Corby Covid case rate still number one but currently on the decline

Corby Covid case rate still number one but currently on the decline With lockdown restrictions easing, the Corby Covid case rate - the highest in England for most of 2021 has been dropping - but the town still tops the regional and countrywide charts.

Cases per 100,000 residents reported over seven days for Corby have been stubbornly high in comparison to those of other areas causing concern for Public Health officials. Northamptonshire Telegraph

Patients waste tens of thousands of doctor appointments in Northamptonshire during pandemic – costing NHS millions

Patients waste tens of thousands of doctor appointments in Northamptonshire during pandemic – costing NHS millions Tens of thousands of GP appointments were wasted during the coronavirus pandemic in Northamptonshire because patients failed to attend them. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Shaping the future of digital technology in health and social care

Shaping the future of digital technology in health and social care This report, commissioned by the Health Foundation, provides a summary of evidence for how emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, smartphones, wearable devices and the internet of things are being used within care settings around the world. The King's Fund

Delivering prevention in an ageing world: using technology effectively

Delivering prevention in an ageing world: using technology effectively  As part of the ILC-UK’s 'Delivering prevention in an ageing world' programme, this consultation paper identifies the key areas where technology can play a crucial role in helping push forward the prevention agenda. The paper also collates examples of good practice, including learnings from the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Feedback can be given through the survey within the paper before 30 June 2021. International Longevity Centre UK

The Better End of Life Report 2021

The Better End of Life Report 2021 We take a closer look at how Covid-19 has affected dying, death and bereavement and what we can learn from the pandemic for improving end of life experience in future.

See also:

• Covid: Unpaid carers 'struggled to get pain relief' for terminally ill BBC News

Covid-19 return to work in the roadmap out of lockdown

Covid-19 return to work in the roadmap out of lockdown These guidelines, published in collaboration with the University of Glasgow, are aimed at workers, employers and health practitioners to increase understanding of the risks of returning to work and the appropriate work-related control measures that could be implemented. Presenting a simple, stepwise approach, the document outlines the multiple factors needed to be considered in the Covid-19 return to work assessment. Society of Occupational Medicine

Statement on AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine following MHRA update

Statement on AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine following MHRA update The Government's statement following updated advice from the UK's medicines regulator. Department of Health and Social Care

See also:

• Independent report: Use of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine: JCVI statement Department of Health and Social Care
• AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine: EMA finds possible link to very rare cases of unusual blood clots with low blood platelets European Medicines Agency
• MHRA issues new advice, concluding a possible link between COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca and extremely rare, unlikely to occur blood clots Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency 
• Guidance: COVID-19 vaccination and blood clotting Public Health England
• Guidance: COVID-19 vaccination: blood clotting information for healthcare professionals Public Health England

Covid: Vaccines 'break link' between infections and death

Covid: Vaccines 'break link' between infections and death Increasingly strong evidence shows that the UK's vaccination programme is breaking the link between Covid-19 cases and deaths, scientists tracking the epidemic have said.

A study found infections had fallen by roughly two-thirds since February, before beginning to level off. BBC News

See also: 

• Covid: Under-30s offered alternative to AstraZeneca jab BBC News
• Livingston's Valneva vaccine shows 'strong immune response' BBC News
• Britain's daily Covid cases fall by a third in a week with 2,763 more infections The Daily Mail
• Moderna vaccine in the UK: What we know about Britain's third jab The Daily Telegraph
• UK 'secretly sent 700,000 AstraZeneca vaccines to Australia' despite shortage The Daily Telegraph
• AstraZeneca jab ‘course correction’ could dent confidence outside UK The Guardian
• What do we know about blood clots and the AstraZeneca Covid vaccine? The Guardian
• Covid prevalence dropped by 60% in March but researchers warn decline ‘levelling off’ The Independent

Concern from patients after Nice advise against painkillers for chronic pain

Concern from patients after Nice advise against painkillers for chronic pain People with chronic pain which has no known cause should not be prescribed painkillers, health officials have said.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) recommended physical and psychological therapies should be used instead. The Independent 

Maternity compensation claims cost NHS £4 billion

Maternity compensation claims cost NHS £4 billion Failures in maternity care over the past decade have left more than 1,200 children permanently brain damaged and cost taxpayers more than £4 billion in compensation, new data has revealed.

According to NHS Resolution, which handles compensation claims on behalf of the NHS, the number of maternity claims has increased dramatically from 391 in 2009 to 765 in 2019-20. The Independent