Northamptonshire Care Record goes live in first pilot areas

Northamptonshire Care Record goes live in first pilot areas Northamptonshire Health and Care Partnership has announced the Northamptonshire Care Record has been launched across a number of pilot sites. 

The first live data in the system is being pulled from the majority of general practices in the region, and will be followed later this month with all data from Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust. Data from Northampton General Hospital and Kettering General Hospital are set to follow shortly after. Digital Health

KGH team's pride after fast-food trailer testing service wins national award

KGH team's pride after fast-food trailer testing service wins national award When Covid hit the nation one team at KGH faced a dilemma – how would they keep giving blood tests to patients who needed to shield?

With the virus spreading across the country the last thing they wanted was vulnerable people regularly going into the hospital.

But thanks to the imagination of the anticoagulation team they were able to have their tests at a fast-food trailer in a car park. Northamptonshire Telegraph

Government must go further to level up the health recovery

Government must go further to level up the health recovery Commenting on the Queen's Speech, Dr Jennifer Dixon, Chief Executive of The Health Foundation, said:

‘Today's Queen’s Speech reiterated the UK Government's ambitions to level up. But with a cost-of-living crisis and a huge backlog in NHS care, much bolder action is needed to secure the nation's healthy recovery post-Covid.'

See also:

• Queen’s Speech 2022 Prime Minister's Office, 10 Downing Street 
• Queen's Speech is light on health promises British Heart Foundation
• LGA statement on Queen’s Speech: Mental Health Act Reform Bill Local Government Association
• Queen’s Speech 2022: what you need to know NHS Confederation
• On the day briefing: Queen's Speech 2022 NSH Providers
• RCN responds to the Queen's Speech Royal College of Nursing
• RCPsych responds to the Queen's speech Royal College of Psychiatrists
• Proposed Mental Health Act overhaul included in Queen’s Speech Community Care
• The Queen’s speech 2022: what was in it and what it means The Guardian
• Queen's Speech unveils mental health reform to end learning disability detentions Home Care

Reform of adult social care: some progress, but nowhere near enough

Reform of adult social care: some progress, but nowhere near enough In November 2019, we identified the eight key problems in adult social care that any reform would need to address. Since then, the government has issued four key documents outlining measures that directly affect adult social care: its Build back better plan for health and social care, the People at the heart of care social care White Paper, the Health and Care Act (which has now received Royal Assent) and a White Paper on integration of health and care. Together, these introduce major reform to adult social care, with measures including further integration with health care, changes to the means test for social care, a cap on social care costs and an intervention in the social care market intended to ensure local authorities pay a ‘fair price’ for care. But are they enough to tackle the eight deep-rooted problems in the sector? Here’s our assessment. The King's Fund

Partnership working in Doncaster to support children and young people’s mental health

Partnership working in Doncaster to support children and young people’s mental health The Doncaster Children’s Partnership set up the multi-agency Social and Emotional Mental Health (SEMH) Group, which brings together key influencers and decision-makers from the CCG, local authority, children and young people’s mental health service provider and other partners. The SEMH promotes better joint assessments, planning and service delivery for vulnerable young people in need of care, which has led to reduced delays and improved access to appropriate help and support for children and young people in the local area. NHS Confederation

NHS fast tracks mental health support for millions of pupils

NHS fast tracks mental health support for millions of pupils More than 2.4 million children and young people now have access to mental health support in schools and colleges, thanks to the NHS fast tracking services to help address record demand.

The NHS rollout is already one year ahead of schedule – more than 500 teams will be confirmed ahead of the April 2023 ambition with millions able to access help when they need it. NHS England

Chronic pain treatments are failing millions, say experts

Chronic pain treatments are failing millions, say experts Relentless. Unbearable. Overwhelming.

These are just some of the words used by the thousands of people who have revealed their battle with long-term, persistent pain.

An exclusive survey of over 4,000 adults aged 16-75 for BBC News, carried out by research company Ipsos, suggests that a quarter of people in the UK are living with chronic pain - an often hidden and misunderstood condition.

See also:

• Chronic pain: 'A life with pain is still a life' BBC News

Sarin gas blamed for Gulf War syndrome

Sarin gas blamed for Gulf War syndrome US scientists say they have discovered what caused thousands of soldiers who served in the 1991 Gulf War to fall sick with mysterious symptoms.

They have pinned the blame on the nerve agent sarin, which was released into the air when caches of Iraqi chemical weapons were bombed.

Many veterans have complained of a range of debilitating symptoms which developed after their service. BBC News

NHS offers refugee nurses a 'new life and career'

NHS offers refugee nurses a 'new life and career' Eleven NHS Trusts are offering a “new life and career” to Palestinian refugees under a new pilot scheme. NursingNotes

Pregnant women who had Covid vaccine 15% LESS likely to suffer stillbirth, 'reassuring' study finds

Pregnant women who had Covid vaccine 15% LESS likely to suffer stillbirth, 'reassuring' study finds Pregnant women who are vaccinated against Covid are 'significantly' less likely to suffer a stillbirth compared to the unvaccinated, research suggests.

There had been widespread safety concerns about the jabs among expectant mothers, which saw them become one of the least vaccinated groups in the country. The Daily Mail

See also:

• Systematic review and meta-analysis of the effectiveness and perinatal outcomes of COVID-19 vaccination in pregnancy (open access) Nature Communications
• Long Covid: Fears symptoms in ethnic groups 'not believed' BBC News
• New Covid strain now makes up 43% of cases in the US and at least 66% of all infections in New York, CDC reports The Daily Mail
• Covid vaccines safe for pregnant women and cut stillbirth risk, says review The Guardian
• Pandemic gets tougher to track as COVID testing plunges The Independent

20,000 children with rotten teeth missed out on agony-relieving op during Covid

20,000 children with rotten teeth missed out on agony-relieving op during Covid Thousands children missed out on getting their rotten teeth removed because of Covid, data suggests.

Tooth extractions in youngsters halved during the first year of the pandemic, with just 14,645 carried out in 2020/21. 

This was roughly 20,000 fewer than the year before. The Daily Mail

See also:

• Ministers must act on child tooth extractions backlog British Dental Association
• Hospital tooth extractions of 0 to 19 year olds 2021 Office for Health Improvement and Disparities
• Hospital tooth extractions for children in England fall by over half in pandemic The Guardian

Dire workforce crisis turning general practice ‘upside down’, UK GPC chair warns

Dire workforce crisis turning general practice ‘upside down’, UK GPC chair warns Politicians must listen to GPs’ concerns about the ‘severe’ workforce crisis in general practice as teams face a ‘daunting mountain of unmet need’ with inadequate support, the BMA UK GP chair has warned. GPonline

See also: 

• GPs vote AGAINST closing doors at 5pm following fury over plans - but demand 'safe working limits' The Daily Mail
• GPs demand contract with safe working limits but reject core hours cut GPonline
• GPs demand extra funding to cope with additional work caused by hospital backlogs GPonline