Addressing vaccine hesitancy in different ethnic communities

Addressing vaccine hesitancy in different ethnic communities Cheshire and Merseyside Health and Care Partnership used insight gained from a four-stage programme to understand the impact that COVID 19 was having on ethnic minority communities, and work with the different communities to understand the causes of the vaccine hesitancy. This programme of work, which entailed partnership working between multiple agencies as well as with the various communities, led to a significant increase in vaccine uptake in just four months. NHS Confederation 

NHS 111 mental health triage service

NHS 111 mental health triage service NHS Hampshire, Southampton and Isle of Wight Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), worked with partners, including people with lived experience, to develop a seamless, single point of access to mental health crisis support using mental health nurses working in NHS 111. The new service provides easy access to support for patients, takes pressure off the rest of the system by reducing attendance at A&E, and enables people to get mental health support before a problem becomes a crisis. NHS Confederation 

Specialist mental health unit failures exposed by patients

Specialist mental health unit failures exposed by patients There are serious concerns over the standards of specialist care being provided to patients with the most complex mental health needs, a BBC investigation has found.

Patients sent by the NHS to stay in mental health rehabilitation units say they have been placed in unsafe environments, often far from home, with untrained staff. BBC News 

Self-harm guidance to include advice for schools and prisons

Self-harm guidance to include advice for schools and prisons Staff in schools and prisons in England and Wales are for the first time to be included in draft guidance on how to identify people who have self-harmed.

The experts behind it said everyone was responsible for tackling the growing problem of self-harm - not just mental health professionals. BBC News

See also: 

• Self harm: assessment, management and preventing recurrence. Draft guidance consultation. NICE

NHS pilots genetic testing to predict risk of heart disease

NHS pilots genetic testing to predict risk of heart disease A world-first pilot of predictive genetic testing aiming to identify those at high risk of cardiovascular disease is under way in GP surgeries in the north of England.

The NHS pilot, called Heart, is offering genetic tests to 1,000 healthy volunteers aged between 45 and 64 years old to give more accurate predictions for their risk of heart disease and stroke. The Guardian 

One in four NHS doctors tired to the point of impairment, survey finds

One in four NHS doctors tired to the point of impairment, survey finds One in four doctors in the NHS are so tired that their ability to treat patients has become impaired, according to the first survey to reveal the impact of sleep deprivation on medics during the coronavirus pandemic. The Guardian

See also:

• Sleep deprived doctors concerned about patient safety Medical Defence Union
• 'Running on empty': one in four GPs warn extreme tiredness is affecting patient care GPonline
• Sleep deprived NHS doctors: ‘I realised my error when the patient collapsed’ The Guardian

7000 doctors and nurses may quit NHS by March unless pension penalties are suspended

7000 doctors and nurses may quit NHS by March unless pension penalties are suspended NHS staff may retire en masse come March as workers try to avoid pension penalties. Quilter has called for an extension of Covid rules for NHS workers who gave up retirement to help out throughout the pandemic. iNews

Sajid Javid plans 'academy school' style NHS revolution in bid to reduce hospital waiting times

Sajid Javid plans 'academy school' style NHS revolution in bid to reduce hospital waiting times The Health Secretary is planning to set up academy style hospitals to tackle post-pandemic waiting lists.

Under the re-organisation, Sajid Javid will give more freedom to well-run hospitals that manage to treat patients quickly.

But he will come down hard on failing NHS trusts in an attempt to deal with the 'huge' variation in performance across the health service. The Daily Mail

SAGE adviser hopes UK will have a 'flu-type' relationship with Covid by 2023

SAGE adviser hopes UK will have a 'flu-type' relationship with Covid by 2023 Britain could have a 'flu-type' relationship with Covid by the end of 2022, one of the Government's scientific advisers said today.

Dr Mike Tildesley, who sits on an influential modelling sub-group of SAGE, warned the country 'was not there yet' because hospitalisation levels from the virus are still 'relatively high'. The Daily Mail

See also:

• Covid: 'Fussy eaters' could have smell and taste disorder BBC News
• Retired GP broke Covid rules to hug bereaved woman at clinic BBC News
• Covid infection can cause debilitating brain condition that causes more damage than Alzheimer's The Daily Mail
• Covid outbreaks now shrinking in 96% of England's neighbourhoods The Daily Mail
• More than 80,000 unvaccinated NHS workers face the sack The Daily Mail
• Health chiefs extend shelf-life of Pfizer Covid vaccines by TWO WEEKS The Daily Mail
• Thousands of unvaccinated GP staff face dismissal notice from February GPonline
• Schools rejecting offers of air filters that limit Covid spread, say parents The Guardian
• Lords watchdog launches inquiry into Michelle Mone over ‘VIP lane’ contract The Guardian
• ‘Light at the end of the tunnel’ in fight against Covid in UK, says World Health Organisation The Independent
• About 12000 students to be deployed across NHS to tackle pandemic The Independent
• Tens of thousands have died at home without adequate care during pandemic, charity warns The Independent