Supporting LGBTQ+ NHS staff

Supporting LGBTQ+ NHS staff Around 1.6 million people in the UK work for the NHS and many more, including staff in general practice and dentistry and large numbers of outsourced support staff, help to provide NHS services. Taking a ballpark estimate for LGBTQ+ prevalence, let’s say 2–3 per cent, would mean tens of thousands of people who identify as LGBTQ+ work in the NHS – a number that seems likely to increase in the near future, as younger individuals appear more likely to identify with part of the LGBTQ+ community, or at least to be willing to report that to researchers and pollsters. The King's Fund 

3D Heart Scans On The NHS To Speed Up Disease Diagnosis

3D Heart Scans On The NHS To Speed Up Disease Diagnosis The NHS is rolling out revolutionary technology to diagnose and treat around 100,000 patients with suspected heart disease, five times faster than normal.

Known as HeartFlow, the latest innovation delivered as part of the NHS Long Term Plan, turns a regular CT scan of the heart into a 3D image allowing doctors to diagnose life-threating coronary heart disease in just twenty minutes. NHS England

Outpatient appointments intended but not booked after inpatient stays

Outpatient appointments intended but not booked after inpatient stays This investigation report explores the patient safety risk of outpatient appointments which are intended but not booked following an inpatient stay. It also considers opportunities for building resilience into the process to ensure timely appointments. It concludes with two safety recommendations that are aimed at reducing the chance that patients will be lost after an inpatient stay and supporting the staff within trusts who are responsible for arranging appointments and tracking patients. Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch 

50 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine administered in UK

50 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine administered in UK Over 50 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in the UK, with over a quarter of adults having received both doses.

Health services across the UK administered a total of 50,089,549 million vaccines between 8 December 2020 and 2 May 2021, including 34 million people with their first dose and 15 million with their second. Department of Health and Social Care

Covid-19 infections in UK back to late summer levels - ONS

Covid-19 infections in UK back to late summer levels - ONS Coronavirus infections in the UK are back to levels seen at the end of last summer with around one in 1,000 people infected, ONS data suggests.

In the week to 24 April, infections fell in all four nations of the UK and were 20 times lower than in January.

It comes as a new UK study has found very small numbers of people have been admitted to hospital with Covid several weeks after having one vaccine dose. BBC News

See also: 

• Covax: How will Covid vaccines be shared around the world? BBC News
• Hospital Covid admissions after jab 'very, very small' BBC News
• Covid: Care home isolation rule axed for low-risk trips in England BBC News
• South Asians in UK at greater risk from Covid BBC News
• Covid: Quarantine for Covid contacts could be scrapped BBC News
• India passes 20 million cases amid oxygen shortage BBC News
• India coronavirus: New record deaths as virus engulfs India BBC News
• Trees planted by hospital treating Covid patients BBC News
• Britain hits 50MILLION vaccines landmark The Daily Mail
• Covid modellers ‘optimistic’ third wave may not happen at all The Daily Telegraph
• England to pilot daily Covid tests as way to avoid self-isolation The Guardian
• Holidays abroad should be discouraged to stop Covid third wave, say MPs The Guardian
• Secondary school pupils to be offered Covid-19 vaccinations from September under NHS plans The Independent

Simon Stevens: How heavy hitter changed the NHS

Simon Stevens: How heavy hitter changed the NHS Think like a patient, act like a taxpayer. That was the mantra of the head of NHS England.

There is even a sign, made by one of his children, in his office as a reminder.

Sir Simon Stevens oversees an annual budget of about £130bn - but this does not stop him monitoring the smaller change. BBC News

Thousands of doctors planning to leave the NHS citing pandemic stress and burnout

Thousands of doctors planning to leave the NHS citing pandemic stress and burnout Thousands of doctors are planning to leave the NHS in the coming year, exhausted by the coronavirus pandemic.

A survey by the British Medical Association found that half of doctors plan to work fewer hours, one in four were more likely to take a career break and 21% were considering leaving the NHS for a different career. Sky News

See also: 

• Thousands of overworked doctors plan to leave the NHS, BMA finds, as many struggle to get the respite they need from pandemic and express fears about unmanageable demand BMA
• NHS faces exodus of doctors after Covid pandemic, survey finds The Guardian

Thousands of patients waiting for dementia diagnoses during Covid crisis

Thousands of patients waiting for dementia diagnoses during Covid crisis Experts have warned of backlogs of undiagnosed dementia cases and worsening standards of care after official figures revealed a collapse in assessing and monitoring patients in England during the pandemic.

NHS data shows the number of people who were assessed for dementia has fallen to less than half the level before the pandemic – 10,535 in February 2021 compared to 23,392 in February 2020. The Guardian