Kettering hospital boss says site is not fit for care

Kettering hospital boss says site is not fit for care The chief executive of a hospital has said the building is not in a condition "we should expect any of our nearest and dearest to receive care" in.

Kettering General Hospital chief executive Simon Weldon said the site was a "big hotchpotch of things" and the hospital required urgent attention.

But he said it was yet to receive government funding awarded in 2019. BBC Northampton

KGH patients take part in pioneering cancer pilot

KGH patients take part in pioneering cancer pilot Patients and staff at Kettering General Hospital are supporting important research into new ways of diagnosing cancer. Northamptonshire Telegraph

'Scared' Northampton mother with motor neurone disease criticises NHS after being denied treatment

'Scared' Northampton mother with motor neurone disease criticises NHS after being denied treatment A 47-year-old mother with motor neurone disease in Northampton has criticised the NHS after an assessment report she says is inaccurate left her with the care she says she needs. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Improving the blood culture pathway: executive summary

Improving the blood culture pathway: executive summary This report into blood culture practices outlines key improvement steps in the pre-analytical phase of the blood culture pathway. Through targeted recommendations to trust chief executives, clinical and pathology staff, we have an opportunity to improve the blood culture pathway, antimicrobial stewardship and patient outcomes from sepsis. NHS England

Steve Barclay: What will new health secretary tackle first?

Steve Barclay: What will new health secretary tackle first? Steve Barclay has been named as the new health secretary following the resignation of Sajid Javid, who stepped down after saying he had lost faith in Boris Johnson's leadership.

He starts as secretary of state at a time when the NHS and social care in England are under serious pressure.

Amanda Pritchard, the head of NHS England, has warned that the next two years could be even tougher for the health service than the two years since the start of the pandemic. BBC News

Hepatitis in children: How many cases are there?

Hepatitis in children: How many cases are there? Health officials are continuing to investigate a sudden surge in cases of hepatitis or liver inflammation among young children in the UK and around the world.

Several possible causes are being looked at, but it looks likely that a common virus which usually causes colds, vomiting and diarrhoea has a role to play.

A return to normal social mixing after the pandemic could also be a factor. BBC News

Heat and cold ‘increase risk of death, but rates vary across England and Wales’

Heat and cold ‘increase risk of death, but rates vary across England and Wales’ Both heat and cold increase risk of death in England and Wales – but rates vary depending on geographical location, according to a new study.

New risk estimates suggest London and other urban areas had the highest heat-related death rate.

While cold-related deaths were highest in Northern England, Wales and the South West. The Independent

See also:

• Small-area assessment of temperature-related mortality risks in England and Wales: a case time series analysis (open access) The Lancet Planetary Health

Doctors to overhaul car wreck rescue techniques amid new evidence

Doctors to overhaul car wreck rescue techniques amid new evidence There are plans for a major overhaul of how people are rescued from car wrecks amid growing evidence that current methods where people wait to be cut free may be harmful.

Last year there were 127,967 casualties and 1,560 deaths in England caused by motor vehicle collisions. During the same period, more than 7,000 patients needed to helped out of the vehicle through a process known as extrication, where rescue crews use “Jaws of Life” and other tools to pry apart the wreckage, and then carefully lift people out. The Guardian

Timelapse maps show how 'most contagious Covid yet' has become dominant in Britain

Timelapse maps show how 'most contagious Covid yet' has become dominant in Britain Covid's most contagious variant yet is now dominant in England, sequencing data shows as experts warn it could cause send infections to pandemic highs.

Data from the Sanger Institute, one of the UK's largest Covid surveillance centres, shows six in 10 positive swabs it examined in the week to June 25 were the BA.5 version of Omicron.

It has now officially displaced BA.2, which caused infections to breach 4million in April and prompted NHS bosses to call for the return of masks just days after No10 abandoned all restrictions. The Daily Mail

See also:

• COVID–19 Genomic Surveillance Sanger Institute
• Long Covid: Midwife's anger over new no-pay rule in NHS BBC News
• Covid: Norfolk man says he is 'fighting every day for life' BBC News
• Over-50s could be offered FOURTH Covid booster jab as ministers plan latest fightback against virus The Daily Mail
• Covid is back — but how worried should we be? Evening Standard
• Who’s clapping now? UK healthcare workers with long Covid have been abandoned | Kelly Fearnley & Shaun Peter Qureshi The Guardian
• All over-50s to be offered Covid booster this autumn after jump in infections The Independent
• Government set to throw away 40 million expired Covid tests as rates surge The Independent

Number of children who regularly vape DOUBLES in two years, warns report

Number of children who regularly vape DOUBLES in two years, warns report The number of children who regularly use e-cigarettes has nearly doubled in two years, a Government-funded report warns.

Experts have blamed the rise on social media sites like TikTok, where videos showing off vape smoke tricks have racked up tens of millions of views.

The report, which surveyed 2,000 British children, found one in 14 over-11s (7 per cent) now use e-cigarettes routinely, compared to four per cent in 2020. The Daily Mail

See also:

• Use of e-cigarettes among young people in Great Britain, 2022 Action on Smoking and Health
• Vaping among children doubles in two years as experts blame TikTok The Daily Telegraph
• Rise in children vaping across Britain ‘influenced by social media’ The Independent
• Ads on TikTok and Instagram ‘behind rise in children vaping’ Metro