Desborough mum given incurable ovarian cancer diagnosis visited her GP 11 times

Desborough mum given incurable ovarian cancer diagnosis visited her GP 11 times  Desborough woman told she has incurable ovarian cancer visited her GP 11 times to report her symptoms before finding out why she was suffering.

Mo Easton waited over a year for the right diagnosis and is now living with her fourth recurrence of the deadliest gynaecological cancer – ovarian cancer.

The 77-year-old is working with charity Target Ovarian Cancer to highlight its latest state-of-the-nation report highlighting lack of progress in combating the disease. Northamptonshire Telegraph

Young artists wow Northampton General Hospital staff by brightening up new Critical Care Unit

Young artists wow Northampton General Hospital staff by brightening up new Critical Care Unit Young artists wowed staff at Northampton General Hospital’s new Critical Care Unit by using their amazing work to splash some colour on its walls.

A staggering 144 pieces of artwork were submitted by pupils at Northampton School for Boys, Northampton School for Girls, Wootton Park School and Caroline Chisholm School as part of a competition supported by Northamptonshire Health Charity. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

The state of medical education and practice in the UK: the workforce report 2022

The state of medical education and practice in the UK: the workforce report 2022 This report finds that the number of doctors joining the workforce overall has grown by around 17 per cent over the last five years, but that growth is not consistent. It varies considerably between different groups of doctors, leaving a shortfall in primary care that puts at risk patients’ ability to access GP services. The number of specialty and associate specialty (SAS) and locally employed (LE) doctors on the GMC register has increased at six times the rate of GPs, largely driven by doctors coming from overseas. Current rules actively prevent these doctors from working in areas like primary care and the GMC is proposing the government change the Performers List criteria, to allow more doctors to work in general practice. General Medical Council

See also:

• Many unknowns in GMC’s primary care SAS proposal BMA
• HEE responds to the latest GMC Workforce report Health Education England
• The King’s Fund responds to the General Medical Council’s workforce report The King's Fund
• Increasing GP numbers must continue to be focus of addressing workforce crisis Royal College of General Practitioners
• RCPCH comments on the GMC’s State of medical education and practice Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health
• RCP responds to GMC workforce report Royal College of Physicians

Operating framework for NHS England

Operating framework for NHS England This operating framework sets out how NHS England will operate in the new structure created by the 2022 Health and Care Act. The framework describes the roles that NHS England, integrated care boards (ICBs) and NHS providers will now play, working alongside our partners in the wider health and care system. It shows how accountabilities and responsibilities will be allocated to improve local health and care outcomes in a way that maximises taxpayer value for money. The framework has been co-created with 300 system leaders, organisations and stakeholders, including Health Education England and NHS Digital.

Guidance: Flu vaccination: who should have it this winter and why

Guidance: Flu vaccination: who should have it this winter and why This guidance explains to patients how they can help protect themselves and their children against flu this winter. It includes information for children, eligible adults and pregnant women, and details why it’s very important that people at increased risk from flu, or who care for someone vulnerable, to have their free vaccination every year. UK Health Security Agency

Respiratory illness may take up half of NHS beds this winter

Respiratory illness may take up half of NHS beds this winter Up to half of all hospitals beds in England could be occupied by patients with respiratory infections, including Covid and flu, NHS England says.

The warning came as NHS bosses set out further details of its plans to help the health service cope this winter.

This includes rapid response teams to help people who have fallen at home and "data war rooms" to monitor pressures.

The return of normal winter viruses along with Covid will place huge strain on hospitals, NHS England said. BBC News

See also:

• 24/7 control centres among new plans to step up NHS winter preparations NHS England
• NHS is setting up 'war rooms' as it prepares for one of the toughest winters in its 74-year history The Daily Mail
• Omicron’s ‘grandchildren’ could dominate Covid cases this winter, experts warn The Independent
• NHS England setting up 'war rooms' to prepare for 'toughest winter on record' Sky News

East Kent hospital baby deaths: Dr Bill Kirkup review to be published

East Kent hospital baby deaths: Dr Bill Kirkup review to be published An independent review launched after up to 15 babies died at a hospital trust will be published later.

The report into maternity services at East Kent Hospitals, which is expected to be "harrowing", examined up to 200 cases involving mothers and babies.

The medical experts reviewed an 11-year period from 2009 at two hospitals in Margate and Ashford. BBC News

See also:

• Troubled maternity service still beset by problems - BBC investigation BBC News
• East Kent maternity services still failing us, say families
• 'No-one joined the dots' - grandad who exposed an NHS scandal BBC News
• 'Harrowing' report will say how babies died at scandal-hit NHS trust The Daily Mail
• Babies needlessly died at NHS trust: 'Harrowing' report set to expose catalogue of failings The Daily Mail
• NHS logging baby deaths as stillbirths 'to avoid scrutiny' The Daily Mail
• NHS faces £90bn bill for 'staggering' maternity blunders The Daily Telegraph
• Grieving families to hear results of report into maternity failings at East Kent Hospitals ITV News

Five hours' sleep is tipping point for bad health

Five hours' sleep is tipping point for bad health At least five hours sleep a night may cut the over-50s' chances of multiple chronic health problems, researchers say.

Ill health can disrupt sleep - but poor sleep may also be a forewarning or a risk itself, they say.

There is evidence sleep helps restore, rest and rejuvenate the body and mind - but why the "golden slumber number" might matter remains unclear. BBC News

See also:

• Association of sleep duration at age 50, 60, and 70 years with risk of multimorbidity in the UK: 25-year follow-up of the Whitehall II cohort study (open access) PLOS Medicine
• Five hours’ sleep is tipping point for poor health, study suggests The Independent

Scientists develop more accurate test for cervical cancer

Scientists develop more accurate test for cervical cancer A more accurate test for cell changes that could lead to cervical cancer has been developed by scientists.

The test can also pick up DNA markers for some other cancers, meaning it could in future be used as a predictive test for breast, womb, cervical and ovarian cancer.

When tested for cervical cancer, it performed better than currently available methods for detecting those with advanced cell changes who need treatment. The Independent

See also:

• The WID-CIN test identifies women with, and at risk of, cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 3 and invasive cervical cancer (open access) Genome Medicine
• Four-in-one cancer test… but you'll still need a smear! Scientists say it could spot women at risk of cervical, breast, womb and ovarian cancer up to FOUR YEARS before diseases strike The Daily Mail

A healthy workforce means a healthy economy. Britain can’t afford to be so ill

A healthy workforce means a healthy economy. Britain can’t afford to be so ill | Devi Sridhar The appointment of the former health secretary Jeremy Hunt as chancellor is particularly timely, given one of the largest problems facing the British economy: the growing number of working-age adults who are “economically inactive” – meaning they are neither employed nor looking for work – because they struggling with long-term sickness. Long-term sickness is being driven by two key factors: long Covid and people being signed off sick until they can access NHS care. The Guardian

See also:

• Coffey’s ‘ultra-libertarian’ health stance risking lives, Tory ex-minister warns The Guardian

‘Insulting’: shock as NHS uses offensive term for people with learning disability

‘Insulting’: shock as NHS uses offensive term for people with learning disability Category of ‘mental retardation’ in NHS Digital’s annual statistics demeans patients, campaigners say

The NHS has been criticised for using outdated and offensive terminology in its official statistics when describing people with intellectual disabilities.

NHS Digital publishes annual statistics that record all admissions, appointments and attendances for all patients at NHS hospitals across England and is broken down by specific diagnostic categories. The Guardian

NHS spent £45MILLION on changing staff emails for biggest reorganisation in a decade - Daily Mail

NHS spent £45MILLION on changing staff emails for biggest reorganisation in a decade Health officials spent £45million on transferring staff email addresses as part of the biggest organisational restructure in a decade, MailOnline can reveal. 

The shake-up of the NHS in England saw 300-plus hospital trusts, clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) and care systems crunched into 42 Integrated Care Systems (ICS). The Daily Mail