After 320,000 jabs in 22 months, Northamptonshire’s Covid vaccination centre shuts down this weekend

After 320,000 jabs in 22 months, Northamptonshire’s Covid vaccination centre shuts down this weekend Northamptonshire’s Covid vaccination centre at Moulton Park will close its doors for the last time on Saturday (November 12).

The centre opened in January 2021 and has has delivered more than 320,000 jabs — including more than 2,000 in a single day at the height of the rollout.

It has played a key role in the campaign to protect the county’s population from the worse effects of coronavirus. But with dozens of local community clinics and a mobile service now operating, there are many other options for patients to continue to access vaccines in more convenient locations around the county. Northamptonshire Telegraph

Son criticises Northampton General Hospital after cancer-stricken mother is left to wait in corridor for 48 hours

Son criticises Northampton General Hospital after cancer-stricken mother is left to wait in corridor for 48 hours The son of an 83-year-old woman with cancer has criticised Northampton General Hospital (NGH) for making his mother sit in a corridor for 48 hours.

Anthony Hall says his mother, Joyce Ruddock, from Briar Hill, was taken to NGH in an ambulance on Wednesday, November 2 at 4pm after her health deteriorated. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Bipolar Minds Matter Quicker diagnosis and specialist support for everyone with bipolar

Bipolar Minds Matter: Quicker diagnosis and specialist support for everyone with bipolar Bipolar UK presented the full Bipolar Commission report at a parliamentary reception on 8 November 2022. This 'Bipolar Minds Matter' report calls for an immediate restructure of the healthcare system that is failing millions affected by bipolar, and puts forward the case for developing a dedicated care pathway so that people with bipolar can have access to specialist treatment and continuity of support over a lifetime. 

The full report includes the Bipolar Commissions recommendation's and two appendices: 'The impact of bipolar on women' written by Dr Clare Dolman and 'The economic impact of bipolar' written by Professor Paul McCrone.

See also:

• Routine bipolar screening should be ingrained in NHS, say experts The Guardian

Experiences of being in hospital for people with a learning disability and autistic people

Experiences of being in hospital for people with a learning disability and autistic people This report looks at what people with a learning disability and people with autism experience when they need physical health care and treatment in hospital. Care Quality Commission

Feeling blue: the experiences of ambulance staff

Feeling blue: the experiences of ambulance staff How ambulance staff feel about their work has long been a concern, but the results of the latest staff survey show that their job satisfaction has deteriorated further. Cyril Lobont takes a closer look at the findings and describes the importance of improving the situation. Nuffield Trust

Primary care networks: three years on

Primary care networks: three years on This report considers the progress of primary care networks (PCNs) since their establishment in July 2019, taking stock of the challenges they have faced as well as their successes. NHS Confederation

Delivering a quality public health function in integrated care boards

Delivering a quality public health function in integrated care boards This checklist sets out how integrated care boards (ICBs) provide a quality public health function across the ICS. NHS England

Nurses' strike: Why NHS is on brink of first UK walkout

Nurses' strike: Why NHS is on brink of first UK walkout The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) - which represents hundreds of thousands of nurses in the UK - is set to announce the results of its strike ballot on Wednesday.

It is widely expected that the members will have voted for a walkout.

If that happens, it will be the first UK-wide strike by the union in its 106-year history. BBC News

See also:

• NHS strike threat grows as Unite announces ballots spread across England and Wales Unite
• Nurses' strike: Why young NHS workers are voting 'yes' BBC News
• Chaos at union behind nursing strike: Royal College of Nursing faces vote of no confidence The Daily Mail
• Fury as nursing union behind NHS strikes advertises better-paid jobs for medics ABROAD The Daily Mail
• Vast majority of Brits want NHS staff to get a proper pay rise, poll finds The Daily Mirror
• Strikes are pointless, says minister as nurses set to announce biggest ever walkout The Daily Telegraph
• Nursing union RCN expected to announce biggest-ever strike Sky News

Study confirms Covid-19 deaths ‘rare’ among children

Study confirms Covid-19 deaths ‘rare’ among children Some 81 children and young people died from Covid-19 in England in the first 21 months of the coronavirus, new figures show.

Between March 2020 and December 2021 some 185 under 20s died within 100 days of a confirmed case of Covid-19.

Among the deaths attributed to Covid-19, 75% of these were among children with underlying health conditions – particularly those who are immunocompromised or have severe neurodisability. The Independent

See also:

• COVID-19 deaths in children and young people in England, March 2020 to December 2021: An active prospective national surveillance study (open access) PLOS Medicine

Key protein discovery could help with early lung cancer detection and treatment

Key protein discovery could help with early lung cancer detection and treatment Scientists investigating the mechanics of the early stages of lung cancer have identified a new potential treatment which could also help with early detection of the disease.

A study found that levels of a key protein – called TLR2 – in tumours could help predict a patient’s survival chances after being diagnosed with lung cancer. The Independent

See also:

• Toll-like receptor 2 orchestrates a tumor suppressor response in non-small cell lung cancer (open access) Cell Reports

A million calls for ambulance ended without patients getting face-to-face treatment

A million calls for ambulance ended without patients getting face-to-face treatment A record one million 999 calls for an ambulance ended without the patient receiving face-to-face care in the past year, new figures show.

Call handlers are now more likely to give advice over the phone instead of sending someone to see a patient.

This can involve directing them to a pharmacy or urgent care unit using their own transport or a taxi. The Daily Mail

State of Caring 2022: A snapshot of unpaid care in the UK

State of Caring 2022: A snapshot of unpaid care in the UK The State of Caring Survey is the UK’s most comprehensive research into the lives and experience of carers. 

It is clear from carers’ responses this year that the cost-of-living crisis has created unprecedented pressure, which has not only affected their finances but their health and wellbeing. Last month, we published a report - Heading for crisis: caught between caring and rising costs - based on these findings. As well as finances, our State of Caring 2022 survey covered many other aspects of caring, from the impact of caring on health, to experiences of using support services, and the challenges of juggling work and care.

See also:

• Unpaid carers facing 'serious difficulties' accessing NHS care, report warns The Independent

Hidden in plain sight: A national plan of action to support vulnerable teenagers to succeed and to protect them from adversity, exploitation and harm'.

Hidden in plain sight: A national plan of action to support vulnerable teenagers to succeed and to protect them from adversity, exploitation and harm'. The final report from the Commission on Young Lives proposes a new 'Sure Start Plus for Teenagers' network of intervention and support as the centrepiece of a wide range of recommendations to government, the police, schools, and others to tackle the deep-rooted problems in the children's social care, education, family support, children's mental health, and criminal justice systems. Commission on Young Lives

Health and justice framework for integration 2022-2025: improving lives – reducing inequality

Health and justice framework for integration 2022-2025: improving lives – reducing inequality This framework sets out the direction of travel and national priorities which will inform the development of integrated health and justice services across England. It has been informed by the views and experiences of people with lived experience, partner organisations, providers and our own team. NHS England

NHS offers life-changing bionic arms to all amputees

NHS offers life-changing bionic arms to all amputees Dozens of amputees will be able to access life-changing bionic arms which can mimic real hand movements, the NHS announced.

The newly available bionic arms – controlled by electrical brain signals – have multi-grip capabilities, enabling a greater range of movements to make day-to-day tasks easier.

The NHS will make the technology available to every patient across England who needs it, following two independent reviews into their use and the successful rollout for veterans. NHS England

NHS reaches deal for life-saving breast-cancer drug

NHS reaches deal for life-saving breast-cancer drug NHS England has struck a commercial deal to offer a potentially life-saving drug to more patients with a very aggressive type of breast cancer.

Triple-negative tumours account for 15% of all breast-cancer cases but are harder to treat - often with poorer outcomes.

The drug, pembrolizumab, given alongside chemotherapy, can help shrink these cancers and stop them spreading. BBC News

See also: 

• NHS strikes deal for potentially life-saving breast cancer drug NHS England
• NHS approves life-extending drug for women diagnosed with one of deadliest types of breast cancer The Daily Mail
• NHS England to offer ‘potentially life-saving’ drug for aggressive breast cancer The Guardian

University of Nottingham research could help predict diseases in men

University of Nottingham research could help predict diseases in men Researchers have discovered a hormone which could help predict whether men will develop certain diseases in later life.

Experts at the University of Nottingham have been studying INSL3 which develops in men during puberty.

They believe it offers an early marker for predicting of age-linked disease, giving medics the chance to prevent illness. BBC News

 

See also:

• The Leydig cell biomarker INSL3 as a predictor of age-related morbidity: Findings from the EMAS cohort (open access) Frontiers in Endocrinology
• Hormone discovery could predict long term health of men University of Nottingham

Mental health patients held ‘unlawfully’ in A&Es across the country, experts warn

Mental health patients held ‘unlawfully’ in A&Es across the country, experts warn Mental health patients are being held “unlawfully” in A&Es across the country as long waits for care and beds force staff into “fudging” the law, The Independent has been told.

The University Hospital of North Midland Trust has been sanctioned by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) for holding mental health patients without any legal authority.

However, experts have said the problem is widespread and occurs across every emergency department in the country with some patients waiting “days” and even “weeks” in A&E.

No10 is given FINAL chance to avoid devastating nurses strike

No10 is given FINAL chance to avoid devastating nurses strike The largest NHS strikes in Britain's history can be avoided if ministers agree to an inflation-busting pay rise, the UK's nursing union has said, as another NHS union joins the fray. 

The ultimatum from The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) comes as the union is due to publish the results of its ballot on strike action later this week, with a large majority of nurses already understood to have voted in favour. 

More strike pain could also be heading No10's way, with the union Unite announcing today it will be asking 100,000 of its NHS members if they are willing to walk off the job over pay. The Daily Mail

See also:

• Fears that a MILLION NHS staff could go on strike this winter in a major series of walkouts over pay The Daily Mail
• Striking NHS nurses to give 'Christmas level of service': Cancer treatment and routine surgery set to be cancelled as thousands walk out this winter The Daily Mail
• Nursing union tells agency workers NOT to cover unprecedented NHS strikes The Daily Mail
• Nurses’ strike will test the public’s patience The Daily Telegraph
• Nurses will be striking for their pay, your health – and the future of the NHS | Polly Toynbee The Guardian
• Thousands of operations likely to be cancelled during NHS strikes, trusts chiefs warn The Independent
• Nurses’ strike: ‘We have no choice but to do this for our patients’, says nurse supporting walkout iNews
• RCN industrial action ballot: ‘Strong support’ with results expected this week Nursing in Practice

Hope for hundreds of thousands with 'untreatable' high blood pressure

Hope for hundreds of thousands with 'untreatable' high blood pressure Hundreds of thousands of people with untreatable high blood pressure could benefit from a new drug, a trial suggests.

High blood pressure, or hypertension, is one of the world's most common conditions and affects roughly a third of British and half of American adults.

In recent years it has become clear that between five and 10 per cent of these people do not respond to traditional blood pressure medication, and so their condition does not improve. The Daily Mail

See also:

• Phase 2 Trial of Baxdrostat for Treatment-Resistant Hypertension (abstract) New England Journal of Medicine
• ‘Exciting’ development in tackling untreatable high blood pressure The Independent