MEET KGH's GOVERNORS: Navigating local health and care services

MEET KGH's GOVERNORS: Navigating local health and care services Patient engagement in the provision of Health and Social Care is a legal requirement.

Good communication is paramount in any walk of life and more so in the provision of health and social care. Northamptonshire Telegraph 

How better use of data can help address key challenges facing the NHS

How better use of data can help address key challenges facing the NHS This long read explores how the NHS in England can better use routine health data to help address current challenges, including winter pressures, the ongoing coronavirus response and the growing elective care backlog. The Health Foundation 

Time for local NHS leaders to take a first step in tackling poverty: pay staff the real Living Wage

Time for local NHS leaders to take a first step in tackling poverty: pay staff the real Living Wage The NHS England framework for tackling health inequalities turns the spotlight on the 20 per cent most deprived communities within each integrated care system. They are the core group in the Core20plus5 approach. Recognising that 12 million people – a fifth of the population – live in relative poverty, the majority of them in working households, it is impossible to tackle health inequalities without alleviating poverty and its consequences. The King's Fund 

Health and care bill: joint parliamentary briefing

Health and care bill: joint parliamentary briefing The NHS Confederation, NHS Providers and The King's Fund share concerns about the erosion of NHS independence as a result of the Health and Care Bill. They support the premise of the Health and Care Bill, and believe that the future of health and care in the England must be based on collaboration and partnership working at a local level. However this joint briefing covers two specifics aspects of the Health and Care Bill and amendments they believe would better ensure people across the country have access to the best possible care in their local community. 

Community pharmacy workforce survey 2021

Community pharmacy workforce survey 2021 This survey report and accompanying data set, commissioned from the Centre for Pharmacy Workforce Studies at the University of Manchester, provides a snapshot of the community pharmacy workforce in spring 2021 and will help inform future planning and investment decisions. Health Education England 

Two-thirds with Omicron say they have had Covid before

Two-thirds with Omicron say they have had Covid before Two-thirds of people recently infected with the Omicron variant say they had already had Covid previously.

The findings come from a large, continuing study, React, swab-testing thousands of volunteers in England.

More work is needed to know how many are true reinfections - but the results reveal the groups that appear to be more likely to catch Covid again. BBC News

See also:

• Real-time Assessment of Community Transmission findings (REACT) Imperial College London
• One in eight pupils out of school as Covid worsens BBC News
• NHS staff have duty to be vaccinated - Javid  BBC News
• Pfizer and BioNTech start trials of new Omicron-specific jab BBC News
• Mayo Clinic Expert predicts COVID-19 will be around until NEXT CENTURY The Daily Mail
• Home births in England may be denied if midwives without Covid jab lose jobs The Guardian
• Covid: Cases of Omicron sub-variant increasing in many countries, warns WHO The Independent

Hymen repair surgery and virginity testing to be banned in UK

Hymen repair surgery and virginity testing to be banned in UK The government is planning on banning a cosmetic surgery called hymenoplasty across the UK.

It attempts to recreate a woman's hymen, which in some cultures is linked to virginity, and has been described as a form of honour-based abuse.

The procedure will be criminalised, as will virginity testing. BBC News 

Ovarian cancer death rate falls 17% in five years, study finds

Ovarian cancer death rate falls 17% in five years, study finds Deaths from ovarian cancer in Britain will be 17 per cent lower this year than in 2017 amid increased use of oral contraceptives, according to new research.

A study published in the Annals of Oncology also predicts death rates from the disease will be seven per cent lower across European Union (EU) nations. The Independent

See also: 

• European cancer mortality predictions for the year 2022 with focus on ovarian cancer (abstract) Annals of Oncology

A worker in winter: the hidden life of a GP – angry patients, anti-vaxxers, extreme goodwill and exhaustion

A worker in winter: the hidden life of a GP – angry patients, anti-vaxxers, extreme goodwill and exhaustion n the first of a new series on the under-pressure workers holding the UK together in this difficult winter, doctor Laura Mount reveals how staff sickness, spiralling waiting lists and political pressure have left GPs on the brink. The Guardian