Covid-19: Corby 'might be left behind' as lockdown lifts

Covid-19: Corby 'might be left behind' as lockdown lifts The town with the highest Covid-19 case rate in England "might get left behind" as lockdown eases, a university professor warned.

In the week to 13 March, Corby in Northamptonshire had 181.4 cases per 100,000 people.

This was a 46% increase on the previous week and more than three times the England-wide rate. BBC Northampton

See also:

• Key workers can now get rapid Covid-19 tests in Daventry — even if they don't have symptoms Northampton Chronicle and Echo
• UK expected to see ‘significant reduction’ in Covid vaccine supply in April - here’s why Northamptonshire Telegraph
• More cases of highly transmissible Brazil and South African Covid variants found in England - the areas affected Northamptonshire Telegraph

Kettering nurse 'thrilled' by letter from Jacinda Ardern

Kettering nurse 'thrilled' by letter from Jacinda Ardern An NHS nurse said she was "thrilled" to receive a letter from her "idol", New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

Dione Rogers's partner, Richard Adams, wrote to the leader and told her about the nurse's work at Kettering General Hospital. BBC Northampton

More than health care: why the NHS is a force for tackling poverty

More than health care: why the NHS is a force for tackling poverty As the Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted existing health inequalities in UK society, it has also renewed a focus on poverty. People experiencing poverty are at the deep end of health inequalities, and are also more likely to be a part of minoritised groups who also experience health inequalities as a result of, for example, race, gender and disability. It’s important that work addressing health inequalities is also explicit about the impact of poverty, because those affected by poverty have a high risk of the worst health outcomes. The King's Fund 

Protect, respect, connect – decisions about living and dying well during COVID-19

Protect, respect, connect – decisions about living and dying well during COVID-19 Our review of ‘do not attempt cardiopulmonary resuscitation’ decisions during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

From the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, there were concerns that ‘do not attempt cardiopulmonary resuscitation’ (DNACPR) decisions were being made without involving people, or their families and/or carers if so wished, and were being applied to groups of people, rather than taking into account each person’s individual circumstances. Care Quality Commission

See also:

• Improved oversight and reform needed as pressures of pandemic shine light on inconsistent and concerning approaches to DNACPR decisions Care Quality Commission
• Covid-19: Concern over 'do not resuscitate' decisions during pandemic BBC News
• Covid-19: Sister 'written off' by do-not-resuscitate order BBC News
• Care home residents put on 'do not resuscitate' orders without consent The Daily Telegraph
• Blanket 'do not resuscitate' orders imposed on English care homes, finds CQC The Guardian
• Hundreds of patients including care home residents subjected to unlawful ‘do not resuscitate’ orders, CQC confirms The Independent 
• Human rights of more than 500 people may have been breached in COVID-related 'do not resuscitate' decisions, shock report claims Sky News

Highly specialised services 2019

Highly specialised services 2019 This report provides information about highly specialised services in 2019.

It comprises: a description of each service; a list of the expert centres that delivered the service; NHS England’s total expenditure for each service; a measure of the activity that each service undertakes; clinical outcomes; and information about geographical equity of access to the service. NHS England 

More than 25 million people in the UK have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

More than 25 million people in the UK have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. More than 25 million people in the UK have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

Figures out today show the UK health services vaccinated a total of 25,273,226 people between 8 December and 16 March with first doses of the Pfizer and Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccines, while 1,759,445 people have had their second dose. Department of Health and Social Care

See also: 

• Speech: Health and Social Care Secretary's statement on coronavirus (COVID-19): 17 March 2021 Department of Health and Social Care
• NHS England invites everyone aged 50 and over to be jabbed as NHS vaccination programme marks 100th day NHS England
• Guidance: COVID-19: letter to clinically extremely vulnerable people Public Health England
• PHE study shows three-quarters of over 70s have COVID-19 antibodies Public Health England
• Guidance: PHE monitoring of the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccination Public Health England

Covid vaccine: India shortfall behind UK's supply delay

Covid vaccine: India shortfall behind UK's supply delay An expected reduction in the UK's Covid vaccine supply next month is due to a delay in the delivery of five million Oxford-AstraZeneca doses from India.

The shipment, produced by the Serum Institute of India, has been held up by four weeks, the BBC has been told.

NHS England warned of a reduction in supply in April in a letter to local health organisations on Wednesday. BBC News

See also:

• Hancock: Covid vaccine supplies 'lumpy but on course' BBC News
• Coronavirus shielding advice to end on 1 April - Hancock BBC News
• Covid in Europe: Vaccine suspension hits rollout as cases rise BBC News
• Boris Johnson faces growing calls to launch public inquiry into handling of the coronavirus crisis The Daily Mail
• All over-50s can now book Covid vaccine in England The Daily Telegraph
• What will the delay mean for England's Covid vaccine programme? The Guardian
• 'It was avoidable': families bereaved in second wave call for Covid inquiry The Guardian
• Dominic Cummings: health department a 'smoking ruin' when Covid hit – video The Guardian
• Vaccination may ease long Covid symptoms, early research suggests The Independent
• ‘On bad days I can’t stand up in the shower: I am 31 and have had long Covid since March 2020’ The Independent

NHS chiefs fear collision course with ministers over Covid backlog

NHS chiefs fear collision course with ministers over Covid backlog Hospital bosses are bracing themselves for a clash with ministers over how quickly they can clear the backlog of NHS care that built up during the pandemic.

They are warning that it will take “years” to treat all those whose care was cancelled because Covid disrupted so many hospital services, particularly surgery and diagnostic tests. The Guardian

See also:

• NHS 'may need to prioritise those in need' rather than patients waiting longest ITV News

Return to schools NOT linked to latest spike in Corby Covid cases, say health chiefs

Return to schools NOT linked to latest spike in Corby Covid cases, say health chiefs Public Health chiefs insist Corby's latest jump in Covid-19 cases is not connected with students returning to classrooms.

The borough has one of the highest infection rates in the country again according to official Government figures, despite recent improvements. Northamptonshire Telegraph

See also:

• Ten areas in and around Northampton with two Covid cases or less in the last week Northampton Chronicle and Echo
• People in their 40s could be offered Covid jab before Easter as rollout doubles its pace Northampton Chronicle and Echo
• One year on from when Northampton's shelves were left bare by Covid-19 panic buying Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Maternal mental health during a pandemic: a rapid evidence review of Covid-19's impact

Maternal mental health during a pandemic: a rapid evidence review of Covid-19's impact This rapid evidence review report (produced together with the Maternal Mental Health Alliance) looks at the impact of Covid-19 on the mental health of new and expectant mothers and the support that’s been available during the pandemic. Centre for Mental Health

State of health and care: The NHS Long Term Plan after Covid-19

State of health and care: The NHS Long Term Plan after Covid-19 After a decade of austerity, The NHS Long Term Plan was meant to be a turning point for healthcare.

However, those plans have been severely disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic. Our new analysis shows the scale of the damage done by the pandemic across several major health conditions.

In a new report we recommend a package of six ambitious changes to ‘build back better’. Institute for Public Policy Research

See also: 

• NHS in England ‘needs £12 billion a year boost’ to recover from Covid Channel 4 News
• NHS staff should get 5% payrise next year, says thinktank The Guardian

Without skipping a beat: the case for better cardiovascular care after Coronavirus

Without skipping a beat: the case for better cardiovascular care after Coronavirus The toll of the Covid-19 pandemic on health far exceeds deaths caused directly by Covid-19. There have been widespread disruptions to routine and urgent health and care services, as well as the NHS Long Term Plan. As such, the health and care system needs not just to recover from Covid-19, but to ‘build back better’. This briefing considers the challenge in relation to cardiovascular disease (CVD) – the UK’s leading cause of death. Institute for Public Policy Research

Notable success of “Everyone In” exposed rough sleeping problem many times larger than Government “has previously acknowledged”

Notable success of “Everyone In” exposed rough sleeping problem many times larger than Government “has previously acknowledged” The notable pandemic response success of the "Everyone In" initiative has exposed gaps in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG)’s approach to tackling rough sleeping, says the Public Accounts Committee in a report published today.

Guidance: COVID-19: guidance on supporting children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing

Guidance: COVID-19: guidance on supporting children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing Advice for parents and carers on looking after the mental health and wellbeing of children or young people during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. Public Health England

See also: 

• Detailed guide: Households and bubbles of pupils, students and staff of schools, nurseries and colleges: get rapid lateral flow tests Department of Health and Social Care
• Confirmed cases of COVID-19 variants identified in UK Public Health England
• Research and analysis: COVID-19 variants: genomically confirmed case numbers Public Health England

Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid jab safe, insists Hancock

Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid jab safe, insists Hancock The Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid vaccine is safe, the health secretary has said, after some European nations paused its use amid concern over blood clots.

Matt Hancock urged people to "listen to the regulators" and to "get the jab" as soon as they got the opportunity.

Some 13 countries have suspended use of the vaccine while they seek further clarification on its safety. BBC News

See also:

• Moderna begins testing Covid-19 vaccine on babies and young children BBC News
• 'The Gospel Truth?' Covid-19 vaccines and the danger of religious misinformation BBC News
• Covid: 'Prioritise prisoners for coronavirus vaccine' BBC News
• Half of all adults in the UK could be vaccinated by the end of THIS WEEK as total surges past 24m The Daily Mail
• Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine: which countries have paused jab and why The Guardian
• 'Somebody has to answer for this': voices from the frontline on why we need a Covid inquiry The Guardian
• Public support for Covid inquiry more than twice as high as opposition – poll The Guardian

Matt Hancock doubles down on NHS wages and insists 1% offer is a pay rise

Matt Hancock doubles down on NHS wages and insists 1% offer is a pay rise Matt Hancock has told MPs on the Health and Social Care Committee that a proposed 1 per cent pay rise for NHS staff would be a real pay rise because it was higher than inflation. The Independent

See also: 

• Matt Hancock insists NHS workers' 1% salary increase is a 'pay rise' and not real-terms cut - despite 1.5% inflation Sky News

Ministers seek powers to veto local NHS trust appointments

Ministers seek powers to veto local NHS trust appointments Ministers would have the power to veto the appointment of NHS chief executives and trust leaders under plans to reform the health service, it has emerged.

Health secretary Matt Hancock told MPs he wanted the ability to sign-off appointments of senior managers in the NHS, and that separately he was open to the idea of regulation for senior managers. The Independent

Securing a positive health care technology legacy from COVID-19

Securing a positive health care technology legacy from COVID-19 This long read explores the challenges of implementing health care technologies and investigates patient and staff experiences of technology during the first phase of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The Health Foundation 

Building primary care teams remotely

Building primary care teams remotely A key plank of the government’s manifesto commitment to deliver 50 million more appointments in general practice is providing funding towards the cost of 26,000 new clinical roles. From pharmacists and physiotherapists to mental health practitioners and paramedics, these new roles will extend the workforce in primary care networks (PCN) and help to turn general practice into a truly team sport. The King's Fund 

Living with Covid19 – Second review

Living with Covid19 – Second review This is the second of two dynamic reviews of the evidence around people’s experience of the enduring symptoms following a Covid19 infection. National Institute for Health Research

See also:

• Long Covid more common in women and children and lasts for months, warns latest review The Independent