'She is a safe place': 'Most caring' nurse retires from Northampton General Hospital after 49 years of service

'She is a safe place': 'Most caring' nurse retires from Northampton General Hospital after 49 years of service An orthopaedic nurse, who has been described as “the most caring”, has retired from Northampton General Hospital after 49 years of service. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Children’s mental health services 2021-2022

Children’s mental health services 2021-2022 This report looks to understand what is happening in children’s mental health provision. Using new figures sourced from NHS England and NHS Digital, it examines spending on children’s mental health, numbers of children referred to and accessing CYPMHS and waiting times between referral and treatment (having a second contact with CYPMHS)

This data is the first available since services were widely re-opened after the pandemic and shows a surging demand for help. 

The welcome progress that has been made in recent years on improving children’s access to the right support is struggling to keep up with this demand – with waiting times increasing in the first time in years. Children's Commissioner

See also:

• Three-quarters of children detained under mental health act are girls, new report warns The Independent

Joining the dots: a blueprint for preventing and managing frailty in older

Joining the dots: a blueprint for preventing and managing frailty in older This document sets out seven system touchpoints and outcomes that should be considered when planning and commissioning health and social care for older people, alongside twelve actions that systems should take to create the conditions for high-quality integrated care for older people. The blueprint is aimed primarily at system leaders and commissioners of health and social care services for older people. It is hoped that it will assist these senior decision-makers to understand and implement the core features of age-attuned integrated care for older people. British Geriatrics Society

Most vulnerable to be offered spring COVID-19 booster

Most vulnerable to be offered spring COVID-19 booster The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has confirmed its advice for a 2023 spring coronavirus (COVID-19) booster programme.

In January 2023, the committee advised preparations should begin for potential booster programmes in spring and autumn this year, with further details to be announced at a later date. UK Health Security Agency

See also:

• Independent report: Spring 2023 COVID-19 vaccination programme: JCVI advice, 22 February 2023 Department of Health and Social Care
• Covid booster jab to be offered this spring BBC News
• Vulnerable people in UK to be offered spring Covid booster vaccine The Guardian
• Covid booster vaccine to be offered to elderly and vulnerable The Independent
• COVID booster vaccine to be offered to most vulnerable Sky News

Government to consider radical new approach to prevent life-threatening cardiovascular disease

Government to consider radical new approach to prevent life-threatening cardiovascular disease People across England stand to benefit from a project to identify radical new approaches to prevent cardiovascular disease (CVD) and reduce pressure on the NHS, following the appointment of Prof John Deanfield as Government Champion for Personalised Prevention Department of Health and Social Care

Optimising personalised care for adults prescribed medicines associated with dependence or withdrawal symptoms: framework for action for integrated care boards (ICBs) and primary care

Optimising personalised care for adults prescribed medicines associated with dependence or withdrawal symptoms: framework for action for integrated care boards (ICBs) and primary care NHS England working in partnership with integrated care system (ICS) leads and representatives, has devised a framework actions to help systems develop plans that can support people who are taking medicines associated with dependence and withdrawal symptoms. 

The actions will support ICSs to deliver on their four key objectives of: improving outcomes in population health and healthcare; tackling health inequalities in outcomes, experience and access; enhancing productivity and value for money; and helping the NHS support broader social and economic development.

Weight loss drug semaglutide approved for NHS use

Weight loss drug semaglutide approved for NHS use A weight loss jab that has gained popularity in the US has been approved for use by the NHS in England.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) concluded semaglutide, marketed as Wegovy, is safe, effective and affordable.

Delivered via an injection into the skin, the drug makes people feel fuller and more satisfied, so they eat less. BBC News

See also:

• NICE recommended weight-loss drug to be made available in specialist NHS services National Institute for Health and Care Excellence
• Experts warn weight loss drug semaglutide isn't a miracle fix The Daily Mail
• 'Game-changing' weight loss jab 2.5x stronger than Ozempic will be rolled out on NHS in weeks The Daily Mail
• 'Game changer' weight loss jab to become available on NHS The Daily Mail
• NICE recommends semaglutide for use in obesity GPonline
• Yes, England’s new weight-loss drug kills your appetite – but as I know, it comes at a cost The Guardian
• What is Wegovy, the ‘game changer’ weight loss drug? The Independent

Childhood infection ‘linked to risk of respiratory disease death as an adult’

Childhood infection ‘linked to risk of respiratory disease death as an adult’ Contracting a respiratory infection such as bronchitis or pneumonia during childhood is associated with a higher risk of death from a respiratory illness as an adult, research suggests.

Children who had a lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) by the age of two were almost twice as likely to die prematurely between the ages of 26 and 73 years from respiratory diseases, the study suggests. The Independent

See also:

• Early childhood lower respiratory tract infection and premature adult death from respiratory disease in Great Britain: a national birth cohort study (open access) The Lancet

Home Office unable to say when emergency services network will launch

Home Office unable to say when emergency services network will launch The Home Office is still unable to say when a planned communications system for Great Britain’s blue light services will be operational, despite spending almost £2bn on the project, the Whitehall spending watchdog has said.

The proposed emergency services network (ESN), first announced in 2015, was supposed to have replaced the ageing Airwave system for police, fire and ambulance services in England, Scotland and Wales by 2020. The Guardian

Nurses and midwives should be able to approve abortions, UK study concludes

Nurses and midwives should be able to approve abortions, UK study concludes Nurses and midwives should be able to approve abortions, a study funded by the NHS has urged, in what would be one of the biggest shake-ups of regulations in more than 55 years.

If adopted, a rule that stipulates that abortions have to be authorised by two doctors would be scrapped. The Guardian

See also:

• Abortion law should change to reflect current practice, study suggests Shaping Abortion for Change
• NHS nurses and midwives should be able to approve abortions, report argues Evening Standard

War on cancer is FAILING: Ministers could push back crucial target once again

War on cancer is FAILING: Ministers could push back crucial target once again The NHS won't meet a key cancer target for another year, bosses expect.

Government plans set out that the number of cancer patients starting treatment within two months of an urgent GP referral should return to pre-Covid levels by March 2023.

Knock-on effects of Covid saw the backlog of patients waiting beyond 62 days spiral to a record high of 34,000 last summer — more than double levels seen before the pandemic struck. The Daily Mail

See also:

• Key cancer waiting time target set to be missed in England BBC News

NHS whistleblower sacrifices his career to secretly capture brutal reality of dire 999 service

NHS whistleblower sacrifices his career to secretly capture brutal reality of dire 999 service The brutal reality of working in Britain's ailing emergency service has been laid bare by an eye-opening new documentary which shows how deadly delays have become commonplace.

Raw footage — captured during the darkest days of the NHS's busiest ever winter — shows overflowing A&E wards, with corridors jampacked of patients who have spent 20-plus hours waiting to be seen. The Daily Mail