Boris Johnson ‘confident’ lockdown restrictions will end in England on 19 July

Boris Johnson ‘confident’ lockdown restrictions will end in England on 19 July Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he is "confident" that no further delay to the lifting of remaining Covid restrictions in England will be necessary, and will come to an end on 19 July. Northamptonshire Telegraph

See also: 

• Full list of everything announced by Boris Johnson as June 21 lockdown lifting is delayed Northampton Chronicle and Echo
• Covid rule-breaker hit with £800 court bill for not wearing a face covering in Northampton barbers Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Naming the issue: chronic excessive workload in the NHS

Naming the issue: chronic excessive workload in the NHS The Health and Social Care Committee’s report on workforce burnout and resilience in the NHS and social care is unequivocal. Chronic excessive workload is damaging staff health, patient care and staff’s long-term ability to provide high-quality and compassionate care for people in their communities. In a context of inadequate resources including unsatisfactory levels of staffing, equipment, training and supportive leadership, workload is the number one factor predicting ever-increasing levels of staff stress. The King's Fund 

Guidance on community mental health services: promoting person-centred and rights-based approaches

Guidance on community mental health services: promoting person-centred and rights-based approaches This guidance provides a detailed description of person-centred and human rights-based approaches in mental health, examples of good practice services around the world and recommendations for integrating such services into national health and social care systems and services. The guidance is accompanied by a set of seven technical packages focused on specific categories of mental health services and guidance for setting up new services. World Health Organization

Outsourcing as a threat to public health: the case for insourcing public sector cleaners and facilities management

Outsourcing as a threat to public health: the case for insourcing public sector cleaners and facilities management The evidence cited in this report suggests that outsourced health facilities management services pose a threat to public health. This represents a major weakness in the UK’s ability to cope with subsequent waves of Covid-19. As a matter of public health, this paper recommends that: the government should launch an urgent and independent inquiry into the outsourcing of key workers, including cleaners, to assess whether, as the literature suggests, there is a link between outsourcing and higher rates of infection; and as a pandemic precautionary measure, all local authorities and NHS Trusts should immediately assess their portfolio of healthcare facilities management and sanitation workers, and examine opportunities to bring them in-house. New Economics Foundation 

Mind the gap: a policy report on how people are disadvantaged by digital exclusion

Mind the gap: a policy report on how people are disadvantaged by digital exclusion The Covid-19 pandemic has revealed a devastating overlap between digital exclusion and social exclusion, social exclusion and poverty, and then in turn, poverty and health inequalities. This report acknowledges digitalisation brings both huge benefits for many but also great disadvantage for some and looks at the experiences of local people based on evidence brought to the attention of Chesterfield Citizens Advice workers. The report sets out measures to ensure that services are `fair by design`, that they are accessible for vulnerable people who cannot use digital and that suitable alternative provisions are always in place to meet their needs. Chesterfield Citizens Advice 

Discharge to assess: the case for permanent funding

Discharge to assess: the case for permanent funding This Community Network briefing sets out the case for permanent funding to support the ‘discharge to assess’ model based on cost effectiveness for the taxpayer and improved outcomes. NHS Confederation 

NHS sets up specialist young people’s services in £100 million long COVID care expansion

NHS sets up specialist young people’s services in £100 million long COVID care expansion The NHS is setting up specialist long COVID services for children and young people as part of a £100 million expansion of care for those suffering from the condition.

The 15 new paediatric hubs will draw together experts on common symptoms such as respiratory problems and fatigue who can directly treat youngsters, advise family doctors or others caring for them or refer them into other specialist services and clinics. NHS England

PM statement at coronavirus press conference: 14 June 2021

PM statement at coronavirus press conference: 14 June 2021 Prime Minister Boris Johnson made a statement at the coronavirus press conference on the delay of easing lockdown restrictions. Prime Minister's Office, 10 Downing Street

See also:

• Statement to Parliament: Oral statement on easing of coronavirus restrictions Department of Health and Social Care
• Sir Richard Sykes appointed chair of Vaccine Taskforce Department of Health and Social Care
• Vaccines highly effective against hospitalisation from Delta variant Public Health England
• Guidance: PHE monitoring of the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccination Public Health England

Covid-19: 'Immunisation moving us to a better place everyday'

Covid-19: 'Immunisation moving us to a better place everyday' Prof Adam Finn has said that despite uncertainties around Covid variants, continued immunisation "is moving us to a better and better place everyday".

A member of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), Prof Finn said he understood why people needed dates to hold on to but "this is a process".

His comments came after it was announced that the government was delaying many aspects of easing lockdown restrictions in England planned for 21 June. BBC News

See also:

• 21 June: What will delaying the full unlock achieve? BBC News
• Covid: Lockdown easing in England delayed to 19 July BBC News
• Covid-19: Vaccine booster study begins in Cambridge BBC News
• Headache and running nose linked to Delta variant BBC News
• Proof jabs WILL protect NHS from Indian variant: PHE study finds vaccines more than 90% effective The Daily Mail
• Coronavirus: How worsening data have spooked No10 into delaying the end of England's lockdown The Daily Mail
• UK doctors urge public to get fully vaccinated as Delta variant spreads The Guardian
• England’s Covid lockdown lifting: is a four-week delay enough? The Guardian
• Covid-19 will ‘be with us forever,’ warn Whitty and Vallance The Independent
• England’s Covid case rates climb to highest level since early March The Independent

Self-harm warning signs can appear decade earlier

Self-harm warning signs can appear decade earlier Early warning signs of self-harm can appear in children almost a decade before it starts, say researchers.

The team at the University of Cambridge found two distinct groups that were more likely to harm themselves.

The first included those who struggle to control their emotions, and the second featured youngsters more willing to take risks than others their age. BBC News

See also:

• Two Pathways to Self-Harm in Adolescence (open access) Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry

Serco and G4S order NHS test-and-trace suppliers to clean up act on tax

Serco and G4S order NHS test-and-trace suppliers to clean up act on tax The outsourcing companies Serco and G4S have ordered the recruitment agencies that they rely on to provide workers for the NHS test-and-trace system to clean up their supply chains, after a Guardian investigation prompted concerns over tax dodging.

Serco confirmed it had passed information on some of its suppliers to HM Revenue and Customs, after evidence emerged that agency staff were being paid via controversial “mini-umbrella companies” (MUCs), which are often used to fraudulently dodge national insurance contributions. The Guardian

Why aren't patients being told truth about electric shock therapy? Leaflets on the treatment contain at least one inaccurate statement about safety and effectiveness, investigation shows

Why aren't patients being told truth about electric shock therapy? Leaflets on the treatment contain at least one inaccurate statement about safety and effectiveness, investigation shows Results of a Freedom of Information request to hospital trusts for a copy of their ECT patient information leaflet. 

This audit, published exclusively in the Mail, revealed that the leaflets — including one produced by the Royal College of Psychiatrists — contained at least one inaccurate statement about the safety and effectiveness of ECT, such as there being no risk of long-term memory loss. The Daily Mail