Covid test requirements for visitors ended at Northampton General Hospital and Kettering General Hospital

Covid test requirements for visitors ended at Northampton General Hospital and Kettering General Hospital Hospital visitors in Northamptonshire will no longer be asked for proof of a negative lateral flow test now they are no longer freely available.

But medics at Northampton General Hospital and Kettering General Hospital say visits must still be booked, you still need to wear a mask and sanitise — and must stay away if you have ANY Covid symptoms. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

See also:

• Five-year-olds to be offered Covid jabs in Northamptonshire Northamptonshire Telegraph
• Northampton man lands £400 fine over lies to jump queue for Covid vaccinations Northamptonshire Telegraph

Wellingborough charity We Mind & Kelly Matters gets NHS funding for bereavement support services

Wellingborough charity We Mind & Kelly Matters gets NHS funding for bereavement support services A county charity set up in memory of a Wellingborough woman, who took her own life, has been awarded funding to help support adults and young people bereaved by suicide. Northamptonshire Telegraph

“A service in crisis” Survey reveals GPs concerns about mental health services for children and young people

“A service in crisis” Survey reveals GPs concerns about mental health services for children and young people Most GPs (95%) believe mental health services for children and young people are critically failing and have deteriorated over the past six years. This has triggered many to describe their local NHS Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) as “dangerous” and “unsafe”, new research shows. Stem4

See also:

• NHS is denying children help for mental health issues because they are not considered sick enough The Daily Mail
• Swamped NHS mental health services turning away children, say GPs The Guardian

Expert Panel: evaluation of the Government’s commitments in the area of cancer services in England

Expert Panel: evaluation of the Government’s commitments in the area of cancer services in England The Health and Social Care Committee asked the Expert Panel to evaluate progress against pledges made by Ministers across a range of policy areas - workforce, diagnostics, living well with and beyond cancer, and technology and innovation with CQC-style ratings against five specific commitments. The Expert Panel rated Government progress as ‘inadequate’ against commitments made to improve cancer services in a new report. 

The panel acknowledges that while some progress has been made in areas such as investment in diagnostics and innovative technologies and treatments, they conclude that the lack of adequate long-term planning for, and investment in, the cancer workforce undermines progress made and justified the inadequate rating.

New diagnostic centres deliver nearly three quarters of a million tests

New diagnostic centres deliver nearly three quarters of a million tests From Wednesday 6 April, the first ever dedicated Health and Social Care Levy will begin to raise billions to help tackle Covid backlogs and reform services in the UK.

Over the next three years, a record £36 billion will be invested in the health and social care system to ensure it has the long-term resource it needs while working to reduce patient waiting times and speed up diagnoses. Department of Health and Social Care

NHS rolls out COVID vaccine to five million 5 to 11 year olds

NHS rolls out COVID vaccine to five million 5 to 11 year olds The NHS will start vaccinating children aged 5-11 today, as the biggest and most successful vaccination drive in health service history moves to the next phase. Almost five million children in this age group are eligible for two doses of the vaccine following updated JCVI guidance. NHS England

 

See also:

• Update on prescription charges for COVID-19 antiviral medicines Department of Health and Social Care
• New guidance sets out how to live safely with COVID-19 UK Health Security Agency

Record 4.9 million people has Covid in UK

Record 4.9 million people has Covid in UK About one in every 13 people in the UK has coronavirus, according to latest estimates from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

That is some 4.9 million people, up from 4.3 million people the week before.

ONS officials say that is the highest number seen since its survey began at the end of April 2020. BBC News

See also:

• What we now know about long Covid BBC News
• Covid vaccines now available for five to 11-year olds in England BBC News
• Lateral flow tests: Should I recycle the plastic? BBC News
• Covid is now more prevalent than EVER in England... so how rife is virus in YOUR town? The Daily Mail
• Revealed: Seventy-four Britons have had Covid FOUR times, official figures show The Daily Mail
• Covid infections among over-35s soar to record levels in England The Daily Telegraph
• UK Covid symptoms list expanded with nine more signs of illness The Guardian
• End of free Covid testing risks creating ‘a perfect storm’ for UK economy The Guardian
• I have long Covid and despair that the UK government ignores its blight | Ravi Veriah Jacques The Guardian
• How long Covid is accelerating revolution in medical research The Independent
• Clinically vulnerable Covid patients denied access to life-saving antivirals The Independent
• GPs can refer patients for free Covid testing, says NHS England Pulse

Gynaecology waits soar by 60% during pandemic

Gynaecology waits soar by 60% during pandemic Gynaecology waiting lists in England have risen by 60% during the pandemic - more sharply than any other specialty.

Across the UK, more than 570,000 women are waiting for help.

The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) said patients were "consistently deprioritised and overlooked". BBC News

Gap-free human genome sequence completed for first time

Gap-free human genome sequence completed for first time Scientists say they have completed the first full and seamless catalogue of genetic instructions of humans.

Until now, about 8% of the human genome code was missing from the blueprint, experts told the journal Science.

The quest to decipher and complete a gapless DNA sequence has taken decades. BBC News

See also:

• Filling the gaps (open access) Science

Future maternity scandals may stay uncovered, NHS ombudsman warns

Future maternity scandals may stay uncovered, NHS ombudsman warns Exclusive: As new law gives provision for staff to give evidence secretly, Rob Behrens says Shrewsbury could be tip of iceberg

New laws allowing health workers involved in medical blunders in England to give evidence in secret mean future maternity scandals may remain uncovered, the NHS ombudsman has warned, as he says the “shocking” baby deaths in Shrewsbury are not a one-off. The Guardian

See also:

• Does damning Ockenden report net need to be cast WIDER? The Daily Mail
• New law means future medical scandals could be missed, says NHS watchdog The Guardian
• What is the ‘normal birth movement’ and why can it be harmful? The Guardian
• ‘Sense of deja vu’: other maternity victims say Shrewsbury not a one-off The Guardian
• The grim toll at Shrewsbury is a symptom of a public sector that doesn’t listen to its users | Sonia Sodha The Guardian

Autistic children wait up to five years for an NHS appointment

Autistic children wait up to five years for an NHS appointment Children are having to wait up to five years for an NHS autism appointment, according to figures obtained by the Observer that lay bare the crisis in children’s mental health services.

Figures acquired under the Freedom of Information Act show that 2,835 autistic children referrals at Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership NHS Trust have still not had a first appointment an average of 88 weeks after being referred. The longest wait at the time the response was sent in January stood at 251 weeks – nearly five years. The Guardian

First osteoporosis drug of its kind for more than a decade approved for NHS use

First osteoporosis drug of its kind for more than a decade approved for NHS use A health watchdog has approved the first new osteoporosis drug of its kind for more than a decade, after medics urged it to perform a U-turn.

Earlier this year, more than 100 experts wrote a letter calling on the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) to repeal its verdict that romosozumab should not be given on the NHS. The Independent

See also: 

• Thousands of people set to benefit from first new treatment for osteoporosis for over a decade NICE

Senior nurse struck off after 'repeatedly harassing' female colleagues

Senior nurse struck off after 'repeatedly harassing' female colleagues A senior nurse has been struck off after a tribunal that heard he “repeatedly harassed” female colleagues ruled his behaviour was “deplorable”. 

Alfred Muvheni Mavurayi was alleged to have “constantly” made sexually explicit comments at “leered” at younger women while working as ward manager of the Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) at the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust. The Independent