Almost 11,000 Britons could be living with undiagnosed breast cancer, charity warns

Almost 11,000 Britons could be living with undiagnosed breast cancer, charity warns Breast Cancer Now said there were 10,700 fewer people diagnosed with the condition between March and December - when Covid infections spiralled - than expected for the time of year. The Daily Mail

See also:

• Almost 11,000 people living with undiagnosed breast cancer in UK Breast Cancer Now

Northamptonshire public health boss: 'Today is First step on a long road to a more normal way of life'

Northamptonshire public health boss: 'Today is First step on a long road to a more normal way of life' Today marks the first step on a long road to normality but there is work still to do, Northamptonshire's public health boss has said. Northamptonshire Telegraph

See also: 

• Covid-19: Fans fined at Corby gathering after Rangers' title win BBC Northampton
• Covid one year on: How the director of health in Northamptonshire suddenly found herself at the centre of the pandemic Northampton Chronicle and Echo
• Boris Johnson plays down calls for easing of restrictions Northampton Chronicle and Echo
• Dismissed! Northamptonshire hospitals thank Army volunteers for help during height of pandemic Northampton Chronicle and Echo
• Corby village school's EIGHT positive staff lateral flow tests cause delay to classroom returns Northamptonshire Telegraph
• Corby care home which suffered deadly Covid outbreak told it needs to improve Northamptonshire Telegraph

RCN independent review of guidelines for the prevention and control of Covid-19 in health care settings in the United Kingdom: evaluation and messages for future infection-related emergency planning

RCN independent review of guidelines for the prevention and control of Covid-19 in health care settings in the United Kingdom: evaluation and messages for future infection-related emergency planning This report of an independent review finds that the government’s Covid-19 infection control guidelines, which are used across the UK, are in need of updating. It calls for all NHS staff to be given a higher level of personal protective equipment as a precautionary measure pending the outcome of a review. Royal College of Nursing 

Opportunities to repurpose medicines in the NHS in England

Opportunities to repurpose medicines in the NHS in England The Repurposing Medicines Programme was established to identify and pursue opportunities to strengthen the evidence base, licencing, supply and cost effectiveness of un-licenced or off label medicines in current (or likely future) common use in the NHS. This report outlines the findings of the programme and the proposed future work programme. NHS England 

Healthcare for the Armed Forces community: a forward view

Healthcare for the Armed Forces community: a forward view This guidance is a companion document to the NHS Long Term Plan, outlining the commitments NHS England and NHS Improvement is making to improve the health and wellbeing of the Armed Forces community, serving personnel (regulars and reservists), veterans and their families. NHS England 

Guidance: Preconception advice for women with serious mental illness

Guidance: Preconception advice for women with serious mental illness Resources for health care professionals and women with a mental health condition who are planning a pregnancy or may become pregnant in the future. Public Health England 

Relaunch of the Act FAST campaign to improve stroke outcomes

Relaunch of the Act FAST campaign to improve stroke outcomes The Act FAST campaign urges everyone to take immediate action on seeing any stroke symptoms to save lives – the NHS is open.

Data from the lockdown period of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic last year show that admissions to hospital for stroke fell – a 12% drop between March and April 2020. Public Health England 

Coronavirus and vaccine hesitancy, Great Britain: 13 January to 7 February 2021

Coronavirus and vaccine hesitancy, Great Britain: 13 January to 7 February 2021 Hesitancy towards the coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine, based on the Opinions and Lifestyle Survey covering the period 13 January to 7 February 2021.

Positive vaccine sentiment has increased to 94% in the latest period (24 to 28 February), from 78% when the data were first collected (10 to 13 December 2020). Office for National Statistics

See also: 

• Young, poor and black Britons most hesitant about getting Covid vaccine, new statistics show The Independent

Covid-19: Nightingale hospitals to close from April

Covid-19: Nightingale hospitals to close from April The network of emergency Nightingale hospitals set up to cope with a surge of Covid-19 cases is to close from April, the NHS has said.

Established last spring amid fears that the NHS might be overwhelmed, the temporary hospitals in England were largely not needed.

Some were used as rehab centres and the sites in London and Sunderland will stay open for vaccinations. BBC News

See also: 

• New US guidance says fully vaccinated people can meet without masks BBC News
• Boris Johnson: 'Inevitable' Covid transmission risk with schools return BBC News
• Covid vaccines: How fast is progress around the world? BBC News
• Covid-19 Symptom Checker 'failed to pick up serious illness' The Daily Mail
• Return to schools could alter Covid roadmap, Boris Johnson warns The Guardian
• Lab test shows Pfizer Covid vaccine is effective against Brazil variant The Independent
• NHS to boost vaccine uptake with text message campaign The Independent
• Labour tells government to hold regular NHS 'war-games' to prepare for future pandemics The Independent
• Banksy painting sale hopes to raise millions for NHS - and celebrate heroes of the pandemic Sky News

Hospitals forced to repay millions after falsely claiming their maternity units were safe

Hospitals forced to repay millions after falsely claiming their maternity units were safe NHS hospitals have been forced to pay millions of pounds to regulators after wrongly claiming their maternity units were among the safest in the country.

Seven NHS trusts, including some now at the centre of major care scandals, will have to pay back a total of £8.5m after self-assessments of their maternity services were found to be false. The Independent 

Dr Jenny Harries is favourite to take over England's National Institute of Health Protection

Dr Jenny Harries is favourite to take over England's National Institute of Health Protection Dr Jenny Harries, who has worked in public health for well over a decade, would take over from Baroness Dido Harding as chief of NHS Test & Trace and oversee the replacement of Public Health England. The Daily Mail

Covid-19: Corby 'worried' about staying in lockdown

Covid-19: Corby 'worried' about staying in lockdown For the last month Corby in Northamptonshire has had one of the highest Covid-19 rates in England. So how do people there feel about the easing of restrictions and what do they think is behind their persistently high rates? BBC Northampton

See also:

• Northamptonshire's Covid map now shows 12 areas where virus is on its way out Northampton Chronicle and Echo
• Northamptonshire parents warned: don't send your kids to school if the have Covid symptoms Northampton Chronicle and Echo
• Covid-19: 'There is a very, very bright light at the end of the tunnel,' say Northamptonshire health chiefs Northamptonshire Telegraph
• Police ‘reviewing footage’ of Corby Glasgow Rangers celebration and could fine organiser £10,000 Northamptonshire Telegraph

NHS England says it may have to start cutting care without additional funding

NHS England says it may have to start cutting care without additional funding NHS England bosses have warned the service needs an extra £8 billion in funding to cover coronavirus costs - or they may be forced to cut care.

Chiefs have called on UK Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, to provide extra funding to the NHS, saying that the Chancellor is attempting to pay for coronavirus care by taking money out of the usual health service budget, leading to delays in care for non-Covid patients. Northamptonshire Telegraph 

Exploring referral-to-treatment waiting trajectories in 2021

Exploring referral-to-treatment waiting trajectories in 2021 This briefing explores recent trends in waiting times and considers how waiting patterns may unfold in 2021. It accompanies Building Back Elective Care, an NHS Confederation briefing on what the NHS needs to clear backlogs of planned care as the immediate pressures of COVID-19 start to subside. NHS Confederation

See also:

• Health bosses warn of 'hidden' waiting list of six million patients The Daily Mail
• Six million ‘hidden’ patients could flood NHS waiting lists this year The Independent

Involving and supporting partners and other family members in specialist perinatal mental health services: good practice guide

Involving and supporting partners and other family members in specialist perinatal mental health services: good practice guide This best practice guidance describes women and their families with a positive experience of care, with services joined up around them and earlier diagnosis and intervention, and support to recover, ensuring fewer women, their infants and partners suffer avoidable harm. NHS England

Living safely with Covid: moving toward a strategy for sustainable exit from the pandemic

Living safely with Covid: moving toward a strategy for sustainable exit from the pandemic This report aims to support Directors of Public Health, local authorities and wider partners in considering the approaches that are most appropriate as the country moves out of lockdown. It focuses specifically on the inequalities that have been observed during the pandemic and the actions that should be taken to address them. It also explores early thinking on recovery and how this might be maximised to address the wider health and economic impacts of Covid-19 in an equitable and fair way. Association of Directors of Public Health 

Government launches call for evidence to improve health and wellbeing of women in England

Government launches call for evidence to improve health and wellbeing of women in England Women are being encouraged to share their experiences of the health and care system via a call for evidence aimed at improving healthcare for women. Department of Health and Social Care 

Free rapid tests for all businesses for regular workplace testing

Free rapid tests for all businesses for regular workplace testing All businesses in England are now able to sign up to the government’s free COVID-19 workplace testing programme. Department of Health and Social Care

See also: 

• NHS invites people aged 56 to 59 for their COVID jab NHS England
• Schools and colleges to reopen from tomorrow as part of Step One of the roadmap Public Health England

Covid-19: Vaccine offers for those aged 56 or over

Covid-19: Vaccine offers for those aged 56 or over People aged 56 to 59 in England are being invited to book their coronavirus vaccine from this week.

Letters for people in the age group, offering them the vaccine, started being delivered to homes on Saturday.

It comes after eight in 10 people aged 65 to 69 have taken up the offer of a jab, NHS England said. BBC News

See also:

• Covid-19: School rapid test cannot be overruled, says minister BBC News
• Covid: Nurses condemn 'fundamentally flawed' PPE rules BBC News
• Covid-19: Vaccinated NHS staff numbers vary across England BBC News
• Covid-19: Mystery UK person with Brazil variant found BBC News
• Coronavirus UK: Britain's daily Covid cases drop to 5,947 and deaths fall by a third The Daily Mail
• Coronavirus: UK will have to 'live with a substantial degree of death' in post-lockdown era The Daily Mail
• Daily Covid-19 deaths fall below 100 for first time since October The Daily Telegraph
• 'There’s a lot of nasty stuff': the people living with long Covid The Guardian
• Young, poor and black Britons most hesitant about getting Covid vaccine, new statistics show The Independent
• ‘Inevitable’ children returning to school will cause Covid cases to rise, says government adviser The Independent

What is going on with government Covid contracts?

What is going on with government Covid contracts? During the pandemic, the government has awarded thousands of contracts to private companies, spending billions of pounds of public money in the process.

They cover everything from personal protective equipment (PPE) - masks, gowns and gloves - to services such as researching public opinion about the government's Covid measures.

But the way these contracts have been awarded - and the huge sums of money involved - have led to accusations of a lack of transparency. BBC News