Collaborating on the wider determinants of health The Health Foundation’s COVID-19 impact inquiry highlighted how deep-rooted issues – poor health, financial insecurity and strained public services – left the UK more vulnerable to the health and economic impacts of the pandemic. I am struck by how clearly COVID-19 has amplified the stark health inequalities within our society, underlining the need to look beyond health care and improve the many wider determinants of health – from welfare and housing to employment and transport.
Wednesday, 19 January 2022
CQC Insight: Issue 15
CQC Insight: Issue 15 This report looks at the data on staff vacancies in care homes, and the quality of ethnicity data recording for mental health services. Care Quality Commission
Covid: Boris Johnson expected to ease England's Plan B measures
Covid: Boris Johnson expected to ease England's Plan B measures Boris Johnson is expected to announce an easing of England's Covid rules when he makes a statement on Plan B later.
The cabinet will review the latest data before Mr Johnson addresses Parliament in the afternoon.
A government spokeswoman said the decision was "finely balanced" but the latest data was "encouraging", with cases falling since early January. BBC News
See also:
- Covid: WHO warns pandemic not over amid Europe case records BBC News
- Hong Kong to cull 2,000 hamsters and small mammals over Covid case BBC News
- Government should 'pause' mandatory vaccination of NHS staff, says RCN Channel 4 News
- Covid: 52000 unvaccinated NHS staff in England at risk of losing jobs Channel 4 News
- A QUARTER of all Covid 'deaths' are now patients who died WITH the virus The Daily Mail
- Pfizer's antiviral Covid pill shows effectiveness against the Omicron variant in lab tests The Daily Mail
- Health department warning over vaccine mandate for NHS staff in England The Guardian
- More than 900 Covid deaths recorded in England and Wales in first week of January The Guardian
- ‘I put my arms around her’: doctor’s story captures anger at No 10 parties The Guardian
- Government wins appeal over contract for firm linked to Dominic Cummings The Guardian
- How has Boris Johnson responded to claims of Covid rule-busting parties? The Independent
- When does the NHS vaccine mandate start? The rules on staff Covid jabs explained and how many are unvaccinated iNews
- Downing Street parties: NHS nurse tells of wards like ‘battlefields’ as Dominic Raab defends No 10 iNews
Depression rise at Christmas linked to stress over Covid
Depression rise at Christmas linked to stress over Covid Feelings of depression and anxiety rose sharply over Christmas, especially in young people, according to a survey led by University College London (UCL).
Despite fewer restrictions than last Christmas, many still said they were worried about high levels of Covid-19 and the risk to friends and family.
Happiness and life satisfaction also dipped in people of all ages. BBC News
See also:
- Covid-19 Social Study: Results Release 42 University College London
Should bad science be taken off social media?
Should bad science be taken off social media? How do you solve a problem like bad information?
When it comes to understanding science and making health decisions, it can have life-or-death consequences.
People dissuaded from taking vaccines as a result of reading misleading information online have ended up in hospital or even died. BBC News
When it comes to understanding science and making health decisions, it can have life-or-death consequences.
People dissuaded from taking vaccines as a result of reading misleading information online have ended up in hospital or even died. BBC News
See also:
- The online information environment The Royal Society
- How misinformation affected the perception of vaccines in the 20th century based on the examples of the polio, pertussis and MMR vaccines (literature review) The Royal Society
- Harmful misinformation shared online should NOT be removed because it could 'exacerbate feelings of distrust', experts warn The Daily Mail
NHS hospitals given fresh warning over 'vulnerable' blood stocks
NHS hospitals given fresh warning over 'vulnerable' blood stocks Hospitals in England have been sent a fresh warning over national blood stocks and urgently need donations of a rare blood type, The Independent has learnt.
Waiting six hours in A&E before being admitted can raise your risk of dying, study warns
Waiting six hours in A&E before being admitted can raise your risk of dying, study warns Waiting at least six hours in A&E before being admitted to hospital can raise your risk of dying by almost 10 per cent, a damning report suggests.
NHS targets state 95 per cent of patients should be seen within four hours when they attend casualty units. However, the health service has continually failed to meet its goal. The Daily Mail
See also:
- Association between delays to patient admission from the emergency department and all-cause 30-day mortality (open access) Emergency Medicine Journal
- Doctors warn hospitals ‘not coping’ as study links A&E waits to deaths The Independent
Incoming NHS England chair Richard Meddings admits he has used private healthcare
Incoming NHS England chair Richard Meddings admits he has used private healthcare Former banker Richard Medding, 63 - who is Sajid Javid's pick to chair the NHS - revealed he chose to use private health care 'late last year' when being treated for deep vein thrombosis. The Daily Mail
See also:
Tuesday, 18 January 2022
Addressing vaccine hesitancy in different ethnic communities
Addressing vaccine hesitancy in different ethnic communities Cheshire and Merseyside Health and Care Partnership used insight gained from a four-stage programme to understand the impact that COVID 19 was having on ethnic minority communities, and work with the different communities to understand the causes of the vaccine hesitancy. This programme of work, which entailed partnership working between multiple agencies as well as with the various communities, led to a significant increase in vaccine uptake in just four months. NHS Confederation
NHS 111 mental health triage service
NHS 111 mental health triage service NHS Hampshire, Southampton and Isle of Wight Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), worked with partners, including people with lived experience, to develop a seamless, single point of access to mental health crisis support using mental health nurses working in NHS 111. The new service provides easy access to support for patients, takes pressure off the rest of the system by reducing attendance at A&E, and enables people to get mental health support before a problem becomes a crisis. NHS Confederation
Specialist mental health unit failures exposed by patients
Specialist mental health unit failures exposed by patients There are serious concerns over the standards of specialist care being provided to patients with the most complex mental health needs, a BBC investigation has found.
Patients sent by the NHS to stay in mental health rehabilitation units say they have been placed in unsafe environments, often far from home, with untrained staff. BBC News
Self-harm guidance to include advice for schools and prisons
Self-harm guidance to include advice for schools and prisons Staff in schools and prisons in England and Wales are for the first time to be included in draft guidance on how to identify people who have self-harmed.
The experts behind it said everyone was responsible for tackling the growing problem of self-harm - not just mental health professionals. BBC News
See also:
NHS pilots genetic testing to predict risk of heart disease
NHS pilots genetic testing to predict risk of heart disease A world-first pilot of predictive genetic testing aiming to identify those at high risk of cardiovascular disease is under way in GP surgeries in the north of England.
The NHS pilot, called Heart, is offering genetic tests to 1,000 healthy volunteers aged between 45 and 64 years old to give more accurate predictions for their risk of heart disease and stroke. The Guardian
One in four NHS doctors tired to the point of impairment, survey finds
One in four NHS doctors tired to the point of impairment, survey finds One in four doctors in the NHS are so tired that their ability to treat patients has become impaired, according to the first survey to reveal the impact of sleep deprivation on medics during the coronavirus pandemic. The Guardian
See also:
7000 doctors and nurses may quit NHS by March unless pension penalties are suspended
7000 doctors and nurses may quit NHS by March unless pension penalties are suspended NHS staff may retire en masse come March as workers try to avoid pension penalties. Quilter has called for an extension of Covid rules for NHS workers who gave up retirement to help out throughout the pandemic. iNews
Sajid Javid plans 'academy school' style NHS revolution in bid to reduce hospital waiting times
Sajid Javid plans 'academy school' style NHS revolution in bid to reduce hospital waiting times The Health Secretary is planning to set up academy style hospitals to tackle post-pandemic waiting lists.
Under the re-organisation, Sajid Javid will give more freedom to well-run hospitals that manage to treat patients quickly.
But he will come down hard on failing NHS trusts in an attempt to deal with the 'huge' variation in performance across the health service. The Daily Mail
SAGE adviser hopes UK will have a 'flu-type' relationship with Covid by 2023
SAGE adviser hopes UK will have a 'flu-type' relationship with Covid by 2023 Britain could have a 'flu-type' relationship with Covid by the end of 2022, one of the Government's scientific advisers said today.
Dr Mike Tildesley, who sits on an influential modelling sub-group of SAGE, warned the country 'was not there yet' because hospitalisation levels from the virus are still 'relatively high'. The Daily Mail
See also:
- Covid: 'Fussy eaters' could have smell and taste disorder BBC News
- Retired GP broke Covid rules to hug bereaved woman at clinic BBC News
- Covid infection can cause debilitating brain condition that causes more damage than Alzheimer's The Daily Mail
- Covid outbreaks now shrinking in 96% of England's neighbourhoods The Daily Mail
- More than 80,000 unvaccinated NHS workers face the sack The Daily Mail
- Health chiefs extend shelf-life of Pfizer Covid vaccines by TWO WEEKS The Daily Mail
- Thousands of unvaccinated GP staff face dismissal notice from February GPonline
- Schools rejecting offers of air filters that limit Covid spread, say parents The Guardian
- Lords watchdog launches inquiry into Michelle Mone over ‘VIP lane’ contract The Guardian
- ‘Light at the end of the tunnel’ in fight against Covid in UK, says World Health Organisation The Independent
- About 12000 students to be deployed across NHS to tackle pandemic The Independent
- Tens of thousands have died at home without adequate care during pandemic, charity warns The Independent
Monday, 17 January 2022
Carry on testing! Health chief's plea as Northamptonshire's Covid cases fall for first time since October
Carry on testing! Health chief's plea as Northamptonshire's Covid cases fall for first time since October Northamptonshire health chief Lucy Wightman is warning people to beware of new rules about cutting short Covid-19 self-isolation.
Ministers announced this week that those who have tested positive can end their quarantine after just five days instead of ten — but only after TWO negative lateral flow tests (LFT). Northamptonshire Telegraph
See also:
- Major change to Covid self-isolation rules takes effect from today Northampton Chronicle and Echo
- ‘Encouraging’ signs Covid rules will lift this month as cases plateau Northampton Chronicle and Echo
- Covid booster jabs to be offered to 16 and 17 year-olds from Monday Northamptonshire Telegraph
- Corby cancer patient left without Covid antiviral drugs - despite being on high risk list Northamptonshire Telegraph
- Healthcare staff face sack without exit payments under Covid jab plans Northamptonshire Telegraph
A&E at Northampton and Kettering 32 percent busier than 12 months ago, according to official figures
A&E at Northampton and Kettering 32 percent busier than 12 months ago, according to official figures Fewer patients visited hospital A&E at Northamptonshire hospitals last month – but numbers were still nearly one-third higher than over the same period last year, figures reveal. Northampton Chronicle and Echo
Northamptonshire sees worrying drop in dentists doing NHS work
Northamptonshire sees worrying drop in dentists doing NHS work The number of NHS dentists practising in Northamptonshire fell by 8 per cent in 2021 amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
The county saw 27 fewer dentists last year than in 2020, with 332 practising in the county. Northants Live
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