Northamptonshire health boss wants tighter Covid rules

Northamptonshire health boss wants tighter Covid rules Directors of public health have been asking the government to reintroduce face mask requirement and tighter self-isolation rules, a health boss said.

Lucy Wightman, Northamptonshire's director of public health, said she and her colleagues have been "lobbying hard" for the changes.

The county has some of the highest rates in England with Wellingborough having the second highest. BBC Northampton

See also: 

• What are the rules and guidance for face masks and coverings? BBC News

New ‘wonder drug’ injection for severe asthma given approval on NHS

New ‘wonder drug’ injection for severe asthma given approval on NHS A new ‘wonder drug’ for the treatment of uncontrolled asthma has been approved for use on the NHS in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Dupilumab has been recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) for some patients whose asthma does not respond to conventional treatments. Northamptonshire Telegraph 

Suicide in children and young people: National Child Mortality Database Programme thematic report

Suicide in children and young people: National Child Mortality Database Programme thematic report This report draws on data from the NCMD to identify the common characteristics of children and young people who die by suicide. It investigates factors associated with these deaths and pulls out recommendations for service providers and policy makers. National Child Mortality Database 

Tackling health inequalities

Tackling health inequalities This briefing highlights the leading role trusts can play in creating lasting change in how inequalities in care are understood and dealt with across the NHS. NHS Providers 

NHS delivers over three million COVID boosters in first month

NHS delivers over three million COVID boosters in first month More than three million top up COVID-19 jabs have been delivered in just four weeks, as the NHS vaccination rollout continues to protect those most at risk from coronavirus.

A total of 3.1 million top ups have been administered with two in five people aged 50 and over who are eligible already coming forward for their extra jab.

More than a third of health and care workers who are eligible have also had their booster vaccine. NHS England 

Covid-19 in the UK: How many coronavirus cases are there in my area?

Covid-19 in the UK: How many coronavirus cases are there in my area? There have been 8.4 million confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK and more than 138,000 people have died, government figures show.

However, these figures include only people who have died within 28 days of testing positive for coronavirus.

So far, about 86% of people aged 12 and over in the UK have had their first dose of a coronavirus vaccine and nearly 79% have had their second. BBC News

See also: 

• Prof Sarah Gilbert, Covid vaccine creator: Now let’s take on 12 more diseases BBC News
• Covid: Which children are being vaccinated and why? BBC News
• Investigation ordered into Wolverhampton Covid lab test failings BBC News
• Households with children THREE times as likely to have a Covid infection as those without The Daily Mail
• Covid England: Outbreak is now biggest it's been since JANUARY with one in 60 infected last week The Daily Mail
• Statins could cut risk of Covid deaths ‘by 12 per cent’ The Daily Telegraph
• Why Britons are tolerating sky-high Covid rates – and why this may not last The Guardian
• Pregnant women at risk from NHS workers’ mixed messages over safety of jab The Guardian
• England to open walk-in Covid clinics for children aged 12-15 within weeks The Guardian
• Covid cases near peak of second wave as schoolchildren fuel rise The Independent
• COVID-19: UK daily coronavirus cases highest since July as Professor Chris Whitty warns of 'exceptionally difficult' winter for NHS Sky News

NHS England hospitals having to rely on ‘obsolete’ imaging equipment

NHS England hospitals having to rely on ‘obsolete’ imaging equipment Research by Channel 4’s Dispatches reveals use of CT and MRI scanners that are 10 years old or more in about third of trusts

About a third of NHS trusts in England are using “technically obsolete” imaging equipment that could be putting patients’ health at risk, while existing shortages of doctors who are qualified to diagnose and treat disease and injuries using medical imaging techniques could triple by 2030. The Guardian 

Psychosis cases soar in England as pandemic hits mental health

Psychosis cases soar in England as pandemic hits mental health Cases of psychosis have soared over the past two years in England as an increasing number of people experience hallucinations and delusional thinking amid the stresses of the Covid-19 pandemic.

There was a 75% increase in the number of people referred to mental health services for their first suspected episode of psychosis between April 2019 and April 2021, NHS data shows. The Guardian 

Covid has made us more miserable than ever before

Covid has made us more miserable than ever before Britons were more miserable than ever in the first year of the Covid pandemic, data revealed today. 

Wellbeing levels plunged to the lowest figure since records began almost a decade ago.  

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) report also revealed anxiety rates soared to their highest ever level in the year ending March 2021.  The Daily Mail

See also: 

• Coronavirus and the social impacts on Great Britain Office for National Statistics

Concern police will be able to ‘strong-arm’ NHS to hand over patient data under new plans

Concern police will be able to ‘strong-arm’ NHS to hand over patient data under new plans Police forces will be able to “strong-arm” NHS bodies into handing over confidential patient data under planned laws that have sparked fury from doctors’ groups and the UK’s medical watchdog. The Independent 

Health funding in Northamptonshire cut by a fifth, report reveals

Health funding in Northamptonshire cut by a fifth, report reveals Public health funding per head in Northamptonshire has been cut by a fifth over six years in real terms, analysis reveals.

Health leaders and charities have urged the Government to increase spending after figures showed England’s public health grant has fallen by around £1 billion in real terms since 2015-16. Northamptonshire Telegraph

See also: 

• Health and social care funding projections 2021 The Health Foundation

Safety net plans revealed for 12-to-15s who miss out on Covid vaccines in Northamptonshire schools

Safety net plans revealed for 12-to-15s who miss out on Covid vaccines in Northamptonshire schools Students who miss out on vaccines in schools because they catch Covid will still get their jabs.

Hundreds of 12-to-15-year-olds are among the nearly 18,000 who have tested positive in Northamptonshire during the last 28 days and many of them are still not in school, learning at home while self-isolating.  Northamptonshire Telegraph

Depression prompts four trips to A&E a day at Northampton General Hospital

Depression prompts four trips to A&E a day at Northampton General Hospital Feeling depressed is the main reason behind four trips to A&E a day at Northampton General Hospital, figures suggest.

Mental health charity Mind said it was "deeply concerning" to see so many people needing emergency care for this reason nationally. Northampton Chronicle and Echo 

NHS performance summary: August-September 2021

NHS performance summary: August-September 2021 Our monthly round-up of the latest NHS performance data.

A&E waiting times in September were the worst since records began, with 1 in 4 patients waiting longer than four hours to be admitted, transferred or discharged. Attendances are back to pre-pandemic levels, and trolley waits are at record highs for this time of year.

The waiting list for planned care continued to grow to over 5.7 million in August, and the number of two year waiters increased to 9,754. Nuffield Trust

See also: 

• NHS England statistics show hard work and dedication of NHS staff The Health Foundation
• The waiting list for planned hospital care continues to climb The King's Fund
• NHS staff experience busiest September on record NHS England
• NHS in bleak position as A&E waits worsen, say doctors BBC News
• NHS waiting list hits ANOTHER record high with 5.72MILLION patients The Daily Mail
• Record 5.7m people in England waiting for hospital treatment The Guardian
• NHS waiting lists: Backlog hits record high with nearly six million awaiting treatment in England Sky News

The backlog of care across the provider sector: a submission to the National Audit Office inquiry on NHS backlogs and waiting times

The backlog of care across the provider sector: a submission to the National Audit Office inquiry on NHS backlogs and waiting times This survey of NHS trust leaders has revealed widespread worries that rapidly growing waiting lists will worsen existing health inequalities. Findings in the briefing also reflect concerns about the time it will take to recover the care backlog, despite impressive progress by trusts and frontline staff in restoring services. Almost a third of leaders (32 per cent) said it will take three to five years. NHS Providers 

The latest on the NHS estate

The latest on the NHS estate A grim sense of déjà vu may strike anyone who reads the latest annual data on the condition of NHS buildings and equipment. Once again, the costs of tackling the backlog of maintenance problems has risen and at the end of 2020/21 stands at £ 9.2 billion. The King's Fund 

Covid: False negative Covid test results confirmed at Newbury Showground

Covid: False negative Covid test results confirmed at Newbury Showground People who got a negative result from a Covid testing site in Berkshire earlier this month are being told to book another test, amid fears they were mistakenly given the all-clear.

Some PCR tests carried out at Newbury Showground resulted in false negatives, West Berkshire Council said. BBC News

See also:

• Covid test lab in Wolverhampton suspended over wrong results BBC News
• Number of Britons falling ill with Covid every day FALLS to below 70,000 The Daily Mail
• Chris Whitty says he can't promise everything will be great by Christmas The Daily Mail
• Sajid Javid apologises for government's Covid 'failures' The Daily Mail
• Charities say Covid booster rollout for immunosuppressed is ‘chaotic failure’ The Guardian

Stillbirth rate high for black and Asian babies in UK

Stillbirth rate high for black and Asian babies in UK Stillbirth rates remain "exceptionally high" for black and Asian babies in the UK, a report examining baby loss in 2019 has found.

The figures come despite improving numbers overall, with some 610 fewer stillbirths in 2019 than in 2013. BBC News

See also: 

• Perinatal Mortality Surveillance Report for births in 2019 MBRRACE-UK

Midwives working 20-hour days with no breaks at hospital, watchdog report finds

Midwives working 20-hour days with no breaks at hospital, watchdog report finds Staff shortages left midwives at hospitals at one NHS trust in Kent working 20-hour days with little time for a break, a report by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) has found.

Inspectors found there were not enough maternity staff with the right qualifications or training to keep women safe from “avoidable harm” at hospitals run by East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust, and on occasions the shortages meant women were transferred to other hospitals during labour. The Independent 

What’s behind Sajid Javid’s row with GPs?

What’s behind Sajid Javid’s row with GPs? There is discord over the health secretary’s desire for doctors to provide more face-to-face appointments

The health secretary has irritated GPs by making clear he wants them to provide more face-to-face appointments rather than speaking to patients on the phone or by video call. Tension between GPs and Javid has grown over the past few weeks, with family doctors describing the minister as ignorant of the huge strain they are under. The Guardian

See also: 

• Government’s ‘rescue package’ for GPs is flawed and patient care will suffer as result The BMA
• GPs criticise Health Secretary's failure to speak at doctors' conference The BMA
• Speech: Thank you to GPs for their commitment during the most challenging of times – but patients must be able to see their doctor the way they want Department of Health and Social Care
• The King's Fund responds to the Department of Health and Social Care announcement to improve access to general practice The King's Fund
• Focus on access ignores other challenges in general practice, says College in response to NHSE announcement on ‘rescue’ measures for general practice Royal College of General Practitioners
• Fury at 'overpaid' GPs for moaning about Sajid Javid's plans The Daily Mail
• 'Nothing can bring Peter back... but no one else should die after being refused a visit to their GP': Five real-life stories of heartache caused by doctors' practices fobbing off patients The Daily Mail
• GPs must face the facts The Daily Telegraph
• GP anger over 'unsafe' plans to reduce social distancing and increase face-to-face appointments The Daily Telegraph
• What was Sajid Javid thinking? Challenging GPs could only ever backfire The Daily Telegraph
• Javid plans 'won't turn the tide' for GPs, warns former Tory health secretary GPonline
• GP fury as 'support package' ramps up pressure on face-to-face access GPonline
• GPs’ leader condemns ‘malicious criticism’ by politicians The Guardian
• GPs have become the new fall guys for government failures | Gaby Hinsliff The Guardian
• Stop demonising England’s family doctors – we are on our knees | Nishma Manek The Guardian
• ‘It is with a heavy heart that I leave’ – why the unrelieved pressure is pushing GPs to quit The Guardian
• NHS plans criticised as patients left waiting months for GP appointment ITV News