Staff sickness rate at Northamptonshire Healthcare fell during lockdown

Staff sickness rate at Northamptonshire Healthcare fell during lockdown The sickness absence rate among staff at Northamptonshire Healthcare fell at the start of lockdown, figures show, despite illness rising elsewhere in the NHS. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Greencore: Northampton factory at centre of Covid-19 outbreak remains open

Greencore: Northampton factory at centre of Covid-19 outbreak remains open A sandwich-making factory at the centre of a coronavirus outbreak has remained partially open despite almost 300 staff testing positive for the virus.

Workers at M&S supplier Greencore in Northampton, say departments including dispatch are still working despite a temporary government closure.

The company said a "small number" of workers were working "in order to monitor and maintain the site". BBC Northampton

See also:

• Greencore completes deep clean as 'small number' of staff return to Northampton site, company confirms Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Time to deliver real change for people with a learning disability and autistic people

Time to deliver real change for people with a learning disability and autistic people A new report by NHS Providers calls for immediate action to tackle stigma and the historic underfunding of services for people with a learning disability and autistic people.

The report says the longstanding inequity in the development, commissioning and delivery of these services has harmed the health and wellbeing of these vulnerable groups of individuals, resulting in reduced life expectancy and – in extreme cases – increased risk of abuse.

However the report also highlights the fact that most learning disability and autism services are providing people with good care according to Care Quality Commission, and there are some services rated as outstanding. NHS Providers

See also:

• Getting it right for everyone: meeting the needs of people with a learning disability and autistic people in NHS services NHS Providers
• Making 2020s the decade we deliver real change for people with a learning disability and autism NHS Providers
• Sending learning disabled patients to private hospitals increases risk of abuse, NHS warned The Independent

Face coverings in education

 Face coverings in education Guidance on the use of face coverings for schools and other education institutions that teach people in Years 7 and above in England. Department for Education

Coronavirus: Nottinghamshire woman, 75, 'first positive test within UK'

Coronavirus: Nottinghamshire woman, 75, 'first positive test within UK' The earliest known person to contract coronavirus within the UK has been identified, scientists believe.

Analysis of samples by the University of Nottingham showed a 75-year-old woman, from Nottinghamshire, tested positive on 21 February.

She is also understood to be first in the UK to die after contracting Covid-19. BBC News

See also:

• Coronavirus: Face coverings U-turn for England’s secondary schools BBC News
• Pressure grows for masks in England's schools BBC News
• Ministers have defied SAGE advice to screen all hospital patients for Covid-19 The Daily Mail
• Drug giant AstraZeneca starts trial of Covid-19 antibody injections The Daily Mail
• From face masks to contact tracing: the full list of Government coronavirus U-turns The Daily Telegraph
• Boris Johnson drops advice against face mask use in English schools The Guardian
• Has England learned any lessons from the first wave of coronavirus? The Guardian 
• Coronavirus: Two more cases of reinfection reported in Europe The Independent

Oral sex linked to vaginal condition bacterial vaginosis

Oral sex linked to vaginal condition bacterial vaginosis Oral sex may create an environment for a common vaginal condition called bacterial vaginosis or BV, according to research in the journal PLoS Biology.

BV is not a sexually transmitted infection. It is an imbalance of the usual bacteria found in the vagina. BBC News

See also:

• Glycan cross-feeding supports mutualism between Fusobacterium and the vaginal microbiota (open access) PLOS Biology

Spreadsheet error led to Edinburgh hospital opening delay

Spreadsheet error led to Edinburgh hospital opening delay A mistake in a spreadsheet set in motion a series of events that delayed the opening of a £150m hospital, a new report has revealed.

Last-minute issues with ventilation prevented the opening of Edinburgh's new children's hospital last July. BBC News

Parliament officials reject petition over lack of non-Covid NHS care

Parliament officials reject petition over lack of non-Covid NHS care Committee accused of censorship after petition deemed ‘not a matter for ministers’.

Parliamentary authorities have been accused of censorship after refusing to accept a charity’s petition highlighting non-Covid patients not receiving NHS care during the pandemic. The Guardian

NHS prescription 'season ticket' would have saved a million people money, investigation reveals

NHS prescription 'season ticket' would have saved a million people money, investigation reveals Over a million people could have saved on NHS prescriptions with a “season ticket” last year, an investigation has revealed.

Patients who paid for at least 12 prescriptions last year could have saved £40 on average, the consumer website MoneySavingExpert.com found. iNews

Doctors call on BMA to survey members on industrial action over 'real-terms pay cuts'

Doctors call on BMA to survey members on industrial action over 'real-terms pay cuts' Doctors will call on the BMA to ask members if they would support a ballot on industrial action to tackle the 'real-terms pay erosion' the profession has experienced over the past decade at a meeting next month. GPonline

See also:

• Pay award for hospital medical and dental staff, doctors and dentists in public health, the community health service and salaried primary dental care NHS Employers

Covid-19 tests in Northamptonshire hit by capacity issues in labs

Covid-19 tests in Northamptonshire hit by capacity issues in labs Covid-19 test centres in Northamptonshire could be forced to turn people away today due to issues with laboratory capacity.

Five sites are set up around the county in Northampton, Corby, Kettering, Thrapston and Grange Park today (Monday) as health officials attempt to control a rise in the rate of infections. Northamptonshire Telegraph

See also:

• Re-testing of Greencore employees who tested negative still ongoing, says Public Health Northants Northampton Chronicle and Echo
• What can police do to enforce Covid-19 restrictions now Northampton is on Government watchlist? Northampton Chronicle and Echo
• How are Northampton schools preparing for the return of thousands of children after coronavirus lockdown? Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Seven Northamptonshire children died during lockdown

Seven Northamptonshire children died during lockdown Seven Northamptonshire children have died during lockdown and abuse or neglect are suspected in all cases.

Six of those who died were babies and toddlers according to brief details in a safeguarding report written by Northamptonshire clinical commissioning group’s chief nurse Angela Dempsey. Northamptonshire Telegraph

Can the real ‘anchor institutions’ stand up?

Can the real ‘anchor institutions’ stand up? In 2004, Kevin Bond became the general manager for mental health services in Grimsby and North East Lincolnshire: a typical set of ‘Cinderella’ services, understaffed, underfunded, and discretely hidden in a large hospital trust. Kevin was determined to right institutional injustices for people with mental health problems. The King's Fund

Building a Better Future for Nursing: RCN members have their say

Building a Better Future for Nursing: RCN members have their say This report details the findings of the Building a Better Future survey which was open to all RCN members from May to June 2020. It explores data from the survey, including initial comparisons between different settings and experiences during the pandemic and includes details on the RCN’s plans for the next steps. Royal College of Nursing

COVID-19 and the female health and care workforce

COVID-19 and the female health and care workforce The COVID-19 pandemic has placed unprecedented pressure on health and care staff. In June the Health & Care Women Leaders Network (HCWLN) commissioned a survey to better understand the impact the pandemic has had on women working across health and care services.

Over 1,300 women responsed, this report and accompanying slide deck explain the findings. The report describes the struggles, pains and fears women working in health and care services have faced during the pandemic. The physical and emotional impact due to caring responsibilities both in and outside of work are significant. It also draws out some of the positive experiences, such as opportunities for learning and the strength of support many have received from their managers. NHS Confederation

See also:

• Survey of female NHS staff raises concerns over burnout in pandemic The Guardian

The experience of care home staff during Covid-19

The experience of care home staff during Covid-19 In May and June of 2020, a survey was carried out to understand more about the impact of Covid-19 on the care home nurse workforce within the UK. This survey was launched in the early weeks of the pandemic in response to grave concerns about the safety of the workforce and the gaps in provision that it was facing. The survey responses in the report confirm that for the majority of respondents, the pandemic has been a very challenging experience. They indicated that their work and wellbeing has been worse or much worse than at normal times, during the survey period. Queen's Nursing Institute

Research and analysis: National COVID-19 surveillance reports

Research and analysis: National COVID-19 surveillance reports National COVID-19 surveillance reports, including weekly summary of findings monitored through various COVID-19 surveillance systems. Public Health England

One in eight hospital virus cases 'caught on-site'

One in eight hospital virus cases 'caught on-site' Thousands of patients are likely to have been infected with coronavirus in UK hospitals, a study suggests.

The King's College London study of 10 UK hospital sites plus one in Italy found at least one in eight patients who had received hospital treatment for coronavirus had caught it on-site.

Researchers said that was a relatively low rate and showed there was effective infection control in place. BBC News

See also:

• Nosocomial COVID-19 infection: examining the risk of mortality. The COPE-Nosocomial Study (COVID in Older PEople) (open access) The Journal of Hospital Infection
• Hong Kong reports 'first case' of virus reinfection BBC News
• Coronavirus: Dr Anthony Fauci warns against rushing out vaccine BBC News
• Heads want to know if masks allowed in school BBC News
• Matt Hancock launches 'Operation Moon Shot' plan to test four MILLION people every day within months The Daily Mail
• NHS Test and Trace is directing people to Covid-19 test centres up to 175 miles away The Daily Mail
• Health chiefs defied Sage advice on hospital tests The Daily Telegraph
• Coronavirus home test kits run out in England and Scotland The Guardian
• Coronavirus: Thousands of health and care staff infected at work, new data shows The Independent
• Coronavirus: Scotland considers mandatory face masks in high schools as 22 teachers and pupils test positive in outbreak The Independent
• Coronavirus: Treatment hailed by Trump as 'breakthrough' is 'not conclusive', NHS says Sky News

From cancer and Covid to dementia, BAME patients are shamefully more at risk

From cancer and Covid to dementia, BAME patients are shamefully more at risk Moise Roche says that if ever he thought he was losing his memory and had dementia, there’s ‘no way’ he’d see a doctor about it.

A researcher in mental health based at University College London, he has published a number of papers in prestigious medical journals focusing on dementia in Black, African and Caribbean (BAC) populations.

While a little over 50 per cent of white people in the UK with dementia are diagnosed and treated, that number is vastly lower among those from ethnic minority groups. The Daily Mail

Government escalates Northampton onto 'Area of Intervention' list over Covid-19 infection rates

Government escalates Northampton onto 'Area of Intervention' list over Covid-19 infection rates The Government has escalated Northampton from an 'area of concern' to an 'area of intervention' over its Covid-19 infection rates.

The town has been added to a to the Government's watchlist after the borough's infection rate has risen for the fourth week in a row. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

See also:

• Detailed guide: Northampton: what you can and cannot do Department of Health and Social Care
• Northampton factory at centre of Covid-19 outbreak to temporarily close BBC Northampton
• NHS staff sign up to Covid-19 sniffer dog trial BBC Northampton
• Greencore employees were 'car-sharing with staff from another Northampton workplace that has also had coronavirus outbreak' Northampton Chronicle and Echo
• Northampton council leader 'grateful' government has not put town into lockdown but warned more measures could come Northampton Chronicle and Echo
• KGH lands major role in Covid-19 sniffer dog trial Northamptonshire Telegraph
• Recruitment agencies asked to restrict workers in bid to stop Covid-19 transmission Northamptonshire Telegraph
• Kettering bar shuts after worker tests positive for Covid Northamptonshire Telegraph
• Higham Ferrers pub facing action after major breach of social distancing laws Northamptonshire Telegraph