22 photos from glitzy Excellence Awards ceremony celebrating hard work at Kettering and Northampton General Hospitals

22 photos from glitzy Excellence Awards ceremony celebrating hard work at Kettering and Northampton General Hospitals Awards were held to celebrate the achievements of some of the staff, volunteers, and fundraisers, at Kettering and Northampton general hospitals.

The Excellence Awards 2023 received more than 450 nominations across 15 categories and were organised by the University Hospitals of Northamptonshire NHS Group. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Virtual wards: the lessons so far and future priorities

Virtual wards: the lessons so far and future priorities The expansion of virtual wards – which help patients to manage their health and care at home – is considered an important component of NHS planning for next winter. Following discussions with members of BT’s clinical advisory board and drawing on wider evidence and the latest policy developments, Rachel Hutchings and Nigel Edwards discuss the priority areas where further development and action could help improve virtual wards’ effectiveness. Nuffield Trust

Care delivery within community mental health teams

Care delivery within community mental health teams The purpose of this investigation was to support improvements in the work of community mental health teams (CMHTs).

Specifically, the investigation looked at the following four areas:

• assessing a patient’s risk of self-harm or suicide
• considering menopause as a risk factor for mental health conditions
• engaging with families
• caring for people with a first episode of psychosis.

The report uses, as an example, a real patient safety incident in which a woman died by suicide while under the care of a CMHT; this is referred to as ‘the reference event’ and was used to examine national issues. Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch

See also:

• NHS mental health services failing to consider impact of the the menopause on women, says watchdog The Daily Telegraph
• Watchdog calls for review of menopause link to poor mental health after woman’s suicide The Independent
• Mental health services failing to consider impact of menopause, putting women at risk of suicide Sky News

Falling employment and worsening health in the UK: connected or distinct trends?

Falling employment and worsening health in the UK: connected or distinct trends? Two concerning economic and social trends in the UK emerging from the covid-19 pandemic are the fall in employment of people aged 50 and over and the increase in sickness levels in the population. The drop in employment has not been caused by rising unemployment (when people are generally searching for work), but rather by rising “economic inactivity” (when they generally are not). Institute for Fiscal Studies

Public health annual report 2023: supporting communities in difficult times

Public health annual report 2023: supporting communities in difficult times This report reflects on the last year and focusses on how councils have responded to the rising cost of living. It also discusses a year of uncertainty about the direction of public health policy and how the approach to tackling health inequalities has blunted optimism. Despite these pressures, this report demonstrates that councils, the NHS and the voluntary and community sector have responded positively to the challenges and that, building on the experience of the pandemic, public health is at the forefront of each local response. Local Government Association

Research: Shooting Up: infections among people who inject drugs in the UK

Research: Shooting Up: infections among people who inject drugs in the UK This report describes the extent of infections and injecting-related harms among people who inject drugs (PWID) in the United Kingdom. UK Health Security Agency

Policy paper: Cyber security strategy for health and social care: 2023 to 2030

Policy paper: Cyber security strategy for health and social care: 2023 to 2030 How the government will work with health and adult social care organisations and the supply chain to achieve cyber resilience across the sector no later than 2030. Department of Health and Social Care

Self-harm hospital admissions up 22% for children aged eight to 17

Self-harm hospital admissions up 22% for children aged eight to 17 Self-harm hospital admissions for children aged eight to 17 in the UK jumped 22% in one year.

The age group is now the largest for self-harm admissions, with all others seeing a drop, according to NHS data.

Charities say early access to support is vital, but high thresholds and long waiting lists mean more young people are ending up in hospital.

The government said it was investing £2.3bn a year in NHS mental health services. BBC News

Man died of sepsis after being sent home from Milton Keynes Hospital A&E

Man died of sepsis after being sent home from Milton Keynes Hospital A&E A father-of-two died of sepsis three days after being sent home from A&E with antibiotics, an inquest heard.

Alex Blewitt, 48, died in July 2022 after suffering a cardiac arrest caused by a perforated bowel and sepsis.

An inquest heard he was sent home from Milton Keynes University Hospital with antibiotics for a suspected urinary tract infection. BBC News

‘Fifth of UK hospitals cancelled operations’ during three days of 2022 heatwave

‘Fifth of UK hospitals cancelled operations’ during three days of 2022 heatwave A fifth of UK hospitals were forced to cancel operations during the three days in July last year when temperatures soared, research suggests.

The findings, published in a letter to the British Journal of Surgery, are based on surveys from surgeons, anaesthetists and critical care doctors working during the heatwave from July 16-19 2022 – when temperatures reached as high as 40C in some parts of the country. The Independent

See also:

• Elective surgical services need to start planning for summer pressures (open access) British Journal of Surgery
• Peak of 2022 heatwave forced fifth of UK hospitals to cancel operations – research The Guardian

‘I worry my young patients will die’: UK’s eating disorder services not fit, say GPs

‘I worry my young patients will die’: UK’s eating disorder services not fit, say GPs Young people with eating disorders are coming to harm and ending up in A&E because they are being denied care and forced to endure long waits for treatment, GPs have revealed.

NHS eating disorders services are so overwhelmed by a post-Covid surge in problems such as anorexia that they are telling under-19s to rely on charities, their parents or self-help instead. The Guardian

Novartis scraps cholesterol drug trial in blow to UK life sciences ambitions

Novartis scraps cholesterol drug trial in blow to UK life sciences ambitions The Swiss pharmaceutical firm Novartis has ditched plans for a large clinical trial in the UK, in a further blow to the government’s efforts to make Britain an attractive place for research and investment after Brexit.

The company decided to scrap the Orion-17 trial of its cholesterol-lowering drug Leqvio, involving 40,000 patients in partnership with NHS England. The Guardian

Junior doctor pay talks collapse in just an hour as militant medics refuse to negotiate

Junior doctor pay talks collapse in just an hour as militant medics refuse to negotiate Pay talks between junior doctors and the government collapsed after less than an hour yesterday after militant medics refused to negotiate. 

Representatives from the British Medical Association told health secretary Steve Barclay they would be unwilling to accept anything less than a 35 per cent pay rise. The Daily Mail

Covid makes a comeback: Experts warn cases are surging again with one in 40 Brits infected

Covid makes a comeback: Experts warn cases are surging again with one in 40 Brits infected Covid is making another resurgence across Britain, prompting scientists to repeat their calls for the return of face masks.

Hospital admissions for the virus are approaching a three-month high. 

And leading experts fear the outbreak – which surveillance data suggested has left one in 40 in England infected – will continue to pick up pace in the coming weeks. The Daily Mail

See also:

• Coronavirus (COVID-19) Infection Survey, UK: 16 March 2023 Office for National Statistics
• Coronaphobic Britain: 41% are still taking Covid tests at least once a month and wearing masks The Daily Mail