Covid-19: Northamptonshire's grim death toll two years on from first national lockdown

Covid-19: Northamptonshire's grim death toll two years on from first national lockdown More than 2,000 people in Northamptonshire died from coronavirus in two years since the pandemic reached the county in 2020. Northamptonshire Telegraph

Rushden heart attack dad was given two-hour ambulance wait time

Rushden heart attack dad was given two-hour ambulance wait time The family of a Rushden man who suffered a heart attack have spoken of their disbelief at being told there would be a two-hour wait for an ambulance. Northamptonshire Telegraph

Northamptonshire's 999 workers join forces to celebrate their neurodiversity

Northamptonshire's 999 workers join forces to celebrate their neurodiversity Emergency services in Northamptonshire have got together to release a series of short films coinciding with Neurodiversity Celebration Week. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Principles for the first year of system regulation

Principles for the first year of system regulation The health and care bill offers the legislative framework to accelerate integration and partnership working. However, if regulation and oversight arrangements are overly burdensome and not fit for purpose, there is a risk that leaders of integrated care systems will be inhibited in progressing towards integration, partnership working and driving the improvements in care the pandemic has shown are needed. This report sets out a set of principles that should drive the actions of regulators over the first year of system regulation and oversight. NHS Confederation

MPs examine reasons behind staff exiting NHS and social care workforce

MPs examine reasons behind staff exiting NHS and social care workforce The workforce inquiry will examine a range of factors that may contribute to staff leaving the NHS and social care and what needs to change to improve retention.

Awareness of issues around the impact of motherhood on pay, part time working, and the gender pay gap will be considered. One review has found that from the moment of having their first child, women in medicine will not earn as much as their male peers until they are about the age of 65. MPs will also hear evidence on racial inequalities with reports that healthcare staff from ethnic minority backgrounds are more likely to experience bullying, harassment or abuse from other staff. Health and Social Care Committee

Why didn’t the Covid-19 vaccination roll-out work for immunocompromised people?

Why didn’t the Covid-19 vaccination roll-out work for immunocompromised people? Following our report on the Covid-19 vaccination programme, Gemma Peters, Chief Executive of Blood Cancer UK, contacted us about the challenges people with blood cancer and others with compromised immunity faced during the vaccine roll-out. In this blog, she highlights the lessons that must be learnt from their experiences. The King's Fund

Virtual wards and Covid-19: an explainer

Virtual wards and Covid-19: an explainer 'Virtual wards' have existed for a number of years, but Covid-19 has led to further research and pilot schemes exploring their use. How have they been used during the pandemic and what does the future hold? This explainer provides some answers. Nuffield Trust

NHS Disabled staff experiences during Covid-19

NHS Disabled staff experiences during Covid-19 This report outlines the working experiences of NHS disabled staff during the first wave of the pandemic, access the key findings and recommendations. NHS Employers

Coronavirus Act 2020 two years on

Coronavirus Act 2020 two years on This report sets out concerns about Parliament’s lack of ability to scrutinise and amend emergency provisions in the Coronavirus Act over the last two years and draws out the lessons that can be learned in legislating for future emergencies. House of Commons Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee

What happens to NHS and care home staff dismissed due to mandatory COVID-19 vaccination regulations which have now been revoked?

What happens to NHS and care home staff dismissed due to mandatory COVID-19 vaccination regulations which have now been revoked? This is one of the concerns raised by the House of Lords Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee in its 33rd report of Session 2021-22 as it considered the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) (Amendment) (Coronavirus) (No. 3) Regulations 2022. These Regulations revoke the two sets of Regulations that made full vaccination against COVID-19 a condition of employment in an NHS or care home setting.

NHS COVID-19 vaccine programme delivers first spring boosters

NHS COVID-19 vaccine programme delivers first spring boosters  95-year-old granddad has today become one of the first people in England to receive a  spring booster, as part of the latest phase of the NHS COVID-19 vaccination rollout. NHS England

Covid: Fewer stomach bugs recorded during UK's lockdown

Covid: Fewer stomach bugs recorded during UK's lockdown The UK's Covid lockdown appears to have had a massive impact on stomach bugs, slashing outbreaks by more than half in England during the first six months of the pandemic.

Far fewer people suffered vomiting and diarrhoea than usual, data show. BBC News

See also:

• Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on gastrointestinal infection trends in England, February–July 2020 (open access) BMJ Open

Pregnant women who catch Covid are TWICE as likely to have a premature birth, study reveals

Pregnant women who catch Covid are TWICE as likely to have a premature birth, study reveals Pregnant women who catch Covid are twice as likely to give birth prematurely, a study has found. 

US scientists monitored 43,000 expectant mothers over the year to March 2021, including 1,300 who tested positive. 

As well as the increased risk of having a premature birth, Covid-infected mothers were more at risk of sepsis and blood clots. The Daily Mail

See also:

• Perinatal Complications in Individuals in California With or Without SARS-CoV-2 Infection During Pregnancy (open access) JAMA Internal Medicine
• Deltacron: what scientists know so far about this new hybrid coronavirus The Conversation
• Gov slammed for silence on if unjabbed care home staff can get their jobs back after U-turn The Daily Mail
• Letting Covid rip has brought the NHS to its knees Evening Standard
• UK Covid case numbers ‘no particular cause for concern’, says Javid The Guardian
• COVID-19: Is the UK experiencing another coronavirus wave? Sky News

'Uberisation' of GP services risking patient safety, Jeremy Hunt warns

'Uberisation' of GP services risking patient safety, Jeremy Hunt warns The 'Uberisation' of GP services is putting patients at risk, former Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has warned.

The Tory MP claimed the greater reliance on technology 'cannot be a good thing' for patient care or safety. 

Speaking today at the launch of campaign Rebuild General Practice, Mr Hunt called for Britons to always be seen by the same family doctor. The Daily Mail

See also:

• GP campaign - time to rebuild general practice BMA
• On the edge: GPs in despair BMA
• General practice 'needs biggest recruitment drive in its history' GPonline
• Over 80% of UK GPs think patients are at risk in their surgery, survey finds The Guardian
• BMA and Jeremy Hunt join forces for campaign to ‘rebuild general practice’ Pulse