KGH palliative care team shortlisted for top national award

KGH palliative care team shortlisted for top national award A Kettering General Hospital team which uses high-tech manikins for end-of-life care training is up for a top national award.

The hospital’s palliative care team has been shortlisted for a 2022 Nursing Times Award in the enhancing patient dignity category. Northamptonshire Telegraph

Policy paper: Our plan for patients

Policy paper: Our plan for patients Our plan for patients sets out our priorities for health and care, delivering across 4 key areas:

• ambulances
• backlogs
• care
• doctors and dentists

It includes common sense changes, delivering tangible benefits for patients. This means removing the barriers that get in the way of patient care, putting more information at the fingertips of patients and freeing up the time of clinicians to do what they do best: caring for patients. Department of Health and Social Care

See also: 

• Health and Social Care Secretary to set out new plan for patients and call on public to play a part in national endeavour Department of Health and Social Care
• Health Secretary’s NHS plan is little more than ‘rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic’ BMA
• Government must address workforce crisis Chartered Society of Physiotherapy
• Tiny fixes in the face of huge challenges for the NHS and patients The Health Foundation
• Does a new Prime Minister signal change in health and social care? (podcast) The Health Foundation
• Priorities recognise challenge of perilous winter for NHS and care services but there are no quick fixes Nuffield Trust
• 'We don't have enough nursing staff' Royal College of Nursing
• RCP responds to statement from the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Royal College of Physicians
• £500m funding to help hospitals discharge patients BBC News
• Backlash over NHS rescue 'plan': Ex-Health Sec Jeremy Hunt says service needs more staff NOT targets The Daily Mail
• Practices face two-week access target with 300 fewer GPs than last year GPonline
• What is in Thérèse Coffey’s new NHS plan? The Guardian
• The Guardian view on the NHS: A brutal winter is coming | Editorial The Guardian
• Coffey promises £500 million ‘down payment’ for social care over winter The Independent
• GP numbers fall again as NHS surgeries told they must see patients within two weeks iNews
• NHS facing 'most extreme winter crisis it has ever seen' Metro

Support for public sector organisations facing rising energy bills announced

Support for public sector organisations facing rising energy bills announced A new government Energy Bill Relief Scheme, will provide a discount on wholesale gas and electricity prices for all non-domestic customers. This includes the public sector, such as schools and hospitals, the voluntary sector and all UK businesses and is equivalent to the Energy Price Guarantee put in place for households. NHS Employers

The good childhood report 2022

The good childhood report 2022 This report aims to show the latest trends in children's well-being. This year’s report shows that around 1 in 16 children (6 per cent) aged 10 to 15 in the UK are unhappy with their lives, and almost 1 in 8 (12 per cent), an estimated 562,000 of 10-15 year olds, are unhappy with school. It finds that the current cost of living crisis is having a significant effect on families, with 85 per cent of parents and carers surveyed in 2022 saying they are concerned about how it will affect their families in the next year, especially as over a third of parents and carers reported they already struggled with costs of school trips and uniform over the last year. The Children's Society

Cancer-killing virus shows promise in patients

Cancer-killing virus shows promise in patients A new type of cancer therapy that uses a common virus to infect and destroy harmful cells is showing big promise in early human trials, say UK scientists.

One patient's cancer vanished, while others saw their tumours shrink.

The drug is a weakened form of the cold sore virus - herpes simplex - that has been modified to kill tumours. BBC News

Covid hospitalisations rise by nearly 20% in a week in England

Covid hospitalisations rise by nearly 20% in a week in England People urged to get a Covid booster jab if eligible and to stay at home if ill as number of positive tests and patients admitted to hospital on the rise

Coronavirus cases and hospitalisations are rising once again in England after declining since early July, data suggests, with experts warning people should stay at home if ill and get a Covid booster if eligible.

According to the latest figures on the government coronavirus dashboard, both the number of cases detected through mass community testing, and patients admitted to hospital with Covid have risen in the past seven days, suggesting the country could be facing a resurgence of the virus. The Guardian

See also: 

• National flu and COVID-19 surveillance reports published UK Health Security Agency
• Covid cases rise sharply after six-week decline, according to Zoe app Evening Standard
• One in six over-80s in England have had Covid autumn booster jab The Independent
• Nine Omicron symptoms affecting the fully vaccinated - and signs you may have it The Independent
• Covid may cause long-term brain injury, study finds The Independent
• Long-term neurologic outcomes of COVID-19 (open access) Nature Medicine

Sickle cell: NHS to investigate racial inequalities for first time

Sickle cell: NHS to investigate racial inequalities for first time Sickle cell patients’ experiences of barriers to treatment and racial inequalities will be investigated by an NHS body next month, The Independent has learned.

The NHS Race and Health Observatory has collaborated with Public Digital, a consultancy group, to lead original research into the experiences of people with sickle cell, including listening to NHS patients’ and carers’ first-hand accounts of acute emergency hospital admissions and managing the condition at home.