NHS calls for more steward volunteers to boost community's immunity in North Northants

NHS calls for more steward volunteers to boost community's immunity in North Northants The NHS and NHS Volunteer Responders are calling for more people in North Northamptonshire to volunteer to support the Covid-19 vaccination programme to protect the health of their community and those most at risk.

North Northamptonshire needs 100 more steward volunteers to step forward to support at local vaccination sites, and existing local volunteers are once again being asked to reach for their high-vis vests and book volunteering shifts. Northamptonshire Telegraph

Bereavement is everyone’s business

Bereavement is everyone’s business shows how bereavement impacts us all. From dealing with complicated administration, to coping with financial and housing insecurity, …plus the challenges of returning to work or school after a bereavement, being bereaved throws up challenges in every area of life.

The findings follow one of the largest ever consultations on bereavement support undertaken in the UK, which included over 1,000 adult and 100 child respondents to the UKCB’s surveys and evidence submitted from over 130 organisations. The UK Commission on Bereavement

See also:

• 750,000 extra bereavements during pandemic amid ‘huge’ support gap – report Evening Standard
• Covid bereavement in UK has affected prospects of tens of thousands – report The Guardian

Long Covid: a framework for nursing, midwifery, and care staff

Long Covid: a framework for nursing, midwifery, and care staff This framework supports nurses, midwives and care staff in ensuring care remains at a high standard, as well as demonstrating the contribution to the long Covid response. It aims to give the opportunity to embrace collective leadership in supporting people and communities served and showcase good practice as it emerges across England. NHS England

Union urges UK nurses to strike for first time

Union urges UK nurses to strike for first time The Royal College of Nursing is balloting all of its UK members for strike action for the first time in its 106-year history.

The union is recommending its 300,000 members walk out over pay, with the result of the ballot due next month.

If strikes go ahead, the RCN says they would affect non-urgent but not emergency care.

The government has urged nurses to "carefully consider" the impact on patients. BBC News

See also:

• Nurses' pay has fallen twice as much as private sector pay, union reveals as first UK-wide strike ballot of NHS nursing staff opens Royal College of Nursing
• RCN’s biggest ever strike ballot now open Royal College of Nursing
• Nurses start voting on strikes! Royal College says 'enough is enough' and demands 17% pay rise The Daily Mail
• Nurses across UK to vote in first ever RCN strike ballot over pay The Guardian
• Nurses to vote on strikes in Royal College of Nursing’s first ever UK-wide ballot The Independent
• Northampton nurse says ‘enough is enough’ ahead of historic strike vote Northampton Chronicle and Echo
• Health secretary says she is ‘responding’ to staff retention issues Nursing Times
• Nurses to vote on strike action in Royal College of Nursing's first ever UK-wide ballot Sky News

HIV: How 175 British children were infected with disease

HIV: How 175 British children were infected with disease At least 175 children with the blood disorder haemophilia were infected with HIV in the 1980s, according to documents from the national archives seen by BBC News. Some of the families affected are giving evidence at a public inquiry into what has been called the worst treatment disaster in the history of the NHS.

Mental health: NHS looks to digital and data to close 'historic treatment gap'

Mental health: NHS looks to digital and data to close 'historic treatment gap' The NHS is to embark upon a programme through which it hopes to improve its use of digital technology and data in order to close the “historic treatment gap in mental health provision”.

National body NHS England and Improvement is shortly planning to launch a four-month discovery exercise, during which it plans to undertake “multiple investigatory pieces of work” looking at how tech platforms and data sharing could – at a local level – be incorporated into care pathways for patients accessing mental-health services. Public Technology

More than 2.3 million long Covid sufferers in UK as cases jump by 15%

More than 2.3 million long Covid sufferers in UK as cases jump by 15% Some 2.3 million people in the UK are living with long Covid, official figures show - an increase of 300,000.

The Office for National Statistics said that 2 million people living in private households reported symptoms as of 3 September.

This was up from 2 million in the previous period reported of July, the ONS added. The Independent

See also:

• Coronavirus (COVID-19) latest insights Office for National Statistics
• Return of the mask! Five NHS trusts have already brought back mandatory face covering rules The Daily Mail
• Over 2.3 million people living with long Covid in UK Evening Standard
• ‘Swarm’ of new Covid subvariants could drive wave across Europe and the US by end of November, expert warns The Independent
• Covid inquiry ‘marginalising’ bereaved on first day of hearing The Independent
• Dr Fauci predicts new Covid variant could lead to winter surge The Independent
• COVID immune reaction could affect brain mechanisms and induce neurological symptoms Sky News

Record number of Black blood donors needed to treat sickle cell disease, NHS says

Record number of Black blood donors needed to treat sickle cell disease, NHS says A record number of Black blood donors are needed to treat the growing number of people in the UK affected by sickle cell disease, the NHS has said.

NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is calling on people to come forward because there is “more demand for care than ever before” and that “ethnically matched blood provides the best treatment”.  The Independent

New drug could be ‘gamechanger’ for chronic cough sufferers

New drug could be ‘gamechanger’ for chronic cough sufferers A new drug to treat chronic coughs could be a “gamechanger” treatment for the thousands of Britons who cough uncontrollably, many times a day.

Prof Surinder Birring, a leading lung doctor, has led a global trial that found Gefapixant reduces a person’s coughing by up to 60% and brings some relief to 70% of those who take it. The Guardian

Revealed: Babies have air pollution particles in their lungs while they're still in the WOMB

Revealed: Babies have air pollution particles in their lungs while they're still in the WOMB Unborn babies have air pollution particles in their developing lungs and other vital organs as early as the first trimester, a landmark study has found.

Pollutants from traffic fumes can pass through the mother's bloodstream, into the placenta through to the baby's developing organs within the first 12 weeks.

Experts believe it could mean pregnant women living in the most polluted parts of the country are at greater risk of stillbirth and babies born with health problems. The Daily Mail

See also:

• Maternal exposure to ambient black carbon particles and their presence in maternal and fetal circulation and organs: an analysis of two independent population-based observational studies (open access) The Lancet Planetary Health

STI hotspots revealed: Map shows the worst areas for chlamydia, gonorrhoea and super illness

STI hotspots revealed: Map shows the worst areas for chlamydia, gonorrhoea and super illness London, Lincolnshire and Liverpool are England's chlamydia hotspots, according to official data. 

Rates of the STI have plunged to a record low. Fewer than 160,000 cases were logged in 2021 — down by a third on pre-pandemic levels. The Daily Mail