typically seen over the space of two years. The Daily Mail