Northampton General Hospital infection control team win national environmental award for reducing waste

Northampton General Hospital infection control team win national environmental award for reducing waste The Infection Prevention and Control Team at Northampton General Hospital have won a national environmental award. The nine-strong team – which helps hospital staff to prevent infections and fight bugs such as Covid-19 and norovirus – have won the Best Waste Reduction Project in the national Investors in the Environment Awards 2022. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Northampton General Hospital reveals when 'urgently needed' heated cabin will be installed outside of its busy A&E department

Northampton General Hospital reveals when 'urgently needed' heated cabin will be installed outside of its busy A&E department Northampton General Hospital (NGH) has revealed when an ‘urgently needed’ heated cabin will be installed outside of its busy accident and emergency department.

The hospital has been using a white tent for months now as a waiting area for patients when the A&E department is over capacity - it was initially brought in to to protect patients from the sun during summer. This set up has led to patients, young and old, waiting outside in poor weather conditions for months now. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Rushden 999 rescuer given 14-hour wait time for ambulance as 80-year-old lay on icy pavement

 Rushden 999 rescuer given 14-hour wait time for ambulance as 80-year-old lay on icy pavement Rescuers coming to the aid of an 80-year-old man lying injured after slipping on an icy pavement say they were told there would be a 14-hour wait after their 999 call. Northamptonshire Telegraph

Cost of living: The healthcare ecosystem

Cost of living: The healthcare ecosystem This article explores how the rising cost of living has affected the UK healthcare ecosystem. Rising energy prices and food insecurity can lead to an increasingly ill population, while staff shortages and high hospital bills add pressure to the health system. In November 2022, the UK government announced an £8bn spending increase for health and adult social care, but some organisations have said it is not enough. House of Lords Library

See also:

• Nine in 10 GPs say cost-of-living crisis has destabilised practice finances GPonline

Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review: update report on government implementation

Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review: update report on government implementation This implementation report provides an update on the government’s progress to implement the 2021 government response to the 2020 Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review and improve patient safety. It sets out the steps the government is taking to implement the accepted strategic recommendations and actions for improvement and provides more detail on the government’s work on sodium valproate and pelvic mesh. Department of Health and Social Care

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Largest nursing strike in NHS history set to start

Largest nursing strike in NHS history set to start Nurses in England, Wales and Northern Ireland have started a nationwide strike in the largest action of its kind in NHS history.

Staff will continue to provide "life-preserving" and some urgent care but routine surgery and other planned treatment is likely to be disrupted.

The Royal College of Nursing said staff had been given no choice after ministers refused to reopen pay talks.

The UK government said the RCN's 19% pay rise demand was unaffordable. BBC News

See also:

• ‘We strike for the future of the NHS’: RCN strike action begins Royal College of Nursing
• How to support and show solidarity with your nursing colleagues BMA
• NHS tells patients to continue to access emergency care during industrial action NHS England
• NHS will keep patients safe despite nurses strike says NHS England Strategy Officer Channel 4 News
• STEVE BARCLAY: My priority is to keep people safe this winter  The Daily Mail
• Everything you need to know about today's NHS nurses strikes The Daily Mail
• Cancer care at risk as nurses strike: Health leaders warn of 'real concerns' for patients The Daily Mail
• NHS strikes: Rishi Sunak says millions will have healthcare disrupted by winter strikes The Daily Mail
• Nurses’ strikes could get worse, warn hospital bosses amid fears for end-of-life care The Daily Telegraph
• GMB withdraws from NHS pay process 'due to lack of independence from Government' Evening Standard
• BMA warns GPs against covering for NHS staff taking strike action GPonline
• Tens of thousands of nurses prepare to strike in ‘tragic first’ for NHS The Guardian
• Tens of thousands of UK nurses go on strike in first such industrial action in NHS history – live The Guardian
• We can’t cope anymore’: Desperate and without any other option, these are the NHS nurses driven to strike The Independent
• ‘Strong possibility’ of further nurses’ strikes in January, warns union leader The Independent
• Government to blame for ‘tragic’ NHS strike, says union boss as nurses start walkout The Independent
• Nurses strikes: What are the demands and what is the government offering? The Independent
• NHS nurses across the UK prepare to walk out on strike ITV News
• What are the salaries of workers going on strike in the UK? The New Statesman

Antibiotic supply gone from bad to worse, say pharmacists

Antibiotic supply gone from bad to worse, say pharmacists Pharmacists say supplies of key antibiotics to treat strep A have "gone from bad to worse" in the past week.

The Association of Independent Multiple Pharmacies (AIMP) said the situation was "unacceptable" and it was time for the government to get a plan in place.

Four antibiotics, which treat different conditions, have been added to a list of products that the UK cannot export. BBC News

33 hours on the frontline of the NHS – podcast

33 hours on the frontline of the NHS – podcast From GP surgeries to pharmacies to hospitals, there is no part of the NHS that is not feeling under enormous strain this winter. Thirty-three months after Covid was declared a pandemic, Andrew Gregory, the Guardian’s health editor, and his colleagues spent hours on the frontline of the NHS to find out how doctors, nurses, paramedics – and the patients they treat – were coping. The Guardian

See also:

• An open letter to the government from a concerned doctor The Independent

Cancer crisis reaches 'watershed moment', experts warn

Cancer crisis reaches 'watershed moment', experts warn Cancer care is at a 'watershed moment' as experts warn the upward trend in deaths is 'likely to continue'.

Leading oncologists and doctors have set out the desperate and urgent need for action to tackle the crisis engulfing UK cancer services. The Daily Mail

See also:

• UK cancer care: a watershed moment and the need for urgent intervention (abstract, but available through trust OpenAthens) The Lancet Oncology
• Treatment delays leave UK facing cancer emergency, doctors warn The Guardian