Citizens do want their health data to be harnessed for innovation

Citizens do want their health data to be harnessed for innovation While there is a lack of trust in the government, Dr Layla McCay, NHS Confederation’s director of policy, argues that citizens are not opposed to having their data used for the purposes of innovation. Digital Health

Have your say on the future of Northamptonshire's hospital services

 Have your say on the future of Northamptonshire's hospital services Hospital chiefs will be listening to public views on the strategy of Northampton and Kettering hospitals at an online event in April.

University Hospitals of Northamptonshire NHS Group – which runs the two acute units – is collecting feedback on its group clinical strategy which will be re-shaping the way it delivers services. Northamptonshire Telegraph

NHS staff survey 2021

NHS staff survey 2021 Each autumn everyone who works in the NHS in England is invited to take part in the NHS Staff Survey. The survey offers a snapshot in time of how people experience their working lives, gathered at the same time each year. The results of the survey report of under-staffing and in the last year, nearly half of staff reported feeling unwell due to work related stress. The survey also asked questions regarding the changes to working life due to the Covid-19 pandemic as well as diversity and inclusion in the workforce and other topics. NHS Staff Surveys

See also:

• NHS staff survey signals urgent need for a workforce strategy The Health Foundation
• ‘Over-stretched teams working in an under-staffed health service’ The King's Fund
• Fall in staff morale a real cause for concern NHS Confederation
•  Exploring and analysing the results of the 2021 NHS Staff Survey NHS Employers
• 2021 NHS Staff Survey: making each voice count NHS England
• Staffing crisis jeopardising safe care, says RCN in response to NHS survey findings Royal College of Nursing
• NHS Staff Survey highlights a number of workforce trends National Health Executive
• Nursing staff are fed up with poor pay, feel burnt out, and are looking to leave Nursing Notes
• NHS staff survey: morale, pay satisfaction and wellbeing declining Personnel Today

Vulnerabilities: applying All Our Health

Vulnerabilities: applying All Our Health This guidance helps frontline health professionals, team leaders or managers, and senior or strategic leaders to prevent ill health and promote wellbeing as part of their everyday practice. It recommends important actions that managers and staff holding strategic roles can take. Office for Health Improvement and Disparities

Policy paper: From harm to hope: A 10-year drugs plan to cut crime and save lives

Policy paper: From harm to hope: A 10-year drugs plan to cut crime and save lives A 10-year plan to cut crime and save lives by reducing the supply and demand for drugs and delivering a high-quality treatment and recovery system. Department of Health and Social Care et al.

Lifechanging technology to be rolled out to all type 1 diabetes patients

Lifechanging technology to be rolled out to all type 1 diabetes patients Everyone living with type 1 diabetes will be eligible for lifechanging flash glucose monitors on the NHS, thanks to new guidance published today.

The NHS Long Term Plan has already helped almost three in five people with Type 1 diabetes to access the monitors that allow people to check their glucose levels more easily and regularly. NHS England

Shrewsbury maternity scandal: Sajid Javid promises 'swift' changes

Shrewsbury maternity scandal: Sajid Javid promises 'swift' changes Sweeping changes to maternity services in England are expected after a report laid bare catastrophic failures at an NHS trust that may have led to the deaths of more than 200 babies.

Over 20 years, errors at Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust led to babies being stillborn, dying after birth or being left severely brain damaged. BBC News

See also:

• Statement to Parliament: Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Ockenden Report Statement Department of Health and Social Care
• Shrewsbury and Telford maternity scandal: 'Grave concern' as new cases reported BBC News
• Ockenden Review: Mothers were blamed for their babies' deaths in Shrewsbury maternity scandal The Daily Telegraph
• ‘As an NHS midwife, the Shrewsbury baby deaths report didn’t surprise me’ The Guardian
• Baby deaths inquiry points to issues across England’s maternity services The Guardian
• Mothers were shamed and traumatised at Shrewsbury hospital. I was one of them The Guardian
• Shrewsbury maternity inquiry: ‘Cruelty beyond comprehension’ as mothers blamed for babies’ deaths The Independent
• Shrewsbury maternity scandal: Key findings from damning Ockenden inquiry report The Independent
• At least 201 babies and nine mothers died as a result of maternity failings at Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust, report finds Sky News

Covid: Can I catch Omicron twice?

Covid: Can I catch Omicron twice? In the early days of the pandemic, it was extremely rare to hear of people catching Covid twice.

That's not the case anymore, especially since the Omicron variant emerged in late November 2021. BBC News

See also:

• Covid: Last day of free tests in England fuels concern BBC News
• End of Scottish face mask rules delayed until Easter BBC News
• Sir Patrick Vallance admits UK needs lockdown handbook for future pandemics as cases rise The Daily Mail
• Ministers have learned NOTHING from Covid pandemic, warns ex-testing tsar The Daily Mail
• Covid cases fall again as Sir Patrick Vallance says latest wave has peaked The Daily Mail
• Johnson refuses to admit lockdown rules were broken in Downing Street The Guardian
• Charging for Covid tests in England just as infections surge? This is an act of national self-sabotage | Frances Ryan The Guardian
• Covid labs given two weeks notice ahead of cut to testing contract The Independent
• Minister begrudgingly admits Covid laws were broken - despite No 10’s refusal The Independent
• COVID-19: Billions of pounds of taxpayers' money still at risk as a result of government's handling of PPE contracts, spending watchdog warns Sky News

Warnings that 400,000 patients may miss out on early cancer alert because of NHS shortages

Warnings that 400,000 patients may miss out on early cancer alert because of NHS shortages More than 400,000 people could miss out on an early cancer diagnosis over the next ten years due to ‘persistent failures’ to address shortages in the NHS, charities warn today.

Patients in England face the ‘deeply worrying prospect’ of survival rates going backwards unless the lack of staff and equipment is addressed, the head of Cancer Research UK said. The Daily Mail

MPs vote down plan to scrap scheme allowing women to take full course of abortion pills at home

MPs vote down plan to scrap scheme allowing women to take full course of abortion pills at home Women can continue to have abortions at home after Government plans to end the scheme were defeated.

The 'pills by post' service was set up at the start of the pandemic so that women who were unable to see doctors in person could still access early medical abortions.

The telemedicine service, relating to termination in the first ten weeks of pregnancy, allows women to take both doses of abortion pills at home. The Daily Mail

Independent Review of maternity services at The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust

Independent Review of maternity services at The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust  The final report of the Independent Review of maternity services at The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust.

This report identifies more than 60 Local Actions for Learning for the Trust and another 15 key Immediate and Essential Actions to improve all maternity services in England, including financing a safe and sustainable maternity and neonatal workforce and ensuring training for the whole maternity team meets the needs of todays maternity services. We state that trust Boards must have oversight and understanding of their maternity services. Trust boards must ensure that they listen to and hear local families and their own staff. Ockenden Maternity Review

See also:

• Final report of the Independent Review of Maternity Services at The Shrewsbury and Telford  Hospital NHS Trust published (press release) Ockenden Maternity Review
• NHS Confederation responds to Ockenden review NHS Confederation
• RCM response to Ockenden review into maternity services at Shrewsbury and Telford Royal College of Midwives
• Dark day for maternity services as RCOG responds to the final Ockenden review Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists 
• Catastrophic failures led to mother and baby deaths BBC News
• Shrewsbury and Telford maternity scandal: 'Grave concern' as new cases reported BBC News
• Shrewsbury and Telford Trust: Better care might have saved over 200 babies BBC News
• Baby deaths inquiry: Shrewsbury NHS trust condemned for ‘repeated failures’ The Guardian
• Women and babies remain at risk of unsafe NHS care, experts warn The Guardian
• Shropshire baby deaths report: parents express relief and anger
• Shrewsbury maternity scandal: Hundreds of babies may have died in decades-long failings, report set to find The Independent
• Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust 'failed to investigate, failed to learn and failed to improve' says report Sky News
• Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust: Stories behind the worst maternity scandal in NHS history Sky News

Public satisfaction with the NHS and social care in 2021: Results from the British Social Attitudes survey

Public satisfaction with the NHS and social care in 2021: Results from the British Social Attitudes survey Analysis of NatCen's 2021 British Social Attitudes survey in a report by Nuffield Trust and The King's Fund shows a huge and unprecedented drop in public satisfaction with the NHS and its individual services, despite widespread support for the fundamental principles of the health service. So what's driving this change?

See also:

• Public satisfaction with the NHS falls to a 25-year low The King's Fund
• Public satisfaction with NHS drops to 25-year low BBC News
• Only four in 10 patients are satisfied with their GP services as study shows lowest approval rating The Daily Mail
• Satisfaction with GP services hits 40-year low as pandemic batters NHS GPonline
• Public satisfaction with NHS sinks to lowest level since 1997 The Guardian
• Public satisfaction with NHS at lowest point for 25 years, survey finds The Independent
• NHS public satisfaction at lowest level for 25 years, new survey finds Sky News

Shifting the Dial: evaluating a community programme to promote young Black men’s mental health

Shifting the Dial: evaluating a community programme to promote young Black men’s mental health Young Black men are overrepresented in restrictive mental health settings, but are less likely to get early community-based mental health support. This report shares learning from a three-year project to promote the mental health and wellbeing of young Black men in Birmingham. The project built upon the findings from CMH’s evaluation of an earlier pilot, Up My Street. Shifting the Dial has worked with more than 500 young Black men, offering peer support, mentoring, theatre productions, skills development and community events. Centre for Mental Health

2022 pre-election period: dos and don'ts for the NHS

2022 pre-election period: dos and don'ts for the NHS Our tips for NHS organisations' activities over the pre-election period ahead of elections across the UK in May 2022. NHS Confederation

Investigation into the management of PPE contracts

Investigation into the management of PPE contracts The Department of Health & Social Care (DHSC) continues to deal with the contract management issues caused by the need to purchase unprecedented volumes of PPE in 2020 due to COVID-19, with billions of pounds of taxpayers’ money still at risk, according to a report by the National Audit Office.

See also:

• 1.5bn unused PPE items in England have passed expiry date, says audit office The Guardian

Government sets out next steps for living with COVID

Government sets out next steps for living with COVID New guidance outlines free COVID-19 tests will continue to be available to help protect specific groups once free testing for the general public ends on 1 April. Department of Health and Social Care

Endometriosis: A hidden disease affecting one in 10 women

Endometriosis: A hidden disease affecting one in 10 women Endometriosis is a cruel and debilitating disease that affects one in 10 women globally of reproductive age.

Although it is common, many women are dismissed and continue life undiagnosed as the average wait for diagnosis is eight years. BBC News

Free parking for NHS staff introduced during pandemic to end this week

Free parking for NHS staff introduced during pandemic to end this week Free parking for NHS staff introduced during the Covid pandemic will end this week, the health secretary has said.

Parking fees were waived for NHS staff working in hospitals in England – but Sajid Javid said this would end on Friday.

Defending the move, he said over 93% of NHS trusts that charge for car parking have now “implemented free parking for those in greatest need, including NHS staff working overnight.” The Independent

See also:

• Guidance: NHS patient, visitor and staff car parking management Department of Health and Social Care
• Covid: Free parking for NHS hospital staff in England to end this week BBC News

Just 64% of people are now self-isolating after Freedom Day, data shows

Just 64% of people are now self-isolating after Freedom Day, data shows The number of people self-isolating after testing positive for Covid plummeted after Freedom Day in England, official data shows. 

Just 64 per cent of people with the disease said they stayed home and quarantined for at least five days between February 28 and March 8, according to the Office for National Statistics. The Daily Mail

See also:

• Coronavirus and self-isolation after testing positive in England: 28 February to 8 March 2022 Office for National Statistics
• Rules on free lateral flow and PCR Covid tests published BBC News
• Lateral flow tests will be scrapped for EVERYONE in England from Friday The Daily Mail
• PM yet to formally accept law broken despite Met fines over parties, No 10 says The Guardian
• From ‘herd immunity’ to today, Covid minimisers are still sabotaging our pandemic progress | William Hanage The Guardian
• COVID: Who can still get free lateral flow tests from this Friday? Sky News

Mobile phone users do not have an increased risk of brain tumours, new study finds

Mobile phone users do not have an increased risk of brain tumours, new study finds Regularly using a mobile phone does not boost your risk of brain tumours, a major study has concluded.

Despite becoming a staple of modern life, there have been long-standing fears our phones may emit cancer-causing radiation, often peddled by conspiracy theorists.

But research that tracked more than 400,000 Britons over a decade uncovered no link between regular mobile phone use and the prevalence of brain cancers. The Daily Mail

See also: 

• Cellular Telephone Use and the Risk of Brain Tumors: Update of the UK Million Women Study (open access) Journal of the National Cancer Institute