Making sense of the Health and Care Bill

Making sense of the Health and Care Bill As the Health and Care Bill is debated in the House of Commons for the first time, some in government may still recall the bruising 14 months it took for the previous piece of health legislation to get through parliament. Back in 2011 and 2012 there were big claims on all sides, with the government insisting its reforms would ‘liberate the NHS’ while the opposition argued the reforms would end it. The government found itself mired in what became the most controversial piece of NHS legislation in more than two decades. The King's Fund

See also:

• Health and Care Bill factsheets Department of Health and Social Care
• Giving the Health Secretary more power over the NHS risks taking health care backwards The Health Foundation
• The Health and Care Bill must be amended to help make workforce shortages a thing of the past The Health Foundation
• The Health and Care Bill: a threat to the operational independence of the NHS? The King's Fund
• Will the new Health and Care Bill privatise the NHS? Nuffield Trust
• Second Reading of the Health and Care Bill Nuffield Trust
• Briefing: Health and Care Bill - Second Reading Royal College of Nursing 
• RCP reaction to the health and care bill Royal College of Physicians 
• RCPsych responds to the Health and Care Bill Royal College of Psychiatrists

Nursing Workforce Shortages: 21 Missed Warnings

Nursing Workforce Shortages: 21 Missed Warnings A new briefing from the RCN detailing the warnings around the increasing nursing workforce shortage from a range of stakeholders including think tanks, health sector organisations, and cross party parliamentary groups. Royal College of Nursing

Shared decision making: shared reality or insider jargon?

Shared decision making: shared reality or insider jargon? This report says shared decision making, when patients and doctors work together to decide treatment options, provides benefits to patients and the health service. But patients, and the professionals treating them, face many barriers in making it work in practice. The report makes recommendations on how to make shared decision making a reality. Patients Association

Covid-19: preparing for the future - looking ahead to winter 2021/22 and beyond

Covid-19: preparing for the future - looking ahead to winter 2021/22 and beyond This report warns that a mix of Covid-19, influenza, and the respiratory virus Respiratory Syncytial Virus, could push the NHS to breaking point this winter unless action is taken. The report urges policy makers and the NHS to prepare by expanding Covid-19 testing, increasing the speed and uptake of the Covid-19 vaccination, and strengthened financial and staffing support. The Academy of Medical Sciences

Fully vaccinated critical workers to be able to leave self-isolation in exceptional circumstances

Fully vaccinated critical workers to be able to leave self-isolation in exceptional circumstances Fully vaccinated critical workers to be able to leave self-isolation in exceptional circumstances under new plans to prevent serious disruption to vital public services. Department of Health and Social Care

See also:

• Statement on offering COVID-19 vaccines to at-risk young people Department of Health and Social Care
• Independent report: COVID-19 vaccination of children and young people aged 12 to 17 years: JCVI statement Department of Health and Social Care
• Every adult in UK offered COVID-19 vaccine Department of Health and Social Care
• Consultation outcome: Making vaccination a condition of deployment in older adult care homes Department of Health and Social Care
• New research into treatment and diagnosis of long COVID Department of Health and Social Care

Covid: Which children can have the vaccine in the UK?

Covid: Which children can have the vaccine in the UK? Hundreds of thousands of under-18s will now be offered the Covid vaccine in the UK.

They'll get the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, as that's the only one which has been approved for 12 to 17-year-olds - so far.

However, the news means that most children still aren't eligible for the jab - in keeping with guidance from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). BBC News

See also: 

• Shielders 'feeling abandoned' as coronavirus restrictions lifted BBC News
• Covid patients urge public to 'be careful' as restrictions ease BBC News
• Covid: Critical workers to avoid close contact isolation BBC News
• Covid: UK faces a difficult summer, says leading scientist BBC News
• Covid: Coping with opening-up anxiety BBC News
• Covid: Boris Johnson resisted autumn lockdown as only over-80s dying - Dominic Cummings BBC News
• Some COVID-19 patients may not regain sense of smell for as long as THREE YEARS, expert claims The Daily Mail
• Freedom Day will cause 'mad' spike in Covid cases, scientists fear The Daily Mail
• State Department tells Americans not to travel to the UK The Daily Telegraph
• Third of close contacts told to self-isolate by test and trace developing symptoms - up from one fifth The Daily Telegraph
• I work in an NHS Covid ward – and I feel so angry The Guardian
• Ministers shelve plans to fix Covid app as cases in England surge The Guardian
• Lockdowns do not harm health more than Covid, say researchers The Guardian
• NHS summer crisis deepens as Covid surge leads to cancelled operations and ambulance ‘black alert’

UK plans biggest flu vaccine rollout this winter

UK plans biggest flu vaccine rollout this winter Free flu vaccines will be offered this winter to children aged two to 16 in England, as well as people aged 50 and over or in "at-risk" groups, amid the double threat of Covid and influenza.

Experts hope for a record-breaking rollout reaching more than 35 million people, including more teenagers than ever before.

Last winter there was a high uptake, with 19 million doses given. BBC News

NHS staff in England set to be offered 3% pay rise

NHS staff in England set to be offered 3% pay rise The government is likely to announce a pay rise of 3 per cent for NHS staff in the coming days, triple its original offer earlier this year.

The Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) originally told the independent NHS Pay Review Body in March it could only afford a 1 per cent pay rise this year for doctors, nurses and other NHS workers. The Independent

See also: 

• NHS staff 'set to get 3 per cent pay rise' THIS WEEK after medics threatened to go on strike if the Government failed to improve its 1 per cent offer The Daily Mail
• NHS staff in England could be offered 3% pay rise The Guardian
• NHS pay row: doctors and nurses could start being mobilised for strike action this week iNews

NHS is failing half of young people with mental health issues

NHS is failing half of young people with mental health issues Parents report that even suicidal youngsters are not being referred or supported by care professionals

Up to half of all children and teenagers referred to mental health, learning disability and autism services in the run-up to the pandemic were left without proper support, with parents telling the Observer of children waiting years for treatment and a seven-year-old girl denied support as she was not suicidal. The Guardian 

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Last big push to get jabs into Northamptonshire's final 135000 in countdown to Freedom Day

Last big push to get jabs into Northamptonshire's final 135000 in countdown to Freedom Day Northamptonshire will get more grab a jab sessions in a final massive push to deliver as many vaccinations as possible before Freedom Day.

An appeal has gone out for extra volunteers to help NHS staff deliver jabs at centres across the county. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

See also:

• One in five Northamptonshire folk likely to NOT be vaccinated by Freedom Day Northamptonshire Telegraph

Kettering General: Hospital warned to improve over falls concerns

Kettering General: Hospital warned to improve over falls concerns Medical care at a hospital has been downgraded to inadequate after concerns were raised about patient falls.

Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspectors visited Kettering General Hospital in May, after "several serious incidents resulting in harm".

The NHS trust was rated overall as "requires improvement" - and issued with a warning notice. BBC News

Who will be the next NHS England Chief Executive?

Who will be the next NHS England Chief Executive? In truth, I struggled to get started with this blog. I’m not sure why as it wasn’t for a lack of ideas about leadership or what qualities the new leader of NHS England should hold. Perhaps it felt like a colossal task to try to articulate in a few hundred words what it is that a leader should embody, and the impact this would have on those they lead. Something that is difficult to express in writing but easier to feel and experience. The King's Fund

Unequal pandemic, fairer recovery: the Covid-19 impact inquiry report

Unequal pandemic, fairer recovery: the Covid-19 impact inquiry report This report is a comprehensive review of the factors that fuelled the UK’s Covid-19 death toll. It finds working age adults in England’s poorest areas were almost four times more likely to die from Covid-19 than those in the wealthiest areas. The Health Foundation calls on government to learn the lessons from the financial crisis and invest in health, to rebuild the economy and prevent long-term scarring. The Health Foundation

National representative data on the health of lesbian, gay and bisexual adults in England published for the first time

National representative data on the health of lesbian, gay and bisexual adults in England published for the first time A first of its kind report has been published today by NHS Digital on the health outcomes and health behaviours of lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) adults.

The data is based on a representative sample of adults aged 16 and over who participated in the Health Survey for England (HSE)1 between 2011–2018. Breakdowns by age, ethnicity and sex are also covered in the report.  

See also:

• LGB people 'more likely to have mental health issues' BBC News
• LGB Brits drink more, smoke more and have worse mental health, says NHS report Pink News

Health and Care Bill introduced to Parliament

Health and Care Bill introduced to Parliament The Health and Care Bill builds on the proposals for legislative change set out by NHS England in its Long Term Plan, while also incorporating valuable lessons learnt from the pandemic that will benefit both staff and patients.

The government is committed to delivering world-class care for patients and this Bill will help deliver that by building on the NHS’ own proposals for reform to make it less bureaucratic, more accountable, and more integrated in the wake of COVID-19. Department of Health and Social Care

See also:

• Policy paper: Health and Care Bill: delegated powers memorandum Department of Health and Social Care
• Giving the Health Secretary more power over the NHS risks taking health care backwards The Health Foundation
• 'Important reforms could be undermined by plans for ministerial interference' The King's Fund
• On the day briefing: Health and Care Bill NHS Providers
• The proposed NHS reforms: what do we think so far? NHS Confederation
• Bill signals way forward in fast changing health and care landscape NHS Providers
• Nuffield Trust response to Health and Care Bill Nuffield Trust
• Health and Care Bill: we’ll lobby to make ministers accountable for safe nurse staffing Royal College of Nursing
• RCPsych responds to the Health and Care Bill Royal College of Psychiatrists 
• Health bill could see NHS contracts awarded without tender process The Guardian
• First major NHS legislation in nine years confirms DHSC power grab Health Service Journal
• Ministers press ahead with plan to have more control over NHS The Independent

Self-isolation to be eased for fully vaccinated adults in step 4

Self-isolation to be eased for fully vaccinated adults in step 4 From 16 August, double jabbed individuals and under 18s will no longer need to self-isolate if they are identified as a close contact of someone with COVID-19. Department of Health and Social Care

See also:

• Statement to Parliament: Update to Parliament on self-isolation rules Department of Health and Social Care
• Statement to Parliament: Update on the pandemic and the roadmap to freedom Department of Health and Social Care

Government must clearly communicate Covid rule changes, say psychologists

Government must clearly communicate Covid rule changes, say psychologists If the public is to feel confident about the easing of Covid rules, then governments must explain clearly why the restrictions are no longer necessary, psychologists have said.

Using nuanced language, acknowledging uncertainty and being empathetic are important, their research suggested. BBC News

See also:

• Pfizer and Moderna Covid vaccines work against 'more lethal and infectious' Lambda variant The Daily Mail
• Survivors of severe COVID-19 are twice as likely to be hospitalized with another condition The Daily Mail
• Britain's daily Covid hospital admissions breach 400 for first time since MARCH The Daily Mail
• Care home deaths fall to lowest level since Covid pandemic began, weekly figures show The Daily Mail
• Why ministers stuck to 19 July for lifting England’s Covid rules The Guardian
• What are the risks of England unlocking in the Covid third wave? The Guardian
• Data predicts 2m UK summer Covid cases with 10m isolating The Guardian
• Lambda variant: What is the new strain of Covid detected in the UK? The Independent
• What are the Covid-19 symptoms for people who are fully vaccinated? The Independent
• Covid cases surge after lockdown rules ease could still put pressure on NHS, says Neil Ferguson iNews

NHS backlog is 'shocking', says Sajid Javid, as he commits to tackling waiting lists

NHS backlog is 'shocking', says Sajid Javid, as he commits to tackling waiting lists The scale of the NHS backlog is “shocking” Sajid Javid, the new Health Secretary, has said, as he warned “I can’t just be thinking about Covid alone”. The Daily Telegraph

Over 160,000 Brits left in agony needing joint replacements saw surgery delayed because of Covid

Over 160,000 Brits left in agony needing joint replacements saw surgery delayed because of Covid At least 160,000 hip and knee replacement operations have been delayed because of Covid, researchers say.

Bristol University academics fear it may take the NHS more than 10 years to clear the coronavirus-fuelled backlog. 

In order to get a grip on the crisis, they say special operating centres running seven days a week are needed. Health chiefs should also consider asking retired surgeons to help. The Daily Mail

See also:

• Effects of COVID-19 pandemic on hip and knee joint replacement surgery in 2020 as demonstrated by data from the NJR ISSUU