Nurses in Northants to strike next month with union warning of ‘absolute minimum’ services

Nurses in Northants to strike next month with union warning of ‘absolute minimum’ services Nurses at Kettering General Hospital (KGH) and Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust will join tens of thousands of others on strike next month in the largest NHS strike in history.

Members of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) voted to strike for 48 hours between March 1-2 in an ongoing dispute with the government over pay and conditions. The union has warned that services will be an "absolute minimum” at the 120 NHS trusts affected. Northants Live

Improving staff experience and staff engagement at QEH

Improving staff experience and staff engagement at QEH The Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) King’s Lynn NHS Foundation Trust is a rural district general hospital in West Norfolk. In 2019, QEH had the worst NHS Staff Survey results in the country. This case study explores what the organisation did and how it applied staff engagement methods to improve its NHS Staff Survey scores. NHS Employers

NICE says evidence that COVID-19 treatment Evusheld is effective in protecting vulnerable adults against current variants is lacking as it announces new rapid update process for COVID-19 medicines

NICE says evidence that COVID-19 treatment Evusheld is effective in protecting vulnerable adults against current variants is lacking as it announces new rapid update process for COVID-19 medicines The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has issued draft guidance for public consultation which does not recommend Evusheld for preventing COVID-19 in adults who are unlikely to have an adequate immune response to COVID-19 vaccination, or who can’t be vaccinated.

See also:

• Tixagevimab plus cilgavimab for preventing COVID-19 (draft guidance) NICE
• Evusheld European Medicines Agency
• Covid-19: Evusheld is unlikely to prevent infection with current or future variants, NICE concludes The BMJ
• AstraZeneca sends updated Covid drug Evusheld to regulators for approval The Daily Mail
• U.S. FDA pulls authorization for AstraZeneca's COVID-19 treatment Evusheld Reuters

Plans to bolster patient safety and boost support for frontline staff by streamlining the system for healthcare regulators

Plans to bolster patient safety and boost support for frontline staff by streamlining the system for healthcare regulators The government has reaffirmed its commitment to streamline the system, improve patient safety and expand the role of medical support staff in the NHS to relieve pressure on GPs and improve access to services.

A new consultation will be launched today seeking views on draft legislation to provide the General Medical Council (GMC) with powers to regulate physician associates (PAs) and anaesthesia associates (AAs) for the first time. Department of Health and Social Care

See also:

• Regulating anaesthesia associates and physician associates (consultation open until 16th May 23) Department of Health and Social Care
• Consultation outcome: Regulating healthcare professionals, protecting the public Department of Health and Social Care
• NMC welcomes milestone on journey to better, safer regulation for people and communities across the UK Nursing and Midwifery Council

Hundreds of junior doctors in England announce March strike

Hundreds of junior doctors in England announce March strike Hundreds of junior doctors in England have said they will strike for the first time in the union’s history next month in a dispute over pay.

Members of the Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association (HCSA) voted to strike in March, following a ballot.

Around 45,000 junior doctors who are members of the British Medical Association (BMA) have also been balloted on strike action – with the result due at the end of February. ITV News

See also:

• BMA warns of huge escalation of strike action in England if Government continues to refuse to talk BMA
• NHS dispute widens to cover most parts of England UNISON
• British Medical Association calls government reckless over pay talks BBC News
• Strikes update: How Monday 20 February’s walkouts will affect you BBC News
• Around 144,000 appointments and procedures postponed due to strikes, says NHS Confederation director of policy Channel 4 News
• Fresh strike hell for NHS: More than 11,000 ambulance workers walk out TODAY - on same day ballot of 45,000 junior doctors will down tools for the first time in their union's history The Daily Mail
• Junior doctors’ mass strike expected as they threaten to leave NHS ‘for better-paid jobs’ The Daily Telegraph
• Nurses’ leader and Unison call on Rishi Sunak to help resolve pay disputes The Guardian
• Nurses’ pay squeeze and Tory tax cut ambitions: can they perhaps be related? The Guardian
• NHS leaders urged not to cancel operations during strikes in March The Guardian
• Ambulance workers’ strike goes ahead after government’s ‘reckless’ refusal to negotiate The Independent
• Junior doctors to strike next month in dispute over pay The Independent
• Thousands of ambulance workers go on strike today - as junior doctors announce when they will stage walkout Sky News

Breast cancer: Living life after treatment

Breast cancer: Living life after treatment BBC News editor Carly Appleby was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer in 2017. At that time, she had no idea how gruelling treatment was going to be. Now looking back - and to the future - she reflects on how it has changed her life.

New racism targets introduced for hospitals just as NHS scraps top race roles

New racism targets introduced for hospitals just as NHS scraps top race roles The NHS is to bring in new racial equality targets, but insiders fear hospital trusts will not be held to account because specialist roles set up to tackle racism are facing the axe.

A leaked document has revealed that NHS England will require trusts to gather data on how diverse their hospital hiring panels are, and they will be measured on the rates of General Medical Council (GMC) misconduct referrals of Black and minority ethnic doctors compared with those of white staff. The Independent

NHS' 'slapdash' cost-cutting leaving thousands without vital treatment

NHS' 'slapdash' cost-cutting leaving thousands without vital treatment Thousands of children and adults are being forced to live with a debilitating condition after the NHS cut funding for its treatment, The Independent can reveal.

Leading surgeons have voiced their concerns that an estimated 3,000 children and adults in England living with the rare congenital condition pectus are missing out on life-changing surgery following “slapdash” cuts to the service.

High court judge ‘deeply frustrated’ by NHS delays in suicidal girl’s care

High court judge ‘deeply frustrated’ by NHS delays in suicidal girl’s care A high court judge has expressed her “deep frustration” at NHS delays and bureaucracy that mean a suicidal 12-year-old girl has been held on her own, in a locked, windowless room with no access to the outdoors for three weeks. The Guardian

‘There may still be surprises’: Jeremy Farrar warns of pandemic perils ahead

‘There may still be surprises’: Jeremy Farrar warns of pandemic perils ahead As the former Sage adviser leaves Wellcome to join WHO, he talks about exhausted health workers, the UK’s sluggish response to Covid and the danger of conspiracy theories. The Guardian

Barclay orders urgent investigation into woke NHS guidelines telling staff to not use 'he' or 'she'

Barclay orders urgent investigation into woke NHS guidelines telling staff to not use 'he' or 'she' Steve Barclay last night ordered an urgent investigation into new guidelines that tell NHS staff to treat all patients as gender-neutral.

The Health Secretary demanded answers after learning taxpayers had funded the guide to ‘inclusive communication’.

It instructs doctors and nurses not to use phrases such as ‘Mr’ and ‘Mrs’ or ‘he’ and ‘she’ until a patient has confirmed their gender identity. The Daily Mail

ChatGPT will see you now! How AI chatbot that's gripped the world REALLY fares compared to a doctor

ChatGPT will see you now! How AI chatbot that's gripped the world REALLY fares compared to a doctor Move over Dr Google, it's Dr ChatGPT's time to shine.

Or is it? 

The AI chatbot has quickly become an online sensation due to its ability to rapidly research complicated topics, provide clear answers, and converse with its users in a human-like manner. The Daily Mail