Worried about a mole? Here's where you can get it checked out at drop-in Kettering skin cancer sessions

Worried about a mole? Here's where you can get it checked out at drop-in Kettering skin cancer sessions Those worried about a mole or skin lesion will be able to have them checked by a doctor or nurse at drop-in Kettering sessions next month.

Kettering General Hospital is holding a three-day skin surveillance event to help identify problems like skin cancer as early as possible. Northamptonshire Telegraph

Understanding and supporting mental health in infancy and early childhood: a toolkit to support local action in the UK

Understanding and supporting mental health in infancy and early childhood: a toolkit to support local action in the UK This resource aims to support service leaders, commissioners and policy teams to develop a whole-system approach to support the mental health of babies and young children, and to enable them to develop the capacities to be mentally healthy throughout their lives. Evidence shows that the mental health needs of babies and young children – which present differently than in older children and young people – are not well understood and often overlooked. 

This toolkit acknowledges that it can be harder for professionals to work together to promote and protect mental health at this life stage, as understanding varies across sectors. It suggests practical steps to help all services play their role and work together and will facilitate shared understanding, and constructive discussions about the needs of babies and young children in local communities. UNICEF UK

Living (and dying) as an older person in prison

Living (and dying) as an older person in prison Tough conditions in prison disproportionately affect older prisoners, and they tend to be in poorer health than the general population. This new Nuffield Trust report funded by The Health Foundation uses hospital data to look at the health care needs of those older people in prison. It finds significant health care needs associated with frailty, which has implications for the prison service in managing increasing numbers of older people as the population continues to age.

See also:

• What does it mean to be an older person in prison? Nuffield Trust

NHS Data - Maximising its impact for all

 NHS Data - Maximising its impact for all There is more that can be done to make the most of NHS healthcare data. By maximising the opportunity to use data-driven innovations to improve healthcare, people in the UK and the NHS will benefit, says a new white paper from Imperial College London.

NHS delivery and continuous improvement review: recommendations

NHS delivery and continuous improvement review: recommendations This report contains the findings and recommendations of the delivery and continuous improvement review conducted by Anne Eden. It looked at how improvement-led delivery can enhance the quality of outcomes for our patients, communities and our health and care workforce. It recommends establishing a national improvement board to agree a small number of shared national priorities on which NHS England, with providers and systems, will focus improvement-led delivery work. It also recommends launching a single, shared ‘NHS improvement approach’ and co-designing and establishing a Leadership for Improvement programme. NHS England

Millions wait more than a fortnight to see a GP in England

Millions wait more than a fortnight to see a GP in England Nearly five million patients each month in England wait more than a fortnight for a GP appointment, NHS figures show, which Labour is calling "unacceptable".

The government says it expects all patients needing a GP appointment to be seen within two weeks.

The Royal College of GPs says 85% of appointments happen within two weeks and nearly half on the same day. BBC News

See also:

• Appointments in General Practice, February 2023 NHS Digital
• Millions waiting more than a fortnight for GP appointments each month The Independent
• Almost five million patients wait over two weeks for a GP appointment each month, claims Labour Pulse

Herpes deaths: NHS trust lied about virus links, inquest hears

Herpes deaths: NHS trust lied about virus links, inquest hears The mother of a young woman who died with herpes said she was "disgusted" with an NHS trust which "lied" about the potential cause of the virus.

Kim Sampson and Samantha Mulcahy died with herpes after the same obstetrician at the East Kent Hospitals University NHS Trust carried out their Caesareans.

Yvette Sampson's daughter had been "fit and healthy" until she gave birth on 3 May 2018, an inquest has heard.

She said the trust had lied about links between the two mothers' deaths. BBC News

NHS threatens legal action to block second day of nurses’ strike

NHS threatens legal action to block second day of nurses’ strike The NHS has launched a legal challenge that could end in the high court to block the second day of an upcoming strike by tens of thousands of nurses.

Officials at NHS Employers wrote to the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) on Wednesday saying the union’s plans for a two-day strike were unlawful. The Guardian

See also:

• Strike action in England: RCN strongly resists NHS legal threat Royal College of Nursing
• Patient safety at risk without exemption of key mental health services from next wave of nursing strikes NHS Confederation
• NHS threatens legal action to BLOCK second day of May Day nurses' strike The Daily Mail
• Nurses told their next strike is illegal The Daily Telegraph
• NHS threatens legal action to block second day of nurses’ strike Evening Standard
• NHS mental health leaders call for nurses’ strike staff exemption The Guardian
• NHS tells nurses that planned strike is illegal The Independent
• RCN says it will ‘forcefully resist’ any attempt to derail strike action Nursing Notes

Funding and mental health staff retention go ‘hand-in-hand’ – NHS chief

Funding and mental health staff retention go ‘hand-in-hand’ – NHS chief Boosting the mental health workforce to improve services goes “hand-in-hand” with the funding available, the chief executive of NHS England has said.

Amanda Pritchard told MPs support services had significantly improved under plans to give mental health parity of esteem with physical health, but said bolstering staff recruitment and retention was key to further progress. Evening Standard

MPs told of long wait before response to child eating disorders improves

MPs told of long wait before response to child eating disorders improves It will take at least two years for guidance aimed at saving the lives of children and young people with acute eating disorders to be consistently followed, a senior NHS official has admitted.

Campaigners have warned that people are dying because guidance on medical emergencies in eating disorders (Meed) introduced last year is not regularly being implemented by specialists. Evening Standard

Catching Covid can trigger deadly side effect months later, study finds

Catching Covid can trigger deadly side effect months later, study finds Patients with severe Covid who require mechanical ventilation are likely to develop a potentially life-threatening disease within six months of getting the infection, according to a study.

Covid-19 patients requiring ventilation are 16 times more likely to develop ventricular tachycardia than those who did not have a severe infection, according to research by the European Society of Cardiology (ESC). The Independent

See also:

• Severe COVID-19 linked with 16-fold risk of life-threatening heart rhythm within 6 months European Society of Cardiology
• National flu and COVID-19 surveillance reports published UK Health Security Agency
• Weekly epidemiological update on COVID-19 - 20 April 2023 World Health Organization
• First person dies with new Covid variant as cases rise globally The Independent

Diet high in fruit and vegetables can slash miscarriage risk by almost two-thirds, study finds

Diet high in fruit and vegetables can slash miscarriage risk by almost two-thirds, study finds Eating a diet rich in fruit and vegetables can slash the chances of miscarriage by up to 61 per cent, research suggests.

Women who ate a diet rich in fruit, vegetables, seafood, dairy products, eggs and grain had a lower miscarriage risk than those who ate the least.

And those with a diet high in processed foods – such as many breakfast cereals, junk foods and anything altered from its natural state – had double the risk. The Daily Mail

See also:

• The association between dietary patterns and risk of miscarriage: a systematic review and meta-analysis (open access) Fertility and Sterility

The old wives' tale really IS true! Major review rules drinking cranberry juice can prevent UTIs

The old wives' tale really IS true! Major review rules drinking cranberry juice can prevent UTIs It's the old wives tale that has divided opinion for decades.

Cranberry juice really can help stop urinary tract infections (UTIs), according to the largest review of evidence to date.

A global study looking at the benefits of cranberries found cranberries – in juice or taken as supplements — cut the risk of repeat UTIs in women by more than a quarter. The Daily Mail

See also:

• Cranberries for preventing urinary tract infections Cochrane Library