Friday, 1 September 2023

Our daily health news service is taking an extended break

Due to changes in staffing we are having to pause our daily health news for the moment as there isn't capacity in the library team at present to continue with such a time-intensive service.

Our news service may return later in the year, but we can't guarantee that at present.

We will still be active on X (Twitter) so you can always follow us there for news updates.

We will still be posting things on the Library Blog, if you want to keep up with what is happening in the service.

We really hope you have found this service useful.


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More free courses to help with recovery journeys

More free courses to help with recovery journeys There’s a chance join free courses this autumn offering help for those with health conditions to take positive steps on their recovery journey.

More than 30 educational courses are available with the launch of Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust’s Recovery College’s new prospectus for the 2023 autumn term. Northampton Chronicle and Echo
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Flu and COVID-19 surveillance report published

Flu and COVID-19 surveillance report published This fortnightly flu and COVID-19 report brings together the latest surveillance data along with the latest public health advice.

COVID-19 case rates continued to increase this week compared to our previous report. A total 9.7% of 4,288 respiratory specimens reported through the Respiratory DataMart System were identified as COVID-19. This is compared to 7.1% of 4,303 from the previous report.

The overall COVID-19 hospital admission rate for week 34 was 3.37 per 100,000 population, an increase from 3.00 per 100,000 in the previous report.

Intensive care units (ICU) admission rates have increased to 0.11 per 100,000 compared to 0.08 per 100,000 in the previous report.

Hospital admission rates have increased in most age groups. UK Health Security Agency

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Inequalities in mortality involving common physical health conditions, England: 21 March 2021 to 31 January 2023

Inequalities in mortality involving common physical health conditions, England: 21 March 2021 to 31 January 2023 Rates of mortality involving cancers, cardiovascular diseases, chronic kidney disease, dementia, diabetes, and respiratory diseases, by Census 2021 variables.

ASMRs for all-cause mortality and most individual conditions were generally highest in the most deprived areas and among people who were long-term unemployed or had never worked; the largest differences by deprivation were observed for mortality involving chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, followed by lung cancer and asthma. Office for National Statistics

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Reform law and expand treatment options to tackle cost of drugs on society

Reform law and expand treatment options to tackle cost of drugs on society Drug laws are outdated and in need of reform, the Home Affairs Committee has found. The Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 and Misuse of Drugs regulations need to be updated to support greater use of public health based drug interventions, while also ensuring an appropriate criminal justice response to illicit drugs including national standards for diversion schemes for low level offending. 

In a report published today, the Committee calls for a new legislative and funding framework that enables practical, risk-reducing interventions such as establishing a pilot drug consumption facility and drug testing at festivals.

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Junior doctors and consultants to strike together in England

Junior doctors and consultants to strike together in England Junior doctors and consultants in England are to coincide strikes during the autumn in an escalation of the pay row with the government.

It will be the first time in this dispute they have walked out together and comes after junior doctors voted in favour of continuing with strikes.

In the British Medical Association (BMA) ballot, 98% voted in favour which gave the union a new six-month mandate.

Ministers called the co-ordination of strikes "callous and calculated". BBC News

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Brain fog after Covid linked to blood clots - study

Brain fog after Covid linked to blood clots - study Blood clots in the brain or the lungs might explain some common symptoms of "long Covid", including brain fog and fatigue, a UK study suggests.

In the study, of 1,837 people admitted to hospital because of Covid, researchers say two blood proteins point to clots being one cause.

It is thought 16% of such patients have trouble thinking, concentrating or remembering for at least six months.

Long Covid can also develop after milder infections. BBC News

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Nitrous oxide: Laughing gas ban could harm users, experts warn

Nitrous oxide: Laughing gas ban could harm users, experts warn The proposed ban of nitrous oxide could stop users seeking medical help in hospitals, health experts have warned.

In a letter to the government, seen by BBC Newsnight, 15 neurologists and related health experts say possession of the drug should not be criminalised.

Despite rising numbers of hospital patients suffering the effects of so-called laughing gas, they warn the ban could worsen the stigma around users.

The government has responded, saying it plans to go ahead with the ban. BBC News
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Mental health patients waited last year in A&E for ‘over 5.4m hours’

Mental health patients waited last year in A&E for ‘over 5.4m hours’ Patients across England waited for a total of more than 5.4 million hours in A&E while experiencing a mental health crisis last year, Labour has said.

According to the party, figures obtained through freedom of information requests show that last year one patient at Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust waited in A&E for 860 hours, the equivalent of 36 days, while suffering a mental health crisis. The Independent

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NHS managers who let surgeon work after serious complaints called to resign

NHS managers who let surgeon work after serious complaints called to resign Health board management who let a neurosurgeon continue operating on patients despite knowing of serious complaints against him are facing calls to resign.

A damning internal report published on Thursday found that NHS Tayside failed to put in place adequate monitoring of Prof Sam Eljamel, despite a rising number of complaints. The Guardian

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Thousands of people may have unknowingly contracted hepatitis C abroad, health experts warn

Thousands of people may have unknowingly contracted hepatitis C abroad, health experts warn People are being urged to take a free hepatitis C test amid fears thousands may have unknowingly contracted the disease abroad.

While NHS bosses hope it will be wiped out in England by 2025, some 70,000 adults may still have the disease without realising, according to healthcare company Preventx.

The blood-borne virus can be picked up through dental, cosmetic, or health procedures, or via tattoos and piercings, it added. Sky News
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More than 1 million lives saved in the UK over past four decades due to advances in cancer care

More than 1 million lives saved in the UK over past four decades due to advances in cancer care More than a million lives have been saved over the past four decades thanks to cancer advances, analysis shows.

UK cancer death rates have fallen by about a quarter since the mid 1980s, in a ‘golden era’ of improved diagnosis and treatment.

The rise in screening programmes and a drastic fall in smoking have combined to stop a further 1.2 million lives being lost, according to Cancer Research UK. The Daily Mail

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Fifth of people have gene that protects against Alzheimer's and could one day lead to vaccine, study says

Fifth of people have gene that protects against Alzheimer's and could one day lead to vaccine, study says One in five people carry a genetic variant that appears to protect against Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, a study suggests.

Analysis of medical and genetic data from hundreds of thousands of people found that having this variant, called DR4, reduced people’s chances of developing either condition by more than 10 per cent on average.

Experts say the discovery may one day lead to a vaccine that could slow or stall the progression of these two common conditions. The Daily Mail

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Thursday, 31 August 2023

New Kettering private hospital facility welcomes its first patients

New Kettering private hospital facility welcomes its first patients A state-of-the-art private hospital facility on the edge of Kettering has welcomed its first patients.

Glendon Wood Hospital, just off the A43 near the ‘hamburger’ roundabout, opened earlier this month with new diagnostic services and two operating theatres. Northamptonshire Telegraph

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Harm caused by delays in transferring patients to the right place of care

Harm caused by delays in transferring patients to the right place of care This national investigation seeks to examine the systems that are in place to manage the flow of patients through and out of hospitals and considers the interactions between health and social care systems. It finds that issues relating to patient flow affect ambulance crews’ ability to hand over patient care to emergency department (ED) staff. It also finds that EDs are routinely at, or exceeding, their maximum capacity and this has an impact on their ability to provide safe care. This report brings together the findings from the investigation’s three interim reports and provides an update since they were published. Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch
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    NHS flu and covid vaccine programmes brought forward due to risk of new covid variant

    NHS flu and covid vaccine programmes brought forward due to risk of new covid variant Millions of eligible people will now be offered a covid vaccine from 11 September, in line with the latest expert guidance on the new covid variant.

    This change follows an announcement by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) on the risks presented by the new BA.2.86 variant and pre-emptive measures the NHS has been asked to take.

    The adult covid and flu vaccination programmes had been due to start in October to maximise protection over the winter months, but now those most at risk including adult care home residents will be vaccinated from 11 September. NHS England

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    Coventry NHS boss to keep job despite complaints being upheld

    Coventry NHS boss to keep job despite complaints being upheld The chair of an NHS body in charge of health and care in Coventry and Warwickshire is to keep her job, despite criticism from an independent inquiry.

    Danielle Oum was found not to have always acted with honesty and integrity in a previous NHS role.

    But after a review of the issues, she was allowed to remain as chair of the local Integrated Care Board (ICB).

    NHS England said it continued to offer Ms Oum "its full support". BBC News
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    Boys who smoke and vape ‘risk passing on damaged genes to their children’

    Boys who smoke and vape ‘risk passing on damaged genes to their children’ Boys in their early teens who smoke risk passing on damaged genes to their children, increasing the chances of them developing health problems like asthma, obesity and lung conditions, according to a new study.

    Scientists at Southampton and Bergen universities warn that vaping could also cause similar health conditions. The Independent

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    Lucy Letby inquiry will have power to force witnesses to give evidence

    Lucy Letby inquiry will have power to force witnesses to give evidence The inquiry into how Lucy Letby was able to murder seven babies will now be able to force witnesses to give evidence.

    Ministers agreed to give the inquiry full statutory powers after families said the current investigation would not go far enough in uncovering the truth. The Guardian

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    ‘National tragedy’: figures show large rise in people dying while on NHS waiting list

    ‘National tragedy’: figures show large rise in people dying while on NHS waiting list More than 120,000 people in England died last year while on the NHS waiting list for hospital treatment, figures obtained by Labour appear to show.

    That would be a record high number of such deaths, and is double the 60,000 patients who died in 2017/18.

    For example, the Royal Free hospital in London said it had had 3,615 such deaths, while there were 2,888 at the Morecambe Bay trust in Cumbria and 2,039 at Leeds teaching hospitals trust. The Guardian

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