Quarter-of-a-million now fully vaccinated in Northamptonshire as 30-year-olds get call for jabs

Quarter-of-a-million now fully vaccinated in Northamptonshire as 30-year-olds get call for jabs More than a quarter-of-a-million people in Northamptonshire have now had two full doses of Covid-19 vaccine as 30-year-olds got the call for their first jabs. Northamptonshire Telegraph

See also: 

• Indian variant surge puts June date for Covid restrictions easing at risk Northampton Chronicle and Echo
• Hancock warns it’s till ‘too early to say’ if 21 June lifting of lockdown will go ahead Northamptonshire Telegraph

What impact has Covid-19 had on cancer services?

What impact has Covid-19 had on cancer services? By 2028, the NHS aims for 55,000 more people each year to survive cancer for at least five years after diagnosis. Achieving this requires access to timely diagnosis and treatment. However, cancer services were under pressure even before the Covid-19 pandemic, with waiting times for appointments and surgery worsening. Nuffield Trust

See also:

• Chart of the week: The pathway to cancer diagnosis Nuffield Trust
• Cancer Quality Watch Indicator Update Nuffield Trust

Pandemic pressures: how Greater Manchester equalities organisations have responded to the needs of older people during the Covid-19 crisis

Pandemic pressures: how Greater Manchester equalities organisations have responded to the needs of older people during the Covid-19 crisis This report highlights a number of recommendations for service commissioners, funders and contractors to contribute to future emergency planning and responses. It recognises the expertise of equalities organisations in understanding and meeting the needs of the communities they represent, and to involve them in coproducing emergency planning and responses. Ambition for Ageing

A New Deal for Surgery

A New Deal for Surgery The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on NHS surgical services in England. All elective (planned) surgery was cancelled in the first wave and many surgical teams were redeployed to help treat COVID-19 patients. Latest figures show the largest ever recorded NHS waiting list in England of 4.95 million people, including more than 430,000 waiting over a year. In addition, there is a ‘hidden waiting list’ of people who have not yet come forward or who have not yet been referred for hospital treatment. Estimates vary, but could mean the waiting list growing to a figure of 9.7 million by 2023/24.

Our report, New Deal for Surgery, highlights the challenges that exist and provides recommendations for recovery. Royal College of Surgeons

See also: 

• Covid: Surgery waiting times could be cut with specialist hubs, say surgeons BBC News

Confirmed cases of COVID-19 variants identified in UK

Confirmed cases of COVID-19 variants identified in UK Public Health England releases weekly updates on the number of confirmed new cases of variants of concern and variants under investigation identified in the UK.

See also:

• Everybody aged 30 and over now able to get their COVID jab NHS England
• Independent report: COVID-19: assessment of hospital-associated SARS-CoV-2 infection and care home outbreaks Public Health England 
• Research: COVID-19 vaccine surveillance reports Public Health England 
• Official Statistics: National flu and COVID-19 surveillance reports Public Health England 

Does the UK have highest Covid death toll in Europe?

Does the UK have highest Covid death toll in Europe? Angela Rayner, deputy leader of the Labour Party, told BBC Radio 4's Today Programme: "We have the highest death toll in Europe."

That is correct but does not take into account population size. Some smaller countries have reported higher rates of deaths per 100,000 people.

The UK did have the worst figures across most measures in the first wave of coronavirus, but has since been overtaken by countries that had worse winters. BBC News

See also:

• WHO virologist urges US to share Covid origins info BBC News
• Coronavirus patients spent a WEEK less in ICU if they had breathing tubes inserted quickly The Daily Mail
• Nearly three-quarters of patients with moderate or severe COVID had at least ONE long-term symptom The Daily Mail
• Coronavirus: Matt Hancock claims Bolton is doing 'tens of thousands' of jabs per day The Daily Mail
• Introducing Covid certificates is a ‘finely balanced’ decision, says Gove The Guardian
• Three-quarters of new UK Covid cases could be India variant, says Hancock The Guardian
• Covid hospital admissions rising with most patients younger people, says NHS leader The Independent
• How many NHS hospital staff have had the Covid vaccine? ITV News

Covid: Matt Hancock answers Dominic Cummings allegations

Covid: Matt Hancock answers Dominic Cummings allegations Matt Hancock has told MPs he got up each day and asked "what must do I to protect life?" as that was the job of the health secretary.

He was asked by Labour shadow Jonathan Ashworth if the claims made by the PM's former adviser Dominic Cummings on Wednesday were correct.

Mr Hancock said the "unsubstantiated allegations around honesty" were not true, as he gave figures on the number of questions, statements and press statements he had answered over Covid. BBC News

See also:

• Bereaved on Cummings' testimony: 'Angry, upset, relieved' BBC News
• The government's Covid strategy was discredited but we're still paying the price The Guardian
• I was straight with people, says Hancock after Cummings claims The Guardian
• How Kate Bingham got caught in the ‘crossfire’, according to Cummings The Guardian
• Hancock faces calls to explain Covid test failings at care homes The Guardian

NHS waiting times: Why dropping four-hour A&E target could be good for patients

NHS waiting times: Why dropping four-hour A&E target could be good for patients Officials say there is “clear evidence” that when it was first introduced, the four-hour target improved care, but that it has only ever focused on one part of a now much more complex range of urgent services for patients.

The Royal College of Emergency Medicine had said that the four-hour waiting time target had served the NHS well but was no longer enough to force through clinical improvements. iNews 

NHS Digital set to share medical records with outside third parties

NHS Digital set to share medical records with outside third parties If you live in England, you have until June 23 to opt out of your data being included in a ‘digital scrape’ by the NHS, which it will share with third parties.

Privacy campaigners have harshly criticised the plans of NHS Digital, which will see the medical histories of more than 55 million patients ported into a database, including mental and sexual health data, criminal records and more sensitive information. Metro 

180 Covid patients died after catching virus in Northampton General Hospital

180 Covid patients died after catching virus in Northampton General Hospital More than a quarter of all Covid-19 patients who died at Northampton General Hospital caught the virus after being admitted.

NGH bosses say the startling statistic underlines the "challenges" healthcare staff have faced fighting the coronavirus, particularly during the early days of the pandemic. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

See also:

• Government U-turn over advice to 'avoid' travel to and from Northamptonshire neighbours Northampton Chronicle and Echo
• Scientists ‘find cause’ of rare blood clots linked to Covid vaccines - and how to solve it Northamptonshire Telegraph

How has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted primary care?

How has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted primary care? Since the start of the pandemic the impact of COVID-19 on primary care, and those working within it, has been significant. Staff have been under considerable pressure to maintain services despite social distancing measures, adjusting to virtual consultations and helping to roll out the COVID-19 vaccine. 

In April and May of 2020 – the first months of the UKs first lockdown – the number of appointments booked in general practice plummeted. This led to concerns about unmet need, particularly for people with long-term health conditions, and the potential for delayed diagnoses. However, consultation numbers recovered fast – and by September 2020 total consultations in general practice had recovered to pre-pandemic levels.  The Health Foundation

See also:

• GP practices in England facing 'tsunami of patients' BBC News
• How patient 'tsunami’ threatens to overwhelm GPs BBC News

Leadership and innovation during Covid-19: lessons from the Cardiff and Vale Health System

Leadership and innovation during Covid-19: lessons from the Cardiff and Vale Health System Early in the Covid-19 pandemic, clinicians at the Cardiff and Vale University Health Board realised that they would have to make rapid changes to prevent the widespread cancellation of elective surgery. A core team of staff started meeting in a lecture theatre every morning and evening to work on the redesign. They fell into a particular ‘battle routine’: identifying problems in the morning, coming up with solutions by lunchtime and presenting the proposals back to colleagues in the evening. The King's Fund

Wide support for more comprehensive urgent care indicators

Wide support for more comprehensive urgent care indicators Patients, clinicians and the public have welcomed proposals for a comprehensive set of indicators for urgent care.

The updated standards aim to capture what matters clinically to patients, end hidden waits and reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19.

The proposed bundle of 10 measures takes account of changes in the way that urgent and emergency care is delivered such as the roll-out of Same day Emergency Care and strengthening of NHS 111. NHS England

See also: 

• NHS England gives green light to scrap four-hour A&E target Health Service Journal

Supporting recovery after long COVID

Supporting recovery after long COVID We have produced guidance on how organisations can work with line managers to support staff in recovery from long COVID. 

The information, which was produced in partnership with NHS health and wellbeing leads. NHS Employers

Transparency data: Coronavirus cases by local authority: epidemiological data, 26 May 2021

Transparency data: Coronavirus cases by local authority: epidemiological data, 26 May 2021 Weekly watchlist giving epidemiological coronavirus (COVID-19) data for each lower-tier local authority (LTLA) in England. Department of Health and Social Care

See also:

• NHS Chief Sir Simon Stevens joins 20 million double jabbed NHS England
• Guidance: PHE monitoring of the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccination Public Health England

Dominic Cummings: Five things he told MPs about Covid response

Dominic Cummings: Five things he told MPs about Covid response Dominic Cummings has been speaking to MPs about the UK government's handling of Covid-19.

The former chief aide said Boris Johnson had initially dismissed Covid as a "scare story" and the UK had been too slow to lock down.

Mr Johnson hit back at some of his allegations, insisting that the government's priority had always been to "save lives".

Mr Cummings also suggested that Health Secretary Matt Hancock should have been sacked for numerous failings, accusing him of "lying" to people. BBC News

See also:

• Dominic Cummings: Five claims fact-checked BBC News
• Dominic Cummings: The seven most explosive claims BBC News
• Cummings: Care home protective shield was 'nonsense' BBC News
• Dominic Cummings: What was on his whiteboard? BBC News
• Dominic Cummings' accusations can not easily be dismissed BBC News
• Covid: Matt Hancock must go over Cummings claims - Labour BBC News
• Coronavirus: Dominic Cummings shares lockdown brainstorm with question 'who do we not save?' The Daily Mail
• Government never threw a shield around care homes, Cummings says The Daily Mail
• Matt Hancock to come out fighting after Cummings's 'lying' claims The Daily Telegraph
• Checking facts vs Cummings’s claims reveals major flaws in his evidence The Daily Telegraph
• Contradictions kept piling up in Dominic Cummings’ claws-out rewriting of history The Daily Telegraph
• Matt Hancock to face questions over Dominic Cummings allegations The Guardian
• Matt Hancock should have been sacked for lying, says Dominic Cummings The Guardian
• Dominic Cummings says Covid chaos at No 10 was like ‘out-of-control movie’ The Guardian
• Dominic Cummings said he heard Boris Johnson's 'bodies pile high' outburst The Independent

Covid hospital admissions rising with most patients younger people, says NHS leader

Covid hospital admissions rising with most patients younger people, says NHS leader The number of people being admitted to hospital with Covid-19 is rising in some regions but "few, if any" are from care homes, according to an NHS leader.

Younger people are making up most of coronavirus hospital admissions, with 70 per cent of admissions in one hospital consisting of under-45s, NHS Providers chief executive Chris Hopson said. The Independent

See also:

• Covid-19: England's lifting of lockdown on June 21 is 'not inevitable', government adviser warns The Daily Mail
• Covid-19: UK breaches 3,000 cases for first time in a MONTH as infections spike 18% in a week The Daily Mail
• German scientists claim they have figured out why some Covid vaccines cause blood clots The Daily Mail
• Next seven days ‘crucial’ in determining impact of Indian variant on hospitals, says NHS chief The Independent
• Super mutant coronavirus variants may emerge, expert warns The Independent
• Biden orders new US intelligence report into Wuhan Covid lab leak theory The Independent

EU citizens who miss UK settled status cutoff to lose some free healthcare

EU citizens who miss UK settled status cutoff to lose some free healthcare EU citizens who fail to secure settled status by the 30 June deadline will immediately lose access to free non-urgent NHS healthcare, despite a government pledge to be “extremely understanding” about late applications.

Some details of how swiftly different departments will apply hostile environment policies to EU citizens who have not secured the new post-Brexit immigration status by the cutoff date have emerged in responses to a series of parliamentary questions. The Guardian 

Health chiefs still wait for results on Indian variant Covid swabs following Towcester school outbreak

Health chiefs still wait for results on Indian variant Covid swabs following Towcester school outbreak  Health chiefs are still waiting for an official all-clear following an outbreak of Indian strain Covid-19 cases at a Towcester primary school.

Last week's testing blitz among the Nicholas Hawksmoor School community produced "very few" positive tests. Northamptonshire Telegraph

See also:

• Northampton restaurant slapped with £1,000 fine for breaking Covid rules Northampton Chronicle and Echo
• Covid-19 vaccination programme extended to anyone aged 30 in England Northampton Chronicle and Echo

New online resource to support culturally appropriate care

New online resource to support culturally appropriate care Holistic, person-centred care has always been important, but during the Coronavirus pandemic it has become even more critical that we are all aware of culturally appropriate care.

Culturally appropriate care is about being sensitive to people's cultural identity or heritage. It means being alert and responsive to people’s beliefs or conventions that might be determined by a person’s culture. The Care Quality Commission has launched a new online resource which updates providers on culturally appropriate care.