Corby’s Lakeside Healthcare recruiting women for vaccine trial

Corby’s Lakeside Healthcare recruiting women for vaccine trial Lakeside Healthcare’s research team is recruiting women for a vaccine trial for a little-known, but common virus that affects nearly 1,000 newborns in the UK per year.

They’re looking for women aged between 16 and 40.

Cytomegalovirus or CMV, was discovered in the 1950s by the same research team that discovered polio, mumps and rubella but, so far there is no vaccine. Northamptonshire Telegraph

See also:

• Lakeside Research recruiting for trials into CMV vaccine Lakeside Healthcare

Great work of Northamptonshire midwives highlighted at major conference

Great work of Northamptonshire midwives highlighted at major conference The amazing ways local midwives support women, babies and their families, was showcased at a conference held to celebrate the International Day of the Midwife.

The University Hospitals of Northamptonshire event was attended by NHS England’s Chief Midwifery Officer - Jacque Dunkley-Bent –who witnessed the achievements of midwifery teams from Kettering and Northampton general hospitals over the past 12 to 18 months. Northamptonshire Telegraph

Opinion: Data reveals long mental health waiting lists in Northampton

Opinion: Data reveals long mental health waiting lists in Northampton Since 2010, the Conservative Government have cut one-in-four mental health beds across the country, as waiting times for treatment have soared. Across NHS Northamptonshire Integrated Care Board, there were 3,790 children on waiting lists in December and 14,330 adults. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Rural mental health

Rural mental health In this report, MPs express concern about how isolation, poor public transport and a relative lack of digital connectivity have contributed to poor mental health outcomes for all categories of people across rural communities in England, but especially among farm workers and vets. It calls for greater joined-up planning and action from the government to address the issue. Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee

The Power of Three IVF Cycles: An investigation into levels of knowledge – concerning fertility services, IVF treatment, and specifically the IVF cycle – among GPs and NHS Commissioners in England

The Power of Three IVF Cycles: An investigation into levels of knowledge – concerning fertility services, IVF treatment, and specifically the IVF cycle – among GPs and NHS Commissioners in England A survey of GPs has revealed that their knowledge of referral and eligibility criteria for IVF treatment, and their understanding of completion points for IVF treatment, are at odds with the NICE Fertility Guideline. This is liable to result in poorer outcomes for fertility patients.

Almost 20 years ago, NICE introduced its recommendation that the NHS should provide up to three full cycles of IVF to a woman (under 40 years of age) undergoing fertility treatment.1

The PET report 'The Power of Three IVF Cycles' shows that the NICE Fertility Guideline is not being followed, and is not understood by GPs in England. Progress Educational Trust

See also:

• Male GPs in England less likely to refer patients for IVF, report finds The Guardian

New research on the value of mediation and resolution in the NHS

New research on the value of mediation and resolution in the NHS Acas have published our new research in conjunction with East Lancashire East Hospitals NHS Trust on mediation and resolution in the workplace.

The research highlights how mediation can have a positive effect on organisations, and what employers can proactively do to support their people to manage conflict well. NHS Employers

See also:

• Mediation and early resolution in East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust (case study) ACAS

UKHSA science strategy 2023 to 2033: securing health and prosperity

UKHSA science strategy 2023 to 2033: securing health and prosperity This report outlines the scientific assets, capabilities and ambitions of the UK Health Security Agency, and the plan to protect the nation’s health from current and future health threats. UK Health Security Agency

Government meet target 1 year early to recruit primary care staff

Government meet target 1 year early to recruit primary care staff The government has delivered on its’ manifesto commitment of recruiting 26,000 additional primary care professionals – such as dieticians, paramedics and physiotherapists – who provide care directly to patients, or support doctors and nurses to do so.

A year ahead of the March 2024 pledge, data published today by NHS England shows there are 29,103 additional primary care staff helping to deliver on one of the government’s key priorities to cut waiting lists. Department of health and Social Care

Offer gene test to stroke patients, NHS told

Offer gene test to stroke patients, NHS told People who have had a stroke caused by a blood clot should have a DNA test to see whether they can be given a drug to help prevent more brain attacks, new draft guidelines for the NHS say.

Stroke risk increases when someone has had one previously, which is why preventive medication is recommended.

But a standard anti-clot drug, clopidogrel, works well for patients with certain genes only.

Others need a different protective drug - so the gene check could save lives.

The blood or saliva test is quick and affordable. BBC News

See also:

• Clopidogrel genotype testing after ischaemic stroke or transient ischaemic attack (guideline in development) NICE

Use private sector more for NHS patients - Labour

Use private sector more for NHS patients - Labour The government in England should increase its use of the private sector to tackle the NHS backlog, Labour says.

It said as many as 300,000 patients have missed out on treatment since it called for greater use of private clinics in January 2022.

And the party said it was unjust that the lack of action meant only those who could afford to pay for treatment themselves were being seen on time.

The government said it was delivering by cutting long waits. BBC News

Mental health hospitals are ‘making children worse’, leading charity warns

Mental health hospitals are ‘making children worse’, leading charity warns Mental health hospitals for children are making patients worse, a major charity has found, as more than half of those they treat report negative experiences.

Britain’s child inpatient mental health units are being used as “holding places” for those needing treatment, and are failing to improve the mental health of those with the most severe needs, according to a report from Mind. The Independent

Inquiry into major UK maternity scandal slams NHS for failure to consult Black and Asian families

Inquiry into major UK maternity scandal slams NHS for failure to consult Black and Asian families An inquiry into maternity care failings at an NHS trust that left dozens of babies dead or brain-damaged is “wholly insufficient” because only a fraction of Black and Asian women have come forward, its chair warned today.

Donna Ockenden, who is leading a review into Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust after The Independent uncovered poor care over more than a decade, urged hundreds more families to make contact.

New obesity jab that sparked diabetes row in US could get NHS green light

New obesity jab that sparked diabetes row in US could get NHS green light A new obesity jab that sparked a diabetes row in the US is now being considered for wider use by the UK health service.

Tirzepatide, from Eli Lilly and Company, is currently approved by regulators for type 2 diabetes – but may soon also be approved to treat obesity.

The weekly jab, sold under the brand name Mounjaro, is the successor to celebrity-endorsed Ozempic and Wegovey — two diabetes drugs that shot to fame on TikTok for helping people lose weight rapidly. Now, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) is seeing whether the drug would be a good use of NHS funds. The Independent

See also:

• New injectable drug could be approved for weight loss on NHS ITV News

New health warning over 'hippy crack': Tiny cannisters are causing FROSTBITE in teens, surgeons say

New health warning over 'hippy crack': Tiny cannisters are causing FROSTBITE in teens, surgeons say British burns specialists have shared shocking images of the injuries suffered over the years, warning that nitrous oxide cannisters can easily trigger the little-known complication. 

The drug, also nicknamed 'laughing gas' or 'nos', is loved by teenagers. Cannisters containing it litter streets and parks across the UK. The Daily Mail

See also:

• Experiences of frostbite injury from recreational use of nitrous oxide canisters in a UK burns centre – not a laughing matter (abstract) Journal of Plastic, Reconstructive & Aesthetic Surgery