REVEALED: GP practices in Northamptonshire where patients look likely to face longest waits for appointments

REVEALED: GP practices in Northamptonshire where patients look likely to face longest waits for appointments GP practices where patients in Northamptonshire are most likely to wait longer than two weeks for an appointment have been revealed in new figures.

The Government said the data published by NHS Digital – which gives detailed information on appointments and waiting times for individual GP practices across England – will help patients “make a more informed choice about the practice they choose to visit”. But the move has not been welcomed by everyone, with the Royal College of GPs (RCGP) criticising the lack of context around how different practices operate. Northamptonshire Telegraph

'Mum is 100 and waited four hours for an ambulance'

'Mum is 100 and waited four hours for an ambulance' Last month 100-year-old Nancy McClean fell out of bed at her home in Finedon, Northamptonshire.

Her daughter, Denise Selfe, was alerted to a problem via her mother's emergency button in Burton Latimer.

She arrived at about 23:15 BST after a three-mile (4.8km) journey from her home. BBC Northampton

NHS performance summary November - December 2022

NHS performance summary November - December 2022 The week beginning 21 November saw approximately 24,000 ambulance handovers delayed over 30 minutes—almost a third of patients who arrived at A&E by ambulance.

A&E departments continue to see record-breaking proportions of patients waiting more than four hours to be admitted, transferred, or discharged.

The elective care backlog has exceeded 7.2 million people in October, with close to 400,000 waiting over a year to start treatment.

In October, 40% of people who received an urgent GP cancer referral had to wait over two months to start treatment, making it the second-poorest month on record. Nuffield Trust

See also:

• Urgent and Emergency Care Daily Situation Reports 2022-23 NHS England
• Combined Performance Summary NHS England
• Latest set of NHS performance data is ‘unacceptable’ BMA
• Gridlocked health and care system risks the safety and quality of patient care The Health Foundation
• The King's Fund responds the latest NHS performance data The King's Fund
• NHS Confederation responds to the latest performance statistics & winter situation report NHS Confederation
• NHS makes progress on long waits despite winter pressures surge NHS England
• 'Busiest November on record' for ambulance and emergency care services NHS Providers
• Nurses bitten and screens smashed - life in A&E BBC News
• Our job is to keep people out of A&E BBC News
• NHS waiting list grows... AGAIN! 7.2m patients now in queue for routine ops The Daily Mail
• Flu and other viruses pile pressure on NHS as waiting lists hit new high The Guardian
• I’ve just been in A&E. What I saw horrified me The Independent
• Record delays in A&E as NHS warned over Strep A pressures The Independent
• NHS at 'breaking point' with waiting list in England hitting new high of 7.2 million people ITV News
• NHS waiting list hits record high of 7.2 million people - as almost third of patients wait four hours in A&E Sky News

Mapping existing policy interventions to tackle ethnic heath inequalities in maternal and neonatal health in England: a systematic scoping review with stakeholder engagement

Mapping existing policy interventions to tackle ethnic heath inequalities in maternal and neonatal health in England: a systematic scoping review with stakeholder engagement This report outlines a lack of a national, central focus, diversity of research and national commitment for dealing with health inequalities. It calls for the development of a central data repository to map improvements around reducing poor outcomes in maternal and neonatal healthcare for Black, Asian and ethnic minority women. NHS Race & Health Observatory

Unfair treatment of nurses deterring students from entering profession

Unfair treatment of nurses deterring students from entering profession The RCN says people are being put off nursing by the poor and unfair treatment the profession gets, often at the hands of politicians.
We’ve made the comments in response to figures from UCAS published 8th December that show a 10% fall in the number of students accepted onto nursing courses in the UK.

This year there were 29,440 accepted applicants onto nursing courses compared to 32,705 in 2021. The number of people applying to study nursing also decreased from 59,860 in 2021 to 56,155 in 2022. Royal College of Nursing

See also:

• Student nurse numbers fall dramatically while unfilled jobs rise Nursing Notes

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

See also:

• College issues advice on Strep A in joint statement with RCPCH and RCEM Royal College of General Practitioners
• Strep A deaths rise to 15 in children across UK BBC News
• GPs say parents need clearer strep A advice BBC News
• Britain should roll out Covid-style LATERAL FLOW tests for Strep A, experts say The Daily Mail
• Strep A child deaths rise to 15 as government again denies antibiotic shortage GPonline
• Experts issue advice on off-label antibiotics as strep A adds to NHS pressure GPonline
• Strep A child death toll in UK rises to 15 The Guardian
• How many Strep A deaths are there each year in the UK? The Independent
• Are vaccines available for Strep A and scarlet fever? The Independent
• Strep A outbreak: Everything we know as 15 children die of bacterial infection The Independent

National flu and COVID-19 surveillance reports published

National flu and COVID-19 surveillance reports published Swab positivity for flu* has increased further and is now at 14.3%; it remains highest in 15 to 44-year-olds at 24.3%.

Hospital admission rates and intensive care admission rates have increased further in the last week, admissions are now at medium activity levels and intensive care activity has increased within the medium band.

The highest rates of admission are being seen in children under the age of 5 (6.57 per 100,000) and adults aged 75 to 84 years old (9.3 per 100,000). UK Health Security Agency

UKHSA publishes strategy outlining plans to eliminate mpox transmission

UKHSA publishes strategy outlining plans to eliminate mpox transmission The plan sets out steps that will help eventually eliminate mpox transmission in the UK.

Mpox transmission has already fallen significantly thanks to high vaccination rates across those groups most affected and fast case finding. This has been thanks to collaboration across the NHS, third sector organisations and public health authorities across the UK. UK Health Security Agency

Record alcohol deaths from pandemic drinking

Record alcohol deaths from pandemic drinking A record number of people died from alcohol last year, which is likely to be the result of increased drinking during the pandemic, according to the Office for National Statistics.

There were 9,641 deaths in the UK in 2021, compared to 7,565 in 2019 - a 27% increase.

The ONS says people who were already big drinkers before the pandemic drank more during the Covid years. BBC News

See also:

• Alcohol-specific deaths in the UK: registered in 2021 Office for National Statistics
• Covid's hangover: Record number of Brits died of alcohol-specific causes last year The Daily Mail

How the NHS is using 'virtual wards' and smartphones to clear beds at hospitals operating at near capacity

How the NHS is using 'virtual wards' and smartphones to clear beds at hospitals operating at near capacity  Recovering patients are being sent home with smartphones to allow them to record their oxygen and blood pressure readings and temperature in a bid to clear wards. Sky News

NHS diverts £1bn from cancer and maternity care to fund deficits across health service, insiders claim

NHS diverts £1bn from cancer and maternity care to fund deficits across health service, insiders claim NHS England (NHSE) is raiding £1bn of a budget that had been earmarked for improvements in cancer, maternity care and other priority services to pay for deficits elsewhere in the health service, iNews understands.

The fund has been required to underspend by about £1bn as costs incurred in other parts of the NHS remained to be covered.

Trade unions vow to oppose anti-strike laws for NHS and ‘critical infrastructure’

Trade unions vow to oppose anti-strike laws for NHS and ‘critical infrastructure’ Trade unions have vowed to oppose any new anti-strike laws tabled by the government, as the home secretary, Suella Braverman, urged the public to reconsider their Christmas travel plans amid “serious disruption” expected to be caused by planned industrial action by Border Force staff.

The government is engaged in a bitter PR battle with the unions over who is to blame for the looming wave of public sector strikes. With nurses and ambulance workers due to walk out before Christmas, the cabinet minister Gillian Keegan suggested the government could legislate to prevent workers in health and “critical infrastructure” from taking industrial action. The Guardian

I don’t want working class people in pain: so I’d use private hospitals to bolster the NHS | Wes Streeting

I don’t want working class people in pain: so I’d use private hospitals to bolster the NHS | Wes Streeting The NHS is heading into this winter facing the biggest crisis in its history. People are finding it impossible to see a GP when they need to and 24 hours in A&E is no longer just a TV programme, but the grim reality for patients. When patients call 999 in an emergency, they can no longer be sure an ambulance will reach them in time. The Guardian

ONE MINUTE bursts of activity - like running for the bus - can help you live longer

ONE MINUTE bursts of activity - like running for the bus - can help you live longer Just one-minute bursts of daily activity like running to catch a bus could help prolong life, according to a new study.

In good news for those who don't like sport or going to the gym, researchers have discovered just three to four short spells of huffing and puffing during daily tasks is associated with large reductions in the risk of dying early. The Daily Mail

See also:

• Association of wearable device-measured vigorous intermittent lifestyle physical activity with mortality (open access) Nature Medicine
• Why one-minute bursts of activity might be enough to keep you fit and healthy The Daily Telegraph
• Short bursts of activity in daily tasks can reduce risk of early death – study The Independent