Health experts plea to get a jab as flu comes early with hospital cases rising in Northamptonshire

Health experts plea to get a jab as flu comes early with hospital cases rising in Northamptonshire Health experts in Northamptonshire are ramping up pleas for people to get flu jabs ahead of a predicted winter ‘twindemic’.

Vaccines are free to those at most risk of suffering severe symptoms.

Government data shows flu cases climbing quickly in the past week at the same time as hospitals are admitting more people with Covid-19, leading to increased pressure on emergency departments. Northamptonshire Telegraph

Myth #2: “The NHS is a ‘sacred cow’ that evades reform, and its exceptionalism is its weakness”

Myth #2: “The NHS is a ‘sacred cow’ that evades reform, and its exceptionalism is its weakness” The NHS is the closest thing we have to a national religion – or so it's often said. But many critics have claimed that the high value we place on our health system leads to widespread resistance to its reform. In the second of a series of mythbusting commentaries, Nigel Edwards shows this isn't the case – in fact the NHS has perhaps had much too much reform, of the badly planned kind. Nuffield Trust

Supporting doctors through the menopause

Supporting doctors through the menopause Female doctors must be well supported through the menopause to reduce the risk of a potential exodus of passionate and skilled clinicians from the workforce, according to Medical Protection.

In its paper Supporting doctors through the menopause, Medical Protection said around one in five female doctors in the UK are aged between 45-54, when menopause is likely to occur. Many could be impacted by symptoms such as anxiety, depression, poor concentration, brain fog, dizziness and insomnia while doing their best to care for patients in challenging and complex environments.

It fears many of these doctors may leave medicine early without better mental wellbeing support, greater awareness from leaders and workplace adjustments.

NHS hits 10 million booster milestone

NHS hits 10 million booster milestone More than 10 million people in England have now had their autumn Covid-19 booster, new NHS figures show today.

The NHS has provided additional protection against Covid-19 to a total of 10,667,110 people with the new bivalent vaccine ahead of winter.

Bookings opened to everyone aged 50 and over to get their Covid-19 booster and flu vaccines just over a week ago. NHS England

Coffey removed and Barclay reappointed as Health Secretary

Coffey removed and Barclay reappointed as Health Secretary The PM has reappointed Steve Barclay as Health Secretary.

Thérèse Coffey has been removed, and Steve Barclay has been reappointed as Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. Nursing Notes

See also:

• Secretary of State for Health and Social Care: The Rt Hon Steve Barclay MP Gov.UK
• BMA responds to appointment of returning Health Secretary, Steve Barclay MP BMA
• NHS Confederation responds to the appointment of Rt Hon Steve Barclay MP as Secretary of State for Health and Social Care NHS Confederation
• NHS Confederation responds to the appointment of Rt Hon Rishi Sunak MP as Prime Minister NHS Confederation
• Letter to new Prime Minister : Rt Hon Rishi Sunak MP NHS Confederation
• NHS Providers responds to appointment of Rishi Sunak as prime minister NHS Providers
• RCN responds to the announcement of Steve Barclay as the Secretary of State for Health and Care Royal College of Nursing
• RCN responds to the announcement of Rishi Sunak as the new prime minister Royal College of Nursing
• Public health cuts must be avoided, new PM told BBC News
• Steve Barclay restored to health and social care secretary post in Sunak reshuffle GPonline
• ‘No fat left to trim’: how spending cuts could affect UK government The Guardian
• NHS leaders warn Rishi Sunak not to ‘watch while health service crumbles’ The Independent

COP27: Climate change threatening global health - report

COP27: Climate change threatening global health - report Climate change is severely impacting people's health around the world, a report by a leading medical publication has found.

The Lancet Countdown report says the world's continued reliance on fossil fuels increases the risk of food insecurity, infectious disease and heat-related illness.

UN Secretary General António Guterres responded that global leaders must match action to the size of the problem. BBC News

See also:

• The 2022 Global Report of the Lancet Countdown: on health and climate change: health at the mercy of fossil fuels Lancet Countdown
• Global health at mercy of fossil fuel addiction, warn scientists The Guardian
• Burning fossil fuels is causing a global health crisis The New Statesman

Aggressive breast cancer hits black women harder

Aggressive breast cancer hits black women harder Researchers in the US have found a genetic link between people with African ancestry and an aggressive type of breast cancer. They hope their findings will encourage more black people to get involved in clinical trials in a bid to improve survival rates for people with the disease. BBC News

See also:

• African Ancestry–Associated Gene Expression Profiles in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Underlie Altered Tumor Biology and Clinical Outcome in Women of African Descent (open access) Cancer Discovery
• Evaluation of Racial/Ethnic Differences in Treatment and Mortality Among Women With Triple-Negative Breast Cancer (open access) JAMA Oncology

Harm to patients ‘normalised’ as ‘burned-out’ paramedics work without breaks, care watchdog warns

Harm to patients ‘normalised’ as ‘burned-out’ paramedics work without breaks, care watchdog warns Harm to patients has become “normalised” as burned-out paramedics are working without breaks, the national care watchdog has warned.

Concerns over the pressures on staff at South East Coast Ambulance Service have been raised by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

Senior staff told the CQC that patients were being adversely affected by ambulance delays but it was now being seen as “part of the culture”. The Independent

Potential cancer breakthrough: Scientists develop a drug that can block cancer-causing gene

Potential cancer breakthrough: Scientists develop a drug that can block cancer-causing gene An experimental drug has for the first time been shown to block a gene central to the growth of many cancers — in what could be a breakthrough. 

The treatment — known as OMO-103 — works by suppressing MYC, which orchestrates messages telling a cell to divide.

In a study of a dozen patients with various forms of hard to treat cancer, the drug was able to halt tumor growth in eight patients. The Daily Mail

See also:

• Omomyc as the first MYC-targeted therapy to successfully complete a phase I clinical trial Vall D'Hebron Institute of Oncology

70% of trusts MISS crucial 2-week cancer target

70% of trusts MISS crucial 2-week cancer target More than seven in 10 NHS trusts did not see patients who were urgently referred for suspected cancer within two weeks, new analysis shows.

The NHS's standard is that 93 per cent of people should see a consultant within 14 days from an urgent GP referral with suspected cancer.

The number not hitting the official target is the highest it's been for at least three years, according to analysis by PA. The Daily Mail

See also:

• Seven in 10 NHS trusts in England failing to hit cancer referrals target The Guardian
• NHS trusts routinely fail to hit urgent cancer target – data The Independent