Northamptonshire: Covid funds granted for most vulnerable

Northamptonshire: Covid funds granted for most vulnerable A fund of £2.5m has been made available to help a district recover from the social impact of the Covid pandemic.

North Northamptonshire Council has been given the money from the government's Household Support Fund. BBC Northampton

Northamptonshire is delivering on NHS targets for those needing wheelchairs, figures reveal

Northamptonshire is delivering on NHS targets for those needing wheelchairs, figures reveal Nearly all those in Northamptonshire needing NHS wheelchairs are getting them on time, figures show — despite lengthy delays elsewhere across England. Northampton Chronicle and Echo 

Briefing on the Health and Care Bill: House of Commons report stage and third reading

Briefing on the Health and Care Bill: House of Commons report stage and third reading The Health and Care Bill (House of Commons Bill 2021–22) introduces new measures to promote and enable collaboration in health and care, building on earlier recommendations made by NHS England and NHS Improvement in 2019. The Bill also contains new powers for the Secretary of State to intervene in the health and care system, and targeted changes to public health, social care, and the oversight of quality and safety. The King's Fund

What will 'better' elective care look like in the future?

What will 'better' elective care look like in the future? The headline issue in elective care is that 5.8 million people and counting are currently waiting for elective treatment in England – and more than 12,000 have been waiting more than two years – with ministers suggesting that waits will ‘get worse before they get better’. The King's Fund

Timely access to care: principles for recovery

Timely access to care: principles for recovery This report uncovers timely access to care is now the most pressing concern of people who live with ill health, disability or impairment. It finds that primary care, community services, mental health, elective and specialist care and urgent and emergency services are all impacted by delays, waits, service disruptions and cancellations. It concludes that rebuilding timely access to health and care needs to be top priority for all system leaders. National Voices 

Adults in England aged 40 upwards will be invited to book booster

Adults in England aged 40 upwards will be invited to book booster People in England aged over 40 can book their Covid booster jabs from Monday.

Almost 500,000 people in their 40s are currently eligible for the booster, having received their second jab at least six months ago, NHS England said.

Sixteen and 17-year-olds will also be able to book their second dose from Monday, after scientists concluded it was safe and effective for this group. BBC News

See also:

• Austria to go into full lockdown as Covid surges  BBC News
• Booster vaccines to be added to NHS Covid Pass for travel  BBC News
• UK's daily Covid cases rise by another 10% in a week to 44,242 The Daily Mail
• Wearing a mask is 'the most effective way' of curbing spread of Covid, study claims The Daily Mail
• Covid vaccines could be offered to children as young as five next spring The Daily Telegraph
• UK must be ready to impose Covid restrictions this winter, expert warns The Guardian
• ICU is full of the unvaccinated – my patience with them is wearing thin The Guardian
• England’s Covid test and trace spending over £1m a day on consultants The Guardian
• UK investigates supplier of NHS PPE over alleged use of forced labour The Guardian
• ‘A best friend to so many’: tributes to surgeon who died of Covid The Guardian
• UK ‘has accepted it doesn’t matter’ if children get Covid, top GP says The Independent
• Revealed: 600 premature babies born to mothers in hospital with Covid The Independent

Deaths of people treated under the Mental Health Act rose during pandemic

Deaths of people treated under the Mental Health Act rose during pandemic The number of deaths of people being treated under the Mental Health Act in England rose during the coronavirus pandemic, estimates suggest.

The Care Quality Commission's (CQC) findings come amid concerns over staff shortages in psychiatric units.

Some 490 people died while detained under the act in the year to March 2021 - 324 of them for non-Covid reasons, the regulator says. BBC News 

Javid orders probe into medical device racial bias

Javid orders probe into medical device racial bias A review into whether medical devices are equally effective regardless of the patient's ethnicity has been ordered by Health Secretary Sajid Javid.

Research suggests oximeters, which are clipped to a person's finger, can overstate the level of oxygen in the blood of people from ethnic minorities.

Ministers want to know whether bias could have prevented patients receiving appropriate Covid treatment. BBC News

See also: 

• Review launched into the health impact of potential bias in medical devices Department of Health and Social Care
• Sajid Javid: 'Medical device racial bias not acceptable' BBC News
• From oximeters to AI, where bias in medical devices may lurk The Guardian
• Bias in medical devices may have led to avoidable UK Covid deaths, says Javid The Guardian
• Review to be launched into racial and gender bias in medical devices The Independent

NHS hospital at centre of cover up claims after woman died following repeated paracetamol overdose

NHS hospital at centre of cover up claims after woman died following repeated paracetamol overdose The family of a woman who died after being repeatedly overdosed with paracetamol in an NHS hospital have demanded action over her death amid allegations of an NHS cover up.

Laura Higginson, a trainee solicitor and mum of two, died after seeking medical help for sickness and pneumonia. She died two weeks later from multi-organ failure and sepsis. The Independent 

Giving birth in the UK becoming 'critically unsafe' say organisers of midwife vigil

Giving birth in the UK becoming 'critically unsafe' say organisers of midwife vigil Giving birth in the UK is becoming "critically unsafe" according to organisers of vigils being held by midwives across the UK today.

Staff shortages and a lack of funding are being blamed for putting women and their babies at risk.

A recent survey found 60% of midwives were thinking of leaving the profession due to the pressures they are under. Sky News

See also:

• Midwives' vigil in Northampton town centre Northampton Chronicle and Echo
• Midwives take to the streets to warn NHS services are a 'national emergency' The Daily Mail