Coronavirus in Northampton: 'I wake up and hope we have no lockdown'

Coronavirus in Northampton: 'I wake up and hope we have no lockdown' A town where hundreds of factory workers tested positive for Covid-19 now has the highest rate of new cases in England. What does that mean for traders on an already struggling High Street?

Even before nearly 300 people tested positive for coronavirus at a sandwich factory, Northampton was already on a watchlist. BBC Northampton

See also:

• Coronavirus: Staff in Greencore outbreak 'using food banks' BBC Northampton
• Union fighting for change as self-isolating Northampton Greencore employees paid £95 a week Northampton Chronicle and Echo
• Greencore Covid-19 outbreak sparks testing site plans for Northants' large business parks Northamptonshire Telegraph
• Face masks are 'tremendously effective' at curbing the spread of Covid-19 - here's the new evidence Northamptonshire Telegraph

NHS leaders’ plea to Prime Minister – ‘honour your promise on social care’

NHS leaders’ plea to Prime Minister – ‘honour your promise on social care’ The NHS will not have any hope of clearing the backlog of routine operations unless there is a comprehensive and funded plan to support social care services through the winter months.
  
That is the stark message from leading health organisations who are warning that patients will end up stranded in hospital because arrangements are not in place in the community or in care homes to support them. NHS Confederation

See also:

• NHS leaders' warning to Boris Johnson: fix social care or face the consequences iNews

Number of volunteers offering to participate in UK COVID-19 vaccine studies

Number of volunteers offering to participate in UK COVID-19 vaccine studies The Coronavirus (COVID-19) Vaccine Studies Volunteers Dashboard shows the number of volunteers in the UK who are offering to be contacted for possible recruitment into approved trials to find an effective vaccine for the virus.

The registry dashboard provides an anonymous count of volunteers across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales and can be broken down by region and local authority and by age and gender. NHS Digital

Coronavirus: UK 'not considering' compulsory face masks in workplaces

Coronavirus: UK 'not considering' compulsory face masks in workplaces The UK government is not considering making the wearing of face masks compulsory in offices and workplaces, Health Secretary Matt Hancock has said.

It comes as France ruled that coverings must be worn in most workplaces following a surge in coronavirus cases. BBC News

See also:

• 'I'm very anxious about getting back to work' BBC News
• Matt Hancock suggests 'no excuse' for people not to return to their desks The Daily Mail
• 10,000 NHS workers sign up to take part in study into Covid reinfection The Daily Mail
• Global daily Covid deaths nearing levels last seen in April as experts brand it 'wake up call' The Daily Mail
• Almost 75% of hospital Covid-19 patients still suffer symptoms three months later, study claims The Daily Mail
• Patient outcomes after hospitalisation with COVID-19 and implications for follow-up; results from a prospective UK cohort (open access preprint paper) MedRxiv
• Exclusive: Croatia to go on UK's quarantine 'red list' after infection rate triples in a week The Daily Telegraph
• The trouble with England's test and trace system – podcast The Guardian
• Coronavirus: Test and trace app unlikely to succeed without widespread public support, research suggests The Independent

Breast cancer: One-dose radiotherapy 'as effective as full course'

Breast cancer: One-dose radiotherapy 'as effective as full course' A single targeted dose of radiotherapy could be as effective at treating breast cancer as a full course, a long-term study suggests.

Researchers said people who received the shorter treatment were also less likely to die of other cancers and heart disease in the following five years.

But cancer specialists have raised concerns about the study's methodology. BBC News

See also:

• Long term survival and local control outcomes from single dose targeted intraoperative radiotherapy during lumpectomy (TARGIT-IORT) for early breast cancer: TARGIT-A randomised clinical trial (open access) The BMJ
• Single-dose radiotherapy as effective for treating breast cancer, long-term study finds University College London

Matt Hancock: abolishing PHE is 'best thing to do right now'

Matt Hancock: abolishing PHE is 'best thing to do right now' Health secretary rejects suggestion move will cause disruption as country continues to fight Covid-19

Matt Hancock has defended abolishing Public Health England and replacing it with a new body to tackle Covid-19, claiming the controversial move will not lead to disruption.

Ministers have been warned by major health bodies that axing PHE and launching a National Institute for Health Protection in its place is a hugely risky move that will distract staff who are working hard to prevent a second wave of coronavirus. The Guardian

See also:

• Abolition of Public Health England just 'passing of blame for coronavirus mistakes' The Guardian

Patient data rules could undermine vital NHS improvement projects

Patient data rules could undermine vital NHS improvement projects More than 1.5 million patients have already opted out of sharing their clinical information.

Crucial insights into how care and safety can be improved across the NHS are at risk of being undermined by new rules on patient data and confidentiality coming into force next month. The Independent

Review into death of man who spent his life 'incarcerated' in hospitals

Review into death of man who spent his life 'incarcerated' in hospitals A review has been launched into the care of a man with a learning disability who spent most of his adult life "incarcerated" in hospitals.

Clive Treacey died in 2017 following years of institutional care that his family described as "cruel and inhumane".

The review, commissioned by NHS England, will look at the circumstances leading up to Clive's death as well as the care he received from various organisations throughout his life. Sky News

Northamptonshire will be one of the first areas in the country to take on local contact tracing as health chiefs battle Covid-19 outbreaks in the area

Northamptonshire will be one of the first areas in the country to take on local contact tracing as health chiefs battle Covid-19 outbreaks in the area Northamptonshire County Council’s Public Health team are set to be amongst the first areas in the country to take on local contact tracing responsibilities when it launches today (Wednesday).

Luton, Leicester and Blackburn are already successfully carrying out local contact tracing measures and Northamptonshire proactively sought to take on this responsibility in response to a recent increase in cases to ensure as many COVID-19 cases are followed up as possible. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

See also:

• Coronavirus: Repeat tests for Covid-negative Greencore workers BBC Northampton
• Northampton opposition parties say Greencore cases should have been made public sooner by Public Health Northampton Chronicle and Echo
• ‘We’re scared’: Employees react to working in Northampton food factory at centre of outbreak Northampton Chronicle and Echo
• Corby warehouse staff sent for Covid test after worker contracts virus Northamptonshire Telegraph
• The student nurse who put her heartbreak aside to work on the Covid-19 frontline at KGH Northamptonshire Telegraph

Children with eating disorders waiting too long for treatment at Northamptonshire Healthcare Trust

Children with eating disorders waiting too long for treatment at Northamptonshire Healthcare Trust More than a dozen children with eating disorders are waiting too long for treatment at Northamptonshire Healthcare Trust despite new targets imposed this year. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Coronavirus and depression in adults, Great Britain: June 2020

Coronavirus and depression in adults, Great Britain: June 2020 Almost one in five adults (19.2%) were likely to be experiencing some form of depression during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in June 2020; this had almost doubled from around 1 in 10 (9.7%) before the pandemic (July 2019 to March 2020). Office for National Statistics

See also:

• Depression doubles during coronavirus pandemic BBC News
• Depression in British adults doubles during pandemic, new data shows The Independent

Government creates new National Institute for Health Protection

Government creates new National Institute for Health Protection The National Institute for Health Protection (NIHP) will start work immediately, with a single command structure to advance the country’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

From today it will bring together Public Health England (PHE) and NHS Test and Trace, as well as the analytical capability of the Joint Biosecurity Centre (JBC) under a single leadership team. This is the first step towards becoming a single organisation, focused on tackling COVID-19 and protecting the nation’s health. Department of Health and Social Care

See also:

• Speech: The future of public health Department of Health and Social Care
• PHE reorganisation is highly risky and justification for the change has not been fully set out The Health Foundation
• ‘Found guilty without a trial’: The King’s Fund response to the shake up of public health The King's Fund
• Nuffield Trust response to Matt Hancock speech on public health Nuffield Trust
• RSPH reacts to abolition of Public Health England Royal Society for Public Health
• Questions over the future of prevention hang over the launch of the Government’s plans for public health Royal Society for Public Health
• Matt Hancock unveils National Institute for Health Protection The Guardian
• The Guardian view on scrapping Public Health England: not just wrong, but highly risky | Editorial The Guardian
• 'Shifting deckchairs' and scrapping PHE all part of Covid-19 blame game The Guardian
• Matt Hancock defends appointing Dido Harding to lead new health body – video The Guardian
• Matt Hancock takes a gamble in bringing England’s pandemic response ‘under one roof’ The Independent
• Who is Dido Harding, the head of England's new public health body? Sky News

Huge boost to national testing study will offer new COVID-19 insights

Huge boost to national testing study will offer new COVID-19 insights The ONS COVID-19 Infection Survey tracking the virus in the general population will expand from regularly testing 28,000 people per fortnight in England to 150,000 by October, the Health Secretary announced. The survey aims to increase to 400,000 people across the entire project in England. Department of Health and Social Care

UK to ramp up household coronavirus testing

UK to ramp up household coronavirus testing Coronavirus tests are to be carried out on more people to get a better idea of how many are infected at any one time.

The Office for National Statistics' Infection Survey will test 150,000 people a fortnight in England by October, up from 28,000 now.

The survey is separate from the mass testing programme of people with symptoms, as it aims to take a random sample of the general population. BBC News

See also:

• Coronavirus smell loss 'different from cold and flu' BBC News
• Coronavirus: Cases rise at Newark Bakkavor dessert factory BBC News
• Coronavirus: WHO says planet 'nowhere near' herd immunity The Daily Mail
• Coronavirus deaths fall to ANOTHER low: Flu and pneumonia is now killing six times more people The Daily Mail
• Winter resurgence of Covid-19 predicted as experts warn of hard times ahead The Daily Telegraph
• There is now clear data on Covid-19 and children: it should be safe to reopen English schools The Guardian 
• Coronavirus: NHS patient triage hotline stops nurses handling calls over safety fears The Independent
• Coronavirus: Fewest weekly deaths in England and Wales since lockdown began, latest figures show The Independent

Basildon University Hospital maternity unit rated 'inadequate'

Basildon University Hospital maternity unit rated 'inadequate' A maternity unit has been rated inadequate after a "lack of learning" from a mother's death led to the "same failings" in new serious cases.

Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspectors turned up unannounced at Basildon University Hospital, Essex, after a whistleblower voiced fears.

The watchdog told the department to improve last year, but returned due to concerns about six cases this year. BBC News

A-levels U-turn: Medical schools call for places cap to be lifted

A-levels U-turn: Medical schools call for places cap to be lifted Ministers are coming under pressure to lift the limit on the number of places to study medicine in England, after this week's changes to A-level results.

The number of students studying to be doctors is regulated because of the cost and for NHS workforce planning. BBC News

Northants Director of Public Health's comments about Greencore staff are 'unacceptable' says campaign group

Northants Director of Public Health's comments about Greencore staff are 'unacceptable' says campaign group Lucy Wightman has said her comments about Greencore staff are not about apportioning blame but helping workers understand where the transmission risks lie. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Day centre for adults with special needs in Northamptonshire causes confusion by stopping care for selected clients

 Day centre for adults with special needs in Northamptonshire causes confusion by stopping care for selected clients A day centre that cares for adults with special needs has cancelled a number of clients’ contracts in a move described by families as completely ‘out of the blue’.

Brixworth Farm Nursery, in Holcot Road, which is set on a plot of countryside and has allotments and an animal husbandry unit, can cater for up to 30 adults at any one time. Northamptonshire Telegraph

New guidance on financial wellbeing

New guidance on financial wellbeing New guidance which covers a range of practical steps to help employers support staff financial wellbeing. NHS Employers

See also:

• New case study on improving performance by improving staff wellbeing NHS Employers

Correspondence: Secretary of State message to the NHS on the coronavirus response

Correspondence: Secretary of State message to the NHS on the coronavirus response The Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock thanks the NHS workforce for the dedication they have shown in the national effort against coronavirus (COVID-19). Department of Health and Social Care