NHS ‘war room’ goes live in Northamptonshire as hospitals gear up for busiest winter ever

NHS ‘war room’ goes live in Northamptonshire as hospitals gear up for busiest winter ever A new state-of-the-art NHS 'traffic control centre' has gone live in Northamptonshire preparing for what experts fear could be the busiest winter ever.

The 24/7 coordination centre — dubbed a ‘winter war room’ — was among measures announced in October as part of the NHS winter response plan, alongside falls response teams, new hubs dedicated to serious respiratory infections and additional bed capacity. Northamptonshire Telegraph

Kettering General Hospital gets go-ahead for £38m works to prepare for rebuild

Kettering General Hospital gets go-ahead for £38m works to prepare for rebuild Kettering General Hospital has received the go-ahead to start enabling works to prepare for its multi-million pound rebuild.

The hospital has received written confirmation from the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England that it can begin to access £38m of capital from an initial funding allocation of £46m announced in October 2019. Northamptonshire Telegraph

Ambulance crews in Northamptonshire vote to join strike over NHS pay and staffing levels

Ambulance crews in Northamptonshire vote to join strike over NHS pay and staffing levels Ambulance crews in Northamptonshire are set to strike before Christmas after union members voted to walk out in a long-running dispute over pay and staffing levels.

GMB leaders said 10,000 of its members backed action across nine trusts in England and Wales — including East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS), which covers the county. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Northampton General Hospital: Dad fights for justice after 'lovely boy', aged 4, dies following 'misdiagnosed brain tumour'

Northampton General Hospital: Dad fights for justice after 'lovely boy', aged 4, dies following 'misdiagnosed brain tumour' “Devastated” parents are calling for justice after their four-year-old son died from a brain tumour which was “discovered too late by Northampton General Hospital”.

The parents of pre-schooler Akhona Moyo are calling for a full investigation into their son's death following apologies from NGH and Delapre Medical Centre. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Myth #4: “There is not enough competition and choice in the NHS”

Myth #4: “There is not enough competition and choice in the NHS” It has been argued that one of the reasons why the NHS encounters difficulties is because it doesn’t have enough competition and choice. In the latest of his mythbusting blogs, Nigel Edwards looks at how true this is. Nuffield Trust

Speaking up: challenging microagressions in the workplace

Speaking up: challenging microagressions in the workplace A few weeks ago, I read a Twitter thread where people from minoritised groups in the NHS were recounting their experiences of microaggressions (everyday, subtle, intentional and oftentimes unintentional interactions or behaviours that communicate bias toward historically marginalised groups) at work.  

The conversation was filled with the heart-breaking experiences of people working in a variety of roles across the NHS, alongside messages of support, solidarity and helpful suggestions and advice. The King's Fund

No wrong door: A vision for mental health, autism and learning disability services in 2032: parliamentary briefing

No wrong door: A vision for mental health, autism and learning disability services in 2032: parliamentary briefing The NHS Confederation and Centre for Mental Health wrote this Parliamentary briefing to identify a vision for mental health, autism and learning disability services for people of all ages in England in 2032. It describes how these services need changes to the way they are delivered to meet demand, and that mental health service providers can’t do this alone. The briefing sets out how investment is needed from government and calls for the cross-government plan for mental health to be published and resourced without delay.

Urgent & emergency care: acting on patient and public perspectives

Urgent & emergency care: acting on patient and public perspectives This report set out to understand the problem of urgent and emergency care from the perspective of patients who had engaged with that care, including how they might be supported by digital solutions. The research focused on where people go for urgent care, gathering positive and negative patient experiences, and using engaging methods to explore patients’ knowledge of existing digital services. Eastern AHSN

Action to bolster NHS workforce and retain senior doctors

Action to bolster NHS workforce and retain senior doctors All NHS staff, including senior doctors, will benefit from proposed plans to fix pension rules, supporting them to remain in work for longer and boosting the workforce as the NHS continues to take action to tackle the COVID-19 backlogs.

Building on actions set out in our plan for patients in September, the government has today launched a consultation on changes to the NHS Pension Scheme, to retain experienced NHS clinicians and remove the barriers to staff returning from retirement, such as the 20,000 former NHS staff who returned to support the NHS at the height of the pandemic. Department of Health and Social Care

HIV transmission declining but progress slowed by pandemic

HIV transmission declining but progress slowed by pandemic The latest data published by the UK Health Security Agency on World AIDS Day reveals that new HIV diagnoses in England fell by nearly a third between 2019 and 2021 (from 2,986 to 2,023).

Transmission of the virus among gay, bisexual and men who have sex with men (GBMSM) continued to fall and the estimated number of GBMSM living with HIV who are unaware of their infection decreased between 2019 and 2021.

However, progress towards ending HIV transmission has slowed during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, and diagnoses among heterosexual people rose slightly in 2021, despite lower levels of HIV testing. This means HIV transmission and undiagnosed HIV infection in this group has not fallen.

See also:

• We have the tools to end HIV, so why is Britain falling behind its 2030 goal? | Deborah Gold The Guardian

UKHSA update on scarlet fever and invasive Group A strep

UKHSA update on scarlet fever and invasive Group A strep There were 851 cases reported in week 46, compared to an average of 186 for the preceding years.

Scarlet fever is usually a mild illness, but it is highly infectious. Therefore, look out for symptoms in your child, which include a sore throat, headache, and fever, along with a fine, pinkish or red body rash with a sandpapery feel. On darker skin, the rash can be more difficult to detect visually but will have a sandpapery feel. Contact NHS 111 or your GP if you suspect your child has scarlet fever, because early treatment of scarlet fever with antibiotics is important to reduce the risk of complications such as pneumonia or a bloodstream infection. If your child has scarlet fever, keep them at home until at least 24 hours after the start of antibiotic treatment to avoid spreading the infection to others. UK Health Security Agency

Strep A schools may be given preventive antibiotics

Strep A schools may be given preventive antibiotics Pupils at schools affected by streptococcus A could be given preventative antibiotics, the schools minister has confirmed following the deaths of some from severe infections.

Nick Gibb said the use of antibiotics "is an option" and the issue had been raised in the House of Lords on Monday. BBC News

See also:

• Strep A: Why it can be dangerous and what to know BBC News
• Strep A: Mum warns of symptoms after child's illness BBC News
• Six children die with Strep A bacterial infection BBC News
• Parents urged to be aware of Strep A symptoms after death of six children BBC News
• Child aged 12 dies of invasive strep A in London BBC News
• Strep A: Penarth family traumatised by daughter's death BBC News
• 8 children have now died from Strep A: Pupil in Hampshire becomes latest victim of growing outbreak The Daily Mail
• Life-threatening Strep A infections four times more common than before Covid The Daily Telegraph
• Higher levels of strep A in UK could be due to Covid, says health chief The Guardian
• Strep A cases in your area as hundreds of infections reported across UK The Independent

Doctors raise safety fears at Birmingham hospitals

Doctors raise safety fears at Birmingham hospitals Whistleblowers at one of England's worst performing hospital trusts have said a climate of fear among staff is putting patients at risk.

Former and current clinicians at University Hospitals Birmingham (UHB) NHS Trust allege they were punished by management for raising safety concerns, a BBC Newsnight investigation found. BBC News

NHS: The Worst Winter? A story of stretched services told by frontline staff

NHS: The Worst Winter? A story of stretched services told by frontline staff Every week, we tell the stories of the NHS - its challenges, its triumphs, and, at times, its failings.

The stories matter because what affects the NHS affects us all: it's where our children are born, our relatives are healed, and our loved ones are supported in their toughest times.

But in recent times it has become hard to avoid the truth that our national health service is under serious strain - and at its worst extremes, often during winter, it is at breaking point.

In a news special - entitled NHS: The Worst Winter? - ITV News Anglia examines the health of the NHS, told through the stories of the staff working tirelessly on the front line.

See also:

• Thousands of beds taken up every day as NHS contends with ‘perfect storm’ of winter pressures NHS England
• NHS: Ambulance delays as paramedic holds for GP BBC News
• Fears NHS will have its worst winter ever ‘fast becoming a reality’ as health service is hit by A&E chaos, delayed ambulances, bed shortages and chronic staffing crisis The Daily Mail
• Navigating the NHS: How patients are affected by delays The Guardian
• Government plans NHS pension overhaul to ease pressures over winter The Guardian
• Emergency care issues in England contributed to 200 deaths last week, says medical chief The Guardian
• I am a paramedic trying to answer your 999 calls. Let me tell about life in the NHS twilight zone | Jake Jones The Guardian
• NHS 111 crisis adds pressure to health system as Strep A calls spike The Independent

NHS set to grind to a halt on 20 December in coordinated strike

NHS set to grind to a halt on 20 December in coordinated strike The NHS will grind to a halt on 20 December under plans being discussed for a coordinated Christmas strike in England and Wales by nurses, ambulance drivers and hospital staff.

The unprecedented day of industrial action would leave NHS bosses struggling to keep even the most basic services running to standards that patients would expect, with many reduced to “Christmas Day” levels of staffing. The Guardian

See also:

• Strikes will cause even MORE chaos in A&E The Daily Mail
• NHS could shutdown on December 20: Unions plot to co-ordinate devastating pre-Christmas strikes The Daily Mail
• A&E at risk from nurses' strikes as it fails to make list of protected areas The Daily Telegraph
• Pharmacies drafted in to break NHS strike The Daily Telegraph
• Striking UK workers playing into Putin’s hands, says Zahawi The Guardian
• Tory chairman’s ‘NHS strikes help Putin’ claim dismissed as ‘ludicrous’ The Guardian
• Timetable of trouble: the wave of strikes set to hit the Tories this winter The Guardian
• Ministers accused of ‘spoiling for a fight’ with nurses over pay The Guardian
• Where will NHS nurses strike and how will it affect me? The News Statesman
• Tory claims nurses should cancel strikes to ‘send clear message to Putin’ Nursing Notes

FIVE MILLION patients are being denied a GP appointment every month, analysis reveals

FIVE MILLION patients are being denied a GP appointment every month, analysis reveals Five million people a month are unable to book a GP appointment when they want one with the number doubling in a year, a damning study suggests.

Millions more are left waiting over a month to be seen, potentially forcing them to overcrowded A&Es or leaving them at risk of serious diseases being diagnosed too late.

The situation has got drastically worse, with the number unable to see a GP rocketing from 2.7million in October 2021 to 5.2million this October, according to analysis of NHS figures by the Labour Party. The Daily Mail

See also:

• Demonising GPs will only make capacity problems worse BMA
• Difficulties in accessing GP services are not the fault of hardworking GP teams, College tells Labour Party Royal College of General Practitioners
• Online booking for GP appointments could ease the daily scramble for slots, report says The Daily Mail
• Millions missing out on GP appointments, warns Labour Evening Standard
• Delays in seeing a GP mean millions will get diagnosis too late, says Labour The Guardian
• Five million missed out on GP appointments in one month, says Labour The Independent
• Labour claims millions finding it 'impossible' to book GP appointments ITV News

Faulty knee replacements were given to 10,000 patients

Faulty knee replacements were given to 10,000 patients More than 10,000 NHS patients have been given faulty knee replacements, it was revealed last night.

The National Joint Registry said 350 people needed a second operation within ten years due to ‘aseptic loosening’.

The Nexgen implant, made by US firm Zimmer Biomet, was withdrawn from the market in October.  The Daily Mail