Context matters: what’s needed for young people’s mental health? Media stories about young people make for sombre reading, especially today – the start of Mental Health Awareness Week. ‘Mental health referrals for children surge by more than HALF during Covid’, reads one headline. ‘Swamped mental health services turning away children’, reads another.
Such coverage reflects the growing numbers of young people with diagnosable mental health concerns, and a care system that is struggling to cope. The Health Foundation
NHS patients are more likely to die – it is right to ask why Last week a think-tank report drew newspaper headlines with the claim that the NHS ranked second from bottom across "a series of major health outcomes" compared with other international systems. Does the NHS really perform so badly internationally, and is there a real problem with our health outcomes? Mark Dayan looks at the evidence in the round. Nuffield Trust
A week off social media reduces depression and anxiety – research Taking a break from social media for as little as a week can reduce depression and anxiety, according to new research.
People who took a break from platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook for seven days reported an increased sense of wellbeing, a study by the University of Bath found. The Independent
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Drop-in Covid jabs clinic at Eid event on Northampton Racecourse this weekend Health experts are warning Covid-19 is still very much around in Northamptonshire despite things feeling “back to normal”.
Official figures revealed eight deaths linked to the virus in the county in the last week or so despite a huge fall in hospital patients being treated for the virus. Northampton Chronicle and Echo
How artificial intelligence is a 'second pair of eyes' in KGH cancer trial Artificial intelligence (AI) is being used on some patients at KGH as part of a major study which aims to help better detect bowel cancer.
The Rothwell Road hospital is one of just nine NHS endoscopy units taking part in the UK-first clinical trial, called COLO-DETECT. Northamptonshire Telegraph
KGH improving after warning notice - but there's still work to do Kettering General Hospital has improved safety on its wards after a rocket from health inspectors – but there’s still more work to do.
The Rothwell Road hospital was given a warning notice last year by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) for failing to meet two of its legal care requirements. Northamptonshire TelegraphParty politics and attitudes towards the NHS The Nuffield Trust and The King's Fund's analysis of the latest NatCen British Social Attitudes survey found that overall public satisfaction with the NHS had plummeted to just 36 per cent. Health is a highly politicised issue in the UK, so how does that picture look when broken down by party-political allegiance?
Free gatherings to talk about grief taking place at various locations around Northampton Delapré Abbey has teamed up with arts organisation, Fevered Sleep, to introduce group conversations about grief to Northampton as part of their wellbeing programme. Northampton Chronicle and Echo
Supporting patient engagement with digital health care innovations: Lessons from the Care City test bed Health apps and digital tools have the potential to help alleviate some of the huge pressures the NHS faces from Covid-19, the backlog of care and rising demand. But introducing these tools into health care and supporting people to use them is never a quick fix, and they will not work for everyone. This summary provides a set of lessons for ensuring digital health innovations are applied in optimal ways for the people using them. The findings are based on a large-scale evaluation of digital technologies being implemented in health and social care in East London. Nuffield Trust
Northampton General Hospital and Kettering General Hospital offering help for county's 20,000 long Covid sufferers An estimated 20,000 people in Northamptonshire suffering from long Covid can get a virtual helping hand from hospital medics later this month.
According to the NHS, debilitating Covid symptoms can linger for months after the virus has gone. Northamptonshire Telegraph
Back to the future? What we can learn from the history of integrated paediatric care in England The integration of NHS children and young people’s services has often gained ground before faltering over the last 70 years, but there is now renewed ambition on it. So what can we learn from the history of integrated paediatric care in England? Nuffield Trust
Severe Covid can cause brain function damage ‘equivalent to losing 10 IQ points’ The cognitive impairment suffered by patients with a severe bout of Covid-19 is the equivalent of losing 10 IQ points, a new study has found.
According to scientists from the University of Cambridge and Imperial College London, the cognitive loss is similar to ageing two decades, between 50 and 70 years of age. The Independent
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GPs face ‘appalling and systemic’ racism forcing doctors to leave and putting patients’ health ‘at risk’ GPs face “appalling and systemic” racism from patients and colleagues, a leaked NHS report has revealed.
The first Health Education England report for London of its kind says racism and discrimination are widespread within primary care across the capital, and GPs in other parts of the country have raised similar concerns. The Independent
More than 72,000 assaults on NHS staff took place over four years - but very few were reported to police More than 72,000 assaults were carried out on hospital staff in the past four years but only a small percentage were reported to police, Sky News can reveal.
The number of attacks is probably much higher - perhaps double - as only half the NHS hospital trusts in England and Wales responded to Sky's questionnaire.
Chart of the week: How serious is the fall in job satisfaction among midwives? The recent NHS staff survey showed worrying results across all staff groups, but it was midwives who reported the sharpest decline in how satisfied they are in their work. Lucina Rolewicz takes a closer look at their responses to the survey, and emphasises the importance of improving the situation. Nuffield Trust
Health and care for older adults during the pandemic: What The Commonwealth Fund’s 2021 international survey reveals about the UK The Commonwealth Fund’s 2021 International Health Policy survey asked 18,989 older adults across 11 countries about their health and health care between March and June 2021. This included 1,876 people in the UK. The Health Foundation reports on the findings from a UK perspective.
GPs ‘pushed to breaking point’ as hundreds of doctors leave NHS and appointments soar Hundreds of doctors and nurses are leaving GP surgeries with union leaders warning staff are being pushed to “breaking point.”
A total of 369 fully qualified GPs and 140 fully time practice nurses have left the profession since March 2021 as the government continues to fail against its target to recruit 6,000 more doctors by 2025. The Independent
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How to tell a more powerful story about health Almost every aspect of our lives influences our health – our jobs, homes, access to education and whether we experience poverty or racism. These factors – the wider determinants of health – are often left out of public debate around improving health or are poorly understood.
To address health inequalities, we need to change the way that we communicate about the wider determinants of health to increase public understanding and build space for policy change to improve health. The Health Foundation
Scientists find genetic cause for autoimmune disease lupus Scientists have found a genetic cause for lupus, the autoimmune disease which affects around 50,000 people in the UK.
Experts carried out whole genome sequencing on the DNA of a Spanish girl called Gabriela, who was diagnosed with severe lupus when she was just seven.
Such a severe case in a young child is rare and indicates a single genetic cause. The Independent
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World faces ‘perfect storm’ for measles outbreak affecting children, WHO warns A spike in the number of measles cases around the world has sparked concerns over the potential for serious outbreaks this year.
Almost 17,338 measles cases were reported worldwide in January and February 2022, compared to 9,665 during the first two months of last year – which represents a rise of 79 per cent. The Independent
UK health agency to cut 800 jobs and halt routine Covid testing The flagship public health body set up by Boris Johnson to combat the pandemic is in turmoil, with plans looming to cut jobs by up to 40% and suspend routine Covid testing in hospitals and care homes to save money.
Whitehall sources have told the Guardian that the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), led by Dr Jenny Harries, is in a state of disarray, with morale at rock bottom and concerns it is not funded to cope with any resurgence in the pandemic. Public health experts warned that the “alarming” cuts could cost lives. The Guardian
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