Northampton General Hospital infection control team win national environmental award for reducing waste

Northampton General Hospital infection control team win national environmental award for reducing waste The Infection Prevention and Control Team at Northampton General Hospital have won a national environmental award. The nine-strong team – which helps hospital staff to prevent infections and fight bugs such as Covid-19 and norovirus – have won the Best Waste Reduction Project in the national Investors in the Environment Awards 2022. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Northampton General Hospital reveals when 'urgently needed' heated cabin will be installed outside of its busy A&E department

Northampton General Hospital reveals when 'urgently needed' heated cabin will be installed outside of its busy A&E department Northampton General Hospital (NGH) has revealed when an ‘urgently needed’ heated cabin will be installed outside of its busy accident and emergency department.

The hospital has been using a white tent for months now as a waiting area for patients when the A&E department is over capacity - it was initially brought in to to protect patients from the sun during summer. This set up has led to patients, young and old, waiting outside in poor weather conditions for months now. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Rushden 999 rescuer given 14-hour wait time for ambulance as 80-year-old lay on icy pavement

 Rushden 999 rescuer given 14-hour wait time for ambulance as 80-year-old lay on icy pavement Rescuers coming to the aid of an 80-year-old man lying injured after slipping on an icy pavement say they were told there would be a 14-hour wait after their 999 call. Northamptonshire Telegraph

Cost of living: The healthcare ecosystem

Cost of living: The healthcare ecosystem This article explores how the rising cost of living has affected the UK healthcare ecosystem. Rising energy prices and food insecurity can lead to an increasingly ill population, while staff shortages and high hospital bills add pressure to the health system. In November 2022, the UK government announced an £8bn spending increase for health and adult social care, but some organisations have said it is not enough. House of Lords Library

See also:

• Nine in 10 GPs say cost-of-living crisis has destabilised practice finances GPonline

Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review: update report on government implementation

Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review: update report on government implementation This implementation report provides an update on the government’s progress to implement the 2021 government response to the 2020 Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review and improve patient safety. It sets out the steps the government is taking to implement the accepted strategic recommendations and actions for improvement and provides more detail on the government’s work on sodium valproate and pelvic mesh. Department of Health and Social Care

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Largest nursing strike in NHS history set to start

Largest nursing strike in NHS history set to start Nurses in England, Wales and Northern Ireland have started a nationwide strike in the largest action of its kind in NHS history.

Staff will continue to provide "life-preserving" and some urgent care but routine surgery and other planned treatment is likely to be disrupted.

The Royal College of Nursing said staff had been given no choice after ministers refused to reopen pay talks.

The UK government said the RCN's 19% pay rise demand was unaffordable. BBC News

See also:

• ‘We strike for the future of the NHS’: RCN strike action begins Royal College of Nursing
• How to support and show solidarity with your nursing colleagues BMA
• NHS tells patients to continue to access emergency care during industrial action NHS England
• NHS will keep patients safe despite nurses strike says NHS England Strategy Officer Channel 4 News
• STEVE BARCLAY: My priority is to keep people safe this winter  The Daily Mail
• Everything you need to know about today's NHS nurses strikes The Daily Mail
• Cancer care at risk as nurses strike: Health leaders warn of 'real concerns' for patients The Daily Mail
• NHS strikes: Rishi Sunak says millions will have healthcare disrupted by winter strikes The Daily Mail
• Nurses’ strikes could get worse, warn hospital bosses amid fears for end-of-life care The Daily Telegraph
• GMB withdraws from NHS pay process 'due to lack of independence from Government' Evening Standard
• BMA warns GPs against covering for NHS staff taking strike action GPonline
• Tens of thousands of nurses prepare to strike in ‘tragic first’ for NHS The Guardian
• Tens of thousands of UK nurses go on strike in first such industrial action in NHS history – live The Guardian
• We can’t cope anymore’: Desperate and without any other option, these are the NHS nurses driven to strike The Independent
• ‘Strong possibility’ of further nurses’ strikes in January, warns union leader The Independent
• Government to blame for ‘tragic’ NHS strike, says union boss as nurses start walkout The Independent
• Nurses strikes: What are the demands and what is the government offering? The Independent
• NHS nurses across the UK prepare to walk out on strike ITV News
• What are the salaries of workers going on strike in the UK? The New Statesman

Antibiotic supply gone from bad to worse, say pharmacists

Antibiotic supply gone from bad to worse, say pharmacists Pharmacists say supplies of key antibiotics to treat strep A have "gone from bad to worse" in the past week.

The Association of Independent Multiple Pharmacies (AIMP) said the situation was "unacceptable" and it was time for the government to get a plan in place.

Four antibiotics, which treat different conditions, have been added to a list of products that the UK cannot export. BBC News

33 hours on the frontline of the NHS – podcast

33 hours on the frontline of the NHS – podcast From GP surgeries to pharmacies to hospitals, there is no part of the NHS that is not feeling under enormous strain this winter. Thirty-three months after Covid was declared a pandemic, Andrew Gregory, the Guardian’s health editor, and his colleagues spent hours on the frontline of the NHS to find out how doctors, nurses, paramedics – and the patients they treat – were coping. The Guardian

See also:

• An open letter to the government from a concerned doctor The Independent

Cancer crisis reaches 'watershed moment', experts warn

Cancer crisis reaches 'watershed moment', experts warn Cancer care is at a 'watershed moment' as experts warn the upward trend in deaths is 'likely to continue'.

Leading oncologists and doctors have set out the desperate and urgent need for action to tackle the crisis engulfing UK cancer services. The Daily Mail

See also:

• UK cancer care: a watershed moment and the need for urgent intervention (abstract, but available through trust OpenAthens) The Lancet Oncology
• Treatment delays leave UK facing cancer emergency, doctors warn The Guardian

Northamptonshire hospitals under 'considerable pressure' with rising fears from parents around scarlet fever and Strep A infections

Northamptonshire hospitals under 'considerable pressure' with rising fears from parents around scarlet fever and Strep A infections Northamptonshire NHS Group has said both county hospitals are under “considerable pressure”, with rising fears about scarlet fever and Strep A infections among children.

It is understood that parents and guardians are struggling to get appointments with their GP for their child, and are turning to 111 and A&E to get assessed and the antibiotics needed. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

As nurses prepare to strike, one Kettering General Hospital sister tells why she's taking action

As nurses prepare to strike, one Kettering General Hospital sister tells why she's taking action 

As members of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) prepare to strike on Thursday (December 15), one nurse has explained why she is taking action.

Rebecca Prendergast, a deputy sister at Kettering General Hospital (KGH) says her colleagues are at ‘breaking point’. Northamptonshire Telegraph

NHS funding, resources and treatment volumes

NHS funding, resources and treatment volumes This report examines how NHS funding, resources and treatment volumes compare with pre-pandemic levels.

In this report, the second part of the three-part series, we dig deeper into the resources available to the NHS and how they are being used, looking beyond just the waiting list. We first examine how the funding, staffing and hospital beds available to the NHS have changed since 2019. We then show how the number of patients treated by the NHS in eight different areas compares with 2019 levels. For most areas of care, the NHS is still struggling to treat more people than it was pre-pandemic, despite having – on the face of it – additional staff and funding. We therefore go on to consider a range of different factors that could explain this seeming fall in performance and output. Institute for Fiscal Studies

See also:

• How Covid has dealt the NHS a lasting blow BBC News
• Fears pandemic has dealt 'lasting blow' to NHS as fewer patients treated now The Daily Telegraph

The NHS at 75: an opportunity to renew a vision the public holds dear

The NHS at 75: an opportunity to renew a vision the public holds dear The public is not falling out of love with the NHS in principle, despite experiencing the strains on the service in practice, as Dan Wellings has explored in his reflections on how public attitudes to health and care services are changing. The King's Fund

A clean bill of health for the economy: engaging business to address ill health in our shrinking workforce

A clean bill of health for the economy: engaging business to address ill health in our shrinking workforce The costs of ill health hit everyone’s pockets in a multitude of ways. The direct consequences for individuals are most obvious when it comes to income and health. People in the bottom 40% of the income distribution are almost twice as likely to report poor health than those in the top 20%. Lower income can be bad for your health: it can move good quality employment even further out of reach. Being in poor health can also make good quality work inaccessible and so restrict your income. The Health Foundation

GIRFT diagnostics delivery guide: a guide for systems in delivering effective diagnostic services to support elective recovery

GIRFT diagnostics delivery guide: a guide for systems in delivering effective diagnostic services to support elective recovery Aimed at NHS leaders and managers at regional, system and trust level, and clinicians, healthcare professionals and managers working in diagnostic services and clinical specialties, this delivery guide offers practical advice on steps for delivering a more effective service, as well as ways for primary care and acute services to free up diagnostic capacity by reducing unnecessary referrals. Getting It Right First Time

Global antimicrobial resistance and use surveillance system (‎GLASS)‎ report: 2022

Global antimicrobial resistance and use surveillance system (‎GLASS)‎ report: 2022 A new World Health Organization (WHO) report reveals high levels of resistance in bacteria, causing life-threatening bloodstream infections, as well as increasing resistance to treatment in several bacteria causing common infections in the community based on data reported by 87 countries in 2020. 

For the first time, the Global Antimicrobial Resistance and Use Surveillance System (GLASS) report provides analyses for antimicrobial resistance (AMR) rates in the context of national testing coverage, AMR trends since 2017, and data on antimicrobial consumption in humans in 27 countries. Within six years, GLASS achieved participation from 127 countries with 72% of the world’s population. The report includes an innovative interactive digital format to facilitate data extraction and graphics.

Guidance: Health and Social Care Act 2008: code of practice on the prevention and control of infections

Guidance: Health and Social Care Act 2008: code of practice on the prevention and control of infections This refreshed version of the code of practice replaces the edition published in 2015. It applies to NHS bodies and providers of independent healthcare and adult social care in England, including primary dental care, independent sector ambulance providers and primary medical care providers. Department of Health and Social Care

Cancer mRNA vaccine completes pivotal trial

Cancer mRNA vaccine completes pivotal trial Researchers say they have successfully completed a trial of a personalised cancer vaccine that uses the same messenger-RNA technology as Covid jabs.

The experimental vaccine, made by Moderna and MSD, is designed to prime the immune system to seek and destroy cancerous cells.

Doctors hope work such as this could lead to revolutionary new ways to fight skin, bowel and other types of cancer.

Moderna and MSD called it "a new paradigm" moment. BBC News

See also:

• Moderna and Merck announce mrna-4157/v940, an investigational personalized mrna cancer vaccine, in combination with keytruda(r) (pembrolizumab), met primary efficacy endpoint in phase 2b keynote-942 trial Moderna
• 'New paradigm' moment as mRNA cancer vaccine slashes risk of tumor relapse or death The Daily Mail
• Positive Moderna, Merck cancer vaccine data advances mRNA promise Reuters

NHS leaders warn patient lives will be put at risk by strikes as cancer services “hit hard”

NHS leaders warn patient lives will be put at risk by strikes as cancer services “hit hard” NHS leaders fear patients will come to harm as cancer services are “hit hard” by upcoming nurses’ strikes.

The NHS’s four chief nurses wrote to the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) general secretary Pat Cullen warning patients’ lives are at risk due to life-saving services not being protected when nurses walk out on Thursday. The Independent

See also:

• Physiotherapy staff in England and Wales vote Yes to strike action Chartered Society of Physiotherapy
• Managing industrial action - A guide for managers NHS Employers
• Nursing strike: fact check Royal College of Nursing
• Gulf between private and public sector pay 'compelling evidence' why government needs to negotiate Royal College of Nursing
• Welsh midwives vote to strike, but not in England BBC News
• NHS strikes: Nursing union putting patients at risk, UK's top nurses warn The Daily Mail
• Nurse union organising NHS strikes makes guide that tells members how to lobby patients for support The Daily Mail
• Now the PHYSIOS say they'll strike! The Daily Mail
• Midwives in Wales vote to strike - but not in England The Daily Telegraph
• Nursing community conflicted on eve of NHS strikes Evening Standard
• Military has just 40 paramedics qualified to work in NHS Evening Standard
• NHS bosses ask GPs to cover for striking ambulance workers GPonline
• Physiotherapists in England and Wales vote to strike in latest row over pay ITV News

‘Like a horrific board game’: 33 hours inside an NHS in crisis

‘Like a horrific board game’: 33 hours inside an NHS in crisis Crammed wards, burnt-out GPs, patients waiting hours for ambulances – the health service is at breaking point

Inside the dimly lit command centre at King’s College hospital, staff arriving for the first beds meeting of the day are greeted with a warning: the hospital is already under strain. “So, we are under pressure this morning,” the head of nursing, Naomi Hosking, informs colleagues stood around her in a semi-circle. No one registers surprise. “We’ve got a lot of patients in ED [emergency department] with little space to see new patients, so we need to get some early movement.” The Guardian