Four more strike dates confirmed for EMAS workers across Northamptonshire

Four more strike dates confirmed for EMAS workers across Northamptonshire Four more days of ambulance strikes have been confirmed as some employees at East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) working across Northamptonshire plan to walk out.

GMB Union says its ambulance workers are “angry” and that they are “left with no choice but industrial action” as the pay dispute with the Government continues. Northamptonshire Telegraph

See also:

• Ambulance wait times in Northampton referenced at Prime Minister’s Questions as Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer clash Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Mental health roadshow for Northamptonshire schools to show the “power of prevention”

Mental health roadshow for Northamptonshire schools to show the “power of prevention” Schools across the county are being given the opportunity to sign up to a free mental health roadshow, helping teachers to put the “power of prevention” to the test.

With one in six children aged five to 16 believed to have a probable mental health problem, St Andrew’s Healthcare wanted to do something about the epidemic that is damaging the minds of young people. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Closure of 'not well used' Rushden care home confirmed

Closure of 'not well used' Rushden care home confirmed The closure of a "not well used" care home has been confirmed by the council that took it over just two years ago.

The Spinneyfields Specialist Care Centre in Rushden provides support for people after leaving hospital.

West Northamptonshire Council said the home's location made it hard to access, with just 12 of its 52 beds being used, and it would close on 29 January. BBC Northampton

See also:

• Statement regarding Spinneyfields Specialist Care Centre West Northamptonshire Council

More myths: Introducing payments, cutting back on managers or bringing in tax breaks for private care will fix the NHS

More myths: Introducing payments, cutting back on managers or bringing in tax breaks for private care will fix the NHS In the final part of his series looking at common critiques of the NHS and why they're mistaken, Nigel Edwards examines the subject of introducing payments for treatment, tackles the claim that managers are to blame for the NHS’s problems, and discusses the impact of bringing in tax breaks for private care. Nuffield Trust

Chart of the week: Are there enough intensive care beds available for children this winter?

Chart of the week: Are there enough intensive care beds available for children this winter? It’s not just adults who are affected by the current situation in the NHS – children are too. In this chart of the week, Liz Fisher looks at how many intensive care beds are available for children across the whole of England this winter. Nuffield Trust

State of health visiting, UK survey report: a vital safety net under pressure

State of health visiting, UK survey report: a vital safety net under pressure This report details the findings from a UK survey of frontline health visitors working with families across the United Kingdom. It finds health visitors reporting epidemic levels of poverty, with more parents struggling with the cost-of-living crisis that is forcing them to turn to food banks to feed their children. Alongside this, more parents are living with mental health problems, domestic abuse and adversity, that pose risks to the health and wellbeing of babies and young children. The report makes various policy recommendations including a shift towards prevention and early intervention, equity of access to support and integrated clinical care pathways. Institute of Health Visiting

Government urged to strengthen draft Mental Health Bill

Government urged to strengthen draft Mental Health Bill The Government’s draft Mental Health Bill must be strengthened to address rising numbers detained under current legislation and tackle unacceptable and inexcusable failures on racial inequalities, say MPs and Peers. 

The Joint Committee on the Draft Mental Health Bill’s detailed report is published following extensive hearings to scrutinise the draft legislation. The Joint Committee, established in July 2022, has examined the extent to which the draft Bill would ensure fewer people were detained against their wishes, promote patient choice, address racial inequalities and end the inappropriate long-term detention of people with learning disabilities and autistic people under the Act.

See also: 

• Mental Health Bill must tackle ‘unacceptable’ racial inequalities, MPs warn The Independent

Ambulance staff and nurses to strike on same day

Ambulance staff and nurses to strike on same day Ambulance workers are to join nurses in taking strike action on 6 February in England and Wales in what will be the biggest NHS walkout in this dispute.

The GMB announced four new stoppages for ambulance staff - one of which coincides with a nurses' strike date.

It is the first time both ambulance staff and the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) have acted on the same day. BBC News

See also:

• Strikes update: How nurses' strikes on Thursday will affect you BBC News
• Ambulance union GMB announces FOUR more strike dates during February and March The Daily Mail
• Government needs proper pay strategy to end healthcare strikes Evening Standard
• Health bosses warn NHS strikes could become ‘war of attrition’ as nurses walk out Evening Standard
• Pressure on GPs will grow unless government finds compromise to end NHS strikes GPonline
• NHS strikes escalate with same-day action by nurses and ambulance staff The Guardian
• NHS bosses implore ministers to do all they can to end nurses' strikes The Guardian
• Pay hikes for NHS staff are unaffordable – and will cut patient care (Steve Barclay) The Independent
• Health secretary tells striking NHS nurses: Take the money and patients will pay the price The Independent
• Ex-Cabinet minister’s comments over nurses using food banks branded ‘heartless’ The Independent
• Barclay: Pay hikes for NHS staff will take ‘billions away from where needed the most’ Pulse
• Health Secretary Steve Barclay says 10% pay rise for nurses 'not affordable' as strikes continue Sky News
• NHS leaders making contingency plans as biggest walkout in its history looms Sky News

East Kent hospitals: Maternity concerns at baby death NHS trust

East Kent hospitals: Maternity concerns at baby death NHS trust Hospital inspectors have raised safety concerns over maternity care at an NHS trust where dozens of babies died unnecessarily.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is threatening the East Kent Hospitals trust with enforcement action to ensure patients are protected.

An independent review in October found that at least 45 babies might have survived with better care at the trust. BBC News

Emergency in the NHS: Medics and politicians debate the crisis

Emergency in the NHS: Medics and politicians debate the crisis The NHS is in the midst of an unprecedented crisis – it’s a true emergency in UK healthcare.

In this special programme we have nurses, doctors, paramedics, care providers, patients and experts debating leading politicians – the Health and Social Care Minister Helen Whatley and Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting – over the current state of our NHS. Channel 4 News

See also:

• FactCheck: England's NHS ten times worse than in 2011 on four key measures Channel 4 News

Unvaccinated COVID patients 'at greater risk of death' for at least 18 months after infection

Unvaccinated COVID patients 'at greater risk of death' for at least 18 months after infection Unvaccinated COVID patients retain a greater risk of death and cardiovascular disease for at least 18 months after infection, new research suggests.

The findings come following a study of more than 160,000 people during the first year of the coronavirus pandemic - before any jabs were available.

Those who caught the disease between March and November 2020 were found to be up to 81 times more likely to die within the first three weeks of infection. Sky News

See also:

• Association of COVID-19 with short- and long-term risk of cardiovascular disease and mortality: a prospective cohort in UK Biobank (open access corrected proof) Cardiovascular Research
• Covid ‘will taunt us for years’ UKHSA head warns as Orthrus variant spreads The Independent

Dementia plan will be revealed 'in due course', Government tells charity 25 times

Dementia plan will be revealed 'in due course', Government tells charity 25 times The Government has refused to give a date for the release of its 10-year dementia plan despite being asked 25 times by an Alzheimer's charity.

The Alzheimer’s Society said it had continually questioned the Health Secretary but been told the strategy would be published "in due course".

On Thursday, the charity will deliver an open letter to Rishi Sunak calling for him to urgently honour the Government’s dementia commitments, which promised widespread social care reform, and double the spending on research. The Daily Telegraph

Warning over post-Covid norovirus boom: Cases of winter virus are 10% above pre-pandemic levels

Warning over post-Covid norovirus boom: Cases of winter virus are 10% above pre-pandemic levels Britain is being hit by a norovirus surge — and it might still get worse, experts have suggested.

Cases of the winter vomiting bug, which can also cause diarrhoea, for this time of year are 10 per cent above levels seen pre-Covid.

Health bosses fear any further norovirus surge will pile even more pressure on the 'fragile' NHS, which is grappling with its worst ever winter with hours-long waits for ambulances and enormous A&E queues. The Daily Mail

See also:

• National norovirus and rotavirus surveillance reports: 2022 to 2023 season UK Health Security Agency

NIH study claims trans teens given hormone drugs enjoy 'significant improvements'

NIH study claims trans teens given hormone drugs enjoy 'significant improvements' The research - the largest of its kind - monitored around 315 teenage Americans with gender dysphoria who received puberty blockers or hormone therapy drugs. The Daily Mail

See also:

• Psychosocial Functioning in Transgender Youth after 2 Years of Hormones (abstract) New England Journal of Medicine