Kettering General Hospital medics honoured at professional excellence awards

Kettering General Hospital medics honoured at professional excellence awards The professional excellence of medical students, junior doctors and consultants at Kettering General Hospital (KGH) has been celebrated with an annual award. Northamptonshire Telegraph

Shared decision making from the perspective of clinicians and healthcare professionals

Shared decision making from the perspective of clinicians and healthcare professionals This report finds healthcare professionals are positive about shared decision making — a way of working with patients to decide treatment options. But the report also finds professionals’ ability to practice shared decision making regularly is limited by the current crisis in the NHS. The report makes a number of recommendations and the Patients Association will now look to partner with NHS England, the Personalised Care Institute and other organisations to support professionals' call for more support to practice shared decision making. Patients Association

Building a supportive and empowering first 1,000 days of life

Building a supportive and empowering first 1,000 days of life An innovative community and inpatient mental health partnership in Birmingham works with partners to support long-term emotional and physical wellbeing and resilience among children in the first 1,000 days of life. NHS Confederation

Better mental health support for people in crisis

Better mental health support for people in crisis Patients to benefit from new mental health ambulances and improvements to crisis care backed by £150 million as draft Mental Health Bill moves to next stage. Department of Health and Social Care

See also:

• Policy paper: Draft Mental Health Bill 2022 Department of Health and Social Care
• Reforms to the Mental Health Act welcome, but need scrutiny Mind
• Draft Mental Health Bill important step towards badly needed reform NHS Confederation
• Mental health announcements welcome, but more is needed NHS Providers
• Mental Health Act one step closer to reform Rethink Mental Illness
• Guide to the draft Mental Health Bill Community Care
• Sajid Javid announces 'once in a lifetime reform' to protect autistic people The Daily Mail

Sewage in water - a growing public health problem

Sewage in water - a growing public health problem A joint opinion piece from Professor Chris Whitty, Chief Medical Officer for England, Jonson Cox, Ofwat chair and Emma Howard Boyd, Environment Agency chair. Department of Health and Social Care

Covid-booster response hope for most vulnerable

Covid-booster response hope for most vulnerable More than a million vulnerable people could improve their protection against Covid by taking a short break from medication after a booster jab, a trial suggests.

It found stopping the common immune-suppressing drug methotrexate for two weeks doubled spike antibody levels for up to 12 weeks.

Some people experienced disease flare-ups but no impact on quality of life. BBC News

See also:

• Effect of a 2-week interruption in methotrexate treatment versus continued treatment on COVID-19 booster vaccine immunity in adults with inflammatory conditions (VROOM study): a randomised, open label, superiority trial (open access) The Lancet Respiratory Medicine
• No10 confirms it's watching emergence of two Omicron sub-variants responsible for UK Covid comeback The Daily Mail
• Possible link between blood clots and Covid symptoms investigated The Guardian

Warnings of mental health crisis among ‘Covid generation’ of students

Warnings of mental health crisis among ‘Covid generation’ of students The pandemic has had a lasting legacy on the mental health of the “Covid generation” of students, exacerbating rates of anxiety, depression and self-harm and resulting in a “significant rise” in young people struggling at university, experts have said. The Guardian

UK doctors demand pay rise of up to 30% over five years

UK doctors demand pay rise of up to 30% over five years Doctors have thrown down the gauntlet to the government by calling for a pay rise of up to 30% over the next five years, in a move that increases the chances of strike action.

Delegates at the British Medical Association’s (BMA) annual conference voted to press ministers to agree to the increase to make up for real-terms cuts to their salaries over the last 14 years. The Guardian

See also:

• Doctors warn of industrial action amid pay squeeze BBC News
• Doctors want a 30 PER CENT pay rise amid threat of NHS strikes The Daily Mail
• BMA to demand significant pay rises to combat 15 years of real-term cuts GPonline
• Doctors mull strike action over ‘30% real-terms pay cut since 2008’ The Independent
• NHS strike is likely to be the only way staff can restore 'millions' in lost pay, doctors warn iNews

London NHS hospital trusts in row over £190m rebuilding scheme

London NHS hospital trusts in row over £190m rebuilding scheme An extraordinary row has broken out between two NHS hospital trusts, with one accusing the other of endangering the safety of seriously ill patients through a £190m development scheme.

University College London hospital (UCLH) claims Great Ormond Street (GOSH) children’s hospital’s rebuilding of its ageing site will lead to patients being denied time-critical care because they will become stuck in ambulances trapped in construction site traffic. The Guardian

NHS medical students are now training on HOLOGRAMS to practice treating anaphylaxis and pneumonia

NHS medical students are now training on HOLOGRAMS to practice treating anaphylaxis and pneumonia Patient holograms are to be used to train British medical students in a world-first.

Medics at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge will wear virtual reality headsets and treat life-like 3D patients as part of their training.

The pioneering technology will be used to teach a range of modules, starting with respiratory and emergency medicine. The Daily Mail

Health chiefs issue fresh advice after new Covid variants lead to rise in hospitalisations in Northamptonshire

Health chiefs issue fresh advice after new Covid variants lead to rise in hospitalisations in Northamptonshire Public health officials have reminded the public that Covid-19 has not gone away after to new variants of the virus have emerged in Northamptonshire, leading to an increase in hospital admittances. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

See also:

• 'Covid-19 hasn’t gone away' say Northants health bosses as infection rates rise again Northants Live

A reflective learning framework for partnering: insights from the early work of the Healthy Communities Together partnerships

A reflective learning framework for partnering: insights from the early work of the Healthy Communities Together partnerships As integrated care systems develop, NHS, local authority and voluntary sector organisations working in health and care in England are coming together and working in partnership to improve the health and wellbeing of local populations. But what does it take to ensure these new partnerships succeed? Here we offer a framework for reflective learning that partners can use together. The King's Fund

What is Scotland’s new National Care Service?

What is Scotland’s new National Care Service? The Scottish government this week published landmark legislation to support its vision of social care reform. It will see a new national body, the National Care Service, being formed to set standards and commissioning priorities for delivery by newly established local care boards. Nuffield Trust

Integration and innovation in action: population health

Integration and innovation in action: population health This report shows how health and care systems are connecting people, place and power structures to establish partnerships that are sharing power and decision-making – creating healthier, resilient and empowered communities. It spotlights some of these examples, demonstrating how health and care organisations are working in new and different ways to improve population health. It concludes that local health and care systems need to reset their focus to cultivate the conditions for health creation through asset-based community health development. NHS Confederation

Men urged to talk about mental health to prevent suicide

Men urged to talk about mental health to prevent suicide The Health and Social Care Secretary, Sajid Javid, set out actions being taken to prevent suicides and urged men to talk about their mental health in a speech at suicide prevention charity Papyrus’s headquarters in London today, Friday 24 June 2022. Department of Health and Social Care

UKHSA urges those with new or multiple sexual partners to be vigilant as monkeypox outbreak grows

UKHSA urges those with new or multiple sexual partners to be vigilant as monkeypox outbreak grows The UK Health Security Agency has published its second technical briefing on the ongoing monkeypox outbreak. The briefing shares UKHSA analyses with public health investigators and academic partners.

The latest epidemiological data, findings from interviews with patients and preliminary analyses are included to understand how the outbreak is evolving and to inform timely and effective public health interventions.

See also:

• Research: Monkeypox outbreak: epidemiological overview UK Health Security Agency 
• Guidance: Monkeypox: background information UK Health Security Agency 

COVID-19 variants identified in the UK – latest updates

COVID-19 variants identified in the UK – latest updates The UK Health Security Agency is reminding people to ensure their COVID-19 vaccinations are up to date and to continue following COVID-safe behaviours, as latest technical data indicates BA.4 and BA.5 have become dominant in the UK and are driving the recent increase in infections.

UK sees another jump in Covid infections

UK sees another jump in Covid infections Covid infections are continuing to rise in the UK, the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show.

The data suggests about 1.7 million people were estimated to have Covid in the week ending 18 June.

This is about one in 35 people - an increase of 23% on the week before.

Experts say two new fast-spreading subvariants of Omicron - called BA.4 and BA.5 - are likely to be driving new infections. BBC News

See also:

• How many cases in your area? BBC News
• Sir Jonathan Van-Tam: I don't wear a face mask anymore BBC News
• Covid's comeback sees outbreak grow by a fifth as admissions hit 1,000 for first time since April The Daily Mail
• Over-75s urged to check when they last had a Covid vaccine as cases rise The Daily Telegraph
• Britain is being hit by a new wave of Covid – so what do we do now? The Guardian
• Can our mitochondria help to beat long Covid? The Guardian
• Johnson faces possible legal action over delay to Covid public inquiry The Guardian
• Covid UK: Calls for booster jabs by Autumn as cases continue to rise The Independent
• Covid: UK in ‘fifth wave already’ as experts warn summer events will see infections surge even higher The Independent

Polio: Virus found in London prompts misleading vaccine claims

Polio: Virus found in London prompts misleading vaccine claims Claims are spreading online about what the detection of the polio virus in London sewage means.

Health officials believe the polio they found in sewage samples may have been brought to the UK by someone who was vaccinated abroad with a live form of the virus.

But misleading posts, shared on Twitter and on the encrypted messaging app Telegram, are suggesting that vaccines in general can cause disease outbreaks. BBC News

See also:

• Polio confusion as parents CAN'T tell if their children have been vaccinated The Daily Mail
• From monkeypox to polio, here’s why so many viruses are attacking the UK The Daily Telegraph
• Polio outbreak is ‘jolt’ needed to tackle falling child vaccine uptake ‘before it’s too late’, expert warns The Independent
• What is polio and what happened the last time there was an epidemic in the UK? The Independent
• Polio: Should we be worried about virus found in London sewage? New Scientist

Roe v Wade: US Supreme Court strikes down abortion rights

Roe v Wade: US Supreme Court strikes down abortion rights Millions of women in the US will lose the constitutional right to abortion, after the Supreme Court overturned its 50-year-old Roe v Wade decision.

The judgement paves the way for individual states to ban the procedure.

Half are expected to introduce new restrictions or bans. Thirteen have already passed so-called trigger laws to automatically outlaw abortion.

President Joe Biden described it as "a tragic error" and urged states to enact laws to allow the procedure. BBC News

See also:

• US Supreme Court decision to revoke abortion rights condemned by leading global healthcare organisations Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
• Roe v Wade: The world reacts to US abortion ruling BBC News
• Roe v Wade: Abortion clinics start to close after Supreme Court ruling BBC News
• Roe v Wade: US firms pledge to pay staff travel expenses for abortions BBC News
• Roe v Wade: Fears women will turn to dangerous illegal abortions after US Supreme Court decision The Daily Mail
• Protests resume nationwide for second day following end of Roe v. Wade The Daily Mail
• The supreme court just overturned Roe v Wade – what happens next? The Guardian
• What is Roe v Wade and why was it overturned? The Independent
• After Roe v. Wade: US researchers warn of what’s to come Nature
• Roe v Wade: How did we get here? Sky News