Areas with high coronavirus rates may not be allowed out of lockdown, Northamptonshire health boss fears

Areas with high coronavirus rates may not be allowed out of lockdown, Northamptonshire health boss fears Northamptonshire's public health boss is worried some areas will be left behind when the lockdown is lifted if its coronavirus case rates do not improve.

Corby's infection rate remains among the highest in England while areas of Kettering and Wellingborough boroughs and Daventry district reported rises in the number of Covid-19 cases in the most recent set of figures. Northamptonshire Telegraph

See also:

• Hancock and Van-Tam echo lockdown warnings from Northamptonshire's health chief Northampton Chronicle and Echo
• Large fines handed out to 19 people discovered at house party by police in Northampton Northampton Chronicle and Echo
• Health officials are searching for a person infected with Brazilian Covid variant found in UK Northamptonshire Telegraph

Dramatic drop in Northamptonshire mental health referrals during coronavirus pandemic revealed

Dramatic drop in Northamptonshire mental health referrals during coronavirus pandemic revealed Mental health referrals in Northamptonshire have fallen dramatically during the coronavirus pandemic, leading to fears people are not getting the help they need. Northamptonshire Telegraph 

'Waterside General': University of Northampton place students at 'pop up hospital' on campus

'Waterside General': University of Northampton place students at 'pop up hospital' on campus The pandemic’s squeeze on one aspect of nursing students’ education has been resolved at the University of Northampton (UON) with a pop-up ‘hospital’ at Waterside campus. Northampton Chronicle and Echo 

Workforce Race Equality Standard: 2020 data analysis report for NHS Trusts and Clinical Commissioning Groups

Workforce Race Equality Standard: 2020 data analysis report for NHS Trusts and Clinical Commissioning Groups This report enables organisations to compare their performance with others in their region and those providing similar services, with the aim of encouraging improvement by learning and sharing good practice. The report hopes to provide a national picture of WRES in practice, to colleagues, organisations and the public on the developments in the workforce race equality agenda. NHS England 

A window of opportunity for public health

A window of opportunity for public health This briefing explores the risks and opportunities which arise from the dissolution of Public Health England and the creation of the National Institute for Health Protection (NIHP) – a new national body responsible for protecting the nation's health from external threats, incorporating NHS Test and Trace, the Joint Biosecurity Centre and PHE's infectious disease unit. It also explores questions which might be addressed in the coming months, including about the future of PHE's other vital roles surrounding the broader determinants of health, the need to put health inequalities at the heart of any reform to public health, and recovery from Covid-19. NHS Providers

Rapid evaluation of health and care services - planning a sustainable solution for the post-Covid reset

Rapid evaluation of health and care services - planning a sustainable solution for the post-Covid reset In the first wave of Covid-19, health and care services innovated and adapted at unprecedented speed to provide care and protect staff and patients during a rapidly developing global pandemic. 

This report explores the barriers and facilitators to performing timely, rigorous and effective evaluations of these changes. The AHSN Network 

Confirmed cases of COVID-19 variants identified in UK

Confirmed cases of COVID-19 variants identified in UK Up to 6 cases of the Variant of Concern first identified in Manaus, Brazil (P.1) have been detected in the UK. Public Health England has identified 3 of these cases of the Variant of Concern in England.

Two of the cases in England are from one household in South Gloucestershire with a history of travel to Brazil and there is a third, currently unlinked case.

See also: 

• Independent report: Priority groups for phase 2 of the coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination programme: advice from the JCVI Department of Health and Social Care
• Speech: Health and Social Care Secretary's statement on coronavirus (COVID-19): 26 February 2021 Department of Health and Social Care
• UK charities join together to boost vaccine drive Department of Health and Social Care
• All households with children of school age to get 2 rapid COVID-19 tests per person per week Department of Health and Social Care
•  NHS invites people aged 60-plus to get life-saving COVID vaccination NHS England

Covid-19: Officials hunt Brazil virus variant case in England

Covid-19: Officials hunt Brazil virus variant case in England Health officials are trying to trace one person in England who has been infected with a concerning variant of coronavirus first found in Brazil.

They are one of six cases of the P1 variant found in the UK in February.

The person did not complete a test registration form so remains unidentified - prompting an appeal for anyone without a result from a test on 12 or 13 February to come forward. BBC News 

See also:

• Covid-19: More than 20 million in UK have had first jab - Hancock BBC News
• Covid-19: People aged 60 to 63 in England to get jab invites from Monday BBC News
• Over-40s next in line to get a Covid vaccine BBC News
• Coronavirus spread slowed by vaccines, study suggests BBC News
• Coronavirus: False vaccine claims debunked BBC News
• Coronavirus UK: Public might abandon lockdown rules early if they think they are immune, SAGE warns The Daily Mail
• Moderna to launch trials of new booster vaccine that targets South African Covid variant The Daily Mail
• Care homes can refuse to hire staff or renew contracts of workers who won't accept the vaccine The Daily Mail
• Nearly a quarter of NHS staff in London are refusing Covid vaccines The Daily Telegraph
• Visiting loved ones in hospital will have to wait till next year, doctors warn The Daily Telegraph
• A fifth of healthcare workers in England have still not received first Covid jab The Guardian
• NHS faces questions over Covid infections contracted in hospital The Guardian
• Concerns grow as UK Covid testing labs scaled back before even opening The Guardian
• 34,000 people with dementia thought to have died of Covid in UK The Independent
• What we know about the Brazil Covid variant The Independent
• Covid still rising in one in five areas as Jonathan Van-Tam warns ‘we haven’t won battle yet’ The Independent

NHS hospital bosses urge ministers to increase ICU beds in England

NHS hospital bosses urge ministers to increase ICU beds in England Expansion of capacity must be lasting legacy of Covid-19, says NHS Providers chief executive.

Hospital chiefs are urging ministers to expand the NHS’s supply of beds in intensive care units, which have borne the brunt of the Covid-19 pandemic over the last year.

It is unsafe for patients and unfair on frontline staff for the health service to continue with one of the lowest numbers of intensive care beds in Europe, they have told the Guardian.

NHS GP practice operator with 500,000 patients passes into hands of US health insurer

NHS GP practice operator with 500,000 patients passes into hands of US health insurer Merger with Centene Corp covers 500,000 patients fuelling calls for inquiry into ‘NHS privatisation by stealth’.

One of the UK’s biggest GP practice operators has quietly passed into the hands of the US health insurance group Centene Corporation, prompting calls for an official investigation into what campaigners claim is “privatisation of the NHS by stealth”.

The merger is expected to create the largest private supplier of GP services in the UK, with 58 practices covering half a million patients. The Guardian 

Life-extending drug for incurable breast cancer approved for NHS use

Life-extending drug for incurable breast cancer approved for NHS use A drug which could help extend the lives of thousands of women with incurable advanced breast cancer has been approved for NHS use.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) on Friday approved ribociclib – also known as Kisqali – for routine use by the NHS. The Independent

Northamptonshire nearly at 200,000 Covid jabs as the great vaccination roll-out steams on

Northamptonshire nearly at 200,000 Covid jabs as the great vaccination roll-out steams on Covid vaccination teams are steaming on with another 25,000 jabs delivered in a week taking the total close to 200,000.

And now the plea has gone out for those aged 65 to 69 to book their jabs as the roll-out continues. Northamptonshire Telegraph 

See also:

• UK's Covid alert level has been lowered from 5 to 4 - here's what that means Northampton Chronicle and Echo
• New California Covid strain discovered spreads more easily - and is partially resistant to existing vaccines Northampton Chronicle and Echo

NHS prescriptions charges are increasing again - here’s how much you’ll have to pay

NHS prescriptions charges are increasing again - here’s how much you’ll have to pay NHS prescription charges are due to increase in England again, leaving thousands of people at risk of being unable to afford vital medication.

Pharmacies bodies have been calling for the charge to be scrapped in the country for several years, as people living in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland do not have to pay for their prescriptions. Northampton Chronicle and Echo 

See also:

• Prescription charge rises to £9.35 from 1st April Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee

Car park charges will return next month at Northampton General Hospital

Car park charges will return next month at Northampton General Hospital Outpatients and visitors will have to pay up to £10 a day for parking at Northampton General Hospital again from next month.

The hospital revealed charges would be restored on March 15 — almost a year after they were put on hold as the Covid-19 crisis deepened. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

How transport offers a route to better health

How transport offers a route to better health This long read examines the challenges of shifting towards a transport system that better supports health. It sets out how transport affects health, the difficulties in moving towards greater use of public transport and the effects of COVID-19 on travel patterns. The Health Foundation

Tackling Loneliness, House of Commons Library

Tackling Loneliness The Government's Loneliness Strategy was published in October 2018. It set out a wide variety of cross-departmental measures that the Government would take to provide 'national leadership' to tackle loneliness in England. As well as explaining the Strategy and the steps taken so far by the Government, this briefing also looks at research into the causes and impact of loneliness and possible interventions. The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on loneliness is also considered, alongside the measures introduced by the Government in response. House of Commons Library

In the wake of the pandemic: preparing for long Covid

In the wake of the pandemic: preparing for long Covid This policy brief highlights areas where policy-makers can take action to meet the challenge of post-Covid conditions based on what is currently known. It addresses the need for multidisciplinary, multispecialty approaches to assessment and management; development of new care pathways and contextually appropriate guidelines for health professionals; and the creation of appropriate services, including rehabilitation and online support tools. World Health Organization Europe 

Government updates on identifying and tackling COVID-19 disparities

Government updates on identifying and tackling COVID-19 disparities Today the Minister for Equalities, Kemi Badenoch MP, will publish the second quarterly report to the Prime Minister and Health Secretary on progress to understand and tackle COVID-19 disparities experienced by individuals from an ethnic minority background. Government Equalities Office 

See also:

• Latest findings from antibody surveillance study published Department of Health and Social Care
• Transparency data: Coronavirus cases by local authority: epidemiological data, 25 February 2021 Department of Health and Social Care
• Weekly national flu and COVID-19 surveillance reports published Public Health England
• Research and analysis: COVID-19: mental health and wellbeing surveillance report Public Health England

Young vulnerable people receive vaccine

Young vulnerable people receive vaccine The focus of the vaccine rollout so far has largely been on older people. But it has also included nearly 200,000 younger people across the UK who are classed as extremely clinically vulnerable and who’ve been shielding for much of the past year. BBC News 

See also:

• The UK alert level is down to four. What does that mean? BBC News
• Covid-19: Adverts urge people to 'keep going' and remain at home BBC News
• How many people in the UK have been vaccinated so far? BBC News
• Ysbyty Gwynedd outbreak 'shows we can't let guard down' BBC News
• Queen urges people to 'think about others' by taking Covid jab BBC News
• Covid cases in England hit their lowest levels since SEPTEMBER The Daily Mail
• Pfizer scientists are studying whether a THIRD vaccine shot can offer protection The Daily Mail
• Nearly 4,500 critically-ill patients are being treated in hospital beds every day in England The Daily Mail
• Is Cali's super-covid the most worrying strain yet? The Daily Mail
• UK Covid alert level downgraded to severe as case numbers fall The Guardian
• English school leaders despair at soft line on Covid tests and masks The Guardian
• NHS to use postcode level data to target communities with poor vaccine uptake The Independent
• COVID-19: Over-70s can now book first coronavirus jab and don't need to wait for contact from NHS Sky News

Rough sleeper numbers down 37% in England during Covid pandemic

Rough sleeper numbers down 37% in England during Covid pandemic The number of rough sleepers in England plummeted during the pandemic, data shows, with 2,688 people estimated to be sleeping rough on a single night in autumn 2020, down 37% from the previous year.

However, the numbers are still 52% higher than in 2010 when such data first started being collected. The Guardian