UK faces legal action for approving firm accused of using forced labour as PPE supplier

UK faces legal action for approving firm accused of using forced labour as PPE supplier The UK government is facing legal action over its decision to keep using a Malaysian company accused of using forced labour as a supplier of personal protective equipment (PPE) to the NHS.

Lawyers at the London-based law firm Wilson Solicitors have filed for a judicial review of the government’s decision to name the UK subsidiary of the Malaysian company Supermax as one of the approved suppliers in a new £6bn contract for disposable gloves for NHS workers. The Guardian

See also:

• Tory peer Michelle Mone secretly involved in PPE firm she referred to government The Guardian

Are free prescriptions being scrapped? Why there are fears of NHS medicine charges for over-60s from April

Are free prescriptions being scrapped? Why there are fears of NHS medicine charges for over-60s from April Vulnerable older people may have to choose between food and medicine if the Government increases the age at which they can access free NHS prescriptions, campaigners have warned.

Raising the upper age exemption in England from 60 to 66, in line with the state pension age, would be a “disaster for tens of thousands of people who may face a new barrier to accessing their vital medicines”, said the Prescription Charges Coalition. iNews

First case of human H5-type bird flu found in UK

First case of human H5-type bird flu found in UK A duck expert has been identified as the first person in Britain to be infected with a deadly strain of H5 bird flu.

Alan Gosling, 79, tested positive for the virus during routine swabbing after the flock of Muscovy ducks he kept at his home in Buckfastleigh, Devon, became infected and were culled last week. The Daily Telegraph

See also: 

• Human case of avian flu detected in UK UK Health Security Agency
• Human case of bird flu detected in the UK BBC News
• Bird flu: ‘Very rare’ case detected in person in southwest England The Independent

Global dementia cases will TRIPLE by 2050 unless people adopt healthier lifestyles, study warns

Global dementia cases will TRIPLE by 2050 unless people adopt healthier lifestyles, study warns Dementia cases will triple by 2050 unless people adopt healthier lifestyles and education improves, a major study suggests.

Experts warn of a potential dementia time bomb, with 153million living with the condition worldwide within decades.

This is up from 57million in 2019, with the soaring numbers fuelled by growing and ageing populations as well as poor diets and a lack of exercise. The Daily Mail

See also: 

• Estimation of the global prevalence of dementia in 2019 and forecasted prevalence in 2050: an analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019 (open access) The Lancet Public Health

Northamptonshire's mental health phoneline received more than 3100 calls for help in 11 days over festive period

Northamptonshire's mental health phoneline received more than 3100 calls for help in 11 days over festive period Northamptonshire' s mental health help line received more than 3,100 calls in just 11 days during the festive season, averaging more than calls per day.

The mental health number, which was launched back in April 2020, is a 24/ hour telephone helpline designed as the only number you need to call for mental health support in the county. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

One in eight in Northamptonshire had a New Year's resolution to quit smoking

One in eight in Northamptonshire had a New Year's resolution to quit smoking Figures show up to one in eight people in Northamptonshire went into 2022 considering quitting smoking.

Public Health England data shows 13.1 percent of the area's adults — around 75,000 people — smoked in 2020, above the national average of 12.1 percent. Northamptonshire Telegraph

2021: the health policy year in 12 charts

2021: the health policy year in 12 charts 2021 may have been another ‘year of Covid’ but there was still plenty of other health policy news, notes and data to recap in our annual round-up of the year. So before we turn the page to 2022, let’s take our annual chart-based look at the year that was. The King's Fund 

Omicron and emergency care crisis could derail plans to tackle backlog, warn MPs

Omicron and emergency care crisis could derail plans to tackle backlog, warn MPs The Health and Social Care Committee’s Report on clearing the backlog caused by the pandemic finds that the elective recovery plans are threatened by pressure on emergency care with a record number of 999 calls and waiting times in emergency departments at record levels.  

The Report concludes that tackling the wider backlog caused by the pandemic is a major and ‘unquantifiable’ challenge. It calls for a broad national health and care recovery plan to include mental health, primary care, community care, and social care as well as emergency care.  

See also: 

• Clearing the backlog caused by the pandemic (report) Health and Social Care Committee
• BMA says the Government must listen in order to end the staffing crisis BMA
• Government must be realistic about the time and resources needed to clear the NHS backlog The Health Foundation
• Response to HSCSC inquiry on the backlog of care caused by the pandemic NHS Confederation
• RCN comments on Health and Social Care Committee report ‘Clearing the backlog caused by the pandemic' Royal College of Nursing
• RCP responds to the Health and Social Care Committee's report on clearing the backlog Royal College of Physicians
• RCGP responds to Health and Social Care Committee Report on NHS backlog Royal College of General Practitioners
• Fix NHS staffing crisis to tackle waiting lists backlog, warn MPs BBC News
• Government told to 'wake up' over NHS staff crisis as MPs highlight pressure on GPs GPonline
• MPs call for urgent action to tackle NHS treatment waiting list The Guardian

Urgent steps needed now to avoid staffing crisis in the NHS

Urgent steps needed now to avoid staffing crisis in the NHS The NHS is facing a staffing crisis which threatens the quality of patient care unless urgent steps are taken now by the Government to help alleviate the mounting pressure on front-line services.

The NHS Confederation, which represents the whole healthcare system in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, is calling for a range of measures to be taken in the NHS in England to support hospitals, ambulance services, mental health and community providers, primary care and social care providers.

See also: 

• Ministers must act now on NHS staffing crisis, health chiefs warn The Guardian
• Assurances NHS is not overwhelmed ‘will not chime’ with experience of staff The Independent

Covid: Boris Johnson confirms Plan B rules to continue for three weeks

Covid: Boris Johnson confirms Plan B rules to continue for three weeks England's current Plan B rules will continue for now, Boris Johnson has confirmed - as new figures show a record one in 15 people had Covid on New Year's Eve.

In an update to MPs, the prime minister said the Covid measures will be reviewed again by 26 January. BBC News

See also: 

• Shapps: No PCR needed for asymptomatic Covid cases BBC News
• Covid: PCR not needed after positive lateral flow under new plans BBC News
• Covid: French uproar as Macron vows to 'piss off' unvaccinated BBC News
• Record 3.3 MILLION people - one in 15 - had Covid on New Year's Eve in England The Daily Mail
• NHS workers left empty handed in scramble for lateral flows The Daily Mail
• Hundreds of UK care homes are closing their doors to new patients The Daily Mail
• PCR vs LFT: Lateral flows can cut Covid isolation but could leave one in 10 with false positive The Daily Telegraph
• At least 24 NHS trusts declare critical incidents due to Covid pressures The Guardian
• ‘Covid is affecting all of acute care – so the system sludges up’ The Guardian
• People urged to report results of home Covid tests after follow-up PCRs suspended The Guardian
• Will the UK’s Covid booster campaign pick up speed in January? The Guardian
• Covid: UK reports 194747 new cases as pressure mounts on NHS and hospitals cancel surgeries The Independent
• Nurses in 'disbelief' as PM fails to act despite NHS being 'more broken than ever' Nursing Notes
• Will Omicron tip the NHS into a winter crisis? Sky News

NHS hospital uses robot technology

NHS hospital uses robot technology The NHS is facing unprecedented challenges with long waiting lists for treatment and staff shortages.

But could robots be part of the solution? 

A hospital in Bristol is already using robots to improve efficiency in some behind the scenes roles and is now experimenting with how robots might interact with patients. BBC News

Nurse ‘victimised’ for wearing cross at work was unfairly dismissed, tribunal rules

Nurse ‘victimised’ for wearing cross at work was unfairly dismissed, tribunal rules A nurse who claimed she was victimised for wearing a necklace with a Christian cross at work has won a case for unfair dismissal.

Mary Onuoha, a theatre practitioner at Croydon university hospital, Surrey, was discriminated against and harassed, an employment tribunal ruled on Wednesday. The Guardian 

New map shows Northampton's Covid hotspots

New map shows Northampton's Covid hotspots Covid-19 cases spread so fast in Northampton between Christmas and New Year the government's interactive map needed a new colour to show spiralling infections. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

See also:

• Northampton General Hospital restricts visitors BBC Northampton
• Follow-up PCR testing rules to be ‘relaxed’ to tackle staff shortages Northampton Chronicle and Echo
• Fears over Covid-19 spread behind Northampton General Hospital suspending visiting for majority of patients Northampton Chronicle and Echo
• People warned not to share pictures of Covid lateral flow tests online Northamptonshire Telegraph
• Jabs army on target to give 380,000 people a Covid-19 booster in Northamptonshire by end of 2021 Northamptonshire Telegraph
• Northamptonshire hit with nine Covid black spots as cases soar Northants Live

East Midlands Ambulance Service receives record-breaking number of calls in first few hours of 2022

East Midlands Ambulance Service receives record-breaking number of calls in first few hours of 2022 The ambulance service that covers Northamptonshire received a record-breaking number of calls in the first few hours of 2022. Northamptonshire Telegraph 

Another year, another variant, but what lies in store for the NHS and social care in 2022?

Another year, another variant, but what lies in store for the NHS and social care in 2022? As I wrote 2021’s New Year blog exactly a year ago, the Alpha variant of Covid-19 was laying waste to the green shoots of recovery we’d begun to see emerge across health and care after the first wave of the pandemic. Back then, the vaccination programme was in its infancy, but still offered the hope of an ultimate end to the Covid-19 crisis. Here I write at the end of 2021, where once again recovery – for the country, for the NHS and for social care – is on hold as a new and deadly race takes place between the Omicron variant and another wave of vaccination. This is not where we wanted to be. The King's Fund 

Time for action: investing in comprehensive mental health support for children and young people

Time for action: investing in comprehensive mental health support for children and young people This report, published together with the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Coalition, highlights the historic underinvestment in children and young people’s mental health, and the postcode lottery of support which has resulted. Public spending on children’s mental health lags behind investment in adult mental health services and there is wide variation in the amount spent per child in different areas. The report calls for a comprehensive mental health investment strategy for 0-25 year olds. Centre for Mental Health 

Telephone survey two: PCNs and Covid-19

Telephone survey two: PCNs and Covid-19 The purpose of the telephone survey was to try and understand the role primary care networks (PCNs) had played in response to the Covid-19 pandemic; focussing on whether the pandemic had influenced and shaped the development and operation of PCNs and whether PCNs had worked collectively or as individual practices in their Covid-19 response. This short report comprises data collected between August and December 2020. Data is from eighteen qualitative telephone interviews with clinical commissioning group staff from across England. Policy Research Unit in Commissioning and the Healthcare System 

New campaign launch reveals 6 major health benefits to losing weight

New campaign launch reveals 6 major health benefits to losing weight A new Better Health marketing campaign has been launched today to help people prevent risks of developing serious illness and help reduce the risk of being hospitalised with COVID-19.

Better Health is working in partnership with 15 weight management and physical activity partners who are providing both free and discounted offers and the website will also signpost to local weight management support. Department of Health and Social Care 

One year anniversary of UK deploying Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine

One year anniversary of UK deploying Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine One year ago, Tuesday 4 January 2021, the UK became the first country in the world to administer the Oxford University/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine. Department of Health and Social Care

See also:

• Testing measures to ensure young people return to classrooms Department of Health and Social Care
• More than two million jabs up for grabs over next week NHS England
• NHS Reports More Than A Quarter Of A Million Covid Boosters Over Jabby New Year NHS England
• Research: COVID-19: estimated administrative vaccine uptake for people aged 18 and over UK Health Security Agency
• Research: COVID-19: Omicron daily overview UK Health Security Agency

Is the end of Omicron in sight?

Is the end of Omicron in sight? Much as we'd all like the disruptions caused by Omicron to be reduced, it is still too early to know its trend, explains Matthew Taylor. NHS Confederation