Living with Covid: Six deaths in Northamptonshire care homes linked to virus after government scraps restrictions on visits

Living with Covid: Six deaths in Northamptonshire care homes linked to virus after government scraps restrictions on visits Six deaths linked to Covid-19 were reported in West Northamptonshire care homes in two weeks after the government scrapped visiting restrictions last month. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Northampton girl's £19 million compensation from Oxford hospital after family's 11-year battle over failed maternity care

Northampton girl's £19 million compensation from Oxford hospital after family's 11-year battle over failed maternity care A young Northampton girl has been awarded nearly £19 million following her family's legal battle over catastrophic brain injuries sustained during birth.

The money will fund life-time care, equipment, therapies, and accommodation for 11-year-old Megan who has cerebral palsy as a result of failings in hospital maternity care. Northamptonshire Telegraph

Governing the health and care system in England: creating the conditions for success

Governing the health and care system in England: creating the conditions for success Where will system leadership and partnership working fit into the new operating model, and will commitments to devolve decision-making be fulfilled?

In this report, commissioned by the NHS Confederation and supported by Palantir, Professor Sir Chris Ham outlines the changes needed to create the conditions in which ICSs can improve outcomes for patients and the public, and outlines rules to guide those leading the reform programme. NHS Confederation

Stark figures show impact of shortage of anaesthetists on patients awaiting surgery in the NHS

Stark figures show impact of shortage of anaesthetists on patients awaiting surgery in the NHS A new report from the Royal College of Anaesthetists warns that more than eight million operations per year will be cancelled or delayed by 2040 unless anaesthetic workforce shortages are addressed.

The RCoA’s The Anaesthetic Workforce: UK State of the Nation Report paints a stark picture of cancelled operations due to a desperate shortage of anaesthetists. While the long-term view is one of eight million cancelled operations each year, the situation today is similarly bleak, with a weary workforce, burnout and staff sickness exacerbated by a 1,400 shortfall of anaesthetists.

See also:

• NHS faces ticking 'time bomb' of 8m cancelled or delayed operations due to anaesthetist shortage  The Independent

Beyond recovery: the case for transforming UK clinical cancer research

Beyond recovery: the case for transforming UK clinical cancer research This position paper finds that Covid-19 has worsened pre-existing barriers to clinical cancer research and recovering to a pre-pandemic ‘normal’ for research won’t be enough to deliver world-class cancer outcomes. Instead, the UK government must choose to go beyond recovery by expanding clinical research capacity, transforming how research is delivered, and supporting innovative cancer research. Cancer Research UK

The case for a men’s health strategy

The case for a men’s health strategy Presented with expert views, this report found that a holistic, evidence-based, positive and gender-informed approach to men’s health is far more effective than the government’s current disease/condition approach on men’s health. The APPG notes that this is not consistent with the government’s approach on women’s health as outlined in its recent vision statement (which the APPG supports). It also notes that the government has produced no evidence that its current approach to men’s health is working. All-Party Parliamentary Group on Issues Affecting Men and Boys

Widespread support for proposed NHS mental health access standards for patients

Widespread support for proposed NHS mental health access standards for patients The NHS has set out new ambitions for patients to have timely access to community mental healthcare, following a consultation on proposed new standards, as it faces record demand following the pandemic.

Patients, clinicians, and the public have welcomed the proposed mental health access standards which include ensuring people in the community receive help within four weeks for non-urgent treatment. NHS England

New taskforce to level-up maternity care and tackle disparities

New taskforce to level-up maternity care and tackle disparities A new Maternity Disparities Taskforce will tackle disparities in maternity care experienced by women from ethnic minority groups and those living in deprived areas.

The taskforce will be established by Minister for Patient Safety and Primary Care Maria Caulfield and co-chaired by Chief Midwifery Officer, Professor Jacqueline Dunkley-Bent OBE to make real progress in understanding the reasons for poor outcomes in maternity care. Department of Health and Social Care

See also:

• NHS to tackle 'unfair' maternity outcomes BBC News
• The mothers who helped uncover the biggest maternity scandal BBC News
• NHS to tackle 'unacceptable inequalities' in maternity care, government says Sky News

Covid: Sajid Javid defends timing of end to Covid rules and free tests

Covid: Sajid Javid defends timing of end to Covid rules and free tests Health Secretary Sajid Javid has insisted the time is right to end all Covid restrictions and free mass testing in England.

All rules including the legal duty to self-isolate will end this week - and free tests will stop for most in April.

Mr Javid hailed it as a "historic moment" but warned the country must be ready for more variants in the future. BBC News

See also:

• How will the vulnerable be protected from Covid? And other questions BBC News
• Seven-week gap advised for elective surgery after Omicron BBC News
• Angry scientists accuse Sir Chris Whitty of allowing No10 to 'abandon' vulnerable people The Daily Mail
• Covid measures such as tests were never intended to be part of daily life, Sajid Javid says The Daily Mail
• 'Strong possibility' Covid jabs will be given every autumn alongside flu vaccine The Daily Mail
• Government starts to wind down the daily Covid figures: Stats dashboard won't be updated at weekends The Daily Mail
• NHS staff ‘excluded’ from free COVID-19 testing from April GPonline
• Care home visitors in England will have to pay for Covid tests The Guardian

NHS cuts to cover Covid costs may hit patient care, Labour warns

NHS cuts to cover Covid costs may hit patient care, Labour warns Patient care may suffer as a result of cuts to the NHS budget to fund the continuing costs of Covid, NHS leaders and Labour have said, after Sajid Javid refused to say where the axe would fall.

The Department of Health and Social Care is trying to make savings from its budget to fund free lateral flow tests for elderly people, Covid surveillance studies and genomic sequencing, after the Treasury refused its request for £5bn in extra funding. The Guardian 

In my 30 years as a GP, the profession has been horribly eroded

In my 30 years as a GP, the profession has been horribly eroded | Clare Gerada As I finished the final house calls of my long career in general practice, it struck me how detached I am from my patients now – and that it was not always like this. Where did we go wrong, and what can we do to fix it? The Guardian 

Women who conceive via IVF are more likely to have premature baby, mass study suggests

Women who conceive via IVF are more likely to have premature baby, mass study suggests Women who have IVF may be at greater risk of pregnancy complications.

A study of 34million women who gave birth in the US found those who conceived after having fertility treatment were 26 per cent more likely to have a premature baby. The Daily Mail

See also: 

• In‐Hospital Complications in Pregnancies Conceived by Assisted Reproductive Technology (open access) Journal of the American Heart Association