No corner of Northamptonshire has been spared with Covid deaths set to reach 1,500

No corner of Northamptonshire has been spared with Covid deaths set to reach 1,500 Northamptonshire's Covid-19 death toll is climbing towards 1,500 — and no corner of the county has been spared its share of grief for lost loved ones.

Two more victims reported this week in the county's acute NHS hospitals added to a grim number since the first fatalities in the county on March 16 last year. Northamptonshire Telegraph

First for the county as KGH surgeon performs new operation

First for the county as KGH surgeon performs new operation A Desborough woman has become the first person in the county to have a new ‘key hole’ operation to remove a disc from a person’s spine.

Tracey Westley, 45, had the minimally invasive discectomy operation at KGH on March 16, performed by consultant orthopaedic spine surgeon Purnajyoti Banerjee. Northamptonshire Telegraph

Productivity of the English National Health Service: 2018/19 update

Productivity of the English National Health Service: 2018/19 update This report updates the Centre for Health Economics’ time-series of NHS productivity growth for the period 2017/18 to 2018/19. NHS productivity growth is measured by comparing the growth in outputs produced by the NHS to the growth in inputs used to produce them. NHS outputs include all the activities undertaken for NHS patients wherever they are treated in England. It also accounts for changes in the quality of care provided to those patients. NHS inputs include the number of doctors, nurses and support staff providing care, the equipment and clinical supplies used, and the facilities of hospitals and other premises where care is provided. 

Advanced therapies toolkit

Advanced therapies toolkit The NHS readiness toolkit provides resources for healthcare organisations that are working towards the delivery of advanced therapies for patients.

The toolkit is intended for senior hospital management, operational managers, clinicians, pharmacists, nurses, laboratory teams and others involved in the delivery of advanced therapies. Advanced Therapy Treatment Centre 

Women's Health Strategy: call for evidence

Women's Health Strategy: call for evidence The DHSC is seeking views to help inform the development of the government’s Women’s Health Strategy. This call for evidence will run for a period of twelve weeks and is open to everyone aged 16 and over. The easiest way to participate in the call for evidence as an individual is by completing the public survey. Submissions are also sought from individuals or organisations who have expertise in women’s health, such as researchers and third-sector organisations. This consultation closes at 11:45pm on 30 May 2021. Department of Health and Social Care

Speech: Health and Social Care Secretary's statement on coronavirus (COVID-19): 28 April 2021

Speech: Health and Social Care Secretary's statement on coronavirus (COVID-19): 28 April 2021 Speech by Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Matt Hancock at the Downing Street coronavirus briefing. Department of Health and Social Care

See also: 

• UK sends oxygen factories to support India Department of Health and Social Care
• UK secures extra 60 million Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines Department of Health and Social Care
• Guidance: Inadvertent vaccination in pregnancy (VIP) Public Health England

UK orders 60m more doses of Pfizer Covid vaccine for booster jabs

UK orders 60m more doses of Pfizer Covid vaccine for booster jabs The UK has ordered a further 60m doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid vaccine in an effort to ensure that booster jabs can be given from this autumn, the government has announced.

The health secretary, Matt Hancock, made the announcement at a Downing Street press conference on Wednesday and said the extra doses would be used alongside other approved vaccines in “protecting the progress that we have made”.  The Guardian

See also:

• Covid: How the UK has been getting jabs to remote territories BBC News
• India Covid: Hospitals overwhelmed as deaths pass 200,000 BBC News
• India Covid-19: Deadly second wave spreads from cities to small towns BBC News
• Get ready for a 'normal' summer: Nearly 70% of adults in England now have coronavirus antibodies The Daily Mail
• Schoolchildren should be taught to spot anti-vaxx misinformation on social media, scientist claims The Daily Mail
• Coronavirus: UK confidence in Covid vaccine safety has RISEN despite blood clot scare The Daily Mail
• Booking tickets for festivals in July or August 'carries some risk', in latest hint restrictions won't end on June 21 The Daily Telegraph
• UK drops plans for mandatory Covid passports in pubs and restaurants The Guardian
• ‘Misguided’ home testing programme unlikely to reduce transmission, experts warn The Independent
• NHS sets out GP referral pathways for long COVID GPonline

Free e-cigarettes for smokers in A&E trial

Free e-cigarettes for smokers in A&E trial Smokers attending emergency departments will be given free e-cigarettes and taught how to use them, in a trial designed to help people quit.

Patients will be offered a device, enough e-liquid supplies for a week, and referral to local smoking-cessation services, alongside medical advice.

Hospitals in Norfolk, London, Leicester and Edinburgh will participate. BBC News

East of England Ambulance Service Trust in legal agreement to tackle sexual harassment

East of England Ambulance Service Trust in legal agreement to tackle sexual harassment An NHS trust has become the first in the UK to be forced to tackle its "high levels" of sexual harassment.

Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspectors said the East of England Ambulance Service Trust (EEAST) had not done enough to ensure staff and patients were protected from abuse. BBC News