180 Covid patients died after catching virus in Northampton General Hospital

180 Covid patients died after catching virus in Northampton General Hospital More than a quarter of all Covid-19 patients who died at Northampton General Hospital caught the virus after being admitted.

NGH bosses say the startling statistic underlines the "challenges" healthcare staff have faced fighting the coronavirus, particularly during the early days of the pandemic. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

See also:

• Government U-turn over advice to 'avoid' travel to and from Northamptonshire neighbours Northampton Chronicle and Echo
• Scientists ‘find cause’ of rare blood clots linked to Covid vaccines - and how to solve it Northamptonshire Telegraph

How has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted primary care?

How has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted primary care? Since the start of the pandemic the impact of COVID-19 on primary care, and those working within it, has been significant. Staff have been under considerable pressure to maintain services despite social distancing measures, adjusting to virtual consultations and helping to roll out the COVID-19 vaccine. 

In April and May of 2020 – the first months of the UKs first lockdown – the number of appointments booked in general practice plummeted. This led to concerns about unmet need, particularly for people with long-term health conditions, and the potential for delayed diagnoses. However, consultation numbers recovered fast – and by September 2020 total consultations in general practice had recovered to pre-pandemic levels.  The Health Foundation

See also:

• GP practices in England facing 'tsunami of patients' BBC News
• How patient 'tsunami’ threatens to overwhelm GPs BBC News

Leadership and innovation during Covid-19: lessons from the Cardiff and Vale Health System

Leadership and innovation during Covid-19: lessons from the Cardiff and Vale Health System Early in the Covid-19 pandemic, clinicians at the Cardiff and Vale University Health Board realised that they would have to make rapid changes to prevent the widespread cancellation of elective surgery. A core team of staff started meeting in a lecture theatre every morning and evening to work on the redesign. They fell into a particular ‘battle routine’: identifying problems in the morning, coming up with solutions by lunchtime and presenting the proposals back to colleagues in the evening. The King's Fund

Wide support for more comprehensive urgent care indicators

Wide support for more comprehensive urgent care indicators Patients, clinicians and the public have welcomed proposals for a comprehensive set of indicators for urgent care.

The updated standards aim to capture what matters clinically to patients, end hidden waits and reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19.

The proposed bundle of 10 measures takes account of changes in the way that urgent and emergency care is delivered such as the roll-out of Same day Emergency Care and strengthening of NHS 111. NHS England

See also: 

• NHS England gives green light to scrap four-hour A&E target Health Service Journal

Supporting recovery after long COVID

Supporting recovery after long COVID We have produced guidance on how organisations can work with line managers to support staff in recovery from long COVID. 

The information, which was produced in partnership with NHS health and wellbeing leads. NHS Employers

Transparency data: Coronavirus cases by local authority: epidemiological data, 26 May 2021

Transparency data: Coronavirus cases by local authority: epidemiological data, 26 May 2021 Weekly watchlist giving epidemiological coronavirus (COVID-19) data for each lower-tier local authority (LTLA) in England. Department of Health and Social Care

See also:

• NHS Chief Sir Simon Stevens joins 20 million double jabbed NHS England
• Guidance: PHE monitoring of the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccination Public Health England

Dominic Cummings: Five things he told MPs about Covid response

Dominic Cummings: Five things he told MPs about Covid response Dominic Cummings has been speaking to MPs about the UK government's handling of Covid-19.

The former chief aide said Boris Johnson had initially dismissed Covid as a "scare story" and the UK had been too slow to lock down.

Mr Johnson hit back at some of his allegations, insisting that the government's priority had always been to "save lives".

Mr Cummings also suggested that Health Secretary Matt Hancock should have been sacked for numerous failings, accusing him of "lying" to people. BBC News

See also:

• Dominic Cummings: Five claims fact-checked BBC News
• Dominic Cummings: The seven most explosive claims BBC News
• Cummings: Care home protective shield was 'nonsense' BBC News
• Dominic Cummings: What was on his whiteboard? BBC News
• Dominic Cummings' accusations can not easily be dismissed BBC News
• Covid: Matt Hancock must go over Cummings claims - Labour BBC News
• Coronavirus: Dominic Cummings shares lockdown brainstorm with question 'who do we not save?' The Daily Mail
• Government never threw a shield around care homes, Cummings says The Daily Mail
• Matt Hancock to come out fighting after Cummings's 'lying' claims The Daily Telegraph
• Checking facts vs Cummings’s claims reveals major flaws in his evidence The Daily Telegraph
• Contradictions kept piling up in Dominic Cummings’ claws-out rewriting of history The Daily Telegraph
• Matt Hancock to face questions over Dominic Cummings allegations The Guardian
• Matt Hancock should have been sacked for lying, says Dominic Cummings The Guardian
• Dominic Cummings says Covid chaos at No 10 was like ‘out-of-control movie’ The Guardian
• Dominic Cummings said he heard Boris Johnson's 'bodies pile high' outburst The Independent

Covid hospital admissions rising with most patients younger people, says NHS leader

Covid hospital admissions rising with most patients younger people, says NHS leader The number of people being admitted to hospital with Covid-19 is rising in some regions but "few, if any" are from care homes, according to an NHS leader.

Younger people are making up most of coronavirus hospital admissions, with 70 per cent of admissions in one hospital consisting of under-45s, NHS Providers chief executive Chris Hopson said. The Independent

See also:

• Covid-19: England's lifting of lockdown on June 21 is 'not inevitable', government adviser warns The Daily Mail
• Covid-19: UK breaches 3,000 cases for first time in a MONTH as infections spike 18% in a week The Daily Mail
• German scientists claim they have figured out why some Covid vaccines cause blood clots The Daily Mail
• Next seven days ‘crucial’ in determining impact of Indian variant on hospitals, says NHS chief The Independent
• Super mutant coronavirus variants may emerge, expert warns The Independent
• Biden orders new US intelligence report into Wuhan Covid lab leak theory The Independent

EU citizens who miss UK settled status cutoff to lose some free healthcare

EU citizens who miss UK settled status cutoff to lose some free healthcare EU citizens who fail to secure settled status by the 30 June deadline will immediately lose access to free non-urgent NHS healthcare, despite a government pledge to be “extremely understanding” about late applications.

Some details of how swiftly different departments will apply hostile environment policies to EU citizens who have not secured the new post-Brexit immigration status by the cutoff date have emerged in responses to a series of parliamentary questions. The Guardian