UK sick days fall to record low of just 1.8% despite Covid pandemic

UK sick days fall to record low of just 1.8% despite Covid pandemic The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the sickness absence rate - the number of working hours lost due to illness - was 1.8 per cent in the UK in 2020, the equivalent of about 3.6 days per worker. The Daily Mail

See also:

• Sickness absence in the UK labour market: 2020 Office for National Statistics

Covid-19: One year on from Northamptonshire's first virus case more than 45000 have had it and 1500 died

Covid-19: One year on from Northamptonshire's first virus case more than 45000 have had it and 1500 died News on March 3 that someone in Northamptonshire had coronavirus was hardly unexpected what had gone on in the previous few months.

Twelve months on, though, more than 45,000 of the county's 750,000 population have tested positive for the virus and more than 1,500 have died. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

See also: 

• Covid-19 one year on: "There was possibility to tell everybody to panic but, on balance, our approach was right" says Northampton council leader Northampton Chronicle and Echo
• Covid-19 one year on: How half-term skiing trips gave the virus a foothold in Northamptonshire Northamptonshire Telegraph
• Brazil Covid variant could cause reinfection in 61% of people - and is more transmissible Northamptonshire Telegraph

New Macmillan telephone and online support service launches at KGH

New Macmillan telephone and online support service launches at KGH A new Macmillan telephone and online support service for cancer patients has been launched at KGH.

The service is providing practical, emotional and financial support virtually, by telephone, video call, email, and online and has already helped some 141 people. Northamptonshire Telegraph

Perplexing Presentations (PP)/Fabricated or Induced Illness (FII) in Children Guidance

Perplexing Presentations (PP)/Fabricated or Induced Illness (FII) in Children Guidance This new guidance provides procedures for safeguarding children who present with perplexing presentations and FII and offers practical advice for paediatricians on when and how to recognise it, how to assess risk and how to manage these types of presentations in order to obtain better outcomes for children. Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health

See also:

• Children's doctors given fabricated illness guidance BBC News

Frustrated, angry and unfair: staff experiences of DNAR decision-making in 2020

Frustrated, angry and unfair: staff experiences of DNAR decision-making in 2020 This report provides findings and recommendations from BIHR's research with staff members working across health, care and social work, who have shared their experiences of DNAR (Do Not Attempt Resuscitation) decisions. These recommendations focus on both the current Covid-19 context and the wider use of DNAR orders in “ordinary” times, and the need for them to be framed exactly as they are, as human rights issues. British Institute of Human Rights 

Workforce Race Equality Standard, summary briefing on 2020 national findings

Workforce Race Equality Standard, summary briefing on 2020 national findings The 2020 NHS Workforce Race Equality Standard (WRES) report provides the most comprehensive collation of data available on racial inequalities in the NHS workforce, and at this stage provides the opportunity to analyse trends over a five-year period. NHS Providers 

Official Statistics: Health Inequalities Dashboard: March 2021 data update

Official Statistics: Health Inequalities Dashboard: March 2021 data update The Health Inequalities Dashboard presents data on health inequalities for England, English regions, clinical commissioning groups and local authorities. Public Health England 

Official Statistics: Dementia profile: March 2021 update

Official Statistics: Dementia profile: March 2021 update Updated statistics on dementia prevalence, hospital admissions, care and mortality, at the national and subnational geographical areas in England. Public Health England 

Statement to Parliament: Our vaccination programme is a national success story

Statement to Parliament: Our vaccination programme is a national success story Oral statement by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the impact of the vaccine roll-out, and efforts to contain the new variant of concern first identified in Manaus in Brazil. Department of Health and Social Care

See also: 

• Research and analysis: COVID-19 variants: genomically confirmed case numbers Public Health England
• Guidance: Suspected acute viral respiratory infections: managing outbreaks in schools Public Health England

Covid Brazil variant 'may spread more easily'

Covid Brazil variant 'may spread more easily' The Brazil coronavirus variant now found in the UK appears more contagious and may evade immunity provided by past infection, scientists say.

Experiences from Manaus - the Amazonian city hit hard by the P.1 variant - suggest it could be up to twice as transmissible as earlier Covid there, the first detailed study suggests. BBC News

See also:

• Genomics and epidemiology of a novel SARS-CoV-2 lineage in Manaus, Brazil (preprint) Imperial College London and University of Sao Palo
• Covid vaccine being tested in patients with low immunity  BBC News
• What does Covid testing in schools look like?  BBC News
• Covid and dementia - 'let them see their families'  BBC News
• Britain's Covid vaccines should cut the risk of dying or being hospitalised MORE in younger adults The Daily Mail
• Coronavirus: UK narrows search for missing Brazil variant case to South East The Daily Mail
• Coronavirus: Eight out of England's 10 Covid hotspots have prisons The Daily Mail
• Covid deaths in England and Wales falling fastest among people over 80 The Guardian
• Healthcare professionals in the UK have a moral duty to get the Covid jab | Frances Ryan The Guardian
• Covid: Matt Hancock rules out regional approach to easing lockdown restrictions The Independent

NHS reforms risk sowing confusion and undermining safety, MPs warned

NHS reforms risk sowing confusion and undermining safety, MPs warned A bid for more control over the NHS by ministers risks undermining patient safety and sowing confusion over who is ultimately responsible for services, MPs have been warned. The Independent

More than 500 Covid deaths in Northamptonshire during first two months of 2021, according to official data

More than 500 Covid deaths in Northamptonshire during first two months of 2021, according to official data Official data indicates more than 500 people sadly died with Covid-19 in Northamptonshire during the first two months of 2021.

An Office for National Statistics interactive map reveals 1,204 people died from coronavirus across the county between March and the end of January. Northamptonshire Telegraph

See also: 

• Covid-19: Corby police issue fines in highest infection rate area BBC Northampton
• One week to go! How the big return to school will work in Northamptonshire Northampton Chronicle and Echo
• Stay off our beaches! Police message to Northamptonshire's Covidiots breaking lockdown for trip to seaside Northampton Chronicle and Echo
• Wellingborough businesses hit with fixed penalty notices for breaching Covid-19 restrictions Northamptonshire Telegraph
• Wellingborough's rapid Covid test centre set to open...once they fix the heating! Northamptonshire Telegraph

Woman charged over attack on police and medics at Northampton General Hospital

Woman charged over attack on police and medics at Northampton General Hospital A woman is due to appear in court later this month to face allegations of assaults on police and medical staff at Northampton General Hospital. Northampton Chronicle and Echo 

Who is most vulnerable to health-related misinformation about COVID-19?

Who is most vulnerable to health-related misinformation about COVID-19? Research by The Alan Turing Institute reveals who is most likely to believe online misinformation – and what can be done to tackle the problem. This research was funded by the Health Foundation. Dr Bertie Vidgen, a Research Fellow from The Alan Turing Institute, discusses the findings in this blog. 

Ovarian cancer equality spotlight report: Age

Ovarian cancer equality spotlight report: Age Over 7,000 women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer each year, with more than a third over the age of 70. Yet, in the first of a series of reports highlighting inequalities in ovarian cancer, women over 70 are not receiving the standard of care necessary to survive ovarian cancer. Ovarian Cancer Action

See also: 

• It’s Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month and we’re putting the spotlight on age inequality Ovarian Cancer Action
• ‘Substandard care’ for over-70s with ovarian cancer as 1 in 5 patients ‘gets no treatment’ The Independent

A consultancy habit? The use of external management advice in the NHS

A consultancy habit? The use of external management advice in the NHS The use of paid management consultants in the NHS has become habitual despite having a negative impact on efficiency. This inflation of demand for consulting services occurred even when they failed to improve performance. In fact, policy initiatives, such as outsourcing and private financing of hospital buildings had worse outcomes for efficiency when carried out with the help of consultants’ advice. Briefing from  University of Bristol 

Code of practice for the international recruitment of health and social care personnel in England

Code of practice for the international recruitment of health and social care personnel in England This code of practice aims to promote high standards of ethical practice in the international recruitment and employment of health and social care personnel. It also sets out the UK’s approach to supporting health and social care systems and workforce, alongside safeguards on active recruitment from countries with the most pressing universal health coverage related health and social care workforce needs. It is aimed at all health or social care organisations or recruitment agencies undertaking international recruitment. Department of Health and Social Care 

New data show vaccines reduce severe COVID-19 in older adults

New data show vaccines reduce severe COVID-19 in older adults New data show both Pfizer-BioNTech and Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines significantly reduce severe COVID-19 in older adults. Public Health England

See also: 

• Update on the Vaccine Taskforce: 1 March 2021 Department of Health and Social Care
• UK charities join together to boost vaccine drive Department of Health and Social Care
• Speech: Health and Social Care Secretary's statement on coronavirus (COVID-19): 1 March 2021 Department of Health and Social Care

Covid vaccines cut risk of serious illness by 80%

Covid vaccines cut risk of serious illness by 80% A single shot of either the Oxford-AstraZeneca or the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid jab reduces the chance of needing hospital treatment by more than 80%, an analysis in England shows.

The Public Health England data showed the effect kicked in three to four weeks after vaccination.

It was based on people aged over 80 who were the first to receive the jab. BBC News

See also: 

• Covid: Teachers' risk 'similar' to other under-65s BBC News
• Covid-19: Free rapid testing for pupils' families in England BBC News
• Up to 55,000 Covid-positive people never got their test results, official figures show The Daily Mail
• Coronavirus UK: Nadhim Zahawi says NHS vaccine speed will double in March The Daily Mail
• Nearly a quarter of NHS staff in London are refusing Covid vaccines The Daily Telegraph
• Health and postal services seeking person with Brazil Covid variant, says Zahawi The Guardian
• Johnson defends hotel quarantine amid hunt for Brazil variant case The Guardian
• Brazil Covid variant in at least 15 countries not on UK's travel red list The Guardian
• World yet to see ‘full extent of coronavirus evolutions’, warns leading UK scientist The Independent
• Covid-19 vaccine: NHS on track to jab the large majority of British adults by mid-May iNews

Lawyers to argue for mother and baby's right to Healthy Start in UK

Lawyers to argue for mother and baby's right to Healthy Start in UK Exclusive: Scheme aiming to reduce child poverty and health inequalities excludes some of poorest families

An 11-month-old baby and her mother are bringing a case in the high court to try to secure the baby’s right to free vitamins, formula milk and nutritious food.

In the first case of its kind, lawyers for the mother and baby are arguing the baby should not be excluded from the UK government’s Healthy Start scheme, which aims to reduce child poverty and health inequalities. The Guardian