Charities call for action as drug deaths more than double in Northamptonshire

Charities call for action as drug deaths more than double in Northamptonshire 
Drug-related deaths more than doubled in Northamptonshire last year, stark new figures show.

Northamptonshire Police is in the middle of a 12-week surge on its ‘Matters of Priority’ which includes focus on drug harm.

But charities have criticised the Government over a lack of action on drug deaths with experts calling the latest figures an “utter disgrace”. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Guidance on the preparation of integrated care strategies

Guidance on the preparation of integrated care strategies This guidance is aimed at integrated care partnerships. This document contains: an introduction, two sections of statutory guidance on the preparation of the integrated care strategy including involvement and content, a section of non-statutory guidance relating to the publication, and a review of the integrated care strategy. Department of Health and Social Care

Independent report: Single dose of HPV vaccine: JCVI concluding advice

Independent report: Single dose of HPV vaccine: JCVI concluding advice The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation's (JCVI) concluding advice on a one-dose schedule for the human papillomavirus (HPV) immunisation programme. Department of Health and Social Care

UK monkeypox case numbers begin to plateau

UK monkeypox case numbers begin to plateau The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has published the latest technical briefing, which shows early signs that the outbreak is plateauing.

As of 4 August, there are 2,859 confirmed and highly probable cases of monkeypox in the UK.

Analyses of the current UK outbreak shows that monkeypox continues to be transmitted primarily in interconnected sexual networks of gay, bisexual, or other men who have sex with men (GBMSM). The median age of confirmed cases in the UK was 37 years old. In England, 73% are known to be London residents over the course of the outbreak. UK Health Security Agency

Covid infections continuing to fall around the UK

Covid infections continuing to fall around the UK Covid infections are continuing to fall in the UK, dropping by more than half a million in a week, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Roughly 2.6 million people had the virus in the week to 26 July, compared to 3.2 million the previous week.

The number of people in hospital with the virus is also decreasing. BBC News

See also:

• Covid infection rates in England plunge by another fifth The Daily Mail
• Long Covid more common in people who are unemployed and not seeking work The Daily Mail

NHS demands cannot wait for new prime minister, says health secretary

NHS demands cannot wait for new prime minister, says health secretary The NHS in England cannot wait for a new prime minister to be in post to tackle the the emergency crisis it faces, the health secretary has warned.

Steve Barclay said hospitals could see "very serious challenges coming down the track" in the autumn and winter from flu and another Covid wave.

Speaking to the Daily Telegraph, he said he was preparing for "reasonable worst-case scenarios". BBC News

Extent of struggle to find NHS dentist revealed by far-reaching BBC research

Extent of struggle to find NHS dentist revealed by far-reaching BBC research Nine in 10 NHS dental practices across the UK are not accepting new adult patients for treatment under the health service, a BBC investigation has found.

Our research shows no dentists taking on adult NHS patients could be found in a third of the UK's top-tier councils.

And eight in 10 NHS practices are not taking on children. BBC News

Infected blood scandal victims in line to get £100,000

Infected blood scandal victims in line to get £100,000 Payments of £100,000 will be made to victims of the contaminated blood scandal, the government is expected to announce this week.

Boris Johnson wants payments, recommended by a public inquiry, to be made to more than 4,000 survivors "as soon as possible", said Downing Street.

Thousands of people contracted HIV or hepatitis C in the 1970s and 80s through NHS treatments. BBC News

Archie Battersbee 'fought until the end', says mum after son dies

Archie Battersbee 'fought until the end', says mum after son dies Archie Battersbee, the 12-year-old who had been at the centre of a legal battle between his parents and doctors, has died.

His mother, Hollie Dance, said: "Such a beautiful little boy, and he fought right until the very end."

She said she was "the proudest mum in the world" as she spoke outside the Royal London Hospital in east London, where he died.

Her son's life support was withdrawn earlier on Saturday. BBC News

‘Difficult discussions’ as NHS faces shortage of childbirth pain relief

‘Difficult discussions’ as NHS faces shortage of childbirth pain relief The NHS has been hit by a shortage of epidural kits to give mothers-to-be, a key form of pain relief during childbirth, as well as the drug that women are offered as an alternative.

Supplies of epidural kits and the painkiller Remifentanil are now under such pressure that some hospitals cannot offer pregnant women their usual right to choose which one they want to reduce labour pains. The Guardian

See also:

• From PPE to cancer drugs: what has the NHS run low on in recent years? The Guardian

Outage of Advanced’s health and care solutions linked to cyber-attack

Outage of Advanced’s health and care solutions linked to cyber-attack A major outage across a number of health and care systems delivered by Advanced has been confirmed as being related to a cyber-attack.

On August 4, the business software and services provider experienced issues with a number of health and care products, including its Adastra software which works with 85% of NHS 111 services. Digital Health

See also:

• Major NHS computer outage caused by cyber attack BBC News
• NHS 111 suffers major cyber attack as staff resort to ‘pens and paper’ The Daily Telegraph
• NHS 111 expects delays after cyber-attack causes system outage The Guardian
• Ministers coordinate response after cyber-attack hits NHS 111 The Guardian
• NHS 111: Cyber-attack causes major IT systems outage The Independent
• NHS 111 hit by cyber attack leading to ‘major’ systems outage Nursing Notes

Monkeypox cases spreading into every region of the UK as vaccination campaign falters

Monkeypox cases spreading into every region of the UK as vaccination campaign falters Monkeypox cases are now spreading into every region of the country while the vaccination campaign against the virus is faltering, experts have warned.

When the virus – which causes painful blisters across the body – first arrived in the UK in May, the vast majority of infections were recorded in London. The Daily Mail

GP, 47, took her own life after 'unbearable pressure of the job finally got to her'

GP, 47, took her own life after 'unbearable pressure of the job finally got to her' A GP took her own life after the pressures of her job became 'overwhelming', her husband has said - as he paid tribute to a 'wonderful, beautiful and bananas wife, mother and doctor'. 

Dr Gail Milligan, a partner at Camberley Health Centre in Surrey, was found dead in woodland by a search team last week after she had been missing for nearly 24 hours. The Daily Mail

See also:

• GP suicide sparks calls for measures to protect doctors from spiraling workloads GPonline
• Surrey GP took her own life after her job 'became overwhelming' GPonline

Cancer charity to pull plug on research centres devoted to offering potentially life-saving drugs

Cancer charity to pull plug on research centres devoted to offering potentially life-saving drugs Britain’s leading cancer charity is pulling the plug on research centres devoted to offering patients potentially life-saving drugs, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.

Cancer Research UK funds eight clinical trial units where cancer patients across the country receive experimental medication, but insiders claim the charity is discussing shutting as many as half of them. The Daily Mail