'Roadmap out of lockdown will be a slow, step-by-step relaxation of rules'

'Roadmap out of lockdown will be a slow, step-by-step relaxation of rules' Northamptonshire's director of health warns it will not be a quick fix after Boris Johnson's Monday announcement. Northamptonshire Telegraph 

See also:

• Covid-free Northamptonshire villages are sitting right next door to towns with the country's highest rate Northampton Chronicle and Echo
• ‘Postcode lockdowns’ may continue all year to contain mutant Covid strains - how it could work Northampton Chronicle and Echo
• Test and Trace team tracking nine out of every ten Covid-19 targets in Northamptonshire  Northamptonshire Telegraph

Northamptonshire becomes one of ten places in England to pilot new maternal mental health service

Northamptonshire becomes one of ten places in England to pilot new maternal mental health service  Northamptonshire will be one of ten locations in the country to pilot a new maternal mental health service this spring. 

Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (NHFT) will be providing this new service that aims to support women experiencing mental health conditions relating to the birth experience. This includes birth trauma, fear of childbirth - known as tokophobia - or pregnancy loss (still birth, miscarriage or neonatal death). Northamptonshire Telegraph

Chart of the week: Recovery on waiting times levelling off as England's regions balance Covid and non-Covid treatment

Chart of the week: Recovery on waiting times levelling off as England's regions balance Covid and non-Covid treatment  Sarah Reed and Jenny Davies look back at how waiting times for planned treatment have been holding up across England over recent months as the NHS has juggled the need to maintain routine care alongside a devastating second wave of Covid-19. Nuffield Trust 

What does the pandemic mean for health and health inequalities? An overview of the COVID-19 impact inquiry

What does the pandemic mean for health and health inequalities? An overview of the COVID-19 impact inquiry This infographic highlights areas of focus for the COVID-19 impact inquiry and some of the questions that it seeks to answer.

A healthy population is one the nation’s most important assets. Good health supports positive social and economic outcomes, for individuals and for society. 

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, there were already signs that the health of the people in the UK was falling behind comparable countries. The Health Foundation 

Peering through the gloom: the near and medium-term future for public health funding

Peering through the gloom: the near and medium-term future for public health funding At The King’s Fund, we’ve just updated our nutshell on public health funding to 2020/21, but what will the coming year look like? With less than two months to go, directors of public health are still waiting to know what their allocation from the Department of Health and Social Care will be from this April for the following financial year. 

The health of people from ethnic minority groups in England

The health of people from ethnic minority groups in England This explainer examines the differences in health outcomes for ethnic minority groups, highlighting the variation across groups and conditions, and considers what’s needed to reduce health inequalities. The King's Fund 

Inclusion health self-assessment tool for primary care networks

Inclusion health self-assessment tool for primary care networks This online tool aims to help primary care networks (PCNs) to assess their engagement with inclusion health groups. These are the groups identified as experiencing the worst health inequalities in the UK. The tool will provide a unique and tailored guide which will help PCNs to embed action on tackling health inequalities into their everyday activities. VCSE Health & Wellbeing Alliance 

Supporting the LGBTQ+ population through COVID-19 and beyond

Supporting the LGBTQ+ population through COVID-19 and beyond Leaders from across the healthcare system agree that for the LGBTQ+ population to recover and thrive after the pandemic, the way services are designed and delivered, and the workforce environments they are delivered in, must change. This report sets out a series of recommendations to help healthcare leaders, service designers and commissioners ensure their services and workplaces meet the needs of the LGBTQ+ population NHS Confederation

Establishing the National Institute for Health Protection

Establishing the National Institute for Health Protection In the summer of 2020, the Department of Health and Social Care announced the establishment of the National Institute for Health Protection (NIHP). The NIHP brings together the health protection and resilience functions of Public Health England, the Joint Biosecurity Centre and NHS Test and Trace. This briefing looks at what is known so far about the new body and reaction from the health sector, ahead of it being formally established in spring 2021. House of Commons Library 

New campaign to support vaccine roll-out backed by social media companies and British institutions

New campaign to support vaccine roll-out backed by social media companies and British institutions Social media platforms and celebrities team up with government and NHS to launch new graphics to show support for vaccine roll-out. Department of Health and Social Care 

See also:

• Transparency data: Coronavirus England briefing, 18 February 2021 Department of Health and Social Care
• £18.5 million to tackle long COVID through research Department of Health and Social Care
• Guidance: COVID-19 surveillance and immunity studies Department of Health and Social Care
• COVID-19 home testing kits now easier to order Department of Health and Social Care
• Weekly national flu and COVID-19 surveillance reports published Public Health England

Covid: Health workers appeal to PM for better personal protection

Covid: Health workers appeal to PM for better personal protection Nearly 20 major healthcare bodies are appealing to the PM for better personal protection against coronavirus. 

They say at least 930 health and care workers have died of Covid-19 and more are experiencing long-term effects.

In a letter, they say measures to stop airborne spreading are "inadequate" and call for urgent improvement in masks and other defences against variants.

The government said it was monitoring evidence on airborne transmission and would update advice "where necessary". BBC News 

See also:

• Letter to the Prime Minister on protecting health care workers Royal College of Nursing et al
• Coronavirus: Has the NHS got enough of the right PPE? BBC News
• Covid: Three in 10 care home staff in England not vaccinated BBC News
• No Covid variants found on London Tubes, buses and stations BBC News
• Covid vaccines: Boris Johnson pledges surplus to poorer countries at G7 BBC News
• Minister hints postcode lockdowns to be used when national curbs eased The Daily Mail
• Covid prevalence 'really high' despite lockdown causing infection rates to fall by two-thirds The Daily Telegraph
• South African variant could significantly reduce Pfizer vaccine protection, study suggests The Daily Telegraph
• English care home rules could ease before second Covid jabs, says minister The Guardian
• Cleaners and porters infected with Covid at London NHS trust denied full sick pay during winter wave The Independent
• Man offered vaccine after NHS error lists him as 6.2cm tall and ‘morbidly obese’ The Independent

Now Norway is offering drug-free treatment to people with psychosis

Now Norway is offering drug-free treatment to people with psychosis Most people with psychosis take powerful drugs to keep delusions and hallucinations at bay - but the side-effects can be severe. In Norway, a radical approach is now on offer via the national health system for patients who want to live drug-free. BBC News 

Calls to make at home early abortions permanent as major study finds they pose no greater risk

Calls to make at home early abortions permanent as major study finds they pose no greater risk At home early abortions pose no greater risk and allow women to have the procedure much earlier on in their pregnancy, research has found.

The findings have sparked calls from leading healthcare providers for the option, which was rolled out in the wake of lockdown measures last spring, to be made permanent. The Independent 

See also:

• Demand for self-managed online telemedicine abortion in eight European countries during the COVID-19 pandemic: a regression discontinuity analysis (open access) BMJ Sexual and Reproductive Health
• BPAS comment on telemedical abortion research British Pregnancy Advice Service

The NHS rose to the challenge of Covid, but its next test may be even harder | Bruce Keogh

The NHS rose to the challenge of Covid, but its next test may be even harder | Bruce Keogh Over the past year, our NHS has risen to the challenges of the pandemic. But it’s been a very close-run thing. There have been well-publicised difficulties such as the shortage of ventilators, ICU beds and PPE, and the physical and staffing capacity of the health service has been strained to breaking point. GPs have managed the risks to patients who have been unable to receive specialist care. We now face a growing backlog of postponed treatments and emerging mental health issues. So if we were to imagine a post-Covid NHS, toughened by the challenges of the pandemic but better prepared for the future, what would it look like? The Guardian 

Major project reduces inpatient falls, saves £13 million for UK’s National Health Service

Major project reduces inpatient falls, saves £13 million for UK’s National Health Service A 10-year project to reduce the number of inpatient falls has saved the United Kingdom's National Health Service more than £13 million, thanks to a team of researchers including an academic from Kingston University, London and St George's, University of London.

The 'Becoming fall-safe: a framework for reducing impatient falls programme' was launched at Brighton and Sussex University Hospital (BSUH) NHS Trust in 2009, just months after a catastrophic fall on a ward led to the death of a patient. News-Medical