Thursday, 12 January 2023

NHS braced for more walkouts as ambulance staff strike

NHS braced for more walkouts as ambulance staff strike The NHS is braced for more strikes by staff after health unions pulled out of the independent pay review process.

The announcement by 14 health unions that they would no longer work with the NHS Pay Review Body came as ambulance crews in England and Wales walked out for the second time this winter.

The unions had been due to make a submission about the 2023-24 pay award.

But they refused to do so given the continuing dispute over this year's, upping the pressure on ministers. BBC News

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Organ transplants: Black people wait up to six months longer, NHS figures show

Organ transplants: Black people wait up to six months longer, NHS figures show Black patients wait up to six months longer for an organ transplant than the general population, new NHS data shows.

The best match comes from someone of the same ethnicity - but only 2% of donors in 2021/22 were black, while black people are 4% of the population.

Black families are also less likely to agree to organ donation than white families, the figures show.

The NHS says there's an "urgent need" for more people from ethnic minorities to donate. BBC News
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Andrew Bridgen suspended as Tory MP over Covid vaccine comments

Andrew Bridgen suspended as Tory MP over Covid vaccine comments Andrew Bridgen has been suspended as a Conservative MP for spreading misinformation about Covid vaccination.

It comes after the North West Leicestershire MP posted a tweet that compared vaccines to the Holocaust.

Tory chief whip Simon Hart said the comments had "crossed a line" and caused great offence. BBC News

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Why has the NHS collapsed? – Politics Weekly UK podcast

Why has the NHS collapsed? – Politics Weekly UK podcast Health officials are reporting that the NHS is on its knees. John Harris talks to the Guardian’s health policy editor, Denis Campbell, about what he has seen. Plus, Conservative peer Gavin Barwell and Gaby Hinsliff talk about why NHS reform is such a tricky conversation The Guardian

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Scientists develop simple questionnaire that can diagnose autism with up to 95% accuracy

Scientists develop simple questionnaire that can diagnose autism with up to 95% accuracy A simple online survey can diagnose autism with up to 95 percent accuracy, a study suggests.

Researchers have developed a 39-item questionnaire to help parents navigate a notoriously tricky diagnosis process.

It is the latest promising development in autism screening, coming just days after officials started the approval process for a test that can detect the disorder from a single strand of hair. The Daily Mail

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Map reveals UK's prostate cancer 'postcode lottery'

Map reveals UK's prostate cancer 'postcode lottery' Thousands of men across the UK are being diagnosed with prostate cancer too late due to a 'postcode lottery' of care, a charity has warned.

Prostate Cancer UK said the proportion of patients diagnosed with the disease when it is too advanced to treat varies significantly depending on where they live. The Daily Mail

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Wednesday, 11 January 2023

What patients can expect as East Midlands Ambulance Service staff strike across Northamptonshire

What patients can expect as East Midlands Ambulance Service staff strike across Northamptonshire As paramedics and staff from East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) staff across Northamptonshire strike over a dispute with the Government about pay, here is what patients can expect during the industrial action. Northamptonshire Telegraph

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An improvement framework to reduce community musculoskeletal waits while delivering best outcomes and experience

An improvement framework to reduce community musculoskeletal waits while delivering best outcomes and experience Integrated high quality community musculoskeletal (MSK) services are integral to a productive high-performing healthcare system supporting the management of MSK conditions. This framework will support integrated care systems (ICSs) to reduce commissioned community MSK waiting times while delivering best outcomes and experience for patients. It includes defining principles, recommended actions across primary, community and secondary care and further resources. NHS England
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Growing occupational health and wellbeing together: our roadmap for the future

Growing occupational health and wellbeing together: our roadmap for the future This guidance sets out NHS England's five-year strategy to improve the health and wellbeing services for the NHS workforce. This strategy now forms a mandate for action for integrated care systems and NHS organisations as part of whole system workforce planning, having been included as part of 2023-24 NHS priorities and operational planning guidance. NHS England
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Independent report: Technical report on the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK

Independent report: Technical report on the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK A technical report for future UK Chief Medical Officers, Government Chief Scientific Advisers, National Medical Directors and public health leaders in a pandemic. Department of Health and Social Care

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NHS bosses fear impact of second ambulance strike

NHS bosses fear impact of second ambulance strike The impact of Wednesday's ambulance strike in England and Wales is likely to be worse than that of the one before Christmas, NHS managers are warning.

Thousands of paramedics and support staff will walk out for the second time this winter, in the dispute over pay.

NHS Providers said this strike would be harder to cope with, as the government raised fears over the lack of a national deal on emergency cover.

But union leaders said life-and-limb cover would be provided. BBC News

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The NHS has always had problems compared to the rest of the developed world - and its allowed them to get worse

The NHS has always had problems compared to the rest of the developed world - and its allowed them to get worse Analysis shows the UK's level of underinvestment in healthcare is a significant outlier compared with the rest of the developed world. But as with much about the healthcare system, the story isn't quite as simple as that. Sky News

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Record number of cancer patients in England waiting over three months for treatment

Record number of cancer patients in England waiting over three months for treatment A record number of people in England are waiting longer than ever for cancer treatment, as the total waiting more than three months surpassed 12,000 for the first time.

More than 4% of the 287,000 people on cancer waiting lists had waited more than 104 days to receive treatment after diagnosis, despite 2,000 of those being considered urgent patients, according to NHS England figures for the week ending on 1 January, seen by Health Service Journal. The Guardian
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Warning over errors with oxygen cylinders amid pressures on NHS

Warning over errors with oxygen cylinders amid pressures on NHS NHS England alerts health trusts over 120 patient safety incidents and increased use of portable oxygen as flu and Covid cases rise

Pressures on the health service in England could have contributed to a number of patient safety incidents involving oxygen cylinders, according to an alert from the NHS.

It was issued after 120 incidents were linked to problems with the devices. The errors, which were recorded over the past 12 months, included staff giving patients empty cylinders or failing to switch over cylinders. The Guardian

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Blood markers could help identify rare, inherited form of Alzheimer’s disease

Blood markers could help identify rare, inherited form of Alzheimer’s disease A new breakthrough could help medical professionals spot a rare, inherited form of Alzheimer’s disease ten years before symptoms appear in sufferers.

Scientists attribute this potentially ground-breaking claim to the discovery of blood markers in people who are in the very early stages of the neurodegenerative disease. The Independent

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Children's prescriptions for antipsychotic medicines have doubled in the last 20 years, study finds

Children's prescriptions for antipsychotic medicines have doubled in the last 20 years, study finds Children's prescriptions for antipsychotic medicines have doubled in the last 20 years, a study found.

The drugs, which have a tranquillising effect, are typically used in adults to treat major mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia. The Daily Mail

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Tuesday, 10 January 2023

Northamptonshire hospitals in top 25 per cent of dangerously busy hospitals in England, NHS data shows

Northamptonshire hospitals in top 25 per cent of dangerously busy hospitals in England, NHS data shows Both Northampton and Kettering General Hospital are in the top 25 per cent dangerously busy hospitals across England, analysis of NHS figures shows.

A bed occupancy rate of 85 per cent is generally considered to be the safe limit - one that has been endorsed by the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM). Northamptonshire Telegraph

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Northampton General Hospital visiting returns to pre-Christmas rules after 11-day ban

Northampton General Hospital visiting returns to pre-Christmas rules after 11-day ban Visiting rules at Northampton General Hospital have returned to what they were before Christmas.

On December 29, normal visiting was suspended at the Cliftonville hospital due to a “significant increase” in cases of Covid, flu and other respiratory illnesses.

Now, Covid-19 cases have dropped from 71 on December 29, 2022 to 45 on Monday January 9, 2023, so visiting restrictions have been relaxed. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

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People with long term health conditions at serious risk from flu, warn Northamptonshire health experts

People with long term health conditions at serious risk from flu, warn Northamptonshire health experts Do you have a long term health condition which makes you eligible for a free flu jab, but have not yet taken up the offer? Book yours today to protect yourself from flu.

Those who have long-term health conditions are at a higher risk of catching flu and the life-threatening complications that can come with it which frequently lead to hospitalisation. These complications include pneumonia, septic shock, heart, brain or muscle tissue inflammation, or organ failure, such as lung or kidney failure. Sadly, even with hospital treatment these can, and do, lead to death. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

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The health policy year in review 2022

The health policy year in review 2022 Just when you thought things couldn’t get any stranger, 2022 happened. Here's The King’s Fund’s Chief Analyst, Siva Anandaciva's, annual look at what the health policy year had in store.
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6 key questions to help shape diversity and inclusion plans in 2023

6 key questions to help shape diversity and inclusion plans in 2023 Whenever and however we engage in the work of planning and deciding organisational diversity and inclusion priorities, the overarching question to be answered as part of the process is: ‘What levers are the organisation going to pull across the year to bring about true and lasting cultural change?’ The King's Fund
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Digital apps and reducing ethnic health inequalities : driving progress through digital, design, and organisational transformation

Digital apps and reducing ethnic health inequalities : driving progress through digital, design, and organisational transformation This report reviews how information gleaned from users of online health tools is used by health providers to analyse and improve patient health. An analysis of NHS data finds that digital and apps teams, employed by the NHS, face a number of barriers and limitations preventing insight and the linking of gaps across health services, conditions, digital usage and wider ethnic health inequalities. It calls for an explicit reform in how the NHS and NHS Blood and Transplant rebuild, collect and use data to guide policy decisions, particularly around ethnicity coding and health inequalities. NHS Race & Health Observatory
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Get in on the Act: Mental Health Act 2022

Get in on the Act: Mental Health Act 2022 In June 2022 the government published the draft Mental Health Bill. The Bill is currently going through parliament and is at the Joint Committee Inquiry stage. Councils have several existing statutory duties under the Mental Health Act 1983 and will continue to have responsibilities under the new Act. This briefing examines the role and responsibilities of Councils under the new Act. Local Government Association
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Diabetes artificial pancreas tech recommended for thousands on NHS

Diabetes artificial pancreas tech recommended for thousands on NHS More than 100,000 people in England and Wales with type 1 diabetes could soon be offered new technology to manage their condition on the NHS.

The system uses a glucose sensor under the skin to automatically calculate how much insulin is delivered via a pump.

Health assessors said it was the best way of controlling diabetes, barring a cure.

A charity said it would transform lives and was the "closest thing to a working pancreas". BBC News

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Excess deaths in 2022 among worst in 50 years

Excess deaths in 2022 among worst in 50 years More than 650,000 deaths were registered in the UK in 2022 - 9% more than 2019.

This represents one of the largest excess death levels outside the pandemic in 50 years.

Though far below peak pandemic levels, it has prompted questions about why more people are still dying than normal.

Data indicates pandemic effects on health and NHS pressures are among the leading explanations. BBC News
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NHS staff have to work harder to ‘justify’ more pay, Steve Barclay tells furious unions

NHS staff have to work harder to ‘justify’ more pay, Steve Barclay tells furious unions Planned strikes by NHS workers looked set to go ahead after trade union leaders branded talks with Steve Barclay over pay “bitterly disappointing” and an “insult”.

A walkout of ambulance workers will go ahead on Wednesday after the failed crisis talks, during which Mr Barclay told union leaders any pay increase would have to involve greater “productivity and efficiency” from staff. The Independent
 
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Staffing ‘crisis’ means £200m extra care beds plan won’t work, health bosses warn

Staffing ‘crisis’ means £200m extra care beds plan won’t work, health bosses warn The staffing “crisis” in the home care sector means the government’s £200m discharging fund to tackle the NHS winter crisis will not work, care home bosses have warned.

Chronic understaffing has left homes with “beds but no staff” to take NHS patients on and home care services have been forced to reduce their support or give back contracts due, sector leaders have told The Independent. The Independent

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NHS '100%' needs reform, says Chair of Health Select Committee

NHS '100%' needs reform, says Chair of Health Select Committee The Chair of the Health Select Committee, Conservative MP, Steve Brine joined us from Central Lobby in the Houses of Parliament. Channel 4 News

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Patients face being treated in cabins at hospital car parks under new plans to beat overcrowding

Patients face being treated in cabins at hospital car parks under new plans to beat overcrowding Patients could be treated in cabins in car parks under plans to beat overcrowding and improve ambulance response times.

Health Secretary Steve Barclay said hospitals would be given £50million to rent or buy temporary 'modular units' to boost capacity within weeks.

The NHS has a list of approved 'modular unit' suppliers, one of which is Portakabin. They became a fixture of school playgrounds in the 1970s and 80s to accommodate space for extra pupils. Units will be fitted with additional beds or chairs where patients can be treated and observed or wait to be seen or sent home. The Daily Mail

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Kids should be taught 'not to bother NHS': Strategy paper demands huge 'cultural shift'

Kids should be taught 'not to bother NHS': Strategy paper demands huge 'cultural shift' Children should be taught about which illnesses can be treated at home, according to experts.

Doctors and pharmacists have called for a 'wholesale cultural shift' towards self-care.

Having the public know when it is appropriate to to A&E or see a GP would help ease pressure on the ailing NHS in future, they claim. The Daily Mail

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Monday, 9 January 2023

Two more days of strike action for East Midlands Ambulance Service staff across Northamptonshire over ‘increasingly bitter’ pay dispute

Two more days of strike action for East Midlands Ambulance Service staff across Northamptonshire over ‘increasingly bitter’ pay dispute Two more days of industrial action for paramedics and ambulance service staff are coming up and they will include employees in Northamptonshire.

GMB union members - who took part in strikes on December 21, 2022 - will partake in another day of action on Wednesday (January 11) - after it was moved from its original date of December 28, 2022 - and members of trade union, Unite, will strike on January 23 over an “increasingly bitter” pay dispute with the Government. Both strikes will include East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) staff and will last for 24 hours. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

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Modular building set to replace A&E gazebo at Northampton General

Modular building set to replace A&E gazebo at Northampton General A temporary building is set to arrive at a hospital to replace a gazebo used as an accident and emergency waiting room since the summer.

Northampton General Hospital said it will be a "much-improved" indoor, heated waiting room for emergency patients. BBC Northampton

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Kettering General Hospital relaxes visiting restrictions as Covid cases fall

Kettering General Hospital relaxes visiting restrictions as Covid cases fall Kettering General Hospital patients will be allowed visitors again from today (Friday) after a fall in Covid cases meant restrictions could be relaxed.

NHS bosses suspended visiting at adult inpatient wards on December 29, having triggered its critical incident status because of the demand on its services.

Only compassionate visiting was allowed, with staff offering increased virtual visits, although maternity and paediatrics were not affected by the measures. Northamptonshire Telegraph

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Under pressure: what will 2023 hold for the health and care system? 

Under pressure: what will 2023 hold for the health and care system? It goes without saying that this is an exceptionally difficult time for many that work in, or rely on, health and care services in England. Does 2023 hold out hope of something better? The King's Fund
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Guidance on developing the joint forward plan

Guidance on developing the joint forward plan This guidance supports integrated care boards (ICBs) and their partner NHS trusts and foundation trusts (referred to collectively in this guidance as partner trusts) to develop their first 5-year joint forward plans (JFPs) with system partners. NHS England
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    New partnership to boost research into vaccines for cancer

    New partnership to boost research into vaccines for cancer Trials into vaccines for cancer and wider diseases will accelerate after the government reached a historic agreement with a leading biopharmaceutical firm to bring revolutionary research to England.

    A memorandum of understanding will be signed today by Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Steve Barclay and the Germany-based company BioNTech, which previously developed a world-leading COVID-19 vaccine with Pfizer. Department of Health and Social Care
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    Up to £250 million to speed up hospital discharge

    Up to £250 million to speed up hospital discharge Thousands of extra medically fit patients will be discharged from hospitals into community care settings, such as care homes, over the coming weeks to free up hospital beds and reduce pressure on the NHS, the Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay is set to announce today [Monday 9 December].

    The government will make available up to £200 million of additional funding to immediately buy short-term care placements to allow people to be discharged safely from hospitals into the community where they will receive the care they need to recover before returning to their homes. Department of Health and Social Care

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    Union talks aimed at ending strike action

    Union talks aimed at ending strike action Ministers are holding separate talks with health, teaching and rail unions to try to bring an end to the country's various strike actions.

    Rishi Sunak said the talks were a "positive development" but any pay deals had to be "affordable".

    Unions welcomed the discussions but insist pay rises for nurses in this financial year must be addressed.

    The government has so far only agreed to discuss a settlement for the next financial year, which starts in April. BBC News

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    Half of NHS trusts providing or planning food banks for staff

    Half of NHS trusts providing or planning food banks for staff Soaring cost of living forces nurses and health workers to seek help from charities through free meals and voucher schemes

    More than half of NHS trusts and health boards are either providing or planning food banks for staff, new research suggests, as the cost of living soars.

    In a survey that lays bare the catastrophic impact that the rising cost of food, energy and housing is having on health workers, NHS Charities Together and the Observer have found that thousands of NHS staff – including nurses – are already seeking help from food banks, with numbers expected to rise in the coming months.
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    One in 20 people were infected with Covid at Christmas, data shows

    One in 20 people were infected with Covid at Christmas, data shows One in 20 people were infected with Covid over the Christmas break, experts believe.

    Cases are estimated to have doubled during December, just as the XBB.1.5 'Kraken' variant began to sweep Britain. Analysts say almost three million people had the virus in the festive week, mirroring levels seen during the summer when experts wanted the return of pandemic-era restrictions like masks. The Daily Mail
     
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    Friday, 30 December 2022

    We are taking a short break

    We'll be back with all the national and local health news and updates on Monday the 9th of January.

    Wishing all our readers a very happy 2023.



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    Critical incident declared at Northampton and Kettering hospitals as NHS battles “toughest winter”

    Critical incident declared at Northampton and Kettering hospitals as NHS battles “toughest winter” Bosses at NHS acute hospitals in Northampton and Kettering have declared a critical incident in response to “significant ongoing pressure” as the health service battles “one of the toughest winters in its history”.

    A spokesman for Northampton General Hospital and Kettering General Hospital trusts said the decision was taken to “help our teams to ensure patients continue to receive safe and appropriate care.” Northamptonshire Telegraph

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    Number of defibrillators to be increased with new funding

    Number of defibrillators to be increased with new funding The public will have faster access to life-saving defibrillators as the government announces a new £1 million fund to increase the number of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in communities most in need - providing an estimated 1,000 new defibrillators in community spaces across England. Department of Health and Social Care
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    UKHSA update on scarlet fever and invasive group A strep

    UKHSA update on scarlet fever and invasive group A strep Latest data from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) continues to show an out of season increase in scarlet fever and group A streptococcus infections and a higher number of cases than seen in a typical year.

    So far this season (from 19 September to 25 December) there have been 33,836 notifications of scarlet fever. This compares to a total of 4,672 at the same point in the year during the last comparably high season in 2017 to 2018 – although cases in that season started to rise at a different point. In 2017 to 2018 there were 30,768 scarlet fever notifications overall across the year.

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    Covid: Why are some places testing Chinese arrivals?

    Covid: Why are some places testing Chinese arrivals? When a country of 1.4 billion people suddenly ended its zero-Covid policy after nearly three years, there was little doubt what would happen.

    Poor immunisation levels and little natural immunity meant an explosion of cases - just as China is about to lift restrictions on its citizens travelling abroad.

    So now, some countries - wary of an influx of cases - are imposing Covid testing, and possible quarantine, on visitors from China. BBC News

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    Doncaster surgery sends cancer text instead of festive message

    Doncaster surgery sends cancer text instead of festive message A GP surgery accidentally told patients they had aggressive lung cancer instead of wishing them a merry Christmas.

    Askern Medical Practice sent the text message to people registered with the surgery in Doncaster on 23 December. BBC News
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    Revealed: Crisis in A&E departments drives 15,000 deaths

    Revealed: Crisis in A&E departments drives 15,000 deaths The crisis in Britain’s A&E departments has been linked to more than 15,000 deaths in 18 months, with as many as 500 patients a week dying because of long waits for emergency care.

    Expert analysis shows that the number of avoidable deaths has been three times as high as it would have been if hospital waits for emergency treatment had stayed at pre-pandemic levels. The Independent

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    Mental health issues are 'parallel pandemic' that NHS is not equipped to tackle, leaders warn

    Mental health issues are 'parallel pandemic' that NHS is not equipped to tackle, leaders warn The NHS is not equipped to tackle the hidden “parallel pandemic” in mental ill health with many patients going without adequate treatment, leaders have warned.

    The cost of living crisis and the after-effects of the Covid epidemic have led to a spike in the number of people suffering from mental health issues.

    But the true extent of the problems could be even greater, health experts warn, because it is impossible to tell how many people have yet to come forward for care. The Independent
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    Man given a year to live now cancer-free after immunotherapy trial

    Man given a year to live now cancer-free after immunotherapy trial Further studies under way as ‘remarkable’ results offer new hope in treating biliary tract cancer

    A man given a year to live after being diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer is now disease-free thanks to a UK trial of a personalised drug regime.

    Robert Glynn, 51, a welder from Worsley in Greater Manchester, said he “wouldn’t be here” if it were not for the remarkable results of the immunotherapy trial run by the Christie NHS foundation trust in Manchester. The Guardian

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    Flu jab uptake among NHS staff tumbles to lowest level in A DECADE despite warnings of a 'flu-nami'

    Flu jab uptake among NHS staff tumbles to lowest level in A DECADE despite warnings of a 'flu-nami' Only four in ten frontline NHS staff has rolled up their sleeves for the flu vaccine – the lowest uptake in a decade – MailOnline can reveal.

    Despite begging vulnerable Britons to get the jab amid predictions of a dire winter the NHS itself has failed to convince most of its staff to do the same.

    Frontline medics such as doctors and nurses are offered the vaccine for free every year to help stop them inadvertently spreading the virus to any vulnerable people they encounter at work, like the elderly or cancer patients. The Daily Mail
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    NHS trials helper robot to deliver medicines around hospitals

    NHS trials helper robot to deliver medicines around hospitals A robot that uses the same technology as self-driving vehicles is transporting medicines around hospitals as part of a new trial.

    The 'helper bot' is being used to carry and deliver prescriptions and other items around Milton Keynes University Hospital, helping to relieve pressure on human staff. The Daily Mail

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    Pharmacists to refer suspected cancer patients for checks

    Pharmacists to refer suspected cancer patients for checks Pharmacists will be trained to spot signs of cancer in a bid to boost early detection and improve survival rates.

    Customers who repeatedly come in for cough medicine or other drugs that could be a sign of more serious illness will be sent for cancer checks without having to see a GP first.

    Those with symptoms including a persistent cough, difficulty swallowing or blood in their urine will be referred to hospital for further tests as part of a pilot scheme starting in Cornwall next month. The Daily Mail
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    Thursday, 29 December 2022

    Visiting suspended at Northampton and Kettering hospitals following "significant increase" in Covid and flu cases

    Visiting suspended at Northampton and Kettering hospitals following "significant increase" in Covid and flu cases NHS bosses have suspended visiting on adult inpatient wards at hospitals in Northampton and Kettering due to a “significant increase” in cases of Covid, flu and other respiratory illnesses.

    Only compassionate visiting is allowed at Northampton General Hospital and Kettering General Hospital from Thursday (December 29), although staff are offering increased virtual visiting to support patients to keep in touch with loved ones. Northamptonshire Telegraph

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    East Midlands Ambulance Service strikes across Northamptonshire moved to January as pay dispute continues

    East Midlands Ambulance Service strikes across Northamptonshire moved to January as pay dispute continues A day of strike action scheduled for some East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) staff across Northamptonshire has been moved to January.

    Paramedics and staff members striked on December 21 due to a national pay dispute with the Government. GMB Union members were also due to strike on December 28, however that has now been moved to January 11, 2023. Daventry Express
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    Four in ten junior doctors plan to leave the NHS as soon as they can find another job

    Four in ten junior doctors plan to leave the NHS as soon as they can find another job Four in ten junior doctors (40%) are actively planning to leave the NHS as soon as they can find another job,1 a survey from the BMA has revealed.

    In the survey, released as part of the BMA chair of council Professor Phil Banfield’s New Year’s message, poor pay and working conditions were among the top reasons for junior doctors wanting to leave.2

    Many of those doctors wanting to quit the NHS plan to work as doctors abroad.

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    England slips further off-track for smokefree 2030 target

    England slips further off-track for smokefree 2030 target The UK government is almost a decade behind achieving its target for England to be smokefree by 2030, a new report published by Cancer Research UK reveals.

    The report warns that, if recent trends continue, the target will now not be met until 2039. This is despite repeated warnings from the charity that data up to 2018 indicated the Government was already seven years off track.

    The charity is now calling on the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Rt Hon Steve Barclay MP, to publish a plan for tobacco control. This must include more action to prevent young people from smoking, and more funding for the measures and services needed to help people quit.

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    Hospitals in England taking care of record number of patients

    Hospitals in England taking care of record number of patients More people could be spending the time between Christmas and new year in hospital in parts of England this year than at any time in the past decade, as NHS trusts struggle to find social care places for patients medically fit for discharge.

    The latest figures for December to date show an average of 94,200 patients were in hospitals across England, more than 93,000 of them in acute settings, the highest in seven winters. The Guardian
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    Generation of children held back as hundreds of thousands wait for key NHS care

    Generation of children held back as hundreds of thousands wait for key NHS care Hundreds of thousands of children have been left waiting by the NHS for the developmental therapies they need, with some waiting more than two years, The Independent can reveal.

    The long waiting lists for services such as speech and language therapy will see a generation of children held back in their development and will “impact Britain for the long haul”, according to the head of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH). 

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    Scientific study identifies how men with prostate cancer can live longer

    Scientific study identifies how men with prostate cancer can live longer Just one work-out can help suppress cancer, a new study suggests.

    Scientists discovered a single bout of exercise can suppress tumour growth and actively fight cancerous cells - even in those with incurable, advanced cancer. The Independent

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    No plans for mandatory COVID-19 testing of arrivals from China, UK government says

    No plans for mandatory COVID-19 testing of arrivals from China, UK government says There are no plans to introduce mandatory COVID-19 tests for arrivals to the UK from China, after a series of other countries said they would impose controls.

    The news comes after China announced it was abandoning its COVID-zero policy and was preparing to reopen its borders in January. Sky News

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    Charity dismisses MP claims that it is 'covering up' data that Covid vaccines harm the heart

    Charity dismisses MP claims that it is 'covering up' data that Covid vaccines harm the heart A major British health charity has dismissed claims from a controversial Tory MP that it is 'covering up' data that the Covid mRNA vaccines harm the heart.

    Andrew Bridgen, the MP for North West Leicestershire, made the comments in a parliamentary debate on the potential harms of vaccines earlier this month. The Daily Mail

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    Government urged to ban additives used in processed meat after more research highlights cancer risk

    Government urged to ban additives used in processed meat after more research highlights cancer risk Chemicals routinely added to bacon, ham and deli meats should be banned after research suggests it raises the risk of cancer, one scientist has said.

    A Queen's University Belfast study found that mice given processed pork containing nitrites developed 75 per cent more tumours than those that ate meat without the chemicals.

    Professor Chris Elliott OBE, one of the study authors, said the results 'make the cancer risk associated with nitrite-cured meat even clearer'. The Daily Mail

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    Revealed: How GPs are STILL wasting thousands of pounds of NHS cash on bogus homeopathy 'remedies'

    Revealed: How GPs are STILL wasting thousands of pounds of NHS cash on bogus homeopathy 'remedies' Family doctors are still spending tens of thousands of pounds every year on bogus homeopathic products, MailOnline can reveal. 

    NHS spending on the quack medical treatment was effectively banned four years ago after it was ruled an ineffective use of taxpayer's money. 

    But GPs in England have still prescribed nearly £150,000 of homeopathic items since 2018 - the first full year after the ruling, analysis shows.  The Daily Mail
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    Wednesday, 28 December 2022

    Hard times: the latest chapter in the story of local government public health spending

    Hard times: the latest chapter in the story of local government public health spending At The King’s Fund, we – and others – have been charting the trajectory of local government public health spending and the grant that central government provides since 2013. In that time we have seen a period of optimism, and early growth, followed by a serious decline and a plateauing in recent years. This blog updates the story, with the latest chapter recently set out in local government financial returns. So, how much did local government spend on public health in 2021/22, and what did they spend it on?
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    2023/24 NHS priorities and operational planning guidance: what you need to know

    2023/24 NHS priorities and operational planning guidance: what you need to know Overview and analysis of NHS England’s operational planning guidance and priorities for the service in 2023/24. NHS Confederation

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    NHS set to eliminate Hepatitis C ahead of rest of the world

    NHS set to eliminate Hepatitis C ahead of rest of the world The NHS is on track to eliminate Hepatitis C by 2025 thanks to a pioneering drug deal and a concerted effort to find people at risk, which is helping dramatically cut deaths five years ahead of global targets.

    Following a five-year contract worth almost £1bn to buy antiviral drugs for thousands of patients, deaths from Hepatitis C – including liver disease and cancer – have fallen by 35%. That improvement in outcomes means the NHS has exceed the World Health Organisation’s target of 10% by more than three-fold, putting England in pole position to be among the first countries in the world to eliminate the virus as a public health concern. NHS England

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    NHS launches new dementia diagnosis drive

    NHS launches new dementia diagnosis drive Hundreds more people will be checked for dementia thanks to a new specialist service being trialled across the country, the NHS announced today.

    Care home residents will be proactively assessed for the condition by specialist nurses and other healthcare professionals through 14 new pilot schemes being rolled out in the new year. NHS England
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    Artificial intelligence revolutionising NHS stroke care

    Artificial intelligence revolutionising NHS stroke care Tens of thousands of stroke patients across the country are benefitting from quicker treatment and improved outcomes thanks to government investment in cutting edge artificial intelligence (AI) to diagnose and determine the best treatment for patients who suffer a stroke.

    Early-stage analysis of the technology, which received funding from the first round of the government’s AI in Health and Care Awards, shows it can reduce the time between presenting with a stroke and treatment by more than 60 minutes, and is associated with a tripling in the number of stroke patients recovering with no or only slight disability – defined as achieving functional independence - from 16 percent to 48 percent. Department of Health and Social Care

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    Guidance: The R value and growth rate

    Guidance: The R value and growth rate The latest reproduction number (R) and growth rate of coronavirus (COVID-19). 

    This publication of the R value and growth rate on 23 December 2022 will be the final one. Coronavirus (COVID-19) incidence data will continue to be accessible from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) COVID-19 Infection Survey, UK Statistical bulletins. UK Health Security Agency

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    Further nurse strike dates announced in England

    Further nurse strike dates announced in England Nurses will go on strike again on 18 and 19 January in England unless pay talks are opened, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has said.

    Nurses at more hospital trusts than before will be involved in the strike action in the new year, the union said.

    Meanwhile, the GMB union has called off a second day of ambulance strikes planned in England and Wales for 28 December.

    But it announced a new co-ordinated walkout on 11 January. BBC News

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    A new way of killing cancer cells could pave the way for a cure, scientists say

    A new way of killing cancer cells could pave the way for a cure, scientists say A new way of using DNA to kill cancer cells which could pave the way for a cure for the disease has been created by scientists.

    The method targets human cervical cancer and breast cancer-derived cells, as well as malignant melanoma cells in mice.

    It uses a pair of hair clip shaped, cancer-killing DNA which were injected into cancer cells. The Independent

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    More people face being shut out of NHS mental health services, experts warn

    More people face being shut out of NHS mental health services, experts warn More people will be shut out from mental health services if no new cash is invested in the next two years, experts have warned.

    Sean Duggan, chief executive of the mental health network at the NHS Confederation, which represents the health and care system in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, said that a lack of long-term investment combined with a potential surge in demand due to the cost of living crisis would cause unsustainable pressure on the system. The Guardian
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    Midlands hospital investigating forceps left inside patient after surgery

    Midlands hospital investigating forceps left inside patient after surgery A hospital is investigating how a pair of metal surgical forceps were left inside a patient after they had been stitched up after abdominal surgery.

    Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS trust has apologised unreservedly and said the incident at Redditch’s Alexandra hospital was “exceptionally rare”. The Guardian
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    Nearly two-thirds of junior doctors are 'looking to leave the NHS'

    Nearly two-thirds of junior doctors are 'looking to leave the NHS' More than six in 10 junior doctors have 'actively researched' quitting their job in the NHS, a poll shows as the medics are set to vote on whether they should strike over pay.

    The British Medical Association (BMA), which represents 45,000 junior doctors in England, quizzed nearly 4,000 on whether they have 'actively researched leaving the NHS' in the last year.

    Results showed two-thirds had while eight in 10 said they 'often think about leaving' the health service. The Daily Mail

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    The dieting 'red flags' experts are warning people to avoid

    The dieting 'red flags' experts are warning people to avoid Beware of 'quick-fix' new year diets, as they can be harmful to your health, experts have warned.

    The British Dietetic Association (BDA) has published a list of 'red flags' to watch out for when it comes to diets for a new year and a new you.

    Dietitians warn people should avoid diets using the word 'detox', telling people to eat only one type of food, like cabbage, or promising rapid weight loss of more than two pounds (1kg) of body fat a week. The Daily Mail

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