Parents protest against Northampton council for 'failing' their disabled children

Parents protest against Northampton council for 'failing' their disabled children A group of around 20 parents protested against Northampton council for “failing” to provide education and support for their disabled children.

Parents of disabled children demonstrated outside of West Northamptonshire Council's Angel Square headquarters in Angel Street on Tuesday morning (September 6). Northampton Chronicle and Echo

See also:

• Parents hold backpack protest over failures in SEND provision BBC Northampton

What are the health and care promises that the new Prime Minister inherits?

What are the health and care promises that the new Prime Minister inherits? With Liz Truss officially becoming the new Prime Minister after winning the Tory leadership contest, what are the health and care commitments from the 2019 Conservative Party Manifesto that she inherits? Mark Dayan, Lucina Rolewicz and Jessica Morris explore the progress of the main health and care promises that were made. Which are on course to be delivered and which are not? Nuffield Trust

Safer care for all: solutions from professional regulation and beyond

Safer care for all: solutions from professional regulation and beyond This report highlights some of the biggest challenges affecting the quality and safety of health and social care across the UK today. It describes a ‘fragmented and complex’ patient and service user safety framework and calls for action to address the safety issues. The report's main recommendation is the appointment of an independent Health and Social Care Safety Commissioner (or equivalent) for each UK country. These commissioners would identify current, emerging, and potential risks across the whole health and social care system, and bring about the necessary action across organisations. The report goes on to consider four important themes: tackling inequalities; regulating for new risks; facing up to the workforce crisis; and accountability, fear and public safety. Professional Standards Authority

Building better health: what are the estate development and management opportunities presented by integrated care systems?

Building better health: what are the estate development and management opportunities presented by integrated care systems? In July 2022, Good Governance Institute and Primary Health Properties hosted a roundtable discussion to look at the opportunities for estates in integrated care to drive reform, inspire innovation and enable improvement. This long read summarises the discussion that focused on ways in which developing or repurposing NHS estate can enable co-location and greater integration of health and care services.

Adult social care workforce in England

Adult social care workforce in England This research briefing gives an overview of key issues and policy concerning the adult social care workforce in England. Around 1.5 million people worked in the adult social care sector in England in 2021/22, more than in the NHS. The workforce was more diverse than the population as a whole and the majority of workers were women. Around a quarter of the workforce were on zero-hours contracts, including 55 per cent of home care workers. House of Commons Library

Policy paper: Secure data environment policy guidelines

Policy paper: Secure data environment policy guidelines These guidelines set out clear rules for how secure data environments will be used to access NHS health and social care data for research and analysis. Department of Health and Social Care

Therese Coffey inherits NHS 'in crisis'

Therese Coffey inherits NHS 'in crisis' Therese Coffey has inherited an NHS and social care system “in crisis”, health leaders have said.

Experts from across the sector have welcomed Ms Coffey to her new role as Health Secretary but warned that she has taken on the job during a challenging period for the health service.

As well as being appointed as Secretary of State for Health and Social Care for England, Ms Coffey is stepping up to become Liz Truss’s second-in-command as Deputy Prime Minister. The Independent

See also:

• Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Health and Social Care The Rt Hon Thérèse Coffey MP Gov.UK
• Therese Coffey's views on abortion concerning, charity says BBC News
• Therese Coffey who opposes abortions is to become third Health Secretary in as many months The Daily Mail
• Therese Coffey admits she is not a 'role model' after questions over smoking and weight The Daily Telegraph
• Who is Thérèse Coffey, UK’s new cigar-smoking Health Secretary? Evening Standard
• Thérèse Coffey: convivial pragmatist inherits health service in crisis The Guardian
• Therese Coffey Appointed Deputy Prime Minister And Health Secretary Huffington Post UK
• Health secretary Therese Coffey insists she will not undo abortion laws The Independent
• Cabinet minister Therese Coffey says she would 'prefer that people didn't have abortions' but law won't change Sky News
• Therese Coffey lays out plans as she is named new health secretary and deputy PM Sky News

Excess deaths continue to soar despite Covid deaths decreasing

Excess deaths continue to soar despite Covid deaths decreasing Excess deaths in the UK have continued to soar, as Covid deaths decreased for fourth week in a row, the latest data shows.

A total of 10,942 deaths from all causes were registered in England and Wales in the week to 26 August, according to the Office for National Statistics.

This is 16.6 per cent above the five-year average, the equivalent of 1,556 “excess deaths” during this week. The Independent

See also:

• Deaths registered weekly in England and Wales, provisional: week ending 26 August 2022 Office for National Statistics
• Excess mortality in England and English regions Office for Health Improvement and Disparities

Woman who can smell Parkinson’s disease helps scientists develop test

Woman who can smell Parkinson’s disease helps scientists develop test A woman who can “smell Parkinson’s” has helped scientists develop a test to detect the disease.

The test has been years in the making after academics realised Joy Milne, from Perth, Scotland, who has a heightened sense of smell, could detect the condition.

The 72-year-old noticed her late husband Les developed a different odour when he was 33 – some 12 years before he was diagnosed with the disease, which leads to parts of the brain become progressively damaged over many years. The Independent

See also:

• Super-smeller helps scientists develop test to spot Parkinson's BBC News
• That's breathtaking! Meet the woman who sniffed out her husband's Parkinson's The Daily Mail
• New test for Parkinson’s developed after woman sniffed out the disease The Daily Telegraph

Baby sticky tape skin test can predict eczema risk

Baby sticky tape skin test can predict eczema risk A sticky tape skin test could help predict if young babies are likely to develop bad eczema, say scientists.

The team - from the University of Copenhagen - used it on a group of two-month-olds to painlessly collect and then examine skin cell samples.

They found detectable immune biomarker changes in the cells that were linked with future eczema risk. BBC News

Generation vape: One in ten teenagers now use e-cigarettes - TRIPLE the tobacco smoking rate

Generation vape: One in ten teenagers now use e-cigarettes - TRIPLE the tobacco smoking rate One in ten secondary school pupils in England now use e-cigarettes, according to official data which illustrates the scale of the country's vaping epidemic.

Teenagers are shunning tobacco in favour of the trendy electronic devices, the latest must-have accessory to grace classrooms. Their steep rise in popularity has sparked warnings that the UK is slowly sleepwalking into a public health 'catastrophe'. The Daily Mail

See also:

• Smoking, Drinking and Drug Use among Young People in England, 2021 NHS Digital
• Rise in teenage vaping, as drug use falls - survey BBC News
• Vaping: Nearly one in ten young teenagers in England smoke e-cigarettes Evening Standard
• Are fears about the impact of vaping on young people justified? The Independent
• Teen vaping has become a 'route into nicotine addiction, rather than out of it', expert warns Sky News