Visiting suspended at Northampton and Kettering hospitals following "significant increase" in Covid and flu cases

Visiting suspended at Northampton and Kettering hospitals following "significant increase" in Covid and flu cases NHS bosses have suspended visiting on adult inpatient wards at hospitals in Northampton and Kettering due to a “significant increase” in cases of Covid, flu and other respiratory illnesses.

Only compassionate visiting is allowed at Northampton General Hospital and Kettering General Hospital from Thursday (December 29), although staff are offering increased virtual visiting to support patients to keep in touch with loved ones. Northamptonshire Telegraph

East Midlands Ambulance Service strikes across Northamptonshire moved to January as pay dispute continues

East Midlands Ambulance Service strikes across Northamptonshire moved to January as pay dispute continues A day of strike action scheduled for some East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) staff across Northamptonshire has been moved to January.

Paramedics and staff members striked on December 21 due to a national pay dispute with the Government. GMB Union members were also due to strike on December 28, however that has now been moved to January 11, 2023. Daventry Express

Four in ten junior doctors plan to leave the NHS as soon as they can find another job

Four in ten junior doctors plan to leave the NHS as soon as they can find another job Four in ten junior doctors (40%) are actively planning to leave the NHS as soon as they can find another job,1 a survey from the BMA has revealed.

In the survey, released as part of the BMA chair of council Professor Phil Banfield’s New Year’s message, poor pay and working conditions were among the top reasons for junior doctors wanting to leave.2

Many of those doctors wanting to quit the NHS plan to work as doctors abroad.

See also:

• Four in 10 junior doctors plan to quit the NHS as soon as possible The Daily Mail
• Four in ten junior doctors want to leave the NHS The Daily Telegraph
• ‘The NHS will not be able to cope’ – new poll reveals planned junior doctor exodus Evening Standard

England slips further off-track for smokefree 2030 target

England slips further off-track for smokefree 2030 target The UK government is almost a decade behind achieving its target for England to be smokefree by 2030, a new report published by Cancer Research UK reveals.

The report warns that, if recent trends continue, the target will now not be met until 2039. This is despite repeated warnings from the charity that data up to 2018 indicated the Government was already seven years off track.

The charity is now calling on the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Rt Hon Steve Barclay MP, to publish a plan for tobacco control. This must include more action to prevent young people from smoking, and more funding for the measures and services needed to help people quit.

See also:

• Government is almost a DECADE behind its target for England to become smoke-free by 2030 The Daily Mail
• Targets to make England 'smoke free' by 2030 will be missed by nearly a decade, charity warns Sky News

Hospitals in England taking care of record number of patients

Hospitals in England taking care of record number of patients More people could be spending the time between Christmas and new year in hospital in parts of England this year than at any time in the past decade, as NHS trusts struggle to find social care places for patients medically fit for discharge.

The latest figures for December to date show an average of 94,200 patients were in hospitals across England, more than 93,000 of them in acute settings, the highest in seven winters. The Guardian

Generation of children held back as hundreds of thousands wait for key NHS care

Generation of children held back as hundreds of thousands wait for key NHS care Hundreds of thousands of children have been left waiting by the NHS for the developmental therapies they need, with some waiting more than two years, The Independent can reveal.

The long waiting lists for services such as speech and language therapy will see a generation of children held back in their development and will “impact Britain for the long haul”, according to the head of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH). 

Scientific study identifies how men with prostate cancer can live longer

Scientific study identifies how men with prostate cancer can live longer Just one work-out can help suppress cancer, a new study suggests.

Scientists discovered a single bout of exercise can suppress tumour growth and actively fight cancerous cells - even in those with incurable, advanced cancer. The Independent

See also:

• Acute effect of high-intensity interval aerobic exercise on serum myokine levels and resulting tumour-suppressive effect in trained patients with advanced prostate cancer (abstract) Prostate Cancer and Prostatic Diseases

No plans for mandatory COVID-19 testing of arrivals from China, UK government says

No plans for mandatory COVID-19 testing of arrivals from China, UK government says There are no plans to introduce mandatory COVID-19 tests for arrivals to the UK from China, after a series of other countries said they would impose controls.

The news comes after China announced it was abandoning its COVID-zero policy and was preparing to reopen its borders in January. Sky News

See also:

• Covid in China: US imposes Covid testing for visitors from China BBC News
• Hong Kong to scrap almost all its Covid rules BBC News
• UK government ‘has no plans’ to reintroduce Covid-19 testing for arrivals as China infections soar Evening Standard
• Mapped: Covid cases in your area as hospitalisations rise by third before Christmas The Independent

Charity dismisses MP claims that it is 'covering up' data that Covid vaccines harm the heart

Charity dismisses MP claims that it is 'covering up' data that Covid vaccines harm the heart A major British health charity has dismissed claims from a controversial Tory MP that it is 'covering up' data that the Covid mRNA vaccines harm the heart.

Andrew Bridgen, the MP for North West Leicestershire, made the comments in a parliamentary debate on the potential harms of vaccines earlier this month. The Daily Mail

See also:

• Andrew Bridgen's vaccine debate claims fact checked Full Fact
• British Heart Foundation dismisses Tory MP’s Covid ‘cover-up’ vaccine claim Evening Standard

Government urged to ban additives used in processed meat after more research highlights cancer risk

Government urged to ban additives used in processed meat after more research highlights cancer risk Chemicals routinely added to bacon, ham and deli meats should be banned after research suggests it raises the risk of cancer, one scientist has said.

A Queen's University Belfast study found that mice given processed pork containing nitrites developed 75 per cent more tumours than those that ate meat without the chemicals.

Professor Chris Elliott OBE, one of the study authors, said the results 'make the cancer risk associated with nitrite-cured meat even clearer'. The Daily Mail

See also:

• Dietary inclusion of nitrite-containing frankfurter exacerbates colorectal cancer pathology and alters metabolism in APCmin mice (open access) Nature

Revealed: How GPs are STILL wasting thousands of pounds of NHS cash on bogus homeopathy 'remedies'

Revealed: How GPs are STILL wasting thousands of pounds of NHS cash on bogus homeopathy 'remedies' Family doctors are still spending tens of thousands of pounds every year on bogus homeopathic products, MailOnline can reveal. 

NHS spending on the quack medical treatment was effectively banned four years ago after it was ruled an ineffective use of taxpayer's money. 

But GPs in England have still prescribed nearly £150,000 of homeopathic items since 2018 - the first full year after the ruling, analysis shows.  The Daily Mail