Reading the signals: maternity and neonatal services in East Kent – the report of the independent investigation

Reading the signals: maternity and neonatal services in East Kent – the report of the independent investigation Following concerns raised about the quality and outcomes of maternity and neonatal care, an independent investigation into maternity and neonatal services at East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust was commissioned. The primary reason for this report is to set out the truth of what happened, so that maternity services in East Kent can begin to meet the standards expected nationally, for the sake of those to come. The report identifies four areas for action. The NHS could be much better at: identifying poorly performing units; giving care with compassion and kindness; teamworking with a common purpose; and responding to challenge with honesty. Department of Health and Social Care

See also:

• NMC statement in response to publication of the East Kent Maternity Review Nursing and Midwifery Council
• We must work together to fix maternity care Royal College of Midwives
• RCOG responds to the East Kent maternity investigation Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
• Everything you need to know about the East Kent maternity scandal The Daily Mail
• Timeline of East Kent maternity scandal The Daily Mail
• How East Kent shares chilling similarities with other inquiries into appalling maternity cases  The Daily Mail
• ‘This cannot go on’: NHS maternity care report’s author calls for fresh approach The Guardian
• East Kent NHS inquiry finds better care might have prevented 45 babies’ deaths The Guardian
• Maternity care is not on a journey of obvious improvement The Guardian
• ‘They lied to all of us’: Families who lost babies due to maternity failings call for criminal prosecution The Independent

Government must restore doctor-patient relationship to the heart of general practice, say MPs

Government must restore doctor-patient relationship to the heart of general practice, say MPs MPs accuse the government and NHS leaders of failing to heed the evidence on the importance of continuity of care, hastening the decline of a uniquely important relationship between a GP and their patients, in the midst of an acute and growing shortage of GPs.

The wide-ranging report on the future of general practice urges Ministers and NHS England to acknowledge a crisis in general practice and set out what steps they are taking to protect patient safety. House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee

See also:

• General practice is like calling an Uber, MPs say BBC News
• Seeing your GP should not be like booking an Uber driver who will never see you again, MPs say The Daily Mail
• General practice is 'systemically toxic', MPs warn in devastating report on GP crisis GPonline
• Ministers accused of ignoring scale of problems facing GPs in England The Guardian

NHS England’s new operating framework: what you need to know

NHS England’s new operating framework: what you need to know The new NHS England operating framework outlines the ways of working that will be needed to remodel and improve care and put the health service on a more sustainable footing in line with the new Health and Care Act. It largely addresses five things: purpose, areas of value, leadership behaviours and accountabilities, and medium-term priorities and long-term aims. NHS Confederation

Making research everybody’s business

Making research everybody’s business The RCP, together with the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) have published a joint position statement setting out a series of recommendations for making research part of everyday practice for all clinicians. Clinical research is essential to improving outcomes for patients, and by improving the efficiency and efficacy of care it can be a vital tool in tackling waiting list backlogs and reducing the pressure on the NHS. Royal College of Physicians

Black Death 700 years ago affects your health now

Black Death 700 years ago affects your health now The devastation of the plague pandemic left such an incredible genetic mark on humanity that it's still affecting our health nearly 700 years later.

Up to half of people died when the Black Death swept through Europe in the mid-1300s.

A pioneering study analysing the DNA of centuries-old skeletons found mutations that helped people survive the plague.

But those same mutations are linked to auto-immune diseases afflicting people today. BBC News

See also:

• Evolution of immune genes is associated with the Black Death (open access) Nature

New UK research consortium given £2m to tackle monkeypox

New UK research consortium given £2m to tackle monkeypox Scientists have been given £2 million to help tackle the global monkeypox outbreak with the creation of a new consortium.

A team of 25 researchers from 12 institutions will study the virus, look into the effectiveness of the smallpox vaccine – which is being used to protect against monkeypox, and develop tests to identify and manage the disease. The Independent

Breast cancer patients in England face delays to reconstruction surgery

Breast cancer patients in England face delays to reconstruction surgery Charity Breast Cancer Now warns of a ‘postcode lottery’ of NHS care for women after mastectomy

Women waiting for breast reconstruction surgery on the NHS in England face a “postcode lottery” of care, with some forced to wait more than three years, a damning report warns.

Two in five women (40%) waiting for breast reconstruction during the pandemic after having their breasts removed due to cancer faced a delay of 24 months or longer, according to research involving 1,246 women who either underwent reconstruction surgery or were waiting for it. The Guardian

See also:

• Delivering real choice: the future of breast reconstruction in England (report) Breast Cancer Now
• Half of UK women say pandemic had ‘significant impact’ on their wait for and experience of breast reconstruction, as data reveals 34% decrease in breast reconstruction activity in England compared to pre-pandemic Breast Cancer Now

Don't panic about the 'most vaccine-resistant Covid strain ever'!

Don't panic about the 'most vaccine-resistant Covid strain ever'! Britons should 'not get too alarmed' that an Omicron sub-variant dubbed 'the most vaccine-resistant yet' has been spotted in the UK, experts insisted today.

The mutant strain — called XBB — has accumulated mutations which scientists fear make it harder for the body to spot.  The Daily Mail

See also:

• The NHS retirees who returned to vaccinate England BBC News
• Swarm of Covid sub-variants show ‘increased transmissibility and immune escape’ The Daily Telegraph
• Covid: Number of weekly deaths in England and Wales jumps by nearly 40% Evening Standard
• Updated Moderna Covid booster gives even better protection than earlier jab The Guardian
• New machine learning tool can help predict patients most at risk of COVID-19 Imperial College London

£400 bribes really DO help pregnant women stop smoking

£400 bribes really DO help pregnant women stop smoking Pregnant women given up to £400 in high street shopping vouchers were twice as likely to quit smoking, a landmark study has found.

Experts say the financial incentives were 'highly effective' in helping women stop smoking during pregnancy.

The UK-wide study, led by the University of Glasgow, included almost 1,000 women. The Daily Mail

See also:

• Effect of financial voucher incentives provided with UK stop smoking services on the cessation of smoking in pregnant women (CPIT III): pragmatic, multicentre, single blinded, phase 3, randomised controlled trial (open access) BMJ