Northamptonshire health bosses ask government for care worker shortages cash

Northamptonshire health bosses ask government for care worker shortages cash Council and hospital bosses in Northamptonshire have called for government help to "bridge the gap in care worker shortages".

Northamptonshire's hospital and local authority leaders said shortages were already "resulting in delays to patient discharges in our hospitals".

They said the situation will get worse as pressure builds throughout winter. BBC Northampton 

Spotlight on the early years: using national clinical audit reports to harness cross-cutting lessons

Spotlight on the early years: using national clinical audit reports to harness cross-cutting lessons This report calls for changes to audit reporting to enable better understanding of healthcare, specifically in relation to health inequalities. The report, which is based on data spanning four years, aims to improve health outcomes for all, in light of an increased focus on a variation in care as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership 

Surgical care of NHS patients in independent hospitals

Surgical care of NHS patients in independent hospitals This Report shows that successful collaborations between NHS hospitals and independent hospitals helps to protect patients when providing shared care. It is HSIB's first investigation into NHS-funded care in the independent sector and focuses on surgical care of patients. Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch 

Dementia support requires greater funding from health and care levy

Dementia support requires greater funding from health and care levy The Health and Social Care Committee’s report into dementia care criticises the Government plans for the health and care levy. In the Committee’s view, the levy provides insufficient funding for social care over the next three years and fails to spell out how the sector will benefit from the levy after that.  

See also:

• New health and social care levy 'won't help dementia sufferers for years' The Daily Mail

Investigation into supply chain finance in the NHS

Investigation into supply chain finance in the NHS Two schemes offered by Greensill Capital – an early payment scheme to community pharmacies and salary advances to employees of NHS Trusts – did not receive the expected uptake and offered no material benefits to the NHS, according to the National Audit Office (NAO).

See also: 

• ‘No evidence’ conflicts of interest were considered in Greensill contracts – NAO The Guardian

E-cigarettes could be prescribed on the NHS in world first

E-cigarettes could be prescribed on the NHS in world first E-cigarettes could be prescribed on the NHS in England to help people stop smoking tobacco products, as Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid welcomed the latest step forward in the licensing process for manufacturers.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is publishing updated guidance that paves the way for medicinally licensed e-cigarette products to be prescribed for tobacco smokers who wish to quit smoking. Department of Health and Social Care

See also: 

• E-cigarettes could be available on NHS to tackle smoking rates BBC News
• Sajid Javid backs controversial plan to help smokers quit by offering vaping on the NHS The Daily Mail
• Regulator paves way for NHS e-cigarette prescriptions in England The Guardian
• What are e-cigarettes and are they safe? The Guardian

Record 1.6 million people get lifesaving boosters over last seven days

Record 1.6 million people get lifesaving boosters over last seven days Nearly 1.6 million booster jabs have been delivered over the past seven days, the NHS said today as the NHS COVID-19 vaccination programme continues to protect the nation against the virus. NHS England 

Covid: Double vaccinated can easily spread virus at home

Covid: Double vaccinated can easily spread virus at home Double jabbed people are catching Covid and passing it on to those they live with, warn experts who have studied UK household cases.

Individuals who have had two vaccine doses can be just as infectious as those who have not been jabbed.

Even if they have no or few symptoms, the chance of them transmitting the virus to other unvaccinated housemates is about two in five, or 38%. BBC News

See also:

• Community transmission and viral load kinetics of the SARS-CoV-2 delta (B.1.617.2) variant in vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals in the UK: a prospective, longitudinal, cohort study (open access) The Lancet
• Covid: Pupils urged to test before returning to school BBC News
• Gordon Brown calls for richer countries to airlift surplus Covid vaccines BBC News
• Covid cases WERE already falling in children before half-term The Daily Mail
• Merck ready to deliver 10 million doses of its Covid antiviral pill by the end of the year The Daily Mail
• Looking for the peak: the cautious optimism over stalling UK Covid cases The Guardian
• Covid deaths up 16% as hospitalisation rate highest since February The Independent

'The menopause made me feel I was disappearing inside myself'

'The menopause made me feel I was disappearing inside myself' "I am a Wednesday and a Sunday person. Don't laugh, but I deep condition my hair, put on a face pack and change my HRT patch. It's all self-care in one go."

Fifty-one year-old Adelle Martin is sitting in the pub she runs in Rochester in Kent, showing us the HRT patches she sticks on her hip twice a week.

Now post-menopausal, she coaches other women through a life stage which can be extremely challenging. BBC News 

Health watchdog Nice publishes delayed ME guidance

Health watchdog Nice publishes delayed ME guidance A disputed therapy that encourages people with ME to gradually increase physical activity will no longer be officially recommended, a health watchdog said, marking a victory for campaigners.

The controversial treatment, called graded exercise therapy, has been removed from guidance given by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) for diagnosing and managing myalgic encephalomyelitis, which is also known as chronic fatigue syndrome. The Guardian

See also: 

• ME/CFS guideline outlines steps for better diagnosis and management NICE
• Myalgic encephalomyelitis (or encephalopathy)/chronic fatigue syndrome: diagnosis and management NICE
• Chronic fatigue guidelines scrap exercise therapy advice BBC News
• Graded exercise therapy ‘should not be recommended for people with ME’ The Independent

Hospitals told to stop ‘catastrophic’ ambulance delays as patients die in queues

Hospitals told to stop ‘catastrophic’ ambulance delays as patients die in queues Hospitals across England have been told to “immediately stop all delays” for ambulances stacking outside A&E units to handover patients as one ambulance trust today warned the problem had reached “catastrophic” levels.

The message from Mark Cubbon, NHS England’s chief operating officer, was sent to leaders on Tuesday night after it emerged a patient had died while waiting over an hour in the back of an ambulance outside Addenbrooke’s Hospital, in Cambridge. The Independent 

GPs win ‘significant concessions’ from NHS England over in-person access

GPs win ‘significant concessions’ from NHS England over in-person access GPs have secured “significant concessions” from NHS England in an apparent climbdown over patient access and face-to-face appointments, the Guardian has been told.

Family doctors in England have threatened industrial action in protest against the government’s attempt to force them to see any patient who demands an appointment in person. The Guardian

See also:

• Consultation numbers up 2m on pre-pandemic levels, showing how extremely hard GP teams are working Royal College of General Practitioners
• Medical union bosses claim they won 'concessions' over Sajid Javid plans in doctors row The Daily Mail
• Four in 10 GP appointments in England were still NOT face-to-face last month The Daily Mail
• GP appointments hit new high as face-to-face contacts surge GPonline