More Northamptonshire pupils unhappy with mental health than almost anywhere else in England, data reveals

More Northamptonshire pupils unhappy with mental health than almost anywhere else in England, data reveals More children in Northamptonshire are unhappy with their mental health than almost anywhere else in England, according to a survey.

Children's Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza said a fifth of children in the country felt this way – making it their top concern – and praised them as being part of a “survivor generation”. Northamptonshire Telegraph 

See also:

• The Big Ask: The Big Answer (survey report) Children's Commissioner

Chart of the week: In which areas of England and Wales are more people dying at home?

Chart of the week: In which areas of England and Wales are more people dying at home? With death rates and trends changing dramatically during the Covid-19 pandemic, Laura Schlepper takes a look at which regions of England and Wales have seen the biggest changes in the rate of deaths at home. Nuffield Trust 

Turning the tide: a 10-year healthy weight strategy

Turning the tide: a 10-year healthy weight strategy This report finds that levels of obesity have increased significantly across the UK over the last 30 years. It sets out a long-term agenda of evidence-informed policies with 30 recommendations, covering food and drink marketing, early years and treatment as well as the infrastructure needed to ensure policies are robustly implemented and evaluated. Obesity Health Alliance 

Fund to help end cycle of homelessness and hospital readmissions

Fund to help end cycle of homelessness and hospital readmissions People experiencing homelessness in England to be supported through pilot projects, backed by £16 million, to provide temporary accommodation, care and support. Department of Health and Social Care 

New film launched urging public to get flu and COVID-19 vaccines

New film launched urging public to get flu and COVID-19 vaccines Those eligible for the free flu vaccine and COVID-19 booster jab are being urged to book their appointments as soon as possible in a new film campaign launched today [Friday 8 October] aiming to help people give themselves and their loved ones the best possible protection this winter. Department of Health and Social Care 

Flu jab vital this winter along with Covid vaccine

Flu jab vital this winter along with Covid vaccine The public are being reminded to come forward for their flu jab to maximise their protection ahead of winter.

Health officials are worried because this will be the first winter Covid and flu circulate fully at the same time.

Research shows those infected with both viruses are more than twice as likely to die as someone with Covid alone. BBC News

See also: 

• NHS aims to give 35m flu jabs amid warnings of up to 60,000 deaths The Guardian
• Health officials fear up to 60,000 flu deaths this winter The Independent
• Flu jab: Respiratory illnesses could claim 60,000 lives this winter as NHS launches new vaccination campaign Sky News

Coronavirus report warned of impact on UK four years before pandemic

Coronavirus report warned of impact on UK four years before pandemic Senior health officials who war-gamed the impact of a coronavirus hitting the UK, warned four years before the onset of Covid-19 of the need for stockpiles of PPE, a computerised contact tracing system and screening for foreign travellers, the Guardian can reveal.

The calls to step up preparations in areas already identified as shortcomings in the government’s response to Covid, emerged from a previously unpublished report of a health planning exercise in February 2016 that imagined a coronavirus outbreak.

See also:

• Number of Britons falling ill with Covid every day is now at 'highest level since JANUARY' The Daily Mail
• UK's daily Covid cases rise to another month-high: Infections up 12% in a week to 40,701 The Daily Mail
• Millions of children head back to schools in England unmasked and unvaccinated The Daily Mail
• ‘I’d like to get my daughter vaccinated soon – I fear she will be next to get Covid’ The Guardian
• Private hospitals paid billions to treat just 8 Covid patients a day The Independent
• Pfizer vaccine protection wanes months after second shot, show studies The Independent
• COVID-19: NHS staff just as worried about pressures now as during peak of pandemic Sky News

Sajid Javid’s threat to sack NHS chiefs is doomed to fail

Sajid Javid’s threat to sack NHS chiefs is doomed to fail | Polly Toynbee A long, low groan echoes around the NHS. Not again, please? The new health secretary, Sajid Javid, pledges far-reaching reforms and the most comprehensive review since the 1980s. Too many new health secretaries start there, at the bottom of the learning curve, but Javid adds threats: “Hospital managers who fail to clear mounting NHS backlogs will be sacked under government plans for reform,” the Times was briefed, with him “preparing new powers to seize control of poorly performing hospitals”. The Guardian 

New breast cancer drug ‘reduces risk of disease progression or death’

New breast cancer drug ‘reduces risk of disease progression or death’ A new breast cancer drug reduces the risk of death or disease progression by 72 per cent compared to an existing treatment, AstraZeneca has announced.

The British company worked with another pharmaceutical giant on the drug, the Daiichi Sankyo Company, which has its headquarters in Japan. They said the results of its trial of Enhertu were “groundbreaking” and showed “a strong trend towards improved overall survival.” The Independent 

More than 40,000 people die every year in Europe because of a lack of green space research reveals

More than 40,000 people die every year in Europe because of a lack of green space research reveals A lack of green spaces in UK cities is killing 7,000 people in the UK every year, a study claims. 

Scientists calculated that nearly 43,000 premature deaths are caused by a lack of green spaces in nearly 900 European cities. The Daily Mail

See also: 

• Green space and mortality in European cities: a health impact assessment study (open access) The Lancet Planetary Health