Boris Johnson's plan to scrap Covid isolation rules was 'bit of a surprise,' admits Northamptonshire's interim health chief

Boris Johnson's plan to scrap Covid isolation rules was 'bit of a surprise,' admits Northamptonshire's interim health chief Health chiefs in Northamptonshire admit Boris Johnson announcement about scrapping Covid self-isolation rules later this month came as 'a bit of a surprise.'

John Ashton, the county's interim director of public health, confessed: "In recent days and weeks, things have been moved forward faster than many of us anticipated." Northampton Chronicle and Echo 

Children and young people’s mental health: COVID-19 and the road ahead

Children and young people’s mental health: COVID-19 and the road ahead Mental health conditions have become more common among children and young people. Here, we explore what we know about the state of children and young people’s mental health services using openly available administrative and survey data. The Health Foundation 

The long goodbye? Exploring rates of staff leaving the NHS and social care

The long goodbye? Exploring rates of staff leaving the NHS and social care In this explainer, Billy Palmer and Lucina Rolewicz take stock of what is known and not known about the numbers of staff leaving NHS and social care roles, and the reasons given for moving on. Nuffield Trust 

NHS launches lifesaving campaign to tackle heart attack myths

NHS launches lifesaving campaign to tackle heart attack myths The NHS is launching a new lifesaving campaign to encourage people to dial 999 when they are having early signs of a heart attack.

Backed by celebrities including One Foot in the Grave actor Richard Wilson and Sky Sports presenter ‘Tubes’ – the campaign will tackle a number of common heart attack myths, after research identified that three in four people thought a heart attack was the same as a cardiac arrest. NHS England 

New national cervical screening campaign launches - as nearly 1 in 3 don’t take up screening offer

New national cervical screening campaign launches - as nearly 1 in 3 don’t take up screening offer A new national campaign is calling on those eligible not to ignore their invite, as data reveals nearly 1 in 3 don’t take up the offer of cervical screening. Department of Health and Social Care 

Guidance: SARS-CoV-2 variants of public health interest

Guidance: SARS-CoV-2 variants of public health interest Details of the variants of public health interest. UK Health Security Agency

See also: 

• Research: Investigation of SARS-CoV-2 variants: routine variant data update UK Health Security Agency
• Research: Investigation of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern: variant risk assessments UK Health Security Agency
• Guidance: The R value and growth rate UK Health Security Agency
• Official Statistics: National flu and COVID-19 surveillance reports: 2021 to 2022 season UK Health Security Agency

NHS hospital doctor arrested on suspicion of sexual assault

NHS hospital doctor arrested on suspicion of sexual assault Two NHS hospital trusts are working with police after a doctor was arrested on suspicion of sexual assault.

Staffordshire Police has launched a major incident review of the doctor's work at hospitals in Dudley, West Midlands, and Stoke-on-Trent, The Sunday Times reported. BBC News 

Latest Covid data shows where in UK infections are rising and falling

Latest Covid data shows where in UK infections are rising and falling Covid infections are rising across the South and East of England, but falling in the North, new figures show.

Around one in 19 people in private households in England had Covid-19 in the week to 5 February, or 2.8 million people – up from one in 20 during the previous week, the Office for National Statistics said. The Independent

See also: 

• How fake news about Covid vaccine could be pushing return of MMR refuseniks The Daily Mail
• SAGE subgroup warn scrapping compulsory isolation and free testing will 'increase anxiety' The Daily Mail
• NHS Test and Trace to have budget cut by billions in 'living with Covid' plan The Daily Telegraph
• Early end to self-isolation rules risks 'serious impact' on NHS, doctors warn GPonline
• We got lucky with Omicron. Boris Johnson is rolling the dice again The Guardian
• Half of PPE procured by UK using ‘VIP’ companies has not been used The Guardian
• Plan to jab children aged 5-11 delayed amid No 10 and JCVI impasse The Guardian
• ‘I’m deeply concerned’: workers on plans to end all Covid rules in England The Guardian

'Stretching' NHS targets not enough to stop waiting lists rising, warns health service leader

'Stretching' NHS targets not enough to stop waiting lists rising, warns health service leader NHS waiting lists are likely to continue growing for longer than government ministers have suggested, even if trusts meet their “very stretching” targets to tackle the backlog of treatment which has built up during the Covid pandemic, a health service boss has warned. The Independent 

Radical action needed to tackle racial health inequality in NHS, says damning report

Radical action needed to tackle racial health inequality in NHS, says damning report Radical action is needed urgently to tackle “overwhelming” minority ethnic health inequalities in the NHS, leading experts have said, after a damning study found the “vast” and “widespread” inequity in every aspect of healthcare it reviewed was harming the health of millions of patients. The Guardian

See also: 

• NHS race review should be cue to finally tackle health inequalities The Guardian

NHS staffing levels are at crisis point, so why isn’t it allowed to plan for the future?

NHS staffing levels are at crisis point, so why isn’t it allowed to plan for the future? | Andrew Goddard No organisation operates without knowing its workforce needs, but the government is keeping the health service in the dark.

Last week, the delivery plan for tackling the Covid-19 backlog of elective care was published with a clear recognition that “to succeed we have to grow and support our workforce”. While the number of patients waiting for care has risen to 6 million, we mustn’t forget that this figure was an eye-watering 4.4 million before the pandemic had even begun. We in the NHS have long known that staffing numbers have been the limiting factor in keeping up with ever-growing patient need and demand. The Guardian 

Three jabs a year of new NHS drug could save eyesight in 800,000 Brits, experts say

Three jabs a year of new NHS drug could save eyesight in 800,000 Brits, experts say Two eye conditions that cause blindness can be treated with a breakthrough drug that dramatically slows the loss of vision.

The medication, faricimab, could soon be offered to people with wet age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD), a leading cause of vision loss in over-60s, and to sufferers of diabetic macular oedema, an eye problem linked to diabetes. The Daily Mail