Northamptonshire hospitals under 'considerable pressure' with rising fears from parents around scarlet fever and Strep A infections

Northamptonshire hospitals under 'considerable pressure' with rising fears from parents around scarlet fever and Strep A infections Northamptonshire NHS Group has said both county hospitals are under “considerable pressure”, with rising fears about scarlet fever and Strep A infections among children.

It is understood that parents and guardians are struggling to get appointments with their GP for their child, and are turning to 111 and A&E to get assessed and the antibiotics needed. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

As nurses prepare to strike, one Kettering General Hospital sister tells why she's taking action

As nurses prepare to strike, one Kettering General Hospital sister tells why she's taking action 

As members of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) prepare to strike on Thursday (December 15), one nurse has explained why she is taking action.

Rebecca Prendergast, a deputy sister at Kettering General Hospital (KGH) says her colleagues are at ‘breaking point’. Northamptonshire Telegraph

NHS funding, resources and treatment volumes

NHS funding, resources and treatment volumes This report examines how NHS funding, resources and treatment volumes compare with pre-pandemic levels.

In this report, the second part of the three-part series, we dig deeper into the resources available to the NHS and how they are being used, looking beyond just the waiting list. We first examine how the funding, staffing and hospital beds available to the NHS have changed since 2019. We then show how the number of patients treated by the NHS in eight different areas compares with 2019 levels. For most areas of care, the NHS is still struggling to treat more people than it was pre-pandemic, despite having – on the face of it – additional staff and funding. We therefore go on to consider a range of different factors that could explain this seeming fall in performance and output. Institute for Fiscal Studies

See also:

• How Covid has dealt the NHS a lasting blow BBC News
• Fears pandemic has dealt 'lasting blow' to NHS as fewer patients treated now The Daily Telegraph

The NHS at 75: an opportunity to renew a vision the public holds dear

The NHS at 75: an opportunity to renew a vision the public holds dear The public is not falling out of love with the NHS in principle, despite experiencing the strains on the service in practice, as Dan Wellings has explored in his reflections on how public attitudes to health and care services are changing. The King's Fund

A clean bill of health for the economy: engaging business to address ill health in our shrinking workforce

A clean bill of health for the economy: engaging business to address ill health in our shrinking workforce The costs of ill health hit everyone’s pockets in a multitude of ways. The direct consequences for individuals are most obvious when it comes to income and health. People in the bottom 40% of the income distribution are almost twice as likely to report poor health than those in the top 20%. Lower income can be bad for your health: it can move good quality employment even further out of reach. Being in poor health can also make good quality work inaccessible and so restrict your income. The Health Foundation

GIRFT diagnostics delivery guide: a guide for systems in delivering effective diagnostic services to support elective recovery

GIRFT diagnostics delivery guide: a guide for systems in delivering effective diagnostic services to support elective recovery Aimed at NHS leaders and managers at regional, system and trust level, and clinicians, healthcare professionals and managers working in diagnostic services and clinical specialties, this delivery guide offers practical advice on steps for delivering a more effective service, as well as ways for primary care and acute services to free up diagnostic capacity by reducing unnecessary referrals. Getting It Right First Time

Global antimicrobial resistance and use surveillance system (‎GLASS)‎ report: 2022

Global antimicrobial resistance and use surveillance system (‎GLASS)‎ report: 2022 A new World Health Organization (WHO) report reveals high levels of resistance in bacteria, causing life-threatening bloodstream infections, as well as increasing resistance to treatment in several bacteria causing common infections in the community based on data reported by 87 countries in 2020. 

For the first time, the Global Antimicrobial Resistance and Use Surveillance System (GLASS) report provides analyses for antimicrobial resistance (AMR) rates in the context of national testing coverage, AMR trends since 2017, and data on antimicrobial consumption in humans in 27 countries. Within six years, GLASS achieved participation from 127 countries with 72% of the world’s population. The report includes an innovative interactive digital format to facilitate data extraction and graphics.

Guidance: Health and Social Care Act 2008: code of practice on the prevention and control of infections

Guidance: Health and Social Care Act 2008: code of practice on the prevention and control of infections This refreshed version of the code of practice replaces the edition published in 2015. It applies to NHS bodies and providers of independent healthcare and adult social care in England, including primary dental care, independent sector ambulance providers and primary medical care providers. Department of Health and Social Care

Cancer mRNA vaccine completes pivotal trial

Cancer mRNA vaccine completes pivotal trial Researchers say they have successfully completed a trial of a personalised cancer vaccine that uses the same messenger-RNA technology as Covid jabs.

The experimental vaccine, made by Moderna and MSD, is designed to prime the immune system to seek and destroy cancerous cells.

Doctors hope work such as this could lead to revolutionary new ways to fight skin, bowel and other types of cancer.

Moderna and MSD called it "a new paradigm" moment. BBC News

See also:

• Moderna and Merck announce mrna-4157/v940, an investigational personalized mrna cancer vaccine, in combination with keytruda(r) (pembrolizumab), met primary efficacy endpoint in phase 2b keynote-942 trial Moderna
• 'New paradigm' moment as mRNA cancer vaccine slashes risk of tumor relapse or death The Daily Mail
• Positive Moderna, Merck cancer vaccine data advances mRNA promise Reuters

NHS leaders warn patient lives will be put at risk by strikes as cancer services “hit hard”

NHS leaders warn patient lives will be put at risk by strikes as cancer services “hit hard” NHS leaders fear patients will come to harm as cancer services are “hit hard” by upcoming nurses’ strikes.

The NHS’s four chief nurses wrote to the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) general secretary Pat Cullen warning patients’ lives are at risk due to life-saving services not being protected when nurses walk out on Thursday. The Independent

See also:

• Physiotherapy staff in England and Wales vote Yes to strike action Chartered Society of Physiotherapy
• Managing industrial action - A guide for managers NHS Employers
• Nursing strike: fact check Royal College of Nursing
• Gulf between private and public sector pay 'compelling evidence' why government needs to negotiate Royal College of Nursing
• Welsh midwives vote to strike, but not in England BBC News
• NHS strikes: Nursing union putting patients at risk, UK's top nurses warn The Daily Mail
• Nurse union organising NHS strikes makes guide that tells members how to lobby patients for support The Daily Mail
• Now the PHYSIOS say they'll strike! The Daily Mail
• Midwives in Wales vote to strike - but not in England The Daily Telegraph
• Nursing community conflicted on eve of NHS strikes Evening Standard
• Military has just 40 paramedics qualified to work in NHS Evening Standard
• NHS bosses ask GPs to cover for striking ambulance workers GPonline
• Physiotherapists in England and Wales vote to strike in latest row over pay ITV News

‘Like a horrific board game’: 33 hours inside an NHS in crisis

‘Like a horrific board game’: 33 hours inside an NHS in crisis Crammed wards, burnt-out GPs, patients waiting hours for ambulances – the health service is at breaking point

Inside the dimly lit command centre at King’s College hospital, staff arriving for the first beds meeting of the day are greeted with a warning: the hospital is already under strain. “So, we are under pressure this morning,” the head of nursing, Naomi Hosking, informs colleagues stood around her in a semi-circle. No one registers surprise. “We’ve got a lot of patients in ED [emergency department] with little space to see new patients, so we need to get some early movement.” The Guardian

Delays to mental health treatment in England ‘putting more children in care’

Delays to mental health treatment in England ‘putting more children in care’ Increasing numbers of emotionally troubled children have been taken into care while waiting long periods for NHS treatment because their condition deteriorated to the point where their parents could no longer cope with their behaviour, child protection bosses have revealed.

Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS) president Steve Crocker said that since the pandemic, youngsters with complex emotional needs had become a significant factor in rising child protection referrals. The Guardian

See also:

• Mind the gap Association of Directors of Children’s Services
• Special thematic report on children's mental health Association of Directors of Children’s Services

Now Europe gets hit by Strep A: WHO officials warn of spike in wake of Covid-era restrictions

Now Europe gets hit by Strep A: WHO officials warn of spike in wake of Covid-era restrictions Strep A cases are surging across Europe, health officials have confirmed in the first sign that it's not just the UK being hit by unusually high levels of the bug.

A spike in cases 'several fold-higher than pre-pandemic levels' have been logged in France and the UK. Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden have also reported upticks, according to the World Health Organization.

The bacterial infection, which is usually mild, has so far killed at least 16 children in the UK. Although low, the toll is higher than expected for this time of year. The Daily Mail

See also:

• Strep A symptoms: What you need to know, in a minute BBC News
• Strep A explained: Can adults get it? Will it cause an antibiotics shortage? BBC Science Focus
• Strep A: Parents say son misdiagnosed before strep A death BBC News
• Export of drugs to treat Strep A infections is BANNED by Government amid shortage fears The Daily Mail
• UK pharmacists report sharp rise in prices for strep A antibiotics The Guardian
• Pharmacists warn of price gouging over Strep A antibiotic shortage as prices soar The Independent

Care patients in Britain will see at home visits replaced by a call from an AI VOICE ASSISTANT

Care patients in Britain will see at home visits replaced by a call from an AI VOICE ASSISTANT Care patients could see at home visits replaced by a call from an AI-powered voice assistant in a new British trial.

Dubbed 'Siri for care', a human-like virtual assistant will ring patients once a week to ask a list of automated questions.

An algorithm will then analyse the answers and alert carers if there are any deteriorations in health so they can arrange a doctor's visit. The Daily Mail