Northamptonshire GP patients face shorter waits for appointments than before pandemic, figures reveal

Northamptonshire GP patients face shorter waits for appointments than before pandemic, figures reveal Northamptonshire GP patients faced shorter waits for appointments in September than before the pandemic, figures suggest.

It mirrors a national trend, which the Royal College of GPs said indicates remote consultations could be making GP services more accessible. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Health spending during Covid-19: how does the UK compare?

Health spending during Covid-19: how does the UK compare? Sarah Reed, Laura Schlepper and John Appleby analyse how health spending has changed across different countries in response to the pandemic, and assess why the UK may have spent more comparatively. Nuffield Trust

A radical new vision for social care: How to reimagine and redesign support systems for this century

A radical new vision for social care: How to reimagine and redesign support systems for this century How should we care for one another? And what might it take to turn our current thinking about care and the care system on its head? How might we tell a new story in which care is not seen as a cost but as an investment in social flourishing?

In the annual REAL Challenge lecture, acclaimed author and social innovator Hilary Cottam argues that the COVID-19 pandemic has been a cataclysm, ‘brutally exposing the crisis in the funding, culture and operation of our care systems’. Hilary argues that we can only honour this recent experience and the deeper legacies of injustice, by creating something new. And by daring to imagine what it really means to care. The Health Foundation

The Autumn Budget and Spending Review 2021: what was announced and what does it mean for health and care spending?

The Autumn Budget and Spending Review 2021: what was announced and what does it mean for health and care spending? The October Spending Review 2021 is the first time since 2015 that multi-year budgets have been set for total health and care spending. So, where do these announcements leave health and care spending over the next three years? The King's Fund

Overlooked: why we should be doing more to support families and friends affected by someone else's drinking, drug use or gambling

Overlooked: why we should be doing more to support families and friends affected by someone else's drinking, drug use or gambling This report examines Adfam's latest research with YouGov on the prevalence of people currently negatively affected by the drinking, drug use or gambling of a family member or friend in 2021, and the different challenges and impacts these families currently face. The report's findings highlight the need for more recognition of the impacts on families and friends and it includes recommendations on how to better support this overlooked group.

Years lost: boosting life expectancy through preventative health interventions

Years lost: boosting life expectancy through preventative health interventions This report finds: over the past decades, life expectancy has significantly improved across the G20; across the G20, there has been a shift from cardiovascular disease as the leading cause of death to cancer, which overtook cardiovascular conditions in 2016 due to improvements in prevention, detection and treatment; and neurological conditions, including dementia, are now the leading cause of death in richer countries, including the US, UK and Saudi Arabia. However, the report also warns that while overall improvements in life expectancy are promising, too many years are still lost due to preventable causes. The ILC is calling on governments across the G20 to invest at least six per cent of their health budgets on preventative services like vaccines, screenings and early intervention. International Longevity Centre

Adult social care campaign to build bigger and better workforce

Adult social care campaign to build bigger and better workforce People across England will be encouraged to pursue a rewarding career in adult social care during the biggest period of change in a generation, following the launch of a new recruitment campaign today (Wednesday 3 November). Department of Health and Social Care

NHS delivers 1.6 million booster jabs in record week as total tops seven million

NHS delivers 1.6 million booster jabs in record week as total tops seven million The NHS COVID-19 vaccination programme reported a record 1.6 million booster doses last week (Monday to Sunday) as the NHS booster campaign continues to protect the country against the virus. More than seven million people across England have received their COVID-19 booster vaccine and since Friday, more than half a million people have booked in. NHS England

Van-Tam on Covid: 'There are some hard months to come in the winter"

Van-Tam on Covid: 'There are some hard months to come in the winter" Professor Jonathan Van-Tam has said that too many people think the pandemic is over, and that there are "hard months to come in the winter."

He added that the use of face coverings, and the caution people take while interacting with each other will decide how the UK copes with the virus during winter, along with the take up of vaccines and booster shots. BBC News

See also:

• Covid-19: Sage scientist Sir Jeremy Farrar steps down from role BBC News
• Javid on 'Covid is over' risk and new variants BBC News
• Covid England: Mutant sub-strain of Delta variant spreads The Daily Mail
• Covid vaccines were 77% effective against hospitalization among immunocompromised Americans The Daily Mail
• Health care workers who contracted COVID-19 and then got the vaccine had higher antibody levels The Daily Mail
• Making Covid vaccines compulsory for care home workers had 'LITTLE' effect on boosting uptake The Daily Mail
• JCVI failed to back youth Covid jabs despite favourable modelling The Guardian

Research confirms impact of Covid-19 on doctors’ mental health

Research confirms impact of Covid-19 on doctors’ mental health The Covid-19 crisis triggered high levels of anxiety and depression among doctors in the UK, Italy and Spain, a new study has found

The research of 5,000 survey responses, across the three countries, found Italian doctors were most likely to have suffered during the crisis last year. The Independent

See also: 

• Anxiety and depression among medical doctors in Catalonia, Italy, and the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic (open access) PLOS One

Sajid Javid: NHS backlog plan to be published ‘in weeks’ but medics must wait for long-term workforce strategy

Sajid Javid: NHS backlog plan to be published ‘in weeks’ but medics must wait for long-term workforce strategy The Health Secretary tells MPs he cannot yet give details on how many doctors, nurses and other clinical staff the Government thinks the NHS needs.

A plan to deal with the huge backlog of people waiting for NHS treatment in England will be published “in the coming weeks” although trusts will have to remain patient for a long-term workforce strategy, according to Sajid Javid. iNews 

'I quit my job as a senior NHS doctor in Nottinghamshire after my mother was forced to leave the country'

'I quit my job as a senior NHS doctor in Nottinghamshire after my mother was forced to leave the country' MPs will debate the exodus of overseas-born medics leaving the NHS for countries with ‘fairer’ approach to bringing parents.

A senior consultant has quit his position in the NHS and moved to work at a hospital abroad blaming tough immigration rules for being unable to bring his elderly mother to live with him in the UK. iNews

GP leading plans for industrial action over No10's plan to boost face-to-face appointments RESIGNS

GP leading plans for industrial action over No10's plan to boost face-to-face appointments RESIGNS The GP leading plans for industrial action over face-to-face appointments last night quit his post at the doctors' union.

Dr Richard Vautrey will step down as chair of the BMA's General Practitioners Committee later this month. The Daily Mail

See also:

• Colleagues pay tribute to BMA General Practitioners Committee chair, Dr Richard Vautrey, as he announces his intention to step down The BMA
• Sajid Javid says lack of face-to-face appointments are piling pressure on A&Es The Daily Mail
• Patient choice should determine whether GP appointments are face-to-face, says Javid GPonline
• GPs face tough choice as industrial action ballot closes after pay transparency rules kick in GPonline
• No 10 set to break promise of 6,000 more GPs in England, Sajid Javid says The Guardian
• Health secretary condemns life-threatening attacks on GPs amid rollout of panic buttons The Independent

'Game-changer' blood test that can detect 50 different types of cancer set to roll out in the US

'Game-changer' blood test that can detect 50 different types of cancer set to roll out in the US The Galleri test, which can detect 50 types of cancer using only a blood test, will become available in the U.S. soon. The test only requires two vials of blood and get a person results in ten days. The Daily Mail