Patients wait average of 11 weeks for treatment at Northampton General Hospital and Kettering General Hospital as pressure on NHS hits 'unacceptable levels'

Patients wait average of 11 weeks for treatment at Northampton General Hospital and Kettering General Hospital as pressure on NHS hits 'unacceptable levels' Patients were waiting an average of up to 11 weeks for routine hospital treatment in Northamptonshire during February, according to latest NHS England figures.

The King's Fund think tank says another national record for numbers of people on waiting lists shows the strain on the NHS is reaching “unacceptable levels.” Northampton Chronicle and Echo

See also:

• Northampton General Hospital sees worst performance since records began Northants Live

Kettering: PM pressed over plans for delayed hospital

Kettering: PM pressed over plans for delayed hospital Boris Johnson has promised a meeting between the health secretary and three MPs about the delayed rebuild of Kettering General Hospital.

The hospital was awarded £46m for a new urgent care hub in 2019 and a further £350m for redevelopment.

The money has yet to be awarded and the town's MP, Philip Hollobone, said it was "the number one local priority for residents". BBC Northampton

See also:

• KGH rebuild funding discussed at Prime Minister's Questions Northamptonshire Telegraph

Ageing, inequality and ethnicity: evidence cards

Ageing, inequality and ethnicity: evidence cards This set of downloadable 'evidence cards' aim to highlight the contributions of and inequalities experienced by Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic groups approaching retirement age. The authors found inequalities in terms of health, wealth and life circumstances. They call for better paid work, more affordable and better housing, and targeted measures to reduce ill-health. Centre for Ageing Better

Managing cross-border travel during the COVID-19 pandemic

Managing cross-border travel during the COVID-19 pandemic Government has an opportunity to learn lessons from its experience of implementing cross-border travel measures during the COVID-19 pandemic should such measures be needed in the future, according to a report by the National Audit Office.

See also:

• UK quarantine hotels cost taxpayer £400m, watchdog finds The Guardian
• COVID-19: hotel quarantine scheme cost taxpayers almost £400m despite being estimated to break even - government's own watchdog finds Sky News

Covid: Woman caught virus twice within record 20 days

Covid: Woman caught virus twice within record 20 days A 31-year-old healthcare worker caught Covid twice within 20 days - the shortest-known gap between infections, Spanish researchers have claimed.

Tests show the woman was infected with two different variants - Delta in late December and then Omicron in January.

This shows that even if you have had Covid before, you can still be infected again even if fully vaccinated, the researchers say. BBC News

See also:

• Omicron sub-variant causing havoc in the US is already in Britain The Daily Mail
• Britain's daily Covid cases plunge by another third as hospitalisations and deaths fall again The Daily Mail
• £500million wasted on useless Covid PPE at start of pandemic 'could have paid for a brand new hospital' as officials admit they would avoid using a 'VIP lane' again in future
• Nearly half of those recovering from coronavirus infection endure ‘long Covid’ symptoms, study finds The Independent
• Healthcare worker catches Covid twice in less than three weeks The Independent
• Government fraud investigators probe PPE contracts, MPs told The Independent

Father calls for overhaul of 'flawed' suicide assessments

Father calls for overhaul of 'flawed' suicide assessments A father whose son took his own life in July 2020 is calling for an "urgent overhaul" of the way some counsellors and therapists assess suicide risk.

His son Tom had died a day after being judged "low risk", in a final counselling session, Philip Pirie said.

A group of charities has written to the health secretary, saying the use of a checklist-type questionnaire to predict suicide risk is "fundamentally flawed". BBC News

Urine bugs may be a sign of aggressive prostate cancer

Urine bugs may be a sign of aggressive prostate cancer Scientists say they have identified urine bacteria which are linked to aggressive prostate cancer.

The discovery might provide new ways to spot and even prevent these dangerous tumours, experts hope.

It's too soon to say if the bacteria might cause the cancer, rather than just be a helpful marker. BBC News

See also:

• Microbiomes of Urine and the Prostate Are Linked to Human Prostate Cancer Risk Groups (open access) European Urology Oncology
• Discovery of bacteria linked to prostate cancer hailed as potential breakthrough The Guardian

NHS waiting lists drive more Britons to pay for medical treatment

NHS waiting lists drive more Britons to pay for medical treatment Growing numbers of Britons are paying for private medical treatment because of the record delays people are facing trying to access NHS care, a report has revealed.

They are using their own savings to pay for procedures that involve some of the longest waiting times in NHS hospital, such as diagnostic tests, cataract removals and joint replacements. The Guardian

See also:

• Private Healthcare Self-Pay UK Market Report 4ed LaingBuisson

Suicide rates twice as high among patients with terminal cancers, heart disease and COPD

Suicide rates twice as high among patients with terminal cancers, heart disease and COPD Terminally-ill Britons are twice as likely to commit suicide as healthy people, official data shows.

A first of its kind analysis by the Office for National Statistics found the risk spikes sharply after the devastating blow of a diagnosis but slows over time. The Daily Mail

See also:

• Suicides among people diagnosed with severe health conditions, England: 2017 to 2020 Office for National Statistics

Antidepressants DON'T make people any happier, major study claims

Antidepressants DON'T make people any happier, major study claims Antidepressants are no better at making people feel happier than taking no medication at all, a study claimed today. 

Patients on the drugs did not have a significantly better quality of life compared to depressed people who were not on the pills, the analysis found.

Researchers looked 17.5million US adults with depression over 10 years, with around half on medication and half not. The Daily Mail

See also: 

• Antidepressants and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) for patients with depression: Analysis of the medical expenditure panel survey from the United States (open access) PLOS One