Wellingborough NHS chefs serve up silver medal win at top cook-off

Wellingborough NHS chefs serve up silver medal win at top cook-off Two local NHS chefs rose to the occasion during a high-profile cooking competition, wowing the judges and winning a silver medal.

Kerrey Healey and Natasha Day from Cafe Vie at Wellingborough’s Isebrook Hospital – part of Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (NHFT) – were competing in the NHS 4 Nations Chef Challenge, part of the world famous International Salon Culinaire, in London. Northamptonshire Telegraph

Sophie's story to help promote organ donation: 19-year-old from Northampton who died of a blood clot has helped save three lives

Sophie's story to help promote organ donation: 19-year-old from Northampton who died of a blood clot has helped save three lives A 19-year-old Northampton girl who tragically died of a blood clot on the brain has helped save the lives of three others through organ donation.

And from today (Friday, March 24), Sophie Rogers’ story will be on display at Northampton General Hospital to help promote the importance of organ donation. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

NHS pay: new seeds of division?

NHS pay: new seeds of division? A revised pay offer for 1 million NHS staff which the unions are recommending to their members is a major step forward. The government, NHS leaders, staff and patients all want industrial action to end so that the NHS can focus on the huge task of recovering services following the COVID-19 pandemic. Whether this offer is enough to persuade staff to accept only time will tell. The Health Foundation

British Social Attitudes: Survey reveals record level of dissatisfaction with social care services

British Social Attitudes: Survey reveals record level of dissatisfaction with social care services Only one in seven of the British public are satisfied with social care services, according to analysis of the British Social Attitudes survey by the Nuffield Trust and The King’s Fund. 

The analysis from the two health and care think tanks reveals that just 14% of the 3,362 people questioned said they were very or quite satisfied with social care. Of these, only 2% were very satisfied. On the other hand, dissatisfaction rose significantly to 57% of respondents (up from 50% in the previous year) and reached its highest level recorded.

Workers' experience of Long Covid

Workers' experience of Long Covid Our research found shockingly high levels of poor treatment by employers. One in seven respondents (14 per cent) had lost their job because of reasons connected to Long Covid. Given the high numbers of people experiencing Long Covid, this finding is extremely concerning and many people losing their jobs could be in key sector roles. TUC and Long Covid Support

See also:

• Long Covid: Three years and no magic bullet BBC News
• Have we found the 'animal origin' of Covid? BBC News
• Covid cases jump by 13% in a week as officials warn up to one in SEVENTEEN people might be infected The Daily Mail
• Coronavirus (COVID-19) Infection Survey, UK: 24 March 2023 Office for National Statistics
• Fury over healing clinics charging up to £280 to help Long Covid sufferers The Daily Mail
• Two-thirds of UK workers with long Covid have faced unfair treatment, says report The Guardian
• Clinically vulnerable ‘absolutely outraged’ as Covid guidance for high risk patients removed from NHS website iNews
• 'My world came crashing down' - Teen describes her Long Covid battle ITV News
• COVID-19 infections in England at highest level since start of year, final estimates reveal Sky News

Independent review of the NHS Business Services Authority: final report and recommendations

Independent review of the NHS Business Services Authority: final report and recommendations In June 2022, as part of the Cabinet Office Public Bodies Review Programme, the Department of Health and Social Care began its review of the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA). The review’s aim was to ensure that this public body is efficient and works effectively for citizens. The report of the NHSBSA review covers the following areas: public body assessment; accountability; governance; efficiency; efficacy; and capabilities. The report makes 18 recommendations. Department of Health and Social Care

Record revenue for staff agencies supplying NHS

Record revenue for staff agencies supplying NHS Companies providing freelance staff to the NHS to cover for big shortages of doctors and nurses have seen their income rise by tens of millions of pounds since 2019.

Two companies, amongst the largest providing workers to the NHS, saw their turnover rise by 80% and 77.5%.

BBC News looked at the financial records of about 20 agency businesses providing services in the UK.

Nitrous oxide: Possession of laughing gas to be criminal offence

Nitrous oxide: Possession of laughing gas to be criminal offence Possessing laughing gas is to be made a criminal offence for the first time, the government has announced.

There will also be tighter controls on retailers to prevent the supply of nitrous oxide for misuse.

It goes against recommendations from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) which recently advised against new laws to ban nitrous oxide. BBC News

Patients with rare genetic conditions to receive 'pioneering' new NHS service

Patients with rare genetic conditions to receive 'pioneering' new NHS service Hundreds of people with rare genetic conditions primarily affecting the central nervous system will be fast-tracked to diagnosis and specialist care through a “pioneering” new NHS service.

Patients with inherited white matter disorders (IWMDs), also known as leukodystrophies, are set to benefit from faster access to expert teams, increased virtual support and improved local care from clinics providing testing and symptom management. The Independent

NHS staff shortages in England could exceed 570,000 by 2036, leaked document warns

NHS staff shortages in England could exceed 570,000 by 2036, leaked document warns Exclusive: workplace plan sent to ministers says deficit will rise rapidly from current 154,000 if current trends continue

The NHS in England needs a massive injection of homegrown doctors, nurses, GPs and dentists to avert a recruitment crisis that could leave it short of 571,000 staff, according to an internal document seen by the Guardian.

See also:

• Will Jeremy Hunt foot the bill for NHS staffing? The signs aren’t promising The Guardian

‘Children put at risk’ as NHS autism assessments are cut back

‘Children put at risk’ as NHS autism assessments are cut back NHS managers in south-west England have imposed new rules that could deny autism assessments to thousands of children in a move that parents say “puts children at genuine risk”.

At the start of this month, NHS commissioners in Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire announced new referral criteria for children’s autism assessments, effective immediately with no notice or consultation. The Guardian

High risk of stroke is linked to mental health

High risk of stroke is linked to mental health Depression and other mental health problems may put sufferers at increased risk of a stroke, two studies have found.

In the first, people who reported the worst depressive symptoms – admitting they’d ‘given up on life improvements’ – were found to have the greatest risk of a stroke.

A second study examined the records of people with genes known to be linked to depression, bipolar disorder and seasonal affective disorder, and found those with the highest genetic risk were more likely to suffer a stroke.  The Daily Mail

See also:

• Depressive Symptoms and Risk of Acute Stroke: INTERSTROKE Case-Control Study (abstract) Neurology

High street pharmacies are on red alert as chemists run low on stocks of painkillers like Calpol

High street pharmacies are on red alert as chemists run low on stocks of painkillers like Calpol High street pharmacies are struggling to get hold of children's painkillers as a new wave of drugs shortages affects patients.

Warehouses are virtually empty of several types of liquid painkiller, including of best-known brand Calpol, leaving chemists scrambling for supplies.

Other everyday medicines including Lemsip and Gaviscon are also now hard to get hold of, said Dr Leyla Hannbeck, chief executive of the Association for Independent Multiple Pharmacies. The Daily Mail