Organ donation from five KGH patients leads to 12 transplants

Organ donation from five KGH patients leads to 12 transplants Five Kettering General Hospital patients who donated their organs after death have helped to save or transform 12 lives following transplant surgery.

NHS Blood and Transplant and Kettering General Hospital have released the figures to mark the publication of the annual Organ Donation and Transplantation Activity Report covering the period April 2021-March 2022. Northamptonshire Telegraph

The contribution of newborn health to child mortality across England

The contribution of newborn health to child mortality across England This report draws on data from the NCMD to investigate how illness around the time of birth affects the health of children up to the age of 10, and to draw out learning and recommendations for service providers and policymakers. National Child Mortality Database

RCGP joins other medical royal colleges and the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges in calling for the next PM and leader of the Conservative Party to make health and care a priority

RCGP joins other medical royal colleges and the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges in calling for the next PM and leader of the Conservative Party to make health and care a priority With the election of the leader of the Conservative Party coming down to two candidates, the RCGP has signed a joint statement calling on them both to commit to make health and care a priority.

There is a crisis in general practice and the RCGP will continue to work with politicians from across Parliament to call on them to deliver a bold new plan to help GPs and their patients. Royal College of General Practitioners

Management of PPE contracts

Management of PPE contracts This report identifies ‘significant failings’ in the management of PPE contracts that have led to a stockpile of almost four billion items that are not needed. It finds little evidence of action being taken against potentially fraudulent suppliers despite the Department of Health and Social Care's estimate that as much as five per cent of PPE expenditure may have involved fraud. The report urges that more robust and transparent practices should be put in place to prevent such losses in the future. House of Commons Public Accounts Committee

National flu and COVID-19 surveillance reports published

National flu and COVID-19 surveillance reports published Surveillance indicators suggest that, at a national level, COVID-19 activity has increased slightly in several indicators in week 28 of 2022.

The number of acute respiratory infection incidents (suspected outbreaks) decreased in England to 528 in week 28, compared to 537 in the previous week. UK Health Security Agency

Covid inquiry: Lessons will be learned before next pandemic

Covid inquiry: Lessons will be learned before next pandemic Lessons will be learned about the UK's handling of Covid, before another pandemic strikes, Baroness Hallett, chairing the public inquiry, has said.

Opening the inquiry, she promised to be "fair and robust".

The former High Court judge said she would conduct the inquiry as quickly as possible, without giving a timeframe for its completion. BBC News

See also:

• US President Joe Biden tests positive for Covid BBC News
• Covid hospitalisations have now peaked in EVERY region The Daily Mail
• Public inquiry into UK Covid-19 response opens The Guardian
• How Covid keeps surprising us and confounding the experts (podcast) The Guardian
• Rise in Covid-19 hospital patients in England levels off The Independent
• Is Omicron sub-variant BA.2.75 more transmissible and could it bring another Covid wave to the UK? ITV News
• Doctors are concerned about the risk of hospital-acquired Covid-19 New Scientist
• COVID: Is the virus getting smarter? Sky News

Patients paying for private ops to avoid NHS waits

Patients paying for private ops to avoid NHS waits Long NHS waiting times appear to be pushing people into paying thousands of pounds for private treatment.

There were 69,000 self-funded treatments in the UK in the final three months of last year - a 39% rise on the same period before the pandemic.

Experts said it was a sign of how desperate people had become.

The BBC has seen evidence of people taking out loans and resorting to crowdfunding to pay for private treatment. BBC News

Doctors reveal ‘severe’ new symptoms of monkeypox similar to STIs

Doctors reveal ‘severe’ new symptoms of monkeypox similar to STIs Scientists have discovered a new set of signs of monkeypox that resemble sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

The symptoms, which include genital lesions and sores on the mouth or anus, may be severe and have led some sufferers to be admitted to hospital for pain management and difficulties swallowing, researchers say.

But the lesions or sores can easily be misdiagnosed, the scientists warn. The Independent

See also:

• Monkeypox Virus Infection in Humans across 16 Countries — April–June 2022 (open access) The New England Journal of Medicine
• Clinical features and management of human monkeypox: a retrospective observational study in the UK (open access) The Lancet Infectious Diseases
• Monkeypox vaccine rollout ramped up in London as virus continues to spread The Independent
• NHS scaling up monkeypox vaccination programme in London as more than 2,000 cases confirmed across UK Sky News

This is how we should rebuild the NHS

This is how we should rebuild the NHS The government loves a good driving analogy, doesn’t it? Roads and maps are particular favourites – the last two years have been full of them. We’ve had road maps for just about everything from recovering London’s economy to “coming out of” Covid; and the latest has been a “road to recovery” plan for the NHS as it moves forward and “out” of the pandemic. The Independent

See also:

• How can the NHS weather its summer storm? The Independent
• Children’s health waiting lists rising double the rate of adults, top doctor warns The Independent

London NHS trust cancels operations as IT system fails in heatwave

London NHS trust cancels operations as IT system fails in heatwave One of the NHS’s biggest hospital trusts is facing major problems after its IT system failed because of the extreme temperatures earlier this week.

Guy’s and St Thomas’ trust (GSTT) in London has had to cancel operations, postpone appointments and divert seriously ill patients to other hospitals in the capital as a result of its IT meltdown. The Guardian

Watchdog fines Pfizer and Flynn £70m for overcharging NHS for epilepsy drug

Watchdog fines Pfizer and Flynn £70m for overcharging NHS for epilepsy drug The drug makers Pfizer and Flynn Pharma have been fined a total of £70m for overcharging the NHS for a life-saving epilepsy drug.

The UK’s competition watchdog fined New York-based Pfizer £63m and imposed a £6.7m penalty on Flynn, a smaller UK pharmaceutical firm based in Stevenage. Both companies said they would appeal. The Guardian

‘A giant step’: charities welcome plan to widen access to IVF on NHS

‘A giant step’: charities welcome plan to widen access to IVF on NHS The government’s decision to remove additional barriers some LGBTQ couples face in accessing NHS-funded fertility treatments has been welcomed by charities and equalities organisations.

Under current rules, heterosexual couples can access NHS-funded fertility treatments once they demonstrate that they have been trying to conceive naturally for a period of time. The Guardian

Surgeons do multiple operations at same time under policy to combat record-length NHS waiting lists

Surgeons do multiple operations at same time under policy to combat record-length NHS waiting lists Surgeons are helping to perform multiple operations at the same time under a controversial policy aimed at combating record NHS waiting lists.

So-called ‘overlapping surgery’ sees a single senior surgeon split their time across two theatres, with juniors starting and completing the operation.

It allows them to focus on the critical parts of the procedure and reduces the time they waste waiting for anaesthetists and other staff to prepare and sedate patients. The Daily Mail

See also:

• The effect of overlapping surgical scheduling on operating theatre productivity: a narrative review (open access) Anaesthesia
• NHS staff find innovative way to tackle surgery waiting lists Guys and St Thomas NHS Trust

Ambulance trust asks staff to work for FREE: Anger erupts over volunteer scheme

Ambulance trust asks staff to work for FREE: Anger erupts over volunteer scheme Paramedics have been asked to treat patients for free in their spare time amid the NHS ambulance crisis. 

The controversial scheme, unveiled by the East of England Ambulance Service, is entirely voluntary.

It will see medics rush to the scene of the most seriously ill 999 calls in their local area. The Daily Mail