Full schedule of three-month roadworks starting soon in busy Northampton roads

Full schedule of three-month roadworks starting soon in busy Northampton roads The carriageway widening and junction improvement works in Cliftonville Road, from Nurseries to Bedford Road, will start on August 23 until November 26, where there will be a temporary prohibition of traffic. Northampton Chronicle and Echo 

NHS trusts face unfunded spending pressures of £5bn in coming year

NHS trusts face unfunded spending pressures of £5bn in coming year Nuffield Trust analysis provided to the Observer, drawn from forthcoming research, shows that NHS trusts in England are on course to spend almost £5bn more next financial year than was anticipated when Theresa May set its funding levels in 2018. The calculation is based on projecting costs and efficiency using figures published by the health service. 

Could NHS waiting lists really reach 13 million?

Could NHS waiting lists really reach 13 million? Since the start of the pandemic, the number of people waiting for NHS treatment in England has grown by a fifth. 5.3 million people were waiting for treatment in May 2021, up from 4.4 million in February 2020. There has been a particularly sharp increase in the number of people waiting for longer than a year, causing widespread concern over the scale of the NHS ‘backlog’. Institute for Fiscal Studies

See also: 

• NHS waiting lists could rise to 14 million in England next year - analysis BBC News
• NHS England waiting list could soar to FOURTEEN MILLION by autumn 2022 The Daily Mail
• Private hospital groups set to profit from massive NHS backlog in wave of new deals iNews
• England's NHS waiting list could top 14 million by next autumn, report warns Sky News

Pandemic backlog of heart care could take 'up to five years' to recover

Pandemic backlog of heart care could take 'up to five years' to recover Waiting lists for life saving heart diagnosis and treatment could more than double within two years in England due to the pandemic, our new report has warned.

We estimate that the number of people anxiously waiting for heart care and diagnosis could peak at around 550,385 in January 2024 if the NHS in England doesn’t get enough investment and is under increased pressure from Covid-19 or a bad winter. British Heart Foundation

See also: 

• Heart surgery waits in England may rise by 40%, warns charity BBC News
• NHS England delays could lead to thousands of deaths, says heart charity The Guardian

Further Covid lockdowns in UK are now unlikely, says Neil Ferguson

Further Covid lockdowns in UK are now unlikely, says Neil Ferguson Prof Neil Ferguson, the epidemiologist whose initial modelling helped shape Britain’s coronavirus response, has said future lockdowns are unlikely to be needed to control the spread of the disease in the UK.

However, the government scientific adviser warned that Covid case numbers could rise again and his prediction could change if the virus “changes substantially”. The Guardian

See also:

• Covid: Man, 23, 'thought body could brush off virus' BBC News
• Is the coronavirus pandemic over at last? BBC Scotland
• Colombian variant may partially evade Covid vaccines just like Beta, health chiefs warn The Daily Mail
• Poorest Britons are almost three times more likely not to have had their Covid jab than the richest The Daily Mail
• Ethnic minorities now make up a higher proportion of Covid deaths than ever before The Daily Mail
• Fully-vaccinated people who catch Delta Covid strain may be JUST as infectious as the unjabbed The Daily Mail
• Covid patients reunited with the medics who saved them The Guardian
• JCVI ‘largely opposed’ to Covid vaccination for children under 16 The Guardian

The next battle for the NHS: Sajid Javid v Rishi Sunak

The next battle for the NHS: Sajid Javid v Rishi Sunak With soaring waiting lists and an exhausted workforce, billions are needed to avoid a crisis. Will the health secretary persuade a hard-nosed chancellor to fund the health service?

It has taken a combination of sheer grit, creativity and the adoption of some unprecedented emergency measures unthinkable at the start of last year. After 18 months of dealing with the pandemic’s ravages, there are now hopes that the NHS, perhaps Britain’s most revered and beloved of institutions, has managed to withstand the worst of the Covid onslaught. Yet although cases remain at far lower levels than some feared they would this summer, frontline staff fear the service faces a troubling diagnosis. The Guardian 

Fears over patient safety amid plans to ‘water down’ training for nurses

Fears over patient safety amid plans to ‘water down’ training for nurses Plans to simplify specialist nurse training across the UK pose “huge risks” to patient safety, health leaders have warned.

Nursing leaders are united in opposition against proposals by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) to ostensibly simplify the qualification process.

They warn the watchdog is moving away from its core function – to protect the public – with a “reductionist” approach to the training of nurses working with the most at-risk groups. The Independent 

Wrong bodies released by NHS mortuaries dozens of times

Wrong bodies released by NHS mortuaries dozens of times There have been more than 530 serious incidents where NHS trusts have released the wrong body to families or lost, damaged or kept the organs or bodies of babies without family permission, new figures reveal.

Data on serious incidents within NHS mortuaries shows there were 55 cases where mortuary staff handed over the wrong body since 2017. The Independent 

Transit vans will be turned into electric ambulances to slash NHS' carbon footprint and fuel bills

Transit vans will be turned into electric ambulances to slash NHS' carbon footprint and fuel bills NHS bosses are working with Ford to convert their transit van into a double-crewed electric emergency vehicle as the NHS launches its bid to be the first service in the world to be net zero by 2040. The Daily Mail 

Kettering's Sarah immortalised with new Barbie doll

Kettering's Sarah immortalised with new Barbie doll When Kettering' s Sarah Gilbert began work on a Covid-19 vaccine, one of the last things she thought she would be doing 18 months later was holding a Barbie doll of herself. Northamptonshire Telegraph

See also:

• Barbie of Oxford Covid vaccine designer Dame Sarah Gilbert created BBC Northampton

Wizards of Oz? What the UK can learn from Australia’s healthcare system

Wizards of Oz? What the UK can learn from Australia’s healthcare system This report compares and contrasts the Australian healthcare system with the NHS, with particular focus on outcomes. Australia and the UK had very similar healthcare models until the late 1940s, when they diverged. The UK created the NHS; Australia implemented gradual reforms, leading to a multi-layered hybrid system. Institute of Economic Affairs

It’s not just about the front door of the hospital: lessons from the medical generalism in smaller hospitals study

It’s not just about the front door of the hospital: lessons from the medical generalism in smaller hospitals study With it argued that current models of hospital care may not be best for the rising number of NHS patients who are older or with multiple conditions, could a revival of medical generalism be the way forward? Louella Vaughan describes 12 important lessons from a study looking at models of generalist and specialist care in smaller hospitals in England. Nuffield Trust

A qualified success: a personal reflection on the passing of Public Health England

A qualified success: a personal reflection on the passing of Public Health England On 1 October Public Health England will cease to be, its functions largely subsumed into the United Kingdom Health Security Agency and the Office for Health Promotion, with some more clinical work going to NHS England. But did it deserve to go? The King's Fund 

Extra places on medical and dentistry courses for 2021

Extra places on medical and dentistry courses for 2021 Medical and dentistry schools across England will get additional funding to expand courses for the coming academic year to fulfil more offers for UK students who achieve the required grades.

In response to this year’s unprecedented situation the Government has adjusted the cap on medical and dentistry places so that more students than ever will have the opportunity to study on these courses in 2021, and in the long term help boost our future NHS workforce. Department of Health and Social Care

Nightlife industry joins COVID-19 vaccine push for young people

Nightlife industry joins COVID-19 vaccine push for young people Leading figures of the nightlife industry – including venues Ministry of Sound and Heaven – have joined the national effort to get the country vaccinated as they urge young people to get a COVID-19 vaccine. Department of Health and Social Care

See also:

• New NHS chief urges young people to get jabbed NHS England
• Research: COVID-19 vaccine surveillance reports Public Health England
• Official Statistics: National flu and COVID-19 surveillance reports: 2021 to 2022 season Public Health England

Prevalence of ongoing symptoms following coronavirus (COVID-19) infection in the UK: 5 August 2021

Prevalence of ongoing symptoms following coronavirus (COVID-19) infection in the UK: 5 August 2021 An estimated 945,000 people living in private households in the UK (1.46% of the population) were experiencing self-reported "long COVID" (symptoms persisting for more than four weeks after the first suspected coronavirus (COVID-19) infection that were not explained by something else), at 4 July 2021. Office for National Statistics

See also: 

• Almost 400,000 Brits have had 'long Covid' for over a year, official figures suggest The Daily Mail
• 34,000 children in UK suffering from long Covid, ONS survey suggests The Independent

UK faces difficult choices on future Covid vaccination strategy

UK faces difficult choices on future Covid vaccination strategy Analysis: should vaccines be used for children and booster shots or go toward the global effort to save lives?

The UK’s Covid vaccination programme has been an astonishing effort. To date almost 89% of adults have received their first dose and just over 73% have had their second.

And the programme is set to expand. Children over the age of 12 who are extremely vulnerable or live with someone at risk are already offered the jab, but this week the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) recommended that 16 and 17-year-olds should also be offered their first dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech jab. Booster shots are also expected to be rolled out later this year to the most vulnerable. The Guardian

See also: 

• Covid vaccine: Needle-phobic call for vaccine exemption BBC News
• Drug used to treat high cholesterol can reduce number of COVID-19-infected cells by up to 70% The Daily Mail
• Britain's daily Covid cases fall by just 3% in a week as curve begins to flatten out The Daily Mail
• Moderna says its COVID-19 vaccine is 93% effective after six months The Daily Mail
• Forbid NHS staff who refuse Covid vaccine from treating patients, says Sage adviser The Daily Telegraph
• Failing to wear a face mask on Tube should be a criminal offence, says Sadiq Khan The Daily Telegraph
• UK doctors alarmed at ‘shambolic’ rollout of Covid jabs for children The Guardian

Intensive care units face ‘grim’ situation despite fall in Covid cases

Intensive care units face ‘grim’ situation despite fall in Covid cases Hospital intensive care units remain under substantial pressure despite a fall in Covid cases, the president of the Intensive Care Society has warned, as more NHS trusts cancel operations across England.

Stephen Webb, a consultant in intensive care and deputy medical director at the Royal Papworth Hospital Trust, told The Independent many ICUs were facing a “grim” situation despite the dramatic drop in infections in recent weeks. The Independent

Pfizer and Flynn accused of overcharging NHS for anti-epilepsy drugs

Pfizer and Flynn accused of overcharging NHS for anti-epilepsy drugs Pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and Flynn have been accused by the UK’s competition watchdog of illegally overcharging the NHS for vital anti-epilepsy drugs by abusing their dominance in the market to raise prices overnight.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has confirmed its 2016 finding that the pair exploited a loophole to charge unfairly high prices for phenytoin sodium capsules by debranding the drug, known as Epanutin, in 2012 so it would not face price regulation. The Guardian 

Women in public health: The NHS, fighting COVID-19 and the 'slow pandemic'

Women in public health: The NHS, fighting COVID-19 and the 'slow pandemic' From health workers on the frontline to those behind treatments and vaccines, female figures have played a key role in the fight against the virus - but it doesn't stop there.

On the Sky News Daily podcast with Dermot Murnaghan, we are joined by the former chief medical officer for England Dame Sally Davies and infectious disease expert, Professor Wendy Barclay from Imperial College London.