Waiting for NHS hospital care: the role of the independent sector Waiting times for planned hospital care in England were worsening before the start of the pandemic, and things have now got considerably worse. The waiting list grew by almost 50% to 6.4 million by March 2022 and for the people waiting, the median wait had increased from 7.5 weeks to 12.0 weeks. The Health Foundation
Friday 29 July 2022
Saving brains: save brains, save money, change lives
Saving brains: save brains, save money, change lives This report warns that, if the thrombectomy rate stays at 2020/21 levels, 47,112 stroke patients in England would miss out on the acute stroke treatment, mechanical thrombectomy, over the length of the newly revised NHS Long Term Plan. It finds that this year, NHS England missed its original target to make mechanical thrombectomy available to all patients for whom it would benefit – only delivering to 28 per cent of all suitable patients by December 2021. It calls for a 24/7 thrombectomy service, which could cost up to £400 million. However the report calculates that treating all suitable strokes with thrombectomy would save the NHS £73 million per year. Stroke Association
The impact of the pandemic on population health and health inequalities
The impact of the pandemic on population health and health inequalities This report looks at the impact of the pandemic on population health and health inequalities in the UK. It discusses how the pandemic has affected the nation’s physical and mental health, as well as social determinants of health such as education and employment. The report aims to pay particular attention to inequalities and how these pandemic effects were distributed. It also looks at the positive lessons that can be learned from the vaccine rollout and efforts to tackle homelessness. British Medical Association
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The public health response by UK governments to Covid-19
The public health response by UK governments to Covid-19 This report examines the approaches and key decisions taken by UK governments during the pandemic and the public health measures they introduced. It assesses whether these choices were timely, appropriate, and proportionate to deal with the threat and impact of Covid-19. British Medical Association
NHS sets out long COVID action plan for thousands of people with persistent symptom
NHS sets out long COVID action plan for thousands of people with persistent symptom Patients with long-lasting symptoms from COVID will have access to more convenient tests and checks closer to home, under new NHS measures announced today.
Specialist clinics, dedicated to long COVID, will now be able to send people for tests at local one stop shops and mobile clinics, rather than people going back to their GP practice for multiple different tests.
Backed by an additional £90 million investment, the updated long COVID plan includes ambitions for all patients to have an initial assessment within six weeks to ensure they are diagnosed and treated quickly. NHS England
See also:
- Health leaders welcome Long Covid Action Plan but further detail needed NHS Confederation
- National flu and COVID-19 surveillance reports published UK Health Security Agency
Heart gene therapy to remove young sudden death risk
Heart gene therapy to remove young sudden death risk Scientists say they should soon be able to effectively cure inherited, life-threatening heart muscle conditions to save more young people from sudden cardiac death.
The British Heart Foundation has pledged £30m to the gene researchers who believe they can correct faulty DNA responsible for the damage.
Cardiomyopathies can kill without warning. BBC News
NHS to close Tavistock gender identity clinic for children
NHS to close Tavistock gender identity clinic for children The NHS is shutting down its gender identity clinic for children at the Tavistock and Portman NHS foundation trust after it was criticised in an independent review.
Regional centres would be set up to replace the service and “ensure the holistic needs” of patients are fully met, NHS England said, after being warned that only having one provider was “not a safe or viable long-term option”. The Guardian
See also:
- Regional model for gender care announced for children and young people The Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust
- NHS to close Tavistock child gender identity clinic BBC News
- NHS faces crackdown on giving puberty blockers to children as Tavistock clinic is shut down The Daily Telegraph
- Tavistock gender identity clinic is closing: what happens next? The Guardian
- Tavistock clinic: Failing gender service for children to be replaced by local hubs The Independent
Mystery over spike in Covid deaths on hottest day of the year: Virus fatalities doubled in 40C heat
Mystery over spike in Covid deaths on hottest day of the year: Virus fatalities doubled in 40C heat Covid deaths spiked on the hottest day ever in what experts say could be the first sign of a surge in heatwave fatalities.
Official figures show 258 people with the virus died on July 19 in England — the same day the mercury hit 40.2C (104.4F). The Daily Mail
See also:
- Covid in China: Million in lockdown in Wuhan after four cases BBC News
- Rise of Omicron subvariants sends UK staff absence soaring The Guardian
- When will Covid really be over? Three things that will mark the end of the pandemic The Guardian
- What is ‘Centaurus’? Fast-spreading Covid variant that has arrived in UK as cases soar The Independent
- NHS staff with 'disabling conditions' after COVID-19 should be able to claim benefits, say government advisers The Pharmaceutical Journal
- Serious self-harm in young people jumped during strict COVID-19 lockdowns - study Sky News
England's 'deadly' GP crisis deepens: Staff numbers fall to lowest level on record
England's 'deadly' GP crisis deepens: Staff numbers fall to lowest level on record The number of qualified GPs has dropped to its lowest level on record and just one in four family doctors work full time, according to official data that highlights the 'catastrophic' crisis in general practice.
There were around 27,500 fully-qualified, permanent family doctors working for NHS England last month, down from about 28,000 in June 2021 and 1,500 fewer than five years ago. The Daily Mail
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Vitamin D supplements do NOT help elderly people avoid bone fractures
Vitamin D supplements do NOT help elderly people avoid bone fractures Taking vitamin D supplements every day does not help a person avoid bone fractures, a major study suggests — contradicting years of medical advice that said otherwise.
Researchers led by Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts, found that people who used the supplements were no less likely to suffer bone fractures than those who did not. The Daily Mail
See also:
- Supplemental Vitamin D and Incident Fractures in Midlife and Older Adults (abstract) New England Journal of Medicine
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