Northants health boss urges unwell to stay off to stop Covid

Northants health boss urges unwell to stay off to stop Covid A health official urged people feeling unwell to not go to work or public places to stop the spread of Covid.

Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures show an estimated 2.3 million people - or one in 30 - has the virus, a rise of 32% on the week before.

Sally Burns, interim director of public health for West Northamptonshire, said the area had seen a 50% week-on-week rise in cases.

She said "some precautions" from earlier in the pandemic were needed. BBC Northampton

Summary of evidence on public mental health interventions

Summary of evidence on public mental health interventions This report summarises the evidence about public mental health interventions, identifying intervention areas with the strongest evidence base as well as priority areas for future research. The report includes evidence on public mental health interventions across the following areas: pregnancy, childhood, and adolescence; interventions to reduce mental health inequalities for people in marginalised groups; and interventions to prevent mental disorder and the loss of healthy years and premature death. Royal College of Psychiatrists 

Public mental health and smoking

Public mental health and smoking This report is a practical document, designed to drive action locally, regionally and nationally across sectors. It is for people and organisations developing plans and strategies to improve mental and physical health in our communities, particularly those working to implement public mental health approaches to prevent poor mental health in society. It provides evidence that people with poor mental health are more likely to smoke and that smoking can damage people’s mental health. Royal College of Psychiatrists 

Better commissioning for better lives: top tips for commissioners

Better commissioning for better lives: top tips for commissioners This top tips for commissioners briefing is based on roundtable discussions between people with learning disabilities and commissioners in March 2022. They are part of a joint call to action from the Mental Health Network, Foundation for People with Learning Disabilities and Mencap to move beyond the years of policies and good intentions to now focus on making equality and inclusion for people with learning disabilities a reality. NHS Confederation

Flooding and public mental health: assessment and management

Flooding and public mental health: assessment and management This guidance on flooding and health aims to provide information for public health authorities, emergency services and health professionals on the measures needed to prevent major effects on health arising from floods in England. UK Health Security Agency

Research: Monkeypox outbreak: epidemiological overview

Research: Monkeypox outbreak: epidemiological overview Monkeypox is a re-emerging zoonotic infection, caused by the monkeypox virus, that occurs mostly in West and Central Africa.

This report covers the latest national and regional figures for cases of monkeypox found in the UK.

Further details on the epidemiology are available in the monkeypox technical briefing. UK Health Security Agency

Hospices hit by rising costs and falling donations

Hospices hit by rising costs and falling donations A combination of rising costs and falling donations is hitting the incomes of UK hospices, a provider has told the BBC.

Havens Hospices in Essex said it was making it harder to meet rising demand at its sites in Southend and Benfleet.

The average value of one-off donations to the charity has halved since April and its energy, food and staffing costs are soaring, said boss Steve Smith. BBC News

Director of new pandemic institute urges government to prepare UK for next outbreak

Director of new pandemic institute urges government to prepare UK for next outbreak The director of a new UK institute dedicated to fighting future outbreaks of infectious diseases has urged the government “to put your money where your mouth is” and invest more in pandemic preparedness.

The Pandemic Sciences Institute (PSI), which formally launches on Tuesday, has been founded by experts at the University of Oxford to identify and better respond to pandemic threats. The Independent

Covid cases are soaring, but medical breakthroughs mean NHS wards look very different to previous waves

Covid cases are soaring, but medical breakthroughs mean NHS wards look very different to previous waves Around two per cent of patients in hospital with Covid require mechanical ventilation, compared with 11 per cent at the height of the winter wave in 2021.

The number of Covid patients entering intensive care is not rising in line with a steep uptick in hospital admissions as the impact of vaccination and new antiviral medications appears to be holding at bay new waves of serious illness. iNews

See also:

• Covid Wales: Masks back at more hospitals as cases rise BBC News
• Another wave: is this ‘living with Covid’? (podcast) The Guardian
• Handle with care: mistakes and near-misses at UK Covid labs The Guardian
• Covid-positive hospital patients in England now over 10,000 The Independent
• The hidden impacts of Long COVID (podcast) Sky News

Kellogg’s fails in court challenge against UK high-sugar cereal rules

Kellogg’s fails in court challenge against UK high-sugar cereal rules Kellogg’s has failed in a legal challenge against new regulations that ban it from promoting sugar-filled cereals with buy-one-get-one-free offers.

The cereal company, whose brands include Corn Flakes, Coco Pops and Frosties, had argued the government’s inclusion of its cereals among “less healthy” foods was unfair because it did not take into account the milk that is usually added at breakfast time. The Guardian

See also:

• Kellogg's loses court case over sugary cereal supermarket offers BBC News

NHS to test using drones to fly chemotherapy drugs to Isle of Wight

NHS to test using drones to fly chemotherapy drugs to Isle of Wight The NHS plans to use drones to fly chemotherapy drugs to cancer patients in England to avoid the need for long journeys to collect them.

The devices will transport doses from Portsmouth to the Isle of Wight in a trial that, if successful, will lead to drones being used for similar drops elsewhere. The Guardian

See also:

• NHS trials using drones to deliver chemotherapy drugs BBC News

More than 11,000 bowel cancer deaths could be prevented by simply reinviting people

More than 11,000 bowel cancer deaths could be prevented by simply reinviting people More than 11,000 lives could be saved by simply reinviting people who miss key bowel cancer test, research suggests.

A yearly reminder would boost uptake by nearly 14 per cent and catch thousands more cases of the disease, the Cancer Research UK study found.

Everyone aged 60 to 74 who is registered with a GP in England is automatically sent an at-home stool test every two years. The Daily Mail 

See also:

• Closing the gap: How new screening interventions could reduce inequalities in bowel cancer outcomes Cancer Research UK
• Modelling cost-effective strategies for minimising socioeconomic inequalities in colorectal cancer screening outcomes in England (abstract) Preventive Medicine