NHS 111 callers in Northamptonshire waiting 12 times longer than five months ago as pressure on health services grows

NHS 111 callers in Northamptonshire waiting 12 times longer than five months ago as pressure on health services grows Callers to the NHS 111 helpline in Northamptonshire waited 12 TIMES longer for help than they did five months ago, according to NHS England data. Northamptonshire Telegraph 

Lakeside Oundle digital GP consultation app may transform how healthcare is delivered

Lakeside Oundle digital GP consultation app may transform how healthcare is delivered A new online method for patients accessing their GP services has been given a more than 90 per cent approval rating by patients at an Oundle surgery.

Lakeside Healthcare Oundle - part of the giant GP Lakeside Healthcare Partnership - has been using an online consultation platform called Doctrin. Northamptonshire Telegraph 

Tory council stands up to government over care staff funding crisis in West Northamptonshire

Tory council stands up to government over care staff funding crisis in West Northamptonshire Conservative-controlled West Northamptonshire Council is standing up to the Tory government again — this time over staff shortages in the care sector.

Cabinet member Matt Golby says the council fully supports NHS hospital chiefs' calls for more funding to urgently attract care workers. Northampton Chronicle and Echo 

Three things the NHS will be watching out for on Wednesday

Three things the NHS will be watching out for on Wednesday With the recent Health and Care Levy announcement raising as many questions as it answered, Mark Dayan and Sally Gainsbury look ahead to the Spending Review and highlight three vital areas for the NHS and social care. Nuffield Trust 

Have integrated care programmes reduced emergency admissions? Lessons for Integrated Care Systems (ICSs)

Have integrated care programmes reduced emergency admissions? Lessons for Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) The NHS in England is about to embark on another round of reorganisation. Under the plans, every part of England will be covered by an integrated care system (ICS) by April 2022. ICSs are partnerships between NHS, local government and other agencies, and have responsibility for planning services and managing resources to improve health and care in their area. The Health Foundation 

The power of those small acts of kindness

The power of those small acts of kindness Remember there’s no such thing as a small act of kindness. Every act creates a ripple with no logical end. The King's Fund 

Survey reveals nurse staffing levels to be the biggest barrier to end of life care

Survey reveals nurse staffing levels to be the biggest barrier to end of life care One in three nurses (30%) said staffing levels are the main barrier to provide quality end of life care, an exclusive survey has revealed. Over half of nurses (52%) who responded to the survey also felt the quality of end of life care for dying people got worse as a result of the ongoing Covid pandemic.

The annual survey, carried out by Nursing Standard and end of life charity Marie Curie, was answered by nearly 600 nurses and other caring staff across the UK who reflected on their experiences of caring for people at the end of their lives.

See also: 

• Nurse shortages leave people dying in pain, charity warns The Independent

GP appointment availability

GP appointment availability This debate pack covers the commissioning and regulation of GP services; GP services during the coronavirus pandemic; and statistics on GP appointments in England. It has been prepared for a Westminster Hall debate on 26 October 2021. House of Commons Library 

“Muddled, overstated, eye-wateringly expensive”: PAC damning on Test & Trace that has “failed on main objectives”

“Muddled, overstated, eye-wateringly expensive”: PAC damning on Test & Trace that has “failed on main objectives” In a damning report published today the Public Accounts Committee says “NHS Test & Trace has not achieved its main objective to help break chains of COVID-19 transmission and enable people to return towards a more normal way of life” despite being handed an “eye watering” budget of £37 billion over two years – and not managing to spend £8.7 billion of the first year’s allocation. Instead,  since the end of October 2020 “the country has had two more national lockdowns and case numbers have risen dramatically”.

See also: 

• NHS's 'world beating' £37BILLION Test and Trace program was 'eyewatering' waste of taxpayer cash The Daily Mail
• How NHS Test & Trace frittered away £37bn The Daily Telegraph
• NHS Test and Trace criticised as ‘eyewatering’ waste of taxpayers' money The Daily Telegraph
• NHS test and trace ‘failed its main objective’, says spending watchdog The Guardian
• Covid: Test and Trace failed its 'main objective’ and handed equivalent of 20% of NHS budget ITV News
• Contact tracing: 'Not possible' to know how many have enabled NHS Covid-19 app Public Technology
• COVID-19: NHS Test and Trace failed in its 'main objective', highly-critical report from committee of MPs finds Sky News

Tens of thousands of 12 to 15-year-olds booked in for COVID-19 jabs as half-term drive continues

Tens of thousands of 12 to 15-year-olds booked in for COVID-19 jabs as half-term drive continues More than 80,000 young people aged 12 to 15 have booked their COVID-19 vaccination since online bookings opened just four days ago, as part of the NHS COVID-19 vaccination programme. NHS England 

Covid measures ‘plan C’ has been discussed, senior official tells MPs

Covid measures ‘plan C’ has been discussed, senior official tells MPs A “plan C” for tougher coronavirus restrictions has been discussed in official circles, a senior civil servant has confirmed, despite ministers denying that tougher measures are an option this Christmas should the rate of new cases continue to rise.

The indication of planning for potentially harsher restrictions comes as senior scientists and Labour push for the rollout of “plan B”, an existing package of “light-touch” measures including advice to work from home and compulsory face masks in some settings. The Guardian

See also:

• Covid vaccines: FDA panel approves Pfizer jabs for children 5 and up BBC News
• Covid-19 UK: Top Government adviser hints No10 could drop mass testing from January The Daily Mail
• Thirteen 'mostly unvaccinated' pregnant women DIED from Covid since July, study shows The Daily Mail
• Teachers call on ministers to boost uptake of Covid vaccines for schoolchildren The Daily Mail
• Antiviral COVID-19 pill gains momentum as European Union medical agency begins reviewing the drug The Daily Mail
• Company behind scandal-hit Wolverhampton testing lab still processing PCR Covid tests The Daily Mail
• Why pregnant women need clearer messaging on Covid vaccine safety The Guardian
• Pregnant women are being turned away from Covid vaccine clinics, experts warn The Guardian
• ‘Plan B’ Covid measures could cost UK economy £18bn, documents suggest The Guardian

Simply throwing money at the NHS won’t solve all its problems

Simply throwing money at the NHS won’t solve all its problems | Simon Jenkins Family doctors have been told to refuse to take on new patients as the row over face-to-face appointments escalates.

The British Medical Association wrote to GPs today claiming Health Secretary Sajid Javid’s plan to improve patient access was a ‘bully’s charter’.

The letter, from BMA GP committee chairman Dr Richard Vautrey, claimed doctors should ‘not feel pressured to return to a traditional ten-minute treadmill of face-to-face consultations’. The Guardian

See also:

• Medical union tells GPs not to take on any new patients The Daily Mail
• Extra £6bn for NHS in budget must be matched by increase in workforce, warns BMA GPonline
• Fund social care now to protect NHS, Sunak told The Independent