Vaccine boss hails Covid jabs success as Northamptonshire hospital cases plummet 80 percent in four weeks

Vaccine boss hails Covid jabs success as Northamptonshire hospital cases plummet 80 percent in four weeks Vaccination bosses are hailing the success of Covid-19 jabs after the number of patients in hospital with the virus dropped by 80 percent in four weeks. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Northamptonshire welcomes 16 international nurses to healthcare foundation trust in last year

Northamptonshire welcomes 16 international nurses to healthcare foundation trust in last year A total of 16 international nurses have been welcomed to a healthcare foundation trust in Northamptonshire during the last year.

Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust has worked in collaboration with Northampton and Kettering General Hospitals to welcome nurses from India, the Philippines and Zimbabwe. Northamptonshire Telegraph

Ukraine war: Paramedic to deliver humanitarian aid in Ukraine

Ukraine war: Paramedic to deliver humanitarian aid in Ukraine A paramedic heading to Ukraine to help deliver humanitarian aid said he felt "had to do something" after seeing images of the war.

Sam Sears, who works at Kettering ambulance station, left the UK on Monday and will head to Poland before crossing the boarder to Lviv.

The 41-year-old from Sudborough, Northamptonshire, will spend six weeks helping Ukrainian emergency services. BBC Northampton

NHS performance summary

NHS performance summary In April 2022, 28% of people attending A&E spent more than four hours from arrival to admission, transfer or discharge – the worst performance for any April since records began.

Trolley waits increased to record levels – in April 2022, 24,138 patients waited over 12 hours from a decision to admit to admission, 46 times higher than in April 2021.

The mean ambulance response time for emergency incidents exceeded 51 minutes in April 2022, with one in ten patients waiting almost two hours. Nuffield Trust

See also:

• Continued pressure on emergency services not safe or sustainable The Health Foundation
• The King's Fund responds to the latest NHS performance stats The King's Fund
• Latest figures show NHS making significant dents in waiting lists, but demand skyrocketing NHS Confederation
• Further drop in number of people facing longest waits for NHS care NHS England
• NHS Activity Tracker May 2022 NHS Providers
• Appalling delays in emergency and routine care will remain for some time Nuffield Trust
• NHS waiting list spikes to ANOTHER record high: Now 6.4MILLION patients are stuck in queues The Daily Mail
• NHS England waiting list reaches another record high in March The Guardian
• What do the latest NHS performance figures show? The Independent
• NHS waiting list hits record high with 6.4 million patients yet to have routine treatment The Independent
• NHS waiting list in England hits new record high of 6.4 million people but ambulance response times improve iNews

Why health visitors matter: perspectives on a widely valued service

Why health visitors matter: perspectives on a widely valued service This report is compiled of short pieces by parents, professionals, and charity leaders that aim to show the breadth and depth of health visitors’ work and its importance. It concludes with several calls to action, including asking local authorities to commission and fund high quality health visiting services, increased resource from the government and for the government to address workforce shortages. Parent Infant Foundation

Waiting for Care ADASS Report May 2022

Waiting for Care ADASS Report May 2022 New survey findings from the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services show that more than half a million people are now waiting for an adult social care assessment, for care or a direct payment to begin or for a review of their care. The latest data suggests:

• More than six in 10 councils that responded (61%) say they are having to prioritise assessments and are only able to respond to people where abuse or neglect is highlighted, for hospital discharge or after a temporary period of residential care to support recovery and reablement.
• 506,131 people were waiting for assessments, reviews, and/or care support to begin
• There has been a 16% increase in the number of hours of home care that have been delivered since Spring 2021, but that dipped from a high of over 41m hours in Autumn 2021 in the first quarter of this year as staff vacancies and sickness impacted

Almost 170,000 hours a week of home care could not be delivered because of a shortage of care workers during the first three months of 2022. That is a dramatic seven-fold increase since Spring 2021

See also:

• Chief Social Worker for Adults publishes annual report Department of Health and Social Care
• Official Statistics: Adult social care in England, monthly statistics: May 2022 Department of Health and Social Care
• NHS Providers responds to ADASS report 'Waiting for care and support' NHS Providers
• Social care: Half a million adults waiting for help in England BBC News

Increased funding for nursing in care homes

Increased funding for nursing in care homes Increased funding for nursing in care homes will support tens of thousands of care home residents with nursing needs, including those with learning and physical disabilities, with an 11.5% increase in 2022 to 2023 and an estimated £87 million backdated for 2021 to 2022. Department of Health and Social Care

COVID-19: Around 60,000 NHS workers living with PTSD after battling the pandemic

COVID-19: Around 60,000 NHS workers living with PTSD after battling the pandemic An estimated 60,000 NHS workers are believed to be living with post-traumatic stress as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to new research.

NHS Charities Together also found nine in 10 workers (90%) say it will take them years to recover. Sky News

See also:

• Police issue 50 more fines over Covid-rule breaking in Downing Street BBC News
• Latest No 10 lockdown party fines are a non-story, says Jacob Rees-Mogg BBC News
• Covid inquiry broadens scope to include children BBC News
• End of Covid regulations: What if I'm still worried? BBC News
• United States passes one million Covid deaths BBC News
• Covid UK: Independent inquiry WILL probe impact of lockdowns on mental health and young people The Daily Mail
• Covid is not more likely to cause depression than other respiratory infections, study claims The Daily Mail
• Unequal impact of Covid should be part of UK inquiry, says chair The Guardian
• Partygate: PM accused of presiding over ‘record’ 100 Covid fines The Guardian
• Ending England’s Covid restrictions was divisive – but the data shows we were right The Guardian
• Covid vaccine uptake in pregnant women rises to 60% but racial inequalities persist The Independent
• Number of Covid-19 hospital patients in England lowest since Christmas The Independent

Hepatitis outbreak in children: What do we know so far?

Hepatitis outbreak in children: What do we know so far? An unexpected increase in hepatitis cases among young, previously healthy children was first reported in the United Kingdom in late March. As of 10 May, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that there are 348 cases globally. So far, one death has been reported and an estimated 18 liver transplants have been carried out globally. Imperial College London

See also:

• Child with acute hepatitis dies in Ireland BBC News
• Child dies of mysterious hepatitis in Ireland as global death toll hits six  The Daily Mail

Offer women oral tablet to treat fibroids, NHS advised

Offer women oral tablet to treat fibroids, NHS advised A new oral tablet could help thousands of women with benign womb growths, called fibroids, avoid invasive surgery, say experts advising the NHS.

Watchdog the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) says Ryeqo pills should be added to the treatment options considered if a woman has moderate to severe symptoms. BBC News

See also:

• Women with moderate to severe fibroids set to be offered new one-a-day treatment following final draft guidance NICE

High pollen levels this weekend ‘could be deadly’ for asthma sufferers, charity warns

High pollen levels this weekend ‘could be deadly’ for asthma sufferers, charity warns Asthma sufferers have been warned that high pollen levels this weekend could put their lives at risk.

The Met Office is forecasting high pollen levels across most of England and Wales from Friday, with medium levels in other parts of the UK, except in Orkney and Shetland, where they should remain low. The Independent

NHS ambulance crisis sparks an 80% spike in serious safety incidents

NHS ambulance crisis sparks an 80% spike in serious safety incidents The NHS ambulance crisis has led to a surge in avoidable deaths and injuries — with response times for emergency call-outs at record highs.

Heart attack patients can now expect to wait an hour after a 999 call, which health bosses have blamed on record demand following the pandemic.

Serious safety incidents logged by ambulance trusts in England have skyrocketed 77 per cent in the last year compared to before the pandemic, official figures show. The Daily Mail

See also:

• Ambulance Quality Indicators Clinical Outcomes for December 2021 NHS England
• Ambulance wait times: Injured nine-year-old told ambulance would take hours to reach her BBC News
• Top emergency medic admits she would consider a TAXI to take ill family member to hospital The Daily Mail
• Ambulance response times ‘putting lives at risk’ as girl, 9, told to wait 10 hours The Independent