Booster Covid jabs will be key to keeping pressure off Northamptonshire NHS hospitals, say health chiefs

Booster Covid jabs will be key to keeping pressure off Northamptonshire NHS hospitals, say health chiefs Health chiefs are confident vaccine boosters will stop severe Covid cases putting more pressure on the NHS in Northamptonshire.

Seven deaths in county hospitals and care homes within the last week were confirmed yesterday by the NHS and Office for National Statistics. Northamptonshire Telegraph 

New boss for Kettering hospice trust

New boss for Kettering hospice trust Kettering' s Cransley Hospice Trust has announced Philip Talbot as its new chief executive. Northamptonshire Telegraph 

Northamptonshire Health Charity goes pink and blue for Baby Loss Awareness Week

Northamptonshire Health Charity goes pink and blue for Baby Loss Awareness Week All this week, Northamptonshire Health Charity is supporting Baby Loss Awareness Week by helping to raise awareness about pregnancy and baby loss. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

See also: 

• Northampton General Hospital critical care staff give themselves another mountain to climb by hiking up Snowdon Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Climate change action will improve health and save lives now and in the future

Climate change action will improve health and save lives now and in the future Measures to tackle climate change could significantly benefit human health in the next few years, as well as in the long-term, says a new report from the Academy of Medical Sciences and the Royal Society, released today [Thursday 14 October]. The report calls on the UK government to make sure that the initiatives they establish to tackle climate change are also designed to deliver benefits to health.

See also: 

• Tackling climate change could save the NHS £17 billion, say experts The Independent

End of life care for people with a brain tumour

End of life care for people with a brain tumour Death is the one sure certainty for us all, yet we rarely discuss end-of-life care and what our final wishes would be. Having all the relevant information allows you to begin the conversation, make sure any requests are in place and ensure that you feel in control.

This resource has been produced with people who have the lived experience of what it is like to care for someone with a brain tumour at end-of-life, with leading consultants in palliative care and clinical nurse specialists who are hospice-based. Brainstrust 

Plan set out to improve access for NHS patients and support GPs

Plan set out to improve access for NHS patients and support GPs The NHS, working closely with the Department of Health and Social Care, has today published a blueprint for improving access to GP appointments for patients alongside supporting GPs and their teams.

Surgeries will be provided with additional funding to boost their capacity to increase the proportion of appointments delivered face to face, as part of a major drive to support general practice and level up performance, including additional efforts to tackle abuse against staff. NHS England

See also: 

• GPs are stretched beyond endurance: the Government needs to publicly support and resource the profession Royal College of General Practitioners
• GP rescue plan to boost face-to-face consultations BBC News
• GPs ‘named and shamed’ if they fail to see patients face to face The Daily Telegraph
• ‘Demonising less-than-full-time doctors will drive people away’ - GPs slam media attacks GPOnline
• England’s GPs to get £250m boost if they see more patients face-to-face The Guardian
• England’s GPs to be told to scrap 2-metre rule, say reports The Guardian
• GPs to get £250m injection ahead of winter The Independent
• Sajid Javid denies GPs will be ‘named and shamed’ in appointments plan The Independent

Covid: Lateral flow tests more accurate than first thought, study finds

Covid: Lateral flow tests more accurate than first thought, study finds Lateral flow tests (LFTs) are very good at detecting people most likely to spread Covid-19 and positive results should be trusted, say University College London researchers.

When LFTs were introduced, they were criticised for being less accurate than PCR tests, which are analysed in a lab. BBC News

See also: 

• Recalibrating SARS-CoV-2 Antigen Rapid Lateral Flow Test Relative Sensitivity from Validation Studies to Absolute Sensitivity for Indicating Individuals Shedding Transmissible Virus (open access) Dove Press
• Covid: Scientists targeted with abuse during pandemic BBC News
• NHS Covid pass app suffers outage BBC News
• Covid: New WHO group may be last chance to find virus origins BBC News
• Countries should use pooled testing at start of future pandemics, experts say The Daily Mail
• Britain's daily Covid cases hit a three-month high The Daily Mail
• Tory minister says sorry for mistakes in Covid pandemic handling The Guardian

Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge prepares for busiest winter ever

Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge prepares for busiest winter ever The Covid pandemic has forced many hospitals to cancel operations and allowed waiting lists to grow. With infections still on the rise and winter looming, how is one of England's flagship hospitals making up for lost time?

Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge is gearing up for what it expects to be its busiest winter ever. BBC News 

Britain told to brace for an early flu season by top expert amid fears 60,000 could die

Britain told to brace for an early flu season by top expert amid fears 60,000 could die Britain should brace for an early flu outbreak this winter because cases are already rising in other countries, a top expert has warned.

The UK's flu season tends to last from September to March but the virus does not usually heap pressure on the NHS until January. The Daily Mail