Nurses strike: A&E and cancer staff could join further walkouts

Nurses strike: A&E and cancer staff could join further walkouts Nurses from A&E, intensive care and cancer wards could join fresh strikes in England, as a major nursing union considers escalating its pay dispute.

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) wants higher wages, but ministers argue that pay is set by an independent body.

The union is considering a continuous 48-hour strike, which could begin in weeks.

However, under union law staff would need to meet minimum legal levels of care. BBC News

See also:

• NHS nurses' strike action in England set to intensify Evening Standard
• Nurses set to withdraw from A&E and intensive care units as strike intensifies The Guardian
• NHS A&E and cancer nurses set to join ‘most disruptive’ strikes yet The Independent
• NHS leaders urge Health Secretary to discuss pay to avoid 'alarming' escalation in nurses' strikes ITV News
• RCN set to announce all-out and 48-hour strike action Nursing Notes
• A&E, intensive care and cancer nurses could soon join colleagues on the picket line Sky News

Northumberland hospitals test drone flights for medical supplies

Northumberland hospitals test drone flights for medical supplies An NHS trust is to use drones as a way of transporting clinical supplies between hospitals at up to 70mph.

The drone will be used to carry blood samples, chemotherapy drugs, equipment and mail between Northumberland hospitals for the next four months.

Initially there will be six flights per day, increasing to about 15 in May. BBC News

Failure to root out abusers in ambulance service leaves vulnerable patients at risk, watchdog warns

Failure to root out abusers in ambulance service leaves vulnerable patients at risk, watchdog warns Emergency patients are being left open to abuse when they are at their most vulnerable because of a lack of vetting of ambulance workers, watchdog officials have warned.

One watchdog official warned that abusers would even seek out work as a paramedic because it provided an “attractive environment” for exploitation. The Independent

First UK patient fitted with heart failure sensor the size of a pen lid

First UK patient fitted with heart failure sensor the size of a pen lid The innovative technology, which is implanted during a simple 45-minute procedure, will enable more rapid interventions, helping keep people well for longer and avoiding hospital admissions that cost billions of pounds every year. Sky News

NHS consultants run private firms charging to cut waiting lists at their own hospitals

NHS consultants run private firms charging to cut waiting lists at their own hospitals Some of the country’s most senior NHS clinicians are earning a lucrative side-line running private firms that offer to cut waiting lists at their own hospitals, the Observer can reveal.

Top consultants in Manchester, Sheffield and London are among directors of “insourcing” agencies that charge the health service to treat patients at weekends and evenings and have won millions of pounds of work.

See also:

• NHS consultants charge hospitals they work at through their own private companies The Daily Mail 

How a new treatment for diabetes offers hope for millions | podcast

How a new treatment for diabetes offers hope for millions | podcast The development of an ‘artificial pancreas’ could revolutionise the daily lives of people living with type 1 diabetes. Now the technology could be made available to more than 100,000 people in the UK on the NHS. The Guardian

More than 84,000 babies missed health checks within two weeks of birth

More than 84,000 babies missed health checks within two weeks of birth More than 84,000 babies missed out on health visitor checks in the first two weeks of life last year, data shows.

Figures from the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities reveal a drop in the proportion of newborns visited on time, from 88 per cent in 2020/21 to 83 per cent in 2021/22. The Daily Mail

See also:

• Health visitor service delivery metrics experimental statistics: quarterly data for 2022 to 2023 Office for Health Improvement and Disparities
• More than 84,000 newborn babies ‘missed out’ on health visitor checks The Independent

New figures show the number of areas with more than 2,000 patients per GP has almost DOUBLED

New figures show the number of areas with more than 2,000 patients per GP has almost DOUBLED The number of areas with more than 2,000 patients per GP has almost doubled over six years, analysis reveals.

Some 92 of 106 health districts in England now have more than 2,000 patients per fully qualified GP – up 80 per cent from 51 areas in 2016.

On average across England, there are now 2,273 patients per fully qualified GP – an increase from 1,981 in 2016. The rise means patients face longer waits for appointments, and experience a weaker bond with their doctor. The Daily Mail

Bird flu warning as top experts say world is 'nowhere near' ready for inevitable pandemic

Bird flu warning as top experts say world is 'nowhere near' ready for inevitable pandemic The world is 'nowhere near ready' for another pandemic, experts have warned amid mounting fears over an 'unprecedented' wave of bird flu sweeping the planet. 

Cases of the killer H5N1 strain have already jumped from birds to mammals.

It has sparked huge concern among top virologists that the deadly pathogen is now one step closer to spreading in humans — a hurdle which has so far stopped it from triggering a pandemic. The Daily Mail

See also:

• Bird flu (avian influenza): latest situation in England DEFRA and Animal and Plant Health Agency
• The influenza imperative: we must prepare now for seasonal and pandemic influenza (open access) The Lancet Microbe
• Be warned: the next deadly pandemic is not inevitable, but all the elements are in place The Guardian
• Bird flu: Expert calls for work to start on vaccine with risk to humans 'increasing' Sky News

Northamptonshire NHS Trusts team up with the University to highlight apprenticeship career routes

Northamptonshire NHS Trusts team up with the University to highlight apprenticeship career routes This National Apprenticeship Week (6th to 12th February) NHS Trusts in Northamptonshire, along with the University of Northampton, are showing their support by highlighting the apprenticeship opportunities within healthcare across the county. FE News

See also:

• Northampton hospital worker shares his apprenticeship story Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Join family event in Northamptonshire to celebrate autism pride

Join family event in Northamptonshire to celebrate autism pride People are invited to an event taking place in Northamptonshire celebrating Autism Pride.

Autism Pride Day takes place at Moulton Community Centre in the village of Moulton on Wednesday, March 29 from 10am to 2pm.

The event has been organised by Northamptonshire Autism Champion Network and the Autism Advisory Panel, with support from Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust. Northamptonshire Telegraph

NHS performance summary: January - February 2023

NHS performance summary: January - February 2023 Ambulance response times saw an improvement in January, with Category 2 incidents (such as stroke or heart attack) responded to over an hour quicker than in December, but still 14 minutes slower than the 18 minute target.

A&E waiting times improved in January with 28% of people waiting over 4 hours to be admitted, transferred or discharged – a 7.4 percentage point improvement on December but still far from reaching March 2024’s objective of 24%.

The waiting list for planned hospital care grew slightly in December to 7.2 million, where it has fluctuated for the last three months. Nuffield Trust

See also:

• Combined Performance Summary NHS England
• Urgent and Emergency Care Daily Situation Reports 2022-23 NHS England
• NHS figures show a service under severe strain, despite some improvements The Health Foundation
• 'Not yet out of the woods' - The King's Fund responds to latest monthly NHS performance data The King's Fund
• NHS Confederation responds to the latest performance statistics and winter situation report NHS Confederation
• Ambulance response times improve in face of ongoing winter pressures NHS England
• New figures show persistently high demand as 18-month waits rise NHS Providers
• Improvement in urgent care performance but significant challenges remain to bring down waiting times Nuffield Trust
• RCP responds to the latest NHS performance stats Royal College of Physicians
• ‘Intolerable situation in NHS will not be overcome without a people recovery’ The Society for Acute Medicine
• Ambulance response times improve by one hour BBC News
• NHS A&E waiting times show signs of improvement but it's not all good news ITV News

Access to care: reducing health inequalities for people living with sickle cell

Access to care: reducing health inequalities for people living with sickle cell Imagine you have a disease that leaves you in severe pain, and frequently means you need emergency strong opioid pain relief. But your condition is rare, and A&E staff often have very limited knowledge of your condition. And on top of that you’re black, and staff assume you’re drug seeking, and this happens over and over again. This is just one of the ways people with sickle cell disorder face discrimination when trying to access health care. Is it any wonder you’d rather avoid the health and care service than have substandard care and/or face stigmatisation?  The King's Fund

Innovation is being squeezed out of the NHS

Innovation is being squeezed out of the NHS The crisis in health and social care, alongside political pressure on waiting times, has spawned a scramble for new ideas and innovations that can help ‘save the NHS’. Yet there’s no escaping the fact that turning things around will require a sustained period of investment, and action to address staff shortages.

But while there are no quick fixes, there are things that could be done right now to make a difference. And although innovation remains important, many of the steps that could make a difference in the short term are in fact well known – such as better use of existing technology, or process improvements to speed up hospital discharge and improve patient flow. The challenge is that with staff and services stretched to the limit, many organisations are struggling to put these kinds of changes in place and achieve the impact needed. The Health Foundation

Reducing did not attends (DNAs) in outpatient services

Reducing did not attends (DNAs) in outpatient services This national guidance covers how providers can effectively reduce their DNA rates to release capacity for elective recovery and improve patient experience. NHS England

Norovirus cases increase significantly in England

Norovirus cases increase significantly in England National surveillance data shows laboratory reports of the virus are 66% higher than the average at this time of year. The biggest increase in laboratory confirmed norovirus has been seen in the group of those aged 65 years and over. While high numbers of cases in this age group is expected at this time of year, these levels haven’t been seen in over a decade. UK Health Security Agency

National flu and COVID-19 surveillance reports published

National flu and COVID-19 surveillance reports published Weekly national influenza and coronavirus (COVID-19) report, COVID-19 activity, seasonal flu and other seasonal respiratory illnesses. UK Health Security Agency

Is Heatherwood Hospital a model for the future of the NHS?

Is Heatherwood Hospital a model for the future of the NHS? It is a specialist elective hub where patients can come in for routine but life-changing surgery at a super-charged pace with theatres working at full tilt, six days a week. Sky News

Mental health sick days for NHS staff surge – and cost more than £460m in a year

Mental health sick days for NHS staff surge – and cost more than £460m in a year Mental health sick days cost the NHS almost half a billion pounds as staff anxiety and stress levels haved skyrocketed.

Costs have almost doubled compared to before the pandemic from £279 million to £468 million. The Independent

Children in mental health crisis spent more than 900,000 hours in A&E in England

Children in mental health crisis spent more than 900,000 hours in A&E in England Children suffering mental health crises spent more than 900,000 hours in A&E in England last year seeking urgent and potentially life-saving help, NHS figures reveal.

Experts said the huge amount of time under-18s with mental health issues were spending in A&E was “simply astounding” and showed that NHS services for that vulnerable age group were inadequate. The Guardian

See also:

• ‘Waiting is damaging’: how NHS England fails young mental health patients The Guardian